The Hulu Petition; Dear Rupert Murdoch

Let us explain why charging for HULU even after ad revenues is very shortsighted. (Or just ask Tower Records)

Hulu Petition ; Sign the blog petition and forward!

Consumers have MILLIONS of entertainment options online. Shifts in technology and lifestyles are barely holding the attention of viewers. Simply put, creating any barrier to viewership increases the vulnerabilities of your business and entices more and more entertainment providers to make entertainment options available which are solely supported by advertising revenue. This makes it easier for lesser known networks as well as all forms of entertainment to take away your market share.  

We challenge you to be forward thinking by embracing technology! Use your position in the market to build on a a sustainable long term business model.  Recognize that charging for network TV, while maybe in the short-term create some revenue in the long-term it will drives away viewers! This is as bad for us as it is bad for you because when there is less money to produce the shows there is a real risk that the quality of the shows will decrease as well. We support our TV actors, actresses, production people, and networks but it is unfair to shift more cost onto us the viewer when we access the same content online that we see on TV.

Join us in our petititon to Rupert Mudroch at the TV Fan Space and sign this blog petition and share your comments on the subject of HULU charging for TV episodes which are already free on TV.

www.TVFanSpace.com – THE TV SOCIAL NETWORK!

Forward this to your friends and family and share the TV Social Network! Finding TV Online for ALL is our mission! We are a community of TV Fans!

Online TV Constitution: We the TV Viewers, in order to advocate for fair distribution of TV on the internet, to protect unfair business models be born of technological advancement, to provide for the common viewing, to promote our favorite shows, actors, actresses, and those working in the entertainment industry, and to secure the future of our shared interests, do ordain establish this Constitution for all of us united that while we will not download illegal content, we also will not pay for TV online.

Respectfully,

TVFanSpace.com,  For Fans by Fans! www.TVFanSpace.com

It wasn’t long ago that your “community” referred to the neighbors
within a certain radius or the colleagues with whom you worked.
Connecting with these folks to raise support for an issue or
neighborhood block party often posed a challenge. If you were trying
to raise interest for an issue or invite people to an event, outreach
might involve phone calls or canvassing the area and distributing
flyers. Once you got the word out you would have to sit and wait to
see if the people you’d reached out to had the same interests and
concerns you had. Ultimately, you never knew if your neighbors truly
shared anything in common with you — beyond a zip code.

Back then, “community” would happen at the Community Center – the hub
of activity inside a regional area where both adults and children
would gather to connect, visit, play games and even share photos. All
sorts of activities were taking place here and people made the trip to
connect to enjoy life together.

But, in this age of the real-time Web, it’s become easier than ever to
find or build a community with like-minded people who, most often, do
not live within your zip code. As technology evolves, our degrees of
separation have gotten smaller. Social networking has helped us push
past the geographical boundaries, and has helped us to engage based on
common interests. It’s now easier than ever to become an activist and
rally support for something we feel passionate about. And businesses
can create awareness, solve problems, and generate great customer
experiences with the click of a mouse.

But building relationships online is still not that easy. It requires
clear channels of communication and common interests. At Cliqset,
we’re working hard to foster community regardless of zip code and make
it simple for you to develop your own network, and interact with
others, just as if you were meeting them at the local coffee shop or
community center.

Inside Cliqset, once you discover something that interests you, it’s
very easy to start a conversation around it just as if you were
meeting up with that person in real life. We’ve made it easier for you
to share your life online by allowing you to share more than your
status updates or interesting links – you can engage more deeply and
share what you are doing on other networks and talk about that in
real-time on Cliqset.

At Cliqset, we encourage you to start real-time, dynamic conversations
about the things that interest you most, and watch as others join in.
We want you to share and discuss your lives, thoughts,
accomplishments, reviews, pictures….you name it. Looking to solve a
problem? Seek out experts and engage them in discussion in an intimate
forum. In essence, we all are content producers and we want feedback
and to build discussions around our content. Our community opens up an
entirely new universe of people and activities for you to discover,
share and even discuss in real-time.

What are you waiting for? Come join us as we build the new online
“zipcode.” Our weekly conversations are a great way to start
and see what’s possible with creating community in real-time. We hope
to see you next week!

