Recently in Social Media Category
Christopher Nolan (the director of Dark Knight and Momento) made his directorial debut in 1998 with a movie he wrote called "Following". The movie revolves around the main character Bill. Bill is described as "an unemployed aspiring writer who lives a solitary and boring life in London, England. Bill has a fascination with people, and with hopes of finding material to write about, begins to pick individuals out of a crowd, and to follow them." Okay, does that sound a lot like Twitter? Did Nolan have early insight into a personality disorder affecting generations of people today? Think about the massive popularity of Twitter and Facebook, in essence, aren't these sites set up to stalk people virtually?
Yah yah, I know I'm reaching, but today is Friday the 13th and to be honest when I receive email notifications that someone I don't know is following me on Twitter I get a bit nervous. The idea that strangers are silently following your every tweet is a bit creepy, no? I guess the point of this post is becareful who you follow and be aware of who's following you...mmoohahaha....
P.S. You're all more than welcome to stalk...I mean follow me on Twitter!
Great article on understanding and using Twitter search more effectively. Learn the basics on advanced search, how to use operators, creating/search using hash tags, clarify search using minus sign, and find people near you. [via Twitip.com]
Here's a sneak peak at the new homepage design which is scheduled to go live next week. In typical Facebook style, the design has not deviated too much with the exception of nice rounded corners on profile thumbnails. In terms of experience, there are some significant changes. Basically, they've simplified the publishing tool and have consolidated the system so you have one stream. And the best part, I think, is that you can now filter your streams based on groups.
Jaman will be hosting a live stream and Facebook chat for tonight's Academy Awards show. Okay, so I guess I can see how this Facebook feature can be popular. The Oscars can drag on, so what a great way to pass the time, especially if you are at home watching alone. Facebook connect allows you to update your status with witty comments, insightful commentary, general film knowledge, or whatever else you'd like to share with others on Facebook or exclusively with your friends while watching the live show.
The concept isn't necessarily a new one, MTV has been allowing their viewers to post 'shout outs' for years via txt messaging during their programming, for a fee. However, Facebook's experience is different in that it won't be broadcast, it's free, and it's strictly an online experience -- lets hope it stays that way. This trend has proven to be a popular one for mainstream events these days. It first made it's debut during the Obama inauguration, most recently at the NBA all-star game, and now tonight's Oscars presentation...and no doubt we can expect to see this appear in many more future events. [via Mashable]
Diddit is the new kid on the block in the social networking universe. If you can get past the design of this site which is at times a tad too busy, it's actually a pretty interesting and unique destination. Diddit is a place to not only keep track of the things that you've done, or are going to do, but it's also a great place to discover new things to do. I haven't signed up yet but it looks like they have some really great information on everything from concerts, restaurants, the arts, to travel information. If anything, I can see this as a really great shared resource.
Congrats to the founders. Guess they can check off "build a unique social networking site"...diddit!
"The customer is always right." This may always have been true but you wouldn't know it from the experience most have had before the days of social networking. Rest assure, that in this connected age we as consumers are much more empowered.
The trend of social shopping has been growing now for several years but the timing for this community is perfect. With smart phones gaining popularity, the masses are arming themselves with portable knowledge, equipped with several means of communication, high quality cameras, and social networking apps, retailers need to be aware that the consumer has evolved. Beware the multi-tasking consumer.
Here are a list of some social shopping sites:
Stylehive http://www.stylehive.com/
Jelly Fish http://www.jellyfish.com/
Crowdstorm http://www.crowdstorm.com/
This Next http://www.thisnext.com/
Wist http://wists.com/
Shop Wiki http://www.shopwiki.com/
Kaboodle http://www.kaboodle.com/
The trend towards "connected tv's" and devices is a sign that people more and more want to enjoy the convenience of being connected without being chained to a desk. Laptops are becoming the norm as prices fall, next-gen kids are growing up not even having used a desktop computer, and smartphones are becoming more accessible and user friendly. So what does all this mean? Well, I hope it means that we've reached the stage where technology is finally adapting to us and not only facilitating but simplifying our connected lifestyle.
ABI Research released a study which included over 1,000 households, and found that the younger consumers want to interact with their friends online and watch tv simultaneously. Yahoo! is on top of this movement with their tv widgets, and have partnered with some of the larger electronics company to stream flikr, news, and weather to your livingroom via the internet. So can we expect channels/widgets for Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter in the near future? I don't know about you but I already use my TV for online content, listening to Last.fm and Twittering. So I welcome a more user friendly interface so I can continue to do these things but on the comfort of my couch and a remote control. [via cnet news]
There's a good article today in the Wall Street Journal called "Out of Office: Job Loss in the Age of Blogs and Twitter".
There a lot of people these days that have been laid off, looking for
work, or retiring. For some it can be quite a bleak and lonely road
ahead. Thankfully, the internet has really become a source of all
things, ranging from entertainment to social facilitator. The article
points out that online gaming, social networking and movie rentals are
on the rise as people are heading online to escape this doom and gloom
economy.
For the recently laid off or those looking
for work in a downturn economy, the internet has been a great resource
and support network. The days of veggin' on the couch flipping channels
have been substituted by interacting online: searching job sites,
participating in support forums, networking with friends, playing
games, watching movies, and other time-wasters that are available
online 24/7.
After reading an article about Boxee in The New York Times this past weekend, I decided to download the software and try it out for myself. Wow, was I ever pleasantly surprised, in fact I spent the majority of the weekend streaming videos and music on my TV. I've had my Mac mini connected to my 40" LCD TV for a while now but using a wireless mouse and keyboard just doesn't allow for a smooth experience. Boxee does away with browsers and makes accessing media from the internet seamless.
What makes Boxee great and stand out from the rest is that you can navigate through this media center using the apple remote control that comes with your Macbook. The interface is so easy and well thought out. Within minutes I was a pro user.
I've never been more excited about an application. Go download this NOW!
By
the way, for those of you that want to set up your own internet TV but
don't know how I will be posting a video tutorial in the coming weeks.
I recently read a book called "Grown Up Digital"
written by author Don Tapscott. He is the bestselling author of
"Growing Up Digital" and "Wikinomics". I found this book to be
refreshingly optimistic, insightful a great read whether you are a new
media professional, or a parent raising "Net Gen" children.
Below is an interview with the author.
