Google has tried hard over the years to develop a social network that is the equivalent of their search engine, but nothing seemed to make the cut. Their first attempt, Orkut, may have been a success in Brazil, but seriously, how many of us outside of Brazil have ever even heard of it? The second attempt was Google buzz, which I’m sure most of us have actually heard of, but not for the reasons Google was looking for. Google Buzz become infamous last year over privacy concerns, and so was not at all successful. Now, however, comes attempt number three, and this time, according to reports at least, Google just might have a winner.

Google+ was released in its beta version for selected people a couple of weeks ago, and already has received some good reviews. In the words of MG Siegler from TechCrunch, “If Google Buzz Is a black Hole For Sharing Traffic, Google+ Is The Big Bang”.

Google+ has unashamedly used some features of Facebook, such as the +1 button being the equivalent to the “like” button.

“Circles” are also a major feature in Google+. Like the “groups in Facebook, circles allow you to arrange your friends depending on your relationship. Every friend you add has to fit into certain circles in order to be added as your friends. You start off with four basic circles, Friends, Family, Following and Acquaintances, and you can add more circles as needed. You are the only one who will ever know what circles each person is in, and they can be in more than one circle.

Another interesting feature is Hangout, a video calling system that allows up to ten people to talk to each other in a group. Facebook’s announcement of Skype integration for one-on-one video chat doesn’t sound so impressive after that, I must admit…

Sparks is a content sharing feature that sends you information on topics you have selected. It seems to be a bit like a mixture between Stumbleupon and Google Alerts.

Unfortunately most of us will have to wait a little longer to try it out. Initially, it was available to just select invitees who could then invite others to join, but there was such a massive amount of people clamoring for invites that it was closed the next day. However, you can still register your interest on their site, so that as soon as it opens up again you are notified.

It is well-known that there is a war going on between Facebook and Microsoft on one side, and Google on the other. Google has long had the upper hand when it comes to search engines, but hasn’t quite been able to compete with Facebook when it comes to social media, especially since Facebook recently passed 750 million members.  This may just be their chance…

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got around to watching The Social Network, a film based on the early days of Facebook. (Although, since it is only about six years old, we could still be in what will considered the “early days”). In the film, you could see the Facebook team watch as the number of members hit the 100 000 mark.

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Recently, there have been a few articles on the TIME magazine about the predicted end of the PC.  With millions and millions of PCs in use all around the world, is this prediction maybe a little premature?

The story goes like this. Both Microsoft and Apple have recently been releasing and developing technology that goes beyond the simple PC. With tablets, smart phones and cloud computing, why would we even need clunky desktops and laptops?

For example, the successor to the current Windows 7, (codenamed Windows 8, I know, very original of them…) is an operating system designed primarily for tablets, although it will be able to work on other items, and is apparently much like the current Windows 7 for phones.

There are a few problems with this story. For one, a definition of PC may be needed. As Henry McCracken from TIME’s Techland writes, the definition of PC according to Miriam Webster’s dictionary is:

Personal computer

noun
a general-purpose computer equipped with a microprocessor and designed to run especially commercial software (as a word processor or Internet browser) for an individual user

Um… Sounds a bit like a tablet, don’t you think? Maybe even a smart phone?

Even the components that traditionally make up a “PC” can be found in many other gadgets like the tablet and smart phone, among others. Screen, keyboard (if you want to be pedantic, you could even say QWERTY keyboard), processing power, storage, etc. Yep, last I checked, these could all apply to my phone…

The second problem, is that many people just won’t want to change from their PCs too soon. Often, a PC can be seen as a tool for serious work, when you are sitting in your office typing out a report for your boss. A tablet is great for travel and flexibility, but may not be as popular for other stuff just yet.

Maybe we should stop and think a bit before declaring things obsolete. Three years ago, there was an article punting the end of Facebook, a couple of days ago I read another article saying that Facebook is killing websites!

On Monday morning (2 May 2011) I was talking to my younger sister, who was also on Facebook at the same time. Suddenly she said, “Did you know bin Laden is dead?” I’ll admit, I was a bit sceptical, knowing that news sites are not her usual haunt on the internet. “No, really, it’s all over Facebook.” And that was how I too learnt about the death of Osama bin Laden. Not through the radio, or TV, or any type of news site, but through Facebook posts. (more…)

Have you ever been the victim of a Facebook scam? Usually when I see an email scam, (Your distant relative in North Eastern Guatemala has died leaving you a fortune! Send me money so I can arrange for you to get the entire fortune!) I think it is so obviously a scam, that how could anyone fall for it? Not so with Facebook and other social media scams. (more…)

Rumours. With the growth of the internet, rumours have spread like wildfire all over the world. You can be a part of a rumour that is spreading in the US, or Ghana, or Kazakhstan from anywhere in the world. Social media is often blamed for this spread, with blogs, Facebook and Twitter coming under fire. But are they the only ones to blame? (more…)

With the internet now allowing anyone with an internet connection the ability to be a news reporter, what will happen to traditional news sources like newspapers and news on TV and radio?

