Interview with the “Raoul Moat You Legend” Woman
Although it’s easy to assume that the people who created the Facebook group “RIP Raoul Moat You Legend” are dumb and misguided, I thought I’d hold back judgement at least until I see why they think what they think. All to often I see what first appears to be a crazy statement only to later learn that it’s not that crazy afterall.
So after reading this Charlie Brooker article, I found the interview he mentioned that took place between Ian Collins (a TalkSport presenter) and the woman who set the Facebook group up. I’d finally get to hear why she set it up.
I’m almost disappointed to say that she really is every bit as dumb and misguided as you might think she is based on the group she created. There is no point to the group.
It does make for an interesting interview though. Worth a listen:
Oh, and to the woman in the interview: “Everyone’s entitled to an opinion” doesn’t act as an argument for your opinion.
And another “Oh”.. top marks to the presenter for the Colombo line 
Different Ways to Consume the Same Content (Flipboard and Boxee)
What is Flipboard? It turns your Facebook and Twitter account into something that looks like a magazine. It also lets you build a custom magazine, either by choosing from Flipboard’s pre-built curated “boards” or by importing Twitter lists. This is a very powerful and engaging way to read Twitter. You can also turn a single person’s Twitter account, or a single brand’s Twitter account, into a Flipboard. For instance, you can follow Techcrunch on Twitter with it and it will turn Techcrunch into a beautiful magazine-like interface that’s easier to read than any other reader.
via First look at “revolutionary” social news iPad app: Flipboard — Scobleizer.
From what little I've seen of Flipboard, and the number of rave reviews it's getting on Twitter by people I follow, it's certainly increased my desire to get an iPad.
It's surprising what a difference it can make to view the same data through different clients. For example, viewing Twitter and Facebook content through Boxee on the living room TV is very different to viewing the same posts on the desktop PC using Brizzly or twitter.com. Boxee displays only the links posted that contains video, and then displays that video in full screen (on the big screen). When sat on the sofa this is a vastly improved experience compared to sitting at a desk, no matter how big the monitor is. I'm used to watching video on the sofa, and working at the desk.
Flipboard appears to take Tweets and Facebook statuses and rather than optimise them for the living room, it optimizes them as if each link contained within a post were a magazine article.
It goes to show there is more to Twitter than just "what I had for breakfast". I wonder what other variations can be applied to Twitter and Facebook beyond the standard 'stream' view?
Glastonbury, Twitter and the Other World
For me, Glastonbury has been a good gauge of how much Twitter has grown.
I remember searching a couple years ago for Glastonbury on Twitter during the Weds and Thurs. There were probably 5-10 tweets an hour at most.
Performing a search now and there are many a second:
And Twitter and it’s like have certainly had an impact on Glastonbury too.
Gone are the days where the Q Daily could stick a rumour regarding the outside world in their daily newspaper and you couldn’t confirm or deny it without ringing someone on the outside (that’s assuming you could get a signal). A few years back the outside world was cut off world. Now-a-days Twitter, Facebook and access to the mobile web in general means that even if you’re not keeping up with the outside world with your phone, your mate probably is. There’s no escaping the news now (I can’t decide on whether this is a good thing or not..).
I remember thinking last year that when Jackson died, in previous years that news would have been considered yet another rumour that goes around the festival. However, a quick look at the mobile phone now and it’s confirmed.
Idea: Google Reader in Boxee
We've now got a decent media PC in the living room that displays video correctly. As a result I'm using Boxee a lot more than I previously did (as in I actually use it).
Friends Activity
One of my favorite features is that it lists the videos that your friends and the people you follow have posted on Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz.
This results in a nice mix of music (Facebook), geek (Twitter) and fun stuff (both).
Usually when people post videos I rarely watch them. The viewing expierence on both my iPhone and desktop PC isn't the best. I'm simply not used to watching and enjoying video on them.
However, on the big screen tv whilst sat on the sofa, it all makes sense and is a good way to kill 20 minutes.
Google Reader
It made wonder what other services would make a good source for video. Most of the content I read is via Google Reader. However, as with Facebook and Twitter I can't sit there and watch the content the various sites post. So I figured wouldn't it be neat if Boxee pulled in my Google Reader feed (this could be all items or particular categories) and display the videos that feature in that feed.
Boxee Fail
Then the penny dropped. I remembered that the second best feature of Boxee is the way it manages RSS feeds. Using a web based GUI accessible via your favorite browser, you can easily add podcasts that can then be viewed via Boxee.
All I had to do was insert a feed I've shared via Google Reader and I should have the functionality I want. However, when I attempted to do that it failed stating it could not detect a feed.
Bummer.
If I find the time I might have a crack at creating a Boxee app that does it. If I do create such an app, or find a different solution I'll post it on this blog.