Hello Android!

Hello Android!

Well, I finally made my decision to move away from Blackberry and to start using Android. My Blackberry was great the first year, but it really started to have issues the second year. For example, it would drop calls unpredictably and became pathetically slow even after multiple reinstalls. Regardless, I won’t dwell on my Blackberry woes because, for the most part, it was a good phone.

So, let’s rewind two weeks. I started exploring other cell phone carriers and then started reviewing the overwhelming world of smart phones. My wife and I looked at the 3 main carriers: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. T-Mobile had the best deal for us (we have 5 phones on our plan) and we both were able to upgrade to Samsung Vibrant (Galaxy S) phones with the Android 2.1 operating system (Kernel version: 2.6.29). Playing with this phone in the store sold me instantly. I was, quite frankly, blown away by the speed, intuitive interface, the crisp high-definition screen that was flawlessly playing the preloaded ‘Avatar’ movie. Oh, and Swype texting is awesome. I don’t need a keyboard anymore. Okay, so I won’t go into all the technical specifications, but if you are interested visit http://galaxy-s.t-mobile.com/samsung-android-galaxy-phone for more information.

I did play with an iPhone and loved it too, but the Samsung phone seemed much smoother and quicker to me. Plus the screen is way better in my opinion.

So, I have had my Samsung phone for a little over 2 weeks and I am still in love. Here are some of my favorite apps so far:

A Online Radio – online radio plays MP3/M3U/PLS/AAC channels, shoutcast/icecast etc.
Aldiko – eBook Reader.
Barcode Scanner - scan product barcodes, Data Matrix and QR Codes. Also share your contacts, apps, and bookmarks via QR Code.
Congress – keep up with new legislation, contact info for legislators etc.
Dolphin Browser HD – an excellent browser that offers tabs, add-ons, and much more. My favorite add-on is the Dolphin Reader, which provides an “interference-free reading environment.”
Evernote – create notes, tag them, and sync from anywhere.
Fring – free video calls.
Google (Talk, Voice, Maps with Latitude, Google Goggles so you can use pictures to search the web).
Kindle – eBook reader.
Kobo - eBook reader.
Laputa – eBook reader.
Layar – Augmented reality with multiple layers.
mSpot – send 2 GBs of your music to the “cloud” and listen from your phone or any other connected device.
NetQFree – manage your Netflix queue and read reviews etc.
Nook – eBook Reader
News apps (NPR News, NYTimes, TechNews)
Pandora – free personalized radio.
PocketCloud – remotely access your desktop.
Rhapsody – listen to a huge collection of music anytime and from anywhere.
TaskOS – task manager.
TweetCaster – Twitter application.
TweetDeck – Twitter application.
YouTube – for mobile!

The time is now for digital textbooks,  http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/oreilly/radar/atom/~3/7fTVWn9thKI/punctuated-equilibrium-httpbit.html

Brave New World With Such Google Transparency In It,  http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3LI84nxBWcQ/

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/google-verizon-fcc-war-over-internets-future/19605776/

http://thenextweb.com/google/2010/09/08/google-engineer-on-adding-social-to-google-instant-stay-tuned/

Mashable Shared Story

Google's Music Service to Launch by Christmas [REPORT]: http://bit.ly/9eHeSS

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5 Useful Facebook Trend and Search Services (Source: Mashable)

As the world's largest social network, Facebook is a fascinating place to find out what's hot, what's news, and discover the latest meme.

Despite recent improvements, Facebook's in-site search doesn't necessarily offer the best way to see such data. However, there are various services that provide a dedicated way to either search Facebook's 500 million-strong data stream (at least what's made public), or see what's "trending" on the site in a way that's similar to Twitter.

While we can't overlook the fact that search engines like Google and Bing have begun offering "social search," we think the five services listed below offer a more useful way to find out what people are saying about a particular topic, or even find out what's being "Liked" in your social circle.
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1. Kurrently
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Kurrently is a dedicated search engine for both Twitter and Facebook, but you can narrow down the options to see results from one service or the other.

Kurrently's great selling point is that the search results continue to refresh after you've looked up a word or phrase, so you can experience the kind of auto-updating hashtag search we're already familiar with on Twitter.

Kurrently's programmer Gilbert Leung said he started the site because he wanted to get a sense of the global sentiment on a certain issue.