There are already reports from many newspapers that circulation is dropping as more and more people opt to go online in order to find information for free that they would normally have to pay for. (more…)

On February 9 2011, an American teacher was suspended without pay for having vented about a few of her students on her blog. As far as she was concerned, the only people who would see it were a few of her friends, but somehow it got picked up by her employees, who needless to say were not very impressed. (more…)

This past year my wife and I had a pact, no Christmas presents for each other. We had done some renovations to the house in November and we decided that would be our present to each other. Great, check that one off the shopping list – done.

I was wrong. Apparently when we said “no presents for each other,” it was only me that thought we  actually meant no presents. So, I wake up on Christmas morning and my wife pulls out this nicely wrapped present!!

“What is this?” I say with much guilt in my voice…

Turns out my wife thought it necessary to surprise me with an Apple TV – the new sleek, black one (I had been “um’ing” and “ah’ing” about it for the last couple of months)!! Fantastic little device and a great addition to any man cave.    It allows you to stream content to it from anywhere in the house from your Mac, iPad, iTouch, and iPhone – movies, pictures & music of course. It works great in SA – no issues. The only thing you can not do is access Netfilx.

So what does this have to do with critics and social media ?

While I was “surfing / browsing” through the movies on the Apple TV, I found myself reading the write-ups about the movies and TV series, and came across the movie “Grown Ups” (starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade & of course, Rob Schneider).  It sounded like fun, light-hearted entertainment, plus a couple of people I knew said it was a great movie. After reading the summary of the movie I started reading some of the ‘Top Critics Reviews’, and I quote;

“It’s total garbage.” – Tom Long, Detroit News, June 25, 2010

“Feels like the work of people who sat around a table for an hour or so tossing around hackneyed comic notions, then decided to slap them onto the screen and hope for the best.” – Stephen Holden, New York Times, Jul 7, 2010

Source – Movie Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes

The reviews from the other Top Critics pretty much followed a similar theme. Out of a total of 154 reviews by the critics ,15 said the movie was “fresh”. The other 139 said it was “rotten”. It’s average rating was 3.31/10. I therefore started to wonder whether or not it was worth the watch – these guys pretty much tore into this flick and had absoutely nothing good to say about it.

At this point I was about to “switch” channels and happened to glance at the customer reviews….

After 1615 customer ratings it scored the following as per iTunes on the 25 Jan 2011:

5 stars: 1025

4 stars: 164

3 stars: 88

2 stars: 65

1 star: 273

That’s an average of 4 stars!

So I started to ask the question, if I were to solely base my decision on whether or not to watch this movie based on the Top Critics reviews,  would I even give it a second look? That being said, the customer reviews totally contradict  the Top Critics’.

My next question is this – do we need the views of a supposed “expert” to tell us whether or not something is rubbish? I know the ‘Adam Sandler & Rob Schneider’ combo is not everyone’s cup of tea – either you love them or hate them – but how can these ‘Top Critics’ be so far off the mark?

In my view, the advent of the Social Web / Social Service that gives the public a voice,  is starting to cloud the expert/s. Who are they to decide whether or not I should go see a movie? For all I know the expert in question could be a stuck-up, old foggy, longing for the glory days of Charlton Heston, or he could be some young upstart trying to make a name for himself, and impress his critic friends.

We live in a world in which you are able to crowd source pretty much any outcome that you desire. In other words, if you want to be told to go and watch  “Grown  Ups”, you will find sufficient “advice” telling you go watch it. However if you need sufficient ammo telling you not to watch it, guess what you will find?

SO, does that mean that “Social Media” or “Crowd Sourcing” should not play a part in our decision making? Nope. The beauty about the world that we live in is that there is a place for all personality types, and opinions (not always tolerated, it must be said). But the web and social media tools – like the one used in iTunes, which allows customers to review movies, songs, TV shows, etc. – will give you a nice cross-section of “real public opinion”. It gives a voice to the ‘average Joe’. A voice that in the past only a few GATE-KEEPERS had access to, and so they determined what was said.

I believe that in no other time in history has the “general” public had so much power to influence, or to be influenced, by public opinion.

Ask yourself…

Do we  need “Expert Critics”? No

Do I listen to “Expert Critics”? No

Personally, the more I think about it, the more I realise that friends, family & acquaintances are my “Expert Critics” – they are people I personally know and trust.

So did I download and watch “Grown Ups”? Nope, my three year old convinced me to watch the “Incredibles” with her instead!

I loved it by the way, worth the watch! – Wayne Howcroft, Afridesign, Jan 25, 2011

I’ve just spent some time reading an interesting article on social media trends in the States, mostly amongst small to medium sized businesses.

I was very surprised to note that social media is still a foreign concept for many business owners, and that many of them still do not know how to effectively use social media in business.

The article pointed out 8 trends which gave some surprising insight :

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