Expert Lancer - Gadgets,Phones,Tech News,Cameras » web

How Hashtagging the Web Could Improve Our Collective Intelligence

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:25:47 +0000

Laura Larsell is the information ontologist at Trapit , a content discovery, personalization and curation platform currently in beta. Laura holds an M.A. in library sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. I rolled my eyes when the Library of Congress announced in the spring of 2010 that it would be archiving Twitter . Great, I thought — drunken tweets about burritos preserved for eternal posterity. But the Library of Congress, as it turns out, was more forward thinking than I could have imagined. Twitter data, presumed to represent the pulse — and sometimes the future — of popular consciousness, now commands big bucks from hedge funds that in turn use Twitter data to make investment predictions. Even scientists are tapping into Twitter data for research purposes . Why all the fuss over tweets? Twitter hosts valuable, communal conversation in real-time. And Twitter trends become more powerful the more users contribute to the dialogue. Finally, Twitter allows the chatter of millions to be parsed into channels (hashtags) of real-time conversation that covers widely varying topics. Jokes, rumors, political movements, pop culture fanaticisms, the collective screaming of teenagers — they all bubble to the surface and shift and change like an oil slick, much like a collective human consciousness. While Twitter generates mass interest and curates collective thought, until usage stats rise significantly, its trends cannot represent the true pulse of world conversation. That needs to change. Applying Twitter Logic to the Web Twitter captures an admittedly small slice of the collective world consciousness — in the U.S. only 78.2% of households have access to the Internet, and only 13% of online Americans actively use Twitter . It is also a platform as much about stats and bot spammers as it is about honest conversation. Despite the clutter, Twitter continues to generate an abundance of sociologically interesting data every day. Researchers from Cornell University recently used Twitter data to look for and examine trends in mood over time. They determined that collective mood patterns fluctuate in predictable ways over the course of the day and year. While this conclusion may seem obvious, before Twitter came along, documenting this type of pattern would have required a massive survey and multiple studies. One thing that makes Twitter so powerful is its use of a standard language: hashtags. Any hashtagged tweet is automatically linked to every other tweet that shares the same tag. This allows for consistent dialogue and measurement. However, the Internet as a whole is not a very consistent medium. Patterns emerge in specific areas of the web, but no uniform underlying structure exists to merge these patterns. Content may go viral or score a high page rank, but it doesn’t easily connect to related topics or encourage a larger conversation. It is a frustrating vestige of print culture that my web curation should be limited by my search ability. Furthermore, what happens to long form digital conversation in the era of Twitter? Consider especially that long form conversations include more invested and potentially expert perspectives. These perspectives are different from the collective consciousness, and yet, are not easily parsed into mainstream channels. The Watermelon Story A big part of what I do every day is train an algorithm to tag documents in the manner of my choosing. The software is in beta, and is presently only culling from a selection of web content, but it does pretty well with simple concepts. Early on, I set the machine to find content relevant to the subject/tag “watermelon.” It’s a limited data set, but this is what I’ve found so far: People write about watermelons consistently throughout the summer, most frequently in mid-summer. Again, this may seem an obvious conclusion, but proving it would have taken an incredible amount of time and effort on my part. So what do people write about watermelons online? Recipes involving or featuring watermelons are by far the most popular watermelon content, and the most popular serving suggestions feature various kinds of boozy drinks and popsicles. The second most popular posts are how-tos that guide readers through the watermelon selection process (knock on it, listen for the right sound). More niche discussions about watermelon include analyses of racial stereotypes , a story about Palestinian prisoners’ daily fruit allowance , and a report on a new variety of cold weather watermelon grown in Turkey. What conclusions can we draw from this sampling of watermelon content? Over time I’ll be able to draw quantitative conclusions about the state of watermelon journalism on the web. Watermelon may not be aggregated often (there are no watermelon sections of the newspaper), however, the ability to easily track more important ideas involving watermelon (like racial stereotypes) over time could prove illuminating. Content Organization = Collective Knowledge Twitter can gather direct, mass conversation into subject categories like #watermelon, but the conversation is limited by the short form nature of the platform. If longer form methods of online communication could be aggregated into a similar form of direct conversation, it would serve both spectators and authors alike. For that to happen, citation must be standardized. Current citation methods like hashtags are rarely, if ever, exhaustive, and they often take on the subjective viewpoint of the author or sharer. Imagine the level of constructive debate and creativity that we might achieve when we organize and bucket all web content into Twitter-like categories. Imagine the kinds of things we might learn about our collective culture. Images courtesy of Flickr, misspixels , D Sharon Pruitt More About: algorithm , content curation , contributor , data , features , trending , Twitter , web

