Posts Tagged ‘buzz’

This week we look at:

• Windows Phone 7 (Formerly Windows Mobile 7) and what it might mean to smartphones
• Google Buzz Sued over privacy issues. I found this one on Google Buzz.
• HBO Go shows us that at least Pay TV channels get it
• Social Networking in Microsoft Outlook – Good idea, or will the IT department just block it?
• Happy 20th birthday Adobe Photoshop!

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This week, the 5 Tech Things you should know looks at:

• Google Buzz
• CEO of MySpace resigns
• YouTube’s new Censorship
• Kindle vs. iPad
• The Muppets Take the Internet

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Yes, I still use Thunderbird and Outlook for email. I like GMails web client, but I also like the hierarchal folder structure of the clients. But today, I had to rethink my processes due to Google and their new Google Buzz program. Now, instead of getting important email sent to the box, I got hoards of “Buzz From” emails.

First thing I did was go scouring the site for a setting that would curb this blatent spamming of my email box. I was really hoping for something like Google Groups has – turn on a setting that lets me have a digest email for the day. I can live with that.

But no setting that I could find. The only thing I could do is “Turn off Buzz”.  And like I said, I am not ready to give up Thunderbird and Outlook. They still have a lot of use. So I did the one thing that could really bite me in the Butt.

I created a filter.

Therefore, if you have something to say to me, don’t send in the subject “Buzz from…” It will instantly get trashed. I might look at my trash can from time to time, but my settings on trash are simple – When I close the program, empty the trash. It is not a folder, it is waste that needs to be cleaned out.

I think Google does need to address this issue. Especially since a high-end email box will exponentially grow in size almost overnight. It’s easy in the web client – it’s already tagged.

An option to digest the email into a daily, weekly or never would be a decent option, but can you do that now that your Social Network is intertwined with your mail client? Google might have to do some reverse engineering on this one. Tell the client that it is email in Googles’ eyes, but not send it out if you are receiving it from another host.

The ironic thing is that I will post this article. That post will be re-aggregated through RSS feeds to Buzz. I will then get an email stating I wrote this article. I suppose that will be great for me if I am developing alzheimers…

It’s really an epic fail on Google’s part. Please fix it. Thank you.

Almost Didn’t do the show tonight because of another issue that put me in a very bad place. 8-12 inches snow coming down here in the Midwest. Looking for a better Webcam Producer – Webcammax doesn’t get it. We are giving away another copy of Diskeeper 2010. We also go through a correction on information from the 5 Tech Things.

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I – S.U.N. (Straight Up News)
Rhapsody Gets Away from Real
Superbowl Finally Beats M*A*S*H*
Foursquare and Zagat
Intel Security Chip Hacked
Microsoft Says It’s the Battery’s Fault
Macworld is Happening
Kindle Books Under 2000 Words
New Texas Instruments Chip with GPS, Bluetooth, FM
Pwnage Tool for 3.1.3
Aperture 3 in Apple Store
Will iPad Survive?
Android Censored in Application Store
Google Translator
Intel Exec Guilty in Galleon Case
Verizon Blocks 4Chan
Intel Launches New Itanium
Lawmakers Find Other Ways To Pay for Roads

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II
Social GMail in Buzz
- Geekazine Coverage on Google Buzz
Hulu Should Block Boxee
Broadband for £45,000

CES 2010 Video Feed – Geekazine
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Jury Duty – FAWM – Recording Machine & slight Buzz

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GigaOM’s OM Malik talked with Michael Dell about the company a couple weeks back. Michael made some statements whose predictions at times were no easier than determining Nostradamus’ writings. Yet other websites interpreted it in saying that Dell is hinting on making a phone to rival iPhone. While it’s not an impossibility, will Dell get into the market or are they playing on the media to ilicit a response from the public?

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Digg grew to a powerhouse site in a very short time. The Popular News Aggregator service continues to be a great place for people to not only read news, but also contribute to what they think is news. Alexa reports that Digg has been fluctuating around the top 100 to 150 sites being viewed. 52.5% of those viewers are in the US.

The rumor mill is stirring up again that Google has put interest in buying Digg. TechCrunch reports that the “Rumor” is Digg will be selling for $200 million although CEO Jay Adelson denies it. Will this be a good deal for Digg, or can they grow and survive on their own?

