social

Google jumps into the social web with Buzz; goes up against Facebook, Twitter, et al.

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Networking & Internet / By /

Google rolled out its latest product, called Google Buzz [announcement], this time in the social networking arena. Buzz is built into Gmail and has tight integration with your e-mail inbox.

You can share links, photos and videos directly from within Gmail and it uses your existing set of Gmail contacts. You can see what your friends are sharing and Buzz also recommends items based on your activity.

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Loopt comes to Sprint Instinct phones

Phones / By /

Loopt, the social location mapping app, has now been ported to Sprint Instinct phones. So if you’ve got one of those phones, you can find out what your friends are up to when they’re near by.

Loopt is already available for over 100 different devices including (some) Blackberries, Android phones, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Loopt is available for free on the Sprint Instinct family of phones by texting “GET” to 56678 (LOOPT).

Facebook revamping privacy controls

Miscellaneous, Networking & Internet / By /

If you read this blog, there’s a pretty good chance you’re also a Facebook user. If so, and you care about your privacy, you should probably set aside some time to take a look at Facebook’s new privacy controls when they are rolled out to you.

Facebook is in the midst of reorganizing the controls that users have to their privacy settings. Currently, those settings can be found on multiple pages.

In a recent press conference call, Facebook also announced that they will be ditching regional networks as only half of the members even joined them or joined the ‘wrong’ ones.

GfG’s Article Recap for Week Ending June 19, 2009

Computers, Gizmo of the Day, Home Automation, Networking & Internet, Portable, Software / By /

Have Zune begun to copy Apple’s stylish music players with the upcoming Zune HD? We’ve got your weekly fill of format wars – this time focused on home automation and could we really be that much closer to wearable remote controls?

Father’s days coming up and, being such a caring bunch, we came up with a a really great idea! Another idea may be to get him an analog to digital converter so that he can preserve those old video and music sitting in the attic.

Are you aniPhone/iPod Touch user and also a networking maniac? Take a look at Zensify.

The week was capped off by the ever-so-geeky Mac vs. PC poster and a look at the current progress of holographic optics – manufacturer SBG has a very cool prototype of a full-color, heads-up wearable display.

Snag your own Facebook username Fri night

Networking & Internet / By /

Starting at 12:01AM Eastern Time (9:01PM for us West Coasters), Facebook is opening up the floodgates to let people choose their own usernames. First come, first get.

So now you can get straight to your FB page with a URL of http://www.facebook.com/johnsmith for example. If you’ve got an accent in your name (or want one), then you’re out of luck for now.

Choose well! If you read the FAQ, you’ll see that you can’t edit it, change it or transfer it once you choose your username.

Facebook valued at $10 billion?

Networking & Internet / By /

Facebook’s public valuation is of course a moving target, given that they’re a private company, but a recent investment of US$200 million by a Russian investor for a 1.96% stake in the company puts the valuation at roughly $10 billion. Not too shabby. 2 years ago, Microsoft invested $240 million and attached a valuation of $15 billion.

What’s important here is the order of magnitude of the valuation. Facebook is of course positioning themselves for a much better valuation by continuing to grow their membership base to the point where they become more like an 8000 lb gorilla in the social networking arena and can then leverage that power to grow their capabilities beyond their current offerings.

Facebook attracts an older crowd too

Networking & Internet / By /

Web 2.0 is coming home to older users as Facebook’s demographics show that for example, women over 55 are one of its fastest growing groups.

Not surprising as Facebook has become the solution to a problem people didn’t really think they had – how to keep in touch with friends and family without expending a great deal of time and money.

200 million users currently and growing at a tremendous pace, it also wouldn’t surprise me to see FB get targeted by governments for various reasons – reigning in/keeping an eye on their citizens, law enforcement, propaganda, information dispersal, etc.

Socially Speaking

Networking & Internet / By /

Two new services have been launched recently you may find interesting. The first is 123people, a real time people search tool, you can read more about in Who Are You? Find Out With 123people. If you are trying to find a friend, or simply want to find out what information exists about you then this a great place to start.

The next is Tagggit, the location-centric social network which allows you to tag places, search for tagged places, rate them and share them with your friends and community. Read more about it in Bring Your Social Network Into The Real World With Tagggit. One of the great new features of Tagggit is a mobile application allowing the tagging and searching of tags directly from your mobile device.

Don’t forget – we recently launched the new Befriend A Monk page on Monk And His I.T. Junk technology cartoon – pop on over and say hello.

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