1. The new ads for Facebook Home are propaganda clips. Transforming vice into virtue, they’re social engineering spectacles that use aesthetic tricks to disguise the profound ethical issues at stake.
    Facebook Home Propaganda Makes Selfishness Contagious | Wired Opinion | Wired.com

    Another good line: “My argument is that some convictions deserve to be innovation proof. “
  2. Social media are an important part of the lives of hundreds of millions of users around the world. If you are one of them, maintaining perspective is important. Do not let narcissists set your standards. You may be lagging far behind in the social media rat race because your NPI (Narcissistic Personality Inventory) score is not high enough. The reason you may not have thousands of followers on Twitter and friends on Facebook is because you are normal. Normalcy is a benchmark any narcissist should aspire to achieve.

    The Internet ‘Narcissism Epidemic’ - Bill Davidow - The Atlantic

    Even if you don’t agree with Davidow, this piece contains a nice round-up of links to research on how social media and internet activity can affect personality and offline perspective.

  3. If you don’t regularly exercise your ability to connect face to face, you’ll eventually find yourself lacking some of the basic biological capacity to do so.

    Your Phone vs. Your Heart - NYTimes.com

    Research soon to be published in Psychological Science suggests that individual actions and habits regarding how we relate to each other and the ways in which we use technology can leave lasting fingerprints on health and empathic skills.

    Looks like it’d be particularly important for children and adult interaction (as the article mentions, instances “like [parents] texting while breast-feeding or otherwise paying more attention to their phone than their child”).

    This important to remember for individuals, broadly. It’s additionally worth consideration for designing for any new technology and communication. 

  4. (via Twitter users forming tribes with own language, tweet analysis shows | News | guardian.co.uk)
Very intriguing way of grouping Twitter users based on word usage. Researchers think new ways of engaging communities can come out of this sort of breakdown. Worth a look at how the groups are split up. Data sheet embedded in article, also available for download.

    (via Twitter users forming tribes with own language, tweet analysis shows | News | guardian.co.uk)

    Very intriguing way of grouping Twitter users based on word usage. Researchers think new ways of engaging communities can come out of this sort of breakdown. Worth a look at how the groups are split up. Data sheet embedded in article, also available for download.

  5. Vinepeek | Watch the world in realtime

    Want to know who is really using Vine, and what for? Here’s your answer.