Thoughtpick: A unique perspective of the Web and social media...
A unique perspective of the Web and social media...

September 30, 2009

5 Feel Good Things You Can Do on the Web!

Wonder if others feel the same way? If you go back in your memory for about 10 years ago you would remember the world was a much kinder place. People seemed to see each other more – poking and chatting on Facebook don’t count. More importantly, you would always find people helping each other out.

Kindness Campaign

Kindness Campaign

Not to sound like my parents, and to control the amount of selective memory enhancements that I apply, I hit the web looking for examples of how kindness changed with the advent of the web. One of the first things I came by was a wonderful talk (embedded at the end of this post) that was both inspiring and amusing. From there, I kept on looking for how the web helped to make the world a better place – one person at time.

My findings give the impression that, if anything, the internet enabled many acts of kindness to occur. According to some, the whole internet could collapse if it weren’t for those acts of kindness. So here are some places on the net where kindness is alive, well and plentiful!

1. Free Rice

Feel good about yourself and have fun at the same time. This website will make donations of rice in partnership with the WFP for every word you guess correctly. Not much can be said about this site other than it’s all around awesome. [link to Free Rice]

Free Rice

Free Rice

[read full article >>]

September 29, 2009

TechCrunch vs. Mashable Review – Part 2: Alexa, Quantcast & Content Comparison

If I were to ask you: Where do you usually go when looking to read web focused news and social media related stories and tips? The answer would probably be one of three: Mashable, TechCrunch or both!

In our first TechCrunch vs. Mashable review post, we compared and contrasted TechCrunch and Mashable in terms of general stats, interface & reviews. Here in part 2, we will be comparing these two sites in terms of Alexa and Quantcast stats and quality and type of content.

Google Trends: Mashable vs Techcrunch

Google Trends: Mashable vs TechCrunch

Mashable vs. TechCrunch on Alexa:

Through a short Alexa search, we were able to deduce the following differences between the two hard-headed opponents: Mashable & TechCrunch. Take a look:

With only a month’s head start for TechCrunch in 2005, it is undeniable that the competition is, and has been, overwhelming for our two “weblogs”!

Alexa’s TechCrunch.com’s traffic rank is 549, while Mashable.com’s traffic rank is 557 worldwide. According to Alexa’s ranking, TechCrunch and Mashable rank 212 and 218 accordingly in the US.

[read full article >>]

September 28, 2009

TechCrunch vs. Mashable Review – Part 1: Mixed Stats, Interface & Reviews!

If I were to ask you: Where do you usually go when looking to read web focused news and social media related stories and tips? The answer would probably be one of three: Mashable, TechCrunch or both!

Just by taking a quick and uneducated look at the graph below, it is easy to clearly assess how TechCrunch and Mashable have been head-to-head on competition for the last year (and more).

Mashable vs. TechCrunch on Compete

But the above figures are available for all and it is not a secret to anyone that those two sites are rough to crack opponents when it comes to dealing with each other! Therefore, I invite you to stay tuned with us while we compare and contrast Mashable and TechCrunch from every possible aspect such as stats, interfaces, content, mistakes and more in a 2 parts review.

Mashable vs. TechCrunch – The Reviews:

Mashable’s Profile:

Founded in July 2005, Mashable is the world’s largest blog focused exclusively on Web 2.0 and Social Networking news. With more than 5 million monthly page views, Mashable is the most prolific blog reviewing new Web sites and services, publishing breaking news on what’s new on the web.”.

It’s informative and important for our keeping up with the ongoing changes in networking innovations. its good to be part of the discussion“. By humanette

Great resource for what’s happening in social media“. By Jeremy Jaramillo

Very good site. Lots of news about social media. High refresh rate“. By Casper Maltha

TechCrunch’s Profile:

“It all started on July 15 2005 when founder Michael Arrington opened TechCrunch for the first time. His goal with the blog was to be dedicated about profiling and reviewing companies and internet products. By the time the site turned one year, they had 883 posts, 23,713 comments and 65,00 RSS and email subscribers. They also had 3 other partner sites in their network and have had seven guest post writers and he already hired a co-writer to help him, Marshall Kirkpatrick”. [read full article >>]

September 25, 2009

Top 20 Social Media Jokes, Clips and Cartoons! August 2009

Publishing this one a bit late, we know… but the third episode (1, 2) of top 20 social media jokes, clips and cartoons is here! In another attempt to bring a smile to your face and brighten up your day!

