Google Plus: What you need to know

Jul 1, 2011 by Dan Taylor    6 Comments    Posted under: News, Social Media, Technology

You may or may not have been one of the lucky first or second round of invites to Google’s newest attempt at social. I happened to catch the second train to somewhere-other-than-Facebook, and even with the search giant’s former attempts at social in mind (Wave, Buzz), I’m quite impressed with what I’ve seen so far.

With that said, there are plenty of places and articles floating around the web outlining some of the features now available in the still-in-beta “project” from Google, so I’ll spare you the rehash. Instead, I’d rather focus on what you can be doing right to get ready for when your Google+ invite arrives.

First and foremost, it’s important to keep in mind that you already have a major portion of your Google+ profile filled out if you’re using an @gmail.com email address. Remember those changes that Google’s been rolling out over the past few years? Your YouTube address was associated with your gmail address, if you had hosted images at blogger, they were all moved to Picasa, etc. All of these are now tied to your Google+ account, if you join the network with your primary gmail address.

Now for me, I have a pretty obscure and outdated email address. It held relevance when I first ventured away from Hotmail, but today, it’s a jumble of numbers and letters that, to be honest, is a bit difficult to remember. So with that said, I’m currently testing Google Plus with my old account details, but once the invite button goes live again, I’m going to switch over to an address I’ve had kicking around for some time, but haven’t really utilized. Why you might ask? Well, as we all know, branding is everything. And normally, I could care less about my email address, given that it’s most probably copy/pasted, and very rarely needs to be remembered. All that changes with Google+.

Remember that mad “land grab” when Facebook custom URL’s went live? I for one was up at 6am Central European Time in order to grab facebook.com/dantaylor, only to be beaten to the punch by another Dan Taylor. Ok, so I ended up with dantaylor1. Certainly better than dantaylor253 or some other derivative, but you start to see the importance of your custom URL. With Google+ your custom URL is directly tied to your Google profile name. And with that name, comes along your entire Google identity.

As with any writer, I had to cut my teeth somewhere, and waaaaay back in the day, I too had a blogspot.com blog in operation, tied to my Google account. Since launching turnthescrew.com some 4 years ago, I hadn’t really touched that old blog. In fact, I pretty much forgot that it was still in existence. Needless to say, Google+ dragged all those “My god…what a piece of garbage. Did I really write that?” memories out of the closet, and suddenly at my feet yesterday. So much so that I took the drastic step of exporting the blog (safety first) and deleting it altogether.

Why? Well, first and foremost, the content was by no means focused. Posts ranged from, literally, what I had for dinner last night, to found humor images, to YouTube repeats. Not awful, but certainly not the way I’d choose to represent myself today.

Likewise, a quick poke around the “Your Albums” section brought up a host of images that I’d virtually forgotten about, and as with the blog, didn’t necessarily want to have linked to me. Thankfully, there’s a feature within G+ that allows you to completely hide the albums from public view. As with the blog, I’m not 100% ready to delete this album, but I’d rather lock it down.

So…to get prepped for the day when your Google Plus invite arrives:

• Ensure that the account you want associated with your Google Plus identity is one that is memorable and speaks to who you are. Yaddabla184 is probably not the best representation. No, that’s not the account I used.
• Login to Picasa and Blogger under this account, and double check that you’re not confronted with mountains of yesteryear images and text. Unless of course you’re 100% happy/comfortable with your archives being on display.
• Head on over to your Account Overview and start adding the details about yourself that you’d like to be on display to the world

Speaking of your Account Overview, one thing I found particularly interesting was how search results will be affected my Google Plus. From Google:

Your name and any other fields you make public in your profile are searchable on the web and may appear in Google Search results.

This is a crucial bit of information that I believe will truly change the way people present themselves on the internet. As you can see from my screenshot (I’ve blocked out the specific URL, and you’ll see why in a second), my location, work title, bio, and the top three links I’ve added to my profile are displayed. For me, the links are the most crucial of the entire bit. Bios and titles are one thing, but pointing to other examples of your internet presence is huge.

