After talking about Maka-Maka, or Maka Maka, Google have released news that it is coming out with OpenSocial,(Do not Click on it until Thursday) to challenge Social networks like Facebook and MySpace. Just on that mark, Google Stocks shot over $700.00. Thanks to Google, I have now a few millionaire friends. (I should have listen to then when they asked me to follow them!)
With OpenSocial, Google is making waves in the social networking ocean with an an unofficial announcement about a API, OpenSocial, that will span across all social networks. That is if others decide to play I guess.
But networks like facebook and myspace have already opened their systems by providing APIs or with promises to do so. The project, called OpenSocial was revealed a few days ago by an unreferenced News release by various publishers on the net.
I have not seen any Official reference from Google as yet.
Here is the alleged press release;
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- November 1, 2007 – Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the release of OpenSocial -- a set of common APIs for building social applications across the web -- for developers of social applications and websites that want to add social features. OpenSocial will unleash more powerful and pervasive social capabilities for the web, empowering developers to build far-reaching applications that users can enjoy regardless of the websites, web applications, or social networks they use. The release of OpenSocial marks the first time that multiple social networks have been made accessible under a common API to make development and distribution easier and more efficient for developers.
The proliferation of unique APIs across dozens of social websites is forcing developers to choose which ones to write applications for – and then spend their time writing separately for each. OpenSocial gives developers of social applications a single set of APIs to learn for their application to run on any OpenSocial-enabled website. By providing these simple, standards-based technologies, OpenSocial will speed innovation and bring more social features to more places across the web. Users win too: they get more interesting, engaging, or useful features faster.
"The web is fundamentally better when it's social, and we're only just starting to see what's possible when you bring social information into different contexts on the web," said XXXX. "There's a lot of innovation that will be spurred simply by creating a standard way for developers to run social applications in more places. With the input and iteration of the community, we hope OpenSocial will become a standard set of technologies for making the web social."
Learn Once, Reach Across the Web
One of the most important benefits of OpenSocial is the vast distribution network that developers will have for their applications. The sites that have already committed to supporting OpenSocial -- Website Partner A, Website Partner B, Website Partner C, etc. –- represent an audience of well over 100 million users globally. Critical for time- and resource-strapped developers is being able to "learn once, write anywhere" -- learn the OpenSocial APIs once and then build applications that work with any OpenSocial-enabled websites.
Several developers, including Gadget Partner Z, Gadget Partner Y, Gadget Partner X, etc., have already built applications that use the OpenSocial APIs. Starting today, a developer sandbox is available at http://sandbox.orkut.com so developers can go in and start testing the OpenSocial APIs. The goal is to have developers build applications in the sandbox so they can deploy on Orkut and ultimately other OpenSocial sites.
More Social In More Places
The existence of this single programming model also helps websites who are eager to satisfy their users' interest in social features. More developers building social applications more easily translates directly into more features more quickly for websites.
"Orkut has tens of millions of passionate users who are constantly clamoring for new ways to have fun with their friends and express themselves through Orkut," said Amar Gandhi, group product manager for Orkut, Google's social networking service. "By using OpenSocial to open up Orkut as a platform for any developer, we can tap into the vast creativity of the community and make new features available to our users frequently."
The common method that OpenSocial provides for hosting social applications means that websites can engage a much larger pool of third party developers than they could otherwise. They can direct resources that might have gone to maintaining a proprietary API and supporting its developer community to other projects.
Because OpenSocial removes the hassle from developing for individual websites, developers can unleash their creativity anywhere that catches their interest. This will translate into a wave of social features in contexts outside of the personal entertainment and games that are traditionally thought of as the social web.
Three APIs available now
The OpenSocial APIs give developers access to the data needed to build social applications: access to a user's profile, their friends, and the ability to let their friends know that activities have taken place. OpenSocial resources for developers and websites are available now at code.google.com/apis/opensocial.
Developers will have access to:
- Three JavaScript and Gdata APIs to access social functions
- A live developer sandbox on Orkut at sandbox.orkut.com
Websites will have access to:
- A tool to help OpenSocial-enable their websites
- A support forum for communicating with Google and other websites
All of these resources and the live developer sandbox are available now.
