News, Twitter v. Facebook and a new kid on the block - AudioBoo

As previously mentioned in my Analytics for this month, there are exciting new developments for LucasWeatherby.com and the Social Networking community.

First, I would like to mention and recall the blog on Facebook v. Twitter I posted just a couple of weeks ago. I did intend on keeping a 'trial period' going with the idea of keeping status updates separate on both for some time, but with the advent of AudioBoo, I have decided to forego the experiment.

AudioBoo is new on the scene, the new kid on the block. Like Twitter, it is a micro-blog, but with a difference. Like podcasts, AudioBoo allows you to record your voice - up to 3 minutes to say what you want. Short, snappy, and you get to share your thoughts, jokes, news with the world. It's already seen it's importance in the latest G20 developments, just like it's Twitter cousin.

The power of aggregation, I think, is a very powerful tool that I think trumps any traditionalist, purist argument of different uses for Twitter/Facebook statuses. Now, with AudioBoo, you might want to share things that just come across better in voice. I've also come to the conclusion that 'yes', while it can be annoying on Facebook to see someone post lots of statuses, when you play a game, do a quiz, comment on a friend's page - just quite anything comes up in your "News Feed" like it would on your Twitter wall. That being said, I can't see why things I might choose to speak of in the AudioBoo scene or share in the Twitter community, Facebook people might not want to see that as well. It is the choice of the supposed friends, afterall. And yes, I have friends blocked from seeing my statuses who I might not want to see my 'status updates', which I see as a more networking use; whether this be recalling song lyrics or general wonderments or amazings on my status without going into 'touchy-feely' emotion types. There is a place for that, I feel.

Your closest friends are the ones on your phone, who you can SMS, email, and call, or send private messages via Facebook - so why broadcast something that's intimately personal as some do? That is my justification for bringing the aggregation back.

You can find my AudioBoo here, but you will soon, I hope find links on LucasWeatherby.com to playback my 'Boo's' on the webpage.

Finally some exciting news. I have considered with fellow bloggers the use of a 'branded' blog name, to give it a bit of zest, but personality as well. So from this day forth, the blog will be known as Lucas 3:16, an idea and a biblical reference of course, given my roots - but also reminds me when I used to watch WWE (WWF), and `Stone Cold' Steve Austin and his famous 'Austin 3:16' catchphrase.

To complement this, I have changed my authorship name again from 'Lord John Marbury' to 'Lucas 3:16', to encourage readership to my blog rather than something so random.

This is all a bit boring, of course, but I find a sense of fun in these things.

The future's bright.

The future's AudioBoo.

Twitter, Facebook, Status Updates & Blog Traffic

There hasn’t been a lot of blog activity this past month - and much has contributed to it, mainly illness and other commitments (What other commitments? - Those close to me may ask) but the past few days, with the latest iPhone OS 3 being announced and me becoming more immersed into the actual workings and potential of Twitter (Installed TweetDeck today and found out via Twitter that actor Ron Silver has died, rest his soul) - I have come to wonder about the purposes of Twitter v. Facebook status updates, particularly since the new Facebook layout was announced (‘What is on your mind’ seems a bit more Twitterrific). What’s more, I too, have wondered given the success of my blog in recent times whether this would impact on my Blog Traffic.

I am not going to get into a debate about the delicate nature of what status updates are meant for on Twitter, or on Facebook - but be a part of either and you will soon get the idea. That is not the point of my little ‘wonder-ment’ here. Instead, I am going to take these little thoughts in my mind and as of today, my Twitter-syncs with Facebook will be suspended until ‘come what May’. (I get the feeling that isn’t the right idiom/description to use here but whatever!). Indeed, come May, I will write back, maybe, just maybe get into a little talk about what my feelings are on both (status updates-wise) and whether there is indeed a place for Twitter and Facebook statuses being together, in one place, rather than apart. It will be interesting to see in the meantime, whether this will impact on my blog traffic.

