It’s staring at me on the arm of the sofa but I have promised that I won’t use it. I even turned it face down so I am not tempted to check my Facebook to see who has commented on my status in the last fifteen minutes, or to download the “Fish Tycoon” application I have heard my friend talking about. You can nurture and breed your own fish then sell them for virtual money. Truth is I hate fish, but the iPhone application looks fun…!!
An addiction?
Needless to say, my iPhone has become a worrying addiction – and the application store on iTunes is starting to cost me a lot of money! The store is what really makes the iPhone so unique and is the biggest advancement in mobile technology in recent years. It’s accessible via iTunes and holds over 25,000 applications ranging from the really useful to the completely pointless and bizarre. Read more…
There’s nothing new about spending Saturday afternoon in town with your girlfriends, or dragging your reluctant partner around the clothes shops, but with the advent of web 2.0 and its associated technologies – are these favourite pastimes just that – a thing of the past?
OK, so we’ve been ordering online for sometime now, content with digital versions of catalogues and directories, flicking through page turning technology and zooming in on products to work out just how they would fit us / suit us.And then sending them back when we are disappointed with the physical nature of them.Some forward thinking home shopping organisations such as Lands End in the early part of the century, even started to use technologies such as the Virtual Model TM to enhance the online ‘changing room’ experience.
They’re an enduring part of everyday life, and it’s safe to say they are here to stay. Facebook, Faceparty, Bebo, Badoo, Cake Financial, Gurgle, Fubar and Geni… these are just a handful of social networking websites that can be found on the web that allow users to meet online, share interests and interact with each other.
For companies wanting to create their own social network, the expense of setting one up can be huge. And for every success story like Facebook and MySpace, there are stories of failure like The Globe, Bolt and Capazoo. Many companies have got round this expense by creating Facebook and MySpace brand pages, that act as their own ‘low cost’ social network… but there is another alternative, a ‘white label social network’ that allows you to have total control.
Wikipedia lists over 50 ‘notable’ social networking sites across the globe, such was the phenomenon arguably started by MySpace a few years ago. With artists such as the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen owing their celebrity status to the power of this new development of web activity.
From these 50, there are a number of sites that have made the big time in the UK. They’ve been adopted by web users to such an extent that their power and attractiveness to Brands continues to grow daily. Three of the most notable, and talked about, social networking sites are Facebook, Bebo and Myspace.
It’s staring at me on the arm of the sofa but I have promised that I won’t use it. I even turned it face down so I am not tempted to check my Facebook to see who has commented on my status in the last fifteen minutes, or to download the “Fish Tycoon” application I have heard my friend talking about. You can nurture and breed your own fish then sell them for virtual money. Truth is I hate fish, but the iPhone application looks fun…!!
There’s nothing new about spending Saturday afternoon in town with your girlfriends, or dragging your reluctant partner around the clothes shops, but with the advent of web 2.0 and its associated technologies – are these favourite pastimes just that – a thing of the past?
