Last Friday LOLMolly tagged a bunch of us on her Facebook to write 25 things about ourselves. It’s Monday Tuesday, and people are still continuing to share! I read every one of my friend’s lists and decided to share, 25 – well a little more than 25 things I learned about them.
In order of their responses: Continue reading
By now, you are all probably sick and tired of seeing my “Thank you.” or “Thanks, you guys.” or “Thank you for your kind words” in the Tsavo, Sean Percival and my new gig at Twirlit’s threads.
I truly am grateful to everyone for sharing on FriendFeed and even Twitter but can’t find the right words. So I end up sounding extremely LAME — almost obligatory.
Before you judge me, there is good reason for my lameness.
I swear!
So given this opportunity, I may as well let it all out, and have Google index this post forever and ever and… googleplex? Whatever. But heck, we only live once, right? So here goes:
Given my past blunders, when the time comes to show appreciation, I repeatedly tell myself: “MONA KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND STICK TO SIMPLY SAYING THANK YOU” … so that’s what I did.
That said, at the risk of sounding like a complete cornball, I am going to attempt articulating what I mean by my “Thank you”s.
So I’ve been active on FriendFeed for about 3 full months, and just when I thought my love affair would end, FriendFeed rolled out a re-design with added features. With the new list function, I can organize and manage information better than before, thus making me even more addicted.
I’m not going to lie – FriendFeed’s search function is still premature, and filtering information flow is nearly impossible. Even with lists, it’s still tough to filter the constant information overload since most people on FriendFeed – regardless of their occuptions or titles, share a plethora of subject matters. Because of the chaotic, unorganized nature of our feeds (which I love), most FriendFeeders utilize the list function by grouping people, and creating their own filters. Louis Gray’s “With FriendFeed Lists, I Start to Organize the Noise“, and Mike Fruchter “My A,B,C’s of FriendFeed” are two great examples of how they manage their information flow. Robert Scoble even hand picked close to 200 people he feels gives him the information he’s looking! Wow, talk about dedication!
Like Louis, Mike, Robert, and the rest, FriendFeed is my aggregator. But aside from information gathering, FriendFeed is now my one stop spot of choice for all my daily Internet needs. From socializing, news, funny pictures, gadgets, bizarre finds, wacky stories – everything I love about the Internet is on FriendFeed. (For a more indepth look, head on over to Mark Wilson’s post: 10 Reasons I Love FriendFeed. Mark sums up why I love FriendFeed beautifully!)
Since my interests range is so diverse, plus I don’t want to exclude anyone I’m subscribed to in fear of missing out on their shares, I chose to work with the features FriendFeed provides to fit my needs, and group a little differently. So perhaps, if you’re like me, my method will be helpful to you. :)
The past few days, I’ve attempted life as a ‘normal person‘. Going out with friends, dates, bars, and today, I even had an ‘average Sunday’ — Sunday brunch, Sunday errands, lazy Sunday in a park, then Sunday coffee with my friends, complete with the Sunday paper.
As I was playing Sudoku, my mind started wandering, and the numbers morphed into icons of various Social Media networking sites I participate in. Then I realized, I may have a problem. I am addicted to the Internet, especially Social Networking Sites. (image via: troller.com, a site randomly found Googling for a visual to add to this post.)
I am signed up for over 20 different services, and the list of new accounts keep growing. Since I’m signed up for an abundance of services, it may seem as though ‘clone’ sites are spawning, but I disagree. It’s quite exciting to see how these ‘clone’ sites integrates and appropriates various features and functions of their predecessors to fit their own formulas. Just like how cars, gadgets, and electronics keep getting ‘better’, I firmly believe Social Networking sites do, as well.
To omit redundancy, I separate everything via purpose of the respective services so I’m not overloaded, overwhelmed, or bored by all these sites. I’ve learned to quickly distinguish which sites I will participate in, or not. Continue reading
Last night, SweetCron was released and my friend Sean was one of the first who had it up and running. Go Sean! :)
In a nutshell, SweetCron is free Open Source lifestreaming software. It automatically imports images, videos, and texts, from various websites you’re signed up for, and consolidates them in one place.
