In their first study on frequency of Internet usage among adults since 2009, Pew’s data reveals that on any given day over half of American adults are likely to use the Internet just for fun or for no particular reason at all (most would index that latter activity as “wasting time”). Probably most unsurprising about the results of this study is that the youngest adults surveyed, those 18 to 29 years of age, reported the greatest increase of Internet usage as a diversion on any given day. Part of that increase may be explained with how the younger generations are growing up with greater exposure to the Internet but there’s also likely more accessibility in general to online goodness these days.

Apart from the finding that more adults are likely to use the Internet as a distraction anytime these days, the study also revealed that Internet usage for fun times has increased in a broader sense as well. In fact, the growing trend of adults seeking out the latest Internet memes and funny Twitter posts has doubled in the past eleven years.

Despite the general growth of people regarding the Internet as a leisure destination, two demographics still fall far behind the general population: Americans without a high school diploma and adults over the age of 65. While those two groups have seen increases – and even though those increases are two of the greatest percentages of growth amongst all demographics surveyed – they still are significantly behind all other demographics.

Upon further contemplation of the two line graphs above, though, I do have one lingering question about this data: What happened in 2005 that made the Internet less fun to people?

When I was in middle school, I bought a cheap electric guitar. Not because I thought it would make me cooler, or more social accepted if I played an instrument (I already played the trumpet in the band, so I had that covered). And I certainly didn’t think that all the middle school girls would throw themselves at me because I could play three chords and a Nirvana solo. I sincerely just wanted to play my favorite songs – with a tad bit of distortion.

Except you quickly find when you pick up the guitar that all of your favorite songs are just too damn hard. So you settle. And so I settled for an easier riff – Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker.” One of my friends, who was a surprisingly good adolescent drummer, heard me play and our first two-man band was born.

Fast forward 12 years, and I see that friend (who I haven’t see in years) post about drumming on Facebook. And that’s all it took. Neurons fired, brain juices flowed, and suddenly I had my least favorite Led Zeppelin song stuck in my head.

And it was there for what seemed like eternity.

According to a new study by the British journal Psychology of Music, I fell victim to the 2nd cause of earworms.

The study collected data from 604 people, and the researchers sorted through the responses and came up with four different reasons that people get songs stuck in their heads.

1. Exposure.  This means exactly what it looks like.  If you hear a song recently, or hear it multiple times in a short period of time, then it’s more likely to become stuck in your head.
2. Memory Triggers.  This is what happened to me in my story above.  Seeing a person or visiting a particular location – anything that triggers a memory can get a song stuck in your head, considering that there is a song associated with the person, place, or situation.
3. Affective States.  Feeling a certain way when you hear a song – whether it be happy or stressed can lodge that song firmly in your head.
4. Low attention states.  You’re more likely to get an earworm when you’re not paying attention, daydreaming – basically not working very hard on anything.

The study also gives a scientific term to “getting a song stuck in your head” – Involuntary Musical Imagery, or INMI.

Victoria Williamson, the study’s author, suggests that if you want to rid your head of a particular song, try doing an activity that makes you focus like reading a book or doing a puzzle. Personally, I just listen to some Hall & Oates. Works every time.

A 2003 study at the University of Cincinnati identified the phenomenon and found that 98% of people experience earworms. That study found that the most common offender was or course different to each subject, but they found some songs that various subjects identified as particularly sticky.

Some of those songs included Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” the theme to Mission Impossible, the Kit Kat jingle, and “The lion sleeps tonight.”

What songs get stuck in your head on a regular basis? How do you get them out? Let us know in the comments.

>>Visit Like a Page.

It’s fairly straight forward. You pick, which brand/person/entity you like best out of the two presented to you, and go on to the next matchup. Your lists of favorites are built as you go along. You can do this across a variety of categories, such as Actor/Director, Politicians, Athletes, Media Organizations, Movies, TV Shows, Games, Books, Food/Beverage, and others.