See original here:
How Hashtagging the Web Could Improve Our Collective Intelligence

Microsoft to revamp Xbox.com

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:45:58 +0000

It’s been awhile since its last major update, but the official Microsoft Xbox website will be given a facelift in the coming days. Microsoft announced on the Xbox forums that Xbox.com will be given a brand new interface to improve the social and video aspects of the site. Xbox.com will feature a brand new “Social” section that lets you see at a glance what your friends are up to and introduces a new “Beacons” feature that helps you find friends to play the same games with. Microsoft to revamp Xbox.com , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : Galaxy S2 Review , Droid Bionic Review ,

Originally posted here:
Microsoft to revamp Xbox.com

Mozilla Firefox 8 Release Candidate available for download

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:00:44 +0000

It’s been barely over a month since Firefox was officially upgraded to version 7 , and now it looks like a new update has arrived. The Release Candidate version of Firefox 8 has been made available for download today, while the official release of version 8 will be happening next Monday. In case you’re wondering; Mozilla considers the RC versions of their builds the final version, so there won’t be any changes between today’s and Monday’s release (unless some serious bugs crop up in between the two dates). Firefox 8 brings some noticeable improvements to the popular web browser. The usual host of improvements and bug fixes, as well as Twitter search, tab tweaks, and greater restrictions for third-party addons (especially useful if you’re paranoid about addons doing things that they’re not supposed to on your browser). If you’re keen on updating your browser before anybody else, head over to Mozilla’s website now to grab Firefox 8. Do let us know what you think of the latest update in the comments below. Mozilla Firefox 8 Release Candidate available for download , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : Epic 4G Touch Review , Droid Bionic Review ,

Go here to see the original:
Mozilla Firefox 8 Release Candidate available for download

Skyrim goes gold – time to polish those swords

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:42:59 +0000

Ready to slay some dragons in Bethesda’s upcoming RPG, The Elder Scrolls v: Skyrim? Well you better be, because the developer has just announced on its blog that the game has gone gold – one week ahead of its official release date. In case you didn’t know, going gold means that the game has been approved in its final build and is ready to be shipped out in its current state (not 500,000 CD sales). This means that the game is mere moments away from our eager hands. While Bethesda has been known to push out buggy initial releases of its RPGs (mostly due to the sheer size and complexity), fingers crossed that Skyrim won’t suffer from the same fate. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim goes on sale next week on November 11 th for Windows, Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Anybody planning to pick it up on day one? Skyrim goes gold – time to polish those swords , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Galaxy S2 Review ,

Go here to read the rest:
Skyrim goes gold – time to polish those swords

eBay CEO Keynote at Open Mobile Summit

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:33:04 +0000

John Donahue, CEO, eBay, delivered a keynote at Open Mobile Summit this morning. He opened his speech by saying that “there will be more changes on how consumer shop and pay in the next three years than there have been in the past twenty. These changes will be technology-enabled and there will be winners and losers.” Social is coming to commerce The iPad is what he calls an “inflexion”: it has dramatically changed how people are consuming media even if the device is fairly new. The inflexions impacting commerce are: mobile – the enabler, local, digital – impacting the media, and social. Social is really influencing commerce, you go to the mall with your family and it is coming online. E-commerce and retail are now becoming one e-commerce is a $350 billion business, it represents 4% of total retail and it is losing its “e”: retail and e-commerce are now becoming one, because the line between online and offline is blurring and retailers with brick and mortar stores need to integrate mobile commerce offering to their on-site customer experience. For almost half of all retail transaction last year, the consumers have accessed the web for one reason or another during their shopping experience. The future is about commerce, not e-commerce or retail, because consumers do not make the distinction between the two. Consumers now want to get what they want, when they want it, how they want it on their terms. eBay CEO Keynote at Open Mobile Summit , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Galaxy S2 Review ,

