My Poken is the pink one. You hold it against his. They automatically have "poken sex" and trade your information, which you can then see up on the DoYouPoken website. Very cute and would have saved me a lot of money in scanning business cards in.
- Robert Scoble
That is, if everyone had them. Right now they are too expensive to go really viral, though.
- Robert Scoble
Robert, I have one. I agree with You, too expensive (15 euro each one)
- Luca Conti
I can't wait until these are cheap and available to everyone, which hopefully will be soon.
- Trish R
12 of them costs about $189, which is way too much. If they can get the cost down to $1 or $2 a piece, then I could see them taking off. Until then, they are fun game if you get one for free at a conference or something like that.
- Robert Scoble
in italy poken is amazing and overbooked !!!!
- michele ficara
This is hilarious! Poken sex is better than no sex! I actually heard something about the iphone app that sort of does this by exchanging info as you get close to another iphone user who also has the app. I do think physical cards will go away.
- Sheryl
probably wont catch on here in the states, but cool idea
- sean percival
It's a cool technology, though, and lots of fun to do at a conference if everyone has them (they are building them into badge holders, too).
- Robert Scoble
Way too expensive, and would you really ask a client "Do you Poken"?
- Bruce Fraser
Pondering Facebook pokes in a whole new unhealthy way...
- Ken Camp
They need to make one of those with "The Big Blue Monster" from GapingVoid on them :)
- Sean Kearney
If I asked questions like that in some of the pubs I go to it would be the last question I asked :-)
- Gordon Wheeler
What happens if someone just walks by and they have one do they automatically get your information
- Matt Bebich
Gordon: I wouldn't advise using that as a pickup line! :-)
- Robert Scoble
Matt: no. They have to touch to exchange information.
- Robert Scoble
Oh, and they have "executive" versions coming out that don't look cartoonish.
- Robert Scoble
Sean, when they go down in price, they will totally catch on in the U.S. I went to a conference here in Houston where your badge was also a thumb drive with everyone's contact info on it and we were talking about how handy these will be when people are using them.
- Trish R
embed this tech into a mobile and you have a winner
- Richard Spalding
I just checked them out... The price for one isn't ridiculous. Under $20. I've spent more on memory keys and Walkie Talkies in the past. :)
- Sean Kearney
Consider the cost of a box of business cards before saying these are too expensive. Richard +1
- Justin Hopkins
Business cards can be used with everyone, these things can't (yet) Cards are still king.
- Bruce Fraser
I thought you couldn't buy them individually yet.
- Trish R
I like the idea. It's definitely neat. I would pay for a "Poken" with a custom logo on it. It definitely is unique.
- Sean Kearney
If they are going to replace business card maybe they should not make them look like something that comes with a Happy Meal.
- Brendan Clancy
Maybe they should give them away with Happy Meals, then we'd all have one...
- Bruce Fraser
There are new models coming that look very "executive."
- Robert Scoble
And if they really went viral, and someone Pokened profligately and started spreading PSTDs that ruined your Poken's ability to replicate...
- MiniMage TKDteacher of FF
Scoble: $1 or $2? $10 seems worth it, the savings in business cards alone could justify the expense. executive would be a plus... (i'm picturing a monkey in a suit.)
- Marco
Saw these about six months ago and thought it was a fart in the wind. Can't believe this is still around.
- Chris Menning
I'm all for adding a bit of fun to productivity. We take ourselves so freaking seriously all the time. This seems like a useful step away from somber zombiefication. Now for the corporate types who want faceless uniformity, surely custom Poken with suitably unremarkable appearances and all the functionality could become reality. Am I FFing myself out of my next job? Maybe I should go for a ride.
- MiniMage TKDteacher of FF
Robert -- i've got a cute little Geisha girl one. They're up to cool stuff. The cool thing is, the info isn't stored so if you lose it, you don't give up info. It's just an exchange of ID's. I love them. Ok, i'm partial. Had dinner with Renate and she rocks. Don't write cuteness off just yet guys. They're up to stuff. :)
- Christine Lu
I have one, KPMG gave some Poken at a professional forum for my school. I think, there are two problems. First it really doesn't look business, but as you said, a business version is coming. And, it only works with another poken, it should works with Iphone or blackberry using the bluetooth and a free application we can download for Iphone or Blackberry.
