Twitter updates and cool links

Over the last few weeks a few bits of news regarding Twitter has caught my eye. I have to start with a posting from Mashable on Twitter visualization. Try some of these out; Social Collider, Just Landed, and Twitt3D. These tools are all trying to visually show the connectivity between tweets through time and people. Sometimes you have no idea what your tweet may trigger. These tools attempt to show you what was triggered. I am not completely sure about this but I think the official term is social graphing. Being a very visual and picture oriented person these graphs have serious meaning that can be very beneficial in understanding communication.

By the way did anyone notice that last week Twitter updated the following and followers pages? The change is very positive and useful. Good job Twitter!

What do these have in common: Spammers, Star Wars race scene, Satellites, the Walkman, and outrageous Laptops

Don't spend too much time thinking this is a unique puzzle. Sorry, it is not, there really is nothing in common other than some cool thoughts and links I have had/discovered over the last few weeks and tweeted about.

• Spammers get the hot seat. http://is.gd/1aa9d
• Watched Phantom Menace the other day with my son. Gotta love the race scene in
• Sirius/XM successfully launches another satellite into orbit. Position yet to occur. http://bit.ly/XCkI8
• Happy Birthday Walkman! (shhhh, 30 years old)
• Check out these concept laptop- crazy and cool http://is.gd/1lq5n

Recent news in the Wireless, Mobile Application, and Telecom Scene

I have been reviewing and categorizing my tweets over the last few weeks and found, not surprisingly, that a large number fall under this topic. So I though I would take this time to point out some of the hot spots and not so hot spots during this time.

First there was the announcement of the Intel and Nokia agreement allowing Intel chips to be used in Nokia phones. You may be thinking, why does this matter. Here are couple of thoughts on why this matters.

• The companies would like to build a new platform beyond Smartphones, Notebooks, and Netbooks.
• Intel will be licensing the HSPA (High Speed Packet Access with 600 Mbps - 1200 Mbps range in rate) technology from Nokia. This is faster than the current EVDO, but slower, of course, than LTE. The 3G technology of HSPA would be added wifi and wiMAX that Intel already offers in their chipset.
• Big step forward in the convergence of Computing and Communication

On another note there has been lots of talk about Dell re-entering the market with a handheld Internet device. This is basically a smartphone without the phone. It would be built on the Android platform from Google. It would have all the benefits of Internet access (browsing, IM, Texting, etc) along with the ability to download apps. Seems like a good idea. Some big competition with the iTouch, and not really sure Dell's heart is in to it this time around.

This one is cool. AT&T is going to start offering a wireless network on Amtrak trains. Always wondered when a carrier was going to do this. Sure will make the rides go faster.

Here is a link to what I think is a really good compare/contrast of the iPhone and the Pre. A must read before purchase of either device.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/07/01/palm_pre_v_iphone_3gs/

US Texting Champ, a 14 year old from Des Moines, Iowa, sends 14,000 messages/month and up to 470 message daily! She won $50k. Hey that is almost a full ride scholarship to college.

Ever wonder what the impact of the Android by Google will have on the Smartphone industry? I think it is potentially huge. Here is article that outlines how Android is changing the face of the Smartphone.

http://www.crn.com/mobile/218100828;jsessionid=KWPMTXY0AGSAUQSNDLRSKH0CJUNN2JVN

• T-Mobile just announced the second smartphone they will offer that is based on the Android
• Android is more personal
• Is the most open ended experience yet
• Focused on a Customer to Business experience
• Faster, more software releases
• It is all about the software

And, don't forget that Adobe Flash is coming soon to Android as well as WinMo and WebOS. For some reason Apple is really quiet about getting Flash on the iPhone. My opinion, there must still be some tension between the two companies.

Weekly thoughts

I just finished pulling together my weekly summary of activities to present during our Staff meeting. I like to add in a few weird things just to lighten up the experience. Here is my list, somewhat weighted more towards the end of the week and a little from today.

1. Jamie Thomas- Rasset sued by Recording industry to $1.9M
2. iPhone 3G S is less revolutionary then predecessors but step in the right direction. Lacking Tethering and MMS, which are supported by the device but not by AT&T.
3. T-Mobile introducing next new smart phone based on Android called myTouch. No keypad, larger screen than iPhone, smaller than iPhone.
4. Lawmakers and FCC debating exclusive contracts between device makers and carriers as being unfair competition.
5. More than 660,000 applications downloaded from Palm App Store for the Pre. This big news saying Pre owners want apps. Also, keep in mind there are currently only 30 apps available. So developers should see this and get cracking.
6. Indoor "GPS" to help you find a bathroom or never be late for a date. Project Leader, Christian Prehofer, said it uses cell phones and a wifi network. Requires a map.... duh!
7. It is reported that in Tokyo a bicycle is faster than a car for most trips less than 50 minutes!
8. New research has determined that due to economic cutbacks there are now only 18 animal shapes in the Animal Cracker Cookie zoo. Rumor has it that zoo keepers are frantically looking for the missing shapes.
9. Check out www.collecta.com. Very cool once you get the hang of real-time searching.
10. AT&T to extend their fleet management product with Trimble's GeoManager. Customer benefits are lower fuel and maint. costs.
11. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) across Europe is stalling because of a disagreement on the best way to coordinate adoption.
12. Applying for a job with Bozeman, Montana? They are now requiring your id and password for social networks to be used during the background checks. Yikes!

