Twitter on your Facebook....

Oh so I am going to keep this short today but I need to talk about the power of social media. We who are out there that are more connected then coma patent to life support will always find a way to get our opinions out there.

So Saturday a limited number of users were having issues with the Facebook servers and were unable to access information.....oh shit its the end of the world. But instead of doing something productive with their time they found ways to blow up other social media to complain about it. The biggest of these places being Twitter. Wonder how that went "um yeah I am unable to update my Facebook status right now so you are going to need to visit me on twitter".... "am sitting on the couch"......"I am now scratching myself"....."think I might have to get off the couch and refill my drink"....."I'll give someone a dollar if they come to my house and refill my drink"....

Really people I mean come on here. Now I am a big supporter of both services but really. I use Twitter to post things I don't want my family to read (doesn't everyone, no.... well shit I am just weird then).

In related news there is a new "sniffer" app out there aimed at steal information for peoples personal Social Network accounts. Sounds like a Twitter account username and password can bring upwards of $1,000. This seems like a lot because the average MSN accounts sells for something like 1 Euro (can't find the euro symbol but in case you don't know that's about $1.40 in American Greenbacks).

Thats really all I got today so I will leave you with this. How much do you think your Facebook or Twitter account are worth and does anyone still use MySpace?

Do you Oogle over Google

So this isn't the normal thing I update about but I thought that there was someone else out there who may be having the same thoughts as me. Let me start by saying this, Google I love you but damn I don't know what to be a part of anymore. Maybe its just me and maybe I just haven't taken the time to figure some of this stuff out, but I am starting to get overwhelmed by the amount of Google social networks I am a part of.

For me and Google we started as most do through a Gmail account. Simple, easy to use, secure. Then one day Google decided that it wanted to get involved in social media and poof, now they are in charge of my YouTube account as well. This for me was a marriage that made sense. Googles uncontested lead in technology along with the power of streaming media over the web. Thanks Google for thi,s I get it.

Then one day Google said you know I think we want to purchase a social networking site and next thing you know they own my MySpace account. Oh snap son, nothing like buying a social network that was on its way out the door for more money then most of my readers will see in a life time. (thinking at this point that when faced with Twitter or MySpace they defiantly made the wrong choice) Now they are changing the site to look exactly like my FaceBook account but still allowing all the child porn stars to friend request me (haven't been on MySpace in months but please tell your sister will continue to deny her request until she puts a shirt on).

Next thing I have had for some time now is a Picasa account, this allows me to send pictures directly from my phone to places like this blog or my social networking accounts. I guess for someone who wants to have easy mobile access to doing this with an option other then Yahoo's Flicker this is a great option.

So this is where this all came from, what the hell is Google Buzz. I just recently got the invite to join Google Wave, which I believe is Google's answer to compiling all your social networking needs in to one place. They say its what Email would be had it been invented today instead of 40 years ago. Cool concept but it only allows to me invite a select number of friends who then can invite friends and it doesn't take into account the over 300 gmail users I have in my gmail account. Not only that but you need “Bots” to include your other social media which are hard to come by and are cumbersome to say the least. For example, I have a Bot for this blog but it wont update until I delete it and reinstall it again. Same goes for Twitter. I guess I am confused as to why this just doesn't tie in to all my other Google accounts anyways as most the others seem to work together.

How about Google talk, a lot of the same features from my GoogleTalk account are part of WAVE. Why Google do you make me go in and waist time trying to bring people over to all these other social medias?

So then I log in to my Gmail account today for the first time in months and I find that I am now part of Google Buzz. What the hell is Google Buzz? I get all my gmail stuff on my DROID which is running a google platform so why doesn't my Buzz, Wave, Picasa, etc all tie together on that? Now it wants me to go out and get new followers and friends for this application yet again!!

I have always said that some day Google will take over the world and I am along for the ride while I am waiting for that to happen. They are one of the biggest corporations out there in technology that never releases anything past Beta so they really are every releasing a final copy of anything. The company is completely funded by marketing and the developers leave start new companies and google buys them back once the technology is perfected.

