Board Games, iPad Style

Tell me you can’t picture the two kids (or adults for that matter) seated next to you on your next flight, playing this?

A new iPad application called Game Table is betting that will be the case.  It’s not just checkers, but many of the classic board games, all for the price of 99 cents (plus the cost of an Apple iPad).  Seems like an inevitable application, but if you really think about the possibilities, it’s another strong example of how the iPad can be a game changer — pun intended.  With the bigger screen, the idea of transforming the iPad into an interactive board game surface should be another reason to consider the device.  And this is just how Apple envisioned the iPad to work.  I’m convinced Steve Jobs works by the clichéd motto “if you build it, apps will come.”

You’ll be able to find the Game Table app in the iPad app store April 3rd.

BlinkedIn.

Wait so LinkedIn just, finally, came out with a BlackBerry app?  Sadly, but happily, yes.  You can download the app here and if you use LinkedIn and a BlackBerry, it’s really a must have.  So what does this application include?  Let’s see:

• Network Updates. View and share crucial business intelligence and updates with your network.  Perfect for those spare moments between meetings.
• Search. Search across over 60 million global professionals, and get the answer back in seconds. We’ve implemented a unified search across both your direct connections and the entire LinkedIn network.
• Connections. LinkedIn is your address book in the cloud.  Get quick access to any of your connections to get their up-to-date profile information, and the ability to send them a message immediately.
• Invitations. Why wait to get back to your desk? Accept outstanding invitations immediately.
• Messages. Messaging is one of the reasons that BlackBerry owners love their devices, and we’ve worked hard to integrate your LinkedIn Inbox.
• Reconnect. You can’t leverage your network if you don’t build it.  This module brings suggestions for new connections to you anytime.  Now you can build your network from anywhere, in seconds.

These are the main 6 features of the application, but there are some others.  You can also integrate your LinkedIn connections with your BlackBerry contact list, with your calendar and your email.  The team also stresses that this new app with be a priority and with that will come regular updates and enhancements.

I’ve downloaded the app, spent some time on it, and think that it’s definitely a solid first addition.  It’s easy to navigate, it’s easy on the eyes and it’s fairly fast — which is nice.  For more info and some screen shots, go here.

Foursquare. Anything But Square.

I’ve been following Foursquare for a long time now (maybe since July), and I hadn’t made up my mind about it until very recently.  Many people having been quietly calling the mobile social networking application the next Twitter, and now I can honestly say that I’m starting to believe.  But quickly, let me give a brief overview of what Foursquare is.

Basically it’s a status update that incorporates your location, via your mobile GPS.  Instead of Tweeting like you’d do on Twitter, you Check In.  It’s a smarter Twitter really, since you can send a status update that also lets your friends know where you are and what you’re doing.  You can also find your friends, search venues, earn badges and add your friends.  The earn badges feature may be its biggest addictive quality.  One simply checks in from various locations, and those that check in the most become “Mayors.”  This sort of idea gives it an almost game-like appeal.

Foursquare originated as an iphone app, but has since become its own entity that can be accessed from virtually any smart phone.  With the trend of things becoming simpler and faster, Foursquare definitely fits the mold.  But this week’s announcement of an API, may have sealed the companies’ future.  The program feature allows any third-party developer to build and create anything they like on top of the Foursquare structure (just as iphone did with their applications).  What this might do is create some separation from any other similar GPS-based ideas looking to infiltrate.  But aside from just going after the programmers and developers, Foursquare is also going after the restaurants and retailers.  “Foursquare for Business” is an application that gives retailers the ability to offer discounts from those just “checking in.”   An example is Tasti D-Lite, offering a discount if you check in to two of its locations.  Anyone can easily see how this can become an incredibly useful marketing tool for businesses as the service grows increasingly popular (which I believe it will).

Foursquare also recently added 50 new cities globally to it’s already around 50 city database.

I followed Twitter from its early stages and its growth started slowly (I’ll admit I didn’t see the excitement at first), but once it caught on we all know what happened next.  I believe that Foursquare has positioned itself well enough to become the next major player in the social networking world and think that their growth will be exponentially faster.  We all know that status updates are here and we also know that the smart phone and mobile internet is here.  It’s really a marriage of these two technologies coming together at the right time.  The only thing I could see stopping this inevitable next step is really Twitter itself.  But Twitter is also wrapped up with expanding their own company and developing their advertising model that it might not be feasible for them to jump in.  Just the same, it also could be very feasible for them to step in.  This will be something very interesting to keep an eye on and I intend to do that here.

Only time will tell, but if you want a jump-start on “the next big thing,” go check Foursquare out for yourself.

Also check out Mashable’s CEO Pete Cashmore discuss the company here.

“Unfriend” is Oxford Dictionary’s Word of 2009, Let’s Rejoice!

