SEAN TINER

Over a month ago on Facebook I was tagged in a friend's note called "25." The note stated 25 random facts about my friend. Additionally, she tagged 25 friends in the note and encouraged each of them to write 25 facts facts about themselves and repeat the process. Since I was tagged in the first "25" note, I have read several more"25" notes in my friend's Facebook profiles. Thanks to the interview illusion theory , I feel that I know more about the writer. As I know more about a friend, I feel I have a closer understanding of that person and will be more comfortable the next time we spend time together. As the network effect encourages more friends to write "25" notes, I keep imagining the marketing potential if this "25" campaign had been started by a brand. In January, Burger King launched a Facebook marketing campaign called "The Whopper Sacrifice," a Facebook application that awarded a coupon for a free hamburger i...

Earlier today, I received a link to the new Facebook layout. Yes, the world's #5 most visited website is receiving another face lift. Apparently, the site is making a return to the basics, with a new simple layout that is visually reminiscent of its origins. It will be interesting to see the public's response to the updated look. Will people spend more time on the site? Will this encourage new growth? Will advertisers be encouraged to spend more? Although Facebook recently passed Myspace for total amount of internet traffic, the site's reported revenues are still lower. According to Alexa.com, Myspace.com's estimated revenue is between $250-500 million, while Facebook's is between $10-50 million. The flip side is Facebook is continually growing, while Myspace's traffic has remained stagnant. Will the revenue tables also turn? Time will only tell.

How do we interact with people in the real world after viewing their online profile? Our our expectations raised? lowered? Are we comfortable discussing what we have seen online in person? What if you have not seen the person for years and suddenly see them in the real world? As social networks continue to grow and having an online profile is commonplace, it's interesting how our real world interactions are affected by the content we are exposed to online. According to Zanjoc's mere exposure theory , "the more exposure we have to a stimulus, the more we tend to like it." Basically, the more pictures we see of our friends online or view their online profile the more we like them. Our online profiles allow us to interact 24/7 and are a substitute for when we are unable to connect in the real world. Although mere exposure has positive implications, it can also be overdone. After a certain number of impressions, we ignore the content. For example, I have friends who have ...

( Big Brother , Portrait by Tiner). Yes, gasoline will probably reach $5 USD a gallon this summer. Shocking? Yes, considering it was only around $1 USD a gallon six years ago. Ah, the good old days, when $20 would fill up your SUV and you would still have change for a Double Double, lotto ticket or a cold one. If you think gasoline prices are overvalued, then you will be shocked by the value of Web 2.0 entities, in particular Facebook applications. According to Adonomics , a website that assigns monetary value to Facebook applications, the most popular and expensive application is Super Wall . The application has over 2.2 million active users and is valued at over $30 million USD. In fact, the majority of the top ten applications are valued at over $8 million. Yes, this makes the price of gasoline seem trivial in comparison. Today marks the start of The Supernova Conference , a symposium that "brings together business, government, and technology thought leaders to understand h...

Here’s an idea for you …Facebook & Myspace. Imagine if you can make money of your social networking profile? The same way that application and website developers (and bloggers) monetize their websites with small pay per click advertisements. Blogspot and .mac accounts already allow individuals to easily incorporate Google’s Adsense advertisements into their websites. According to Google's 2007 Annual Report , the company earned a total of $16,512.6 (million USD) of total advertising revenue and 5,787.9 (million USD) from Google's Network of partner web sites (individuals and companies who make money from posting Google's ads on their websites). (Google's 2007 Annual Report, screen shot of advertising revenue) Doesn’t register? …Well to make it clear and simple, I make money from this blog (see the advertisements at the top). Not much at this point (in fact, it doesn’t pay to fill up my SUV these days) , but nonetheless it’s still money. Although, I blog as a medi...

(Hicham Yezza, Stylized Portrait by Tiner). Last night, via Facebook I learned about the deportation of Hitch Yezza , "who has a been resident in the U.K. for 13 years, during which time he has studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Nottingham" (facebook group info, 2008). It's amazing that over two thousand Facebook members quickly joined The Global Support to Stop The Deporation of Hicham Yezza group and are rallying in support of Hitch. The situation is a reflection of our times, as political messages and protests are quickly spread via Web 2.0 media. (I'm in Southern California and learning about the deportation of this UK student, as the news is breaking). My thoughts are for a peaceful and democratic resolution to this matter.

More favorites, added by members: More randomness added by members of, Exploding Randomness Inevitable.

Expanding upon Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable , I started a Facebook group called Exploding Randomness Inevitable , which will convey a series of multimedia artwork and complete randomness. Unlike other Facebook groups that heavily recruit members, I'm allowing this newly group to grow organically. I started the group last week and so far there are over 200 members. The size is not important to me, just the content posted by the members. I'm encouraging members to upload their own artwork, videos, photographs, ideas and add to the exploding randomness of this new media social experiment. S o far these are my personal favorites additions, added by members: Chaos theory -- The behavior of certain dynamical systems whose state evolves with time may exhibit dynamics that are highly sensitive to initial conditions (aka: butterfly effect). As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions, the b...

