Image via CrunchBaseToday Facebook added Microsoft Live Search to our search experience which was inevitably considering Microsoft invested $240 million last year. According to the development team by integrating web search into Facebook, you can increase the information available to share with your friends, family and coworkers on the site. Then they go on to state along that with your search results, you may also begin to see ads for products, services or other things that are relevant to your query. Ah, so that is the reason really to sell me more products. I see this as only the beginning of what Live Search can potentially provide, a social suggestive search engine to an extent. As Justin Smith at Inside Facebook states;
Facebook’s launch of Microsoft Live Search integration marks a new phase of the company’s increasing battle with Google. As the Facebook Platform vs OpenSocial and Facebook Connect vs Google Friend Connect platform wars evolve, so now a new battlefront is forming around search. In the very least, the Facebook integration should boost Live Search’s query volume and share of searches over time - and provide a nice boost to Facebook’s bottom line.
I also noted earlier that Microsoft are getting advertising exposure on the site, I came across an ad where by hovering the cursor over the thumbnail would play a short clip. It worked well and it's one of the larger advertising placements I have seen on the site but it wasn't too intrusive. One other aspect to know is that the News Feed now seems to be importing blog posts that are submitted. Not noticed this before but an entry from this site appeared in my partners feed earlier and I also had several imported notes visible as well from friends!
Below are the photo's from our night out Saturday, it looks set to be a busy month as there are a few nights planned. As well as the usual places we're taking in a couple of concerts, between us the planned nights are Ting Tings, Fall Out Boy and Vampire Weekend. I am only heading out to Fall Out Boy as my partner is going to the other events with her friend. Want to try and get tickets for Vampire Weekend as I reckon that will be a good night. I also have an O2 event which I have been invited to where I will be asked to provide feedback on their latest features I am currently trying out. They work well although I have feedback to provide which I hope will take what is offered further. At work today I was told that I will begin learning programming language from this week so tomorrow the World...
How social interaction has changed over the last few years, sites like Facebook have made a camera an essential for a night out. Not only do you need your bronzer, lip gloss, eyeliner... but you need to make sure that first ingredient is the camera. Take a lot of photo's you're a popular person, had the best night ever let everyone know about it by uploading and telling your friends.
I recall a few years ago when I would meet up with friends for a night out and take photos, it was rare I would see anyone else with the same enthusiasm. Now bars are like runways with camera flashes more frequent than strobe lighting. It's staged and although I hold up my hands and admit I enjoy photography nights out have become totally fake!
After entertaining the family over Bluewater we parted ways with the children and got ready for a night out with a couple my partner knows. They were great company and like our usual circles we share were up for a laugh like us and were by no means coy. Looking around at the surroundings and the faces that pose and laugh while the camera lens is aimed in their direction makes you feel that you are in a warm and friendly environment.
You couldn't be more wrong as because soon as the camera is out of focus out come the attitude and scowls. To use one example we were dancing and I was with my partner on the dance floor and only really concentrating on each other. People around us were taking photos but then in a flash a group of girls were yelling at me for being too close. They pushed me in the back and mob mentality took over, I reminded them that with that attitude it was no wonder that there were no gentlemen guys around them.
This is where social interaction is failing as in capturing that moment when everyone is posing you are masking the fact that you aren't very nice people. Redeemed by the fact that if it's on the Internet it has to be true, people see your photo's and 'hey, you've made it sugar!' I won't even go into the advances of some of the guys that we encounter when we are out. It is as though they expect that walking up to a girl and addressing her with a physical Poke is as acceptable as it is online. That may work in social networking but what ever happened to dialogue, decency and common courtesy!
The night went well although it nearly didn't start, just before entering the club entrance my partner slipped in the rain and ended up on the floor. She held it together and we made our way in and although drenched she didn't let it dampen her spirits. We soon got onto the spirits and made a good night of it. Other than the near brawls and scenarios best forgotten we rocked. I'll upload the photo's when I get a chance ;-)
Image via CrunchBaseMarketing is everywhere, I read on Techcrunch that Google have spent nearly $2 billion this year on sales and marketing but only $20 million on offline marketing. Google is already considered to be the 10th most valuable brand in the world, and it got there without spending money on TV, print, or radio advertising.
Google are clearly pursuing new interests this year what with Google Chrome and Android (G1 Android Mobile co-branded with T-Mobile) launching. Moving into TV and magazine advertisements could potentially hurt the brand but then there is potential here as well [source].
Automatically placed overlay advertising
Lets be honest nobody likes advertising breaks during their favourite television programme, just getting to an important scene and then a commercial break. That could all be about to change with the introduction of 'automatically placed overlay advertising'. Instead of commercial breaks interactive adverts and other content are inserted on to clear space in a television programme meaning that the programme can run uninterrupted.
