Five months ago, right around the time that Andrey Ternovskiy was building Chatroulette, no one could have predicted that being “nexted” would become the modern day equivalent to a rite of passage.
But after three days of coding, Ternovskiy introduced his pet project for random video chat to friends, then users of Web forums, and from there things just spiraled.
When the New York Times talked to the 17 year-old Ternovskiy earlier in the month, he confessed that, “Last month I saw 30 million unique visitors come to the Web site and one million new people visit each day. It continues to multiply and I just couldn’t stop it from growing.”
Chatroulette’s astronomical growth, while impressive, tends to be tainted by the prevalence of penises, and other naughty bits, that seem to go unchecked (there is a “Report” button) due to anonymity. But, as is the case when something hits a nerve with the population, Chatroulette has spawned a slew of copycats and one-off apps. Clearly there’s more to this cultural phenomenon than what initially accosts the eye. (more…)

Over the past few years, there has been an underlying shift in the way we use technology in our lives. This could be simply described as moving from user-initiated (search) to auto-serving (suggestions) technologies, and it’s about to change the way we live, communicate, make money, shop, collaborate and more. Instead of actively searching for things, we will be presented with them, as we live our lives.

FacebookFacebook’s new “instant personalization” is just the beginning of an era in which we will slowly allow more and more technologies to shape our discovery and decision processes. As they become more integral to our lives, search as an activity will become less relevant. Here is why.

1. The Search Process is Inefficient

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Most of the technologies and platforms we use these days require our action. In order to achieve anything, we have to acknowledge the need, make a decision, and then follow through.

Example: You need a new swimsuit for the summer and you decide to find one that best matches your search criteria: Color, style, size, etc. You use GoogleGoogle, ShopStyle, TheFind, or any other smart shopping engine. This simple task requires a bit of thought and effort on your part.

What if you could skip this process and let technology offer you the perfect swimsuit once the summer season arrives, without asking you to take any action?

2. Mobile GPS Eliminates the Need for Location-Based Search (more…)

Nothing has changed the Web more than the rise of social networking sites. Before social networking, the World Wide Web was full of interesting information, but there was little opportunity to contribute or participate.
Today, social networking sites are fulfilling the potential of the Web: connecting people across the globe. But why do they matter so much?
“With social networks, we’re able to visualize the connections between individuals, says Fred Stutzman, Ph.D. student and teaching fellow, School of Information and Library Science at UNC Chapel Hill. “Even if the value or magnitude of the connection is the same for everyone (and that doesn’t mirror real life), knowing the connections between individuals helps us better understand them, who they are connected to, and how they are connected to us.”

If Stutzman is right, understanding the way these networking sites work will help us understand ourselves and our friends. So read on to discover the 10 social networking sites that you should know about today.

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