Tag Archives: friendfeed

Google Buzz is Stealing my Blog Posts (not in a nasty way though)

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Google launched it’s new social network a few days back, Google Buzz. It’s more like Friendfeed than it is Twitter or Facebook. Since it’s launched, I’ve noticed that I’ve been putting posts on it that would make for OK blog posts, rather than the sort of thing I’d usually post to a status orientated social network.

My general rule of thumb where social networks are concerned are, if it’s something I think my friends/family might be interested in, I stick it on Facebook (as that’s where that social graph is), but I tend to post more geekier things on Twitter or this blog. The key difference though, is I stick stuff on Twitter and this blog, not because I want people to read them, but simply because I want to write them.

The problem with Twitter though, is that you have a 140 character limit. For me that’s not usually enough.

The problem with this blog though, is that I like the posts to be reasonably thought out and formatted – complete with links etc. As a result they take that bit longer and as a result don’t always get written.

In steps Google Buzz. Now when I have that thought that exceeds 140 characters, rather than use the blog (or never get around to writing it) I’m now finding I write it on Buzz (see my Buzz page here). No need to care about formatting there!

I’ve probably written more to Buzz in the first couple days than I did in the first few months of using Twitter.

And I was just getting use to the idea of nuggets go on Twitter, longer pieces go on this blog….

Sharing what you watch on TV

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The last couple years has seen the way my brain thinks about things slightly differently. This has been down to two reasons:

  1. The iPod
  2. Google Reader & Friendfeed

The difference is, I now want to rate and share everything.

With the iPod I find that when I’m listening to a track my brain now naturally comes up with a rating (which I then apply via the iPod). This extends beyond the iPod though and happens when I’m listening to the radio. Of course, my brain soon clocks on to the fact that I can’t rate it and moves on.

Google Reader and Friendfeed has caused my brain to naturally want to share things. In Google Reader, I find that if I enjoy an article, I click the Share button and it then appears on my Friendfeed stream. It doesn’t really matter if anyone actually reads it or not. The cost to share is so minimal (one click) that there’s no reason for me not to do it. To an extent its my way of showing my appreciation for the work.

As with the ratings, the need to share items also goes beyond Google Reader.

I read a good letter sent into Teletext and I want to (but cant) share it. Or – and this is kind of the point of this post – I’m watching something good on TV and I want to share that.

It happened the other night. I was watching a Neil Young performance and thought “Jesus this is amazing! Must share so other people know about it and can enjoy it.”. Of course, the option wasn’t there (apart from a few choice text messages). But I really hope that’s where we’re heading in the future.

In an ideal world, the following would have been possible when watching that Neil Young performance:

I’m watching the Neil Young performance and think “Jesus this is amazing!”. I hit the share button on the remote and the following occurs…

It first of all prompts me to ask which group of friends I’d like to notify. I have a group setup for those who I consider to have a similar taste for music as me. I choose it.

My brother is watching the TV and a little icon appears in the corner of his screen. Its to highlight the fact someone in his social graph (haven’t heard that term in a little while – it was all the rage a year ago) has shared something. He presses the ‘view shared items’ button on his remote (or something to that affect) and it points out I’ve shared the Neil Young show.

With this being the future and all, we’re watching video on demand rather than Sky. So he can either tune in from the start right there and then, or perhaps flag it as one to watch/stream later – maybe after he’s finished what he’s watching.

A friend, Mark, is visiting family in Cardiff. His mobile chirps and he checks it. A tweet has just come through on Google Talk stating that one of his friends has shared a tv show. He clicks the link which offers him the chance to flag it up for viewing later. He’s not a big Neil Young fan so he passes on it.

A few days later, Dan (another friend) is browsing his Google Reader feeds and notices I’ve shared this show. He clicks the link and starts viewing. He likes what he hears and in turn shares it by clicking his Google Reader share button. As he’s a Friendfeed user this shows up in his Friendfeed stream. And from there? All sorts of folks pay attention, share and discuss it. I see it on my Friendfeed and join the discussion.

I don’t think my brain will be happy until I can share everything I enjoy. The infrastructure is starting to take shape in the form of Google Reader, Friendfeed, Twitter, BBC iPlayer etc, we just need everyone to tap into it.

I’ll save the ‘rating’ part for another day.

Random Thoughts II

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Thoughts that don’t deserve their own posts:

  • MTV2 vrs NME TV? Considering how much I use to enjoy M2, it pains me to say NME wins it.
  • The best few hours of radio is on a Sunday evening on BBC 6Music. Listener 6Mix followed by Guy Garvey. For new music though, weekday evenings with Marc Riley and Tom Robinson are both solid. Both on 6Music too.
  • Whether I like it or not, Techmeme and Friendfeed seem to be stopping me from using Google Reader as often. I think I actually preferred it when I didn’t have the options.
  • Best soundtrack on TV (at least before the series ended)? The Apprentice (UK). I’m not a big fan of background music (especially the way US tv does it), but this music adds to it.
  • Worst theme tune? Girlfriends on Trouble. Becky watches it and it cuts right through me.
  • Best album of the year so far? Its a close fight between Nick Cave’s “Dig” and Elbow’s “Seldom Seen Kid”. Elbow have the advantage of me seeing them live though.
  • MGMT’s ”Electric Feel” has just clicked. Would sound great on a Sunday afternoon.