Interconnection: Travel Journal 2.0

I'm not the type of person that's into Utterz, or Seesmic. I mean, I love writing and sharing, but actually recording audio or video to go along with it? Not so much. BUT, I do love listening to the Utterz and watching the Seesmic posts from others. So, why don't I participate myself? I'm not quite sure... I just know it's not for me.

On the flipside, I've wanted to do more than just write, and post photos, for awhile now...and the cognitive dissonance has been driving me crazy. (I love the idea of sharing my experiences - just not me, personally.)

So, how did I go about reconciling these differences, you ask?

I took the YouTube account that I had just sitting there, and I made it a multimedia portal for my travel blog. Besides uploading my own footage (taken with my handy Canon PowerShot), I updated my subscriptions to reflect different French things that I find interesting. And those YouTube favorites? I've streamlined them into different cultural clips, or fun French footage, that I found when browsing. Now anyone who goes to my travel blog can read about what I've done, see where I've been, and watch what I've watched. It really is Travel Journal 2.0. (so long paper journal of yesteryear!) And for my first contribution to my YouTube travel channel? Footage from the Chinese New Year Parade in the 13th arrondissement.

Interconnection: Web Radio 2.0

NRJ Web Player

Since I don't have a regular radio here (didn't have enough room to pack one), I've been living off of my iTunes library, and online radio broadcasting. I have to admit, I'm pretty impressed with the radio station that I've been listening to! It has, in the player pop-up window:

• Interactivity
• Access to podcasts
• Access to webcams
• Visual elements
• The last five songs played, and an option to download them right from the pop-up.
  

It's definitely a far cry from the little pop-up box of yesterday's online broadcast and I love it! Why? Well, because 1) This radio station calls itself the "new young person"'s station - the format certainly fits the claim and 2) It's Web 2.0 in a sleek, mainstream format. Too many places that I visit (that incorporate Web 2.0 elements) either try to hard, or only reach a tech-savvy audience, so I think that 100.3 NRJ has found a happy medium. They've only added what their target audience might use. As a young person, I might like to download the podcast to listen to on my iPod at the gym, or I might like to download that song that I just heard them play, or I might like to send the current song to a friend who would enjoy it...and that's about it.

Thus, it makes sense that there isn't much more on the player's list of features. Of course, there are ads (also target audience friendly), and a downloadable widget, but that's it. Nothing extra, nothing irrelevant, nothing too specialized.

Kudos to NRJ for making an online broadcasting player that I actually like using!

Interconnection: Jumping into the French blogosphere

I've held off on this update for two reasons:

1. I didn't have as much free time as I thought I would after I started the Boston University Paris Internship Program. (Kera Abroad keeps track of my time spent overseas.)
   
2. I wanted to spend some time reading the actual blogs that I wanted to talk about before uh, talking about them.

What blogs exactly? Well, when I initially found out that I was going to be studying in Paris for the spring semester, I decided that I wanted to start reading some French blogs, to see what the French blogosphere was all about. And, after some research, and some time spent reading through several popular blogs, I've found a few that I think I'm going to continue reading.

The first happens to be a food blog Papilles et Pupilles, and if I were more ambitious, I'd try out some of the recipes that the site highlights. But for now, I enjoy looking at the recipe books, the recipes themselves, and the blogger's commentary on good choices for food in France.

The second is called Sarkostique, and is a blog filled with political cartoons about Sarkozy. I started reading it to get an idea of French political humor, and how their political cartoons went about satirizing their politicians because, I have to admit, I'm a big fan of American political cartoons, and just couldn't give up this opportunity. I've kept reading it because it's quite funny.

The last is actually a photo blog that is written in English, and is aptly titled Paris Daily Photo. I started reading this one because I was excited about going to Paris, and wanted to check out the place I was going to call home for a little over four months. I've kept reading it because it offers up little unknown gems all over the city that I would have otherwise missed!

I've tried reading Loïc Le Meur's blog, but I have to say, I don't think my French skills are advanced enough to keep up with the long written posts. But, if you're interested, he's the top French blogger of the moment.

Sadly, I've fallen behind in reading the rest of my blog roll, so I'm going to have to find a way to read them all, without feeling out of date!

Interconnection: Backpackers are connected too!

I've been doing a lot of research lately as I prepare to spend a semester abroad in Paris, and I've got to say, there's some great stuff available online through backpacker networks! One such site, HostelWorld.com serves as both a hostel reservation service and a social hub for backpackers.



I really love it because it has everything I need to know, in one place. I can look up places to stay if I want to take weekend trips into the French countryside, I can talk to other travelers to get relevant advice, and I can even listen to podcasts on different destinations around the world. It's an amazing resource that I'm glad I stumbled across.

