Sherwinpedia » Social Media

Wave with me.

Sherwin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 06:37:00 +0000

[wave id="googlewave.com!w+tq142v0PA" bgcolor="#fff"]
Probably old news, but it turns out waves can be embedded in Wordpress with Wavr.

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This Day in History: The Facebook Land Grab

Sherwin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:21:40 +0000

So I bought into the hype (what else was I supposed to do?) and spent half an hour watching the clock tick down at facebook.com/username.. confident that I would be able to claim my spot as the number 1 sherwin on the internets. After all, I already own the much coveted twitter.com/sherwin.

I sat and waited, following the events as the unfolded on the Mashable chat.. half expecting Facebook to implode under the load of a billion page refreshes. Fortunately it didn’t.. and from the goings on at the countdown I found that my countdown timer was running slightly slower. This is understandable, but I suspect that this was what sealed my fate as not being able to claim the spot of #1 Sherwin on the internet.

Because of this 1 second delay, another Sherwin swooped in and claimed the username I had been eagerly waiting for since the announcement was made more than a week ago.

So now I’m facebook.com/sherwinhuang or facebook.com/sherwin.huang or facebook.com/sherwin-huang take your pick.

Not too bad I guess! At least I’m not sherwinhuang28912317

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WordPress 2.7: Finally, a downside to the upgrade

Sherwin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:15:25 +0000

Tried to install the WordPress Lifestream plugin, but I got an error message. Since the upgrade to WordPress 2.7, I’ve found myself faced with a variety of memory errors such as this one with a number of plugins, and even when publishing:

“Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 16777216 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 311296 bytes) in /*/*/*/*/*/wp-content/plugins/lifestream/lib/simplepie.inc on line 4152″

I had a similar problem with cForms 9.3 on another WordPress blog I that upgraded. wp-admin wouldn’t load and I had to uninstall WP 2.7 and reinstall the older version (2.6.5) to get it working again. Only then did the plugin work. I recently read an article on Mashable saying that cForms is supposed compatible with WP 2.7, so I’m not sure if it’s my web host’s servers (smartyhost) not being able to keep up with this new version’s memory requirements or just incompatibility.

These plugins haven’t worked for me at all:
cForms 9.3 (9.2 seems to work)
Lifestream 0.85c

This has worked with a small error message:
tantan noodle’s Flickr plugin appears to work but has displayed a similar error when I tried to insert images based in interestingness.

Another issue I’ve faced is that auto install for plugins don’t work. Probably my hosting again. The plugins download fine but are not unpacking. Maybe I should contact them about this.

Anyone else having similar problems with WP 2.7?

*UPDATE* I got Smartyhost to up my memory. They increased it to 64MB and it’s all working fine again!

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Facebook Connect YOUR BLOG

Sherwin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:11:59 +0000

With integration of profiles with personal blogs, it’s kind of a toss up between Google and Facebook. It looks really easy and I like how it appears to be so customisable. I’ll need to do more research into this, but I’ll implement this as soon as I can find the free time. Then again, someone might beat me to it and build an awesome WordPress plugin so I won’t have to do a thing.

via Mashable

More at the Facebook Developer Site

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Quick WordPress 2.7 Thoughts

Sherwin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:31:32 +0000

WordPress 2.7 is a very different beast from it’s predecessors.

Well there are changes to the front end, like a more advanced comments system and I’m sure a countless number of little enhancements, but front ends are the domain of the visitor and theme developers. Let’s look at WordPress from the perspective of a user. After all, us bloggers are the ones who will end up most affected by these updates.

Comparing the old and new interfaces, one gets a sense that WP has really come of age. Moving with the times, the interface looks much better resolved, adopting an almost Apple glossy type finish. Whereas the old interface looked like it was hacked together almost as an afterthought, it certainly looks like a lot more consideration was put into the overall feel of the interface, with a full set of icons the result of a worldwide search.

The new layout is certainly a lot more user centered. Gone are the variety of navigation bars that used to take up the top of the screen. Now all the various bits and sections of the site are pretty much available within two clicks from the collapsible accordion. Very clever way to compress all that information into a small space. The WP team have really put a focus on publishing. After all, what else is a blog for?

There is the new Quickpress tool that lets you write a post directly from the dashboard, but who really needs that when it’s so easy to reach the Post page. There is a drop down from the top bar and a link from the accordion! It’s all over the place!

Another great feature is the Screen options menu. It lets me reduce clutter by hiding stuff that I don’t need.

Plugin installation is also made incredibly simple. The new plugins interface lets you find and install new plugins right in the admin interface. This is a great next step from on step updates, because sometimes the whole process of having to download, unpack and upload was a bit of a hassle.

It took me awhile to get my bearings back, but the result of this redesign is that it makes me feel much more in control. It feels like in the aftermath of events in which blogs and social media have overtaken traditional platforms, WordPress has really come of age.

