Selfie Video

Skype has a new app that lets you take a short movie and send it to anyone in your address book. Think of it as a video instant message. LINK

Facebook Messenger

Now that Facebook has decided to separate the messenger service from Facebook it might be time to look at whether you want to use it. It only works for Facebook friends, so you still need another messenger service for non Facebook friends.

The new Messenger allows you to message ONLY your Facebook friends using a Wi-Fi connection or your data plan. It lets you include stickers in your messages and new messages will pop up on your screen while you are using other apps. The app lets you send picture and video messages like other mobile messaging services. Like Skype, now you can call your Facebook friends all over the world for free using your Wi-Fi connection. Of course Skype does not limit calls to only Facebook friends. Seems silly to add another messenger service that can only access some of your contacts. Caveat Emptor and absolutely do read the terms of service.

What's in a Name

Microsoft’s search engine, Bing was named “Kumo,” during development, but Microsoft went with Bing after focus groups said it reminded them of “the moment of discovery.”

Yelp  - The “yel” in “Yelp” comes from “yellow,” and the “p” comes from “pages.” The business listings and ratings site is like an Internet version of the Yellow Pages.

Twitter - It is a microblogging site and users’ posts cannot exceed 140 characters. Those short messages reminded company founders of birds chirping or twittering. Individual posts are known as tweets and the logo is a bird.

Wikipedia - “Wiki” is Hawaiian for “quick,” and “pedia” comes from “encyclopedia.” It is a quick encyclopedia added to and edited by almost anyone.

The Onion - It began as a college newspaper, and founders Tim Keck and Chris Johnson had so little money they ate onion sandwiches. While planning the paper, Keck’s uncle saw them eating onion sandwiches and reportedly said, “You should call the newspaper The Onion.”

Skype - The video phone via Internet service got its name from a shortening of the phrase “sky peer-to-peer,” as users connect person-to-person via the cloud (Internet).

Etsy - Rob Kalin, founder of the marketplace where users buy and sell vintage and handmade goods, wanted a nonsense word, but as he was watching an Italian film, he noticed characters often said “etsi”, which means “oh, yes.”


Pinterest - The name is a combination of “pin” and “interest,” which reflects how the site functions. It is a social network where users share pictures of things they find interesting by “pinning” them on their pin board.

An Internet Minute

You probably have heard the expression, 'A New York Minute' meaning fast. Here is an 'Internet Minute'. Forgive me because this is a bit long, but thought it might be interesting to show what happens on the internet, every minute of every day. You may not understand all of the terms, but a look at the numbers shows an astounding amount of activity every minute.

According to Shanghai Web Designers, on average, this is what transpires every sixty seconds on the Web.

- Search engine Google answers more that 694,445 queries
- 6,600+ pictures are uploaded to Flickr
- 600 videos, equal to 25 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube
- 695,000 status updates, 79,364 wall posts and 510,040 comments are published on Facebook
- 70 new domains are registered (web sites)
- More than 168 million emails are sent
- 320 new accounts and 98,000 tweets are generated on Twitter
- Thirteen thousand  iPhone applications are downloaded
- 20,000 new posts are published on Tumblr
- FireFox web browser is downloaded more than 1,700 times
- 100 accounts are created on LinkedIn
- 40 new questions are asked on YahooAnswers.com
- 100+ questions are asked on Answers.com
- 1 new article is published on Associated Content
- 1 new definition is added on UrbanDictionary.com
- 1,200+ new ads are created on Craigslist
- 370,000+ minutes of voice calls done by Skype (phone alternative) users

Yep, all this activity every minute of every day and some of the content is actually useful and interesting. Now, aren't you glad you only have to deal with my Friday Thoughts summary from all that activity.

Skype TV Telephone

Many of you have heard of Skype, the free phone calling service, but did you know Skype free calling is now available on your TV. Of course you have to hook up a camera and microphone to call from the comfort of your couch. It only works on Samsung and Panasonic for now, but LG has announced plans to have it within months and I am sure more will follow by the end of this year. 
Sounds like fun, use Skype for a free family conference call and it will seem like you are all in one room, with pictures right on your TV, while you are talking. I can see this becoming a holiday and birthday favorite.

Someone Special

If you have someone in your life who is special, and you don't have Skype -  sit back, relax, and listen to this music from John Denver and Placido Domingo.