As much as real people really flying in the sky would be.. well, amazing, that wasn’t quite the case. Instead, the objects that people mistook for flying people were actually remote controlled robots that are designed to look like humans. They’re made from super light-weight materials like laser-cut foam and carbon fiber that amounts to the droids weighing a mere 3.3 pounds. Created by RcSuperhero.com, the robots – well, I should say, the airplanes (but I really want to call them robots) were unleashed on the Big Apple recently and the video below captures the stunning display of what a world might look like if superheros really did share this world with us.

Y’know, I gotta say…. even though I know that those robots are not real human beings, watching “people” hover around in the free air like that makes my dorsal hairs stand up. Those poor people on the Brooklyn Bridge below the robots must’ve been in a frenzy. Like… you just can’t surprise people like that, RcSuperhero.com inventors.

“More than 800 million people around the world rely on Facebook, and more than half of them visit every day. Operating at such a large scale, and innovating as quickly as we do, we need to recruit the most talented engineers in the world,” said Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s Vice President of Engineering. “New York has a strong history of innovation and is home to thousands of talented technical people, and we want them to help us solve the challenges of designing and building the next generation of Facebook.”

Facebook Engineering NYC“Building an engineering presence outside the West Coast is a big step for us, one we would take only if we found the right combination of talent and community support. We’re particularly grateful for the encouragement and assistance of New York’s elected leaders, who understand what it takes to build a climate where technology can fuel economic growth and the creation of high skilled jobs.” — Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook Chief Operating Officer 1 hour ago · 3 likes · 0 comments

Facebook is putting Serkan Piantino at the helm, an engineer who has been with the company since 2007. Piantino led the team that was behind Facebook’s news feed and its upcoming Timeline feature.

It appears that the New York political muscle is thrilled with the plan, as Senator Chuck Schumer praised the decision as one that will “help to continue fueling innovation in the greatest city in the world.” New York’s other Senator Kirsten Gillibrand thinks that Facebook’s new presence will “help position New York City to lead in the high-tech economy of the future.”

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg also praised the move:

Facebook is capitalizing on what more and more tech companies are realizing: that New York City is the best place in the world to recruit and retain a talented workforce The growth in the tech sector is creating jobs and further diversifying our economy. That’s why we are invested in expanding our engineering workforce by building a new applied sciences school in the city. We want to do everything we can to make sure that Facebook can grow here, and that the next Facebook will be founded here.

The new office will open up in the early part of 2012, but Facebook is already accepting applications. Their New York careers page already lists openings for software engineers in the fields of ads, data infrastructure, tools, and web performance.

In October, Twitter opened a brand new office right in the middle of Madison Avenue. That move was also praised by Bloomberg and Gillibrand as the right move in growing NYC’s technology sector.

In fact, Irene has grown to such a large size, she’s bigger than the entire east coast of the United States. To quote Winston Zeddemore, “that’s a big Twinkie.” As a preemptive move against the potential catastrophe Irene represents, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered some evacuations. According to CBS, these include hospitals and other care facilities:

Staten Island University Hospital and Coney Island Hospital have begun evacuating patients to vacant beds at medical centers on higher ground. NYU Hospitals Center and Veterans Administration Medical Center are the other hospitals in the evacuation zone, according to the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered some of those hospitals, nursing homes and senior centers in the most flood-prone areas of the city to be evacuated by 8 p.m. ET Friday.

CBS’ article also indicates services like the New York City subway will be shutdown, and over at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) website, there’s also an announcement indicating subway services will be suspended on an incremental basis:

The MTA will begin an incremental suspension of its subway, bus, and Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad service beginning approximately eight hours prior to sustained 39 mph winds reaching the area. Subway and bus lines will begin shutting down after 12 noon tomorrow.

Tomorrow being Saturday, August 27th.

Needless to say, when word got out about the New York City evacuations, the urbanites ran to Twitter to share their dismay/grief/pleasure, under the trend title, “Mayor Bloomberg .” There’s as much, if not more, reaction with a search for “Hurricane Irene,” but for some reason, that’s not part of the current lineup of Twitter trends.

Does this mean Twitter manually manipulates what shows up in the Twitter Trends column? Another question for another day, I suppose. For now, it’s all Hurricane Irene, all of the time. As indicated, Mayor Bloomberg has ordered evacuations for certain areas of NYC, although, CBS missed out on this particular nugget:

What if the person who will be charged for not evacuating doesn’t have access to mobility? Are they still a criminal in the eyes of NYC’s mayor? Or is this a blanket edict?

Moving on, as for the reaction, aside from repeating the evacuation orders, there are some other gems as well. Take this one, for instance:

Now that’s something I’d vote for. Something else is truth in advertising:

It’s clear Irene is affecting the lives of New Yorkers, even though she hasn’t even arrived yet:

But not all of it:

So there’s that. Inevitably, survival tactics come into play as people prepare for Irene’s impending doom arrival:

She has a point, you know? Lest we forget, New York City is not the only populated area in Irene’s path:

Some public service announcements are more useful than others:

But then again, maybe it does deliver the message:

And that, folks, is how Twitter is rolling with the Hurricane Irene hubbub. Currently, the storm is in at the Category 2 level, and while that does sound better than Category 4, according to the NOAA, Irene has sustained wind gusts of over 100 mph. So don’t let the lower hurricane category rating fool you into a false sense of security.

While Casey has enjoyed success with his documentaries — How many of us have shows on HBO? — his latest YouTube creation may very well become his most famous work to date. As the video in question explains, Casey is a New York City resident and he uses his bicycle to get around town. Recently, however, Neistat was given a ticket because he wasn’t riding in the bicycle lane, a problematic issue due to numerous obstacles being in these designated paths.

