Twitter is for “pointless babble”

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Well, that’s according to a study conducted on the use of the no.1 microblogging service.

Pear Analytics, a marketing intelligence firm, conducted a study by randomly sampling tweets Monday to Friday, every 30 minutes 11:00 am to 5:00 pm for two weeks. That’s 200 samples each day for  a total sample data set of 2,000 tweets.

The result, which was released last Wednesday, was something that the firm didn’t expect.

Credit: Pear Analytics
Credit: Pear Analytics

Tweets from the site contained 40% of “pointless babble” – like what they’d eat for lunch or how horrible the traffic is – and 37% were “conversational” or parts of conversations.

Tweets with “pass along value” or re-tweets take the third place taking 9%, followed by self promotion, 6%, spam, 4% and news 4%.

“We thought the news category would have more weight than dead last, since this seems to be contrary to Twitter’s new position of being the premier source of news and events”, the report said.

So what’s the conclusion of this study?

There isn’t really, according to Pear Analytics.

“As Twitter continues to evolve, not only as a brand but from a user’s perspective, it is likely that the usage patterns will change,” the report said. “We did not predict that conversational (category) would be as high as it was, or that self-promotion was going to be as low as it was.”

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/social_network/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=219400104

Say goodbye to condoms soon

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Safe sex? It won’t be long till you’ll forget about condoms.

This might not be the usual news we feature here, but hey, it’s still a new technological development right? And tech news or not, its one piece of news many people can relate to. 😉

Studying the use of microbicides on intravaginal gels, rings, and films to prevent transmission of viruses has kept researches busy over the years. However, only a few were successful (or safe) enough to be tested on humans. And those few encountered different issues such as increasing the risk of transmission instead of preventing it, women not using it, or the antiviral drugs in the microbicides doesn’t last long enough.

A new development from the researches at the University of Utah however, may pave the way for this new type of contraceptive method. This molecular condom starts out as a gel then becomes semi-solid when introduced to semen. It then forms some kind of double mesh to prevent sperms and viruses such as HIV particles from coming through.

The new gel is applied as a gel, and then becomes more solid and impenetrable as changes in pH alter the strength of the bond between the gel’s two key components, both of which are polymers, or long, chain-like molecules made of many smaller, repeating units: PBA, or phenylboronic acid, and SHA, or salicylhydroxamic acid.

But what if, in an unlikely case, that the virus did get past the two barriers?

Patrick Kiser, an associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Utah’s College of Engineering and the study’s senior author says the antiviral drug within the remaining gel would be able to inactivate the HIV particles. The acidity of the vagina after sex also helps in inactivating the particles.

The team’s research is funded by the National Institute of Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 😉

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10310273-247.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

Microsoft sets limits on Windows 7

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Yup, Microsoft’s bigman himself, Steve Ballmer, confirmed that the Windows 7 Starter will have certain limitations that should be abided by computer makers.

Although some executives of the software giant already said earlier this yea that the company will place restrictions on some of the versions of the OS, Steve Ballmer  is the highest computer official to confirm and talk specifics on the limitations.

The Windows 7 Starter edition is expected to be placed in netbooks or systems with small screens and low-powered processors. Also, it will not be sold directly to consumers or businesses. Instead, it will be available to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Acer, ASUS, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba.

“Our license tells you what a netbook is,” said Ballmer at the Microsoft-hosted day with Wall Street analysts. “Our license says it’s got to have a super-small screen, which means it probably has a super-small keyboard, and it has to have a certain processor and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

And their purpose for the limitations?

“We want people to be able to get the advantages of lightweight performance and be able to spend more money with us, with Intel, with HP, with Dell and with many, many others,” Balmer said.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/170270/windows_7_editions_come_with_limits.html

Beware Twitter, Facebook Lite coming soon

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Because Facebook’s attempt to buy Twitter failed, they’re gonna  make their own “Lite” version, currently in the testing phase.

We are currently testing a simplified alternative to Facebook.com that loads a specific set of features quickly and efficiently,” they said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

The Facebook Lite, according to them, is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook, much like Facebook on mobile phones. It will allows users to make comments, accept Friend requests, write on people’s Walls, and look at photos and Status updates.

The test website is still being tested in India and other countries who are “looking to start off with a more simple experience”.

There’s a lot of talk on the Web that this new thing from the fastest growing social networking site may challenge Twitter’s throne in the microblogging sphere. Will they succeed though?

Well, we’ll just have to wait to find out. 😉

Source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090812/tc_afp/usindiaitinternetfacebooktwitter

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Twitter attacked for the second time

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Last August 6, Twitter had a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, along with Facebook, LiveJournal and YouTube. It was believed to target a pro-Georgian blogger whom attackers wanted to silence him with an act of hacktivism.

It proved not to be an isolated case as another DDoS attack was launched on Twitter.

Around 3 PM EDT, Twitter posted a status blog stating that it was experiencing a site outage and was currently examining its nature.

It announced later on through a post on their bulletin board that it was indeed, another DDoS attack.

Alex Payne, platform lead at Twitter warned users in the post to “Expect periodic slowness and errors until the attack passes or is countered by our operations team and hosting provide.”

The attack yesterday didn’t last long but according to Payne, the attack resumed in the later part of the day.

A distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users.

Source: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Twitter-Attack-Knocks-Out-Service-Again-328455/

Twitter CEO’s wife tweets while in labor

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If you ever found Twitter boring, you are very wrong.

