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Ten Months ago I predicted that the future is local. Today EveryBlock has announced that they have been acquired by MSNBC.

The neighborhood data rich site EveryBlock is an interesting play for MSNBC as it puts a focus on what people are actually interested in- their world. Billed as a microlocal site, EveryBlock has only been active for a year and a half but in that short time built a strong network of data points.

As stated on their blog, EveryBlock will remain intact (would be nice if FriendFeed follows suit) and continue to operate from Chicago.


msw

Along our curious path we have the occasion to converse with some really BIG thinkers. Thinking Out Loud is the stream from some of these encounters.

The news of the FriendFeed acquisition by Facebook has created strong reactions by the FriendFeed Community. We explore the story with some of the biggest users and supporters of the real-time service. Included in this conversation is Robert Scoble, Louis Gray, Bwana, Michelle Greer and Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins.








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msw

I'm a firm supporter, user, evangelist of FriendFeed and today they got called up to the 'Majors.' FriendFeed Co-Founder Bret Taylor confirmed the TechCrunch report of the Facebook acquisition in a blog post:

The FriendFeed team is extremely excited to become a part of the talented Facebook team. We've always been great admirers of Facebook, and our companies share a common vision. Now we have the opportunity to bring many of the innovations we've developed at FriendFeed to Facebook's 250 million users around the world and to work alongside Facebook's passionate engineers to create even more ways for you to easily share with your friends online.

I see this a giant win for innovation- others are not so sure. Since the world 'gets' Facebook it seems that another major player in social net would have to fight hard with a ton of money to try and catch up with FB. By joining forces you possibly get a testing/ proving ground - FriendFeed is behind some of the best innovations in the real-time web. Do you enjoy the real-time updates from your friends? A FriendFeed first. Like the 'like' feature in Facebook? That was a FriendFeed innovation.

What does this mean for the service and for the users?

For right now- not much. Wild speculation on my part here but ... before rolling out a huge change to FaceBook, doesn't it make sense to let the community of early adopters, techies and uber-geeks test out features first on FriendFeed? One of the most applauded services of FriendFeed is the open API and strong relationship with the developer community - Facebook has a tremendous value to be gained here if they let the FriendFeed team take the lead here.

You can track the reaction in real-time in several conversation threads on FriendFeed:

Scoble is talking about the deal here Within minutes of the announcement, Scoble gathered the folks from Facebook and Friend feed and recorded this conversation His in-depth collected thoughts here

Bret Taylor's thread here

Thomas Hawk (where I first saw the news) has his thread here

Louis Gray who was moderated a panel with Bret Taylor just last week has this to say "This relationship? It's complicated."

TechCrunch has posted more details of the deal here
To my fellow FriendFeeders - the sky isn't falling, the sky is the limit. Stay cool, take pride that the service you helped bring to the limelight is all grown up and ready for prime-time!

I will continue to add links and sources to this developing story as the week progresses.

msw

Like the age old riddle- How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, no one knows how long it takes for a Meme to happen. Memes can happen in a flash like in the case of the Motrin Mom Ad debate or take years to break.

Across my radar screen today, I saw a building buzz for Jeff Bridges photos of the 'Making of Iron Man'. Jeff is known for taking great shots while making his films. Often, he'll compile the best stills and create a book that is given to the entire crew. His website is a true ode to creativity and very popular. The site received a nice boost in traffic today because several active social media enthusiasts shared the link to his book. I Twitter'd the link six months ago during the initial excitement of the Iron Man film. So why today, is this site spiking? Someone caught someone's attention just at the right moment. The link spread across several networks including FriendFeed and Delicious. The random timing of this Meme proves to me that a Meme can't be planned, it just happens on its own time.

I'm encouraged that a great site is timeless. Don't be discouraged if your "shares" don't immediately light up the socialnet. Quality will rise to the top, eventually.

I've been noticing a "time trend" on FriendFeed. During the day we tend to share more business related articles that get little attention. At night though, people are more focused on items streaming across the network. FriendFeed Memes happen when the sun goes down, the night crew starts buzzing around interesting items. I would venture to say that Digg, BoingBoing, StumpleUpon also operate in similar fashions. A trusted voice will pick up on an item, share it with their networks and if it's the right "moment" a Meme is born.

The socialnet is capable of creating instant buzz or finding an older item and pushing it to the top of current public perception. The socialnet operates in a very curious time warp.


msw

The financial markets continue to shake. Auto-makers are on the hill shaking down lawmakers. Most of us are just plain shaken by the downward trends in the economy. Time to stop the shakes by plugging into the network of info-sharing.

