Ok, so the rapture didn’t start late.  But the first two things are true.

Can Google actually make a social media platform successful?  Well, it is trying… again.

In all honesty, I really like this concept.  Google is dominating the social media news landscape today with its unveiling of Google+, which began rolling out just yesterday.

Most notably, Google+ seeks to categorize your friends into different “buckets.”  I won’t do the video justice trying to explain it, but many are speculating that this might have the ability to battle Facebook.

Just another flop that won’t make it out of the gate (see: Google Wave)?  Or could this have some staying power?

Oh, and in other news… MySpace finally was sold!  News Corp. paid $580 million back in 2005, and today the all-but-dead social networking site was sold to an advertising network called Specific Media for $35 million.  Yowza.

Matt Smedley

Google Wave Used to Hunt a Killer

Here is a story right in our own backyard.  Many folks have been wondering just what exactly to do with Google Wave.  After being invited by Google to test out a beta version, I have been wondering the same thing.  Apparently, the Seattle Times was using Wave to help hunt down the killer of the four slain officers in Lakewood.  Amazingly, massive amount of people flocked to this real-time flow of public information and tips began springing up left and right as to the suspected killer’s whereabouts.  Interestingly enough, this use of Wave have given those who tested out the waters some insight.  Some loved the rapid flow of information while others thought it was an unorganized mess or perhaps “Twitter on steroids.”  Via TechCrunch.

Digg Dumbs it Down

Digg, a news-sharing social Web site, announced this week that it would be releasing a new version of its application programming interface (commonly referred to as API).  According to Digg, the goal is to allow developers a simpler and better way of interacting with the Digg platform.  What’s newsworthy about that you might ask?  Digg has grown to become one of the Web’s biggest news aggregating sources and this change could signal an even greater usage of Digg’s platform.  The easier something is to use, the more people will give it a shot.  Via Forbes.

Comcast is the New NBC

In a move that is sure to completely shake up how everyone will consume media in the future, Comcast announced this week that it would be entering into a joint venture with GE, the parent company of NBC.  Comcast will have a 51 percent stake in the venture, giving it controlling power.  NBC is not the only media property to be affected.  Hulu, USA, Bravo, Syfy, Oxygen, Versus, CNBC, MSNBC, Universal Pictures movie studio and Telemundo are a handful of the other media properties now owned by Comcast.  Via The New York Times.

Already there are a slew of news stories and questions arising.  Is this legal?  What does it mean for the future of media?  For a more visual and highly critical breakdown on the deal, check out this graphic over at Gizmodo.

Matt Smedley

Ooooooh, aaaaaaah, the future is upon us

Ok, so maybe the technology of the future has not “officially” arrived just yet, but we have been given a glimpse of what several tech geniuses are working on right now.  What might those things be?

Google Wave

This technology is supposed to revolutionize the way we electronically communicate.  It is called Google Wave and it is the brainchild of the guys behind Google Maps.

Right now Google Wave is just in its testing phase, but it is already being hyped as a concept that could radically change the way people electronically communicate.  I’m not going to get into the details in this post (mainly because it is difficult to explain the concept in such a short article), but essentially the idea is all about combining much of the current technology such as email, instant messaging, photo sharing, etc., into one Web-based tool.  Already skeptical and confused?  You can read more about it from this CNN post.  Google also has posted a rather long video of its new concept here.

Social Networks help video go viral

Mashable had an interesting post yesterday regarding the concept of how social networks help videos go viral.  The basic concept is that services like Ustream and Justin.tv allow users to sign into their services with Twitter, Facebook or Myspace credentials.  Once you are in and begin chatting with other users about a particular video, that chat is then broadcast to your social networks in the form of an update.  The concept allows a video to gain faster recognition and potentially go viral.

As it turns out, Ustream recently took this concept a step further and launched a whole platform around multiple social networks to interface with it simultaneously.  In essence, Ustream went ahead and used technology to make our lives easier.  What an amazing concept!  So if a user wanted to broadcast his or her chat to both their Facebook and Twitter page, they now have that ability.  Intrigued and want to learn more?  Here is the full post.

Matt Smedley