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Elizabeth Fais

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Elizabeth Fais

Category Archives: Technology

The Selfie That Brought Down Twitter & Why It Matters

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Academy Awards, Social Media, Technology

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Academy Awards, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper, Dolby Theater, Ellen DeGeneres, Hollywood, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Meryl Streep, Oscars, selfie, The Ellen Show, Twitter

The 2014 Oscars were last Sunday evening, March 2nd. If you don’t live in a cave, you probably heard about Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar selfie that broke Twitter.

If you just came out of your cave and missed all that action, you can get the deets from the Los Angeles Times article about the event here and the New York Daily News article here.

2014 Oscars Selfie that broke Twitter

One Message ~ Over 2 Million Retweets

Basically here’s what happened…

Oscar host, Ellen DeGeneres, encouraged Bradley Cooper to take the infamous picture of her and the cozied-up group of A-List actors, including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Long before midnight that night, Ellen’s selfie was retweeted more than 2 million times. The overwhelming influx of network traffic brought Twitter to its knees. Or, to use a highly technical term, “they were hosed”. So much so, that Twitter later sent out an apology regarding the 20 minute disruption in service that happened after 8 p.m. PST.

Why it’s a big deal…

People who don’t use Twitter don’t get how big this is, both on a technically and humanly—the way we work and live.

I’ve been a technical writer in the software industry for a number of years, and have been exposed to a broad range of technologies in some of the most influential companies in Silicon Valley. Twitter, and other high-profile companies that provide real-time services, have substantial server farms to compensate for traffic during peak times. Nothing short of World War III should bring them down.

So … for ONE TWEET to hose the services of a company like Twitter is HUGE.

But something else was remarkable about this phenomenon. It shone a lantern on how Twitter affects the way we interact and communicate as a society.

One message shared over two million times because it resonated with a population, is nothing short of amazing.

This says something powerful about instantaneous connectedness. How the world is a global community in which we share thoughts and ideas in a fraction of a second. More important, how much we have come to depend on this ability.

I was one of the many who live tweeted through the 2014 Oscars broadcast, talking with people across the nation and around the world, retweeting and replying to tweets. I experienced the “Twitter crash” in real-time, the frustrating sudden loss of being able to communicate with other tweeters.

The retweets-heard-round-the-world from Ellen’s single tweet demonstrated our power as a collective whole. Because at the end of the day, technology is nothing without us—the people who drive it.


How does technology affect the way you communicate and live?


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Chill Out in the “Rain Room”

12 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Amazing but true!, Science, Summer, Technology

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Barbican, London, MoMA, New York, Rain Room, Random International, Science, Technology, The Creators Project

It’s July … and in many places it’s HOT!

Wouldn’t it be great to get a reprieve Rain Roomfrom the heat with a walk in the rain … whenever you wanted … and not get wet?

You can…

In  Barbican, London there’s a place where the weather is inside. A room where it’s perpetually raining, where you can always experience the cool and calming effects of rain. Without getting wet.

Walk in the Rain without Getting Wet


How’d they do that?

Short answer:

The Rain Room is a 100 square meter area that uses 3D tracking cameras to map your presence, allowing you to walk and move through the continuously falling water without getting wet.

Longer (and more interesting) answer:



How do you stay cool when the temps rise?


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