The On-Going Conversation

A Simple Realization

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." - Albert Einstein

A Social Reality: Choose Wisely

As human beings and social animals, we look for guidance from the people we choose to surround ourselves with; that's what we do best.

The Nature of Online Relations

Social networks are helping people stay in touch, but are Internet communities simply tangible cliques taking place online? Social platforms allow friends and family to stay in touch more frequently, although there may be detrimental elements to consider as well.

The ramifications of social media could include the destruction of interpersonal communication skills and the wasting of time throughout the day. I can only imagine how much time people use on a weekly basis to stay connected with their digital friends.

Read the full article and listen to the story via NPR

LinkedIn Wants Users to Visit Daily

LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Today, a social news tool for business users that encourages perpetual use, similar to Facebook and Twitter.

From a consistent use standpoint, LinkedIn has a hard time competing with Facebook and Twitter. Users seem to view LinkedIn as a professional portal that doesn't require continual monitoring. Facebook and Twitter on the other hand seem to have a connected mantra that requires daily attention, and users feel out of touch if they aren't constantly engaged and interconnected.

Obviously this isn't the case, but users feel a subconscious isolation if they aren't checking their digital lives on a daily basis. Most people view LinkedIn as an environment for career networking, which doesn't consist of frequent changes and status updates. Users even have their Twitter updates linked via an external platform that appears on the LinkedIn feed, which is included on the landing page.

As a result, LinkedIn is trying to capture a degree of success with this approach to social media. They want to encourage uses to visit on a daily basis, by providing more value and the ability to directly search news online. To a certain extent, they want to be a one-stop shop for online content absorption. This may be quite challenging, although it is a great place to commence in a difficult social space.

Read the full article via Fast Company

Social Law in a Digital Age

A federal judge recently granted the U.S. government access to the Twitter accounts of three of WikiLeaks's strongest supporters.

Read the full article via Mashable

A Social Deal Super Bowl

LivingSocial surged traffic by 80% with a lone discount for Amazon.com during the Super Bowl, while Groupon only managed a 3% increase.

Read the full article via Fast Company

BranchOut: The Social Job Search

Social Tools: LinkedIn has 90 million users and Facebook has roughly 500 million active users, with more joining each and every day.

Read the full article via Fast Company

Preserve Your Online Reputation

Survey: 45% of employers questioned used social networks to vet candidates; 35% decided not to hire a candidate based on online data.

Read the full article via Mashable

A Social Revolt in Egypt

Graphic of the Day: Egypt and the Twitter Uprising Bloom. http://ping.fm/TY5fl

* Source: Fast Company

Online Bargains: Will the Deals Continue?

eBay recently launched FashionVault, a flash-sale site similar to Groupon, as Google works on Google Offers with a similar mantra.

Read the full article via PC World