While only a few web-wide audience measurement services publish near-real-time data to the public, when other more rigorous audience measurement sources like comScore, NielsenNetratings, and others release March data in early April, it will be interesting to see if the trend holds up across demographically balanced populations, instead of just tech elite.

If Twitter hasn’t hit your radar yet:  Twitter (www.twitter.com) is a web service that asks a simple question, “What are you doing?” Twitter users get 140 characters to answer, and they can share their answer with a list of friends, or include it in a public timeline.

Answers to that question have lead to a trend that the pundits are starting to call “Micro-blogging” as Twitter users provide short responses that range from the most mundane to deeply thought-provoking. “Twitter is to blogging what the phone was to the pony express,” writes one blogger, voicing an opinion shared by many, that Twitter has lower bar to entry, and a higher potential for rapid information & opinion exchange, than traditional blogging formats. But Twitter is not without its detractors; criticisms include information overload and “cat blogging” (boring, pointless posts).

• For a round-up of some of the best blogs on Twitter, see TailRank: http://tailrank.com/posts/find/?q=twitter ; for the MSM take, the Wall Street Journal: WSJ - Friends Swap Twitters, and Frustration

When I first saw Twitter, I was tempted to write it off, because it reminded me of the way my friends and I often use the Personal Message line in Windows Live Messenger (ex: JenniF – in B121 ‘til noon or –back from vacation!). But it’s gained too much momentum to be only that. Some compelling features that push it past mere text messaging include fluid switching between formats (you can select to have your updates sent to you on a web page, via IM, or SMS), and fills an unmet market  need for mobile social software. It also has an API, so developers can adapt the platform for new uses and services.

It’s those mashups that have really caught my attention: what’s more interesting than the service itself is the way the technology has been adapted and evolved by the community, far beyond the social networking that it was designed for. From simple Lifehacks that describe ways  to use Twitter to enhance productivity (get recommendations, speedy Q&A, friendsourcing) to some pretty ground-breaking stuff, like:

·         Campaign connection – presidential hopeful John Edwards is using Twitter to build a following (1200+ and counting, as of this post) and to keep them informed of his upcoming appearances and policy developments. http://twitter.com/johnedwards

·         A home-automation system (Twitter mashup with XTension controls): Twittering Your Home

·         Natural disaster response: USGS Earthquake Center on Twittter.

·         GPS-based location data:  mobile widget from uLocate

·         A reader that serves up the latest articles and posts from sites like the NYT, ArsTechnica, Techmeme,  and popular blogs are being added non-stop.

As with most trends, the coolest-of-the-cool are already beginning to consider Twitter passe, with predictions of its eminent demis and snarky jumping the shark comments. I'm not ready to write it off just yet...I plan to stay tuned.  

If you do check it out, be sure to add me to your Twitter friends: www.Twitter.com/jennifren

 

Computing doesn’t have to be grey or dull, says PC World. The UK superstore has pumped some colour into the world of technology with the exclusive Samsung Q40 Pink Laptop.

The Samsung Q40 Pink Laptop weighs only 1.15kg and is under an inch thick. It’s so slim and light that it’s an ideal choice for mobile working.

 

 

• Tablet (convertible) functionality & OS
• Speed - enough speed so that I can take it for granted.
• Memory - I work with a lot of large data & graphics-intensive files, so I'm looking for a machine with a lot of memory
• Lightweight - My current machine weighs a ton. I'm sick of lugging around a brick, so I'm looking for a machine that's incredibly light-weight
• Boot speed - needs to boot super-fast so I can take notes on the fly (you know, like I did with my PocketPC)
• Battery length - again, battery life on the Dell Lattitude is deplorable.  I'm looking for something with enough juice to allow me to keep working through several hours of meetings plus a bus-ride without having to lug cords.

The next time you're in London and you want a stand-out manicure, try this latest style.

On a silver background, the ones-and-zero's spell out the wearer's name (screen name, of course) in binary. As seen on WarrenEllis' blog:

The latest update to the MSN Search Toolbar introduces tabbed browsing!

Download it here:

Search and browse smarter with MSN Search Toolbar, now with Windows Desktop Search

If you've used applications with tabbed browsing before, you'll understand why this is so exciting!

If you haven't used tabbed browsing before, download the toolbar & give it a whirl. It's a great way to save time and keep track of info better than ever before...

On Microsoft.com: featured on the homepage, Tips for using right-clicking. I'd heard about half of these already and then forgot I knew them. I think they'll come in handy soon.

On Google: today's logo art appears to have an architectural theme, and some of the buildings look kinda familiar. Clicking on the logo art takes you to a page of results on Frank Lloyd Wright. I wonder why?

