Reality is Relative

Andrew Wee makes an interesting observation about Facebook and how painful it can be to face mountains of invitations for applications, which he likens to Google Adsense blindness.

Being hit by irrelevant application invites, and with Facebook system where multiple people can keep sending you invites to the same app over and over again, and the best part is that you have to deny/ignore each application request one at a time, means you could be spending 15 - 30 minutes each day just getting rid of application requests…

So is this effective social marketing?

Should you still go out and develop a facebook app?

Effective? For the short-term- yes. Long term- no. Should you develop an application? Yes, but Facebook should be more astute and take a lesson from Dunbar…

Andrew notes that I like a certain game and asks for feedback:

Social marketers, I’m keen to hear what you’ve to say, maybe Jim Kukral, Sam Harrelson, Wayne Porter (whom I know is addicted to a particular insidious Facebook game…), Stephanie “Internet Geek Girl” Agresta, Robyn “Sleepyblogger” Tippins, Shawn Collins, or if you the reader might like to weigh in, drop a comment below…

Ironically the same game Andrew mentions I am addicted too is a game he had already mastered. Who knew we shared an interest in a certain insidious Facebook game?

Dunbar’s Number

I get many invites to groups, games and friend requests, and I don’t think I am near Andrew’s friend count of over 300. That is a significant being double that of Dunbar’s number. Dunbar’s number, approximately 150, represents a theorized cognitive limit to the number of individuals that one person can maintain stable social relationships, the kind of relationships that go with knowing who each person is and how each person relates socially to every other person.

Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 16 (4): 681-735 .Dunbar used the correlation observed for non-human primates to predict a social group size for humans. He predicted a human “mean group size” of 148 (casually represented as 150), a result he considered exploratory due to the large error measure (a 95% confidence interval of 100 to 230). Note it is exploratory because of the margin for error and this should serve as a caveat. Christoper Allen does some deep analysis and notes that 150 is probably on the high end if one is looking for group cohesion.

“hovers somewhere between 25-80, but is best around 45-50. Anything more than this and the group has to spend too much time “grooming” to keep group cohesion”

The rise of MMORPGs, digital worlds, Second Life and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace has lead to more scrutiny on group size. Again Christopher Allen’s: Dunbar, Altruistic Punishment, and Meta-Moderation and Dunbar Triage: Too Many Connections (Allen offers up some good cultural and technological strategies).

At any rate I simply ignore or delete the requests- unless I find them interesting. There is a handy link at the top of my Facebook sidebar called “Ignore All”. A cheap form of keeping my “Dunbar pressure” in check.

What I do find interesting is “who” sends me “what” as it is very telling and provides insight into an individual’s persona and one’s overall network.

Language and Groups

For the record I think “addicted” is a bit dramatic…ok perhaps not…but I need to get my gold/lumber! I have an incentive. I have found that when I put a personal message in a request I tend to get a higher return on participation. Perhaps, as Dunbar put forth, language is a “cheap” form of social grooming. Tacking on a note is about as cheap as one can get.

For example, with invites to Dark Art of the Ancients I sent out a request and explained how I found the cooperative aspects of the game interesting and more players signed up than when I just selected twenty…I would love to see some metrics, perhaps public, (likened to CJ’s EPC) on request conversion by category, incentive and cap (number of invites).

That might be a better metric than overall installations or percentage of people with number installed…and perhaps Facebook would be wise to place a cap on invitations dynamically. Application developers could do this as well, and some do, but it still falls back to Facebook who must maintain stewardship of the platform long-term.

I do think we are in for a new age of metrics and social networking sites should pay attention to the stress network size can have on individuals as this could lead to “application blindness”. Sure, we have control of our network size, but people really don’t want to reject others, we would rather ignore the message.

Bigger is Not Always Better

It makes me think back to the early days of affiliate marketing were success was placed on the number of affiliates one gained and little attention paid to quality or relationship efficacy. That has changed- at least from an affiliate force size standpoint. I feel there is still too much emphasis placed on “big hitters” and marketers lose by not working with micro-sized players who really can influence people. Then again, the marketer gets all the stress of too many relationships.

Glory and Money

This is illustrated by a form of recruiting new players in a web based battle game my son and I play..they give a linking option that humorously underscores the reckless attitudes that some marketers continue to embrace, yet I cannot help but chuckle when I read it…

To recruit gladiators, who will then fight for you in the arena, you have to place your trap link somewhere in the internet and wait until someone clicks on it:

http://s5.gladiatus.com/game/c.php?uid=92111

Tip: you can place this link into your homepage, use it in your forum signature or send it to your friends. Someone will be mugged by you as soon as the link is clicked. You will receive money and glory through this!

“You will receive money and glory through this!” does sounds much like affiliate pitches from a few years ago. “Mugged”…at least they are honest and didn’t try to throw in honor.

We Aren’t Meant to Scale

The real value from social networking platforms are the relationships forged and conversations to be had and Facebook applications or RPGs are great for this, but one should keep Dunbar’s number in mind. This is especially prudent in high immersion environments, like Second Life, where nothing seems to scale.

Social network quality is limited by design and Allen’s adjustments make more sense.

Andrew I will see you at the Summit so I guess we can continue the conversation at some point. If you are bored try Gladiatus- I will get money and glory through this and you can take a break from Facebook before you lose all of your vision.

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TWITTERS

Caught this twitter via Steve Hodson after reading about the death of Sam Harrelson’s cousin. I agree with Steve and I feel for Sam. Bitter irony given some recent work with virtual war memorials.

Sam twittered:

This probably isn’t Twitter material, but this is my sounding board. Just found out my 1st cousin (very close) was killed in Afghanistan.

and I tweeted back…

@SamHarrelson It *is* Twitter material my friend, more so than the latest tech sighting…thoughts are with you & family of your cousin.

WHAT IS TWITTER MATERIAL?

I am surprised Sam doubted it.

Twitter material, in my eyes, is playing Scrabble with Robert Scobel until 5 am after Monkey phone calling him on a podcast and calling his cellphone to waste his time and get his opinion, or talking X-Box Smack with Steve Rubel who I feel needs Twitter therapy.This twitter discussion weeks after offering him a monkey phone call via LinkedIn after some Edelman crap. I truly felt for the guy- but maybe I wasn’t very compassionate, but it was as compassionate as I could be about his employer I suppose.

Steve please try to keep being human and not an agency, continue to tear into magazines you don’t like. As you can see I am a laughing prankster and jerkweed, but I really do have a soft center.