Carlos Brando do blog Nome do Jogo em sua palestra “Yet Another Ruby Framework – Como o Rails funciona por dentro” apresentou um pouco sobre a sua experiência no desenvolvimento de um framework em ruby para criação de aplicativos sociais baseados na plataforma open social, o sociably.

Carlos Brando no Rails Summit

Depois de tentar adaptar o rails para atender a essa necessidade e chegar a conclusão que essa não era a melhor opção, Brando e sua equipe enfrentaram o desafio de desenvolver o framework que será disponibilizado, segundo ele, em código livre no futuro. Foram apresentados alguns conceitos que devem ser pensados antes de se construir um framework web como arquiteturas push-based e pull-based . Brando ressaltou ainda a importância de se considerar o projeto rack, ORM para banco de dados e geradores de código.

Veja os slides de Brando no SlideShare:

In case you haven’t yet heard the news, Cliqset has officially premiered its public beta!

We think this release takes a giant step forward in making the social media experience more engaging. And we believe there’s something for everyone – users, developers and the open Web community.

For a quick overview of what’s new, see our private beta blog post which steps through some of the newest features. These are just a few of the features that we feel enhance the user experience and the best part…all activities on Cliqset happen in real-time, making the experience similar to how your conversations unfold in real life. But here’s a quick overview of some of our favorites:

- Update your status using Google talk (just add Cliqset to your contacts)
- Email your status updates, photos, and links while you’re on the go
- Integration with nearly 70 other social networks and services that enable you to share your content whereever you’d like
- Our new Cliqset Air app allows you to customize your activity streams in the way you want to view them
- Control who views and comments on your activities via Cliqset Permissions

If you are a Boxee subscriber, have fun with Cliqset’s latest app, which brings real-time conversation to your entertainment experience. Discuss, critique, and even hypothesize endings with other Boxee viewers while you watch your favorite TV shows and movies. Here’s more on that from the Boxee blog: Cliqset brings real-time conversation to Boxee.

And we are continuing to foster decentralization of the web and our commitment to making Cliqset a place of innovation and openness. For developers, we now provide full access to our real-time commenting and streaming APIs, making it easier to write real-time apps. And, if you are a Boxee developer, you should also check out our development library as we’re making available our real-time APIs for writing Boxee apps.

But, keep in mind that this latest beta is just the beginning and we won’t be resting on our laurels. As always, Cliqset continues to work hard to make our online community more and more irresistible. Drop us a line if you like what you see, or if you have ideas on how we can build the best real-time community on the Web. We’re here and ready to engage: http://cliqset.com/user/cliqset .

It’s a big day for Cliqset and the social web! Today, we opened up the new beta of our online community to a limited group of people to get feedback.

As the nature of conversations on the Web has been dramatically changing to mirror those in real life – centered around topics, location and audience – Cliqset is now all about your conversations, however they unfold.

So, what’s new in Cliqset beta 3? Frankly, a lot. Over the last few months, we’ve completely redesigned our website and have created a real-time community that makes it’s easier for users to stay engaged and follow the discussions that they find most interesting.

In our private beta, real-time conversations and activity streams are a focal point in the latest release. Users now have options for communicating and sharing online activities (like photos, location aware updates, bookmarks) with their friends and online communities, while also being able to track and update all of the third-party social services you’re on from one centralized hub.

Here’s what’s now possible on Cliqset:

• Quickly engage and discuss. Discussions and commenting are now all in real-time – unique from most social networks and services currently on the web – giving users a better way way to communicate and stay engaged in the discussion as it unfolds.

• You can easily pull in your content from almost 70 social networks and services. We now support Cliqset integrations with the most popular third-party services so you can easily pull your content into Cliqset (photos, status updates, videos, blog posts, etc.) from other social networks.

• We now have easier ways to share your content with other social networks and services, including Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Identi.ca, Linkedin and FriendFeed. Users can update their status, and share photos, bookmarks, reviews on Cliqset and push them out to wherever they choose.

• And you can now share content that you discover on Cliqset with other social services you’ve enabled.

• Easily discover content and people by staying on top of specific topics with Cliqset’s granular activity stream filters. Users can select which types of updates they’d like to see in their activity stream including text, photo, comment, or blog post.

