It is finally here … iPad 2

2 cameras, dual-core A5 chip, thinner, lighter and even more amazing!

For everything about the new iPad click here.

I think the iPad 2 is going to be a hard one to compete with. As we are seeing more and more tablets emerge, I think the ipad is going to remain one of the top for awhile. On a side note, I would like the white one with the pink cover!

Manage Work and Social Networks with Whoopa

Whoopa users can easily switch between their businesses and personal profiles to manage and organize their online social activities all in one place. With one account you can manage both and switch between by swiping a single button instead of logging in and out of the different accounts. You can still keep separate privacy settings for each profile. Whoopa also offers a social network integration for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn so users can have all of them aggregated into one social platform. Users can send direct messages, invites and wall posts to their separate social network accounts from within the site.

Right now though, only one Facebook profile is permitted, but multiple Twitter accounts can be linked to both profiles.

An iPhone app is currently in development.

I think that this is a great leap in social media aggregation however, I feel that for heavy social media users like myself, it needs more in-depth options. I plan on trying it out this week and will report back because it does seem like a neat idea. I really like the switching with just the click of a button because currently I have to log in and out to switch from business to personal and it is a pain.

Will Textbooks in the Classroom Become Obsolete?

While I think this is an innovative and great idea, I have one concern with it, the wear and tear it will do one student’s eyes. I know if I did EVERYTHING on my iphone/ipad my eyes would get worn out and possibly suffer long-lasting effects. I am on a computer for at least eight of the 24 hours in a day and even that starts to hurt my eyes at the end of the night. Ever since so much has gone online, I look forward to giving my eyes a break and reading from my textbooks. I think this could be a great tool, but not a replacement for everything. Thoughts?

Learn more about the iSchool Initiative here.

Kinect Controls Windows 7

I am a Mac girl, but I love my Kinect and this is pretty sweet. I am constantly amazed at the advances in technology each day. Keep it up Microsoft!

On a different, but related note, to me this shows a bad side of technology. Yes, this is cool to be able to integrate Kinect with the Windows 7 phone but isn’t the point of Kinect to get up and move? I just don’t see the point in playing Kinect from your phone. Thoughts?

Finally… The Remote Control Car

Normally I am not a Chevy girl — sorry to those who love Chevy — I grew up on Ford and my 1st car was a Mustang and more recently I have jumped onboard the German bandwagon with my 2010 VW Jetta, but enough about me. I do have to say way to go Chevy, this is impressive and makes me want it — love the ad too. I am in awe over this, not only can you control the car from a remote but you don’t have to be anywhere near it, so cool. What on earth will be next?

Social Media “Revolution” in Egypt

As most of us know, Murabak ended his presidency early this morning (US time) because of more than 2 million protesters, but what most don’t know is that social media played a huge role in this. It has been quoted that while people started the revolution, social media helped speed it along. Protest groups emerged on Facebook and Google Marketing Executive, Wael Ghomin, was arrested for helping organize the “revolution on Facebook and Twitter. Ghomin plans to write a book about the effect of social media on political activism called “Revolution 2.0,” according to Los Angeles Times. Ghomin told CNN, “If you want to liberate a government, give them the Internet.” Reports coming from Egypt show that activists have used social media to pass on information and over the past month there were five million new Facebook members in Egypt. Times are changing, the new generation is tech savvy and are able to coordinate protests online as well.

According to baptiststandard.com, “With each revolution there seems to be a new driving force that speeds up the process.” They also talk about how the Protestant Reformation would have been impossible without the printing press and the American Revolution was advanced by the postal service. The revolution in Egypt is the latest example of how technology changes things. According to CNN, the events in Egypt have shown the strength of these tools for both organizing and informing people. The Egyptian people and reporters were able to use the Internet and social media to share messages that otherwise would have been banned by the government.

In a Twitter message, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said: “Congratulations to the Egyptian people.” A flood of support poured onto the micro-blogging site, where the words “Congrats Egypt” were among its most popular terms.

I am constantly amazed at the power of the Internet and social media. Some days it scares me, but I know that if used right the Internet can be an amazing tool for everyone. I am excited to see how social media is used in years to come.

Internet and Privacy

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Friday would create a do-not-track tool giving Internet users the power to prohibit online advertising networks and social media sites from tracking their Web behavior and sharing their personal information with other businesses.

The Do Not Track Me Online Act, introduced by Representative Jackie Speier, would direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to create standards for a nationwide do-not-track mechanism that would allow Web users to opt out of online tracking and the sharing of consumer data among online businesses.

Websites and ad networks that did not honor the opt-out requests would be subject to unfair or deceptive business practice complaints at the FTC, or enforcement actions by state attorneys general.

