07 Jul 2010
Like Michelle Obama? Sure. NPR? Of course. Anchorman? Who doesn’t? The ever-evolving internet behemoth Facebook has updated its homepage to occasionally include a small area with two “Recommended Pages”. Much like a regular ad on Facebook, these recommendations include a small picture and the title of a page that Facebook’s algorithm deemed most relevant to you. Also included is the line “Many who like [a page you already like] like this” followed by the “Like” icon. An immediate call to action to “like” a page you’re, statistically speaking, bound to love!
What I found most interesting about the new feature was its endlessness. If you do “Like” a Recommended Page you are not sent to its landing page, but stay on your home News Feed. Within seconds, the “liked” page fades away and is replaced by a new band, movie, brand, etc. that you’ve loved for years. If you get tired…
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22 Jun 2010
I wonder if James Surowiecki thought that crowdsourcing was poised to become an internet hot topic when he wrote The Wisdom of Crowds. Whether or not he knew, his book certainly got to the strategic core of the why’s and how’s of the power of the crowd. I read that book in 2004 and I was simply passionate about it. I wanted to understand how to better harness the concept of aggregate thinking (not crowd thinking) to make better decisions.
Throwing money into the abyss?
I was quite excited when Kiva first opened its (virtual) doors. Kiva harnessed the power of storytelling, as well as ease of online payment, to help online individuals make a difference they felt connected to. I was equally excited when I watched the rise of crowdsourced funding in the startup world. I believe there is value in this. I know some people who argue that it’s just…
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18 Jun 2010
By any measure, the World Cup is a pretty big deal. 2010’s games will land among the most watched sporting events in history. This time it’s not just about eyes on televisions, though. The last time the world cup came around, Facebook had about 7.5 Million users. Twitter was less than three months old with 500 users. This time? Twitter is peaking at ~3,000 tweets per second when goals are scored.
The experience for the non-attending fan is far richer than before. Aggregators like tweetbeat add context and commentary while watching matches (especialy with the sound off). Location-based networks are helping to bring fans together in the real world. I set off on a rainy Satruday morning to catch the first U.S. match vs England. Foursquare let me know which bars and restaurants the largest groups of people were gathered at and which…
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08 Apr 2010
I usually watch T.V. with a laptop on my lap. Not just to email and Facebook, etc., but to cross-reference, check IMDB, and add a layer of data to the T.V. I am watching. Because of the work we do at Room 214, I’m keenly aware of drive-to-web tactics within shows, and thus often scope out network websites to see the kinds of additional show-related content they are offering.
Everybody’s Doing It
Based on a Nielsen report on this concept of media multi-tasking, which is now often referred to as three screens (television, Internet and mobile), you can see that I am not the only person engaging in such behavior. I enjoy the distinction between Internet use while watching T.V and T.V. watching while using the Internet. If asked to prioritize, which one would you pick as the primary?
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