• Updates that include photo files or location details now show a thumbnail so that users can easily see the content without having to explore further and with filtering capabilities, find others who are discussing the same topics and activities.

• Greater control over how people can see and interact with information that you share.

Come join Cliqset. To be a part of our private beta, sign up and start connecting and conversing in real-time

On the heels of their local Ignite meetup, the Atlanta tech scene is gearing up for yet another cool event. On September 25, Jacksonville-based Cliqset is heading up to visit our techie neighbors in Georgia and participate in New Media Atlanta. We’re especially excited to sponsor the event because building a community is very important here at Cliqset and NMATL is helping to drive and support the tech and marketing network in the Southeast. Not to mention, we’re looking forward to that famous Georgia pie and Southern hospitality!

Another draw for the event is that it highlights the larger discussion around technology and social media and how that enables deeper more engaged real-time connections. We know businesses today are having a lot of conversations on and around the Web and we’re looking forward to hearing Chris Brogan, who is keynoting the event, lend his expertise in new media and emerging social technology to help businesses better understand the newest Web trends. We’re sure to get an earful on topics like how real-time search and social applications can facilitate greater customer engagement – particularly significant to us since our main focus has always been supporting easy and engaging conversations.

The schedule is packed with great sessions, so drop us a line and let us know if we’ll see you at the event (or after party). Or if you have anything you want us to ask Chris – we definitely are psyched to pick his brain.

As I’ve re-quoted before “Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital“ Aaron Levenstein

This video makes compelling reading/watching, but read between the lines, there’s more to this than meets the eye, major changes are unfolding in the social media environment, information/data/ID aggregation is becoming the new hot potato, the shift is about linking you to the stuff you want to know in a transparent & convenient way.

For more info & a list of quotes & stats go to the socialnomics blog

Also check out a brilliant and ballsy presentation by Marta Kagan entitled What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

Also note Marta doesn’t use the that annoying Social Media Expert moniker, she calls herself a Bonafide Marketing Genius, now that’s a great job title! (as long as you live up to it of course, although reading her blog, it looks like she does)

Эта первая статья посвященная описанию проекта Gogole OpenSocial и Google Friend Connect. Для начала цитата с страницы проекта

OpenSocial определяет общий набор API для создания социальных приложений на основе множества веб-сайтов. OpenSocial позволяет разработчикам создавать приложения, обеспечивающие доступ к социальным сетям и графам, а также обновлять эти сведения.

Что это значит?

Это значит что всем социальным сетям предлагается реализовать один общий API что весьма удобно. Как минимум через этот API уже можно работать с MySpace, orkut, Partuza, Plaxo (полный список лежит тут). Практический любой компонент разработанный на API Open Social можно будет встроить в любую социальную сеть которая является участником проекта. Для тех социальных сетей, которые хотят стать участниками разработана Java и PHP библиотека которую можно достать тут. Также для тех кто решил воспользоваться возможностями Open Social на своем сайте или блоге был разработан сервис Google Friend Connect.

Какая польза мне от Google Open Socal и Google Friend Connect?

Практический любой владелец сайта или блога может внедрить общий компоненты от Google Friend Connect, позволяющие легко реализовать социальность и на свой простенький но любимый сайт. Из списка основных компонентов я выделяю: модуль авторизации через учетную запись Google и MySpace, и возможность приглашать новых участников из списка своих друзей.
На мой взгляд эти модули могут способствовать притоку новых посетителей на сайт. Кстати некоторые отечественные социальные сети уже воспользовались данной возможность от Google обещая пользователем Google за выдачу своих списков контактов всякие подарки.

Ссылки по теме:

• Мастер сообществ (Google Friend Connect)
• Пример интеграции Google Friend Connect
• Страница Open Social
• Група на Google

If you thought the recent upgrade of doXtop`s application on Ning was the last one you`ll ever see, you couldn`t be more wrong. We are determined to fine-tune, enrich and adjust our Open Social engagement to the point of perfection and today we have another small novelty to blog about.

The full page view of the doXtop Ning application from now on provides a new menu which enables users to view the recent publications from network members. You can select publications from each network member by clicking on his/her name in the drop down menu.

In case you do not select a network member from the list of names and leave the “select member…” field unchanged, you will be shown a list of latest publications from doXtop.

