Show Me the Whimsy! by Erik Sass

As a platform for user-generated content (where'd that catchphrase ever go?) one of the main attractions of social media, in my opinion, is that it serves as a forum for whimsy -- the errata and marginal enthusiasms that are uncovered when people become their own media sources, or create ad hoc organizations devoted to the absurd. But the human capacity for whimsy, being unlimited, also threatens to dilute social media's basic value to users by cluttering it with a bunch of weird crap. So where should the line be drawn? All this occurred to me when reading about Facebook's decision ...Read the whole story

  • Social Networking In Matters Of Life And Death by Laurie Sullivan

    Early Friday morning, Poland-based Implix CEO and Founder Simon Grabowski signed on to the company's Facebook page to find a status update from Rachael, a client, letting the world know about her intent to commit suicide. Grabowski had noticed strange updates on Rachael's Facebook account for the past few days, but didn't think this Houston, Texas-based client would actually attempt to take her own life. ...Read the whole story

  • Google Influences Lives In Social Marketing Coupon Site by Laurie Sullivan

    Ex-Google and DoubleClick employees Jason Kalish and Jorge Zapata have launched a coupon aggregator that serves up daily offers and discounts from Groupon, YouSwoop and others across more than 50 cities. The local offers are combined and delivered to people either in email, RSS Feed, Twitter tweets, or Facebook Fan page. ...Read the whole story