"Twitter Search was the obvious tool at the time," says Leung, "but my immediate question was, What about Facebook?' Why am I searching through a community of around 60 million when a network of around 500 million exists?'"
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2. It's Trending
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Right now It's Trending offers a non-searchable, real-time feed of the most shared content across Facebook, which is useful for anyone who wants a snapshot glimpse of the social web's current zeitgeist in an incredibly simple and uncomplicated way.

Giving you a new way to see hot topics across categories (video, news, sports, tech, gaming, comedy, etc) and across popular sites (Cracked, YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, NY Times, CNN and yes, Mashable) it's a good-looking service that has big plans for the future so definitely one to watch.
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3. Openbook
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While many of you may already be familiar with Openbook, it's worthy of a place on this list for how simple it is to search, or see what others are searching for.

Also worth mentioning for marketeers or researchers is Openbook's unique ability to see search results from just male or female Facebookers something that's an incredibly useful tool if you need to narrow down data on a gender basis.
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4. Booshaka
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Recent startup Booshaka offers a real-time look at what's trending on Facebook based on open search keywords, as well as via topic if you're interested in more a general browse.

Main channel topics include news, music, sports, politics, gossip, TV, fashion, movies, deals, travel, brands and games (with each broken down into further sub-topics). Clicking on one of these will give you a stream of updates from relevant accounts.

Once you've carried out a topic search, you can see how many "Likes" and comments a Facebook post has received, and narrow down the results by what's trending now, what's most popular, what's most recent, and what has the biggest "buzz."

These further options could potentially help identify up-and-coming trends, as well as find out what folks are saying about established ones.
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5. Facepinch
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Facepinch promises to let you know popular "Likes" (as well as create your own "Like"), view hot trending topics, and see what's being sought after on Facebook with its top 100 most popular searches list. There is also the option to see recent searches if you're more interested in what's happening right now.

While there's no data to be gleaned from it, you can also browse recently updated profile pics with a gallery of random Facebook users' names and thumbnails. The site's default is the U.S., but you can select specific countries if you've an interest in a particular geographical area.

The service's creator, London-based Andrew Webb, states that besides the more obvious voyeuristic uses, he sees value in the site for brands:

"[C]ompanies and marketing professionals [can] see an unfiltered glimpse of how their products are being really perceived by the public."
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BONUS: Like Button
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More aimed at finding out what's hot in your own social circle, Like Button shows you "what people you know like on the Internet right now."

If you're signed in via Facebook, you can see what your buddies have "Liked" on popular pre-loaded sites such as YouTube, CNN, The Huffington Post, etc, and via categories including news, social media, tech, Apple, etc. But there is the infinitely useful option to add sites of your choosing too, making the Like Button site a personalized social window on the web.

You can also click to view a brief overview of what's hot on Facebook with the nine top trends displayed and refreshed every 15 minutes.

In addition, and on the fun side of things, Like Button lets you create your very own "Like" and "Dislike" buttons, the former of which looks like this when posted to your Facebook wall:

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More Facebook Resources from Mashable:
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- 10 Fascinating Facebook Facts
- 10 Cool Facebook Status Tips and Tricks
- How News Consumption is Shifting to the Personalized Social News Stream
- How Online Retailers Can Leverage Facebook's Open Graph
- 10 Fun Facebook Accessories

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sodafish

More About: booshaka, facebook, facebook apps, facebook tools, facepinch, It's Trending, Kurrently, like button, List, Lists, openbook, Search, search engines, trends, web apps

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Mobile Users Prefer Coupons to Checkins [REPORT] (Source: Mashable)

As mobile users become more acclimated to sharing their whereabouts via mobile devices, findings from JiWire's Mobile Audience Insights Report prove that they're also becoming more open to receiving ads and mobile coupons relevant to where they are.

In fact, more than 50% of respondents indicated that they wanted to receive location-specific advertising, with mobile coupons a more appealing incentive than checkins.

In the report, mobile media company JiWire examines market trends around audience data over public Wi-Fi during the second quarter of 2010. The survey portion of the study focused on location-based mobile services and queried respondents on their location-sharing habits and attitudes.

Men showed more interest in sharing their location than women, and those in the 25-34 and 35-44 age categories indicated more openness than younger and older age groups. Responses also showed that mobile users are nearly as likely to use location-based services in their homes as they are while on the go.

