Social Networks Comparison

The World of Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM) is a service that allows users to have a real-time chat on the internet and since it has made communication much easy.  Usually, IM is done with a text-based tool that allows communication between two or more users. IM is a great collaboration tool for personal and business use. IM provides a place for people to exchange messages, files, photos and links. Most instant messaging application and programs have a “buddies” feature, which is similar to adding a contact in a phone directory. Usually, users are then able to see the status/availability of someone on their buddy list i.e. online, away, busy, etc. More recent additions to IM programs and apps have the option to use an avatar or personal photo as well as a choice of many emoticons. The most popular instant messaging programs are AIM (AOL’s messenger), Facebook Messenger (an actual separate app from Facebook), Google+ Hangouts, iMessage (Apple’s IM app), and Yahoo IM, to name a few.

Skyping

Skype is a full featured online communication application. Users can communicate using instant messaging, voice calls, and video chats. Skype also allows its users to exchange digital content such as videos, texts, chat rooms for meetings and screen sharing. Skype is readily available for all platforms, such as PC, Mac, Android, and iOS versions all are free downloads. Skype services are primarily free. However, they do offer VOIP calling plans and Skype for business. Both of which are reasonably priced. Skype is very useful for keeping in touch with friends and family, troubleshooting issues from a distance with screen sharing, and holding virtual business meetings and training sessions.

LinkedIn 4 Busi Professionals

LinkedIn is a business-oriented social network. LinkedIn is mainly used for professional networking where employers can connect with potential employees who fit their needs, and vice versa. LinkedIn can aid professionals and job seekers with social networking and offers learning opportunities to increase skills, for instance, resume and cover letter suggestions and tutorials. The LinkedIn service also offers a mobile app version for the Android and iOS platforms. Creating a LinkedIn account is fee and most of the services are available with free accounts. However, opening a premium account requires a monthly subscription and offers many more features. Such as, the ability to message someone whom you are not connected to within the LinkedIn network, more detailed information generated when conducting advanced searches, knowing who anyone who has viewed your profile is, and my favorite, free reference checking. LinkedIn offers various levels of pricing plans to individuals, businesses and enterprises depending on the need of the subscribing client.

Podcast Directories

Podcasts.com and Podcastalley.com are known as podcast directories. Podcast directories offer users a central place to search for many different podcast subjects and provide resources for users to create and host their own podcast.

Podcasts.com is easier to search and locate content while the Podcastelley.com is a bit complicated in terms of usability. When visiting Podcastalley.com I was unable to locate a search feature let alone find individual podcasts. The home page does offer the most recently aired podcasts. However, if the user isn’t interested in the suggested content they will find it difficult to locate podcasts they may be interested in. On the other hand, Podcasts.com has some annoying ads, but is very user friendly. I found help files were easy to locate as well as finding customer service assistance and a site map. 

Military Talk Radio - U.S. Military News and Military Technology

Military Talk Radio - U.S. Military News and Military Technology - 10th Mountain Division To Test Capability Set 13

The Military News Talk discusses the advances of the US military including some of their future technological plans. The podcast shows the facts and the fictions of the US military capabilities and resources. The military news talk podcast can be used to get a glimpse of the US military at a glance. I chose this podcast because my daughter is currently deployed overseas in Qatar, and serves in the USAF.

The Ketovangelist Podcast

The Ketovangelist Podcast - Episode 1 – Start with why

The Ketovangelist podcast features Dr. Ted Naiman and focuses on ways to treat the whole person. I chose this podcast because I recently started eating the Keto Diet way of eating which is a drastically reduced carb diet that consists of a low carb high fat intake.

The Apple Byte (HQ)

The Apple Byte (HQ) - Apple Byte: The iPad Mini gets its own event

AppleBytes presents the fictions and the facts of everything that constitutes world of Apple in HD. On AppleBytes you can listen to Brian Tong discussing Apple’s latest announcements, ongoing rumors, and the good and the bad of Apple. I chose this podcast because I am a total Apple anything fanatic. I love all things Apple.