Oxford dictionary has paid homage to social media’s lasting power by selecting Unfriend as it’s 2009 word of the year.  Every November, Oxford dictionary announces it’s word of the year and it usually coincides with the trend of the year.  So with a nod to social media, we have the dark cloud of:

unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

In my opinion defriend would make a little more sense, but unfriend is the term that stuck–and apparently, will stick for the foreseeable future.  Because we all know, what goes in the dictionary, stays in the dictionary.  In 2008, the word Tweet lost to the word Locavore so you’d think maybe Retweet would have garnered some enthusiasm this year as Twitter was probably the biggest social media story of the year.  But alas, it’s an ode to Facebook and to a generally “unfriendly” word.  And to all those Scrabble fans, you now have another option you can start with “U,”  take advantage.

To take a look at the runner ups, go here.

Status Quo?

Back in April, 2009, 11% of internet users reported using status updates (Twitter or other service).  Now it’s being reported by Pew Internet and American Life Project, that the 11% has since become 19%.  That’s a gigantic increase in less than a year, and one that only further supports Twitter as an internet mainstay.

According to Pew:

Three groups of internet users are mainly responsible for driving the growth of this activity: social network website users, those who connect to the internet via mobile devices, and younger internet users – those under age 44.

In addition, the more devices someone owns, the more likely they are to use Twitter or another service to update their status. Fully 39% of internet users with four or more internet-connected devices (such as a laptop, cell phone, game console, or Kindle) use Twitter, compared to 28% of internet users with three devices, 19% of internet users with two devices, and 10% of internet users with one device.

The median age of a Twitter user is 31, which has remained stable over the past year. The median age for MySpace is now 26, down from 27 in May 2008, and the median age for LinkedIn is now 39, down from 40. Facebook, however, is graying a bit: the median age for this social network site is now 33, up from 26 in May 2008.

Pew notes that this increase is likely to stay, as more internet users flock to mobile devices as a primary means of accessing the internet.

As of September 2009, 54% of internet users have a wireless connection to the internet via a laptop, cell phone, game console, or other mobile device. Of those, 25% use Twitter or another service, up from 14% of wireless users in December 2008.  By comparison, 8% of internet users who rely exclusively on tethered access use Twitter or another service, up from 6% in December 2008.

Statistical analysis also shows that wireless access is an independent factor in predicting whether someone uses Twitter or another status update service.  It is not simply because this group is likely to be young or tech-savvy.  Owning and using a wireless internet device makes an internet user significantly more likely to tweet.

All of this info leads to a single conclusion: social media isn’t going anywhere.  New platforms will come and go, but socializing over the internet is here to stay.  It was always inevitable.  And I will note, it’s also very refreshing.  Older generations have opined that advancements in technology have led to people becoming less socially active as they disappear to their PC’s.  But lately that is quite the opposite.  People are actually becoming more social.  Because now, instead of leaving the company of others, people are continuing that social dialogue on their mobile devices and then on their computers when they get home.  People are becoming submersed in social activity virtually whenever they are awake (at least 19% of people are, but that’s growing rapidly).  This is a good thing.  It’s bringing people together when they’d otherwise be separated.  Status updates are the bridge between connecting socially in person and connecting socially online.  There is no longer downtime.  So what you have now is this: status updates are becoming status quo.

Click here for the full Pew report.

All Mix’d Up

Social mapping company Loopt has just launched one of their most popular features, “Mix,” as a stand along iphone application.  Loopt is a mobile application that essentially lets you discover the world around you, geographically.  A segment of Loopt called Mix, which lets you meet new people located nearby who also have the app, will now be its own entity.  According to the blog on Loopt’s website, “It’s ideal for those who are looking for new friends to go to events with, getting to know someone over coffee, or new to town—almost anything you can imagine.”  Features include:

- Free messaging with people around the country on Loopt Mix!
- Browse profiles of interesting people near you.
- Real-time, in-app chat with push notifications.
- Post multiple photos and status updates to introduce yourself.
- Use likes / tags and search filters to connect in the real world.

According to TechCrunch, CEO of Loopt Sam Altman thinks that the future of mobile web applications is dating services, which Mix will be primarily used for.  While the app won’t tell you the location of any of its members, it gives you their proximity and allows members to connect with each other and chat.  It also has changeable privacy settings for those who are a little nervous being too visible.  Mix is a natural progression for the iphone and whether it succeeds or fails, mobile dating applications will continue to gain in popularity.  We once thought anyone using the internet to date was creepy, but now it’s probably less creepy than meeting someone at a bar.  In a society where time is more valuable than air, why sit at home looking for dates, when you can go out, have fun, meet new single people and then date them all in the same night.

50 Million Reasons Why LinkedIn Is Happy

LinkedIn’s blog has reported today that it has reached 50 million users. 

As of early this morning, LinkedIn has 50 million users worldwide and we’re growing that figure at roughly one new member per second.  When LinkedIn launched in 2003, it took 477 days — almost a year and four months — to reach our first million members. This last million took only 12 days.

