iWebU

Web Secret #192: 100 Years of IBM

2012-02-08T08:30:00.002-05:00

How would you celebrate your 100th birthday?

IBM made a 13 minute film that features one hundred people, each of whom presents the IBM achievement recorded in the year they were born.

The film chronology flows from the oldest person to the youngest, offering a whirlwind history of the company and culminating with its prospects for the future.

Sensational.

Web Secret #191: 99% Invisible

2012-02-01T08:30:00.002-05:00

"What is essential is invisible to the eye." St. Exupery wrote these lines in the Little Prince.

Almost 70 years later, I found a website that is dedicated to that proposition, the aptly named 99% Invisible.

99% describes itself as "a tiny radio show about design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world." The show is the brainchild of broadcaster Roman Mars.

99%'s episodes, (available as podcasts), are quite simply, beautiful, as well as startlingly thought provoking.

Take episode 15: "Sounds of the Artificial World" which comes in at under 5 minutes:

"Sounds" explains that our electronic gear, from your smart phone to your laptop, is actually completely soundless. But sound is added so that we get some audio feedback when we turn on a device or press a button.

There is actually a company that does just that - make sounds for devices.

Oh.

Web Secret #190: Google Demo Slam

2012-01-25T08:30:00.002-05:00

It is no coincidence that Google is, well, everywhere.

They could sit on their laurels like many successful businesses. But they don't.

Sometimes they go wayyyy out of the box to remain, well, Google.

Take Google Demo Slam. "Google Demo Slam: Technology is awesome. Learning about it isn't."

The idea was to invite web users to come up with very clever, very short, videos about Google's many products. You post your mini video - that's phase one, phase two, your video is pitted in a popularity contests against other videos. Now a different set of users is engaged. Finally, in phase three, some videos are so entertaining that they become insanely popular. A third set of users are now e-mailing the links to these masterpieces. Of course Google is the biggest winner.

Here are some of my favorites:

1. Grow Google - how to use Google Custom Background. The somewhat scary premise was to grow colored Google bacteria. Aside from the lunacy of the idea, the old professor and his Igor-like assistant add to the campiness of this vide0. The music is also a plus:

2. Google Translate - how to use Google Translate to order Indian food in Hindi. Epic and sitting in first place with almost 1 million views:

3. Google Instant - how to search results automatically as you type. I am a huge Gilbert and Sullivan fan, so I appreciate this cavalcade, which uses Google to find all the elements of the Periodic Table.

SLAM!

Web Secret #189: 4.74 Degrees of Separation

2012-01-18T08:30:00.009-05:00

The world is even smaller than you thought. Scientists reported in November 2011 that there are only 4.74 degrees of separation between any two people in the world instead of 6.

The original "six degrees" finding, (published in 1967 by psychologist Stanley Milgram,) was drawn from only 296 volunteers who were asked to send a message by postcard, through friends and then friends of friends, to a specific person in a Boston suburb.

The new research used a much bigger cohort: 721 million Facebook users, more than one-tenth of the world’s population."

Why should you care?

“People can share ideas with only a few jumps to a large portion of the world’s population and with even fewer steps to the entire population of a nation.”

We have more influence, on more people, than ever before.

For good, or evil.

Web Secret #188: LAL

2012-01-11T08:30:00.017-05:00

So what kind of social media site got funded to the tune of $1 million in 2011?

If you weren't born between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, you would never guess.

Not only that, you probably would never know, unless you are a college aged millennial or a passionate fan of Tech Crunch.

To quote Tech Crunch:

"Anytime there’s a startup that has been quietly catching fire, you can always find a trail of investors warming themselves by the flames. Take LikeALittle, for example. Though they’ve kept it quiet, we’ve now confirmed with multiple sources that they raised $1 million..."

What, you may ask is LAL (aka LikeALittle!)?

"LAL lets you interact with the people nearby. Meet new people, anonymously flirt with that person who caught your eye and discover if someone likes you." (I'm quoting from their site.)

That's it. That is all it does.

The young reviewers at Tech Crunch go on to say:

"...it makes sense. LikeALittle first popped on our radar back in December of last year while we were looking into a Hacker News thread claiming that one of the Y Combinator Winter ’11 startups had done 20 million pageviews in six weeks — and was growing by over 1 million pageviews a day. That startup, of course, was LikeALittle, a social network for flirting."

