Senin, 15 Maret 2010

Mashable: Latest 12 News Updates - including “Diamonds Are Forever, and So Are Diamond iPads”

Mashable: Latest 12 News Updates - including “Diamonds Are Forever, and So Are Diamond iPads”

Link to Mashable!

Diamonds Are Forever, and So Are Diamond iPads

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 05:49 AM PDT

If the choice between a 3G vs. Wi-Fi-only iPad has been keeping you up at night, how about a third solution that makes the price difference pale in comparison: a diamond-encrusted iPad.

According to the company that sells it, Mervis, the “diamond studded iPad features 11.43 carats of diamonds, hand-set in a micro-pave styling. The diamonds are graded G/H in color and VS2/SI1 in clarity.” Let’s just sum it up with the word “expensive”.

Honestly, we have no idea how well these things are selling, but every time a new gadget appears, a gold/diamond version pops up somewhere really soon, so there’s obviously a market for it. If you’re interested, you probably don’t have to ask about the price, but here it is just for completeness’ sake: $19,999.

Yes, you can buy 40 Wi-Fi iPads for that money. So what’s it gonna be: one diamond iPad, or a wall of iPads in your room?

Tags: diamonds, ipad


First Dot-com Celebrates 25th Birthday

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 05:01 AM PDT

Exactly 25 years ago, on March 15 1985, computer manufacturer Symbolics, Inc registered the first .com web domain ever: symbolics.com. By today’s design standards, and considering how web sites looked back in the late eighties and early nineties, it’s quite decent, although a bit short on content.

However, its content and even the (now defunct) company that registered it are far less important than the boom it ignited: in 1997, one million .com web domains were registered, and in 2000 the dot-com bubble peaked, resulting in an inevitable meltdown.

And while the dot-com crash proved that a well chosen name isn’t enough for a successful company, dot-coms still play a very important part of our online lives. Despite many other top-level domains available, .com is still the most coveted TLD – the one that many people still associate with the world wide web in general. Right now, about 668,000 dot-com sites are registered every month; quite a jump from the six web domains registered in 1985, don’t you think?

Tags: dotcom, internet, trending, web


Song Downloads Coming to Next Version of Rhapsody

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 03:19 AM PDT

rhapsodyReal Networks' Rhapsody To Go subscription includes a mobile app that lets you stream music (they’ve got some 9 million tracks in their library) directly from your iPhone, for a $14.99 monthly fee.

It was once thought that Apple would never allow such an app, but now Rhapsody prepares to take it one step further, announcing song downloads for offline listening for the next version of Rhapsody for iPhone.

The app is still pending approval from Apple, but according to Rhapsody it should be available in a couple of days. Furthermore, an Android version of Rhapsody is coming out of beta and into the Android Market soon.

Check out a video preview of the new offline listening feature from Rhapsody below.

Tags: apple, iphone, music downloads, music streaming, rhapsody


iPad Battery Replacement? Forget That, You Get a New iPad for $99

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 01:43 AM PDT

Here’s an interesting tidbit from Apple’s iPad FAQ: if your iPad’s battery goes dead, Apple will simply send you a completely new iPad and charge you 99 bucks (plus $6.95 for shipping) for the service.

You alone are responsible for backing up your data on the old iPad, however, and it won’t work if the dead battery is the result of an accident of some sort or unauthorized service.

From the iPad’s FAQ:

What is iPad Battery Replacement Service?

If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.

Note: Your iPad is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure. Please review Apple’s Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

How much does it cost?

The service costs $99, plus $6.95 shipping. The total cost is $105.95 per unit.
All fees are in U.S. dollars and are subject to local tax.

At first glance, it looks like a good deal. However, not everyone will be pleased to dish out $105.95 (what the full price for international customers will be remains to be seen) just because their iPad’s battery is dead – new iPad be damned. How does this sound to you? Please tell us what you think in the comments.

Tags: apple, battery, ipad


Funny Or Die Outtake Reunites SNL’s George W. and Bush Sr. [VIDEO]

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 08:01 PM PDT

An extended outtake sequence from director Ron Howard’s “Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion” featuring Will Ferrell as George W. Bush and Dana Carvey as George Bush Sr. is making the rounds on the Internet. The original clip has attracted almost three million views.

This new outtake clip is an extended conversation (two minutes and 35 seconds compared to just a few seconds in the original version) with Ferrell and Carvey riffing off of one another in their roles. Some father and son issues start to bubble up (pardon the pun) and things get a little weird.

Funny or Die produced and distributed the Ron Howard-directed “Presidential Reunion” skit, which brought together two decades of Saturday Night Live presidents — Ferrell as George W. Bush, Carvey as Bush Sr., Fred Armisen as Barack Obama, Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Dan Akroyd as Jimmy Carter, Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford and surprisingly, Jim Carrey as Ronald Reagan. It also features Maya Rudolph as a weight-lifting Michelle Obama.

The video directed viewers’ attention to financial aid reform organization Main Street Brigade. We’ve embedded the new Carvey and Ferrell outtake below, along with the original video and two other outtake videos.


Bush Sr. vs. Bush Jr.



Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion



Behind the Scenes



Dana Carvey Dream Sequence


Tags: celebrities, comedy, dana carvey, funny or die, george bush sr., george w. bush, Political, politics, saturday night live, sketch, snl, viral videos, web series, will ferrell


“I’m With CoCo” Artist Makes Big Bucks From Conan’s Tour

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 04:49 PM PDT

Mike Mitchell, the artist who created the now-iconic “I’m With CoCo” image of Conan O’Brien that has circulated through Facebook profile pictures and blogs since NBC’s The Tonight Show scheduling controversy, told TMZ that he’s been paid by Conan’s producers for the right to use the image during Conan’s impending “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.”

TMZ reports that the producers paid him well enough that he can “take a very, very long vacation.”

Mitchell originally posted the image to TwitPic, but it achieved meme status when it became the profile image for the huge “I’m With CoCoFacebook group that was used to promote the real-world pro-Conan rallies. Mitchell says he’s been selling merchandise with the logo, and that he has raised $25,000 for Haiti doing so. The terrible earthquake that occurred there took place around the same time as NBC controversy.

Since leaving his post at The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien has joined Twitter and announced the aforementioned tour, which begins April 12. We’ve included a full-sized “I’m With CoCo” image below in case you missed it when it was everywhere.


Reviews: Facebook, Twitpic

Tags: conan o'brien, facebook, i'm with coco, team coco, television, tv, twitpic


9 Ways to Geek Out Your T-Shirt Collection

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 04:06 PM PDT

A t-shirt isn’t just a cotton garment, it’s a form of communication, a personal billboard that lets you get a message out to the world in a medium that offers the minimum of effort.

Whether your geek tendencies lean towards gaming, Apple, space, film or social media, we’ve got a sassy selection of tees that will have you reaching for the plastic before you can say “medium, in blue, please.”

After all, why go plain-chested when you can be spreading the word of geek? Emblazon your chest pronto with a themed tee that says it all.


Amazing Apple Tees



Apple fans tend to lean towards the fanatic side of fandom, and as such provide a ripe market for t-shirt designers to exploit. Heck, there’ve been so many Apple-flavored tees over the years some bloke has written a book about it. These three designs offer a call for Jobs to be President (after all, he’s no slouch in the success department) from Insanely Great Tees, a New York-based Apple tee specialist, a photo-real Mac from Print Liberation’s “Great Moments of the 20th Century” series and a cunning mash-up from MightTees which mixes Jobs and a Mac with John Cusack’s boombox-wielding Lloyd Dobler.

Cost: From left to right – $19, $18, $31.99


Magnificent Meme Tees



Nod to classic, recent and current memes with this trio of tees that celebrates the wonder of LOL cats with ThinkGeek’s customizable “im in ur” tee complete with wash-off-able marker pen, the randomness of keyboard cat with an instantly recognizable line drawing from Nerdy Shirts, and make a super in-the-know reference to Chat Roulette with the “Nexted” design from WeSaySo over on Spreadshirt.

Cost: From left to right – $19.99, $19.99, from $14.90


Fantastic Film Tees


While what makes a “geek film” is wide open for discussion, geeky film-lovers will no doubt appreciate a tee that references a fave flick in a subtle, insider sort of way. Here then, are three examples of such a garment, with a t-shirt promoting the Lighthouse Lounge made by LastExitToNowhere (the absolute t-shirt authority on made-up companies from films – recommended for a browse), an Inigo Montoya name tag from ThinkGeek, and a colorful effort celebrating the league championship win of the Rollers from 80sTees. Can you name all the films?

Cost: From left to right – approx $32, from $17.99, $20


Great Gaming Tees



The world of video games lends itself to t-shirts very well indeed thanks to its graphical nature. No matter what kind of gamer you are, you can be sure there’s a tee out there for you. We’ve plucked three from the internets that made us smile. Tell those young whippersnappers that you’re “classically trained” with this dark blue design from 80sTees, see behind-the-scenes at the space invader training academy thanks to Threadless, while ShirtCity’s video game t-shirt shows the evolution of the game controller across multiple platforms.

Cost: From left to right – $20, $18, $22,95


Rad Robot Tees



Everyone loves robots but as we haven’t yet managed to get to the stage where we can have our own robo-buddy, we can at least have a few decorating our clothing. There’s more than a few — 51 in fact — decorating ChopShop’s WeRobot tee. As well as the 50-plus bots it boasts glow in the dark eyes for the robots drawn from film, TV, literature, video games and more. “Robots Can’t Smile” is a whimsical take on a robot-themed tee from Design By Human’s il_Mostro, while RedBubble’s robots are livening things up by doing the YMCA dance.

Cost: From left to right – $20, $19, from $24.74


Marvelous Music Tees



While we wouldn’t dream about treading on that oh-so-personal area that is music taste, as far as t-shirts go, what we can offer is a selection of fun music-themed shirts. First up is Five Crown’s melting guitar, familiar to anyone who has seen the recent iPod nano ads, although we’re certainly not making any kind of comment about which came first. This is followed by a classic blank cassette tee from Forever21 which should appeal to anyone old enough to remember the pleasure of possibility a blank tape used to present. We round off the three with another Five Crown’s design that sees vinyl getting the spotlight – perfect for anyone who still enjoys sticking a record on the turntable.

Cost: From left to right – $26.99, $24.99, $14.90


Spiffy Space Tees



Rather than go down the NASA tee route (we’re so over that) we’ve got three space-themed shirts for your consideration. First up is “A Flying Dog in Outer Space” from Threadless that see’s man’s best friend conquer the final frontier complete with helmet and doggie jet pack. We stay space exploration-related with the next t-shirt, an Etsy offering that depicts the Pioneer Plaque (familiar to space geeks everywhere), the pictorial guide to life on Earth stuck on Pioneer 10 and 11 in case they were intercepted by alien lifeforms. Last up is “Spacemen Rock,” another colorful effort from Threadless, which has four astronauts getting their groove on.

Cost: From left to right – $18, $14, $20


Super Social Media Tees



You’re well taken care of over on Zazzle for your Mashable t-shirts needs – where there are tons of designs to chose from that are customizable in enough ways to make your brain boggle. Next up, you can social bookmark yourself in the real world with this text-based effort from Nerdy Shirts. Finally, Twitter users get a “Follower” option from ShirtCity.

Cost: From left to right – Varies, $19.97, $19.95


Groovy Google Tees



What could be better than a t-shirt with the Android robot on it? How about the Android robot walking a dog? An official gProduct, its coolness is only eclipsed by our next g-themed option – the Sesame Street-themed doodles now available as tees from the Google Store. Big Bird is our fave, but there’s also Elmo and The Count options. While you’re asking yourself how your wardrobe has survived so long without Sesame Street/Google tees, take a look at our last option from CultClassicTs, which asks another question – what would Larry & Sergey do? (Answer: acquire it, shut it down, open in again in restricted beta and fail to integrate it in other Google products).

Cost: From left to right – from $14.80, $20.10, $22.99

What geeky t-shirts are in your wardrobe? Let us know in the comments.


Reviews: Android, Google, Mashable, Twitter

Tags: apple, geek, Google, t-shirts, tees, twitter


Venezuelan President Chavez Makes Threat Against the Open Web

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 01:59 PM PDT

Venezuela, already under watch from the likes of Reporters Sans Frontieres for jeopardizing press freedom, appears to be edging closer towards the type of restrictive governmental Internet interference as seen in Cuba, China and Iran.

Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, has called for greater regulation of the Internet this weekend, with the following statement, as reported by Reuters:

“The Internet cannot be something open where anything is said and done. Every country has to apply its own rules and norms.”

Chavez is said to have singled out one website as an example where such an “open” policy has troubled him. Noticierodigital had a post up for two days suggesting that Diosdado Cabello, a senior minister and close aide of Chavez, had been assassinated.

“We have to act. We are going to ask the attorney general for help, because this is a crime. I have information that this page periodically publishes stories calling for a coup d’etat. That cannot be permitted,” Chavez said.

