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Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Spiral: A conversation about web-induced insanity and ethical design

July 13th, 2008 2 comments

< < a Facebook conversation with friend Paul Renaud...>> Mitch is wondering where real life begins... and surreal life begins? Paul: Isn't that the underlying subtext of the movie Spiral? "Mason is never-the-less neurotic and reclusive, living a life of anonymity, working from a drab cubicle in a florescent-lit phone bank, repeating the same meaningless conversation with faceless strangers ...

If Facebook Was a Calendar: Monday is now friends with Tuesday

January 25th, 2008 1 comment
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Those crazy folks at NetLifeResearch have launched this year's version of the infamous Bad Usability Calendar. NetLife is a usability firm in Norway. The calendar features 12 humourous design tips, poking fun at the over-use of web 2.0 glitz, social net apps, and iTunes interfaces. I've printed out copies for all ...

1981 ~ 2008: The Future of Email

January 19th, 2008 No comments
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Honeywell had it right in this vintage magazine ad from 1981. Email: confounding blasts of out-of-control electrons. Sometimes it's useful, most of the time it's anatomically and/or financially incorrect. Back in 2003, tech blogger Paul Soltoff wrote about his predictions for email. There's a tendency when one predicts the future to focus on ...

Social Media Goes Condo

January 16th, 2008 1 comment
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The premise is interesting... ResidentsIQ people moving into a close-knit environments may not have the skills to get to know each other... A new condo... you don't know your neighbours... It's not easy making connections. Although it's a good concept, it still leaves me skeptical... Residents IQ? ...

The Enticing Virus Made Me Do It!

January 14th, 2008 No comments
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Everyone wants to be viral - not from a biological or pathological perspective (not very enticing) - but a web perspective. A few local startups have had great success at creating enticing applications. We've talked before about iotum's Free Conference Calling on Facebook. The really interesting twist from iotum: it's not ...

Trademarks, Scrabble, Facebook, Scrabulous, Addiction, Withdrawal

January 13th, 2008 No comments
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It took Nadine and I about 20 minutes to create this Scrabulous masterpiece. Its combined worth is a mere 57... but really it's priceless! Since the Facebook Goldrush began last year, Scrabulous has become one of the top ten apps. No wonder. Nobody wants to play scrabble with you! Especially if you're ...

Feeling ADD? Get the Facebook Explorer Toolbar

December 20th, 2007 3 comments
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As if email and Facebook weren't distracting enough... Montreal-based Visicommedia just released their Facebook Toolbar for Explorer. You can track your notifications, access your friends, and launch your zombie applications all from the convenience of IE. It's nicely done... no plans for Firefox though. Visicommedia has been a prominent developer ...

Your Facebook Ad Challenge: How to P-Off The Zuckerberg

December 10th, 2007 1 comment
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Despite all their Beacon Blunders recently, Facebook won't allow people to sell their own ads on their profiles. Facebook privacy czar Chris Kelly claims that he doesn't want profile pages to "become cluttered". Considering how esthetically-challenged Facebook already is, that reasoning is a load of crap for sure! In all likelihood, The Berg ...

iotum: All I want for Christmas is a Free Conference Call

November 27th, 2007 No comments
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SM friend Alec Saunders announced yesterday that his Ottawa-based company iotum secured funding from VERDEXUS as well as appointing chairman Randall Horward. Now iotum has two Horwards! iotum has had great success in the past few weeks with its Facebook application Free Conference Calls. It offers a super easy interface to schedule ...