An article out today reveals that Apple are scared of something. Microsoft? Don’t be silly. Google? Yeah, you’d think so. But no - Facebook. On first look this comes as a surprise, but when you start thinking about it it’s not as silly as it sounds. Apple have been tech innovators for years and now they’re leaders in the field. You’d think that Google was their main threat now that they have Android. But Facebook makes sense as Apple can’t do social. For some reason it baffles them. Just look at Ping - yeah, remember that? Ping is, in many ways, Apple’s elephant in the room; their toe in the water for social which just didn’t take off. It remains isolated in iTunes and probably will just be the long lost cousin. You know the one - the guy with the banjo, in the woods, who likes to collect rocks.
Google has search, social, and an ever growing platform presence with Android which is now out selling iOS. So what was essentially a search engine is now a bigger, integrated online presence. It’s ticking all the boxes.
Which brings me to Facebook. Facebook is now so ingrained into the internet that it’s a part of online life, and it knows it. Facebook now has its own currency, Facebook Credits, and is starting to integrate music and video sales. Remind you of another Apple ‘i’ product? Rumours suggest that Facebook’s also looking into physical sales through its platform which makes me wonder if Amazon should be worried.
Social is Apple’s achilles heal and Facebook may be smelling blood in the water. Google continues to do its own thing, but also likes to play nicely with some of the others out there especially developers. Facebook’s very similar in that respect but as of yet there are no signs that it’ll move into the hardware wars.
It also surprised me that Apple haven’t released an ‘iSocial’ network. They do have a habit of taking other platforms/products ideas and putting their iMagic on it to make it appear more amazing or completely new (come on, think about it - Facetime = Skype; iOS 5 = Android; Xerox + Windows = Apple OS).
That said, I’ll probably be proved wrong in a couple of years when we see the new Facebook HP Notebook.
This is a non-digital broadcast. Repeat. This is a non-digital broadcast. As confusing and contradictory as that sounds, let me explain. This article is to explore the opposite side of my previous posts advocating digital and how it has improved our social lives.
Digital is great. Digital is my passion and I still stand by my views that online social media is enhancing and developing our social and sharing activity. But somedays I feel that technology has also made us less ‘human’ in day-to-day, real life.
I’ve decided to write this article because I just mentioned to my friend how I’m going to buy a Moleskin notebook because as much as I love tools like Springpad, you can’t beat pen and paper.
Everyday I cycle into work and am hampered by iPod zombies (iZombies?) who are oblivious to what’s going on around them. Heck, I used to be one but being on the bike has opened my ears up to life again. We are all guilty of this and seem to be content to shut out society and live in our own bubbles. I don’t believe this is right as it makes the majority unsocial and, well, rude.
I’m also equally guilty of being enslaved by my Macbook and iPad. I’m chained to my Mac at work and Macbook at home, and there I am flicking through Flipboard on the iPad before bed. And then I can read a good book…..on a Kindle.
Is all this technology making life better? In a word, yes. But there is a limit - a healthy limit to how much it can be used.
Maybe it’s time to take a digital usage audit.
And what about you - do you feel your web, tech, and/or digital use has got out of hand? Be interested to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below…
We’ve all been horrified by the weekends news about the terrorist attacks in Oslo. As the news started to surface through Twitter on Friday I turned to the Sky News iPad app to find out what was going on through their live news feed. Over the weekend there was news of a Google+ circle that had been set up to help and inform those involved. Twitter also rolled into action with users asking people in the locality of the bombing to keep their wi-fi unlocked so that those trapped could lock on and get help.
It is amazing how much social media has changed our way of life. Not only do we now find out about new events as, even before, they appear on rolling news channels, we can also get a clearer “from the ground” report of events - citizen journalism. But social channels were full of those from the digital world, nee from all over the physical world, who wanted to help those on the ground in the best or only way they could - through online.
Inane chatter about cats and Justin Bieber aside, social media is an amazing benefit to our offline lives.
So, I want to hear from our readers about how they see social. Do you use social media as your news channel? Have you seen social used for good? Whatever your thoughts, enter the discussion by posting your comments below.
Spotify has crossed the pond! Finally the US get to share in the musical love that is Spotify! To UK based audiophiles, Spotify is old news. In fact, Spotify has around 1 million paying subscribers across UK, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Spain. In Europe, we love the Spotify - I for one can not praise it enough.