Have a good week!

Going too far!

City asks applicants for Internet passwords to social network sites.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8jn3O0JgrEGN8znw-q2Y5-FcldAD98TQPT80

Collecta

Lots of news today, but one that I am particularly found of is a new product for truly real-time searching. This product is from Collecta. You simply setup some topics and let Collecta do the rest of the work. Results returned are posts to blogs and the like at that moment in time about the topic you are searching. Pretty cool! For me I like to stay up on a the latest rumblings for a few topics and this is just what I needed.

Check them out: http://www.collecta.com/

Thoughts from June 15, 2009

Here are some really good articles I found.
Cloud computing: what it is and how it can help you http://bit.ly/uoO5z


AT&T's many missed iPhone opportunities: http://tr.im/ozGK

TIP: If you're new to #Twitter, or know someone who is, try our Twitter lists section: http://bit.ly/163Pmp

Top 5 #Twitter Related Trends to Watch from #Mashable http://is.gd/12AgN


Mashable’s Weekly Social Media and Web Event Guide - http://bit.ly/GAvJc

Business use of Twitter

While this article is supposed to be about Twitter's business and financial strategy, it comes across to me a really good showing of how big businesses are making use of and including Twitter in their tactical sales methods. To me JetBlue seems to be the best example.

http://inventorspot.com/articles/top_five_giants_stealing_twitters_golden_eggs_28909

Thoughts and news from June 12, 2009

Bing, Microsoft's new search tool, Beats Out Google in Side by Side Test http://woot.tw/f2j4

Some really good tips for advanced SEO tactics (With 55 Linked Resources) http://woot.tw/sa6dabout 24 hours ago

SFO airport is getting a new baggage system for $15M.http://is.gd/ZKQG Me: probably a good idea.

Air writing... not a from a plane, but from your phone... next killer app? Not sure about that but is an pretty cool idea. http://is.gd/ZKQG

The number of times people clicked on ads listed next to Microsoft search results jumped 8% in first week of Bing (DJ Newswires)

According to a press release from Nokia, they are releasing Nokia Life Tools in India designed to fill information gaps Ag, Edu, and Ent. Mobile application companies should keep their eyes on this one for sure.

Welcome to the age of digital television. It has been a long time coming.

Admittedly an old post, but a very good read as the value of twitter is still tested with skeptics. http://is.gd/ZIQw

Another good article on the value of twitter for business as it relates to Hotel Management. http://is.gd/ZIAi

5 improvements for the Palm Pre from a reviewer http://is.gd/ZIjJ Me: interesting list that I hope Palm takes seriously.

more Me on Facebook for personalization http://is.gd/ZIcz Me: Continues to be an interesting topic today, but I am not sure it is getting the hype Facebook is looking for.

10 cool things about the iPhone 3G S http://is.gd/ZI5x Me: 5, 6, and 7 seem to be most interesting, the rest do not seem very cool to me, how about you?

Two really good posts from nlofir, a tweeter I follow:
This is an awesome article on Product Management. A must read for Product Managers and organizations that hire them.
Product Managers are really superheros for any company. http://bit.ly/Y0hc5 Me: BRAVO!

"effectiveness of a community" strategy big topic yesterday. All over the map: monetary, visibility, contributions, no standard

Fridays are special days on Twitter to follow someone new and recommended. Here's how Follow Friday works: http://bit.ly/2S29Fq

My thougths from today

Random thoughts from today June 11, 2009

I sent out a tweet about Android and found that there are bots on Twitter that look for hash words and then retweet them. I guess I should have guessed that people would setup bots on twitter. I hope it does not ruin it

A Symantec executive today was quoted by Dow Jones Newswire as saying they will evaluate working with Android if it gets used significantly.

I follow Lance Ulanoff on Twitter and he tweeted something funny today.

"Spoke to the Analog TV signal today. It said, "Hold me, I feel cold."

It was my friend Paul's birthday so Jeff and I went and got him some cup cakes and sang happy birthday. He liked it... nothing like hostess cup cakes for a birthday!

Verizon announced that it will start offering the Palm Pre in Jan, 2010 once the exclusivity agreement with Sprint is over.

Here is a thought. Should Apple break away from AT&T? What would this do for the Apple and iPhone? No idea... if you do please post a comment.

Ok now this one is only going to piss you off. Today the IRS weighs rules for taxing private use of work cell phones - ME: yup they want to tax you for 1/4 of your work phone usage. Will they get away with this? I think probably not. What do you think?

I bought stock in Palm today, probably 3 months to late if you look at history of the stock. Byt since they changed the CEO there was some good movement in the value. It panned out for me. I hope it sticks.

The redbull airplane races are coming to the Detroit river again. All week they have been setting up and all week I have been waiting for the practice day that finally came today. Wow, I could watch them all day long.

According to Marketwatch Qualcomm is boosting 3rd quarter revenue outlooks from 2.67B to 2.77B due to demand for high-end phone chips.

Thought H1N1 had quietly gone away?.... wrong, the news today has WHO announcing the first Pandemic in 40 years. Something like 70+ countries have been effected.

According to CNN Manchester United accept world record offer of $130 million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid. ME: Holy cow that is a lot of money.