See more here:
eBay CEO Keynote at Open Mobile Summit

Zoom H2n Handy Recorder is now available

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:02:10 +0000

If you need a portable recording device that features better capabilities than your smartphone when it comes to capturing audio, Zoom has the answer for you. Introduced back in July, the H2n Handy Recorder , is a handheld recorder that packs groundbreaking features in an ultra-portable body to let you record pristine audio anywhere you go. The Zoom H2n is probably the only portable recorder around that carries five studio-quality microphones onboard, which allows for a variety of recording modes for different situations: Mid-Side (a technique used in film and broadcast), 90° X/Y stereo, 2-channel and 4-channel surround sound. It also features a 1.8″ backlit LCD display for monitoring the recording, and has a built-in reference speaker for playing back recordings on the spot. The Zoom H2n also has data recovery functions in case of accidental power down or power outage, a USB 2.0 interface for data transfer, and it can last up to 20 hours of usage with 2 AA batteries. It is also compatible with optional accessories such as windscreens, tripods, protective cases and remote controls. The Zoom H2n Handy Recorder is available now at Best Buy stores nationwide with a price tag of $199. Zoom H2n Handy Recorder is now available , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : Epic 4G Touch Review , Droid Bionic Review ,

See the original post:
Zoom H2n Handy Recorder is now available

Gmail app for iOS devices now official (updated)

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:58:09 +0000

A few days ago there was a rumor going on about Google releasing an official Gmail app for iOS devices . Well it turns out that the rumor was spot on because Google has just announced the launch of the aforementioned app. Available for free on all iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad), Gmail for iOS combines “your favorite features from the Gmail mobile web app and iOS into one app”. For folks who use Gmail as their main email account, this is good news. Gmail for iOS will introduce push notifications (with sounds), email search, autocomplete email addresses from Gmail contacts or from the device’s address book, photo uploads, and split view on the iPad. Gmail features such as Priority Inbox, threaded conversations, archiving/labeling/starring/deleting and reporting spam are all there. Users also get iOS features such as pull to refresh, and swiping to the right for viewing labels and fast scrolling just by sliding down your finger. Gmail for iOS is available now from the Apple App Store (free). Check it out and let us know what you think of it. Update (1.00PM): It looks like the App has been pulled from the App Store due to problems with the push notifications . No word on when it’ll be back up, but we’ll keep you posted. Gmail app for iOS devices now official (updated) , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Epic 4G Touch Review ,

Scientists use Twitter to work out if it’s raining

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:48:18 +0000

Twitter is a very interesting tool. Besides serving as a source of news or a form of communication for a large number of people worldwide, people have also been studying how tweets have an impact on our lives and world around us. For example, recently there was a study on tweets that showed how the moods of people changed throughout the day . Scientists use Twitter to work out if it’s raining , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : Galaxy S2 Review , Droid Bionic Review ,

More here:
Scientists use Twitter to work out if it’s raining

Gmail gets a new look

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:52:49 +0000

If you’re tired of the way that Gmail looks right now, and you think that it’s about time Google made some changes to its popular email user interface, you’re in luck, because the company has announced that it will be rolling out some new changes for Gmail over the next few days. Just like Reader that got a massive facelift yesterday, Gmail will be going under the knife as well to bring you a whole new user experience. Gmail gets a new look , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Epic 4G Touch Review ,

View original here:
Gmail gets a new look

Internet Explorer 9 web browser share in the US almost hits 35%

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:00:44 +0000

Great news for fans and developers of Internet Explorer – Microsoft has just announced that 65% of Windows 7 users are now using modern browsers to surf the web – this means that they are surfing the web on browsers like Internet Explorer 9, Google Chrome 14+15 and Firefox 7. With everybody using an up to date browser, developers can focus on creating content that uses the latest technology instead of holding back to cater to web users with older browsers. Out of the 65% of Windows 7 users in the US, 34.9% of them use Internet Explorer 9, while Chrome 14+15 make up 14.3% and Firefox 11.8%. Though Microsoft is a clear winner in this situation, the numbers are a little different when you factor in the whole world instead of looking at figures for just the US – all 3 aforementioned browsers are neck to neck within the 20-25% range. But things are looking good for IE, with its trend showing a strong and steady growth. Firefox is dropping slowly, while Chrome is growing steadily but not as quickly as IE9. What’s your favorite browser on Windows 7, and why? Internet Explorer 9 web browser share in the US almost hits 35% , By Ubergizmo . Top Stories : iPhone 4S Review , Epic 4G Touch Review ,

Read the original:
Internet Explorer 9 web browser share in the US almost hits 35%