Joe Blogs: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Problem With Twitter or Problem With Ego?!

Image by luc legay via Flickr

I have wrote a lot about Twitter recently and actively use the service to follow popular trends, read breaking news and communicate with friends. Following the conversation over the last few days it's clear that although Twitter maybe the darling of social media there are flaws in the system. This may be true but doesn't a bad worker always blames their tools?

Are we really defined by the amount of people that we follow?

I personally prefer quality over quantity because that is how to build a true meaningful relationship. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours? We have only just met! Following everyone that follows us may well be courteous but auto-following means you haven't even taken the time to check their profile. If it's reached the point where your inbox is constantly full with Twitter messages then turn off email notification. Don't turn to the auto following/responses as then everything about your interaction becomes automated. Chances are you are already popular on Twitter so why ruin your reputation. I don't want to be just another face in the crowd, a number that is essentially just to reach another milestone.

I'm sure that this debate will be discussed at length over the coming weeks and I will update with my views. Don't forget to Follow me at joedawson :)

Friday, February 27, 2009

"Do You Speak To Everyone Dad"

Image by joedawson via Flickr

Becoming a parent is a defining moment and raising your child is rewarding in so many ways. From their first word to their first steps as a toddler and as they continue to learn and become more independent. Starting school, learning how to read and acquiring information all the time. It's an amazing experience and I enjoy every moment I spend in their company as they learn about the World around them.

They keep me occupied and although I would like to introduce another addition to the family I want to concentrate on raising them for the present.

It's interesting what they retain and how they learn from their peers. This evening I arrived home from work to be greeted by my eight year old daughter online talking to her friends on Live Messenger. She was also deleting emails that she had received and declining web cam invitations from her school friends. The Internet has provided us with an incredible communication tool and although we take it for granted it's significance can't be understated.

My children acknowledge the role the Internet has in the modern era and from her advances this evening they are prepared to embrace technology. Considering the evolution of computers since I was a child and what can be achieved now it's incredible to watch their activity and what they can learn. I admit there are shortfalls, only recently I set them up to watch animal footage on YouTube and that was an experience. I salute the related links and how they almost educated them in how crude Monkeys can be in the wild!

I'm well aware of the dangers online so supervision is priority and they respect my knowledge and understanding. Asking questions on how to achieve what they want and curious about the desktop clients and websites that I use to communicate with friends.

This evening I had to explain to my daughter how my TweetDeck usage compares to how she talks to friends through Live Messenger. I could see her analysing the interface, the Groups I have created and the alternative method of communication. I reckon she understood well but couldn't relate to sending @replies instead of the two-way dialogue within IM. It will be a while before they are ready for social networking but the time will come. I'm curious as to what will be available and will it be them teaching me?!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

What Is Following? Details on Bloggers Reading List...

Image via Wikipedia

It's been a while since I wrote about introducing Google Friend Connect to this site and since then there hasn't been any significant developments. After the initial buzz of activity after implementing the widget and then joining the communities of the people I follow there hasn't been much activity.

Today within the Blogger Dashboard I noticed that updates from any blogs I follow and sites I have joined using Google FriendConnect are now displayed in the Reading List. Selecting the Blogger Buzz tab provided details on how this works -

A few months ago, we introduced a feature called Following, which lets readers publicly subscribe to your blog. Since then it's been incredibly successful: nearly three million communities in 39 languages have followers, and every second of every day, a reader follows a blog.

But your readers come from across the web, from Yahoo, AOL, WordPress, Typepad... not just Blogger. That's why we're excited to announce that we've integrated Blogger Following with Google Friend Connect.

Friend Connect encourages readers to use one account (whether it's a Google account, a Yahoo, AIM or OpenID account) to follow any site - a Blogger blog, a WordPress blog, or any other site that has incorporated Friend Connect. Each site that a follower joins will show up on their Friend Connect profile. Now your blog will benefit from increased exposure as your readers interact with other sites around the web - and their friends see your blog listed as one they've chosen to follow...

What is Following?!

Google want to put emphasis on our favourite blogs and let the author and readers know that we are a fan. The following feature allows us to keep track of the blogs we follow via our Reading List on the Blogger dashboard.

