Category Archives: web 2.0

Rewriting your corporate history on Wikipedia

Posted on August 14, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

WIRED has a story about companies rewriting their history on Wikipedia. The story is based on Wikipedia Scanner, a tool from Cal Tech grad student Virgil Griffith that allows you to look up anonymous Wikipedia edits from a specific company’s … Continue reading →

Posted in web 2, web 2.0, wikipedia | Comments Off on Rewriting your corporate history on Wikipedia

Why we love social networks

Posted on August 11, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

There was a comment in Paul Kedrosky’s blog last month asking about the real value of social networks: Facebook, MySpace, I don’t get it: personalize a webpage template and exchange links, I mean friendships, with people. Since I responded to … Continue reading →

Posted in email, facebook, social networking, web 2, web 2.0 | 1 Comment

Using the Web to cover breaking events

Posted on August 2, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

After the crash of ComAir Flight 5191, about a year ago, I wrote a piece criticizing the lackluster way news sites use Web resources in covering breaking news. When the news broke of the 35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis last … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, media, newspapers, web 2, web 2.0 | 1 Comment

Facebook as the new Web OS

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I wrote a couple of pieces last year encouraging social networks to open up their networks and to let partners develop modules and applications around them. Facebook, with the new Facebook platform, is the first company that I’ve seen that … Continue reading →

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I (heart) Facebook

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m hooked on Facebook. In various ways, it replaces Twitter, Digg, Bluedot, plaxo and LinkedIn. And there’s a chance that it will replace my spam-laden email box, at least for messages from people I care about. I’m too invested in … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, social networking, web 2, web 2.0 | 2 Comments

Facebook platform gets Journal ink

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Today’s Journal has a story on the Facebook platform. Facebook now offers more than 800 new services — from photo slideshows to online file storage — up from fewer than 100 a month ago. Meanwhile, those who are creating the … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, personalization, social networking, web 2, web 2.0 | Comments Off on Facebook platform gets Journal ink

Using Google Maps as a virtual notepad

Posted on June 19, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I get recommendations on restaurants all the time from various sources – friends, the Post food critic’s weekly chat, articles I read, etc. I’ve had scattered approaches to keeping track of them. I used to email them to myself. Then … Continue reading →

Posted in google, local search, maps, web 2, web 2.0 | 1 Comment

Google Maps launches local reviews

Posted on June 19, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

In a potentially huge blow to local services like Yelp, CitySearch, and AOLCityGuide, Google is now offering users the ability to leave reviews for businesses they search on. To date, Google has aggregated reviews from those sites and others in … Continue reading →

Posted in city guides, google, local search, maps, web 2, web 2.0, yelp | 6 Comments

Wikipedia and pop culture

Posted on June 16, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

The Wall Street Journal has some interesting comparisons that highlight Wikipedia’s skew toward pop culture. Additional comparisons are in the story, along with a trivia quiz.

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A group for everything

Posted on June 15, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Every once in a while, I get comments on my flickr pictures asking to add one of my pictures to a group, use it with a news story or include it in a travel guide. I’ve contributed pictures to groups … Continue reading →

Posted in flickr, random, web 2, web 2.0 | Comments Off on A group for everything