Stories

Kin Lane

Using Amazon Web Services for Facebook Applications

Not everyone knows you can about the Amazon Web Services Platform let alone that you can use it to create highly scalable applications for Facebook.Amazon Web Services is an ideal hosting environment for these applications. Developers can start small, test and prove out their ideas, and then rapidly add processing and storage resources as they develop an audience.Amazon is talking about building Facebook A...
Kin Lane

Jive Software advances XMPP and opens up possibilities of decentralized open source communications

Was just reading Could Instant Messaging (XMPP) Power the Future of Online Communication? at ReadWriteWeb. Enterprise collaboration company Jive Software posted today about a theory it's advancing on the rise of XMPP (called Jabber in IM) for powering communication services hosted in the cloud. The company also a...
Kin Lane

Google and Jotspot

I wish Google would go ahead and make their move with Jotspot. I have a Jotspot account, but I forget about it when using all my other Google Applications. Hopefully soon they get Jotspot integrated withe the rest of the Google Universe. A Wiki environment will really tie everything together.
Kin Lane

Example of Social Media in Podcast about Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age

Was listening to NPR today and a podcast on Choosing a Doctor in the Digital Age. It was great about how to use online review sites to find out what people are saying about doctors.Health consumers are increasingly shopping online for doctors through peer-based sites like FindADoc.com, DoctorScorecard.com, and even local city search sites.Great example of how grassroots growth in online usage...
Kin Lane

Al-Qaida Using Social Media by Opening up for Web Questions

I was just listening to an NPR story about how senior Al-Qaida press department has asked supporters to submit questions on a message boards.Supposively they are to be answered by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.Many jihadist and terrorists posted questions about he organization and what they should do?Seems everyone is seeing value in social media.
Kin Lane

2d Code - QR code and two dimensional bar codes, news, views and analysis.

After posting about cellular and mobile barcodes yesterday I received a comment from a guy who started an online magazine on the subject. 2d-code @ http://2d-code.co.uk/From their home page about the magazine:In Japan QR codes are found on everything from business cards to fresh lettuce. Now they are coming to the West and advertising and promotion will never be the same again. 2d Code will keep you informed...
Kin Lane

Social Media Content

I am stilling sifting through all the blogs I read and information I gather on a clear definition in my mind of what describes all the content I generate around the Internet.My social graph is a definition of my relationships and my communication with these people.I have been reading more on the social m...
Kin Lane

Organizing my Information and Maintaining Relevance

I have talked a little about how I organize my information using the Google Platform. I use Google Reader and Google Notebook to do all my research and thought gathering. I then use Google Docs to group and further refine my thoughts. I am working more with using the collaboration features to work with others to refine these thoughts in Google Docs as well.I have a constant problem with information and topics I would like to keep relevant getting buried an...
Kin Lane

Mobile Phone as Your Physical Link and Communication Device

I was just reading this article from the NY Times on the future of hand-held mobile devices (well for us in the US, others are using it). It talks about using your cell phone / hand held as a physical communication device in the real world.With wireless and blue tooth communication, your cell phone could be used to commun...
Kin Lane

Camera phone and other cell phone bar code technology

Some very interesting stuff in two-dimensional camera phone barcodes out there on the Internet. Was reading the NY Times Articles on Mobile Phone Barcodes and it referenced a couple of technologies like Semacode, QR Read more →
Kin Lane

Application Idea using the Google Platform

Had a new idea on how to use the Google Platform today. Reading so much about micro-blogging and twitter these days in the blogosphere.Was reading how non-profits can use micro-blogging and how it could be used in disaster and emergency scenarios until I read how Twitter failed during the MacWorld conference.So I was building upon an old idea on how you could use Google Notebook for micro-blogging and I thought even better you could use Google Spreadsheets.
Kin Lane

Pownce the New Sharing Application

For those of you who don't know Pownce is a application where you can send music, photos, messages, links, events, and more. You can do it all on our web site, or install a lightweight desktop software that lets you get out of the browser. It is a pretty interesting little application that allows you to import your contacts from your major networks using Plaxo it looks like.
Kin Lane

