The Expedition ventures into the world of video with Chris O’Conner and Prodigi Arts! Chris showed our attendees today just how powerful the impact of video can be over a still image. Even adding a little animation to a company logo can add the pizazz needed to make the impression you want. Chris suggested a few tools, including Adobe Premiere, After Effects, and Final Cut for anyone who wants to try their hand at some DIY video. For Dave’s pretty mind mapping of Chris’s presentation (which includes more suggestions for tools and tricks!), click here!
For the core conversation, we split into three groups. One group continued down the video road with Chris, Beth Sanders answered some Wordpress questions with another group, and the last huddle compared Foursquare to the brand new Facebook Places. One Expeditioner shared the harrowing tale of a young man who has already faced a solid grounding due to Facebook Places when a friend shared his location, which was not where he told his parents he would be. Facebook, however, definitely has the upper-hand in visibility since even people not using Places are able to see where their friends have checked in right in their feed.
On the Wordpress side of the room, the big confusion seemed to lie in the difference between Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org. For a great explanation of the difference, click here, or better yet, head to LunaWeb TONIGHT for…
We’re getting super pumped for the September breakfast after sitting down with Chris O’Conner and Zach Waters from Prodigi Arts to talk about video! This talented group of designers, animators, videographers and illustrators are creating a wide range of video content, from 3D animations to heartfelt testimonials. And one of their ranks just won an Emmy! In our interview, Chris and Zach share some of their challenges as a relatively new business and some of their tips for folks trying to make their own web videos. Definitely check out their website at Prodigi Arts, and connect with them on Facebook!
Then there’s that big news in the social space this week: Facebook Places. We are curious as ever to see how the launch affects the established location-based services, like Foursquare and Gowalla. We are still big proponents of Foursquare rewards in Memphis, though, and we’re even starting a website dedicated to it! It’s not live yet, but it’s on the way!
So join us for the breakfast for sure, on September 1 at 7:30 am at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn. Chris will share some more insight into the world of video, and then we’ll jump into the core conversation in which we talk about what social media issues are on your mind! RSVP here.
The September Twilight Camp will be on September 16th, at LunaWeb this time (Davis Kidd must be getting tired of us, after all). 5:30 to 7:30, don’t miss it!
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We were delighted to have some new-comers, and of course, always great to see some of our regulars. Once again, we did not get kicked out of Davis Kidd, which is really a shame because…
The next Twilight Camp will be at the LunaWeb office! Though I suppose it still wouldn’t be wise to get ourselves barred from Bronte Bistro. After all, there is that yummy chicken salad.
Now for the recap. The conversation kicked off with the news of the hour (of the literal hour), Facebook Places launched in Memphis at approximately 4:30 yesterday afternoon. As of the meeting, only one of us had gotten to use it at all, but what information we did have:
There aren’t any prizes, badges, or any other “game” element to it.
You can push check-ins from Foursquare to Facebook Places, but not vice-versa.
You can tag your friends in your check-ins to let people know they are with you. This could be potentially problematic.*
*If you do not want friends to be able to check you into Places, go to “Account” in the Facebook toolbar, then “Privacy Settings.” Look for “Customize Settings,” then scroll down to the second section, “Things others share.” Find “Friends can check me into Places.” Change the setting to Disabled, and you’re done!
A matter of hours impacted some of the arguments from last night’s discussion of Foursquare vs. Facebook Places. Today, Mashable featured an article on the travel rewards program that will now be affiliated with Facebook Places. Topguest, the service that’s tapping into Facebook’s API, is fresh off the market, rendering its partnerships limited. So limited that, for now, rewards only come in the form of discounted hotel stays, watering down our argument just a bit, but it’s not null and void just yet – and we don’t expect it to be so any time soon… if ever. As for the privacy issues, well, they are still there. All this in mind, it seemed we all agreed that Foursquare is our preferred check-in app/game/stalking mechanism. It seems that it’s becoming that way for many others too. While we were Twilighting, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley (@dens) was tweeting: “Just heard from The @HarryH that today was @foursquare’s biggest day ever in terms of new user signups. #dball4life.” Because Rachel isn’t giving up anytime soon, stay tuned for http://www.foursquarememphis.com/ (not yet live).