JiWire also looked at the most popular LBS applications, and the functionalities and features that are most appealing to users. GPS and applications such as Google Maps ranked highest. Google, Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare round out the top five in sequential order. Interestingly enough, coupons and discounts placed second only to maps, and out-ranked reviews, status updates and checkins when users ranked the most valuable features of location-based applications.

The data is extremely telling and could point to a future where discount-oriented, location-sharing apps à la Shopkick make a major impact on mainstream mobile shopping behaviors. With Facebook set to make a big location announcement later today, it's also interesting to note that in the eyes of mobile users, the behemoth social network already out ranks Foursquare in location utility.

The full report is available as a free PDF and includes interesting data on the increase in free public Wi-Fi and the most popular Wi-Fi mobile devices.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Thomas_EyeDesign

More About: checkins, foursquare, geolocation, jiwire, location based advertising, location sharing, Mobile 2.0, mobile coupons, study

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How Mobile is Affecting the Way We E-mail (Source: Mashable)

This series is brought to you by the new BlackBerry Torch, the touch screen BlackBerry complete with social feeds, improved internet browsing, and much more.

As smartphone and mobile web usage continues to soar, users are spending more and more time on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. But how is the mobile web impacting the oldest form of Internet communication, e-mail?

For desktop Internet users, e-mail may be playing second-fiddle to the likes of Facebook and social games like FarmVille, but on mobile devices, e-mail is still number one.

In fact, new research from The Nielsen Company suggests that e-mail represents 41.6% of mobile Internet time for users in the United States.

Putting that in perspective, if all mobile Internet time was condensed into one hour of usage, e-mail would represent 25 minutes of time spent.

In fact, mobile e-mail usage continues to grow, even as social media continues to become a bigger and bigger part of the mobile experience. Last fall, ExactTarget commissioned a study on smartphone Internet usage and found that the rise in social media adoption has lead to an increase in how much we e-mail from our mobile devices, and not the decrease many analysts were predicting.
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Mobile E-mail is NOT Just for Business
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It's easy to conflate mobile e-mail with business users, after all, this was the demographic that first fully embraced the ability to send and receive messages from their mobile devices.

Over the years, however, e-mail usage on mobile devices has become less about business and more about staying in touch with personal contacts. According to ExactTarget's research, 71% of business professionals with smartphones said that they send more personal e-mails than work-related missives from their mobile devices.

Don't let the business suit fool you next time you see a smartly dressed corporate type tapping away on their phone, chances are, they are probably e-mailing with friends.

Part of the reason we're seeing an increase in personal e-mail communication devices is because of the nature of mobile. Users are always connected to their inbox and thus, can always receive a message.
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E-Mail for Breakfast and After Sex
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As we noted earlier this summer, more than 50% of U.S. online users check their e-mail before doing anything else online.

When you consider that peak Internet usage often takes place around 7 a.m., it's not a stretch to say that many of us check our e-mail on our mobile phones before, well, stretching and getting out of bed.

It's not just when we wake up that we check e-mail; studies indicate that more and more individuals check e-mail in the middle of the night and even after sex.

Again, the always-connected nature and location-ambivalence of mobile devices makes it easier for users to check their message or jot off a quick note, whether it's the most appropriate time or not. I think we've all seen "that guy" at a solemn event like a funeral desperately trying to refrain from checking his BlackBerry during the service. Heck, some of us may even be that guy.
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Is Social Media Eroding E-mail Usage?
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Last year, Nielsen looked into what impact social media is having on e-mail usage. The results showed that there is a strong correlation between those who are frequent e-mail users and users that are also active across social media.

In fact, the study basically showed that social media makes users consume more e-mail, not less. Part of this is an effect of the e-mail nature of many social networks. Facebook, for instance, sends you an e-mail when you get a new wall post or someone sends you a message. Likewise, Twitter and Foursquare send you follower updates, and Twitter sends out direct message notifications.

Many blog comment systems can notify users when someone has responded to an article online, and services like Google Buzz bring commenting on social statuses or shared Google Reader items to the inbox.

We should note, however, that more and more users are starting to treat services like Facebook as replacements for an e-mail inbox. E-mail is still more versatile, but for users that have a heavily populated social graph, sometimes social networking services can offer a more convenient messaging experience.

