A Week in Digital
iPad 2 launched
Apple has launched the second generation of its iPad tablet computer - the iPad 2. It’s being billed as slimmer, lighter and faster than its predecessor, with a new processor, faster graphics, and front and rear-facing cameras. It’s also one third thinner and 15% lighter than its predecessor.
It’s interesting to note that until September 2010, iPads accounted for 95% of tablet computer sales, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. By the end of 2010, that figure had fallen to 75%. The loss of share has been down to the arrival of scores of new tablet devices, mainly based on Android.
Apple are hoping that the iPad 2 will regain some of their lost share. The machine will go on sale in the US on 11 March, followed by the UK on 25 March.
Facebook upgrades the Like button
After months of updates to its Like button, Facebook has released an update that fundamentally changes the button’s functionality to that of a Share button. Now after hitting the Like button, a full story with a headline, blurb and thumbnail will be posted to your profile wall. You’ll also be given an option to comment on the story link.
Previously, only a link to the story would appear in the recent activity, often going unnoticed by users.
Though users may now think twice about hitting the button, given how prominently it will appear on their walls and in their networks’ newsfeeds, it should ultimately increase traffic to publishers’ websites.
Facebook has slowly been rolling out updates to its Like button and has stopped developing the Share Button. Facebook spokeswoman Malorie Lucich told us that while the company will continue to support the Share button, Like is the “recommended solution moving forward”.
Perhaps the change was necessary. Because it was never made clear to users that the Like button would function differently than the Share button, many never understood what it meant to click Like on a piece of content. Making the result the same as the Share button could build stronger user expectations, ultimately fashioning a better user experience.
Charlie Sheen Sets New Guinness World Record for Twitter
Charlie Sheen has won a rare honor: the “Fastest Time to Reach 1 Million Followers” Guinness World Record.
According to Guinness community manager Dan Barrett, Sheen reached that milestone in 25 hours 17 minutes. As of last Thursday, Sheen’s Twitter account had close to 1.2 million followers. Guinness did not have had a previous record for that category.
Sheen joined Twitter on March 1. In a matter of minutes, Sheen acquired more than 60,000 followers — without even tweeting. According to a report in Advertising Age, Sheen was able to get his account verified so quickly because Internet startup Ad.ly brokered his account with Twitter.
Sheen has been all over the news since he publicly disparaged Chuck Lorre, producer of his successful sitcom Two and a Half Men, in a bizarre interview last month. Since then, Sheen has been interviewed by various other high-profile outlets making equally odd statements. The public meltdown has made Sheen a continual trending topic on Twitter, proving once again how the different media streams can dramatically influence one another.
