The problem with notifications is that the cost to create them is close to zero — just hit that Like button or go ahead and click that retweet button. As their creation cost approaches zero, notifications rapidly become spam-like as the noise of their quantity masks the quality of their signal. But we learned our lesson with spam. We knew what happened when we lost control of our inboxes and spent our time sorting through the useless noise searching for the signal. We learned how to curate. Curation is social-media-douche-speak for “deliberately choosing and pruning the content you care about” and I think part of the next Internet is curation at scale thanks to notifications.
Category: Social Media
Maybe the iOS 5/Twitter Thing Means Income for the Social Media Company?
Tweeting with the Newton
Twitter Doesn’t ‘Get’ Deadlines
Twitter’s Matt Harris, on the DM thing:
All of this information has helped us to improve the OAuth flow for you and your users. But, we know that we’re getting close to the DM enforcement date and that some of these new features aren’t available to you yet.
We understand this means you might not be able to fully test your updated flow so we are going to extend the deadline until the end of June.
On Tweets as Journalism
In the course of any news event, whether it’s an earthquake or a shooting or a revolution, there will be times when Twitter makes sense as a tool — as Stelter showed with his reports from Joplin, and as Sohaib Athar showed when he effectively became a journalist for a few hours during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. But that doesn’t obviate the need for articles or commentary or features.
No More #dickbar
Rather than continue to make changes to the QuickBar as it exists, we removed the bar from the update appearing in the App Store today. We believe there are still significant benefits to increasing awareness of what’s happening outside the home timeline. Evidence of the incredibly high usage metrics for the QuickBar support this. For now, we’re going back to the drawing board to explore the best possible experience for in-app notification and discovery.
The Power of Bad Ideas
Check out what the user ratings for the official Twitter client have done after the Dickbar release:
The Community
There are two things I remind myself of daily in regards to social media. The first is that this technology exists to create true community. It’s not a game, or a toy, or a matter to be taken lightly. When you begin interacting online, you are dipping your foot into a very special place, where true friendships can grow and impressions can be made that affect future employment or reputation with potential customers. The Internet isn’t a disposable spoon to be used when convenient and thrown away without regard. Real relationships are formed, and actual people exist behind the lovely twitter avatars we see each day. Real people. With feelings and dreams and issues and needs.
Twitterrific 4 for Mac
There are few things I’d like to see changed, but overall, it’s a great release. I especially love all of the keyboard shortcuts.
If That’s Not Irony, I Don’t Know What Is
TMZ:
Mark Zuckerberg claims he’s being stalked by a man who’s been sending him creepy messages through Facebook and threatening his safety … TMZ has learned.
Zuckerberg has obtained a restraining order against 31-year-old Pradeep Manukonda – after Mark filed legal papers claiming the guy has tried to “follow, surveil and contact Mr. Zuckerberg using language threatening his personal safety” … and the safety of his girlfriend and his sister.
Jesse Gardner, on Quitting Facebook and Twitter
It was part of Gardner’s series of 30-day challenges for 2011:
First, I realized that for all of their flaws, these social sites provide a means of communication with family that’s far away, and that’s something I missed quite a lot. My family doesn’t live nearby, so I kept asking my wife what was going on with family members and she’d show me pictures from Facebook. I also had lots of video and photos of Ethan and our family capers that I wanted to share, and Facebook makes that easy.
Brett Kelly, on Facebook
The thing is, I’m one dude with a finite amount of time and attention and I simply can’t maintain 500 friendships. I don’t believe anybody can — at least not the type of friendships I’m interested in maintaining.
I just can’t maintain 500 relationships — I don’t want to.
[Shamelessly duplicated from TBR]