All about facebook

'Star Wars - Medstar II: Jedi Healer, A Clone Wars Novel' - Chapter (Part )

2010-03-23T02:26:00.000+02:00

Well, it’s Monday and it’s the last full week before Spring vacation. I hate to say it, but I really think I need that upcoming vacation! I got up this morning and was exhausted because I had taken another cold pill around midnight last night and then only got about six and a half hours of sleep. Of course I should’ve expected to be exhausted after having done that to myself. I got up and got into the shower and took another nice long shower to help my stuffed up head. It did eventually help to expel some of the stuffiness in my head. I got out of the shower and felt a little bit better and then headed out to the kitchen and had a breakfast of cereal and orange juice as I watched “The Early Show” on CBS. All I can say is that it seems as though ALL of the news media in this country is very SMUG right now over the passage of the Health Care Bill last night. They all act like they personally were responsible for the passage of the bill and that they somehow had something to do with it. I really don’t like the idea that this health care bill passed last night in the late hours. First off, the bill was rushed through. Second, the bill does nothing to resolve the real issues at hand. The real issue has to do with the insurance companies and their horrible practices of not granting procedures to those that have health insurance. But, this bill does NOTHING to address any of those issues. Hey, here’s another thing to think about. What about all the illegal immigrants in this country? Will they be required to get health insurance, and if they don’t, will we fine them? There are a lot of questions that remain. And it does not appear that anyone has thought that through before passing health care.

So, anyway, getting off my high-horse, I got myself ready and I was off to work while the kids were off to school. I got to school and set things up for my day today. I taught the last in a series of music theory lessons to all of my classes and I am happy with how my instructional day went. My students worked hard and got a lot of their work done. I think it helped that I explained to them how urgent it was that we get things done before vacation. I got done with my instructional day and had my first day of tech crew rehearsal with my tech crew. They seemed to work well together and I think I may have a nice tech crew this year. The real advantage is that I have a lot of repeat students who are already knowledgeable on their stations, so they’ll be able to handle taking care of things and making sure they run smoothly. I got done with tech crew rehearsal and found out that Heather’s car broke down at work. The mechanic at the garage believes her truck now needs a water pump and timing belt. Well, that will cost some bucko bucks! So, I drove home right away.

I got home and we had dinner together and then we cleaned up after dinner and I went into the basement and played “Call of Duty 4″ for about a half an hour and then watched “The Office”, and then two episodes of “Two and a Half men” while I had a spirited debate on Facebook about the Health Care Plan. It actually was a nice spirited debate and I really liked seeing everyone else’s point of view on everything, even those that agree with the plan. I do think that we all need to start talking in this country more so we can all agree that the parties in this country are BOTH broke! Anyway, I got done with my debate and continued watching TV including “How I Met Your Mother”, “Rules of Engagement”, “Two and a Half Men”, Big Bang Theory”, and “CSI Miami” before heading to bed.

Okay, let’s talk about Part of Chapter of “Star Wars – Medstar II: Jedi Healer, A Clone Wars Novel” by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry…..

[Via http://thegalaxycast.wordpress.com]

More Waiting - but another song!

2010-03-23T02:07:00.000+02:00

Monday, March 22, 2010 – No news today from Iowa City. Last week the first call came on Tuesday so we are thinking this week will be similar. Kellee was in the basement today recording another song and he heard the dogs barking upstairs and found out it was his G-ma working in the yard. Turns out – Heidi’s mom came over and began the task of cleaning up the gazillion sticks from our trees. She completed the front yard and we are very much appreciative of her hard work and her support.

So yes, Kellee wrote, recorded and posted another song today. This one is called “Never Comfortable.” He took some of the lyrics directly out of Job 38:4-7. It was the first one he wrote on this journey in which Heidi & I did not cry after the first listen. http://www.myspace.com/kelleevanhemertmusic

We received a nice card today from a family from church, in it was a quote which spoke right into our situation, “Patience is not passivity, its concentrated strength.”

Tonight, Heidi made a meal to place in the freezer while I went to the Barefoot Warriors prayer at TRC. There was more prayer offered up for healing for Kellee and patience for Heidi & I. Once again I was glad I went besides the prayer, there were nice words of support! When God’s people gather to pray, it is a good thing!

[Via http://braintumorparent.wordpress.com]

Leaving Facebook

2010-03-21T02:57:00.000+02:00

你们好 or Greetings,

I have been toying with this idea for a long time. In some ways it was one of the harder decisions that I have had to make in a long time, but nonetheless I have done it. I have removed myself from the largest social networking site, Facebook.

I used to be a huge promoter and supporter of the website. I loved how you can see updates, pictures, and videos from all of your friends. I liked that people could see what I was up to without me having to be at the computer or phone the same time they were. I liked the idea of FB so much that I bought a $60 service so I could update it while I am in China.

I liked Facebook, but does it add any real value to my interactions with my friends and family? Does the one thousandth request for Mafia Wars do anything for me? Do I really want to be friends with that person I met once ten years ago? Do people care what I did over the weekend or what I am going to eat for dinner? Is it good to have passive relationships with hundreds of people and not really e-mail, call or write to those who are supposed to be close to you?

I have found out about death, marriage and children via Facebook. These used to be meaningful events in peoples’ lives that used to warrant a letter, a visit or a call. Now it seems all information is routed via Facebook and open for the world. I suppose I am nostalgic for the times my mailbox (real and digital) had some substantial information in it or when people used to talk and not text. I also realize that it has been a long time since I have put much effort in my correspondence. With these things in mind I took the leap.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not holier than thou. I like surfing FB and FB stalking my friends as much as the next person, but does it make my friendships or me any better? I suppose we will see. I deleted my account without the contact information of a lot of my friends so I hope this hasn’t disconnected us indefinitely. The plan is to try to stay off FB and see how it goes. Is it possible to be unplugged and still keep up with friends and family? We will see.

I hope to hear from you soon and you can expect a letter from me.

[Via http://kandm1.wordpress.com]

Remembering Barry on Facebook

2010-03-21T02:40:00.000+02:00

For those of you who knew Barry and would like to share memories, photos, videos or anything else you can now do so on the In Memory of Barry Andrew Henderson page on Facebook.

After almost four years, I still receive messages from his friends telling me how much they miss him and I thought the Facebook page would be a perfect way for everyone to share. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me. Your thoughts mean so much to me.

[Via http://crumblingwalls.wordpress.com]

Social Media - How to Efficiently Plan Your Time

2010-03-20T02:21:00.000+02:00

“THERE’S NOT ENOUGH TIME!”

When bombarded with ALL the social media sites, how often does the little voice in your head scream this fearful reality?

You can *conquer all obstacles* and stifle this fear by learning how to manage your time.

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management<

Today, I’d like to introduce my guest blogger who sets his schedule very similar to mine. Actually, when I read his post, I thought it was mine…lol.

Colin Welch

COLIN WELCH is the Training Manager at Silicon Beach Training in Brighton.

How to Manage Social Media Activity

Your Social Media Management Schedule:

Ever feel a bit intimidated by the fast pace of social media and the sheer volume of it all? Our Social Media Training, Blogging and SEO Training courses are a good starting place if you’re new to blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn WordPress and the like. But once you are up and running it’s still very easy to feel alarmed – but have no fear we have a solution!

It doesn’t matter how many tweets you make a day or how often you write a blog, as long as you plan your activity and break it down into simple stages. For those who struggle with this, consider our Time Management Training. A recent blog post listed the 50 most common social media mistakes and number one is “lack of planning” – planning your social media activity is crucial!

If you find yourself wondering “how do I manage my social media activity most efficiently?” then read on for our example schedule of what you can do throughout the day, once daily, weekly and monthly.

An example schedule for managing social network sites and activity: 1. Social Media Activities – throughout the day

Tweet and respond to tweets/retweets: Tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite are great ways to manage Twitter (see our blog post discussing the benefits of each), and if there’s a topic you want to keep an eye on you can create a search column using the related hashtag.
Respond to blog comments on your own blog posts

A handy tool such as TweetDeck will create a pop up notification for new tweets as they happen – this helps you to keep on top of your tweeting and retweeting throughout the day. Although if you find this distracting, it can be a good idea to put aside a couple of short time slots during the day and do a quick blast of retweets, replies and link-sharing. HootSuite is a useful tool here too, as it allows you to schedule your tweets for later.

2. Social Media Activities – at least once daily

Check Facebook: Check your profile, pages and groups and respond as appropriate.
Add bookmarks: Scan what’s popular on bookmarking and recommendation sites such as Delicious, Digg and Mixx and add your own bookmarks (read this handy blog post about building links for free and why bookmarking sites are so useful).
Check your subscriptions and RSS feeds: Netvibes is a useful tool for keeping on top of your RSS feeds and Google Reader subscriptions can be a good way to monitor updates – then make sure you share/tweet anything of interest to your followers.
Check your stats: Google Analytics is the main choice but there a other tools out there – try MyBlogLog for trending links and real time information on stumbles. See our Google Analytics Course and Advanced Google Analytics Course if you need help with this.

Ping.fm is a useful tool worth mentioning here; it allows you to update dozens of social media sites through its easy to use interface, so it’s a huge time saver – read more in this blog post summary.

3. Social Media Activities – weekly

Write a new blog post: Download the WordPress plugin for automatic Twitter, Facebook and FriendFeed updates, and get it circulating. If you need help with WordPress, take a look at our WordPress Training.
Comment on blogs: Comment on relevant blogs – this is also an opportunity to promote your new blog post.
Check LinkedIn: Look out for relevant groups and discussions to participate in, and respond to Questions in your network – and again, promote your new blog post.
Organise Twitter: Organise who you’re following on Twitter by grouping them into lists (and update these lists regularly) e.g. industry leaders or favourite photographers – see our Twitter lists for ideas.
Scan Google Alerts: Look out for mentions of your name or brand – you can do this in a Google Reader RSS feed, and then respond as appropriate.

Weekly actions will require too much time to be doing them on a daily basis; things like writing a blog post may require keeping an eye on the news and trending topics, as well as research.

You may wonder why it’s worth taking time to participate in others’ discussions. Well the more generous you are, the more willing people will be to join your discussion or reply to your questions when you are promoting your services or a new blog post. See Heather’s post on the art of generous blogging.