This is important news, as there has been recent concern over Twitter’s stagnant growth lately.  According to the blog, about half of its growth has been international, with the fastest-growing segment being India.  Also, as great as the actual growth is, LinkedIn shows even more excitement in the way people are using the site.  Creating and maintaining one’s professional identity, connecting with former colleagues and networking in general.

There is no question that LinkedIn is capitalizing on the state of the economy at a time when job loses are historically low, but that shouldn’t undermine the fact that it is a terrific site.  I recently had a conversation with a friend who is a recruiter, and she has seen that employers will sometimes dismiss an applicant simply on the count that they do not have a LinkedIn account.  I suspect that this momentum will only continue for LinkedIn, especially considering the international success as well.  For those skeptical about social media, LinkedIn looks like it is here to stay.  And for those looking to make an impact in the professional world, you better make sure you have an account on the site.  Right now LinkedIn has 50 million reasons to be happy, in a few months they may have 100 million reasons.

 

Wikipedia On the Go, a Yes or a No?

How much would you pay to have access to Wikipedia anytime you want?  $50?  $100?  $1.89?  (sorry for the lame infomercial opening).   But if you guessed $99, congratulations, you just bought yourself WikiReader, a new  mobile device by The Openmoko group.

Idea:  It’s pretty simple, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia of sorts, lets make it portable and market it as an updated version of the electronic encyclopedia.  But is it really a good idea?

Pros:  What I do like about the product is that it is pretty small, it does not need internet connection and it does serve a purpose, all while capitalizing on the growing fondness of a more pop-centric encyclopedia.

Cons:  Would I really pay $99 and a small annual or monthly fee to keep updating it?  It also looks dated and it’s black and white.   Plus it’s small, but it’s not small enough to carry around in your pocket.  Especially considering I already have an iphone in there, which, conveniently can connect me to the actual Wikipedia website.   And there is also something called the Laptop, or Netbook, which most people find portable enough to carry around with them.

Conclusion:  I love the desire to make Wiki’s more available, I just think the concept is about 5 years too late at best (although 5 years ago Wikipedia would have been celebrating its 1 year anniversary).  I also wonder if maybe this would be better served as a package to download onto an E-reader or Kindle?  I do think we will start to see similar types of products and eventually, who knows, one might just get it right.

Warning, use of internet can be damaging to your mental health

In a survey of 2,293 seventh-grade students in Taiwan, 10.8% developed an internet addiction, determined as a high score on an internet addiction scale (sounds made up, I know).  Symptoms included spending large amounts of time on the internet, not being able to cutback and real symptoms of withdrawal.

Michael Gilbert, a senior fellow at the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, says the findings were no surprise.

“The study’s indication that children who are hyperactive or diagnosed ADHD are finding an outlet on the Web makes such perfect sense,” he says, because those children crave the constant stimulation of fast-paced video games and interactive social networks.

Kids with depression, anger issues, or social problems also turn to the Internet as therapy, adds Gilbert, who was not involved in the study. “They can take on an avatar or a different identity, and can contact other kids with the same problems and social inadequacies; they don’t have to function in conventional social ways.”

It’s hardly surprising.  These days kids are being fed the internet like they would a warm bottle of milk.  I’d imagine a similar study of adults would reveal these symptoms as well, maybe not from lack of an outlet, but from the feeling of “missing out.”  This is just speculation based on myself, but I have to imagine if most people are without their smart phones, or internet for extended periods of time, they would feel some withdrawal–from the world–I know I do.  Every hour of the day provides so much news and information.  It’s not like the old days where news was once a day with the morning newspaper.  And now not only is there traditional news, there’s your friends news, or celebrity news, or any type of news you could ever want or follow.  If you miss a day, you actually will miss a great deal of news.

But all of this helps explain why social media has become so popular, people don’t just enjoy going to these sites, they actually need to go to these sites.  Perhaps in the future we will see warning signs on websites.  “Caution, extended use could cause anxiety or extreme emotional distress.”  Check back in 10 years and you may find I was right.

Looks Like Someone Got an “A” in Chemistry…

The new trend with social media sites and various gadgets (iphone), is allowing third parties to create their own apps.  It’s pretty genius really.  There are tons of tech savy freelancers out there, why not let them build products for your company for free?  Or you can be nice and kick them back a decent percentage like Apple does with its App Store.

Either way, this idea is picking up momentum from everyone like Google (with Wave) to the recent news of Twitter Labs.  It’s not like Google Labs, which has in house developers rolling out new features in beta form.  What Twitter Labs will do, is allow outside developers to create add-ons and various apps to compliment the site.  This all according to Britt Selvitelle, the user experience and front end engineer of Twitter.  The announcement came at the Future of Web Apps conference in London.

The idea of new features being introduced to Twitter is not surprising, but it’s in the way these features will come about that may be.  Without evolving, there is no way that Twitter can keep growing.  People can only take so much short-hand information, that at some point you’d imagine some sort of enlightenment.  “Hey, my brain can actually process more than 140 characters at a time!”  I’m being very simplistic here, and the bottom line is that Twitter will keep growing.  And with this news we may have just found out how.