- EveryBlock Redesigned — EB has been defined for a while now as “that site that makes my city’s statistics useful and relevant”. Now they’re getting more into the user-reporting: As valuable as automated updates of crime, media mentions, and other EveryBlock news are, contributions from your fellow neighbors are significantly more meaningful and useful. While we’re not removing our existing aggregation of public records and other neighborhood information (more on this in a bit), we’ve come to realize that human participation is essential, not only as a layer on top but as the bedrock of the site. They have a new mission: our goal is to help you make your block a better place. That’s a bold goal, and quite a big change from where they were at. Will they manage any aspect of journalism, or will this become a GroupOn-ad-filled geo-portal for MSNBC? Looking forward to finding out.
- Typography in 8 Bits: System Fonts — nifty rundown of fonts from the microcomputer days. I still go a bit weak-kneed at the sight of the C64 fonts. Which aspect of the system you’re building will be remembered with weak knees in (gulp) thirty years’ time? (via Joshua Schachter)
- Twitter in the Christchurch Earthquake — analysis of the tweets around the quake, including words and retweets. (via Richard Wood)
- ChumbyCV — computer vision framework for Chumby. CV on low-power ubiquitous hardware makes devices smarter and be higher-level sensors of activity and objects. (via BERG London)
"social media" entries
Search Notes: Why Google's Social Analytics tools matter
Can we finally track social? Also: New Google UI elements and a look at Plus response
In the latest Search Notes: Google Plus got all the publicity, but Google's Social Analytics tools and new interface elements are also notable.
The blurring line between speech and text
We all say things we regret, and now we all write things we regret.
Recent social media gaffes show that our definitions and thresholds for speech and text must evolve. A third category has emerged: Internet-based updates that marry the ephemeral nature of speech and the archival permanance of text.
Will your business survive the digital revolution?
There's a big risk in failing to recognize and respond to the magnitude of technological change ahead.
Once we recognize the magnitude of change that digital innovation is causing and may bring in the months and years ahead, it will help us to think bigger and to think in ways that may previously have seemed absurd.
For election info, the Internet reaches a new high-water mark
Pew finds more than 50% of US adults used the Internet for political purposes during the 2010 elections.
New research from the Pew Internet and Life Project on the 2010 midterm elections shows that a majority of U.S. citizens are now turning to the web for news and information about politics.
Four short links: 22 March 2011
Local Community, Building Memories, Social Media, and ChumbyVision
Social media design should start with human behavior
Facebook's Paul Adams says social media is about more than just tech.
In this interview, Facebook global brand experience manager Paul Adams says social design is to web developers as electricity is to appliance engineers. It's an essential element that must be baked in rather than bolted on.
Knowledge management in the age of social media
The days of the single, authoritative voice are coming to an end. The community has prevailed.
The shift to the adoption of social computing, somewhat driven by consumerization, points to one emergent observation: the future is about managing unstructured content.
Social media in a time of need
How the Red Cross and the Los Angeles Fire Department integrate social tools into crisis response.
The Red Cross and the Los Angeles Fire Department have been at the forefront of incorporating social media into crisis response. Here's a look at some of the tools and techniques they've adopted.
Empowering digital diplomacy at the edge of the network
The State Department launched new Twitter accounts in Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Spanish, Hindi and French.
When the State Department launched new Twitter accounts in a number of languages, it provided an opportunity for digital diplomats to engage in a global conversation at the edges of the network.
Smaller search engines tap social platforms
Some niche engines are using social activity as a search signal.
Integrating social media into search engines is one thing, but engines like Foodily and BuzzFeed's Pop Culture Search are basing some of their results on social platform activity.