Archive for: July, 2008
July 29th, 2008
Powering Facebook's proverbial brain: your Identity, Social Graph, and Lifestream data
In Tim O’Reilly’s influential Web 2.0 manifesto, written in late 2005, he wrote: “The race is on to own certain classes of core data: location, identity, calendaring of public events, product identifiers and namespaces. In many cases… the winner will be the company that first reaches critical mass via user aggregation, and turns that aggregated data into a system service.”
While O’Reilly wasn’t talking specifically about Facebook, let alone Facebook Connect which was only announced this May, he could well have been. In Facebook Connect, the company is making a play to own at least two, and possibly three, classes of data: a user’s Identity, Social Graph, and Lifestream. Read the rest of this entry »
July 23rd, 2008
F8: Zuckerberg's keynote takeaways
I’ve just finished watching live stream of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote speech at this year’s developer conference. Here are a few of the major takeaways, some of which will warrant further analysis at a later date (it’s 11pm here in London).
- International growth has been key. Facebook currently has approx. 90 million users, up from 24 million last year — of which 2/3rd are outside North America.
- Translation tool will be opened up to developers. English speaking countries still make up the majority. Facebook has been translating the site at a rapid pace due to crowd-sourcing the work via the site’s translation database tool. First Spanish and French, and now over 60 languages. Application developers will be able to start using Facebook’s translation tool to make their apps available in multiple languages.
- Most social applications will be rewarded. Facebook wants to reward apps that provide the most value, and punish ones that are spammy or viral for viral’s sake. The definition of a good app is one that offers new ways of sharing new kinds of information — as a result these will frequently show up in the news feed (and publishing tool) and therefore be rewarded through exposure that way.
- Decentralizing the social web with Facebook Connect. Social applications that utilize the ’social graph’ should be able to run elsewhere on the web and not just within Facebook. Enter Facebook Connect. Outside applications can utilize Facebook for authentication (log-in, similar to OpenID), access to people’s friends lists, as well as publish shared content back to Facebook via the news stream (as third-party apps currently can within Facebook). A Demo was given by Digg. Any Facebook user can join the “Digg army” without joining the social news site. Stories submitted and voted on will show up in a user’s Facebook feed. Another demo came from SixApart who showed off a plug-in for the blogging platform Moveable Type. In this example, blog commenting is made easier by using Facebook for authentication and to see who else in your ’social graph’ has commented. Once again, content, in this case comments, created elsewhere on the web can now show up in your Facebook news feed. In this respect, Facebook Connect works like the controversial Beacon ad platform — and on that note, Zuckerberg was keen to stress the amount of control users are given over privacy on Facebook Connect. Nobody’s Christmas will be ruined this time round, he says.
See also: A few thoughts on Facebook’s redesign
July 23rd, 2008
Social browser Flock wants to be fashionable
It’s actually a pretty clever strategy by Flock: Build customized versions of the company’s social browser, populated with vertically-targeted content from an array of partners — and in return expose Flock to those sites’ communities.
First up was an Eco Edition, with 10% of search revenue donated to a charity of the community’s choice. And today Flock announced the new Gloss Edition, described as “the world’s first and only fashion and entertainment browser.” The special version of the browser comes pre-populated with news, photos, videos and feeds from more than 35 fashion and entertainment blogs, websites and online communities. Content partners include Popsugar, InStyle.com, Glam.com, ThisNext.com, Ecorazzi.com, DesignerApparel.com and “other leading style and entertainment brands”. Read the rest of this entry »
July 21st, 2008
A few thoughts on Facebook's redesign
Facebook announced the unveiling of the social networking site’s latest redesign today but I refrained from posting until I was able to actually try it out for myself.
After continually hitting refresh on the special preview URL (Facebook is taking a cautious approach and only rolling out the new design to users in phases), a short while ago I finally gained access. Here are a few initial impressions:
- The new design borrows from the iPhone version of Facebook. This is actually a good thing, since the iPhone-optimized version of Facebook, though offering less functionality, really improved on the site’s user interface. In particular, the use of tabs to section off different elements of Facebook - activity stream (the wall including status updates), profile, photos - has been inherited from the iPhone app.
