James A. Tulli

In another sign that Google has gotten so big it’s totally bored with Search, they announced today Google Buzz.  A service that will integrate into Gmail and offer users a Facebook or Twitter like experience is sure to be buzzing around both social networking sites in the coming weeks.

Sure, just what I need.  Another site, another place to look through a sea of messages/updates/posts that might be interesting to me or not.  All it takes folks is a giant Server Farm and a crew of totally bored software engineers and voila! a social networking service to rival the two largest in the business.

Seems to me Google should spend more time in it’s lab FINISHING some of it’s “Preview” and “Beta” projects before slapping together another attempt at competing with a well established and widely adopted service.

Maybe someone wants to start a Google Wave with me and discuss?

Yes, Google Wave, you know the service that will change the way we all collaborate online forever……

Without a doubt, Apple’s iPad will be a game changer as a mobile device.  Will it eliminate Kindle?  No.  Will it replace all Netbooks?  No.  Will it replace laptops and smart phones?  No.  What it will do is create a new platform for applications that has not existed until now.  Plain and simple the success of the iPad will come from the tsunami of Apps that will be written for the device and take Apple’s App Store from outstanding to awe-inspiring.  Where the iPhone OS unlocked the potential for incredible mobile applications, iPad will take that software development to new heights.  Here’s how:

Imagine waking in the morning, showered, dressed, coffee brewed, breakfast ready.  The typical person’s morning might include a newspaper, TV on a favorite financial or news channel and laptop open to check email, Facebook, Twitter, from overnight.  Enter the iPad.  Instead of 3 devices (TV remote, laptop, smartphone) and a paper you have a single device with all those things in one.  Imagine a news site which not only displays the news but also streams a live feed from the TV station you normally watch.  A CNBC, Bloomberg, or Fox News app that does this is not out of the question on this platform.  Now imagine you’d rather just watch your HDTV and read The New York Times on your iPad.  Using one of the many Universal Remote apps developed in the App Store you turn on your TV from your iPad, change the channel, set a Tivo recording for tonight, and then return to the Times app for the days headlines.  All possible because of this platform.

The work day begins and today you find yourself on the road instead of in the office.  It just so happens you needed a presentation for your trip but accidentally forgot that you saved it to your work PC desktop and not on your Sharepoint site where you could have downloaded it.  Using another great find in the App Store, and the beautiful 9.7″ IPS screen, you’re connected to and controlling your office PC in seconds and posting your presentation to Sharepoint or emailing it to your iPad.  Yes, Windows users will love iPad too.  With your presentation now downloaded and available you give your presentation using the iPad and the Pages/iPad compatible bluetooth remote you bought while attached to the customer’s projector over WiFi.  No laptop necessary, no cords, no hassles.  On the ride back to the office a call comes in, not to your mobile phone, but through 3G enabled Skype on your iPad, and with bluetooth enabled your car’s handsfree system takes over and you make plans for the evening.  All while your iPad never leaves your briefcase.

I’ve illustrated only a few concepts that I think will become a quick reality with this amazing new device and as you can see when you really start think about the possibilities it becomes clear the iPad will fit into everyone’s life.  While the Kindle is great for eBook junkies, and the netbook is the great cheap alternative to a laptop, the iPad will not only offer comparable experiences to each of those devices but the iPhone OS platform will only limit what’s possible to the designer’s imagination.

These days I am wondering if Facebook is still the useful social networking tool it once was.  When I first signed up for Facebook it was exciting reconnecting with old friends, old neighbors, family, and colleagues.  Sharing personal photos, videos, and stories was enjoyable, doing fun quizzes on occassion, even airing a political debate or two was common.  It all seemed to make sense and was an enjoyable part of an evening or lull in a work day.  Then one day Facebook got REALLY big.

If I were to make an anology I’d say Facebook has become like any typical magazine on the newstand, with the information you really want buried deep inside a mess of everything you don’t care about.  Where magazines have advertisements Facebook has games, polls, quizzes, request, events, suggestions, products, etc. now outnumbering valuable information 5 to 1 on my news feed.  It has become so cumbersome it’s almost a second job going through everything just to stay on top of it.  Another sign that Facebook even knows that the information is reaching tiring levels?  The “Like” button.  No longer do you need to comment on someone’s post to show your appreciation for it, now you just click “Like” on your way to the Request section for responding to the 37 “Farmville” gift requests you have.

These days I find myself more a drive by Facebook user, and since my Notification bar often exceeds the vertical length of my computer screen it’s no surprise I find myself more interested in Twitter and it’s limited capacity for information.