Google Reader now lets you flag things to "share". That means that anyone who's part of your Google Talk network can see the items you've shared, and you can see yours.
Thoughts:
1) Social networking software is rapidly approaching the point where we really don't have to go out. So why am I sitting in a coffee shop with five bloggers?
2) Google's engineering approach--continuous incremental improvement--really is a powerful model for innovation. If I weren't such a fierce advocate of passive investment, I would consider buying a share. Hell, I may consider buying one for the sheer pleasure of owning a single share of stock valued at $600.
3) I predict that this will be used heavily for about a week by everyone I know, and within two weeks will have fallen back to about the same frequency that people post notes on Facebook. Which is to say, almost never.
4) This is a very good way to find out which of my friends are heavy users of Google reader.
"If I weren't such a fierce advocate of passive investment, I would consider buying a share."
How does that matter?
I don't think that Texas Hold'em is the most productive or rational form of investment, but that doesn't stop me from taking a little bit of money and playing poker for fun.
Be a good sport, stay passive. That way you can support dogs like YHOO http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=YHOO&t=5y
and TWX http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=TWX&t=5y
instead of GOOG http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=GOOG&t=5y
it's much more 'efficient' than a throwing a bone to ASPCA..
Google Reader has supported link sharing for quite some time - the recent change is that it now automatically signs you up for the shared items for people that it believes you have some personal relationship with and it uses your Google Talk buddy list as the basis for making that assessment.
The really interesting part of this is that it allows folks to become a discoverable part of Google's Feed sharing mechanism very easily. The basic Google Shared items concept has proven pretty popular but the initial discovery and sharing of shared links among small groups of friends was always its weakest point - that is nicely resolved by this.
The downside is that you may automatically get signed up for shared links from someone you barely know, and do not necessarily like, simply because you have had a chat with them on Google Talk.
Since I know only my girlfriend is only person who reads my shared items list, and she knows the same for me, it has become a way to add items to each others queues we really like it, and I doubt we will stop using it.
Uh-oh. Now you will see my stash of LOLcats.
Are you going to publish the URL of your own publicly shared items, Megan? I'm sure a lot of people would like to read it.
Hasn't Goog been dropping of late--the last week or so--when it was steady up before?
I know it was possible in the past to use their options the day before expiration to make a fair sum in one day, overpriced as they were. Doing spreads.
It's possible to be a "passive" investor with Google. Buy 1 share, and... ignore it. Maybe it will end up like Berskshire.
As for the social networks, there are a few too many, and they are too labor intensive. If you don't give your all, and delve into the world of endless trivia and meaningless chit chat (like "hit me back" or "Showing some love" or "Yo Sup Ma. Megan I'm feelin ya") it is hardly worth the time and leaves one quite drained. Facebook less so, but there is still that lurking suspicion in the mind that one ought to have more friends. And that takes work.