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

August 29, 2009

When will Facebook realize that it won’t ever be “Twitter”?

Watch the sequence very carefully: First, Facebook changed their status feeds into a Twitter-like live stream, then they introduced their own version of real-time search, after that they acquired FriendFeed, and now they plan to launch Facebook Lite – a simplified (twitterified?) version of Facebook itself -.

Their obsession with Twitter is far beyond my comprehension! With their huge size, and continuous growth, they can’t be threatened by the increased popularity of Twitter. It probably has something to do with their strategy of biting off chuncks of every aspect of the social networking market. But the question is, do Twitter’s features really suit Facebook’s digestion system? How far should Facebook go in changing its anatomy in order to catch up with Twitter’s *cool* appeal?

Broadcast vs. Feed

Facebook is for feeds – mostly friends’ feeds -, Twitter is for broadcast; this is a core and fundamental difference that defines the nature of both services. You log on to Facebook in order to check out your friends’ activities and connect with them, while on Twitter you log on in order to say something, broadcast it, and promote it to the world. It is not common to add people who you don’t know over Facebook, but it is very common to follow and be followed by people you have never met in your life on Twitter and start some conversations with them. Facebook friends are also limited in number; you can only add up to 5000 friends, which limits the broadcasting capabilities for those trying to reach more people, unlike Twitter, where there is no limit whatsoever. In my opinion, even though many companies and celebrities find Facebook’s fan pages useful, I don’t think it gives Facebook a business and marketing value as Twitter does.

Facebook Lite... a Twitter look-alike?

Facebook Lite... a Twitter look-alike?

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Controversial Picks — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — Fadi @ 7:36 pm

August 25, 2009

What are you working on? Top 5 Enterprise 2.0 Platforms Reviewed

Communication has always been a key factor in determining the efficiency of how companies do business. For a long time, fax, telephone and email managed to facilitate business communications and saved companies a lot of time and effort. Today, social media comes into play, it opens new channels that give any company’s communication methods a whole new untapped dimension. From Wikis and shared feeds, to online real-time collaboration and microblogging, there is a new generation of platforms that aim to tackle this area and give your business the tools it needs to fit as a 2.0 enterprise.

Most Popular Enterprise 2.0 Social Platforms

We, here at Thoughtpick, were interested in researching the Enterprise 2.0 social platforms out there. Obviously we found many, we checked out most of them and decided to bring you the 5 most popular ones according to compete stats, with Yammer being the most popular.

Below are the top 5 picks along with our opinion:

1. Yammer: It takes microblogging to the Enterprise Arena. It provides a simple way for employees to connect and share by posting short – 140 char - messages. It builds on Twitter’s concept that we have all grown accustomed to, and adds corporate necessary options such as employee profiles, file sharing, groups and organizational charts. Recently it rolled out some new features that include a revamped iPhone app, “like” options, threads and an improved search.

Thoughtpickers’ opinion: The power of Yammer - like Twitter – lies in its simplicity. It provides a very simple and clean interface that allows for easy flowing interaction between employees – interaction that is built on 140 char text messages. Yammer is mainly a microblogging tool and thus it lacks some features that other Enterprise 2.0 social platforms offer such as wikis and feeds. With over 40,000 companies worldwide signed to Yammer, one should not neglect the power of this tool. It’s worth checking out.

[read full article >>]

Filed under: App Reviews — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Fadi @ 5:25 pm

August 13, 2009

Social Media & NGOs: Crossing Boundaries & Building Bridges!

Can social media help Non-Governmental Organizations achieve their humane goals and reach their charitable objectives? How could social media be utilized efficiently and effectively in order to promote noble causes and humanitarian concerns? Could social media negatively harm the messages that NGOs try to spread throughout the world?

A Brief Introduction

In one of my recent posts, I discussed, in details, my thoughts about the great power that social media possesses in addition to my sincere faith that it has the ability to pave the path for world peace. The thought reoccurred to me yesterday in a rather different face and form: the power social media has to cross boundaries and build bridges especially in relation to the humanitarian causes that hundreds of NGOs peruse.