So why would you even bother with another one of those sites?
Especially, if you’re on FriendFeed.
Well, I spend 95% of my days at FriendFeed –seriously. I reaaaally don’t need another aggregator. But I do. I’m planning to run SweetCron for a personal website. It would make it easy for my non FriendFeeder friends to keep up with my life, since (as much as I am a devotee), FriendFeed can be overwhelming. There’s tons of conversational threads, random dumpage of information, everything I love about it, my non-internet savvy friends don’t. (I tried getting a few to sign up)
I’m extremely excited about SweetCron since:
Take a look at some of his screen shot videos:
Pretty neat, huh? Just like Dave, I think it’s going to be “pretty Fooking Huge“, too LOL.
Um, now all I need is a domain name. Does anyone have ideas / suggestions?
So spill it, what do you guys hide?
After speaking with two SF MOMA officials yesterday, I was anticipating a statement from them regarding their side of “the story.”
I just got off the phone with one of the SF MOMA PR reps – and they’re not releasing a statement.
I pushed for diggs via FriendFeed on Friday, and the story (unexpectedly) reached the front page of Digg. I assumed this would prompt SF MOMA to say something, ANYTHING about the ‘incident’.
I was wrong.
Reaching all these people, creating the buzz, getting all those diggs… did nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true, since it managed to do one thing: piss off a bunch of FriendFeeders.
I am NEVER utilizing Digg to spread news again.
Did I put my faith in the wrong resource? Perhaps the collective power of the Internet / social media / social networking isn’t as influential as I thought? Or could it simply be that the Internet’s influence is irrelevant for “real world” situations?
What’s the point of social news sites like Digg, beyond randomly driving temporary traffic spikes? Why then, might social news sites exist? And what’s the next step in the evolutionary chain?
Let me begin by stating: I do not know Thomas Hawk personally, and only correspond with him via FriendFeed.
That said, I came across his blog post about the SF MOMA incident. His case (to me) is pretty clear.
I, too, would like to see an explanation. Consider that SF MOMA’s website states:
“Cameras: Photography is not permitted in the galleries. Flash photography is permitted only with a handheld camera in the Atrium.”
I’m no photographer and technical terms go over my head, but it sounded like he was complying with the written rules.
Granted, this is only one side of the story, but if the Director of Visitor Relations personally threw Thomas out… would he, or any employee of SF MOMA, respond to Thomas Hawk’s inquiry? Furthermore, what happened to Thomas could’ve happened to anyone. And that’s (precisely) what made me feel so strongly about this issue. I’m not the only one.
Several people decided to share Thomas Hawk’s story by “liking” or “re-sharing” via FriendFeed, “Digging” the piece, and sharing their Digg support on their FriendFeed streams. The process, annoyed several FriendFeeders, and useful information stemmed from those voiced annoyances.
In case anyone’s wondering, this is how I navigate my way around FriendFeed :) *warning, not for people who get motion sickness, since I scroll super duper fast…
YouTube – monasfeed on FriendFeed – and My Ultra Caffeinated Scrolling ;).
Mike Fruchter across the web:
So, how do you FriendFeed?
Capture your own video with Jing Project (free)
P.S. It cut off at a really weird place, but ya. This is only one of the reasons why I love FriendFeed so much :) Btw, please excuse my inarticulateness. It’s my first video!
P.P.S. The higher quality version with annotations is available at Youtube. I’m having problems embedding, here.
PixelBits (this blog) was mentioned by one of the most amazing folks on FriendFeed, Louis Gray. Louis – or LG as I call him without his permission – does so much for the FriendFeed Community.
AMAZING.
Needless to say, I am completely floored and honored to be included in his piece. So, thank you – from the bottom of my… hmmm… pixels? Okay, that was bad. But I cannot rave enough about Louis and, of course, FriendFeed.