And as I draw to a close, I myself am at a bit of a crossroads. As stated above, the email address that I entered Google Plus with holds no particular relevance to me (or anyone else) any longer, and it’s time to phase it out. With that said, as soon as the invite switch is returned to the ‘On’ position, I think I’ll invite my other, more meaningful @gmail account to the project, and then repeat the process of adding people to my circles – which might be a whole lot easier thanks to Google Takeout. A grind, for sure, but in the long run, a wiser, more focused approach to what I believe is the first service to give Facebook a run for it’s money in quite some time.

Gaming for Good: Zynga partners with Save The Children to help Japan

Mar 14, 2011 by Dan Taylor    3 Comments    Posted under: Games

Social gaming giant Zynga has recently announced a fundraising initiative in partnership with Save The Children to help raise money for the Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children Emergency Fund. Zynga is promoting the program across seven of it’s most popular titles, with the potential to reach over 250 million gamers. Zynga will donate 100 percent of the purchase price of newly created virtual items to the aforementioned fund. And as Zynga’s primary operating platform is Facebook, the Palo Alto, CA. based social networking service has agreed to pass 100 percent of it’s cut via Facebook Credits to this specific campaign.

“It’s inspiring to see the Zynga teams spontaneously take action to partner with our game players worldwide to help Japan,” said Mark Pincus, CEO and Founder of Zynga. “We hope that the millions of people who connect through our games every day will also take action to connect with Japan as we saw them do with our Haiti relief efforts.”

Games included and specific conditions:

• Café World: Players cans place Japanese inspired decorations in their Café to benefit the initiative.
• CityVille: Citizens can plant a limited edition sweet potato crop to feed their population and stock their restaurants
• FrontierVille: Players can buy a limited edition Kobe cow to place in their frontier.
• FarmVille: Farmers can plant a limited edition daikon radish crop that never withers.
• Words With Friends: Players can donate directly by clicking on a Save the Children button inside the game.
• YoVille: Players can purchase homes and furniture inspired by Japanese architecture and design.
• Zynga Poker: Fans going for a royal flush can donate by purchasing access to a VIP table.
• zBar: Players can donate directly by clicking on a Save the Children button inside the bar that sits across the top of their game on Facebook.

Zynga has also indicated that more limited edition items will be rolled out over the coming days, thus allowing players more options that suit their preference, while still being able to contribute to the campaign.

For more information about the program, please visit Save The Children directly at savethechildren.org/japanzynga.

Nokia: We’re going Windows

Feb 11, 2011 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Technology

Telcom execs breathe a sigh of relief, Nokia goes with Windows

There’s been quite a bit of talk about Nokia lately. While the Finnish manufacturer might be losing market share in the smartphone area, they still remain on top as the world’s largest selling mobile phone manufacturer. Following the massive outlet of top Nokia management, as well as the incoming, former Microsoft Executive Stephen Elop, Nokia has taken a dramatic shift over the past few months, and it looks as though the electronics giant is finally ready to speak.

Announced in London this morning, Nokia has outlined their marching orders, with a strong focus on changes in leadership, their operational structure, and perhaps most importantly, their speed of execution (Meego says what?).

The debate was up in the air for quite a while whether Nokia would go Android, continue on the Meego Path, or go with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Meego is obviously a dead horse, and so we’re really down to a two horse race. And low and behold, Nokia is going with Windows Phone as their primary smartphone operating platform. This is part of a newly announced deep strategic partnership with Redmond. But honestly, does it come much as a surprise? See Elop above.

Additionally, Nokia is committed to a renewed approach to capture volume and value growth, ultimately resulting in connecting the “next billion” to the internet in developing countries. Remember the mention of largest selling handset manufacturer above? These non-smartphones are the developing countries handsets, and it looks like Nokia now wants to bring the internet to these same Nokia handset owners, with a bit of help from Microsoft.

“Nokia is at a critical juncture, where significant change is necessary and inevitable in our journey forward,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “Today, we are accelerating that change through a new path, aimed at regaining our smartphone leadership, reinforcing our mobile device platform and realizing our investments in the future.”

The Nokia/Microsoft partnership now offers a valid competitor to both Apple and Android. It should be quite interesting to see how Nokia deals with it’s new collaborator, as by themselves, they were just players in Android/Apple’s world, but together, they are/will be a force to be reckoned with. The Microkia partnership will take advantage of the best of both companies; Nokia’s expertise in hardware optimization, software customization, and language support and scale, while Microsoft will leverage it’s massive scale, product variety, geographical reach, and brand identity (be that a good or bad thing).