(read more

As you already know, doXtop is part of a larger networking initiative called OpenSocial standard and our services are interoperable through “doXtop – Get Published” application with every social network which supports this standard.

One of these social networks is Ning and so far it is our biggest OpenSocial success. Recently, we made a few changes and upgrades to our Ning application which we`d like to inform you about.
Of course, in order to enjoy the benefit of doXtop services on Ning, you have to be a member of the Ning network. Registering and signing up takes only a few moments.

Once you become a member and add “doXtop – Get Published” application it becomes available to all members of that network on their My Page. Also, after the application is added a new tab will appear in the top right menu with the name of application.

If you click it, you will be able to see all recent publications from the network members on the Main Page. In case there are no publications from network members, all recent publications from doXtop will be shown instead.

(read more)

ABSTRACT

OpenSocial is a set of APIs for building social applications that run on the web. OpenSocial’s goal is to make more apps available to more users, by providing a common API that can be used in many different contexts. Developers can create applications, using standard JavaScript and HTML, that run on social websites that have implemented the OpenSocial APIs. These websites, known as OpenSocial containers, allow developers to access their social information; in return they receive a large suite of applications for their users.
The OpenSocial APIs expose methods for accessing information about people, their friends, and their data, within the context of a container. This means that when running an application on Orkut, you’ll be interacting with your Orkut friends, while running the same application on MySpace lets you interact with your MySpace friends.

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Less than 16% of humanity do have internet connection. It is strange to speak about social media site. What social type do you mean? Nothing is not social. It is just a kind of  autocongratulation or autopromotion. What’s happening? We are developing Open ID, compatilibity, permeability between social media plateforms because we are not able to talk to others cultures, to others people. Social medias sites need to talk each other because they have not found the way to conquer other lands. When more than 80% of the planet ignore what is facebook, twitter, gmail, we should really think the usefulness of these sites. Are they really social or just narcissistic? 

How can we charm Bambara, Hutu, Zulu, Kalash, Bolowen, Pa Dong to use social media sites? Further to clichés, how can we create social contents? Do we need to review not the business model but the social model? What would be the place of roots?  Do not you believe that arrongance is too much? Do Bambara, Hutu, Zulu, Kalash, Bolowen, Pa Dong they need the same google, ergonomy? What do you know about them? How were the ancient civilizations ways of communication?

Do not be too much socialists, we need money to make money. What do you think about rehabilitating indigenous values? That is not the real value?

이번 글은 웹의 미래를 “open”과 “linked Data”라는 기본방향과 관련해서  제시하고 있는 글입니다

개념은 Tim Berners-Lee의 TED 강연을 기초로 했고, 역시 동영상을 보시면 훨씬 더 좋구요. 언제나처럼 뒤에 약간의 설명을 덧붙였어요. 약간 길지만 꼭 끝까지 읽어주세요. 함 믿어보시라니깐!!!! ^^

그럼 시작하겠습니다.

Tim Berners-Lee 가 2009년 2월 TED 강연에서 큰 목소리로 사람들에게 외쳤습니다.

RAW DATA NOW!

이제부터는 꼭! 가공안한 Data를 줘!!!!!!!!!!!

도대체 왜 Raw Data가 필요한데?

Tim Berner-Less는 linked Data가 WWW자체를 바꾸는 것이라고 말합니다. 우리는 가공된 문서의 웹(페이지의 웹)에서 Data의 웹으로 진입하는 중도에있고,  모든 사람들이 Data들을 연결해서 자유롭게 활용하기 위해서는 정부, 기업, 너나 할 것 없이 Data를 가공하지 않은채 공개해 웹에다가 넣어 둬야한다고 주장합니다. 

아래 이미지를 보시면 아시겠지만, 과거에 우리는 각자의 Data로 단지 한 두가지의 꽃만 피울 수 있었습니다. 그렇지만 Data들을 잘게 나눠서 어떤 연결된 Data 표준을 만든다면 거기에서는 엄청난 조합이 이뤄져 수백수천가지의 꽃들이  꽃들이 피어날 수 있겠죠.

좀 쉽게 예를 들어볼까요? Wikipedia 아시죠? 여기에는 많은 웹페이지 혹은 문서(Documentations: 읽기위한 페이지)들이 있습니다. 이 부분은 거의 전부가 가공된 정보입니다. 