Growing by over 1 million pageviews a day!!!!!????

Do you get it?

I don't.

PS Want to feel even older and more out of it? Meet the founders and visit the headquarters of LAL.

Web Secret #187: Pew Research Center

2012-01-04T08:30:00.003-05:00

Trying to make an informed decision about how much your business needs to invest in technology, apps, or social media?

There is one place to start all your research efforts: The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.

The project is one of seven that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, daily life, and health care.

Here are but a few of their reports:

Half of adult cell phone owners have apps on their phones. Key finding: The share of adult cell phone owners who have downloaded an app to their phone nearly doubled in the past two years – rising from 22% in September 2009 to 38% in August 2011.

Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. Key finding: 95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites.

The Social Life of Health Information, 2011. Key finding: The internet has changed people’s relationships with information. Online resources, including advice from peers, are a significant source of health information in the U.S.

Knowledge is power.

Web Secret #186: Small Demons

2011-12-28T08:30:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite websites is the curated collection of TED talks.

TED is a collection of hundreds of short, epic presentations from some of the world's greatest thinkers. You can look up TED talks by category.

My favorite TED category is "jaw-dropping".

All things being equal, I spend most of my working days on the Internet, and my jaw rarely drops.

Then my friend Alex sent me a link to smalldemons.com.

And my jaw dropped. Since I am a person of extremes, I did more than drop my jaw, I actually freaked out.

I can't even use words to describe small demons. You have to watch the video:

Honestly, small demons is so new, so mind blowing that I don't yet understand how it will impact business and professionals.

Maybe you'll let me know.

Web Secret #185: There's an App for That

2011-12-21T08:30:00.009-05:00

It was bound to happen - an employee assistance program (EAP) creating a state of the art mobile app for iPhone, iPad, RIM and Android.

Morneau Shepell, a Canadian EAP, launched My EAP in May 2011 - and has been improving it ever since.

The app delivers interactive tools, support resources and access to EAP services via mobile devices to provide easy and effective access for people on-the-go.

My EAP allows users to connect to:

Health and wellness articles
e-Counseling
Information on a range of personal and work-related topics from acclaimed experts through streaming video.

It takes seconds to download the app (see below.) The landing page of My EAP is beautiful in its simplicity. There are exactly 4 options to click: work, life, health, EAP Services, plus an 800 number for emergencies.

The app is available at no cost via the App Store and BlackBerry App World. You can download the app onto your mobile device via the following links:

App Store
BlackBerry App World

Why did Shepell do this?

According to research, there were about 5.3 billion mobile phone subscriptions at the end of 2010 which equates to 77 per cent of the world population.

The number of people accessing the mobile Internet is growing fast. At the end of 2009, estimates indicated almost 530 million users browsed the mobile Web on their handset. This will increase to over 1 billion by 2015.

That's why.

The ball is in your court.

Web Secret #184: Website Costs

2011-12-14T08:30:00.005-05:00

I often get asked "How much should it cost to create a website?"

The answer is “It depends.”

Are you looking for a 5 page website to represent a small practice? Or are you looking for a 20-page site with a shopping cart feature? Will the site include Flash? A listserv? A database? Do you want the web designer to create or edit content?

All of these questions need to be answered, before you even shop for a designer.

That means you have written all your content, know how many web pages you need, and what you want your website to do, before you even pick up the phone. Most people think you hire the designer and then figure out the content of the website. In fact, web design follows web content, and not the other way around.

In their November 2011 issue, Website Magazine published the following estimates:

Logo:
Student/Offshore designer: $100 - $250+
Freelance/Professional designer: $250 – $1,000+

Basic/Brochure Website:
Student/Offshore designer: $500 - $1,000+
Freelance/Professional designer: $1,500 – $5,000+

e-Commerce Website:
Outsourced designer: $1,000 - $15,000+
Design Firm: $2,000 – $10,000+

Custom Database and/or Interactive Website:
Outsourced designer: $1,500 - $15,000+
Design Firm: $2,500 – $25,000+

A more expensive designer may finish your project faster than a less expensive designer – saving you money and aggravation in the long run.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Web Secret #183: Surf the Web Together

2011-12-07T08:30:00.003-05:00

My mom rocks technology for someone who is 87. She orders stuff online, e-mails, and watches videos on YouTube.