The easiest way to become a follower of a blog and using this site as an example is through the Following widget. Click on the "Follow this Blog" link under the "Followers" widget and you become a follower. It's as easy as that and through the widget you can select to follow publicly or anonymously. When you have become a follower of a blog, the feed will also be added to the Reading List on the Blogger dashboard:

We highly recommend that you write a post about your followers widget and encourage all readers to become a follower. Additionally you should put your followers widget at the top of your sidebar so more readers will notice it. Many readers ignore sidebar items so by writing a post about your followers widget and moving the widget to the top of your sidebar, you will inevitably grow your audience [Source]

Since introducing Google Friend Connect I have positioned the Followers Widget at the top of my sidebar. I'm interested to see whether this development will increase the amount of followers I have on my site and whether I will see the widgets more widely available. First time on the site? Please let me know what you think about Google Friend Connect and it would be appreciated if you could follow the details in this post and provide feedback!

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Do I Know You Genuinely Enough?

Image by Yukari* via Flickr

There seems to be a growing trend lately where people are looking to make their social networks more personal. I have expressed concern recently about the 'friends' we connect with that aren't people we really know. The amount of exposure we allow these friends into our personal lives and also the trust we place in the social networks to protect our data.

Take the reaction to the Facebook Terms of Service update - which was eventually reverted because of the backlash - as an example that we should use privacy settings and be responsible. Admittedly I have friends on Facebook that are people I met through Xbox Live and bloggers from social media circles. I have networked selectively to an extent and although the level differs across the many sites I frequent I have adopted a staggered approach to building trust.

Loic Le Meur yesterday was the latest high profile figure that I follow to admit to the problem of not knowing his followers 'genuinely enough'. He expressed that he had lost patience with the autoresponders, robots that send direct messages when you follow them. He reacted by removing everyone he was following to concentrate on the people he knows -

Apologies then if I was following you and I do not follow you anymore, I am sure you will understand it was not manageable and since we are behind Twhirl, I am trying to find a way to solve this problem, like follow large groups of people without having the DM spam problem, and I am confident we will find a solution. Until then, I will remain with a small following list that I will grow one by one daily and remove anybody attacking me again with a robot :)

I admit that this tweet from Loic made it sound as though he was reenacting a scene from I Robot which made me laugh. I understand his stance and although I'm only following a fraction of people I would also feel overwhelmed managing the expectations of that many followers. I will touch on this in more detail when I have more chance to write and if you would like to share your views please leave a comment...

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

GMail Down

Image via CrunchBase

Whilst checking through my Google Reader feeds just now I noticed an update on the Official Google Blog informing that they're having some problems. So that's the reason why I haven't received any email this morning!

According to the post shortly after 10 9:30am GMT their monitoring systems alerted them that Gmail consumer and businesses accounts worldwide could not get access to their email.

We’re working very hard to solve the problem and we’re really sorry for the inconvenience. Those users in the US and UK who have enabled Gmail offline through Gmail Labs should be able to access their inbox, although they won’t be able to send or receive emails.

We’re posting updates to the Gmail Help Centre at http://mail.google.com/support/ and Google Apps users can visit the Google Apps help centre at www.google.com/support/a.

Update:

Google have released the following statement on the Official Google Blog with the details on the GMail (#Gfail) Outage:

The Gmail outage that affected many consumers and Google Apps users worldwide is now over. Users should find that they’re able to access their email now without any further problems.

Before you can access your Gmail, you may be asked to fill in what’s called a ‘CAPTCHA’ which asks you to type in a word or some letters before you can proceed. This is perfectly normal when you repeatedly request access to your email account, so please do go through the extra step – it’s just to verify you are who you say you are.

That is all so nothing to see here...

Sunday, February 22, 2009

We Connect

Image via Wikipedia

If you were relaxing around the Internets at the weekend chances are you would have encountered the story from Jesse Bearden and his friend Sean. Jesse follows The Real Shaq on Twitter and saw that he was at a diner near his office so decided to verify whether it was Shaq O'Neal or an imposter.

It wouldn't be the first time that someone has impersonated a celebrity as only recently there was the fake Dalai Lama account that was suspended.