- Facebook wants to be your lifestream. While Facebook has always offered a degree of lifestreaming functionality, this was recently enhanced with the ability to comment on posted items, activity updates and other “wall” items. The redesign brings the lifestream more to the surface, and combined with commenting, feels a lot like the features offered by FriendFeed (see TechCrunch). Similar to the way Facebook offers Twitter functionality (status updates) for “the rest of us”, the site may fill the void that FriendFeed is targeting for more mainstream users who don’t want to sign up to separate lifestreaming service.
- A much greater emphasis on publishing content. The redesign, in conjunction with the lifestream (see above), puts Facebook’s content creation tools to the top of the agenda. This is important to new users who are now much more likely to “get it” in terms of a large element of the site’s utility - sharing news, links, photos and updates etc - as well engaging existing users who will now spend more time on the site. More publishing of content means more consumption too, and so on.
- Third-party apps by default are almost hidden. Third-party apps? What third-party apps? Although I don’t have many installed, they are now all hidden in their own “Boxes” tab, rather than being on my main profile by default. This may encourage developers to create apps that are less gimmicky or viral for viral’s sake, and are either more productive or more engaging in a fun and entertaining way. In other words, apps that are appealing enough to get me to click on my “Boxes” tab or create a dedicated tab for the app itself.
July 17th, 2008
Will Twitter tip in the UK first?
If Twitter is to reach a tipping point, it will likely happen in the UK first not the U.S., according to web analytics firm Hitwise.
UK Internet visits to Twitter’s website have increased by 631% over the last 12 months, with 485% of that growth coming this year. Furthermore, Twitter is more popular, in proportion to population, with Brits than Americans. “Last week the site’s share of UK Internet visits was 70% higher its share of visits in America”, notes Hitwise’s Robin Goad.
This comes as quite a surprise to me. I live in the UK, and have yet to come across a non-techie friend who has even heard of Twitter, let alone one who uses the service regularly. As an increasingly avid user (you can follow me on Twitter here), on a few occasions I’ve attempted to explain the phenomena to those outside of the Twitterverse, usually to a blank stare or two. This is in complete contrast to Facebook which clearly tipped (without my help) in the UK sometime last year
However, Hitwise provides some interesting data points that fly in the face of my own experience. Read the rest of this entry »
July 15th, 2008
Confirmed: Twitter buys Summize
As was rumored last week, Twitter has acquired Summize, best known for its Twitter search engine and whose broader mission “is to search & discover the topics and attitudes expressed within online conversations.” The terms of the deal remain undisclosed.
In a blog post, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone explains the thinking behind the acquisition, revealing that his company had “already fallen in love with both the technology and the team” behind Summize. On that note, Summize’s Twitter search engine has already been formally integrated into Twitter’s site, with Summize’s API to follow. With regards to personnel, “all five Summize engineers will move to San Francisco, CA and take jobs at Twitter, Inc.”, writes Stone. Read the rest of this entry »
July 14th, 2008
Last.fm app debuts on iPhone and iPod touch (video)
On the opening day of the App Store, a number of competing music streaming applications were available, including major brands AOL Radio and Virgin, along with a favorite of mine, Pandora. However, one notable admission on day one was the music social network and ad-supported streaming music service, Last.fm. That all changed today.
Developed by Last.fm’s Sam Steele, the new free app for iPhone and iPod touch brings much of the site’s core functionality to Apple’s mobile platform. Read the rest of this entry »
July 10th, 2008
Gallery: 25+ social networking apps for iPhone and iPod touch
At launch, there are over 25 social networking applications available for iPhone and iPod touch on the official App Store.
Bit hitters such as MySpace and Facebook are included, along with an AIM Instant Messenging client, as well as dedicated mobile social networks such as Loopt and Zintin. There is of course more than one Twitter client too!
CLICK HERE to visit the image gallery I created, which includes many screen shots and official application descriptions.
July 10th, 2008
Official: MySpace app for iPhone (screenshots)
With the App Store for iPhone scheduled to role out later today, a newspaper report confirms the rumored official MySpace client is true.
Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace, told USA Today that the new native app makes accessing and updating MySpace a lot faster than browser-based mobile versions. “You do more of the work on the device than over the Net, so the load time should be quicker,” he says.