I figured I would compile you a list of some of the things that Google has to offer, some work together while others are completely independent of each other and yet do so many of the same things:

Standalone applications
AdWords Editor (Mac OS X, Windows 2000 SP3+/XP/Vista)
Desktop application to manage a Google AdWords account. The application allows users to make changes to their account and advertising campaigns before synchronising with the online service.
Chrome (Windows XP/Vista/7, GNU/Linux (Beta), Mac OS X (Beta))
Web browser.
Desktop (Mac OS X, Windows 2000 SP3+/XP/Vista,Linux )
Desktop search application, that indexes e-mails, documents, music, photos, chats, Web history and other files. It allows the installation of Google Gadgets.
Earth (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP/Vista, iPhone)
Virtual globe that uses satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS over a 3D globe.
Gmail/Google Notifier (Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP)
Alerts the user of new messages in their Gmail account.
Pack (Windows XP/Vista)
Collection of computer applications -- some Google-created, some not -- including Google Earth, Google Desktop, Picasa, Google Talk, and Google Chrome.
Photos Screensaver
Slideshow screensaver as part of Google Pack, which displays images sourced from a hard disk, or through RSS and Atom Web feeds.
Picasa (Mac OS X, Linux and Windows 2000/XP/Vista)
Photo organization and editing application, providing photo library options and simple effects.
Picasa Web Albums Uploader (Mac OS X)
An application to help uploading images to the "Picasa Web Albums" service. It consists of both an iPhoto plug-in and a stand-alone application.
Quick search box (Windows, Mac OS X)
A tool box like run in windows from where you can avail all the features of the run dialog, type a keyword and search google, type an application name (on your computer) to launch it, type a web URL and launch it from the default web client. This tool box is very user friendly. Based on Quicksilver (software).
Secure Access (Windows 2000/XP)
VPN client for Google WiFi users, whose equipment does not support WPA or 802.1x protocols
SketchUp (Mac OS X and Windows 2000/Windows XP)
Simple 3D sketching program with unique dragging interface and direct integration with Google Earth.
Talk (Windows 2000/Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista)
Application for VoIP and instant messaging. It consists of both a service and a client used to connect to the service, which uses the XMPP protocol.
Visigami (Mac OS X Leopard)
Image search application screen saver that searches files from Google Images, Picasa and Flickr.
Pinyin Input Method (Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows Vista) (Google China)
Input Method Editor that is used to convert Chinese Pinyin characters, which can be entered on Western-style keyboards, to Chinese characters.
Japanese Input (Windows XP SP2+/Windows Vista SP1+/Windows 7 and Mac OS X Leopard+) (Google Japan)
Japanese Input Method Editor.
[edit] Desktop extensions
These products created by Google are extensions to software created by other organizations.
Blogger Web Comments (Firefox only)
Displays related comments from other Blogger users.
Dashboard Widgets for Mac (Mac OS X Dashboard Widgets)
Collection of mini-applications including Gmail, Blogger and Search History.
Gears (Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari)
A browser plug-in that enables development of off-line browser applications.
Send to Mobile (Firefox) (Discontinued)
Allows users to send text messages to their mobile phone (US only) about web content.
Toolbar (Firefox and Internet Explorer)
Web browser toolbar with features such as a Google Search box, phishing protection, pop-up blocker as well as the ability for website owners to create buttons.
[edit] Mobile products
[edit] Online mobile products
These products can be accessed through a browser on a mobile device or a standard desktop web browser such as Firefox.
Blogger Mobile
Only available on some US networks. Allows you to post to your Blogger blog from a mobile device.
Buzz
Buzz is a social networking device built into Gmail. It was released February 9th, 2010.
Calendar
Read a list of all Google Calendar events from a mobile device. There is also the option to quickly add events to your personal calendar.
Gmail
Access a Gmail account from a mobile device using a standard mobile web browser. Alternatively, Google provides a specific mobile application to access and download Gmail messages quicker.
News
Access Google News on a mobile device using a simpler interface compared to the full online application.
Google Mobilizer
Makes any web page mobile-friendly.
iGoogle
Simple version of iGoogle - you must visit the information page to choose which modules to display on your personal mobile version as not all modules are compatible.
Product Search
