Daily Bits

Social Networks

Are You Ready for the Sharepocalypse?

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Social SitesI don’t know about you, but I think this whole thing about using -calypse as a suffix is getting old. Still, I couldn’t stop myself from digging deeper when I encountered the term “sharepocalypse”.

I don’t know where the term originated, but I first saw it in an article written by Nova Spivack, which was published by Mashable. The idea is very simple and not surprising at all: “In the Sharepocalypse hundreds (if not thousands) of online friends share content with us across various social networks, culminating in massive information overload. Our lives will become more fragmented, we will lose productivity, and we’ll perpetually be playing catch up.” ((Article))

Think about it. How many social network accounts do you have? In how many of these networks are you active? Let’s be more specific, when you update your status and/or post links/photos, how many platforms do you use for the same content? [Read more…] about Are You Ready for the Sharepocalypse?

Twitter Facts and Figures for the Stat Geek

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Twitter Icon
Twitter Icon

Are you on Twitter? I do have a lot of friends who are not really into Twitter, and they probably have good reasons for not creating an account (or maybe having an account but not logging in). Then again, being one of the biggest platforms today, Twitter is probably useful for something, don’t you think?

I ran across an infographic that will give you a geekgasm if you are into stats. Numbers, facts, and figures – you now how something to enjoy during your break this afternoon! Created by Touch, an agency offering diverse marketing solutions, the infographic puts together a lot of data in a package that is more easily digested. ((Source)) What else can be expected of a marketing agency, right?

Seriously, there are some interesting tidbits to be found in this infographic. If you are the average user, you may not find much practical use for these figures – except to satisfy the stat geek in you. However, I online marketers might just find a use or two for this information. [Read more…] about Twitter Facts and Figures for the Stat Geek

How to Configure Privacy Settings on Google+

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Google+So Google Plus (Google+) is quickly amassing its own number of followers, although it’s probably still a far cry from the number of Facebook users. In less than a month since the launch of Google+, we’ve been seeing a lot of speculations about the number of users. From 10 million to 25 million Google+ users – the numbers are all over the place. Google will probably never tell us the real deal on how many users they have, but there is something more important than knowing just how many people are on the social network. Privacy. [Read more…] about How to Configure Privacy Settings on Google+

Google Plus Anti Divorce?

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Are you plus one-ing yet, or are you still stuck with liking? Google’s beta release of Google Plus last week has got everyone online going gaga over the newest social networking site in town. With the limited and sporadic invites available, not everyone is on Google Plus yet. Still, divmore and more people are finding their way to the site.

With that comes all sorts of articles, critiques, and commentaries on Google Plus. One of the more interesting ones that I have stumbled upon is written by Kashmir Hill of Forbes.com. ((Article)) The topic? How Google Plus seems to be anti-divorce. Divorce may be an ordinary thing in most countries in the world, but in my neck of the woods, divorce is stirring up controversy. Yes, the Philippines in the only place on Earth (barring the Vatican) where divorce is not legal – yet.

So what is this about Google Plus not being nice to divorcees? For those who have an account already, check out the options for relationship status. As opposed to Facebook, which does provide “Divorced” as an option, Google Plus only offers the following.

Google Plus Relationship Options
Google Plus Relationship Options

The list of relationship status options being a fact, what does this imply about Google? I honestly wouldn’t have given it any further thought if I hadn’t read the article. Hill has a theory that, perhaps, Google took heed of feedback from the past (the “Call Daddy” reminder in Gmail, which offended some people with father issues) and chose not to include divorce as an option. After all, divorce can be one of the main sources of issues in people’s lives.

Then again, I honestly think that reading into the absence of the option is a waste of time. As far as I am concerned, it should be enough to state whether you are married, in a relationship, or single. After all, Google Plus is NOT a dating network – although I suppose for some people, that just might become one of the purposes.

Whether or not Google is against divorce – I don’t care. I do care about making sure that my stream is kept clean of the noise that I have on Facebook and that I use those circles to my advantage. How is your Google Plus experience so far? Do you miss the “Divorce” option?

BeautifulPeople.com Hit by Shrek Virus; “Ugly” People Let In

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BeautifulPeople
If Anonymous and LulzSec were to hit targets such as BeautifulPeople.com, then perhaps they would bring about more lulz. The social network for the good looking has been hit with a virus called “Shrek”, which allowed applicants to pass through the screening process more easily. Indeed, it seemed to approve people who normally would not have passed the site’s requirements.

If you have not heard of this site yet, it is an online dating site that only allows – as the name says – beautiful people. And how do they determine who is beautiful? Who is to say what’s beautiful and what’s not? That’s where their “strict” rating system comes into play, where the voices of the members are heard. In short, existing users vote on whether or not an applicant is beautiful enough to be part of the site. In other words, it is nothing but an extension of social cliques you find in high school, college, or wherever.

Still, the site has not been unsuccessful. To date, they have over 700,000 members from all over the world. This number suddenly swelled by the tens of thousands recently, which made the management suspicious. (I wonder why – isn’t it possible that there are tens of thousands beautiful people wanting to be part of their site?) In any case, they discovered that there was something wrong – the virus.

As if the original premise is not already borderline ridiculous as it is, the management decided to inform the “incorrectly accepted” people that they cannot retain their membership status. As managing director Greg Hodge says, “We have sincere regret for the unfortunate people who were wrongly admitted to the site and who believed, albeit for a short while, that they were beautiful. It must be a bitter pill to swallow, but better to have had a slice of heaven then never to have tasted it at all.”

Need a Girlfriend? Cloud Girlfriend Is the Answer!

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Calling all the Howard Wolowitzes ((The Big Bang Theory)) and Morgan Grimeses ((Chuck)) of the world. A new web site is launching soon, and it promises all the lonely men of Facebook all the benefits of a virtual girlfriend. Dubbed Cloud Girlfriend – The Social Network Girlfriend, this site just might be the answer to the prayers of those men who have been desperately wanting to change their status to “In a relationship with —” on Facebook.

So how does it work? From what can be seen on the site, there are only four steps to the perfect relationship.

  1. Define your perfect girlfriend.
  2. The site will bring her into existence.
  3. Connect and interact with your perfect girlfriend (who has been brought into existence by the guys at Cloud Girlfriend) on Facebook, or whatever your preferred social network may be.
  4. Enjoy a public long distance relationship with your girlfriend.

I kid you not – take a close look at the screen shot below or simply visit Cloud Girlfriend.

Cloud Girlfriend

You won’t be able to do anything on the site except to sign up for when they launch. ((Yes, I did sign up to see if it will work.)) And when you do sign up, you get this message.

Invites

I suppose that if you were to sign up, the assumption is that you will also have at least seven other friends who would want to sign up! (Oh yeah, if you do decide to sign up, do you mind using that link in the image so you can be my referral?)

Going back to the “perfect girlfriend” – believe it or not, there is going to be a real person behind the creation. I guess there is no going around that – I don’t think there is a program smart enough to be the perfect girlfriend. 😉

Do you think that this site will gain traction once launched? More importantly, do you think it will last? Personally, I am wondering if it can be an alternative to playing The Dating Game on Facebook. Oh, and why is it only about girlfriends and not boyfriends???