SXSW keynoter slams Google Buzz over privacy
Danah Boyd, social media expert at Microsoft Research in New England and a Fellow at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, had some harsh words to say not only about Facebook, but also about Google.
Google, she said, had failed by interfacing Buzz, a public-facing system, with Gmail, “one of the most private systems imaginable.” The problem, she explained, is that “people genuinely believed that Google was exposing their private e-mails to the world.”
Some who attended Boyd’s panel, however, were less than convinced about the purity of Boyd’s motives in slamming Microsoft’s biggest rival. “She was more than a little biased,” one SXSW attendee told RCR Unplugged.
Bringing the iPad to the bathroom
It seems nothing is sacred at SXSW, even people’s bathroom habits, as Bill Jensen of Village Voice Media revealed his secret wish for Apple’s upcoming iPad:
“We’re hoping you can lean back with this thing, curl up on the couch and take it into the bathroom and read it. Some of you bring your laptop into the bathroom; I know you all bring your iPhone into the bathroom.”
Talk about flushing out the weirdoes here in Austin.
Location-based apps turn Austin into massive scavenger hunt game
Trying to keep tabs on your friends? Stalking that certain special someone? Well, have no fear, because location based apps are here! Several smart phone apps, including Foursquare, Gowalla and Foodspotting have turned their location-based apps into games during SXSW, sending people on massive people hunts around the conference venues.
Now, where the heck is Waldo?
Windows Phone 7 Series
Microsoft was getting all touchy feely at SXSW on Saturday, with the firm showing off its Windows 7 demo on a huge touch screen TV. SXSWesters were treated to real time updates on home page tiles, social tiles with friends and profiles, Xbox Live tile with Avatars, alphabetical search and “threaded” text messages “pinned” to the home page.
Geolocation
An HP employee by the name of Max moved show attendees with his vision of a social-awareness and philanthropy site based on geolocation.
“If Hurricane Katrina happened today, a site could be used to mobilize thousands of people in the area to provide all kinds of aid to the victims. Such a service might enable people to quickly develop ad hoc social networks based on their proximity to the need and their stated interest in helping, should the need occur.”
Changing the world, not just changing the game, that’s what we like to hear!
Can a Tweet be copyrighted?
During a controversial panel discussion on Saturday, Fred Benenson of NYU noted that there have been copyright lawsuits over haikus – so why couldn’t somebody sue over a tweet? But other participants, including law professor Wendy Seltzer, opined that whereas some tweets could possibly be copyrightable, the vast majority would not be.
And no, we don’t think you could copyright that Tweet about the amazing turkey sandwich you ate for lunch.
Robert Scoble on Android
Social media guru Robert Scoble reckons Google has figured out the best game plan for its Android-based devices. Scoble opined that Android was not just a pretty face, but also had the full package when it came to services on offer. Neither Microsoft or Apple, he said, would be able to offer the same experience.
AT&T network withstands SXSW iPhone offensive
Nate Parsons, a technology consultant from Washington, D.C., confirmed that AT&T’s network has successfully withstood the SXSW iPhone onslaught. According to Parsons, the iPhone “was pretty much unusable as a phone,” at last year’s conference and that it had been “sort of a communications blackout on AT&T.” But this year, he said, “it seems like they’ve really fixed it.”
More than can be said for T-Mobile’s service in the area, which is poor to say the very, very least.
Avatar 3D
Was Avatar simply a 3D marketing stunt or did it represent a serious entertainment enhancement in moviemaking? Director Ruben Fleischer gave his two cents on the topic on Saturday, saying he believed “Avatar” had completely changed the way we see movies. But director Ti West said the 3D aspect of “Avatar” was “cooler” than the movie itself, implying it was just a novelty fad that would wear itself out.
Can The Real Time Web Be Realized?
Google certainly thinks it can, but Microsoft’s Dare Obasanjo also has an opinion on the subject of creating “real time” content and instant web pages.
“Good example, hash tag for [SXSW]. Type that in to a search, you get a stream but not pages. Getting more and more pages doing this rather than people would help,” he said.
Would real time web pages help you? Let us know what you think either in our comment section or on Twitter.
This is RCR Unplugged, wrapping up day two at SXSW, tune in tomorrow for more byte sized bite
