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Thanks to my buddy and tech guru extraordinaire Randall Bennett, I received an invite to Google+ yesterday. It hasn’t been 24 hours since I first logged into the service but I thought I’d share some of my thoughts so far. It’s clear that Google has created an interesting suite of tools and is trying to take advantage of how people rely on their social networks to discover new content. These days, you may rely on your social networks to find the latest news or funny cat videos rather than using search. Google+ clearly is an attempt to move with the times.
Gather ’round, my friends, and let me tell you a tale of a giant that was brought to its knees. It’s a cautionary tale with a simple moral: Never assume you’ll always be number one. Chris and I have blogged about Myspace before. Back in February, I blogged about News Corp possibly selling the company off to whomever would be willing to take it. Chris blogged about massive layoffs at Myspace. Both of these posts came after Myspace’s attempt at a relaunch that saw the site refocus on becoming an entertainment portal. And now the news is that News Corp has indeed sold off the company at a huge loss.
Sure, it’s great to see the touristy sights — Times Square, Golden Gate Bridge, Eiffel Tower, etc., etc. But cities tend to shine brightest when a local leads you to the dive eateries, parks and markets you never would have known existed without his or her guidance.
Not everybody has friends in every city around the world, though. So, if you want that enthusiastic-insider experience in a city like Lyon, France, or Belgrade, Serbia, for example, where you don’t know a soul, here are some options for you …
A few weeks ago, there was a TechStuff episode about social media faux pas. Chris and I talked about how things you post on Twitter, Facebook or other social sites and services can come back to haunt you. It doesn’t even have to be something bad — it can just be a message that’s open to multiple interpretation. According to The Guardian, that’s just what happened to Chris Cornell.
When I started by Facebook account, I was freshly out of a relationship, so I filled in “single” in the relationship status field. A few minutes later, I decided I didn’t want any status whatsoever. So I removed it.
Then Facebook alerted my fledgling group of friends that “Cristen Conger is no longer single.”
This morning, I read an open essay on Wired UK written by Andrew Keen, author of The Cult of the Amateur. Keen’s argument is that the Internet in general and social networking in particular is destroying privacy and that this, in turn, is erasing part of what it means to be human. I found Keen’s argument to be interesting but flawed. Part of my objection is that I think a few of his premises are faulty.
Status Update: Facebook Is Stressing You Out!
by Cristen Conger | February 17, 2011
Yesterday, I had a red letter day for a number of reasons. At one point, I found myself practically bouncing up and down in my office chair with glee, trying to think of the best way to broadcast my A-plus fantastic mood to the rest of the world via Facebook. Why would anyone care that I had a chocolate cupcake kind of day? I don’t know. But after agonizing over how to communicate all of this, I finally gave up and decided to keep my good fortune to myself.
I was suffering, apparently, from Facebook-related anxiety.
On a Sunday morning Delta flight from the ATL to Los Angeles, Grammy-nominated rapper B.o.B. got on the flight PA system and surprised passengers with a vocal performance his hit song “Airplanes.”
What I’m saying is people had a legitimate reason to update their Facebook statuses at 30,000 feet.
I feel awful for MySpace. It was the first social network I ever joined. I convinced friends to sign up, found folks I had lost touch with and connected with people who lived on the other side of the country from me. At the time I joined, it was the best option I had available — Facebook reserved profiles for high school and college students and I had graduated years earlier.
I met several incredible people at CES 2011. One such person is Brian Brushwood, stage magician and technology enthusiast. I had encountered Brian once before at Dragon*Con in 2010 but we didn’t have much of a chance to chat. At CES, we both guest hosted Tech News Today along with Ian Morris of CNET UK. I just learned about a project of Brian’s that promises to carry on his life, in a virtual sense, after he has shuffled off the mortal coil (in other words, after he dies).
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Traveling on the Orient Express
- Deep-fried Goodness at Carnival
- The Colors of the Running of the Bulls
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Blow Your Mind: In the Lair of the Rat King
- Mandala: Memory Palace, Inception and Simulated Worlds
- Virgin Galactic: $200,000 Ticket to Ride
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
How-to Stuff
- How to Make the Most of a Gallery Crawl (When You’re on a Shoestring Budget)
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 40: Did movies ruin love?
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 39: Urban Legends
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 38: Defending Disney Princesses?
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