As for how often you should blog, at Silicon Beach Training we aim to blog more than once a week, but it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you’re consistent – regular blogs will build your readership and keep them coming back (see Jodi’s post on keeping your blog regular). If you’re on a roll with your blogging then consider writing a few in one day and scheduling when they’re posted.

4. Social Media Activities – monthly

Find new Twitter follows: Try using MrTweet for recommendations or have a browse on Yellow Pages style service Twellow.
Upload a video or photos: TubeMogul is like Ping.fm for video, a handy tool providing a single point for distributing videos to the top video sharing sites as well as providing analytics.
Share content: We share content on our Free Resources page but social publishing tools like SlideShare or Scribd (allowing you to share documents, PowerPoint presentations and PDFs) could broaden who you reach out to, as a helpful blog post explains.

The monthly actions will take significant time, and which ones you choose will depend on your business and interests. It can be helpful if you’re working in a team – that way you can share your work load and create a schedule for who’s doing what (see our Social Media Guidelines for an example social media strategy for businesses).

The various social media management tools we’ve listed are just suggestions and we only use a few regularly – you can see just how many there our on our comprehensive list of social media links – just choose the ones that work for you and, most importantly, don’t panic! Whatever you do it all comes down to two things: consistency and monitoring i.e. checking mentions of your brand and responding to comments.

Of course our social media action plan is limited – is there any action you would add or any tool you couldn’t manage social media without?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information about Colin Welch and Silicon Beach Training go to: http://www.siliconbeachtraining.co.uk

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Via http://joconquerobstacles.com]

The other thing the internet does

2010-03-20T02:15:00.000+02:00

I decided a long time ago (November) that I wanted to write and so I am. I like writing. I also decided that what I would write would be for pretty much everyone I know to read. And to that end I’ve used Facebook as a lazy, mostly ineffective way to let people know I’ve written something.

Today I was going to write about Uni and how it’s been starting a new course and what people have been like there. But then I remembered that the next thing I wanted to write about before anything else is feeds.

Feeds (aka RSS) are a way of keeping up with any websites you follow. Any website or blog or youtube channel you check every now and then (or frequently) has a feed attached to it that updates every time something new is posted. This allows me to get just about everything I’m interested in reading on the internet sent to me as it’s published: TV shows, new youtube videos, news from The Australian (breaking news and Arts news), gadget news from Gizmodo and new posts from other writers who are actual people.

I use Google Reader to manage my feeds.

Just thought I’d mention this and I’ll make the feeds for my blog more public for anyone interested in using this other thing that the internet does to keep up with my sporadic posts.

As I said, I’m writing for anyone who’s interested. It’d be interesting to know who actually reads this. Let me know in person, or in the comments if you feel so inclined.

Nathan.

P.s. I don’t read newspapers mostly out of how inconvenient I find them and I use Google Reader as a substitute for this plus all the other stuff it does. If you want a better explanation as to how to use feeds let me know and I’ll help!

[Via http://xxlna.wordpress.com]

Join us on Facebook

2010-03-18T02:37:00.000+02:00

I am increasingly finding that Facebook is a great way to stay in touch with friends, and also services, such as cafes, music events, and products that I like and buy.

So we have created a Facebook page for Myrtle Cottage Findhorn.

Please join us, and become a fan by clicking here.

Findhorn Bay and Culbin Forest

[Via http://myrtlecottagefindhorn.wordpress.com]

10 Tips for Effectively Using Social Media In Your Business

2010-03-18T02:32:00.000+02:00

By Monika Baraket

By now you’ve heard about social media, it’s quickly becoming the most important trend in business today. So what is social media and how can you effectively use it for your business? With respect to the former, social media is an opportunity to connect with your customers, drive traffic to your website, and promote your business by having what the experts call “many-to-many” conversations. It’s a mix of blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and many other tools. With respect to the latter, below are 10 tips for effectively using social media in your business:

1. Create a strategy

Many of us are so excited about using social media to grow our business that we forget key pieces to success: definition of business goals, objectives and overall process for execution. To build a strong Social Media network, it is critical that you carefully choose key influencers in your industry and choose your activities strategically. The number-one reason that people feel lost in social networking is that they don’t have a strategy.

2. Find your voice and your audience

Decide what you want to say and who you want to say it to. You must understand your audience and build goals that are realistic and possible. Knowing what your audience is looking for is fundamental in reaching your goals. It is also important to remember that others want to know you, not just what you sell.

3. Market your expertise

Sharing knowledge you’ve gathered through your trade can go a long way toward boosting your brand. Casual social media users will not receive the same respect as those that have made a commitment to contribute quality content over time. If you take the time to build up a reputation for expertise in your niche area, this will result in your gaining the confidence of other members of your respective community – this is the best form of marketing.

4. Invite others to become part of your circle

Follow people on Twitter, invite colleagues into your LinkedIn network, and make friends on Facebook.

5. Start talking

Post content regularly and comment on other sites. Treat it like any other conversation… join in once in a while. How often? Contribute at least once a day on Twitter, and at least twice a week on Facebook and LinkedIn.

6. Reward Customer Loyalty

Through Social Media, companies can not only run promotions more frequently than coupons in the mail will permit but also devise more whimsical and engaging campaigns.

7. Boost your credibility by helping others

For service providers, establishing yourself as an expert in the field can bring in a steady stream of business. LinkedIn’s Answers feature enables business owners to do just that.

8. Be a member, not a marketer

Putting up too many links to your company’s website can turn people off. What you want to do is build relationships. This is a concept of push marketing versus relationship marketing.

9. Integrate Social Media into your overall marketing strategy

Let people know that you are out there. Link your social networking pages to your website. Add badges to your e-mail. Promote your social networking pages on print collateral.

10. Contribute Content

Be the one to create quality content. Studies show that people are reading much online, but a much smaller group is contributing content. This can mean good opportunities for you.

Top social media resources to get you started

Twitter

Facebook

YouTube

LinkedIn

For daily business tips, become a fan on Facebook.

[Via http://acceleratebr.wordpress.com]

Is New Media a Revolution or Evolution?

2010-03-16T02:51:00.000+02:00

I believe is both, an Internet Evolution and a World Revolution… A little over 5 years ago people were using the Internet to get information, do some purchasing but it was moving a little bit slow. Until sites like youtube, and myspace came out. Soon Facebook follow and everything started to change, and with twitter suddenly without even noticing we have an INTERNET EVOLUTION… That’s right all of sudden the Internet is fun again, and it’s changing the way we do business, the way we communicate and its GIVING US POWER. Yes for the first time, US the people have the power to make changes. Thanks to the Internet and Social Media. Therefore Social Media is also a REVOLUTION.

How do we have power you may ask? Well if you have a bad experience with a product or a service you can posted online and within minutes all your friends will know about it, without calling each one of the them to tell them your story. And as soon as your friends are aware the friends of your friends will also know about it and the friends of those friends and on and on. The same goes with a good experience, and opinion.

Well I don’t want to bore you with so much of my thoughts but check this YOUTUBE video of a BLOGGER… From http://socialnomics.net/ “Socialnomics”

Is your business ready to take advantage of this Internet Evolution and be part of the Revolution?

Ricardo O Villalba

for QueCreative Advertising and Printing…

New Media Specialist

202-367-5544

[Via http://latinoplanet.wordpress.com]

Wessed Up History: 3/15/2010

2010-03-16T02:45:00.000+02:00

* March 8, 1978: First Hitchhiker’s Guide radio episode airs. Millions panic, buying towels and chanting Vogon poetry.

* March 9, 1862: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to draw in first battle between aquatic Transformers.

* March 10, 1606: Susenyos beats two armies at Battle of Gol to become Emperor of Ethiopia. Greater fame awaits with immortalization by Phil Collins.

* March 11, 1932: Violinist and World of Warcraft raid demoralizer Leroy Jenkins is born, aggroing the entire maternity ward.

* March 12, 1664: Lacking a decent toxic waste dumping ground in London, the British welcome New Jersey as a colony.

* March 13, 1930: Pluto’s discovery is telegraphed to Harvard College Observatory, but it takes another two decades to identify Goofy.

* March 14, 1879: Albert Einstein travels back from the 27th Century to stop 29th Century Albert Einstein from killing baby Albert Einstein.

[Via http://plattitudes.wordpress.com]

Facebook Tracking & Analyse

2010-03-14T02:41:00.000+02:00

Gedanken zum Thema Tracking und Analyse von Social Media Apps und Facebook Fanpages bis hin zur ROI-Messung durch Social Media Kampagnen werden im Artikel Facebook Tracking im Online Solution Blog veröffentlicht.

Wer sich darüberhinaus neben Facebook Apps auch noch für Shop Widgets interessiert, wird eher bei Visual (Shop) Widget . com fündig. Ob der Nutzer dabei Google Analytics oder ein anderes – evt. sogar eigenes – Tracking und Analyse/Statistik System einsetzen möchte, steht jedem frei. Die Standardlösungen gibt es kostenlos. Mit Caching und Preloading Funktionen für einen schnelleren Aufbau der Widget-Animation müssen sich die Shop-Betreiber momentan noch gedulden, da der Beta-Betrieb anhält.

[Via http://informators.wordpress.com]

Couture Organic Baby Blanket on Etsy

2010-03-14T02:11:00.000+02:00

First organic baby item has arrived!

Couture Organic Baby Blanket

Visit the *Wildflowers by Paris* Etsy Shop

Become a fan on Facebook!

[Via http://wildflowersbyparis.wordpress.com]

#199. social networking poem (more ghosts of ny

2010-03-13T02:35:00.000+02:00

subway

thou art

riding me to my homepage.

i am the electron

banging thru

the worldwide

with the ghosts

of new york.

see them now.

humble aware laughing

everyday informing

me thru the dark

underground surf.

speaking jostling crowds

of ghosts recognize

me as a trace

a shade in their life

a face in their book

as we connect

they fill in

my moments

in the Endless

subway ride pome.