Developers already at work
Dozens of developers have helped test early iterations of the OpenSocial APIs and Google is grateful for the extensive feedback they have provided.
[List of all gadget developers]
Links to these gadgets are available at http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
OpenSocial , The Press Release
Labels:
Social networking
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Where is the Open Source Facebook?
I came across this musing, idea, plan about "Breaking Open Facebook with Open Source Software" in two parts, Part one and Part two.
I really enjoyed the descriptions as I have flown through the same idea canyons in search for solutions for weseepeople.com. (Don't try to click, it is not even in the womb yet). The picture above is Jeff's (the author) architecture. But within two articles he explains all that in very understandable writings.
Labels:
Social networking
Structural Code changes to prepare Gmail for Tomorrow
If you are a Gmail user as I am, (I got invited early in the run somewhere) you would have noticed the phases that it went through. I always like Gmail and it is becoming my major email application, even more after the free IMAP introduction. Calendar is a world of help to me and Google Docs integration, allows me to do most my work on a Nokia N800, and I am looking forward to upgrade it to a N810.
Other features like chat, voice mail, I use less frequently.
According to a post on blog, Gmail team has been working on a structural code change that will be rolling out to Firefox 2 and IE 7 users over the coming weeks (with other browsers to follow). They also say that you won't notice too many differences to start with, but the new model they use enable to iterate faster and share components (Gmail now use the same rich text editor as Groups and Page Creator, and the Contact Manager can be seen in several Google apps). A few other things you will notice are some new keyboard shortcuts and the ability to bookmark specific messages and email searches.
Thank Gmail Team. I am enjoying my Gmail.
Official Gmail Blog: Code changes to prepare Gmail for the future
Labels:
GMail
Blog World Expo In Vegas Nevada, Nov 8th and 9th
On November 8th and 9th I will be at Blog World Expo. I will be attending. If you want to learn about blogging I highly recommend attending the conference.
General conference sessions and the Expo begin Nov. 8th. For details and pricing, click HERE.
For the complete conference schedule, click HERE.
This event is open to the trade only. This is defined as individuals or companies that are involved in the new media industry. Show Management reserves the right to restrict attendance. All registrants must be prepared to show proof of involvement (print out of personal/corporate blog/site, business card, etc.) in the new media industry prior to receiving their badge on-site.
Labels:
Blog World Expo
Monday, October 29, 2007
Google Goes Maka-Maka for Social Networking.
When every one is running around and making facebook a 15 Billion company that makes about $50000, Google is finding ways to make another billion(s) dollar piece for itself.
Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and even Orkut have come up with ways to keep users cornered in their adobes within the confines of respective sites.
I could not stay in one place for a long time and I just jump in an out of these sites that I am member of. Then again don't look to me for guidance, I even found Second Life boring! ;) But that did not stop Chinese developers making one in Chinese "High-Pee-High"
But I hope you have a iGoogle page. What more do you need to make it provide the services that FaceBook provides. Since all the business tools (Google Apps) it will appeal to business users, all the Gmail users are already members. Just create it to appeal to users and provide what is already not there and in no time, Facebook will be looking for it's face.
When I log into my Google account, I see a lot of things, listed out neatly. (You think I sold my soul to Google! ;) , I don't think so.)
Anyway read about Maka Maka here at TechCrunch. (Makan makan is to eat! in Bhasa Indonesia, forgive me if I am wrong) Serve Me.
Labels:
google
SpinVox spins Voice into Social Networking and Micro Blogging.
ATLANTA & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The power of social networking and microblogging increased significantly today with the announcement from SpinVox, the global leader in Voice-to-Screen, that posting on Facebook, Jaiku and Twitter can be now achieved simply by using your voice. `Social Networks through SpinVox` enables voice-driven social networking from any mobile phone.