Twitter and Facebook are also said to have come under criticism from Chavez, with the president reported to have complained “that people use such sites to spread unfounded rumors.” Recently, he called Twitter messages a “tool of terror.”

Chavez has already moved to control TV and radio networks in the country – in August last year 34 broadcasters were closed down on “administrative grounds” while Chavez’s own lengthy presidential broadcasts are now aired compulsorily across both terrestrial and cable TV stations.

Chavez expressing such negative interest in the online world will no doubt be met with great concern by those who oppose him, as well as in the wider world.

Chavez’s comments serves to remind all of us — regardless of nationality — about the importance of a free and open Internet. When it ceases to be such, it’s no longer the world wide web but a poor imitation propagated by repressive regimes.


Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

Tags: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela


Foursquare Hits 347,000 Check-ins in a Day

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 01:30 PM PDT

With legions of mobile, tech-savvy individuals invading Austin, Texas for SXSW, Foursquare experienced an extraordinary day yesterday, recording a record-breaking 347,000 check-ins.

In response to the boom in usage, the developers added a new badge called Super Swarm. There was already a badge called Swarm; it was awarded when 50 people checked in at the same location at the same time. Super Swarm is achieved when 250 people check in.

Foursquare guru Harry H. said, “Know what you call a 50 person swarm at SXSW? The Hilton Lobby. So we upped the ante to 250 and you still nailed it. Well played!” So yes, the badge has already been won, but it’s not a zero-sum game; head to a huge event like SXSW and you might get it, too.

Foursquare just turned one year old a few days ago, and its usage has shot up over the past three months. Very worthy competitors like Gowalla and Yelp may be putting up a fight against it, but as far as check-ins are concerned, Foursquare is on top right now. Only time will tell if it stays that way.


Reviews: Foursquare

Tags: android, blackberry, foursquare, iphone, News, sxsw, sxsw-2010


UN Social Media Envoy to Raise Awareness for Malaria

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 12:21 PM PDT

Tomorrow, the Special Envoy for Malaria at the United Nations will be announcing a special Social Media Envoy group that will use the power of social media over the next year to raise awareness for malaria control in African countries.

The special envoy is made up of well-known figures from both the social web and broadcast media, including Mashable’s own Pete Cashmore. Those that have joined the group have pledged to take one “social” action — such as a tweet or a Facebook post — every month for the next year starting from World Malaria Day on April 25, which last year saw Malaria No More also use Twitter for the cause.

The hope is that the tweets, posts and other social actions will inspire and motivate social media audiences in support of malaria control. The UN’s goal is to provide all endemic African countries with malaria control interventions by the end of 2010, working towards the aim of near-zero deaths from malaria by 2015.

We’re very happy to see the UN enlist the power of social media in the fight against Malaria. The disease kills one million people each year with over 90% of the world’s malaria deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. Universal bed net coverage is the UN’s chosen prevention tool to fight the diseases; it has delivered over 192 million insecticidal mosquito nets since 2007, covering nearly 400 million people.

However, there is more money to be raised and more work to be done. We hope that the social media envoy will go even farther than their commitment to one social action per month, because Malaria is a battle where every little bit helps.


The 2010 Social Media Envoys


* Derrick Ashong, Musician, Social Activist & Oprah Radio host
* Veronica Belmont, Host of “Tekzilla” and “Qore” and Internet Personality
* Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey
* Sarah Brown, of MillionMums.org and wife of Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister
* Pete Cashmore, CEO and founder of Mashable
* Anderson Cooper, CNN Anchor of “Anderson Cooper 360″
* Dennis Crowley, Co-founder of Foursquare
* Anil Dash, Director of Expert Labs and Partner at Activate
* Justine Ezarik, “iJustine”, Internet Personality
* Jack Gray, CNN Producer/Writer for “Anderson Cooper 360″
* Arianna Huffington, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post; www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
* Guy Kawasaki, Co-founder of Alltop.com
* Larry King, CNN Host of “Larry King Live”
* Loic Le Meur, Founder and CEO of Seesmic
* Alyssa Milano, Actress
* Dave Morin, Former Facebook executive- responsible for Facebook Connect and Platform
* Jeff Pulver, Founder of 140 Characters Conference (#140conf) and Co-founder of VoIP (Vonage)
* Kevin Rose, Founder of Digg
* Chris Sacca, Founder of Lowercase Capital
* Ryan Seacrest, Founder, Ryan Seacrest Productions
* Biz Stone, Co-founder of Twitter
* Padmasree Warrior, CTO of Cisco
* Jon Wheatley, Co-founder of DailyBooth.com
* Randi Zuckerberg, Director of Marketing, Facebook

You can show your support for the UN’s cause by following these “Social Media Envoys” and find out more about the United Nations Special Envoy for Malaria at its dedicated site.