[Via http://zevstar.wordpress.com]

The Gospel According to Your Facebook Profile

2010-03-13T02:24:00.000+02:00

A couple weeks ago I started reading the book The Hopeful Skeptic by Nick Fiedler. I’m planning on posting a review of the book once I finish it up. For now, though, I want to point out something that makes this book unique from anything else I’ve read. This is the first theology/Christian life book I’ve ever read in which the author uses his Facebook profile religious views as the starting point for a whole book.

A couple years ago, Nick changed his “religion” in his Facebook profile from “Christian” to “hopeful skeptic.” Reading about this got me to thinking about how many people choose to enter something unique on the religion line in their profile, as opposed to choosing from one of Facebook’s preset, institutional options. I did a quick scan of 25 random Facebook friends (and by ‘random’, I mean the first 25 people to either show up on my news feed or comment on my status requesting help with this). Here are the ‘religions’ I saw listed:

“Pastafarian; Former Voodoohist”

“I’ve been relentlessly pursued and mercifully forgiven by the great Lover of souls, Jesus Christ. “

“Evangelical Liberal Charismatic Catholic Christian”

“On the path…”

“Pro-Jesus”

“yes. thank you. http://www.huronhills.org”

“anything in isolation cannot be God.”

“see the Nicene Creed.”

“and He said, Follow Me.”

“Yes.”

Among the more traditional choices…

“Christian” Was listed by 6 people.

“Christian – Presbyterian” was listed by 3 people.

“Christian – Reformed – Presbyterian” was listed by 1 person.

“Agnostic” was listed by 1 person.

“Deist” was listed by 1 person.

3 people had nothing listed.

Why do people choose to insert their own, unique title for their religion? I have to admit, when Facebook first added the religion to profiles, I opted not to list myself as “Presbyterian” or “Christian.” I decided to write in “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Honestly, I have no recollection as to why I thought it would be better to do that. I can think of a few reasons now, for Christians at least, but am also doubtful any of them are really satisfied by a Facebook profile.

Some people, it seems, have an evangelical motivation. We’re supposed to be witnesses for Christ and proclaim the gospel. We need to make the most of every opportunity. If Facebook is going to ask us about our religion, we’re going to make our answer count. So, if we put something unique and unexpected, people will take notice. I think the intention here is good enough, but there are also so many problems with this. For starters, it assumes that people actually take the time to read our profiles. My guess is most don’t, and of those who do, none of them are going to your profile asking “What must I do to be saved?”.

For others, there seems to be a fear of being misunderstood. Calling ourselves “Presbyterian” or any other denominational affiliation makes us look too institutional. The term “Christian” carries too many negative connotations with which we don’t want to be associated. So, we’ll enter something unique that our friends won’t be able to misconstrue. Again, one of the false assumptions behind this fear is that people actually read our profiles, and even fewer care whether we’re “Christian” or a “Follower of Christ.” Even fewer will be scandalized by reading that we’re “Presbyterian” or “Episcopalian.”

I think even more problematic is the fear many of us have of being associated with other Christians of a different breed. Saying that we’re “Christian” may in fact associate us with the Pat Robertsons of our time, or some of the great injustices committed by Christians throughout history. But, we also can’t write our own faith’s prior history, or choose who our brothers and sisters in Christ are. Perhaps we’re called to own up to that history and reputation, and proclaim it with a spirit of humility and confession.

On top of that, maybe Christians listing their religion as Christian will be more effective evangelically. Let’s face it, a bunch of unique religion preferences is pretty poor branding and p.r. Maybe it’s time the Christian community on Facebook took a more united front in their religious Facebook preference.

Then again, I doubt anyone would notice…

[Via http://mikegehrling.wordpress.com]

Senate Health Care Bill Dead on Arrival, Pro-Life House Democrats Say

2010-03-11T02:43:00.000+02:00

By Carl Cameron

FOXNews.com

I just had an interesting discussion with a cyber-buddy that found a particular candidate, Paul Ryan seemed to have the right stuff. She needed to find out his stance on gay rights and abortion. I tried to explain to her that at this particular time in our history some things, national security, the deficit, job creation, securing our boarders, cutting taxes, decreasing programs, and seriously cut spending to name several.

I’m wonder what her take will be when she learns that Representative Bart Stupak, and a total of 7 new no votes appear to make senate reconciliation all but impossible. Of course their issue is the Senate mandate for federal funding of abortion. May you be pro life or pro abortion, should our tax dollars fund this? Random thought while wondering why hundreds of thousands of American women choose abortion as their contraception of choice, J.C.

The health care reform bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve appears to be dead on arrival in the House, as seven anti-abortion Democrats intend to join the ranks of lawmakers who plan to vote against the legislation, Fox News has confirmed.

Seven new no votes would be enough to kill the Senate bill, and several more fence-sitting lawmakers are under pressure from both sides of the aisle.

Foremost among the seven new no votes is Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., whose anti-abortion amendment to the House version of the legislation got the bill passed in that chamber last year.

But because the Senate and House Democratic leaders weren’t able to agree on joint legislation before losing their supermajority in the Senate this year, they have few options other than getting the House to pass the Senate bill and then making changes to the law through a separate budget reconciliation bill that could pass with simple majorities.

The Senate bill, however, doesn’t contain the same language as the Stupak amendment, which explicitly prohibits federal funding of abortion in any of the reform measures intended to expand health care coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Complete Story:

[Via http://dancingczars.wordpress.com]

Going Electronic

2010-03-11T02:30:00.000+02:00

So while the girls as me on a regular basis to let them create a Facebook account, a You Tube account and a Twitter account-tonight I gave in and created email accounts for them. Now the reason I did this was to also give them access to an electronic calendar (a great suggestion I got tonight).

So now we have a shared electronic calendar that I have synced to my BlackBerry.

So, now I can actually do more than try to remember who has what going on–and perhaps even be just slightly ahead. It’s mostly worked for me at work, so now I have home-life on a BlackBerry calendar.

Now with this new level of organization comes a new level of worry of course–what is going on via email. More emails to keep track of I suppose.

Give a little, get a little I suppose.

[Via http://dadthesingleguy.wordpress.com]

Facebook Fans - March Madness

2010-03-09T02:54:00.000+02:00

I’ve just posted on Kylie Eather Photography a special offer of $50 session fee, thats half price!! For the first 5 facebook fan’s to book and session held before 30th of June 2010.

To take up the oppitunity of this offer – become a fan here Kylie Eather Photography Facebook

Now I can’t leave without posting a image. For the last month I’ve been working with the wonderful and talented Minna Burgess Photography and Mircale Me 3d and 4d ultrasound imaging at Mt Gravatt. I have fallen in love with Maternity and Newborn Photography all over again. So here is a quick look at one of my favourite images. There will be plenty more to come at a later date.

Have a great day!

[Via http://kylieeatherphotography.wordpress.com]

An F5 Ana_Sia-Caine

2010-03-09T02:43:00.000+02:00

Some things are best when doled out in small doses. Or rather, in mega doses twice a year like birthdays and half-birthdays.

Last Friday, the Minneapolis electronic-womp faithful showed up to the Loft for their bi-annual bass-lazering massacre courtesy of San Fransisco’s empress of glitch, Ana Sia. Part one of ohhh probably two. Sovereign Sect is on deck.

Links

Ana Sia Official
Ana Sia MySpace
Ana Sia Twitter

[Via http://507projex.com]

Have Network, Will Travel: Merging Social and Mobile Media

2010-03-07T18:14:00.000+02:00

No one doubts the emerging influence and opportunity of social media and mobile technology but everyone questions their ability to take advantage of the opportunity. The answer may lie in creating a symbiotic approach to both.

In January, the mobile analytics company Flurry, reported that social media apps were visited more frequently than any other category including news and games. Remarkably, these social media apps were visited over 20 times a month far outpacing second place news category. Flurry attributes the social media appeal (double the attraction of news and four times that of game apps) to a user experience that can be more relevant than the news and more entertaining than entertainment.

So if the integration of social and mobile media is the wave of the future, how do you avoid being a paddlepuss?

First, recognize that mobile socialites aren’t looking for a dissertation on your cause. They consume short bits of information on a frequent basis—which may explain Twitter’s explosive growth. So, make it relevant, keep it short, and keep it coming.

Next, use your social media assets to drive compelling content to your mobile supporters. Why recreate the content wheel? Use the mobile web to push your existing content out to a mobile audience. In turn, find opportunities to drive your LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter crowd to your mobile web apps or mobile web sites. These opportunities might include a call to action—make a donation for a special appeal—request for feedback via a quick survey or get more information on how to push legislative action. In many ways, mobile can empower these networks to act with immediacy and as a collective.

Finally, there are also some interesting alternatives to the usual social media suspects. The mobile arena is also fostering the emergence of several mobile-only social networks like BrightKite. These emerging pure plays are taking advantage of mobile attributes such as GPS and instant photo publishing to make local connections on the fly. These players create some interesting possibilities for volunteerism, events, and local crowdsourcing. If you really want to brand the network experience, you can also take a look at what some consumer brands are doing: launching their own social networks.

Regardless of what you do, don’t wait. Be creative…be strategic…and keep it simple. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt to keep coming back to the Ring of Fire!

[Via http://kaptivate.wordpress.com]

Three, sorry two, questions on Chinese dancing

2010-03-07T09:59:00.000+02:00

Hundreds of dance shows spill out of Indian TV screens as the “dance masters” and judges—usually out-of-work heroes and heroines—wax effusive. First question: does any show come close to this? Second question: are Indian bodies differently engineered for such athleticism and acrobatics? Third question: does a dictatorship produce better dancers than a democracy?

Link: Rohini Mohan via Facebook

[Via http://churumuri.wordpress.com]

Will You be My Friend? Click Confirm or Ignore.

2010-03-06T02:44:00.000+02:00

Lately I’ve been receiving friend requests on Facebook from high school peers. For those I barely talked to, it makes me wonder what their reasoning is behind the request. Do they want to rack up as many friends as possible and we were somewhat associated so it counts? Did we have similar classes? Were we in similar after school activities or have many mutual friends? Apparently they remember who I am, or better yet, who I was and it made some impact for them to feel we are destined to stay linked on an internet social network.