- tristan
If you poken, what's your poken score? I'm "Fan 244 points"
- KyleHase
from twhirl
Yeah, I still remember when Palm's IR beaming was going to kill business cards...
- Joel Bennett
This is the most bizarre idea I have ever heard of, but I like it. I doubt this will ever catch on though, unless it becomes cheaper and more "professional". I can't see cute little avatars being taken seriously in real world business.
- Angus Burton
they could be free and then it would be possibile to buy and exchange virtual goods. I do not see any future for business card: it is something that you can do with your mobile phone and I wonder why it is not yet implemented in the address book.
- Nicola Mattina
Really strange idea to replace personal cards...
- Marcos Vicente
you can get them in States at www.startpoken.com
- Roger Huitt
Mobile phones need to adopt/embrace this technology. I think it'll be a hit.
- Richard Merritt
I really think that business card will go digital.
- Keven
... the business card already has gone digital. Check out Contxts http://contxts.com -- I've been using it for a few months now... Works Great. And Saves Trees!
- Richard Merritt
Try it here if you'd like to see it in action... SMS/Text the word: RichardMerritt to 50500
- Richard Merritt
If u meet a sexy babe in a club, a sure way to turn her off is to pull out your poken.
- Tokyo Dan
I met a girl. I gave her a good poken. It was her first poken. Now she gives every man a good poken.
- Tokyo Dan
If you want to get arrested in Japan, walk into a police box and pull out your poken.
- Tokyo Dan
Need a design that more effectively accommodates the Japanese meishi-kokan culture.
- Daniel Fath
I like this. Even tried to buy a 12-pack. Link is broken. This does not bode well for this company.
- Leo Laporte
Once they get Poken with a bigger size limit (I think you can only store the contact information of 12 contacts at one time), maybe add a few more useful features in there as well, then we'll have a good product. Make them look like real high-tech business cards and THEN it will really catch on.
- Malcolm Bastien
@LeoLaporte Yes the website is their biggest weakness. The "card" information editor is abysmal.
- KyleHase
Cute and all but seriously, no businessman outside silicon valley is going to carry one of these things around.
- David Jacobs
Good point tristan: "it should works with Iphone or blackberry using the bluetooth and a free application we can download for Iphone or Blackberry".
- Jadito
Reminds me of that line from Singles when that once character is trying to convince everyone that they will want to ride the train but everyone answers, "but i love my car". People love business cards for better or worse, it's a way to be a designer without being one.
- adolfo foronda
You can store 64 identities on the current model. Once you reach that limit, it erases the first one. The device signals you at 60. I have three poken, just in case, but most of the time, I don't reach that limit. As soon as I go to my Mac and connect with doyoupoken.com, contacts are saved.
- Paul Papadimitriou
Note: beware of putting multiple pokens in one pocket: they talk to each other ;-)
- Paul Papadimitriou
I love the idea/bought 12 and have tried to push them a bit with my networking group however the lack of effort on the companies part to promote them in the US is really slowing things down. Adoption will not come with out some serious evangelism and seeding on the companies part.
- Joel Ordesky
Poken are doing great here in Japan. I helped the launch at a blogger event a couple of months back and there's been steady progress since then. I'm helping evangelize Poken here. The company has really done a lot of thinking in order to make Poken a success. Will definitely be interested to see whether they can get to a critical mass. I certainly hope so as they are are a huge time and cost saver. (If you think of the cost of one business card, one unit will pay for itself in a short amount of time).
- Andrew Shuttleworth
@ashuttleworth You're the Poken Pimp of Tokyo. Most people I've pokened said they got it from you.
- KyleHase
@papadimitriou The Poken are conspiring against you. Quick, wrap them in foil before they know too much.
- KyleHase
The Poken are clearly conspiring against me :-) Hey, I'm the official evangelist along with Andrew, so I had to test things out for you all ^^
- Paul Papadimitriou
Had a nice chat with Robert Scoble a few weeks back where I offered him a Poken by mail. He didn't know what I was talking about at first but then realized he had forgotten he had received one at SXSW. I mentioned how popular and relevant they were becoming and didn't receive a response. Wondering: what has changed to make them interesting now?