Then again every now and then, she calls me with questions I can't answer. "I ordered dog food on Amazon.com and it never came."

??

Did she order it and it never came? Or did she think she ordered it, but never did?

So I end up logging in to Amazon under her name and I launch a search and rescue operation.

Problem is, she isn't sitting next to me, so no learning has occurred. I can try to explain what I did to fix the situation, but I can tell she is not getting it.

WAIT! She can virtually sit next to me thanks to channel.me.

This is how simple it is:

1. I go to the channel.me website

2. I enter the url for Amazon.com in the space provided.

3. I e-mail my mom, and tell her to join me.

4. Tada! My mom and I are now seeing exactly the same web page, including each other's mouse movements.

Now she can watch me, as I demonstrate how to search her account and find out what happened to that 25 lbs bag of Science Diet.

Using channel.me, I can also:

Join my college aged daughter as she shops for her Halloween costume (must not pay for something too skanky.)
Watch a presentation with a colleague in Washington DC.
Look at summer rentals with my real estate broker.

The possibilities are endless.

You try it.

Web Secret #182: It's About Games

2011-11-30T08:30:00.017-05:00

Do you spend time playing games? Solitaire? Words With Friends? Angry Birds?

What about your kids? Do they spend time on their Wiis, XBoxes, or Nintendo game consoles?

Humans love to play games. One of the hottest trends in technology is making everything a game.

Probably no industry sector has jumped faster on this trend than behavioral health care.

Aetna plans to offer Mindbloom's Life Game a "Fun, Simple, and Effective Interactive Game to Improve Quality of Life." PS Mindbloom is amazing - check it out!

The wounds most often suffered by soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan are post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI.) The U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC)has created virtual reality (VR) programs that allow soldiers with PTS to revisit past wartime experiences, helping them move beyond those events at their own pace.

A cognitive training game developer has begun talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a new game for people with schizophrenia as a therapeutic drug.

Games for Health: Research, Development, and Clinical Applications (G4H) is a new, bimonthly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the development, use, and applications of game technology for improving physical and mental health and well-being.

So, go ahead, play a game. It's good for you.

Web Secret #181: Generation Disorganization

2011-11-23T08:30:00.004-05:00

WARNING: This blog post consists of several paragraphs of whining.

I recently read that the Millennial Generation ends with people born in 1992.

What comes after?

Gen D, the Disorganized Generation.

Have you ever tried to organize, be proactive, or get something done in a timely fashion with today's teenagers?

It won't work.

And there's a reason for that. It's called the text message.

Boomers and Xers, remember when you were a kid? If you wanted to have fun on a week-end night, or get anything done that required other people, you had to MAKE A PLAN. Ahead of time.

There were no smartphones, so if you didn't MAKE A PLAN, you would end up ALONE, with nothing to do.

Also a PLAN was something relatively simple, you called 4 people, and said "How about we meet on 15 Main Street, at 8PM for dinner and a movie?" That was your plan. Figure 10 seconds per call. After the dinner and movie, you might hang out for a while and then you went home.

SIMPLE.

Have you ever watched today's teens make a PLAN? Well it doesn't really happen - a PLAN requires FORESIGHT.

Instead what happens is a series of haphazard, random, chaotic, last minute events.

A typical week-end might happen thusly:

Event 1 - Teen wakes up at noon. Texts 5 friends "Wanna have breakfast?" Three say "k". New round of texts: "Where?". Many texts back and forth until consensus is reached "diner on Main St." More texts back and forth re "When?" This takes 20 minutes. Add more time if your teen is a girl - texts back and forth "What are u wearing?"

Event 2 - Breakfast is now over. New texts to new people "Mall?". More texts: "Which mall?", "Where in the mall?". "Who's driving?" "Can you pick me up?" "What r u wearing?" 20 more minutes go by.

Event 3 - New texts to new people "Party?". More texts: "Whose house?", "Will there be girls/boys there?". "Who's driving?" "Can you pick me up?" "What r u wearing?" 20 more minutes go by.