After calmly explaining his situation (while filming the video) to the ticketing police officer, who, himself was quite courteous, Neistat decided to demonstrate the problem faced by bicycles riders in the Big Apple; and when I say “demonstrate,” let’s just say Neisat throws his body into his work, and the result is humorous and quite informative. Because of that, the video has gone viral, appearing on numerous publications and link collectors like Reddit. First, the video itself:

Advantage, Neistat.

Naturally, Neistat took to his Twitter account to help spread the word about his impromptu public service message, while acknowledging some of the blogs that helped make the video pop.

Now we’ll see just how powerful social media is, especially content that demonstrates the silliness of the laws being enforced, and the double standard such enforcement provides. Will the powers that be in NYC be more vigilant about bike lane obstacles or will they settle for ticketing folks who aren’t able to ride in the designated bike lanes? I think that all depends on the outcry Neistat’s video causes.

On Facebook, people can post comments, share their photos, view images taken by others, purchase tickets and receive news about the building.

On Twitter, people can follow the ESB Observatory for real-time updates.

Via Facebook and Twitter, people can stay updated on future events, including the building’s 80th anniversary, which will happen in May 2011. People can also find facts about the building  and regular updates on celebrity visitors. In addition, the social media effort includes information about the building’s tower lights, which commemorate holidays, events and special causes.

“With the launch of our Facebook and Twitter pages, the Empire State Building looks forward to connecting with fans in real-time and providing instant digital access to the Building," said Anthony E. Malkin, Empire State Building Company.

"The Empire State Building has always been a symbol of ingenuity and progress, and we recognize the importance of innovating the building itself and the way we communicate to the world."

This week, JetBlue ran a very successful campaign in New York City. How do we know it was successful? No one was hurt, no one is really complaining, and it got some press. While many in the social media world would use other metrics, I think these are pretty darn good.

So what did they do? They gave away 1000 round trip tickets in three locations that required people to follow their "guidance" on Twitter to know where to go and what to show up with. This is where the "no one got hurt" part makes sense, huh?

CNET reported:

It was apparently one step short of a cattle stampede when low-cost airline JetBlue used its Twitter account to announce that, as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, it would be giving out about a thousand free round-trip tickets at three undisclosed locations in Manhattan on Wednesday.

"One of the things we knew was that people were just going to follow us," JetBlue public relations representative Morgan Johnston told CNET, relating anecdotes about one woman who claimed she sprinted in heels from midtown to the Financial District (one of the giveaway spots), people chasing the JetBlue team in taxis as they left one location to head to the next, entire offices clearing out when they heard that one of the ticket giveaways was nearby, and a cab driver who left his passenger behind in order to get out and claim a ticket. "It was like the Pied Piper of Hamlin."

Once again I reiterate: no one got hurt. I have to admit that if I was responsible for this kind of promotion that caused mini-panics in offices and a run on taxi cab fares in NYC, I would have some concerns. Fortunately for JetBlue, this one worked well, and I tip my cap to them.

So, would you have the confidence to give something like this a shot? Of course, it would be best if your business lends itself to this kind of reaction. If you are selling pipe fittings in Peoria, you will need to tweak the concept considerably.

This is the fun of social media, though. There is a chance to do things that have never been done before. As people begin to experiment more and more, it is likely that those with jangly nerves need not apply.

What do you think about JetBlue’s "event?" What could you do that would cause a stir and make the cash register ring?

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg offers details in a Google Blog post. "nycgo.com is the official resource on the web for all there is to see, do and experience in the City. This dynamic site uses Google Maps to help you plan your New York experience and find hotels, restaurants and entertainment, in addition to exclusive citywide savings and promotions."

"With nycgo.com you can use Google Maps to get directions to attractions throughout the City, and even send the info to your phone with Google Maps for mobile."

Visitors and residents can also take a trip to the new Official New York City Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets.

"The Information Center features interactive map tables, powered by the Google Maps API for Flash, that let you navigate venues and attractions as well as create personalized itineraries, which can be printed, emailed or sent to mobile devices. Additionally, there’s a gigantic video wall that utilizes Google Earth to display a 3D model of New York City on which you can map out personalized itineraries."
 

New York City led the nation with 316,500 technology jobs in 2006, according to the most current data available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The region added 6,400 tech jobs in 2006, the second fastest growing cybercity behind Seattle, which added 7,800 jobs. The average wage was $91,500, 46 percent higher than the average private sector wage in the area.

"The factors that have long made New York City a center of finance, culture and entertainment – a uniquely talented and diverse workforce, top academic institutions and a spirit of creativity not found anywhere else – are today making the City a center of technological innovation," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

"The high-tech industry is a valuable and increasingly important part of the New York City economy, and its continued growth will foster New York’s evolution as a ‘cybercity’ and keep us ahead of the curve."

The highest average wage was in Silicon Valley, where the average tech worker earns $144,000 a year. Other cities paying the highest salaries include San Francisco, Oakland, Austin, and Seattle.

The top cities for tech employment other than New York City included Washington, DC, San Jose, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The highest tech industry concentration was in San Jose/Silicon Valley, where more than one in four private sector workers were employed by the tech industry.

"This is the first national Cybercities report AeA has published since 2000, before the high-tech bubble burst," said Christopher Hansen, president and chief executive of the AeA. "With the industry experiencing three consecutive years of job growth we decided it was time again to drill down to see which cybercities are growing the fastest and across which sectors."

"High-tech jobs make critical contributions to local economies in terms of innovation. They also pay extremely well – the average tech industry wage is 87 percent higher than the average private sector wage."