- Robert Sanzalone
Poken hype or no hype ? In the Netherlands it's a great success and Belgium is following.
- Mike Verdugt
robert do you remember when i first showed you that at last LeWeb08 in Paris in the cab?
- Ouriel Ohayon
I have one but I haven't met anyone else with one yet in the UK. Think it's a great idea and reckon it won't be long before businesses are using them.
- Lindsay Davies
what do they say about a fool and their money?
- Gee Ranasinha
Why can't this just be on a phone, seems like a waste of money to have a separate piece of hardware
- Ben
Complete waste of space. Buy a Poken but nobody has one. Pointless. Should be a phone as everyone else says. It's been said over and over with this product, why don't they just patent the technology and sell it to a mobile phone maker? Job done. Tired of these bullshit Web 2.0 gimmicks...
- Andrew Eglinton
I actually think http://www.mynameise.com will appeal much more to people actually using business cards. The connector is coming and brings much more than people giving each other an online card to look at. They did not win The Next Web Award for nothing :)
- Ruud van Wijngaarden
There's a free app on the IPhone called 'Bump' that does the same thing as far as I can see.
- Rob Bell
They have been available in the United States for 2 months at www.startpoken.com
- Roger Huitt
They are here in NZ but I don't know anyone who has one and it's all about mass adoption - I prefer the snapdat iphone app - you can get someone to download it on the spot and bam - you got their details.
- James Stewart
"I also use the three somewhat differently but actually some what in inverse to what you do. Twitter is my totally open network. I follow all kinds of people and anyone can follow me. I think it is great place for people to discover each other and interact. The key here is to participate and not just stand on the sidelines. Here there are people I may not even know but that I can get to know. New and fresh perspectives abound in an environment filled with those both familiar to me and not. Facebook is a personal network of friends and business acquaintances. It is a place where I interact with people I know. The low or almost no friction aspect of the interactions allow me to keep up with people I know. Through the things people post and their status updates I can stay current and interact in an organic and natural way with those people. Life is busy and Facebook allows you to be connected in more then a casual way with people you know near or far and from your present or past. For me..."
- Joel Ordesky
This is a very popular hiking spot with great views of the ocean on clear days, a seasonal waterfall, and a densely wooded canyon. The loop starts out on Temescal Ridge Trail, climbing almost 1,000 feet in the first mile. At the intersection with Temescal Canyon Trail, you can either take a half mile side trip to Skull Rock (staying on the ridge trail) or head down into the deep Temescal Canyon. At the bottom of the canyon, you will cross a bridge with a lovely waterfall. If you are careful, you can do some rock scrambling upstream to see some additional small waterfalls. After crossing the bridge, the trail drops through the canyon at a mild pace, through a pleasantly dense wooded area.
- Joel Ordesky
"I don't know you and I never read your blog before today so perhaps this is a bit unfair of me to push my theory on you but here it is from someone who passed beyond the dating scene long enough ago to look back with some perspective. Women are attracted to bad boys! Admit it, you will take the edgy guy over the "nice guy" every time. My roommate once went out with a woman on a blind date only to discover he did not click with her. He did click with her roommate and later asked her out. He was called a jerk and worse by both ladies and the woman who set him up on the blind date. Interestingly over time all of the woman involved accept the lady he initially did not click with him would date him and have an extended relationship with him. It is almost as if the worse they thought of him the more they were attracted. This seems to be a trend for ladies which they somewhat recover from by their late 20's or early 30's. I could speak volumes as to why this makes sense given our instinctual..."
- Joel Ordesky
If I were a good photographer and could write for the Digital Photography School blog (one of my favorite blogs about photography, it's at http://digital-photography-school.com/blog... ) I would write a post about breaking the rules. For one, people tell you all the time never to shoot toward the sun. I find that to be a stupid rule that's worth breaking once in a while. Why? It creates dramatic lighting effects that are second to none. Look at how the patterns in the sand are highlighted by shooting directly into the reflections made by the sun. Most people don't think of doing this, because it hurts your eyes to look at it, and exposing this isn't easy (even here, I should have made it a little darker).
- Robert Scoble
from Bookmarklet
That's a sand dune? Wow! Looks like the top of a milkshake with raisins. Not sure I could ever become that good of a photographer, but I will keep trying.
