Marketing, Technology & Business 2.0
Tech News/Reviews
Claiming a Facebook Place
Aug 20th
So far, I’m a bit disappointed by Facebook’s execution of Places, their location-based service a la FourSquare/Gowalla. The process of claiming a business as your own is particularly frustrating. I have a number of client locations to claim and I’m at a stand-still.
In the instructions for claiming a Place found on Facebook.com and other news sites around the web, claiming looks to be a fairly automated process. I’m not sure of everyone elses experience, but mine has proven to be anything but.
Upon submitting a claim request, instead of an offer to receive an automated confirmation phone call for validation, I am told my request has be received by Facebook User Operations. They’ll be getting back with me. If their manual processing system is anything like FourSquare’s, I’ll be waiting for months and never receive confirmation.
And my recourse? Nothing, It’s not a paid service with the quality assurance responsibilities there of. Ugh.
Google Releasing Own Web Browser (“Chrome”)
Sep 1st
Well holy jebus. Google today announced they’ll be releasing their own web browser named “Chrome”. Now the browser war really gets interesting.
I’ve been wondering how long it would take Google to enter the browser market. For so long it’s been playing nice with mozilla and encouraging firefox adoption.
Pushing firefox is all well and good. It’s a great browser run by a great foundation. But that’s just it, it’s run by a foundation controlled by another group. Not Google.
As Google continues to grow its reach into web services for businesses (Google Apps) and consumers (gmail, search, GChat, etc, etc…), it needs something to grab onto. An anchor residing on the users computer that can run their cloud-based web apps quickly and efficiently.
Until they made this step, their ability to extend their apps into offline enabled systems was dependent on 3rd party support.
My guess is Google’s original intention was to stay the course with this partnership and the development of Google Gears (Google’s firefox extension that allowed for offline functionality for apps like GMail, and Google Calendar, etc). But, users just weren’t adopting/downloading Gears.
Ddepending on users to download and install an application isn’t the best of positions. It requires too much thought on the users part, particularly when the live, online version works just fine.
I would also guess Google was trying to get Mozilla to pre-install Gears in Firefox. Do you think that turned out the way they wanted? hmmm, maybe not.
All-in-all I say: Bravo Google. Great business move. But, I have one concern. This may hurt firefox more than it will IE. Only time will tell.
Toshiba, Samsung Top Greenpeace Electronics Ranking
Mar 19th
Toshiba and Samsung top the latest Greenpeace environmental ranking of consumer electronics companies.The ranking, which was published on Tuesday, scores the world’s largest consumer electronics companies based on their recycling policies and the toxic content of their products. The full article can be found here:
2008: The year of gradual growth
Jan 2nd
I was reading the Chief Happiness Officer blog and really liked the idea he mentioned from Steve Shapiro on instead of making a new year resolution, you choose a theme to the new year to "set a direction."
2008 will be The Year of Gradual Growth for me. I’ve got so many projects that are in various stages of development from concepts in my head to things being rolled out. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by how much you want to accomplish.
This year, I’m going to focus on prioritizing, planning and gradually growing each project.
Here’s to a great 2008! Have a happy new year readers.
Merlin Mann hosts a preview and discussion of OmniFocus
Sep 27th
I’m excited. My geek meter is going off the charts.
Merlin Mann, the ubergeek of organization, will be hosting a preview and discussion of OmniFocus. OmniFocus is a personal task management system currently under development at the OmniGroup (www.omnigroup.com).
The event is at TekServe in Manhattan on Sept. 27th @ 8:30. I’ll be attending and will report back with my thoughts on the software and impressions from meeting Merlin. Join me if you can.
I’ve been a long time fan of Merlin (www.merlinmann.com) and 43 Folders (www.43folders.com). Stay tuned.
UPDATE:
The event was a hit with a huge turnout. There was free food, drinks and BEER! The OmniGroup Really knows how to do it. Pictures and more after the link…
