Facebook adds the inevitable "groups" feature

Facebook has announced the inevitable addition of "groups", whereby users can sort their friends into different groups, so only certain comments/statuses/photos etc. are available to certain groups.

Mark Zuckerberg summarises the problem:
"There are some things you are comfortable saying to all your friends at once but a lot of things you only want to share with your close co-workers or your family and there just hasn't been a great way to do that until now."

This blog has discussed the social problems created by Facebook in the past. In the real world we automatically filter what we say and share with different friends, family, colleagues - so it makes sense that Facebook would include that feature, to further replicate the way we interact in the real world and avoid a variety of social faux pas.


Guardian article:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/07/facebook-groups

BBC News article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11486427

Flash comes to Android

The Android 2.2 Operating System now has full support for Adobe's Flash player. Will this be a key manoeuvre in the Android vs iPhone battle, seeing as there are no plans for the iPhone to support Flash.

See it in action here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10947784

Facebook ads to see where you've been

Facebook is planning on using your browsing history to decide which ads to serve you. Although this might provide more accurate results, it isn't something that users like and could provide some embarrassing results.

People are rightfully protective over their browser history as it's quite a private thing, but some people know that and use it to their advantage, such as the creator of this recent virus.

http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/4/19/facebook-rolls-out-web-ads-track-user-patterns/

Bebo about to go

AOL has come to the inevitable conclusion that it will have to sell or shut down Bebo. Bebo has been performing poorly of recent, with it's users in the US down from 5.8 million last year to 5.1 million this year. (This is compared to Facebook's 210 million)
They paid $850 million for it a couple of years ago, a figure that it is unlikely to sell for now.

Read more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8606379.stm

Flash comes to mobile (properly)

The full version of Flash is coming to SmartPhones (although the iPhone isn't playing ball). The next version of Flash will be designed to work on SmartPhones as well as PCs. Advances in the software mean that is can be used with HD video and touch screens.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8287239.stm

Pixar launched UP to top of US box office

Pixar's latest film UP has gone straight to the top of the US box office, taking $68.2 million. All I've got to say is go and watch it. This film is beautiful, funny, emotional and cinematic!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8076541.stm

Shifty lives up to its name

The marketing campaign for the film Shifty, which involved the facility to email a friend with an official looking email regarding use of narcotics, has been ruled "irresponsible" by the Advertising Standards Authority. The complaints were upheld and Metrodome have since removed the "Stitch up a friend" functionality from the website.
The online space may be more flexible and attract more controversial campaigns, but there is still a fine line to tread when you're pushing boundaries.

Read more on BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8035314.stm

ASA Ruling:
http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_46218.htm

Wolfram hype builds

The excitement surrounding the new way to search from Stephen Wolfram: Wolframalpha is building as they show special persons in private, and now in public.

He claims the search will be a new "paradigm for the web", by answering your questions more directly. Using various Natural Language Processing algorithms it tries to give you a direct answer to your question, rather than a bunch of sites that happen to mention those words.

I believe that this is another step towards a semantic web, as I've previously blogged about. This being the search end of things, whose job can only be made easier by good mark-up, and well-structured and organised data on web-pages. The future of online is about giving all this data out there on the web some meaning.

Any Question Answered may soon be a thing of the past, if we've all got the web on our phones and Wolframalpha!

BBC article explaining more about Wolframalpha.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8026331.stm

The search engine:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/

The crazy genius that is Stephen Wolfram:
http://www.stephenwolfram.com/

Excellent BBC News Headlines

I've always loved the BBC News website. It's laid out perfectly and you can always get the information you need quickly and concisely. Here's a short article from usability Guru Jakob Nielsen about how good they are at web headlines. I'm afraid I'm guilty of looking for a pun before usability in my headlines!

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/headlines-bbc.html

Flash on your TV

Adobe have signed deals to get their Flash player software in many televisions and set-top boxes. The software, which secured its place in the online arena, after it became the de facto standard for streaming videos online, as used by Google Videos, Youtube and more recently iPlayer.

This is a move that makes sense, with the world moving towards everything being online, it is only a matter of time before all televisions are linked up to the internet. To have Flash on your televsion is the next logical step.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8008070.stm


Flash player homepage:
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer

Amazon makes a stand over bad-Phorm

Amazon has written to Phorm to ask for their site not to be scanned by their system. The controversial banner supplying system that scans every site that users go to and then serves banners depending upon their surfing habits apparently offers an opt out service, by emailing them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7999635.stm
http://www.marketingvox.com/amazon-uk-says-no-to-phorms-behavioral-ad-probe-043806/

Google View hits the UK Streets

Google has finally launched the UK version of Street View. You can now virtually walk around streets in certain cities in England. A massive imposition on our privacy, or pretty cool?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/19/google-street-view-uk

Nice video on BBC News:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7951873.stm

See for yourself:
http://maps.google.co.uk/streetview