Recently, Facebook changed an important aspect of its Community Pages. Before, you had to 'join' Pages about Eminem or Lagavulin. Since March, you can 'like' them, like you 'like' a friend's status update or photograph. This offers Facebook users the chance not to commit yourself to a Page by joining and be in the fans list, but still express affinity.
Today, Facebook is innovating and updating this. Since Community Pages are not run by individuals, they don't have a wall or send updates to users' feeds. Instead, they will import streams of related, public content from user status messages.
For example, if you write a status update like "I love this new product at Wal-Mart", Facebook will recognize the term 'Wal-Mart' and will import my update to the Wal-Mart Community Page.
Also, Community Pages will include relevant information from Wikipedia under a special tab.
For more information, check out Mashable.
Improved Google Docs
Do you think those MS Office tools are way too expensive? Looking for a better alternative? Maybe Google Docs can help you.
I used to think Google Docs was really clumsy and did have the necessary tools to shape my documents how I'd like to. Now, this has all changed. Slowly but surely, Google is able to compete with MS Office. Plus, your documents are available on every computer, so no hassle with memory sticks; you can share files with friends directly, so no hassle with e-mails and twenty 'final' versions of one document. And on top of that: it's completely free!
Google Documents now allows you to make drawings, graphs, charts, presentations, spread sheets, text files - and to share them with your team. Everybody who's working in a team on a shared document is familiar with the problem: several team members edit a document and in the end important adaptations get lost.
Now, everything is stored in the 'cloud' so everybody works in one and the same document. You can chat with other users, while editing a document. You can work with several users in one document at the same time and adaptations are shown live on screen. Letter by letter you can follow changes made by team members.
Source: T-Zine
I used to think Google Docs was really clumsy and did have the necessary tools to shape my documents how I'd like to. Now, this has all changed. Slowly but surely, Google is able to compete with MS Office. Plus, your documents are available on every computer, so no hassle with memory sticks; you can share files with friends directly, so no hassle with e-mails and twenty 'final' versions of one document. And on top of that: it's completely free!
Google Documents now allows you to make drawings, graphs, charts, presentations, spread sheets, text files - and to share them with your team. Everybody who's working in a team on a shared document is familiar with the problem: several team members edit a document and in the end important adaptations get lost.
Now, everything is stored in the 'cloud' so everybody works in one and the same document. You can chat with other users, while editing a document. You can work with several users in one document at the same time and adaptations are shown live on screen. Letter by letter you can follow changes made by team members.
Source: T-Zine
BBDO, a worldwide advertising agency
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network which was was founded 1928 by four Americans named Barton, Durstine, Osborn and Batten. It is the largest of three global networks (BBDO, TBWA and DDB Worldwide) in Omnicom's portfolio.
The agency has 17,200 employees in 287 offices in 77 countries.
BBDO aims to deliver the 'Total Work'. "At BBDO, the Work encompasses every kind of creative content that can touch the consumer and reinforce the brand". The company's extensive list of clienst includes: The Economist, Pepsi, Ikea, FedEx, BBC News, General Electric, Campbells, Gillette, Motorola, Chrysler, Pfizer, Wrigley and Unicef among many others.
BBDO distinguishes between 'Above The Line' and 'Below The Line' communication. ATL focuses at mass media campaigns, BTL wants to create small, local or specifically targeted (often inexpensive) campaigns. However, the company is aware that boundaries are shifting and constantly goes 'Through The Line'.
Source: BBDO, Wikipedia, guest lecture by J. Vandepoel (VVL BBDO)
The agency has 17,200 employees in 287 offices in 77 countries.
BBDO aims to deliver the 'Total Work'. "At BBDO, the Work encompasses every kind of creative content that can touch the consumer and reinforce the brand". The company's extensive list of clienst includes: The Economist, Pepsi, Ikea, FedEx, BBC News, General Electric, Campbells, Gillette, Motorola, Chrysler, Pfizer, Wrigley and Unicef among many others.
BBDO distinguishes between 'Above The Line' and 'Below The Line' communication. ATL focuses at mass media campaigns, BTL wants to create small, local or specifically targeted (often inexpensive) campaigns. However, the company is aware that boundaries are shifting and constantly goes 'Through The Line'.
Source: BBDO, Wikipedia, guest lecture by J. Vandepoel (VVL BBDO)
Not Chinese or English, but 'Globish' to become world language
'Globish', a simplified version of English is to become the most important language of the 21st Century. 'Globish' counts as little as 1.500 words and has no grammar. The term was coined by the French ex-IBM manager Jean-Paul Nerrier in 2007.
When Nerrier was working in Japan in the nineties, he noticed that Japanese, Korean and other non-English people could communicate better with each other in 'English' (or 'Globish') than with English or American business associates.
'Globish' has no idioms and can be used by 2 billion non-native speakers of English. Many Indian, Chinese and African people see 'Globish' as a liberating and modernising phenomenon.