Then I got to thinking about high school and where my associations or actual friends came from. Majority of the people I became friends with were the ones I sat near in class or from my town due to bus rides. Branching down to the ones I sat near in class; always seated near the same people class after class and it wasn’t by choice. Every class we had, the teachers placed us in alphabetical order. So, everyone I got to know had a last name that ended in ‘M’ through ‘Z’ and not many of the earlier letters. The varieties come from friends through friends or one of the many after school activities of which I was a part. High school was great and I had plenty of fun, with and without the typical drama, but not very many of these peers stayed my friend up until this moment of my life.

Putting that all together, I have to wonder do I accept them as my “friend” or do I pass it on because we haven’t talked since graduation day (which is at it’s 10 year mark this spring). If I ignore it, will they be offended and go off in a rant about how they didn’t like me in high school? Oh well. I don’t do childish anymore. When I do accept, I appreciate the message that follows (if it does) asking how my life has been for the years absent of speaking. I believe this shows a reason for making the link or keeping a connection. I find it hard to stay “friends” with the ones that continue to keep their reserve. Am I being realistic about this? Who knows, but I don’t feel like judging something off of an internet social network. I think I just find it interesting how people are brought back together in order to do exactly what they were doing prior to these sites, not communicating.

[Via http://crossingall.wordpress.com]

NLP, Facebook Protocol and Goodbye & Good Luck Kimmi Jasper

2010-03-06T02:31:00.000+02:00

I’m a little into NLP, but a whole lot less so when I encounter some NLP ‘experts’. Neuro Linguistic programming helped me move from a sad point in my life to a whole new level. It’s not that it was responsible for my change and NLP made no decisions for me. It was one of the things I used, successfully accessing its tools, for my own self improvement. Not the only tools I used, but certainly, NLP has been good for me. So I still get curious about how some people use NLP and what they do to help others. I am certified as a Master Practitioner, but I’m happy to leave the practicing to the people that hold a passion for such things.

Whist on Facebook just yesterday, I stumbled upon an NLP person. I’d seen her Linked In page before as we have many mutual friends on Linked In as well as Facebook. Kimmi Jasper is located in the UK, is a Coach and a Therapist as well as an NLP Trainer, so when Facebook recommended her as a potential friend, I sent my friend request through, knowing we shared many common threads.

This morning, I received the following response,

05 March at 20:29 Report

Hi Chris,

I do not remember meeting you and there for am not accepting your request, please stop contacting me or I will report it as abuse.

Regards

Kimmi

Okay, so I may have busted someone’s view of protocol on Facebook, but I’m not thinking anyone deserves this type of response. I blocked Kimmi out of my Facebook life, including her comments made on mutual friends status updates that have invaded my personal Facebook space, but not before reading a few more to see what I was missing. Man, I should have looked at what she writes before I asked her to be my Facebook friend and none of this would ever have happened!

In years gone by, when I was a complete bastard, more bastard than I am now, I’d have sent her a note to let her know the word therefore is not two words and actually ends in an ‘e’. That I didn’t shows I am a little less ‘bastard’. I’m still bastard enough to point it out in this blog and question her ability with the linguistic part of her profession, but we all have faults.

I have very quickly adjusted from being made to feel a stalker and come to accept that Kimmi Jasper is far too important for yours truly and I am now very certain that hell might freeze over before I’d ever think of sending her a client. I’m thinking I’d be sending them to Christopher Howard or Joanna Martin anyway.

My personal freaky Jasper incident has taken my natural ability to be friendly and seek friendships on any minute levels and turned it on its head? Was what I did so wrong? Are there rules with Facebook friendships? I’m seventy percent of the way to the Facebook maximum number of friends and this is the first time I have encountered a ‘kimmi’.

Anyway, if you want to be my friend come to http://www.facebook.com/chris.gibson1 and I’ll be happy to accept your request. That is my nature. I’m friendly and I’m open and, perhaps, far less of a bastard than I say I am.

Fat Bastard Out

PS, I’m happy to answer any questions and direct people to Chris Howard and Joanna Martin and I do so and have done without any benefit other than knowing I put people in good hands.

Chris Howard – Click Here Please for His Info

Joanna Martin – Click Here Please for Her Info

Chris and Joanna both have Facebook pages and welcome friends and fans.

If you want to feel like a stalker or simply feel the need to be treated incredibly poorly by a professional therapist, then google Kimmi Jasper, go directly to her Facebook page and send a friend request. Go on. You know you want to…

Bastard – Really out now!

[Via http://fatbastardthoughts.wordpress.com]

What I Told the White House

2010-03-04T02:57:00.000+02:00

Image via Wikipedia

Today the White House blog asked “What does 21st century education mean to you?”

I don’t normally read the White House blog, but Michael Josefowicz, one of the regular commenters here pointed me to the post.

The White House asked for responses via Facebook, Linked-in or Twitter. I chose the latter, though I found 140 characters were not enough. I used 1120 characters, give ot take a few. This is what I told the White House.

.@whitehouseIt 21st C. education recognizes that all knowledge is connected; art, music, social studies are part of math & science emphasis.

.@whitehouselt 21st C education isn’t about a score on a test, it’s preparing a rounded person to accomplish great things.

Then I pointed them to yesterday’s blog posting.

.@whitehouselt Assessment is essential, but it must be appropriate to the learning desired, to the subject matter, & to student needs.

.@whitehouselt Formalized assessment now takes a huge part of teaching time & school resources for very little benefit to students.

.@whitehouselt Emphasis on standardized testing reveals a lack of imagination in assessment & produces lack of imagination in students.

.@whitehouselt 21st C advances should allow individualized teaching & learning. That will require individualized assessment.

.@whitehouselt Emphasis on standardized exams takes imagination/effort from individualized teaching, resources not available to develop it

.@whitehouselt Race To The Top stifles creativity rather than promoting it. Innovation is directed into narrow channels.

I could have gone on, but I had the sense they weren’t really listening.

Maybe I’m wrong about that.

I hope so.

[Via http://educationontheplate.wordpress.com]

What's Happening Wednesday 2010.03.03

2010-03-04T02:35:00.000+02:00

We’re almost done adding a review feature to all of our 2800 hotels for big families. Help families like you, leave a review!

If you haven’t done so, sign up for our big family travel newsletter.

Newsletter Updates Sign Up

Wanna check out our past newsletters before you sign up? See our past big family travel newsletters here.

We have a couple giveaways in the works, newsletter recipients are first to know.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Fan us on Facebook!

[Via http://blog.sixsuitcasetravel.com]

Death of the DM (Part II)

2010-03-02T02:38:00.000+02:00

Just a few days ago, we posted a warning about a new Twitter spamming and hacking scam via Direct Message.

Guess what, we’ve found another one! Be wary of the following Direct Message through Twitter:

Here is a preview of the message:

Don’t click on these links and be sure to send a message @ the individual that sent it to you if it is from a known Twitter account. If not, be sure to unfollow, report as spam to Twitter, and block this user.

Luckily, unlike Twitter, Tinyurl is aware of the issue and here is the message you receive if the link is clicked on:

There are a large number of users on Twitter that rarely check their Direct Message Inbox, and not many Twitter users monitor their outbound messages.

If you find that your account is sending these out, be sure to promptly change your password and delete the spam Direct Messages.

You might want to monitor your followers count as well and reach out to any of those that received the spam message to clear up any confusion.

We began receiving these today around noon, so beware and Happy Tweeting!

[Via http://evansmediagroup.wordpress.com]

Wake Tech Series Offers Website Basics & Social Media Strategies

2010-03-02T02:33:00.000+02:00

RALEIGH, NC − How to go from simple website creation to successfully marketing a product or service via the Web is the focus of 4 classes at the Western Wake Tech Campus, beginning March 4. “The Web, YOUR Marketing Tool to Advancing Your Business Using the Web & Social Media” is the title of this comprehensive series taught by Martin Brossman, Raleigh success coach, trainer and author. The series is co-sponsored by the Cary Chamber of Commerce and Wake Tech Small Business Center, scheduled from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. on consecutive Thursdays. Cost is $79.00 for the complete series.

Dates and sub-topics for the classes are: March 4−Easy Website Development for Almost No Cost; March 11−Driving Traffic to Your Website; March 18−Using Social Media for Marketing, Useful Information and Reputation Management; and March 25− Staying Connected to Your Customer and Maximizing Your ROI with the Web.

Registration is available online at this link: http://webadvisor.waketech.edu/

For further information or questions, call Martin Brossman at 919-847-4757 .

#

Contact Martin Brossman:

919-847-4757

Martin@CoachingSupport.com

www.pronetworkingonline.com

[Via http://martinbrossmanmedia.wordpress.com]

Facebook: Indonesian update

2010-02-28T02:36:00.000+02:00

I had a response!

I think this is the beginning of love…

“hi kryzler, thanks to replay my massage. well, i know a girl how can give you love n all the thing that can make you happy, n forgot about your sadness. it was ME. heheheh kidding. if you want, i can help you to find that girl but i cant promise. so….hope we can be good friend always. btw what was that UPS? ok. see u…. GBU”

[Via http://stringtheoryzine.co.uk]

Self Promotion- A.K.A. Meet Aaron-Michael Fox

2010-02-28T02:28:00.000+02:00

Long before social networking and user-generated content sites, how did people promote themselves? Beats me. But I do know how they do it now. I’m going to give you a great example of a guy who is great at self promotion through social networking sites, and in the process hope to help with his promotion.

Meet Aaron-Michael Fox. He is a stand-up comedian based in Huntington, WV, but travels all around the country. Aaron-Michael is trying to break out into the big time, and is using social media to help him.

He has a Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, and FunnyorDie account. Online, he is known as WVfunnyman. He is very funny, and I encourage you to check him out. His most popular video on YouTube is “Do I want to fight?” it has over 84,000 views, and is posted below. (WARNING- foul language is used, if this offends you please do not click play. Please do not get mad and leave me negative comments if you are offended- I warned you!).

But I digress, this post isn’t really about Aaron-Michael, it is about the social media he uses. User-generated content sites such as YouTube let him to post clips of his comedy at no charge. This along with his other social media endeavors allow him to be more accessible to people who would like to book him for an appearance. He can also show his skills to millions of people who would never have seen him otherwise. He doesn’t have to pay for the services of an advertiser or public relations specialist.

