The Filter Bubble In The [Google]Plex

This week Google announced the ambitious Google+ project, their latest foray into the social web. This provides me with a great opportunity to encourage you to read two very relevant books that will influence how you feel about Google+.

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, And Shapes Our Lives by Steven Levy
Steven Levy is a Senior Writer at Wired Magazine. In The Plex reads like the biography of Google, made possible by the rare access granted to Levy. In the book he reveals with clarity how Google came to be and in turn shows how the company works. He even describes the beginnings of project Emerald Sea, the code name for Google+. Levy also wrote an in-depth overview of the project on the day it launched. 

To further increase your curiousity here is Steven Levy in conversation with Kara Swisher of All Things D discussing the book:

 

The Filter Bubble, What The Internet Is Hiding From You by Eli Pariser
Eli Pariser noticed differences in search results based on an individuals past online history and set out to investigate why this was happening. In the following TED Talk from last February he shares what he discovered, giving you an overview of the book's content: 

 

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Infographic: Facebook Is Winning Silicon Valley's Talent War

Talent-War

It used to be that everyone wanted to work at Google, now everyone wants to work at Facebook.

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Splitscreen: A Love Story - wonderful short film shot entirely on a phone

Shot entirely on the Nokia N8 mobile phone. Winner of the Nokia Shorts competition 2011. Director: James W Griffiths Producer: Kurban Kassam Director of Photography: Christopher Moon Editor: Marianne Kuopanportti Sound Design: Mauricio d'Orey Music composed by: Lennert Busch Get the music on iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/6acl6yp

Splitscreen, by commercial director JW Griffiths, is a wonderful short film shot entirely on the Nokia N8 mobile phone and is the winner of the Nokia Shorts competition 2011. Below is the original pitch video, which is equally wonderful, and a short making-of video of the Paris shoot. 

A video pitch for the Nokia N8 film competition.

This is the making of 'Splitscreen: A Love Story' for Nokia. In it the duo go to Paris to shoot some cool locations on the Nokia N8. They encounter accordion players, dodgy bikes and get up to all kinds of Steadicam adventures. For more info check out: www.vimeo.com/nokia#22515258

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

The Google+ project: A quick look

It's official, Google goes social in their own way. Will this be a true Facebook competitor or yet another network at a time when the web is already socially saturated? It sure looks like Facebook, but emphasizes very different behavior, starting with a more microsocial view of the world and user-friendly privacy settings.

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Kevin Kelly: The Future in 6 Verbs


At the inaugural NExTWORK technology conference Wired co-founder and Senior Maverick Kevin Kelly shared six words to illustrate the major trends he sees in a world speeding towards video, mobile and the cloud: screening, interacting, sharing, flowing, accessing and generating. 

Recommended: Kevin Kelly's What Technology Wants

 

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.