"Brain Hacking" - Another Unintended Consequence of Technology http://t.co/EOoZ1roK via @sharethis
LinkedIn and BranchOut quarrel over API access
BranchOut, a self-described professional online networking service, has been denied access to LinkedIn's Application Programming Interface (API) for what LinkedIn describes as a violation of its Terms of Service (TOS). This decision by LinkedIn comes on the heels of the wildly successful initial private offering debut of the company on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNKD.LinkedIn is not the only social media giant that has cut off API access to third-party developers for reportedly failing to follow TOS. The flagship social networks Facebook and Twitter have also denied API access to application developers for alleged TOS violations.
BranchOut is considered by many to be a direct competitor to LinkedIn since both networks offer various similar features to its users. At the heart of both BranchOut and LinkedIn are the business-minded profiles that concentrate on work experience, education, as well as recommendations from former bosses, coworkers, and peers.
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A Breakdown of Google+
Google has privately launched a new social media service entitled Google+. The service is intended to compete with Facebook, and includes a number of features that Facebook does not. The most distinctive elements of Google+ can be broken down into the Stream, Circles, Sparks, and Hangouts.The Stream is the first thing you see on Google+. It is functionally similar to Facebook's News Feed and Twitter's Timeline, appearing on the home page of each logged-in user. It shows real-time updates from people the user is following. It contains a status update field which can handle text, photos, videos, a link with accompanying description, and the user's location. Unfortunately, the automatic location detection feature only works well on mobile devices that are equipped with GPS, and not on traditional desktops or laptops. Posts that are made to the Stream can be edited at any time. This is a significant change from Facebook, where posts can be edited only immediately after submission. Also, users can select which of their posts can be automatically shared by their friends.
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Twitter Found Themselves In A Federal Investigation
Microblogging giant Twitter is apparently being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, for anti-competitive behavior. According to a report by Business Insider last week, the FTC is scrutinizing the manner in which Twitter handles companies that develop third-party services and applications that run on top of Twitter. The investigation was apparently prompted by complaints from Bill Gross, the owner of UberMedia, an online search advertising company.UberMedia is trying to create an ad-network within the Twitter ecosystem by buying firms that offer third-party services and applications for Twitter. One company that UberMedia wanted to purchase was TweetDeck, according to Business Insider. However, Twitter itself has apparently being trying to actively block companies such as UberMedia from building their own advertising network. Over the past one year, Twitter has been on an aggressive buying spree of its own. It first snapped up Tweetie, and later purchased TweetDeck even as UberMedia was planning to acquire the company.
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Politicians Go Local
As Washington gears up for the 2012 elections, the continuous game of one-upsmanship continues. Politicians looking to top the incredible breakthroughs that the Obama campaign gave to campaigning in general are going local.
Overall, technology since the Obama campaign has become much more localized, and both social media sites and the major search engines have begun major efforts to localize queries, as the general populace has become increasingly tired in viewing search results that do not pertain to them, and are responding with decreased interest in anything that does not directly and immediately affect them.
Following the trend of social media and the major search engines, politicians are increasingly stratifying their efforts to communicate to what is increasingly becoming a more nuanced public. Presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty recently founded a website courting the Iowa voter specifically. He is only the first in what is sure to be a long line of politicians going local.
New York State Sen. Greg Ball hit Twitter, asking voters about gay marriage directly. Specifically, his post to his Twitter and Facebook followers read:
"Opening up the discussion! If you were me, how would you vote on gay marriage? Yes or No?" [New York State Sen. Greg Ball Twitter page]
Never before has politics seen such a direct effort to reach the voters on such a wide scale, with an upcoming Republican debate to be held on Twitter and include heavy hitters in the political organization.
According to a recent study, many politicians are gearing their campaigns for many local markets, planning to launch multiple web sites for different geographical areas, and even for different demographic groups. The Republican Party especially is taking cues from Obama's groundbreaking 2008 campaign, and hiring over 50% more technical staff for the GOP party in general, with a large portion of those individuals specializing in local search engine optimization and social media.
As a response, the Obama campaign is gearing up an effort to further localize the channels that have always proven successful for him, namely his YouTube addresses and grassroots efforts. His local offices will now each add an online component, which the Obama campaign sees as essential to moving the Presidential effort forward in 2012.
And these efforts are seizing the opportunity to capture the youth vote, utilizing familiar methods to spread their message. This may be the one source for information to which this demographic will actually go, never mind the built-in bias and heavily slanted messaging emanating from that very source! “If it’s on the ‘net, it must be true”, is their all-too-common attitude. We can’t blame them; today’s youth have been raised in an “instant-gratification” world of immediate response and instant retrieval through a myriad of gadgets. They have lost (if they truly ever had) the desire to research factual information, relying instead on what is the easiest to access.
Wiki Love
Wikipedia has recognized the need for positive reinforcement in the community. Wikipedia has decided to launch a “Love” button for contributors and users of Wikipedia to comment on each other’s work. This method of appreciation encourages more involvement and better quality of work. Users may send each other virtual beers, cats and numerous other signs of encouragement. Experts at Wikipedia hope that through this reinforcement a community will form to provide more accurate and up-to-date information on the website. Constructive criticism and encouragement will help contributors feel better about the time invested in the Wikipedia articles. WikiLove supports whimsical notes, trophies, invitations to the community or welcome letters to a new team member.
WikiLove is also a positive way to edit an article without offending the original writer. The information remains accurate while friendships and networks are formed. Virtual gifts will allow the person to know that the edit is not in malice but in the good of the community. This also encourages accurate information and a community of experts and specialists.
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