Wikis & Web 2.0

The link to my wiki on Web 2.0 can be found here: Web20WikiTrends

A Wiki is Web 2.0 in the truest sense of the term. Web 2.0 is all about collaboration and Wikis are collaborative websites in which anyone can contribute or edit. Wikis can be created for global, network or small community use. Whatever their purpose they are always a collaborative effort and their popularity will continue to grow with Web 2.0

WikiSpaces - A New Economy?

When watching the Shift Happens video my first thought was; That's a great concept, but how are we going to pay for it"? Cynical, yes, I know, but a thought that must be considered.

When I saw the discussion on this subject further down in the wiki I knew there were some like minded contributors and I thought it might be a lengthy heated discussion.  Much to my surprise it wasn't and there were some great ideas contributed.

As an individual, I have a very hard time thinking globally, especially when it comes to understanding global economics.

WikiSpaces - From the Me Generation to We Generation

This discussion on the Shift Happens WikiSpaces referenced and article about some students who when hearing about a 9th grader in their school, was being relentlessly teased about wearing a pink shirt, went out and bought 50 pink shirts to distribute at school. The idea snowballed into an anti-bullying cause that they named "Sea of Pink". The original article can be read here: From "Me" Generation to "We" Generation.

I think that as an adult raised in the "me" generation, I was very blessed to somehow have raised 3 children (all 5 yrs apart) as "we" type little adults LOL. All three of them have a confident sense of an individual self, and yet are definitely "we thinkers" and "we carers". The concept of a "we" generation is an awesome one, that I hope continues, without turning the next generation into socialists. Hopefully, we as a nation, and a world can find this balance. Because, the only way we will ever fix many of the issues facing our country, and our world is if "we" work together as a global collective.

Wikispaces - Shift Happens - Online Schools for K-12

I chose this discussion the Shift Happens WikiSpace, because I am a parent of grown children who I home schooled until they reached the age to attend high school and I take online college courses myself.

I think online courses for K-12 would be an interesting way to home school. When I taught my children from home there were video courses available and standardized online tests. There were also a few online schools available, however they were very expensive. I imagine since that time and the creation of the Shift Happens wiki that there are many more choices and that these choices are more affordable.

I think that much like online college courses, it would be important to research the quality and success of the institution, before choosing this route to educate your children. For instance, I have attended 3 different online colleges. Some of the courses were great and high quality and some of them use outdated material and confusing lessons. As adults, we can fumble through when necessary. However, children, especially elementary aged, would need much more guidance and direction when running into these types of obstacles. 

In general, online schools for K-12 is an awesome concept. I think it makes home schooling an option for parents who would otherwise shy away from such a daunting task. It could also bridge the gap for those parents who would love to home school but do not have the time for lesson plans and direct instruction, because they are working away from the home.

DEL.ICIO.US Really Not So Delicious!

Del.icio.us is a tool that has been around for a while now and was recognized as one of the major social bookmarking platforms. You can use it to discover, share, and organize relevant links, so you always know where to find them later.

Social Bookmarking is a means for web users to organize, store, manage, and search for bookmarks of different resources on the internet. Why it's referred to as social bookmarking is that links can be discovered and shared by others, depending on user privacy settings.

Del.icio.us uses "tags" which function like keywords or categories as an organization tool. This website refers to a collection of links that share a common tag as "Stacks."

KEY FEATURES OF DEL.ICIO.US

Del.icio.us is already very intuitive to use. There are seven main tabs you see on the left side of the screen when you are connected to your Del.icio.us account.

•          Search
•          My Links
•          Network
•          Discover
•          Trending
•          Add Link
•          Settings

Del.icio.us has mobile apps for iOS and Android so you can easily save links when you browse with a mobile device as well. Anything you save from a web or mobile device automatically synchronizes with your account, so you always have the latest links wherever you go.