[Via http://insarahsmind.wordpress.com]

Apakah Facebook Akan Menggunakan Sistem Berbayar !

2010-02-27T02:53:00.000+02:00

Apakah Facebook akan berbayar? Ini berita baik ataukah buruk? Karena akhir-akhir ini banyak kasus atau masalah di Indonesia gara-gara Facebook. Banyak penculikan gadis, pemerkosaan, penipuan, pelajar suka bolos, dan lain sebagainya. Itu semua salah satunya hanya gara-gara Facebook. Dengan di adakan berbayarnya Facebook mungkin ini lah salah satu usaha yang jitu untuk menghilangkan Kecanduan Facebook. Orang Indonesia pasti akan perlahan-lahan meninggalkan Facebook jika berbayar. Dan ini bisa jadi berita gembira jika Facebook berbayar. Semoga saja rakyat Indonesia bisa sembuh dari pengaruh negatif Jaringan Sosial. Berikut adalah penjelasan Dari si pembuat Facebook (Mark Zuckerberg) : Ini adalah rincian biaya yang akan dikenakan di Facebook mendatang : Kita tunggu saja, apakah benar rencana ini akan dijalankan.

(maaf kalau ada berita yang salah)

[Via http://afrikenzs.wordpress.com]

Organizing Social

2010-02-27T02:31:00.000+02:00

iGoogle

I always go to my igoogle page first. Always. Looking at this athlete first thing in the morning inspires me to get moving! I have several sites such as Huffington, CNN, a few blogs, You Tube, my Google Calendar, that automatically load here and I check my Gmail.

Google is becoming more social but I am not active on it except Chat and just starting messing with Buzz. I wish I had more friends on Buzz, so if you’re on, find me!

TweetDeck

Next I open Tweet Deck which I am huge fan of. I check for any directs or mentions and try to respond. Next I run through the lastest tweets find information I’m interested in, click and add to my Google Reader for later reference.

Facebook

Then I wander over to Facebook to catch up the lives of my friends, I don’t want to miss anything that may have happened over night! I am using this site for IRL (in real life) friends. All of my facebook friends have been friends of mine at some point in my life dating back to grade school at St. Marys to 2010. What an amazing collection of people I have gathered along my journey of life! I have found a lot of friends from high school as we look forward to our, a-hem, 25th reunion. There are friends from previous jobs, my church, my kids’ schools, neighbors, my family, my husband’s family and lots of cousins.

Twitter

I love Twitter more and more. The more I use it, the more I love it. But my “audience” here is very different from Facebook. My favorite people on Twitter are super smart, local, social media marketing types, bloggers, runners, news and anyone I know personally. I only have 3 people from my facebook that I follow on Twitter so it’s easy for me to keep the two groups separate. My most favorite use of Twitter is the real-time element, gathering a lot of great resources and interacting with “followers.” I have learned a lot from Twitter on new media and how to write more succinctly in 140 character or less! I use Twitter to gather and spread information that is important to me and hopefully useful to my people. The more people I meet IRL, the better. I have been a little shy talking to people here but I’m working on it!

Daily Mile

Daily Mile is where I go next, hopefully to post a run! I have a hodge podge of peeps here, all people I enjoy following but have not necessarily met. There is limited interaction and of course it all has to do with running. There is a local group that meets once a month and I’m looking forward to joining them for evening runs. Daily Mile is the place to encourage and be encouraged in daily struggles with fitness goals! And it’s a great way to track your progress.

Google Reader

If I really have some time on my hands I will go to my reader looking for recent blog posts on social media, marketing, running, Catholic Church and writing. I am looking to stay on top of what is the latest and greatest, blog ideas and things to tweet. I love, love Reader but haven’t spent much time on it. I don’t share or follow people. I didn’t even know it was possible until my daily mile (Dave C) and twitter friend @davecriswell posted something about sharing on Reader. I use delicious to tag articles to my reader.

How are you organizing your social? I would love to hear which sites you can’t live without. Leave a comment below!

[Via http://anjanette121.wordpress.com]

Site Update!

2010-02-25T02:47:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to give a special thanks to everybody who has commented on, read, or contributed to my blog in any way. In less than a month, I have gained almost a thousand views! This is an amazing start! I have also met some wonderful fellow bloggers and read some excellent reviews. I’m seriously enjoying blogging and connecting with all of you, and I look forward to continuing this! So, again, thanks to everyone!

As you can see, I have changed the layout to something a little more basic. I like it better; its not as busy as the last theme.

BTW, if anyone would like to connect outside of the blog universe, I’m on Facebook! I can’t believe I didn’t say that earlier.

~Alisa~

[Via http://sakurayume.wordpress.com]

Men are from mars and women are all over social media

2010-02-25T02:43:00.000+02:00

If the differences between men and women are widely acknowledged in best selling books, why do social networks still talk with a unisex voice?

It’s already well known that women make 85% of the buying decisions in this country but did you know:

65% of people using social media are women
60% are boomer women
55+ is the fastest growing segment on Facebook
52% of searches women do are for someone else
85% are looking for an independent review by another woman

The numbers get even higher on the subject of health care where virtually all health care buying decisions are made by women, not just for themselves and their families but as caregivers to parents, relatives and extended family.

I work with a woman named Kelley Connors who is doing something about it. Kelley started an online community called Real Women on Health ( http://realwomenonhealth.com ), a place for Baby Boomer women featuring candid conversations and expert commentary about health and wellness. Kelley has shown me study after study where women who talk with other women about the same health interests or conditions actually have better health outcomes.

As a testament to women sharing their collective wisdom in social media, in just a couple of months, Kelley has built a multi-channel social network of over 10,000 members on her community web-site, blog-talk radio show, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts and received a content sponsorship grant from the National Women’s Health Resource Center, the largest clearing house for women’s health care information. When linked to affliliate partners, Real Women on Health’s reach is 5,000,000.

Kelley is using Real Women on Health for moderated conversations with health advocates and the messaging, sampling and sales of health and wellness products and services that can benefit this high value group and the network they influence. What I like most about Kelley’s approach is her ability to listen to her constituents and ask questions like “what are the health topics you’re most passionate about?” These serve as a roadmap for future development more than a business plan and keep new and existing users coming back to hear what she has to say.

Listening skills are important because women don’t feel listened to by:

59% of food marketers
66% in health care
77% in automotive
84% in investing

According to the Harvard Business Review, their primary sentiment with marketers in these categories is frustration.

If you don’t believe me, just ask the woman up top.

[Via http://robpetersen.wordpress.com]

Social Media News 2/22/10

2010-02-23T02:33:00.000+02:00

It’s back! Social Media News has been on hiatus for a couple weeks, as my client work (and spending time with my Valentine) always comes first- but I am getting back on track with this week’s update.

In the social media sphere, change happens in a blink of an eye. While I was on break from blogging a lot of big things happened in this space, most notably the release of Google Buzz. The buzz about Buzz is that it’s Google’s latest life-streaming social media portal. Like Twitter and Facebook, Buzz allows users to keep in touch with friends and by sharing status updates, links, photos, and more.

Is Buzz a formidable threat to Twitter and Facebook? Maybe, but probably not. Buzz is integrated with Google’s email platform Gmail, and I’m guessing Google thought that would be a good way to gain immediate adoption en masse. But for many internet users, email use is in decline as social media use continues to rise. If Google had released Buzz two or three years ago it could have gained real traction, but unfortunately many would-be early adopters have already abandoned their Gmail accounts in favor of Facebook messaging (which is moving towards a full webmail service, code named Project Titan).

Also while I was off the grid, I missed a couple of birthdays. Flickr and Facebook both turned six years old this month. That’s a pretty long time in Internet years; do you think they’ll make it another six?

Google Buzz

If Google Wave Is The Future, Google Buzz Is The Present – TechCrunch

Google Buzz: What It Means for Twitter and Facebook – Mashable

Google Will Ask Buzz’s Early Adopters to Confirm Privacy Choices – Wired

Google Buzz May Help Its Rivals More Than Itself – MediaPost

Facebook

PayPal and Facebook Credits Will Play Nice After All – Mashable

The Fun of Facebook Measurement – Gilligan on Data

Facebook Moves Towards World — Not Just Social Networking – Domination -MediaPost

Social Media: Strategy

5 Ways Airlines and Hotels Can Drive Revenue with Social Media – Mashable

HOW TO: Deal With Negative Feedback in Social Media – Mashable

How Much Blog Would a Blogger Blog If a Blog Chucked Its Comments? – MediaPost

Social Media: Consumer Electronics

Official Twitter App for BlackBerry Looks Really Good – Mashable

Fashion Show Goers Purchased Clothes Straight From the Runway Using a BlackBerry App – Gizmodo

Motorola Backflip Will Be the First Android Phone on AT&T – Wired

Digital Advertising

Online Video Gets an Ad Exchange – AdAge

Live TV’s Alive as Ever, Boosted by Social Media – AdAge

Pre-Roll Video Ads Still Hated, Here to Stay – AdAge

Beyond the Badge: Big Media Brands Strike Foursquare Deals – AdAge

Internet Trends

How Social Media Is Changing the Super Bowl – Mashable

Walmart Buys Vudu, Jumping Into Online Movie Rentals – Wired

School District Halts Webcam Surveillance – Wired

It’s Official: Google Can Sell Power Like a Utility – Wired

Checking In, Checking Out [a great article summing up the latest location-based mobile/social apps] – MediaPost

[Via http://fivefeetofdynamite.com]

My Separated-at-Birth Photos in Facebook

2010-02-23T02:29:00.000+02:00

DOPPELGANGER WEEK IN FACEBOOK: This week change your profile picture to that of someone famous (actor, musician, athlete) who you’ve been told you look like. Post this to your status.

