Last week, we reported that traffic from the mobile Web will overtake fixed-line Internet usage in India by the end of the year, and that inspired Pingdom to update its stats on global mobile Web usage with some interesting findings. (via Mobile Now Accounts for 10% of all Internet Usage Worldwide)
(via emergentfutures)
Though “Facebook has raked in billions and will make a splash when its stock hits the open market next week,” still folks on Wall Street are concerned about Mark Zuckerberg’s iconic hoodie. While odd analysts like Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Securities, thinks that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg might be a better product manager or designer than CEO, fellow bloggers suggests: “If hoodies mean billions of dollars, keep wearing them.”
(Source: CNN)
ROFLCon brings a convention of Internet hit-makers to MIT
- The idea behind ROFLCon is an ambitious one: to bring a swath of the Internet’s pop culture players and viral celebrities together under one roof.
(LANEY GRINER)
The overuse of exclamation points!
E-mails and text messages have pushed the exclamation epidemic to a dire point. There’s now a name for it – the very unpleasant slang “bangorrhea.”
The Boston Globe may not like them, but we think they’re bangin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And, this unpleasant made up word: bangorrhea consists of two words » bang + diarrhea (n. & v. & adv.)
We emailed with that girl from that photo with President Obama, and that’s the message she has for the world! (via newsweek)
Madalyn Starkey posted a picture of herself with President Barack Obama, and became an internet sensation overnight. The now-famous “Dive Bar Girl” is currently trending on internet as a new meme. Below are two pictures (both original and the meme version) »
(via newsweek)
This 1939 comic from Cuban Communist newspaper Noticias de Hoy shows that the appeal of the cat-in-box genre were popular even in the dark days before the Internet. (Source: jezebel.com)
Wait, don’t get embarrassed; is it OK to reblog this with, ‘Who Is Dick Clark?’
Made up word: PINTERMISSION consists of two words » Pinterest (A content sharing, social networking service that allows members to “pin” images, videos and other objects to their pinboard.) + intermission (n.)
Recently, Honda Asks Pinterest Users to Take a Day off, With ‘Pintermission’ - “One of the few auto brands to make a big marketing push on Pinterest.”
A Tumblr friend of mine, Tricia Wang, gave a talk about trust in online social networks at the Lift 12 conference in Geneva. Tricia is really great at stripping out industry and academic jargon and getting straight to the point. There are great points in this talk; give it your attention.
In Praise of Ignorance: Why It’s OK to Tweet, ‘Who Is Dick Clark?’
It’s totally legitimate that younger people wouldn’t know who Dick Clark is. It’s totally legitimate, even, that older people wouldn’t know who Dick Clark is: “American Bandstand” is not the most contemporary of shows, and most of us are doing other things on December 31 than watching “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” What’s interesting, though, is what the tweeters above — and their thousands of fellow “Who’s Dick Clark?” queriers — did with their ignorance. Rather than do a Google search for “Dick Clark,” rather than look him up on Wikipedia, rather than avail themselves of the approximately 5,000 other web-based mechanisms that exist solely to rectify the world’s ignorance, these people asked their followers on Twitter.
For some of them, the question might have been simply ironic — or, more specifically, an ironic declaration of generational/sociological affiliation. (Who’s Justin Bieber?) For many, though, the question seemed like an honest one: “Guys, I don’t know this person everyone’s talking about. Help me out.” It wasn’t just that the “Who’s Dick Clark” crowd were embracing their ignorance; it was that, through Twitter, they were trying to rectify it.
But they were also publicizing it. Rather than taking the relatively introverted route toward satisfying their curiosity — Google, Bing, Wikipedia, platforms that treat a question as a silent transaction between mind and machine — the “Who’s Dick Clark?” Twitterers asked their question openly and publicly. They chose to broadcast their ignorance.
And that choice is a new thing. In the past, ignorance has been, you know, something to be ashamed of. To call someone “ignorant” has been, generally, to insult that someone; and it’s been an insult specifically because ignorance is an accusation that assaults not just a person’s knowledge, but a person’s intelligence. It’s no coincidence that, etymologically, “ignorant” is connected with “uncouth.” We have construed ignorance as a matter of personal failing.
Also relevant to anybody asking, “Who is Levon Helm?” (If those people exist.)
Ignorance is no longer stupidity. Stupidity is when you don’t want to use today’s collaborative technologies to broadcast your ignorance to rectify it. But when you want to satisfy your curiosity you find yourself ”taking the relatively introverted route — Google, Bing, Wikipedia, platforms that treat a question as a silent transaction between mind and machine”; that’s stupidity.
Undeniably, social media has changed the way we acquire knowledge. And, Twitter followers and Facebook friends are increasingly becoming people’s trusted sources of information, even more than search engines.
Stitchtagram Instagram Your Pillows »
Stitchtagram is the brainchild of Rachel and Doug Pfeffer, two particularly creative siblings. This ingenious company lets you make Instagram photos into plush, super-cool pillows. Just choose your images—from cute to artistic—and with these custom vouchers, Stitchtagram prints your very own graphic throw pillow!
The belief that the web is not enough for your photos caused us to start this project. We wanted our Instagram photos out in the real world, on something tangible. These pillows will last longer than your phone and they’re more comfortable to nap on.
Stitchtagram usually takes about 3 weeks to put your pillow together and get it in the mail.