They arrived at the restaurant and there was Shaq sitting in the corner booth and although they acknowledge him they were reluctant to initiate conversation until Shaq tweetered:

I feel twitterers around me, r there any twitterers in 5 n diner wit me, say somethin [Source]

From which they then introduced themselves to Shaq and found him to have a genuine interest in mobile technology. He then permitted them to have their photo taken with them and as they walked away said "Make sure you put that on your web page". I found it to be a great story and Shaq appeared friendly, approachable and involved in the tech scene.

After reading this I thought about which sports personality I would most like to meet and it would definitely have to be David Beckham. Not sure whether David Beckham will be on Twitter anytime soon but I would definitely follow his updates. Who else has played for Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and AC Milan, currently tied with Bobby Moore as England's most-capped outfield player and married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham with three sons! How could you not follow David Beckham though to be honest?

Saturday, February 21, 2009

I Want To Talk To The Big Guy...

Image by joedawson via Flickr

My children have been on half term this last week and to keep them occupied they have attended activity days where they have participated in their hobbies. My daughter had horse riding and she really enjoyed herself, telling me today that she is hoping soon that they will allow her to start jumping.

My son had three days of football which consisted of training, tournaments and he also travelled to Stamford Bridge for a stadium tour. I have found it really difficult to communicate with him lately but today he was a reformed character. I don't know whether directly influenced by him attending the football activities over the last few days but it seemed that way. Being away from the usual distractions and having to be responsible and show discipline for the coaches has made him become more proactive.

Today my daughter had a party to attend so once she had been collected we spent the day playing football and watching movies. It's been a productive day as I have a great relationship with my daughter but sometimes I feel distant from my son. Today I feel like I have my special little guy again :)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Fresh From FriendFeed and Twitter Plugin

Image via CrunchBase

Blogger the blog publishing system I use for submitting my blog content has been the platform I have used since I started blogging. A while ago I created a Tumblr to leverage my technology content but it's purpose lately has only been to display my weekly Last.fm statistics. I have contemplated several times switching to a more open source blogging platform but have remained on Blogger as I am comfortable with the functionality.

Today I encountered a new Fresh From FriendFeed and Twitter plugin available for WordPress and again I am considering my options. Mashable have a great post containing information and screenshots on what this plugin offers and it does sound very appealing. It's no secret that the majority of my activity online is no longer centralised on this site, instead I am active on various sites contributing, sharing and updating friends through micro-blogging services. Need to see this plugin available in the wild before making my decision. Until then here are the details from the plugin directory:

Features

Automatically detects your FriendFeed and Twitter username; simple out-of-the-box install!
No external passwords are required because only public FriendFeed and Twitter APIs are used.
Content is imported as regular blog posts which can be easily edited, tagged and kept; or simply leave Fresh From to automatically replace imported posts with fresher content when it becomes available.
Content is automatically enhanced in many ways, including Twitpic photos and embedded YouTube videos.

More Features

Includes SEO links to your FriendFeed, Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. profile pages.
A magic 'latest and greatest' formula is used to work out what to import. If you don't want to keep an imported post, simply delete it and Fresh From will automatically find some other content.
Choose to show between 1 and 10 imported posts; FriendFeed users can also choose how many posts are imported from each of their FriendFeed services (e.g. Flickr, Facebook, etc.)
External API limits are well respected, and API responses are cached by Fresh From to protect your site against FriendFeed and Twitter downtime.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Blauwe Dag :)

Image via Wikipedia

After Chelsea Football Club sacked Phil Scolari last week I was disappointed with the decision and felt that Big Phil should have been given more time. The modern game has made it so that managers have to find instant success otherwise they are shown the exit. Chelsea were prompt and confirmed Guus Hiddink as temporary coach until the end of the season but then begins the interview process in the summer for another coach.

Guus Hiddink has an impressive record as a manager and below I have highlighted his club honours at management level. In the post-Mourinho era hopefully Hiddink will be the man to lead us forward but with the Premier League title as good as Manchester United's the realistic target has to be the FA Cup/Champions League.

With United facing Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan hopefully they will be the team to finally beat the World Champions. Next week the Champions League returns and there are some great clashes but first we have to concentrate on an Aston Villa team with the potential this year to break up the so called Big-Four. Over to Guus Hiddink...

