As the hype machine is getting revved up for Twitter to go public, the one question I found myself asking was “why has it taken so long?”. And recently I was watching a really well done special on Twitter on Bloomberg TV and they boiled it down to “great service, but no business model”. Slowly Twitter is figuring out that model, but I think the real issue is why Facebook left them in the dust so long ago? Read more…
As an old time BBS user I tend to be cynical about every new site that comes along, but not only did Google+ impress me — but it passed the ultimate test: It just ate most of my weekend. On the surface the program seems like a slightly updated version of Facebook, but as you begin to explore and really live with the program you start to realize that it’s so much more than that. Read more…
Twitter as a social medium, is conversation or line of thoughts in 140 characters or less. It has taken the world by storm, since its inception in 2006. In this past year, it has made its availability to other countries, creating a global community. Twitter has become a valuable tool in communication for Japan crisis awareness to other parts of the world. When nearly all lines of normal communication became compromised, Twitter was useful with just a cell phone or a computer, and an internet connection. There currently is a #quakebook that has began, because of Twitter. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 26, 2010 in Comic Books, Tech
The tech fanboy in me loves this: Tta me! is a four-frame comic that’s been published as a proper full volume. The manga isn’t so much a Twitter how-to book but rather focuses on the social media service as a comedic/romantic plot device. Tta me! is written by Kawamura Kazuhiro and illustrated by Ajiko Kozima — and it’s available at Amazon.jp here. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 26, 2010 in Star Wars
The above photo was actually taken at a local Starbucks this past week — it’s one of ten silly Star Wars themed images that we found this week thanks to searching hard on Twitter: Read more…
Kevin Rose is famous for Digg, which has lost a bit of steam to Google when it comes to breaking news. However any illusions one might have had that Rose was on a siesta can’t be dispelled when you watch his take on why Google integrated Buzz into Gmail. To sum up Rose has the following interesting insights: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 8, 2010 in Star Trek, Tech
I was tempted to write the headline for this story as Captain Picard giving his views on today’s tech scene but that wouldn’t be fair: What’s interesting is that Stewart finds Twitter limiting to express himself (well he is a Shakespearian actor after all!) yet he seems to almost be doing a commercial for Apple. It’s funny to hear that he avoids videogames for fear of not being able to quit. Stewart will be appearing on PBS in both Macbeth and Hamlet in April, and this interview was from Frontline.
Anyone who uses the Twitter retweet functionality to do anything but share something of value is spamming your tweetstream. In fact I’d even go further and say that anyone who retweets more than once a day is a spammer. But sadly there are so many newbies on Twitter that common sense can be lacking, so here’s my tutorial on how to shut off serial retweeters: Read more…
Eventually life imitates art, or is it the other way around? The first issue of Forgetless by Image Comics features Twittertweets on the first page intermixed with the rest of the action. This ties into the story which starts out at a nightclub in New York City and features a struggling model turned professional killer (although that sounds more like the type of stalker you’d meet on MySpace). Here’s the page from the issue: Read more…
Having previously used several social media websites I faced a dilemma when I first started using Twitter: My problem was that several unique groups of people who had very different focuses were following me on Twitter. And Added to that is that I’m a linkaholic who loves to share breaking news and offbeat stories. Read more…
For our first ever Fanboy.com giveaway the kind folks at Intel and Lenovo have given us a Star Trek laptop bag to bestow on a lucky fanboy or fangurl in our audience. So here’s what you have to do to have a chance to walk away with this geeky goodie bag:
On Twitter send a tweet to @michaelpinto (hint: it would be nice if you friended me on Twitter) with your first reaction to the Star Trek XI film. This can be a mini-review, snarky comment, cliched catch phrase or lament at the lack of Shatner. The deadline will be this Sunday, May 10th at midnight. Read more…
On November 22, 1963 along with President Kennedy newspapers received their first fatal wound and they’ve been slowly fading ever since. Most people learned of the assassination of JFK via their TV set or radio — and ever since then newspapers have broken less-and-less news each year. Smugly watching this death march has been broadcast and later cable television news. At a certain point the money, power and glamour shifted from print to the small screen and along with that came a certain sense of hubris that we see today. Read more…
Being on Twitter every day I’m always reminded of the web 2.0 mantra that software should always be in beta — so being creative I started to wonder “why not take this to the next level and turn a bug into a feature?” Having some game design experience I know that having fun negative payoff can be much more entertaining than actually winning a game sometimes. So I applied this logic to the now familiar “Something is Technically Wrong” illustration and have come up with a series of customized versions which I propose that Twitter adapt right away. Sadly knowing that Twitter is now mainstream I’ve designed these screens to appeal to original core audience of geeks who may feel abandoned as every brain dead TV presenter boasts of their account on the air:
Nearly a day goes by on Twitter without yet another social media “expert” choosing to stalk me. At first it started innocently — back in the day (about a year ago) various techie friends started to declare themselves social media gurus because they decided to hang out on Twitter and Facebook all day. And now an army of their offspring monitor Summize in search of human flesh. Read more…
Year-after-year I’ve watched the usual suspects make their tech predictions, so this year I’ve decided as a fanboy that it was my right to make a fool of myself as much as the next guy. Most people are in a doom and gloom mindset right now, but I’ve always felt that there are opportunities when the going gets tough. In fact my one ambivalent prediction is that somewhere in 2009/2010 someone will start a new company which will become the next big thing. But here’s what I think will be happening with the current cast of characters in the tech scene: Read more…
Kevin Rose is famous for Digg, which has lost a bit of steam to Google when it comes to breaking news. However any illusions one might have had that Rose was on a siesta can’t be dispelled when you watch his take on why Google integrated Buzz into Gmail. To sum up Rose has the following interesting insights: 
Eventually life imitates art, or is it the other way around? The first issue of Forgetless by Image Comics features Twitter 