ADVANTAGES

ACCESS YOUR BOOKMARKS EVERYWHERE YOU GO

This remains the biggest advantage of Social Bookmarking as a whole. Most Internet users have several machines that regularly surf the Internet from home, at work, at school, and public libraries.

SHARE YOUR BOOKMARKS WITH OTHERS.

There are countless of reasons why you want to save your bookmarks to share with others. You can use it to share your favorites with different people in your life (friends, colleagues, etc.)

SAVE INSPIRATIONAL LINKS

There are moments when we need a little inspiration. Whenever something inspires you, you can save it to your bookmarks. You can tag well-designed websites, blog themes, logos of companies, beautifully decorated places. Etc.

BUILD A NETWORK

If you've other users who are interested in the same stuff, you can add them to your network. When you are on a user page, which is below the search box at the top right, click "Add network." Now every time you bookmark something that you would want to share with them, they will be listed under Network tags as for a username, or under people tab, depending on whether you are using checklists or browser plug-ins.

CREATE THE ULTIMATE WISH-LIST

The better way to remember all the great things you think you have, but cannot buy it right away, save it to your wish list. Of course, you can create wish lists on Amazon and various other sites, but what if you want all in one place or things from other online retailers without wish-lists.

AFFILIATE SALES

So many people these days who cannot create their own products or websites have decided to become affiliates because they can simply promote a product without worrying about inventory, site maintenance or related costs. Affiliates can earn commission by promoting products with affiliate links on social bookmarking websites.

DISADVANTAGES

SITE ISSUES

When attempting to sign-up for Del.icio.us, I was unable to create an account using just my email address. The sign-up link loaded a blank page. I attempted to access the page from different parts of the site hoping it was an internal link issue. However, the only option for sign-up that would load correctly was through my Google+, Facebook, or Twitter accounts. I wanted to create an account solely for researching and experimenting with the site, and saving, organizing and sharing Web 2.0 bookmarks without using my work or personal Gmail account, because I was not comfortable with this idea until I learned more about how to use the service. Therefore I was only able to explore the site and research the web on it’s purpose, structure and usability. This was a huge put off for me. When conducting a search on the problem, I was able to surmise, that apparently there have been many issues with the site’s dependability since being sold in 2016.

TAG STRUCTURE

No standard in this environment regulates how social bookmarking sites tag links. Examples: - Should people only capitalize at the beginning of the sentence or for each major keyword?

COLLUSION

Like most things in today's world, a scammer can find a way to disrupt the system. If people join groups, sending great bookmarks and control their votes, they are suffering other users who rely on the public to vote on their submission.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Due to the advantage of helping their ranking, many people use this service to create back links to their web pages without actually creating unique content. Instead, they simply create junk and add their link and hopes  it helps their ranking.

Inkscape Original Creations

Experimenting with Flickr

Flickr is a photo sharing website you cannot miss, at least hearing about, on the Internet. It is currently the leader in web photo sharing and is probably the most commonly utilized photo sharing service. Even if you are not currently using Flickr, someone you know, or the image links in an article you read will eventually introduce you to Flickr.

One of the benefits of using this picture sharing service is that Flickr is optimized for all mobile devices and browsers, including Mac, Android, iOS and Windows. It also offers ample storage space, so photographs will always have a home. Flickr lets you save, edit and share your favorite images. Just download the Flickr app, sign in, and you can access your photos and also enjoy the benefits of storing, editing and sharing photos on the go.

Also, the company offers 1,000 GB of free storage space for photos. It allows you to store hundreds of pictures and easy access when needed. They also offer automatic backup features, so you never have to worry about the photos that are lost

Using this photo posting and sharing service is easy. To upload photos, drag and drop images into your camera roll. Then choose which photos you want the public, friends or relatives  to have permission to view. Also, you can sort the images by the date on which they were uploaded.