Manager

Club honours

PSV Eindhoven

Eredivisie
- Winner (6): 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06
KNVB Cup
- Winner (4): 1988, 1989, 1990, 2005
European Cup
- Winner (1): 1988
- Semi-final (1): 2005 (lost on away goals to A.C. Milan)

Real Madrid

Intercontinental Cup
- Winner (1): 1998

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Facebook Reverts to Previous Terms of Service

Image by jdlasica via Flickr

Earlier this week I wrote about a post on the consumerist about a recent update to Facebook's terms of service (TOS). It's been an eventful week for Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has again posted an update to the Facebook blog stating that they have revised the terms of service to what they were previously. He also goes on to note that If you'd like to get involved in crafting the new terms, you can start posting your questions, comments and requests in the group they've created — Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. Here are the details from the blog -

A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.

Many of us at Facebook spent most of today discussing how best to move forward. One approach would have been to quickly amend the new terms with new language to clarify our positions further. Another approach was simply to revert to our old terms while we begin working on our next version. As we thought through this, we reached out to respected organizations to get their input.

Going forward, we've decided to take a new approach towards developing our terms. We concluded that returning to our previous terms was the right thing for now. As I said yesterday, we think that a lot of the language in our terms is overly formal and protective so we don't plan to leave it there for long.

More than 175 million people use Facebook. If it were a country, it would be the sixth most populated country in the world. Our terms aren't just a document that protect our rights; it's the governing document for how the service is used by everyone across the world. Given its importance, we need to make sure the terms reflect the principles and values of the people using the service.

Our next version will be a substantial revision from where we are now. It will reflect the principles I described yesterday around how people share and control their information, and it will be written clearly in language everyone can understand. Since this will be the governing document that we'll all live by, Facebook users will have a lot of input in crafting these terms. [Source]

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Late, The Pier & The 'Ugly'

Image by joedawson via Flickr

Late of the Pier are an English four-piece band from Castle Donington and this evening they were the live performance at Kentish Town Forum. I arrived early and managed to get into a good position to watch the support act Micachu who had a unique sound. The atmosphere was great and you could feel the anticipation from the crowd.

The night didn't really get started until Late of the Pier took to the stage and when they did the band played practically their whole album. They opened with Space And The Woods which really set the tempo for the evening. From the moment the beat dropped the crowd came alive and from then on everyone was jumping. The crowd surged to tracks from the album with favourites like Focker and Bathroom Gurgle being the highlight of the night although it was always going to be that way! Apparently it's rare for them to play an encore and it seems that it will remain that way if the final song was anything to go by as wasn't sure what was going on. Other than that a great night and one that I will remember for many reasons!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Facebook Updates Policy "Davy Jones Owns Your Soul"

Image via Wikipedia

A post over on the consumerist about a recent update to Facebook's terms of service (TOS) has generated a lot of debate today. The mentioned post focuses on an update that grant Facebook the license (and the right to sub-license) the content we submit on the social networking site:

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof. [Source]

What this change to the terms of service means is that even if you deactivate your account Facebook won't delete your data. Understandably this has created uproar across the blogosphere and has even led to this response from CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the Facebook blog:

Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with. . . . One of the questions about our new terms of use is whether Facebook can use this information forever. When a person shares something like a message with a friend, two copies of that information are created—one in the person’s sent messages box and the other in their friend’s inbox. Even if the person deactivates their account, their friend still has a copy of that message. We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear.

In reality, we wouldn’t share your information in a way you wouldn’t want. The trust you place in us as a safe place to share information is the most important part of what makes Facebook work. . . .

Still, the interesting thing about this change in our terms is that it highlights the importance of these issues and their complexity. People want full ownership and control of their information so they can turn off access to it at any time. At the same time, people also want to be able to bring the information others have shared with them—like email addresses, phone numbers, photos and so on—to other services and grant those services access to those people’s information. These two positions are at odds with each other. There is no system today that enables me to share my email address with you and then simultaneously lets me control who you share it with and also lets you control what services you share it with. [Source]

What do you think about this, are you concerned about the control Facebook has over your data?

