A Google approach to Facebook?

One of the nice things about social media is that you can connect with a lot of people. People want to connect and need to connect with each other. And there are varying degrees of HOW we connect. One of the problems is that has arisen is: how to manage all your connections? A Google employee has put together quite a slideshow addressing this issue. He has compiled a good collection of facts, figures, and state of the art such that Google itself can tackle the issues of today's social media networks. This is great from a technologist's perspective. (Google Me is the rumored, forthcoming Googly answer to Facebook. It seems to be named that as in, "want to know more about me, then just Google Me.)

But what about those of us trying to address the spiritual, commercial, family and friend connection issues? How we do engage people socially and yet maintain our unique and natural pre-existing boundaries? I think this slideshow presents a lot more than "how to build a website." It really tries to tackle the sociological issues of building networks. And it does so with some humor and real-life examples. I found it to be a fascinating read and there are many principles to takeaway from this.

(Tips: read it full-screen if you can, because it is easier on the eyes and gets rid of ads in the margins. However, you may need to scroll up and down to see all the text on each slide.)

Happy Reading!

Construction delays seriously affect Moscow airport traffic

Looks like you can now expect some traffic delays going to or from Moscow's Sheremetovo airport (code SVO). There was some much needed emergency bridge repair work which was just started. It has reduced one of Moscow's busiest highways down to just two lanes. (It's the one that goes Moscow to St. Petersburg named Leningradskoye Shosse.) This biggest problem has been the delay of air passengers to the airport affecting flights for Aeroflot, Delta, Malev, Alitalia, as well as many other airlines. SVO recommends that people take the Aeroexpress commuter train from Belorussky vokzal metro station to the airport. It is not known how long the construction project should take.

• Link to Sheremetovo airport web site
• Link to original Moscow Times article
• Link to Aeroexpress commuter train web site

Update: looks like some lanes got widened but it remains to be seen how long the bridge "remont" project will take:  Link to updated Moscow Times article

Update 2: construction is supposed to last until October 1: Link to yet another Moscow Times article