Today’s Special

Today’s Special: "

via

"

Share|

Next for Flipboard: Satisfying Social Media Hunger Before Cravings Hit

Next for Flipboard: Satisfying Social Media Hunger Before Cravings Hit: "

If you've poked around the social media world at all the past few days you have probably heard about Flipboard, a new iPad app that creates a customized 'social media magazine' based on what's happening in your Twitter or Facebook stream (see video below). The app is already a raging success--it's number one in the app store and Flipboard has been forced to restrict sign-ups until it can handle all the traffic coming its way. Now developers are working behind the scenes to make Flipboard even smarter with a semantic intelligence engine that will be able to select the content you want before you even know you want it.

As it stands, Flipboard selects magazine content chronologically. It's good enough for the time being, but hardly sufficient when trying to sift through content provided by, say, your 3,000 Twitter friends. That's where Ellerdale's semantic search engine comes in. Ellerdale originally planned to use its technology, which has been in the works since 2008, to build a personalized news website. But this week, the company was acquired by Flipboard as part of a bid to make even more customized social media magazines for users.

'We want to surface the most relevant content,' Arthur Van Hoff, co-founder of Ellerdale and the newly appointed CTO of Flipboard tells FastCompany.com. 'An article that my mom comments on is relevant to me, but maybe not to other people. Every Flipboard magazine is completely personalized.'

Flipboard's semantic search will take into account a number of factors: how closely a user is connected to other people (if you have an ongoing conversation with a Facebook friend, for example, that person will rank highly), posting behavior (you might not want to see content from a robot that posts every hour on the hour), common interests with friends (whether you 'like' or retweet their posts), and how many followers a user has.

That level of personalization isn't easy. 'We have a big database to cope with data streams. It can process 60 million messages each day,' Van Hoff says.

The ability to absorb information at the speed of social media is part of the reason why Flipboard acquired Ellerdale. And since Ellerdale has been working on semantic search for years, the technology will be ready for release soon. Once it has proven to work, Flipboard will expand its reach to include other social networks like Foursquare, Digg, Flickr, and Tumblr. Once that happens, we may finally be on the path to making rational sense out of the dozens of data streams that we deal with every day.

[youtube v2vpvEDS00o]

Ariel Schwartz can be reached on Twitter or by email.

"

Share|

Infographic: Are We Addicted To The Internet?

Infographic: Are We Addicted To The Internet?: "

Note: This is only a tiny portion of the graphic, click HERE to see the whole thing in all it's high-res glory.

Are we addicted to the internet? You know, that's a really good ques-- yes. At least I am. Handsomest addict you ever seen too! Just sayin', I do have all my teeth.

Are We Addicted to the Internet? [flowtown]

Thanks to Aristotle, who can barely go an hour without huffing some delicious interwebs."

Share|

Frankenstein's Agency Monster

source: interactive marketing trends blog

Glenn Beck Struggles to (Weasel Out of Having to) Explain His "White Culture" Comment

The amero

Quote of the Day #10-01-08

Today you can go to a gas station and find the cash register open and the toilets locked. They must think toilet paper is worth more than money.
- Joey Bishop

Historia del Chocolate

El chocolate es una de mis debilidades(dependiendeo de la manera en que lo mires) y creo que no soy la única. Hace mucho tiempo que existe esta exquisitez como afrodisiaco hace crecer la serotenina en tu cuerpo. uh lala! EL chocolate negro recientemente ha sido clasificado como un antioxidante, significando que reduce los niveles de radiacion en el cuerpo. Y esto ciertamente mas que algo para aplaudir en nuestras bocas es una delicia. Pero sabemos de donde procede este placentero dulce?

Remontandonos a hace mas de 2000 años atras hacia el tiempo de los Aztecas y Mayas quienes ocupaban lo que es ahora America Central, el chocolate era bendecido. Los Mayas fueron los primeros en descubrirlo y que podian hacer una bebida de este. Este brebaje era servido a la realeza, sacerdotes, y a personas de la alta sociedad. Los Aztecas crearon de esta caliente bebida de las semillas que se llamaban Chcoclatl, que significaba "bebida caliente", y de ahí en lo adelante lo utilizaban de forma usual.

Cristobal Colon fue el primero en llevar semillas de caca desde el nuevo mundo, pero no fue hasta el conquistador, Hernando Cortez, quien probó chocolatl en 1519 y que el placer del chocolate fue experimentado por alguien mas civilizado y de paises de occidente. Cortez fue el que le añadio azucar de caña a la cocoa para suavizar el sabor amargo. Y luego de que regresare a España, se reintrodujo la modificacion de este brebaje a la corte Española.

