Social Techcast [BETA]

It's official: Facebook hits half a billion users

Well lookie here. Facebook now has a half a billion (not a typo) users. 

For those of you not deeply interwoven into the intricate world of social media, that's a lot of people.

In one of the shorter blog posts to escape the company, Founder Zuckerberg gets all sentimental about things (see video below) and announces the launch of a new service, Facebook Stories which is designed to collect happy things people say about Facebook.

Tender. I wonder if he feels the same way about these people's stories about Facebook?

If I had to wager a guess, I'd say probably not. Here's hoping Diaspora is all it's cracked up to be.

 

RIP Microsoft KIN, we hardly knew ye

After just weeks of being on the market, Microsoft is killing its new, doesn't-quite-fit-anywhere device. 

It's kinda sad, really.

But, if we're honest about it, the KIN platform doesn't really fit anywhere. With Windows Phone 7 due to come out later this year, KIN became the red-headed stepchild of their mobile efforts. Did they expect developers to spend their time creating apps for the KIN (teeny tiny potential market) when they can't even get them to develop for their main mobile operating system (which has a slightly larger teeny tiny market)?

KIN had a few cool things going for it. The UI, while not amazing, was new, different and interesting. Kudos to Microsoft for rethinking how a phone should work instead of just reskinning WinMo 6.5.

CAUSE OF DEATH

Personally, what I think really killed it was Verizon's insistence that KIN users have a $30/mo data plan. That means the least you're going to be forking over each month would be $70 (which doesn't include text messaging). That's a chunk of change especially considering the target market of folks in their teens and early 20s.

LEGACY

All (may not) be lost. KIN had a pretty killer feature called KIN Studio. Check out the video below. Hopefully it lives on in some other form.

Really, this should be the kind of thing MobileMe does. 

Facebook's "simpler" privacy settings roll out - takes 1,000+ words to explain

Oh, Zuckerberg. You said you heard us. You said you’d change. You said, “There needs to be a simpler way to control your information. …We will add privacy controls that are much simpler to use.”

Today those changes began to roll out and, at first glance, “simpler to use” didn’t quite make the final cut. Here’s a screenshot (two, actually – even rotating my 24″ monitor sideways couldn’t fit the entire 1,091 word instruction manual into one shot). Click for larger images:

1. I don’t know how anyone defines something as “simpler to use” when they have to take almost 1,100 words to describe how to use it. How many people does he think will take the time to read, comprehend and act on all that?

2. Videos. They’re all the rage online these days. Zuckerberg, try making one the next time you want to explain how “simple” something is to use. It’ll come across better. (Edit: there’s a video here which talks about the changes. It’s not a how-to though, just a lot of PR speak…posted after a 1,189 word blog post on the topic.)

Aside from the length of the document, some of the language is still a bit concerning.

“This section controls what information is shared with websites and applications, including search engines (applications and websites you and your friends use already have access to your name, profile picture, gender, networks, friend list, user ID, and any other information you share with everyone). You can view your applications, remove any you don’t want to use, or turn off platform completely.” (Emphasis added.)

So when my friend uses an application, that application still has access to all my information? Yes, I think that’s what I’m reading.

On the other hand, there are a lot of good things in this update as well. For example, once you click your master switch to only make your content available to your friends (for example), it retroactively goes back and changes everything as well as keeps that setting moving forward.

I’ll dive in, tweak some stuff and let you know if I find anything else noteworthy.

What do you think of the new changes? Are you concerned about your privacy on Facebook? Let me know in the comments.

 

Google TV launches [VIDEO]

Not sure I want a set-top box, and the chances of this shipping on something like the Xbox 360 (HA!) or TiVo.

What are your thoughts?

A discussion on the future of news

An interesting discussion on the future of newspapers (and news) involving one of my favorite bloggers, Jeff Jarvis. Worth the time if you have 26 minutes to spare.

I agree that newspapers probably won't be around (much) in five years, but I think news will be thriving; format is largely irrelevant. The only reason newspapers got as huge as they did was because they were essentially a monopoly: they controlled the presses so they controlled the information. The Internet has changed that. And I believe it's a good thing.

The one thing newspapers (as an institution) were (are) good for is preserving journalism. There's a difference between newspapers and journalism. One well-deserved criticism of blogging and other online activities is that often the quality suffers (or is flat-out inaccurate) because it isn't held up against journalistic standards.

The transition as news as an institution dissolves into news as an entrepreneurial venture and community effort will be an interesting one to watch. What do you think the future of news will be?

