Last year, we found ourselves wondering, Why are these birds angry? At the time it had something to do with pigs stealing their eggs (and who wouldn't be angry about that?!), but now there's a new reason. As a review, Angry Birds is a popular video game being played online and on mobile phones everywhere. As of late, there have been all sorts of rumors about an Angry Birds movie. I wondered what a full-length movie about birds who were angry at pigs for stealing and cooking up their eggs would look like: What would the plot be? Who would play the heroes and villains? Would there be a surprise ending? So I asked my co-worker, John. John knows everything there is to know about Angry Birds (and Android phones).
Well, after some research, John informed me that there will (unfortunately) be no Angry Birds movie. The real story is much more complicated. Allow me to simplify it with bullet points:
There is a movie about birds coming out, but these are different birds. The movie is called "Rio."
Although there is no actual Angry Birds movie, that did not stop someone called "Rooster Teeth" from creating a trailer called "Angry Birds: The Movie," which has nearly 3M hits on YouTube already.
I'm going to go see Rio, (starting on April 15th) just for the music - even though the Angry Birds will not be in it.
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
Why are these birds angry? Well, because the pigs stole, fried, and ate their eggs, of course.
If this sounds like a really sick variation of the old Why did the Chicken Cross the Road jokes, it's not. There's a game that is becoming very popular on the social networks, called "Angry Birds." I ignored it as long as I could, but I finally had to know what the fuss was all about.
The download is HERE. A brief explanation of the game is on Rovio, and on Wikipedia. The Wikipedia entry is better:
In Angry Birds, players take control of a flock of birds that are attempting to retrieve eggs that have been stolen by a group of evil pigs.[2] On each level, the pigs are sheltered by structures made of various materials such as wood, glass and stone, and the object of the game is to eliminate all the pigs in the level. Using a slingshot, players launch the birds with the intent of either hitting the pigs directly or damaging the structures, which would cause them to collapse and kill the pigs.[3] In higher stages of the game, additional objects such as explosives and rocks are found in the levels, and may be used in conjunction with the birds to destroy hard-to-reach pigs.
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
The big news of the week so far is that The Wall Street Journal finally figured out what a Facebook "App," is. Steel and Fowler are shocked (SHOCKED!) that Facebook users who use popular games like Farmville and Mafia Wars have had their names (and possibly their friends' names) exposedd to advertisers (Gasp!).
That is, the friends who haven't yet dropped them, because they're sick and tired of being watching who is killing whom and being asked to donate carrots.
Newsflash for the old print media, which has just discovered Facebook: These advertisers could easily get this information and more by Googling most of you, or by performing a simple "search" on Facebook.
Those who have been reading here for awhile know I'm no fan of Facebook's privacy policies, or Facebook games. In the interest of full disclosure, I do need to admit that I am a recovering Super-Poker (I had to quit that when I realized I was irritating a lot of my friends). However, in the world of big deals, this is not one. When you authorize applications on your Facebook profile, you pretty much give them permission to do whatever they want with whatever information is exposed to them. And please believe that if they can find a a way to make a profit from that information, they will.
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
This week we've been talking about online "time sinks," that use up a lot of our time. So far, we've discussed Facebook games, social news sites, e-Mail, and role-playing games (RPG). It's Friday, now, so let's just have a little fun with some time sinks that don't exist for any other reason than to waste time. I'm calling them "mesmerizing mindlessness." Ok, well, maybe they can be a good way to relax after a hard week, so maybe they DO exist for a reason after all.
Subservient Chicken is a Burger King advertising project that has been around for a long time. It's an interactive site in which users type in a command, and the chicken tries to follow the instructions. The technology was pretty impressive in 2001, when the ad first appeared online.
Falling Sand is pretty interesting. When you first click on the site, you'll see four rows of "sand," in different colors, falling. Start clicking around, and drawing on the screen with your mouse, and you'll see that you can change how the sand falls. Really - go try it. It's a lot more fascinating than I just make that sound.
JacksonPollock.org - make your own modern art by moving ink blots around on the screen. Click to change colors. When I was in college (in the 1980's), a bunch of us used to sit down at the end of finals week with crayons and coloring books, and just "veg" out while we colored. This game would have been a good substitute.
Ever wish you could just start your day over? With this game at Concept Lab, you can. Click HERE, then make better choices this time.
Engrish.com is a hilarious compilation of "lost in translation" signs and photos from all over the world. Chances are, if you have friends that like to pass along chain e-mails, you have seen photos from this site - well, here is the source. Similarly, you may have received e-mails from PeopleOfWalMart.com - another great compilation of photos (with commentary) of people in Wal-Mart stores around the USA. I have to check this site every once-in-while to see if I'm on it (not yet).
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
This week's discussion is about, "time sinks," those online activities that eat up a lot of our time. Monday, we talked about Facebook games, then social news sites on Tuesday. Yesterday, it was e-Mail. Next up? Role-playing games (RPG).
Now, I have to say that this is something that doesn't appeal to me personally, so the following information was obtained from the web, not personal experience. I wasn't even good at "let's pretend" when I was a kid (I was more about inventing better water guns, and selling pet rocks to my family and neighbors), but I'm even less interested in RPG as an adult. But a lot of people are really, really, into this, so it's worth a note in the "time sink," category.
In role-playing games, players (as the name implies) take on character roles in created settings. Online, this can happen through text, as in discussion forums or instant messaging), or through multi-media, using audio, video, graphics. RPG's can be used for entertainment, or for learning, or to "meet people" (yes, that's a euphemism, and you don't need my help finding the links - this is a family-oriented site, after all).
Role-playing games are have themes relating to science fiction, crime, war, or fictional characters (vampires, or cartoons). Here's a list of some of the most popular games. The 3D technologies now available through sites like second life are making these games more and more realistic for those who choose not to rely heavily on their imaginations for playing these games. Some people have become so caught up in these games, they have developed symptoms of addiction.
Bottom line? Some people like this type of entertainment, and some don't. Just like any other hobby, however, this can be a huge time sink.
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
This week, while we're talking about online "time sinks," which are those online activities that cause us to spend entirely too much time online, let's address a few Facebook games.
Unlike my obsession with social news sites, which I talked about yesterday, I have thus far managed to resist the pull of these particular time-wasters, mostly by using the "block" feature when I see them in my news feed on Facebook, or receive an invitation. Nearly 60M people per month, however, do not resist the urge to go online and grow virtual gardens with each other in something called "Farmville." Well, apparently, it's more complicated than that, because there is an entire site devoted to Farmville news, tips and secrets - see AboutFarmville.com
Mafia Wars, by the same people that created Farmville (Zynga) is another one that, has become very popular, with over 31M monthly users. This one is, as the name implies, a bit more "violent" in nature, in that growing your empire requires murdering rivals (don't worry, though, they don't really die), rather than just fertilizing your crops and being a good neighbor, as in Farmville. Don't worry, though, To find out more, read the blog.
Bejeweled wasn't developed for Facebook, but you can play it there, and over 12M people a month do. This game is a puzzle, in which players have a board full of gems in columns and rows, and move them around strategically, to try to get three in a row. Players compete with each other for the best time.
If none of those appeal to you, there are a lot more where they came from. Here's a list of the Top 25 games on Facebook. Meanwhile, here's a little video to remind us that these games may be fun, but there's more to life. I got this from Adric, who is apparently tired of receiving carrots on Facebook.
Jennifer Pointer (e-mail) is in Tulsa, OK. She promotes a simple, a low-tech approach to effective online profile management, search engine optimization and social networking.
Unlike my obsession with social news sites, which I talked about 
Bejeweled 