Obviously they need to handle this with the view of not being too intrusive, unlike conventional commercial breaks this at least has the advantage of more exposure. Usually when a commercial break starts cue a kitchen break, sort out the children, fight crime etc. This will be visible during what I am watching, the likelihood is that with digital television functionality I will be able to action the content. Press the red button will become the market for the next generation consumer!
i/TV
Combining digital television with the Internet is surely an attractive market to companies, complimenting each other and providing the viewer with access to what is on screen would have a lot of benefits. The ability to navigate from the placed advertisement in the programme to a checkout as a consumer has a lot of potential. On demand access to products would enhance our viewing experience and make it richer like that of a browser.
The long term vision must surely be suggestive advertising, action a car on the screen and the viewer is redirected to multiple choices including car dealers, reviews, videos and sponsored links. This is where search engines and sites like Amazon would be able to align themselves without damaging their brand as it's building on what they already offer. Who knows how this will be received by the average household, Sky+ delays viewing enough just imagine an active viewer on payday stocking up on everything on Project Runway whilst the rest of the family wait for Match of the Day!
Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER just a few hours ago after suffering a major heart attack. I have an insider who tells me that paramedics were called after Steve claimed to be suffering from severe chest pains and shortness of breath. My source has opted to remain anonymous, but he is quite reliable. I haven't seen anything about this anywhere else yet, and as of right now, I have no further information, so I thought this would be a good place to start. If anyone else has more information, please share it.
What appeared to be a scoop for citizen journalism ended up being nothing more than a farce. Failure to check a reliable source led to this becoming a major story, leading to Apple's stock plunging ten percent. What this story shows is that the Web 2.0/Social Media distribution has become an integral part of our news delivery system. Sites such as Twitter, Digg etc were spreading the word and with no immediate confirmation or denial just acknowledgement that, true or false, this was a big moment for citizen journalism. With this unverified it was down to the reader to evaluate and the signal for gossip to commence.
Just as Steve Jobs had informed us recently from his keynotes in San Francisco that the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated that was to be the conclusion here! CNN who's credibility will have been damaged by this report will now have to assist in the SEC investigation which will take place. Silicon Valley Insider who were covering the story as it developed eventually spoke to Apple spokeswoman Katie Cotton who dismissed the report as fake. Within minutes Apple's stock which had plummeted, recovered and then 20 minutes later the iReport story was removed from CNN. An eventful morning and here is to hoping that Steve Jobs stays in good health for a long time...
Image via WikipediaMy departments profile has changed significantly over the last few months, the Intranet now has several components and modules that compliment the daily workload. Moving forward we are all looking to gain a better understanding in CSS, PHP, SQL, Javascript and possibly AJAX. Programming language is definitely something I would like to learn and will require dedication as I don't have any foundation to build on.
I have only basic HTML knowledge and I've edited templates which is basic. Since development with our open source intranet platform I have been put forward to help take our customer service pitching tool, known internally as the Hoff, to the next level. The development names we have in place for the tools we are creating is very unique! In the next few weeks I can see myself having a lot more meetings and also reaching out to new areas in the department! Johnny5 is alive!
Image via CrunchBaseWith Google recently turning ten years old, today was the turn of FriendFeed who celebrated their first birthday. From startup to becoming a destination for the early adopters. The site enables us to keep up-to-date on the web pages, photos, videos and music that your friends and family are sharing. It offers a unique way to discover and discuss information among friends. What can we expect as the site becomes more active, pulls everything from the shelves, teething and approaches the terrible two's? More of the same I hope as I am enjoying the ride and the direction that the FriendFeed developers are taking us.
Arrived home from work tonight and got a lift home by my children's mother. I don't think my son fully understands the term pikey, he told me that he once saw a pikey in the sky. I wish I knew what he meant! We had another random impromptu dancing/singing spectacular as soon as we came through the door. The climax was a break out of the Sugababes 'About You Now' my son singing this was amazing to watch.
We then went down to the park with my brother and although it was dark and cold we made the most of it. He brought a football with him and we practised kicking the ball as high as we could although my son gave up and just ended up throwing the ball. Took to swinging on the swings with my daughter and talking about her life, she is old beyond her years and has a really good grasp on everything. Didn't have my car though so once my brother set off for football practise we headed to the bus station to ride back to their home. I figured this would be some excitement for them as it's rare they get a bus anyway. They were like Monkeys and I had to settle them down before they got too out of control!
Usually with Chelsea playing I write about the action but tonight I missed the majority of the match and from what I saw we were very disappointing. The game ended a draw but not good news about Drogba who threw himself at a low cross from Florent Malouda but appeared to damage his knee in the challenge with Andre Souza and was carried off just before the hour. Early indications are that he will be out of action for a few weeks which isn't good and leaves us short of options. Get well soon big guy!
Image via CrunchBaseToday Facebook added Microsoft Live Search to our search experience which was inevitably considering Microsoft invested $240 million last year. According to the development team by integrating web search into Facebook, you can increase the information available to share with your friends, family and coworkers on the site. Then they go on to state along that with your search results, you may also begin to see ads for products, services or other things that are relevant to your query. Ah, so that is the reason really to sell me more products. I see this as only the beginning of what Live Search can potentially provide, a social suggestive search engine to an extent. As Justin Smith at Inside Facebook states;
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