On Thursday, an alliance of companies led by Google plans to begin introducing a common set of standards to allow software developers to write programs for Google’s social network, Orkut, as well as others, including LinkedIn, hi5, Friendster, Plaxo and Ning.

The strategy is aimed at one-upping Facebook, which last spring opened its service to outside developers. Since then, more than 5,000 small programs have been built to run on the Facebook site, and some have been adopted by millions of the site’s users. Most of those programs tap into connections among Facebook friends and spread themselves through those connections, as well as through a “news feed” that alerts Facebook users about what their friends are doing.

Early feedback from Webpage API implementors including indie music store Insound.com and music blog aggregator HypeMachine is that the integration is easy and that they anticipate their users will prefer a simpler, more integrated player-Web experience.

　In order to arrive at a more accurate picture of economic progress, some have proposed that GDP be replaced by a new measurement called the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). GPI is influenced positively by household and volunteer work, and negatively by factors such as pollution, crime, illness and family breakdown. GDP not only ignores the costs of such detriments, it ultimately represents them as gains in the form of money spent on measures to combat them. Taking such variables into account, it is not surprising that GPI often tells a different story than does GDP. For example, in cases where GDP numbers have suggested a robust and growing economy, GPI figures from the same periods have often indicated dramatic decreases in social and environmental capital.

This is a really amazing article referenced at Jerry’s Retreat in Oaxaca that describes the blockages, or cognitive distortions that one has before they go into a debate…things that are smart to think about when going into debates.

gDiaper’s plastic-free flushables have no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no smell, no garbage, and no guilt.

One of two founders of the Boonika Art Project, Marko ZETS Prpic, single-handedly created this artist oriented website to help both good and ”not so good” artists to promote their work and ideas. The main idea for the project is that everyone has an equal right to participate. No one is more equal than the other. Being an artist himself Marko knows how hard it was to promote his art and that’s the reason why he decided to help others. It’s all about sharing & supporting each other!

According to the just released Deloitte’s study on Media & Entertainment practice, looking at how American consumers between 13 and 75 years of age are using media and technology today, Millennials (13-24) are leading the way, embracing new technologies, games, entertainment platforms, user-generated content and communication tools. Data from the survey show that user-generated content is in tremendous demand across the generations, with 51% of all consumers watching and/or reading content created by others.

Friends, Music and Video… we’re helping you stay connected.

Moby is offering a bunch of his music free to indie film makers. Vloggers?