Perhaps it is meeting up with Fleep and learning about her life and work at University of Cincinnati- a chain reaction I have dissected ad naseaum on this blog- just search “Fleep”. (Thanks for the dance Chris!)

Twitters are little pieces of our lives, fragments of our existence, or little earthquakes if I wanted to go all Tori Amos on you…in part, or as a whole or mix them together. They are tiny ignition switches.

THE CON JOB

Pieces from Steve Hodson’s post: The Great Web 2.0 Con Job.

One of the biggest selling points that Web 2.0 proponents like to wave about is the immense social change that it is going; or has brought about. It is the incredible democratization of our society that will forever change the way we interact with each other and the world at large. It is the warm and fuzzy on a global village scale were everyone knows your name and is your friend.

Well I have only one thing to say about this idealized rose colored view of the cyber-landscape - bullshit.

Proof is in the pudding, there are changes on a microlevel maybe, but it certainly hasn’t trickled up to how we act as a “society”

or “global community”…one more key paragraph (although the jabs at data, information and the power of Facebook I can appreciate- read the privacy policy- hell don’t - no one does.)

Myself I do believe whole heartily that the web and technology can still effect great social changes but not as long as we continually get distracted by catch phrases like Web 2.0 which are nothing more that cool catchy marketing terms. Funnily enough and even though Robert Scoble might have declared them dead and boring I do think that blogs can play an important part in any future social changes. I even think that the Web 2.0 darling Twitter can be more than a bit player. The future social fabric of our society will depend on more that Facebook nudges or pat on the back groups. It will depend on more than bland second rate web applications that feed monstrous advertising money machines. It will depend on more than us snacking on bit size morsels of information.

As long as we keep falling for this illusion of how Web 2.0 is going to change the world though the kool-aid makers will keep getting rich off of us, the technological divide will continue to grow and social change will continue to be a marketing catch phrase used to further fleece us of our information.

WHAT WILL MAKE THE CHANGE

I think Twitter is a big deal. I think blogs will have their place. To Steve Hodson- most people don’t take the time to read well-thought out pieces or even shitty ones. The ones that do are probably forward thinking change agents anyway. Many do not contribute or take action. Simply sharing their lives, pulling back that veil is a good step. Small, but positive. Bite sized info won’t do it, at best it serves as a catalyst one would hope. You hope it makes people think, stop, halt and maybe to nudge them to act.

Ultimately Web 2.0 will *not* change the world- it will only change how we negotiate our reality.

People, individuals and folks en masse, ultimately have to make the changes.

ONE BLOG EXPERIENCE and WHERE AVATARS FAIL

I understood that clearly after a decade of writing and blogging basically what I now consider mental gymnastics- of which I will return too I am sure. I laid out a post after being flat out depressed and unable to write anything. I was bothered. So I wrote what I thought, more- what I felt. In some ways I felt like I “open sourced myself”- or tried.

Despite haven been in the middle of so many adverse issues, or in hostile debates or taking on criminal rogues, etc…It was one of the hardest pieces I have written yet I received more feedback (counting e-mails, IMs, skypes, comments, virtual conversations, etc) from this one piece on “Deaths and Shovels”. than hundreds previous combined. Real feedback, the type of sharing that changes one’s world view, one that changed my path and has lead me to some new revelations. One executive, who I respect a lot, called me up and his no-holds barred sharing of personal experiences stunned me. How personal they were, and how they made me think. Hell- even my father skype’d me…I think just to check-up.

AFTERMATH

Shortly after I wrote the piece and had my catharsis of sorts I learned a good friend’s baby had died in a tragic accident. That was it- blow to the stomach. We knew each other in a virtual world, had become fast friends and collaborators- why do bad things keep happening to good people? As he told me of this event tears rolled down my cheeks. Not just for him, but for “all of us” on the techno fringe.

How do you comfort an avatar? You really can’t.
Oh there are loads of animations, but how many for grief? How do you throw an arm over someone’s shoulder if no one has scripted it? Why would you?

When I look at the range of emotions in avatars- what an avatar CANNOT do shows me how much work “we the people” have yet to do and what is rewarded and what is not. Social change…heavy order for humanity. Our priorities are still wrong.

So I will have more to say on shovels and fate…I have some nerve up. I am trying to keep pushing the “open source myself”. I can’t take action until I can say what I want to say…getting there…and I didn’t quite get to where I wanted…

FLASHBACK

This is not poetic. There is no poetry or meter in this…this is splattered ink on a canvas.

I recall being a child and taken from school. It was lunch time, I was eating green peas…ice-like silience on the short ride back.

What is wrong?

Silence from Aunt and Uncle..I was perplexed. What could this mean?

Enter home…people, many- gathered- crying…being eight I had no idea the revelation or the impact awaiting me- it was out of my scope.
Beyond my reason and reality.

My two little brothers and sister herded to the back room where my father was…looking at us- eyes red. He was young then, far younger than I now. In retrospect I wonder if he rehersed the words? I have no idea. We know so little of our family at times. We know so little of what makes people tick, what drives them, what shaped them or shapes them….we don’t ask or they don’t tell.

He gathered us around in a semi-circle with his arms and delivered the news the only way he could and told us- our mother was dead- I can’t even type the exact words though I know them well. Age 26…All went black, utterly and totally dark. There are no memories for hours and hours after that. I awoke playing Chinese checkers at my grandmothers with my cousin in front of the gas heater. I love open flame gas heaters to this day. They are warm.

I thought about that incident when writing the piece. Should I include this deeply personal piece? Would it matter? How much should or was it just my business? Would people see a different aspect? I don’t want pity. Is it just public psychotherapy? No.

I have reconciled the best one can after something like that- children tend to lose part of being children when tragedy strikes. The difference writing about it this time as a 37 year old father… I, for once, appreciated my father never left our family, always showed up at ballgames, cooked or taught us how, always ensured we could survive and instilled in us a desire to learn and adapt. Too many thanks to count. I didn’t feel any cause to worry and no tear for me. If I were to cry it would be for my dad.

Because no father should ever have to tell that to his four little children.

Yet I know these words are delivered to children all over the world- everyday, under different circumstances, both here and abroad. I just don’t know what to do about it, talking about it? I guess, Sam, in my eyes this is all appropriate material and we should not worry that it is not.

No morals. No preaching. Kids are out now looking for candy- it is trick-or-treat.

I have far more important things to do right now.