Trouble coming up with a witty/original status? Generatus can help.

I've consulted with a fair number of individuals and businesses about social media. More often than not, they ask about content creation. It is, after all, the hardest thing about social media. And with status updates like, "These chips are good," and "Now laying on my stomach," universally shunned in the social sphere, the pressure is on to come up with something witty/original to share on Facebook or Twitter.

Enter Generatus.

Generatus is a free way to generate status updates which, hopefully, won't cause your friends/followers to organize a mass exodus. Just enter your name and select your gender. Generatus then creates status updates until you find one you like. You can also add tags to stick with something you're interested in (movie quotes, insults, self-deprecation, etc.).

Whimsical. Timely. Somewhat useful. This has the potential to be viral.

Have you checked it out? What do you think?

Libraries and the social media opportunity

There are a number of atom services (dealing with tangible things as opposed to digital services which are decidedly less tangible) which have hooks into your social media profiles. You can have your Facebook profile automatically updated when you rate a movie on Netflix , designate a credit card to automatically tweet your purchases (note: not good for around the holidays) and even a scale which will broadcast your weight to all your Twitter followers.

Seems like libraries could do something similar to promote their services.

Tell My Friends

I just reserved Pride & Prejudice & Zombies ("The classic regency romance - now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem!") at my local library (seen above). As I reserved it, it occurred to me that I'd love to have the option of linking my library account to my social networks.

Anytime I reserve a book, check out a book, return a book or want to comment on a book (What? There's no comment system on the library website?) it could update my status for me. My friends could weigh in on my choices, make recommendations and, perhaps most importantly, be exposed to new titles and new reasons to visit the library.

Build a Community

Commenting on titles would be a huge way to build a community around the library (pardon the pun). By including a rating system the library could harness a tremendous amount of data to use in the promotion of its books - show the most checked out books, the highest rated books, the most reserved books, etc. It gives people a starting point when looking for a good read.

Monetization Opportunity

Of course, if everyone is looking at the Top 10 Most Requested Books there won't be enough copies to go around - waiting lists can be weeks if not months long for certain titles. Don't want to wait? Buy the book through the library's Amazon affiliate link and the library gets a small cut of the sale price, generating revenue.

Plus, when you're done with the book you can donate it to the library and either have any late fees erased or get to cut in line for the next hot title.

Or, if you pay a small monthly fee, you can have priority access to the Top Ten Titles while those who are more patient can save their money and wait until everyone else has had their turn.

But none of this is possible unless you enable patrons to give you the information you need to better serve them.

What do you think? Viable? Stupid? Would you do it? Sound off in the comments.

Image courtesy of here.

Google launches Places - goes after the local long tail

According to TechCrunch, 1 in 5 searches is location related. Here's one way Google is responding:

Useful tool for businesses? Absolutely. But as was mentioned in the TechCrunch article, it lacks any kind of social integration. That being said, it's pretty amazing at what lengths Google is going to in order to nail local search: custom QR codes, real-time updates, coupons, etc.

Local is huge. Especially if you're local everywhere.

 

Somebody is getting fired. And sued into oblivion.

The internet is a-buzzin'. The folks over at Gizmodo have gotten their hands on what is apparently a pre-release version (or prototype) of Apple's yet-to-be-acknowledged-to-exist iPhone 4. Head on over to their site for a revelry of high res photos, videos and commentary.

Most folks are thinking this is the real deal. The fit and finish of it is pretty solid and it even shows up as an iPhone when you plug it into a computer.

I must say I like the design. I've never been a fan of the curved 3G/S but loved my original iPhone because of the "slab" design. Glad they're going back to it. Not sure about the separate buttons for volume control or the random lines in the sides near the earphone jack and micro sim card slot (which now appears on the side of the phone instead of the top).

Oh, and it's supposed to be TWICE the resolution of the 3GS. Not too shabby.

Overall? Win.

What do you think? Is it real? Do you like it?

Virgin America case study in promoted tweets

 

Mashable has a great post about how Virgin America has been using promoted tweets. Apparently Twitter approached Virgin with the idea. Then Virgin did something interesting: they buried their promotions.

People have to really want the promotion to find the tweet,” said Porter Gale, Virgin America's VP of Marketing. According to the article, you have to search for specific keywords in order to find them. This is effective on a number of levels:

1. You aren't spamming your customers

2. You aren't spamming everyone else on Twitter

3. The people who get your offer are the ones who really want it.

Well played, Virgin. Be sure to click through for the rest of the details.