It’s pretty addicting, and fun to share specific matchups on Facebook, as they are often times humorous, or simply tough choices that you may wish to call upon your friends to help you make. Sometimes, you may just want to share a notable choice or your list of favorites.

Let’s say I’ve been messing around in the food/beverages category, and I want my Facebook friends to know how much a dislike fruit-flavored beers – so much in fact, that I would go so far as to rate Cream of Wheat over Bud Light Lime. I may deem that a good matchup to share:

Or if you want to keep it in the beer realm, perhaps the matchup you’d be more likely to share would be Bud Light vs. Miller Light. You get the idea. Now, consider all of the possibilities. Obama vs. Palin, Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers, Farmville vs. Cityville, Farmville vs. Call of Duty, Pizza Hut vs. Dominos, Doritos vs. Carrots, Stephen King vs. J.K. Rowling, The Beatles vs. Lady Gaga, The Beatles vs. Peanut Butter.

The point is, the possibilities are endless, and it’s pretty fun to put into perspective just how much you like certain things. Sometimes the matchups are no-brainers (though that doesn’t mean others you share your decisions with will agree. Get ready for some heated debates).

Other times, you’re going to have to stop and think for a minute: “What do I really like better: Metallica or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups?”

Each list of favorites is separated by category, and there is a list of favorites across all categories.

Be warned. Likeapage is pretty addictive. Not only is it fun to just keep going through the matchups, it kind of becomes a quest to build your list to reflect how you actually feel, making it something of a game.

Content Discovery and Adding Relevance to Your Facebook Feed

Each time a matchup is presented, it is also easy to “like” either Facebook Page involved right from Likeapage. So as you come across pages for things that you like, you can easily like them on Facebook and add their content to your actual Facebook news feed. That means adding more relevant content to your everyday Facebook experience based on things you really do like, even if it hadn’t previously occurred to you to “like” them on Facebook. That can benefit you long after you’ve stopped messing around with LIkepage.

Check it out at Likepage.com. There is also a Facebook app for Likeapage, so you can play right from within Facebook itself.

Note: Likeapage was created by the games and apps division of iEntry, which also publishes WebProNews.

Intel says that the museum is a way to “create and explore a visual archive of your social life.” Although skeptical, I bit. Here’s what to expect if you have the time to give it a try:

Once you visit the Museum of Me site, you’ll be prompted to connect to Facebook and you must allow the usual access by a third party application. The video will then take a little bit to load, as it has to grab quite a few things off your Facebook profile to work. The video will begin and pan you through a museum exhibit dedicated to you and your friends on Facebook.

Pictures, Video, Likes, and status words all have their own “room” in the exhibit. The whole think is set to piano/choral music that is a tad creepy, but ends up swelling nicely to a dramatic finish.

Here’s the problem I would assume for some users. Trips down memory lane can be unnerving. Especially ones involving Facebook. Do you really want to see that picture of you drunkenly making out with some girl at a party juxtaposed with you and your mom at Christmas? And if the photo collages randomly generates pictures of deceased loved ones, it may create an even weirder situation.

If the random image generator works for you how it worked for me, however, then you might be pleasantly surprised with some of the old, forgotten pictures it pulls from the depths. I actually laughed out loud at one I saw from years ago that I forgot even existed.

But, there are the giant robot arms putting together a collage at the end of the tour, so…take from that what you will.

It’s definitely worth the couple minutes as the visualization itself is quite beautiful. The word collage room informed me that I probably talk about my love for Cracklin Oat Bran way too much on Facebook. Maybe you’ll see something interesting about yourself.

Here’s a generic video about the Museum of Me:

There’s not much to say. It’s a free app that can be downloaded from the Android Market on your Android device. You can then share it with your friends. 

Original Article: Tomorrow (September 9), a giant worldwide game of Monopoly will commence, using the real world. That is, the real world on Google Maps. Hasbro, the creators of the classic board game, are launching the game called, "Monopoly City Streets," in which players will fight for the largest empire in the world.

