It’s another year, which means the time has come for Google to take yet another shot at social. They added another one to the mix, and I got to hand it to Google, this one is… different. Google is calling it +1 — yes, +1 is the name. It’s a new social feature that integrates into Google Search. Users can actually access it right now by activating it within Google’s experimental options. But if you’re in no hurry, it will eventually be rolled out to everyone in the future. But what is +1, exactly? Introducing Google +1 Well, the best way to introduce Google +1 is to start off with the button itself….

Those of you who have ever found yourself wishing you could merge the simplicity of a social networking tool like Facebook with the needs of business now have one more option with Teamlab, a robust and impressive online collaboration and project management tool from Ascensio Systems. Similar in many ways to ubiquitous software Basecamp, Teamlab is a free, web-based system that allows you to manage projects and communicate with other employees using a simple, well-designed interface. The newest version of Teamlab adds a couple of main features, and is now broken down into 3 main parts: TM Community,…

It’s fun to sometimes imagine MySpace still has a chance to be a relevant social network, but let’s face it: it’s not. It’s dead. Like, not dead dead, but saying otherwise would be like saying Yahoo matters in 2011. Or that Elvis is alive. That said, though, would you like to buy it? No, really. It’s up for grabs, and you can be a part of it, with the Let’s Buy MySpace initiative. No surprises, here – Let’s Buy MySpace is an attempt to put the ailing social network back into the hands of its most passionate users. And they’d have to be passionate to donate their hard earned dollars (or in this case, pounds -…

Person of the Year is a fairly substantial award given out by TIME magazine annually. Nearing the end of this year, however, the award seemed to be up in the air. Who has managed to accomplish anything significant this year? Julian Assange? Maybe. But there was another, and he had a far more personal impact on the world than anyone else today. It just so happened to be Mark Zuckerberg. The 26-year-old phenom has accomplished more in these past five years than most accomplish in their entire life. Not too bad for someone who, not too long ago, was considered to be a boy filling the shoes of a man. Now he has…

Twitter has been known to push the envelope on social communication and interaction. Twitter is even credited for heavily influencing things like the Iranian elections. But all of the amazing things Twitter has accomplished could be for nothing if the company loses sight of what is truly important. And although Twitter has avoided the Fail Whale for quite awhile, it might not only creep back into the spotlight, but it could also become a permanent figure of Twitter’s being. Unfortunately, the reality is that Twitter is changing at a hot clip these days, and while many of the changes have been for…

You’re well aware I’m not in love with Ping, and I’d be willing to bet you aren’t, either. Ping blows. Like, a lot. A thinly-veiled attempt to sell more albums, Ping has, so far, been a joke of a ‘social’ experience. Now, Ping has added the ability to share playlists. Of your own music. Why this feature wasn’t implemented on day one will remain forever a mystery. That’s the only reason I, for one, signed up – to share my music with friend and foe alike! Of course, when I realized that Apple wanted me to be more ‘volunteer sales associate’ than ‘music enthusiast’, I quickly shut it off and disabled my iTunes…

I could say it feels like only yesterday I was introducing you guys to Diaspora, but that would very much be a lie. Honestly, it feels more like it’s been 13 years. For those of you just joining us, Diaspora is the ‘privacy-aware’ social network that debuted in concept several months ago, amidst the zenith of Facebook’s privacy woes. And it seemed like perfect timing; with everyone getting their hate on for Facebook and its alleged disregard for user privacy, most people agreed it was time for a change. Diaspora seemed like mana from heaven, offering true privacy and the ability to exact complete…

I remove people from Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks on a daily basis — not by choice, but because there is too much information — but I never thought of the consequences. I always just assumed that there is an understanding between people in the digital age. But one day changed everything for me: I had removed someone who didn’t take it so lightly, and he made me feel guilt and pain that I had not felt since high school. What was I becoming? He was nice to me. He engaged me in conversation, retweeted articles that I posted, and joined in on conversations that really got me thinking. It…

What could have been a simple copyright infringement has become a full-blown circus after the internet got a hold of the tale of Monica ‘illadore’ Gaudio, who had an article published in Cooks Source magazine – without her knowledge any such magazine even existed. Upon contacting the publication, she was told she should be considered ‘lucky’, and that she should pay the magazine for running her story. Dear Cooks Source: What kind of learning disability do you have? This is the internet. We’re gonna find out. “I first phoned the magazine then sent a quick note to the ‘Contact Us’ information page,…

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….