FOURSQUARE I VOTED APPLICATION AND API

Since I've been in New York, I've started to explore Foursquare. And although I'm finding the whole checking-in thing tedious, I'm excited at the prospect of using the type of data that Foursquare is creating and applications for its API.

You'll see below an interesting use of Foursquare's API for the recent US mid-term elections. Foursquare users checked-in, and then they unlocked a 'I voted' badge that was specially created for the election. Only 50,000 people did it, but there is something very, very interesting about the idea. Driving hyper local advocacy is Foursquare's strength. The phrase, "All politics is local" is a common phrase in U.S. politics. The former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill coined this phrase which encapsulates the principle that a politician's success is directly tied to his ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents (Wikipedia).

Its not brilliantly executed, and the search function doesn't seem to work, but you can see how politicians might be able to use this going forward. You drag around the map to navigate. More information on Foursquare and election app here.

NICHOLAS CHRISTAKIS: THE HIDDEN INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

TED Talk: We're all embedded in vast social networks of friends, family, co-workers and more. Nicholas Christakis tracks how a wide variety of traits -- from happiness to obesity -- can spread from person to person, showing how your location in the network might impact your life in ways you don't even know.

INFLUENCERS - A DOCUMENTARY EXPLORING CREATIVITY AND CONTAGION

INFLUENCERS FULL VERSION from R+I creative on Vimeo.

INFLUENCERS is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends and creativity become contagious today in music, fashion and entertainment.

The film attempts to understand the essence of influence, what makes a person influential without taking a statistical or metric approach.

Written and Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, the film is a Polaroid snapshot of New York influential creatives (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today's pop culture.

"Influencers" belongs to the new generation of short films, webdocs, which combine the documentary style and the online experience.

influencersfilm.com
facebook.com/​influencersfilm

THE TWO FACES OF FACEBOOK AND GLOBAL MONOCULTURE

Here's a presentation I put together for the Fantastic Tavern #tftnyc.

It's a look at social networks around the world, and how the Facebook juggernaut has two conflicting consequences on global culture.

The two faces of facebook

View more presentations from aeffik.