Updated version of the previous Froogle Mobile
Reader
View Google Reader on a mobile device.
Mobile search
Search web pages, images, local listings and mobile-specific web pages through the Google search engine. If a webpage is not tailored for a mobile device Google will provide a simple text version of the webpage generated using an algorithm.
Picasa Web Albums
Lets you view photo albums that you have stored online.
Google Latitude
Google Latitude is a mobile geolocation tool that lets your friends know where you are via Google Maps.
Google Maps Navigation (Mobile, Android only)
A GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting.
[edit] Downloadable mobile products
Some of these products must be downloaded and run from a mobile device.
Gmail
A downloadable application that has many advantages over accessing Gmail through a web [interface] on a mobile such as the ability to interact with Gmail features including labels and archiving. Requires a properly configured Java Virtual Machine, which is not available by default on some platforms (such as Palm's Treo).
Maps (Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Symbian,Palm OS, and J2ME)
A mobile application for viewing maps on a mobile device. The application lets you find addresses and plot directions. Teamed with a GPS the application can use your geolocation and show your current location on the map. The device must have either a specific application to use Google maps or any phone with a properly configured Java Virtual Machine.
Sync
Synchronizes a mobile phone with multiple Google calendars as well as contacts using a Google Account.
Talk (BlackBerry only)
VoIP application exclusively for BlackBerry smartphones.
Talk (Android only)
Text chat application, lacking the VoIP function present in BlackBerry version.
Sky Map (Mobile, Android only)
Augmented reality program displaying a star map which is scrolled by moving the phone.
Voice (Android, Blackberry)
A downloadable application for accessing Google Voice functions on selected devices.
YouTube
A downloadable application for viewing YouTube videos on selected devices.
Listen (Mobile, Android only, from Google Labs)
A downloadable application for subscribing to and streaming podcasts and Web audio.
Goggles (Mobile, Android only, from Google Labs)
A downloadable application that uses image recognition for triggering searches based on pictures taken with the devices inbuilt camera. For example taking a picture of famous landmark would search for information about it or taking a picture of a products barcode will search for information on the product.[1]
[edit] Web products
These products must be accessed via a Web browser.
[edit] Account management
Dashboard
Dashboard is an online tool that allows Google Account holders to view all their personal information Google is storing on their servers.
[edit] Advertising
Ad Planner
An online tool that allows users to view traffic estimates for popular web sites and create media plans.
Ad Manager
A hosted ad management solution
AdSense
Advertisement program for Website owners. Adverts generate revenue on either a per-click or per-thousand-ads-displayed basis, and adverts shown are from AdWords users, depending on which adverts are relevant.
AdWords
Google's flagship advertising product, and main source of revenue. AdWords offers pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and site-targeted advertising for both text and banner ads.
Google Advertising Professionals
Google's AdWords partner certification program, providing AdWords qualifications to agencies that pass exams and other criteria
AdWords Website Optimizer
Integrated AdWords tool for testing different website content, in order to gain to the most successful advertising campaigns.
Audio Ads
Radio advertising program for US businesses. Google began to roll this product out on 15 May 2007 through its existing AdWords interface, however has been discontinued.
Click-to-Call
Calling system so users can call advertisers for free at Google's expense from search results pages. This service was discontinued.
DoubleClick
Internet ad serving provider.
Grants
Scheme for non-profit organizations to benefit from free Cost-Per-Click advertising on the AdWords network.
TV Ads
CPM-driven television advertising scheme available on a trial basis, currently aimed towards professional advertisers, agencies and partners.
[edit] Communication and publishing
3D Warehouse
Google 3D Warehouse is an online service that hosts 3D models of existing objects, locations (including buildings) and vehicles created in Google SketchUp by the aforementioned application's users. The models can be downloaded into Google SketchUp by other users or Google Earth.
Apps
Custom domain and service integration service for businesses, enterprise and education, featuring Gmail and other Google products.
Blogger
