Sharing Email and Facebook Passwords – Way of the Future?

Crazy kids. The New York Times reported that many teenagers are sharing passwords to their email and Facebook accounts as a sign of affection. It’s the ultimate show of trust when a young couple reads each other’s emails and text messages. Aww. The article goes on to compare this to teen sex, because both are discouraged by parents.

And because a penis and an email are like the same thing.

Seriously, this got me thinking about the bigger implications of privacy on the Web, and the difference in adults’ and kids’ attitudes toward sharing everything, including passwords. Adults may think that password sharing is verboten because:

1) the Web was once a place where you could communicate privately, sometimes anonymously. Remember those snarky comments you used to be able to make in 2002?

2) we’re accustomed to secure passwords in the workplace requiring at least 8 letters and a special character. Sometimes this is so secure that we have to write it down on a Post-It.

3) we make purchases and manage our bank accounts online.

While we still conduct a lot of business online, the Internet is no longer the private space it used to be, thanks to Google and sites like Facebook that require people to use their real names. Try registering on a new site, and you’re hit with the Open Graph, which asks you to sign in with your Facebook account, thereby sharing all your activities and comments on that site with your mother-in-law.

Kids may not think sharing passwords to email is such a big deal because they don’t use email much anyway, preferring IMs and social media. I remember once when I tried to interview a teenager for an article, he didn’t reply to my email for two weeks. When he finally responded, he asked me to message him on YouTube instead, where he was active every day.

Kids think email is for old people, and their posts in social media are public. So really, where’s the harm in sharing a password with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Especially if the messages are anything like, “OMG, did you see what Derek and Lisa did today? They are sooo cute!”

Or: “I’ve gotten my mom addicted to Fruit Ninja. My plan is all coming together now; I expect a new iPhone very soon.” (This is a real post by a girl from Albany, Calif. Not sure if she shares passwords with her mom.)

Most adults think passwords should be kept secret. But teenagers, and the evolving trends in social media, not to mention the dumb mistakes that public figures make—Oops, did I just Tweet that naked picture to all my voters?—are showing that privacy on the Web is a thing of the past. Perhaps now, instead of Elaine from Seinfeld wondering if a guy is “sponge-worthy,” she would question if he’s “password-worthy.”

In the end, if a relationship sours, you can always change the password—and then share it with your next love interest.

 

 

International Signage in Mui Ne

I spent a lovely week at the end of 2011 in Mui Ne, Vietnam. Aside from beaches, sunshine and palm trees characteristic of a resort, there’s an interesting mix of signs and billboards. Along with the Vietnamese language, phrases in English, Russian, German and Korean pepper the landscape.
 

A very appealing combination of colors and cultures on these kiteboard signs.
 

Korean restaurant in Mui Ne. Surrounding signs target visitors from around the globe.
 
 

Snow in the tropics. Supposedly the only air-conditioned bar in Mui Ne.
 
 

One of the stunning Russian signs along the main coastal road, Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
 

Bicycling in Autumn

This was my view during my morning commute. It’s been over a year since I gave up my car, and so far, no regrets. I love bicycling in Seattle. Summertime offers the best biking weather, but fall’s spectacular colors make up for the chilly, and often wet, air.

 
 

Share and Listen in Social Media

It takes just a few minutes to create a page on Facebook or Google+, but it takes a lot more time and effort to succeed in social media. Once you have your pages set up, how do you engage audiences? What content do you provide?

Let’s say that you are a fledgling pizzeria in Seattle, and you want to drum up more business. Here’s what I would suggest.

Promote – This is a no-brainer. Whet people’s appetites by posting some close-up photos of your pizzas. Get them drooling over your cheesy slices. Or post a fun image of a guy throwing dough into the air.

Ask Questions – People love giving their opinions. Ask questions, such as what’s your favorite pizza topping? Do they like mushrooms, pepperoni or pineapple? What’s your favorite kind of beer? Asking questions is a great way to crowd-source and get ideas for new menu items.

Listen – The greatest aspect of social media is that it allows you to have conversations and build relationships. Once you post a comment or pose a question, be prepared to listen and respond. People appreciate it when the response is left promptly.

Share Related Stories – Share links to interesting stories that relate to your business. Is there a story about how cheese is made? Is there a story about how to keep fit and eat pizza once in a while?

Share Stories that are Local – If you live in Seattle, talk about the Mariners, Bumbershoot, or how it doesn’t rain nearly as much as everyone thinks it does. You’re not just about pizza, and people will feel more connected to you as a person.

Share Stories about Other Businesses – That’s right, other businesses. Don’t be afraid of driving people to your competition. Your customers can’t live on pizza alone, and they will remember you if you shared a recommendation of your favorite seafood restaurant or ice cream parlor.

Offer Coupons for Loyal Followers – Try offering a coupon–say 10%–for those customers who come in through social media. If you’re skeptical of coupons or can’t afford to give a discount to everyone, start with a service like Foursquare. You can offer a free beer for three check-ins, rewarding your most loyal customers.

All of this takes time. Whatever your role, you are most likely busy with your day-to-day tasks. Share the social media responsibilities if you can. Get more people in your business involved to strengthen your social media presence. Zappos, for example, encourages all of its employees to Tweet. This allows them not only to engage more customers, but to keep its staff more engaged with each other. A team like that leads to better business.