Have your e-mail habits changed since buying a smartphone? Let us know in the comments!
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Series supported by BlackBerry Torch
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Discover the new BlackBerry Torch. With a touch screen, a slide out keyboard, and the new BlackBerry 6 OS not to mention BlackBerry Messenger, integrated social feeds and improved web browsing the BlackBerry Torch helps you do what you love. Join the BlackBerry Facebook Community and stay up-to-date with all the latest BlackBerry news.
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More Mobile Resources from Mashable:
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- Top 16 Unusual Foursquare Badges
- 5 iPhone Apps to Help You Learn to Dance
- A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Mobile
- Top 5 Mobile Commerce Trends for 2010
- Why QR Codes Are Poised to Hit the Mainstream

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, graphixel
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Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Google Buzz, Google Reader, Internet, Twitter, iStockphoto

More About: e-mail, mobile web, stats, web usage

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RIP Google Wave (Source: Mashable)

Google Wave, a product once heralded by many as a massively disruptive communication tool (heck, invites were even selling for $70 on eBay), is no more.

In a blog post this afternoon, Google says they "don't plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product," though the code for it will remain available as open source.

The move isn't much of a surprise; adoption never seemed to materialize for Google Wave even after it dropped its invite-only status as users struggled to find meaningful use cases for the service (though we found a few).

What's most interesting about Wave, perhaps, is the spectacular rate of its rise and fall. It was easily one of the most hyped products of 2009, but within months of its launch, the buzz had almost completely disappeared.

The product might've been more successful had it been integrated into Gmail (basic e-mail notifications weren't even part of the launch), though Google hasn't had much success with Buzz in that department either.

In any event, Wave represents another disappointment in Google's long line of attempts at social, an area in which the company is now reportedly eyeing a completely new approach. Shutting down Wave, it would seem, is a logical step in moving on.

[img credit: Vaguleartisti]

More About: Google, Google Wave, trending

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RIP Google Wave

Google Wave, a product once heralded by many as a massively disruptive communication tool (heck, invites were even selling for $70 on eBay), is no more.

In a blog post this afternoon, Google says they "don't plan to continue developing Wave as a standalone product," though the code for it will remain available as open source.

The move isn't much of a surprise; adoption never seemed to materialize for Google Wave even after it dropped its invite-only status as users struggled to find meaningful use cases for the service (though we found a few).

What's most interesting about Wave, perhaps, is the spectacular rate of its rise and fall. It was easily one of the most hyped products of 2009, but within months of its launch, the buzz had almost completely disappeared.

The product might've been more successful had it been integrated into Gmail (basic e-mail notifications weren't even part of the launch), though Google hasn't had much success with Buzz in that department either.

In any event, Wave represents another disappointment in Google's long line of attempts at social, an area in which the company is now reportedly eyeing a completely new approach. Shutting down Wave, it would seem, is a logical step in moving on.

[img credit: Vaguleartisti]

More About: Google, Google Wave, trending

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Facebook Taking Gaming Seriously, Hiring Head of Games Partnerships (Source: TechCrunch)

(Schools should pay attention to this job description to better prepare students for opportunities like this in the future!)

If there was any doubt before, it's clear now that Facebook is embracing the fact that games are a core part of its experience, and it's taking its relationship with gaming companies very seriously. The company has recently posted a job listing for a Head of Games Partnerships, who will be asked to "develop and enhance successful partnerships and influence internal and external partners and industry stakeholders in the Gaming industry."  Facebook exec Dan Rose, who used to head the company's global business development and is now VP of Partnerships and Platform Marketing, posted a link to the listing twelve hours ago.

Gaming has been very popular on Facebook for quite a while, but the social network has created a strained relationship with some developers as it's changed the rules on the fly by cutting off the viral notifications channel and pressuring developers to use official Facebook Credits (which Facebook gets a 30% cut of).

But now the battle over games and developers is heating up: Google is preparing to launch a new social strategy with a social network rumored to be called Google Me, and gaming will play a big part in that. Google has already forged an alliance with Zynga, which has long been a major source of Facebook traffic and advertising dollars.

