Happy SxSW weekend! One of the largest events honoring social media started today! You already knew that… here are some stories from the past week that you may not have caught.
‘Tweets From Tahrir’ Collects Egypt Posts in a Book
The situation in Egypt has been referred to as the “Social Media Revolution”, with Twitter having some of the most raw and most captivating reports. Now, publisher OR Books has gathered most of the tweets from the revolution and is compiling them into a book. The idea spurred when two activists, Nadia Idle and Alex Nunns, who had been keeping records of the tweets, contacted Colin Robinson of OR Books. ““I was a bit skeptical to begin with because I thought it was going to be too disjointed,” Mr. Robinson said on Friday. “But it actually presents a very coherent picture of what was happening.” No matter what your feelings on the situation in Egypt is, “Tweets From Tahrir” will undoubtedly be a captivating book with insights and emotions into the revolution.
TOOLS & TECHNOLOGIES
Mobilewalla is Latest Startup Aiming to Improve Mobile App Discovery
Being popular is wonderful. Just ask the mobile apps on the “Top 25” lists. But what about those amazing apps that don’t make the list? The ones just starting out, but might be just as cool as Angry Birds (although not much is as cool as Angry Birds). Mobilewalla is a new app that is aimed at helping people find those hidden gems. While users will not be able to download apps directly from Mobilewalla, the app will help catalogue apps and make them more easily searchable on iPhones, iPads, Androids, Blackberry’s and Windows Phones. Mobilewalla hopes to be helpful not only to users, but to developers as well. By easing the frustration of getting your app discovered, more developers will be inclined to create amazing apps that we will love.
MEASUREMENT
YouTube Tops Facebook, Twitter, & All Social Media In User Satisfaction
Facebook leads in most statistics. They have the most users, the most posts, the most time spent on their site. But one area that they are not winning in is customer satisfaction. That’s right, the website that most of us spend tons of our time on is ranked below YouTube in terms of user satisfaction. Almost daily there is a new story about Facebook privacy issues, which is a main factor in peoples dissatisfaction. Netpop Research, a market research firm, conducted the study that revealed this insight.
INFLUENCERS
Facebook Mints Six Billionaires. Zynga And Groupon Make Two.
It’s no secret that social media has produced some of the richest people in America. And this article profiles 10 of them. Six hail from Facebook, two from Groupon, two from Zynga and even one from MySpace. Of course, Mark Zuckerberg heads up the list with his impressive $13.5 billion net worth. Not many of the other billionaires come close to his wealth, but they are all billionaires, and after a billion I’m sure it doesn’t matter. The article lays out each social media guru and how they made the big bucks. Check it out and get some inspiration.
PARTNERSHIPS
Rumor: Facebook resumes talks with Skype
Back in September 2010 Skype and Facebook briefly discussed the potential of a partnership. But no deals were made, as the two super-companies could not reach an agreement. But this week, the web is full of rumors that the negotiations are back on the table. So far, Skype 5.0 offers voice calling between Facebook friends, but that’s about it. The new potential partnership is promising much more, making Facebook direct competition for services such as Gmail and FaceTime. Take a look at this article and let us know if you believe the rumors and would like to see a partnership of this sorts in the future.
FUN STUFF
Unfollow Charlie Sheen on Twitter Day: Do It for America!
If you have had enough of hearing about Charlie Sheen, are outraged by his antics and simply cannot stand the fact that he has so many Twitter followers, this Friday will be a day for you. The Village Voice is calling for today, Friday March 11th, to be Worldwide Unfollow Charlie Sheen on Twitter Day. The article asks Sheen followers to ask themselves one simple question: “If no one can hear a bitchin’ rockstar tweet, does anyone care?”. So, take a stand, Americans, by unfollowing Charlie Sheen today.
