Facebook Launches "Save"

Scrolling through my Facebook feed, I always come across interesting sounding headlines.  But, when I'm just in the mood for some light internet-feed stalking, I don't want, or have time to, read huge long articles.

There are several apps to handle this type of situation.  Most notably, Pocket (with over 12 million users) and Instapaper.  These "read-it-later" apps let you tap to archive an article and come back to it when you have more time.

Well, now they have a bit more competition.  Facebook has launched "Save", a feature within the app that lets you add these articles to a folder for access at a later time.  Yes, just like Pocket, Instapaper AND the tested version of Save that Facebook tried back in 2012.  

Not sure what has taken Facebook so long to release this feature.  The company bought "Spool" (a startup that does this exact thing) two years ago, and it seems like a natural feature especially since there has been such a rise in articles posted on the news feed.

But, better late than never, I guess!  This is one feature that I will start using asap! Do you have a ton of articles you want to stockpile? What do you think of Facebook's newest feature release?

The 3 Most "Muteable" Tweeters

The newest Twitter feature might be long overdue, but allows us a little peace and quiet!  In our Twitter feed, that is! 

Yesterday Twitter announced the addition of a "mute" button, allowing anyone to hide the tweets and retweets of someone they follow while still allowing that person to comment, retweet or favorite their own tweets. Mute button will roll out to all users in the next few weeks. 

So, when will you need this?  Here's three of the most muteable moments, when the new feature will surely help you out!

1) The spoiler alert: If you aren't caught up on your fave reality show, by all means, mute your friends or the bloggers who follow who chat about the show!! That way you won't have spoilers waiting for you in your news feed, and you can catch up with the show's happenings at your own leisure!

2)  The respectful follow: Those you mute can't tell that you have muted them.  So you can follow that co-worker or business partner that you know wants you to follow them, but you really have no interest in reading their tweets.  After all, it's the nice thing to do!

3) The limited mute:  Maybe you don't want to mute someone forever, but you can mute and unmute as needed!  Let's say your bestie is going to a concert you aren't really excited about or your coworker is over tweeting their outlandish political opinions during election time. Just mute them for a few weeks until the time passes and unmute when you think it's safe!  No more clogging of your feed!

Now if we could only get a "mute" button for real life!!

Has your Twitter profile received the "mute" button rollout yet?  Have you muted anyone?

Do we really need #AmazonCart?

• Peanut Butter + Chocolate
• Wine + Cheese
• Coffee + Baileys

Usually when two of my favorite things come together, I love the output even more.

That's why I was a bit perplexed by my reaction to the news this morning that equates to "Amazon + Twitter".

Yes, there is a new feature on Twitter, after its latest partnership with Amazon.  This is called Amazon Cart, or in Twitter language, #AmazonCart. Basically, you can reply to any tweet with the hashtag and any item that the tweet was promoting will automatically be added to your Amazon cart.  

At first, I guess it sounds cool.  But watching the video teaser for the concept left me feeling confused.

Highlight line from the video: "No more switching apps, typing passwords or trying to remember items you saw on Twitter."

Okay, cutesy voiceover on the well edited pitch video.  Here's the thing.  None of those are real issues for me.  Is this partnership solving an actual problem?  I mean, I switch apps all day, every day.  All my passwords are saved in my phone already.  And, honestly, I never really see items for sale on Twitter.  Am I missing something?  Are people using Twitter to sell products a lot?  It seems like for most, Twitter is a way to share information.  Not the digital marketplace that this partnership would support.

A poll on Mashable is almost split down the middle as to whether people will use this or not, but the majority ends up leaning toward "No way".  

And I agree, at least for now.  Could this Amazon/Twitter partnership be foreshadowing the future of Twitter.  We know the company has been under pressure to find a profitable business model, so maybe monetization will come from this Amazon partnership?

Have you ever purchased something after seeing it on Twitter?  Will you use the new #AmazonCart feature?

Ever Committed A Twitterror!?

Eeeek! 

That feeling you get when you just hit the Tweet button and you see a glaring mistake in your 140 characters.  Or when re-reading a previous tweet you realize it could be interpreted differently. Or you calm down after a knee-jerk reaction to a snarky tweet and you’ve already let it all out into the Twittersphere. 

Twitter moves FAST.  That's one of its great features.  Just think how Twitter is now a trusted place for real-time news.  But this fact also makes Twitter a huge liability, especially in moments of post-tweet panic. 

What next?  It’s a lose-lose situation.  Deleting the tweet looks sneaky and suspicious, plus the words can live on through screenshots taken by other users.  Leaving the tweet allows it to be retweeted and spread, even if you issue another tweet apologizing.  What’s a tweeter to do!?

Last week, interface designer Oliver Reichenstein proposed a solution to this problem; give tweeters the choice of marking their tweets as “error”.  The original tweet would be edited and the “errored” words would be crossed out - indicating that the tweeter acknowledges the error and has since corrected it, probably in a follow-up tweet. 

This is still just an idea, but social media blogs and journalists have seemed to like it.  The Twitter Design Team, however, hasn’t yet jumped on board.  They think it would only be used by journalists, and aren’t convinced that spending resources on a feature that’s not universally used is a smart choice. 

Have you seen or committed a Twitterror??  Would you want to point out your errors?  Or just let them die in the Twittersphere?