One of the main reasons I cannot stop talking about FriendFeed is the community. And the community, made up of people of various backgrounds, lifestyles, and from different parts of the world, is one of the reasons I firmly believe certain individuals deemed “A-listers” actively engages with other FriendFeeders. I’ve never experienced a social networking site where almost everyone is nothing short of wonderful, intelligent, warm, engaging, and informative.
However, as more people sign up and start participating, it’s baffling and disheartening to see unprovoked confrontational (or outright rude) comments directed at or to, these ‘web-lebrities’ on FriendFeed. IMHO, they have huge followings for good reason.
There are a few in particular, that lead by example of WHY they are ‘A-listers’, ‘elite’, or what have you. Think I’m ass-kissing? Well, see for yourselves. In no particular order, these are some of the ‘A-listers’ I subscribe to and why I do: Continue reading
Do you remember sending and receiving Christmas, Valentine’s, or Easter cards in elementary school?
I remember it clearly. Every holiday I gave each and every single kid in the class a card (well it was mandated but it’s the thought that counts, right?) But I always gave special ones to my best friends and they would return the favor. Granted, special card giving and receiving discussions were always held amongst my friends to make sure we were on the same page. There was no way I was giving a special card to someone blind sighted.
Anyway, I’ve kept all the cards I received throughout the years in two separate boxes. One for the ‘special ones’ and another for the mandated cards and randomly look through them. Depending on my day and mood, I can choose if I want to see the special one of a kind cards, or the cards the entire class received. Both have same sentimental values, but different sentimental meanings. And that’s how I differentiate FriendFeed’s “like” and “comment” features. Lost? Well let me try and explain.
Since my number one FriendFeed utilization resource Louis Gray’s super useful FriendFeed posts doesn’t have the “like” or commenting features detailed yet (damnit!!), I’m going to give a quick rundown.
Continue reading
I never want to relive high school, but at times, Friend Feed sure as heck feels like it.
Unlike Myspace or Facebook, where approval is needed to become ‘friends’, FriendFeed is more Twitter-esque, where people subscribe to you and you choose to subscribe back to them or not. Which seems pretty.. simple? But in actuality is super complicated since I noticed a lot of people take this ‘subscribing’ thing a little too seriously.
In this short month, I’ve had people send me FaceBook messages asking me why I haven’t subscribed back. I’ve also had people subscribing one day, unsubscribing the next, then re-subscribing to me (I get email notifications). All this time, I’m completely baffled since most of these said actions are from people I’ve NEVER interacted with.
So I’m going to get this out once and for all.
For ME, and ME only, I will subscribe back to anyone I interact with, who makes me laugh, and well.. actively participates on FriendFeed. Not exclusively on my feed, but people who I know are actually… people. Meaning your feed consists of more than imported feeds. If I don’t subscribe back, it’s NOT PERSONAL! So please, don’t be afraid to introduce yourselves, engage in conversations, and participate in threads. I’m a nice person, I really am! As are the other FF’ers!
However, there is one exception to the rule, per se. If your feed looks like this: (points below)
No offense but a Rubik’s Cube x4 of RSS orange squares kinda sorta scares me, so I most likely won’t subscribe back. I don’t know how to handle constant updates from ALL the blogs… It’s really not you, it’s me. Sorry =(
Well that’s my criteria, what’s yours?
So about a month ago, I started actively participating in a Social Networking Site called FriendFeed, and one month later I was re-reminded of the power of the internet. For those unfamiliar with FriendFeed, Louis Gray has concise, easy to read write ups detailing FriendFeed (or FF) and how to get the most out of the site. His posts are definitely recommended, I don’t think I can explain FF better than him.
Now that the formalities are out of the way, Friend Feed in my own words.
Short version: I thought it was a cult.
Long version: Ok, cult may be taking it a little too far.
Continue reading
PixelBits 