Speier, a California Democrat, also introduced a bill Friday that would allow consumers to prohibit their banks and other financial institutions from sharing personal information with third parties.

“These two bills send a clear message — privacy over profit,” Speier said at a press conference.

The do-not-track legislation is needed because there are no limits in the U.S. on how Web-based companies can track consumers online and whom they share the data with, Speier said.

Several consumer groups voiced support for the two bills, saying a universal do-not-track mechanism is needed to protect privacy. The do-not-track bill “will allow consumers to make a basic choice that they think they already had — whether or not companies can track their activities online,” said Carmen Balber, Washington, D.C., director for Consumer Watchdog.

Most consumers believe that when they agree to online privacy policies, their privacy will be protected, but instead, the policies simply detail how the website will use and share their information, Balber said.

Article via Yahoo! News

As a consumer and Internet-user I agree with this bill, but as a future professional in the PR and advertising world, it will be tricky to work around. This has been a debate for quite some time now — privacy over money? What do you guys think?

For All You Gamers

(Image via OnlinEducation)

 

Reports from CNN show that video games can make you smarter! Studies show that playing video games builds, not burns brain cells. There are four ways in which video games can help make you smarter-

Hands-on experience

More interactive and absorbing than passive forms of entertainment like movies and TV, video games promote higher levels of engagement because observers are actively and enthusiastically involved with on-screen activity.

Job training

Businesses and universities are increasingly turning to interactive simulations and virtual worlds as training tools to educate employees.

From Cisco to NASA, the U.S. Army to IBM, numerous corporations, government organizations and colleges have all employed interactive learning solutions.

Contextual learning

Video games may soon save lives as well.

According to Dr. Jeffrey Taekman, the director of Duke University’s Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, “serious games and virtual environments are the future of education.”

Besides offering medical students the ability to practice on patients (which is much safer in the digital world), simulations offer health care providers several upsides. Chief among them, he says, are the abilities to make choices, see results and apply information immediately.

Beyond allowing for greater scalability and group collaboration than traditional classrooms, every decision made in a virtual world, he continues, can be tracked and benchmarked against best practices, then standardized or archived for others’ review. “The traditional textbook will soon become passé,” he suggests. “Gaming platforms will offer an interactive way for students to learn and apply information in context.”

Teamwork and collaboration

Massively multiplayer games such as “World of Warcraft,” “EVE Online” and “City of Heroes” may seem like idle fantasy and sci-fi escapes.

But many require active teamwork and high-level project management to do well. Collaborative elements often take the form of loose alliances disguised as in-game guilds, factions or virtual corporations where players join forces to complete objectives such as seizing territory or battling otherwise unstoppable opponents.

As Georgia Tech professor and Persuasive Games founder Ian Bogost explains, these titles frequently require advanced mastery of resource allocation and practical leadership techniques.

Requiring direct management and informed decision-making at multiple levels, group heads quickly learn to delegate responsibility, direct personnel and steer allies toward a common goal. Actively promoting teamwork between seemingly disparate individuals located states or entire countries apart, he says, all ironically offer preparation for a job in today’s increasingly virtual workforce.

Technology is changing the way we do things in every area. The more and more complex and interactive video games get, the more we learn from them and can apply that to real world situations. I am not a big gamer girl, but I do enjoy playing the occasional video game now and feel like I am exercising my brain. I am amazed at the use of games like SecondLife that can actually use the game for training purposes, so cool. Like with anything, too much is too much though and video games can become a serious addiction.

TweetMag for the iPad

I fell in love with this app the minute I saw it on Digital Buzz Blog. It is the same kind of concept as a flipboard so the technology is not new, but I really like how you can create categories for who you follow like the news and game categories showed in the video. I get a lot of my news via Twitter and so for me this is a great tool. I think it is definitely worth the $4.99. You can check out the site here.

Facebook Turns Activity Into Ads

Just about every Mashable tweet catches my undivided attention, but this tweet more than most.

 

 

 

(Via my Twitter Feed)

According to the latest post on Mashable, Facebook is introducing Sponsored Stories, a brand-new ad format that turns you and your friends’ actions into promoted content. It is a way for marketers to sponsor activities that happen throughout the News Feed. Companies can choose to take certain actions – like checkins – and feature them in the right-hand column.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting today, four different types of actions can be turned into feature stories: likes, checkins, actions within custom applications and page posts. We have seen a similar thing to this with Twitter’s Promoted Tweets, the difference is that users define the advertised content in Facebook’s format, not the advertisers.

It seems like more and more users and consumers are being given the voice and power to determine what is advertised. I feel that social media is giving us this power, and I am excited to see how businesses connect with consumers and use it to benefit both themselves and consumers.