Has Facebook made photos better?
Yesterday’s announcement and post by Facebook product manager Sam Odio entitled “Making Facebook Photos Better” has inspired me to ask the question. ”Do you think that’s true?”
The default reaction might be to think this is “facial recognition” software. According to Annika Heinle of Facebook Corporate Communications, “this is not facial recognition software in the sense that it recognizes specific people. Instead it is a facial detection feature that finds faces in photos.” There in lies the difference, a big one. The intent of the software is to make it easier to tag photos – which I think is a good thing.
This all stems from the recent corporate acquisition of Divvyshot, the creators of this software. A smart investment since there are over 100 million photos uploaded a day according to Odio.
Still, one might ask since Facebook continues to struggle with a large segment of users who are revolting against their privacy policies, will this go any further? Some might see this as yet another step in the wrong direction, albeit a small one in this case. Certainly Facebook’s track record with respect to privacy is abysmal, bad move after bad move so there it is reasonable to question the social networking giants’ intentions.
What do you think? Conspiracy, smart acquisition, don’t care either way? Leave your thoughts here and we’ll use them on the radio show…
UPDATE: Canadian lawyer launches class-action suit against Facebook as covered by CTV, and Canadian Press.
Do you think this lawsuit has a chance? Would you participate?
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta
Yesterday I had a wonderful time at the Jasper Park Lodge presenting to NOT the Certified General Accountants of Alberta as I blogged about in my previous post but the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta (ICAA). I must be getting old, I’ve never got the association wrong before like this. This was (in my terms) similar to when the lead singer for a major music act exclaims they’re totally stoked to be in “Calgary” when they’re actually in “Edmonton.” I start talking about why those in the room should consider becoming a “social accountant.” Ok, so far so good, they’re all accountants. Then we start digging into specifics and I realize, yes we’ve got a different designation in the room. Now I explained early on that I was taking the approach of looking at the accounting industry as a whole anyway, so the impact in terms of data was still there. I talked about CGA’s, CMA’s, even a group of accountants from Ireland, all as examples to communicate various points. Still as a professional speaker this is not something you want to get in the habit of doing, I won’t do that again and my apologies to the Chartered Accountants in the room .
Everyone was pretty good about the little slip-up, although in true social media fashion, there is a tweet explaining the mistake I made and I couldn’t resist and also had to blog about it too.
The Giant is Asleep
In a room of just under 50 professional people, (2) were on Twitter, that’s not entirely unexpected for this industry after my preliminary research. There were also (2) self-proclaimed bloggers in the room, one of which I found out later was actually a teacher. That too was lower than expected. However, I believe that many started putting serious thought into taking some action towards becoming a “social accountant.” I can extrapolate this from the questions that were asked after my presentation was completed. Discussions of how to reduce white noise or irrelevant information flow, pilot projects and where to start, this was a very friendly and engaged group.
Admissions of the beginning of Linkedin profiles and Twitter accounts. By enlarge, this industry is dormant in terms of social activity. Certainly with respect to Alberta, we have a long way to go before anyone could state that our regional accountants of any designation are truly invested in social. My hope is that for one person or organization, yesterday’s presentation was enough inspiration to take action. I did receive a little feedback from folks which I always appreciate as it helps me improve. That despite the faux pas mentioned above was quite positive and I feel really good about the experience as well. We’re all human after all and prone to mistakes, it’s how we learn from those experiences that is the real story.
I want to thank the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta for the chance to speak at their wonderful event at the Jasper Park Lodge and for the wonderful speakers gift too.
Certified General Accountants of Alberta
This Friday is going to be a really fun day, as I’ve been asked to provide a keynote address to the Certified General Accountants of Alberta. I’ll be presenting on the topic of social media for business and all of this will be taking place in one of the most beautiful places and tourist destinations in Alberta, Canada and frankly the world. – Jasper.
The Social Accountant
This association of accountants, many of which I’m sure will be from major centres such as, Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary but also I suspect from locations all across Alberta. The Certified General Accountants of Alberta is one of many chapters from across Canada as of the national association. I’ve been performing some research as I typically do prior to a speaking engagement and I have found some very interesting uses of social media by accountants and accounting firms. There’s also a large opportunity to mature this usage in many areas which I look to cover in Jasper. Over all, social media is still a relatively new concept for the majority of this industry of professionals and I’m excited to be presenting some of what I would consider the social media basics, as well as, some advanced concepts that will help those Alberta accountants in the room interested in generating new revenue to get started with social right away. For example, the opportunity to become a “social accountant,” a term I will define further during my presentation and what that would mean in terms of general awareness for the accounting firm that takes this advice to heart.
