CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-17 18:25:05 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Someone just told me something I didn't like.  They were totally having a thingIdoordontlike-panic attack, obviously.

I mean, when you don't know what to say in response to any given issue, it might not really be what you're saying (or not saying).  It could just be that the person you're talking to is panicking.  So this is a really good thing to always take into consideration when engaging with people.

#technopanic  

2013-05-17 18:17:45 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Oh no, I think I'm having a technopanic attack again.  I might need to invest in some sort of inhaler or something.  All this panicking is making me start to weez.

These #technopanic attacks are serious business.  I wonder if there are studies being done on the issue.  Perhaps we should have a panic attack about growing number of technopanic attacks.
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2013-05-17 18:38:27 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

#CURMUDGEON

1. Miser
2. A crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man.

It was interesting to hear +Larry Page reference geeky old curmudgeons and the perception of negativity as a hindrance within the same brief few moments. 
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2013-05-17 18:19:17 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I just found the new https://plus.google.com/notifications/all and I like it.

#newui  

2013-05-17 18:39:12 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Glass == data capture more than input?

So far, other than a CNN money piece this is the #1 best critique of Google Glass in an honest way that I've seen, by +Nick Bilton.  I would have then preferred to hear what he thought after having been given the glasses by Google (not that he was).  I'm still most interested in how often people actually have the thing engaged, or cocked upwards to wink or squint with one eye to see something.  Or how many use it naturally 100% of the time.  I found these statements telling...

I should preface here by saying that that I’m a nerd. I’ve been a nerd all my life, always buying the first era of a new gadget — essentially anything with a button and a battery.

I felt like a mere mortal among an entirely different class of super-connected humans.

Lingering in the hallways like gangs of super nerds.They look... more »

2013-05-17 17:07:35 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Google just wants data

This feels like bullshit to me.  I'm really tired of gloss and salesmanship. Why not get real?

I really question how much a majority of people use or will use Google Now.  This thing entirely depends on it constantly recording what you're doing and knowing the context of what you do any given day and time with regularity.

There are some ah-hah moments.  But even if you do give Google 100% of your activity context 24/7, there is going to be a limit to what it's going to be able to predict for you.

And then at some point, the predictions are not going to be what you would have done without Google Now.  The thing is going to push things to you that you would not have done, this may then push out other things that you would have done.

I don't think I'm going to be using this.  Also, the reminder stuffis b... more »

2013-05-17 17:17:39 (26 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

"A group of US lawmakers has asked Google to answer questions on the privacy implications and possible "misuse of information" of its Google Glass project.

Eight lawmakers in the Congressional Privacy Caucus sent a letter Thursday saying they are "curious whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of the average American.""

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-lawmakers-google-glass-privacy.html#jCp

2013-05-17 15:57:20 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)

Soccket is a soccer ball that generates electricity -- 30 minutes of play can power a lamp for three hours. In developing nations, this simple 'toy' is helping turn lives around. Read more: http://yhoo.it/Z1l4bS #theupbeat  

2013-05-17 15:56:36 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

I find that the "remind me" thing in Google Now is 100% silly.  It pops-up as a dialog instead of actually setting a reminder.  Why can't it just set the reminder with a simple confirmation?

All it's doing is popping up a reminder dialog key'd on "remind" and filling stuff out like today, tomorrow with a title.

This is not the Star Trek computer or Hall-9000.  I don't think I will ever use this.  Plus it can take up to 10 seconds or so to return the parse.  Anytime I want to use this, I usually have to click the the home the the mic button.  Why even do this?  Why not just have a mic overlay from any application so you don't even have to switch mobile applications, from whatever you're in to Google Now?

You might as well just click "set reminder" from the menu or launch an app.  And I can even find the Settings-> M... more »

2013-05-17 15:32:45 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-17 15:32:06 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Wasn't it Zuckerberg who was just saying he wanted to make Facebook into a newspaper? It seems that is what Google is trying to do with G+.

I think they should be making it into a magazine.

#newui

2013-05-17 04:32:19 (13 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

J.J. Abrams and/or whoever came up with the latest Star Trek screenplay is a genius. I wish I could say more about it without being a spoiler.
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2013-05-17 04:39:53 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Heh, Yahoo wants to buy Tumblr.
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2013-05-17 01:03:18 (3 comments, 8 reshares, 15 +1s)

We need to seriously consider that cheeky octopus are simply trying to evolve into photographers.
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2013-05-17 00:59:21 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I have a new Google Now card "continue researching" which I never noticed before.  It has like two things I was doing a fair bit of searching on, one was David Foster Wallace and the other was Ray Lamontagne guitar chords.  This seems very cool.