MeeGo Where?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t speak to MeeGo’s future plans. While I had very high hopes for this project, and still do, it looks as though MeeGo is going the way of the original Symbian experience. At least in the way of open-source. The quasi-abandoned project from Nokia/Intel will serve as a longer-term market exploration of next-generation devices, platforms and users experiences. With that said, Nokia still plans on shipping a MeeGo based device later this year. Here’s to hoping that MeeGo will become the hacker’s platform of choice.

From The Top Down

In addition to striking deals with his former colleagues, CEO Stephen Elop’s new team looks drastically different than it did just days ago. Effective today, Nokia’s new executive board consists of: Stephen Elop, Esko Aho, Juha Akras, Jerri DeVard, Colin Giles, Rich Green, Jo Harlow, Timo Ihamuotila, Mary McDowell, Kai Oistamo, Tero Ojanpera, Louise Pentland and Niklas Savander.

The new team-at-the-top is expected to be much more nimble than their previous counterparts, thus allowing the company much more efficient decision making processes, placing a heavy focus on speed, speed, more speed, and results, speed, and accountability. Did I mention speed?

Two Roads in the Woods

In addition to partnering with Microsoft, putting MeeGo to bed (sorta), and shaking up the board, Elop is also splitting Nokia down the middle (divide and conquer?). As of April 1st (and no, this isn’t a joke), Nokia will effectively be split into two unique business units: Smart Devices and Mobile Phones. Each unit will have it’s own focus, the former, high-end smartphones, the later, mass market mobile phones (read: developing world…connecting the “next billion”). To put the units to task, Elop has designated that each unit will be responsible for their own profit-and-loss, as well as a stringent end-to-end accountability standards. What this means is that the smartphone unit needs to deliver and can not rely on the profits of mass phone sales, and vice versa.

Conclusion

As a member of the Nokia test program here in Austria, I’ve said it for quite a while now; Nokia – great hardware, absolutely crap OS. Oh, and the Ovi Store needs a serious makeover as well. However something tells me that with Windows Phone now on board, things at Nokia are about to get very interesting. I’ve seen Windows Phone 7 (thanks @datadirt), and while it’s still not my beloved iOS, I must admit…it was better than I expected. I’m currently testing a Nokia N8 (review forthcoming), and I truly wish that I could wipe Symbian today and load up WP7. Nokia was once the bright shining beacon of what a mobile phone should be, and unfortunately over time, they’ve been the sluggish giant that simply couldn’t keep up. That is, until now. I truly believe that planting Windows aboard a Nokia built device is one of the smartest things the company could have done, and here’s to hoping that Microkia can give Android and iOS a run for their money, because at the end of the day, it’s us, the consumers, that will come out on top.

Hats off to you Mr. Elop. It’s never easy being the “new guy in charge,” and I applaud your brevity. Now get out there and make me think twice about buying the iPhone 5.

Razer turns on the tunes with Ferox

Jan 25, 2011 by Dan Taylor    No Comments    Posted under: Games

Announced today, gaming peripheral specialist Razer has taken a departure from their traditional keyboard and mouse offerings, and now serving up portable audio. The Razer Ferox ultraportable stereo speakers deliver 360 degrees of omni-directional sound, offering gamers an attractive alternative to headphones.

The room-filling 360 degree speakers provide users with a greatly expanded listening “sweet spot” when compared to front firing speakers of similar size. Whether you’re going deep undercover in an action shooter, or enjoying a quiet moment of fishing in Stormwind, the Ferox promises to provide the same immersive experience, no matter what the volume level.

“The Razer Ferox is our sophisticated, modern day boombox for gamers,” said Robert Krakoff, president, Razer USA. “Its sleek and compact structure takes up minimal space but delivers the crystal clear sound quality perfect for gaming on-the-go or for music playback wherever you’re at.”

Not only does the Ferox promise room filling sound, but they’re able to back it up with physical size. Featuring one touch expandable resonance chambers, these tiny speakers provide deeper bass and optimized digital amplifiers for a richer sound experience. Ok, maybe not room filling in size, but certainly in sound. Let me reiterate; push a button, bass chambers expand. Swuh-eet!

With a 12 hour (rechargeable) battery life, Razer platforms the Forex to be used in space constrained desktop setups, LAN parties, or simply enjoying your favorite tunage on the go.

