One could always search Google for the answer to a question. But it is much more social to ask friends/the community, sometimes even when you the answer sort of. I would add to that that you also get better results because of the recommendation factor…

Just a thought you want to give a whirl instead of answering people’s questions on Twitter with letmegooglethatforyou.com-links

2: Twitter opens the ‘firehose’ to everybody (at some point early 2010). This will be huge in a way I can’t predict yet. More stable 3rd party search and possible the return of native ‘track’.

3: Amazon announced that if you buy a DVD on Amazon you will be able to watch that film via the On Demand service shortly after the purchase. While the selection so far is limited this is obviously a big advantage compared to iTunes since it gives you the ‘back-up’ and artwork while still being able to watch immediately.

Listening to music as a pick-me-upper is nothing new. I can remember doing this for example prior to taking my driver’s license exam, blasting “Feeling Alright” from the Heights soundtrack and certainly some Lynch Mob which I was into big back then. So this article from Chris Penn certainly had me listening: He put some structure to the Art of Hacking Yourself with Music by opening categories for situations of life. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind. I suggest you read his article, it’s fun. As a result,  you’ll have the key tunes ready when you need them. I had some trouble with the Wind-selection, but with Chris’ help I have a selection for now. I also have the feeling that this is going to evolve heavily so I will revisit this post in a couple of months. My lists as of today are…

Earth:
3000 Miles to Graceland – Kenny Wayne Sheppard
Jet City Woman – Queensryche
Cochise – Audioslave
I’m a Believer – T.M. Stevens

Fire:
Alive and Kickin’ – Mr. Big
Lose Yourself – Eminem
Dance Little Sister – Terence Trent D’Arby
Don’t Stop Me now – Queen

Water:
Learning to Live – Dream Theater
My Hero – Foo Fighters
Cool #9 – Joe Satriani
Blue Powder – Steve Vai

Wind:
Such Great Heights – Iron & Wine
Sweet Baby James – James Taylor
Soulshine – Gov’t Mule live acoustic
With a little Help from My Friends – Bon Jovi live ‘92

And of course, if you know me, if all that fails I’ll put on A Change of Seasons and Metropolis from Dream Theater the first as pick-me-upper the second for inspiration. What are your tracks?

Pranav Mistry’s presentation at TED India paints a picture of today that I thought was years away from a “consumer-friendly pricing”. Apparently not. And mind-blowing applications. I urge you, watch this and take a deep breath.

(via Igor)

Then Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, launched his new company Square which basically lets you use your mobile phone as credit card swiper. Again, think of the applications, in the cab, at a flea market, on the train..

(via Cem)

#1: We (ze German’s) actually prefer the GPS-requirement built-into Gowalla. Not only does it make adding new places super easy, it also gives us structure, exactness. We like the categories, too. All neat and clean. Hi-tech for the country (once) known for hi-tech. The exactness of the GPS relates to the punctuality our train system is known for (which everybody outside of Germany is in awe of while the we only complain).

#2: Foursquare is for hunters, Gowalla for collectors. Gowalla, while a social game, feels more about me. I could play this by myself, collecting item after item, droppping the inflationary Alamofires and blenders. Foursquare is more about adding new places, outhustling the other players. To oversimplify, I can be good at Gowalla despite not going out that often at night. I could even go further and blame this behaviour on our role in WW2 and argue that in the aftermath our role in history is being the passive, polite bystander, not the hunter.

I for myself am definitely the collector, not the hunter. Following the opening of the German Foursquare gates on November 20th there was a rush of new friends and I am often double-checking-in with both apps still. And yes, from a marketer’s perspective as of now it seems more easy to get in touch with the people at Foursquare to get something going. But I am already seeing boundaries being broken, people asking to follow my moves I have never heard of or been friends on Twitter for a week. I am not sure that that is what I want. And I like the eye-candy that is Gowalla and the excitement to steal the Beatnik Poet my wife left at the book store…

And there I am almost betting Mike Butcher that a year from now Germany will be Gowalla country, if…
Well there is the ‘reach’-question. Can Gowalla succeed, with only the iPhone as mobile device at the moment?

Hell, sure. Go, Gowalla

Update: It seems that I wasn’t the only one writing about this last night. Martin seems undecided on who will win in Europe, while Gerald has an in-depth look at Foursquare and his first week playing with it hardcore (a great read).