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Use an Alias, Leave Better Comments [STUDY]


Commenters who use pseudonyms tend to offer better comments, a study Disqus suggests.

The study, drawn from commenting platform Disqus’s 60 million-plus user base and nearly half a billion comments, finds that pseudonymous users — that is, those who use an alias on Disqus rather than identify themselves via Facebook, or log in anonymously — tend to leave both a greater quantity and quality of comments.

Quality was determined by the frequency with which comments were liked, flagged, marked as spam, deleted and responded to.

On average, commenters using an alias contributed 4.7 times more often than commenters identified by Facebook, and 6.5 times more often than anonymous commenters.

Pseudonymous comments also tend to elicit positive reactions (61%) — i.e. likes and/or responses — compared to Facebook-identified users (51%). Not surprisingly, anonymous commenters tend to be the worst. Of the comments analyzed in the study, only 34% were deemed “positive,” while 55% were deemed neutral and another 11% marked negative.

It’s necessary to approach the findings with some reservations, however. Some of Disqus’s data is presented in a way to promote its own system over Facebook’s third-party commenting plugin, which has quickly gained traction among some 400,000 third-party publishers to date. At the end of its infographic on the study, for instance, Disqus points out that pseudonymous commenters account for 61% of all comments, without noting the percentage of such commenters versus those using their (presumably true) Facebook identities.

That said, there’s plenty of evidence to support Disqus’s findings — Reddit’s and Gawker‘s comments sections being prime examples.

[via Fred Wilson's blog, A VC.]

More About: commenting, disqus, Facebook, identity, Media

For more Media coverage:


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/12/pseudonym-commenters-leave-better-comments/?ut...

Several HIGHLY unrelated things.

1. I watched “Intervention” on Monday and it was the usual. “My name is Brooke / Steve / Vanessa and I am addicted to meth / Oxy / huffing Febreze / whatever.” Followed by footage of their crappy life on drugs. The super-bummed-out family tells how he / she was a precious little angel as a child. One of them inevitably says, “Always smiling, always happy.” The drug enthusiast who is the focus of this particular episode makes a comment about how they don’t know how they’re going to go on like this, and if they’re on an opiate they doze off while they say it. Cut to commercial. It’s the same every time. But something stood out for me on this week. The chick was addicted to black tar heroin and had been for five years, since she was sixteen. I was impressed with her. She was practically an advertisement for the stuff. She looked great (aside from the slurring of the words and the small weird bumps on parts of her arms from injecting in one place too much) and her description of how heroin feels, mmmm, it sounds delicious. Something about warm honey flowing through your veins – I wanted to whip out anything that could be construed as a tourniquet right then. (Relax, I am not going to start dancing with Mr. Brownstone. Everyone stay calm.) But that’s not the thing that stood out. At one point, they talked about how she’s homeless and sleeping on the street with her boyfriend, and then they showed her wearing a white shirt. A white shirt that is white. Following that they showed her shooting up in the white shirt, which remains white. I wear predominantly black because of a variety of reasons, but one of the main ones is that I find it damn near impossible to not stain my clothes with soy sauce or any other food I might place in my mouth. It will, guaranteed, end up on my boobal area. So I am to understand that a homeless heroin addict who is making pinholes in herself that then cause her blood to leak out is more capable of keeping her clothes clean than me? Because that’s what I’m taking away from this. And gosh darn it, if that don’t make you feel bad about yourself, I don’t know what will.

2. Eels! Specifically moray eels. They give me the heebie-jeebies because their mouths extend too far back, or maybe their eyes are too far forward and close to their nose, one of the two. I was watching a special on them recently and thought they had reached maximum creepitude but I was incorrect. Scientists were wondering how the moray eel pulled its food into its mouth and throat, and through careful scientific study it was discovered that the eels have a second set of jaws that pop out, grab the food and drag it inside which, I don’t know about you, is one of the most horrifying things I have ever heard. Want to see some video of it? Think carefully before you answer that.

