Monthly Archives: July 2011

July 10, 2011 · 6:41 pm

Don’t Let It Go…Unheard #21

Would you give up the Internet for a million dollars? What do you think of Facebook’s new features? Have you tried Google Plus? If so, how do you think it compares? What role does social media play in your flourishing life? Switching to politics, would you vote for candidates who have signed The Family Leader’s “Marriage Vow”?

Sorry that so many of you were bumped off of the platform this week! I will follow up with GoToWebinar to find out what happened, and I am also looking into trying a different platform, perhaps with video. If you were unable to attend live and would like to hear this week’s webcast/podcast, click here, or you can access it via iTunes (link on the right-hand side of this page >>>>>> ).

Thanks to all who participated live! Use the comments portion of this post to leave comments, and to suggest topics for next week. I would particularly like to hear what you have to say this week, since so many of you were bumped off during the live webcast, before I could get your answers to many of the questions! If you are enjoying the podcasts, don’t forget to “Like” the show’s page on Facebook (link also on the right-hand side of this web page >>>>>), leave ratings and reviews in iTunes, and tell your friends. Thanks!

If you would like to register to attend next Sunday’s webcast live, click here.

P.S. In your comment, let me know if you do not yet have a Google+ invite, but would like one so you can try it out and share your opinion.

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July 10, 2011 · 11:15 am

The Value of the Internet, Competition in the Social Media market, and More, Today at 5:00 p.m., PST

Every Sunday I conduct a live webcast in which I discuss news and politics from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism. You are invited to get in on the discussion tooday, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., PST.

If you join in live, you’ll have the ability to communicate with me via text chat and also via audio either by using a USB mic connected to your computer (VoIP) or by phone. Click here to register (it’s free). If you are not able to attend live, the recorded podcast will be available later this evening, so you can download it and listen to it at your leisure during the week.

Planned topics for today: Would you give up the Internet for a million dollars? What do you think of Facebook’s new features? Will they be enough to keep Facebook’s social media market share now that Google Plus is starting to add more users? Would you vote for candidates that have signed The Family Leader’s “Marriage Vow”? And more.

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July 6, 2011 · 10:21 am

Makeup Now Required Before Facebooking: Video Calling

I just watched Facebook’s product announcement. They’re rolling out a few new features starting today. First, a group chat feature, which will allow for real-time text chat among members of ad-hoc groups (think of adding a few friends to a chat session to discuss going to a movie). Second, they are redesigning regular chat to make it easier to use, and also to allow you quickly to send a message to a friend who doesn’t happen to be online at the time you want to chat. Third, they have incorporated Skype into Facebook in a way that makes it super-user-friendly, so that you can now have a video chat, one-on-one, with your Facebook friends. Apparently you will hear a ring when you are getting a video “call”, then be given the option to accept or not. You can accept even if you haven’t yet installed the software, as they say it will download in about 30 seconds. (You can see my twitter feed for more details, as I tweeted the event, real-time.)

I like the company’s focus on ease of use, and on facilitating sharing with others. I also like the fact that Zuckerberg said he wanted to allow independent entrepreneurs to develop most of the apps, as he recognized that they would be able to develop better apps independently than if FB did it all in-house. Zuckerberg is also interested in the sociology of the various forms of interaction that he is facilitating, which is good. I can imagine that there will be many dissertations on these topics for decades to come. Where I disagree with him is in his projection that sharing, on a per-person basis, will continue to grow exponentially, as it has for the last several years. After all, the amount of human attention span and energy is finite. I’m wondering if we’re close to being maxed out on our ability to share, and still lead productive lives outside of Facebook!

Now, to go put on some makeup I guess…

[Update: I thought everyone would have to wait for a lengthy rollout process, but apparently you can try out the video calling feature right now by going to this page in Facebook. Have fun!]

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