The official site for the game offers the following description:

A live worldwide game of MONOPOLY using Google Maps as the game board. The goal is simple. Play to beat your friends and the world to become the richest property magnate in existence.

Own any street in the world. Build humble houses, crazy castles and stupendous skyscrapers to collect rent. Use MONOPOLY Chance Cards to sabotage your mates by building Hazards on their streets.

I have to say, I’ve seen some interesting things done with Google Maps, but this is one of the most interesting. I’ve always been a fan of Monopoly, but to create a massive online game of it, using the actual world (as seen by  Google Maps) is just brilliant.

What I have not seen yet is a rulebook for the game. How does the game translate to such a large-scale project? How do you roll the dice and take turns? Is there a "Go to Jail…Do not pass go, do not collect $200" card? Are there even Community Chests?

There are a lot of questions, but they should be answered tomorrow. Daily Mail does have a few details. Players will start with $3 million. Pennsylvania Avenue (home of the White House) costs $2 million, and rent is automatically paid each day from $50,000 for a house to $100 million for a skyscraper.

"Like most people, you probably have nothing at all to complain about," writes Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone on the Twitter Blog. "However, if you feel the need to kvetch, why not follow @kvetch and direct message your complaints? Theoretically, you’ll fee better. If you don’t, then just complain about it." A more detailed description is available on the site:

Click “Hit Me!” for a new kvetch. If it makes you LOL, click the thumbs-up. If not, click the thumbs-down. Highly rated kvetches will be shown more frequently. To post your own, first join Twitter and follow Kvetch. Then just send a tweet in this format: “D Kvetch Your kvetch here!” Kvetches are displayed without attribution because we want this to be a safe place to let it out, baby.

The site is obviously just a time killer for bored people looking for some pointless amusement. Although, I’ve heard similar descriptions applied to Twitter itself. Kvetch has been around for about 12 years apparently, but the Twitter-based incarnation is of course much newer, and was created by Derek Powazek, Josh Bryant, Jonathan Snook, and Toby Joe Boudreaux "just for kicks."

Kvetch is just an example of one way people are using Twitter beyond business networking  and telling people that they are sitting at home in the underwear watching the Matrix Trilogy. It’s got Biz stone’s endorsement, so it is likely to gain some popularity among avid Twitterers.

It has been a while since a new product has come out on the market in the search engine space that actually works well, and is actually fairly interesting in how they present data. Cuil was released to the public this morning, and it is truly something very cool.

Of course the first thing to do is the vanity search, and what was surprising about the results was not so much that there were hundreds of articles with my name attached, but some new folks showed up in the search response that I didn’t expect, gone were all the old junky things from 1999 and 1998, right at the top were all the new things for both me, my known Google ganger, and a host of new people on the web with the same name that either didn’t show up in Google, or were well past the 10 page limit that I seem to have when working with a search engine.

Is this a product that will give Google a run for its money? At this point, with all the search engines out there, it is probably the best contender that is in the smaller search engine space. While Yahoo Microsoft and Google vie for dominance, Cuil might just be the sneaky little search engine that could, and eventually take a good chunk of market share. Not only does it work, but the presentation layer is very easy to use, and very intuitive.

Rather than rely on superficial popularity metrics, Cuil searches for and ranks pages based on their content and relevance. When we find a page with your keywords, we stay on that page and analyze the rest of its content, its concepts, their inter-relationships and the page’s coherency. Then we offer you helpful choices and suggestions until you find the page you want and that you know is out there. We believe that analyzing the Web rather than our users is a more useful approach, so we don’t collect data about you and your habits, lest we are tempted to peek. With Cuil, your search history is always private. Source: Cuil

Some of the internal links to the site are broken when you click on the about us info links, you do get some good information about the company, so there is still work to be done. Otherwise, this is one search engine that is worth the time and test drive.

Tags: cuil, search, engine, search engine, better, best, cool, irish, knowledge, fun, entertaining, google ganger, toy

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