Guhhhhhhhhh.

3. In honor of ten years of dating, I forced Cricket to express his love for me through a sparkly object I can wear on my hand. I love this ring. It’s big, it’s old, the stone is an antique cut, it’s platinum, and it’s got rubies (my birthstone) all around the edge set in gold. The first few weeks I had it I couldn’t stop looking at it, so my co-workers nicknamed me Gollum. And when we moved to our new offices this last week, A small Gollum figurine managed to make its way onto my desk. I took a picture of my ring with Gollum holding it. It just seemed right.

from design-newyork.com http://design-newyork.com/blog/2012/01/11/several-highly-unrelated-things/

Google Fires Back at Twitter: You Took Yourself Out of Search


The war of words between Google and Twitter escalated Wednesday, as Google responded to Twitter’s accusation that plans to further integrate Google+ into its regular search results is “bad for people.”

“We are a bit surprised by Twitter’s comments, because they chose not to renew their agreement with us last summer,” read a post on Google’s Google+ page on Wednesday, which Google confirmed to Mashable was its official statement on the matter. “Since then we have observed their rel=nofollow instructions.”

Rel=nofollow is code that prevents search engines from following links.

Google’s agreement with Twitter gave the search engine access to public tweets. The agreement expired in July and was not renewed. Now Google is implying it was Twitter that chose not to renew the deal.

Twitter had criticized Google’s new social search feature, which it calls Search plus Your World, on Tuesday. “As we’ve seen time and time again, news breaks first on Twitter,” its statement said. “We’re concerned that as a result of Google’s changes, finding this information will be much harder for everyone.”

But if Twitter had made it difficult for Google to include Tweets in its results, which is what Google seems to be implying, it would be just as much to blame as the search engine for making its breaking news hard to find.

Reporter Danny Sullivan cornered Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt at CES on Wednesday and asked him about Google’s relationship with Twitter.

Sullivan told Schmidt he thought one feature of Search plus Your World, which recommends relevant people to follow on Google+ but not other networks, is “the equivalent of saying ‘hey, you can only find information about finance on Google finance. You cannot find information about finance anywhere else.’”

“Let me remind you that to do the ‘everywhere else’ with Google finance — we had permission,” responded Schmidt.

When Sullivan said he thought Google had enough permission to include links from networks like Twitter in its search results, Schmidt said: “That’s your opinion. If you could arrange a letter from Facebook and Twitter to us, that would be helpful.”

Highlights from the Marketing Land interview are posted in the YouTube video below. We’ve reached out to Twitter spokespeople for comment and will update this article when we hear from them.

Do you think that Twitter was right to complain when Google integrated Google+ more closely with its search engine? Does it matter whether they refused Google access to public tweets in the first place? Let us know in the comments.


More About: eric schmidt, Google, google search, Top Stories, trending, Twitter


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/11/google-twitter-search-3/?utm_source=feedburner...

Tim Tebow Pass Lands in Twitter’s Record Book

Tebowing


Twitter reaction to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s 80-yard overtime touchdown pass Sunday night reached 9,420 tweets per second, placing the event in the number two spot on Twitter’s most-tweets-per-second list.

The game-winning moment surpassed onstage confirmation of Beyonce’s pregnancy during MTV’s Video Music Awards in August (8,868 TPS) but fell well short of besting the online buzz sparked by Japanese anime movie Castle in the Sky in December (25,088 TPS).

Twitter announced the new sports record Monday with this tweet:

Last night @TimTebow lead the @Denver_Broncos to an overtime playoff win and a new sports Tweets per second record: 9420

— Twitter (@twitter) January 9, 2012

During Sunday’s AFC wild-card playoff game, Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in overtime to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23. The social web immediately reacted — and still is — as six Broncos-related topics are currently trending on Google. The top topic: Bible verse “John 3:16,” which Tebow emblazoned on black eye paint during the 2009 BCS Championship game. On Sunday, Tebow broke the yards-per-completion record with 31.6 and threw for 316 passing yards. The number comparisons lit up Twitter as did congratulatory tweets, dismay from Steelers fans and commentary about the NFL’s new overtime playoff rules.

