Well, I’m in the group of tech geek Apple fans who can’t wait any longer for iPhone to end its AT&T exclusivity. As soon as the DROID reviews started coming out, I knew I had to have it. Luckily for me, my “new-every-2″ came up the day before the DROID release. That, paired with an online discount of $100 made it a sealed deal.

I was expecting much less than I got. First, advice to other buyers…never go by the in store models when it comes to the over all feel. I don’t know what it is, but the in store models never feel the same as the actual model that you buy. It was the same case with my Alias. When I felt the Alias, it felt flimsy and light. It also seemed like the hinge would snap easily. When I got the actual phone, it felt substantial with a strong hinge. It lasted me two years and still looks brand new. The same exact thing happened when I went in to see the DROID (after I had already clicked “checkout” online). It felt like a Zune, or some other plastic junk. When I received it in the mail, it was much heavier than I thought it would be. It was solid and sturdy. If you want to test a phone before buying…try to find someone who has one.

Yes, as I admitted in the first sentence…I’m am an Apple fan. I have been waiting and waiting for the iPhone to be added to Verizon’s offerings. There are rumors it might happen next year, but I am sick of waiting. I have been holding out for “the” smartphone. Given the reviews, DROID sounded like a solid phone.

As many reviewers said, yes, the camera is junk. But as they also said, it is most likely not the hardware, but the software that is the issue. I have a feeling this will be fixed soon because there are already rumors of a firmware update on the way. Other than that, my only other qualm with the phone is that the camera button is right in the same location where I would normally have my hand when holding a conversation. Every time I call someone, I feel my hand press down on the camera button. Luckily, it’s not a big deal because you have to press and hold the button and it takes a little time for the camera to start.

As far as interface and software goes, the DROID is different then the iPhone, but not in a bad way. It’s just different. I found myself trying gestures that the DROID just doesn’t recognize. It’s going to take a little while to get my iPod Touch motions out of my mind. As far as syncing goes, I have a Mac so the iPhone software syncs nicely with iCal, Mail, iTunes, etc. But I also use Gmail for my personal mail. I also sync my iCal and contacts to my Gmail accounts so making the move to Google Accounts on the DROID was a piece of cake. I can still use all of my Mac software and then have it sync as usual to my Google Accounts. When I go to use my DROID, the syncing with the Google Accounts is automatic and all of my changes are there as well.

The Android Market is nice, but missing a lot of key apps that I have gotten used to on my iPod Touch. Thing is…it’s relatively new. I’m sure everything that is missing will soon be added if Android phones take off as it looks they will.

The keyboard is nice, but not necessary. The on screen keyboard is more than adequate, especially if you’re used to the iPhone/iPod Touch keyboard. One thing that is nice that can’t be found on the iPhone OS is the suggestions as you type. Very convenient. Yes, they try to auto correct or suggest words as a little bubble, but on the Android OS, you get an actual scrolling list just above the keyboard from which you can quickly select words.

What else? The issue of the drag/drop media is not really an issue for me. I am not usually far from various music devices. If I’m not near anything, there are several apps on the Android Market, including Pandora and Slacker Radio. That’s more than enough to keep me satisfied.

Those were the major items that concerned me. If anyone is looking to buy one and has specific questions, feel free to ask. So far, I am more than happy with my purchase. I’d give it a 9/10 with a little room for the OS to grow. I can’t wait for the OS to reach the top of its game.

If you have yet to jump on the Twitter list bandwagon, here’s a few resources that may be of some help:

HOW TO: Use Twitter Lists – Mashable (The Social Media Guide)

There’s A List For That – From the Twitter Blog

10 Twitter Lists You Should Follow – Read Write Web

Listorious – Keeps a directory of public Twitter lists. You can search or browse and find the lists you’d like to follow.

TweetMeme Lists – Finds the lists that are most tweeted about.

Grown Up Digital is a book which details key factors that distinguish the Net Generation from all other generations. Tapscott advertises the book with a great video (seen above) in which he quotes several critics of the Net Generation. The quotes are of course, all negative. Tapscott goes on to say that he completed a $4 million research study focused on the Net Generation, and as far as he can tell, the critics are just making things up. As Tapscott writes in the end of his book, the critics are scared of something which they don’t understand. He later goes on to say that no generation has ever been very trusting or admiring of younger generations by the time are elders. He goes as far as to include evidence of similar feelings from ancient civilizations. I agree, it’s expected. But, as Tapscott says, generations need to look past differences and learn from each other if we are going to move forward.

