The War of The Social Networks - Which Are Gaining and Losing Users?

Social Networks are all the rage these days, taking over popularity and in traffic as in the case of Facebook over online portals that in their hay day dominated the internet, as in the case of Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, MySpace, etc.
While some websites are growing and peaking, others are shutting down or on the verge of collapse, the perfect example is Mypace, a social network pioneer that's becoming victim of its own success.  Myspace's staggering decline is leading to desperate measures like mass lay offs and in search of buyers ASAP before it's too late and its value nears bottom.  News Corp's recent negotiations of having MySpace sold to Vevo certainly suggest the best option left for the once leading social network is to merge with an uprising internet music star to be able to survive.  Facebook on the other hand continues to outdo itself in terms of technology and experience, offering its users a long term-stay.

Recently I came across this Infograph--which I've come to love--that beautifully paints an excellent picture of the winners and losers in social media these days and it further breaks down the demographic breakdown for the top players in the world.  Take Plaxo for instance, as pointed out by Mashable: it's "the network with the most users over the age of 65, while Facebook is more popular with women, Digg and Reddit tend to be more popular with men, Linkedin is the “richest” social network, but Plurk outranks it when it comes to well-educated users who have graduate degrees."

Take a look at this detailed infograph below and you be the judge...

History of Social Networking - What's Next?

It's already the second month into the New Year and we have had blizzards, floods in Australia, protests in Africa, and a handful of impactful world events, I just can't believe how fast 2011 is going and how many things have already happened in such a short time!

As time flies, I've realized that it's been a while since my last post, so here is a cool infograph I found that nicely documents the 'History of Social Networking'...what do you think will be the next ''it'' social platform?

What we know for sure is that pioneers like AOL and MySpace have long been struggling now and the most recent news is that the once largest social network in the world is now officially for sale as reported by our friends at Mashable.

Apple's Ipad has finally Arrived

After so much waiting and so many rumors over the last year, the Apple tablet has finally arrived!

Today was a big day for Steve Jobs and his $90 billion worth company, as it was the announcement of its much anticipated baby, the Ipad, which according to him it's designed to fill the perceived gap between the smartphone and the laptop.

As the Apple website describes it:

"The best way to experience the web, email, photos and video.  Hands down.  All of the built-in apps on iPad were designed from the ground up to take advantage of the large Multi-Touch screen. And they work in any orientation. So you can do things with these that apps you can’t do on any other device."

Without doubt this is the must have "IT" item right now!

Prices range from: $499 - $829

Check out a comprehensive guide on this awesome new gadget from our tech friends after the jump: Mashable.

Apple's much Anticipated Tablet is Set to Launch Spring 2010 Plus MORE...

The latter part of 2010 wasn't the best time for Apple and one of its biggest gadgets, the Iphone; this was largely due to the much anticipated release of Google's operated Droid running on the Verizon network and manufactured by Motorola. The Droid has had strong sales so far, reaching one million units since its launch early this Fall. This is an impressive outcome for a newcomer, but then again Google is behind it, and having it run on Verizon is a big PLUS for them. The Droid was also recently distinguished by Time Magazine and being named the number one Gadget of the Year, and relegating the Iphone to 4th place.

But it's not all rosy for the Droid, as Time goes further to say and experts in the field agree with, as explained by Pete Cashmore of Mashable.com:

The Motorola phone on the Verizon network is a great device on the best network, TIME argues, making it the obvious choice despite being new to the market.

TIME writes:

Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don’t miss it. The Droid’s touchscreen is phenomenally sharp and vivid, it has an actual physical (not great, but good enough) keyboard, and, best of all, the Droid is on Verizon’s best-of-breed 3G network.

We tend to agree; the Droid is a fantastic phone and a poster child for Google’s Android OS. Nonetheless, it’ll seem a lot less appealing next year if the iPhone finally comes to Verizon. We still think the iPhone is a superior phone, albeit on an inferior network.

HERE IS A RECAP...

The Iphone suffered from some negative buzz surrounding its App Store decision of rejecting Google Voice's app on their store and being still only available on AT&T, whose network is not nearly as efficient as Verizon's. And this was followed of course by a ad battle between both carriers flaunting who is better, and in the end Verizon prevailed.