[Via http://perkyperps.wordpress.com]

Facebook hidden Phone book

2010-02-21T02:39:00.000+02:00

Ever since facebook changed there theme I have found it really hard to access my phonebook. I recently lost my phone in the snow and lost it. I found it a week later, microwaved it to defrost it. Let’s just say I have done smarter things before…

So today I just got my new phone. Don’t ask what phone it is, because I won’t tell you its an LG rummer 2. I looked in every facebook file I knew, searching for the oh-so-useful phone book. After searching I finally found it!

http://www.facebook.com/friends/?view=phonebook

[Via http://sarcasticblogger.wordpress.com]

Picture Perfect: A digital weight loss diary

2010-02-21T02:30:00.000+02:00

Alright mamas, how many memory cards have you filled with pics of your wee ones? What about you aunties? How many pics of the little monkey have you Facebooked? No doubt we’re all snapping shots of the kids. But leave a place for yourself in the album too. When trying to lose weight or reshape, photos are a great way to monitor progress and reach your goals.

I am far from camera shy. Hello, aspiring fitness cover model here. I see the flash of a bulb and respond instinctively with a full smile and three-quarter pose. You know, that red carpet pose that does all women justice. My Facebook page is filled with fun party pics and vacation photos. But I also have several personal folders documenting my physical changes through competition training, pregnancy and now, post-pregnancy.

Early in my pregnancy I decided to take monthly photos of my growing bump. The first shot was taken at eight weeks. The last shot was taken at eight weeks. LOL. I didn’t really follow through on that plan. Luckily, I managed to get other shots over the course of the year. Now I can look back at my 1-,4-,5-,6-,7- and 9-month belly. Very cool.

While training for my figure competition (prior to pregnancy), I was much more disciplined about the process. I photographed my front, back, and side poses each week. The photos were reviewed regularly by me and by my coach. This process was extremely helpful in evaluating the changes in my musculature and shape. What I didn’t see day-to-day, I definitely saw week-to-week and month-to-month. The progress pics were a great motivator when I didn’t think my body was changing. They revealed that my midsection was progressively becoming leaner, my upper body more built, and my legs better defined.

4 months postpartum

7 1/2 months

I’ve adopted that process again. As I work toward new fitness goals, I am documenting the changes with monthly pics. (See my 3-month and 4-month postpartum updates). It’s already working. I’ve been looking back at my maternity photos. Wow, there was a 6 lb baby in there! I’m not so hard on myself when I see how big my belly actually was. It’s surprisingly easy to forget. And I’m already seeing slight changes in my post-pregnancy photos too. Step up, and see the incredibly shrinking stomach!

I wish I could lay claim to this ingenious tactic. I would patent it and pay for a tummy tuck. Just kidding. The photo thing is actually suggested by many fitness pros. Funny enough, I received an email this week from Tosca Reno with this very suggestion. Her “Focus on Fitness” detailed seven fitness tips. Number three on the list was tracking progress with before and after photos.

I found a similar suggestion in a blog by fitness model, Jennifer Nicole Lee. Taking a ‘before photo’ was step one in her four-week plan. Local trainer Lyzabeth Lopez includes before and after photos in her “Hourglass Workout” 3 month challenge. Plus we’ve all seen those “holy sh*t” before and after pics on The Biggest Loser, right? How awesome are those?!

So as I’m documenting the growth of my little girl, I’ll be documenting the changes in my body too. I look forward to sharing the results with you as I go.

If you’re inspired by this post, I encourage you to give the digital diary a try. Get your camera, get in front of the mirror and start snapping. Keep the pictures, even if you hate them. Nobody else has to see them. Unless you decide to blog about it, LOL. It will be SO satisfying to look back and see how far you’ve come!

What images inspire you to work harder toward your goals?

[Via http://babiesbelliesandbarbells.wordpress.com]

GREG OROPEZA GOES MAINSTREAM!!!

2010-02-20T02:12:00.000+02:00

Sorry, had to use this photo of FB Victim #5 even though it reminds me too much of Ralphie & Janice in the Sopranos. However, it does fit perfectly with the post.

One of our proudest moments was when we opened MRR one day and saw Alfred E. Neuman’s face superimposed over Marc S’ in those pre-PhotoShop days, courtesy of the commie staff. Headed by Tim Yohannan.

War was going on. No, not overseas, but between the Tesco’s and the Fuck-Ups, who wouldn’t bow down to Lord Tim. They were among the few who didn’t decide to go “peace-punk” to get airplay or a good review.

I liked that they said “Fuck You” to the PC punk rock establishment in the same way I do to Facebook and its followers.

Bored is being on Facebook Greg. And sad would be what you’ve become. An amalgamation of what Huxley, Burroughs and Gibson portended. How do you play your set? Do you post the songs on your “wall”.

Have fun being a Facebook fag…I’d rather be a pussy.

[Via http://toofacedbook.wordpress.com]

Biweekly Links – 02-19-2010

2010-02-20T02:11:00.000+02:00

1. Cookies, Supercookies and Ubercookies: Stealing the Identity of Web Visitors

This is a two part post by Arvind Narayanan on identifying the identity of a person using a variety of techniques. The first part is here and second part is here . The techniques include using a more sophisticated version of cookies, using browser history in a more intelligent fashion , using data from social networks and social bookmarking . There were some interesting observations in this post like the set of Facebook groups that you are member of is more or less unique. He also talks about federated identities which are convenient but makes it easy to track.

He also gives two useful links – One which uses browser history to find the Wikipedia topics you are interested in. The page is here. Beware, once you visit the page it starts analyzing your history – so visit it only if you really want to. That said, I felt I got a lot of interesting info from my previous pages ! The second useful link is a page where if you give your email id , it tells which of your online identities are linked – Check it out here . I have to say , I was pretty impressed with the results.

2. Please Rob Me !

This was my favorite site of this week. It uses information from Twitter and with some simple processing tells if the house is empty ! I am sure no robber is going to take its word but still it was a fun project and hopefully serve to raise awareness ! A BBC article is here.

3. Some Fun Stuff

I got some positive comments about including comics in the post. So here are the comics that impressed me this week. XKCD talks about tautology , Abstruse Goose on Gödel’s incompleteness theorems and probably the most relevant to us is from Calvin and Hobbes.

4. E-mail Provides Interesting Insights Into Social Networks

An interesting article . Has some discussion on triadic and focal closures.

5. Facebook directs more online users than Google

What happens next ? They are already one of the largest link or image sharing site and now they are becoming a bigger referrer. I am not sure how it is going to impact the users but I only hope it doesn’t increase the number of crappy ads they show ! (at least don’t show the ads i have actively rejected earlier !)

6. A 50-Watt Cellular Network

Hmm interesting. I think (i have not cross checked) Times rated the CEO of this company as one of the top 8 people to watch out.

7. Mirror symmetry broken at 4 trillion degrees

I don’t really know the significance of it. But the fact that we can generate temperature of up to 4 trillion degrees is mind boggling. I was naturally curious how they measured the temperature , which is detailed in this post titled Hottest Soup in Universe . "Technology has improved so much" !

8. Bloodied By Warner, Redbox Also Damns New Releases To Piracy

After the Amazon-McMillan row comes Warner Vs Netflix/Redbox. Basically, both of them will hold off on the release of new Warner Brothers DVD and Blu-ray movies until after they’ve been on sale for 28 days. Bad time for consumers !

9. Forbes India: Why CEOs want Govt job

Nice read !

[Via http://saravananthirumuruganathan.wordpress.com]

PleaseRobMe: Exposing the Pitfalls of our Social Media Obsession

2010-02-18T02:41:00.000+02:00

The other day, I heard about a website called FourSquare for the first time. I was intrigued so I did some research to see what it was all about. One of my first thoughts was ‘why would I want people to know where I am at all times?’ I’ll admit this was also my first reaction to twitter, but twitter has changed tremendously from its initial launch. But FourSquare, as far as I understand, is really just a game based on the places you visit (businesses, restaurants, attractions, etc). Which means you are updating the world on where you aren’t. Probably not a good choice, right?

The people at ReadWriteWeb (more on the site later) apparently agreed. In a story published earlier today, they talk about a website that has risen in response to FourSquare and the explosive popularity of social media - PleaseRobMe. This site publishes a constant stream of individual’s check ins from FourSquare under a category that reads “Recent Empty Homes”. The site is clearly a commentary on how willing we are to divulge our every move to people we don’t know or have any reason to trust.

I don’t know much about the law in general, let alone within the complex subject that is the web, but I would say that this is totally legal. People are publishing this information freely elsewhere on the web, so PleaseRobMe has every right to take it and use it however they please. The nature of the site is a bit disturbing to me, but I understand that they’re trying to increase awareness. It just seems like a harsh wake-up call, especially when you consider that some people might suffer in the name of increasing awareness.

[Via http://socialeverything.wordpress.com]

Google Buzz or Google Bust??

2010-02-18T02:38:00.000+02:00

On February 2, Google introduced their latest product Google Buzz. This added “social” feature, which is built right into Gmail, allows users to start conversations and share information (pictures, videos, links, etc.) with those they contact the most. Google Buzz is essentially designed to evolve Gmail into a social networking platform that simplifies the process of sharing both public and private information with those on your contact list (aka: your Gmail address book). You can follow anyone who has a Gmail account by searching for them by name or email address. You can instant message, as well as post your latest “buzz” in real time (without a character limit, may I add) and this is all done through your Gmail account. Voila! It’s email, Facebook and Twitter all rolled into one. Genius.

Yeah, not so much.

Over the past week, as Google continues to work out the kinks of its new interface, many feel as if they have fallen victim to an invasion of privacy. With all of the noise we keep hearing about protecting your “online image,” especially in this job market and economy, when a private conversation is accidentally publicized…well, you can put two and two together.

In a recent interview with CNBC regarding the privacy issues Google Buzz has created since its debut, Eric Schmidt the CEO of Google Inc. said,”If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines –including Google –do retain this information for some time and it’s important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.”

So, maybe Google Buzz will be what the next buzz-worthy addition to social media. Or, maybe Mr. Schmidt should prepare for his own little buzz-worthy bust.

Laura Ann Klinedinst

[Via http://imcclass.wordpress.com]

didn't expect that.

2010-02-16T02:50:00.000+02:00

I’ve just quit smoking. Now, I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking, “mike, wow, best person ever.” And yep, bang on, but that’s not what we are here to discuss today.

I’ve smoked since I was 14. I’m now a month off 29.

I’d always seen a sense of smell as some kind of inherited weakness a real man would strive to dissuade his body of, but now that mine is slowly returning, I like it. The last time I actually smelt anything was more than half my lifetime ago.