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While playing another round of the obnoxious, yet horribly addictive pirate game at Facebook I noted an advertisement for The Facebook Lending Community. (According to the intra-house inventory these are served at a measly 0.50 CPM. It has to be low when they are using incentives for installs of Mywebsearch or Zwinky or “free screen savers”. Yes you can get the value added software in exchange for a load of 1000 in-game gold coins to firm up your pirate armada. Better yet the de facto “complete a questionnaire and subscribe to a bunch of CPA priced offers to get a free case of soda pop or a shopping card” and 1000 gold kind of deals abound.

The Facebook Lending Community
Where you can borrow and lend money,
bypass the banks, and get better rates.
Need Money?
Easy online application.
Rates start at:
7.62% APR

Got Money?
Invest in trusted borrowers.
Average portfolio performance:
11.84%

Average portfolio of 11.84%? Not a bad return.

What is This All About?
According to the site “We are not a bank: with rates like these, we’d be out of business Lending Club is a lending community where you borrow and lend money to fellow Facebook members. We operate as cheaply as we can, providing better rates on both sides of the loan.

All members’ identities and bank accounts are verified. Borrowers are credit-checked. We report payments to credit bureaus just like banks do, so this can help build up your credit.”

And they go on to extol the benefits of social lending:

Better Rates for All of Us
“While banks typically pay 5% interests on savings accounts and charge a 12.32%* interest rate for personal loans, Lending Club offers an alternative: members lend and borrow money directly among each other online, bypass the banks and get better rates.”

Peer-to-Peer lending, or social lending, is not a new concept. I recently covered philanthropic micro-financing. Much earlier I covered true P2P lending sites, again perhaps better termed “social lending”, like the Prosper service. Prosper operates as an online auction site where people with dough can lend money directly to people without any.

Borrowers set the maximum rate they wish to pay and lenders set the minimum rate they want. Prosper matches borrowers with lenders and manages the loan repayment. You can even earn referral money to the tune of a $25 kill fee for bringing in a lender and the lender also receives $25 as soon as as they fund their first loan (subject to a 30 day cookie and 90 day start-up period after a successful conversion to a lender).If you refer a borrower you receive 0.5% of your friend’s loan amount as soon as the friends first monthly payment clears. Get it while you can the referral program ends on December 31, 2007.

At Revenews I also covered several different services and/or financial peer driven networks well over a year ago while talking about “whuffie”.

Fries with my Whuffie?

From the cyberpunk novel Down and Out… the usual economic incentives have disappeared from the book’s world. Whuffie has replaced money, providing a motivation for people to do useful and creative things. A person’s Whuffie is a general measurement of his or her overall reputation, and Whuffie is lost and gained according to a person’s favorable or unfavorable actions. The question is, who determines which actions are favorable or unfavorable? In Down and Out, the answer is public opinion. Rudely pushing past someone on the sidewalk will definitely earn you negative points from them (and possibly bystanders who saw you), while composing a much-beloved symphony will earn you positive Whuffie from everyone who enjoyed it…

Second Life could use a Whuffie system, and they sort of had one- the problem was it was based on the Linden, but I digress…from the Revenews’ post I’ll draw a couple of examples:

Snip…

ZOPA: UK equivalent of Prosper. The name, ZOPA, stands for Zone of Possible Agreement, a negotiating term identifying the bounds within which agreement can be reached between two parties. Coined concept of “FreeFormers”. Freeformers were identified as displaying different attitudes towards many aspects of life, including their money, and Zopa has developed a credit referencing process that goes beyond credit bureau information in order to establish consumers’ attitudes towards money, as well as their credit-worthiness.

BillMonk: New start-up engaged around “Social money”- the informal currency between friends and they have a blog. (Yeah guys I’m blogging about you at your request.)

Again, nothing new although at the time I blogged the piece at Revenews I spoke to BillMonk and they were not quite out of the gates. Over a year and a half later all the services I referenced seem to be operating fine. If it were 2001 it might be a different Phillip Kaplanesque kind of story. ZOPA and Prosper seem to be very much like Lending Club. However, I ran into Lending Club on Facebook via a banner advertisement. “F8″ they call it internally. Perhaps just “Fate”? I wonder why Prosper didn’t get their first?

Lending Club does have a complex set of rules based on the licenses which are granted state-wide. Currently, at time of writing, they are not licensed in South Dakota, Rhode Island, Oregon, North Dakota, Nevada, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Idaho, California. Don’t worry even if you cannot borrow, if you live there you can still lend. The rest of the states fall to a whole bunch of different Minimums, Maximum Interest Rates, Late Payment Fees (15-Day Grace Period), Unsuccessful Payment Fees, you can see the lending terms here.

I find it interesting that you could potentially, but absolutely, put the financial hammer down on someone residing in Alabama, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire and Utah. Yes, now you too, the empowered consumer, could possibly dole out the bone-crushing misery that has long been reserved for credit cards, banks and the alley-HQ operations of loan sharks carrying clubs and brass knuckles. The max rates in Alabama, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire and Utah reach an astounding thirty (30) percent state maximum.

Lending Club works closely with “industry leaders” to offer their own “comprehensive person-to-person lending platform”.

How do they do courier all that cash around?

BankServ. BankServ is the financial services processor handling the submission and receipt of ACH transactions. BankServ supports over 400 banks in 52 countries and operates a PCI-compliant data center.

For the curious what is PCI-compliance and why so many acronyms?

I believe being PCI compliant is a nice way of referring to the adherence to Payment Card Industry Data Security. In 2004, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was created in a joint effort by the major credit card companies American Express, Visa, Discover and MasterCard . In the summer of 2005, the PCI DSS regulations were standardized and implemented. Naturally every credit card company has its own security policy.

- American Express: Data Security Operating Policy (DSOP)
- Visa: Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP)
- Discover: Discover Information Security and Compliance (DISC)
- MasterCard: MasterCard Site Data Protection (SDP)

To keep merchants marching to the tune of protecting our credit card data the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) was birthed in the fall of 2006 with a goal of having everyone that should be PCI compliant on board with the program by the end of 2008. At the current rate Visa U.S.A is projecting that 65 percent of all merchants will be PCI compliant by the end of 2007. The over-arching requirements are building and maintaining a secure network, protecting card holder data, maintain a vulnerability management program, use of strong access controls and routinely monitoring and testing a network. It goes all the way down to basic and common stuff like don’t use default passwords, performing vendor audits to ensuring credit card information is encrypted when being sent over public networks. That’s the short of it. We should know when they are really successful when crackers finally make the switch to chop-shopping WoW accounts instead of carding.

As for the latter- acronyms are fun- that’s why.

