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White House wants you to have online chats with the government
It's getting easier to talk to the government online, but you're frequently limited to one-way communication. Wouldn't it be nice if you could chat with officials as easily as you do your internet friends? That might just happen. The White House has hired its first-ever Director of Product, former Facebook product lead Josh Miller, and he plans to do for government interaction what his startup Branch (which Facebook bought last year) did for group discussions. He wants officials to have a social network-like "conversation with you," rather than issue statements. It'll probably be a long while before you see the fruits of Miller's efforts, but don't be surprised if you can one day get your federal-level questions answered just by sending a message. [Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images]
3D plant scans will help build lighter, stronger cars
Don't look now, but the plants in your backyard might just shape the next generation of cars. University of Freiburg researchers have found a way to study the junctions between living plants' branches and stems using MRI scans, giving insight into how they cope under strain. The 3D images should show how you can build a lightweight, fiber-based structure that can still take some punishment -- particularly helpful for cars and bikes, where fiber already helps shed a lot of unnecessary pounds. They could help produce sturdier buildings, too. While there's still plenty of work left before plant scanning is practical, it's possible that a tree or flower could make your future ride a lot nimbler and speedier.
Anarchy Online prepares 'huge' fall patch
Funcom's Joel Bylos posted a producer's letter today for Anarchy Online, promising a major patch for the game later this year. Among other features, Patch 18.7 will include changes to the Martial Artist and the Trader classes and will begin to automate seasonal events. "In the 18.7 branch, we have placed out all seasonal spawns in the game world and we will start testing on the closed beta in the upcoming weeks to ensure the automated system works as intended," Bylos reported. The "huge" patch will be put on the test server this summer with a release date sometime before Halloween.
Facebook increases focus on 'conversations' with purchase of Branch and Potluck
In a move a company spokesperson termed an acqui-hire, today Facebook snapped up the 10 person team behind Branch and Potluck. Josh Miller and Cemre Güngör created the company in 2012 with financial support from Twitter co-founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone, and launched Branch, a social platform, alongside Potluck, a "web and mobile app designed for friends to hang out and talk about cool things they find online." According to The Verge, the deal is valued at $15 million. Both products will now fall within the social giant's umbrella, with the team forming a new Conversations group in New York City. Confirmed in a post from Miller, Branch and Potluck will "live on outside of Facebook," with products resembling both of the existing platforms to come.
Twitter founders create Branch and Medium to keep the conversations, collections flowing (updated)
If you've ever been so embroiled in a chat or sharing splurge that you've been told to "take it off of Twitter," you now can -- sort of. Twitter co-creators Biz Stone and Ev Williams have launched Branch and Medium, two companion services that (naturally) use a Twitter sign-in but narrow the focus to just a few subjects. As the name suggests, Branch lets especially vocal Twitter users invite others into conversations that don't clutter everyone's feeds or cut replies off at the 140-character limit. Medium? Think of it as Pinterest turned publishing platform: members can publish either a static collection of favorite articles and media, for reading and rating, or leave it open for more collaborative efforts. There's no rush to open the floodgates to the invitation-only portals, though. Stone and Williams see the quietness of their new services as an antidote to the madness of regular social streams, and we can't help but sympathize. Update: The services don't quite work in the way The Guardian originally suggested. Branch lets you invite others into conversations through email, not just Twitter. Medium is really a self-publishing system, not a Pinterest-style sharing service. Also, the Twitter founders were just the most prominent investors in Branch and Medium; they weren't responsible for creating the companies.