Thus, I am sat on my couch reading something far too serious for the amount of beer I’ve drunk and suddenly, I’m 12, living in Kuwait, in love with Vanessa Shaw and her blonde pony tail, facing a long, lonely summer holiday in France with my family, willing this youthful innocence to flower and enjoy all that it entailed.

Since then I’ve lived in seven countries, I’ve loved three utterly perfect girls and three guys I wouldn’t be me without. I’ve done nearly a thousand skydives and I’ve drunk more alcohol than Bulgaria produces in a good year. Every scar on this freckled tapestry is the indelible echo of something learned or won.

Still, I can’t help but wonder which of the girls on Facebook I don’t recognise is her.

All from the smell of a book.

[Via http://iheartether.wordpress.com]

we respectively crashed your party....

2010-02-16T02:40:00.000+02:00

ever have one of those nights where you wanna go out but you’re in too much of a funk to actually get off the couch. well that was my situation this past friday. i’m not going to go into detail about my funky-ness so yeah …… anywho. its friday and its “snowing” in ATL. i must have been experiencing a slight case of cabin fever because i couldn’t take being in my house any longer. thank goodness for our numerous methods of communication.

i was fb chatting with a friend and i told her how epically nuts i was going to be if i remained in my house. she said come over. i said when. she said now. i said “ok! lemme put on some pants!” so i braved the slushy roads, the idiots whizzing by in their trucks/SUVs, and a full bladder (i was in such a rush i forgot to pee) …on my way to my friend’s. well…we didn’t exactly go out friday night because ….well where were we gonna go when a city locks down with any sign of snow?

ok so…..fast forward to sat. still at my friend’s place. we literally spent the whole day on the couch watching television programs you wouldn’t readily admit to the average person. night comes and we both wanna go out . however, because of the current state of our wallets the list of things to do were limited. but my friend sends me a txt about an art show over at wonder root and the possibility of a party afterwards. so jumping for joy, right? nope. it was more like an “eh”. as an artist i should be out and about and shakin my groove thang, right? i am a self proclaimed homebody and sometimes i think i get in my own way. but after some coaxing my friend telling me she’ll pay my friend’s and i way we put ourselves together, brushed our teeth and headed out the door. best decision i’ve made in a minute…ok well when considering being social.

after driving past the place three times we finally found it and met up with my friends. we walked towards the back of the place and walk through what appears to be a house transformed into a gallery. already there was live music and crowds of 20somethings sipping on miller lite and PBR. first thoughts….hmm i hope there is more to this. and yesss there was. with a beer in hand we walked upstairs to see some art work. the show was entitled the femme fatale show so basically it was a lot of sexy, sometimes scary works of women in soothing or kick ass situations. there were paintings, drawings, photography, and sculptures…oh my! some i liked…some not so much. on painting was of a woman with an exposed womb with a cracked egg in it….kinda disturbing but to each its own.

so we head downstairs to listen to some music. please check out Naomi Lavendar and Allison Weiss . i chatted with Naomi before she went on and i must say i wasn’t expecting that voice to come out of her. i literally cried listening to her…ok not bawling my eyes out but her music is so relatable that it touched me. now days i don’t feel as if musicians try to make a connection with their audience….i could be wrong. and allison….funny gal. i loved her introductions to each song.

was our night over? nope. we walked/jogged to our cars singing…something that i cant recall at the moment and was on our way to Java Lords. interesting folks…but thats the way i like ‘em. met this one dude who kept telling me to find him on twitter, facebook, likedin, and myspace…before i even knew his name. music is playing and we’re dancing in the middle of the coffee shop. my bf once told me i attract indie musicians and well im not gonna say the other…so anywho i met two guys (maybe one…i think) from the band The Falcon Lords. funny guys. awesome music. they kept telling us where were the best places in ATL to go dancing.

so. after partying it up at the coffee shop/bar we attempted to find a house party. got lost but it didn’t really matter. the ipod was blasting in the car and we apparently could have cared less. so. found the house, asked if we could switch out the ipod already playing to ours and thats when the party really started. everyone rushed the living room to dance or what their definition of dancing was. the party was so happenin that a stray cat from outside decided to crash…unfortunately some dude threw it out. well 3am hit and we figured it was time to go. so we took our curly haired selves to the car and headed home.

so yeah. awesome night. you should have been there but you weren’t. your loss.

[Via http://michelyah.wordpress.com]

Social Media: Monetization & Creativity

2010-02-14T02:55:00.000+02:00

We have all watched and questioned what are, could be and will be the best monetization strategies for our favorite social media sites. There have been the obvious ways, selling targeted ads like Facebook, and the less obvious, licensing search engine technology to the giants. We can’t forget the old standbys like the real dollars one can spend for a virtual presence and for improving an avatar on sites like SecondLife. There are even ways to generate revenue from popular Facebook gaming applications like Farmville.

We too have our list of options for our social video Facebook application Vpype, and there are days when we add new options to our list and delete others. These lists include options for broadcasters to create, share and publicize their own content.

Go to this web link to add Vpype app to your Facebook profile:

http://apps.facebook.com/vpypebroadcaster

The Missing Link: Social Media Creativity

It’s possible to engage with a social media site to socialize and connect. In fact we all have some idea of these mechanics and how to execute. What’s been missing – how one can do this more creatively and authentically in a network of authenticated identities. With Vpype, we are looking at ways our broadcasters and viewers can express themselves, tell their story and can be found and discovered. Our live social video platform give them a way to exploit their talents, let their faces and voices become part of their story, get real time feedback, and help with being more authentic to a selected group of audience or everyone on Facebook.

Most recently, Vpype Chief Marketing Officer Arnold Waldstein’s interview on social video was featured on Huffington Post. Please click here [Huffingtion Post] to watch the video. In addition, please click here to watch my interview on Beet.tv

[Via http://socialvideoceo.com]

My Love/hate relationship with Facebook

2010-02-14T02:42:00.000+02:00

I go back and forth whether social networking sites like facebook are a good thing or a bad thing. Part of that is because I go back and forth on every damn thing, because I like to think way too much instead of just making a decision and sticking with it. Indecision is worse than a bad decision. Actually, I don’t know whether that’s true or not let me think about it for awhile.

(Stay on topic, dummy)

Oh yeah Facebook. Here’s what is good about Facebook. You get to re-connect with old friends. Here’s what is gay about facebook. I didn’t give a shit about any of your lives before why should I start now?

This is how it usually goes when I log in. I check my messages. Check out a few of my friends pages. Accept some dumb ass clown gift or a new tool in farmville that someone I don’t know sent to me and then I get bored and write some dumb shit on people’s pages.

Then I see what certain people are up to with their status updates. I think, “Wow that looks like fun I need to get down there and do that, that will be bad ass.”

I’ll start thinking, hmmm do I need to call these people or just show up? Why did they tell everyone where they are? You do that too Mike, why do you do that?

Don’t know.

Then I’ll get jealous for a minute and think if I don’t go then I’m missing out and they will have more fun than I will.

My inner voice will then say, “What are you talking about homo? You just did a somersault, ate a bunch of candy, cranked one out, read a book and did a bunch of push-ups. You were having a blast. Why the fuck would you stop doing what makes you happy and head to a bar when you don’t even drink anymore?

Ummm because there’s girls there.

“So what dummy? The fucking last thing your dumb ass needs right now is a relationship.”

“I know but they are hot and smell good.”

“Shut up Mike, there’s millions of em. You work with a bunch of girls like that. Take one home from the club if you want to and then kick her out of the bed.”

“Don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“That’s not how I was raised.”

“That’s gay.”

“Well maybe my dad raised me too well then, because I just can’t be an asshole to women until they break my heart. Then I can be a vicious angry asshole.”

“Why?”

Ummm they made me mad.

So what?

“I don’t like it when people make me mad.”

“How fucking old are you man that’s immature.”

“So what?”

This inner battle goes on for another 20 minutes and it’s usually too late to go anywhere anyway and I decide to just stay home and do exactly what I was doing before facebook and people having fun interrupted me having the time of my life.

The other thing that bothers me about facebook is you start doing the life comparison game.

“Wow that fucker has a million dollars and a hot wife that I want to bone. I’m so jealous of that dude. I used to make him eat pigeon eggs in third grade and now look!”

Then I start to think, “So the fuck what Mike? How does that affect you in the least You are completely happy not being married until you start to think about it. You are happy just being an amazing uncle to that little shit Alex who you could spend 84 straight hours rough housing with and you’d be the happiest man in the world. Why do you care what some dude has?

“Umm because I want to bone his wife.”

“Then go do that.”

“Can’t wasn’t raised that way. It all goes back to…”

“Shut the fuck up Mike. God why do you think so damn much man. Get a lobotomy if you have to. You just said that you don’t care about money right?”

“Yup.”

“You just said that you are happy when you are single right?”

“Yup.”

“The things that make you happy are riding a bike, playing sports, reading books, watching movies, beating up your 5 year old nephew and then going out meeting new people right?”

“Yup.”

“SO JUST DO THAT DUMB ASS! IF THAT’S WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY THEN JUST FUCKING DO THAT SHIT THE REST OF YOUR DAMN LIFE AND STOP BITCHING ABOUT WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE YET! EITHER GET IT YOURSELF IF IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO YOU OR SHUT THE FUCK UP.”

“Good point brain, but in all honesty I want to tag like 95 chicks that are my friends on facebook. And the only way I can do that is if I go see em and talk them into having sex with me. Right?”

“Umm that’s a fair point. But why does it have to be girls you are friends with on facebook? Look around man! There’s tons of em. Don’t you always complain that because you dated a little troll from Gateway for three years, that a bunch of your facebook friends know, that you are afraid that all that drama will come back to haunt you and they will not be able to resist the urge to see what it was like to be in a relationship with you?”

“Yup.”

So don’t date chicks from Gateway then dummy! There’s more to life than Gateway. Yes some of them arebeautiful and successful and you really wanted to nail em when you were 17. But you didn’t man, move on. Look in your phone. There are over 35 girls in there that have given their number to you. Some want to get to know you because you seem nice. Some just want you to nail them, Mike. Some chicks are like that. Stop looking on a computer for what’s right in front of you in real-life. Stop chasing women dummy! Now go do some more push-ups read The Fountainhead again and see if you can pull off that front flip onto your bed. Finish this long meandering blog that no one should a give a fuck about, walk outside reflect for a minute while having a cigarette and then go back inside, watch the all-star game festivities and rest up for work tonight. Then if you want to go on facebook and dick around for a bit at 4 a.m. when you get home. Deal?”

