Google+ is better than Facebook for 10 reasons

1. "Circles"

Overwhelmingly, Google+ users say they prefer Google+'s model for organizing your contacts. While Twitter allows you to "follow" others, and Facebook is all about mutual "friendship," Google+ instead introduces the concept of "Circles."

Circles are groups of friends with different labels such as "co-workers" or "family." Users can choose to share each update with a different group, and also view their incoming streams by group, rather than all at once. "I'm finding the circles help with keeping my life and work separate," explains Google+ fan Richard Walden.

2. Privacy

Google+ users say they find the service's privacy settings easier to use. This might be surprising given that Google+ profiles themselves cannot be private. However, thanks to Circles, it's easy to control which users can see each of your updates. "I want fine grained control of how my posts are shared," says Jen Delisle.

3. Longer, more thoughtful posts

Twitter might be king when it comes to brevity, but Ward Andersonsays he reads more insightful postings on Google+. This thoughtfulness is enabled by Google+'s higher character limit -- users can post multiple paragraphs of text, versus one or two sentences on Twitter.

4. No ads

Google+ users, including Dave Francis Rotaquio, say they love that Google+ is currently ad-free. With Facebook having run ads for years, and Twitter now ramping up its use of advertising, Google+ is now one of the few successful social networks that lacks commercial interruption.

However, the free lunch is unlikely to last forever: Google runs the largest ad network on the Web and may eventually have to face the economic realities of operating a large social site.

5. Group video chat

Want to video chat with up to 10 friends? With Google+, switching from a text chat to a group video conversation takes a click -- and it's one feature that Google's rivals lack. Facebook now supports video calls thanks to a deal with Skype, but group chatting isn't possible there.

What's more, Google just integrated this "Hangouts" feature into YouTube, letting you and your friends chat about videos while you watch.

6. Farmville-free

Google+ recently added games to its lineup -- a feature that's often cited as an annoyance on rival social networks. (Do you have a Facebook friend who can't help but post Farmville updates all day?)

Google+ makes its games less irritating, says Inniya Kim, by relegating all gaming updates to a dedicated tab -- this keeps your stream free from noisy distractions. So if Farmville were ever to come to Google+, few would consider it a pest.

7. Better photos

Some Google+ users say the network is becoming a leader in photo-sharing: Full-screen photo galleries and a highly active community consisting of some the Web's most popular photographers must surely have helped here.

8. Friendly staff

Who said social networks don't need great customer service? The creators of Google+ are active on the service themselves and use it to respond to questions and criticisms. Rob Michael feels this has made Google+ feel more collaborative.

9. Less clutter

Perhaps it's simply the lack of advertising, but many Google+ users say they like Google's clean, white aesthetic. On Google+, there's nothing to distract you from the content.

10. Integrated with Google products

Fans of Google's other services, such as Gmail and Google Calendar, say they like the way Google+ works across many of Google's existing products.

"They had everything else, for the most part, already working so all they needed was to add the social networking aspect to things," says Josiah Stone.

Perhaps the greatest selling point of Google+ is the most obvious, however: It's new. The opportunity to start afresh with an up-to-date list of friends, no spam, no ads and an uncluttered interface is a novel experience for those of us who have spent years maintaining profiles on other websites.

Whether that "new car feel" lasts -- especially for neophiles like me -- remains to be seen.

Copied from:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/23/google.plus.better.cashmore/index.html

YouTube Movies !

YouTube is upgrading from cute kittens to Hollywood stars, making the move from homemade clips to full-length films.
The move is designed to progress YouTube from a service based on users’ clips to one that can take on television on its own terms, to say nothing of online movie rental services.
That means users now have access to 3,000 movies, along with critics’ commentaries and bonus materials, all online. The selection includes classics like Goodfellas and Taxi Driver, as well as recent releases like The King’s Speech and The Green Hornet.
So far, the selection is only available to American residents, who have to pay 3.99 dollars to rent a movie this way. In other countries, users will have to make do with a handful of older, but free movies at www.youtube.com/movies.

"Pocodot." A scam or the next Facebook?

SAfter browsing Youtube one evening, as I usually do... I started to notice that, all the top comments (the ones with the most 'likes/thumbs up') were comments like this one:

Regardless of what they say this video made me cringe a bit but it’s worth my time to watch. Just like when "I tried and used p◎c◎d◎t for the first time. Man, I know I’m risking a lot here but nevertheless I was so surprised with this thing right here. Cool features, no viruses, great performance of the site in my computer and nothing matters after that! I don’t know about you guys but I’m sticking with p◎c◎d◎t for life!"

Notice the huge circles? Well Youtube have actually banned the work "Pocodot" for obvious reasons, to stop this somewhat poor advertising by the site.

As for the site itself, I made a profile (fake of course) just to see what this rambling was about, being cautious of malware and virus's. And to my amassment. The site is very well designed and user-friendly. But it seems to stick to a very spesific age group. Teenagers. As it states very clearly at the top of the web page. "Welcome to Pocodot, a blog for teens"

Yes, finally to the conclusion. Well, from what I have stated above, it's obvious to me, and hopefully to you; that "Pocodot"is really just another "bebo" or "friendster." But as for a Facebook killer. Very far off.

But if you would like a radical change from the confines of Facebook, please click ME.

Or if you like to be active, click on that URL bar at the top, and type: www.pocodot.com

-Paddy Foss

Facebook's Monkey Training vs Privacy

Here's the video I showed in today's classes. Are you concerned with writing in an open network. You think only your friends are listening but you are very wrong and it can have long term ramifications. You have been nurtured to want to update your status. It works on the basis of instant feedback and gratification which Teachers should learn a lot from. Schools end up pushing the idea that steps to remain private when communication are a bad thing and it's better for all if we monitor everything.

Posting on a Blogger Blog

I have produced a video on Posting content (Pics and Videos) and how the Labels on every post appear in the menu on the front page.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZnpl-sj78U

Downloading from Youtube

I have produced a video on how to Download Youtube videos.
This method works on all platforms in all browsers. 
Remember to set the quality to high on the player (720) so you can clearly see what I am doing.
Have fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCpVzIwjC6g

"HootSuite" Site and Mobile

Students have asked me about Hootsuite so here you go. Post Messages to Twitter or Facebook or Both from one place. Hootsuite is an account you can setup and nominate all your social media accounts so they appear in one place. It's shows in your web browser just as it does on the iPad. White one message and tick which accounts will post it. It also does stats on social media as well.
You can also line-up your favourite Social feeds on the screen. E.g. a Twitter Saved search next to your Favourites next to your FB account. Try it for free here: HOOTSUITE

Social Media 2011

Social Media has already become central to most aspects of our lives. These sites Data Mine our conversations to target marketing at us specifically. Companies now check all job applicants' Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to gain a real understanding of who they might be employing. Business now worries more about it's Social Media profile than they do their Google listing position. Here's a video that shows you a lot of interesting stats on the importance of and quick development of Social Media: