nathan jara

A while ago, I posted about adding my latest read articles from Google Reader. Well, since then, Google changed some things, adding a little thing called Google+, thus leaving my reader feed unfed. Rather than reworking the Google feed, I’ve decided to replace it with my Twitter feed. So now, just to the right, you’ll find my latest twotes (hey, it’s a word according to Urban Dictionary).

Yep, I joined Twitter. I held out for a while, not sure I wanted to join in all the 140 character fun. But after just observing others’ posts for a few weeks, I found I understood why tweeters are tweeting everywhere everyday. Number one, it’s a great digest for information. Following some of my favorite magazines and news sources, you get links to the latest and greatest without having to search. The information just comes to you. And it’s fun! Following your family and friends lets you connect without the clutter and distraction.

The U.S. Congress is holding hearings this week concerning two bills that can drastically change the internet we know, love, and use everyday. These two bills, the Protect IP Act and the Stop Online Privacy Act, would create the first American Internet censorship system, potentially blocking your access to favorite sites due to mere claims of copyright infringement. Please take some time to learn more by watching the video below and taking action by contacting your Congressman. A free internet is worth the fight.

Unless you’re still using floppy drives, you’ve heard the flurry of stories surrounding the late technology visionary, Steve Jobs. In addition to the now famous biography on the Apple CEO that’s flying off the shelves, many articles and old interviews have been popping up from years past. Below is one such interview I came across on the PBS website from the year 1990. The interview features a young Steve Jobs not long after leaving Apple and having begun his new company NeXT. Having been a Mac fan for a few years now, I’ve come to appreciate the intense care and precision that goes into the creation of every Apple product. Since the death of Mr. Jobs, I’ve been interested to learn more about his life and his person. This PBS interview (full interview on the PBS site) gives a glimpse into the incredible innovator Steve Jobs was, particularly, in this case, at the beginning of the nineties. Some of the predictions he made concerning the evolution of the personal computer are very impressive. I would have to echo the sentiments of other writers to say that it is truly unfortunate that Jobs was taken so early.

A few weekends ago, Facebook held its annual developers conference in San Francisco, California. The conference, called F8, is a gathering of web developers from companies and countries abroad who are looking to hear what Zuckerberg’s social media network has in store next. Two of the most powerful new features Facebook will be releasing are Timeline (launching this week) and additions to the Open Graph language used for Likes and FBConnect.

As a Facebook developer, you are granted access to the beta version of Timeline, which I’ve been able to try out over the last week or so. Timeline essentially adds a new area to your Facebook profile that enables you to easily view your entire Facebook history. And when I say entire, I mean, literally, everything. Every past post, picture, or comment that you’ve ever entered on Facebook since you originally joined is visible just by scrolling down the profile. Your Facebook history makes up your Facebook Timeline. The timeline even begins with your birthday and allows you to upload a baby photo, if you wish.

Now, if you’ve read my previous posts on Facebook, you’ll know that my faith in the social site has waned rather than grown for the most part. When I initially heard of Timeline, I had my doubts as usual and wasn’t too sure if I liked the idea of all my old posts being so visible. But, as I thought about it more and began to use the Timeline, my opinion’s changed. Honestly, it’s pretty cool. Scrolling back through “Facebook time” and seeing things that were happening throughout the past handful of years is fun. The way Facebook has organized the info is well done too, which makes it easy to use and view. (They actually hired Nicholas Felton, a professional designer of infographics to help with the Facebook Timeline changes.)

It’s no surprise that Facebook has big ideas for what Timeline will do, besides make the company a boat load of money. Facebook hopes for users to fill out their Timeline by going back and posting events and pictures in the past. Timeline gives you the ability to date posts. So, you can go back and change a picture that was posted about that crazy concert the following week to the Saturday night it actually happened. Or create a new Timeline wedding event and put up your wedding photos. Or upload pics of when you learned to ride a bike. Or bought a house. Or a car. Or, yes, even when you got the chicken pox. Well, maybe you don’t want pictures of that, but you could if you want. Yeah, crazy, I know. Facebook has given the world the ability to create a personalized visual timeline of your life.

The other new feature, which may have a bigger impact, at lease for businesses who use social media, is the Open Graph update. Users will now not just be able to say that they “Like this website,” but be able to say that he or she is “Wearing AE Jeans,” or “Bought a new Ford Mustang.” With the addition of custom action verbs, Facebook is giving developers and sites the ability to create applications to very specifically describe a person’s activity online.

I’m sure marketing execs everywhere are dancing in their cubicles. The possibilities seem almost endless. As do the privacy concerns. I don’t “Like” too much now, especially on websites other than Facebook. And I’d be cautious as to what you’re “wearing,” “buying,” or “listening” to in the future as the new applications begin popping up all over the place.

The impacts of Facebook’s new changes have the potential to be massive from many perspectives. This All Things Digital article provides one perspective that describes how the Open Graph updates are in effect allowing Facebook to take in very dynamic data from the entire internet … and own it.

I’m more excited for the Timeline changes, but it will be interesting to see over the next few months how Open Graph allows online activity to get even more personal. Geez, we thought people were on Facebook all the time already.

Watching a recent episode of The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert weighed in on the cloud computing craze during his popular The Word segment. It’s worth a watch : )