Constantly refreshing your Facebook news feed? Logging in 10 times a day to browse your friend’s latest party pics? Facebook Gifts causing your own economic crisis? We can fix you! With….a social network? BeatingAddiction, a new social site from Kinal Corp that’s currently in beta, does have some less ironic uses than its questionable Facebook addicts support group (which, like most of this newly-launched site, lacks members - the entire site only has 25 so far). And among some rather geek-centric addictions - Guitar Hero, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft - there are more standard topics like medical drugs and food....
My new favorite podcast these days is FFundercats which has a tagline of “A FriendFeedic Convergence Of FFunderous Proportions“. Who makes up the FFundercats? Well you have Josh Haley, Mark Wilson, and last but certainly not least John Worthington who with the help from various FriendFeeder’s discuss subjects from Star Wars or Lego to FriendFeed itself. Its a fun little podcast that for me just enhances my use of FriendFeed and brings the community even closer. If you are part of the FriendFeed community or just looking for a humorous and fun podcast make sure you add them to...
...
There’s been something bubbling in D.C. for the past year or two and more recently, it’s become boiling hot: the convergence of the technology crowds from around the area. It’s something that I’ve been pushing for at least two years and a number of other people have been supporting as well. Something that has increasingly become apparent is that there are simply people that get it and those that don’t. In one panel I was sitting in on earlier this week, a group of individuals were fairly critical of the government’s ability to become less bureaucratic and more quick to...
ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation has purchased $5 million in stock in the social networking company Multiply ABS-CBN News. The purchase gives the social networking company a $100 million valuation, a far cry from the $15 billion valuation that Facebook obtained earlier this year when Microsoft invested in the company. According to the company, “Multiply is a natural fit for ABS-CBN. It is the social network that is most consistent to our business model because they have focused on photo, video and blog features compared to the other social networks such as Friendster and Facebook, which focus on connecting friends and running...
It’s all about “transmedia” — the convergence of media and the spread of content across platforms — says the panel of experts made up by Jesse Alexander, Writer and Producer, Heroes; Bill Gannon, Director of Online Operations, Lucasfilm; Jeff Gomez, CEO Starlight Runner Entertainment; and Greg Goodfried, Co-Founder, President and COO, EQAL. The metrics are experimental right now, though if companies are buying ads it’s a good sign, says the panel. But be careful — it can all go horribly wrong! And remember the geeks that consume your digital transmedia bits are powerful and will be the torch bearers of...
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s change in the wind. The convergence between still photography and video is in full force. Cameras like the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D MK II are capable of recording high quality video as well as great stills. With this in mind, I’ve created a new blog called Consumer Video Tips. If you’re interested in video, check it out....
Recently I found out that I was referenced in “Tribes”, the new book by marketing guru Seth Godin about social groups and their leaders. The specific example Seth writes about (pages 37-38) is when I organized the spontaneous “AltaVista” party at the Ginger Man in Austin during SXSW 2008. There is one small correction that I would like to point out regarding what Seth wrote, Laughing Squid doesn’t do laser engraving (Seth listed that in his description of us). This is a blog post from Laughing Squid For more content like this, subscribe to the RSS feed, Twitter &...
You’re the president of a well-known company. You’ve just spent the past nine months battling off an acquisition from one competitor and battling for approval for a deal with another—and both end up leaving you high and dry. What are you going to do now? If you said, “I’m going to Disney World!” . . . well, have fun with that. But if you’re Yahoo President Sue Decker, you pull out your best stationary email client and compose a cheery note. Highlights from the company-wide memo: While this turn of events is regrettable, it’s important for all Yahoos to recognize...
photo: Barack Obama and Joe Biden Barack Obama comes to office having to deal with the most difficult circumstances since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Perhaps even more difficult, since the environmental bill from 200 years of unchecked of fossil fuel burning has finally come due and Obama will have to deal with the convergence of deep financial crisis and deep environmental crisis at the same time. Indeed the only way out of either is by addressing them as a whole. And to make it worse, now is perhaps last chance to act before global warming fundamentally changes the planet into...
Travelocity Gnome I was watching The Amazing Race last week (can you believe it’s in it’s 13th season?) and in this particular challenge, contestants had to locate a Travelocity Gnome, hidden in the city. It’s brilliant because it’s perfectly relevant, and incorporated not just as product placement or sponsorship, but as an actual part of the game, as opposed to being shoved down my throat. (Hear that, Rock Band 2?) Personally, I had only tangentially heard of Travelocity before this, but the Gnome is a great idea! If only “he” blogged… don’t see any sign of it on their homepage....
Despite the pressures of the economic downturn and caution among most of its customers, Dell continues to see opportunity in its enterprise infrastructure and service business, Senior VP Paul Bell said at the Dreamforce conference today. He noted that Web 2.0, social-networking companies and other firms that are adding users need to scale up and are continuing to spend on infrastructure services, while financial services companies are trying to find ways to tighten analytics while paring down extraneous costs. Bell said reports the company would shrink its manufacturing operations were speculation. But he said Dell’s ongoing move into providing...
