Category Archives: social networking

Could Google use Motorola and mobile to muscle its way into social? Does antitrust law matter?

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Today’s announcement of Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility shines a brighter light on the antitrust conversations that were getting louder at the end of last week.  Bloomberg reported that companies such as Microsoft, Expedia and Yelp may have been asked to … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, google, social networking | Comments Off on Could Google use Motorola and mobile to muscle its way into social? Does antitrust law matter?

An Average User’s First Google+ Experience: “Ug. This Is Already Too Much Work.”

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Much of the discussion of Google+ has been from the point-of-view of very experienced users and early adopters. In my analysis, I’ve really tried to focus on how a normal user would evaluate Google+, especially someone who was a heavy … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, google, social networking | 22 Comments

I’m the king of my castle, not a serf

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

David Carr recently wrote in The New York Times about the devaluing of professional content. He contends that sites like the Huffington Post, Facebook and Twitter have turned Americans into serfs. Carr makes the mistake of associating low-cost and no-cost … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, social networking | 1 Comment

Checking in with foursquare at SFO

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

With the increasing use of mobile applications such as Yelp and foursquare, it’s becoming possible to pull ideas from thin air. Users of these apps can leave tips for others to find that are linked to a specific location. In … Continue reading →

Posted in audio, foursquare, geotagging, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | Tagged | 1 Comment

Now we’re going Places

Posted on June 16, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been writing about Twitter and location since my first post about Twitter in 2007. This week, Twitter launched Places, which allows users to add their location to a tweet. Here’s a screenshot from 2007: and today: In 2007, I … Continue reading →

Posted in geotagging, gps, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | Tagged | 1 Comment

iPad puts on its business suit

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

Most of the discussion around Apple’s iPad has been about what a great consumer device it is. It’s a book reader, movie player, newspaper, photo viewer, RSS reader and more. But the iPad has a lot to offer businesses as … Continue reading →

Posted in apple, foursquare, ipad, iphone, local search, mobile, social networking | 2 Comments

Geo-enabled Twitter comes alive on Twitter Maps

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been playing with Bing’s Twitter Maps lately and it’s one of the better implementations of Twitter’s geo APIs that were introduced last fall. It shows tweets within the last 7 days plotted on the map. Google Maps recently introduced a … Continue reading →

Posted in bing, geotagging, lbs, local search, maps, mobile, social networking, twitter | 3 Comments

Twitter and foursquare: the tipping point to getting local business online

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

Getting small local businesses to go online has been the holy grail of the Internet. I’ve written before about some of the reasons local business don’t go online and suggested several ways that they could use emerging technologies to get … Continue reading →

Posted in foursquare, lbs, social networking, twitter | Comments Off on Twitter and foursquare: the tipping point to getting local business online

Missing out on the big stuff on Twitter and Facebook

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

One of my friends recently got engaged and posted that fact on Facebook. I missed it. It’s one of the frustrations of the constantly flowing river of news in social networks — births, deaths, weddings and job changes get lost … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, social networking, twitter | 2 Comments

To tweet or not to tweet: thoughts on Twitter etiquette

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Rakesh Agrawal

With every new medium comes changes in the way we communicate and new social norms for behavior. I’ve written before about how technology changes the way we write. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the norms for Twitter. How much is … Continue reading →

Posted in social networking, twitter | 11 Comments