]]>These pencils were withdrawn from US schools after a 10 year old pointed out a little problem… pic.twitter.com/ZaU1LqqT7j
— Brilliant Ads (@Brilliant_Ads) April 18, 2014
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]]>"If Twitter just looked more like Facebook I would totally sign up and use it all the time." Said no one. Ever.
— Social Media Insider (@SocialMedia411) April 9, 2014
Today is the Mayoral primary in New York City, and the robo-callers are out in full force. Here's the Google Voice translation of a voice mail left for me this afternoon >>
"Greenwich Village in SoHo neighbors. Tonight we have to go for Jennifer, Raj Kumar for City Council before the cold clothes and Jennifer stood firmly against this monsters and why you expansion into our neighborhood, which with the Justice the 20 years of construction traffic and no one. However, Margaret Chan support it, this terrible planned enchanted through to save Greenwich Village. We have boat for Jennifer, Raj Kumar tonight before 9pm with polls closed. She is our top negotiator, I guess this horrible extension. Now, I had in the future. Thank you."
Thanks for the comedy break Mr. Google :)
4chan founder Christopher Poole (aka "moot"): “Facebook and Google do identity wrong, Twitter does it better, and I want to think about what the world would be if we did it right." #Bravo
HT Ben Parr / Mashable
I highly recommend maximizing the screen (lower RH corner of video) for this one!
If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts
"I find for myself that my first thought is never my best thought. My first thought is always someone else’s; it’s always what I’ve already heard about the subject, always the conventional wisdom. It’s only by concentrating, sticking to the question, being patient, letting all the parts of my mind come into play, that I arrive at an original idea."
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What happens if you turn Twitter’s newly redesigned bird on its side? Love Josh Helfferich's (@Josh Helfferich) work here!
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Facebook is about to IPO just as the social media "friends and family" mega-platform era is peaking. #CaveatEmptor
— Social Media Insider (@SocialMedia411) May 17, 2012
Facebook IPO marks the peak of the Social Media Hype Cycle. "Trough of Disillusionment" coming: bit.ly/g7abb
— Social Media Insider (@SocialMedia411) May 18, 2012
This past Monday night by dog Bosco, my best friend, died in his sleep. He was three months away from his 7th birthday and was healthy and happy. His vet suspects an electrical anomaly in this brain or heart caused a fatal heart attack. His death has completely devastated me.
Those of you who know me, and Bosco, know the important role he played in my life. He literally saved my life 4 years ago and was with me at least 23 1/2 out of every 24 hours. He loved to play frisbee and ride the escalators at Macy's in Palo Alto. People would always stop me just so they could admire him. He went virtually everywhere with me. He was amazing in so many ways and I needed him at least as much as he needed me.
It's been three days and I'm only now even able to write about his passing. I know the intense pain that I feel right now will subside with time, but the memories of our time together are strong and vivid and will live with me for the rest of my life.
Goodbye Bosco, I love you and I miss you so much.
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As I've said previously, I understand and appreciate what Klout is trying to do. But assigning a single score to something as nuanced and contextual as "influence" is the 3rd rail of online identity. When you reduce a person to a number, and that number is wildly at odds with the collective community's assessment of that individual's true influence, there's going to be a vocal, public backlash. And almost beyond comprehension, Klout has been caught flat-footed and fumbled their response to each successive firestorm that has arisen.
With that in mind, I recently read what IMO was one of the most "interesting" pieces I've seen in support of Klout, but you decide for yourself >> "There Is No I In Klout".
Chris,
You say “Klout can be gamed you say? So can Facebook, Twitter, Google.” The problem with that argument is that none of those sites exist to promote a single metric scoring system, let alone one that purports to be the standard of measurement for something as nuanced as influence.
For god’s sake, when the Twitter account of a fictitious snake has a higher Klout score that 98% of the humans Klout is tracking (https://twitter.com/#!/bronxzooscobra), you can tell that something is seriously wrong.
Beyond that I can’t understand your contention that it’s good for individuals because its “priceless to marketers.” It should be the other way around, and I think that’s what Klout doesn’t yet understand: It should be good for marketers because it’s priceless to individuals.
In general, I believe attempting to measure "influence" per se is largely a fool's errand. What Klout should do is state clearly that what they're actually measuring is "a person's ability to attract attention and amplify message", because that's exactly what they're doing. It's not influence in any traditional sense of the word, and insisting that it is drives people crazy. Even worse for Klout, it gives people a reason to call the entire product/company in to question.
Klout, you can largely fix your PR problem with a single swing of the bat - just change your positioning statement to reflect what you're actually attempting to measure. People will better understand the product and will respect you for clarifying your objectives. It'll also show them you're truly commited to honestly addressing their concerns. But your current strategy of claiming transparency while providing nearly none only continues to undermine what otherwise is a laudable long-term goal: Helping organizations and individuals identify and engage high-target amplifiers.
Although these numbers seem a bit high, there's still no question that "the days of printing out a stack of resumes and handing them out at job fairs are definitely over". Your mileage may vary!
In a world without Facebook .......
]]>The excerpt below from FDR from nearly 80 years ago is as relevant today as when he spoke the words in 1932. It also highlights the ineptitude of the majority of politicians occupying Congress today, a group whose primary objectives apparently are avoiding risk and blaming the opposite party for all that ails the country.
America need true leaders, leaders with the courage to explore new alternatives to both new and persistent problems. Unfortunately the U.S. Congress has been reduced to a collection of human geiger counters; short-term public opinion panderers determined not to make a mistake that might cost them the next election. We need better. We should demand better.
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"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.
We need enthusiasm, imagination and the ability to face facts, even unpleasant ones, bravely. We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer. We need the courage of the young.
Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you. May every one of us be granted the courage, the faith and the vision to give the best that is in us to that remaking!"
~ FDR / Oglethorpe University Commencement Address (in its entirety) / May 22, 1932
"In a skit parodying the PBS roundtable show Charlie Rose, Mark Zuckerberg, Arianna Huffington, Reed Hastings & Rupert Murdoch come together to discuss Jobs’s legacy."
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