그럼, Wikipedia이  페이지 오른쪽 빨간 네모박스쪽을 한번 보실래요? 이 부분은 Data -가공하지 않은 자료들을 그냥 웹에서 불러오는 겁니다. 이렇게 빨간 네모 박스 부분으로 Data의 토양(DBpedia)을 한번 만들어봅시다.

 Dbpedia는 여기 중심에 있는 파란동그라미예요. 여기에서 나는 Berlin에 대한 정보를 찾으려고 합니다. 여기에 다른 빨강, 초록, 주황 동그라미들은 DBpedia와 연결되어 있는 데이터들(linked data)입니다. 그 연결된 데이터들에게 또 다른 연결된 데이터들이 있습니다. 자 그럼 파란 동그라미를 한번 휙 당겨보세요. 그럼 연결된 다른 동그라미들이 후두둑 같이 덩달아 따라오겠죠? 즉 DBpedia에서 Berlin을 찾으면 여기에 연결된 모든 동그라미에서 Berlin의 정보들이 줄줄이소세지처럼 따라나오게 되는 겁니다.

그럼 Data에 대해서 좀더 생각해봅시다. Data는 사실 엄청나게 다른 폼으로 저장되어 있어요. Web의 다양성에 대해서 생각해보세요. 웹에는 개인정보, 날씨, 국가정보, 이야기에 대한 정보, 사진 등 엄청나게 많은 정보들이 자기 폼대로 올라가 있습니다. 정부가 자료를 발표할  땐, 전 이게 가공되지 않고 연결된 데이터였음 좋겠습니다. 이걸로 나는 이 나라에서 어떻게 살아가야 하는지를 알수도 있고, 아이들 숙제도 도와줄수 있을겁니다. 실제로 유익한 것들이라니까요. 제가 지금 이야기 하는 것은 이러한 데이터들을 더 다양하게 사용가능하게 해서 더 나은 방식으로 함께 살아가고자 하는 이야기입니다.

뭔가 너무 거창하게 들린다면 이건 어떨까요? Data는 우리의 삶입니다. Facebook에 로긴한다고 생각해보세요. 여기 내 친구 Jamie-이게 Data입니다. 여기 Jamie의 사진이 있네? – 이것도 Data구요. Data, Data, Data! Facebook에서 뭘 할 때마다, Facebook은 Data를 쌓고 이를 이용합니다. 그 연결된 Data들로 사람들을 더 재미있게 만들어주죠. 

그런데, 다른 사이트, 예를 들어 “미투데이”에 들어가면 내가 이 Facebook에 있는 Jamie의 사진을 다른 사람한테 보여주려고 해도 그 장벽을 넘을 수가 없어요. 수없이 많은 사람들이 여기에 대해서 벽을 낮추자고 얘기했지만 지금껏 계속 절망뿐이었습니다. 이런 Data들은 모두가 알아들을 수 있는 -상호 이용가능한- 형태가 되어야 풀어낼 수 있고, Linked data(변형되지 않은 연결된 정보들)가 처음엔 더디더라도 결국엔 이런 문제들을 해결해 줄 겁니다.

어떤 정보가 있을 때, 요걸 그냥 혼자 간직했다가 예쁘게~~ 웹사이트로 만들어서 보여주려는 사람들이 있습니다. 이를 정보끌어안기(Database hugging)이라고 칭합니다. 뭔가 예쁘게 웹사이트로 만들기 전에는 안보여주는 거지요. 네, 누가 예쁘게 만들지 말라고 했나요? 만드세요!!! 그런데 우리에게는 걍 순수한(가공안한) Data를 달라고요!!!!!!!! 우리는 Data를 원해!!!!!!!! 가공안한거!!!!! 자, 연습합시다. 따라하세요. 가공안한 Data!!! 내가 뭘원한다고요? 가공안한 Data!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(이 부분은 실제 강연에서 Tim Berners-Lee가 관객들에게 따라하라고 시킨 부분입니다 ㅎㅎㅎ)

[Jamie가 덧붙이는 이야기들]

1. 좀 더 쉬운 설명

예를 들면요. 지금까지의 웹은 이런 거였습니다.  G마켓에서 파는 별모양 비키니 페이지를 예로 들어봅시다.