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Open Social Networks

Sherwin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:07:02 +0000

We’re seeing a lot of networks make their data publicly available through APIs: Twitter, Flickr, Brightkite and the lot all allow people to use and manipulate data as well as in some cases insert data, effectively allowing people to use their service without even having to visit their site. Data that would otherwise have been isolated and network-centric has now become freely available to all. After all, data doesn’t like to be lonely either.

This is data Darwinianism in a sense, allowing data to evolve as it gets cross bred.

Twitter + Google Maps = Twittervision

Tarpipe and Ping.fm are kind of like the alpha males, impregnating all the networks.

The list goes on…

It seems that there’s almost an expectation now that newer networks will come with a certain level of interoperability or openess about them. This makes sense, because we’ve been given that sort of expectation by the current breed of network and nobody wants to take steps backwards. Also, mashing stuff together gives information flavour and makes it more valuable. To state a simple analogy: A boiled potato by itself is good, but put some sauce (maybe sprinkle on some bacon) on it and it’s great.

If users make up the collective God that determines which network live and which dies, maybe the future of social networking will really end up being governed by the laws of nature. No one network will be able to stand on its own for long. It needs to support and be supported. To feed on and be fed to.

Maybe some things never change.

ReadWriteWeb

Identoo

Noserub

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What I’ve Learnt From #Mumbai

Sherwin — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 03:08:16 +0000

I guess people have been thinking it, but it’s a great opportunity for a select few to get exposure using social media.

I followed with great interest on Twitter, people who may or may not be on the ground updating on the situation in #Mumbai. One particular user from India was updating every other minute, giving live commentary which were summaries of what he had seen live on television. I know this because he was considerate enough to cite his sources. In between commentary, he was exchanging his opinions with other Twitter users as well. Clearly some people got up and paid attention to him. I know I did.

So if you’re lucky enough to latch on to an emerging story, and have access to somewhat privileged information like that fellow’s live Indian TV broadcasts, it’s a good opportunity for just about anyone to play the part of citizen journalist. Even if you’re not really there that’s alright. There’s 15 minutes of fame (maybe more) in relaying information to the rest of the world.

And how about the now world famous Vinu? His images captured during early hours of the attack have propelled him into the limelight. Nobody noticed that the earlier images on Flickr didn’t bear his watermark. He was in the right place at the right time (maybe not so right), and he was able to ride the wave of search queries. Perhaps we’ll see ads on his blog soon.

The fact is that everyone likes a catastrophe as long as it’s not happening to them. Katrina, Sichuan, etc etc. These things capture hits, and if you’re quick, clever or amoral enough, there is much profit to be made from harnessing the internet in the wake of such events.

Who knows? I might get a few hits off this post as well.

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Tropic Thunder Viral

Sherwin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:25:01 +0000

httpv://youtube.com/watch?v=zNrbWOQx3_I

This video is probably worth studying.

It seems to have all the elements of an effective viral video. I wonder if Ben Stiller had a look at this?

There is even a Tropic Thunder mockumentary!

Random Posts

The Great Twollow Experiment!

Sherwin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:17:36 +0000

This morning (it always happens in the morning for me) I came across Twollow.

If you don’t know what Twollow is, check out the video below.

Anyway, it seems that a lot of people think it’s going to be primarily a tool for spammers. I agree with them on that count, but there is some good that could come out of this. Perhaps some some meaningful conversations.

There is all possibility that it can be used for the greater good of Twittering, and so I’ve decided to try something out:

First, I’ve designated “Social Media” as a keyword.

As of now I am following 88 people on Twitter, but let’s see how many I’ll end up with in a week’s time. In this time I will take note of people I follow, so that I can keep count of how many actually get followed as a result of Twollowing.

Out of these people, I’d like to see how many of them I can actually find myself wanting to interact with in some fashion. In fact, I’ve already added one zaibatsu to my linkedin profile.

Interesting personal experiment to see if any good comes of Twollow.

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Google Friend Connect: Social Media for The Small Stage

Sherwin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:17:20 +0000

httpv://au.youtube.com/watch?v=N94s7ix0JPo

It would appear from the video that Google has made it really simple for anyone to construct a network solely around their site. First there were the big networks where anything goes (facebook, etc), then came groups for the sites. As of late there have been an increasing number of more personalised networks. In fact, this morning was the first time I read about Twingr.

With this, Google could possibly be the opening of the floodgates to more personal social network platforms that are tailored to meet requirements or are targeted at very specific audiences, something that Ning could probably be credited with starting. This could be very useful for bloggers and small businesses who want to build a great sense of community around their small part of the web without having to go through all sorts of trouble.

Alternatively, we could all end up with community overdose. Too much information coming from everywhere. I guess with everything it’s about proper application. Too much of anything can be bad.