News: Google+ Pro Tips Weekly Round Up: Google+ Ripples & More
Google announced a lot of great feature updates this week! Most of them are content-related, and help you more easily find out what's going on in the overall Google+ community.
Google announced a lot of great feature updates this week! Most of them are content-related, and help you more easily find out what's going on in the overall Google+ community.
For those that don't know, Pastafarianism is the understanding that the entire universe was created by a flying spaghetti monster. These people have made a statue as a shrine to worship. (he he) Originally a poke at organized religion, the Flying Spaghetti Monster has taken hold as a spoof belief structure in that it is no more or less feasible than any other monotheism. Think what you want, but the statue is great. They tour it all over a county.
Google Reader is ostensibly just an RSS aggregator, a tool that lets you catch up on your favorite blogs. How could Google have anticipated that getting rid of its social features could have angered so many people who were actually using it as their default social network, and who enjoyed it precisely because it didn't function like Facebook or Google+?
Our first Community Byte went well! We had around 8 people in the room coding collaboratively and watching to learn. LukeStav did the kind task of hosting it on Gobby for all of us, so big thanks to him!
Increasingly, I'm turning to Google+ as a source of news, and it looks like I'm not the only one. On Thursday, news of a small earthquake broke on both Twitter and Google+. One curious user, +Keith Barrett, decided to try and find out which social network was faster with the news. Turns out it was a tie. As Google integrates Google+ more closely with the rest of its services, and more users post relevant stories, I think we'll start to see Google+ as a place that can create and break stories,...
This is one concept that I would love to see sweep the urban world. One thing that strikes me every time I visit a major city is how far away they are from anything that is truly alive. Not only is the air dirty, but everyone must buy their produce from the grocery store. If those trucks were to stop coming for any reason, most people, if not everyone, would die of starvation. While this house is covered with ornamental plants, I would love to see this same concept applied to edible plants an...
Since its inception, Google+ users have been a loud, vocal bunch, and they've made their displeasure known about many issues, especially on the lack of support for pseudonyms, Google Apps, and brand pages. It's been especially galling for many Google loyalists, who found their Google+ profiles suspended, when they ended up violating the Google+ "common name" policy.
I took this picture in India at a special holiday- "The wedding of Shiva and Parvati". Everybody put on their best clothes and happy faces. Bananas are launched in the air to pray for good fortune and end up as delicious snacks for the monkeys after they rain down from a yellow sky.
Strange as it may seem to super urban people, certain animals, like coyotes, have high reproduction rates and can be a true menace to ranching. Even in the county where I live, which is home to Colorado Springs, there is a $30 bounty on coyotes. All you have to do is bring in both ears to the game warden, and you will be paid.
One of the things that has always bugged me while working with PVC is that it is, as it is presently produced, a poison. Well, OK, it's not, but it contains a lot of poisons. Phthalates are plasticizing agents that are super toxic, and these people are working to phase them out. PVC also, in its present form, contains lead. Certain chemists are learning how to use stabilized zinc and calcium instead. Also, chemists are learning how to synthesize the vinyl chloride monomer from HEMP! That mean...
University video game design programs have been spreading like wildfire around the world over the last ten years. They allow students, researchers and game developers to work on their craft in an academic environment away from the harsh realities of the market, and have led to some interesting products like Fl0w from USC and Ulitsa Dimitrova from Germany. Both games take on topics not often addressed in mainstream games and do so in simple, poignant ways that aim to influence the rest of the ...
Welcome to the second Null Byte in a series educating you on Social Engineering awareness and techniques. Today, I'm going to show you how a saavy Social Engineer would trick a friend into unknowingly surrendering their Facebook password. My intent is to warn and demonstrate how easy it is to succumb to phishing via Social Engineering, and therefore expose yourself.
We were at the El Capitan on Sunday and while waiting for friends to show up we walked over to the massive Cirque du soleil Hollywood premiere for a few minutes. Around the time we were there celebrities were arriving so we just started taking pictures. I don't know a lot of celebrity names, some I only recognized by face (oh it's that dude from Swingers!), but this is the best shot I took above the crowd.
For more than a decade, free-to-play games with microtransactions (also called In-App Purchase or IAP) by which players can pay real money for in-game content have been the industry standard for online success in Asia. Mainstream American gamers have long resisted these "freemium" games, with World of Warcraft and other subscription based online games reigning supreme, and being seen as more AAA than their free-ish counterparts. Casual games developers have encountered no such problems, and m...
Foldit is definitely a niche game. The sole gameplay mechanic is attempting to fold complex proteins into smaller and more efficient shapes following the rules of molecular physics and biology. Points are awarded based on how small one can make the protein. Online leaderboards track players' relative progress and allows them to view and manipulate other players' completed designs. It's original, certainly, but no developer is going to ship a million units of a game about molecular-level prote...
+Guy Kawasaki is someone you should definitely circle on Google+ if you want to keep up with the social media world. He's always got interesting links, and he posts multiple times a day (you may want to drop him into a noisy people circle). He created this great graphic to help you decide which social network to choose: Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
This week has been pretty exciting for both Facebook and Google. Facebook announced a slew of features that seem on the surface to copy Google+. For Google+ users, a lot of improvements, updates and features were implemented, and they're seeing a lot more overall integration with their Google account.
Every year at the big video game trade shows around the world, like E3 and gamescon, the big three console makers each do a hot-ticket exclusive press conference to let the media know what's coming for their system. Computer games have no such press conference. Who would give it if they did?