It seems like this could morph into something way cooler down the road.
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2013-05-17 00:56:06 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Okay finally Google Now did something.  Somehow, it magically figured out that me and my wife are actually going to go to the movies and knows which theater we picked based on clicking on a search result link (from my laptop Firefox Google search).  So it gave me directions, although that's not really needed since it's so close by.

It must have gotten lucky that we didn't decide not to go.  Or maybe it was listening in, or monitoring my G+. I'd be a little more impressed if it automatically asked me to add a calendar entry or something.
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2013-05-17 00:46:28 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 1 +1s)

2013-05-17 00:40:24 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Dust Devil

As the last breath leaves the body of a dying person, it carries with it that person's ghost, or chindi. - Navajo legend

Dust devils are sometimes referred to by the Navajo as chiindii.  Chiindii that spin clockwise are "good spirits" while those that spin in the other direction are malevolent forces, and best avoided.

#navajo   #dustdevil

(Cinemagraph via imgur)

2013-05-17 00:39:58 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Must Read: Cutting Social Security and Not Taxing Wall Street

As we move toward the fifth anniversary of the great financial crisis of 2008, people should be outraged that cutting Social Security is now on the national agenda, while taxing Wall Street is not. After all, if we take at face value the claims made back in 2008 by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Timothy Geithner, Wall Street excesses brought the economy to the brink of collapse.

But now the Wall Street behemoths are bigger than ever and President Obama is looking to cut the Social Security benefits of retirees. That will teach the Wall Street boys to be more responsible in the future.

Most people are now familiar with President's Obama's proposal to cut Social Security by reducing the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). While the final formula is somewhat... more »

2013-05-17 00:38:44 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

One feature I really like is that the new G+ header keeps the circle navigation stuck at the top.  I wish the share button was there at all times, but this is still pretty sweet.  It might also be nice if we could just customize that navigation with whatever section or circle of G+ we frequent. Or, if it learned what we most frequently use or view, including profiles.

I am under no illusions that anyone at Google will ever pay attention to this, or that it will matter.  But at least I have a record of my own pondering.

#newui  

2013-05-17 00:34:23 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

When I first heard Jay Carney a long time ago, I knew this was bullshit, and I'm not a conservative.

I wrote this on the 19th:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/109667384864782087641/posts/d4MTnhSznVi

I think it's time for the Administration to say that they're protecting classified secrets and that this was a calculated foreign policy decision.

Dozens of e-mails released by the White House reveal that Obama administration officials were behind the crafting of a false narrative about the attack in Benghazi, Libya. The communications raise questions about who called the shots and why, say an analyst and a lawmaker involved in the investigation.

The writing is on the wall.  They're looking as obtuse as conservatives at this point.

#Benghazi #Obama  

2013-05-17 00:27:10 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Wewt, I think we're going to go see Star Trek tonight.
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2013-05-17 00:23:35 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

I am still trying to get Google Now to talk to me.  It only seems to want to respond with birth, death dates, and the current temperature.  It won't even answer, "What is the current stock prize of X?"

And some questions are fairly slow, they take longer than regular searches.
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2013-05-17 00:12:28 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This seems so silly to me.  I hope this is not what they've been focused on. 
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2013-05-16 23:31:26 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I don't get why the parenting issue keeps being pushed aside.
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2013-05-16 20:33:14 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 7 +1s)

#Glass  

2013-05-16 20:26:34 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

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2013-05-16 20:10:13 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

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2013-05-16 20:08:33 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

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2013-05-16 19:33:45 (48 comments, 46 reshares, 133 +1s)

#Hollywood  

2013-05-16 19:04:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Google Glass is a "new" innovation?  really?
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2013-05-16 19:03:46 (20 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

Google glasses the new innovation in technology.....

2013-05-16 19:01:14 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

I think I figured out the point of the multi column design. It's more like a newspaper that you can see a bunch of content at a glance, then pick what you want to read. And for that use case, I think it works well.

But the content I have in my steam was very carefully selected, and I want to read all of it, and know that I haven't missed any.

This is why having posts change place drives me nuts. And why I switched back to a single column.

It also helps me understand why when I view a profile, search results, or a community, the multi column design doesn't bother me. There I am actually scanning the posts, picking individual ones to read.

Does that make sense to anyone else?

#gplusupdate #ux

2013-05-16 18:58:25 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

Something bound to happen in Syria soon.  Israel and Turkey made up, Turkey pays off IMF debt...
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