Forget Whuffie…They use one of the Big Three

Credit information is obtained through TransUnion. TransUnion is a global leader in credit and information management with 50,000 customers on six continents, supporting more than 500 million people worldwide. I am not sure where TransUnion has ever “supported” me, but that is how the system is setup.

F8 (Sounds like a Top Secret Plan or a Function Key or maybe “Fate”)

According to the privacy policy , and I am sure many will sleep soundly knowing they are certified by TRUSTe…

About Our Facebook Application

Lending Club maintains an application on the Facebook application platform known as F8. Facebook users can register for a Lending Cub account by coming through Facebook. This entails adding the Lending Club “application” to your Facebook profile (also free). Once the Lending Club application is installed, users get to a “landing page” on Facebook governed by Facebook’s privacy policy. No personally identifiable information is collected while on the Facebook landing pages. By clicking on these links from the Facebook landing pages, you will be taken from Facebook to the Lending Club site.

It is good to know it is governed by Facebooks’ liberal and well tuned privacy policy- also bearing the TRUSTe seal. I do mean liberal. All sorts of things leap out at you…for example:

However, while we have undertaken contractual and technical steps to restrict possible misuse of such information by such Platform Developers, we of course cannot and do not guarantee that all Platform Developers will abide by such agreements. Please note that Facebook does not screen or approve Platform Developers and cannot control how such Platform Developers use any personal information that they may obtain in connection with Platform Applications. In addition, Platform Developers may require you to sign up to their own terms of service, privacy policies or other policies, which may give them additional rights or impose additional obligations on you, so please make sure to review these terms and policies carefully before using any Platform Application. You can report any suspected misuse of information through the Facebook Platform and we will investigate any such claim and take appropriate action against the Platform Developer up to and including terminating their participation in the Facebook Platform and/or other formal legal action.

It is best to just read it all so you are informed. That being said I think social lending is a good thing and Facebook is certainly here to stay and willing to introduce you and I to new concepts like social lending. This is perhaps one reason, out of many, Microsoft got a whopping 1.6% stake in Facebook for approximately $250 million.

It’s social…
It’s the future…
It’s our fate…f8

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Started weeks ago, never finished, there may have been changes since. However, this serves as a convenient starting point plus some important caveats.

Mobile Texts (SMS) on Facebook

BASICS & US SHORTCODE

- Mobile Texts should be turned on for

- You can update your status or search for people texting FBOOK (32665). Use either the digits or the characters.

- 32655 is the 5-digit US shortcode for Facebook. All texts sent to and from Facebook will begin with 32665.

- Once set allows pokes, messages, wall posts and friend requests which will be automatically sent to your phone.

- Currently Facebook Mobile works with Cingular, Nextel, Sprint and Verizon.

COSTS of FACEBOOK MOBILE

- Facebook does not charge you, the user, for using Facebook Mobile.

- However, your mobile provider’s standard rates for sending and receiving text messages still apply.

- If you have a plan with unlimited text messages, which I strongly suggest if you plan to use SMS, Facebook Mobile claims that it will not cost you anything- this is true, at least not money. Your privacy is another matter. You must weigh the costs.

WHERE AND HOW TO SET SMS PREFERENCES

Facebook SMS Preferences

From this page you can get set the following:

A] Toggle Text Messages Either On or Off

B] Display:

– Pokes
– Messages

C] Toggle Display by Sent by, either

– Everyone or
– Friends of Friends or
– Only My Friends

D] Comments

– Mobile Uploads or
– All Photos & Notes

E] Whose status updates should go to my phone?

– Option to Select by Name of Friend(s)

F] Whose mobile uploads should go to my phone?

G] What times should texts be sent to my phone?

– Either Anytime or
– Select Time Range

H] Option Not to receive a SMS if logged into site.

I] How many texts should be sent? (Message cap for 24 hour period)

– 5,10,15,
– 20, 25, 50,
– 75, 100 or
– Unlimited

J] Should a confirmation text be sent when I poke, message, or wall post from my phone?

-Toggle
– Yes or
– No

MANAGING PHOTOS or NOTES FROM MOBILE to FACEBOOK

To upload from your cell phone straight to Facebook you optimally should follow these two steps.

A] Add Facebook to your phone book. One entry for Photos and one for Notes.

Facebook Photos
photos@facebook.com

Facebook Notes
notes@facebook.com

B] Send Facebook a photo or a note via mobile.

Pick up your phone and snap a photo, type in a note, or you do both. Once you have added Facebook to address book.

-To add pictures to your album(s).
– Send Photo to: Facebook Photos

- To create a new note via cellphone.
– Send Message to To: Facebook Notes

ACCESSING FACEBOOK VIA PHONE OR PDA that is WAP ENABLED or a phone with a MOBILE BROWSER e.g. Safari on the iPhone.

- Mobile Browsing offers reduced functions, but most communications are active.

– Web Enabled Browser:
– Surf to: http://m.facebook.com

- Phones with WAP Support:

– Surf to http://www.facebook.com/wap.php

Example of options using WAP access.

A] Home
News Feed, pokes, messages, status updates, Other.

B] Profile
Look up profile information.

C] Friends
Gives Status update and last time updated. Option to Message or Poke.

D] Inbox
Standard Facebook Inbox

E] Photos
Check out the latest photos from friends.

QUICK FACEBOOK SMS COMMANDS

Get profile infoinfo john smith

Update status @ Your Message Here

Get cell cell john smith

Message msg john smith whats up?

Poke! poke john smith

Fire fire john smith

Wall post wall john smith happy bday

Add a friend add john smith

Write a note note this is a mobile note

Set Status I am Whatever your are doing.

Check Status stat to a friends message.

Turning off notices from cell phone.

text “on” or “off” to FBOOK (32665)

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS

Privacy Settings: http://www.facebook.com/privacy.php?view=network

FINAL WORD OF CAUTION

Most Facebook applications are made by 3rd party developers, in particular for the enterprise, these applications may not have gone through complete “information hygiene” processes. Be careful what you install- no matter how fun it seems. If you must install it- limit the access to your information.

TERMS USED or to EXPLORE

WAP: Acronym for Wireless Application Protocol. WAP is a widely used set of protocols that standardize the manner in which wireless devices, such as cell phones and some PDAs, are able to access parts of the Internet, such as e-mail and the Web.

SMS: Acronym for Short Messaging Service. Short Messaging Service is a protocol which allows text messaging via mobile phones.

PROTOCOL: The ‘language’ spoken between computers or devices to help them exchange information. To get more technical this is a formal description of message formats and the rules computers and/or devices must follow in order to exchange those messages. The rules make it possible the exchange of messages between users on the Internet or any network.