Source: Express.be
When Nerrier was working in Japan in the nineties, he noticed that Japanese, Korean and other non-English people could communicate better with each other in 'English' (or 'Globish') than with English or American business associates.
'Globish' has no idioms and can be used by 2 billion non-native speakers of English. Many Indian, Chinese and African people see 'Globish' as a liberating and modernising phenomenon.
Source: Express.be
Brazilians are electronic readers
A study from Ghent University compared the reading behaviour of Brazilians, Europeans, Australians, people from the US and people from China (all between 18 and 60).
The general finding is that, more than anywhere else in the studied regions, Brazilians like to read magazines and newspapers online. More than 65% of all Brazilian respondents read electronic newspapers daily. This does not rise above 45% in any of the other regions. In Europe and the US, only 26.7% and 27.9% reads online newspapers daily. 32% of Americans never reads an online newspaper.
29.5% of Brazilians read online magazines weekly. In China this is 18.9%. Almost 50% of Americans never read online magazines.
When researchers asked what language respondents want to read in, alot of Chinese people indicated they want to read in English or even a combination of Chinese and English. Their motivation was the wish to improve their English.
Also read my blog entry on 'Globish'.
The general finding is that, more than anywhere else in the studied regions, Brazilians like to read magazines and newspapers online. More than 65% of all Brazilian respondents read electronic newspapers daily. This does not rise above 45% in any of the other regions. In Europe and the US, only 26.7% and 27.9% reads online newspapers daily. 32% of Americans never reads an online newspaper.
29.5% of Brazilians read online magazines weekly. In China this is 18.9%. Almost 50% of Americans never read online magazines.
When researchers asked what language respondents want to read in, alot of Chinese people indicated they want to read in English or even a combination of Chinese and English. Their motivation was the wish to improve their English.
Also read my blog entry on 'Globish'.
European technology consumer is rather conservative
Despite new fads like iPhone, iPad or Android, the average European technology consumer sticks to the trusted brands he has used since the digital revolution.
According to Reader's Digest Trusted Brands, not the latest stuff, but the brands he has known for years are what the average European consumer buys. When asked what cell phone manufacturer is most trusted, 47% answers: 'Nokia'. This is less than the 69% of last year, but still renders the Finish company number one on the list. For personal computers, HP Compaq is elected and not Mac. Canon for cameras.
Reader's Digest Trusted Brands is an annual consumer survey, involving more than 32,000 people in 16 European countries. The survey's primary objective is to find out which brands Europeans trust the most across a range of consumer product categories.
Reader's Digest Trusted Brands is an annual consumer survey, involving more than 32,000 people in 16 European countries. The survey's primary objective is to find out which brands Europeans trust the most across a range of consumer product categories.
Skinput transforms you skin into a touch screen
Skinput-technology makes it possible to use your skin as an input-surface for all sorts of mobile applications. By measuring and analysing the acoustic waves in your body produced when tapping your skin signals can be sent to a computer, or more interestingly a smartphone or music player device.
Devices like smartphones or mp3-players are compact and have a lot of power. However, they have very small buttons or gawky touch-screens which limits interaction. Earlier, tables or other hard surfaces were already being used as external keypads. A camera registered your finger's movements over the table and interpreted them as instructions.
However, the recent trend of being mobile always and everywhere inspired the people of Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University to develop Skinput, which uses tappings on your skin as an interface.
When tapping your skin with your finger, the touches create acoustic waves. There a two different types of waves: transversal surface waves which run away from the touch point over the skin's surface and longitudinal waves which run from the outside of our body towards our bones and back to the skin's surface. These waves are detected and analysed by a receiver worn around the arm. A different spot on your body creates a different wave. This allows for giving different instructions.
Source: FlandersDC, Techniline
However, the recent trend of being mobile always and everywhere inspired the people of Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University to develop Skinput, which uses tappings on your skin as an interface.
When tapping your skin with your finger, the touches create acoustic waves. There a two different types of waves: transversal surface waves which run away from the touch point over the skin's surface and longitudinal waves which run from the outside of our body towards our bones and back to the skin's surface. These waves are detected and analysed by a receiver worn around the arm. A different spot on your body creates a different wave. This allows for giving different instructions.
Source: FlandersDC, Techniline
How to clean up your Facebook account
Piled up a great number of friends on Facebook? Maybe you've turned your news feeds into one big mess... Here's how to clean up that shit.
As Mashable points out, Facebook offers an extensive list of options for fine tuning what individual applications and people can see or do on your Facebook profile (something which is missing on Twitter, I think).
You can hide people or things from your feeds. How? By simply clicking 'Hide' on items you don't want to see. You can bring the back via Options where you will find a list of all the things you've hidden.
Facebook is a place for friends, but admit it: only a small percentage of our Facebook friends are personal friends. You've also got alot of acquaintances, people from school or work or just people you don't know in your list. Facebook lets you organize all those 'categories' of friends into 'Friend Lists'.
