Google today announced that now everyone can use Google Talk instant messenger. Previously the only way to use Google Talk was if you had a Gmail account or Google’s hosted mail for your domain.
I like Google Talk. It’s a nice, streamlined IM program that also provides PC-to-PC voice calls with free voice mail.
Read more about the announcement at BigBlueBall.
Wallop is a new social networking site that completely turns the typical MySpace business model upside down. Wallop began as a project at Microsoft Research, and was spun off as an independent venture by Kark Jacob and Sean Uberoi Kelly, with VC backing and an equity stake from Microsoft.
I had the opportunity to test a very early version of Wallop over a year ago, and more recently got a walkthrough of the current incarnation from Kelly.
How is Wallop unique?
In a number of ways. First of all, there are no advertisements. Wallop’s business model isn’t build on advertising, but on taking an eBay-style transaction fee on ‘mods’ purchased by members. It’s a crafty blend of Flash, MySpace and Second Life.
Second, Wallop’s interface is built entirely in Flash. Because their business model doesn’t depend on ad views, there is no need to drive up a page-view rate. This leads to some really interesting and innovative interface options that make Wallop feel more like an application than a website.
Wallop provides all of the typical social networking features — journal entries, comments, friends, photo sharing and so on. But it’s entirely extensible by a community of developers or “modders.”
Flash developers can create their own mods for Wallop, and offer them for free or for sale in a marketplace. In addition, if you see a mod that you like on someone’s Wallop “page”, you can click to purchase it for your own page. The modders name their price.
Mods can include anything from games to ecard-generators to auto-updating photo montages of your friends. If you can program it with Flash, you can create a mod for Wallop.
Control Over Who Sees What
One key feature that I really liked was the ability to create ad-hoc groups of friends, and assign view or comment permission to those groups on an object-by-object basis. For example, Steve might be in my network of friends, but I also include him in a subgroup of friends who like Mott the Hoople. I could also include him in any number of other subgroups that I define (or redefine at will). Then I can post my own Mott-commentary (or photos, music, whatever) exclusively for those friends in that group. A really smart idea that I’m surprised hasn’t taken hold sooner.
How to get Wallop-ed
As of today, Wallop has opened their beta on an invitation-only basis. You can request an invitation, or if you’re a Flash designer, you can join the Wallop Modder Network.
Links:
I’m currently reading Seth Godin’s Small Is the New Big
I’m on an extraordinary journey, and looking for like-minded, extraordinary people. How about you?
I’ve had a few comments about the visual changes to the blog. They generally go something like this: “What’s with the retina-scarring orange?!” It is rather, vibrant, isn’t it? It’s part of the natural evolution of the site, and part of that extraordinary journey. Maybe if Crayola expanded their color line, they could call it “Extraordinary Orange.” Any way, it’s not a fixture of the site. As with life, change is the one constant we can all rely on.
And so, beginning October 1st, I’m going to be unveiling a new header each month. So for now, enjoy the orange.
Act rationally, think critically, argue persuasively.
Tag clouds are information rich, making a lot of data meaningful in a very intuitive form. I love tag clouds, and previously had one on my blog back when it was powered by Movable Type. I’ve missed it since moving to WordPress, but not because it’s not possible. There are at least two ways to add folksonomy tagging and tag clouds to WordPress: the easy way and the DIY method.
First, the easy way. Jake, one of the team leaders over at BigBlueBall, shared The Ultimate Tag Warrior. Considered one of the top ten WordPress plugins, UTW was created by Christine Davis, a neato gal from New Zealand with tag-cloudy vision.
Installing UTW was a snap. Configuration was a bit of a chore, only because there are so many options available. Understanding exactly what each option does takes some patience and trial-and-error. The tags show up nicely in each post, but it takes some work to get the tag cloud and results integrated with your blog’s theme. Case-in-point… Obviously, someone needs to brew another pot of coffee.
The Do-It-Yourself method allows you to create tags using the categories you’ve already assigned posts to. UTW allows this as well, but a group called Phraction has created a nice, open-source tutorial on creating your own WordPress tag cloud class. While the end result is not as configurable as UTW, it’s a good approach for someone interested in learning more about programming for WordPress.
Skype is surveying users to determine what they would pay for a Skype subscription service on their cell phone. There are some interesting features being considered, including file transfer, geo-locator services, and of course, Skype voice calls and conferencing. But would you pay for it?
My friends know that I love Flickr. Even though I could create and host my own photo blog, I find Flickr engaging, fascinating, and a wonderful place for exploration. Flickr of course was one of the first Web 2.0 sites to popularize the concept of folksonomy tagging. The social strengths of Flickr with it’s contacts, friends and family model, the commenting capabilities, and user-created groups open Flickr up for inventive uses.
Of course Flickr has always been super-useful for collecting photos from events (like UXWEEK), but I ran across another innovative example today on the Drupal website. The Drupal team asked users to upload screen shots, then annotate them with notes. (As you move your cursor over the images, you’ll see the user notes). Yet another cool example of leveraging simple, readily available and free technology and integrating it within a work process. Nice.
Of course, most people are more interested in just pure fun. I’ve had my share of that. Two of the groups that I’ve been involved in on Flickr that were pure fun were the DILO (Day in the Life Of) and Squared Circle groups, both of which ended up producing posters in a sort of collaborative art experiment — immortalizing some really bad photographs of mine. Still, they remain a great way to have fun with Flickr.
Want more Flickr fun? The very best website for fun Flickr goodies is Flagrant Disregard’s Flickr Toys. They’ve got tons of little goodies to do things like make your own calendars, motivational posters, fake magazine covers and baseball cards, to useful tools like the profile gadget shown at the left.
You’ve got a digital camera. Get a Flickr account. Play with some toys. Be inventive. And have fun!
