Flutter
Hilarious video.
If Tweets are too long for you, check out Flutter.
Comments April 6th, 2009
Around the world via Twitter
I love telling stories of how Twitter has come to my aid. Whether it’s needing a restaurant recommendation or fixing an Excel problem, Twitter users are always there to help. It’s phenomenal.
Which is why I love this story: Man completes world trip relying on Twitter friends
It’s a perfect example of how Twitter’s always there for you.
Paul Smith wanted to travel from his home in England to New Zealand in 30 days. Although he didn’t quite make it in time, it’s a pretty cool experiment. He vowed only to accept travel and accomodations from people who used Twitter, according to the article. Incredible.
You can read more about his story here: twitter.com/twitchhiker
April 2nd, 2009
Embracing the power user
Unlike Digg, Fark embraces the power user
Digg’s opinion of power users is quite obvious. A user’s activity on the site is encouraged until he participates (by Digging or commenting) too much — and then the amount of activity allowed is restricted.
So, it’s quite interesting to hear that Fark takes a completely different approach to its power users. The site embraces them. According to the article, “about ‘20 to 30 people submit about 80% of the stories’ you’ll see on the Fark front page.”
That’s huge. That means Fark trusts those users.
But is it unfair? Does a limited number of power submitters also mean limited content? Or is Fark simply acknowledging that certain people have better taste?
You decide.
April 1st, 2009
@Reply updates
OK, so I know I’m super slow on this bit of news, but I can’t ignore it.
The Twitter @replies tab is now renamed to @<your username>. Why? Because it no longer includes just replies – it includes mentions too.
This is fantastic as I always have a search.twitter.com window open with my handle searched during the day. I did this because I realized I was missing dozens of mentions. (I don’t use Tweetdeck as it doesn’t keep track of all of my friends.) But now, @acmaurer takes care of that. Great job, Twitter.
However, I don’t think I’m going to say good-bye to search.twitter.com quite yet. I love the real-time updates, and I love how it notifies me in the tab every time there’s a new search result. So, until Twitter’s @acmaurer can notify me when I receive a public message or mention, I think I’ll stick with my method.
Comments March 31st, 2009
Earth Hour 2009
Earth Hour in and of itself is a cool concept – and somehow the Boston Globe made it even cooler. How? The Globe brought Earth Hour to life.
Check out their Earth Hour photos — you can click each one (starting with #2) and watch the lights fade on and off.
Well done, Boston Globe. Well done.
March 31st, 2009
Fark updates
Looks like Fark’s joining the social network bandwagon by adding some new features including friend lists, private messaging and e-mail prompts.
According to the post, TotalFarkers were up in arms at the news, claiming they didn’t want Fark to become Facebook. However, founder Drew Curtis took it in stride and said if members don’t want to use the new features – they don’t have to – and on top of that, they’d probably never notice them.
Why the change? Curtis makes it sound like Fark’s just getting hip to the times by offering features new members may expect.
I, for one, am excited to see what they come up with.
March 27th, 2009
Is social media an industry?
It was an interesting discussion I came across today. In the comments, many argued that yes, it is an industry, and voiced some valid reasons. However, I had trouble agreeing with them, this until I came across one particular comment:
“Social media are a vehicle for other industries, such as advertising, journalism, and software development,” – aschrock
I thought that was an interesting point. Social media consist of the tools and best practices to improve and impact industries. It’s a method to share and discuss whatever’s on your mind — or on the Web. It has the possibility to save an industry, but I’m still not convinced it IS an industry.
Which leads me to another point. The concept of social media may always be around in some form – because it’s not the sites we use – but the techniques, ideas and skills that allow us to be successful.
I think another comment said it well: “Being able to use Twitter is not a ‘skill.’ Knowing how to communicate with an audience or individual *is,*” –Aaron Richard.
So no matter what the next hot site is – since yes, Twitter may one day become a site of the past, the skills we’re learning now are invaluable and can be applied to the next site – or the next initiative we take on.
Some food for thought.
Agree? Disagree?
Comments March 26th, 2009
Facebook’s evolution continues
Facebook vows ‘improvements’ after user backlash
Same old story here. Every time a site changes you’re going to have three responses – those who like the new design, those who hate it (and will be most vocal) and those who frankly don’t care – so long as they can do what they need on the site.
I won’t lie – I was super frustrated when Facebook made some initial changes – mostly because a few things seemed to be missing at first. On top of that, I was looking forward to seeing Fan Page updates in the news feed, which wasn’t happening. But then I realized something key: Facebook was making major changes, and I just had to be patient. Every day I’m seeing something new on Facebook – links appear, new features start to work, etc.; so it’s just going to take time.
And it’s going to take even more time as Facebook officials go through thousands and thousands of users’ e-mails to learn what works well in the redesign and what they may need to change (back).
So for one, I’m looking forward to the next few months on Facebook. Who knows if it’ll ever be perfect, but at least the site’s giving perfection shot.
March 26th, 2009
The return of the Top Users
At one time, Digg featured a list of its top users.
According to Digg founder Kevin Rose, it was meant to encourage and recognize users who were submitting quality content to the site.
It was also one way for users to find and connect with one another. But after a few years Digg removed the list from the site (lists accessing Digg’s API can still be found online), claiming there were other ways to find friends with similar interests.
Needless to say, other Digg Top Users lists are still quite popular. Why? Because power users who spend a great deal of time on the site are competitive. Part of their success comes from other users recognizing their success. (Why else would they submit so much content? -Other than for money or other personal gain, that is.) These competitive users want to become Top Users – for public awareness and personal satisfaction.
And now it looks like the topic-specific social news site Tip’d is doing the same.
The financial social news site now features its own Top Users list. Since several top Digg users helped create Tip’d, I can only imagine the top users list was created for similar reasons. So, I’m interested to see how this plays out — if the list one day retires like Digg’s, or if it’s never an issue.
March 25th, 2009
The ultimate Twitter guide
Lists of Twitter tools like those below are great, but pale in comparison to this:
The Ultimate Guide To Everything Twitter
It’s a fantastic site – it explains everything including what Twitter is, how to set up an account, how to get followers, the site’s history, a Twitter glossary, links to Twitter in the news, cool Twitter-related sites, most popular users and much more.
But if that’s a bit much for you – check out these other lists of Twitter tools:
Twitter Application List You’ll Ever Need
Comments March 24th, 2009