Reviews: Digg, Facebook, Foursquare, Mashable, Seesmic, Twitter

Tags: facebook, malaria, social good, social media, social news, twitter, United Nations, world malaria day


Inside the New Digg: An Interview with CEO Jay Adelson

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 11:25 AM PDT

At last night's "Bigg Digg Shindigg" in Austin, TX, Digg CEO Jay Adelson briefly revealed plans for a massive overhaul of the social news site. This morning, I had an opportunity to chat with Adelson in-depth about the new Digg and what users, publishers, and the web as a whole should expect.

To sum it up, Adelson says the new strategy will "enable social curation of all the world's content and the conversation around it." To get there though, Digg has re-built its entire site from the ground up, with dramatic changes that will be rolled out over the coming weeks and months.


New User Experience


The days of the Digg homepage as we know it – the most recently popular stories on the service as a whole – are numbered. The site is shifting towards a personalization model, where the homepage will be based on characters like a user's interests, location, who they follow not only on Digg but services like Twitter and Facebook, and other "signals" from around the web like retweets, Facebook shares, and more.

But Adelson notes that not all of these signals are created equal – for example, a retweet from a Twitter user with millions of followers will weigh much more heavily in the site's ranking algorithms than one from a user with a few dozen. The concept of a Digg account is also changing. While you can already use Digg via Facebook Connect, the site plans to support logging in with Twitter, Google, Yahoo, and OpenID, among other identity providers.

It goes even further than that though – users will be able to Digg and submit stories anonymously. Adelson says that this fundamental change will move the site from 20,000 submissions today to millions. Those submissions will be sorted into an infinite number of categories, with Digg auto-suggesting them with users able to make additions and help rearrange miscategorized posts.

Digg has also been watching what companies like Twitter and Facebook are doing for brands. The new Digg will eventually support publisher and brand profiles. Further, we might see something akin to Twitter's suggested user list, where publishers and brands that accrue a large following and continually have popular content get recommended to Digg users.

Along those lines, Leaderboards will also be making a return to Digg, but not in the old form of showing just the most successful submitters site-wide. Instead, Adelson envisions leaderboards for the infinite topic and vertical pages that will emerge, letting Digg users become trusted sources in a given niche. Expect some sort of achievement system that will reward Digg users for "good behavior" as Adelson put it.

Because of all these changes, Digg's suite of mobile apps is also going to be completely revamped, with changes closely mirroring those on the site.


A New Paradigm for Publishers


Adelson says the Digg we know today is "a bit like gambling" for publishers, where a story either hits the homepage and sees an enormous one-time spike in traffic or sits in relative obscurity. With the new Digg, Adelson says publishers should expect a "more predictable" stream of traffic, as many more stories receive placement on an infinite number of personalized user homepages.

Digg has a lot of new features in store for publishers too. The new Digg button – which we're testing here on Mashable – lets users Digg a story without leaving the site. Duplicate submissions will also no longer be an issue on Digg, because all submissions will be URL-based.

But Digg has much larger ambitions for publishers as well. Websites like Mashable will be able to include Digg comments (which are being re-done again) right underneath stories. But it goes further than that – third-party comment services like Disqus will be able to integrate the comments right into their platforms, making Digg a much more relevant part of the distributed conversation game.

Beyond that, Adelson wants to provide publishers with analytics and even share revenue with them down the line in an effort to better monetize traffic that comes in via Digg.


Digg the Business


Beyond the publisher revenue share opportunity – which is likely well down the road – Adelson sees significant page view growth coming from the thousands of new categories we'll see in the new Digg. However, he's not in a hurry to monetize them with ads, saying the company is in good financial shape.

In the long-term, he sees Digg ads – which the company says are seeing some success – as the primary driver of revenue. Digg's also in serious hiring mode, with plans to add 50 engineers this year to help them deal with the inevitable question of …


How Will Users Respond?