Social Networks through SpinVox’ is launched today as a key element of the new, state-of-the-art SpinVox website. People can create an account on www.spinvox.com, where they can manage one, two or all three of their networking sites from one, personalised page. In addition, accounts can be set up so that one voice-powered contribution can be posted automatically to all three networking sites. SpinVox expects to extend this capability to other well-known social networking and micro-blogging sites in the coming months.
No need to wait for web access or use a keyboard
Now bloggers can generate posts by simply speaking into any mobile handset. Social Networks through SpinVox then automatically creates text and then posts directly to their chosen sites. People can now contribute to Facebook, Jaiku or Twitter wherever they are - no need to send an SMS, try to log on to the web from a mobile or wait until they get home and are online. If a user wants to share something immediately with their online community - an urgent piece of news, a review of a great film or their latest holiday adventure - they can. Bloggers are no longer off-line just because they’re out and about. It can all be done through a simple phone call.
Capture your thoughts, emotions and experiences `in the moment`
“SpinVox is all about using voice to enable person-to-person messaging through any network or service - whether by SMS text, email, blog, or social network walls and spaces,” said Christina Domecq, CEO and co-founder of SpinVox.
“The use of social networks and micro-blogging sites has exploded in the past few years, but, so far, they’ve lacked true mobility and so are not achieving their full potential. Whether you’ve just walked out of a concert or have discovered a great new place to eat, your voice can now be used in place of the keyboard to tell the world the news and capture your thoughts, emotions and experiences `in the moment` as and when they happen.”
Builds on the lead of Spin-my-Blog
In February 2007 SpinVox enabled voice to enter the blogosphere for the first time with its ground-breaking service, Spin-my-Blog™. The service was the first to allow users to post their thoughts onto a blog by calling a phone number and speaking the message, which is then converted automatically to text and posted on the site.
“The launch of the Social Networks through SpinVox service is a further groundbreaking development for Web 2.0, which is largely characterised by the power it gives users to generate and share their own content,” added Domecq. “SpinVox is a natural interface between online and mobile worlds - and is already in use by LiveJournal users in the blogosphere - enabling the power of Web 2.0 communities to go truly mobile.”
Labels:
Social networking
HULU Goes in to Private Beta
If you consider YouTube to be a Social Networking site, then a new service, hulu.com has come out of the hiding. Hulu is a joint venture between Fox, NBC, E, Bravo, FX, SciFi, USA, and Universal. (Also known to be a youtube knockoff!)
Hulu promise to provide us with web's most comprehensive selection of premium programming across all genres and formats – television shows, feature films, clips, and more. If you visit the site, there is a corporate feel to it which set it apart from the more geeky YouTube layout. But then again, hulu does not have the content nor the number of users that YouTube has and could afford to give the look.
The private beta has already began and if you wish you can register to get invited when hulu is ready as well. But if you did not get invited or don't want to wait AOL already has a hulu section!
Current beta includes, current hit shows like The Office, Prison Break, The Simpsons, Heroes, and many more. You'll also find a large number of classic television series, including Arrested Development, Miami Vice, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The A-Team. Also going into beta is an initial selection of feature films that includes Conan the Barbarian, Sideways and The Blues Brothers.
Labels:
video
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Don't Lose Your Face at Facebook | Facebook Best Practices
But They also have a very nice article about Facebook Privacy and Productivity and a podcast (Link is at the bottom).
Tips to protect your reputation, and your identity:
Adjust Facebook privacy settings to help protect your identity
Unlike some other social networking sites, Facebook has provided some powerful options to protect you online - but it's up to you to use them!
Think carefully about who you allow to become your friend
Once you have accepted someone as your friend they will be able to access any information about you (including photographs) that you have marked as viewable by your friends. You can remove friends at any time should you change your mind about someone.
Show "limited friends" a cut-down version of your profile
You can choose to make people 'limited friends' who only have access to a cut-down version of your profile if you wish. This can be useful if you have associates who you do not wish to give full friend status to, or feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with.
Disable options, then open them one by one
Think about how you want to use Facebook. If it's only to keep in touch with people and be able to contact them then maybe it's better to turn off the bells and whistles. It makes a lot of sense to disable an option until you have decided you do want and need it, rather than start with everything accessible.