Esta bebida fue todo un exito y se empezo toda una revolución de produccion de las semillas de cacao en Jamaica, Ecuador, Venezuela y Perú. Los monjes españoles fueron prestados a servir con el proceso de semillas en esta nueva industria. Los gozos del chocolate se esparcieron por toda europa y el resto es historia! Hoy el chocolate es sumamente popular y se sirve de numerosas maneras.

Así que, la proxima ves que tomes un chocolate, dale gracias a los Aztecas y Mayas quienes descubrieron las semillas de cacao y claro a Hernando Cortez quien hizo posible que fuera un sour sweet treat.

Everything happens for a reason

"I believe that everything happens
for a reason. People change so that
you learn to let go, things go wrong
so that you can appreciate them when
they're right, you believe less so you
eventually learn to trust no one but
yourself and sometimes good things
fall apart so better things can fall
together"


- Marilyn Monroe

Old people on War!

JOE DEROSA Motherload web load
Comedy Central
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/player.jhtml?ml_video=58588&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_gateway_id=&ml_comedian=23671&ml_runtime=&ml_context=comedian&ml_origin_url=%2Fcomedians%2Fbrowse%2Fd%2Fjoe_de_rosa.jhtml&ml_playlist=&lnk=&is_large=true

Un país con el nombre de un rio

What is the name again of the country am leaving in?

Curious, Why is it that the 3 countries am related to have two names?
Puerto Rico... that we know belongs to US which is my other country and also we know is the mother of AMERICA... and ofcouse last but not least DR Dominican Republic...

What does this means? well besides corruptions, poverty, and other issues, we have Beautiful beaches and Bitches... and everyone here would like to go up north...

I really love this country DR... its such a wonderful place to leave. But there is always a but... you'll never know where you are going to end up.

keep a journal

Do you keep a journal? I was just wondering, because I've been noticing more and more websites where people are posting their journals or diaries, or use their blogs as a kind of journal. There are a lot of benefits associated with keeping a journal –– mental, emotional, and even physical. Studies have found that, when people write about their deepest thoughts and feelings in a journal, it can result in fewer doctor visits, fewer depressive symptoms, and enhanced immune system functioning. And this is besides the mental and emotional benefits of writing about your feelings and any problems, crises, or the joys that occur in your life.

When you keep a journal, you have the chance to sort out your thoughts and feelings about conditions, issues, and people in your life. Writing helps to clarify your ideas and get your problem-solving juices flowing. And when you look back on your journals, you can more easily see any patterns that you may have fallen into, or keep track of your progress in your goals. And most of all,you get to know the "real" you.

A journal is a great tool for self-expression and communication, and you can take it one step further, by sharing a journal with the important people in your life. Relationships of all kinds can be enhanced by a kind of mutual journal that you share with someone else. You could set up a "family journal," where everyone took time to put down their thoughts or feelings, or record memories, and then passed it on to the next person. Or you could have a "relationship journal" with a spouse or significant other, or a "friendship journal," which you share with your circle of friends.

So,why not put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) and get started on a wonderful journey of self-exploration and strengthening your relationships?

Car Commandments

The Vatican this week published something it's calling the "Ten Commandments for Drivers." It's commandments you should follow while you drive.

They actually mention Lindsay Lohan by name.

- Jay leno _

And actually it was a news check the page

http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/rtrs/20070619/tts-vaticano-conductores-ca02f96.html

Are you "lucky"?

Are you "lucky"? Well, that may just depend on your state of mind – at least according to a British psychologist, Professor Richard Wiseman. I was reading a study he had done of 400 people from all walks of life, half of whom considered themselves "lucky" and the other half classified themselves as "unlucky." It seems that those people who considered themselves lucky had certain differences in how they thought and acted from the "unlucky" group.
The lucky people were relaxed, open to new things and new people, and were quick to spot opportunities. Unlucky people tended to be more tense, stuck in routines and afraid of anything new, and unwilling to take a risk.
Lucky people trusted their gut instincts and had a positive attitude – they expected good fortune or a good outcome. And, as you can guess, the unlucky ones always expected the worst.
When something unfortunate happened to the lucky ones, they were able to deal with it in a positive way. They did this by imagining that things could have been worse, and didn't dwell on their misfortune, but took control of the situation. The unlucky ones of course brooded on their misfortune, and it only confirmed to them how "unlucky" they were.
So that old saying about "you make your own luck" could turn out to be true. Here are a few tips you might want to try, to increase your own "luck."
Write down six new things to try out (anything from a new food, or a visit to a new place, or a new hobby) that you can accomplish in a month.
Be more open to talking to people you don't know. Start your own "network." The more people you know, the more ideas and opportunities you have access to.
When you get up in the morning, assume that the day will be a good one and everything you do will turn out for the best.
Keep a "luck" journal. At the end of each day, take a few moments to write down only the positive and lucky things that happened. After a month, you can't help but recognize all the good things that are happening.