Event 4 - (precipitated when parents of party house came back from their carefully planned night out, and threw everyone out/called cops) New texts to new people "Hungry?". More texts: "Where?", "Who's coming?". "Who's driving?" "Can you pick me up?" "What r u wearing?" 20 more minutes go by.

???? !!!!!

Web Secret #180: Google NGram Viewer

2011-11-16T08:30:00.002-05:00

Recently I discovered Google's NGram Viewer.

If this is the first time you are hearing about this, you probably don't have a clue what an NGram is. I sure didn't.

Let me explain.

Google has digitized nearly 5.2 million books, and made available to the public for FREE, a mammoth database consisting of 500 billion words from books published between 1500 and 2008 in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian.

When you enter phrases (aka Ngrams) into the Google Books Ngram Viewer, it displays a graph showing how those phrases have occurred in a corpus of books (e.g., "British English", "English Fiction", "French") over a selected span of years.

That's kind of cool in a geeky and arcane sort of way. But why should you care?

Let me demonstrate.

1. I decide to research Sigmund Freud.

2. I go to the Ngram Viewer and enter "Sigmund Freud" in the search window and select the span of time between 1870 and 2000.

3. I click "search lots of books." One second later I get this graph that shows me that interest in Freud began to increase in the 1910s. And then continues to shoot up until it peaks in the mid 1990s.

4. OK that's kind of interesting - but there's more. Under the graph I can search for writings by or about Sigmund, by year or span of years. So I click on 1870-1947 and I am connected to a list of books, publications, etc. from that era, courtesy of Google Books.

I found books and publications I had never heard of:

"Why war?: the correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud" from 1933.

"Sigmund Freud" an early biography from 1942.

"Sigmund Freud: his life and mind" from 1947.

Etc. etc.

Can you imagine how useful a tool this is for students? teachers? researchers? lecturers? authors?

Can you imagine?

Web Secret #179: Get Zapd

2011-11-09T08:30:00.002-05:00

I just created a website on my iPhone in 60 seconds.

Check it out.

This is how I did it:

1. I downloaded the Zapd FREE app on my iPhone - that took 2 seconds.

2. I selected a graphic theme for my website. I am very decisive - that took 10 seconds.

3. I uploaded photos, text, and a url to create the pages of my website. That took 40 seconds.

4. I previewed my website and published it. That took 8 seconds. Voila!

Think about creating a video showcasing your office and posting it on your private practice website. Think about creating a video to showcase an event and then e-mailing the url to your contact list. Think about... well the possibilities are endless.

Here is a video to get you inspired:

Zap on.

Web Secret #178 - The End of Social Media 1.0

2011-11-02T08:30:00.012-04:00

Today, I was trolling the web for significance, when I came across a thought provoking blog post "The End of Social Media 1.0" by Brian Solis.

Solis is recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders in new media.

In the post, Brian states that we are at "an inflection point in social media that requires pause. I am not suggesting that there will be a social media 2.0 or 3.0 for that matter." He argues that many of us are past the social media early adoption phase.

Facebook growth will hit only 13.4% this year after experiencing 38.6% acceleration in 2010 and a staggering 90.3% ascension the year before.

The rate of Twitter user adoption fell from 293.1% growth in 2009 to 26.3% this year.

There is a lot of competition for people's attention out there and once liberal with their likes, retweets, and follows, consumers are becoming much more guarded and realistic.

Growth in social network usage among 16 - to 24-year-olds in the US is stalling.

Facebook is no longer the one stop shop for the total internet experience.

Installing apps is on the decline, down 10.4% in the U.S. and 3.1% worldwide.

What can we learn of this? Well let me speak for myself. I am experiencing some "Social Network and Technology Fatigue."

I only go on Facebook and LinkedIn once a week.

I am wondering if I can get away with just taking my iPad on my next business trip.

I have downloaded all the Apps I need on my iPhone and iPad.

In short, I am being far more discriminating about my social media engagement since those early days in 2008 when I couldn't get enough.

And that is what Brian is saying.

The end of Social Media 1.0 is the beginning of relevance.

Web Secret #177: Steampunk

2011-10-26T08:30:00.004-04:00

When you were a child, did you think that once you became a 21st century adult, everything would be high tech and futuristic?