Labels:
facebook,
Mobile Social Networking,
security
60 goals for the over 60, Social Networking for Elders
The popularity of the Internet among older people has driven this project to get people over 50 to participate in social matters that matters most to them. Over half of all over 50s have access to the Internet, in UK and rising to three quarters (76 per cent) of 50-64 year olds. Nearly one in six of those in the 50-64 age bracket have conquered Instant Messaging, social networking sites and Internet chat rooms (15 per cent), while emailing is becoming the norm (37 per cent). More than half (56 per cent) of respondents say they have set themselves the goal of 'learning computer skills' as they approach later life.
The UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a social networking site, generationXperience. It is set up to give, over 50 the chance to talk to government representatives about the things they care about. The site will start a new topic each week and invite your thoughts. Subjects that might get covered cover are:
- The Internet and You!
- 60 goals for the over 60
- You and GenerationXperience
But keeping to true nature of social networking, If there are topics you’d like to see covered, then you can suggest them by responding to the Welcome post. As well as taking part in discussions with the site.
Participants can check out happenings in their vicinity for;
- Community Heroes Awards
- Music, Dance and Art events
- Celebrity Appearances
- Friendly Cities Initiative
To find out more about events in your area, visit the GenerationXperience page on the DirectGov website.
Labels:
social network,
Social networking
Friday, October 26, 2007
Second Life to appear in "The Office" TV series
Second Life, your favorite computer game aka reality simulator aka social network aka advertising medium aka linden $ maker, will appear on tonight's episode of The Office on NBC at 9PM.
So if you are watching the show, aka a fan, be sure to check out what’s on Dwight and Angela’s PC screens!!
I think what more interesting will be to watch "The Office" on Second Life TV. (What?)
Source
Labels:
second life
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Give a HUGG to Green News
HUGG, which I Just became a member, a social network that shares stories with a community of users, and those same users vote for stories and have control which stories make it to the top, and which ones don't (Does it sound like DIGG? no fear, it is a similar concept but for greenies, digg for green.) But one get points for submitting stories and and there is a list of huggers.. Hugg is a site by TreeHugger. So come join and submit environmentally friendly stories, videos, links and share green information with the community of users.
I think HUGG will be a very popular as people become aware of green movement and the benefits that it bring out.
Labels:
social network
Microsofts 1.6% stake pushes Facebook value to 15 Billion
As we thought earlier, Microsoft did buy a piece of Facebook, 1.6 % for 240 Million, not 5% for 500 Million. Microsoft won its latest sparring match with Google on Wednesday, securing a deal to buy 1.6 percent of the social networking site Facebook for $240 million - a move that values the young site at $15 billion and bolsters a new model of online advertising. The highly anticipated partnership in the trendy virtual world of social networking suggests that: -- Microsoft has emerged as a rival of Google, which reportedly also had been wooing Facebook and already has a $900 million advertising deal with MySpace, Facebook's biggest competitor. -- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg looks prescient for refusing to sell the Palo Alto startup to Yahoo for an estimated $1 billion last year. Wednesday's deal sets the worth of the 23-year-old, who owns a 20 percent share, at an estimated $3 billion. -- More than ever, News Corp.'s $580 million purchase of MySpace two years ago looks like a steal. -- The online advertising market is heating up, particularly on social networks.
Labels:
facebook,
Social networking
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
BlackBerrys On your Face, Facebook
There were business busybodies in College parties today as Facebook said it is adding its social-networking platform to RIM's BlackBerry devices.
Looks like T-Mobile will be the first carrier to build a Facebook application into the BlackBerry's it sells, but BlackBerry users on any network will be able to download the application starting later Wednesday, Facebook co-founder and vice president of engineering Dustin Moskovitz said in a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment show in San Francisco.
Dustin Moskowitz started off his keynote by talking about the evolution of the company. Considering facebook's gaining popularity in the business community as a networking tool (the over 35 demographic is the fastest growing), it probably would have been just as appropriate from him to have spoken yesterday.