현재 사이트에 보면 거기의 정보들이 G마켓의 구조에 맞는 DB에 가공, 저장되어 있어서 그정보는 보여주지도 않았지만, 볼 수 있다해도 다른 사람들은 아무도 활용할 수가 없었어요. 내가 G마켓에서 상품평 쓴다해도 그게 거기서 그치는 거죠.

그렇지만 만약 DB로 각각을 다 쪼개 놓는다고 생각해보세요. 이미지 따로, 상품정보 따로, 상품평 따로, 판매자정보 따로, 구매자 정보 따로, 가격따로 저장을 하되 연결이 되어 있는 상태로 저장을 해두는 거예요. 옥션도, G마켓도, 아마존도, ebay도 그렇게 한다고 생각해보세요. 그럼 나중에 나는 별모양 비키니를 구매한 정보가 있는 사람들을 연결해서 별모양 비키니 커뮤니티를 만든다거나, 세계 각국의 별모양 비키니 판매상을 엮어서 별모양 비키니를 다 모아갖고 [별모양은 여기 다있다!! : 스타비키니사이트]에서 판매하고, 그 1년 후에는 스타워즈와 전격 제휴! 스타워즈 확장판 비키니를 판매하고 또 그다음에는…..ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ ^^;;;

어떤 방식으로든 불러오고 싶은 방식으로 불러와서 새로이 서비스를 만들면 되는겁니다. 무한한 갯수의 서비스가 생기는 거죠. 근데 이거 갠찮네. 스타 비키니 컴퍼니, CEO 제이미 박

2. 구글

몇 일 전에 Google이 구글의 RDF를 지원한다는 기사가 나왔습니다. 이것은 Linked Data를 이용하는 어떤 기본적인 움직임 중에 하나입니다. RDF를 이용해서 데이터를 구조화시키는데 구글이라는 major가 관심을 보였다는 것은 연결된 Data들을 통해 고객들이 더 나은 정보들을 습득할 수 있게 되었다는 것이구요. 예를들면 아래와 같이 다른 사이트에 있었던 상품평이라든지 가격, 이런 여러 컨텐츠들이 구글검색결과에 나오는 거죠.

구글이 이런 일들을 시작했다는 것은 어느 다른 누가 시작한 것보다 더 훨씬 의미있는 일일겁니다. 

여기에 대해서,  RDF나 그런것들은 저는 개발자가 아니어서 세세히는 모르겠는데, 더 전문적인 이야기는 여기 이 페이지를 참고해주세요.  

한국 Web도 수천송이의 꽃을 피우게 하고 싶습니다!

많은 분들이 한국의 웹토양에 대해 우려하고 있는 것이, 우리의 토양이 한두송이의 거대한 꽃만 피우는 토양이기 때문입니다. 지난주에 구글과 다음, 싸이월드, 파란 등의 사이트에서 오픈소셜에 참여한다고 발표했습니다. 비록 네이버는 참여하지 않았다지만, 그리고 조금은 늦은감도 있지만, 이렇게 함께 더 풍요로운 미래웹을 만들려는 시도가 있다는 것은 참으로 반가운 일입니다. 꼭 화이팅 하십시오!!!!!

그러니까,  우리나라도 어떻게? 

이제부터는 꼭! 한국웹들도 가공안한 Data를 줘야대!!!!!!!!!!!

웹서비스를 만드는 분들이나 기획하시는 분들이 이런 생각을 공유하고 만든다면,

풍성하고 넓은 웹의미래가 더 빨리 올거라고 생각합니다. Raw Data Now!!!

(이거 꼭 제리맥과이어에서 쿠바구딩주니어가 “Show me the money!!” 이러는거 같지 않아요? ㅎㅎ)

오역은 덧글로 ^^ 

[Reference]

Linked Data is Blooming: Why You Should Care

Understanding the New Web Era: Web 3.0, Linked Data, Semantic Web      

Linked Data: Principles and State of the Art

Ning wird ihre Networks mit Ende des Monats mit neuen Funktionen (Apps auf Basis von Open Social + Ning spezifische Erweiterungen) ausstatten. Anders als die bereits jetzt verfügbaren Apps, die sich Ning User selbst auf ihre MyPage setzen können (sgn Profile Apps), werden diese Erweiterungen das jeweilige Netzwerk erweitern und von den Site Administrators “enabled” und konfiguriert werden müssen (Erklärung der Unterschiede siehe Ning Apps Documentation).