Were you pretty sure that by then, everyone would be flying around in spaceships, using the latest electronic gadget, while giving commands to a personal robot?

That isn’t the way it turned out though, is it?

Co-existing with smart phones, iPads and other technological marvels, there is a world of people living in the past and the future, all at the same time. And I am not just talking about remote tribes in the Amazon.

We all know someone who still lives like it’s 1999 - or even earlier. One of my friends doesn’t have a cell phone. He still uses a hardwired phone built into his car. It will soon be unsupported by Verizon, completely obsolete and unusable.

That’s why I love Steampunk.

It’s a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement that depicts a world that never existed. Steampunk objects are powered by steam and springs instead of electricity and fossil fuels. When you see a Steampunk object, you wonder “Is it from the past or is it from the future?”

It's a way for people to master technology, instead of letting the rapidly changing world sweep them away.

Web Secret #176: Qwiki.com

2011-10-19T08:30:00.001-04:00

I am a Star Trek fan, a huge one. I once even attended a convention, (don’t tell my kids.)

During my lifetime, I have had the pleasure of watching Star Trek’s technology become reality.

The crew’s communicator? That’s my old Motorola flip phone. The tricorder? That’s a lot like my iPad. Phasers on stun? Don't tase me, bro’. The Holodeck? That's a lot like Second Life.

Do you remember the computer on the Enterprise? All you had to do was ask it a question and it answered verbally. That hasn’t been done yet ... or has it?

Well my fellow trekkers, wait no more. Qwiki.com is here.

Qwiki demonstrated.

Qwiki in a nutshell? Type in EMDR. And Qwiki speaks the answer. It explains what EMDR is. It also shows you relevant visuals during the explanation. And it provides you with other relevant topics, eg neuroplasticity, that you can click on as well.

That first moment when Qwiki answers your first question is absolutely thrilling.

The future is now.

Web Secret #175: catchfree

2011-10-12T08:30:00.009-04:00

I have a new favorite website.

catchfree.com

It's a social platform that allows people to compare and find the best free software and services online for both business and leisure.

Catchfree makes this easy for us by grouping services into various categories. Here are just a few:

Share files over the Internet

Backup files online

Make voice calls over the Internet

Let's visit one of the categories. Say you had no coding skills and you wanted to build your own website. Check out "How to Build a Website for Free."

Webs, Weebly and WebStarts are among a number of free web development sites that are listed and reviewed in that category. The sites are listed in such a way that they can be easily compared.

You get the point.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to explore Organize Your Travel Plans for Free.

Web Secret #174: Disposable Web Page

2011-10-05T08:30:00.004-04:00

I created a disposable web page.

It counts down and then deletes itself.

Why, did I do that?

Because it was there. I couldn't help myself.

But I'm a geek and prone to this type of activity.

Why would you want a disposable web page?

Each disposable webpage has a count down clock. You can set this clock to count down anywhere from 90 days to 0 days from the time the page is created. When the remaining time reaches 00:00:00:00, the page is automatically set for disposal and will exist for 2 more weeks before it gets incinerated.

Let's say

You are presenting at a conference.
You are holding an important event.
You have an opening in a psychotherapy group you run.
You have a book getting published.
You have a journal article coming out.

You want to tell the world. So you create a disposable web page that counts down to D-Day. And you e-mail the link to the world. Or post it on your website, your blog, or even your Twitter.

Sound complicated? It isn't.

You can create a disposable web page with as little effort as a few key strokes. Just click here. You do not need any coding skills. Disposable web page offers you the convenience and freedom of getting information out there on the Internet with as little hassle as possible.

And it really is that easy. Check out the page I created.

It took me about 60 seconds.

Cool, right?

Web Secret #173: Scams

2011-09-28T08:30:00.002-04:00

I trust the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

The BBB is an old time consumer protection agency that successfully reinvented itself with the advent of the Internet.

They recently published a list: "Top 10 Online Scams of 2010" including a helpful chart "Anatomy of an Online Scam" which is a must read and pass along.

