Trust. The word gets bandied about a lot when talking about the web today. We want people to trust our systems. Companies are supposedly building “trusted computing” and “designing for trust”. But, as sociologist Coye Cheshire, Professor at the School of Information at UC Berkeley will tell you, trust is a thing that happens between people not things. When we talk about trust in systems, we’re actually often talking about the related concepts of reliability or credibility. Designing for trustworthiness Take trustworthiness, for ...

For decades, the realm of science fiction has portrayed inconceivable concepts and technologies as innovations just within our grasp. From Jules Verne’s musings on lunar travel, a century prior to Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, to Arthur C. Clarke’s orbital satellites in 1945; fanciful and fantastic literature has helped to prepare us for the technological revolutions we are currently experiencing. Today, this notion has particular relevance to the consumerisation of technology. For years, we imagined a world in ...

No purchase decision happens by chance. Every thought leading up to why you need the product -- from the rational versus emotional arguments about what the product will offer to the intrinsic and extrinsic benefits -- are all weighed up and part of a very complicated decision-making process. It's all about questions Things like: "Do I need it? Why do I need it? Can I afford it? Can I get it cheaper? What will my friends think? What will my mom think? ...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has given hints that the Cupertino-based tech giant wouldn't exactly be averse to scuppering its social effort Ping. Speaking at AllThingsD's D10 conference Cook said that while Apple understood the need to integrate social elements into its products, that doesn't necessarily mean it needs to has to "own a social network". Answering a question raised by ABC's Joanna Stern, the Apple CEO said: Apple doesn’t have to own a social network, if that’s the heart ...

The circus around Facebook's juddery IPO has rolled into Moscow. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Russia's largest social network Vkontakte has postponed its IPO as a result of Facebook's less-than-brilliant market debut. The social network's founder and CEO Pavel Durov reportedly tweeted “The Facebook IPO damaged many private investors’ trust in social networks, and the [VKontakte] IPO has been postponed indefinitely”. Durov is thought to own about 12% of the 119-million strong social network. Interestingly, one of ...

There's a few things most of us know about YouTube. It's fairly common knowledge for instance turned seven this year and that it's the most popular video-sharing platform on Earth. Everybody of course knows that it's great for procrastinating, but there are probably a good few things you probably don't know about it. There may also be some things you really don't want to know about YouTube (especially when it comes to some of the content). These are not those ...

We like innovation and future trends -- especially when they're green -- and Flux Trend Review has a nice mix of both. The 7 June event will bring together thought leaders from different industries to share their thoughts on what the future holds in store for us all. In the run-up to the conference, Flux is giving away five solar-powered glass jars -- Consol's twist on the traditional bottles, which charge themselves through solar panels on the lid, and store the ...

Without online advertising, there would be no Memeburn. In fact, pretty much anyone who publishes anything online relies on advertising for survival. And if you're going to keep food on the table, it helps to know the latest trends in display advertising are. Through its purchase Double Click, Google has released a new report detailing what's current in the world of display advertising. At first glance that might seem quite risky, given that Google's business model is built around advertising. ...

We've mentioned online furniture sales outfit 5rooms previously. It's part of German startup incubator Rocket Internet's stable of South African ecommerce sites, but it hasn't had the same kind of exposure as the likes of shoe and fashion outlet Zando. That all looks set to change. Memeburn got its hands on site's pitch book, which claims that the company was "established to become the market leader among South African furniture retailers". It claims that its position within the Rocket Internet network, which ...

Building a startup on-the-go while you travel the world may seem unlikely. The status quo would have us believe it borders on the impossible. Thing is, Chris Guillebeau has done just that. Oh and he also writes books and evangelically spreads his unconventional ideas on entrepreneurship and startup communities. The word "unconventional" is actually a pretty accurate description of Guillebeau. The American entrepreneur reckons you can build a startup for less than US$100 and even wrote a book explaining how. His ...