Murdoch tweets about Myspace: ‘We Screwed Up in Every Way Possible’
We've received a personal insight, via Rupert Murdoch's Twitter account, into what the man on top of the world of News Corp thought of his organisation's Myspace conquests. The good thing is he saw it to be the catastrophe that we noted it to be also.
Many questions and jokes about My Space.simple answer – we screwed up in every way possible, learned lots of valuable expensive lessons.
An Interview with Brad Hansen
You may know him more for two particular viral videos that go by the names of 'The Lion King Rises' and 'WALL-ETHEUS.' With the rather novel idea of syncing the audio of all-new movie trailers to the scenes of those that fit in an almost oxymoronic way, Brad Hansen has recently received massive viral success.
Surpassing a million hits within seven days, we had to talk to him and find out more. How does he create these mash-up trailers? What else does he do besides these creations? And just how does one connect a children's film with the audio of something less...youthful?
As Brad allows us insight into the conceptualising process, "First I find a new trailer that people are really interested in. Then I just think about what characters, themes, and visuals seem to match up well, that would make an interesting counterpoint. If I can also think of a clever title spoof, then I know I'm in good shape!"
Editorial: Why Social search may not be such a good idea
So it's probably been made abundantly clear, via multiple news stories and finding the functionality yourself as Google presents search results via it's Google+ service, that search has expanded to social, titled 'search, plus your world.'
And we also know, as the BBC reports, that Twitter isn't such a fan of this integration by Google, going so far as to say it is a "bad day for the internet." These comments have been made for the public facing reason of Twitter being a source of real-time information, which should be there for the user who wants the most relevant and up-to-date content. The more behind-the-scenes reasoning probably relates to their network not taking any precedence on the search, due to their partnership with Google ending quite a while ago.
Social networking strops aside, points have been made on both sides, and it's why I think Google's expanded social search isn't the best idea they've come up with, for both non-users and users of Google+. It's not going to benefit the people because it contradicts the foundation of such an impactful product as search. It does this in two ways.
Study shows how animals invented social networking
You'd be correct in thinking that conventional thinking of the moment is the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google+ were human creations. However, a recent 10-year study into how animals behave has claimed otherwise, showing that social networking operates in the same fashion across all species.
Father tries to sell son on Facebook for £13 million
This must have come as quite the shock for the son of father and failed businessman Saud bin Nasser Al Shahry from Saudi Arabia, as he found himself on sale for £13 million on Facebook.
The dad claims he was financially stretched, as the local court ruled his debt-collecting firm illegal. He asked for financial help and was denied because of being over the age of 35. After all of this, for the sake of taking care of his wife and daughter, he claimed the only option was to auction his son on the social network, to offer “a decent life to his mother and sister rather than living in poverty.”
Youtube planning to launch new vision for TV on the web
So over the next six months Youtube is planning to launch a new TV service, to change the somewhat grim idea of internet TV thus far. Plans are for it to comprise of over 100 channels, and contain it's own producers, publishers and programmers.
This is to be part of a feature in next week's New Yorker where John Seabrook will be taking a look at the history of YouTube and it's strategy for the future. Seabrooks also writes about VP of content at Google and Head of content at Youtube Robert Kyncl, who is spearheading what is described as the biggest change in television since the cable company led upheaval in the 80s broadcast industry, describing him as "architect of the single largest cultural transformation in YouTube's history."
Infographic: Facebook updates get more likes, whereas negative gets more comments
Kanye West launches design company, tweets to 'pick up where Steve Jobs left off'
Kanye West stormed Twitter late on Wednesday night and early today, writing 86 tweets discussing fashion, his late mother and announcing his new company "DONDA."
He wanted to let Steve Jobs finish; but he's planning to make the greatest production and design company of all time, as he tweets to continue work in the same vein as the late Apple CEO.
We can collectively effect the world trough design. We need to pick up where steve jobs left off
Kanye has said he is looking for “a team of architects, graphic designers, directors musicians, producers, AnRs, writers, publicist, social media experts … app guys, managers, car designers, clothing designers, DJs, video game designers, publishers, tech guys, lawyers, bankers, nutritionist … doctors, scientist, teachers.”
Study shows how to get Facebook friends. Questions power of influence
Researchers at Harvard have been analysing the reasons people are friending each other on social networks, presenting that those who share common interests in music and movies are most likely to be-friend each other. Similar book tastes, however, do not influence this decision whatsoever.
The study analysed and collected data from a group of college students (who self-reported for the experiment) over a course of four years.