Also in Location-Based news, did you know there are different levels of editors in Foursquare? Well, I know at least one of you did. When you’ve checked in enough, it seems you can become a “Level 2 Editor,” which enables you to combine locations. So, if two people created two different check-in locations for Davis Kidd, say “Davis Kidd” and “Davis Kidd Booksellers,” a Level 2 Editor could merge the two locations into one. Who knew? Andy Glover did!
In iPad news (and there’s always iPad news, isn’t there?), Andy has an awesome new case with a very clever strap on the back to slip your hand through so you can easily hold the device with one hand. So simple, yet so brilliant. Then, our iPad scholars sang the praises of the Academic research sharing application, Mendeley (also available for desktop!).
Is the iPhone coming to Verizon? Well, of course, none of us know for sure, but signs point to… maybe. Verizon customers thinking about switching to a smartphone might want to wait a bit longer to see if any more evidence leaks (and we all know Apple has some trouble keeping their announcements under wraps these days).
Wordpress bloggers – check out the Zemanta plug-in! This thing is nifty. Once you install it, start writing a blogpost. The plug-in combs your content and recommends links, photos, Wikipedia articles, etc., and it’s super easy and awesome. I know another plug-in that does pretty much the same thing was mentioned. What was the name of that one, Andy?
First up, we’ve got a brilliantly practical new idea from Andrew Maguire of InternMatch.com, a new and expanding website linking college students to local internships. Find them on Twitter, too, at @internmatch.
Next, Dave speaks with another innovator in the job hunters market, Carmen Hudson of TweetaJob.com, which offers job seekers the opportunity to sign up for free and receive only tweets about positions in the location and industry they specify. Their general company handle is @tweetajob, and Carmen can be personally found @peopleshark.
Moving onto the more privacy oriented interviews, Dave speaks with Becky Pezely from the Common Data Project, also on Twitter @commondata.
Lastly, we’ve got Howard Fried from Secret 123, a service which adds an encryption button to Microsoft Outlook to code your emails! Find them on Twitter @secret123.
Hope to see you tonight at Twilight Camp at 5:30, but if you can’t make it, don’t miss the breakfast on September 1, with guest speaker Chris O’Conner of Prodigi Arts. See you soon!
Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.
Today, we get excited about BarCamps! Yes, it’s that time of year again, folks, when tech and social media enthusiasts will be congregating to share ideas all over the world. But do not fear if you can’t make it out to Seattle’s Geek Week, where Dave is lucky enough to be heading. There are several BarCamps coming up within driving distance of Memphis, too!
The date isn’t final yet, but BarCamp Memphis will be coming up in November! As a sponsor of the event, the Social Expedition was delighted to sit down with another happy patron of the event, Beena White. Beena is a public relations and marketing professional, as well as a journalism professor at the University of Memphis. Find Beena on Twitter at @beenawhite, and definitely keep an eye out for her new company, cocoabeens communications, which will be launching its website soon.
We’ve also got thoughts on the HPOA Girl, the Facebook/Placebook scandal, and the future of geolocation services. Don’t miss the upcoming podcasts, too, when Dave will send back soundclips from the several tech conferences he will be attending during Seattle’s Geek Week.
Twilight Camp fast approaches. We’ll be waiting for you and your tech enthusiasm to join us on August 18th at 5:30pm in the Bronte Bistro at Davis Kidd!
Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.
You may recall that shortly after our own Dave Barger returned from the South by Southwest Conference, our podcast featured a short interview with Natalie about her preparation and ideas for this conference. Well now it’s just around the corner! Listen in to hear Natalie share some details about the informal structure and basic principles behind the PII 2010 conference.
