Author: Leslie A. Joy

Jeff Bullas had a post up on his blog, Is Twitter About to Terminate Google Buzz, that discussed how Google Buzz is essentially dead. However, I don’t think Twitter killed Google Buzz. I think Google Buzz killed Google Buzz. I had high hopes for it. I really did. I didn’t see it as a Twitter killer or substitution for Twitter, but rather a more social version of the Google Reader Share with Note feature. I thought it might be a nice way to write a few lines about a blog post or news item you stumbled across. And with more blogs disabling comments, I thought it had potential to usher in a new era of blog commenting….

Ever read about a study and at first you’re excited by the results, and then you’re immediately let down? That just happened after reading about this smartphone study reported on PC World. OpenCloud’s study revealed that only 39% of smart phone users download apps. The average user downloads 14 apps and then tends not to use them after the initial “WOOHOO APPS” period that occurs during the first few weeks of ownership. My first thought was that consumers were focusing less on apps and more on specifics like hardware. That maybe consumers were getting smart and weren’t going to be…

Normally I don’t mind trends, so long as I don’t actually have to participate in them. However, there is one trend that needs to be over yesterday: turning everyday tasks into games. For those of you who haven’t seen the onslaught of tasks-as-games app, here’s a brief run-down of some of the more popular ones: 0Boxer: Organize Your Gmail and Have Fun Doing It Epic Win: Level Up Your Life: Make Being Organized As Much Fun As Gaming with Epic Win-the to-do list app with an RPG setting Chore Wars: Finally You Can Claim Experience Points for Housework These are games that try to make everyday tasks…