News Review: Self learning goes viral

Ratings agency Fitch released a depressing forecast for house prices this week and it has significant negative consequences (at least in the short term) for wholesale mortgage finance (RMBS’s or Residential Mortgage Backed Securities).  It got a lot of coverage in the press and has got a lot of discussion going.  My view (shared by [...]

‘Self-learners’ creating university of online

Richard Woods A few months ago Daniel Conn was scouting the internet wondering how and where he might obtain a degree. At 26, having skipped university when he left school, he was, as he puts it, “a bit unsure of my study skills”. By chance he discovered a website called Open Learn, an offshoot of [...]

Here comes everybody

Great lecture on social networking/media – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_0FgRKsqqU very impressive intellectual presentation by Clay Shirky. Some great quotes:  - ’it seems to me that life has gotten to the point where the effects of the internet are now becoming broadly social enough that there is a general awareness that the internet isn’t a decoration on contemporary society it’s [...]

What makes Twitter worth a billion dollars?

The Silicon Valley start-up has a huge following but its huge valuation prompts parallels with the dotcom bubble Dominic Rushe reports from New York TWITTER can be a tough crowd. When news broke last week that the profit-free internet phenomenon had attracted a $100m (£62m) investment and was now “worth” $1 billion, the reaction was [...]

Contribution Currency

Success is the by-product By Penny Power, Know me, like me, follow me – awesome book, buy it! [MS] The most critical aspect of being a citizen in the world of social networks will be your ability to contribute to others.  Success is the by-product – the result of being a team player.  If you [...]

Is it time to join the Twitterati?

By David Lawson Businesses are tapping into the benefits of social networking websites Is it vital to know that someone you met at a conference has just had a good lunch? It seems that way for millions of Twitter ‘followers’. Many will also rush to upload the restaurant recommendation to a blog or start a [...]

Thomson Reuters explodes into web age

James Ashton When the banking crisis tore through Wall Street and the City of London there wasn’t much Devin Wenig could do, apart from sit and watch the trading screens in his office turn red. As for any supplier to investment banks, a string of collapses including Bear Stearns was not good news for Thomson [...]

Is social media just a fad?

For some excellent statistics etc click the link …. http://www.ifalife.com/articles.asp?AID=481

Monetising social networks: Tweeting all the way to the bank

“Can virtual communities make billions of dollars from their millions of connections? WHENEVER the founders of Twitter, a social-networking service, have been asked about how much revenue they expect to generate from their creation, they have politely deflected the question. So when a hacker recently leaked documents after gaining access to the private e-mail accounts [...]

Twitter do’s and don’ts for brands

KFC, the fast food chain, learnt a thing or two about the power of Twitter, the messaging site that allows members to post 140-character updates for all to see, when it launched grilled chicken earlier this year. Something of a departure for the fried-chicken specialist, the company’s move into grilled chicken was unveiled by Oprah [...]