Archive for the 'web 2.0' Category

Finally … Free Music On-Demand

Published
by
Ehren
on January 23, 2008
in Interests, Mentions, fun, marketing, technology and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

The Globe and Mail has an article today about Last.fm now offering music on-demand with advertising.  It’s good to see that the music industry isn’t totally ruling out internet radio, although this is slightly different.

I still miss listening to music on my Pandora account — while Last.fm allows me to find songs based on similar interests among other users, Pandora was really easy to use and was customized for me and only me.  I hope that Canada can get back in on that action soon.  I miss being able to find new artists or artists a just had not heard of before, without the “word of mouth” step.  Sometimes “word of mouth” can be a pain…

Update Oct. 23 2008: If you’re looking for a more detailed list of free music on-demand — I’ve posted a list here.

Share This

History in Full Colour

Published
by
Ehren
on January 16, 2008
in Aspirations, Mentions, fun, history, photographs, technology and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Rarely do we have the opportunity to have a glimpse into the past.  One of the eras that I am fascinated by — the Great Depression of the 1930s — is one that continues to peak my interest over and over again ever since I was a high school student.

I ran across the news at TechCrunch today that Flickr was working with the American Library of Congress to share colour photographs taken during that area.  This initiative is through The Commons program.  There are a wide variety of photographs to check out and I highly recommend browsing through all of them.  I’m still going through them right now!

I can’t say that I usually support Flickr but the project that they are working on with the Library of Congress is definitely worthwhile and truly makes history(I’m a history major) that much more accessible to the world.  And it’s not a bad thing to be able to look back at the challenges, failures, and accomplishments of fellow human beings.

Take a look!

Share This

Nifty Music Search Engine

Published
by
Ehren
on January 15, 2008
in applications, ecommerce, magazines, music, technology and web 2.0
. 1 Comment

Well, I can’t use Pandora anymore ever since the copyright enthusiasts ensured that internet music radio stations weren’t able to broadcast beyond the United States.  Really a shame.

My alternative now?

Last.fm  — but it’s okay, I still enjoy Pandora more.

I ran across something new today that is more of a search engine for music called Songza.  Unfortunately it doesn’t recommend music to you but something good about it is that you can search for whatever song you may happen to be in the mood for.

I only wish that I could purchase a track through Songza rather than merely an album which is listed through Google Products.

Check it out!

Share This

Boredom: Is there a future for Facebook?

Published
by
Ehren
on December 15, 2007
in Interests, Mentions, Ponderings, Unthinkables, marketing and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Of course there is, but is it as big as people anticipate? If so, I’m not feeling it. I use Facebook on occasion and when I do, it is mainly because it’s one aspect of my job. Majority of my friends no longer log on very often and while the applications were a fun feature, it’s gotten pretty old. That is — aside from the stupid application notifications that continue to arrive and tell me that a friend has bitten me in some sort of manner. My friends and I used to some pet application and feed one another’s pets with old ragged boots, but that has gotten tiring as well despite the huge amount of amusement we received initially from doing so.

Just as an example of my own demographic — I am 26 — turning 27 very soon. I have friends and relatives who are older and younger than I am on Facebook ranging from 16 to 57 and I have begun to notice their usage level gradually slowing down.

What does this equate to?

It means that Facebook’s influence is not ever-expanding. Web 2.0 fanatics and sites that continue to multiply by copying and upgrading or building upon one another’s features will not win over users simply by making an application on Facebook’s platform or even Google’s potentially OpenSocial platform. The reign of superficial qualities, functions and aesthetics of Web 2.0 is over.

Providing interesting functions and impressive interactions between people is good and it is a feature that is highly regarded but the underlying flaw behind many web 2.0 sites and applications is the assumption that the time factor is constant. The other assumption is the friend factor — that if friends are there, people will almost always follow their friends.

The Internet is meant for diversity and many different communities. Websites that aid in the creation of such diversity and appeal to specific interests will prevail in the end. Facebook will survive, there’s no doubt about it but it definitely will not be the giant that people think it will become. Facebook is a gated-community with many communities but it’s key features are its human interaction functions. Some communities within Facebook will thrive, others will fade out and find another website that’s more suitable to its needs.

