Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-07
By admin | December 6, 2009
- One simple bit of internet wisdom: Don’t Feed the Trolls #
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Topics: mobileThoughts | No Comments »
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-30
By admin | November 29, 2009
- In new media the trend today is not quality, but now its convenience and shareability. #
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Topics: mobileThoughts | No Comments »
Creating the Viral Video… A Marketers Dream
By admin | November 28, 2009
Recently I read an article on the HubSpot blog that outlined the principles that make a successful viral video. This article outlines 5 qualities that your video must have in order to have viral success.
- Create Approachable Content
- Show, Don’t Tell
- Lots of People = Lots of Variety
- Provide Fresh, Exciting Content at Every Turn
- Believe in Your Message
These are great guidelines to follow, however, have a viral hit is like finding a needle in a hay stack. It you spend all your time trying to accomplish a major viral success then your work will suffer. All you can do is just try and provided something that people find entertaining and shows them something new. This will allow you to have success with in your niche market. Just hope that you create something and publish it on the day the the stars are just aligned properly so that it becomes a viral success.
The viral major viral success were never intended to be that. They were people just having fun, expressing an opinion, or were in the right place at the right time with their camera. People want to see something they have never seen before, something that fasinates them. All you can do is just keep producing and hope that one day that video you post inspires people to share it with all their friends.
Here is my current favorite viral video. It is something I have never seen before and is also inspiring.
Topics: Digital Marketing, Mobile Technology, Technology, Web 2.0, cyberculture | 1 Comment »
Breaking through the Digital Divide
By admin | November 22, 2009
The Internet was invented in the United States in the early 60’s. As a result the Internet is an English dominated media form. As a result, there are a number of people world wide have a language barrier when it comes to accessing and using the Internet. Recently there has been a proposal to allow web addresses to adopt non-English characters.
With economies and technology growing in Asia and the Middle East, the implementation of non-English characters will make the web more accessible to the less privileged that do not know how to speak English. Giving these people the ability to more easily navigate the web, can only improve the Internet and possibly their lives.
With the Internet the world has become a smaller place. It is not only easier to connect and communicate with people all over the world, it is also giving people access to information. Having that access is empowering, and as the old saying goes, “Knowledge is power.”
For more details: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10382873-93.html
Topics: Digital Divide, Web 2.0, cyberculture | No Comments »
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-09
By admin | November 8, 2009
- The habit of sharing is becoming a foundation of our culture. #
- cyberCulture now has its own twitter thread… separate from that of aaronPsmith #
- Check out the ne Ghandiva video just posted to SkunkPost… and let us know what you think. http://bit.ly/1gffPt #
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Topics: mobileThoughts | No Comments »
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-11-01
By admin | November 1, 2009
- Halloween weekend is here… let the festivities begin. Trick or Treat? http://bit.ly/4lSFvZ #
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Topics: mobileThoughts | No Comments »
The Launch of SkunkPost: I’m Back!
By admin | October 28, 2009
Well it has been a while since I have had the time to update this blog with a new post… there is a good excuse for that. I was hired to be the creative backbone to a project called SkunkPost.com. It is a new social networking site for the Buffalo, New York, area.The site is an alternative news source for the local area, along with providing a platform for users to gain information on local businesses and to create their own news an information. While I was designing this social site, it was my goal to create a site that would stimulate and encourage citizen journalism in the local area.
This is not a new concept, but what gets me excited about this site is its geographic focus. even though the internet is a global technology, we are finding our niche by marketing to the Buffalo area. It is not only my hope that this social site will be successful financially, so that I stay employed, but it is also my hopes that this will be the site that truly stimulates conversation and inspires positive change within the Buffalo area.
Going forward it is my hope to continually document the challenges that I face, in regards to developing the site, and construction the best possible user experience.