SEE ALSO: Now Recognized as a Word, ‘Tebowing’ Meme Spreads Worldwide

The sports moment that previously held the highest spot (now ranked fifth) on the list was the end of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final match between the U.S. and Japan in July.


Top 15 Tweets-Per-Second Moments


  • 1) Castle in the Sky airs (25,088 tweets per second on Dec. 9, 2011): Anime movie Castle in the Sky was televised in Japan.
  • 2) Tim Tebow’s overtime touchdown pass (9,420 tweets per second on Jan. 8, 2012): See above.
  • 3) MTV Video Music Awards (8,868 tweets per second on Aug. 28, 2011): “I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside me,” Beyonce said during her performance, confirming she and husband, Jay-Z, will have a baby. At the end of the song, she dropped her mic, unbuttoned her top and rubbed her baby bump.
  • 4) Troy Davis executed (7,671 TPS on Sept. 20, 2011): Twitter caught fire in a last-minute effort to save convicted murderer Troy Davis from execution. Davis, who was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of an off-duty police officer in Georgia, was put to death the next day.
  • 5 and 6) FIFA Women’s World Cup (7,196 and 7,166 TPS on July 17, 2011): On this day, the World Cup set two new records for number of tweets sent per second: the end of the final match between the U.S. and Japan as well as the Paraguay vs. Brazil game. The records were later broken by the events listed above.
  • 7) Steve Jobs resigns (7,064 TPS on Aug. 25, 2011): “I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come,” Steve Jobs wrote in a resignation letter. Apple tapped Tim Cook as the new CEO the same day.
  • 8) New Year’s Day in Japan (6,939 TPS on Jan. 1, 2011): As the clock passed midnight on the first day of 2011, Twitter users in Japan turned to Twitter to wish the world a Happy New Year. Twitter use increased immensely across the globe as each time zone entered 2011. This map visualization that shows activity.
  • 9) BET Awards (6,436 TPS on June 27, 2011): This year’s BET Awards featured heavy social media integration before and during the broadcast. But what set viewers off was the awkward series of events surrounding the Viewer’s Choice Award reveal. Because of technical difficulties, contest winner Tiffany Greene declared Chris Brown the winner but then said the award actually belonged to Rihanna.
  • 10) UEFA Champions League (6,303 TPS on May 28, 2011): Barcelona defeated Manchester United, 3-1, in the final match.
  • 11) Steve Jobs passes away (6,049 TPS on Oct. 6, 2011): Steve Jobs died Oct. 5 and many fans discussed his passing through tweets. The hashtag #RIPSteveJobs immediately became a trending topic. Since his passing, the world — including U.S. President Barack Obama, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg — has mourned his death and celebrated his achievements.
  • 12) NBA Finals (5,531 TPS on June 13, 2011): Press conference comments along with a tweet from LeBron James after his team lost in the NBA Finals sparked a firestorm of responses via Twitter. His tweet said, “The Greater Man upstairs know when it’s my time. Right now isn’t the time.” Most replies were negative.
  • 13) Japanese earthquake and tsunami (5,530 TPS on March 11, 2011): Twitter turned into an emergency go-to service for many following an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on Japan’s coast. Tweet-o-Meter reported that 1,200 per minute were coming from Tokyo when the phone system’s went down.
  • 14) East Coast earthquake (5,449 TPS on Aug. 23, 2011): More than 40,000 earthquake-related tweets were sent minutes after it struck, hitting a rate of about 5,500 tweets per second.
  • 15) Raid on Osama bin Laden (5,106 TPS on May 2, 2011): Before Obama’s press conference about Osama bin Laden’s death, Twitter was very active with speculation and subsequent confirmation from officials and news outlets (see gallery below).

