- November 21, 2010 11:16 am
I’m pretty sure I’ve lost count now on how many times either Facebook or Google have lobbied the preverbal ball back into the other sides’ cout in regards to friends and contact information. But at least one thing is for certain, neither side is ready to let up. The latest development in the high school drama between the two tech giants involves the Google account import option disappearing from Facebook’s website. Furthermore, if you set up a new Facebook account, you still are presented with the option to use Gmail to important contacts. But try to actually import anything and you get a nasty error saying that all of your Gmail contacts who use Facebook already have been imported.
It’s sad for unaware Gmail users who want to reach out to old/new friends and can’t easily find them. To non-techie users, it’s not Google’s fault for wanting to siphon Facebook data. It’s Facebook for failing to provide a service. And seeing as how a large percentage of Facebook’s user base isn’t the most technologically advanced, they’ll focus the blame on Facebook. Not exactly the tactic I think they’re aiming for.
Your turn Google.
- November 11, 2009 1:58 pm
I like many of you reading these words are geeks. More specifically a tech/geek blogger. How geeky we are varies from person to person. But me, given the chance, (and a nice new Core i7 27″ iMac) I’d live in front of my computer. It’s not hard really. The sun is the same as it was thousands of years ago and will continue to be. If I really wanted some fresh air I can always open a window. Taking it to the nth degree, I could always rip up the hardwood in my house and put down some sod to give it that eco/green feel. In all honesty, I get out quite a bit. But the point is, tech bloggers such as myself often get stereotyped as lazy, house dwelling folks who really don’t know what the outside looks like, how to swing a bat etc. Would you believe that we bloggers are actually pretty darn good neighbors? So says a new study by Pew Internet Project.
It turns out that bloggers, if “good”, are actually more chipper than there less talkative counterparts. On one hand this seems startling given how much time we stare at pixels on a screen. On the other, you have to like hearing yourself talk (and think) if you’re to be a blogger — it comes with the job. If you can talk to yourself for ours and provoke deep thoughts and good ‘ol conversation, chances are you could be a pretty decent blogger…
Having a friend or loved one pass away is never a fun thing to go through. With a society so entrenched in social networking, the accounts and services that are left behind when the original owner passes often get forgotten and left in a state of “always on”. In the case of Facebook profiles, once a person had passed, unless someone else knew the password that was it. There was nothing anyone could do. The page was there forever, ingrained in the digital world. Realizing this extreme oversight, Facebook has finally rolled out a new “memorial” type service for such accounts.
When a an individual passes, anyone (friend or family) can notify Facebook. A family member would probably be more appropriate in this case as additional information and some proof of death is required. You wouldn’t want false “deceased” profiles popping up all over now would you? Once all of the official hoops have been hopped through, the deceased user’s Facebook page goes through a memorial transformation. No there aren’t any stupid, tacky banners or other gimmicky fluff. This memorization process follows the “less is more” philosophy. This newer stripped down page has certain personal information removed though much of the original material is still left for those wanting to leave a heartfelt comment. Also worth noting, once memorialized, only friends can leave comments and other wall posts.
While we never want to experience this, it is inevitable and does happen. Thankfully Facebook has made the whole process a tiny bit easier.
Gizmodo
If there was ever a pairing between two long time rivals that eventually kissed and made up, the rivalry between Facebook and MySpace would definitely not be near the top of my list list. But pigs are going to soon sprout wings and hell will in fact start freezing over (I can feel my feet getting cold as we speak) as Owen Van Natta, MySpace CEO has been officially quoted saying that they are “in talks” with Facebook exec’s. Similarly, Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg stated: “we would like to have MySpace’s content”.
Essentially, there are two paths two dueling companies can take when a winner and loser come forth. The losing company can take the legal route and start suing the winning company away. Or, the losing company can be bought/adopted/partner with the winning company. Thankfully for the sanity of consumers and to much delight from the poor judge who would have to oversee such a lawsuit, MySpace’s talking with Facebook could actually be an awesome thing for both companies and networks.
While MySpace has been losing on the general social networking front more noticeably in the last year, it isn’t necessarily solely because they stalled on the innovation front which in turn caused visitor numbers to plummet. Instead a “vision change” of sorts has been in the making. MySpace now is as they call it a media hub — a place for musicians and artists to showcase their talent with music and video taking a much larger presence than before. So MySpace would again enjoy huge visitor numbers and media spotlight in partnering with Facebook. So what exactly would Facebook gain?
Multimedia. Sure Facebook is the social networking champ with it’s main intentions being to communicate between people. Games have recently come into the fray though aren’t the bread and butter of FB. A partnership with MySpace would bring in (through Facebook connect I assume) a channel for a vast library of music and video that so far Facebook has been lacking in.
In the end, you have Facebook enjoying the spoils of victory, being the social networking champ with MySpace enjoying “being different” now. They don’t have to compete with Facebook anymore. Now MySpace can really focus on their strong points which as mentioned many times before are audio and video. It really is a win-win for everyone. Happy happy harmony for all. Of course, none of this is official with the comments of partnerships from both Facebook and MySpace exec’s all “off the record”. Still, the fact that they’re even hinting at such things has to mean something right?
Would you enjoy such a partnership?
Cnet
Image Source
- September 11, 2009 1:34 pm
Earbuds are usually worn inside of your ear as to keep sound leakage to a minimum both saving your hearing and keeping the people around you a bit more jolly. Walking around the streets in life, as it happens quite often, one may be with a group of friends and want to share a song with them. This casual affair usually involves passing an earbud around to a bunch of people which can be a big pain. Besides, do you really know who you’re swapping ear wax with? A far more elegant though probably just as terrible sounding option can now be found in the Keychain Speaker. This device is exactly what it sounds like, an earbud look-a-like speaker attached to a keychain for quick and easy use. Simply pop it into the headphone port of your choice and rock out with your friends. The absolute best part is the price — $11 out the door. Don’t forget one for me…
Source: CrunchGear, Random Good Stuff