In our social media news, you’ll hear a little of this, a little of that, a little of Twitter, and, as always, a lot of Facebook. In this case, Facebook Questions, which the Social Expedition hopes will eventually become a great compendium of knowledge, and not a forum for silly questions. And don’t be too disturbed if that link takes you to a page that says “We’re not ready for you yet.” The feature is being rolled out slowly.
Android has viruses, Google has multiple account sign-in, and Rdio sounds cool but simply isn’t as free as Pandora. Companies and brands who are having trouble keeping up with all their location-based presences (on the ever-growing number of platforms) will be excited for Geotoko.
Don’t miss the chance to ask questions or have lengthy app-filled conversations on these topics at our Twilight Camp on August 19th! It’s 5:30 at Davis Kidd in the Bronte Bistro. Come chat with us and enjoy a cup of something iced!
Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.
Elizabeth Cawein, long-time friend of the Social Expedition, loaned us some of her time from Memphis Music Foundation to speak at our August Breakfast. She shared with us some of the ways in which social media is helping Memphis musicians grow and thrive. Besides the usual Facebook and Twitter, Elizabeth also recommends artists utilize sites like bandcamp.com and the old-standby MySpace to connect with their audiences, build relationships, and expand their fan-base.
Plus, Elizabeth issued a challenge to everyone present at the breakfast, and we in turn are extending it to you and everyone in Memphis – Support just one Memphis musician. It can be as simple as signing up for their email list or going to a show. Every bit helps keep Memphis’s rich musical heritage going!
Check OUT that alliteration! But seriously, the Social Expedition was delighted to welcome back one of our former hosts, this time as our interviewee. Vibrant as ever, Elizabeth told us all about what she and the Memphis Music Foundation are doing to help keep Memphis’s rich musical tradition alive by providing resources to artists new and old. In particular, Elizabeth works to bring musicians into the social media realm to connect directly with their fans. Listen in to hear more about the Memphis Music Foundation, artists in social media, and Elizabeth’s opinions on Twitter.
In the remainder of the podcast, the Social Expedition grants ‘Yays’ to the new Bump application for iPhone and Android, Amazon and Facebook’s integration,*** and (of all things) MySpace. Emphatic ‘Boos’ must be given however, including to Google’s backlash at Yelp and Facebook’s deletion of the “Most Recent” news feed option for some accounts. Check out the other Yay’s and Boo’s by downloading the podcast below!
Then join us next Wednesday (August 4) for our monthly breakfast at the U of M Holiday Inn to hear more from Elizabeth! It’s at 7:30 in the morning, and we promise the delicious buffet is so worth getting up a little early! RSVP here.
***At the time of this posting, this feature seems to have disappeared. Boo.
Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.
The Social Expedition was lucky enough to snag a moment of Andy Glover’s time, which he spends in his studies for his Doctorate in Organizational Development and Change and his position as the Help Desk Manager at Methodist Healthcare.
Wait, Organizational Development and Change? What what? What does that mean? Well, the hint is that it has a lot to how social media has changed not only business, but the customer and how they choose to interact with a business. To learn more about it, check out the podcast. Andy seriously has some interesting observations to share.
He promised to send us some resources for those who want to look further into the ideas he’s exploring in his doctoral program. When he gets that over to me, it will replace this very sentence. Then, go find Andy on Twitter and at his blog!
For the rest of the show, we present to you the “illions.” 500 million Facebook users. 100 million Foursquare check-ins a day. We’ve got the statistics.
Then, aggregation tools are so in. The iPad app Flipboard is pretty, but overwhelmed by their traffic. Yet another location-based service (LBS), Scvngr makes us long for check-in aggregation. Enter FourWhere and Check.in, and they’re just two of the many that are popping up. Ping.fm is kind of the opposite of an aggregation tool- it will take a post and shoot it to your Twitter, Facebook, blog, and any other networks you hook it up to. It’s a great idea to set it up to be an emergency broadcast system, but we definitely discourage using this method for your regular posting. After all, Twitter and Facebook are different for a reason.
