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Social Smells: CrowdGather, which is apparently a network of Internet forum communities, has linked up with a smell specialist to roll out Erox, billed as the world’s first “social media scent.” The idea is the unisex fragrance will help you friend others thanks to your lovely aroma. Apparently the compound has been found to “increase levels of flirtiness.” The problem is this is of, by, and for regular Internet forum types, who probably won’t get close enough in person for Erox to kick in. CrowdGather
Tweeting Investments: It’s sad when a social media fragrance isn’t the worst idea of the day. Some yahoos have set up a $40 million hedge fund in London. The idea is they’ll analyze tweets and base investments on them. There is probably some valuable data to glean from social data, but the idea of making this the main basis of investing decisions is sorta nuts. Mashable
Social Media Schooling: Technology in the classroom is most often viewed as a distraction— teachers often ban computers and cell phones to ensure that no texting or Facebooking is going on during class; but there is a new strategy that some teachers are employing: if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Mrs. Olson, an English teacher in Iowa, is encouraging students to use social media as a channel to continue and deepen classroom discussions. Educators see this as a way to keep discussion about class material going during and after class, and it is a good way to get shy students to participate. While my first reaction to this was my usual, ugh social media is tainting everything, this may not be such a bad idea. I was always pretty shy in class and took a while to collect my words and muster up the courage to raise my hand to speak; so as much as I hate Twitter and things like Twitter, this might just be a good thing. NYT
Gaga Over Gaga: Lady Gaga has just reached 10 million Twitter followers, or “monsters,” as she calls her fans. She is the first person to reach this many followers on Twitter, and she was the first to reach 10 million fans on Facebook and was the first to get 1 billion views on YouTube. Wow. The mega-pop star recently partnered with Zygna to create GagaVille, an offshoot of the popular game FarmVille. Her Klout score must be off the charts! Mashable
Buy This Now: Here’s a new gadget for all of you who never wanted a computer: the non-computer, only $4.99! The Onion
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