Social Media is like High School – and maybe this is why there are so many men in G+

RadioShack QR code projects

 
RadioShack (yes, RadioShack) is getting into QR codes and encouraging designers to build projects using parts from their stores. Check out how this group, Instructables created an innovative QR code out of LED, batteries and paper.

Visit RadioShack’s DIY website for more info on The Great Create projects.

 

Lost Korean-American Dog

Lost dog in Seattle. I wonder if he speaks better Korean than I do.

 

Ingredients for a Successful Mobile Game

Angry Birds by Rovio

Do you want to get in on the mobile game craze and produce the next Angry Birds? My organization is thinking of building a mobile game to market our business. I’ve written about Facebook games for IGN.com, games.com and insidesocialgames.com, so I was able to score a free press pass to attend the Casual Connect conference in Seattle last week. Here’s a quick summary of the current market.

 

Mobile Games Market, July 2011
• 34% of smartphone users have downloaded games, according to Quyen Quach, AT&T’s director of consumer apps.
  
  
  

• Who plays them: More than half of the mobile gamers are women. The demographics mirror the demographics of Facebook gamers.
  
  
  

• However, most women who play games don’t think of themselves as gamers.
  
  
  

• Average smartphone gamer downloaded 10 games in 2010. Over 70% of the games were free, according to Chris Williams, Playfirst’s VP and General Manager of Mobile.
  
  
  

• 13% of smartphone gamers bought virtual goods on the phone. The average spend was $67 last year, according to Williams. (Williams works for Playfirst, which publishes hits like Diner Dash and Hotel Dash. $67 per gamer is specific to his company. A study recently published by mobile analytics firm Flurry cites $14 as the average spend across all games.)
  
  
  

• The iPhone and Android markets are different. iPhone users are accustomed to paying for an app. Android users are not. However, if Android users like a free-to-try game, they will pay for in-app goods.
  
  
  

• Android is currently hard to work with, but this is a good time to get into the market as the platform is improving.
  
   

• Williams emphasized that each version of a game should be unique to the platform. You cannot port a game from Facebook into the iPhone, or from iPhone to Android, and expect it to succeed. The device and platform has to be a primary consideration in the design process.
  
  
  

• When downloading a game, most gamers are concerned about price and how much battery life it will use, according to Quach.
  
  
  

• Make your game fast and light-weight. People don’t like waiting for games to load.
  
  
  

• The most common time to play mobile games is either when people are waiting somewhere or when they’re at home. The latter is surprising, because it means that mobile games are replacing other forms of entertainment.
  
  
  

• Games need to be social in order to succeed. There should be ways to interact with friends within a game, to share badges, pictures, and bragging rights.
  
  
  

• Williams also emphasized that games like Diner Dash are never finished. The company keeps modifying the game and launching new features to entice customers to come back.
  
  
  

• Cost: I described my company’s idea for a game to four developers individually. Every one of them quoted me the same price range—$50,000 to $100,000. This should cover artwork, development, music, and testing. As with other types of work, you could hire independent contractors and negotiate the price.

  
  

Cool Juggle GIF by Unknown Artist

Cool Juggle.gif. Sorry, I don't know who the artist is.

I’ve been following Tom Anderson of MySpace fame on Google+ for some weeks now. Today, he made a bit of a gaffe, by posting an image that many said was sexist. He followed up several hours later with an apology, and posted this cool image of a juggler–but didn’t credit the artist.

As Anderson states in his profile, he is “enjoying being retired,” and he appears to be spending much of his time writing about the merits of G+. Anderson isn’t the most followed person on G+ (that honor goes to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg) but he may be one of the most active. He posts multiple times a day, and replies to several hundred comments.

The controversial image was of a busty woman surrounded by two men with nerdy glasses. One man’s shirt bore the letter “G.” The other one had “gle.” (The letters appear to be Photoshopped.) And the woman in the middle showed off her big breasts to put the “oo” in Google.

Was it sexist? Maybe. Tasteless? Perhaps.

I personally wasn’t offended by Anderson’s Google image, and I was delighted by his animated GIF. But I am bothered by the fact that pictures are routinely used in social media without crediting the artists or the source. I realize that many people take images off the Web to add some graphic interest to their blogs, comments or status updates. Some are mindful of copyrights and Creative Commons licenses. But many others seem unfamiliar with these laws and continue to share pictures and re-share them in social media without proper attribution.

As someone who’s worked in traditional journalism, where every picture is credited and paid for, this common practice seems like heresy. I tried to look for the artist behind the Juggle.gif, but only came up with a link to turbogallery.com.

Artists spend a lot of time making images. Let’s be respectful to them and give credit where it’s due. I asked Anderson who made the two images he used. Let’s see if I get a reply.

Update: I got a reply from Tom Anderson the morning after I posted the above entry. He writes, “I wish I knew whose it was. I credit when I know, but often its very diffcult to find out. The obvious answer is that artists needs to tag their own images. Some do, but others then crop them out. Maybe a good idea for a Google photo search — An image search that reveals the original creator.”

Thanks for your response, Tom! You’ve got a fan here.

QR Code as Fashion Statement

QR codes are now so trendy, they are appearing on clothing. I spotted these hipsters at Bite of Seattle. The codes were promoting vacations to Victoria, B.C.

I like the shirt below, which surrounds the QR code with an array of geometric patterns. This one is sold by Scanme.com, which worked with Ray-Ban and Wired Magazine designer Matt W. Moore.

What do you think of QR codes on fashion? Is it cool? Or is it trying too hard to look cool?