"Wow, a positive story comes out of the hip-hop community. It's really inspiring to see people do things like this with the wealth they've been blessed with...no matter how frequent or sparse their occurrences are."
- Jonathan Brown
"Hey! I promise we haven't dropped off the face of the earth; we've jut been so incredibly busy it's hard to update on her. I promise we'll try to within the next couple weeks though. Does anyone even check up on us on here anymore? Hmm.... - Jonathan"
- Jonathan Brown
Hint: no, they didn't. TechCrunch based the story on a single anonymous source, who -- surprise -- turned out to be less than accurate. Hooray for journalists with no ethical standards, eh?
- Jacob Kaplan-Moss
Hmmm, wasn't TechCruch just defending Yelp over unsubstantiated rumors published elsewhere...
- Erik S
So, as a Last.FM user who scrobbles all sorts of poorly-labeled files from various sources, I wonder how reliable this data is anyway? And what's the point? If the RIAA is supposedly done dragging grandmothers with open wireless networks into court, what will they do with the information?
- Ryan Sholin
Ryan, certainly there are already plenty of false positives for "illegal sharing" on YouTube and elsewhere due to braindead algorithms that match on a song or artist name
- Erik S
I don't believe in evolution either. Also gravity. Also, the world is flat and the sun is really a chariot being pulled across the sky.
- You.
from BuddyFeed
Don't be ridiculous - it's an ox cart, not a chariot.
- Hayes Haugen
RWW articles often seem to go much deeper than the gadget-centric feeds.
- Sean McBride
Umm - Maybe I need to start checking out RWW again.
- Jim Connolly
I agree. They take their writing seriously and they do their homework. I am a big fan as well.
- Jon Ziskind
Since your comments, I've read ReadWriteWeb every day. Thanks!!
- Jim Connolly
Jim -- glad you like it. Curiously, since you mentioned Mashable, Mashable articles have been popping up at the top of my Feedly My Digest on nearly every refresh. :) It's a strong feed.
- Sean McBride
I like the way they cover stuff at mashable. Pete Cashmore seems like a nice kid too.
- Jim Connolly
oh, and kudos to RWW too - consistently good content
- mashable
Mashable is much friendlier then TechCrunch. The guy behind it seams to be cool too.
- nitai
from twhirl
I've always kinda liked RWW and Mashable much better than TC. Same reason I've always followed LG more closely than Scoble. Not sure what that means :)
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
The fact Pete came here and even acknowledged my comment shows mashable 'gets it.' I'm doing a props post on them at my tech news blog http://thetechnewsblog.com
- Jim Connolly
Some tech feeds I tend to follow closely at the moment: 1. Engadget 2. Gizmodo 3. Lifehacker 4. MakeUseOf 5. Mashable 6. New York Times - Technology 7. ReadWriteWeb 8. Silicon Alley Insider 9. Techmeme 10. Technology Review 11. Webware 12. Wired News
- Sean McBride
And I should add that I am relying on Feedly My Digest these days to automatically push the most important articles from that collection of feeds (and many other feeds) to the top. It seems to be doing an excellent job.
- Sean McBride
Jim - cool, I'll look out for that post on FriendFeed.
- mashable
Definitely agree with Jim: Mashable is quickly growing to become one of the most shared tech sources on feedly.
- Edwin Khodabakchian
Pete Cashmore @Mashable is truly on top of his game and is engaging his audience everywhere: twitter, blog, Friendfeed (obviously), facebook, etc... very cool. I really respect his talent and the fact that his ego is not the size of the moon :)
- Susan Beebe
Edwin: It's a great blog. Feedly's pretty useful too :)
- Jim Connolly
Susan: I agree, Pete and the team set themselves apart, by engaging with their readers. CNET, Techcrunch and The BBC could REALLY learn from these guys.
- Jim Connolly
This thread illustrates some interesting social dynamics about Friendfeed. The original post received little initial attention, but then gradually picked up steam and acquired more likes and comments. One rarely sees this process on Twitter.
- Sean McBride
Sean: I agree 100%. Twitter has a lot of users, but the interface & functionality are very poor for conversations. The frustration I get occasionally with FF, is simply that it can take days for a reply when I leave a comment. I'm used to the immediacy of Twitter.
- Jim Connolly
So late to comment on this post, but Jim thx for recognizing Mash via FF & The Tech News Blog. Thrilled that you enjoy reading my stuff, and always appreciate constructive feedback.