After a bit of digging around on the iTunes Store I located the iPhone MySpace application for download, along with the app’s description. Below are details including screenshots. Read the rest of this entry »
July 8th, 2008
British soccer player falls foul of Facebook's privacy options
This one could happen to almost anybody. A young British soccer player appears to have inadvertently told millions of Facebook users about a pending transfer to a rival club.
Ashley-Paul Robinson, an 18-year-old winger who is currently signed to Crystal Palace, announced to his 194 Facebook “friends” that he was having a trial with London rivals and English Premier League club Fulham.
Or at least that’s what he thought.
Instead, “the message could be seen by all 2.7m members of the site who have joined its London section, unwittingly breaking the story to supporters of both clubs and to anyone else in the capital interested in reading candid transfer gossip”, reports The Guardian newspaper. Read the rest of this entry »
Steve O'Hear is a London-based consultant, educator, and journalist, focussing on the Internet and all aspects of digital technology. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads
- Gartner Webcast: Data Loss Prevention, Compliance Trends Trend Micro The regulatory environment is changing. Find out what companies need to ... Download Now
- New College Durham Attracts New Students With Robust IT Infrastructure Delivered With the Help of Dell Professional Services Dell When New College Durham received funding from the Learning Skills Council ... Download Now
- Live Webcast: Activate Today! Realize ROI with Intel(r) vPro Technology and Symantec Altiris Intel Join the team from the Intel vPro Expert Center for an informative Webcast ... Download Now
Recent Entries
- Goodbye ZDNet
- MySpace comes to Blackberry
- Microsoft gives Windows Live a social networking makeover
- Is Facebook the mobile web’s killer app?
- Careful what you say on Twitter - delete option removed? (updated)
Blogs From Our Sponsors
Top Rated
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Keep Up With The Latest In Document Management with The DocuMentor.
-
Doc delivers the scoop on today's enterprise content management, printer maintenance, and all other issues related to document management. It's the DocuMentor Blog.
- Learn more >>
- Reduce risk. Reduce complexity. Increase reliability.
-
A simplified IT environment isn't just less complex. It's also more reliable. Standardize on a single Linux platform with SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, and get the world's most interoperable Linux
- Learn more >>
- Learn more about tools to grow your business
-
The Business Essentials Guide provides you useful tools and templates to help grow your business and save you time with automated shipping solutions.
- Save time with the UPS Business Essentials Guide
- The more you simplify, the more you save
-
When you transition from your existing Red Hat environment to SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, you can recognize dramatic cost savings, perhaps as much 50%
- Learn more >>
Archives
ZDNet Blogs
- All About Microsoft
- The Apple Core
- Between the Lines
- BriefingsDirect
- Collaboration 2.0
- Dev Connection
- Digital Cameras & Camcorders
- Ed Bott's Microsoft Report
- Emerging Tech
- Enterprise Web 2.0
- Forrester Research
- Googling Google
- GreenTech Pastures
- Hardware 2.0
- Home Theater
- iGeneration
- Irregular Enterprise
- IT Project Failures
- Laptops & Desktops
- Lawgarithms
- Linux and Open Source
- Managing L'unix
- The Mobile Gadgeteer
- On Sustainability
- Rational Rants
- The Semantic Web
- Service Oriented
- Smartphones and Cell Phones
- Social Business
- Social CRM: The Conversation
- Software & Services Safari
- Software as Services
- Storage Bits
- Team Think
- Tech Broiler
- Technology and the Global Supply Chain
- Tom Foremski: IMHO
- The ToyBox
- Virtually Speaking
- The Web Life
- ZDNet Education
- ZDNet Government
- ZDNet Healthcare
- Zero Day
White Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads
- Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
- Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
- VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the costs of maintain ever larger data centers?or building ... Download Now
Meet Doc
-
-
Here to help you with your Document Management Needs
- Check out Doc’s Blog on ZDNet
- Help your company, help the earth I want to share with you the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator, which allows you to gauge your organization's environmental impact.
- Which is Greener: Paper or Digital? The Answer May Surprise You Anything we can do to reduce paper consumption is good. But what about the impact of digital waste?
-
Produced by
ZDNet and -
