How to Turn Your Twitter Avatar into a Force for Good — For Real

Georgia Tech professor Eric Gilbert has come up with a clever way to add impact to what’s been labeled social media “slacktivism.”
whenthingsfallapart

Start-Up Byliner Thinks the Digital Ink Isn’t Dry on Long-Form Writing

There are at least a few of long-form writing’s elite who don’t believe the Internet is out to kill the written word. In fact, they’ve gotten together and built Byliner, a discovery platform for fans of long reads to chat about at their next wine, cheese and turtleneck party.
byliner-illo

Does Social Media Help Foment Revolution? A Theory From Within Twitter.

This week, Othman Laraki, Twitter’s director of search and geo, proposed a “revolutionary equation” that can be tipped by a critical mass of dissent generated through social media.

Microsoft and Some Big Thinking Heads at Farsight 2011: "Beyond the Search Box"

Oh dear, BoomTown is still jetlagged from a recent trip to China and now Microsoft Bing is offering up a head-requiring event later this morning in San Francisco to explore the future of search. There better be donuts. A lot and with sprinkles, since speakers include the lugubrious investor and hedge fund philosophizer Peter Thiel and skunk-at-a-Web-garden-party author Malcolm Gladwell.

QOTD: Way to Mow Down That Straw Man, Malcolm

“It was a very well-constructed argument but it was kind of laughable. He pointed out that you don’t ever get much of anything done by just telling people you’re going to do it; you actually have to do it….Anyone who’s claiming that sending a tweet by itself is activism, that’s ludicrous–but no one’s claiming that, at least no one that’s credible.”

Twitter co-founder Ev Williams shrugs off Malcolm Gladwell’s critique of the significance of Twitter and other social media in bringing about social change.

Malcolm Gladwell Doesn't Care if You Retweet This

You know that a Facebook friend is different than a real friend. And that social networks can’t overthrow governments or stop genocide, right? Right. But, just in case, New Yorker writer Malcolm “Blink” Gladwell spells it out for you.

Shortcovers, Iceberg Put Latest e-Books On Your Cellphone

Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader has been a solid success. The device can access a catalog of over 200,000 digital books, including most current best sellers, according to Amazon. Its sharp screen, built-in downloading and long battery life have overcome a relatively high price and some poor hardware-design features.
shortcovers