Jump on! Image By: Matt Hamm

Jump on! Image By: Matt Hamm

After the usual extensive research cycle every idea of mine needs to go through, I found myself able to list a hundred reasons why social media should be embraced by NGOs and how it could highly be benefited from in order to harness collective collaboration and bring about change.

Social Media & It’s Power…

We all know, for a fact, that the “new web” has transformed the way people interact and even the way they think! We also realize how social media platforms are now occupying a vital portion of many organizational and business strategies at different levels. Day by day, the need for utilizing these technologies for non profits is becoming more evident.

Social media platforms seem to have the ability to help NGOs through various ways, namely:

  • Providing various strategic tools for engagement.
  • Creating a means for building relationships with stakeholders and communities.
  • Promoting networking and fundraising.
  • Facilitating campaigning to a large, and sometimes even targeted, audience.
  • Allowing for more space to spread the word at a cheaper cost.
  • Reaching younger generations and having higher chances of getting them involved.
  • Transparently telling a story through sound and visuals.

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Deductions and Realizations, Research-Based Topics — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 4:11 pm

July 30, 2009

I Want My Twitter Fix And I Want It Now! Overcome the Censors

Are you a Twitter addict that happens to be stuck in China, the U.A.E., Iran, or even the White House? Then chances are that you won’t be able to get your Twitter fix, but worry not for as long as there is an internet connection then there is way. We will be going through some of the ways to bypass the blockage of Twitter and help you get your fix.

Bypass Twitter's Blocking and Censorship

Bypass Twitter's Blocking and Censorship

1. Use your instant messenger: If you are using Gtalk, Msn or Yahoo add the user “imified@imified.com”. As soon as you start chatting with that user(bot) you will be provided with a menu and it will create an account for you on imified. Select the “My Account” from the main menu by typing 4(default) and you will be redirected to the imified website and there you can add the Twitter widget and add it to your account menu. So when you access it you will be able to get notification and update your status. This will allow you to easily update your Twitter timeline from anywhere you can access your IM, even on a phone. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of what you can do with imified!

2. Use your email: Browse to twittermail and enter your Twitter credentials and they will supply you with an email address. By using that secret email address you will be able to send and receive tweets using your email account, the message body of the email sent will be the tweet.

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Hacks and Workarounds — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — M. Bamieh @ 2:00 pm

May 28, 2009

You’re not a writer? Try Tumblelogs!

Many of us dream to have the ability to express ourselves fully and openly to the world surrounding us. Many often opt to, maybe one day, become great writers, and have the ability to write about what we feel, what we learn, the things we see, our experiences, the sensations we go through and the extreme moments of happiness or sadness that we undergo. But, we are not all writers! And that is where Tumblelogs comes to solve our dilemma!

Whether you are an amateur writer, a photographer, a thinker or just someone with an opinion to be heard, Tumblelogs represent a “venue for venting” for you with little things to learn and so much to do allowing you to blog, micro-blog, video-blog, audio-blog, and even just link-blog! The world wide web is an endless stream of possibilities and Tumblelogs are well-established yet recently famous ones, going beyond the limits of blogs and micro-blogging into a world of complete freedom!

Tumblr.com - Can it be any simpler?

Tumblr.com - Can it be any simpler?

So, what do Tumblelogs provide for you?

Example Tumblelog (http://project.ioni.st/)

Example Tumblelog (http://project.ioni.st/)

  • The option to write the least yet express the most through certain plug ins such as the “quote” button.
  • The ability to insert videos and images that uniquely define who you are, your hobbies and your topics of interest.
  • The choice to decrease your reliance on “tweets” or “plurks” for example, and find a more personal approach to get the ideas you have across to others.
  • The freedom to share your links in a fun and customized platform.
  • The flexibility to add the features on your own existing site as well as allowing you to build your own personal Tumblr.
  • Ease of use and therefore, anyone is able to benefit from this platform regardless of their age, gender, backgrounds or education level.
  • You can even post ‘chat-entries’. Let’s say you just finished an interesting debate over Gtalk, you can just copy/paste the conversation and tumble it away.

Moreover, and if you’re the type of person who likes to self-host his blog (or tumblelog in this case), or if you like to have the ability to get dirty with the code and plugins, we recommend Gelato, an open source Tumblelog platform which can be seen as the equivalent of Wordpress.