- Jennifer Van Grove
Jim -- note that you made your original post on February 15 and it is now February 21. The discussion is nicely anchored and organized in cyberspace, and it is easy to review the entire discussion while adding new comments. But Friendfeed needs to add new features for easily tracking new comments in discussions in which one is participating. I suspect that many Friendfeed users don't even realize that their comments have received replies.
- Sean McBride
Jennifer: It's a pleasure - I love what you and the team are doing there.
- Jim Connolly
Sean: It would be nice to know when someone's added to the conversation. I think this would make a huge difference and really move the conversation along.
- Jim Connolly
Jim -- many discussions are currently being stunted and truncated because of the poor user interface. One solution: when you visit your FF home page, you should see a simple summary at the head of the page listing discussions in which you are participating with new comments. For instance (without the braces) {I find myself reading mashable... (4) Looking to buy an external har... (3)...
more...
- Sean McBride
Another solution: a tab for discussions in which in you are participating with new comments, with those discussions on a single page. Display only the new comments on the page, with the option to expand all the comments with a click.
- Sean McBride
Sean, theoretically you could grab the RSS feeds and there are ways to get FF alerts via BackType, though those particular approaches require a little too much work for average users (and me included). In short, I agree with you 100%.
- Jennifer Van Grove
Jennifer -- expanding on your idea: one click to add a feed for new comments for particular discussions to your feed reader of choice (all done in the background, with no additional clicks necessary), and the ability to reply to any comment from your feed reader. That would rock. Or: option to automatically feed all new comments that follow your comments to your feed reader of choice.
- Sean McBride
I've been reading it alot too; I was thinking the same thing as you the other day!
- Jonathan Brown
Direct messaging is now possible with your fellow ff.ers/disqus.ers/tweeters & through direct mail with the Social.DM web service. Is this a good or bad thing? - http://www.socialdm.com/#
The we-know-everything tech giant is saying that what appears to be a street-grid pattern on the ocean floor is not the mythical lost city that some people swear is down there somewhere. Read this blog post by Caroline McCarthy on The Social.
- Loic Le Meur
Interesting, who knows what a full expedition could uncover?
- Jonathan Brown
Quiet important for me... but I more on twitter ;)
- PIPSGuy
IMHO this is the wrong demo to ask. There are more Facebook users than Twitter users.
- Jorge Escobar
I have reconnected with dozens of people on Facebook, most of whom I have not had contact with in 25+ years. They are far more important to me than the friends I have on Twitter.
- Mistletoe Glen
It depends on what you use it for. I could close mine tomorrow, and not really miss it. It's a secondary thing for me. I've been online so long, I've always traded email addresses with people first, and still do, if I wish to remain in contact.
- Ian May
I'm with Glen. My real life friends are on Facebook. People I will go out and have a beer with. People with whom I feel comfortable sharing my phone number and address. I can't say that about a single other website.
- Andrew
It's great for connecting with your real-life friends, but not quite as good for reaching a wider-range audience like you can do with Twitter.
- Jonathan Brown
from twhirl
I don't understand why everyone is freaking out - I can probably locate the same info on a person via google as what FB 'owns' now. Plus, all of these EULA are subject to legal review once a case hits. Last, how many people read the EULA for games, software, email, and everything else. Google owns more of your data than most know
- John Head
from twhirl
I've been online over 20 years, back when it was JUST email, so I guess that's why I've always given it more importance. It's still the thing I ask now. "want to meet up for a beer next week? Here's my email address".
- Ian May
One reason I keep my FB account is the friend suggestion feature based on mutual friends. Googling people is fine but you have to know who to google and that's the hard part, at least for me.
- KyleHase
from twhirl
LOL> I was muttering to my wife about friend suggestion, as it keeps suggesting people I don't know. They're often in my city, but there's 250K in the metro area, dunno how many on FB.
- Ian May
I keep it for staying in touch with friends basically.
- Nation Hahn
Amir H. I'd be much more inconvenienced to not have Twitter than FB. Twitter is so quick and seamless between desktop and mobile
- Ian May
FB is as important to me as those discount cards that you get from stores you don't frequent.
- Rob Michael (Atmos Trio)
Only as important as your personal brand on the internet. You need to control your name and information. Even though you don't want to have a .net domain you still buy it just in case someone else does it and try to impersonate you.
- CW™
The answer to that question should be a wake-up call to people who are so deeply entrenched in a closed service that doesn't respect users' rights and interests... The Hotel Facebook... You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
- LogEx
Having a Facebook is not "as important as your personal brand on the internet." Does my facebook even show up in Google? It's too closed to be that powerful in building your presence. Also, nobody can impersonate you very well unless you're half-assed with your social engagement.