Ever since it became popular, you can never expect what will be tweeted next. Tweets from a dead president, outer space, an ongoing bank robbery are just some of them.

Today, a new one can be added to our list and its from the wife of the Web site’s CEO herself.

Sara Morishige Williams, who is married to Twitter CEO Evan Williams, was Twittering from the hospital while she was in labor. Yep, her 15,000 followers were given periodic updates on her childbirth process.

“Dear Twitter, My water broke. It wasn’t like Charlotte in Sex and the City. Now, timing contractions on an iPhone app,” she first tweeted.

“The Contraction Tracker was fun until the contractions got painful,” and “Epidural, yes please” were just among her updates.

Her husband, of course, wasn’t that far behind. A little before 4 p.m. EDT today, he wrote “Yes! @sara gave birth to a perfect baby boy. Both are well. 8 pounds, 21 inches! Smiles all around.”

Congratulations guys! J

Source: http://www.cio.com/article/499495/It_s_a_Boy_Twitter_CEO_s_Wife_Tweets_During_Labor

Paid updates on Facebook proposed to be banned

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If you have been using your Facebook account to make money, read on coz you might not be able to do so in the near future.

On Tuesday, the no.1 social networking Web site posted a blog proposing a ban on using personal profiles other than well err- just personal stuff.

These would mean those who endorse products to friends and family and getting paid to do so. It will however, affect fan pages of businesses set up in the Web site.

The rules regarding users outside the United States have also been revised. The company said, “If you are located in a country embargoed by the United States, or are on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals you will not engage in commercial activities on Facebook (such as advertising or payments) or operate a Platform application or website.”

Facebook users can give post their opinions on the proposed ban.

What do you think?

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2009/08/10/daily34.html

Mixed reactions for Google Caffeine

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To say that there’s two sides to the coin would be very clichéd but nonetheless, very succinct when it comes to this post. 😉

Initial reactions to Caffeine, Google’s new search engine technology, is a hodge-podge of positive and uhm – not so postive. Thankfully for the giant company, the positive comments outnumber the negative ones…so far.

In the official Google Webmaster Central Blog, users were asked to give high-level feedback on the differences they can find in the current and new search techs.

One user said he is receiving twice the number of hits for one of his Web sites while another said that there results are more relevant.

Some users shared their liking of the clustered domain names at the top of the page and on the results seeming to be more pertinent with the new search engine.

So what does users want for Google to improve on?

One user said she/he had problems accessing Caffeine in his or her Symbian phone.

Another user found that her searches with Google Caffeine was interpreted by the search engine as spam and received an error message stating that her query “looks similar to automated requests from a computer virus or spyware application” and therefore, could not be processed.

How about you?

If you tried Caffeine and also wants Google to hear what you have to say, you can visit Google’s blog here.

Source: http://www.crn.com/software/219200285;jsessionid=Q2DTCOWABA4SLQE1GHOSKHWATMY32JVN

URL-shortening service tr.im is resurrected

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If Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, URL-shortening service tr.im happily did it in just two; reopening its Website and restoring its service on Tuesday.

Last Sunday, a goodbye message was posted in their Web site telling users that they have shut down because no.1 microblogging Web site Twitter “has all but sapped us of any last energy to double-down and develop tr.im further.”

They claimed that they were in a financial drain, finding it difficult to sustain network cost. Its parent company also failed in finding a buyer for the service.

Apparently, there’s still energy left on the URL-shortening service to make its parent company Numbu Networks decide to resurrect it. Today, they announced that they’re back in business although it long-term plans aren’t yet clear. A post on the tr.im blog now reads:

“We have restored tr.im, and re-opened its Website. We have been absolutely overwhelmed by the popular response, and the countless public and private appeals I have received to keep tr.im alive… Nambu will keep tr.im operating going forward, indefinitely, while we continue to consider our options in regards to tr.im’s future.”

Their blog however, still takes a bitter tone towards Twitter.

“Twitter has stacked the URL shortening business opportunity overwhelmingly in bit.ly’s favour, as twitter.com currently operates. This is not whining, as some have suggested, but a simple reality. If we post a link to this blog article by its title Twitter switches our tr.im URL to a bit.ly URL. bit.ly has a monopoly position that cannot be challenged with reasonable investment or innovation unless Twitter offers choice. This is a basic reality of challenging monopolies. bit.ly has deep personal connections and agreements with Twitter that we simply cannot compete with. And it is our humble opinion that this type of favoritism will become an issue for all Twitter developers.”

Hmmmn, I wonder what Twitter has to say to all of these?

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/170039/url_shortening_service_trim_is_back_from_the_dead.html

New search feature debuts on Facebook

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If you missed what your friend’s status update was a week ago (in the unlikely off chance that it’s a matter of life and death 😉 ), never fear!

The social media site has announced today that the Search feature is now open to the full community. Now, Facebook has made it easier for users to search for status updates, photos, links, videos and notes of your friends and your fan pages.

facebook-search_-friendfeed

In a blog post, the company said that testing for the new version of Search began last month with just a small group of people. The tests proved to be successful so the company decided it was worthy for our use 😉 and has made the new version of Search available to everyone on the site.

Here’s an excerpt from their announcement:

You now will be able to search the last 30 days of your News Feed for status updates, photos, links, videos and notes being shared by your friends and the Facebook Pages of which you’re a fan. If people have chosen to make their content available to everyone, you also will be able to search for their status updates, links and notes, regardless of whether or not you are friends. Search results will continue to include people’s profiles as well as relevant Facebook Pages, groups and applications.

Source: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=22519

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