Looks like the Web 2.0 bubble is bursting at the seams…Pownce, a Twitter-like service, just announced it will be closing December 15. If you have an account and want to access the stuff you have in that account make sure you do a full export before the 15th.
An email I just received from Pownce today reads:
“We are sad to announce that Pownce is shutting down on December 15, 2008. As of today, Pownce will no longer be accepting new users or new pro accounts.
To help with your transition, we have built an export tool so you can save your content. You can find the export tool at Settings > Export. Please export your content by December 15, 2008, as the site will not
be accessible after this date.
My good friend, Jennifer Van Grove (@jbruin) is a local San Diego Social Media Consultant, blogger, socialite, SD Tweetup planner, etc. etc. and just added another fabulous task to her to-do list - Jenn2.0! Jenn2.0 is a web series that follows Jenn, a web savvy twenty-something living in Southern California, around and takes us through her compelling and fabulous life of working and living in social media.
Jenn was kind enough to invite me to observe the auditions today. So I stopped by on my way out of work and checked out what this crazy girl was (yet again) up to. Apparently they had been auditioning people all day to fill 4 roles for the upcoming web series. Jenn has been working hard with NAS Productions, Rob Lewis, and Darren Elwood who have come up with a darling script based around Jenn’s life as a social media consultant and her yearning and struggle to find “…balance between her online personas and her ever-present reality.”
It was really fun to meet the casting crew, production team, writers, and photographers today at the auditions and I can tell this pilot is going to be totally bitchin’! Apparently they based one of the girl characters LOOSELY around my personality…umm Jenn should I be nervous or excited at this point?
So keep your eyes/ears peeled for Jenn2.0 and I’ll definitely be doing a follow up blog once the series is introduced.
Thanks again to Jenn and her team for inviting me over for auditions (I couldn’t believe the response they got for these parts!) and I CANNOT wait to see what comes of this. LOVES IT BITCHES <3
I chatted with CEO and Co-Founder, Ben Finkel of Fluther.com, this afternoon and because he was SUCH a cool guy to talk to I wanted to give a shout out to Fluther and his team and tell you all to go check it out. Not only are the people behind Fluther really cool but the app itself is nicely designed and a great concept overall. Fluther let’s you ask it a question - whatever you want - and it directs it to the community of people with shared interests and who would be able to best answer it. Live community driven Q&A. Sweet!
“Tapping into our collective is like extending your entire networkof knowledge. And Fluther lets you share your massive brainpower with others.”
Pretty cool, huh?
So I created an account today to dig a little bit deeper into what this community is like and has to offer. One of the most recent questions was “Two great tastes that go great together?” - Ok not the most intriguing of questions but it’s amazing the answers people submitted. Anything from cigarettes and chocolate milk to french fries and ice cream, the answers were beyond my imagination at times and I just couldn’t stop reading them. And ALL of the questions were like this. Man - this community is totally rockin’. You can see the passion that this community has for Fluther - the way people moderate, participate and genuinely care about what’s going on is extremely unique.
Fluther has also gotten some nice publicity from KillerStartups, Scobleizer, CNET and more. With an iPhone app out, feeds for everything to the site, participating in a voting competition for SXSW (go vote for them to be at SXSW next year!) and more - this team has really done and thought of a lot.
Keep an eye out for these guys - I foresee some great things a-happening! Oh! And go sign up already and ask a few questions.
I am super stoked about this site - WebVet (recently launched and covered on Techcrunch earlier this week) an online resource and help-center for pets. It’s similar to WebMD in that it provides a platform to research physical and emotional symptoms but now it’s specifically for your beloved pets. YAY! Not only does it provide a portal for medical conditions & research but it also provides breaking news coverage, lifestyle and human interest stories, and a way for you to connect with similar pet parents. It’s a very comprehensive resource for pet owners and I know I’ll definitely use it when I’m curious or in need to learn more about a symptom or condition Malibu may be experiencing. Like why is my dog so hyper? Can somebody explain that to me, please?!
No but in all honesty I’ve personally tried to search for insights on food/skin allergies, flea meds, etc. for Malibu and I can never find a reliable resource - I’m sorry but Yahoo! groups is not exactly my first choice for pet medical advice … WebVet provides me that one-stop place for my research. Thank GAWD!
Of course if your pet is experiencing severe symptoms go to your vet immediately - “WebVet does not diagnose, suggest treatment or editorialize but rather provides news, information and fact-based education to pet owners. WebVet strongly encourages all pet owners to consult with their veterinarians on the best course of action for their individual pet.”
I know the news is soo last week and most people have already blogged about the Facebook redesign but I’m going to give my two cents anyway.
The news of the redesign came a few weeks ago from the Inside Facebook blog. I had actually seen the announcement through Twitter and checked it out for the first time last week. The design is nice and open - a bit confusing at first because I was looking to my side navigation for my groups, photos, friends, applications and now most of the activity is in the upper navigation. Ok I can deal with that. I don’t know if it’s through a default setting or what but my main profile page (wall) in the redesign is completely taken over by the mini-feed. You can of course click through the upper tabs for Info, Photos, Boxes, etc. but I personally don’t like viewing the mini-feed first thing…I already know what I’ve been doing in my account - I don’t need to be reminded.