WHAT's SO COOL ABOUT FLICKR?

Experimenting with Flicker was a rewarding but challenging experience. I am not much of a photographer or graphic designer for that matter, hence the challenge. I was not comfortable uploading randomly chosen and/or edited photos from a simple Google search, mainly for licensing reasons that completely confuse me. So, I did a little research on free graphic design/photo editing software and decided to give Inkscape a try. I watched some YouTube tutorials and to get ideas, I browsed some graphics on the subject of Web 2.0. Then I created 3 fairly good original graphics and uploaded and tagged them on Flickr. I had a little trouble learning the export vector (svg) to png process as Flickr does no support the svg format but got through the process eventually. You can see the graphics I created here: My Flickr Creations.

ABILITY TO TAG LICENSING NOTICES

We are all aware that tagging makes the Web a richer place (by tapping into people's desire to categorize things and also share those categories with everyone else). Tagging provides a bottom-up order on the web, making it easier to find information. Flickr at one point was the wild west of copyright, but now there are simple options to use to configure a license notice for each photo or series of photos. Unfortunately, licensing and copyright information is almost hidden in the bottom corner of the screen and is often overlooked.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

Because social networks, photo tagging, and groups are built into Flickr, you do not have to use more social platforms if all you want to do is be part of a photo community and that’s it.

PHOTO VISIBILITY SETTINGS

Individual photos can be labeled as public or for a group (or individual) only. This feature gives users great flexibility in sharing photos with just only select people they wish to share with.

INTEGRATION & ORGANIZATION

In addition to its mobile application, Flickr is integrated into many large photo editing programs (Aperture, iPhoto, Photoshop Elements, etc.) to make easier uploading directly from editing.  Drag and drop organization makes moving photos on Flickr much easier than other sites demanding text-based folder system categorization.

The best parts about Flickr - communities, and mass storage space - are all free. And you can easily share your images with friends and family through social networks or the service itself.

Fun with Open Source – Electric Sheep

Once again, I am absolutely amazed at the amount of open source software available. Since most of my experience with open source has been directly related to fulfilling a need rather than just searching for and trying different things at leisure, I decided to see where a search like that might lead. Of course, the search result hits were pages long, but I stuck to the first page. One of the coolest pages I found was Datamation’s Open Source Software List: The UltimateList. It is an incredible 10 pages long and boasts an amazing 1,345 items. Each item on the list provides a brief description of the software with a link to its’ home-page. There are recommendations for everything that anyone, including business and enterprise, could possibly be looking for in an open source software solution.

Since fun was a requirement of this excursion, I chose a screensaver called Electric Sheep, which are not actual sheep shapes. Not so simply put, Electric Sheep is a self-perpetuating system for the production of algorithmic art (winner of the Lumen Prize).

From the website: Electric Sheep is a collaborative abstract artwork founded by Scott Draves. It's run by thousands of people all over the world, and can be installed on almost anything. When these computers "sleep", the Electric Sheep comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as "sheep".

Anyone watching one of these computers may vote for their favorite animations using the keyboard. The more popular sheep live longer and reproduce according to a genetic algorithm with mutation and cross-over. Hence the flock evolves to please its global audience.

The name is also a very cute pun, and one that I’m not going to explain, as it’s much more fun for you to “get it” yourself LOL. It was late at night when I chose this program, and it took me a moment for the “proverbial light-bulb” to come on. However, as with most “proverbial light bulbs” 99% of the enjoyment of that moment of understanding comes from the actual enlightenment (pardon this second pun, I couldn’t resist) rather than having someone explain it for you.

Electric Sheep is an organic genetic “Darwin” type algorithm system that creates images with mutations, cross-overs, and of course, crowd source code submissions (constantly evolving since 1999). This is an awesome example of what happens when “open source software” TRULY goes VIRAL.

