Social Networking - Coffee on the Keyboard

Playing with the Real-Time Web

Since I left Facebook, I’ve been working on a little project to take its place as an aggregator, or a central hub of all me-related activity on the internet: Planetoid. Right now, if you’ve got the patience to get it up and

James Socol

James Socol 8 May 2010 • 1 min read

data

Farewell, Facebook

On Monday, I deleted my Facebook account. A day before I hit the button, I posted a note letting people know where they could find me online if they wanted, and promising more of an explanation: here it is. I’m a control freak.

James Socol

James Socol 6 May 2010 • 3 min read

Social Media

Communities within Communities

There is an op-ed floating around Twitter today: As a social network, Twitter is a dud. Is it ironic that an article deriding Twitter is being spread on Twitter? Irony is so ill-defined. Twitter is not for everyone, and I respect that, but the

James Socol

James Socol 24 Apr 2009 • 3 min read

bots

Oh the Humanity (of Twitter)

Twitter creates a powerful opportunity: no matter who you are, or how big your business, you can put a human “face” on Twitter. Comcast (@comcastcares), JetBlue (@jetblue), Biggby Coffee (@biggbybob) and Starbucks (@starbucks), even Britney Spears (sorry, I refuse to link that one) have

James Socol

James Socol 11 Nov 2008 • 2 min read

classrooms

Does the Web Hate School?

Full Disclosure: I am employed at Michigan State University’s College of Education as a web designer and application developer. The opinions I express on this blog are mine, and do not necessarily reflect those of my employers or clients. Particularly this post. Education

James Socol

James Socol 23 Sep 2008 • 4 min read

2.0

Identity 2.0 - A Primer

Google your name. Right now. I’ll wait. Put your name here: Good. What came up? Look at the first page of results and ask yourself these questions about each one: Is it really me? Did I create this? Do I control this? You

James Socol

James Socol 1 Jul 2008 • 3 min read

identity

New Twitter Name

To all my Twitter followers, and those not yet following me: Twitter lets you change your user name, so I did. Instead of the very long and misspelled “urbaneexistance,” I am now @jamessocol. Shorter, easier to remember, more meaningful. If you were following me,

James Socol

James Socol 1 Jul 2008 • 1 min read

authority

Expertise and Authority 2.0

Jeff Atwood is a self-proclaimed amateur: “It troubles me greatly to hear that people see me as an expert or an authority, and not a fellow amateur.” “There is absolutely no reason any of you should listen to me. But somehow, I have 75,

James Socol

James Socol 21 Jun 2008 • 2 min read

behavior

A Twitterer's Tipping Point

Explaining Twitter to non-tweeters is still a difficult process. “It’s like Facebook status without Facebook” doesn’t do it justice—or sound very appealing. “It’s a public, non-realtime messaging system” convinces no one to sign up. All the Twitter users I know

James Socol

James Socol 19 Jun 2008 • 1 min read

discover

Exploring the Web

Last week, as I was demonstrating Ning in my office, someone asked me how I find things like this. Honestly, I could not remember when or how I discovered Ning, which prompted me to pay attention over the past week, and to ask you.

James Socol

James Socol 17 Jun 2008 • 1 min read

discover

How do you find New Things?

In lieu of a guest post, I’m just going to ask a question: What is your best source for finding new things on the web? Do you rely on search engines and find what you need when you need it? Do you check

James Socol

James Socol 12 Jun 2008 • 1 min read

blogging

Your Internet Classroom

One person, some sort of authority, talks. Lots of people listen. Sometimes those people get to contribute something. Sound familiar? It should, because I’m not just talking about a classroom, I’m talking about your blog. Blogs and classrooms share the same basic

James Socol

James Socol 30 May 2008 • 1 min read

Projects

s.hort.cc makes s.hort.cuts

Yet Another Short URL. I just launched s.hort.cc to offer something that TinyURL and Tiny.cc didn’t: an easy API for creating short URLs, or “s.hort.cuts,” and returning them in a format my program could use. You can visit

James Socol

James Socol 16 May 2008 • 1 min read

facebook

Dr. Voyeurism, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Twitter

I’ve been thinking a lot about social networking lately, partly because my job deals with it, partly because I’ve got some Obsessive-Compulsive tendencies. Then Mostly Lisa wrote about the “big three”—Twitter, Pownce, and Facebook, according to her—and got them back

James Socol

James Socol 8 May 2008 • 2 min read

fiction

Picofiction

Picofiction is new project: telling stories in 140 characters. Picofiction is a combination of microfiction, text messaging and Twitter. If you can write a story in a two-page spread, and tell the world what you’re doing in 140 characters, maybe you can tell

James Socol

James Socol 26 Sep 2007 • 1 min read