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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

Want More ReTweets? Here Are 5 Scientifically Proven Ways!

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Need a retweet?Believe it or not, there are still people who are not convinced of how Twitter can bring them benefits. Heck, there are still people who are not on Twitter for that matter! For those who regularly use Twitter to gain exposure and interact with people around the world, getting retweets is one of the important things. But how do you get your followers (and their followers) to retweet your tweet?

So you know that your tweets are awesome. You know that others will find them cool and that they will definitely benefit from them. But maybe you just can’t seem to get any traction. Only a handful actually share your tweets. Is there a proven way to encourage people to actually click that retweet button? [Read more…] about Want More ReTweets? Here Are 5 Scientifically Proven Ways!

New Discovery: Birds Tweet Using Grammar

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Finches
Finches follow grammar rules when tweeting
That’s more than you can say for many of their human counterparts who tweet in the technological way, yes? 😉

All kidding aside, scientists have found signs that those cute little creatures with feathers have something that resembles grammar as we know. Based on a report published by New Scientist ((Source)), Bengal finches have their own syntax when they chirp, sing, tweet, or whatever you want to call it. While the birds do not have the same concepts that we humans (such as the parts of speech – nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.), they have syntactic structures.

By the way, syntax is defined as the ” is the study of the principles and rules for constructing sentences in natural languages.” ((Wikipedia)) Basically, the birds having a syntax of their own means that they have rules that govern their “speech”. Grammar falls under syntax.

I suppose that this is not a totally new concept and that, in fact, many people have suspected this for the longest time. The breakthrough is that researchers from Kyoto University in Japan have actually found some proof that this suspicion might be true. What the scientists did was to play various songs until the finches got used to them – or understood them. They then jumbled up the syllables in the songs and observed how the finches reacted. What they found out was that only one of the four jumbled up songs made the finches react in an adverse manner. The scientists say that based on the finches’ reactions, it seemed that the particular song broke the birds’ grammar rules – whatever those rules may be. And if you are thinking if it was just coincidence, give the researchers a little more credit, will you? They did the experiment on many birds and they had the same reaction – at least those birds who were exposed to other birds.

That last bit seems to support the idea that the grammar rules are not innate in the finches. They have to learn the rules – just like we humans do.

I don’t know about you, but I find the study – and its results – fascinating. Maybe these birds can teach humans to follow grammar rules a little more on Twitter. You know what I’m saying?

Last Night Never Happened: An App to Delete Your Boo-boos

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Last Night Never Happened

Upon waking up today, I saw a friend’s status on Facebook: “To the 2 strangers I called last night, and have no recollection of what we talked about, I am very sorry.” Now I don’t know what that was about, but it reminded me of so many incidents wherein people got so wasted that they had no recollection of the events of the previous night. I am sure that you are no stranger to such events as well, and that, in the morning, you wished that there was a way to undo things.

But wait – there is an app for that! At least for deleting written evidence. Developed by So Soho Holdings Limited and 22seeds, the iPhone app is being dubbed as “the world’s first morning-after app” and seems to hold some potential. The idea is rather simple: once you wake up from your drunken stupor and realize that you have posted some things on Facebook and Twitter that you would rather not have posted, you can launch the app and delete those posts. Oh, and you can delete photos as well.

The graphical interface is simple – specially designed for people still suffering from a pounding head and blurry vision. There are also idiot-proof measures so that you don’t end up deleting more than you actually want to. (You never know – in your earnest desire to get rid of humiliating evidence, you might accidentally delete “legitimate” data.)

If you are ALWAYS in control when it comes to your social network accounts, then forget the app. Then again, I have a strong feeling that you will find this app very handy. Get it from the iTunes store for $1.99.

A Sea of Tweets: Another Way to Show Japan Your Support

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It has been over a week since the first earthquake hit Japan and tsunamis wreaked havoc. Some of us may have already moved on with our lives, reading the occasional news report of what’s going on in Japan. Others may be getting their act together with regard to disaster preparedness. Have you showed your support for the victims of the quakes and the tsunamis in one way or another?

Last week, we published an entry about a fundraising drive for Japan. It is not too late to chip in. You can also check with the Red Cross to see what you can do to help. While not everyone may have a lot to spare, there are other ways by which you can express support.

Here is one interesting initiative that I discovered: A Sea of Tweets. This movement is spearheaded by artists Mark Skwarek, Tamiko Thiel, and John Craig Freeman, who are converting tweets into paper cranes and placing them in front of Mt. Fuji and along Japan’s coastline. The act is purely symbolic, but the message is strong and clear: there are people who care and want to show their support.

How do you participate? It is rather simple: just use the hashtag #seaoftweets to your tweet, and it will be counted and converted to a paper crane.

To learn more about this movement, visit A Sea of Tweets. More than using the hashtag, please remember to look at other practical ways you can send some help. Even the tiniest bit of help will be appreciated!