I know there are still many people who still live and thrive on Facebook, but for me — *yawn* … it just isn’t worth my time anymore — not for my interests anyways.

——

Check out Seth Godin’s recent blog on Facebook’s generational challenge. It’s not the same opinion as mine, but his post illustrates how communities in Facebook can be formed — how a university introduced people together to form a community (or more like a bunch of friends).

Share This

Knol Knol Knol …

Published
by
Ehren
on December 15, 2007
in Mentions, Unthinkables, marketing and web 2.0
. 1 Comment

Could Google make a name ever more easily-repetitive? But it is one syllable after all. Marketing people can’t seem to stop talking about the Google’s Knol. There is nothing spectacular about the Knol. The Knol is merely another product that Google is offering. There are some key differences between the Knol and it’s main competitors but that’s how things work when there is competition in a realm that already exists.

I realize most internet marketers are concerned about the page ranking between Google’s Knol and Wikipedia entries, but I honestly think that these are some of the most minor issues. Forget the whole idea of SEO (Search engine optimization), in my opinion, a whole industry that was spun out of the need to improve one’s ranking on search engines ends up providing Google with an extra boost of credibility and power. Some may argue that it is necessary but I feel that if you have a quality website that is truly relevant and genuinely interesting to people, you will get the right people. Perhaps slowly, but surely.

There are of course search engine friendly (SEF) issues to deal with but I feel those are a lot more organic than SEO in general.

Nevertheless if you are keen on learning about the Knol, I’m not here to stop you. I will direct you to Darren Barefoot’s page on writing great knols, as he has set up a whole website that focuses on this topic.

Share This

One Brilliant Marketing Campaign

Published
by
Ehren
on November 30, 2007
in Aspirations, Interests, Mentions, fun, marketing, politics, video and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Today my friend passed along a website called CheatNeutral. I have no idea if many other people in the world have heard and seen this but I had no idea what it was. I definitely encourage you to visit their website and view the video clip.

Their idea strikes hard at the viewer and with some pretty zany humour which really brings home the story behind the whole concept of Carbon Neutrality and Carbon offset credits that many webhosting service providers like Netfirms and Dreamhost have been buying up in order to have the ability to market themselves as “Green friendly”, especially as being green is becoming trendy in the eyes of many consumers who are increasingly environmentally conscious. A prime example is the banner I have on the left hand side of my blog declaring that I am green — which I will remove over this weekend.

The point is … I’m guilty … just as almost all of us are guilty of looking for an easy way to deal with our environmental issues. Thank you Alex and Christian … and Beth ? … for helping people realize what the Carbon offset industry is doing and how ridiculous it really is.

Share This

A Great Plugin for Firefox - Read It Later

Published
by
Ehren
on November 30, 2007
in Interests, Mentions, applications and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

I surf around a lot and I literally consume information. Unfortunately I just can’t keep up with reading everything so quite often I rely on Fave.com or del.icio.us to keep the sites I’d like to read on tab but I usually end up forgetting about them. Chris Garrett of chrisg.com just recently posted about a plugin for Firefox called Read it Later where you can keep track of stuff you’d like to check out later in the browser.

Sounds pretty good to me!

Share This

Quatchi (aka. Ewok Slacker)

Published
by
Ehren
on November 28, 2007
in Mentions, Ponderings, technology and web 2.0
. 0 Comments

After I was amused by Darren Barefoot’s musing of the Vancouver Olympics 2010 mascots in which he posted his opinion of them, I decided to check them out for myself. According to the Globe and Mail, these are a big hit amongst the children and I can see why. I don’t find them bad for mascots although I have hardly ever thought of mascots when it comes to the Olympics.

Vancouver 2010 Mascots

I tried their little quiz to determine which mascot I was most similar to and apparently … it’s Quatchi the Sasquatch. Seems like I have similar interests and characteristics as the sasquatch after all!

————–

Update:  After some thought, I am concerned about the similarities of me and the Sasquatch — won’t I disappear or go extinct?  booo  … i’d much rather be like Mukmuk.

Mukmuk

Share This

Close
E-mail It
Clicky Web Analytics