It’s 2012 so that means it is time to post my predictions for the year.

1. Facebook meets its match. However, Facebook will not die in 2012. This is a planning phase prediction. Whoever will ultimately oust Facebook from the throne of social networking will spring up today and prey on FB’s on vulnerabilities.
2. Google+ finds its niche. Clearly, G+ does not fit the description to be the victor in the above scenario. However, Google has stuck gold with its Google+ network. The granular control and closed ecosystem blended with the open ability to follow and make connections with “circles” means it has it’s place in the social media world. It will focus on business and niche hobbies/interests for like-minded people to meet each other, where Facebook focuses on people who already know each other.
3. SOPA changes our life. It goes through in a version not too dissimilar from its current iteration and shuts down a large enough portion of the Internet that people actually notice. Law gets repealed by Summer of 2013 if another Democrat takes office - March, if a Republican steps in.
4. Microsoft is the Apple of 1997. Windows 7 didn’t do as well as they hoped since it became little more than a huge Vista service pack/patch. Windows 8 on the desktop looks like the phone. People want a desktop to act like a desktop. Windows gains no market share, but actually loses some. 
5. Sony takes a bath and tries to not become Sega. Xbox is the clear winner here. The next generation consoles make a difference. Sony needs to announce something specific and huge THIS year or Xbox takes the console market for heavy gamers and average gamers. Nintendo keeps the kids.
6. The shift in TV begins. Linear programming becomes less relevant as more things go online and on demand. Items like Roku, Boxee and AppleTV proliferate this year as prices come down and bandwidth goes up.
7. Apple settles into life after Steve, and it’s not awesome. The culture won’t change. Cool systems, devices and tons of innovation will prevail. However, without Steve at the helm, things will be different. Just as dedicated, not as magical. Keynotes are less attended/watched. Sales, while high, aren’t as high as before and the mania slips a little. Hopefully they stop the downward trend before it’s too late.
8. Oh… and JavVig Media, LLC blows up, gets funded, finds a 6x-8x valuation and gets bought. That last one is wishful thinking.

Anyone who has been online or on Facebook for a minute during the last few years will remember one thing. Facebook changes… a lot. Whether it’s tagging or photos or the newsfeed or privacy, there’s one thing Facebook does well and that’s change. The general public complains anytime there’s a change and then a few weeks later can’t remember what the old version looked like. The one area that seems to garner more complaints than others and the type that persist is privacy.

Privacy has been a big issue for a long time. People are sharing more and more and they are doing it faster. They rate at which they share and the amount they share is at the highest it has ever been and it’s increasing. It’s actually accelerating. And it will continue to with the advent of new technologies and the embedding of social networking into phones and tablets, etc. I know I’ve complained about it as well.

I use no privacy on my personal Facebook account - go look. It’s wide open. I have nothing to hide. Beyond that, I don’t trust Facebook to get it right (it’s not entirely their fault and I’ll explain why). Anyway, I am my own privacy. If I don’t want the world to know about it, I don’t say it. Plain and simple. Can’t break that privacy.

Facebook is at the forefront of this space - social networking. If you are leading the pack with no map, it’s easy to get lost. And they have. Mark Zuckerberg posted a blog today about how they always have been, are now, and will continue to be committed to privacy. He did, however, admit to making some mistakes along the way. That’s to be expected. They embrace every new technology and are quick to implement things to make their service better. There will be collateral damage along the way.

One shining example of a mistake was Beacon from a few years ago. It sent data from external websites to Facebook to target ads for people. Things you would do on some websites would appear in your Facebook newsfeed. It wasn’t malicious. It was a failed attempt to customize your experience. Today, Mark Zuckerberg said that Beacon was a mistake.

They have, in the last year to 18 months, given very granular control to individuals over privacy. They have made it easy to see what you are sharing and with whom and have total control over it. It’s different than it used to be and requires some work set it up initially, but once that is complete, it’s simple to continue the process and make minor changes to it. That doesn’t seem to be enough for people, or even for Facebook.

Today, they announced two new officer positions in the company. Chief Privacy Officer, Policy and Chief Privacy Officer, Products. These 2 people (good choices, by the way) will ensure that privacy and the ability to control it is baked into the product and all ensuing new products rather than added later in a way that is counterintuitive.

Facebook, like Twitter and Google, is also working with the Federal Trade Commission. They are working to establish agreements and standardize privacy efforts. This is not lip service from the Facebook team. They believe that if you offer people privacy and the ability to control it, then they will find comfort in the service and share more. It’s also not a bait and switch. People who feel unsafe will share nothing. People who do feel safe will share everything, specifically with who they choose to share it with.

I’ll share everything with everybody. My life is not exciting enough to be worth hiding in the first place.

Here we go! Meet Louie

Adobe killed Flash for mobile devices beginning with the next version. FINALLY!

Search history privacy

It’s social media news and several things happened in social media over the last couple of days.

Facebook hired a PR firm to say nasty privacy shit about a Google and got caught. Everyone is pissed off. Grow up.

You want to make changes to Android all willy nilly? Google says NO!

It is April first and the Internet is abuzz with April Fool’s Day pranks and chatter about the ones to look out for. Some people are using the web to protect and warn others and some see the web as a medium to discuss good ones to subject people to and finally, some use the web to conduct the prank. The most famous prankster on this day is Google. Every year, the web giant promotes a silly product or service as if it is 100% real and without fail, grabs the attention of unwitting participants and the cynics alike.

This year Google showed up with 2 pranks. Both are more clever than we’ve seen in recent years. 

The first prank is as simple as a job posting for an “Autocompleter.” As you type in the search box in Google, a complex algorithm is finding every combination of your letters to narrow the possibility of what you are searching for. Google has now posted a job for a human to do that. This job does not come easy though. One requirement that the applicant must possess is good typing skills - to the tune of being able to type 32,000 words per minute. See:http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/uslocations/mountain-view/autocompleter/index.html for the full job ad.

The bigger one is a new service they claim will be available soon. It is called Google Motion and it is the lovechild of Gmail and a Nintendo Wii. Gmail’s product manager, a paralanguage expert and a movement specialist all tell us how using your computer’s webcam along with pre-defined gestures will allow you to interact with your computer. Giving a hitchhiking like thumb toward your back is the obvious motion for a reply. Check out: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/motion.html to watch the video and sign up.

Just like every other year, the pranks are delivered with the professional design and apparent sincerity of true new service, but somehow, seem just outside the realm of possibility or sensibility. 

Many people on the web have come to look forward to Google’s yearly prank. It is fun to see this brand interact with its users and embrace a day like April Fool’s. Enjoy! Thanks Google!