Rupert Murdoch joins Twitter
So the owner of a media empire who everyone either loves to hate or hates to love (and who we love for the copious amounts of Simpsons on Sky One) has joined the microblogging universe that is Twitter.
YouTube Slam asks you to cast your vote for the next viral hit
Today, YouTube has officially announced Slam, juxtaposing two videos and allowing you to cast a vote for your favourite out of them. Think Google Slam, only bought into the YouTube era.
This represents a "video discovery experiment" for the site, to help find those videos hidden beneath the clutter that is promoted channels and paid-for viral videos, to help give the average contributor a fairer chance at the gold.
Social networking accounts for one in every five minutes of global online activity
So we knew that the social web had taken the planet by storm; but we didn't realise the size of the impact. That was until comScore released a recent report detailing just how much online communities have embedded themselves into our daily internet usage.
An Interview With Shed Muzak
Take a moment to purvey YouTube's 'Music' category and there's considerable odds that you'll stumble across one of two things. The first of which will be all-too-familiar with regular viewers of music videos on the video-sharing website: the presence of VEVO and traces of the music monopoly it has built through the site. The second is the wealth of renditions of popular music by artists largely unknown outside of subscriber-bases and online fans. Shed Muzak might very well fit into the latter category, but it'd be remiss to take the group for granted as yet another band whom methodically recreate songs word-by-word, beat-by-beat, such is the large proportion of videos therein.
Tweet complaints about presents received show us Christmas spirit is dead
Christmas was a thoroughly cheerful, festive time for the majority of us. The exception would be the people who didn't get what they want, going to Twitter to publicly exclaim their ungrateful disappointment: hating life, parents and all things Christmas.
We would say 'quit your bitching;' but they are downright hilarious, as comedian Jon Hendren’s Twitter account has been retweeting some of the best outcries. The good majority of these have been complaints around not getting an iPhone or an iPad, others didn't want Kindle Fires, some even had the audacity to moan about not getting a car!
Tech journalist sued for the value of his Twitter followers
So how much is a Twitter follower worth? The answer could be $2.50, as phone technology site PhoneDog is suing their former employee Noah Kravitz for $340,000 for the 17,000 followers he kept after leaving.
Trololo man makes a comeback
Thirty-five years on and he's still got it. Eduard Khil, a.k.a Trololo man makes his viral encore, yodeling to his heart's content.
As you probably already know as a second language, the 1976 clip from Russian TV of this fantastically cheesy singing individual became a massive viral hit on Youtube in early 2010. Turns out Eduard took note and returned promptly to the big time, not forgetting a single lyric or melody nuance in his time out.
Save yourself from Facebook 'Frape' with this contractual agreement
Simple criminality encourages one to tamper with a friend's Facebook profile when left open. This recent phenomenon can be counteracted, as Martyn Kelly has drawn up a contract forbidding such acts against each other.
The semi-legal contractual agreement extends to all of the following:
Monkeyshines, gambols, rollicks, gags, deceptions, actions known in the vernacular or plebian languageas 'frape,' 'fraping' or 'frapeage', and thus extended to all devices, physical, digital & supernatural, networks platforms.
The Muppets try Google+ Hangouts in new ad
So Google, being the company to not do things by half, have released a new ad promoting it's social networking efforts, showing the Muppets sharing a 'Hangout' group chat.
We couldn't help but smile at our childhood icons (particular favourite has to be Beaker), share the video conferencing stage to cover Queen and David Bowie's classic "Under Pressure." Google couldn't help but show us the situation where "famously good friends get together in a Google+ Hangout, to rock out and blow off steam."
Have Facebook tell you where you want to go with Suggested Events
Feeling entrapped by the grasp of social media? Facebook keeping you in the house for too long? Why not use the power of networked communities, your check-ins, friends and stated interests to suggest events for you to attend with the newly implemented Suggested Events.
The new feature replaces the 'Friends Events' down to where you'd find it on the menu, so it's relatively easy to find; but we've seen it available on some and not others (maybe a slow roll-out).
An Interview With Atomic Productions
With their slick, stylish, creatively-inventive spoofs of two of last years most accomplished and masterfully-made films, Atomic Productions' parody trailers of Inception and The Social Network – respectively known as Inebriation and The Brocial Network – have together grossed just under 2 million views on YouTube.
Not bad considering their combined production takes up but a small portion of the group's already highly impressive filmography, they're made on a shoe-string budget and came out of a challenge by creative director Andrew Adam's college professor who urged the group to try “something funny with that sort of grave seriousness” that they knew so well.