  • White House


    The White House tweeted this at 11:35 p.m. ET. shortly after President Barack Obama spoke the words during a live statement.

    Click here to view this gallery.

    More About: nfl, Social Media, sports, trending, tweets per second, Twitter

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from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/09/tim-tebow-twitter-record/?utm_source=feedburne...

Spike Takes a Stab at CES With ‘All Access Live’

ces image


The Consumer Electronics Show, can be a bit of a mess with all the major announcements, celebrities and new gadgets hitting the show floor. But Spike TV aims to cut through the clutter with “CES All Access Live,” a multi-platform coverage experience airing Jan. 10 at 1 p.m. ET.

All Access Live is already jam-packed with celebrity interviews and major product announcements. The show will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, Eliza Dushku and iJustine. It will feature interviews with 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Felicia Day and executives from Yahoo!, Nintendo, Google TV, Hulu, Spotify, Microsoft and Sony.

SEE ALSO: Mashable‘s Complete Coverage of CES 2012

Spike is saving all the big product news for the show, but has promised major announcements from Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Polaroid, and ThinkGeek. Big announcements are pretty common at CES, but Spike has organized a ton of exclusives, making the All Access Live show an important stop for any techophile’s CES plans.

If you can’t wait until Jan. 10 to get your news, the website has a steady stream of news, videos and social buzz to keep you in the loop.


CES 2012: Mashable’s Photo Coverage From the Ground


Check out more gadgets, booths and appearances from our team on the ground at CES 2012.


Thermador Cooktop


The Freedom Induction Cooktop by Thermador allows the user to place pots anywhere on it's surface for cooking.

Click here to view this gallery.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, PrimeImageMedia.com

More About: CES, CES 2012, Gadgets, Tech


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/09/spike-ces-all-access-live/?utm_source=feedburn...

Neko.io Is a Secret Social Network on Top of Your Existing Social Networks [Social Networking]

Neko.io is a strange social network, in that it's a social network that relies on other social networks to work. It's the digital equivalent of having a secret language or encryption system only your friends know, letting you communicate in plain sight of everyone, but only having certain people understand it. Let me explain. More »


from Lifehacker http://lifehacker.com/5874430/nekoio-is-a-secret-social-network-on-top-of-you...

Vizio to Roll Out Full Line of PCs at CES 2012 [PICS]


Vizio, known for its low-cost but good-quality HDTVs, will introduce five new desktop PCs and laptops at CES 2012.

Although the official announcement hasn’t been made yet, we obtained pictures of some of the surprisingly complete group of products Vizio will introduce, starting with a 27″ all-in-one PC and ranging down to a 14″ thin-and-light notebook. In between will be a 24″ all-in-one PC, a 15.6″ notebook and a 15.6 ” thin-and-light notebook

According to Bloomberg, Vizio’s Chief Technology Officer Matt McRae said the new line of Vizio PCs will be available in June, and all will have the new Intel Ivy Bridge processors on board. He wouldn’t share any other specifics about the products, but mentioned that prices will be “substantially less” than similar hardware from Apple.

It looks to us like Visio is aiming straight for the heart of Apple’s iMac and MacBook business, undercutting it with lower prices and taking advantage of the “Apple tax” that many think makes people pay extra for that Apple logo.

Take a look at the gallery of teaser pics below, and let us know what you think of Vizio’s new line of PCs. We’ll have more details as Vizio announces the products on Monday.


Vizio AIO Back


Click here to view this gallery.

More About: CES, CES 2012, vizio

For more Dev & Design coverage:


from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/07/vizio-pc-ces-2012/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_m...