Saturday, February 14, 2009

There Can Be Only One...

Image by joedawson via Flickr

Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world.

The best thing about me is you! To the world you may be one person, but to me you are the world. Happy Valentines Day!

The champagne breakfast didn't exactly work how I had pictured and that was largely because #theone wasn't really down with the refined taste. Other than the champagne the breakfast and the meal we had was really enjoyable.

Wish I had better planned for this evening but we are heading into the West End and I'm looking forward to an enjoyable night...

Friday, February 13, 2009

Was It Something I Said?!

Image via CrunchBase

Twitter is becoming increasingly popular with mainstream media, from newspaper coverage to radio presenters interacting with their listeners. Twitter has been referred to as the most talked about service on the web and recently entered the Top 100 UK Site Listings. The social networking and micro-blogging service allows it's users to connect and follow users' updates (known as tweets). The interaction extends beyond just the web interface as well because regularly users organise events (tweetups) to socialise. Like Twestival for example -

Whoever said that people use the internet to avoid interacting in real life were proved wrong at the third London Twestival, held in Shoreditch to raise money for charity:water [Source]

I arrived in the office this morning and checked my inbox and was presented with multiple follows from people on Twitter. Although for many users this could be standard and why SocialToo - a site that allows auto following - is popular. Not sure of the source of the follows; whether it was directly from one of my updates or someone with influence mentioning my name. It could also be from using hashtags from Twestival (#ldntestival) although I don't really feel I made that much of an impression. Anyway thanks for the follow and when I get a chance I will work through all the emails that I have sorted to a folder and return the follows :)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

#ldntwestival

Image by .imelda via Flickr

Today 175+ cities around the world hosted Twestivals which brought together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water. Twestival is an event where people from Twitter gather together on Feb 12th and donate money to a Clean Water charity (Charity: Water). Clean water is needed everywhere in the world. Over 1.1 Billion people don’t have access to clean water.

Working in EC1 I decided that due to having no plans this evening that I would attend the London event which took place at Shoreditch Studios. With temperatures freezing and snow falling that didn't deter the crowds of Bloggers, Press and Social Media Enthusiasts. I attended alone but soon got interacting with people who share similar interests to mine. Unless you have an interest in social media, 3G enabled mobile handset or an over-sized camera this isn't the place for you but aren't we all geeks now anyway?

The evening started much like my day had begun, the cold shower I had this morning being replaced by snow. Then this morning I was unable to get my car into gear and that appeared the scenario at Shoreditch Studios as they were finalising the organisation when I arrived. I'm sure now whilst writing this blog post that they're still working through the cloakroom! After everything settled the night began and it was a buzz of activity.

Twitter is definitely well positioned to go mainstream and events like this only raise the sites profile further. My only regret was not interacting more with the people in attendance but in all honesty I was just trying to keep warm as the night was cold!! I'll update this post once I know the outcome of the events and whether they managed to reach the $1 million mark!

If you're a follower of my Twitter updates you will know that lately I have been retweeting more and also using hashtags to index conversation. By retweeting I am taking a twitter message someone else has posted, and rebroadcasting that same message to the people that follow my updates. Also I have been asked a few times recently about the definition of hashtags -

Hashtags was designed to accommodate the real-time news community. We provide analytic reports and indexing features to allow users to track what's happening now.

Hashtags are a community-driven convention for adding additional context and metadata to your tweets. They're like tags on Flickr, only added inline to your post. You create a hashtag simply by prefixing a word with a hash symbol: #hashtag. [Source]

If you attended a Twestival event today I hope that you enjoyed yourself! Let me know if you have any interesting stories to share and remember it's not a party unless the Police are called for the third time right ;)

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

TweetDeck Update To Debut Tomorrow

Image by bwana via Flickr

TweetDeck is an Adobe Air desktop application for Twitter that is currently in public beta. Over the last few months TweetDeck has become one of the most popular clients available and has replaced Twhirl as the main application I use to interact with friends on Twitter.

Twhirl recently received an update which included more features and the ability to post to Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Wordpress and other services with Ping.fm integration. AlertThingy another client I used extensively last year also recently received an update which according to TechCrunch rips a page out of TweetDeck's book by imitating the interface. Another application recently released is FriendDeck which has also emulated the TweetDeck interface.

