Socialized

The Future is All About Conext: The Pragmatic Web

2009-11-20T15:00:00.003-05:00

I guest posted this week for ReadWriteWeb:

The semantic Web has long been heralded as the future of the Web. Proponents have said that Web experiences will some day become more meaningful and relevant based on the AI-esque computational power of natural-language processing (NLP) and structured data that is understandable by machines for interpretation.

However, with the rise of the social Web, we see that what truly makes our online experiences meaningful is not necessarily the Web's ability to approximate human language or to return search results with syntactical exactness. The value of the semantic Web will take time because the intelligent personal agents that are able to process this structured data still have a long way to go before becoming fully actualized.

Rather, meaningful and relevant experiences now are born out of the context of our identities and social graph: the pragmatics, or contextual meaning, of our online identities. My Web experience becomes more meaningful and relevant to me when it is layered with contextual social data based on my identity. This is the pragmatic Web.

Read the rest at ReadWriteWeb

Checkin' the Archives: A Hisotry of the Internet

2009-10-29T14:14:00.001-04:00

An oldie but goodies infographic explanation of the history of the internet...

Glenn Beck: Net Neutrality is a Marxist Plot

2009-10-22T10:51:00.001-04:00

This makes my blood boil....and Glenn, like most media has no idea what net neutrality is. Will someone please stop this misinformation megalomaniac? 4chan? Anyone?

Pulp Fiction Explains Google Wave

2009-10-20T13:51:00.002-04:00

Happy Waving

semiotics, man

2009-09-29T21:15:00.000-04:00

On Activity Streams

2009-08-13T13:09:00.001-04:00

@dataportability #activitystreams

Know Your Meme: FAIL

2009-08-10T12:13:00.003-04:00

While the FAIL meme is none too knew (particularly by internet standards of time)...still enjoy Rocketboom's "Know Your Meme" and the evolution of FAIL

TAT Augmented ID = Holy Awesome

2009-07-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

Not All Agencies Are Filled With Douchebags

2009-07-09T11:17:00.000-04:00

Clever girl...

Who Says the Viral Stunt is Dead?

2009-07-06T12:02:00.001-04:00

Then and Now

2009-06-24T16:45:00.003-04:00

via

US CTO Aneesh Chopra Discusses Administration's Technology Priorities

2009-06-22T12:15:00.001-04:00

Following

2009-06-22T12:14:00.002-04:00

TweatFreak, 50 to Follow

2009-06-17T19:10:00.005-04:00

Well, another "who to follow on Twitter" list! Sadly, I have been somewhat MIA due to (gasp! client work!) from both Twitter AND dear old Socialized...never fear, I'm returning slowly, working out some new thoughts that hopefully won't be overly boring, pedantic or irrelevant (that's all we can hope for, no?). Well here it is, as Jon Stewart would say, you're moment of zen...or the 50 people to follow on Twitter (according to AdWeek's TweatFreak)...yours truly is #2, although, ahem, its in alphabetical order!:

@adbroad Helen Klein Ross. Partner at Supporting Characters and writer of the Ad Broad blog and the @bettydraper Twitter account. Well versed in social media as both an adviser and a practitioner.

@alisamleo Alisa Leonard-Hanson. Social-media strategist at iCrossing. For the tech-minded, a strategist very focused on the issue of data portability and what it means for marketing.

@armano David Armano, former vp of experience design, Critical Mass, now heading to Dachis Corp. Heavy focus on the ins and outs of social media.

@awolk Alan Wolk. Creative strategist, industry pundit and occasional play-by-play man at Little League games.

@bastholm Lars Bastholm. Chief creative digital officer at Ogilvy and a man unafraid to tweet from his hospital bed.

@bbhlabs Ben Malbon. Director of BBH Labs. Strategies for the digital world.

@benkunz Ben Kunz. Director of strategic planning at Mediassociates. Witty industry commentary with a willingness to call BS on social-media marketing gone awry.