I find myself glued to CNBC both on the web and on TV. I want to know the latest information coming out of Wall Street, Washington and Main Street. Staying on top of the money news helps me shake a little less. CNBC's Jim Cramer is an interesting entertainer who mixes stock analysis with anecdotal evidence. His outrage seems genuine. Now we can tap into Cramer's mad-mind even when we're away from that TV box.

Cramer's Mad Money knows the marketplace of ideas is highly social-able. The program is now updating via Twitter, beefing up their podcast offerings and even offering embeddable widgets.

By opening the info-flow, making this data portable and sharable, CNBC has made it easier for us to stay connected. Now we can all freak-out together.




msw

A BIG thinker once said, "When you see something that is technically sweet you go ahead and do it, and you argue about what to do with it only after you have had your technical success."

Simon Garfield of Guardian UK recently sat down with Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg and posted a rather insightful article on the phenomenon of Facebook. A sales rep tells Garfield, "Facebook can draw upon from its 100m-plus users. It knows, for example, how many people say they ate a Kellogg's breakfast cereal that morning." Simon is right to point out, "As they used to say in 1945, let's hope they use it for peaceful purposes."

People want to connect and share in an environment that empowers connection and sharing. Simple concept isn't? Facebook provided easy to use tools that streams information out to a network of friends. A few clicks and you are broadcasting your interests and news with your networked friends. I don't spend much time at Facebook, but find it a handy tool to catch up with old friends and make a few new connections. I use FriendFeed to push data into the FB network but enjoy seeing what others are sharing.

Unlike Garfield, I understand why Facebook is massively popular. As humans, we long for connection. I hope that Facebook continues to push for good. Open the data stream and encourage transparency. Information is a powerful tool. Use it wisely.

So, who was that BIG thinker wanted us to argue about what to do with 'sweet technology'? - J. Robert Oppenheimer


msw

Today we are faced with many social-info options. Gathering interesting news items has never been easier. With a little effort, you can build a dynamic web of information based on your interests. You no longer have to follow the crowd.

Many of us start with seeding our RSS Readers with hand-picked writers, blogs and news networks that meet our personal interests. The next step is joining social-net sites that thrive on compelling conversation though info-bulletins and posts. As communities grow it can get harder to sift through noise and find the articles that matter to you. It takes some work to keep the flow of data from becoming too wide (unless that's your goal.) At first, I love seeing everything that members are sharing. I start trimming back and tuning more intently on voices that appeal to me within a couple of months of monitoring the fire hose.

FriendFeed is still my favorite gathering place for interesting discoveries and engaged conversation. After tweaking the stream through the use of various filters, FriendFeed can be an invaluable resource. I understand that I'm the only person in the world looking for exactly the same thing as me. I tend not to look at what was most popular on FriendFeed as a way of discovering new items. The most "liked" items favor funny posts. If you need a good chuckle, you really can't beat some of the hilarious pictures, memes or videos that the crowd votes for. Mona N's ESC Key post made me laugh-out loud! The humor trend of FriendFeed is geeky-techy which I'm a big fan of. I rely on the people I've chosen to follow for feeds of the most interesting items (to me.)

The top items on Digg tend to be a cross between National Enquirer and Cracked Magazine. Digg has a younger crowd and I understand that. I'm not going there to learn anything deep. I take it at face value when venturing over there. Popular social sites are not unlike talk-radio- the vast majority of listeners never call-in. Some of the hyper-active users on Digg, like talk-radio participants, lean towards conspiracy. I can't always trust the "crowd" at Digg. This is not to say that everything on Digg is outrageous. I've often been pleasantly shocked by the items that the Diggnation has made popular.

I've been a long time subscriber of the Popular Bookmarks on Delicious. Delicious users are heavy tech users, designers and researchers. I usually find something intriguing in that stack. I'm a fan of the tagging and quick-load interface of Delicious. Here are the items I've bookmarked on Delicious.

Really exciting developments are being made in the area of the Semantic Web. Services like Twine learn my interests and bring back spot-on articles. Twine is not for the faint of heart though. They are still working on load time. The first time I logged into Twine I found Twines (subject groupings) on Ontology, Astro-Physics, A.I. and Future Tech. If you're interested in Twine, a good place to start is their overview.

If you want to go even deeper with your research, new tools like DeepDyve will help you. The options to find smart info are increasing every day. I'm just glad to be living in these times where we all have access to great knowledge.

I like to mingle with many types of crowds. I gain insights from everyone. Crowds tend to be driven by people who are passionate about their interests. Get in there and mix it up a bit but know that crowds can also lead you astray. Stay focused, adjust your feeds, try different social gatherings.