Razer Ferox features:

• 360 degree omni-directional sound for all round clarity
• Expanded bass resonance chamber for powerful bass
• Digital amplification for enhanced power efficiency
• Compatible with any media player with a 3.5mm jack
• 30mm drivers for exceptional audio quality
• Rechargeable non-replaceable in-built batteries
• Up to 12 hours of playback
• Play and charge simultaneously
• LED battery status indicator for easy monitoring
• Seamless switch between On/Off-mode
• Carrying pouch for maximum portability

Priced at $59.00, the Razer Ferox are now available via Razerzone.com.

Sackboy is back in action with LittleBigPlanet2

Jan 18, 2011 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Games

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced the anticipated sequel to their hit series LittleBigPlanet is now exclusively available to PlayStation 3 owners. LittleBigPlanet 2 was developed by Media Molecule, and provides SackFans with new ways to play, create, and share their user-generated content. According to Sony, this type of gameplay has never been seen before, specifically in regards to level control and customization features.

“Since the launch of LittleBigPlanet, our online community has uploaded over three million levels to the PlayStation Network, with creations popping up everyday that continue to amaze,” said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, in a statement. “With LittleBigPlanet 2, players now have the ability to create actual games across different genres, so it will be very exciting to see what our community can come up with. LittleBigPlanet 2 also boasts a brand new story mode for Sackboy to explore that, coupled with the millions of user-created levels online, provides an endless entertainment experience that can be enjoyed by the entire family.”

PLAY

The newest iteration of Sackboy’s adventures begins with a completely new story mode that provides users with a feature rich reshaped world to play in and explore. 40 story levels across 6 different themes make up the campaign, with each level influenced by cultural points in history, and presented in a visually rich environment provided via a completely revamped graphics engine. Play themes include:

• Techno Renaissance
• Steampunk and Cake
• Neon Propaganda
• Fluffy High-Tech
• Designer Organic
• Hand-made Arcade

In other words…if you thought LittleBigPlanet I was eye candy, wait until you get your eyeballs on v2.

CREATE

In create mode, Sony has taken cues from previous user creations, and allowed for users to create their own games, no longer just levels. Players can completely customize their experience with the ability to reset controller buttons for any object and change the rules associated with any level using the Controlinator. New multiplayer abilities really open of the potential of social gaming, allowing for any type of game play imaginable (and creatable) including racing games, flying games, shooters, puzzle games, sports, etc. With LittleBigPlanet II, players are bound only by their creativity.

SHARE

And last, but certainly not least, LittleBigPlanet II’s sharing features. The new sharing experience allows gamers to spend less time searching and more time playing…millions of new levels and games created by fellow LBP players from around the world. To facilitate this, Sony has introduced LBP.me, a new social networking platform dedicated solely to LittleBigPlanet players. Each and every level and/or game that is created within LittleBigPlanet, receives it’s own page on the site, thus allowing users to quickly and easily find and play content. But that’s only one half of the story. Players can peruse content at LBP.me from the office, the campus, on the go, etc, and add it to their queue. Once connected to the PlayStation Network on their PS3, users will see this queue, and can instantly jump to their pre-selected content.

Naturally, Sony’s tossed in a few new features for Sackboy himself to enjoy, including a Grapple hook that allows him to swing across large gaps and pulling small objects towards him. The new Grabinator can pick objects up and throw them, and the customizable Creatinator can produce just about anything under the sun.

And just for added measure, LittleBigPlanet II now features a Music Sequencer, allowing players to not only compose their own music, but to connect in-game objects to these musical compositions. Budding Mozart’s now no longer need to be pulled away from their favorite title.

Google announces global science fair with $50,000 top prize

Jan 16, 2011 by Dan Taylor    5 Comments    Posted under: Technology

Say good-bye to the diorama and baking soda and vinegar science fair, as Google has recently announced their own spin on the classic childhood practice. Based on the premise of “how many ideas are lost because people don’t have the right forum for their talents to be discovered?” the search engine giant is inviting budding Einstein’s from across the globe to impress us/them.

Launched in conjunction with CERN, The LEGO group, National Geographic and Scientific American, the Google Science Fair is the world’s first global online science competition. Any scientist between the ages of 13-18 with access to a computer, the internet and a web browser is eligible to share their projects to the world. Future Teslas and Curies are free to build and submit up to three individual projects, either as a solo effort or collaboratively in a team of 2 or 3.