Aus den “offiziellen” Releasenotes ist etwas unklar, ob Ning nun jedem Entwickler die Möglichkeit gibt, Ning Apps zur Verfügung zu stellen, oder ob es einfach 90 von Ning bzw mit Ning entwickelte ausgesuchte Applikationen sind.

Angekündigt sind folgende Apps (insgesamt 90):

Collaboration
A Wiki (Wiki)
Huddle (Share documents and collaborate through whiteboards)
Box.net (Store files on your social network)
Google Docs
NewsShare by Slinkset (collaborative news sharing and discovery)
WordPress (Integrate a WordPress blog into the main page of your social network)
Reviews by Notches (Add review functionality to your network)
Classifieds by Adbhai (Add classifieds functionality to your network)
SearchMe () (visually search your network’s content or the web)
Flinkit by Sapplica (share interesting links)
Zoho Office Suite (six separate apps for Calendar, Docs, Mail, Planner, Contacts and Tasks Apps)
Clackpoint (Add voice conference functionality to your network)
VoxBox by Sapplica (Add polls and discussions to your network)

Communication
Ustream (Streaming of live events)
Twitter Tracker (Display a Twitter stream on the main page of your social network)
Tokbox (Video chat)
Mailchimp (Email campaigns)
Qik (Live streaming from mobile devices)
Zorap (Live multimedia chat and sharing)
YapLoud (lightweight browser-based chat)
Superchat by Sapplica (alternative chat environment)
Contact Us by LiveWired (add a simple contact form to your social network)
Internet Voicemail by Meternet (add voicemail to your network)

E-Commerce
Cartfly (Build your own store)
Shopit (Sell merchandise directly from your social network)
Amiando (Event ticket sales)
Wildfire (Run your own contests)
Tickets By Ticketmaster (Sell tickets to your favorite concerts and events right from your social network)
Bizmo (Music merchandising)
EventBee (Event ticket sales)
Tickets by LiveNation (Sell tickets to your favorite concerts and events right from your social network)
Wishlist (Display your Amazon wishlist and let visitors purchase items)
Netcarnation Marketplace (Build or add your own store)

Fundraising
PincGiving (Launch a fundraising campaign on your social network and track your results)
Socialvibe (Raise money for your favorite cause by letting brands sponsor you online)
Zazengo (Match your member interests, the needs of non-profits, and your impact)
Citizen’s Voice by Sapplica (create action campaigns)
Social Pledge (assist with social action campaigns)

Games & Fun
Emote! by RockYou (Share your spur of the moment thoughts and feelings with your friends)
PollDaddy (Run polls on your social network)
BlogTalkRadio (Host your own Internet radio show)
SmallWorlds (Join and create your own virtual world)
Games by j2play (Play all of your favorite games from chess and checkers to arcade classics, 10 games)
Games by come2play (Social gaming, 19 games)
Games by Mindjolt (Social gaming)
Games by GameDesire (Social gaming, 5 games)
Offbeat Guides (let your members build and order customized travel guides for events, conferences, etc.)
Speed Dating 2.0 (Add video dating functionality to your social network)
Rentals (Visually display rentals from your Netflix or Blockbuster queues)
Now Playing (Visually display your latest playback activity on Last.fm or iLike)
BuboMe (manipulate your friends’ photos)
Centrl by Unype (geolocate yourself on a map and view others nearby)
Live Cricket, Live Soccer and Daily Horoscope (add news and horoscope updates to your social network)

Ich kenne Ning ganz gut von einem Kundenprojekt (Sölden Community) und fand die Plattform jetzt schon recht gut. Mit diesen Erweiterungen bin ich aber schon gespannt, was man damit machen wird können. Die Ankündigung eines Wikis find ich gut, mal schauen was das Ding dann schlussendlich im echten Leben kann.

