Social Media

My students at Columbia Journalism School came up with a creative idea last year for a scholarship fundraiser. Instead of the usual bake sales and T-shirt sales, they decided to use social media in an unusual way.

The idea: #SilenceSree Day - getting others to donate money to keep me off Twitter and Facebook for an entire day. Last year at this time, more than 100 people contributed a total of $1,172.25. More than the total, it was more interesting to me that so many people from inside and outside the university chipped in.

Today is #SilenceSree Day … Read more

If you look under your seat, you might find a new Oprah Winfrey game designed by star game maker Jane McGonigal's Superbetter Labs.

The new project, called Oprah's Thank You Game, was announced today with the specific -- and ambitious -- goal of "spreading the positive emotion of gratitude to half a billion people worldwide."

"Once someone clicks on the 'I said thank you' button," the game's Web site reads, "they will be taken to the game on Facebook to record their thank you and participate in other exciting game elements -- … Read more

Dear Friends (the real kind and social media kind):

Let's Kristofize! (Or Kristofise, if you prefer the British version of this made-up word.)

Nick Kristof (@NickKristof), the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist (he was a finalist this year, too -- but hey, they need to spread the wealth) is someone who uses his talents and platform to make a real difference in the lives of people around the world.

Whether he's saving girls from brothels in Cambodia, bringing attention to the troubles in Darfur, or talking about the environment in a serious-yet-accessible way, Kristof has done … Read more

It's been more than a week since Facebook's blockbuster acquisition of Instagram, and many people are still confused about the deal. It's understandable -- the $1 billion acquisition happened in the span of 48 hours between two CEOs rather than over the course of weeks between two armies of lawyers.

Facebook and Instagram consistently defy convention though, and that's one of many things you need to understand about both companies -- they are anomalies rather than the norm, even in the fast-paced world of tech startups.

I've seen countless reporters and bloggers question the valuation (… Read more

A fair number of consumers in the United States are relying on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to help them with medical and health care issues.

Polling 1,060 U.S. adults in February, PricewaterhouseCoopers found that a third use social media to find medical information, research and share symptoms, and offer their opinions about doctors, drugs, treatments, and heath plans.

One in four of those surveyed said they've used social-media services to track down reviews from other consumers about treatments and doctors, while one in three have searched for information about medical ailments related by other … Read more

UPDATE - MONDAY, APRIL 16: Two days ago, I wrote this post, and in point #5, I pointed out a problem with Bubba Watson's Twitter profile photo at the time. It featured the "General Lee," a car I loved as a kid watching the "Dukes of Hazzard," not caring about the Confederate flag painted on the roof. As I say below, no one can object to Watson owning the car or displaying it at home. It's displaying it online and with every tweet that would cause a controversy. Yesterday, Watson swapped out his profile … Read more

Sometime in the next 12 months, Google Chrome will become the world's most popular browser, knocking Microsoft's Internet Explorer off the mountain it has ruled for more than a decade.

This fact should scare the pants off of Facebook.

In July 2008, IE controlled 68.5 percent of the market, according to Statcounter, while Chrome wasn't even on the market. Now Microsoft's browser is down to 34.8 percent market share while Chrome controls 30.9 percent of total browser usage. Chrome has grown by a percentage point the last few months, while IE has dropped … Read more

STANFORD, Calif. -- One of the tricks of building a successful company is identifying new markets. So while you might never have known you wanted a digital scent delivery system, a startup called Scent Sciences thinks that's exactly what you desire.

Scent Sciences and dozens of other companies flocked to Stanford University yesterday for the annual Cool Product Expo, a showcase of some of the, well, coolest gadgets, toys, electric cars, and oddball beauty items around. Among the most interesting items on display were 3D Systems' Cube, a personal 3D printer that costs just $1,300 and is being … Read more

"Memes really do come true."

For Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe, it's been a week of seriously whirlwind proportions. But after seeing their mega-hit Tumblr blog, "Texts from Hillary", get international attention and even inspire a submission from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself, the two Washington, D.C., men are shutting it all down.

If you haven't followed this phenomenon, picture LOLCats crossed with pictures of Hillary Clinton texting. Add tens of thousands of viewers around the world, some hilarious captions, and a surprise invitation by Clinton to Smith and Lambe to meet … Read more