How Twitter impacts us!

Twitter has exploded into the social networking causing a buzz among users in millions. The premise of freedom of speech can be used by this micro-blogging service (micro..since it only allows only 140 chars per tweet). Some people call this the "SMS of the Internet" and is now ranked by Alexa as a top 15 web site in the World. What is great about Twitter is that you can express anything and everything and due its ubiquitous nature you can learn about stuff just by searching for tweets related to a topic. The possibilities with Twitter are endless. You can send direct messages to particular users using an @ sign. A simple search for "#apple" will get you good enough links about mac stuff.

What amazes me is the potential possibilities of Twitter:

1. You can provide Recommendations - you suggest hotels to stay, places to go, restaurants to eat, clothes to buy...whole lot of stuff and people can use your recommendations to do stuff.
2. Provide Honest Opinion/Feedback. Lets say i took a flight on a particular airline and did not like their service. I can be specific on my flight details. The key to doing this is that each airline should use tags(lets say #DeltaFeedback for Delta airlines)
3. Communicate ideas/thoughts and this could spurn a whole new set of ideas
4. Entertainment,Killing Time etc assist in Prevention of Depression.
5. You learn what your friends or family are upto!

and the possibilities are endless.

As with anything, there are fallbacks also. Its already causing a rage in NFL training camps(some teams have banned use of Twitter). A Denver nuggets player - J.R Smith had to shut down his twitter site due to issues as of today. Check out Denver Post for the details.

Like most of you out there, I do also have a twitter page, Check it out here: TechShrink's Twitter

Lets all get AMPed

Take a look at this: YAHOO APT!

Whats the next tech miracle?

I keep wondering what is going to be the next great innovation..... i keep wondering how much people are immune to change.

Think of whats happening with the world now:
1. we have really smart phones
2. we have a smarter internet...thanks to Yahoo, Google and Microsoft
3. We have user friendly and powerful Operating Systems...thanks to Apple
4. We have great GPS systems for Cars/SUVs etc....but something is missing
5. We have amazing cars...cars are getting smarter and sleeker by the day..
6. We have great TVs, stunning picture quality and sound thanks to HD, Blu ray and also mind blowing games..
7. We have good washing machines...good microwaves and also cool refrigerators.
8. All those special irobots like roomba, verro etc

Whats missing then?

1. We still dont have smart GPS systems...Dash is an introduction...wonder if there is anything in garmin's pipeline? Smart GPS systems are systems which gives smart suggestions....it should suggest you the weather in the area is bad, traffic and construction( real time) and what local roads to follow will have minimum stop lights,basically have a form of Q-A System local to the area...for example...if i want to know the top rated dance clubs in west hollywood...the GPS system should be able to fetch it and let me know with the distances to each one of them. Similarly we should be able to know the current status of parking in parking lots...on the streets around the destination....i know this is a whole lot of information and lot of unknowns here....but that it what computer scientists and designers should dwell on
2. We need a smarter computer/web experience....the internet as we know is evolving so fast that it is hard to keep up with the technology...but imagine a world where the computer is your friend and he/she does what you want it to do. For example....we can ask the computer to read our mail and sort the most important ones based on my most clicked email topics or even people. Similarly the computer should customize the web to my preferred sites, allow me to communicate with the people i want to at any time
   
3. We need smarter TVs....TVs that can tell us what channel has my favorite shows and when..and it should have the ability to switch on the TV automatically at that point of time even if i have forgotten about it....this could cause hassles if you are sleeping or doing something private...but its an interesting thought.