Hintergrundinfos zum Thema:

Ning Developer Networks: An Update on Ning Apps

Mashable: Ning’s Social Networks Get Their Own App Platform

Techcrunch: Ning Apps Bring A New Dimension Of Flexibility And Power To The Social Network Platform

I’ve been reading lastly about iGoogle as a personalized searcher and although at the beginning, it seemed to me a step closer to a “portal” to compete with Yahoo, it seems like Google’s movement is going in another direction. It seems they’re trying to impulse Open Social through the net they already have in Gmail. Open Social is –most of you may already know- an open and free platform which purpose is to develop projects and social applications for the web, which will standardize the social nets. Taking into account that Google was the one who created it, and that Yahoo and MySpace have already agreed upon it, I think maybe this is a big opportunity for Google to step further in the social world, after Orkut experience.
Also, iGoogle could be an entry door for pushing Google Mobile App, as this is a perfect “portal” for the iPhone, and all the gadgets that work there are an added value for the user.
But for me, these are only thoughts for the moment… The real thing right now is that the personalized searcher is again, another great tool to collect data of user behaviour where Google is being able to cross the user information through all the services where he moves around (which news do you read, which sport are you interested on, what do you write in your mails, where are you travelling…). So at the end, this is like a Centre of Behavioural Data, which adds value to the user but of course, is an unbelievable resource of knowledge for Google.
Also the personalized issue makes possible for Google to select the info they are delivering the users, so they control what they see, which info comes to them.

I didn’t want to join Facebook but did so at the suggestion of a 30-something friend of mine. I’m 45 and on very good terms with my computer and cell phone, but Social Networking always seemed to be a waste of time and something that only the younger generation could find much meaning in. I’ve been on it for a short time, and I must say I’m still wary of it, for diverse reasons. But I have hope.

With Facebook, I’ve stayed in touch with family members that are spread out across the world and reconnected with old friends. I’ve exchanged inside jokes with a friend who moved away, found out another has had five kids since I last saw her a decade ago, and learned how my niece is getting along teaching English in Rio de Janeiro (complete with lots of pictures.)

But I’ve also learned that another niece got a speeding ticket for going 60 in a 30-mph zone. A nephew took part in a public pillow fight in downtown New York (caught on video), and studies a lot in the library. Someone else is not feeling well today (with a friend thinking it was because she was pregnant.) Another announced she wanted to do some spring cleaning but took a nap instead. And I myself put the word out that I got a shard in my eye and had to spend the night looking like a pirate with a patch on my eye.

I’ve also seen how some people on my friends list (so far a paltry 12), have hundreds of “friends” of their own. And I wonder…how can this be? And this is the part I don’t get: How is more somehow always better?

It reminds me how I once had a friend, a former colleague in Moscow, whom I stayed in touch with by e-mail for a time. The first exchanges were friendly, intimate and detailed from our shared experience of living in a foreign land. Then, I began to get e-mail replies from him that were also addressed to all of the friends in his address book. These were no longer a personal response to my personal letters, and I would have none of it.

Agreed, Facebook and texting and twittering and other networking tools are a clever way to stay in touch and share your life with others, but doesn’t it get to the point where it’s all just a shallow and narcissistic exercise? When I see students in the university town where I live talking on cell phones while on a bicycle or even a scooter, for chrissakes, or texting while crossing a busy street, it makes me just shake my head.

Once, at an impromptu Q & A I attended at a local community college, a young student decided to text with someone while he was just in front of the director of the program he was trying to be admitted to. It was so distracting that I had to step in front of the student to hear the teacher. And that’s the part I’ll never get: Why did he think it was okay to do this? Could you please just be in the moment? I don’t think he gave a second thought to the people around him. But that’s just it–you’re connected, but you’re not connected. The student didn’t get it, and maybe never will.

Social Networking is like an itch that has to be scratched. It’s like how my 15-year-old niece will text with someone else while at the dinner table with family. Her phone constantly buzzes, and she has to answer the buzz. She presses a few buttons while hardly breaking eye contact with you, and that’s that. Another circuit completed. Another meaningless moment broadcast.

Now I find myself checking my Facebook as soon as I get on the computer. Got to know what my people are up to. Ow, my sister-in-law is going to the hardware store. Her daughter has been trying to reach her on her cell. Why doesn’t mom answer, she wonders? Is it any wonder?