Google has received a bit of press for it's announcement that its product, Glass, will be manufactured in the US (at least early runs). Google held a competition called #IfIHadGlass to identify eager early adopters. Winners will get the "chance" to pay $1,500 to get their hands on the product before the general public does. There are several reasons Google probably wants to … [Read more...]
The Internet Of You
I just read an intriguing article (I used Google Glass: the future, but with monthly updates) that discussed the benefits and drawbacks of the Google Glass project in its current state. I, for one, am ready to be a cyborg. The promise of Google Glass is that it will give us a heads-up display at every moment of our life. While scanning your environment for clues, Glass provides … [Read more...]
Signal To Noise & The Demise Of Facebook
Facebook is in trouble. Not because of the questionable success of its IPO or difficulty finding ways to commodify its services (although, the latter may be significant contributor to the issue). Google+ is in trouble for the same reason, albeit at the opposite end of the spectrum. The reason Facebook is in trouble is because of the fact that it's signal-to-noise ratio is … [Read more...]
Google Knowledge Graph: Clustering On Crack
One of the big problems with most search technology is that it still functions in a Web 1.0 way. For instance, you type in your search term and hit enter; when results come back, you scan for what you want and if it you can't find it, you enter a new search term and hit enter again. It's kind of like Battleship - you take a shot where you think something is and then find out if … [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...]
What Chefs Can Teach Us About Social Media
It's easy to begin using Social Media and the cost of entry is very, very low. As a result, many organizations feel compelled to begin using social channels without thinking through exactly how they will use them. Even though it's easy to begin using social media, using it effectively can be difficult at best. At the core of the problem is that most organizations ignore … [Read more...]
Innovation is Fast and Furious
Let's face it - slow and steady only won the race because the guy in the lead was such a dips#&t that he got caught snoozing. Innovation doesn't happen at a tortoise's pace; it happens because someone, somewhere takes an operatic leap of faith. Someone, somewhere finds a new application for an old tool or solves a problem we didn't even think needed solving. Apple … [Read more...]
Google Instant Search: Backing into semantics
What It Is Google recently released its Google Instant search product. It is basically a recommendation engine on steroids. The way it works is that, as you type, search terms are recommended; starting with the first letter. For instance, typing "W" will present you with the weather forecast based on your geographic location. That's because it assumes the word you are … [Read more...]
Opera is faster than a potato
Opera's pretty funny take on the Google speed test videos. … [Read more...]
Catching a Wave
While some of the initial fervor over Google Wave has died down, desire to obtain one of the elusive invites remains just this side of Charlie Bucket's desire for one of Wonka's Golden Tickets. For those who have been lucky enough to receive an invite (like myself), an initial period of confusion is soon replaced by other periods of confusion. It's not that the platform … [Read more...]