Check into this spreadsheet from +Kimberly Johnson if you want to participate in a Google+ usability study! Although right now it's only open to people in the Bay Area, you can still sign up fo the phone study. Onsite participants get an American Express gift card.
Last month, mobile application consultant Jonathan Stark unleashed his Starbucks Card to the public as an "experiment in social sharing of physical goods using digital currency on mobile phones." Basically, he purchased a Starbucks Card and registered it via the Starbucks Mobile App for iPhone (there's an Android one, too) which allows caffeine addicts to pay for coffee and baked goods with their mobile device. He then took a screenshot of the barcode and let anyone on the web download it for...
In a gesture to bring the social qualities of Google+ into the real world, photographer +Trey Ratcliff invited his Google+ followers to join him on a photowalk this past Thursday, held on the Stanford University campus. Over 150 people showed up to take pictures with fellow Googlers and Google+ users, and to socialize in "real life". This group photo was taken by professional photographer +Peter Adams.
Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to cool down during the hot summer heat without blasting the A/C in your house and opening the refrigerator every few minutes to feel the cold, machine-made air blow against your overheated face.
To most gamers, video games are largely devoid of place. In the post-arcade era, the only real world locations most associate with video games are GameStop and the couch. But there's so much more to them than that!
I was browsing my Google+ profile when I came across +Tom Anderson (everyone's friend) discussing art vs advertising.
You've been on Google+ for a few weeks now. You're loving it. You're exchanging thoughtful posts, pictures with your friends, meeting new people and following lots of interesting, intelligent people. There's just one problem.
Electronic Arts is the biggest game publisher in the world, and have been for years. And yet, their only successful internally developed games nowadays are the EA Sports mega-franchises like Madden. Most of their success has stemmed from their ability to buy other companies on their way up, squeeze the creativity out of them, and then sell them to someone else or just let them go. This week they made their largest acquisition ever when they purchased PopCap Games for $750 million upfront—as m...
Although circles are Google+'s answer to the problem of social network relationship management, that's not the only thing it's good for. People on Google+ are using circles for all sorts of creative activities, some of which aren't obvious as first glance.
It's been a great year for video games, kind of. Sure, the AAA release lineup has been a trainwreck and hacking has been a bigger problem than ever. But two things have happened involving the federal government that have made video games more legitimate in the United States than ever before. The Supreme Court ruling establishing that video games were the equivalent of movies and books, not porn, was the more significant decision. But in May, the National Endowment for the Arts made another si...
+Randall Munroe, the man behind the web's most popular web comic, XKCD, has always had a knack for getting to the heart of the larger social issues on the web. During the 1st 48 hours after Google+ started letting non-Googlers in, one of the most shared posts within its private walls was his latest comic about Google+:
The African Soft Fur Rat though new to the pet trade is a unique little rodent with unusual qualities. Not only is this little rat a great step up for people who feed reptiles it is virtually odorless and that is definately a plus for those who would like to have a pet rat or mouse they can keep inside the house and not spend a fortune in bedding or spend a lot of time cleaning to keep the rodent odor down.
Many people wonder how much money producers make. What is the salary? Well, it is not accurate. Not all producers make the same most make more than others. The websites don’t always give the right information.
Image via Tiger Mom Says.
ARGs have taken the concept of video games to some odd and wonderful real-world places. Socks, Inc. might not be the first ARG, and LittleBigPlanet might have defined the sock-puppet-based game archetype, but it is the first game to combine ARG and sock puppet elements into one package.
Korean MOC Pages user Kyoung-bae Na, aka edulyoung, constructed this beautiful LEGO automaton of a winged Pegasus. Maneuvered with a series of mechanical LEGO gears and cranks, watch below as Pegasus "hovers", flapping her wings. Kyoung-bae Na sells his creations out of his e-shop, Studio Amida. The Pegasus automaton was previously going for $140, but is no longer listed; however, there is a clownfish currently available for the lower price of $33.50. The models are so fantastic—it makes one ...
Although in recent years street art has reached a high point of public appeal many of the great artists are over shadowed by the likes of banksy and shepard fairey (who are amazing artists for sure, just not the only amazing artists out there). Some of the best urban artists have never had a gallery show or exihbit, and most have only been out of their own country once or twice. But of course, thanks to the internet and movies, i )along with many others) have been lucky enough to see the work...
Cellular shades have never been so popular! Cellular Shades are made of great light filtering material and add energy efficiency to the home. But people always ask me, "Nick, can I install them myself or do I need a professional?" The answer is simple with these blinds... Save your money and do it yourself! Take a look at this great video I found. Then you tell me how easy it is to install cellular shades yourself.
In case you haven't noticed, I absolutely adore video games. Most of my friends don't, so to get my fix of knowledgable video game conversation I have turned to podcasts. They're free, they feature the smartest people in games journalism, and can be enjoyed while doing just about anything. Working. Walking the dog. Crying yourself to sleep. Whatever you're into.
I've decided to write this post so some of the fledgling street artists who may or may not follow this world in the future are informed about two things in the urban art world that are either not discussed at all, or distorted (intentionally or otherwise) to the point of misinformation. Those two things are, as the title says, the dangers of street art, and the morals of street art.
Want to see which country or city uses Google the most? Try Google's new eye-stimulating tool, Search Globe.
With the globally rampant use of such social networking platforms as Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, the issue of privacy has become a prevalent concern for many. And for good reason—there's the violation of Facebook employing user names in ads, the Etsy slip-up, and of course, the everyman act of recklessly sharing too much information via common social media outlets: a night of drinking results in morning after embarrassment, or worst case scenario, sloppy Facebook posts and tweets resul...