Dustin began by talking about the company's "unprecedented" growth, in both the US and abroad. There are now 49 million active facebook users with 200,000 users joining daily. With such widespread adoption, facebook has become an effective multi-media communication tool, and like all communication, people want to be able to use it on the go.
Dustin also brought RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis and announced Facebook for Blackberry, which Mike demoed. The application will make it possible to upload and tag photos to Facebook- within the phone's camera application.
Currently, facebook supports SMS, MMS, and mobile web, and Dustin announced that they are adding two new mobile applications.
- the ability for third pary apps to have 'boxes' on mobile profiles
- the ability for third party app developers to comunicate with users through SMS
Via CTIA Blog
Labels:
facebook
eBay Microfinances the World's Working Poor
MicroPlace, a for-profit company which enables everyday internet users to invest $100 or more in the world's working poor, launched on Wednesday. The site is notable for two reasons: it's not only owned by eBay but it's also the first microfinance site to allow everyday folks to earn interest on their investment. Interestingly, eBay plans to donate all profits from MicroPlace to various non-profits, including (but not limited to) its own eBay Foundation.
Continue reading at Wired
Labels:
Social financing
Mother Of All Social Networks, UN day Is Today!
Fifty nine year widest ranging social gathering. I think this is this thing that came out of the WWII. Remember your neighbors.
"The anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Charter on 24 October 1945 has been celebrated as United Nations Day since 1948. It has traditionally been marked throughout the world by meetings, discussions and exhibits on the achievements and goals of the Organization. In 1971, the General Assembly recommended that Member States observe it as a public holiday.
(resolution 2782 (XXV). (Reference Paper 45)."
Labels:
UN
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Come play in MySpace, Social Games Begin
News.com reports that News Corp.-owned social-networking site MySpace.com announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with casual-game maker Oberon Games, part of Oberon Media, to create a "channel" of social games.
Currently, the games.myspace.com subdomain encourages users to "stay tuned for updates." It offers them an array of video game-related videos instead of actual games.
MySpace to debut casual-game site in January, News Com
Labels:
myspace,
social games
Monday, October 22, 2007
New People at 2007 New Music Awards
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - October 22, 2007) - New Music Weekly magazine has announced the nominees for the 2007 New Music Awards. The event will be held November 10th, 2007 at the world famous Avalon Theater in Hollywood, California. This year's ceremony will honor radio stations, music and program directors, along with both major and independent record labels. Kim Kline joins Amy Winehouse and three other nominees for Top 40 Artist of the Year. Other nominees this year include Fergi, Daughtry and the Plain White Tees.
Labels:
Music
Friday, October 19, 2007
Haystack, The Musical Social Network
According to the site, Haystack.com "(“Haystack”) is a social music community connecting passionate fans to music through Tastemakers and friends." There are a few different types of users; listener, an artist or a “tastemaker”.
Tastemakers are like super users and are created by invitation only. So to become a Tastemaker, one will have to have be active on Haystack as the criteria for being a Tastemaker is not published information. But I think they will be picked from active and supportive members.
By Joining, one can listen to playlists, create your play list, Tag content to Artists and create your own profile page with images , videos etc. Once you are a member you can stack, ie add songs to playlists, make recommendations and you are on the way to become a Tastemaker if that what you wish for. After creating a profile page, there are band pages, photos and videos Youtube?) to explore, and of course the ability to “stack” . All this content can be ranked, and there are search filters to make searches even better. There is a player to add tracks and one can launch a pop-up player to continue listening while you explore the site.
Haystack is open to the public but They are currently in the "beta" phase 2 of fixing site and making software stable.
So go find your needle in the haystack.
Labels:
Social networking
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Come into my space, MySpace opens the API
Following Facebook or not, MySpace seem to think it is the time that it let developers into their space!. Today at Web 2.0 Summit at San Francisco, Chris DeWolfe and Rupert Murdoch (evidence that web 2.0 is not just a catchy word) discussed about MySpace API, Chris, and th San Francisco office of MySpace.