One of the most obvious things to me in the redesign (remember I am a marketer) is the abundance of white space - ah hem - AD space. Cha Ching! Good for Facebook. I understand that people need to pay their bills and generate some kind of revenue - so good to see they’re thinking it through. Let’s hope the ads stay clean and neat like they have because I can’t stand another MySpace ad.
To get more in depth news and reasoning behind the redesign check out Facebook’s blog, Inside Facebook.
If you had 12 seconds what would you say? Well that’s exactly what 12seconds.tv wants to know. Conceived and developed by some fellow nerds in Santa Cruz, CA – 12seconds.tv gives you the opportunity to update what you’re doing through 12 second video clips.
In a nutshell …
Like how you update Twitter with small blurbs throughout the day, 12seconds is the best place online for video status updates. It’s a super easy way to share what you’re doing with your friends and family using short video clips. You can use your web cam or mobile phone. Show your friends where you are, share your thoughts, or tell them how you’re doing – 12 seconds at a time. Genius!
I am almost out of beta invites – but if you want to see if I have any left please comment below or dm me through Twitter and I’ll for sure try to hook you up.
So the iPhone 3G came out yesterday - yeah, like you didn’t already know. I, for one am not into the hype. I wouldn’t waste my time (or take off work) waiting in line all day to get one when I can enjoy it a couple weeks later if I decide to splurge. And after all that, most Apple buyers couldn’t download the latest 2.0 firmware because the App store couldn’t handle all the traffic - thus leading the Apple loving community crushed & royally pissed off. Bummer dude.
It was interesting to watch & read how the Twittersphere was handling the day and what was going on around the world the day the iPhone 3G arrived. People started out with excitement and anxiousness to get to the closest Apple store and wait in line and the mood was acceptance: “Yes I understand I’m going to have to wait in line, but Apple is totally worth it!”. Then it started to evolve into desperation and moodiness - “Why is this line taking so long?”, “Shit! I waited in this line for 2 hours and now I have to leave to get to work”, “I will pay you $100 for your front of the line spot!”. As new customers walked out of the Apple stores with a shiny new gadget in hand the people in line would watch them; eyes opened-wide, a slight burst of salivation and indescribable excitement like they were 7 years old again on Christmas Day.
As the day went on the rumble of the community got even more intense - the App store couldn’t handle the volume of traffic, completely broke down and people weren’t happy. Lashing out at Apple and AT&T, customers felt disappointment and let down. How could this happen? I am so loyal to this company and they can’t even get my phone activated right away. So many intense emotions ran through people’s minds.
Now that the first day of the launch is over I went back to Twitter to see how the community is handling their new gadgets. Seems like there are still some problems. Apps not working or super janky, some connectivity problems, etc.
Here’s a tweet from a local Twitterer (@MitchWagner) that best sums up today’s issues with the iPhone 3G’s Apps:
If you have a story to share please comment below. I’m curious to hear more about your experience yesterday. Cheers!
Sazell let’s you take a “Snapshot” of the web by turning anything on the web into a small embeddable widget for your own personal Facebook, MySpace, blog, website, whatever. “Simply put, it is a platform which allows its users to share and discover any piece of information with their friends and families using a concise “visual snapshot”.” - Sazell Team
So after getting my private beta invite I immediately went to my favorite celebrity site, TMZ.com, to see what celebrity dirt I missed…apparently the poor economy means less activity in Hollywood. So I found a less than appealing story about how Pam Anderson is still flexible and did the splits during an interview with Kyle and Jackie O in Australia. Well I had to get your attention SOME how…
So it’s really easy - you download or drag the “Snap It!” button into your toolbar, find a story that you like on the web, “Snap It!”, the form is automatically filled out and generated and voala! My little embeddable, portable web snapshot is ready for me to distribute. Yay!
Pretty straight forward and easy to use. I really have no complaints, as of yet, I guess for the little that I’ve done in the site. However I do think the logo is a bit familiar - who else has used that primary colored logo before…? I’m sure it’ll come to me.
If you want an invite comment here or send me an email - I think I have a few I can share.
Well, it’s July and all drivers in California know it’s the mark of the Hands Free Law - so no more phone to your ear while behind the wheel. But think of it this way; there are SO many other things you can now be doing while being hands free! Enjoy the video all!
I wanted to give a little shout out to a wonderful lady who has just recently come onto my radar screen. Her name is Beth Kanter and she is showing the world how to advocate through social media and how to create true, poweful change through those advocacies. Her blog, How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media, is what she describes as “A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and publish links about nonprofit technology, educational technology, adoption challenges, information design, visual thinking, creativity, ICT in the developing world, and much more”. Well said, Beth!
There are so many people who say they want & wish for social change yet only talk about it. Beth is actually out there making a difference, teaching, training, showing compassion and love, and I bet she’s loving every minute of it. I know I would!
Good luck to you Beth and keep us all posted on your campaigns! To check out more about Beth Kanter and her nonprofit initiatives click here.
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