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We kick off this story with Robert Scoble wanting to play Scrabulous inside of Facebook. Cool- I am up for it and figure since I am on vacation- gaming would be good. Let us note his blog entries…

Off we Go: (in FACEBOOK) Wayne is playing Scrabulous with Robert. 11:16pm

GAME ACTION

Wayne Porter opens up with TARP for 12
Robert Scoble responds with plural ROOFS for 10.
Wayne Porter responds with ORDAIN for 9
Robert Scoble responds with TELL for 4

Now making the match 21-14.

Wayne Porter gets aggressive and plays TILLED for 14 and Robert….well

THE GAME GETS BETTER

Read these “micro-chunks” and “cross terrain” diversions…This is what happens when a Media Navigator/Security Researcher and a Mega-Blogger & Media Evangelist armed with video (and neither have ever met) try to play a new game…inside of a social platform. Bicameralism in popular culture? Think Neal Stephenson and first several books (The Big U, Zodiac, Snow Crash) tackle the bicameral mind theory…Snow Crash again…

WAYNE PORTER- TWEETS

These are my responses as I interact with Robert while his attention is split in a number of ways…and I attempt to get it using the Skype connector. The timeline is hard to follow because frankly- I am worn out.

Get the whole stream here via RSS or select from here.

LOL Scoble is twittering during our first Facebook Scrabulous game. Media junkie! about 2 hours ago from web

Just changed his Skype topic to http://twitter.com/wporter/… about 2 hours ago from web 4 minutes ago from Facebook in reply to Scobleizer.

Skype topic with Robert is now http://www.pownce.com/Corwi… (which throws this out of whack again) about 1 hour ago from web

@Scobleizer LOL- took a Skweet (hybrid Skype-Tweet) to catch you- I implore your wife to get you a “hyper-media intervention specialist”. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to Scobleizer

With Others Previous What am I thinking? I need to invent something that streams RSS into a P2PTV client that functions with an I.V. line and G-Tube. (This … … about 1 hour ago from Facebook)

@Scobleizer SMS from here on out…I know our game is on hold, but I have this written up and it needs to cross some more terrain.

4:03am FOR GOOD MEASURE

Wayne sent a free gift to Robert Scoble. Inside of Facebook- a JPG of a Turtle with the note-

“Thank God it isn’t Chess” and the E-mail option off. He will never see that…micro-chunkers hate e-mail.

So we are a few moves into the game…and

ROBERT NOT ONLY TWITTERING- BUT PRODUCING: SAMPLE

Robert created a new kyte show. 4:06am

Robert wrote a new WordPress blog post. 3:59am

Robert Scoble wrote Amazon rolls out Flexible Payment Service at Scobleizer.

Robert wrote a new WordPress blog post. 3:19am

Robert Scoble wrote What the hell is up with our kids today? at Scobleizer.

Robert updated Twitter. 3:18am

Inspirational 14-year-old geek: http://tinyurl.com/2g875x — what is happening to our youth today?

Robert posted a video. 2:45am

At the same time twittering during all of this production and it took a Tweet into a Skype Chat Title to “get attention”

ROBERT’S TWITTER TIMELINE

(note in reverse order- last is first)

i just put up my face talking about Amazon http://tinyurl.com/ywuzg5 25 minutes ago from twitterrific

I love Kyte.tv 26 minutes ago from twitterrific

@balaji_dutt: I hate direct messages. Everything I do I like doing in public. That way nothing is ever hidden from you. 30 minutes ago from twitterrific in reply to balaji_dutt

@JeffBarr: OK, let’s do something when I am up in Seattle for Gnomedex. I’ll be there the two days after Gnomedex and my schedule is open. 38 minutes ago from twitterrific in reply to jeffbarr

@ChrisSaad: everyone knows my number. I’m just trying to keep the line open. 40 minutes ago from twitterrific in reply to ChrisSaad

@JeffBarr: only if you can find them in the next few minutes. I want you. 41 minutes ago from twitterrific in reply to jeffbarr

(That’s for Jeff Barr only please). 42 minutes ago from twitterrific

Wanna call me at 425-205-1921 right now? 43 minutes ago from twitterrific

Jeff, can we do a voice interview? 43 minutes ago from twitterrific

@JeffBarr is going to own TechMeme because this is brilliant to tease us and keep us waiting for his post. 44 minutes ago from twitterrific in reply to jeffbarr

@ccmehil: hold that thought until next week. I’d love to find a way to get him a MacBook. about 1 hour ago from twitterrific in reply to ccmehil

@ratherfancy: when i was 14 I was playing with computers, but not seriously. I think I was watching too much Star Wars. about 1 hour ago from twitterrific in reply to ratherfancy

I forgot about Susan Wojcicki. her garage is where Google started. http://tinyurl.com/n2mpl about 1 hour ago from twitterrific

@ChrisVanPatten: yeah, it’s just fun when you meet someone who is so put together at 14. I’d love to meet you too. about 1 hour ago from twitterrific

@ravbaker: this kid is just amazing. I don’t know where kids like this come from. about 1 hour ago from twitterrific in reply to ravbaker

Inspirational 14-year-old geek: http://tinyurl.com/2g875x — what is happening to our youth today? about 1 hour ago from twitterrific

@wporter: it’s even worse than that. Im watching the Simpsons, reading feeds, AND playing you at Scrabulous! about 2 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to wporter

@jabancroft: yeah, if Jeff Barr tells us his Amazon secrets it’ll only be between the three of us! Heheheh. about 2 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to jabancroft

@JeffBarr has us all hot and bothered over some rumbling from Amazon. OK, Jeff, spill the beans! about 3 hours ago from

Robert- behind on the game or the schedule? (Wayne notes next time challenge Robert to Tic-Tac-Toe…less attention needed)

SKYPE DIRECT CONNECT

Now recall I am changing Skype topics (WE HAD IT OPEN WHOLE TIME) from time to time…our attention to the game in an ephemeral fashion, while both working on things. I am on east coast- he is on west. His first response to lack of movement is when I post a Twitter URL into the Topic of Skype.

For the sake of learning something, or maybe a chuckle…I’ll post a snip or so, I think he will understand. Not like it would stop me anyway- that whole Monkey Phone Call thing and all…water under the bridge. Note times.

[12:25:47 AM] Wayne Porter says: you alive on scrabble or is this a multi-day game?

[12:45:47 AM] Robert Scoble says: I just got back.

[12:45:53 AM] Robert Scoble says: So, will join in shortly.