Always Innovating HDMI dongle brings Android to your 'dumb TV' (video)

Google TV's looking for a second wind here at CES, but for those of you uninterested in buying a new TV (or a new set-top box, for that matter), here's a little diddy that just might tickle your fancy. Always Innovating is making a triumphant return to Las Vegas with what might be the raddest little gizmo of the show. The simply-titled HDMI Dongle is effectively an entire system on a chip dongle (and yeah, it looks a lot like Roku's Streaming Stick), boasting a Cortex-A9, between 256MB and 1GB of RAM, inbuilt WiFi / Bluetooth, an NFC module and even an accelerometer. The goal here is to convert your completely vanilla HDTV into an internet-connected device; just plug it into your HDMI port, grab the bundled RF remote and start enjoying Android on the big screen. It's capable of streaming content at 1080p, and accessing Hulu, Netflix or Amazon's video store shouldn't cause a fuss. We're told it'll start at $79, but an actual release date seems to be eluding us. Head on past the break for a couple of in-action videos.

Continue reading Always Innovating HDMI dongle brings Android to your 'dumb TV' (video)

Always Innovating HDMI dongle brings Android to your 'dumb TV' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/07/always-innovating-hdmi-dongle-android-tv-v...

Is This the Ultimate Trench Coat for Gadget Lovers?


As we get closer to CES 2012, I’ve struggled with how to pack all of the requisite gadgets and electronics I’ll need on my trip without breaking the carry-on restrictions that the airlines insist I follow. This year, I’ve found my solution: A trench coat with a secret identity.

Late last year I stumbled upon a SCOTTEVEST women’s trench that looked enticing — and almost too good to be true. As with other SCOTTEVEST products, the idea is to hide as many devices as possible, its pockets designed to accommodate electronics and gadgets with aplomb.

SCOTTEVEST promises that a normal looking women’s trench coat can store an iPad, two smartphones, camera, glasses, keys, travel documents, change and lipstick. The map indicates you can store a good sized water bottle inside the jacket.

I was skeptical, but too intrigued not to order the coat. The results? Check it out for yourself.


ScottEVest Women's Trench


This trench coat looks normal from the outside, but on the inside I'm carrying an iPad, two phones and a bottle of soda.

Click here to view this gallery.

I was able to comfortably store the following in the coat:

  • iPad 2
  • iPhone 4S
  • Galaxy S II Skyrocket
  • 20oz bottle of soda
  • keys
  • ID card
  • lipstick
  • Klipsch X10i headphones

I also had plenty of room for a small camera, complete with separate MicroSD pocket.

So will this serve as my purse at CES 2012? I think so. Shockingly, the coat wasn’t very heavy, even with the iPad, phones, camera and other gadgets. This will allow me to keep my laptop bag lighter on the days I need to carry it on the show floor.

The coat doesn’t look bulky from the outside either, though I’d certainly be careful stowing it with the gadgets still inside. It’s lightweight and definitely not warm enough for New York City in January — but it should be just fine for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Do you have any packing tips for stowing your gadgets at conventions or any other place where bags are cumbersome? Let us know in the comments.

More About: CES, CES 2012, fashion, features, Scottevest

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/06/ces-trench-coat-geek-chic/?utm_source=feedburn...

Dijit launches remote control app for iPad, gives you something to do during all that boring TV watching

If all those TV shows haven't completely eroded your short term memory, you may recall the time we spent with Dijit's remote control app, way back in early December. The company tells us that it's finally ready for prime time, taking advantage of the extra screen real estate the Apple tablet has to offer. The app lets you use the iPad to control your Roku and Griffin Beacon. It also features a TV guide, where you can search by genre, category, keyword or check out what your friends are watching -- and if you hate watching alone, you can always use it to send your viewing habits to Twitter or Facebook. And for the easily distracted, the app also offers up "complimentary content" for your shows via Wikipedia and YouTube.

Dijit launches remote control app for iPad, gives you something to do during all that boring TV watching originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/06/dijit-launches-remote-control-app-for-ipad...