The US version launches in pretty much the same way it did here all those years ago - via invite to the free version. However, users also have the same option as us to sign up to the ad-free unlimited service ($4.99) or the mobile version ($9.99). (At current exchange rates that means they pay less than us!)
Spotify’s launch in the US is big news because it’s THE market to crack, and it’s been a tough nut too. Record companies had originally been sceptical about Spotify’s business model and were resistant to signing up their catalogues. So Spotify changed the model to a more comprehensive subscriptions service that benefits the major labels. In an industry flawed by piracy, Spotify plugs the gap between purchasing music and downloading it for free, and illegally, from torrent sites. Now you can pay your subscription and download all the music you want, anytime, anywhere (sorry, that sounds more like a strapline than a sentance). As Ken Parks, chief content office for Spotify, says - ”Spotify is simply a better experience”.
Spotify’s move into the US market also fuels rumours that a Facebook/Spotify streaming service is close by, rumours dismissed by Parks.
Ultimately, this looks like a change in the wind for the majors to. As mentioned, piracy has dogged the industry for many years now and has lead to major cut backs in staff and also artist rosters. But the music industry is starting to dictate the rules again. Spotify may have changed their model to suit, but so has Limewire and Apple (iCloud). Have the major four started to adapt to new technologies? It’s yet to be seen, but they appear to be working it out.
Aleks Krotoski posted an interesting topic on her Untangling the Web blog today - Friendship (see the post here). The question she raises has been something I’ve asked myself for a while - “What has the Web done to friendship”.
So, as every good geek does, I decided to write a reply…which I also decided to post here (read below) because I’m interested to hear what others think about online social networks.
Post your comments below….
Morning,
Loved the topic this fortnight. Got me thinking about social, so decided to write……(sorry if it’s an essay!).
This is something I’ve been questioning myself. I see online friendships as a positive as apposed to “devaluing our close friends”. In fact, I would go as far as to suggest the opposite - it enhances existing friendships. I now feel closer to some of my non-virtual friends and I’ve also re-established old friendships which are now closer than they once were. For example, I found three of my old college friends through Twitter and found out they lived two roads away. We now catch up most days on Twitter or Facebook and I ask them for advice more than some of my real life friends.
Also, my wife and I got married earlier this year and the outpouring of love we received over social networks was overwhelming. We could share our day with people who could not be there, be it in another country or not able to travel, and it’s instant (not that I was Tweeting from the alter!). We even had congratulations cards from some of my Twitter followers.
My wife still doesn’t ‘get’ Twitter and was resistant to my use of it in the early days. When I started to talk about followers as if they were real people, it puzzled her. But the support, help, advice, and even jobs, I’ve got through my virtual friends often shadows that from my real ones (read into that what you will!). These were, nee are, strangers - but they’re real to me and as good a friend as a real life, fleshy person.
I am a digital person so this is a digi-centric point of view. That said, I know many technophobes who see the value in social networking (even my dad who sometimes refers to Twitter as Twitbook - how Freudian). But the immediacy of sharing thoughts, pictures, music, and more is easier over digital - something Zuckerberg pointed to during his speech the other week.
Social is an exciting area and is only going to grow.
Yesterday, News International announced that News of the World will shut down after this Sunday’s final edition. This is the final nail in the coffin after a week of public backlash against revelations of phone hacking. But it’s how the public backlash voiced itself that’s got my digital ears pricked.
As revelations surfaced of phone hacking on Milly Dowlers mobile, Twitter began to grumble. As more incidences came to light the hashtag trends pushed it as a trending topic. As it was announced that News of the World was to shut, Twitter was at breaking point and followers in other countries started to ask questions.
This BBC article details the origins of how the story, and backlash, began on Twitter. It also details how major advertisers pulled out of the paper because of the backlash. Some even posted their press releases to Twitter to explain why.
So did social help bring down News of the World?
I would argue yes. Social is the new ‘angry mob’. It’s the loudest ‘silent protest’. In a society where we’re used to seeing riots and marches on an almost weekly basis, this violence free approach to protest should pave the way forward for hitting corporations where it hurts. (That makes it sound like Twitter is the new Fight Club, but you can talk about Twitter Club.)
To quote Rage Against the Machine, ‘we’re gonna take the power back’. Speaking of Rage Against the Machine, look at the Christmas race to number one that happened to de-thrown the X Factor juggernaut from yet another victory. Social media protest has worked before and has again.