Brady Forrest at O'Reilly Radar has put the thought patterns together very well. Here is a big piece that he wrote and that I liked most. Follow the link to read more about interview of the above two gentlemen by John Battelle and
" Over the next two months they are going to increase third-party access to their site. First, they are going to highlight the thousands of widgets that have been on their site for years now. This should be released in the next couple of weeks. I am assuming that it will go beyond the FIM's Spring Widget Gallery. Second, they are going to offer an API for applications to all developers. However, these applications are going to be sandboxed initially and 1-2 million users will have access to them. If the users deem the applications safe and useful they'll be available to all users. Developers will be able to advertise in their applications."
Web2Summit: MySpace To Open Up: Brady Forrest
Labels:
social network business
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
MySpace Goes Social Networking With Skype!
VoIP IP Telephony has published about MySpace joining Skype to provide VoIP services for MySpaceIM.
VOIP IP Telephony: MySpace joins Skype and offers MySpaceIM with Skype
Labels:
Social networking
Friday, October 12, 2007
Social Networking is addictive and attractive to advertisers according to Comscore Study
Even though relatively new phenomenon, social networking sites are becoming the connected contries and users newest addiction, according to research. Data from internet tracker Comscore World Metrix show that the average Brazilian user spent 11.7 hours a month on sites like Bebo, Facebook and MySpace. Canadians ranked second with 6.5 hours and UK surfers have topped the charts of social networking sites, for europe, according to recent figures again from comScore, averaging 5.8 hours per month. The study did not include data from USA.
Comscore press release could be found here.
The European social networking community stood at 127.3 million unique visitors in August, reaching 56 per cent of the European online population. Social networking sites allow users to find old friends, interact, and share photos with their network of contacts, among many other things.
Advertisers like them because of their so-called 'stickiness', in that they keep users interested for long periods of time. A visitor to Facebook will not only look at their own profile but those of their friends.
The social networking craze has exploded in popularity this year. In the UK, Bebo is still the most popular network followed by MySpace and then Facebook. However, Comscore expects Facebook's phenomenal growth to push it to the top slot in the next couple of months.
Labels:
Social networking
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Radiohead's Social Experiment, Trusting People
Going against the norm of music groups, Radiohead went way out of the way distributing their new album, "In Rainbows". It went on sale at 1:30 AM yesterday and Blogs were awash with information. The digital only release of the album went on sale at 7:00 PM or 12:00 midnight in London. But the activation codes took a detour and only arrived at 1:30 AM six and half hours later. But the delay did not diminish the enthusiasm of this major social event. The album is offered at what ever the price the fans are willing to pay.
There are no hard numbers on how many pre-orders were taken or how much fans opted to pony up, but it is assumed about 4 million orders and amount paid to be around $10, the typical cost of a digital album. If the numbers are assumed to be correct, Radiohead would get the same amount of money if they sold 70 or 80 million records. from what I know!. But the difference now is that every cent goes to the band, which is no longer affiliated with a record label, like those sends out RIAA hounds after suspected music downloaders and the timing couldn't be better, just after the recording industry's victory in its first lawsuit against a music down loader. But last I heard that it is being appealed. May be Radiohead should fund the lawsuit, what a sweet revenge it will be, against likes of RIAA.
Labels:
music download,
Social Experiment
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Monday, October 08, 2007
Geemodo: Jamie Thomas appeals RIAA (Capital Records v Jammie Thomas) decision,
Geemodo: Jamie Thomas appeals RIAA (Capital Records v Jammie Thomas) decision,
$220,000 decision to be appealed.
Labels:
geemodo
Saturday, October 06, 2007
My Own Private (MySpace, FaceBook) Social Network
Economic Times of India writes about many Private Social networks popping up everywhere. Starcom MediaVest Group has already launched SMG Connected, a private social network for employees. According to the ET article; 2,060 people, have signed up for their own pages where they can create profiles that outline their jobs, list the brands they admire (Nike, Starbucks), and describe their values by choosing from words such as creativity and humor.