The list includes:

1. Job Hunter Scams

2. Debt Relief Services

3. Work From Home Schemes

4. Time Share Resellers

5. Not So "Free" Trial Offers

6. Rogue Home Repair/Roofers

7. Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams

8. Advance-Fee Loan Scams

9. Over-payment Scams

10. Identity Theft

What's great is once you've read about these and studied their "anatomy," you can smell other scams a click away. Even when they don't conform exactly to the model they describe.

And that's a good thing.

Web Secret #172: Freedom

2011-09-21T08:30:00.002-04:00

Weekends I do not answer e-mails, tweet, friend, blog or follow anyone.

I shop, hang, watch movies, eat out and touch my laptop or my iPad only to look up entertainment or play Words With Friends. I figure that 9 hours per day, 5 days a week is enough social media for anyone.

My children are not so lucky - they are slaves to Facebook, instant messaging, Twitter and more. Their laptops ding and like Pavlov's dogs, they interrupt whatever they are doing and respond.

They need Freedom. And if you don't have the intellectual self-discipline to ignore your computer, you need Freedom too.

Freedom is a simple app that locks you away from the internet on Mac or Windows computers for up to eight hours at a time. Freedom frees you from distractions, allowing you time to, well, be productive. At the end of your offline period, Freedom allows you back on the Internet.

A free trial is available or you can download Freedom immediately for $10 dollars.

If you are really addicted and a Mac user, you might also need Anti-Social. Anti-Social turns off the social parts of the internet, including Facebook, Twitter and other sites you specify. With Anti-Social, you’ll be amazed how much you get done when you turn off your friends. Anti-Social also has a free trial or you can buy it for $15.

Or, you can save your money and "turn off, tune out, drop out."

Surface to Air.

Web Secret #171: Retro Is OK

2011-09-14T08:30:00.011-04:00

Every now and then I get a panicked call from a psychotherapist in private practice.

It goes something like this:

"I don't have a website, should I have a website?"

or

"I'm not on Twitter, should I be on Twitter?"

or

"I don't have a blog, should I blog?"

You get the idea. So in response, I ask:

1. "Is your practice struggling, just about breaking even, or do you have a waiting list for your services?"

2. "How much longer are you planning to stay in practice?"

Because the bottom line is, if you have a thriving practice and you plan on retiring in a year or so, you don't need a website or any social media. You are probably getting the majority of your referrals from a well established word-of-mouth group of professionals, former patients, friends, and more.

You can stay retro. You don't need to change the way you do business.

I thought about this concept when I read "A Paper Calendar? It's 2011." Seems there is a group of people out there who are hanging on to their Filofaxes and Day Runners instead of using the calendars on their computers or smart phones.

And it all makes perfect sense. We already know that "there is no species of technology that have ever gone globally extinct on this planet." So that means that somewhere, people are playing 8-track tapes, wearing Pulsar LED watches, and watching TVs with rabbit ears.

I myself am a study in contradiction. I surf Google News and I read the New York Times in paper form. I read books downloaded onto my iPad and actual books. I love my laptop, but I also am fanatical about the weird lo-tech Japanese writing instruments I buy from Jetpens.com.

So to all you people out there who have yet to use social media, or build a website for your business, you may be OK.

Just understand why.

Or why not.

Web Secret #170: 9/11/01 - 9/11/11

2011-09-07T08:30:00.012-04:00

Sunday we will be acknowledging the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

If you were over 5 years old on that day, it is very likely that you know exactly where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing when you realized the magnitude of the disaster.

Television coverage of the attacks, and their aftermath was the longest uninterrupted news event in the history of U.S. television. The major broadcast and cable networks were on the air for days with constant coverage, from the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City.

The around-the-clock coverage lasted for 93 hours. That equals 24 hours of coverage for nearly four full days. Many Americans watched for a large percentage of that time, huddled around sets with friends and family, colleagues at work, even complete strangers in other public venues.

Most of the technology we use today didn’t exist in 2001 or had so little market penetration as to have an insignificant impact on our daily lives. So in 2001, if you wanted to know what was happening in real time – you had to watch TV.

This is what has happened since then:

2001 – 32% of Americans used cell phones.
2011 – more than 90% use them.

2001 – less than 60% of US households owned a personal computer.
2011 – more than 80% own them.

