Twitter can cost

So everyone loves to get on Twitter and post whatever they are thinking or just say what's on their mind.  Most of the time it is alright, but sometimes for certain people it can cost.  In a recent article the NBA fined Mickey Arison the owner of the Miami Heat $500,000 for comments he made on Twitter.  He was disagreeing with the NBA lockout and made some comments that appartenly were offensive, so the NBA decided to take action.  This isn't the first time this has happened earlier this year Charlotte Bobcats owner was fined $100,000 for his comments on the lockout.  When it comes to being part of a business such as the NBA, freedom of speech does not really apply and it can cost you a lot of money.  Personally I think $500,000 and $100,000 is a little excessive, but then again the owners probably know what they can and can't say.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/sfl-miami-heat-micky-arison-s103111,0,5066029.story

LinkedIn

So LinkedIn is the preferred site for business networking.  I just set up my LinkedIn account ,but don't really know how to use it yet.  Although I don't know how to use it I feel like it will help me in the future .  Gaining connections in the business world seems like a major competitive advantage over others that don't use LinkedIn.  It seems like your online resume and can show off all of your attributes. It is such a different site than Facebook.  It is used for networking, but not in the same way.  Even the founder of LinkedIn feels like Facebook is not direct competition.  LinkedIn is so useful for emloyees and emloyers.  It can save a company so much money by being able to research a possible cantidate.  It can also benefit the employee by allowing multiple companies to view thier profile.  Overall I am excited to see what LinkedIn can do for me in the future and see how much it can help me network with other people.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/20/technology/linkedin_facebook_hoffman_web2/

Google Plus

So by now I'm sure everyone has heard of Google Plus.  It is the fastest growing social media site, but is anybosy using it or does everyone just have an account just to see what it is?  I'm one of those people that just got invited and signed up just out of curiosity.  Other people still believe it is the next big thing.  The hype has calmed down a bit, but long term people still think it will continue to be used more.  Google Plus does have some cool options, but as of right now i don't know if it is enough for people to use it regularly.  If people are already using Twitter and Facebook, do they really have time for another social media site.  If Google, which has the resources, continues to develop Plus, then I think it may start to be relevant.  I think a year from now if Google continues to experiment and see what people really want, they can start to steal some active users from Facebook.  The only problem once again is that everyone is on Facebook and it is so hard to switch if you don't have a reason to leave.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/22/i-believe-in-google-plus/

The 'Anti' Facebook

So I read this article today about a new social media site that is trying to be the anti Facebook.  The new site is called Unthink.  They are claiming to be different and unique unlike Facebook.  Basically they are trying to be the hipster version of social media.  The main goal of Unthink is that they want users to be the owners of their profile, which is the opposite of Facebook.  They claim that Facebook owns their users profiles because they can put whatever advertisements on there that they want.  With Unthink you get to choose a company of your intersst to sponsor your profile.  So if you like Bud Light you could choose them to publish ads on your profile.  If you do not want any ads on your page you can choose to pay $2 a year instead.  This is a pretty cool idea, although most people aren't that concerned about what ads are on their profile.  There are also a couple of other features on Unthink such as the privacy control and an area for connecting with business colleagues that are different than Facebook.  When signing up for Unthink you also get and app that allows you to import all your Facebook media directly to Unthink, which is pretty convenient.  Overall Unthink has a new approach that is unique, but once again Facebook is huge and is going to be nearly impossible to take over.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/25/anti-facebook-social-network-unthink-launches-to-public/

Twitter on the iPhone

     So this past week or so Apple released the new iOS 5 operating system for the iPhone.  I've heard a lot about it and how much most people like it.  It has a few new features including one option that allows Twitter users to integrate Twitter into apps.  Users can now tweet from main apps such as the maps, YouTube, contacts, and others.  There is even an option where Twitter will go through your contacts and add their Twitter information.  So if you are watching a video on your YouTube app and want to tweet about it, this new operating system makes it much easier. 

      I think this is a very cool new feature for the iPhone.  It's not that it couldn't be done before, but now people can share interests much quicker.  This is just another way Apple is adapting to what people want and once again  shows that they know how to lead innovation.  I like the fact that Apple is always thinking ahead.  They are always coming up with new ways to improve their products.  They always have new operating systems coming out and are always trying to fix previous problems.  That is probably one major reason they are such a successful company.  Many other companies have a hard time keeping up with such an innovative company. 

     I also think this new operating system does a lot of good for Twitter.  Twitter now gets more attention and publicity.  Their users now have a much easier way to use their accounts.  I don't see how this could have any negative effects for Twitter as a company.  It may even help contribute to many new users. 

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-19512_7-20120216-233/twitter-integration-in-ios-5-a-closer-look/?part=test-cnet&subj=software&tag=title

New Facebook

So recently I've heard a lot about Facebook having a new look.  This new Facebook has what is called a "timeline" of your life.  It will show the series of events from years ago to your most current.  Some people dislike change and like Facebook the way it is, but I think it is something everyone will get used to pretty fast.  One thing that concerns people is the privacy.  With the timeline it will show some past events that you may not want people to know about.  I also think that Facebook is trying to adapt to keep up with new social media sites like Twitter and Google Plus.  I think it is a big gamble on Facebook's part, but even if people get mad it will take a lot for them to leave Facebook all together.  With so many people on Facebook and a small sumber of social media substitutes it seems impossible for Facebook to fail, but it did happen to MySpace.

http://mashable.com/follow/topics/facebook-timeline/