Downloading and installing Electric Sheep was simple and quick. Electric Sheep is available for almost every platform, including, Mac, Windows, Linux, and as an app for iPad, Apple TV, and Android devices. As of this morning I haven’t had any sheep appear. I believe I may need to tweak my PC’s sleep or hibernate settings. According to the fact files, the screen saver needs to download the sheep into the cache file from the server. As I am a total proponent of both free and open source software, I decided to join the Gold membership which, like most open source software is a very small donation ($2 per month) that I am happy to make. I am excited about seeing this screensaver in action and contributing my votes…..  more will be revealed.

What Is GalliumOS

At the beginning of this year’s semester I needed a portable PC and had very little money to spend, so I couldn’t afford a full-size laptop. I settled on a little refurbished Acer Chromebook, that was under $100. One of the reasons I chose the Chromebook was because I learned that if one chooses to use a different OS, the process for installing a light weight Linux OS seemed pretty straightforward.

Chromebooks come with the Chrome OS installed, which is a cloud based open source OS used primarily accessing the web: browsing, emailing, social networking etc. Although, it is a great little OS, I found there were times when certain programs either weren’t available, or if they were, didn’t have the capabilities I needed. For example, Google Docs easily converts MS Word documents to the Google Doc format however, saving a Google Doc in the MS Word format (required for my courses) isn’t so simple. Hence, my decision to install a Linux OS.

After searching, reading reviews and checking out the forums I settled on a fairly new Linux OS, that's tweaked especially for Chromebooks, called GalliumOS. I had tinkered with other installations of Linux on a few older, “relic” laptops that I had laying around, but hadn’t really gotten far enough to use them for everyday tasks. Providing one locates the correct directions for their model of Chromebook, the process of installing GalliumOS is on the lower side of a medium difficulty. Not for a beginner, but easy enough for someone with basic computer knowledge and a little patience. As with most Linux OS distros, I had to download the ISO file, and another program of my choice that would write the ISO file to a USB drive, making it bootable, similar to how a DVD of an OS installation disk works. Another example of a task that I needed my desktop for as it wasn't possible from the Chrome OS.

Once installed GalliumOS ran smoothly and fast. Everything works fine and I have had no issues with the software. It comes with a built-in package manager, and I was able to download Abiword, an open source word processor that allows me to save documents in a MS Word format. I also looked around and read reviews for few different text editors for coding in my html class. GalliumOS comes with Gedit built in, but I decided to try Lime Text which is an open source solution similar to the popular program Sub Lime. I really dug Lime Text it was definitely my favorite.

All-in-all I GalliumOS  is really awesome.  As with any open source software there is a slight learning curve which I consider to be more an acclimation period i.e learning navigation, where are located, and what applications replace the Windows applications we are all so accustomed to using. The GalliumOS team has done an awesome job. There is a whole “additional software” section on the GalliumOS Wiki, that includes instructions for installing and using Adobe Flash, Skype, various games and many other application choices. The jackpot, icing on the cake was my discovery of the Reddit Noobies Guide; what to do after installing GalliumOS.

As a side note; this term, I was finally able to purchase a 17” laptop that would meet my requirements for work and school. I currently have my hard drive partitioned to boot from either Win 7 (required for work) or Win 10. Apple, in their awesomeness, has made the effort, with the creation of Boot Camp to allow Windows to install, boot and run on their architecture without, as in the past, having to use the Parallels desktop environment. The client I contract for requires Win 7 and due to licensing restrictions, costs, and total frustration with the above mentioned, which could make a whole other blog post, I am not willing to purchase YET another copy of Win 7 to install on my iMac or Mac Mini. However, the hard drive on my new laptop is huge and when time permits, I plan to add a 3rd partition in which to install Elementary OS, as it is a beautiful open source Linux OS, that most closely resembles Mac OS X. Of course, since I am an absolute “Cult of Apple” fanatic, I can’t wait to try it. 

