A while back, I wrote a post in response to re-reading an interview with Marshall McLuhan. It described the way that the printed word created a portability of culture beyond the immediacy of face-to-face communication. However, print also introduced a coolness to the cultural exchange by removing many of the subtleties, like intonation and gestures, from the exchange. I argued … [Read more...]
Touch Me, Babe – Observations On History Of Touch Computing
All Things Considered over at NPR just ran a piece called The Touchy-Feely Future Of Technology. I suggest you read/listen to it because it's a great overview of the history, and a glance to the future of touch computing. However, I'd like to spend my time here calling out a few points that got only passing mention in the piece. Music & Technology: Friends With … [Read more...]
Making A Dent
I was at the inaugural gathering of ConvergeUS, an initiative to use technology to improve the world in some small measure, when I heard the news of Steve Jobs' passing. Biz Stone delivered a nice message to the group to use the gathering as an effort to celebrate the desire to make a dent in the universe, rather than to mourn the passing of someone who strove to do … [Read more...]
Innovation: Finding your Voice
I read a post today over at 15inno.com listing 5 Reasons Not to Use Apple As a Role-Model for Innovation. While it's hard to argue with the points made in the article (You're not Apple, You don't even know Apple, People don't think you're as cool as Apple, You don't have Steve Jobs), it comes off as a little to Fanboy-ish - even for me. But, it did get me thinking... Is … [Read more...]
The Immovable User Meets Irresistible Design
There's a nice article over at all tech considered about the symbiotic relationship between Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive. Ive has designed Apple products since the fruit colored iMacs, and Steve Jobs is, well... Steve Jobs. The article describes the intimate working relationship between Jobs an Ive since The Steve returned to Apple in 1992. The big takeaway from the … [Read more...]
Facebook Adds New Status Privacy Features
Facebook released some new status privacy features. It allows you to tag other users in your status, add location (I think this is what happened to Places), and determine who gets to see each status message. This is all handled in a series of controls at the bottom of the status pane: It allows you to choose Public, Friends, Friends of Friends, or even create custom … [Read more...]
Neil Gaiman’s Kicking My Ass (On Twitter) [infographic]
I decided to check out Visual.ly to see what kind of job it did creating infographics automatically. I decided to compare myself to @neilhimself, Neil Gaiman... I probably should have picked on someone my own size. … [Read more...]
Web 3.0 Density with Clima.me
Over at Total Social Media, and as part of their Web 3.0 Lab, they've developed a pretty cool mashup of location and social/semantic data called Clima.me. Clima.me is a tool that measures the density of location-tagged data from a number of web apps (Twitter, Wikipedia, Flickr, Yelp, and Foursquare) and kicks back a Web 3.0 temperature for your location or, for that matter, any … [Read more...]
Social Strategy: Time for Some Little Thinking
Imagine you've been invited to the most anticipated cocktail party of the season. Well in advance of the event, you anticipate the people you will meet and the exciting conversations you will have. Finally the evening comes and, as you arrive, the hostess greets you at the door and offers to take your coat. Before you head into the party, however, she stops you and hands you a … [Read more...]
Social Media: Your Peripheral Nervous System
Remember when you were in school and sat there confused while the teacher continued teaching something you didn't quite grasp? Then, after the first student raised their hand and said, "I don't get it," a number of other students raised their hand and said, "We don't get it, either." Remember how much better you felt after the teacher addressed the issue? The Silent Many and … [Read more...]