Tag: Social networking

Two MIT students have developed software that uses an algorithm to analyse friendship associations on Facebook and predict whether users are gay.

Two MIT students have developed software that uses an algorithm to analyse friendship associations on Facebook and predict whether users are gay.

We’ve seen Facebook’s remarkable growth statistics and we’ve read sceptical remarks in the media. But how do real people actually use Facebook? And is all that tabbing, tweaking, clicking, checking, linking, liking, posting and perusing just part of a self-absorbed quest for attention by lonely people?

Companies can no longer hide behind the “official company line” or rely simply on media spend to influence the public’s thinking on any given subject. Take the recent tempest caused by on-air remarks made by conservative US television commentator Glenn Back when he called Obama “a racist”. Ignore social network-driven campaigns at your peril.

You’ve heard all the pros and cons for social networking. So, I’m not going there again. If you hate social media, run away. Now. However, for those of you who are hooked, there’s a whole new world of words and phrases that you need to be across. So, I felt it was time for a dictionary for our new, social media age.

Anthill contributor Dave Birchall recently caught up for coffee and an interesting chat with Sydney-based Tim Ayling, CEO of Platform 46, an internal online social network for businesses.

A bunch of small business owners on the Central Coast recently formed a connection on Twitter, sharing experiences, advice and business tips. So they decided to meet (known in twitter circles as a "tweetup"). Since meeting, the group has grown into a fully-fledged organisation - the Central Coast Small Business Network, or CCBiz - and it is officially launching on 27 August. Great work, people.

In the social network popularity stakes, MySpace is having its tail handed to it by Facebook. But CollegeHumor.com thinks it has the answer to how MySpace can turn the situation to its advantage - a social network for users abandoning MySpace.

Unless you are Osama bin Laden’s roommate, you'll know that 2009 is the year Twitter took off. It has grown by over 1,000 percent and the phrase "tweet it" has become part of the popular lexicon. While many people still "don't get it", it has become incredibly powerful. How did this happen?

There’s no getting around it – utilisation of social networking as a form of marketing requires an input of time. This bugs a lot of business owners, looking for a shortcut. Isn’t there some way in which we can just, like, advertise on it or something? Do we really need to spend hours in front of our computers tweeting, LinkingIn and Facebooking?

Just being a facilitator won’t satisfy or even make sense to many corporate marketers. I’m not suggesting that you put your head in the sand, but recognise social networks for what they are, and what they are not.

// WAIT! I'm not here to evangelise Twitter or to pick news items out of it merely because it seems to be a slow...

I was reading 'designing for the social web' by Joshua Porter for my UXbookclub Sydney meeting a couple of months ago. It opens with a quote...

If this sounds like you, we may have just furthered your ambitions. When asked to create a cover about the power of crowds, Anthill designer...