SOMEWHAT FRANK

Connecting With Google Friend Connect

Google Friend Connect debuted this past spring as it rolled out to a few different sites as part of a private beta program. The idea is pretty simple as it offers an easy way to connect with people on your site via a Google Gadget thus bringing community to a previously community-less site. I like to call it adding a party to a page. Wait a minute this seems like deja vu! Back in November 2006 MyBlogLog offered a similar widget that could be added to your site to help connect everyone in the blogosphere. MyBlogLog was quickly scooped up by Yahoo and has been slowly rolling out new features.

With Facebook starting to allow sites to add Facebook Connect which allows Facebook users to sign in on 3rd party sites and post comments which are then published back to Facebook, Google finally launched Friend Connect publicly just a few weeks ago. I just added Google Friend Connect to SOMEWHAT FRANK. So now SOMEWHAT FRANK readers can connect on the site (see the right rail).

GeoEye Office Visit & Tour Video

GeoEye Office Space Adventure from Frank Gruber on Vimeo.

GeoEye, is a satellite imagery company that has been in the news quite a bit lately, as they launched GeoEye-1 on September 6, 2008 via a rocket into space. GeoEye-1 is the first commercial satellite offering high resolution imagery. GeoEye-1 is also the exclusive provider of imagery for Google Earth and Google Maps.

I recently got a chance to visit the GeoEye headquarters in Dulles/Sterling, Virginia to speak with Mark Brender, VP of Communications and Marketing at GeoEye. He showed me around the office as we discussed their recent successes and future objectives. This is episode 55 on SOMEWHAT FRANK in HD adventures in a personal technology lifestyle, this time looking down from space thru GeoEye.

Cuil Search Launches Aimed At Google

There have been a number of startups that have launched with Google in its sites and most have failed miserably as it is very much like the story of David and Goliath. But I love to see the competitive spirited startup that is up to taking on the challenge. Cuil, pronounced "cool," launched today looking to take the Google challenge. I took a look at the new search service and reported my findings in this article.

Twitter Acquires Summize Real-Time Search

Yesterday Twitter casually announced on its blog the acquisition of Summize, a Virginia-based real-time search startup calling it "A Perfect Match." I could not agree with them more as they wasted little time and have launched a new search Twitter Search tool at search.twitter.com. If you are a heavy Twitter user then you have encountered problems using Twitter as they at times have had to turn off certain features leaving many to find other means, like Summize as shown in this recent tweet.

The deal is said to be worth $15M stock and cash and depending upon how long the team stays at Twitter they could benefit from Twitter eventually getting acquired too. Congrats to the Virginia/DC-based Summize team who are also DC TECH cocktailers as it does look to be an ideal exit and integration into Twitter.

Apple MobileMe Syncs Everything For A Fee

The release of the new 3G iPhone and the launch of the Application Store secured the spotlight last week but there was another release which caught my attention. Apple launched MobileMe to replace the .Mac service which has been around for awhile. Though the .Mac migration may have had a few hiccups, the new MobileMe service offers users who pay just $99 per year an Apple run exchange for keeping contacts, calendar events and email synced to a PC or Mac computer and iPhone or Touch. The release positions Apple into a new space as a supplier of personal enterprise computing solutions. Apple takes on "free" email providers by locking up new me.com users to an account on a yearly subscription. Will this change the "free" email standard?

Which iPhone Apps Are You Queuing Up?

I just got the latest version of iTunes and have been poking around the new iPhone application store. So far I have been impressed by the applications that are offered. I started to queue up a number of applications that should be added to my iPhone as soon as the 2.0 software update is released (or I could download it early here). I took a quick screen-shot of the applications I will be adding as soon as I get the iPhone 2.0 firmware update, they are as follows:

AIM, AOL Radio, Baseball, Eventful, Evernote, Facebook, Google Mobile App, Light, Local Picks by TripAdvisor, Loopt, NetNewsWire, NowLocal, NYTimes, Remote, Twitteriffic, Typepad, Whrrl & Yelp

The two that I have not seen yet are Flixwagon and Qik as they both have made public statements here and here respectively saying they will be working on the iPhone . I am hoping they are released soon as they stabilize and perfect the service offering.

