The New York Times gives an eerie glimpse into those who will work online in order to buy virtual clothes. It seems our “second life” is much like our orginal life: “It’s payday for Janine Hawkins. Not in the real world, where she is a student at Nipissing University in Ontario, but in the online… Continue reading A Second Life That is No Different Than Our Original Life
Category: social networks
Social Networks’ Fight Against Trendiness
The New York Times looks at social networks for older folks, as companies look to battle the ficklenss of younger audiences: “Technology investors and entrepreneurs, long obsessed with connecting to teenagers and 20-somethings, are starting a host of new social networking sites aimed at baby boomers and graying computer users. And they are seeking to… Continue reading Social Networks’ Fight Against Trendiness
Understanding The Value of Social Networks
Read/Write Web looks at what is behind social networks, with this premise: “It is an interesting exercise to attempt to theorize how online social networking is likely to evolve once we get past the hype cycle. The best way to start is by looking at the different types of human networks and the motivations that… Continue reading Understanding The Value of Social Networks
Splitting Your Personality Across Social Networks
Increasingly, individuals are using several different social networks to interact with others online, and to share their thoughts and experiences. For Steve Rubel, he seems to have found a solution with a service called Tumblr: “Over the last few months I have really changed how and where I create content. For a long time all of… Continue reading Splitting Your Personality Across Social Networks
Taking Down the Walled-Gardens Online; Facebook Opens Up
Dave Winer looks at how Facebook is opening up, allowing bits of data from its social network to be freed via RSS feeds. Such feeds bypass traditional walls that are put up around these closed social networks, and give users freedom to integrate their information and networks with the internet as a whole. “According to… Continue reading Taking Down the Walled-Gardens Online; Facebook Opens Up
USA Today’s Social Network Not Paying Off?
USA Today’s social networking features don’t seem to be doing much to increase page views or unique visitors on their website. Michael Arrington looks at some data on this surprising twist; usually, social networks are an easy way to increase these metrics.
Why Can’t Social Networks be Social with Each Other?
Scott Gilbertson of Wired is looking past which social network is the flavor of the week, and asks if we can do away with them altogether. Since they are closed environments, all of your data and connections are locked within their walls, and can’t play well with others who don’t use your social network. As… Continue reading Why Can’t Social Networks be Social with Each Other?
The Most Engaging Social Networks
Jeremy Liew looks at the top social networks for engagement: “Its interesting to see that Orkut, generally thought of as a Brazilian and Indian focused site, has more pageviews per user per month from US users than even MySpace and Facebook. Myspace continues to dominate Facebook on all three key metrics, suggesting that reports of… Continue reading The Most Engaging Social Networks
MySpace Looks for More Original Content
As competition for the hearts of web users heats up, MySpace is looking to become something more than an aggregator and social network, but a content producer, and conduit for others to do so: “MySpace had a great deal of success with their short form webisode, “Prom Queen”. The heavily hyped ode to teenage drama… Continue reading MySpace Looks for More Original Content
Second Life: Business Friendly?
With all of the hype around the business prospects in Second Life, Wagner James Au looks at 5 myths about the site: Myth 1: Second Life is Huge– or Second Life is Small Myth 2: Nobody visits SL Marketing Sites Myth 3: Real World Advertisers are Linden Lab’s Main Revenue Source Myth 4: Corporate Sites… Continue reading Second Life: Business Friendly?