TweetDeck which has continued to add new feature also has an update scheduled to debut tomorrow, details are available from Louis Gray -

Developer Iain Dodsworth continues to add more features to make the product practically indispensable. In the latest update, to debut tomorrow, Dodsworth adds new features that will help you communicate with a global audience, in multiple languages, monitor stock data, and even send your tweets by e-mail. And just think, this is one of Iain's minor point releases, not a major update - which is also in the works. [Source]

Louis also mentions that he has been told a full update is not all that far away. Expect Iain to tackle major issues such as memory, multiple accounts and more then. Looking forward to the release of the major update in the not to distant future. Which is your preferred Twitter desktop application? TweetDeck or Twhirl?

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I Like You A Lot!

Image via Wikipedia

I wrote earlier in the week about Facebook launching several new API's for the Facebook Platform which allow the social network to compete with Twitter. Rather than concentrate on performance, scalability and revenue it appears that imitation rather than innovation is the way forward for Facebook.

Remember the Facebook profile redesign where the Friendfeed comparisons were obvious? Well Facebook have moved to implement another popular feature from Friendfeed, they have activated the ability to "Like" labels on photos, notes, and other items across the network.

The Facebook blog has the following details -

We've just introduced an easy way to tell friends that you like what they're sharing on Facebook with one easy click. Wherever you can add a comment on your friends' content, you'll also have the option to click "Like" to tell your friends exactly that: "I like this." [Source]

I'm sure that the ability to "Like" will become a popular feature with my friends on Facebook. With this available another Friendfeed feature the 'Best of...' could also be introduced. Whether this is already being considered I can only speculate [edit: Posted Items are not currently available 11/02/09] but it's likely considering the Friendfeed inspiration :)

Monday, February 09, 2009

Follow Me :)

Image via CrunchBase

This evening whilst watching Family Guy and browsing through my Google Reader feeds I came across the 10 People To Follow On FriendFeed blog post on LouisGray.com for the month of February. The list highlights ten members on FriendFeed who Michael Fruchter - MichaelFruchter.com (Twitter/FriendFeed) - feels are unique in their own ways and add value to the community. I always enjoy reading Mike's views and appreciate him taking the time to create the monthly lists on who he feels should be followed. That's why it was a welcome surprise this evening to scroll through the list and see myself mentioned as someone that adds value to the community -

Joe Dawson

Short Bio: Joe provides product support at Barclays Clearlybusiness, located in the United Kingdom. Joe is another FriendFeeder who I have been following since I joined the site. This seems to be the common theme in this month's list. Joe is also an avid social media enthusiast. You can always count on Joe popping in on FriendFeed when he is not at work or spending time with his kids. Scanning his feed from time to time often leads to something I missed in my Google Reader. Joe's feed pretty much consists of technology and social media related content, and the occasional pictures of his kids. Who does not love kids? FriendFeed shouldn't be about business 24/7 all the time, yes I'm guilty of this, but I love random family and kids pictures as well.

What they find interesting: Social Media, Technology, Web 2.0

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:joedawsons.com

I really appreciate that I am considered to be worth following and find this to be a massive compliment. I am also proud to be in the company of some intelligent and thought provoking people on Friendfeed to feature in the list. I follow both Mike Fruchter's and Louis Gray's activity daily and from them I learn a lot about Social Media and how to participate in the community! The 10 People To Follow On FriendFeed For The Month Of February are -

1) Andy Brudtkuhl

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:getanewbrowser.com

2) Anthony Farrior

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog: myphillynetwork.com

3) Chris Charabaruk

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:coldacid.net

4) Derrick

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:randomscreaming.com/blog

5) Joe Dawson

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:joedawsons.com

6) Kipp Bodnar

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:digitalcapitalism.com

7) Lindsay Donaghe

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:macrolinz.com/macrolinz

8) Lu Tao

FriendFeed: Subscribe

9) Shevonne

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:dcfemella.com/blog

10) V Mary Abraham

FriendFeed: Subscribe | Blog:aboveandbeyondkm.com

Read more by Mike Fruchter at MichaelFruchter.com.

