Monthly Archives: June 2011

Google Plus, Scarcity and Sharing

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

Looking for a signal that our economy has moved from scarcity to abundance? Look no further than the launch of Google+ and compare it to the sister app, Wave, launched less than two years ago.

In October 2009, Google launched a not-quite-ready for prime time product. There was a virtual stampede for invitations, which were doled out slowly and in small amounts. Less than a year later, Google would retire Wave.

It’s June 2011. Google launched G+ on Wednesday; early participants could play but not invite anyone. But by late afternoon Thursday, invitations were running wild, although Google did eventually pull the plug. The Google+ interface suggested I could invite 500 people at a time; that’s what Marshall Kirkpatrick (@marshallk, ReadWriteWeb) says that he did: Continue reading →

Dear Marketing Folks: Leaving A Blog Comment Does Not Mean I Want Your Email

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

I was added to a Breitbart Report mailing list today (without opting in). The announcement mail assured me that I would be the beneficiary of Breitbart’s “timely news and other information, independent of media bias” and that I was receiving the mail based on my “past interest” which was reflected by my having commented on one of his sites.

Breitbard told the marketing company that I had opted in (screenshot below the fold); that was a lie. I was added to the list, without permission, and had to opt-out to remove myself.

What egocentrism, to think that anyone who commented on one of his sites would want email spam! Comment does not equal agreement. Nor does comment equal “it’s OK to spam me now.”

Continue reading →

Gunman Updates Facebook During Standoff; Media Framing Helps Incite Virtual Lynch Mob

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

In Ogden, Utah last weekend, a 36-year-old man updated his Facebook profile a dozen times throughout a 16-hour armed standoff with local police. Subsequently, Facebook turned into a lynch mob (not unlike Cook’s Source) after national media reports on Wednesday stated (without sourcing) that Jason Valdez had held a woman hostage and had reported the event on his Facebook profile. The New York Daily News version of this story has 1,562 Facebook “likes”.

However, CNN had reported almost 24 hours earlier that “a woman was with Valdez in the motel room; police characterized her as a hostage but Valdez implied she was a willing companion.” The photos Valdez posted to Facebook of himself and Veronica do not look like either are under duress. (Valdez has one arm loosely around her shoulder, like two people on a date, while the other operates his Android phone.)  Continue reading →

Tumblr Removes RSS Import Feature, Becomes Far Less Useful

Posted on by Kathy E. Gill

Update July 6, 2011: Without notice, Tumblr is once again importing my feeds. The company says that it is grandfathering in those of us who had feeds but not allowing this feature for new accounts and not allowing new or modified feeds.

I’ve been using Tumblr as a place to aggregate some of my disparate content. When I checked the site tonight, I discovered it had not imported any content for two weeks a week. Without warning, Tumblr turned off the RSS import:

Tumblr has quietly removed the ability to automatically import RSS feeds to your tumblelog. They removed the feature during their recent redesign without give their users any warning.

So, if you were importing your Twitter feed, Last.fm Weekly Top Artists, or other blog into Tumblr and noticed that it stopped working — that’s why.

Continue reading →