XplanaZine

Here’s our take on news that matters for Friday, March 31. Today’s theme is me too!, and here are a some links to headlines about technology that is changing the way we live and learn.

• Gaming — Hive 7 is an promising, AJAX-based virtual environment reminiscent of other 2D sites like Habbo Hotel. Om Malik has this to say about the potential of a Hive 7 environment — “Web is the ultimate platform, and I think in the end it wins. Hive 7 is just the
  first example of the next generation web possibilities.”
• Blogging, mediacasting, and online creations — Kids waiting for college admission news are blogging about their experiences and reaching out to other prospective for up-to-date information. Of course, the information generation in this case may be creating extra layers of misinformation, but they are also finding solace via solidarity.

• Handhelds – Nokia is bullish on the growth of the cell phone market in 2006. The say it will grow a healthy 16%.
• Social Networks – Check out these screenshots from Cyworld’s US site (here and here). Cyworld provides a mini-2D virtual environment for sharing, lite blogging, and chatting. It originated in Korea and should be an interesting entry in the US social networking space. Finally, check out Om Malik’s great analysis on the traffic patterns at MySpace and Facebook.
• Technology Talks — Looks like it’s now official — Sony’s UMD format is a complete bust. Apparently, movie studios are preparing to abandon support for the PSP media format. Ouch. Also, YouTube continues to dominate as the video site supreme. As a result, pioneer site Atom is redesigning their site and attitude.