Is Path finally on the right… path?
TechCrunch source

Path, an underdog in the social networking world has just hired a Google guy. Former Google+ Lead Product Manager Dylan Caseyrecently announced his new position as Director of Product Management of Path.

In case you hadn’t heard, Path is a social networking app (recently transformed from photosharing to sharing everything – even sleep) that is intended for users to download to a smartphone in order to tell close friends (max of 150) of your every movement (it automatically updates your location).

What do you think? Too much sharing? Or are the nearly one million userson to something?

SoLoMo – what the What?
Source: Fast Company

SoLoMo is the phrase coined by John Doerrmeaning Social, Location and Mobile. It refers to elements that must be found in every business model, application, and product for it to be successful in our very busy lives.

So=Social refers to the ability to make any purchase or experience social. How will people know what you’re doing if you can’t tweet immediately about it?

Lo=Location means just that and doesn’t only refer to where you are at any given time. It also refers to your travel habits and your routine (think apps like Reminders that allow you to be reminded when you reach a location, or FitBit that can track your exercise as you move). Location can also refer to the ability for marketers to understand your buying habits in order to target you for future products.

Mo=Mobile is simple – we need to be able to carry products (or services) with us to make them useful. The success of smartphones, ereaders and tablet computers prove this.

Big Brother is watching you – through your cell phone.
Source: HispanicBusiness.com
Source: www.csmonitor.com

Al Franken is mad! He’s incensed that Carrier IQis spying on smart phone users. In actuality, Carrier IQ is a software encased on smart phones for that purpose, but the tracking is done by your service provider.

“The Minnesota Democrat posed 13 questions to AT&T, HTC, Samsung and Sprint Nextel aimed at precisely measuring the size and scope of data that smartphones track.”

This story feels somewhat silly to me. First off, I’m sure I saw a bad movie for which the premise went something like this, and secondly, are we really that outraged? I happen to know what the guy I sat next to in high school had for breakfast this morning because he posted it on Facebook. I know that Aunt Susan wants turquoise and red on her Christmas tree because I saw it on Pinterest and I know that my coworker loves techno music because she tweetsabout it every five minutes. But now we worry that tech companies or service providers might know we read US Weekly on our cell phone? Really?

Christmas for sale or rent!
Source: Toygaroo.com

The Netflix phenomenon is spreading! Now you can rent toys for your kids in the same manner. Rather than buying gifts that your kids grow out of in a few months, you can actually rent them for a starting price of $24.99 (for four toys). You simply choose the gifts, keep them for two months and when returned, you’ll receive the next four on your list.

A great way to save money this Christmas, and if your little one does love the toy so much that you can’t send it back, you can purchase it from the site for a “discounted price.”

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