LOUD

• 23.03.2011 Posted by admin
  Best of the internetz 12
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Ok, so this is probably the most exciting time of the year. SXSW has just finished up and the internet is buzzing with the potential that was unveiled at the conference. For those that don’t know, SXSW (South by Southwest) is the premier event for all things interactive, film and music. This is where the bar is set for what the world will be doing online, watching and listening to for the next year at least. Last year Foursquare was launched, 5 years ago it was Twitter. SXSW is amazing.

So here is what we need to watch out for over the next year…

Canv.as

The must see presentation at the conference was by a 23 year old called “Moot” aka the founder of 4Chan – the dirtiest, lowest destination on the internet where people can anonymously post images to a message board. It is also the single most influential place on the internet for this reason. It’s responsible for creating the Rick Roll, Lolcats and pretty much every meme you’ve ever laughed at on the internet. Moot, otherwise known as Christopher Poole, took the opportunity to announce his next project – Canv.as.

Canv.as is dubbed the g-rated 4Chan and will give users the tools to manipulate images and post them to the site. Like a little meme factory, this has the potential to boom as it has the backing of Facebook. Currently in beta, stay tuned for more on this one.

Gaming

The world is set to become one big game over the coming years, but not in the form you expect. We already have the social behaviours ingrained into us, now the next step is gaming. Playing into the mindset that people will always want to “level up”, expect an element of competition or challenge to infiltrate the things we do everyday. We’re already seeing gaming inch its way into popular services with group buying sites using the countdown feature to raise excitement and location-based services creating competition in the places we visit, but the next year will see this build significantly. Game on!

Niche social networks

SXSW saw attendees embrace niche social networks that allowed them to communicate with their select group of friends/colleagues without bombarding their entire network with information irrelevant to non-attendees. The big hits were:

• Group.Me – an app allowing group messaging, location and photo sharing so you can keep everyone in the loop easily
• Beluga – like twitter for small groups, the app allows users to cut through the noise and post updates on what they are up to to keep the group informed. Newly acquired by Facebook so one to watch.

Niche networks will become bigger and bigger, as people detach themselves from the major players of FB and Twitter to reconnect on a more manageable level with specific groups.

And in non-SXSW news…

Rebecca Black

Well I guess it’s true you don’t need a lot of money to become a viral hit. Rebecca Black, a 13 year old girl who’s parents paid $2000 to the ARK Music Factory, a business who promise to make your child a popstar by recording a song and video then seeding it to YouTube. Black recorded a catchy song called ‘Friday’, that as of this morning has had 32 million views on YouTube (that’s more than Lady Gaga’s video for Born this Way), and with lyrics including:

“Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday | Today i-is Friday, Friday (Partyin’) | Tomorrow is Saturday | And Sunday comes after…wards | I don’t want this weekend to end”

it’s not hard to see why. Make sure you give the video a watch to really understand the true brilliance of this song.

But while it is hilarious/disturbing to watch, the real debate has been behind the power of the internet to create these virtual stars. Is YouTube fame worthy of the same recognition as those who take a traditional route? And even with all the criticism, has Rebecca Black been successful?

Porn sites get unique URLs

.XXX has been confirmed as the new URL for all porn sites from here on in. While easily identifiable, the move has not been without controversy, as campaigners in the US have expressed concerns that this will make it easy for the sites to get blocked by governments.

Happy birthday Twitter

It’s Twitter’s 5th birthday and to celebrate they have created a fun video featuring all your favourite twelebrities including Snoop Dogg, Hilary Clinton and Richard Branson.

As a present to Twitter, why don’t you set up an account and start following 10 people in fields you are interested in. Use it for a week and let me know your thoughts.

New York Times introduces a paywall

Heavy readers of the NY Times will have to pay a $15 p/month subscription fee as of last week. As online news portals debate their options to build revenue, this move will be watched closely. Occasional readers will be permitted to read 20 articles a month before being charged and print subscribers will have unlimited access.

Phew, that was a big one this week. Hope you enjoyed it!