Use the comments below to let us know your favorite!

Twitter Joke

Twitter Joke

Social Media and Identity by Clay Bennett

Social Media and Identity theft by Clay Bennett

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Offbeat — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 6:49 pm

September 24, 2009

14 Funny Twittering Gadgets from The Future (a fun post)

tweet tweet!

tweet tweet!

It was both fun and interesting to research and write down a list of the current available twittering objects, appliances and animals. Some of them had us impressed (very impressed!), others made us laugh, while some made us wonder: how would our future be like when other objects ride the wave and carry on the trend of non-human twittering?

So, here at Thoughtpick, we decided to come together, sit down and let our wide imagination run loose  in order to come up with a list of what we think would be funny future Twitter gadgets. We urge you to keep reading this post and prepare yourself for a good laugh! Don’t forget to share with us any funny thoughts you might have :)

1. Tweeting Toilet:

Tweeting Toilet!!

Tweeting Toilet!!

It can sure be useful for medical diagnosis but it can also be fun tracking other people’s delivering *habits*! It will track duration and weight of… delivery – for the lack of a better term -

@DiaherraX  just had a 6 minute 20 seconds long dump, weighing 316 grams!

@DumpTracker (no offense @TrendTracker) would also  keep score of today’s heaviest dump!

@DumpTracker: And today’s biggest dump was by @ILoveBurgerKing at 1.2 kg

[read full article >>]

September 23, 2009

Mac Snow Leopard vs. Microsoft Windows 7 on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook & Blogs…

Research has found that items which become popular first will tend to be more popular than other items with similar appeal.” was a comment left on the previous social media wars article.

Based on the above opinion statement, do you think social media is becoming the main driving force behind purchasing trendy, fashionable and tech products these days? How much actual power does social media have on our purchasing decisions? Is it fair to solely depend on web marketing and social media channels (such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook) in order to decide whether to purchase a certain brand or its competitor?

Just as I did in the previous social media wars episodes (Blackberry Storm Vs. iPhone 3G) and (Dell vs. Toshiba), this post will entail a detailed study of the use of social media to promote Mac’s Snow Leopard and Microsoft’s Windows 7, followed by a brief discussion on problems and solutions with the current used social media methodologies.

Microsoft Windows 7 vs Mac Snow Leopard

Microsoft Windows 7 vs Mac Snow Leopard

Introduction Brief…

In one of the comments on a previous social media wars episode, a reader said, and I quote: “I buy things based on need, not based on if they look cool or if advertising tells me that its what I need“. But is this statement 100% true? I highly doubt it!

Product and service competitions existed long before the emergence of social media, yet they were not this fierce and “bloody”! Furthermore, many products and services were customized according to customer needs rather than being designed in order to over shine a certain competitive product or service!

Now, when it comes to Apple and Microsoft’s ongoing competition, and although Apple has gained a lot of market share from “the perception that Vista sucks” in addition to its “ability to manipulate the perceptions of both Microsoft’s and its own offerings“, it seems that the table might turn and Windows 7 might actually win the race!

What Role Does Social media Play in this Equation?

Apparently, the perception of quality and value have shifted into a different direction since the people started heavily relying on social media to make their product or service comparisons and purchasing decisions. Whether it be the Facebook fan page or group, the Twitter account or the Youtube clip views, other factors have now become filtering agents in the decision making process. [read full article >>]

September 22, 2009

How Many More Books Will Google Allow Me to Read?

A thought crossed my head the other day… I don’t particularly consider myself a bookworm but I’ve read my fair share of books: how many books would I end up reading in my lifetime?