Scolari Sacked

Image via Wikipedia

A statement on the Chelsea website this evening has announced that Luiz Felipe Scolari has been dismissed as manager of Chelsea Football Club today (Monday) with immediate effect. World Cup winner Scolari had only been in the job since June 2008 -

Unfortunately the results and performances of the team appeared to be deteriorating at a key time in the season.

In order to maintain a challenge for the trophies we are still competing for we felt the only option was to make the change now. [Source]

Obviously I have been disappointed by our recent performances but I don't agree with this decision. The statement details that this is a key time in the season and with Champions League qualification the priority making a change now is dangerous. The players will have to adapt to a new manager who will bring in a different system and style of play. This transition will take time and that worries me a lot especially with the amount of matches remaining.

The obvious names are already been linked to the vacant Chelsea position, Russia coach Guus Hiddink and former manager Avram Grant. Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke appear to be who the players want but I think it's too soon for Gianfranco even though he would be the popular choice. Personally I would like to see Fabio Capello but after what happened with Sven Goran Eriksson it's not going to happen. That leaves Frank Rijkaard who I think should have taken over in the summer - a source confirmed at the time it was a done deal - he has experience with big name players and had an impressive record at Barcelona leading them to Champions League glory.

What are your views about the Roman Empire? Who do you think Chelsea will appoint as their next manager?

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Facebook Opens Status API

Image by jdlasica via Flickr

Facebook have announced that they are launching several new APIs for Facebook Platform. They are to allow applications direct access to user status, links and notes and in doing so this means that the site directly competes with Twitter. As Nick O'Neil from All Facebook states 'This is a huge update and one that I think is going to take Facebook to the next level' and I agree as this does have potential. More details are available on the Facebook Developer blog -

Specifically, your applications can now directly access all of a user's status, links, and notes via new methods and FQL calls. Your application will have access to any status, notes, or links from the active user or their friends that are currently visible to the active user. In addition, we're opening new APIs for you to post links, create notes, or upload videos for the current user, and we've made setting a user's status easier. [Source]

I am really excited about this development and I can't wait to interact with friends via third-party applications. Personally I would like to see a Facebook equivalent of TweetDeck and I'm sure developers will take advantage of the Facebook Platform API and provide some really innovative applications and mashups.

For example, a travel application could make it really easy for users to create and share notes and upload photos and videos from a recent trip. Users could then display that content within a profile tab for that app. Or a news website could use Facebook Connect to allow users to easily post links from the site and feature all of the most recent links that a user's friends have shared from that website. [Source]

The blogosphere appears divided on whether this will lead to Facebook 'killing off' Twitter. There is no doubt that this is a big development for Facebook and the real-time web but I don't expect we will see the end of Twitter. What we are seeing though is that status updates have emerged as the ultimate social gesture. As Fred Wilson states -

I believe Facebook's recognition of status as the most important and most powerful social gesture seals the deal. Status is where it's at in social networking. This is very good for Twitter and its also very good for the other social nets who recognize this and move quickly to provide status updating features and open them up to the social web. [Source]

What's interesting is that Facebook are constantly evolving to adopt popular trends across the Internet. Those who actively follow my blog will know that I wrote last year about the profile redesign and how a lot of the features compared to Friendfeed. Twitter is arguably the most talked about service available with mainstream media discussing it regularly now. Mark Zuckerberg is an intelligent entrepreneur who is able to evaluate trends and address them. This is why Facebook is where it is today and why the real time web just got a lot more interesting!

Friday, February 06, 2009

Where's my presents?

Today was my sons birthday, he definitely celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. I spoke to him first thing in the morning and it does make me laugh that at the age of six he still isn't comfortable talking on the telephone. I suppose I did phone as he was arriving at school so his school friends were more appealing that me singing happy birthday to him.

After school he went to an Indoor Play Area with some friends, they usually have loads of fun here and they did today but for a group of children there who only out to cause disruption. I met them at their mothers house, arriving as they were opening presents from some of her friends. Her friend who is three months pregnant showed me her scan pictures, I want another baby...

The theme for my sons birthday was Ben 10 as he got plenty of related gifts. Below are some photos that were taken of him opening presents and with his cake -