I am curious to see what you will be added to your iPhone - let me know in the comment section below.

NASA Lands On Mars, Google Health Launches, AOL/Bebo Deal Done, FriendFeed Adds Rooms, Twitter Database Crashes & Living Public Lives

Photo of the Week: Happy Memorial Day! Have a cupcake. Photo credit: Megan.

SOMEWHAT FRANK Weekly Tidbits: 5.25.2008

How Does Friend Connect Put Users In Control?

Google will be launching Friend Connect tonight to turn the open Web a place for open social apps to run wild as a motivator adoption mechanism for the new Google Gadget 2.0 format with OpenSocial across the Web. With Google powering email and search and collecting user data, I wonder about this new social component and about user controls. I did not get a chance to ask this question on the call due to what may have been technical issues but regardless I wanted to throw it out there to the blogosphere to give their SOMEWHAT FRANK perspectives on the following:

  How Does Google Friend Connect Put Users In Control?

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below if you have a SOMEWHAT FRANK opinion.

The 'my' Trend, How To Freeload at Web 2.0 Expo, Google Genetic Index Coming, AOL Top Ad Network By Reach & Is Content A Commodity?

Photo of the Week: This past weekend brought out some warmer spring weather which brought out the joggers like this photo captured on film in Chicago by my friend Araceli Arroyo.

SOMEWHAT FRANK Weekly Tidbits: 4.20.2008

Twitter Accounts For Sale, Google App Engine Launches, Business Development 2.0, PageFlakes In Trouble? & Online Rep Tracking

Photo of the Week: With tax day looming on April 15th, I spent many hours this past week & weekend going through and organizing paperwork just like the photo above taken by Camilo Rueda López which resulted in less time to blog.

SOMEWHAT FRANK Weekly Tidbits: 4.13.2008

OpenSocial Foundation Formed, Tips On Making Great Mobile Apps, Twitter Monetization Issue, Value of Widgets & Are Newspapers Dead?

Photo of the Week: With spring upon us, the cherry blossoms are in bloom around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. this week.

SOMEWHAT FRANK Weekly Tidbits: 3.30.2008

Blog Dream Team Wanted, Blogosphere Conversations Gone?, Startup Weekend, Oprah Uses Web Tech & People Cannot Find Google

Photo of the Week: It is March Madness and, like this crowd, I was swept into the excitement this past weekend as one of my alma maters, Purdue University, took on Xavier in Washington, DC.

SOMEWHAT FRANK Weekly Tidbits: 3.23.08

MySpace Opens Platform, Google News Local, Plaxo & Bebo Rumors, Yahoo Live, FoxyTunes Acquired & Customers Turned Evangelists

Photo of the Week: I got a chance to catch up with some old friends this week in Silicon Valley including a trip to Atherton when I snapped this photo.

Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits: 02.10.2008

Google Maps Twitter Super Tuesday

Super Tuesday! Did you get the load of election action you were looking for? If not, you might still be able to catch some thanks in part to a map mashup that TechCrunch reported Google teamed up with Twitter to provide. The Google Maps Twitter mashup is similar to Twittervision but for political related twits (a twit is a Twitter message) so you can track the today's Super Tuesday elections on real-time on a map. Acquisition next?

Apple Movie Rentals, American Content Producer Trend, Facebook Translations, Kayak Sidestep Analysis & 2007 Logo Design Trends

Photo of the Week: 'Tis the season for some holiday lights and this home with over 200,000 lights was quite the site. Thanks to Terren for snapping this photo and pointing out this tacky lights tour video on YouTube.

Somewhat Frank Weekly Tidbits: 12.30.2007