- Rahsheen ™, Coach Rah
The only reason I have a FB account is to communicate with my employees. Its about the only messaging system they notice.
- ThePicMan
How important are any of these accounts, really? It's a controlled simulacrum.
- deusdiabolus
It all depends on where the people who you socially network with are. If they are on Facebook very important but if they are not then it's not that important
- Rob Cairns
I do not have the FB account. I always viewed FB as "gated community". I don't see it important... as of yet :)
- Nilesh
How important? Almost all my university friends are there, almost all my highschool friends are there, many work collegues are there. It's important.
- Richard A.
It's true. Facebook is more interactive in most ways than Twitter, making it a better place to connect w/ friends.
- Amir
FB and Twitter have generation gaps. Twitter is preferred by people that want to say it or comment and get on with it. This includes 30 somethings and older folks. Younger people and people that see FB as the home page and have time or want to spent time filling it with there stuff. They both service different needs and I cant tell you which will last longer in either. The fact that twitter is easier to block/hide spamers and ads also appeals to some people as well.
- walterh
However, it generally depends on how you use social networking and you views on social media.
- Amir
Facebook will last longer, it's a portal type website. With Twitter you can't even finish a thought without running out of characters.
- Richard A.
my facebook account is extremely important because it's the #1 way that I stay connected to my friends online
- Rajiv Doshi
IMHO Facebook is important for me too because the general population of the Internet (& friends) lean toward FB.
- Amir
Facebook is for people with time to kill. I find it requires way more of mine than I'm willing to give. That's why I prefer Twitter anf Friendfeed which fit into MY lifestyle rather than make me fit into theirs, as Facebook does.
- Todd Brunner
from twhirl
After taking a closer look at Facebook's terms of use I am not so sure about its prominence in my online space. The terms go too far and that has implications for my content everywhere. I published a post with my analysis of the problematic terms here: http://webtechlaw.com/what-fa...
- Paul Jacobson
from twhirl
Paul Jacobson: Yes. To much controversey leads me to believe that my privacy is at risk. W/ Twitter privacy becomes less of an issue.
- Amir
The reason for the existence of my FB account is because that's where my friends are.
- Amir
Atleast w/ Twitter I don't have to regard its terms of use before posting content.
- Amir
It's not important. It's just fun, nothing more. If it was important, we'd all be paying for the service. When it comes to free, I don't expect anything and take it for what it's worth
- Mike
as much or as little as you put into it
- sofarsoShawn
FB is the #1 way I stay connected online with most of my less tech saavy friends, family & colleagues. In addition to being a virtual HS & long lost friend reunion.
- Victor
I could live without Facebook quite happily.
- Kol Tregaskes
I found I could live without Facebook after 24 hrs of using it some years ago. Promptly deleted.
- Thomas Bøhm
from Friend Deck
I laugh as I say this, yeah but you're not a recent graduate and it's frustrating for you to use facebook none of your generation are there ;-)
- Richard A.
I hate facebook. Use it only to keep up with "old" friends. But it makes me feel retrospective and filthy....and not in a good way.
- Paul Greer
I don;t like facebook and don't go on there too much. Wish everyone would leave facebook and join other social networks.
- Luke Addison
from twhirl
It would be important if it were the only site I checked but I am active across many sites across the Internet :)
- Joe Dawson
So you wish you'd have to surf to twenty websites rather than just one?
- Richard A.
For all those who use Facebook as a way to connect with people they lost contact with, isn't the key to that being as high up the google results as possible? I've never used facebook and do just fine. If I don't know people now, there is a reason for it and don't wanna get poked by them, or any of that rubbish.
- Dom Barnes
To everyone who keeps saying "just google them": 1) You have to actually remember their name to google them. (FB suggests friends in common). 2) For some people, without FB they won't even apepar in a google result set. Look I don't like FB that much but it's the only way I can keep in touch with some of my close friends who are far less geeky.
- KyleHase
from twhirl
To me not very important. I keep in contact with close friends in other ways.The worst is that I opened an account and within days I was invited by a couple of people I knew years ago. I don't know why they were searching for me anyway. If we have not been in touch for years there must be reasons. I just don't see the point.
- M F
Whether or not it is important really is up to you in the end. I have another opinion on some of these social networks and sign-up more than anything for security reasons. Even If I don' t participate much, at least I' ve blocked a profile for myself and can ensure (to some extent) that I am avoiding identity theft through those services.
