Tag Archives: internet

in english

WidSets

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been using WidSets for a while.  They are basically widgets for mobile phones and related devices running under Java.  Having been used Yahoo! Widgets for a while, I truly welcomed this development.

There are hundreds of widgets available, but the ones I use the most are news rss readers and special widgets for updating Jaiku and Twitter on the go.  If you have an unlimited data cellular contract and/or Wi-Fi capabilities in your device of choice, I'd really recommend you to try it out.

in english

Twitter & Jaiku

2 Comments

I have started using at the same time Twitter and Jaiku.  Whereas the benefit of telling the world what are you doing/thinking in 140 characters or less may be dubious for some, I find it quite addictive.

Since both services are very similar, there is some healthy competition between them.  Twitter has going for it the fact that it's very heavily used in the States, and, crucially, has Facebook integration.  Jaiku, on the other hand, has a more European user base, the interface is in my opinion more appealing and, interestingly, has the option to add other RSS feeds, so you can see not only my Jaikus but also my blog posts, public Flickr pictures, the music I've been listening to (thanks to Last.fm) and even my Twitter posts at the same place.

Both also have Widsets available to be used in my N93 (review upcoming), so I can update my status on the fly.

To compare both, you can check my Twitter and my Jaiku.  You're welcome to add me to your contact list if you want.  Which one do you prefer?  Or do you think it's useless?

in english

The wrong way to treat your users

Two of the blogs I read the most (here and here), and many of my contacts (here, here, here, here, & here) are complaining about certain policies Flickr has enacted lately in coordination with its process of localisation into different languages.  You can check the whole story at the links but basically that's the problem with sites that rely on user-generated content for their value-added: you as an owner/operator can't decide alone when something is wrong, the community has to be involved.  Furthermore, when you put into action something that hasn't been agreed with said community, you risk alienating exactly the kind of people that made your site successful in the first place.

Whereas I definitely don't agree with the way things have turned lately, I am still in a wait-and-see kind of situation.  I definitely wouldn't like things to turn for the worse, since I really, really like Flickr, and I have a huge amount of my pictures there.

en español

Vox y Flickr en español

Vox y Flickr, dos de los servicios de la Web 2.0 que más uso, por fin fueron traducidos a la lengua de Cervantes.  Aunque la verdad he de admitir que me sigo sintiendo más a gusto utilizándolos en inglés, tengo que reconocer que es simplemente una excelente idea facilitar el uso de estas herramientas por los 400 millones de hablantes de esta lengua.

La única pregunta que me queda es si los utilizaremos para cosas productivas o solamente para perder el tiempo como es el caso con Yahoo! Respuestas.

in english

It’s time for another good idea, bad idea

5 Comments

In YouTube, that is.

Good idea
Using new media to show the quandaries of senior citizens, as has been done with The Zimmers (more info here).

The Zimmers “My Generation” Released: 28/05/07

Bad idea
Using new media to show that any idiot can become famous.  And no, I’m not talking about Paris Hilton, but about
some guys that can’t even speak their native language, never mind play instruments.

Children garden

The End.

in english

Last.fm review

1 Comment

You may know by now that Last.fm was recently bought by CBS.  I confess to being quite a late adopter of the service, even though I had heard about it many times before.  In my case, when I was working, I didn't have time to listen to music on my PC so often, and when I started studying my internet connection was really bad.  Now both conditions are set, and I've started using last.fm (my profile here). 

The whole idea of the service is very simple: just continue listening to your music, and we'll make a profile.  With that information we are able to show you other artists that you might like, connect you to other people that share your musical tastes, and even allow you to stream the music you like in your webpage, blog, MySpace or Facebook profile.  You can even look for concerts near your area (I've found a couple I didn't know about that I'm now planning to attend).

There are a couple of things that I haven't yet found out how to do, that bother me a little.  The first one was just adding all the times I've previously listened to a song in iTunes before adding the last.fm application, as I think that would have helped to build a much more accurate profile.  The second one, which I believe is possible but haven't yet tried, is adding (scrobbling) the tracks played in my iPod.

If you listen to your own music often and would like to find more, this is really worth trying.

in english

When is social networking too much?

After reading this post by my good, very Genki friend, I couldn't stop thinking about my own situation.  I use Skype & MSN Messenger daily for real-time communication, Flickr for my photos, Last.fm for music & have even uploaded a couple of public videos to YouTube.  Besides, I post in this blog every day.

Then you have the social networking sites.  I made a MySpace profile ages ago to see what the buzz was all about, but stopped being a regular since I don't really like the whole teen Wild West feeling of it, and most of the people I know offline don't use it.  My main use for it nowadays is just to keep in touch with some of my favourite bands. 

However, the tale doesn't end there.  I use other sites more frequently: Hi5, for most of my Mexican friends, Facebook for my friends here in Belgium and LinkedIn for my professional acquaintances.  Furthermore, I'm present in Tagged for my Asian friends and still have an Orkut profile for a couple of Brazilians. 

It strikes me as interesting that different social networking sites are popular in different geographical areas, and that since they all belong to different companies and conglomerates of course they won't want to agree on interoperability unless something happens.

Some sort of open identity management framework would be really, really nice though.

in english

24 hours of Flickr

2 Comments

To my four readers (Catón dixit).

Can you please help me select the best picture in this set?

24 hours of Flickr was an event in which Flickrites from all over the world documented their day in pictures. The best picture from that day is to be added to a pool, whose pictures will be printed in a book.

Given that my day was mostly spent indoors, and frankly I'm not that great as a photographer, I'm not sure which one is really the best.  Can you, dear reader, give me a hand?