Facebook is introducing allocation systems to improve user experience on its platform. Earlier this month limits were placed on notifications based on the rates with which users ignore, hide or report them as spam. After receiving positive feedback for this move Facebook are now extending the allocation system to cover requests and invites.
This change will alter the application ecology, making it more likely that applications aligning themselves with users aims and goals will have more generous allocations and spread more effectively than applications that spam their users’ friends.
Application Developers will have access to User Response Metrics that indicate how their applications are perceived, which in turn influences how allocations are assigned to different functions.
Though not directly related to the current change, FaberNovel’s presentation contains an interesting, if slightly out of date, overview of Facebook. In particular slide 28 highlights the need for new metrics in social media sites.
This combined system tray widget and web service logs your computer activities throughout the day, classifying the applications and sites you are using so that you can set yourself some process goals.
Time spent on different activities can be assessed and analyzed to bring your behavior more in line with your goals. After an initial set up period where you tag your regular sites and application the tool just about runs itself.
The application is currently available in a personal edition and soon will also be available in a team edition that logs and analysis activities for an entire workgroup, allowing comparisons to be made between the work practices of individuals and changes in team practices over time.
RescueTime can be a powerful tool for personal reflection, revealing the extent of distractions, or the degree of overcommitment or under-commitment to certain tasks and processes. Used well it can provide real insights, used badly it can encourage the worst kind of stressful micromanagement.
On it’s own it is an efficient measuring tool. Used to inform a time management practice it becomes an important guide to effectiveness.
Below you'll find links to the latest comments, notes and tweets that I've made while wandering around the web. These are consolidated using FriendFeed.
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