Bwana.org » social networks

Why You Should Try Raptr (Again)

Bwana — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:53:47 +0000

A while ago, I tried Raptr during the beta and I liked it since it combined gaming with the social web. Here’s my initial review from 2008:

It kind of fell off my radar since I was primarily using Xfire to track my gaming. I also had a problem with Adobe Air at the time since it was a memory hog. Since then, Adobe Air has improved a great deal (still pretty heavy) and Raptr has improved by leaps and bounds.

Some of the improvements I noticed right off are:

1. The site has grown tremendously and supports a lot more. Steam (achievements/history), Xfire (history), Playstation Network trophies and deeper integration into popular Flash games like Farmville.
2. The in-game overlay rivals Xfire. The new browser is actually quite snazzy. All it needs now is custom overlays and webcam support and Xfire is dead.
3. Many more customization options are available to make your profile your own. These come in the form of themes, twitter like status updates, and a small mini-blurb thing to introduce yourself to the community.
4. More granular tracking and snazzy flash applets to show who’s playing what… right now.
5. Overall better site design and easy to navigate.
6. The new iPhone app is actually quite decent and gives you Raptr on the go.

So if you tried Raptr back in 2008 like I did and it didn’t quite fit your needs, I suggest giving it another try now that they’ve been hard at work for the past 2 years. If you wish to add me, I’m Bwana on there at http://raptr.com/bwana

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The Challenge Of The Realistic Real-Time Web

Bwana — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:19:41 +0000

Robert Scoble shared his desktop screens to give us a glimpse of how he consumes much of the information out there. It’s kind of scary:

Do you think you could follow that? A lot of people see that and are intimidated. I believe this is going to be obstacle that the “real-time web” is going to have to surpass. I’m glad that tools like FriendFeed are enabling us to search this massive amount of information for the stuff we care about. Read my post on how to use FriendFeed filters (now called “Saved Searches”) for more information.

Let’s just hope the “real-time” web is not faster than “realistic” time. At some point, it becomes overwhelming and a waste of time if not implemented properly. It’s going to be interesting to watch this whole thing grow. What do you think? Is this real-time web feasible?

Stickrz.info – From Tweet To Reality

Bwana — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:05:11 +0000

Earlier today, I tweeted the following:

I wanted to find a site that gives me information about cool and preferably free stickers on the internet. If you search for “free stickers” on Google, be prepared to wade through a sea of spam. Rather than wait for someone to do it, I decided to spend $0.99 at Godaddy.com and build it myself.

Behold: Stickrz.info

Stickrz.info is now a reality. I’ve used some of my social media snazzle, and setup a FriendFeed room and a Twitter account. I’ve also embedded a live version of the FriendFeed room on the frontpage. This site is primarily user driven. I’m looking to solicit user submissions of great sticker offers and use positive word of mouth as a quality filter. While this may decrease the number of submissions, it will definitely increase the quality which I believe is more important.

I love stickers and I’ve quickly created a basic site to aggregate information about them. Utilizing WordPress, Twitter, and FriendFeed, I believe this will be a fun project.

More stickers please!!

Socialmedian Provides A Refreshing Take On News Aggregation

Bwana — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:21:40 +0000

Today, I made my fourth attempt to understand and utilize the new social network, Socialmedian. I’ve tried in the past with failed results. Why? I believe it may be due to laziness and also some social media burnout that I’m fighting through. Thankfully, this time around, I was able to dig deep and find some cool features. Check out my walkthrough video:

Click To Play

Socialmedian gives you the tools to effectively track and discover people who share your interests. They’ve taken some of the most powerful features of popular sites like Digg, FriendFeed, and Twitter and given us all the good stuff while leaving out the bad. For example, FriendFeed has a nifty “like” system, where you can elevate stories and let your friends know that you really enjoyed it. The word “like” presents a stumbling block if the story is tragic or full of hatred and violence. Socialmedian, took this concept and added a feature called “Mood” where you can state whether you like OR dislike a story, but still elevate it for your friends while letting them know how you feel about it.

Discovery is easy with Socialmedian through the “networks” feature. I recommend new users get started by tapping into the established networks on Socialmedian. Once you’ve discovered a network that interests you (there’s a high chance you will), then participate. Comment, add moods, use sharing mechanisms, and find new people to follow. This is the magical formula of Socialmedian. It’s not obvious by a long shot (hey, it took me four tries), but now that I know the ties with Google Reader, Twitter, and Facebook, it’s easier to contribute and participate in discussion.

If you choose to use Socialmedian, follow me at http://www.socialmedian.com/bwana