[12:46:07 AM] Wayne Porter says: k- i’ll debate harrelson on social labeling in interim

[1:32:23 AM] Wayne Porter says: are you multi-tasking?

[1:42:49 AM] Wayne Porter has changed the chat topic to “Spell Feldman for $10 donation to app makers”

[2:20:05 AM] Wayne Porter has changed the chat topic to “http://twitter.com/wporter/statuses/183941132”

[2:29:49 AM] Wayne Porter has changed the chat topic to “Tragic http://twitter.com/wporter/statuses/183951402”

[2:41:26 AM] Wayne Porter has changed the chat topic to “Can’t help himself http://www.pownce.com/CorwinCorp/notes/415772/forward/”

[3:10:20 AM] Robert Scoble says: heh, yeah. I’m way behind, though.

[3:10:50 AM] Wayne Porter says: i was almost sending you an SMS

WAYNE WAS BUSY TOO

A smattering…again in reverse order- latest first where my attention was.

Wayne sent a free gift to Robert Scoble. 4:03am ( A Turtle with message saying “Thank God This Isn’t a Chess Game.)

Wayne updated Twitter. 11:59pm
@samharrelson olds on Sokal was weak, let’s say check and I offer up Noam Chomsky…

Wayne updated Twitter. 11:48pm
@chrispirillo Never did- until the iPhone…now I do.

Wayne updated Twitter. 11:43

@Scobleizer Java Locked on IE- I am good to go with Firefox…will trace Java app next time…your move. Sam jump in…u can put PHD to use

During this span I was talking to my son, debating Sam on post-modernism at CostPerNews.com, syncing up podcasts with the new iPhone (yes- it is changing how I take in media), making my Facebook post-modern joke about Crowley to riposte at Sam over his slap at my Sokal inspired attack on post-modernism, twittering and reading up on educational labeling and implications for marketing. (Sam I think you are a genius, but you are wrong- I’ll gather more research.)

Labeling Theory Tested: Pygmalion in the Classroom
Rosenthal, R., and Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the Classroom. New York: Rinehart and Winston.

“they then selected 20 percent of the students at random - without any regard to their intelligence test results - and told the teachers that these students could be expected to “bloom” or “spurt” in their academics that year. At the end of the year, they came back and re-tested all the students.”

….

Labeling matters, and the younger the person getting the label is, the more it matters

I know it is from 1968- is that still contemporary?

To close… I am about to fire off an SMS- hell yes I am, but there is movement in Facebook- crafty Scoble…at around 5:33 am I check in game…

Robert has moved in with a play of RETELL for 6 bringing him to 20….

I’m holding all kinds of weird letters, but have had time to think while I was writing this post, fortunately I had a BLANK tile, and the good fortune of having a grand-father-in-law who invented automated biochemistry. I recalled “OXYACID” from a happy hour talk being any acid that contains oxygen (we were discussing zinc air fuel cells and/or something about renin-angio tension cycle and hypertension I think).

I recalled common ones include sulfuric acid- H2+SO4 or phosphoric acid H3PO4 + H2O or Nitric Acid H+N+O3. Yes a bit archaic, but so was the chemist. Good for 27 points.

Porter: 62
Scoble: 20

At 5:54 Eastern I write in-game “I can’t believe I or you are still at this and I am documenting it…we have lost it.”

. At least I have, and really not lost it- I have found “it”. Fast, efficient, compressed communication.

Because while Robert Tweets, as do birds outside my window- and they are twittering like many people are- this game isn’t over yet…57 Tiles left. I still have to go in Second Life- so Robert- I hope you are not awake. If you move- Twitter me- I’ll have on my SLTweets HUD which is terrain agnostic- no matter how alien SL is- the message can travel.

In the end I am going to just blame Evan Williams founder of Obvious…although I am sorry to hear about Sarah’s tooth Ev. (See personal nature of Twitter)

Thanks for all this fun as Sam documents Robert’s video on Twitter HQ.

This stuff isn’t hard to understand because the concept is simple, although it maybe a bit hard on the people out exploring, stretching and flying around the fast growth and implications of the movement. It might also be hard to swallow for those who have a vested interest in the top-down structure.

This “micromedia” is here to stay…not all companies will survive but the die is cast and that alphabetical caste system is not as important.

Your move Robert…take your time. The media is your choice of course, and where and when you choose to focus your attention is yours as is mine. The brief feeling of overload goes away once people have earned the attention- and anyone can earn today.

The Twitter Machine:: Reflections on Language

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Deconstructing only on what I know. Stream that acts recursively to site or dated.

- Ponder Path of Widgets on February 2, 2007 via Steve.

- Go Gonzo and exposed to Twitter via Sam. Post at RN January 21, 2007

- Note Twit to Sam March, 16, 2007

- Twitter Tracking with Fleep date unknown.

- Fleep makes a tweet (short post) about a teacher’s conference on March 14, 2007

- I follow her stream, blog on March 18, 2007.

- Meanwhile, Fleep reads my old post on March 14, 2007

- Her Read based on my blog on Steve’s embeded widget dated March 26, 2007,

- Retrograde Note: Know Steve via Brian Clark’s (circa 1999) and series of posts- summed up August, 28, 2006.

- Fleep tweets about the video. March 18, 2007

- The entire loop prompts me to document the action in a blog entry March 18, 2007

- Injected back into Twitter March 18, 2007

- This inspired by Sam on Twitter adoption story via WSJ March 16, 2007

- Sam’s blog based on Wall Street Journal story March 16, 2007

- Circle completes and I “meet” Fleep July 27th, 2007

- Recap with addendum. August 2, 2007

- August 2, 2007 injected into facebook…perhaps via twitter.

There has to be more. I cannot see it all- maybe Steve can shed light on widget views of the video? It still sits at University of Cincinnati and on blogs. What effect continues to pulse from this “frozen knowledge”

Commonly called “social media”- it is really only media that we socialize around.

Note the players in the pattern- blog, video, widgets, twitter, conversation, inspiration, virtual meeting…and elements unknown.

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This from Profy’s Twitter stream caught my eye.

Why is Facebook being banned?

My first thought would be information leakage…then again you would have to ban “Web 2.0″…maybe it is just about so-called- productivity?

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Quite a bit of fire around the WSE (World Stock Exchange) from this Reuter’s report. Having followed the emergence of these nascent exchanges- some of this is no shock at all to me. More a matter of time.

I actually know Shania Stewart, I have conversed with her on several occasions and found her to be one very bright and very savvy individual- no perfect past, but then again she was forefront as we discussed business, philosophy and the emerging metaverse- good, bad and ugly.