Weblog publishing tool. Users can create custom, hosted blogs with features such as photo publishing, comments, group blogs, blogger profiles and mobile-based posting with little technical knowledge.
Buzz
Integrated with Gmail service allowing to share updates, photos, videos and more at once. It lets the users make conversations about the things they find interesting. This looks as a transition to Wave.
Calendar
Free online calendar. It includes a unique "quick add" function which allows users to insert events using natural language input. Other features include Gmail integration and calendar sharing. It is similar to those offered by Yahoo! and MSN.
Docs
Document, spreadsheet and presentation application, with document collaboration and publishing capabilities.
FeedBurner
News feed management services, including feed traffic analysis and advertising facilities.
Friend Connect
Friend Connect is an online service that empowers website and blog owners to add social features to their websites. It also allows users to connect with their friends on different websites that have implemented Google Friend Connect on their website.
Gadgets
Mini-applications designed to display information or provide a function in a succinct manner. Available in Universal or Desktop format.
Profiles
It is simply how you present yourself on Google products to other Google users. It allows you to control how you appear on Google and tell others a bit more about who you are.
Gmail (Also known as Google Mail)
Free Webmail IMAP and POP e-mail service provided by Google, known for its abundant storage and advanced interface. It was first released in an invitation-only form on April 1, 2004. Mobile access and Google Talk integration is also featured.
iGoogle (Previously Google Personalized Homepage)
Customizable homepage, which can contain Web feeds and Google Gadgets, launched in May 2005. It was renamed to iGoogle on April 30, 2007 (previously used internally by Google).
Notebook
Web clipping application for saving online research. The tool permits users to clip text, images, and links from pages while browsing, save them online, access them from any computer, and share them with others. Google recently stopped development on Notebook and no longer accepts sign-ups. While old users can still access their notebooks, newcomers are offered to try other services such as Google Docs and Google Bookmarks[2].
Knol
Knol is a service that enables subject experts and other users to write authoritative articles related to various topics.
Marratech e-Meeting
Web conferencing software, used internally by Google's employees. Google acquired the software from creator Marratech on April 19, 2007. Google has not yet stated what it will do with the product.
Orkut
Social networking service, where users can list their personal and professional information, create relationships amongst friends and join communities of mutual interest. In November 2006, Google opened Orkut registration to everyone, instead of being invitation only.
Panoramio
Photos of the world.
Picasa Web Albums
Online photo sharing, with integration with the main Picasa program.
Reader
Web-based news aggregator, capable of reading Atom and RSS feeds. It allows the user to search, import and subscribe to feeds. The service also embeds audio enclosures in the page. Major revisions to Google Reader were made in October 2006.
Sites (Previously Jotspot)
Website creation tool for private or public groups, for both personal and corporate use.
SMS Channels (Google India Only)
Launched September 2008, allows users to create and subscribe to channels over SMS. Channels can be based on RSS feeds.
Questions and Answers (Chinese / Russian / Thai / Arabic Only)
Community-driven knowledge market website. Launched on June 26, 2007 that allows users to ask and answer questions posed by other users. [1]
Voice
Known as "GrandCentral" before 2009-03-11, this is a free voice communications product that includes a POTS telephone number. It includes a follow-me service that allows the user to forward their Google voice phone number to simultaneously ring up to 6 other phone numbers. It also features a unified voice mail service, SMS and free outgoing calls via Google's "click2call" and 3rd party dialers.
Wave
Still in early developmental stages, Google Wave is a product that helps users communicate and collaborate on the web. A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where users can almost instantly communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. [2]
YouTube
Popular free video sharing Web site which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. In October 2006, Google, Inc., announced that it had reached a deal to acquire the company for $1.65 billion USD in Google's stock. The deal closed on 13 November 2006.
Google Sidewiki
Google Sidewiki is a browser sidebar that enables you to contribute and read helpful information alongside any web page. The service came to be online since Sep 23, 2009‎. [3]