[read full article >>]

Filed under: Research-Based Topics — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 1:08 pm

April 30, 2009

Facebook’s Evolution: Biting off Chunks of the SN Market!

How long is Facebook going to stay, as I may call it, “The Big Boss” when it comes to Social Networking sites? Are Facebook’s continuous efforts to bite off chunks of the social network market proving to be successful and how much of the chunks can it digest? Are there any currently available sites which can confidently say they are competing at the same level with Facebook?


Founded February 4, 2004 with the aim to “Give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected”, we have been more than aware of, and even impressed with, how Facebook has been on top of the game since the beginning. By taking chunks of the social networking market and offering a more comprehensive service and wholesome user experience to its users, Facebook its proving, day by day, its commitment to improvement and innovation through researching its current and potential customer needs and creating features and applications that meet them accordingly!

  • Facebook added the photos features. This, coupled with their SN platform, provided a great method for people to share private photos and even for professionals to use it as a portfolio and in turn gave Facebook a chunk out of the social photo sharing segment such as Flickr.
  • Moreover, Facebook added a videos service allowing people to share videos between friends and with better privacy options. So, that’s how Facebook took a chunk out of the social video sharing market, like Youtube.
  • In August 2006, Facebook Notes, which currently has 21,456 fans and proved to be highly social and easy to use, was introduced allowing Facebook to obtain a chunk of the blogsphere market.
  • In February 2007, Facebook added a new gift feature to the website, which, in my humble opinion, was a way to obtain a segment of the online greeting cards market.
  • In May 2007, Facebook acquired a chunk of Web 2.0’s mashups market segment by launching its SN platform.
  • In July 2007, Facebook allowed users to post attachments to their walls, which was most likely an attempt to replace or dilute the use of e-mails thus biting of a chunk of the e-mail users market.
  • In another conquest, Facebook introduced fan pages and groups that highly resemble forums thus allowing Facebook to take out a chunk of the social forums market.
  • What about Facebook chat? Well, it seems that it was a try to take a chunk of the instant messaging market (I can’t assert how successful this was, but I’m sure many people tried and are still using it!)
  • On December 2008, Facebook opened the gates with “Facebook Connect”. This in turn helped FaceBook take a chunk of the Open Authentication systems like OpenID.
  • Now, I come to the news article that got me thinking about writing this piece, the latest Facebook conquest was: Obtaining a chunk of the micro-blogging market, the one Twitter is it’s king, through opening status updates. A new application, RSS Feeds, makes use of this new feature.

What do you think would be the next market chunk Facebook is going to bite off? And will the following step be integrating music and playlists into the default Facebook site rather than an added application?

P.S: Thank you swardraws of Flikr for the sandwich photo.

Filed under: Deductions and Realizations, Research-Based Topics — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Beirut @ 12:33 pm

March 27, 2009

Is it time for Google to start tweeting?

Since Twitter introduced their new search engine the tech world has been debating the new introduced concept of a live streaming search engine and what does it mean in terms of how we perceive search in general and its effect on Google in particular? While some people argue that Twitter is not even a search engine, others give reasons of why Twitter’s is the future of web search.

When I tried Twitter’s search myself, I felt a sense of novelty and excitement that I haven’t felt about search for a long time. While aggregating live streaming gives you the latest updates of what you are looking for, the sense of having people say it in a relevant sentence gives a whole different dimension of credibility. No matter how smart Google algorithm can be, we – as people – still put out trust in other human predicaments. There is an Arabic proverb that says “Ask an experienced not an expert”.

On the other hand, Twitter’s search is limited in many ways. It doesn’t cover the areas Google search covers today. It is only an aggregation of live stream interactions where the most recent appears on the top, it doesn’t cover any popularity heritage, indexing or ranking methods that Google reside to in order to come up with better search results.

Of course, both of these search methods serve different search needs, but like many people, I prefer an integrated medium that offers both searches in one place. While I can’t see how Twitter would ever possibly offer Google’s search engine functionality due to their current business model, I can see it easily happening the other way around. Google has been trying to infiltrate the social networking arena through its Friend Connect service. They give people the tools to turn any website or blog into a social networking medium easily. If Friend Connect gains the needed popularity, it can be the right tool to build Google’s Twitter-like database. If it fails then maybe Google should consider buying Twitter?