Lastly, we didn’t have time to cover this in the podcast, but we definitely want to encourage people to participate in YouTube’s Life in a Day project. Take some video on Saturday, July 24 that reflects your daily life, and send it in. The most compelling video will be compiled into a feature film that will be shown at the Sundance Film Festival. So pull out your cameras and take part, folks!
Download the podcast here, listen with the player below, or click the iTunes logo to subscribe.
First, a participant created a Foursquare check-in for Twilight Camp, and everyone with access to the program made their presence known. This launched a comparison of Gowalla to Foursquare.
Gowalla has a better iPad application (Foursquare just has the iPhone app, which you can zoom in on for the iPad’s bigger screen)
But the Gowalla app is apparently pretty buggy.
On the other hand, Gowalla has sweet prizes to collect and trade, adding another fun element to the GPS check-in.
Of course, the main pro for Foursquare is the participation: it has about 5 times as many users as Gowalla, and is growing much faster.
More businesses are interacting with Foursquare. Apparently, if you show the cashier at American Eagle that you checked into their location, you can get 15% off your purchase through July 31!
On to iPad apps! And we got a few great recommendations. Starting with Twitter apps, Tweetdeck is of course very popular, but one of our participants had to tout the superiority of HelTweetica. A very pretty interface and the ability to activate a Twitter screensaver are two of this programs nicest features. Definitely worth checking out.
For anyone looking for a great journaling application for the iPad, our friend Andy swears by MaxJournal for $2.99. He downloaded 3 other journal apps, ranging from $0 to $10, and he said this one was by far the best.
The prize-winning iPad app, though, had to be Uzu, a $3 app that puts thousands of particles at your command. With multi-touch kinetic response, you can create a swirling vortex of phenomenal cosmic power the likes of which genie-Jafar has never seen! For the key to that dork Disney reference, skip to minute 3 here. But it’s like that. Only, on an iPad. Apparently, it’s a great stress-reliever/mind-clearer.
The iPad has been a huge success for Apple. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their most recent iPhone. Much of Twilight Camp was spent in speculation of what Apple should do. Of course, today, we all found out what they are, in fact, giving out free bumpers (and refunds for already purchased bumpers) to all iPhone 4 users, and offering a full refund to those who are still unsatisfied and want to return their device. Oh, the drama.
Those on the Android side of things can simply lean back and chat up the latest apps (as they hold their phones just as they please, of course). Once again, the Advanced Task Killer is ranked as the number one battery saving app of them all. Also mentioned as highly wonderful were Doubletwist (media app), Launcher Pro (an alternate homescreen app), and, just for fun, Retro Camera.
A few other interesting topics that were tossed out onto the table…
Jigsaw.com is “The world’s largest database of up-to-date, downloadable, & complete contact information.”
Searching #tcot in Twitter makes for some interesting political debate material.
Lastly, there were two big issues discussed that we at the Social Expedition will be watching here over the next while. First, we speculated on the complexity of internet anonymity, particularly on forums and comment sections for newspapers. In some ways, the option of anonymity offers users a chance to say what perhaps could not otherwise be said. Especially in the case of countries where dissent is a punishment, anonymity gives a voice to those who would otherwise be unable to bring their opinions to light. On the other hand, you run the risk of receiving a multitude of inappropriate, off-topic, or radical comments. What do you think? Should anonymity remain?
And secondly, we are growing concerned over the lack of conversation happening on Twitter. Maybe DMing has become more prevalent than replying, but we’ve noticed a definite drop in the number of interactive tweets. It seems more like Twitter is becoming a giant billboard, and we definitely don’t want to see that happen. Let us know what you think in a comment, or better yet, tweet it to @smexpedition, and we’ll start a Twitter conversation!