On Amazon: Amazon Statistically Improbably Phrases (SIP for short--for a good example, see the profile for Gone With the Wind, but brace yourself for racist vocabulary). To provide this analysis, Amazon does some drool-worthy number crunching on the "look inside" text to identify phrases that are unique to a particular work or author. According to this Wired write-up, the new feature brings together two hot-now on-line trends, the "long tail" (aka the ability to be able to find the arcana that only a limited number of people care about) and automatic meta-tagging, as is proving so successful on del.iciou.us & flickr.

• On blog CoFactors, a new game has emerged using the technology, called Six Degrees of SIPeration
• How cool would it be to run the Statistically Improbably Phrases algorithm against my own blog, to be able to match it against other blogs in order to find people who are talking about the same topics that I am?

A few months back, I blogged about MIMO, the new Wireless technology I'm interested in getting for my home network.

Now it's out, and just this week it's gone on sale.

With a $30 rebate, it's now in the "reasonable" price range (about $99 for the router).

• At BestBuy: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1099384455464&type=product&skuId=6960238&tab=6&productCategoryId=pcmcat25300050001
• At Circuit City: http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=116505&WT.mc_n=4&WT.mc_t=U

I haven't done the due-dilligence searching at other outlets--I'll post here if I find a better deal...

I did better on this than I thought I would--all that hanging out with my fashion-forward roomate Heidi & the Nordy girls must be rubbing off! :)

How do you score?

MSN Encarta - Fashion Quiz: From A-Line to Zouave

It's Mothers' Day!

Happy day, Mom & Grandma, if you're reading this now!

For the rest of you, if you're reading this--stop and go call your mom already!

You can keep reading if you haven't given your Mom a card already. It's easy to make one with Microsoft Office Templates.

From this page, just choose your Mothers' Day greeting card, download, and print.

For that extra-special touch, you can personalize by adding your own message or pictures to the card.

To personalize an Office Templates greeting card with your own digital photo:

1. Download a greeting card template. For Mothers' Day, I suggest this one.

2. In Microsoft Word, on the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click From File.

3. In the Insert Picture dialog box, browse to the location where you have your pictures stored. Select the picture or pictures you'd like to use here, and click Insert.

4. Your picture will probably be inserted behind the graphic on the card. To move the picture, click on the visible part of it, and then on the right-click menu, point to Format Picture. On the Layout tab, click In Front of Text. Then click OK.

5. You may also need to rotate or resize your picture to line it up with the template in Microsoft Word. To roate, on the Draw menu (probably at the bottom of your screen; if you don't see it, on the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Draw), point to Rotate, and then click Flip Vertical. To resize, click on the picture, and then drag the borders to make it the size you want

6. Add any personalized text, and then print your greeting card.

7. Fold your card, and be sure to sign your name.

Now, if only mailing a present were this easy, too!

Featured on today's Microsoft.com homepage:

Using the RSS Feeds for the Internet Explorer Community

The article is written in such a way that if you've never used RSS before (like 95% of the online population, according to Pew Internet & American Life studie), then this will help you get started.

If you are an RSS user, this article provides links to a page with a handful of IE-related RSS feeds to choose from.

Happy feeding!

Congratulations to the MSN Spaces & MSN Messenger team for their full new product releases!

• If you haven't already installed it, be sure to check out the new MSN Messenger 7.0
• If you're a frequent MSN Spaces visitor, you may have already noticed some of the new features that shipped with the full-version launch, including the new Best of MSN Spaces site and more storage, better RSS support, and more
• Exciting first-hand perspective about the release are available on MSN Spaces team member's Jason Antonelli's blog

In a post on BoingBoing about MTV's new "Overdrive" digitial media entertainment service I read this morning, I came across a fascinating quote/meme (used in a parenthetical, it was actually more interesting than the topic of the post itself!) According to BoingBoing contributing editor Xeni Jardin,

Beta is the new black

How true! I started thinking about all the cool new sites & services that are out in beta, and are lingering in beta for an indeterminate amount of time. This service tops the list, as do all those cool new Google labs features, and a bunch of interesting sites, too.

So now I've started thinking, what would happen if I applied the "beta" label to elements of my off-line life?

• That new recipe, where I tried improvising with all low-fat/low-carb ingredients? If it didn't quite work out right, it's okay, it's a beta!
• If my fashion-conscious roommate casts a disparaging eye over an outfit that doesn't quite work together? Doesn't matter, it's a beta!
• The meeting at work that didn't stick to the agenda, but turned up lots of important issues? Of course, it's a beta! Watch for the full release in coming weeks!

The possibilities are endless...

Someone mentioned to me that they thought my "meditation" from this morning was deep and profound, so to add a little levity to the day, I thought I'd link to this site, a classic but still tons of fun:

• Virtual Bubblewrap!