- MarkCarras
I love to take photos at the sun, pulls in unique colors, lighting and shadows, especially through trees! My Flickr stream is full of in-your-face-sun-shots!
- Susan Beebe
Mark: it's not a dune, it's the beach where the water washes over the sand. I love the patterns it makes when the water drains away. One danger? Watch for the next wave or you'll get wet! :-)
- Robert Scoble
Another image, done right into the sun's reflections: http://www.flickr.com/photos... I love how sharp the Canon 100mm F2.8 macro is. I wish I had the 5D MKII -- someday!
- Robert Scoble
Just don't catch the sun directly cause you might do this to your imager (http://www.vimeo.com/2637713). Lens caps are not just for dust any more.
- Joel Ordesky
I took a series like this on my last couple of trips to the beach. The key is to wait until the sun is very low in the sky and you can pick up the shadows and golden reflections from the sand and water. Beautiful photo.
- Karoli
Same as a few above, it's great to take photos towards the Sun. I started without a rule book and, to be fair, that was probably a good thing. ;-)
- Kol Tregaskes
Joel, I destroyed a perfectly good camera after setting it up to take a sequence of sunset shots :(
- Nicola Quinn
I totally agree about long vids. You wouldn't believe the crap I've taken from people who think all video should be 90 seconds long
- Robert Scoble
To me, it's all about production value. And Robert, your pv is improving massively! (mics are great, thank you!)
- James D Kirk
I think the trick really is that longer content requires more planning and more production values to sustain the viewer. Either that or the content must be so good that its value overcomes the flaws. But this requires more effort and more commitment to creating the content and many people are no prepared or willing to spend the time, effort and potential money needed to create long form content.
- Joel Ordesky
> From: Peggi Sturm > Date: November 28, 2008 6:24:04 PM PST > To: Undisclosed-recipients: <>; > Subject: I'm safe in Mumbai! > > It has been a harrowing two days. > > First know that I am SAFE. > > Our group has been moved to the Four Seasons Hotel and I am back on internet. > 4 of our group were injured, 1 seriously. All will recover. > 2 of our group died. Alan Scherr (our guide and the head administrator at Synchronicity) and his 13 year old daughter were shot dead in the restaurant, along with many others. We are all terribly saddened by the loss. > > Lisa, my roommate and I, were in our room with the door bolted and pillows under the door the entire time. It was beyond terrifying, with all the automatic weapons and bombs going off, day in and day out. We are so thankful to be out and alive. We were rescued by the commandos and then walked down the wet stairs from the 15th floor to the ground. > > We were met by the hotel staff and the American Embassy, then taken by bus, once we were all together
- Joel Ordesky
Use your voice, email, instant messaging, or text messaging. No other memory tool makes it as easy to capture, retrieve, and share ideas and things you need to do—anywhere, anytime.
- Joel Ordesky
I am reporting that Maryam is stuffing the turkey. Yes, it is journalism.
- Robert Scoble
Hahaha, too funny. It's like a bird play by play.
- TheSleepyGeek
Oh, stuff that Robert. ;-) (It is not on the #mumbay scale, but it is journalism)
- Arne Hulstein
the true question is: What is journalism and how twitter can contribute to it
- Ouriel Ohayon
Twitter is useful when an event is ongoing. It becomes noisy in the aftermath.
- Paul
Journalism by definition is in the midst of such a profound shift in what it is that the question isn't really that interesting. I am just learning detail about Mubai from Twitter. I link to NYT or BBC or whatever, more often than not lately from Twitter. Everybody is different and that fact is more clear than ever now. Whatever works for you.
- Mary Anne Davis
@Orli, it sure is. I mean, self-aggrandizing aside, I post my newsfeeds on it.
- Terence
According to MW there are many definitions for Journalism. The last entry correlates to Twitter, IMHO. *Writing designed to appeal to current popular taste or public interest* Twitter by default, is a publishing and distribution channel. It "can be" a form of new journalism combined with an integrated wire service. Happy Thanksgiving!
- Brian Solis
No, it's more an eyewitness or spreading rumors thing. Journalism is (or should be) are more profound thing, but it can't be that fast.