Grown Up Digital for me, was a very different read than it will be for many of the people I have recommended it to. The best thing about the book for me is that I easily relate to Tapscott’s findings. I am after all, part of the Net Generation (11-30 years old by 2008). Tapscott writes that the most important factors which define the Net Generation are: freedom, customization, scrutiny, integrity, collaboration, entertainment, speed, and innovation. As I read, I couldn’t agree more with what he had found.

The book covers everything from a summary of his findings to how to deal with the Net Generation as an employer, parent, marketer, or teacher. I found it very interesting that he was stressing how much people need to change their interactions with the Net Generation, as well as with future generations. I hadn’t really given it much thought until I read the book, but he’s right.

In the chapter to teachers, he tells them that things drastically need to change. Students are basically over stimulated and have access to nearly any information that they will ever need (within seconds). Teachers need to stop lecturing and need to start helping guide students through the learning process. It reminded me of a quote from Albert Einstein, “Never memorize something that you can look up.” It seems we may have gotten to this stage on a wider scale then he could have ever imagined.

Another section was for employers. This was something I could relate with entirely. Net Geners are fast, innovative, social, and need feedback. I witnessed these factors at work in both internships and in school. At my internship I worked much faster than my employer ever thought possible. I would have weeks worth of work done in a day, or, sometimes even five minutes (if it was a situation where a simple script could be applied). In school or work, I worked best if I got positive, or even negative feedback. I just needed to know which direction I was headed in. Turns out it’s a common trait of my generation. Next, something that is appearing all over the net more and more -- the need to be social. More and more employees want to balance work, family, and fun. We want family time just as much as fun time and work time. We don’t think there should be a set dividing line, and as long as things get done, balance is a good thing. This is most commonly seen with the increase in telecommuting for jobs or in studies where more and more people are found taking social breaks online or to collaborate with other employees. I have experienced this the most while in college. We had a particular class in which we worked in groups on jobs for local clients. We all took turns being project managers and in general things went smoothly. In fact, we worked so well together that we had to tell the professor that he needed to back off a little bit because he was giving us irrelevant orders or getting on us to do something one way, which we had already done more efficiently another way.

I couldn’t really relate with some of the section for parents. The one thing I could relate with is having families become more democratic then they used to be. My sister and I were always told to be “seen, not heard” by our parents, but that was never really an issue as they usually involved us in most of their visits with friends. Tapscott said that the parents of the Net Generation are less likely to allow children certain freedoms because they got in trouble when they were young as a result of too much freedom. This was not the case in my family. We were allowed to go outside, go to the neighbors’ houses, bike ride down the road, etc. I have, however, seen this in other families. My parents were strict where the needed to be, but otherwise, were pretty relaxed. We had video games and used the computer at a pretty young age, but we didn’t get into trouble. We understood boundaries. The thing I cannot at all relate with is moving back home. I can relate to feeling comfortable enough to do so, but I would much rather be self-sufficient.

Another point I related to easily was having a million things going on at once. The TV is usually always on, but I hardly ever watch it. The only time I really interrupt what I’m doing to watch the TV is if I hear an interesting headline on the news or a funny joke. I watch television shows, but on Hulu. Adium (a chat application with my 10 or so different accounts), is always open, I get my Facebook notifications from the menu bar on my Mac, I always have a ToDo list app somewhere, along with 10 different tabs in Firefox, an RSS reader updating and of course, Email. I usually read about 50 articles a day from various blogs, check YouTube or Vimeo videos that I find in articles, share articles on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and Delicious, as well as send personal updates a few times a day. Yet, with all of those interaction, I still get work done quickly and efficiently and I also know when to close it all out and focus solely on the project on hand.

Lastly, I was glad that he included information here and there about the benefits of video games. Yes, some people have an addiction, just as they can be addicted to the internet (or anything else for that matter), but in moderation, playing video games can be very beneficial. As Tapscott cited, there have been numerous studies which found that people who play video games develop a certain portion of their brain that otherwise wouldn’t get developed. Hand-eye coordination improves, but so does the ability to keep visually aware of multiple objects at once. Massive multiplayer online games can also help people develop management skills if they work with other players in teams.

There are upsides and downsides to all of the technology that my generation has grown up with. It seems to me that there are so many ways things can improve by using the technology which we all have access to nowadays. We can all learn from each other and network for a common goal easier than ever before in the history of the world. We can meet people of different races, religions, and age groups with the click of a mouse and a few entries a keyboard. All generations have much to learn from those that come before and after them. I hope everyone reads Grown Up Digital because it explains a lot and should help close a lot of gaps in all different situations: work, school, family-life, reaching out to a crowd, etc. Go grab a copy!