Some people have already started working on integrating both searches. Consultant, Mark Carey, came up with a browser add-on that displays the 5 most recent Twitter search results on top of Google’s search results page.


It sounds like a good solution for now, but I prefer my own version of such implementation of having the whole set of Twitter’s search results to the side of Google’s search result. That would elemenate precendecy of search results giving both search methods equal space, and allows more search results from Twitter to appear directly without the need of further clicks. WebMynd extension offers such layout option of adding a Twitter search, along with other widgets, to the side of Google’s search results, but I think it is better if Google offer their own service and build their own micro-blogging database.

It is cool to try both searches! I can’t help but wonder: will Google create a micro-Blogger.com? What tricks will Twitter pull out of its hat? In 2015, do you think the current Google search can cut it? Let’s hear your opinion, comment below…

Filed under: Controversial Picks — Tags: , , , , , , — Fadi @ 3:05 pm

March 26, 2009

The Twitter Value: Top 10 Things That Make Twitter A Treat!

If “To tweet or not to tweet” is the question, I bet this article will help you find your answer!

In simple English, the word “value” is defined as utility, worth, excellence or desirability. Therefore, any object, topic or medium which captures the essence of those meanings is described as valuable. Taking things a step further by referring to human psychology, value is anything that gives us power and allows us to feel stronger, more lovable or maybe just more recognizable for who we are and what we represent or do.

But the value of value doesn’t end here!

Marketers have developed a more precise meaning of value defining it as: “the relationship between the consumer’s expectations of product/service quality to the actual amount paid for it”; the amount paid is not exclusive to money, it could also be time and effort spent acquiring or using a certain product/service. Moreover, anthropologists see value through the eyes of the societies or communities by stating that: “the concept of value is a social construct, and as such is defined by the culture using the concept”.

Now, delving further in the realm of micro-blogging, and specifically the “Twitter” phenomenon, what is the real value of this social construct? What makes “the act to tweet” a delicious treat?

After my comprehensive research on this subject, and despite the stubborn stands against “tweeting” claiming it’s a waste of time and breach of privacy, it seems that Twitter does provide value to its users!

The top 10 value-driven reasons to use Twitter are:

  • The marketing coup: Through consistent use, thousands of individuals and companies are utilizing Twitter to increase Web traffic, or to perpetuate a brand.
  • Using Twitter, as opposed to E-mail, Blogs and Instant messaging, provides the value of fast and compact communication. If used correctly, Twitter is an attractive tool for sharing relevant content quickly with interested users.
  • Twitter holds a high value to corporations. It helps them learn new things from their audience and in turn teach their target about their services/products; thus promoting collective intelligence.
  • Twitter proves to be a very good way to connect with current friends and meet new ones in an engaging environment. Furthermore, Twitter provides its followers with the luxury of “venting” to friends about feelings, likes, dislikes, interests and so on.
  • Twitter is everywhere! It has solved the problem of staying in touch when you’re not physically bound to your computer! Through Twitter, you can keep up with the buzz even when youíre on the move, with text or IM.
  • Twitter can help people become better writers. How? Well, eventually, Twitter users are forced to be concise, exercise their vocabulary and improve their editing skills!
  • Twitter cares about its developers! By opening an API, Twitter allows the information stored on its servers to be accessible by others, thus allowing developers to create applications that can make the Twitter experience simple/more fun.
  • Twitter gives its users real-time large scale interaction unmatched by any other service available.
  • Twitter is an addiction: it brings its followers the true social meaning of value; Microfame! By providing the psychological comfort of allowing them to quickly form an entourage, Twitter gives followers the feeling that they are important and do belong to a community or a crowd they seek to be a part of.
  • Finally, Twitter keeps you up to date with the hottest topics through Twitscoop.

For now, my answer is: To tweet! What is yours? I’m waiting for your comments down below! :)

Filed under: Research-Based Topics — Tags: , , , , , — Beirut @ 2:58 pm
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