All this doesn't rid you from all the annoying apps your friends are using. For example, if you're not interested in Farmville you don't want to see how your friends' crops are doing.
Change your 'Application Settings' (via 'Account') by looking what apps you've 'Authorized' (via 'Show'). You'll be amazed by the list you've accumulated over the years.
Source: Mashable
As Mashable points out, Facebook offers an extensive list of options for fine tuning what individual applications and people can see or do on your Facebook profile (something which is missing on Twitter, I think).
You can hide people or things from your feeds. How? By simply clicking 'Hide' on items you don't want to see. You can bring the back via Options where you will find a list of all the things you've hidden.
Facebook is a place for friends, but admit it: only a small percentage of our Facebook friends are personal friends. You've also got alot of acquaintances, people from school or work or just people you don't know in your list. Facebook lets you organize all those 'categories' of friends into 'Friend Lists'.
All this doesn't rid you from all the annoying apps your friends are using. For example, if you're not interested in Farmville you don't want to see how your friends' crops are doing.
Change your 'Application Settings' (via 'Account') by looking what apps you've 'Authorized' (via 'Show'). You'll be amazed by the list you've accumulated over the years.
Source: Mashable
Google faces charges by Rupert Murdoch
Media tycoon Ruport Murdoch wants to limit search engines' access to newspapers.
A while now, rumours have been spreading that news papers will charge fees for reading online articles. The Wall Street Journal, for example, already asks money for its web-based services. Other news papers will soon follow. At least, that is the wish of News Corp's 79-year old big boss Rupert Murdoch. News Corp is the world's second-largest media conglomerate (behind The Walt Disney Company). The group editions papers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, Times of London, but also owns Fox.
News papers have been struggling with the problem of free content and find it dificult to survive on advertising income alone. Murdoch wants to rearrange the business model and is confident that readers of his products want to pay.
Nevertheless, a new problem arises. Next to online news papers, alot of information is to be found on Google. For free. However, Google - and other search engines like Bing - get their conent from those news papers. Murdoch wants to stop that. The Google model "produced a river of gold", but the content is "being taken mostly from newspapers" said this week at the National Press Club in Washington.
Only the headline and a couple of sentences should be allowed to be published on Google or Bing. If search engines would want to provide this kind of information, they should set up their own reporting.
Also the American Society of Media Photographers announced this week that they will charge Google for violating copyrights. The Union of Graphic Designers, the Association of Nature Photographers and some individual photographers and graphic designers have joined the case.
Sources: De Standaard, Bloomberg
News papers have been struggling with the problem of free content and find it dificult to survive on advertising income alone. Murdoch wants to rearrange the business model and is confident that readers of his products want to pay.
Nevertheless, a new problem arises. Next to online news papers, alot of information is to be found on Google. For free. However, Google - and other search engines like Bing - get their conent from those news papers. Murdoch wants to stop that. The Google model "produced a river of gold", but the content is "being taken mostly from newspapers" said this week at the National Press Club in Washington.
Only the headline and a couple of sentences should be allowed to be published on Google or Bing. If search engines would want to provide this kind of information, they should set up their own reporting.
Also the American Society of Media Photographers announced this week that they will charge Google for violating copyrights. The Union of Graphic Designers, the Association of Nature Photographers and some individual photographers and graphic designers have joined the case.
Sources: De Standaard, Bloomberg
BBDO Argentina, Sake and Nike+ tweet while running 10k
Responding of the current trend – set by Nike+ – of massive running events, BBDO Argentina and Sake invited 5 Argentinean celebrities, who would be running The human race 10k, to blog on their experience – live!
They were wearing an iPhone, strapped to their arms and an earphone. By hitting a button they were able to share their thoughts orally, while running the race. These voice messages were turned into text messages which were published at thehumanrace.com.ar/envivo, in their Twitter accounts and various other websites.
To prove that the satnav-hype has still not yet reached its peak, the runners positions and points of messages were shown on a Google Maps map. The fanemka-team believes that within a few years everyone will constantly have a personal satnav with them in their smartphones, like digital cameras are nowadays even found in the cheapest cell phones.
Read my other posts on satnav-technology related to communication and social media
First Belgian 4G test successful
Download speeds of more than 20 Mbps (peak around 32 Mbps?) were reached, which is comparable to regular wired networks. Also, uploads of about 6 Mbps should be possible, which is more than any wired internet connection allows.
The internet in figures
The internet is a vast country. 247 billion e-mails per day, 126 million active bloggers, 27 million tweets per day. 30.000 servers to store your idiotic Facebook Fan Pages.
And that's 2009. 2010 is bound to break all those records!
The American web agency Jess3 collected different statistics into The State Of The Internet.
And that's 2009. 2010 is bound to break all those records!
The American web agency Jess3 collected different statistics into The State Of The Internet.
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