The Rebirth of Language, Facebook, and Yahoo – Monday November 21st Roundup
The deluge of winter is upon us and the result is lots and lots of stuff to read, making the round up even longer than usual. So before I head back into the conflation of earth and ocean that are Vancouver streets, I want to update you all on what I’ve been reading this rainy Monday.
This week we have the death of Yahoo site explorer, new info on Facebook Timeline, and a fascinating article on how the internet is changing language.
Social Media Today writes about the new Facebook Timeline. yes, Facebook is replacing the wall with the time line, telling “your story”. It also integrates and replaces a bunch of Facebook features (like photos). Reminds me a bit of Don Draper’s Kodak Carousel speech in Mad Men, to be honest.
L3 has some thoughts on new Google Analytics Functions. They’re pretty positive, and I like his comment that real-time isn’t an analysis tool, but rather a monitoring tool. An interesting distinction.
Of course Avinash is on here. However, this time it’s on the new Google secure search and how it has affected keyword data. This is the kind of post I wish Avinash would do more often, he has a problem, and he outlines his thought process for trying to work it out. In this case it gives a great look into some of the more brilliant connections he makes between data points.
Optimize
UX Movement has 6 UX tips for building web applications. I like their insistence that scrolling isn’t bad, and that we shouldn’t worry as much about the fold as about the natural flow of information down the page.
Finally, a post that hits very close to home for me, even if it just barely fits into the optimize subheading: From lolcat to textspeak: How technology is shaping our language. The most interesting point in this comes from David Crystal, who notes that linguistic novelties such as lolcat speak tends to die out as the novelty of it wears out (thank god), and that what the internet does is provide a huge range of new varieties of language and language use. Another note he makes is that the internet is causing spoken language traits to manifest themselves more readily in written language – a prospect scary to some.
Kent Clark
Some have compared him to the Dalai Lama, others to Kublai Kahn. When he isn't teaching third world children how to purify water with nothing more than a plastic bottle and a garden hose, he is creating mad waves for surfers off the west coast with little more than a paddle. Some say there is a boat involved, others that he walks on water.
Little is known about his background. he appeared from nowhere 15 years ago and claims heritage from a land with neither want not need. He makes little comment, stating only that it was a pretty cool place.
Fire does not burn him, cold does not hurt him. Words could... but they don't. When he passes, pedals fall off branches. When he speaks, hair tugs at skin, pulling just slightly in his direction.
He does not sleep but he does dream. He has muscled his way into the lives of the famous and whispered his way into their hearts. And in the wee hours he plays oboe softly, as if to sooth the night to sleep.