Daily Bits

This Is How Commercials Should Be Like

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TV commercials are a pound a penny, but every now and then, you will find a rare gem. That’s exactly the case with this Batelco commercial, which will not fail to capture your attention for its entirety.

This commercial was created by Spy Films directors Alex & Steffen for Batelco (Bahrain Telecommunications Company), and while it may not place the focus on the telecommunications industry, the imagery is definitely bada**. Watch this video for yourself, and do look out for the awesome dragon (which, in my opinion, should have been shown for a tad longer).

Now tell me, what are you thinking? They couldn’t have ended that in a better way, could they?

Friendster to Make a Comeback?

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Friend what? For sure, a considerable number of people still remember the “good old days” when Friendster was THE social network to be part of. However, actually admitting to being active on Friendster these days is something that I will not expect of a lot of people. For one reason or another, the popularity of this social network just spiraled downward – a fate that is not altogether alien to social networks.

I did read on the BBC today, however, that the people at Friendster are not giving up. The fact is that, while Facebook is the undoubted leader in the scene, Friendster is still alive. In Asia, especially, this platform is doing quite well. Friendster users in countries such as the Philippines and Malaysia are actually as many as Facebook users, believe it or not.

Having said that, experts believe that Friendster can get back on its feet. Last year, in December, MOL Global bought Friendster. MOL Global is known in Asia as the number one online payment solutions provider. With that kind of entity backing Friendster up, the site has actually grown in some ways.

Its interface has been changed to suit the times. Applications have been added, and games have been integrated. These changes could very well be what Friendster needs to draw the attention of users once again.

Today is the first time that I logged in to my Friendster account for a year or so, and lo and behold, my account is still alive! Even more surprising, my friends seem to be quite active. If their behavior is any indication, then perhaps Friendster will indeed make a comeback. Then again, if more people are like me, then I fear that Friendster has no hope at all.

Have you logged in to Friendster lately? What do you think? Will we be hearing more of Friendster or will it simply suffer a drawn out death?

Photo via PinoyAmbisyoso

Engage in Real-Time Discussions on Your E-Book’s Pages

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One of the most exciting things about reading your favorite books is the discussion that ensues when you get together with other people who are likeminded. The sucky thing is the situation wherein you find yourself totally into a book, and you can’t find people to discuss the book with. Of course, there are always forums and other venues online, but sometimes one can’t just be bothered to log in to those sites anymore.

Now what if you had a platform where you can engage in real-time discussions with other people via your e-book reader? Assuming that you read your books in electronic format these days, this option should be a welcome one, as you will not have to exert a major effort to share your thoughts and opinions on what you are currently reading.

Copia is a platform which turns “e-books into we-books.” How so? People who use the platform can interact with other users straight from the pages of the book that they are reading. Think writing down thoughts as notes and then having other people see them and comment on them; and vice versa.

I haven’t used it myself, but based on what I have read, you can also create your own library, rate books, and write your own reviews.

The only thing is that it is only currently available for the desktop and the iPad. If it does take off, though, I think that versions for the Kindle and the Nook might just come out in the future. One thing is for sure – this concept adds the element of sharing to reading, and that can only make things more enjoyable.

Brits to Enjoy Amazon’s Black Friday Sale

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Black Friday is something that practically every American looks forward to. And, why wouldn’t you look forward to this day? All sorts of gadgets and other items can be had for ridiculously low prices – if you have the patience and energy to battle it out with countless other shoppers looking for a good deal. So yeah, every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, everyone goes nuts, and stores – both online and offline – have to deal with massive amounts of transactions.

This year, the “guys across the pond” are going to have taste of what their American cousins consider a normal experience. The UK branch of Amazon is holding a five-day sale dubbed Black Friday Deals Week. That’s pretty much self-explanatory, but you have to be ready to get drooling once you visit the online shopping site for good deals.

What do you think of newly-released CDs that are worth only 1 GBP? How about video game consoles with severely slashed prices? (That’s something that no one can say no to!)

In order to be able to take advantage of the deals, though, you have to keep your eyes peeled – the deals run throughout this week, but each specific deal only stays up for a limited period of time. The reason for this is, according to Richard Dodd (British Retail Consortium spokesman):

This move is a reflection of how tough trading conditions are, even in the run up to Christmas, and more evidence of how retail competition benefits customers. But, over a period, all retailers have to cover their costs – premises, staff, buying in stock and a reasonable return for investors – so there will always be a limit to the depth and duration of discounts.

Limited or not limited, you’ll have to at least give this a look. Don’t expect to easily find a Kindle for less than 100 GBP, though. Yeah, I checked. 😉

Expert Gives Facebook Only 5 More Years

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Facebook is on a roll, isn’t it? In the past month or so, we have been hearing about all sorts of new features from THE social network platform. Some of the more recent ones include the Friendship Pages and Groups. And, just the other day, we heard about their “Gmail Killer.” So one would think that Facebook is here to stay – at least for a very very long time, right?

Not according to Dr. Jeffrey Cole, a digital consumer expert. If you’re doubting his prediction, bear in mind that this is the guy who said that MySpace would suffer the same fate (decline) four years ago. While MySpace is still around – I just logged in earlier to listen to some indie music – no one can deny that it is but a shadow of what it used to be. Oh, and check out Dr. Cole’s other credentials: Director of the Centre for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California and a director of the World Internet Project.

So Dr. Cole said that in five years, Facebook is going to be what MySpace is today. However, he states one major difference: there will not be a single social networking platform anymore. Instead, we are going to have many smaller communities.

His predictions are not limited to social networking platforms. He also mentioned that the iPad will be the last man standing in the realm of tablets – mainly thanks to the Apple brand – and that it will change the face of traditional print.

If his track record is anything to go by, we might just see his words becoming reality sooner than we think. Let me ask you though, do you think Facebook will be “gone” in 5 years?

New Android Phones to Replace Credit Cards?

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It’s the stuff that sci-fi is made of. How many stories have you read or heard or even watched about being able to use your mobile phone for practically everything? For sure, this idea is nothing new. However, the actual implementation of this idea is something else.

With the recent announcement from Google, though, it seems that we just might be able to use our mobile phones in lieu of credit cards in the future. At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Google head honcho Eric Schmidt talked about – and showed off – the new mobile operating system that they are working on. While the mobile phone was a mere prototype, the new version of Android – dubbed “gingerbread” for now – seemed to be ready for release. It won’t however, be released till the next several weeks or so.

What is really interesting about Schmidt’s demo is the fact that he talked about “near-field technology.” What’s it all about? In the future, mobile phones will have a chip that will serve as a way to conduct transactions the way credit cards do right now. While has was quite excited about the potential of the technology, he added a word of caution about credit card-like transactions not being available in the immediate future.

What got the attention of the people present at the demo was the mobile phone which ran the new version of Android. As is to be expected, rumors are flying around that the phone is a prototype of the Nexus S (S for Samsung), Nexus One‘s successor. While that phone is “dead,” there is still hope for a successor, something which a some people are looking forward to.

In the meantime, hold on to your credit cards.