Open Source Browsers

Currently there are 3 browsers installed on my PC, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer (IE), the latter of which I despise, as its' mission in life is to be my nemesis. All 3 are required for my job, and I use each of them daily. Logging into our VPN requires IE, from there the client’s link is available, once clicked, a Citrix network login environment loads. After logging into Citrix, IE window containing 4 choices for launching various apps opens. When one of these options are chosen, a Firefox window is opened with a blank white page containing a link to the Java run loader which opens the actual production interface. I use Chrome to access our CrowdHub community, Blackboard meetings/training sessions, tech chat room, and the scheduling and KPI report sites. Alternately, I can use Firefox to access these as well. The later 3 being a personal preference not set by VPN requirements. I'm 99% sure that that the company that provides access to our client platforms, like my college, APUS, uses a combination of closed source and open source software solutions.

Getting back to the subject of this post; Google Chrome and Firefox are both “open source” browsers that I really like. However, due mostly to habit I guess, I primarily use Chrome for everyday browsing, email, social networks, and courses.

I imagine, if I took the time to set everything set up to my liking, I would use Firefox as my preferred browser. And, I have been meaning to do just that for awhile now. One thing I am not sure about is, although one can access Gmail from any browser, I am not sure it would work as seamlessly, with all the features, as it does from the Chrome browser. I also dread setting up all my passwords and bookmarks. The main reason I am thinking of switching to Firefox, is my escalating annoyance with the countless Chrome processes running in task manager, sapping my PC's resources. This was especially prevalent on my previous PC which had only 4 GB of RAM. Not many people realize, whenever a new tab is opened, Chrome treats it somewhat like a new instance of the exe program, hence opening another process. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had 10+ Chrome processes, that I’ve had to shut down individually, in order to unfreeze my computer rather than completely shutting it down, and risk losing something important.

As far as downloading and installing. I have found that both Chrome and Firefox have always downloaded very quickly and installed practically by themselves, as well as keeping updates simple. The process for these and installing add-on's and extensions is "usually", quick and easy.

I have also used Chromium and Tor in the past. Simply put, Chromium in my opinion, is just lightweight and faster version of Chrome. It is easy to download, install, sign-in and sync everything from your previous Chrome settings. It’s actually kind of adorable, like Chrome’s little sister or brother. Although, I don’t understand all the inner workings of Tor, I find the aspect of privacy it provides very appealing. I don't know about you, but I can easily get caught up in the mild paranoia of "THEM WATCHING" LOL, especially after seeing the documentary, Citizenfour and the later released movie, Snowden, In a perfect world, I believe that everyone should use Tor all the time. However, it is very hard to get acclimated and accustomed to, as well as impractical, if not completely impossible to use for certain work and school related environments, social media sites, email clients, etc.

For a great article on open source browser choices see Techmints: 

11 Best Open Source Web Browsers I Discovered for Linux in 2016.

Open Source Initiative & Free Software Foundation

When researching open source software, its origins and definitions I quickly learned that open source and free software are the same yet different in terms of philosophy.

The Open Source Initiative explains that although most open source software is free it is still licensed. To be considered 
open source, a license must be certified by and comply with the criteria set forth in Open Source Definition. It is software that anyone can inspect, modify, and improve to their needs and liking. And interestingly, there is nothing stopping contributing developers from selling their versions of an open source program.

On the other hand, free software, although the word “free”, one’s first thought is cool, it’s not going to cost me anything, and although that is true, the actual intended meaning is “the freedom to…….. as in liberty, not price. The Free Software Foundation explains this best with their well know phrase: “Think “free speech”, not “free beer”. To qualify as free software the FSF has written a definition with 4 freedoms that a software license must meet, found at their here: The Definition of Free Software.

In conclusion, my meager understanding is that, all “free software” qualifies as “open source”, but not all “open source software” qualifies as “free software”, because some open source licenses do not meet all 4 defined freedoms therefore, do not qualify as “free software” licenses.

