It’s a pain in the ass if you’ve got multiple social network accounts to access, but i’ve just installed Flock which is a new social web browser which is like Firefox on steroids!
It’s based on the Firefox platform so it works like a dream, but the cool stuff is in the detail; like i can add my accounts from youtube, flickr and del.icio.us and access them from my opening page. Firefox extensions also work with Flock.
You can also integrate your own blog so whatever you find, just right click on it and blog it immediately in a pop up window - that’s how i’m doing this - brilliant! I’m not easily impressed but i’m switching to this as my default browser- check it out.
All good things must come to an end! I’ve enjoyed the fast streaming of video content on YouTube for the past couple of years and it’s ad-free nature, but that all ends today.
Instead of a pre-roll (which everyone hates) Google have decided on an overlay that appears 15 seconds into the video and animates for up to 10 seconds then disappears. The overlay is clickable to display the ad.
These are being rolled out selectively across the network but it won’t be long before there’s a full take up. Ad’s will cost $20 CPM. Great? Not really…
The biggest problem I have with this is that they are profiting directly from user’s content, surely a portion of the ad revenue should go back to the user whose video it is overlayed on? Additionally the user should be able to have some say over the ad content that is allowed to appear on their material.
You’ve heard of Virgil Tracy, meet Virgil Griffith! Virgil is a student of CalTech that has caused uproar by developing a Wikipedia Scanner that reveals who edits Wiki articles, via a system where it scans the I.P address and cross-references it with the I.P. directory.
Brilliant! and there’s been some real shockers in there, for example:
- Microsoft tried to cover up the XBOX 360 failure rate;
- Apple edit Microsoft entries, adding more negative comments about its rival;
- The Vatican edits Irish Catholic politician Gerry Adams page;
- In the 9/11 Wikipedia article, the NRA added that “Iraq was involved in 9/11″;
- Walmart changes negative paragraphs of underpaid workforce.
Classic! There’s a full list of interesting edits at Wired, but you should really try the Wikipedia Scanner for yourself, it gives a whole new insight into what companies really think.
The popularity contest that is the facebook phenomenon is opening easy doors for identity theft by Fraudsters.
Sophos, the IT Security company, undertook an exercise to see how willing facebook users are to give away personal information. Their research showed over 40% of Facebook users will divulge personal information - such as email address, date of birth and phone number - to a complete stranger.
People have an innate ability to always destroy things.
Wars, terrorism and the environment to name a few examples. This is the world we live in and we have to deal with this.
With the development of online social networks and communities, it has created a space to be more anonymous, so previously socially unacceptable actions now don’t seem that bad to the people involved. They can feel like they are not governed by the same rules and laws, this can also create an anarchic society, reminding me of Mad Max. Additionally, as the space has become more dominant with huge amounts of users and reach within the communities, it has also fuelled the egos of those involved, believing they have power and control to influence many. And they do.
This week has seen a big uproar with advertisers pulling their ads on Facebook because they are being shown against the BNP group. This is only getting airtime due to Facebook’s current popularity.
Showing on inappropriate sites has been a problem in traditional online display advertising that most advertisers don’t even realise. Due to display advertising blind networks you could be shown against any kind of site out there and the agency doesn’t even tell you where your ad is appearing. What a joke. However companies have been happy to do this for years, so don’t come crying now when you’re ad is shown up against a subject on a social channel like Facebook that you don’t agree with! I notice there has also been no comment from any of the media buyers on this - better to keep quiet or they might rumble the whole lot eh guys…
Also the BBC are reporting on ‘pro-ana’ (anorexia) groups on Facebook and Myspace commenting that they are now getting more reach due to the community base. This may be true but they don’t mention the community backlash this has been evoked with many ‘anti-ana’ groups being setup.
This brings me back to my earlier comment about the anarchistic nature of people. At some point, as it reaches critical mass, a social community without strict laws and policing will inevitably self-implode.
The paradise that was initially started with good intentions becomes a dark, harsh reality. This is also seen in the recent events on Second Life where corporate buildings have been bombed by the community, and avatars leaving the American Apparel store have been gunned down. This has led to a mass exodus of businesses leaving their space on second life including the closure of the American Apparel store.
Stricter rules and policing are needed by the social media sites involved such as Facebook and Myspace to control this. But this is very tricky. Myspace say they are working with anorexia help organisations to advise on the best approach to take. However the biggest problem is trying to censor or ban things such as BNP and ‘pro-ana’ appearing in these networks. Neither are illegal, and banning them just creates more awareness and goes against the whole internet ethos of freedom of information. Welcome to the real world…
You will have seen the Facebook app where you can have you’re own zombie and infect others ( hmmm a bit pointless if you ask me, mind you i never had a tamagotchi), This spawned more copycats including the Vampire app and now the Werewolf app.
How did i know this? because one of my Facebook pals; another Justin Hayward who lives in Wales (oh yes i’m collecting…) bit me as a werewolf and turned me into a pup then invited me into the Werewolfs vs Vampires group.