The professional network asked 2,500 hiring managers whether they
search Facebook or other social networks to discover information about
prospective employees. An astonishing, but not unexpected, 38-percent
of respondents said yes. In comparison, only 22% of hiring managers
acknowledged searching social networks in 2008.

He later cites another survey done in 2006 where 77% of job recruiters had used search engines to do background checks on candidates.

I’m always so surprised when I see Facebook friends post pictures of themselves wasted at some party or complaining on and on about work when I know their employers are just as experienced in social networking as they are. I’ve stressed that they should be aware of the backlash their posts could have, but they say, “Oh, they’ll never see it.” Or even better, “They don’t care.” I don’t bother going into it, but inside I’m screaming, but what about that boss 5 years down the road? What you post on the internet is there…forever. Even when you delete things they are often archived or cached. The last boss I had openly said that he’d checked out all of the job candidates on Facebook before he hired me.

If you’ve never given thought to how your online identity can affect you or your think anyone warning you is feeding you bull, do yourself a favor and check out Casting a Digital Shadow; Your Reputation Precedes You or do a simple search for similar articles.

Here are a few that stood out for me:

• Ask a Basterd: Am I a Jerk if I Dump Our Sucky Rock Band Bassist? (Funny)
• Meet Online Friends in the Real World (Sad)
• If You Can’t Buy It Online, Feel Free to BitTorrent (Surprising it’s promoted)
• Balance Your Media Diet (Pictured below – Scary…mine’s usually combining multiple “food” groups at once)
• Ask a Basterd: Can I Post My Wife’s Butt on Twitter Without Asking? (What?!)
• There’s No Such Thing as Too Many Friends (Hmm)
• Ditch the Headset (Funny)
• Don’t Work All the Time – You’ll Live to Regret It (Sad, but true)
• Holsters: A Style Guide (Wow)

Breakdown: 9hrs total daily intake (1.0 gaming, 1.25 social networking, .75 microblogging, 2.5 news [1.0 aggregations/blogs, 1.5 traditional], 2.5 entertainment [1 podcasts, 1 online video, 1 dvr/tv])

A Few Statistics For You To Consider

• There are more than 200 million active users, with 100 million of them logging on at least once a day. More than 66% of Facebook users are outside of college and the fastest growing demographic of users is those 35 years old and older.
• The average user has at least 120 friends. (This is especially useful when you consider the term, ‘viral marketing’. When a person becomes a fan, everyone of his/her friends sees that they are a fan. Each “John Doe became a fan of Suchandsuch” has a link, “Click to become a fan.”)
• More than 1 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, videos, etc.) are shared each week.
• Facebook is currently translated into over 50 languages with 40 more in development.
• Every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications.
• More than 10,000 websites have implemented Facebook Connect sites since its general availability in December 2008.
• More than 30 million active users currently access Facebook through their mobile devices.
• There are more than 150 mobile operators in 50 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook mobile products.
• Internet users do not need a Facebook account to see Facebook Fan Pages.

(Stats from public Facebook Factsheet.)

What Can You Post? How Customizable is it?

Facebook Pages are almost entirely customizable. The only parts that you cannot change are items that you wouldn’t want to change because users are very used to seeing the standard elements (profile photos, “the wall”, different boxes, etc.). At the start you have the standard tabs: Wall, Info, Photos, Discussions. You also have Reviews and Events. Of all of the tabs and boxes, the only ones that must remain are Wall (where interactions take place) and Info (website, hours, phone, etc.). You can add as many as you’d like and customize anything as you’d like. For example, on my Facebook Fan Page I have the Wall, Info, Extended Info (services, payments, etc.), Photos, Hello! (welcome page) and Boxes (with blog info, Zazzle store, etc.).

More and more applications are being built that can simply be added to pages. For example, do you sell your crafts through Etsy? You can display items from your store right through an Etsy app. Do you sell shirts, mugs, or bumper stickers on Zazzle? Display them with the Merch Store app. Want to accept donations right on your Facebook Page? There are apps for that as well.

There are also apps (Extended Info and FBML) that allow users to insert HTML, Markdown, or Textile code to included photos, galleries, Flash, videos, etc.