Google is promoting the Science Fair as a true opportunity for youths from Canada to go head to head with brains from Cambodia; Irish scientists will be challenged by Israelis, etc. No longer are students bound to regional/national restrictions on just how far their idea can go. A nod from Google can’t hurt either.

And it’s not just a blue ribbon and a pat on the back that winners are competing for. Prizes range from a full trip to the Galapagos Islands accompanying the National Geographic Expeditions team (a visit to Dawin’s living laboratory included), to a 12 month subscription to Scientific American, and include a host of goodies along the way. Visits to CERN, Google, The Lego Group, and Scientific American are all on tap and up for grabs, as well as a $50,000 Google backed scholarship.

Students may enter and register online, and must use a Google Site to submit their project. All submissions must be received by April 4th, 2011, and a parent or guardian must provide consent in order to be eligible to compete. Semi-finalists will be announced in early May, and the public will have a chance to view and vote on their “people’s choice” award (a $10,000 scholarship provided by Google). 15 finalists will be invited to Google’s HQ in Mountain View, California on July 11th for the final judging. Amongst the finalist judges are Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, Google’s Director of Research Peter Norvig, and Kary Mullis, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

So there you have it budding brains. Google’s offering a trip to the Galapagos, or a $50,000 head start on college bills, real-world work experience at CERN, and a plethora of other top prizes. The only downside I see to the Google Science Fair is that I’m far too old to enter. For us old folks, Google’s set up a range of social networking channels, Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, and Blogger so that you can follow the progress of events.

New Report: Cinema visits down, Media consumption up

Jan 13, 2011 by Dan Taylor    No Comments    Posted under: News

Leading entertainment, media, and technology market research firm Interpret has recently released the findings of their “Beyond the Theatre: Moviegoers and Other Media,” survey, noting that although the moviegoers numbers are down, media consumption across the board is up.

The New Media Measure data indicates that the number of consumers making visits to the cinema, defined as those who watch 3 or more movies at the cinema within the past 6 months, has dropped 11 percent over the course of 2010. On the home-cinema side of the coin, the same report found that 36 percent of film fans are streaming full-length movies online, representing a 16 percent increase over 2009’s numbers. Interpret points out that of those surveyed, the trend of being “first!” to see a film in theatres is on the decline.

“While the number of active moviegoers is down, there is a silver lining in that movie lovers are turning to other media to view movies,” said Dan Casey, VP of the Movie Group at Interpret. “Moviegoers’ use of other media – like video games and social networking – has also increased, offering studios and marketers new ways to interact with movie-loving audiences.”

Beyond the Theater: Moviegoers and Other Media –

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm tops 4.7 million sales in one month

Jan 10, 2011 by Dan Taylor    1 Comment     Posted under: Games

Blizzard Entertainment has recently announced that the third installment of their popular MMORPG title World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has sold more than 4.7 million copies within it’s first month of release. This juggernaut title has now officially set a new record in the PC-game sales category.

Setting records is nothing new to Blizzard, and it appears as though they were on the hunt to truly out do themselves this time around. Cataclysm was launched simultaneously in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Russia, SouthEast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand this past December 7th. With Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Korea coming online just 2 days later, Blizzard pulled off a record 3.3 million units sold in one day.

This data was garnered from Blizzard company records and reports from trusted key distributors. Blizzard also included digital distribution figures in this data. This new record shatters the previous one day sales record, held by … you guessed it, Blizzard, specifically in relation to their second WoW expansion pack: World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King.

“We created thousands of new quests, introduced new lands to explore, and extensively revamped the game world for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, making it our biggest and most ambitious expansion yet,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment in a statment. “We’ve been floored by the community’s response so far, and we’d like to thank them for their continued passion and support for World of Warcraft, and for helping Cataclysm reach this incredible milestone.”

While exact figures are never disclosed by Blizzard, they’ve previously reported that the World of Warcraft franchise has peaked at 12 million players from around the world (again, no word if this is active players, and does not mention multiple characters tied to the same account). As we’ve seen the gradual free-to-play-ification of the gaming industry over the past few years, Blizzard is one of the very few remaining online gaming companies that has stuck to it’s “Subscription only” based monetization model.