Importance of a Social Networking Strategy in 2008

All signs point to increased growth and popularity of social network in 2008. New regional and niche focused social networks are popping up everywhere and new users are getting involved everyday. This is definitely a space that businesses cannot continue to ignore and at least need to come up with a basic strategy for having a presence on the major social networking sites. With the economy slowing, spending may d...
Kin Lane

Definition of My Social Graph

I keep talking about what my single social interface, which I have been wrestling with as part of my social graph. Figured I better clarify for some of you what the social graph is?A social graph consists of who an individual is connected to based on the type of connections, such as work, friendship, interests, and location.I am still grasping the definition of my social graph as I partic...
Kin Lane

Create your own television ad for Cheerios

Everyone is getting in on the social media marketin...
Kin Lane

Google Platform for Writing

I use the "Google Platform" to help me build and evolve my central "content platform". For either one project or across all of them. I too am a software developer so I approach very similar. I have been using Google Platform to organize and publish my thoughts for some time now. I have wanted to start blogging on how I do this and work to organize my thoughts in a way I can share with others. I was reading Read more →
Kin Lane

New Google Features - Google News and Videos

It is fun finding new Google Features. I never really know when they come out, but when I find them they are new to me so I am blogging a...
Kin Lane

Share my Google Docs with my Gmail Groups

All right I have a couple of new Google Features for Google Docs tonight. In addition to Taking an ordered list in Google Docs and highlighting and publish as a Google Presentation, I would like another one:I am working about 40+ documents in Google Docs right now. I would like to share them all with someone and have them help me work on some and generally allow them to acess them.So what do I have to do? I have to go th...
Kin Lane

New Google Docs Feature

I have been using Google Notebook pretty heavily. I use it for about 80% of my data gathering in combination with the Google Notebook Firefox Add-on.I have permanent and temporary Google Notebook Folders for different purposes. I will export a notebook from a Google Notebook to Google Docs using the export feature available in the top right corner under tools.It really helps me internally publish gathered information to allow it to be more refined using Google Docs. ...
Kin Lane

The Costs Of Being A Creative

I was reading a post by Stowe Boyd called The Costs Of Being A Creative. This blog post really rings true in my world.I am constantly battling with my development life. I was taught that if you are a programmer that you are similar to being an accountant or insurance salesperson. I can't remember where I first got this perspective, but it was ingrained in me somewhere along the way.Only in ...
Kin Lane

LinkedIn's Refreshing Approach to Data Portability and Platform Openess

LinkedIn is just doing it the way it should be done. They fully embrace data portability as well as understand that they need to open their platform up via API's and taking part in OpenSocial. They provide what average users need in data portability as well as privacy. They also understand what us developers are looking for in a business class social networking platform.Check out their perspective by reading th...
Kin Lane

New Email to Groups Feature of Gmail

Google quietly release another cool feature of Gmail today. Now that we have groups under the Gmail contact manager, you can email to groups of contacts now instead of just to individual contacts.Seems they are really growing their contact manager system and introducing more of the relationship management features moving towards social network management.They continue bringing it together.
Kin Lane

GigaSpaces Infinitely-Scalable Application Platform

Was introduced to GigaSpaces today by a friend at the University of Oregon. What an amazing application platform. It truly an infinite scaling application that just doesn't handle the back-end tier, it tackles the business layer as well.This is similar to the technology that Google and Amazon have built for themselves and their offerings. They also have an GigaSpaces Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that is publicly available, a...
Kin Lane

Data Portability - Overview and Introduction

I am formulating my thoughts around data portability and how it will affect life as I continue to become 100% web-based in my work and personal life. I thought as I am working through it I would talk about here and help users understand their data portability, the standards and why it is important to have.So this first post I guess is about what is data portability. So in this Web 2.0 world we are increasingly interacting with other people and services online. Our data is sprea...
Kin Lane

Bebo Social Network Application Development Platform

I went ahead and signed up for Bebo Social Network tonight. I was reading a blog post on Techcrunch called Bebo's Platform Now Open for All Developers and thought I should go ahead check it out for myself.I belong to most of the major Social Networks now and was reading the other day on how Bebo was named a...