There is a common test in Second Life, for those who work purely virtual.

a) You take a chance and reveal who you are in real life.

b) The other party listens and either reveals who they are and/or hands you a several hundred thousand lindens- if you are trustworthy- you hand it back.

I handed it back.

That is the acid test on the street.

So one thing sticks out here- and it is accountability or lack of it. This is where the WSE, and I don’t fault any or all of the exchanges because the idea is new, the concept so infantile and the entire platform not secure…there are going to be many of mistakes along the way. Virtual trading is incredibly interesting, thinly traded equities, no real names for most part, yet people come in droves- virtual firms raised decent amount of Lindens to expand. Note- FICTIONAL EXCHANGE, FICTITIOUS CURRENCY.

One things jumps out at me: Ms. Stewart goes to the press and as I have it from her Linden Labs cleared her of any wrong doing or knowledge of the transgression- I am not surprised- she pushes envelopes, but has never practiced conceit or duplicity in my eyes- as a researcher I am trained to find it- there is plenty out there.

Compare and contrast this:

“I noticed a large withdrawal by an avatar with no history. I then closed the WSE immediately and began to investigate,” said LukeConnell Vandeverre, CEO of the WSE and its parent company Hope Capital, in a statement on the exchange’s website.

“It appears that a past employee of Hope Capital, who assisted in fixing previous bugs in our ATM, had decided to try and use their inside knowledge of our ATM communication channel to their advantage,” said Vandeverre (real name: Luke Connell of Melbourne, Australia). “We are hoping that most of the linden dollars will be returned.”

to this

news of the theft first came to light in a blog post by Mystik Boucher (real name: Shania Stewart of Nashville, TN), CEO of the Second Life firm Mystik Designs, whose account was suspended on Saturday.

“A few short days ago, it had come to the attention of LukeConnell that the WSE had been hacked and lost over 3.2mil/L. I come into this story, well, because it was the Chairman of Board @ MDS who has allegedly hacked the WSE,” Boucher said on her blog. “On Saturday I received an e-mail from Patsy Linden stating that my account was placed on Hold due to an Administrative Review. This is likely the cause of the transactions between myself and Thurston (Hallard).”

Ms. Stewart broke the news. It could harm her company, her credibility, her street credentials- even though she removed the offending individual. I hear her account is frozen. (Note: I have a minute interest in her firm 763 shares at current value L$3,441.13). It remains frozen. Too bad- I would buy more from a leader who stands up and gets the issues out so the community can work with them. Alas, there is little community when “lindens” are at stake. There are some, there are forward thinkers, innovators and those who care for it, but much of it is greed.

*** Mr. Hallard (the avatar)…yes I know his real name too, and even more- but that is his story to tell and he must be accountable for his actions. He is hardly a hardened thug, but talented at design and extremely shortsighted in my opinion- I think it is sad he took advantage of the system- disappointing even. Do the right thing Mr. Hallard- karma catches up.

*** LukeConnell needs to learn from his mistakes and build a more secure platform, understand that MOD rights means MOD rights- and think about contracts, and protecting the platform- and assisting new traders in form, disclosure, etc. It is dicey enough with no Real Word identity and NO REAL accountability- let alone goods that don’t exist, a platform that is rocky, and so many security hazards I can’t name them all and I am a security professional. By now some my have guessed who I am (well one of how many avatars?)…out performing strange social experiments, going Indiania Jones style ala Snowcrash and exploring the brave new world. If you have figured it out- good for you- if not- soon enough. You’ll be seeing me, because if Ms Boucher is cleared I want to know why trading is still halted. I think we both know.

*** As for Ms. Boucher a.k.a Ms. Stewart- she did the right thing. She removed Mr. Hallard, she got the issue out in the open and most importantly- she is now a real person, with a name who lives in a real state. Her mistake- having a partner commit a fraud, but she wasn’t in collusion and she took the road less traveled…talked about it- aired it- went public. In the future Ms. Stewart, if you read this…remember our discussions on due diligence, you may have a bumpy ride as some may need to regain trust, but not from me. You did the right thing.

Accountability- Second Life will continue to spin its wheels, no matter how much I love and support the platform- until it rewards registered users beyond of 512 meter tract of land for “Merlin Bot” to grab….need ideas Linden Labs- I have plenty….offer up those who are accountable what they deserve- respect, perks and real citizenship, because we are the ones investing in “your world” and “share your vision”- we have a vested interest.

The story of this debacle will come and go as all things do, but avatars must learn that without accountability, without repercussions of some sort- it really is just a game and the object will always be to “Game the system” and not a better world make. Reward those who are accountable. I do. We all should- there is much value in the virtual world and it isn’t all in Lindens- relationships, ideas, talent and friendship. Learning, new viewpoints, new cultures, new models for metrics! Here is a tip- just like Facebook- what you do and say isn’t private. Get that straight my dear avatars. It is an illusion easily understood by reading the Terms of Service. This doesn’t mean it is all bad, but don’t let the ephemeral nature of the medium lull you to sleep.

ADDENDUM: Joy of joys. Ms. Stewart has tentatively agreed to write for the new Revenews.com re-launch on virtual worlds- which is an ongoing mega project to preserve ten years of information from some of the web’s top and brightest on revenue generation.

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Just tuned into Jeff Doak and Sam Harrelson who cranked out the Jeff and Sam Talk about Marketing, Tech, TeH Internets and Other Stuff (Beta) Show primarily on Facebook and validating what we all knew was going to happen to search with odd twists like Mahalo. I think this was discussed months ago on a Molander guy’s cast.

Great podcast guys- one hour seems to be a sweet spot. A few thoughts and ideas.

- Rumor has it the ill-conceived, worst app ever, 3d Mailboxes is out of West Virginia…/me laughs at irony.

- 3dMailbox is an incredibly horrible implementation of an incredibly great idea and still follows the attention = revenue formula. Allow it change your thinking from an X,Y World (Flat Web Pages) to an X,Y,Z world (Simulated 3D). Much like Second Life and actually building and vending products in the 3D world…when you throw in that Z coordinate suddenly things like Engagement, Curiosity, Influence, etc can be measured. I am ashamed to say it took me months to puzzle that out, but it is a reality and why it still holds my fascination- among other reasons…e.g. acceleration of relationship formation, the impact of the lack of accountability, Avatar as proxy, etc, etc. The issues are multi-fold and momentous and only way to get a grasp on them is to participate. Easy to get into but a steep learning curve to gain mastery.

