Social media gurus: We all know one. If you’re lucky, you know only one.

They are the attendees of tech parties, the “Twitter consultants,” the armchair generals of the Internet, and their numbers grow by the day. Yet most of them couldn’t distinguish a line of code from a badly punctuated haiku.tweetmeme_url = ‘http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/open_thread_should_social_media.php’;tweetmeme_source = ‘rww’;

What’s to be done with the social media experts? Accept that their blathering may contain some wisdom? Or require technical exams for all Twitter users with more than 1,000 followers? You decide! And make the NMDs among us take our “technical” quiz.

While Motorola’s vanilla-Android Droid has become the most recognizable Android device on the market — thanks in part to a bombastic ad campaign — Motorola’s primary focus has been on its own custom Blur UI. At least, if quantity of devices are any indication. Hitting Verizon just as the Blur-powered Backflip heads to AT&T, the new Motorola Devour is an odd cross section of the “consumery” Backflip and Cliq, and the high-end Droid slider. We’ve been playing with the phone for a week or so (you can find our initial hands-on, video walkthrough and unboxing here), so follow us after the break as we walk through the triumphs and tragedy that is this device.

Gallery: Motorola Devour goes hands-on

Nathan Yau is a doctoral candidate in statistics, but the most valuable lessons he’s learned in analyzing and working with data don’t involve formal math. Here’s how he suggests looking at lines, charts, and numbers to find interesting things.

Photo by net_efekt.

Yau lays out the skills and mindsets that have served him well in his studies and analysis. As he puts it, he can’t shoot from the hip with questions about proper sampling size or rendering formal analysis, but he’s learned what to look for when looking at data—something we all do regularly, whether in monthly budgets or spreadsheets at work.

Are you a software dev with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, familiarity with current Web standards, and experience with browser engines, Linux on embedded devices, and Java? If so, do we have the job for you. Lab126, the group at Amazon responsible for the Kindle, wants you to help “conceive, design, and bring to market” a new embedded browser on a Linux device. Might this be a sign that the company is ready to start taking web browsing on the e-reader seriously? We don’t know, but it sure sparked some interesting discussion over at All Things Digital. As Peter Kafka points out, a decent browser for the thing is pretty much a no-brainer in light of the Apple iPad. On the other hand, the idea of a robust browser on the Kindle has its own complications. What about subscription content like the New York Times — why would anyone pay for something that’s available for free on the web, if you’re using the same device to view both? And what about all that new data traffic? Surely AT&T will have something to say about that. Of course, we’ve been hearing enough scuttlebutt about a mysterious next-gen device being developed at Amazon that perhaps this has nothing to do with the Kindle whatsoever. Who knows? These are all questions that will have to be answered sooner or later, but in the meantime we can say with some certainty that E ink is definitely not the best way to troll 4chan.

Is Amazon hiring devs to build a robust web browser for Kindle? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Elgato’s original EyeTV Hybrid USB tuner wasn’t exactly oversized, but the company has nonetheless managed shrink things down a bit for the device’s latest revision, and it’s added some Windows 7 support for good measure. Most of the size reduction comes from ditching the analog connector found on the previous model (you’ll still get an adapter), and you’ll also now get a sturdier aluminum enclosure that stays in line with the company’s Mac-only roots. Otherwise, you’ll get the same support for over-the-air HD broadcasts as before, along with Elgato’s EyeTV 3 software, and an included remote control — all for the same $150 that the original model cost.

Elgato rolls out smaller, Windows 7-supporting EyeTV Hybrid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We know you’ve barely recovered from our Devour review, but Moto just threw another Blur-ified phone in our laps this afternoon – the CLIQ XT. We’ve been playing around with the Android 1.5-based, Flash Lite-supported, multitouch-capable handset for the last couple of hours — but before we grace you with our first impressions, just a fair warning: we don’t yet know the price of the new T-Mobile Android handset, though Motorola did promise us that it will hit shelves this month. With that said, hit the break for a quick rundown of our early thoughts.

Gallery: Motorola CLIQ XT with MotoBlur hands-on

If you’ve been looking to get in on some of that red hot game development action that Palm’s been all about lately, check it out: among the announcements at this year’s GDC, Palm has announced the release of its public beta PDK for webOS. This bad boy promises to let devs “use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app,” just the thing for porting game titles to the webOS platform. And it’s available now! Hit the source link to get started — and maybe someday we’ll finally get to play Mr. Jelly on our Pixi. We can dream, right?

Consumer-advocate blog Consumerist is always looking to help you keep tabs on Big Brother and any of your personal information He’s tracking. Toward that end, their comprehensive list of online background-checking tools is worth a look.

Photo by Charline Tetiyevsky.

Why would you want to run a background check on yourself? We’ve offered reasons before, but as Consumerist puts it:

Now you can know what Big Brother knows about you and get access to the same dirt everyone from your boss, landlord, insurance agent, to your favorite casino has on you. Here is a comprehensive list of websites and phone numbers for most of the “specialty” consumer reports, like your employment, rental, and check writing history. Be sure to check them out and correct any errors, before a crisis hits.

U.S. commuters spend an average of 50 minutes in their car each day, and that leaves a lot of room for improvement. Make the most of your commute with these 10 tips.

Photo by mattlemmon.

We’ve been waiting on Woz’s favorite 3D display ever to ship for quite some time, and as of now, no delays have been seen. According to a new interview with HDI CEO Ingemar Jansson, the June ship date for its 103-inch, laser-based monster is still on track, with a $10,000 price tag being placed on it when ordered “in volume.” Frankly, there’s not much here that we haven’t already heard about the new face of 1080p 3D in the home; what is new, however, is the mention that smaller versions could very well be on the horizon. Regardless of whether you’re man or woman enough to admit it, a 103-inch set is far too large for the vast majority of homes, so a 46-inch iteration — which was mentioned specifically in the dialog — could be a perfect alternative. There was no time table or estimated price given for the smaller version(s), but you can bet we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground for more. Oh, and if you don’t think an HDTV upstart can give Sony, Sharp and Samsung a run for their money, there’s a “Mr. Vizio” in the back room that would like to have a word with you.

HDI CEO admits that smaller laser 3D HDTVs could become a reality, 103-incher coming in June originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.