Tagged: social media

Earlier this week, Yahoo!'s board of directors approved the tech company’s one point one billion dollar purchase of the micro-blogging site Tumblr, the latest move in CEO Marissa Mayer’s bid to revive the flagging tech company. The purchase has some Tumblr users up in arms, and others simply shrugging their shoulders at what just seems like the latest acquisition in the wake of so many to come before it.

Joining us to explain a bit more what the purchase of Tumblr means for Yahoo! and fans of the site is Lance Ulanoff, Editor in Chief at Mashable.

Brady Carlson joins us to talk about social media's reaction to the devastating tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma.

A new data collection tool is being heralded as the first “mood ring” of the social media world. The “twittersphere” has become the home for millions and millions of micro-stories - fleeting tales of everyday life broadcast to the masses. Now, researchers at the University of Vermont are looking to extract a social pulse from Twitter’s vast output. Millions of tweets have been processed through UVM’s Hedonometer, which measures collective levels of happiness over space and time. Here to discuss the project - and the newly launched website, is Chris Danforth, associate professor at the University of Vermont’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics and one of the developers behind the Hedonometer.

“Internet Addiction Disorder” is a disputed diagnosis in academic and mental health circles, but just try going a day without your daily habit of checking email, the news, weather, sports, recipes, and Facebook, and you may find yourself jonesing for access.

From anticipated weather events to shocking acts of terrorism, many people now turn first to social media to react and interact during moments of crisis – this past Monday was no different.  Shortly after two explosions rocked Copley Square near the Boston Marathon’s finish line, the internet was flooded with graphic photos, video uploads from witnesses, and tools to help loved ones connect with runners and spectators at the race.  With the online element of disaster response now an essential part of how we view these events, we wanted to break down what worked and what didn’t.  Joining us is Brady Carlson, NHPR’s host of All Things Considered, and our in-house expert on all things internet.