Administrators and users (if allowed) can easily post photos, videos, and comments. Administrators can also send updates which go out to all of their fans.

Have an event coming up? A sale or customer appreciation barbeque? Simply create an Event with time, place, photos, description and allow users to RSVP right through Facebook. Users can also ask questions on the Event page and comment with suggestions. Any users that are sent the Event will receive a reminder of the Event several days before it happens and will continue to see it until the day of the Event.

Several Ways To Get The Word Out

• After June 28, 2009 small businesses will also be allowed to get a vanity URL. For those that don’t know what this is, it’s a custom link to their page, for example facebook.com/companyname.
• Don’t like the facebook.com in there? Make a subdomain with your own hosting and send people that way. List it on your business cards, newsletters, or newspaper advertisements. For example, I use facebookpage.mepriestley.com for my Facebook Fan Page.
• When you publish your FB Page you have the option to “Suggest to Friends.” They will automatically get a link to become a fan. Once they become a fan, all their friends will see that they are fans. If you have a group of people that are friends (say classmates of Oxbow Highschool) will see your company in their sidebar and it will say “5 of your friends became fans of YourCompany. Become a Fan.”
• Use other social media or internet means. Link your FB Page to your Twitter account. What about your LinkedIn account? No idea what I’m talking about? You could also send out an email newsletter and include the link.
• Finally, Facebook gives you the option to “Promote Your Page with an Ad.” This works much like Google Adwords. Facebook ads are Pay-Per-Click. For each click you get, you pay a small fee.

Finally – Why not? It’s free! Another good point that I’ve read in the articles below is that, your competitors are joining. Whether you like it or not, there are companies that are joining and users are listening and interacting with them. Where are you?

Not convinced yet? Just do a few searches for Facebook on Google, or turn on the news to see what an impact it is having. Here’s a few articles for you to consider if you are so inclined:
1. Is a Facebook Page a Complete Social Media Strategy? by Adam Ostrow – Mashable
2. HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook by Dan Schawbel – Mashable
3. 5 Tips for Optimizing Your Brand’s Facebook Presence by Steve Coulson – Mashable
4. Is Social Media Making Corporate Website Irrelevant? by Adam Ostrow – Mashable
5. Facebook Profiles Will Appear in Google Results Next Month by Pete Cashmore – Mashable
6. What Are the Top Performing Brands on Facebook? by Adam Ostrow – Mashable
7. How Charities Are #FindingTheGood With Facebook Pages by Alison Driscoll – Mashable

(Why are all my links from Mashable? It’s the “Social Media Guide.”)

Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody, speaks on TED about changing media. I’ve posted his talk above: How cellphones, Twitter, Facebook can change history.

The talk itself is very interesting. I was a little surprised at how much time was spent on how media affected a few isolated events. The talk repeated the same message that I’ve been reading in articles all over the internet lately. That’s the idea that media has gone from a one-to-one relationship to a one-to-many and finally to the many-to-many relationship that we have today. At one time people could talk to one another. Then TV networks, radio show hosts, or columnists could reach out and deliver a message to a broader audience. Today millions of people can literally communicate with millions of other people with all sorts of different messages. Not only can a person talk to a person, but an organized (or unorganized) group can interact with another group thousands of miles away if they’d like to. Shirky states that we have had the “largest increase in expressive capability in human history.”

Shirky mostly touched on Twitter and a tiny bit on text messaging. I didn’t actually catch any mention of Facebook. I think it’s just assumed that it’s included as one of the biggest networks that people can communicate through. I thought one specific quote was especially interesting.

These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring. It isn’t when the shiny new tools show up that their uses start permeating society, it’s when everybody is able to take them for granted.

It seems that this is entirely the case. Most people are still acting like Facebook is a brand new network, when really it’s been around since the beginning months of 2004. It just seems new and exciting because everyone and his brother is now a member. Or Twitter. Twitter is already three years old. It wasn’t until the end of 2008 or early 2009 that Twitter really started being dropped in conversations. In either case, both networks are now mentioned daily, if not hourly on news stations and throughout personal conversations.

As Shirky says,

The question we all face now is how can we make best use of this media even though it means changing the way we’ve always done it?

As I had touched on in a previous post, Social Media -- Where Is It Headed?, more and more people feel the literal need to get involved. This of course leads to what Shirky touched upon -- more and more of the “producers” of content are amateurs. Every second, people are connecting to new networks and adding content to those to which they already belong. Are we going to hit a breaking point? How are we supposed to filter this media, or are we?