I got this list from the WiKi. Seems to be the most up to date. When will they all work together.


So here is my question of the day, do you oogle over Google? And if so, have you found a way to tie some of the newer social networks together?

Dear BestBuy I am sick of your $#!+ service

Dear BestBuy:


I just wanted to write you a quick note to tell you how excited I am to be using my new netbook. I am a working professional who is always on the go and am required to carry a work laptop that doesn't allow me access to my personal networking things. I am completely connected. I carry not only a Blackberry but I also carry a Motorla DROID for my personal phone. The netbook was the perfect solution for me. The rep was extremely helpful and knowledgeable that I purchased it from. He helped me set it up and make sure that I was able to connect to the things I needed to connect to. Not only can I update things like my blog, but also track all my fantasy sports on the road.

The Staples employee I bought this from was amazing. In fact I would recommend you start doing your hiring in Dubuque Iowa from that retail location.

Let me give you a little history on myself. I grew up in Minneapolis Minnesota and have been an avid Best Buy shopper all my life. In fact there was a period of time when I even worked for your company and about 2 years ago your company tried recruiting me back. I currently manage a retail location for one of the top 20 Fortune 500 companies in the country. I am a huge advocate of customer experience. I am also a Best Buy Rewards Primer Reward member (which you seem to make a big deal about but apparently means absolutely nothing). In fact the reward points were a topic of argument which I lost during a divorce some time ago and I had to create another account. I am typically someone who will purchase something if I can get my hands on it today. I have also never written a letter to a company to voice my opinion on anything other then exception customer service.

There have been multiple times over the last couple of months since my move to Iowa that I have visited your location. I am sure that you can look up my purchase history. On more then 6 occasions now the employees I have asked for help have either lacked the knowledge of the products and services I was inquiring about or were down right rude. As someone who is in retail this is absolutely unexceptionable.

Here is an example. Last week I walked in to the store to purchase a Logitech Harmony 1100 remote. You had this remote on sale for $349.99 and this is something I have been looking at purchasing for over a year now. Thing is like always at the Dubuque BestBuy there wasn't any product on the shelf (in fact the remotes were in utter distress and scattered everywhere). There was a young lady in the TV section who I reluctantly asked for assistance finding the product I was looking for. As has happened many times I have been shopping in your store she told me it was not available and that I should order it online. She didn't talk to me about ordering it to your location for me to pick up or anything as she stated “we no longer carry this product in the store”. Which I guess would make sense as to why it was on sale (giving her the benefit of the doubt). Then to my surprise I walk in to your store today to purchase a netbook an notice the remote sitting on the shelf (seems a little odd for a product you no longer carry). So I asked for assistance once again from a gentlemen wearing a button up shirt and a BestBuy name badge (I am assuming he was a manager, wish I would have caught his name). He tells me that it is possible the they are no longer carrying the product anymore when I asked him about what the girl had told me the other day. I questioned this because the price was back up to $399.99 and they wouldn't match the price that they had last week even though I was misinformed.

So that is when I decided again to take my business elsewhere, hop in my car and drive across the street to Staples. Staples has now gotten almost $3,000 worth of my business because they are willing and able to informing me about the products I am purchasing (I had never once shopped at staples for anything personal prior to moving to Dubuque). The lack of customer focus this gentleman had, finally set in stone the type of experience I can expect when I walk in to your location. I am now planning on taking the advise of the original rep that I had tried to get help from and order my product online. Great thing about the internet is that I can price match you with other sites. If I have to order something to be shipped to my house I might as well get the best deal. I will be ordering my remote, but not from you. Amazon.com is selling it for $313.07 and I get free shipping from them too. Your total loss in sales from me will be somewhere around $950 in a 24 hour period of time after the accessories I bought for my netbook from Staples as well. Lucky for me the local Wal*Mart typically has better prices on new release blue-ray movies so I will be able to save myself the headache of shopping for those through you too.

In conclusion I just want to say thank you, not only for taking the time to read this but also for opening my eyes up to see that there are other companies out there I can make my purchases at. Loosening my dependence on making purchases at your store will defiantly not only save me time but also money in the future. If you are familiar with “word of mouth economics” 1 detractor takes 7 possible promoters from your business. This location has made me a detractor.

Mr.CellPhish