Reviews

Holiday Shopping habits are going through a transition states OneUpWeb.com. The recession has changed consumer habits and according to their report on shopping trends, "social" search engines will be used more than traditional search for data regarding holiday purchases. And beyond Twitter Search, the social networking niche gaining the most traction in this area is social shopping network sites.

Can Twitter become a game-changer in Japan, where it just recently launched a new mobile platform? Or will cultural differences and native social networks like Mixi and Poupeegirl thwart its efforts?

As much as social media occupies our everyday lives, I was surprised at how few social media costume actually were being packaged for sale. Perhaps retail manufacturers are in such an economic slump, they are focusing more on unloading existing inventory versus created new merchandise. However on the "home-made-create-your own" front, there are dozens of folks who have spent their time and creativity to craft some very unique social media costumes for this Halloween.

On October 12th, with just a few hours of tweeting under the new Twilight Twitter account's belt, it had already tallied 22,000 followers. Three days later and as of the time of this posting, it has more than tripled its fan base to reach 78,000. Can it reach a million and will it shift the age demographic on Twitter? Take our POLLS and find out.

How much would you pay for additional Twitter followers? Pennies, Two-bits, a dollar? Would you pay $1 million for one million followers? In an unprecedented move, Drew Carey, comedian and host of the Price is Right rose to that challenge and in exchange for a million followers, he has offered to donate a million dollars to Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation.

Almost 2 Million followers before she stopped counting. She ain't living for Twitter any more. Miley Cyrus is one of the first celebs to pack it in on Twitter. Was the bright light that shines on Twitterville too much of a spotlight and will others take her lead?

Tired of a night out clubbing only to come home with a limp ego? Then try AMP UP BEFORE YOU SCORE, an actual iPhone app that helps you change your game and increase your chances to score with any type of woman, whether she's a "rebound girl," "aspiring actress," or a member of the ever-growing herd of "cougars."

Hablo Espanol? Parlez-vous Francais? Spriten Ze Deutsche?  "Gazouiller" and "Cinguettare" translates to "Twitter" in French and Italian. But how do you translate English into other languages on the microblogging site?

Anyone that remembers the classic Seinfeld episode, "Soup Nazi" will be able to relate to  the current prohibition of Twitter and Facebook in the workplace. Working 9 to 5,  what can an employee do when he or she gets the urge to dip his or her toe in the Twitterstream? Unfortunately, there are too many Social Media Nazis out there throwing the hammer down on this type of activity.

It's a little bit county! It's a little bit rock 'n roll! It's one over-sized network mash-up! Google Wave is part Outlook, IM, calendar, Twitter, wiki, spreadsheets/docs/presentation, picture sharing, social media, forums, maps and just about everything else on the web, but the kitchen sink! It's what some have called "email on steroids."

Twitter's cool search engine gets an added boost of fire power from Google Sidewiki. On September 29, 2009 both apps joined forces to improve the effectiveness of Kutano's search capability.

Web 2.0 has not only ushered in social media, it fostered a movement of consumer-generated content and crowdsourcing. We can believe and trust in things we read and view if its endorsed by one of our friends, business associates or social networks chums. Traditional advertising? ... not so much! Consumer-generated content as a sea-change has gained so much traction that even advertising in a lot of respects is now controlled by the public.

So why are they called "Massive Multiplayer Online" Games, or MMOs for short? Because the popularity of social media gaming has gone through roof and the numbers of players now engaged have skyrocketed into the millions. While many MMOs can be played on stand-alone systems like Play Station, Nintendo and Xbox game players, the latest trend is registering for the online versions of these games on the world's largest social network...Facebook!

The Port-a-Book is a multi-purpose stand designed for use with laptops and other materials.  But does it work?

Although a little late to the party, hotels are finally jumping on the mobile app band-wagon. The development of free applications can now extend a hotel's service beyond the front desk, beyond its Web site... right onto your mobile device. Since hotel guests are always on the go, whether for business or pleasure, what better access is there than getting one's hotel info right on their smartphone?

What are BuckyBalls?  Possibly the coolest educational toy (and best use of technology as a frivolous time-killer) that I've seen in a while...

From a Harvard dorm room to a multibillion dollar enterprise, the origins of the dynamic trio who created the social network goliath Facebook is virtually unknown to the general public. Sex and the social network  apparently go hand and hand. Who would have thunk?

Do you share music via Twitter? Want more flexibility and functionality in how you share your music with your Twitter followers? Swift.fm can turn your MP3s into a custom radio station for your tweeps, and swiftlisting is reciprocal.

Many brands are trying to harness the power of social media for monetization purposes. Traditional marketing, by itself can no longer achieve the levels of success it reached in the past. However when combining both old and new school, one could benefit from the synergies that are created, and Foursquare is positioning itself to do just that.

Endorsed with a foreword by Biz Stone, Twitter Wit is the new Harper Collins collection of "the funniest tweets of all time."  Satiric humor in 140 characters or less includes one-liners from some of the Twitterati's most famous wordsmiths including Stephen Colbert, Sarah Silverman, Stephen Fry in addition to many more unknown would-be humorists.