Now i’m all up for a bit of fun (Lost Boys style) but then thought how much work i would have to put in to create my werewolf army, as i’m a lazy social networker you see. But there was a gem shining like a full moon in all of this. ooooowwwwwwww Bingo!
On the join page there was an ad and a trailer for a new movie called Skinwalkers, and guess what; it’s a werewolf movie.
Now, is this the first nice promotional tie in for Facebook to generate interest? i hope so, as it’s nicely done and has obviously made me aware of the movie. Sweet. If not i’m very disappointed and will unleash the hounds of hell….
Woohoo! The new Simpsons Movie is out on the 27th July and it should be brilliant. It’s had great reviews and with a story that involves Homer falling in love with a pig, what more can you ask for?
Your own springfield character thats what!
The website to accompany the film www.simpsonsmovie.com lets you create your own ’simpsonified’ persona of yourself and amazingly as you can see from my efforts here, this is actually a pretty good representation of me.
You can also then use your character to roam around springfield, however its not as cool as i originally thought which got me excited at the prospect of a second life Simpsons-style with MMG and interaction with other users. D’oh!
It’s increasingly difficult to grab peoples attention when trying to create awareness for your story/insights/ramblings through social media channels such as digg and technorati. However, this is a case of old school media coming full circle, as this has been the domain of the tabloid hacks who have been dreaming up attention grabbing headlines for years.
Excessive over-use of the words ‘Shocker’ and ‘Exclusive’ have tended to kill certain stories somewhat when trying to distinguish as the paper of choice on the news stand but at least it has given way to more intelligent headlines like this classic from digg i saw the other day, which also stood out as being bang on topic with all the recent Live Earth action:
Brilliant!
However, is it just about the title? Not really. That’s just the hook. The additional backup needs to be there in the form of a trusted source to show that its actually reliable.
Take for instance the headline you can see here from the Sunday Sport, amazing news but the source is not reliable, just as the National Enquirer is viewed in the US. However if it was in The Times…. You get the point.
Making your way successfully in the social media space is a long and dangerous journey which should be carefully planned; think about it, would you rather be viewed like the Sunday Sport or The Times?
Oh, and that “An Inconvenient Youth” headline story? Is from Reuters……. Shocker!
In the spirit of one of my favourite comedians, Dave Gorman who undertook a search for his namesakes with “Are you Dave Gorman?”, i’ve decided to embark on my own search for Justin Hayward’s.
Dave’s website pointed me in the direction of www.yournotme.com which searches the UK registrar database to tell you how many people with the same name as you live in the UK. Brilliant eh? Give it a go. I did and i found there were only 35 Justin Hayward’s in the UK. Now that’s a very small and exclusive group i think! I only know of one other which is the more famous of the two of us, the Moody Blues Lead Singer, who crooned out gems such as Nights in White Satin and Forever Autumn. Now i can’t claim any of that kind of talent or fame, but it would be great if he joined the Justin Hayward club. After all, hes already got gold membership!
The eagle-eyed of you will have seen my post on the right hand column, which i will keep there as a reminder for any prospective members.
So come on, what are you waiting for? If you’re reading this and you are a Justin Hayward ( and i need proof!) get in touch with me, Justin Hayward, through the contact page and i’ll add a new club section and some exciting graphs to the website.
Who says social media doesn’t work? The YouTube video below is one of the funniest i’ve ever seen, and i’m not alone. In one year this clip has been viewed 51,317,418 times, received 42,537 comments and has been added to peoples favourite lists 214,491 times!
With this kind of attention of having the number 1 rated movie on YouTube, it’s made a star out of the guy in the video, Judson Laipply who is an inspirational comedian and motivational speaker.
He now has his own wiki page and appears top of Google for his YouTube video above the natural results ( i see what you did there Google). The only kicker is that he’s given away all my dance moves in one foul swoop! Mind you if that many people like to see those kind of moves, there’s still hope left for me….
It’s a pain in the ass if you’ve got multiple social network accounts to access, but i’ve just installed Flock which is a new social web browser which is like Firefox on steroids!
All good things must come to an end! I’ve enjoyed the fast streaming of video content on YouTube for the past couple of years and it’s ad-free nature, but that all ends today. 
You’ve heard of Virgil Tracy, meet 
The popularity contest that is the facebook phenomenon is opening easy doors for identity theft by Fraudsters. 
People have an innate ability to always destroy things.
Also the BBC are reporting on ‘pro-ana’ (anorexia) groups on Facebook and Myspace commenting that they are now getting more reach due to the community base. This may be true but they don’t mention the community backlash this has been evoked with many ‘anti-ana’ groups being setup.
You will have seen the Facebook app where you can have you’re own zombie and infect others ( hmmm a bit pointless if you ask me, mind you i never had a tamagotchi), This spawned more copycats including the Vampire app and now the Werewolf app.
Woohoo! The new Simpsons Movie is out on the 27th July and it should be brilliant. It’s had great reviews and with a story that involves Homer falling in love with a pig, what more can you ask for?