- Thomas V. Fischer
from twhirl
Like many others here, Facebook is mostly for the people I've met in person: friends from school, work, etc. Most of them do NOT have Twitter accounts. For me, Twitter is a great way to interact online with people who share similar interests but I'm likely to never meet.
- Herb Hernandez
I don't have many friends, but I have lots of folks who follow my blogs and tweets. That is why I use Friendfeed. I don't even have a Facebook account.
- Jim Corkrum
Very important to be since all my college and high school friends are on it. They don't really get this Twitter thing. :(
- Daynah
I wouldn't lose any sleep if Facebook went away tomorrow. I don't find it especially valuable.
- Thomas Hawk
I only have an account so I can run Facebook ads... I find little to no value. Even the ads have a very poor CTR%
- andy brudtkuhl
It's been handy for connecting w/ family and some friends, but it's nothing I would lament losing.
- JA Castillo
How do you delete or get your Facebook account deleted? (I don't mean deactivated)
- Paul Grav
I agree....Twitter account is more important.
- John Flynn
where I live in Canada, no one knows what Twitter is other than CNN... but everyone has a Facebook account: it's how events are planned, status messages are traded, pictures and videos are shared, and how we gossip... Twitter is irrelevant in my local community
- Brad Arsenault
from twhirl
I've actually just de-activated my Facebook - really can't be bothered with it anymore - got a lot more new sites/socail networks to work on. Facebook is becoming old IMHO!
- Luke Addison
from twhirl
I just post to it through ping.fm - love my twitter and tumblr and now blip!
- Pop Art Diva
Last.fm FTW. The only thing I like from Spotify is that you can play all the tracks from a single artist at once. For everything else, Last.fm.
- Leandro Ardissone ⍨
i don't wanna choose...i use both Spotify and last.fm
- Adarsh
Are they even... comparable? Far as I can see, Spotify is the magic media player with a big chunk of all the music in the world. last.fm on the other hand is more of a social network based around scrobbling what music you're playing, with some radio service that serves you music it seems to think you'll like. (with a surprisingly low accuracy, compared to what I've pumped into it)
- Daniel Bruce
For me Last.fm works like my "Internet radio" from which I discover music I have never heard of before. In Spotify I mostly listen to music I already know I like. Except from when I make an effort and import a new playlist from services like http://spotylist.com/ or http://www.specifyspot.com
- Linda Pierre
Personally I am more of a Pandora radio person. last.fm is okay, but I prefer Pandora more
- Patrick
from twhirl
I like both of them really - I normally just play my own MP3's etc though and Scrobble with Last.fm
- Luke Addison
from twhirl
I tweeted @zee earlier: 'are they in competition? I use both. Last.fm scrobbles my Spotify usage. Spotify has the playback and Last.fm has the community'
- Mauricio Reyes
Spotify is definitely more comparable to itunes than last.fm
- Mauricio Reyes
@Zee: I see Spotify as much closer to a "magic", streaming iTunes (similar layout as well). My Spotify scrobbles to last.fm though.
- Daniel Bruce
Jeppe, how come? i'm curious as to why you think its better?
- Zee.
Love them both and use them both at the same time! No comparison really...
- mlazopoulou
I like Last.fm better, mostly because of the awesome scrobbling support, the top-notch desktop client, and the nice charts that Last.fm generates on the fly based on your listening history.
- Jonathan Brown
from twhirl
@Zee: I have never really like Last.fm. I think simplicity and minimalistic services suits me better. Spotify is simple and light and the sound is of great quality. Last.fm is just too much bling-bling for my taste.
- "Jazzperous" Isaksson
I happen to have two invites for Spotify if anyone wants. Would be cool to give to a US person and see how well it works with Hotspot Shield. I have a friend in the US who tried it and she had problems after a while when HSS changed the localization thingy, but she managed to use it before and after. Worked very well for her and she loves it. Reply with email address and I'll send you one if you want to try.
- "Jazzperous" Isaksson
That's what I did. I exclusively use Facebook for my "real-life" friends now...I mean, that's really what the service was designed for after all, right? It's working pretty well so far.
- Jonathan Brown
from twhirl
On facebook I have family and meatspace friends. I also have cyberspace friends that have asked me for friendship there. Here and Twitter I friend and follow purely on interest, and not acquaintance or phyical meeting, and so here and Twitter is usually more interesting for me, more of the time.
- Ian May
I can sit here and/or twitter for an hour or two reading and replying to posts and comments. I go to Facebook, I'm there about five minutes, as nothing is going on. I get a couple of comments to my status or comments to comments, and invites to brain-dead apps, and that's it.
- Ian May