Technology Isn't Anti-Social: People Are by Erik Sass

In last Sunday's New York Times magazine, Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor at M.I.T., wrote an interesting and thoughtful article, titled "The Flight from Conversation," lamenting the ways technology -- social media and mobile devices in particular -- has (ironically) made human beings less social. For one thing, they allow us to isolate themselves from our surroundings, including other people, enveloping ourselves in another, virtual world. They also deceive us into thinking we are having real conversations, when in fact we are just trading little scraps of text and carefully-chosen images -- while keeping each other at arm's length. ...Read the whole story

search In Search of Social Optimization by Laurie Sullivan

Brands need to treat social optimization like real content and put it in the editorial calendar -- an insight from Kenn Gold, director of content development at PCH Online, during the MediaPost Search Insider Summit in Captiva, Fla. The discussion of how a good social program can impact search, led by aimClear CEO Marty Weintraub, covered tactical tips for optimizing social content on Facebook, Google+ and other social sites. ...More