( kkindc.blogspot.com's opinion of "Faces"). Yesterday, I discovered KK's opinion of my original "Faces" Series. In her words, "I saw the photo- which he created through a digital process, and thought it was really cool. I learned more by checking out his blog and then his website. I am really impressed by his artistry as well as his reasoning for doing the series." I agree that a minority of the people were a little confused about the series at first, because I purposely selected some people that I did not know to well. I wanted to reflect upon how anyone can access information that is posted online. From old girlfriend's parents to company recruiters, you never really "know" who is viewing your social profile in this Web 2.0 era. Additionally, I desired to connect faces digitally as a reflection for the serendipity of social networks. Overall, my Faces series continues to be successful and I receive daily requests for perso...

(Jeremy Bentham's 1785 Panopticon Model, courtesy of Wikipedia). Pleasure, Resistance & Social Control Web 2.0 continues to accelerate and transform the landscape of contemporary communication. Friends are able to stay in touch via social networks. Distances are eroded. Old friends are reunited. Acquaintances become friends. Romances are sparked. ...It's become a personal tabloid for Gen-Y. ...Your uncool if you don't have one and your uncool if you talk about it in the "real world." . ..It would be odd to say that I " poked" you during dinner. In 1785, the English Philosopher Jeremy Bentham illustrated the Panopticon Model. According to Wikipedia, "the concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell whether they are being watched, thereby conveying what one architect has called the 'sentiment of an invisible omniscience.' Bentham himself described ...

(Big Brother, Stylized Portrait by Tiner). Thanks to Facebook for reactivating my account tonight after abruptly terminating it. This experience has taught me not to be afraid to stand up for yourself against the corporate "powerhouses" ...and that bad consumer experiences can quickly transform something from à la mode to passé (in the eyes of loyal patrons).

Two weeks ago, USC's Annenberg School for Communication hosted their annual career fair. The top entertainment and advertising agencies from the Los Angeles basin transcended upon the cardinal and gold's campus to select the best and brightest Trojans for summer internships and jobs. Personal Branding: Keep in mind these are creative agencies looking for innovative and articulate individuals, not “cookie-cutter” molds. Instead of using a traditional resume to distribute at the event, I tried a different approach. I wrote a personal statement and placed it on the front of card stock paper. I selected card stock, because it shows thoughtful preparation and stands out from traditional paper or other resumes competing for the same job. The personal statement (see my linkedin profile ) allows companies to quickly understand me. It also prevented me from worrying about including every detail of my life in the short interview. I simply was myself and enjoyed talking with the com...

(Excerpt from my thesis: Thinking Beyond Web 2.0: Leveraging the Dynamics of Generation-Y to Build Business ) "Have you been Googled? Odds are ....YES! Either it was by an employer, an old friend or that inquisitive neighbor. Here are 5 Simple Rules for Companies or People in our Web 2.0 Era: First: People Google One Another. Accept it. We live in an era, where if your company does not have a website or you do not have a social networking profile …you are either living in the stone ages or are too old school. Human beings are inquisitive and constantly desiring to know information about each other. The more interesting and stimulating content that is online via a traditional website, web 2.0 site or blog …the better. ...This leads me to my second point... Second : Control The Content If you have pictures of yourself doing a keg stand at a frat party or getting down with Cheech and Chong …this may not be the best content to have tagged or posted to your Facebook or Myspace profi...

One Week = 2 Million Alexa Rankings Higher! A big thank you! I am excited to learn that while I've been going to school and refining my artistic style, my blog accelerated over 2 million global Alexa rankings in one week! (Alexa is a website that monitors the traffic of all websites for free, from Facebook to bloggers in Antarctica .) This news is exciting, since I have not spent one dime on advertising this blog. I attribute the increase in growth to a viral following developed over various Web 2.0 sites. I would just like to thank everyone again for their interest in my thoughts, artwork and life. I'm really enjoying the ride and I hope you are too! :) (Alexa Ranking of my blog, shortly after I returned from Fiji) (Alexa Ranking of my blog on April 1, 2008. Note: 1-week ranking in the top 700k of global sites with 100% of website traffic from The United States.)

The concept of the series is to connect siblings in a digital environment. Facebook allows us to maintain our relationships with our friends, acquaintances and also our brothers and sisters. Although we may live thousands of miles apart, Facebook and other social networks allow us to connect on a direct platform. All of the siblings in the series have impacted my life over the years and I’m glad to creatively connect them. To see the entire series, please click here.