@BestBuyCMO Barry Judge, CMO, Best Buy. Insights from the client side.

@BogusBogusky The imagined life of the Crispin Porter + Bogusky creative leader.

@cshirky Clay Shirky. New-media pundit, professor and prophet of doom for traditional media.

@dabitch Åsk Wäppling. The force behind Adland, the mother of all advertising blogs.

@davidburn David Burn. Self-described "content machine" and writer of the AdPulp blog. Indefatigable chronicler of all things advertising, journalism and entertainment.

@dougchavez Doug Chavez. Senior manager of digital marketing at Del Monte. A client with agency chops. Also a frenetic triathlete.

@edwardboches Edward Boches, chief creative officer at Mullen. A full-fledged Twitter convert ready to share and interact on ad topics.

@faris Faris Yakob, chief technology strategist, McCann Erickson. All things interactive.

@fefaromano Fernanda Romano. Global creative director for digital and experiential advertising at Euro RSCG.

@flytip Rich Ting. Ecd, mobile and emerging media/applications group, R/GA. A mobile guru who even has his infant daughter using Twitter through an RFID contraption.

@fredwilson Fred Wilson, partner at Union Square Ventures. An early Twitter investor, Wilson is a venture capitalist with a recent knack for spotting technology and media trends.

@gapingvoid Hugh MacLeod. Cartoonist, business thinker and author of the forthcoming book Ignore Everybody.

@heif Scott Heifferman. CEO, Meetup. An advertising skeptic and true believer in real-life communities.

@HighJive HighJive. Self-described "conqueror of cultural cluelessness" and author of the MultiCultClassics blog.

@iboy George Nimeh. An American based in London as managing director at Iris Digital. Unafraid of the f-bomb.

@ischafer Ian Schafer. CEO of Deep Focus and ubiquitous Internet ad pundit.

@jeffjarvis Jeff Jarvis. Journalist, customer-support agitator, author of What Would Google Do? and BuzzMachine and believer that "advertising is failure."

@jetpacks Dave Wilkie. Advertising "hack" and author of the Where's My Jetpack? blog.

@jkretch Jordan Kretchmer. Vp of brand, The Current Network. Became a Twitter ad legend with his decision to open up the brand's RFP process through Twitter.

@joemarchese Joe Marchese, CEO of Social Vibe. The startup's CEO dissects the social scene and gives insight on getting agencies on board with his company’s melding of social marketing and charity.

@johnbattelle John Battelle, CEO, Federated Media. Thoughts about social media and search.

@karllong Karl Long. Experience Curve blogger and T-shirt connoisseur.

@katrinalimbaugh Katrina Limbaugh. Director of communications for Zig. A good mix of ad links with minimal agency self-promo.

@leighhouse Leigh Householder, associate strategy director at Ologie. Author of the Advergirl blog, she offers a mishmash of personal and professional with an emphasis on social media and brands.

@luckthelady Angela Natividad. Blogger for Adrants. Best described as a "skeptical optimist," she delivers marketing news (and life lessons) with personality and panache.

@MackCollier Mack Collier. Social-media consultant. Digital media insight without the douchebaggery. His down-to-earth perspectives make him one of the more respected consultants on the speaker circuit.

@MarketingProfs Ann Handley. Chief content officer at Marketing Profs. A dose of marketing wisdom without the annoying side effects of the punditocracy.

@markwnek Mark Wnek. Chairman and chief creative officer of Lowe New York and one of the more active "traditional" ad guys on Twitter.

@MCHammer Hammer. Rapper, pastor and Internet celebrity devoted to the networking and marketing power of Twitter and its ability to shorten the distance between entertainer and consumer.

@meat99 Tom Ajello. Founding partner, Poke New York. A tech enthusiast and occasional fist-bumper who preaches building things that advertise rather than advertising.

@mikearauz Mike Arauz Strategist at Undercurrent. Chronicles the latest and greatest in Web culture without the Digg nerd factor.