Regardless of the philosophical debates that may be happening around me, I for one am delighted they both exist. And, not from a developer’s perspective, as I have yet to even dream of attempting to contribute, but more from an end user. Over the years, I have been ecstatic to discover the many programs available that have been developed to replace expensive programs and applications. The list of these, especially for businesses (I just discovered), is phenomenal and way beyond what I had ever imagined in my beginner dabbling.

This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Open Source Initiative or the Free Software Foundation.

TechCrunch Review

TechCrunch is one of the leading media technology properties, dedicated to enthusiastically profiling new startups, screening new Internet products, and staying abreast of and reviewing the latest technologies.

Established in June 2005, TechCrunch and it's network page now reach more than 12 million unique visitors and attracts more than 37 million visits per month. The TechCrunch community has risen to more than 2 million friends and followers on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and other social networks. CrunchBase, their open database, about start-up companies, people and investors, has become the principal statistical resource for technology companies and dealings

The company organizes large conferences and events, including the Disrupt series Crunchies Award as well as several meetings around the world that serve as a community platform for dialogue and cooperation in the tech industry.

  

TechCrunch believes that everyone, regardless of their origin, must have access to the enormous opportunities of the technological world, while at the same time are convinced that a more diverse workforce would strengthen technology companies. The Tech Crunch Include Program promotes diversity through the selective application of resources available to TechCrunch, including publishing editorials and event platforms.

The program covers many projects and experiments, but regardless of the means of inclusion, it has these basic guidelines at heart:

• Collaborative and Open. This will call upon the wider community for ideas and community support. Readiness to work with people and individuals outside TechCrunch organizations that can provide constructive and critical ideas, and enjoy TechCrunch resources.
• Transparent and Responsible. TechCrunch will publicly announce all inclusion initiatives and announce the results of each action. This information will be tracked on the channel.
• Evolving: They hope to find success and failure while advancing, but will always apply the lesson and experience acquired to new projects and approaches.

The Machine is Us/ing Us - Very Cool Web2.0 Video by Michael Wesch, 2007

GIGAOM Review

GIGAOM is a research and technology analysis firm, focusing on helping business leaders understand the implications of startup technologies and their impact on business, the media and society. They are looking for a future with trends and tools that make up the economy in the twenty-first century: Cloud, Data, Mobile, Future of Work and Internet of Things. GIGAOM has reached more than 6.5 million unique readers per month with a mobile range of over 2 million visitors per month.

They work in close collaboration with two groups: innovative technology providers trying to understand their markets and their competitors and business leaders who need to evaluate technology and understand trends that affect their businesses and industries.

GIGAOM offers the following services:

• Individual, consulting and enterprise-level access to all research GIGAOM Research

• Research IT services, including consulting, investigation and analysis, and dissemination under the auspices of content and activities.

• Prospects for business leaders to participate in the GIGAOM Council, an exclusive web-based community, where entrepreneurs can communicate with their colleagues and GIGAOM analysts to solve the most critical business and technical issues.

About WEB 2.0

courtesy of mrplough 2008

Web 2.0 is the recent state of online technology. Defined by dictionary.com as: "A second generation in the development of the World Wide Web, conceived as a combination of concepts, trends, and technologies that focus on user collaboration, sharing of user-generated content, and social networking".

When compared to the early days of the Web, it is characterized by greater interactivity and user collaboration, enhanced network connectivity, and improved communications channels.

Greater collaboration among Internet users, content providers, and enterprises  is the major differences between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 (traditional World Wide Web). Data/Content is published on a website, and users can quickly view or download content. Increasingly, users have more information about the nature and scope of the web content and, in some cases, have real-time monitoring.

The social nature of Web 2.0 is another important difference. With Web 2.0 technology, websites can allow input, interaction, content sharing and cooperation within the community and the internet as a whole.