Corporations are being nudged along by employees, and not just the digital-savvy Generation Y that’s now entering the workforce. More 30-plus employees are signing up with Facebook to trade daily updates with colleagues and friends. They’re also building lists of contacts from among the 13 million professionals on LinkedIn. At Ernst & Young alone, 11,000 workers now have Facebook accounts.
That translates into a juicy new sales opportunity for tech companies that sell networking products. Everyone from IBM to Microsoft and on down to startups like intro Net-works , Awareness Inc., and Jive Software, are offering applications and services. One company, SelectMinds, has created social networks for 60 companies, including Lockheed Martin and JPMorgan Chase.
It is hard to explain the impact of social networks in our everyday lives, let alone the corporate desires. Follow the link for In-house social networks boom.
Labels:
social network
Friday, October 05, 2007
Twittracking (Twitter Tracking)
The main attraction of Twitter for me is that you don't have to tied to a computer in order to keep in touch with your friends or contacts. Same token I like to get updates. So any phone that supports IM and Texting (Which phone does not today?) will help you to twitter! You could always could follow friends and your friends could follow you. But what if you wanted to know if someone is posting about social networking or Bookmarking. May be it is a major announcement about FaceBook? What if you are at a conference and want to find out who else is there, to make new contacts so you can add themm to your twiter list!?
According to a post on Twitter Blog, Twitter Blog: Tracking Twitter, now you can!! Hooray!!!
"Today we're releasing a tiny feature to do just that, and we're calling it "Track." If you've set up your phone or IM on Twitter, you can send a command like:
track NYC
When someone (anyone who updates in public) mentions "NYC," you'll get it on your device in real-time. From there you can send "whois username" to find out more about that person, or "follow username" to follow his or her updates. Don't want to receive anymore about NYC? Toggle it off with:
untrack NYC
You can create as many of these as you want, so send "track drinking tea", "track iphone", "track walking san francisco" and you'll receive matches for all. Want to get a list of what you're currently tracking? Send "track" alone (or "stats"). Turn them all off by sending "track off".
Labels:
Social networking
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Microsoft and Zune going Social! And teaches math via squircle
Along with the three new Zune players, including Microsoft's first-ever flash-based model, Microsoft announced a new community site, dubbed Zune Social that it will fire up as beta in November. According to Microsoft, Zune owners can automatically share their current playlists with friends using a Zune-to-Zune Social sync.
That sync will rely on user-made profiles that Microsoft's calling Zune Cards; other Zune owners will be able to view a friend's Card, then play short samples of those tracks and/or buy the tunes at the also-redesigned Zune MarketPlace online store. The sharing concept isn't new, as several services -- notably iLike -- already promote something similar.
And Zune has already made it in to the math section of Wikipedia!
Our old high school math teachers would be proud to see Zune Scene cited in the Wikipedia under a math section. After a source reported to Zune Scene the new Zune navigation button would be a squircle, we've taken some time to contemplate the ultimate question: WHY, OH WHY?
But will it beat iPod and iTunes? Why OOOOOOOH! Why?
Links;
Microsoft Looks to Social Networking for Zune 2.0
Labels:
social network
Why We Need Another Sputnik
Stephen King is in a theater, watching a movie called “Earth vs. the Flying Saucer,” about Martians coming down to Malibu and taking women back to Mars. They stopped the movie in the middle to announce Sputnik. That was the beginning of his dread. The world had been reality versus fantasy, and now the two had come together.
gridtech: We Need another Sputnik
Labels:
education
Monday, October 01, 2007
Top 10 Open source Social networking / bookmarking tools, according to Ajaxflakes.com
I am positively working with some of the tools / software listed by Ajaxflakes. Specially the first three, Pligg, NewsCloud and Drupal. Others either I have come across or plan to check out.
Bunch of sites that I have will have some of these tools embedded or certain modules incorporated. I think they are great tools and I think Ajaxflakes did a good service by bringing them up. Also you can leave your own tools or software if you think that they are worth to be added to the list.
Labels:
Social Platforms