As Simon Pegg put it on Twitter this morning, “To put the #NotW thing in bastardised geek speak … “Sometimes the needs of the many [are outweighed] by the needs of the few, or the one.”
I would love to hear what you think - did social help bring down News of the World?
Those of you who know me also know I love social media. In fact, let’s just call it social as I question if the suffix ‘media’ really applies anymore. Anyway, I love social and what it stands for online - unity, collaboration, sharing, friendship….and I guess this is how Zuckerberg sees the web because Facebook is taking it over before our very eyes.
Yesterdays announcement detailed how Skype will integrate into Facebook’s chat functionality, an interesting partnership on many levels. But it’s not the only partnership rumoured for Facebook. As Spotify announced it’ll be launching in the US, Facebook’s said to be tying their service into the platform. Both services have existed till now as Facebook apps, but integration is a telling step forward.
Facebook Open Graph allows sites to integrate into Facebook to promote sharing through the Like button, something Zuckerberg acknowledged yesterday (Facebook’s largest function is now sharing). With 750 million users, and a soon to achieve goal of a billion, this means Facebook is starting to look like ‘the’ hub for the web. Add the fact they’re partnering with some key names from the web and you’ve got an interesting recipe for the web’s future - cross platform, or even full, integration to Facebook.
This is something Google have acknowledged with Google +1 and the new Google+. Social and sharing are the key ingredients of today’s web culture. But Google are a search name, and Facebook a social. Are we seeing a blurring of the lines? Possibly.
Facebook is so integrated into on/offline society, and the web as a whole, that I don’t think it could ever go the way of Myspace. Facebook is quickly becoming, the web.
The Mighty Zuckerberg made an appearance today to announce the new Facebook Skype video chat feature. Possibly the worst kept secret in the digital world, video chat does bring a nice enhancement to the platform. However, haven’t I seen this somewhere else recently….
Google+ launched with the pretty cool ‘Hangouts’. Here you can video chat and, well, hangout with a few of your Google friends. Facebook say they’ve been working with Skype for a few months which makes me wonder if Google knew about this and wanted to get in there first. And in my view, they’ve produced a slicker operation.
Facebook have Group Chat and Video Calling. Yep, sounds like Hangouts. But Facebook also announced they now have 750 million users which, at the moment, Google can only dream of. (Ironically, Zuckerberg is the most popular person on Google+ right now)
At present there’s no mobile version of this new video chat but no doubt this will be integrated at some point (Skype app already has it). It all adds to the ‘sharing’ ethos.
When challenged about the Skype/Microsoft relationship, Zuckerberg commented “we have a really good relationship with Microsoft” (understatement - they’re an investor). But interestingly Skype’s comment was “We’re not part of Microsoft yet. Subject to regulatory approval”. Cold feet?
Today’s announcement is an interesting, if expected, move by Facebook. But are all social networks now just becoming a mirror to each other? It’s looking like that, but I for one don’t want to choose sides….although with 750 million users, Facebook’s gonna win.
Recent reports show that iPads now account for 1% of all website traffic. ‘Woop-dee-doo - so what?’ you may ask. Well, considering about a year ago it was way under 0.5%, I’d say that is quite impressive growth. So, is it the end of the desktop?
In a word - no. Mobile devices are a bigger part of our life than ever before and mobile OS’s offer far more functionality than my old Amstrad CPC464. But the desktop, be it an iMac of a PC, is a work horse. I love that I can now compose and record music on my iPad, but at the moment it falls short in some areas where a desktop soars. The same goes for serious photo editing, design work, and building websites and apps.
However, processor heavy applications aside, mobile devices are far better than desktops in other areas. Personally, I devour online content and social media purely through my mobile device. Why would I power up a desktop when all I need is just a tap and swipe away. Apps, both Apple and Android, make this process far more slick, precise, and engaging than on a desktop. The same could be said for films and music. It’s easier to fire up a movie of Spotify playlist on a mobile device.
And what about gaming? Desktops offer amazing graphics and sound, but for a simple non-gamer like me, I’m just happy with Angry Birds and solitaire.
Mobile devices are exactly that - mobile. As a wired generation we’re brought up to access the majority or our info online, and that’s where mobile devices prosper. But when it comes to actual work, you can’t beat a desktop.
