Entries Tagged 'MySpace' ↓

A while back I posted a video called, Shift happens. Well it turns out that the original makers of that video have released an updated version that includes new and updated statistics. Along thought-provoking questions and a fresh design.

They have also created a website and a wiki to better facilitate discussion about the video. So when you’ve finished watching the video, check out the website. Shift Happens: Did You Know?

Found this very interesting video presenting a bunch of facts about how fast our world is changing. Can you even really conceive of where we will be or what we will be doing in the future.

Some of the stats from the video below:

• The top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004
• 1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online
• There are 106 million registered users of MySpace. If MySpace were a country it would be number 11th largest in the world (between Japan and Mexico)
• It is estimated that 1.5 exabytes of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year. That’s estimated to be more than in the last 5,000 years…
• There are 2.7 Billion searches performed on Google every month. To whom were these questions addressed before Google?
• The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the population of the planet.

Via Global Nerdy

Found an interesting site that lets you create polls or online surveys that you can embed into your Blog, homepage, or MySpace page. The company is called BuzzDash. You get to create the question, number of answers and the text for all of it. Then your users can vote in your own special poll. The entire service is free. So if you have a webpage or are interested in creating your own poll for a blog or MySpace page. Check out the poll I made below.

BuzzDash: www.BuzzDash.com

So the big news today is that Photobucket is being acquired by NewsCorp. NewsCorp is the parent company of MySpace. Apparently NewsCorp is paying $250 million for PhotoBucket.

My question is, what exactly do the people over at MySpace think they are doing? First they block PhotoBucket, then they reinstate it. They build their own built in offering that duplicates most of PhotoBuckets functionality. They go out of their way to try to convince their users not to use PhotoBucket, then they buy it. I really don’t understand this move at all. It’s not like Myspace is going to get anything out of the deal that they don’t already have. most of PhotoBucket’s users are already MySpace users. So they aren’t going to get any new users. They have already built duplicate functionality matching PhotoBucket’s functionality into MySpace. So it’s not like they are getting new tech or expertise by buying PhotoBucket. So why are they buying it?

The only thing I can come up with, is that they bought it to deny access to MySpace competitors. It’s no secret that MySpace has been losing users in droves. most of that is due to poor user management, and too many greed imposed restrictions on what users can do. PhotoBucket has been aggressively marketing itself to other non-myspace sites. So maybe the goal is to lock the photobucket users into MySpace. Granted, most of them are there already, but if Myspace makes it harder for them to move, then maybe it can keep more of it’s audience. If that is what they are trying to accomplish, then I think they will fail. Putting up artificial walls does not keep people in. Of course, this is just speculation. So we will have to wait and see what they end up doing with it.

Via TechCrunch: Confirmed: MySpace To Acquire Photobucket For $250 Million

I recently read an interesting commentary by Loyd Case over at ExtremeTech on the difference in information gathering and transmission between those who grew up in a connected world, and those who didn’t. It used as a backdrop the way that information got out about the VA Tech shootings. Much of the population was glued to their TV sets and network news feeds waiting on the next bulletin. Even for those who were getting their news on line, most were getting it from standard old media news sites. Old media reporters were writing the standard sound bytes and updates based on what they could find out about what was going on.
The “connected generation” was busy updating and reading blogs, Myspace, and Facebook entries about the tragedy. A Wikipeida entry went up almost immediately, with live updates and new links showing up constantly. Text messages went out from the scene and were posted as fast as they could be. Breaking news and updates got out a lot quicker for the younger generation than it did for the older generation. Furthermore, the news was generated not by professionals sent there to “get the story”, but by the people who happened to be on the scene. It wasn’t as organized or even always as accurate, but it was fast. The article is a pretty good read and quite interesting when you compare the difference between the ways that news is disseminated amongst the two.
Check it out for your self: Generations