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The Wombats: Techno Fan

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Finally Facebook Lets Me Reach Out To Non Friends

Image via CrunchBaseI have never, never, never have had any kind of a privacy issue with Facebook, like never, never, never. I have photo albums that I have shared with only a few people. That's my idea of privacy. Other than that I have long wanted a way to share with anyone and everyone, anyone who might be interested. And now looks like I can. Finally.

It is opt in. That is important. It is not by default. Or that might freak people out. Most people might not even get the news on this. Many might simply pass. This is not for everyone. But it works for me.

Facebook has such a beautiful interface. Twitter does not have it. Google Plus does not have it. I have a thing for the Facebook design.

Facebook: Introducing the Subscribe Button
ReadWriteWeb: Does Facebook's Subscribe Button Betray What the Company Was Built On?
TechCrunch: Facebook Launches Twitter-Like ‘Subscriptions’, Lets You Share With Unlimited Users
Mashable: Facebook Launches Subscribe Button for Following Anyone’s Public Updates

A Facebook For Strangers

Image via WikipediaFred Wilson: Turntable
The Color Social Graph Might Work Better For Books, Movies, Music

My current Facebook is my second Facebook account. They booted me out the first time because I was oh so busy saying hello to strangers.

I like Twitter a lot, because on Twitter everyone has a phone number. And if someone is not on Twitter, that person is not relevant, at least not relevant to the world of tech. And the transparency and the 140 character limit makes managing communication easy. It is scalable.

The first phase of web social has been about connecting with people you already know. The far phase has to be about strangers. Utter, complete strangers, people you have absolutely no hopes of meeting in person.

Talking Across Time Zones

When your engineers are in India, and you are Indian, getting on Skype is Homecoming. My name gives it away to them. By now there is what I call a global class in every country. The team leader of the top team that is part of my tech consulting network is currently on vacation in Florida.

Teri Meri

My Dream: A Netflix For Books

Image via Wikipedia

The Next Web: Amazon reportedly in talks to launch a Netflix for books: charging a fixed monthly fee for access to a library of books. Amazon will reportedly offer book publishers a substantial fee for their involvement in the program. ..... With Amazon’s Kindle platform and intimate relationships with every premium publisher on the planet, this is a unique new space only the likes of Amazon and Apple are likely to be able to cater to. ..... my bet is on Amazon to dominate thanks to its first mover advantage and a name synonymous with books. Let’s face it, iBooks hasn’t had quite the impact we would have expected to see from a digital giant like Apple. I’d argue this is because of its lacking selection of books

Your Local Library On Kindle
A Netflix For Books Needed (October 2009)

AllThingsD: Amazon in Talks to Launch Digital-Book Library: Several publishing executives said they aren’t enthusiastic about the idea because they believe it could lower the value of books and because it could strain their relationships with other retailers that sell their books

CNet: Amazon eyes Netflix-style service for e-books: publishers are wary and the latest titles may be excluded--just like with Netflix's streaming service.

Business Insider: Amazon Is Trying To Launch A Netflix Style eBook Subscription Service: the subscription service could take some time to launch since Amazon is busy trying to woo publishers and get them on board.