In the way of niche social networks, I think HostelWorld is on the right track. They know who their audience is, and they've built a network that benefits their audience the best. They're also actively involved in the community they're maintaining - they send out updates on their own travels, and mingle with everyone else. They're in touch with their audience.

I think they've made an easy transition from travel site to travel site+social network, and I'm excited about using them in the coming months while I'm living and traveling abroad.

Are there any niche social networks that you love?

Interconnection: Facebooks Apps, Cool or Creepy?

Are FaceBook Applications a great way to add interactivity to your profile, or are they simply a waste of time? Does anyone care if I've synced Facebook and Twitter, or if I've added a personality profile? Or do those additions add a little extra "oomph" to an otherwise generic profile?


I mean, are FB Apps doing anything really significant (even Causes seems to have more members than actual monetary contributers)? Or will they always remain simple profile bling?

And more importantly, are they dazzling us so much that we don't see the potential security risks that they pose? I've been skeptical about Facebook Apps since their inception (is it okay for FB to have access to your computer, in order to get your pictures? no, no it's not), but I also grew up instilled with a healthy dose of paranoia about the Internet and disclosure of personal information in general, so I can envision these risks becoming realities rather easily. That's why I limit the amount of personal information I disclose, and the number of Apps that I use, on FaceBook. I know it's probably not convenient that my friends don't have the FB birthday reminder for me, or know my current address, but I'm okay with that (they'll call or message if they need it).

My thought is, if it was so easy for Beacon to sync all of your online spending in one place without you noticing...how much easier it must be to access the personal information you willingly supplied! So, I think we're going to see a lot more talk about FB Apps, not as potential money-makers, but as potential risk-factors as more and more people catch on to what exactly "third-party access to information" entails...and that's quite possibly everything (depending on what you've supplied).

Interconnection: Responding to Social Media Club Boston's Seven Controversial Claims

I recently found out (via Todd Van Hoosear over on Twitter) that the Social Media Club in Boston discussed seven controversial claims at their last meeting. Most of the claims we have discussed at length in my New Media and Public Relations class, and we couldn't really come to a straight consensus on most of them. But one claim in particular hadn't been discussed. It was:

“The focus on personal branding has resulted in the cult of personality and egomaniacal tendencies - me too, me first, just plain ME.”

Personally, I feel that the claim is a little off the mark. I don't think that personal branding is a cause for egocentric behavior. American culture at large already fixates on the "what's in it for me?" question, so I don't think that personal branding causes that tendency, nor do I think it contributes to it.


When I hear motivational speakers like Mitch Joel speak about personal branding, I don't see it as a hat-nod towards the self-absorbed lifestyle - it isn't comparable to what I see in the egocentric people in my life. But rather, I see it as a way to use the high visibility created by social media and continuous connectivity to your own advantage. You're already saturating the Internet, and you're already connected to anything, anywhere, anytime on your iPhone, BlackBerry, etc...why not take those connections and use them positively, instead of just letting them take up dead space? I mean, I already have a Facebook profile, but does it really say what I want it to about who I am? Does that image of me carry over to my presence in the blogosphere, and on Twitter? I suppose, in essence, personal branding (to me) isn't about being ego-centric, but about being transparent and authentic in every facet of your life. If the whole idea is to show people the brand called "you," how else would you do it?

Interconnection: Are Mobile Virtual Worlds on the Way?

While reading through this month's Wired magazine, I noticed an article on a new virtual world available to Japan's youth called Chipuya Town. According to Wired, Chipuya Town will be available on any Flash-enabled keitai (cell phone), and will resemble real-life Shibuya – Tokyo's shopping mecca for teenage girls. Wired also says that companies pay up to $4,000 a month to advertise on the virtual world's billboards, which seem to saturate Chipuya Town as much as they do in real-life Shibuya. 

What really caught my attention, though, wasn't the new platform for the virtual world, but rather the idea that users earn their virtual money through their social interactions in-world. The more Japanese girls interact and delve into Chipuya Town, the more spending money they have... which they'll turn around and use in Chipuya Town, thus spending more time in-world. 

I have a feeling this is going to do extraordinarily well, and I want to see what kind of buzz it gets in the next couple of months as it starts to gain some ground.  But honestly, I can't see something like this doing well in the U.S. The target audience is so narrow, and specialized that I can't see it catching on here.  Yes, American otaku and Second Life afficionados would enjoy it, but mainstream teenagers? Most of them are still stuck on Myspace, and texting. Would they really spend the time getting involved in a virtual world? I'm not so sure.

Any thoughts?  Comments?