Digg's notoriously vocal community is in for some major changes, but the company is taking a very measured approach in rolling them out. Users will start receiving invites for the alpha site, which you can sign-up for at new.digg.com, within the next few weeks. From there, Digg plans "continuous iteration," to address user feedback, a process Adelson says is made possible by the site's recently announced architecture changes that he believes will let them scale indefinitely.

Nonetheless, Digg is committed to its new vision. Within the next few months, the Digg we know today will be shut down, and the company will embark full speed ahead on its plan to be the most relevant aggregator and curator of the world's news. How Digg’s rabid base of current users respond and if the new strategy is able to bring new people under the Digg tent will ultimately dictate the success of the ambitious new direction.


Reviews: Digg, Disqus, Facebook, Google, Mashable, Twitter

Tags: digg, facebook, jad adelson, social media, twitter


Classmates.com Agrees to $9.5 Million False Advertising Settlement

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 10:39 AM PDT

Classmates.com — the website that promises to reunite people with their mullet-haired friends of youth — has agreed to pay out a $9.5 million settlement for a lawsuit dating back to 2008 accusing the company of “false advertising” through “deceptive” marketing emails.

The problems for Classmate.com began back in late 2007, when San Diego resident Anthony Michaels received an email from the social networking company informing him that his old classmates were trying to contact him.

In order to see who and why, Michaels had to upgrade to a “Gold Membership.” However, upon forking out to do so, he discovered that nobody was trying to get in touch; it was just a dubious marketing ploy from Classmates.com.

Michaels initiated a false advertising lawsuit against Classmates.com, which became a class action suit that anyone who suffered the same fate as the plaintiff could sign up for.

Fast forward to today: although Classmates.com has admitted no wrongdoing as part of the proposed settlement now waiting for U.S. District Court approval, it has agreed to pay out $3 for every Classmates.com member who upgraded to a “Gold Membership” on the site after receiving an email like Michaels’ — estimated to be just over 3 million people.

Whether or not you sympathize with those that fell for Classmate.com’s oh-so-obvious tactics, it’s an interesting case in terms of wider web marketing. Dating sites are known to carry out similar practices, and this settlement may make offenders sit up and take note.

While this particular case may be settled, it’s not the end of Classmates.com’s legal troubles. The site is facing another lawsuit filed just this month, this time a class action privacy lawsuit that accuses Classmates.com of ignoring federal and state privacy laws by making user profiles public via a controversial opt-out scheme.

Tags: classmates.com, lawsuits, social networking


Why User Competency Matters in Social Design

Posted: 14 Mar 2010 08:55 AM PDT

friendwheelAdrian Chan is a Sr Fellow with SNCR.org and is a social interaction design consultant and strategist. You can follow him on Twitter @gravity7 and at his blog: gravity7.com/blog/media.

In designing for social participation, we can consider user goals and needs — even interests, features, functionality, adoption and scaling issues. Best practices and popular ways of using social media guide us in our decisions. But there’s a basic concern we seem to often overlook: “What is the user good at?”

We each differ in what we’re good at socially, so asking this question raises other interesting questions that can be useful in mapping the social design objectives for tools, services, social brand campaigns and more. In the answers lie a rich set of possibilities.

If we really take the user experience to heart, we ought to think about user competencies. Users have different competencies in social media applications, just as they have different social skills in the real world. How users socialize, and what they are good at — these are their competencies. In the case of social media, this is as much social and interpersonal as it is technical.


Using Human Insight


When we think about user competencies we might first recognize that we need to know more about the user’s experience with social media, but we have little research upon which to draw solid distinctions.

Researching this is hard, and methods are imperfect. Qualitative approaches are difficult to scale, and users do not always describe what they do online with the honest insight we want. Quantitative studies can scale better, but they rely on limited interpretations of user behavior.

Let’s instead do a series of thought experiments using assumptions about some basic and essential insights and principles.


What We Can Presume About People and Social Media


If we start with the assumption that people on social media are good at social media, then the following are also true to varying degrees:

  • People are good at using social media.
  • People are good at interacting with others on social media.
  • People are good at making themselves look good on social media.
  • People are good at making others feel and look good on social media.
  • People are good at making things happen on social media.
  • People are good at these things over time, not just once.

From there, we can continue with the notion that people are good at using social media, which means we can presume that people also enjoy using it, because people generally enjoy things they are good at. So:

  • People enjoy using social media.
  • People enjoy interacting with others on social media.
  • People enjoy making themselves look good on social media.
  • …and so on for everything people are good at.

