LinkedIn Gets the Ball Rolling

 

Well all this updating, linking, poking, tweeting, sharing, posting, and friending my pay off for some lucky investors. Social media may be the new upswing in the economy.

 

LinkedIn, a professionals social media, went public on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday as "LNKD" and sold shares starting at $45 apiece selling 4,827,804 shares from the corporation and 3,012,196 shares from selling stock holders. Today that makes LinkedIn worth $4.3 billion. Yes, with a B. And other social networking companies are looking to follow such as Facebook and Groupon.

Lots of people are saying this could be the beginning of another "dot come era" or bubble like back in the '90s and venture capitalists are excited to start backing well-established companies and start making some money.

A Different Kind of Bump: Bump.com

Also known as "Facebook for your car" by James Madison University's The Breeze.

Essentially Bump.com allows you to register your e-mail to your license plate.  And they advertise that if you say, leave your lights on, or your meter is about to run out, or some cute girl/guy thinks you're cute, they can e-mail you.


Welcome to BUMP.com from BUMP on Vimeo.

You can send a bump to their account on the site, to an e-mail, and even texts with smart phones. Of course you can also connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Bump.com is bringing your car into the mix of social media as a way to identify yourself. It is still in the testing phases, but is making some waves.


Here's a video from Bloomberg News about Bump.com


Bloomberg Report on BUMP.com 2, October 18, 2010 from BUMP on Vimeo.


I think this is a baaaad way to go.  Road rage is a real problem, and imagine if people could now really express how they feel instantly after someone cuts them off.  This is just looking to make more stalkers without any privacy settings. People are more likely to rant than warn about an empty meter.

If you can get an invitation to be in the trial, let me know how it works though!

Bump IT

If you want to share information from your iPhone or Android, the free Bump application can do that.

Synching schedules? Want to be friends on Facebook or Twitter? Done in the simple motion of "bumping" your two phones together.

Video tutorial- How to Bump IT

There are other apps that use Bump to share information. Here are some of the favorites from the Bump blog.

-Pick a top 100s Radio Song Pack and Bump it to a friend
-Love wine? Share your knowledge and Bump your favorite wines to a friend 
-Create a stick it note on your iPhone then Bump it to a friend! 

...just to name a few. Here are the rest of the top 10. There are also hundreds of other apps that can utilize Bump.  

 I don't have quite that smart of a phone, but if you do, try Bump and let me know how it goes!

Parental Poison? Parents are on Facebook!

New trend in Facebook — the average age of users is increasing.

Parents and even grandparents are taking over news feeds.

According to Inside Network's (an independent market research forum for the Facebook platform by Justin Smith) Inside Facebook statistics, the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook is women over 55 — nearly 1.5 million more of them every month.

Check out these graphs using Facebook's data. They're a little old, but you can see the trend.

Then here is the increase in percentages in less than a year. That probably means the numbers are even higher by now. 

Does this mean all the 20-somethings should abandon Facebook??

Of course not! 
a) Most 20-somethings will eventually appreciate the friendly hellos from family once they move out permanently.
b) Be glad older generations are figuring out social networking.
c) Maybe this will teach people not to post every little thing on the internet ... privacy settings are important to protecting your interests whether it be Mom or a future employer.

What does this mean for Facebook and businesses advertising there? 

I means that they need to switch gears and realize that they are marketing to a whole different crowd than the "hip urbanites." The same marketing techniques will simply not due for 80-year-old grandpa.

Facebook has already realized this I think by responding to the overwhelming call for more privacy settings. Older generations are usually more careful about what they post online, which is something we 20-somethings can learn from.

Lets Skype!

Skype is pretty hot right now with the 3G or 4G capabilities of Droids, iPhones and iPads which enable real time video chats via mobile devices. We're talking about walking around video chatting with people who could be thousands of miles away. You can even video chat through your TV. Skype has successfully made the world a smaller place.

How it works:
Sign up as a user with a user name and password. There is calling, video and messaging capabilities with Skype. You can call skype-to-skype, skype to phone, phone to skype, conference calls, group video chats and instant messaging that allows you to transfer files, text message and even link up to your Facebook news feed. You have your list of contacts and can see when they are online or not.

And the best part, anything Skype-to-Skype, be it video or texting, is all free! Of course you can subscribe or just pay as you go to call phones from Skype, but its a much smaller fee than long distance phone bills.

You can pay per minute, per month or with Skype credit.

This is revolutionary for relationships, businesses and families particularly overseas where affordable communication is limited.

However, because the information is flowing through the internet and NOT encrypted, there could be some security issues with sensitive business information. Just FYI.

I used Skype all the time when I studied abroad for a semester. I would call my parents and the computer would ring through the house just like a phone. My dad thinks it's well designed because even computer-challenged people can use it, not that he's computer-challenged, but not everyone in the Garegnani household is so blessed. He thought it was great when I was abroad because my parents would have never heard from me otherwise, but I got to talk to them several times a week without spending a lot of money or waiting for untimely letters.

Skype is the only video chatting/calling program that has a free option thus far and dominates its market with its intuitive design that even grandparents can use.

Can Ipad or should I Kindle?

First things first, I love almost all things from Apple, so of course I'm all about the iPad. But to give the Kindle from Amazon a fair shot (it did come out first), here is a comparison of the two.

 









Price: iPad=$500 Kindle=$139

Size: iPad= 24 ounces(1.5 lbs), 0.5 inches thin and 9.7 inches measured diagonally
Kindle= 8.5 ounces, 4.8 by 7.5 inches 

Battery Life: iPad= 10 hours with Wi-Fi
Kindle= 1 month without Wi-Fi

Internet: iPad=Wi-Fi and 3G networkup to 7.2 Mbps
Kindle= Wi-Fi and free 3G wireless

Abilities:
iPad= can synch with all of your other Apple products like iPhones, iTouch, Apple computers and even your Apple TV. Your weekly schedule or whatever you need from your i Pad is always at your fingertips and automatically stored in your other devices. Remote locating is possible if you forget it somewhere too. It does e-mail, iTunes, photos, videos, games, maps, notes, e-books and thousands of apps.

Kindle= holds 3,500 e-books, can be read in bright sunlight, automatic archive back up of contents online, can read out loud to you, built in Twitter and Facebook integration to share passages you're reading. There is also no eye strain in trying to read their "electronic ink" because it is not a back lit LCD screen.

Also according to a recent survey from Nielsen, 31% of U.S. children ages 6 to 12 want an iPad over any other electronic.

So it seems the iPad wins by the mere factor that it has more functions.  Kindle is best suited for an avid reader who potentially travels a lot.