2001 – 34% of Americans had a wireless connection to the Internet in their homes.
2011 – 93% have a wireless connection.

2001 – Google, what’s that? It was just founded in 1998.
2011 – Google processes over one billion search requests every day.

2001 – Facebook, what's that? It was not founded until 2004.
2011 – Facebook has more than 600 million active users.

2001 – Twitter, what's that? It was not launched until 2006.
2011 – Twitter has over 190 million account holders, generating 65 million tweets a day.

And so on, and so forth. I could have used dozens of additional examples.

I am aware of two other national tragedies that have served as historical markers during my lifetime:

• President John F Kennedy’s assassination: Nov. 22, 1963.
• Space shuttle Challenger blows up: Jan. 28, 1986.

Neither of these events was followed by a technological revolution of the magnitude we have experienced since 9/11. Take a moment, and compare the decades: 1963-1973 and 1986-1996, to 2001-2011. See what I mean?

As I write this, there is a catastrophic
earthquake/war/famine/economic meltdown
somewhere in the world.

I can watch it unfold on Google News, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Oh, and I get texted about it, too.

I still watch some TV news – but only for about a dozen minutes, as I get ready in the morning, and just before bedtime.

Have we lost a sense of community, because we are not huddled together around a TV set?

Or have we actually enhanced our world community because there are so many new ways to communicate our thoughts and follow news events live?

All I know is, when it comes to technology, September 11, 2001, is a lifetime ago.

We now live in exponential times.

Web Secret #169: FollowFriday Helper

2011-08-31T08:30:00.012-04:00

If you are on Twitter, you know that though it sounds counterintuitive, the more people you follow, the more followers you have.

If you haven't learned how to add #FollowFriday to your arsenal, now is the time. FollowFriday started in 2009 with the following tweet:

I am starting Follow Fridays. Every Friday, suggest a person to follow, and everyone follow him/her. Today its @fancyjeffrey & @w1redone.

The idea was to think of interesting people you already followed and recommend them to others. The concept took off like wildfire. On the first FollowFriday, there were almost two #followfriday tweets per second at its peak. And the movement continues to thrive.

FollowFriday is successful because:

1. It’s easy. It takes little effort to send a tweet.

2. It’s participatory. You can suggest one person or 100 people. You can get endorsements from one person or a hundred people.

3. It’s karmic and it feels good. It’s a great feeling to simply say, “I think this person is great. You should follow them.”

I liked the concept, but was too lazy to implement it, until I found the handy Follow Friday Helper. FF Helper is a free twitter app that makes it dead-easy to recommend tweeps on Twitter. Sign up. FFH shows you a list of your most active users on Twitter. You can then create #FollowFriday tweets with just a few clicks.

This takes seconds. The max time I was willing to dedicate to this effort.

Try it, you'll like it.

Web Secret #168: Social Intelligence

2011-08-24T08:30:00.003-04:00

Social intelligence is not just the name of a year old company that "scrapes the Internet for everything prospective employees may have said or done online in the past seven years," according to a recent NY Times article.

Social intelligence needs to become your way of life.

Why?

More and more companies are performing social media background checks on prospective employees. Some are outsourcing this task to socialintelligence.com (SI). SI assembles the good and the bad on each candidate.

The bad? Online racist remarks; references to drugs; sexually explicit photos, text messages or videos; flagrant displays of weapons and clearly identifiable violent activity.

SI's reports remove references to a person’s religion, race, marital status, sexual orientation, disability and other information protected under federal employment laws, which companies are not supposed to ask about during interviews. Also, job candidates must first consent to the background check, and they are notified of any adverse information found.

Less than a third of the data surfaced by SI comes from major sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Much of the negative information comes from comments on blogs and posts on smaller social networks, Tumblr, Yahoo listservs, e-commerce sites, bulletin boards and even Craigslist.

Then there are the photos and videos that people post — or find themselves tagged in — on Facebook and YouTube and other sharing sites.

Don't say I didn't warn you. In 2010, I told you to "shut up." Still, users often don't realize that much of the comments or content they generate is publicly available.

Remember that 75 percent of recruiters perform online research on candidates. And 70 percent of recruiters in the United States report that they have rejected candidates because of information online.

You have been warned.

Again.