Another benefit to this opportunity is that I get to travel out of the Edmonton area and that is welcomed, especially as it falls on a weekend, so I will be taking the opportunity to breath some fresh mountain air and return to Sherwood Park at some point on the weekend.
Also, here’s an article I wrote on “understanding social media” that was published in CGA Magazine in December of 2009.
A Competitive Alberta
I attended a reception and dinner hosted by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce tonight as part of the Political Action Day event on behalf of the Sherwood Park and District Chamber of Commerce.
I have to admit that the highlight for me was two-fold. First, when the premier stated that our proposed hospital here in Sherwood Park (and others across the province) would be going ahead. Also, when I went up and said hello to Premier Stelmach and shook his hand after the post dinner Q&A. He provided me with a warm hello and mentioned that he hasn’t been out to Sherwood Park in awhile. Premier, the invitation to return and speak at a Chamber function is certainly open.
A question was put to Premier Stelmach by Danielle Klooster from Red Deer in support of earlier discussion about a “diversified economy” and asking about specific strategies the Government of Alberta had in play that were designed to open up new international markets, and foreign investment thus making us more competitive.
“That’s a loaded question,” the premier responded. In other words, a complex question. The premier talked about education being a key to a diversified economy, he referred to Port Alberta although not by name, and understanding the larger picture such as an “open skies” agreement that would change all the protectionism of Air Canada and allow foreign airlines to enter Canada with routes to places like Abu Dhabi, a location the premier visited recently.
During this, I couldn’t help but think how much more competitive Alberta would be if it was “Open.” How municipalities across our province would benefit and by extension Albertans-at-large. A more efficient government, considerable tax dollars saved, increased private sector opportunities.
Premier Stelmach mentioned that tomorrow a Competitiveness Bill will be brought forward and is expected to pass, he considers this an important Bill because in his words, “Alberta will not retire.” Explaining that being strong stewards means smart succession planning for future generations.
As many know by now, I believe that an Open Government Framework should be a key part of a “competitive Alberta” today and in the future. Time will tell if this idea starts to gain traction, I hope it does. Let me know what you think.
Open Alberta
Just over a week ago, fusedlogic worked hard on behalf of our client the City of Edmonton to provide our live webcasting services. We helped the City break new ground by also providing live translation into French as well. The day went very smoothly, here’s the Open City Workshop (video archive)
Open Government Framework
As Chris Moore, CIO for the City of Edmonton states, it’s time to “enlarge the circle.” With that in mind, I’m calling for an Open Alberta. The Government of Alberta (GOA) needs to begin to put in place an Open Government Framework. I think that there are many within government who understand that the GOA doesn’t have a monopoly on creating “public value.” Citizens also have an opportunity, and in my opinion, a responsibility for creating value that positively impacts the quality of life for Albertans and Canadians.
If we take a moment to think about this, Open Government initiatives are a tremendous opportunity to share openly. To communicate that the government is willing to listen and collaborate with citizens rather than simply appear to placate, which is so often the criticism many in the provincial government hear from Albertans.
Is Open Government risky?
I believe Open Government is only risky to those individuals working (at all levels) within government who would rather see citizens not enter the discussion and thereby affect the way their job is performed. Unfortunately, these people exist, I know because from time to time I’ve had conversations with them. You may know an elected official or bureaucrat that believes in this philosophy, claiming this is the way an efficient government works, “we know best and citizens need to butt out,” they’ll say. This can be the result, when people don’t vote and/or get involved in public debate.
What about privacy?
Open Government doesn’t mean that the Government of Canada should start sharing everyone’s Social Insurance Numbers or personal information on a wiki. What it does mean, is that data which is already generally available should be properly organized into machine readable formats and offered for use by the private sector or citizens.
Election Issue!
I suggest that during this municipal election year people make the concept of Open Government an election issue. True, many elected officials have been sitting on the sidelines regarding the use of social media and Web 2.0 technologies. This is no longer tolerable. Further, if the candidate for your ward, or those going to the top job of mayor know nothing about Open Government, don’t vote for them. Simple. The same goes for the next provincial election, if your MLA, party of choice has not exhibited the fact that they understand, or the government hasn’t initiated an Open Government Framework by that time, don’t vote for them either. Open Government isn’t the future, it’s the present. If you don’t know about it you’re living in the past. This isn’t about being harsh but direct.
Is it really that important? Not only is Open Government important, it’s critical. Critical that our leaders get this concept and move quickly in this direction. Many have yet to realize that this is the most transformative time in government in our lifetime. Hold meetings and chat all you want about how your government isn’t performing. More than talk, Open Government is where the rubber meets the road, it’s transparency, participation and collaboration in action. Open Government represents citizens and government elbow to elbow working together for a better future.
