Friday is here and the Buzz Factory has some great topics to discuss with you this week. Strap up and snap into a Slim Jim… OH YEAH!
Apple releases a new iPad model – the iPad 2
@evcon: Say what you want about Apple (and its fans), but once again they have set the standard for tablet computing, and at a great price. It’s a fantastically sleek device, and that new Smart Cover is probably one of the best accessory ideas around. The Motorola Xoom looks promising, but Android Honeycomb doesn’t seem like a fully finished OS yet. For $800 with at least one paid month of service, I have a hard time thinking it’s the best option out there right now. Until more mature iterations of Android tablets come out, and we can get some hands-on accounts of the HP PalmPad and BlackBerry PlayBook, I’m calling this one in favor of the iPad 2. And that’s as objective as I can get about that.
@chadATL: I might take the back seat on this topic. The only Apple product I have ever owned has been an iPod. For some reason that I cannot explain, I absolutely despise all of the Apple hype. I will say this, however, the improvements they made are pretty insane. Putting an A5 in a device that small makes me pretty excited for the future of computing.
South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals begin today
@evcon: Now this is an event I can really get behind. I’m marking this one down as a must-attend for next year, if only for the music, parties, and general geekery that goes down. But, there are plenty of meetups, panels, great product launches going on there. The most hype this year is around the myriad of group messaging services such as GroupMe and Beluga, and it’ll be interesting to see how the competition plays out. My heart still lies with foursquare since the social experience of an event such as SXSW is right in their wheelhouse, and they have some great stuff lined up.
@chadATL: SXSW is what I like to imagine heaven is like; music, nerds, parties and technology. The week will be filled with news about apps, technologies and developments. Will we see another ‘Foursquare’ success story this year? I sure hope so.
Foursquare releases version 3 this week
@evcon: This is definitely one of my favorite things to happen this week. They took the data from two years’ worth of check-ins from a total of 7.5 million users and are applying that to power a recommendation engine for what people should do when they go out. Their new system of specials for businesses also just got a whole lot better, and I can’t wait to see what kinds of awesome offers we’ll see. Who doesn’t like doing fun things and saving a little money?
@chadATL: Ah, how I wish I had an Android or iPhone. All week, Mr. Evcon has teased me with the new Foursquare 3.0 release. I am stuck with a Windows Phone 7 which, in my opinion, has been the worst decision I have made since… well, ever. The Foursquare app on the device is subpar to say the least and 3.0 will not be rolled out anytime “soon”. The updates they implemented on the other OS have been jaw dropping. The new explore feature is something that I think will truly change the location based app. Foursquare, as you know, is already, in my mind, the king of location based apps and if these develops continue to come they will, in no doubt, stomp Facebook Places once and for all.
Huge earthquake and tsunami hit Japan
@evcon: This is truly a horrific disaster. First and foremost, my thoughts are with everyone in Japan, as well as those who have relatives there. The thing about social media is how quickly news can spread about events after they happen. I saw several tweets late last night reporting the disaster before any major news outlet could break the story. The amount of information shared in those moments following the quake can paint a compelling story about the human struggle behind natural disasters, and it can help others to navigate the chaotic events.
@chadATL: I share Evcon’s condolences. We were debating whether or not to discuss this topic due to the sensitive subject, but we thought that social media played such a huge, positive role in the disaster that we couldn’t ignore it. I, like Evcon, found out about this disaster through Twitter early this morning. Quickly, #prayforjapan and other hashtags were trending worldwide. YouTube videos of eye witnesses were being posted and shared virally through blogs. Google even implemented an entire crisis team and developed a person finder initiative to help those in need. Sometimes it takes disasters such as this for the world to realize that humanity cares for one another and social media only expedites that process.
File this under a giant “D’oh!” While it hurts to see stuff like this happen, it always serves as a reminder double and triple check everything you send out under a corporate name, whether you’re working in-house or for an agency. It also serves as a case study on how to deal with disasters such as these. I think the recovery by the Red Cross is the best one we’ve seen so far.
@Evcon: Nothing like father and son bonding.
@chadATL: Words can’t describe this epicness.
A Blog Post By: Chad Bryant (@chadATL)
Chad is the Social Media Director at No Limit and hates his Windows Phone with a passion.
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A Blog Post By: Evan Connors (@evcon)
Evan is a Social Media Coordinator at No Limit and loves his Android phone with a passion.