SkunkPost.com is currently running in beta mode, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but if you have any suggestions on what we can do to make the site better, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Topics: Digital Identity, Social Networking Sites, Technology, Web 2.0, cyberculture | No Comments »
Connectivity Leads to Productivity
By admin | August 12, 2009
This is another example of how we can connect individuals through technology so that the community can grow. If more people look at technology in this way, then there is a potential to solve many of the nations and world problems. As the saying goes, “Two heads are better then one.” Lets empower the citizens of the world and allow for a more productive society.
Topics: Mobile Phones, Technology, cyberculture | 1 Comment »
Giving Control to the Community
By admin | August 2, 2009
The latest issue that has arisen, on the development of my current project, is how we protect the community from inappropriate and malicious content. The initial proposal was to govern and approve all the content that was being submitted. This idea was immediately turned down. By trying to manage all user content, you are not only generating more work for yourself, you are also not allowing the community to form naturally. In order to establish a healthy online environment, for a community to develop, the users needs to feel that they are part of a community, and as part of that community they have an impact upon it. If the user’s content is governed by an authority figure, then this diminishes the user’s freedom and willingness to provide content.
The alternative is to allow users to not only provide the content for the online community, but also for them to govern the content that is provided. This approach encourages the community to grow in the manner that the community sees fit. With the community having the power to flag controversial content you put your trust in the community and give them the power to generate a community that fits their needs and wants. The user input is required in order to create a successful platform for users to create an online community, and by giving the user the ability to govern the content that is provided to the community you are giving them another means to provide input.
Also, with giving the users the ability to govern content, you are allowing for a more efficient content governing system. The community of users has more eyes on the content then just one content manager. The most famous of this is Wikipedia. Wikipedia not only is the most content rich encyclopedia, but it is also the most up-to-date encyclopedia. The content might not always be the most accurate, but with the community governing the site, the content is updated as soon as the error is recognized, and mallisious behavior is corrected almost instantly.
When building this social networking site, my goal is to not to control the users experience, but to create an environment that encourages users contribution. As this online environment grows, it will grow according to how the users utilize this online environment. You cannot demand a community to form; you can only encourage and provide the appropriate tools that allow users to participate. It is through the user participation that the online environment will grow into a community.
Topics: Social Networking Sites, Web 2.0, cyberculture | 1 Comment »
Nike+ Revisited: Living by Numbers
By admin | July 24, 2009
In last months issue of Wired Magazine I was pleased to see that there was an article written by Mark McClusky that take a look at the latest product by Nike. Nike+ is a sensor that fits in your shoe and communicates with your iPod. When purchasing new running shoes a few months ago, I spontaneously purchased the Nike+. Soon after this purchase I wrote a blog relating to the great marketing function of this new product and the social network that has been developed around it.
McClusky’s article corresponded to the theme of the July edition of Wired Magazine, which was “Living by Numbers.” So I started thinking about how this new data that I was collecting about my work outs was affecting my performance. Reflecting on the past few months of use, I feel that the ability to collect data on my performance has assisted my training dramatically. For starters, this new technology assisted in my training to complete a half-marathon. The system allowed me to track my progress, and allowed me to set new challenges for myself.
Setting new challenges and tracking progress is fine and dandy, but besides the obvious, what I also notice was that this new technology also served as motivation. After the half-marathon, I was not running as much. Whatever the reason for that, I started to feel guilty… I was not contributing data to my profile on the Nike + social networking site. In a way, this piece of technology worked just as well as having a running partner to help motivate you run. What the Nike+ does, is it allows you to have hundred, upon thousands, of running partners. I was not contributing, I was not completing goals, I sure as hell was not running… and everyone on the network could see that. It is the Hawthorne effect, “The gist of the idea is that people change their behavior—often for the better—when they are being observed.” By collecting and posting your data, you are not only actively observing yourself; you are also allowing the network to observe you as well
The network is a good observer, because needless to say I have started a new running routine, it is not as grueling as it was before my half-marathon, but at least now I am still actively contributing to the vast force that is the group. In my reading of Wired Magazine, there was a stat that said if users use the Nike+ five times, there is a slim chance that they will stop using the product… So five uses, you are hooked.
Topics: Cyborg, Mobile Technology, Technology | No Comments »