The news also comes just a week after a Nielsen report found that in the US, online gaming was beating email in terms of time spent online, with half of Americans playing online games like FarmVille.
The full job listing:

Facebook is seeking a leader for our Strategic Partner Development team to build and manage a high performance team, develop and enhance successful partnerships and influence internal and external partners and industry stakeholders in the Gaming industry. This job requires high levels of creativity and strategic thinking, as you'll be called upon to help both large, incumbent gaming companies as well as venture-backed gaming start-ups develop innovative social gaming experiences building on Facebook Platform. This team is the face of Facebook to our external gaming partner relationships and serves as the primary point of contact for both internal and external stakeholders. You should be as comfortable pitching and negotiating deals with partners as working cross-functionally with colleagues in Product, Engineering, Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and Legal to create new social experiences that meet the strategic objectives of partners and Facebook. You should also expect to handle day-to-day operations and partnership management with many of our most important gaming partners, develop and execute on strategic partner initiatives and advocate internally and externally for our social gaming partners.

Responsibilities: •Build, train, manage and grow a high-performing team of talented and motivated partner-facing individuals •Develop and drive our gaming partner strategy to support the continued growth and success of our partners and social gaming on Facebook •Scale our gaming Partner Development team by hiring highly talented and motivated individuals • Initiate, structure, negotiate, and maintain high impact strategic gaming partnerships. •Support new partners through launch process and liaise with Facebook product and technical support. •Track, analyze, and communicate key quantitative metrics and develop and execute against partner account plans. •Become the primary point of contact for and maintain strong direct relationships with Facebook's key gaming partners • Be an internal and external advocate for our gaming partners.
Requirements
Requirements: •BA/BS degree with outstanding academic performance. MBA a plus. •10+ years experience, including 5 years of related partner or partner facing experience •Extensive experience in the gaming industry • Business development experience negotiating complex media or Internet deals preferred. •Deep passion for Facebook products and social gaming • Strong management and coaching skills •Proven track record of initiating and successfully driving new business opportunities. •Excellent project management experience, with the ability to lead and execute multiple time-sensitive projects •Exceptional communication and presentation skills, and the ability to clarify and summarize complex issues • Demonstrated ability to think strategically about complex issues, leading to thoughtful recommendations and action plans.

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Library of Congress Gets a Mobile App

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/library_of_congress_gets_a_mobile_app.php
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Blackberry Aims For the KIN Generation, But Is It Too Late? (Source: TechCrunch)

Want to know why Blackberry launches are so exciting to so many? Because it means those chained to RIM because of their IT departments dependence on Blackberry mail services will get new phones. So what is this inexplicable Blackberry Torch and what does it mean for the brave folks in RIMs Canadian mountain fortress? First off, office drones, don't expect to get the Torch with all its security breaching social media razzmatazz. You'll probably get a toned down version with much of the functionality locked down. That's the first problem.

The second problem, as Matt noted before, RIM isn't very good at consumer grade products. While I'll agree that Blackberries are, bar none, the best email devices out there, they have all the sexiness of a road accident.

Read more

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The Anti-Shotgun Approach to Social Media (Source: Mark Evans)

Social Media Today had a post recently with the provocative title, "When Not to Have a Twitter Account", which is a sacrilegious thought to all of us social media junkies.

The post reminded me of an important social media tenet: that it's alright not to have a Twitter account or, for that matter, a blog or a Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr or MySpace account. In other words, you could take a "popgun" approach to social media as opposed to a "shotgun" in which you try to be everything and anywhere (aka a recipe for failure).

And while it is, heaven forbid, possible not to embrace social media, a more reasonable approach is that it's perfectly fine to have a small social media presence.

Yup, your digital existence can be happy and fulfilling by only embracing a single social media service. It could be Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or a blog as long as it meets your goals and objectives and, as important, the needs of the target audience.

The key – and I stress this point to clients – is that whatever social media service(s) is deployed, it has to be used consistently and done well. In other words, if you do only one thing, do that one thing great.

It's like deciding to open a bakery to only make cupcakes. As long as those cupcakes are delicious, you're not going to be penalized for not baking pies, cakes and muffins.

Too often, social media is seen in terms of quantity rather than quality. There's too much focus on the number of tweets, likes, comments, page views, comments, etc. rather than the quality of the conversation. The same approach goes for social media services. It's far better to do one thing really well, rather than many things average.

This is not to suggest some people and companies can't have a social media arsenal with several tools but less can sometimes be more.

(Note: This post originally appeared on the Sysomos blog.)

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