According to Download Squad, four days ago Cheryl Smith's picture appeared next to a Facebook ad targeted towards her husband. The copy was not only inaccurate, but a little disturbing, "Hey Peter, Hot singles are waiting for you." As far as we know the Smiths are not into kinky role play and Facebook has not built an amazing new relationship compatibility algorithm. In actuality, Cheryl is the unfortunate victim of the fact that Facebook Facebook's 3rd party application developers have used our mugs to advertise to our friends.
Today, a number of rumors about a potential partnership between Yahoo and Microsoft surfaced once again. Almost a year ago, after months of back and forth between Microsoft and Yahoo, we thought any deal between the two companies was finally off the table, but rumors about potential deals continued to bubble up regularly in the last few months. Now, some news outlets are reporting that the two companies may be close to signing a partnership agreement that would allow them to collaborate on search technology and advertising. Bloomberg's Dina Bass, citing anonymous sources, reports that a deal could be finalized within the next two weeks.
Last night, something amazing happened: Facebook and Twitter came to my TV. No, I didn't go out and purchase some brand-new internet-enabled "TV of the future," I just received an upgrade to my DVR. Thanks to Verizon FiOS and their new "Widget Bazaar," I can now access Facebook and Twitter using only my remote control. Jealous? You should be. TV will never be the same again.
Mobile startup Aloqa launched earlier this week at the MobileBeat conference, revealing their innovative interface for location-aware search. Their new application proactively seeks out nearby businesses, services, events, and even Facebook friends and presents them to you in a colorful yet streamlined interface. The app essentially lists everything that's nearby - with no need for you to perform map-based searches or launch a browser. Instead, all you have to do is look at your phone.
During my recent trip to MIT I met with Andrew Lippman, an Associate Director at the MIT Media Lab and a Senior Research Scientist. Lippman heads up the Lab's Viral Communications program, which "examines scalable, real-time networks whose capacity increases with the number of members." Among other things, we discussed an interesting new product his students are working on called Fluid Voice. In a way it works similar to how CB radio did for truck drivers in the 1970s - providing a mobile group communication system.
FriendFeed has recently launched a search feature, and so Facebook search must be coming soon.
Real-time Web search (of streams of activities) is a hot topic right now. Everyone, including Google and Microsoft, recognizes the value of using trusted contacts as filters. What was once called social search is now called real-time search, but this time it will really happen. First, it will be applied to streams and then to the Web in general.
What we are about to get is a Social Relevancy Rank. Whenever you search streams of activity, the results will be ordered not chronologically but by how relevant each is to you based on your social graph. That is, people who matter more to you will bubble up. How does this work? Well, there will be a formula, just as there is a formula for Page Rank.
As reported in the LA Times' technology blog, the launch of Antigua-based media download site Zookz has raised the ire of the US trade commission as well as the RIAA and MPAA. However, according to the company, Zookz is permitted by the World Trade Organization under a loophole copyright sanction. You read that correctly. The US trade commission and the RIAA / MPAA is challenging Zookz the pirate with the WTO in its corner. Imagine the cage match.
While there are some pretty nifty machine-based language tools out there, no machine will ever trump human translation. Machine-based tools are fine for simple greetings and pleasantries. However, only human translators can help us understand the political and cultural nuances inherent in foreign texts. This is important on two accounts. Firstly, rather than bouncing ideas off a culturally insular echo-chamber, we have a chance to learn from others with distinctly different view points. And secondly, for the first time ever, world history moves from being a confined regional fact to an evolving and diverse discussion.
In part 1 of this series, we looked at the three big waves crashing down on the traditional book publishing business: Google Search, the Kindle and e-books, and print on demand. In this second part, we'll try to wipe the muck from our crystal ball and see how this could play out in the future, specifically for the major players of book publishing: readers, authors, printers, publishers, retailers, and e-book device vendors.
According to Unwired View, Google Voice just filed an application with Fish and Richardson legal services on a patent that is suspected to monetize caller waiting on Google Voice.
The patent application lays claim to the methods and software "in which an indication of a telephone call being placed from a calling number is received, and a determination is made of an audio advertisement to play based on the calling number."