- Michael Zehrer
What is journalism? The dictionary doesn't know: "the activity or profession of writing for newspapers or magazines or of broadcasting news on radio or television." Wikipedia says "Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating, formally employed by publications and broadcasters, for the benefit of a particular community of people.". If it is communicating to a group of people (broadcasting) it is. Most of us are a broadcaster, are we all journalists?
- Wilbert
Maybe Twitter as a website is journalism. It is an open community based on peer-review.
- Wilbert
+1 @Michael. It's more like source for journalism - firsthand accounts. Journalists usually report on events that happen to somebody else. Tweets are personal events/thoughts.
- Jared B. Luther
The collecting, writing, editing, and presenting of news or news articles in . . . & Written material of current interest or wide popular appeal. I think that the way many people use Twitter does hit that bar.
- Joel Ordesky
It sure is more than a news source. It's citizen journalism. And most times, Citizen Journalism is most accurate and fast than traditional media. Period.
- Apostolos Papadopoulos
I think Amy Gahran has some good insights into how it can be great tool for it --> http://www.contentious.com/2008... ... I think it is an awesome resource but still not sure how to best use it. I am very much still exploring it but if everyone at SxSW for example hashtagged and tweeted I would think it surely is journalism.
- John D. Lemke
from twhirl
Journalism, as I see it, is analysis and deep insight. Twitter acts like a witness. No time for analysis just relaying the event, with some superficial observations perhaps but not the profound insight that time makes possible
- Mahesh CR
from twhirl
Twitter v Journalism is like data v information. I watched Twitter last night for the stream of data http://tinyurl.com/6b4wjj and I periodically checked the distillation of that data in Wikipedia http://tinyurl.com/5pbnde but I also read this morning's Washington Post article for the context and analysis http://tinyurl.com/6ya9cl . There's plenty of room for all three.
- Timothy B. Taylor
No, it's not. It's stream-of-conciousness stuff. It's the difference between data and information.
- Sean
Sean: that's bullshit. I can tell a pretty good story in 140 characters.
- Robert Scoble
Michael: you have absolutely no idea what journalism is if that's what you believe. Journalism is the act of me telling you what is happening. No more, no less. I can do a LOT of journalism in 140 characters.
- Robert Scoble
Robert, can you elaborate on how to tell a story in 140 characters? (In less than 140 characters, of course.)
- Tom Landini
Tom: it's partly sunny in Half Moon Bay. That's a story. That's journalism. All in 140 characters.
- Robert Scoble
Even better, downstairs Maryam is yelling at me to baste the turkey. :-)
- Robert Scoble
It's bright and sunny this morning in Berkeley, temperature in the low 60s. This post is 109 characters long.
- Dave Winer
My name is David Winer. This post is 57 characters long.
- Dave Winer
I think this discussion is pointless. Stop the presses! This post is 88 characters long.
- Dave Winer
I've never liked the term "story", gives me connotations of something made up. I know that's not true (sometimes ; ) ). I do think twitter is too limiting for indept analysis, but that's what links are for. Twitter can be used to give flash updates and track an event, but then so can anything that allows you to receive such nibbles of data. It's just another tool.
- alphaxion
in a way; all the major news orgs have twitter feeds however, their posts lead to links of their online stories which are of course a lil more in depth: sometimes
- sofarsoShawn
Robert and Dave: Those statements do tell me what is happening. And I guess that can be a basic form of journalism. But they don't tell me why I might want to pay attention to that. Maybe I was thinking more in the dramatic than the journalistic sense. Good discussion here.
- Tom Landini
There goes Winer again, trying to make a point in a pointless discussion!
- Robert Scoble
Tom: if I wanted you to pay attention I would have said "Free sex under partly cloudy Half Moon Bay skies."
- Robert Scoble
I think the question is whether stuff on twitter can be "Good" journalism
- Wilma Stoneflint
it's istant source of information which could lead to a big news!
- Christian
Memo to Daily Print News Business: Surrender the breaking news beat and focus on analysis and perspective.
- Eric Schwartzman
For an excellent analysis of this issue see "Overload!Journalism’s battle for relevance in an age of too much information" in the current issue of the Columbia Journalism Review http://tinyurl.com/6dxbmj
- Timothy B. Taylor