If you don’t have Twitter but ‘fear’ for my Facebook statuses probably never really, if ever, changing; you can see my ‘Tweets’, or Twitter updates at the LucasWeatherby.com homepage - www.lucasweatherby.com - or on my Twitter - www.twitter.com/lucasweatherby

This bit of contemplation is all striking me as a little bit weird now - its strange what your mind can do to you sometimes when you really, really should be doing something else - Like University essays and research. That, is something you can be rest assured I will be doing if you see little blog action at www.lucasweatherby.com, but at least, still you will be kept entertained by my Twitter updates…

Social Networking or Spy Networking?

I am becoming increasingly convinced, that Social Networking like Facebook, Myspace etc. (these two being my main mediums of outlet) are nothing more than Spy Networks. ... or Spy Networking, I would like to call it. Just a while ago, I blogged on giving myself the "challenge", just to stay away. Needless to say, it wasn't a brilliant success, or indeed one at all. But it resulted in deletion of people that I'm sure will just be, temporary for the time being.

The main reasons, I think why social networking tools like these on our beloved interweb are really spy tools are two things - the Twitter-inspired Status Update revolution and the "Who You May Know" Tool.

Over the course of the year, it was reported that Facebook has overtaken MySpace, globally as the main media for social networking, so this is where, I think the first reason, the "Status Update", comes into play more dramatically. It comes mainly from Twitter, which now you can sync the two using various web applications within Facebook. Log into Facebook, and you will see what I mean:

John Doe is eating his breakfast (two minutes ago)
Oprah Winfrey is having a bath with the dogs (1 hour ago)
Ms Blobby misses him even though he hates me (2 hours ago)
Anita Ball is getting pissed with Montel tonight (4 hours ago)

These are just randomly made up examples but they are not far off the mark. Some people post many of these a day, where it becomes like a diary, and you can have mini-conversations by "commenting" on a status update as if it were breaking news. One particular example I observed was a girl celebrating her 10 week anniversary with her boyfriend, with no less than 36 replies to the story where they had what I cannot describe other than a "<3 fight". You can see where it gets extreme.

I probably haven't been immune to this kind of criticism either - I like to bitch and moan, as much as the next person. And I've been the culprit of PM's on MSN Messenger from people asking me if I am "okay" because my statuses don't seem too happy. So there's a more personal, objective peice for me to give to this argument. And if you have facebook, log in now and you will see exactly what I mean. You will have a page of "news stories" and "items" all from people you have added to your facebook, because you either went to Primary School with them, met them at a Star Trek convention once, or tangeled your tackles together on one fateful night on the town. Put simply, anything you say, if you added someone who knows you, they will know too what you are doing with your life if you care to tell Facebook. Tell Facebook, tell the world.

I must prefer to entertain myself grading beers, noting humourous stories I find on the interweb, or writing long, rant-like articles such as this one on LucasWeatherby.com.

Still though, I find I update my facebook status, probably once or twice too many times when I'm awake. I mean, who cares if someone's getting drunk every day on the town or who you spend your time with? Sometimes though, these things can get personal, simply annoying, a headache. I've rarely ever seen things I find entertaining on facebook status updates.

Somehow, this brings us to my next point. I'm not quite sure how, but I want to move on.

MySpace and Facebook has over the past few months, recently rolled out a feature called "People You May Know", basically its friends of friends, a listing of people that if you have a few friends in common, you can find them this way. It's ingenious, isn't it?

But then if you know just one or two people, you can be seen by other people lurking in the background. Personally I add 99% of people to my facebook that I know or met because I'm not too bothered what they know about me or not. I only ever seem bothered when I know a little too much about them. You can always block, delete people and ignore their "friend request", but doesn't the "People You May Know" tool imply it being more of a spying tool than a social networking? I mean, you "may know" them, not actually be friends with them. That strikes me as a little bit strange, and still does really when you can see that people have contacts for "friends" when you know clearly you never really liked them in school or cared about them.

For some, I guess, it poses for a bit of humour (it does for me) - at least, where appropiate.
Sometimes when there is the need, you've always got your block and delete options, you might want to be friends again one day.
But Facebook as a social networking tool? Pfft.

Spy Networking, more like.