070205_r15903_p465

The Google Library

So to make it easier, I assumed there is  an (extreme) bookworm who reads on average a book a day since he was 12 fora period of 70 years. Thus, that would mean that throughout his life time he will end up reading 25,550 books. Now that’s a hefty amount of books to read!

As of the end of last August there were 168,178,719 books in the world. Given that this number remains the same for the next 70 years, you would have read 0.0152% of the books in the world, if you have read a book a day. Yet, the depressing conclusion I reached is this: it really doesn’t matter much how many books I go through but what matters the most is learning from them.

Given that Google is moving along in their creation of the last library, and they are already beyond the 10 million books mark, they will certainly give the word reading a book a whole new meaning. Just to think of the prospect of having the biggest library in the whole world search-able and accessible online! It would most certainly would make reading a book a day a lot easier.

So what do you think about reading books and the Google library? Wouldn’t you be worried if that much knowledge is listed under the name of one corporation?

Filed under: Deductions and Realizations — Tags: , , , , , , , — M. Bamieh @ 7:04 pm

September 21, 2009

Numa Numa, Dancing Matt, Chris Crocker… Where Are They Now?

A meme, what once meant the inheritance of cultural genes is now synonymous with the LOLZ. Have you ever wondered what contributions those moments of genius provided to the human race? They have given us the Tron Guy, Bubb Rubb and “he who shall not be named !” which have provided us with innumerous countless hours of face exercising that help vend off wrinkles and burn calories as well. As all celebrities should be treated we should keep up with them and put them on a pedestal, so we at the Thoughtpick blog wanted to do our part after wondering “Where are they now?”

Numa Numa Dance

[31 million Youtube views]

You remember this one don’t you, he’s one of the first Newsground stars, and he was the first to introduce us to Romanian pop singing and made us contemplate the possibility that Jabba The Hut is actually human. Well after doing commercials for Gecko and collaborating with the original Romanian band on their later releases, Gary Brolsma is certainly capitalizing on his webfame. He released his first album late last year and is working on creating the first user generated Superbowl commercial.

[read full article >>]

September 18, 2009

Is Social Media Pushing TV to its Grave?

Television is dying,” Jay Leno…

How is social media affecting the old, traditional yet long-loved media channel: the television? Is social media slowly pushing television to its grave? How is social media able to encourage less television viewing and promote more Internet usage simultaneously?

Personally Speaking…

television-is-dead

Television dead?

Allow me to begin this post by presenting you with a short personal experience of mine which will, in turn, help you realize how I thought about this topic and where my ideas are coming from in addition to where they are headed!

I have been a mildly heavy Internet user for the past two years or so. A year ago, my interests in reading, writing and going out started changing: I started spending more time on Facebook and less time for going out and seeing friends. Since March 2009, I think I became an “Internet addict”, replacing most outings and TV time with Internet use, especially social media related sites and channels! I can recall that the last time I actually sat down and watched anything on TV was late March of this year!

With this little story in mind, let’s take a deeper look on how social media is discretely replacing the role of our beloved television!

[read full article >>]

September 17, 2009

TechCrunch50’s Udorse Takes Facebook Photo Tagging to a Whole New Level

Udorse's earnings

Udorse's earnings

Well well well, we have reached the end of the Pop Idol of Silicon Valley, and despite all the innovation, one winner had to be selected, this year the prize went to RedBeacon. RedBeacon is a new platform that allows you to hire local service providers online without any phone calls. While it is kind of an interesting service, it didn’t get me excited about its offering and potential as Udorse did. RedBeacon does facilitate people’s search for service providers but doesn’t really bring anything new to the table – in my opinion at least -. On the other hand, Udorse manages to take photos tagging to a whole new level.

Facebook Photos Tagging:

One of the features that made Facebook photo sharing so popular is enabling you to tag your friends and give names to the people in your photos. Today, instead of calling your friend and ask him about the girl with him in the photo he posted to his Facebook account, you can simply figure out her name – and potentially other information if her profile is public – through the simple tag in the photo.

[read full article >>]

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