Digg started in 2004 by Kevin Rose, Own Byrne, Ron Gorodetzky and Jay Adelson. The idea was to aggregate news items and put popularity to it. People would place a “Digg it” icon on their site in which you could easily send the article to Diggs news feed.  If another person liked the site, they would Digg it. Others could just as easily Bury it. Some sites get Dugg so much so quickly, the flooding of viewers takes down the web page. It’s a very powerful medium, and definitely something that Google could use.

There are other sites like this. Fark is one of the oldest in which we talked about in a previous article on Geekazine. Yahoo has their “Buzz”, which is awfully similar to Digg. Reddit, Technorati, Del.icio.us and StumbleUpon all have similar popularity systems. However, Digg seems to be more popular in the US. According to Alexa Del.icio.us, for example, actually has a decent popularity in Germany.

Why would Google want Digg?

Two things here. First is the voting system. It’s not only very sound but also comes with a ton of analytical widgets that can spot trends and keywords. Even more, a large number of people actually have the “Digg” widget located on their sites, some of them have multiple widgets just on one page.

Second, it’s the community. Digg has a lot of members that contribute countless numbers of articles. When a new article is submitted, it must first be verified so it’s not a duplicate. After agreeing it’s not and a quick CAPTCHA verification, it gets put into the Queue. Of course that is where the members really shine. They can rise that article up to the top, or drop it like a mobster in Cement shoes off the East River.

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What does Google gain in this?

Like I said, Digg has some cool systems in place to view trends and keywords. Their “Digg Labs” shows statistics as they happen in cool little flash pages. Trends and Keywords are big for marketing. Specializing ads, pitching companies with almost picture perfect statistics – All can give Google a better advantage in the market today.

It also can be great to see in search results. Maybe an “Article Trends” chart could be called up to find out when that information was most popular. It could definitely be put to use in their Webmaster Tools, Adsense and DoubleClick ventures.

What would that mean to Digg?

One of two things. The Digg Staff would either be incorporated into operations at Google – basically be called Google Digg or DigGoogle:  or Google would let Digg look like a separate being and cross platform with them. I would guess the latter is going to happen. Sometime full incorporation means job exodus and loss of creativity. Not to mention members jumping ship to other competitors.

On another front of this, Microsoft put in 11.3 Million in a 3 year advertising deal to Digg. If this acquisition happens, this contract could be axed overnight. If that happens, hey Microsoft – we at Geekazine have some ad spots you can purchase for considerably less. Give me a call.

Of course it won’t be the end of the world for Microsoft. Like I said before, there are other sites that are very similar. Digg will always have competition via Yahoo, Reddit, Technorati, Del.icio.us or on any of the other sites.

Bottom line, this merge would be great for both. Kevin Rose and the gang would get a boost for all the work put into Digg and maybe a shiny new title. Google would get a ranking system and analytical tools which in turn would also be bestowed upon the community of webmasters for their sites. It looks like a good Win Win situation for everyone.

That is, if it’s true…

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Fakes. Throughout time we’ve had to deal with those who want to pass something off as an original. Sometimes we are not fooled. Other times we go years thinking that it’s the real thing until some new technology tells us different.
In the last week I’ve seen many fake photos of different items – most notably the Large GPS picture and Windows 7 screenshots. There is even a video out there that supposedly displays Windows 7 functionality. While impressive, it makes me wonder if someone is trying to pass these off to make a quick buck?
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 *Lights Dim*

Ladies and Gentlemen.  It is time for our feature bout. And it’s for the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE! In this corner, In the Red shorts, bringing you news since 1999, Drew Curtis and FARK.com. And in this corner in the Blue Shorts, bringing you news since 2004, Kevin Rose and Digg.com. So, with the thousands in attendance, and the millions drinking a cappuccino and not really caring a lot, LETS GET READY TO POST!

Ok, so it’s not the fight of the century, but it’s pretty interesting. A few weeks back, Fark.com posted an article pointing to Digg.com.  The article was a Digg that pointed to Fark. Infinite recursion and Duke still sucks (You have to be a real Farker to understand that one).

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