It follows that if people enjoy what they are good at on social media, their enjoyment is a reason for using social media. Their enjoyment would vary according to their own habits and practices, which would include their competencies with social interaction, their presence and self-image online, their relationships and their activities.

  • People have a reason to be on social media.
  • People are motivated to interact with others on social media.
  • People are interested in how they appear on social media.
  • People are motivated to help or make others look good on social media.
  • People are interested in making things happen on social media.
  • People sustain their interest for some period of time.

Fleshing Out User Motives


If the above statements ring true and resonate, we can see how easily the user experience on social media might be fleshed out. We can address personal motives, interests, and reasons relating to the user’s sense of self, and reasons related to his or her social status, positions, relationships and activities in social media.

We can easily see that a user’s competencies with social interaction might involve varying degrees of self-reference, attention to and interest in others, sustained engagement through interaction, relationship maintenance, social awareness of activities and practices, and much more.


Designing the Social


Much of social media is designed within the context of its own use. Once they’re established and populated, we redesign applications incrementally. We do this in part to avoid upsetting conventions and practices that have taken hold, and also because wholesale redesigns of social tools can be impractical or even counter-productive. Application design and architecture become limiting factors and shape many design considerations.

But if we approach social design from the perspective of what users are good at, we might be better able to think outside our own box.

Goals and rewards – Consider the kinds of goals you might set within your social application and the rewards that may be earned by users who reach them. These might be personal goals and rewards, like game levels, tasks, challenges, or points. Or social goals and rewards, resulting in status, ranking, visibility, lists, features and spotlighting members.

Moods and feelings – Give expressive users ways in which to communicate their moods and feelings. For example, emoticons and gifts, or icons to be used and exchanged with friends or attached to messages and content. These small gestures, while small, can be curiously compelling.

Knowledge and learning – For users interested in research, information, bookmarking, and more search and browse-related activities, provide ways to share discoveries. Capture those learned moments and make them visible — perhaps surface and validate experts and top contributors.

Giving and receiving – For users who enjoy social transactions provide gifts and a means of passing them around privately and publicly. Gifting is a highly social form of communication, and besides being kind, engages a sense of reciprocity in most of us. So it’s naturally contagious.

Helping and assisting – Some users are just naturally good at paying attention to others, and enjoy helping and assisting those with needs or questions. Design ways to surface these needs and create channels by which helpers can pitch in.

Reviewing, recommending, and rating – Users equipped with opinions and a sense of taste can make valuable reviewers and recommenders. Design ways to capture their contributions as social content. This can be designed then into lists, favorite, trends, news and more.

Asking and answering – In a world of search, there are still many occasions when users want to ask questions and get personal answers. And in a world of search results, there are those who enjoy sharing their knowledge, expertise, and help. But questions disappear if they are not captured and paid attention to.

Announcing and sharing – There are users so on top of news that furnishing them with means to announce their discoveries makes for an easy and effective way to keep social content fresh and interaction active. Topical organization, along with trends, help users sort and filter what’s relevant to them.

These suggestions may seem obvious and familiar, but in the context of a particular social service the manner in which they will scale socially will be unique. Unique to the site’s population, and unique to its existing activities and social practices.

So, for example, Foursquare may have many users whose competency is an inclination to recommend little-known discoveries or best-kept secrets associated with places they frequently check in to. Foursquare could capture and reward their interest in recommendations (i.e., what they’re good at) with a different set of badges. Or, instead of points, these users might be featured in a Q/A forum tied to locations or even regions. These users might then become local area experts, and their weekly checkins could be published along with recommended discoveries and social votes provided by users who tried out the recommendations.

Foursquare would then benefit not only by expanding the social incentives and rewards it uses to engage users, but would be doing so for a different type of user. Social practices then become more diverse, new kinds of communication and connection open up, and the experience becomes richer for all when you pay more attention to the things at which your users excel.


Conclusion


So I offer this as a supplementary consideration: take an interest in what your users are good at. Take an interest in how they are good at being social with and through your service or application. Learn how to observe what users are doing and how their social habits vary. Think outside yourself and from the perspectives of other people.

Their behaviors may not give them away entirely, but if you develop a palette of personal and social skills that you can use to relate to people different from you, your design insights will be that much smarter.

[img credit: kooklanekookla, flawedartist]


Reviews: Foursquare

Tags: social design, social media, user experience, user experience design, UX, web design


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