As the picture suggests, the first partner onboard is LinkedIn, but I expect other social nets to take notice. Despite [...]]]> Microsoft has just launched a new feature to Office 2010 called Outlook Social Connector. Whenever someone sends an email to your Outlook, that person’s social networking profile will be displayed along with their message:

As the picture suggests, the first partner onboard is LinkedIn, but I expect other social nets to take notice. Despite its shortcomings, Outlook is still the 800-lb gorilla in the world of client email. Of course, this is a frontal assault on Xobni, which functions as a plug-in to, er, Outlook, and ‘ports in your friends’ social graph whenever they send you an email. Interesting that Microsoft chose to roll its own here, rather than simply acquire Xobni outright.

Think we’ll see Facebook soon? With Microsoft’s 1.6% stake in the social networking giant, I’d count on it.

via Microsoft Outlook to Connect LinkedIn to Your Inbox.

Web companies fall prey to these dirty tricks of link placement far too often. The examples cited by Loveday in this piece are representative of the kind of bait-and-switch link placement one continues to find across the web.

The Dark Side Of Usability: When Business Goals & User Goals Collide.

Hey, newspapers– want to know how to increase user engagement and regain some of the considerable mojo you’ve lost over the past four years? Present your content in ways that new digital citizens want to consume it. Check out what NPR is up to:

National Public Radio is already a leader in podcasting. But [...]]]>

Hey, newspapers– want to know how to increase user engagement and regain some of the considerable mojo you’ve lost over the past four years? Present your content in ways that new digital citizens want to consume it. Check out what NPR is up to:

National Public Radio is already a leader in podcasting. But a free NPR News iPhone app, approved late today and launching tonight, opens up a new dimension for the network and its member stations with live and on-demand mobile streaming. It’s also the first app to make reading the news and listening to it equally important, providing full-text coverage along with audio. In addition to NPR’s own programs and those it distributes, the app includes direct access to local shows from more than 600 member stations live and on demand.

NPR recognized the potential in podcasting early on, and its programs remain among the most highly-downloaded on iTunes. Hopefully, its latest foray into the digital downloading space will catch the attention of the ailing newspaper industry and inspire some new creativity.

via NPR Mobile Strategy Mixes Text With Live And On-Demand Audio | paidContent .

MySpace rolled out MySpace Lite a few months ago, considered by many to make MySpace a lot more like Facebook, right [...]]]> Facebook is beta testing a faster, leaner version of the site called Facebook Lite. The idea is to minimize the amount of clutter and interactive widgets in order to improve page load times.

MySpace rolled out MySpace Lite a few months ago, considered by many to make MySpace a lot more like Facebook, right down to the navy blue color scheme:

What does it mean now that Facebook is at the same crossroads? It means that the balance between simplicity and content is still being waged across social networking. For all the simplicity of, say, a Twitter, users want the functionality of interactive content– whether it’s seeing the results of their friends’ latest online quiz results or simply to throw sheep at each other. The danger, of course, is in not turning into Yahoo, a site considered by many to suffer from excess clutter.

By offering a streamlined version, Facebook implicitly acknowledges significant differences among its users and– wisely –is providing them with the flexibility to choose the experience they want.

Facebook Begins Testing Facebook Lite, A Faster Simpler Version Of The Service .