So, disenchanted Iphone users and unhappy AT&T customers decided to leave them and make the switch, and some of them seem happy but not fully satisfied!

The question now is what's in store for Apple?

Well, there have been rumors about the Iphone running on Verizon and the release of a much anticipated tablet...what's to make of this?

These rumors are true and expected to finally happen in 2010.

So even though the Droid was the "IT" gadget to have and garnered the most attention the end of 2010, Apple is coming back with bigger and better things in 2010!

Apple's exclusive contract with AT&T expires next year and an improved and better Iphone will be released come 2010 to run on the biggest mobile network in the country.

The release date is rumored to be Summer/Fall of next year...stay tuned!

And as for the Apple Tablet; it's said to be ready for launch in Spring of 2010.

Charlie Sorrel of Wired.com further explains:

Yair Reiner, an analyst for Oppenheimer, has lit some incense, drained his tea-cup and stared deep into the pattern of the remaining leaves. The fates have thus communicated to him the following “fact”: Apple will ship a 10.1-inch touch-screen tablet in spring 2010.

The average reader of the average gadget-blog knows more about the real workings of the tech world than even the best of analysts (or “prophets” as I prefer to call them). But we shall humor Uncle Yair, and present here his rock-solid inferences, based on the study not of actual tea-leaves, but of his supply-chain contacts.

The Jesus-tablet will use an LTPS (Low Temperature Polycrystalline Silicon) LCD like that of the iPhone instead of a pricier OLED display, and if Apple wants to have enough in stock to meet demand (at a projected manufacturing speed of a million units per month) then a launch date in March or April is likely.

The price? The same as a MacBook with a full keyboard, or $1,000. This would be the perfect price for Apple to charge if it didn’t want to sell any.

Reiner goes on to speculate that book publishers, “disgruntled by Amazon’s terms” which give the publisher just 70% of revenue on an exclusive deal, prefer the numbers offered by Apple. And what is this sweet, sweet deal from Apple? An “App Store-type 30/70 split.” Can you spot the difference? Me either.

By now, we’re pretty sure that we’ll see an Apple tablet soon, probably in the first half of the year (spring for tablets, summer for iPhones, autumn for iPods, and Macs when they are ready). We’re also sure that until it is actually announced by Apple, every week will bring further groping guesses about this tech-unicorn, in increasingly desperate attempts to drum up publicity (December 9, 2009).

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THESE EVENTS HAPPEN NEXT YEAR!

Free WIFI Offered by Airlines

Free WIFI on Airlines across the US?

Wait a minute isn't this already available? Well, we may be thinking of the rest of the world, as the U.S. seems to be lagging behind in technology; namely internet access, speed, etc!

Nevertheless, the news are good for us I guess...read on this article from my friend's a Mashable.

Ads On a Plane: Free WIFI Coming to Airlines

October 7, 2009, by Barb Dybwab

Mobile media company JiWire and satellite broadband provider Row 44 are teaming up to deliver an in-flight Wi-Fi system that will come to you for free via advertising support.

Southwest and Alaska Airlines have already begun to test the new service, which will make it possible for advertisers to target the coveted “business traveler” demographic in exchange for free Wi-Fi. The system is expected to launch fully on at least those two airlines this fall.

The company doesn’t specify exactly how the ads will appear, whether via pre-rolls or some sort of browser framing experience. Row 44’s Skytown Center is mentioned as one place where ads will appear — a virtual shopping mall and content portal unique to specific airlines. Perhaps a mandatory stroll through the virtual mall will be required for entry into the wild and wooly internets.

The service sounds like a boon to consumers, who will benefit from free Wi-Fi (that’s hopefully not too caged by the ad experience). It should be a good opportunity for advertisers as well considering a recent study by the Wi-Fi Alliance showing that 76% of business travelers would pick an airline based on Wi-Fi, and more than 70% would choose Wi-Fi over a meal service.

When you travel, do you pick your flights based on Wi-Fi availability? Would you leap at the chance for a free hot-spot in the air, or are you content to shell out a few bucks for an ad-free experience? Let us know in the comments.

GOOD TIMES!!!