Tag Archives: tech

Living Online, Pt. II (Human Beings and Social Technology)

Posted on January 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

The last post I wrote on slowmorningblog higlighted the explosion of social network Pinterest and the idea of “living online” (or living through your social networks). I decided to continue writing on this subject because it intrigues me (although this post will be short and more a flurry of additional thoughts).

As we continue to see more successful social networks and applications dominate the Web (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram – the list goes on), no one is denying that digital has become an integral part of our existence as human beings. The social Web has become a part of us, and most of us realize our desire to share our experiences with others isn’t something that casually comes and goes – social is something that has been built into us. As individuals, we all have different stories and different things we bring to the social Web, and that in itself is what makes social experiences on the Web interesting and also unending. The “digisphere” has become a place for users to share experiences and create experiences; this happens through discovery.

Twitter / Discovery

Maybe this is something a lot of you already know. Perhaps I’m repeating myself a bit. I think it’s just because I’m really excited about the future relationship between human beings and social technology. 2011 introduced us ways to listen to music together, watch television and movies together, pay our friends back with our iPhones, and hang out in virtual bars on Facebook. What will 2012 bring? How will social networks of the future inspire us to engage with one another? Inspire us to be different, to be creative, to be successful? Lots of questions, not so many answers (yet), but really fun to think about.

There’s definitely another post or two on this subject in the back of my head somewhere. I just wanted to get a few more words out while it was on my mind. More to come later. In the meantime, tweet me @davehennessy and let me know what your current favorite social network is and why – I’d love to hear!

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Social Discovery and Living Online (Spotlight: Pinterest)

Posted on November 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

If you belong to any kind of social network (you do), you experience social discovery. Social networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have realized that giving users the ability to be selective and as private as they’d like to be keeps people coming back. As a user of a social network, you see friends’ specific updates, photos, videos, music, news, and recommendations of any kind because you choose to. The model of following/unfollowing an individual, brand or idea is what continues to drive positive social experiences on the Web right now. Using social sites and the Web in general isn’t about just coming and going anymore. The social Web is becoming a user’s “home,” completely customized and protected just like someone’s house would be. Facebook doesn’t want you to just connect online, it wants you to live online.

Pinterest

This post was inspired by a couple of blazing hot social startups – namely Pinterest, Quora, and Clipboard (among many others) – that seem to have nailed this idea of ‘The Web as Your Web‘ on the head. Pinterest sticks out for me mostly because I’m a user and I’m able to see and understand how easy it is to use the service and get others using it as well. For those of you that aren’t yet familiar, Pinterest is a visual pinboard for sharing and collecting content online. Users sign up for Pinterest and are able to ‘pin’ any image or video they find anywhere on the Web to a ‘board’ on Pinterest. Users can create different boards and organize the content they collect by naming boards ‘Architecture,’ ‘Cooking,’ ‘Design,’ ‘Fashion,’etc.

If you aren’t using Pinterest yet, I’m guessing you’re thinking that sounds pretty cool, right? It is. Pinterest has created a visually-stunning experience that allows users to gather content that matters to them from anywhere on the Web and keep it in a central location. They are helping shape a shift from search to discovery. And, on top of this shift, sites like Etsy – an online marketplace for very small businesses and individuals as vendors – are experiencing a huge increase in Web traffic because of Pinterest. Why is this? It’s because of social sharing (social discovery). People using Etsy are pinning all kinds of different products (on Etsy) to Pinterest, which in turn show up in Pinterest users’ streams. Add a price and a URL and vendors on Etsy are now “selling” on Pinterest.

This is the power of providing users with positive experiences and ways of allowing users to share those experiences. The Web continues to become more a user’s “home” every day. We’ve seen something similar with Facebook’s Timeline, where users can see their entire experience on Facebook on the same page just by scrolling (“lifestreaming”). Now it’s Pinterest, allowing users to collect content from anywhere on the Web and organize it however they like. What’s next?

(Follow me on Pinterest and Quora; I don’t use Clipboard… yet)

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A New Startup Called Shaker and Why What They’re Doing Matters (Social + Data)

Posted on September 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

For those of you that followed TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2011, you’re by now well-aware of the winner – an Israeli startup named Shaker. Before the event even started, Robert Scoble had predicted the company would win. His first reaction to the startup [on Twitter] was “Gonna be a big deal.”

Shaker @ TC Disrupt SF 2011

After seeing his first tweet about the startup, I ended up on their website and signed up for an invite. Somehow I got in right away. I found myself using Shaker and immediately thinking “This is cool, but I’ve seen this kind of thing before.” Turns out I was very wrong. After reading up on the startup (TechCrunch’s coverage, Robert Scoble’s coverage/video interview, etc.) I’m really starting to understand how much of a game changer Shaker is.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the startup, Shaker is basically trying to bring the real social interaction and physical space of a bar setting online. You can choose which bar you want to hangout in, and upon entering you’ll be “assigned” an avatar. This avatar is actually your Facebook profile and data walking around with you as you interact with other people, buy drinks and even dance on tables (yes, you can dance on tables).

On first impression, what you’re looking at might just seem cool, but what’s going on behind-the-scenes (aka when you’re interacting with others, and really even when you’re not) is what’s really exciting. The reason Shaker is turning heads is because they understand the power of social + data. They’re giving people an opportunity and a space (many spaces) to hangout online and interact with strangers (and friends) in a way that isn’t “Facebook awkward.” You can log onto Facebook and “Like” things, comment on statuses and browse your friends’ photos, but that isn’t a real-life social experience – it’s a static one. Everything is one-way. Shaker has truly come up with something that is live, real and unpredictable.

What Shaker is doing with online data and real-world social interaction is why they’re currently the golden ticket of social startups. Say you’re in a bar (on Shaker) and you walk up to someone – you can immediately start a conversation with them, or join an ongoing conversation with multiple people. There are no “requests to join” or anything similar – it’s just like walking up to someone in an actual bar or coffee shop and talking to them. While you’re chatting with someone, you can browse their Facebook profile (only information they’ve made available to see) and also view their Liked pages and interests, which are sure to come up in conversation. Shaker also pulls your Facebook Event information and RSVP’s so you can actually identify what past events you both attended together (most likely without even knowing it) and what events you might both be attending in the future. And, aside from the all the app’s person-to-person interaction goodness, Shaker also lets you (and others) DJ songs in the bar you’re hanging out in, assuring that no conversation goes without good music in the background.

Shaker has definitely come up with a disruptive idea. It’s not just an experience that’s “cool” or “fun” – Shaker is bringing real social settings and interactions online. Ashton Kutcher made a comment at TC Disrupt SF a few days ago that ‘the most interesting and successful startups will be the ones that are blending the digital experience with the real-world’ [paraphrased]. This is certainly what Shaker is doing, and I’m excited to see less of a divide between online and offline as companies continue learning how to use data and tech continues to evolve.

Anyone on Shaker yet? Let me know in the comments section!

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