If you've discovered a hidden gem or care to recommend a smart-gathering, please let me know. I'm always on the hunt for brain tingling fun.

msw

As we celebrate Twitter passing the One Billion Tweet mark, I want to ask you a question. Do you use the service to PUSH (send out links) or PULL (monitor and converse)? Last night I had a face-to-face conversation with a Twitter power user. He is an entrepreneur who maintains several accounts for both work and personal use. I do believe that entrepreneurs should be mindful when communicating personal opinions while doing so under their company brand. I don't assume that all who work at a company hold the same beliefs as the person at the top but it's hard to separate the two at times. However, companies should use social net tools in a personal way.

The entrepreneur I spoke with said that some of his accounts are used to PUSH stories and links out. His personal account is more of the conversation tool. I'm not sure he's realizing the full power of the Twitter Universe. All companies should be working towards building communities rather than just PUSHING info out. Mashable had a great post on How to Build Community on Twitter. The writer, Sarah Evans, points out that Twitter is best when used to build conversation. Engagement is the goal here. By definition, spraying info out without listening is spamming.

It begins with the PULL. I PULL info into my Twitter world by using global search on TweetDeck. I'm able to track conversations on a subject basis. I discover people who are talking about things I'm interested in. The next step for me is to strike up a conversation by commenting on a tweet or link. This type of action results in dynamic interaction. I've had some great conversations with people from around the world by listening first, then reaching out.

If all your doing is using Twitter to PUSH, you are missing the true revolution in micro-messaging- the conversation.

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter, if your tweets are discussions, I'll probably follow you back.

[ Related Post: Twitter Me Silly- Everything You Need to Know About Twitter ]

Photo Credit: Discovery Channel, Wild Birds Learn Foreign Languages

msw

For those of us who rely on social networks to feed us the latest news, tips and conversations even a little down-time can really shake up your normal routine. I depend on multiple layers of social-nets to keep me plugged into the happenings of the world. Today, I found myself at a loss, confused and a bit dazed. I realize how much I count on functioning info-tubes only when there's a brief interruption of the free-flowing data.

First, my trusted Feedly RSS Reader/ Magazine went down for awhile. Of course, I could just jump back into my gReader but I'm adjusted to the layout, features and connecting tools that Feedly provides me. Reverting back to gReader had me feeling a bit woozy- where am I? How do I get the latest news feeds to sort just the way I'm used to seeing them?

Next up on the wobble wagon was FriendFeed who experienced some down-time. The remarkably stable social aggregator didn't respond to my multiple requests for connection. What kind of a world is this?! Then TinyUrl stopped working, wakoopa wasn't updating my program usage, what next? I kept checking my net connection just to make sure I was still up and running. Within just a few moments, things started to return to normal, phweeh. I started to breath normally, pulse rate stabilizing. Endorphins still racing through my body, I realized that these little outages remind us of how reliable these new-fangled net tools are. The "uptime" of the aforementioned services are far greater than cable-tv, cellphones and even the California Power-Grid.

I have come to expect an "always-on-always-working" networld. This isn't my fault- it's the engineers, programmers and managers of these social-tools who have done such a great job with reliability, that I couldn't imagine my world without them. Maybe this was an orchestrated wake-up call by these services to remind us of how good they are at what they do.

I'm just glad things are returning to normal, or at least normal for this avid social-net user.

msw

Becoming active in a new social media community is not unlike real world relationships. They always start off strong, filled with the idealization of new experience. Over time you start seeing flaws, imperfections and disturbing behaviors. You start drifting away and looking for a more fulfilling adventure. I have not been enjoying FriendFeed recently and have decided to take an iBreak. I hope we can still be friends though, I don't want us to feel uncomfortable if we see each other around the net.

It's me, not you FriendFeed. I'm a prude, careful of what I put before my eyes. I deplore crass language and am grieved by divisive rhetoric. I seek intelligent dialog and engagement. In the past few weeks I've noticed a shift in the tone of conversation at FriendFeed. I know you're impressed with the some of the "leaders" but a few have sunk to rather immature behaviors. I'm not a fan of mocking those we disagree with. There was a time when we tried to help each other find the good in individuals. I expect us to elevate the conversation, bring forth change and celebrate solutions. I have no problem with sharing the silly things that make us smile. I'm just uncomfortable the crude items I've been seeing. It's like porn- no one can define it, you just know when you see it.

We've had some good times, laughed together and danced with the possibility of a different type of communal gathering. A place where we didn't need to celebrate piffle, spoke to each other with respect and were mindful of what we put in the public stream of information. FriendFeed was like a get together with acquaintances having some rich conversations over a glass of wine or two. Lately it's like someone started doing shots of Jack, took off their clothes and started spewing angry vile.

I know you have it in you to be that place that inspires. I understand things change with growth, but I felt we needed to get this out in the open so we can work things out. I don't want this to devolve into a YouTube comment thread. You have a beautiful mind, I respect that most about you FriendFeed.

msw

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