- Performance marketing companies don’t and won’t get it because they are classically too focused on product improvements instead of pure R&D and rewarding change agents. Rather than improve a system it is about gaming the system…although I argue some gaming is healthy and a little entropy is good because it destabilizes the system. Sidenote: If you cannot control the entropical forces acting on your system you join them or buy them.

- Jeff D. I can totally see how 3D Mailboxes being so bad one would wonder if it weren’t some sleek sleight of hand Brian Clarkian style of faux social media.

- I feel Facebook’s success is predicated on their wise choice to attack the weird angle of a delicate time- renegotiation of college social networks…and their almost incredible illusion of an extension of privacy. Zero privacy, read the TOS…background etc- not a secret- just cleverly wrapped. (Sam please quit messing with my social AI- hanging out in the desert does not mean we lived together).

- Couple that wise choice with control of mass and the velocity at which this mass moves. It has to be somewhat “safe”. Something that MySpace has failed to do, as Chris Boyd points out time and time again, and why they are trapped in this impression/click world of defectors. Once again let’s philosophically call it the Z variable- it lacks “depth”. Facebook offering up an API let’s the community give it all kinds of depth, but they do contain the aesthetic to where you can operate without getting knifed by malware and if you leave the system they are sure to reinforce the fact you are leaving the system! Very astute.

So while everyone chucks bad food at applications like Second Life (primarily due to the ridiculous amounts of perceived freedom, in some ways a low barrier to entry, poor protection for content creators against system gamers, a hideously steep learning curve coupled with complex GUI) the parallels are very similar and valuable. Whether it fails it or not may be largely predicated on LL’s ability to nurture trust, making it secure, reformation of their GUI, and making it more pragmatic and perhaps the rate of adoption of post-humanism among society. I know there are many trans-humanists in Second Life which is even further evolved or devolved depending on your POV.

- Thought or question for the day. Does so-called social media, let’s call it influence, scale? I think so.

It takes a lot of force to move the needle, but once it gets past the sound barrier…the plane stops jumping, going crazy and you break the mythical sound barrier…Chuck Yeager like. Also rumored he is out of West Virginia…

Lastly and yes Mr. Doak I agree- A.I. has a long way to go before it replaces wetware in one the critical aspects brands like to examine- TONE. …which is even more complex if you map posited tone against a quadrant that looks at number of visits (”interest”), and time spent on site (”engagement”). Very exciting world out there…I’ll think about it while on vacation and let Jason’s Mahaloians puzzle out those SERPs.

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After several years, nearly a decade, I think I have taken one (rather interrupted) vacation…next week I begin (or Friday I think) two weeks of “vacation”. I have planned a few “timed” posts to go up on my blog and any time I spend online during week one will be purely recreational. Week two- it is a complete off grid I hope.

What should I do?
Where should I go?

I have no idea…

I may ask Facebook…according to their terms of service, they might have more insight into me than I do. (http://www.facebook.com/policy.php). This is only an excerpt of the policy, the emphasis points are mine. I hope when we reach Web 4.0 I can just stop thinking and put my hands into advertising algorithms…AI should do a better job than I do…and hopefully Web 6.0 will provide AI based counselors and bots that can psychoanalyze me based on interaction(s) or lack of interaction with the “net”….

When you visit Facebook you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Web Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Web Site.

When you register with Facebook, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, schools attended and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.

When you enter Facebook, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all Facebook visitors. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using “cookies.” A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to Facebook. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.

When you use Facebook, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalized features. In most cases, we retain it so that, for instance, you can return to view prior messages you have sent or easily see your friend list. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.

You post User Content (as defined in the Facebook Terms of Use) on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on Facebook is a violation of the Facebook Terms of Service and should be reported to privacy@facebook.com.

If you choose to use our invitation service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for your friend’s email address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email inviting him or her to visit the site. Facebook stores this information to send this one-time email, to register a friend connection if your invitation is accepted, and to track the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us at info@facebook.com to request that we remove this information from our database.

Facebook may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the Facebook service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.

By using Facebook, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

the future is so bright I have to wear shades. Sunglasses that is, like glasses that go on your nose to shield you from harmful UV rays, rayban is one such example of a brand of sunglasses. I just don’t know what one to select. I wish I had an AI based interface to make some suggestion on Sunglasses for my future and one that would provide a good deal, coupon or discount.

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Biz Partner and business visionary Vinny Lingham has launched Synthasite into alpha. I know Vinny, I know he is damn smart (Yeah ok… Kwisatz Haderach smart), and I have high hopes for Synthasite…and while this news is a bit late on my blog- I am looking forward to the beta version.

Synthasite, an AJAX based Web Publishing Platform, emerged today from stealth mode. The 6-person startup based in Cape Town, South Africa was recently spun out from the incuBeta group as a separate stand-alone company that will focus on delivering a world class web based software platform for web publishing, focusing specifically on Widgets & Mashups. Synthasite looks and feels like desktop software, but remains firmly rooted in the browser with no reliance on client side technology.

Facebook Tangent Alert

I wonder if Vinny will tap into Facebook?…of course one might read the TOS behind Facebook, because it really is just that- your face, your life, your friends- like a book. Not that Web 2.0 hasn’t made it one already- think of it is more a Bible. But funds setup and earmarked to monetize Facebook? The value is in the data if you ask me. Time to go see I guess.

I mean imagine Google’s Grand Central fused with Facebook, caramelized with Google Analytics…uber social network. Ripe for engineers like Brian Clark and ripe for others…

Things are changing from widgetry to Nielson sobering up over pageviews (think engagement), and while some call it insanity…these dozens of fast-tracked, micro-investments are a pittance compared to what really sits in the value of Facebook- it is not insanity too me.

Check out this Video from Google and a talk from Fred from UNC Chapel Hill and his research into “The Facebook”. Yes according to Fred- Facebook owns your campus. Zoho has tapped in, LinkedIn and StumbleUpon (ebay) has tapped in, even colleague Steve Rosenbaum has tapped Magnify into FaceBook. (Steve- yes people taking JPGs of JPGs!)….

One takeaway from the research talk Fred finds that friends in Facebook “are not real”, they are not quite like the friendships we form off line. I see the SAME type of behaviors in Second Life- friendship formation is not the same as face-to-face friendship formation- even with an avatar as proxy. People are hanging out and learning about each other. Second Life is different though, in the Facebook you are identity sharing, in Second Life the identity you share is not quite the same…

Also pay close attention to the concept of situational relevance. IN particular freshman who must renegotiate their “social network” and identity formulation and reformulation. This is the hinge pin of Facebook’s success. Again similar principles with Second Life where people can “try on” different identities…in a “walled garden”…

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