Book Reviews

Smart Mobs : The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold

"A vivid mural of thenew frontier of the mobile Web."- Fast Company . Smart Mobs takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno-cultural shift. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, wireless-paging, and Internet-access devices-that will allow us to connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere.Rheingold offers a penetrating perspective on the new convergence of pop culture, cutting-edge technology, and social activism. He also reminds us that the real impact of mobile communications will come not from the technology itself but from how people use it, resist it, and adapt to it.

It's a must read for people interested in mobile and social technology. The book is engaging and offers an insightful introduction to social and network theories.


The New Community Rules : Marketing on the Social Web by Tamar Weinberg.

Blogs, networking sites, and other examples of the social web provide businesses with a largely untapped marketing channel for products and services. But how do you take advantage of them? With The New Community Rules, you'll understand how social web technologies work, and learn the most practical and effective ways to reach people who frequent these sites.

Written by an expert in social media and viral marketing, this book cuts through the hype and jargon to give you intelligent advice and strategies for positioning your business on the social web, with case studies that show how other companies have used this approach. 

 If you're fairly new to all thing related to 'Social Web' you might fing this book interesting, as it offers excellent insights into using social media as a marketing channel. But if you're someone who already nows his way around the social web and how to handle social media, you might find it to be a bit boring, as did I.

The Sciences and the Arts

When I did a little brainstorming on what to write about in this particular blogpost, my brain did a runner with the science part in mind. But upon thinking about the arts connected with social web it came back singing, dancing and smiling.


The first thing I wrote down in my notebook in thick bold letters was: deviantART. 

DeviantArt has been around for a while. The community is large and the site is fully featured. It's a great place to just look at art and what people are doing. There's just so many people posting there that you can see tons of stuff. The site puts the artwork in the forefront. The profiles really showcase the art and you can just look at someones profile or go to the art with very few clicks. Some of the other sites take a bit more work to actually see a full sized image: clicking through to searchs, profiles, albums and then finally artwork.

Another thing that came to mind was Designflavr. Designflavr is a moderated art and design showcase built upon user submissions. It's a really great site. You can sit back, browse through beautiful art and let yourself get inspired.

I definitely recommend those two sites if you're worn out and need some new input :)

Privacy & Security

When it comes to privacy and security issues on social networks, the sites that are most likely to suffer from issues are the most popular ones.All it takes is one single person to cause a major damage.But security issues and privacy issues are two entirely different things.A security issue occurs when a hacker gains unauthorized access to a site's protected coding or written language.Privacy issues, those involving the unwarranted access of private information, don't necessarily have to involve security breaches.Someone can gain access to confidential information simply by watching you type your password.
But how can you protect yourself from those with malicious intentions?Below are some helpful tips regarding security and privacy while using social networking sites:

• Ensure that any computer you use to connect to a social media site has proper security measures in place. Use and maintain anti-virus software and keep your application and operating system patches up-to-date. 
• Use caution when clicking a link to another page or running an online application, even if it is from someone you know. Many applications embedded within social networking sites require you to share your information when you use them.   Attackers use these sites to distribute their malware. 
• Use strong and unique passwords. Using the same password on all accounts increases the vulnerability of these accounts if one becomes compromised. 
• If screen names are allowed, do not choose one that gives away too much personal information.
• Be careful who you add as a “friend,” or what groups or pages you join. The more “friends” you have or groups/pages you join, the more people who have access to your information. 
• Do not assume privacy on a social networking site. For both business and personal use, confidential information should not be shared. You should only post information you are comfortable disclosing to a complete stranger. 
• Use discretion before posting information or  commenting about anything. Once information is posted online, it can potentially be viewed by anyone and may not be retracted afterwards. Keep in mind that content or communications on government-related social networking pages may be considered public records. 
• Configure privacy settings to allow only those people you trust to have access to the information you post. Also, restrict the ability for others to post information to your page. The default settings for some sites may allow anyone to see your information or post information to your page; these settings should be changed. 
• Review a site’s privacy policy. Some sites may share information such as email addresses or user preferences with other parties. If a site’s privacy policy is vague or does not properly protect your information, do not use the site.