@mtlb Bill Green. "Idea guy" for Plaid and the force behind the Make the Logo Bigger blog. A quirky, comprehensive look at the world of advertising and social media.

@nicknotned Nick Denton. CEO of Gawker Media. The blog impresario (or "gossip merchant," as his bio says) began using the service again just last month after a nearly yearlong hiatus.

@patkiernan Morning anchor on NYC news station NY1 and the editorial force behind Pat's Papers, an insightful and amusing daily summary of U.S. news headlines. Joined Twitter fairly recently but got up to speed in a New York minute.

@pblackshaw Pete Blackshaw. Evp of digital strategic services at Nielsen Online. Tweets about the quest for buzz online.

@revbillytalen Reverend Billy. Pastor of the Church of Stop Shopping and preacher that advertising has made the world worse, not better.

@rgleeson Renny Gleeson. Global director of digital strategies at Wieden + Kennedy. Unafraid to share his music choices via Blip.fm.

@spikejones Spike Jones, firestarter at Brains on Fire. The resident Twitter curmudgeon, frequently unimpressed by social media stalwarts.

@tombed Tom Bedecarré. CEO of AKQA. The rare agency CEO who comes across as somewhat normal on Twitter. Admirable restraint in self-promotion.

@umairh Umair Haque. Director of Havas Media Lab who ponders the new rules for brands in the "edgeconomy."

@vinnywarren Vinny Warren. Owner of The Escape Pod, creator of "Whassup campaign. Insight on the digital world from an old-school creative.

@whatsnext BL Ochman. A consultant and social-media savant who actually knows what she's talking about.

@woodlandalyssa Consumer/tech/travel publicist and prolific observer of the NYC media world.

on internetting

2009-06-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

-- Benjamin Kunkel on the pleasures and pitfalls of internetting, for the n+1 Book Review

Data.Gov is Live!

2009-06-08T22:42:00.002-04:00

I have been a rather poor blogger lately....alas, too much client work and travel and perhaps a little too much laze. Working on a few posts, in the meantime, Data.Gov is live! Check it out...back to the blogging soon!

Holy Freak-- Google Wave Seeking an Open, Socially Contextual Web

2009-06-01T12:01:00.004-04:00

Google announced a new open source protocol, Wave, they will be rolling out later this year providing "a new model for communication and collaboration across the web"-- i.e. integrating social context (communication) and interaction with documents and apps (collaboration). Google's description below:

What is a wave?

- A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

- A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

- A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

As you can imagine the DataPortability Project is very excited to learn more about this project and are seeking input from the developer community to better understand its relevance to data portability and the future web (social context, anyone?)

Below is a longish video (1 hour plus) of Vic Gundotra, VP of engineering at Google, introducing Wave at Google IO:

My HOLY FREAK Moment: Facebook + OpenID

2009-05-21T11:00:00.004-04:00

So my good friend over at Silicon Alley Insider discovered my Facebook status proclaiming my shock at Facebook's actual adoption of OpenID (the rumors had been swirling for a while, but I never thought I'd see it happen). Now, to Nick's point in the article, he wasn't exactly clear on what all the fuss was about other than it's a new "handy feature" for logging into Facebook.

My response as found in the article's comments as to why there's all the fuss:

"Hey nick...thanks for the shout out....i can understand the 'its neat but not big news" POV...but if you buy that value of data portability, this is a big move for that. Granted, I actually totally agree with Joe...

@Joe Weisenthal...OpenID is too geeky for the non-geek user (no one gets using a URL instead of an email as an identifier) but nevertheless, the simple fact that Facebook took this step is amazing from a (potential) data access standpoint. I remember hearing rumblings a while ago about FB supporting OpenID but never thought I'd see it happen. However, as far as open standard identity services go, OpenID is the current "leader"...but

to @bojan babic's point, yes, FBC was a great step in allowing for interoperability and identity data portability, but FBC fails to leverage any kind of standards (as to be expected). I'm not entirely sure why FB would pass the leading role to OpenID, I'll have to see exactly what Zuck said about it, but my initial guess is that it has to do with the data portability community pushing for standards for identity, relationship and activity data markup and the interoperability of that data...if FB is going to stay in the game once our identities become decentralized, they are going to have to start embracing open standards....but again, I could be just speaking obtusely here.

PS- more on data portability at the www.DataPortabilityProject.org"

Status Updates (Infographically) Explained

2009-05-13T10:47:00.003-04:00

Is there any other way to explain things other than infographically?

Status updates explained from quub.com on Vimeo.

via

Making The Business Case for Data Portability & Media

2009-04-28T17:11:00.004-04:00

Elias Bizannes, Co-founder and Vice Chair of the DataPortability Project makes the case for data portability and how interoperability is a win-win situation for digital media companies:

Read more of his thoughts on the information value chain and how it underlines the business case for data portability, brilliant stuff!

on data

2009-04-24T09:56:00.002-04:00

Just a little saying that my team hears me say way too much...

just a reminder from the horse's mouth

2009-04-22T12:39:00.002-04:00

-Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving The Web

Be Nice or Leave: Faris Yakob = Awesome

2009-04-22T10:42:00.002-04:00

Just when I think I'm going to rip my hair out and keel over from the sheer boredom of benign "social media" conversations that reverberate oh so loudly within the blasted echo chamber...I remember to call on my friend Faris's blog...and like always, he never fails to deliver. I love you Faris!

Be Nice Or Leave

View more presentations from Faris Yakob.

YouTube + Facebook Connect Update

2009-04-21T12:35:00.009-04:00

So after a brief conversation with the Google/YouTube folks, I found out that apparently YouTube is not supporting Facebook Connect as a login option for YouTube across the board. The Sprite "Green Eyed World" brand channel is using Facebook Connect by embedding an app as an iFrame in the channel page, as my colleague Matt Schultz discovered upon further investigation. And apparently any siting of Facebook Connect on YouTube is a one-off implementation at the brand page level.

Still, as YouTube mentioned, you would need to work directly with them when enabling your brand channel with Facebook Connect. I feel like YouTube is definitely hedging at something here...certainly rolling out universal support for Facebook Connect across YouTube a la Vimeo would be a giant move for both Facebook and YouTube, not to mention how it might threaten the movement for decentralized data portability. Certainly Google with its Friend Connect initiative that uses open standards to enable portability would lose traction should YouTube support FBC. But who knows? Will wait and see...

Twitter Enters the Data Portability Ring

2009-04-20T12:51:00.009-04:00

Twitter has now entered the data portability ring with Sign in With Twitter, using open standard OAuth for user authentication. It was only a matter of time until they joined in the data portability rounds, and now most of the mainstream news covering the announcement is already touting a Facebook Connect vs. Sign in with Twitter war. Is it though? Frankly, I think all of the major players attempting data "portability" ("accessibility" is probably more appropriate, and accurate) is a GREAT thing, and not necessarily a war-- yet.

Its not a war yet because the biggest challenge to data portability is still that it is largely a very geeky concept. Believe me, mention "data portability" to any of your friends and you'll likely get blank stares. But, with the advent of the major social services providing what average users perceive as "login capability on 3rd party sites," you begin the slow process of passively educating users on the idea that their services online need not be siloed, that they can access them and the personal data they contain, from anywhere online. As they become used to being able to access one service or another, and the identity and relationship data housed in those services, from 3rd party sites, then you begin to train their behavior and perception of what their online experience is and should be (a completely portable, remixable one).

So, for now, I welcome any and all players in the field to start and test their own data portability initiatives. Will we eventually reach an apex in the war between open vs. closed? Certainly, but again, much like the AOL analogy, open networks will always win out.

As my colleague Jayson Phillips just tweeted:

"@alisamleo competition breeds recognition, which shall hopefully breed adoption. Which, in turn, should lead to data access innovation"

Quite right!