“Deal brain.”

Final judgement. Facebook is neither good nor bad. It’s just a thing out there that you can choose to participate in or choose not to. Doesn’t matter either way. You aren’t missing anything if you don’t give a shit about it.

So all that to say I don’t know the right answer. I’m going to make one hell of a politician one day.

“Mr. Nicholls, What are your plans for health care reform?”

“Don’t give a shit to be honest. I figure just stay healthy and you won’t have to worry about it. If you get cancer then that would really fucking suck balls. Go the Dr., Get treated then never worry about paying for it, is my advice. Why beat cancer and then let trying to pay back the hospital kill you. Fuck em,you got your health. Aha Universal health care is what I meant to say. Ignore all that babble and swearing.”)

Ok time to go post this link on Facebook so all my very best friends in the whole world will read it!

Hypocrite Mike.

[Via http://itsmikenicholls.wordpress.com]

The sad, slow death of MySpace.com

2010-02-13T02:51:00.000+02:00

I remember sitting at my desk in New York when News Corporation announced that it would acquire powerhouse social networking site MySpace.com for $580m in cash. The move was heralded by many as a savvy reinforcement of News Corp by Rupert Murdoch, giving his old-line media firm of movies, newspapers, and tz stations and solid foothold in the digital entertainment space.

At the time, I thought that Murdoch was making a wise move. Remember though, this was in mid 2006, before the ascent of Facebook, and before the leadership of MySpace and their News Corp. overlords ran the company into the ground.

Fast forward: It may have seemed like a good deal at the time. Now, it’s early 2010 and I don’t think I have logged into my MySpace account for well over a year, perhaps even two years; I cannot remember, because it has been so long. Facebook now permeates the public consciousness, oftern being one of the first websites people visit at the start of their day. Indeed, many people simply leave it open in their browser window, refreshing it constantly so that they can see and respond to the live updates posted by their friends. With its gorgeous, clean, well-designed user interface, and much less advertising, I don’t think MySpace ever stood a chance. The rush to Facebook by many was breathtaking and unstoppable. The execs at Fox Interactive Media must have been fighting back panic, but did not choose to recognize the incredible value offered by Facebook and the obvious flaws in their own product.

Where MySpace failed and Facebook succeeded is a question of differing views on who the purpose of their product. It is obvious that managers at MySpace viewed effective monetization of their surging web traffic as a core business strategy. They must have thought to themselves, “With the ad revenue we will realize from this new web property, we can add X to the bottom line of News Corp.” Not long after the deal, the $900m ad deal MySpace signed with Google, the increase in advertising on the site was evident and contributed to a tolerable, but unpleasant user experience defined by ubiquitous ads, ugly design and lots of prostitutes.

Facebook, on the other hand, turned down astronomical buyout offers and made profitability a secondary concern as it focused of providing users with a pleasant forum to interact with individuals whom they choose to. All business decisions were secondary to user experience and providing enjoyable features. The stratospheric acquisition of users over the past few years validates this strategy. Only now, after becoming one of the most trafficked websites in the world, has Facebook become profitable. Mark Zuckerberg and other senior leaders at FB should be commended for their long-term vision and commitment to providing a quality product above all else.

Now, we learn that Oven Van Natta, a former senior Facebook executive brought in to save MySpace has been dismissed after nine months on the job. In January 2009, ComScore reported that Facebook drew twice the global internet traffic that MySpace has. The company’s fall back strategy of becoming an online hub for music (given MySpace’s popularity as a forum for upcoming musicians) resulted in the purchase of online music networks iLike.com and Imeem under Van Natta’s tenure. Infighting among management and incoherent strategy have resulted in the company falling short in their ad deal with Google, producing a $100m loss.

Its a tough lesson in not being to greedy and focusing on what your customers want. Facebook, the social network the burned through investor cash and endured widespread criticism for not taking buyout offers, is triumphant.

MySpace chief executive resigns (LA Times)

UPDATE: News Corp Sees 2010 Oper Earnings Rising In Low 20% (WSJ)

Google Crashes Facebook IPO Party (The Street)

[Via http://colinjsmith.com]

Gaji Dah Masuk, Yeah! :)

2010-02-13T02:44:00.000+02:00

Hahaha. Per punye tajuk kat atas tue. Takde kene ngene pun. Ape ko excited sangat wani? By the way, seronok pulak rase bile gaji dah masuk. Hutang terbayar. Janjiku tunaikan buat mama tersayang. Syahdu jek bace mesej di bawah nie. Huhu.

@ FACEBOOK. MAMA LEFT ME THE COMMENT. SEE. I WAS SO PROUD WHEN READ THAT

Tapi, apakan daye, mama pulak nak tambahkan selera. Nak makan grill food katenye. Dah lame dia nak since dia usha seorang gurl sebelah meja kami di depan McD KLCC (about 2 months ago). Kecur air liur mama agaknye tengok grill food berasap lagi on the plate. Since that she approached me to try it. So, semalam saye bawa mama jalan-jalan di KLCC (walaupun selalu pergi, dekat jek dengan umah, naik tren selang 2 stesen jek). Tapi mungkin kali nie baginye paling berharge sebab anak sulung die nie baru dapat gaji kan3. Haha. Nonsense btw.

:: Tapi takpe mama, janji secret recipe cheese cake and cappucino tue akak akan segera tunaikan sebelum balik shah alam minggu depan. Hoho.

GRILL FOOD KESUKAAN MAMA: STINGRAY + LALA

Sampai saje kat umah, mama cakap nak buat nasi ayam untuk dinner. Suke sangat nasi ayam mama. Sedap. Pergh. Masa birthday adik (hazeera) pun mama jamu dengan nasi ayam. SEDAP!!! Hafiz pun suke ;p

MAMA JAMU NASI AYAM MASA BIRTHDAY ADIK, 20/06/2009

NASI AYAM, MY CHEF: MAMA GAMBAR TERSEBUT BERTARIKH 12/02/2010

Akhirsekali, pic mama dan saye semalam. Hehehehe.

[Via http://esoneniey.wordpress.com]

Facebook & Pandora = The Ultimate Creepers

2010-02-11T02:51:00.000+02:00

Sometimes it surprises me just how well Pandora and Facebook know what I like. Sure, I should be used to it, being an advertising major and all, but I can’t help but to think it’s creepy just how accurate they are. For Facebook, the stupid, obvious ads that tell me my age and where I live don’t surprise me, but there are definitely some that make me do a double-take. Pandora, however, surprises me in a good way. I only have one channel on my Pandora, which has a combination of everything I like – from Beyoncé to Phoenix. So when someone new comes on, more often than not, I am pleasantly surprised. It’s amazing. Bottom line: Facebook – stop creeping on me, and Pandora – keep bringing more good music and don’t drop to Facebook’s level of creepiness.

[Via http://davidmneilson.wordpress.com]

Facebook Lemming

2010-02-11T02:45:00.000+02:00

Maybe I’m being harsh, but I am tiring of the “It’s (fill in the various blanks) week! Change your picture/status/whatever to something because someone else thinks it will be cool, or 93% of people won’t like you any more…” I find myself resisting on principle – My Facebook page and profile and status are mine. I refuse to be prodded to become a lemming and jump off of that cliff.

Popularity was never a high priority for me, so I can’t see any reason why I should be cajoled into sharing anything beyond the hundreds of mundane posts I already write. After all, if I shared any more, I’d be typing:

Jenny: breathed in

Jenny: breathed out

Jenny: breathed in

Anyhow, Jenny: is ranting, but 93% of the home viewing audience might care even if they don’t post this as their status.

Good night!

[Via http://waterworker.wordpress.com]

Singer, Estelle, Designs Jewelry Collection

2010-02-09T02:42:00.000+02:00

We’ve seen singer, Estelle, in ads for clothing and handbag brands.

Today I learned that she is switching it up and working from the other side of the fashion industry, adding “jewelry designer” to her growing repertoire.

Apparently, the British Grammy award winning singer has partnered with designer, Rachel Roy, to create a capsule jewelry collection.

Going on sale in March 2010, the collection is limited edition, with limited quantities, and includes necklaces, bracelets, earrings and rings.

If you’d like to preview the collection and shop an edited version of it, fan Rachel Roy on Facebook.

The pop-up store closes February 11 at 6 p.m.

After that, you’ll find the collection, moderately priced between $34 and $195, exclusively at Macy’s and at www.macys.com/rachelroy.

[Via http://sooofabulous.com]

Facebook Home page got a new Look!

2010-02-09T02:20:00.000+02:00

(C)udsha.wordpress.com

WOOOOOOOOOOOW!

This is great news for me.Awesome!

Because I hate it’s OLD look.

But I don’t know about you! To me, Its very simple and cool interface.

Founder Mark Zuckerberg , officially announce the site’s redesign on July 23.

According to the Image,

1.See new requests, messages and notifications grouped together by the Facebook logo.

2.Easily access your messages, applications and chat on the left side of the page.

3.Manage privacy settings and log out using the Account menu above.

New Chatting sidebar get short and simplle.

Some people have had trouble getting to the new site. Log in in at the old facebook.com and then go to to www.new.facebook.com to see the changes.

[Via http://udsha.wordpress.com]

FaceBook to offer email

2010-02-07T02:23:00.000+02:00

Facebook is completely rewriting their messaging product and is preparing to launch a fully featured webmail product in its place, according to a source with knowledge of the product. Internally it’s known as Project Titan. Or, unofficially and perhaps over-enthusiastically, the Gmail killer.

More details here: http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/02/05/facebooks-project-titan-a-full-featured-webmail-product/

[Via http://socialenglishman.wordpress.com]

Facebook Friends "A"

2010-02-07T02:21:00.000+02:00

The internet is a big place. Social networking is a phenomenon. Everyone has a Facebook page. Friends, family, and strangers upload photos of each other with no regard for the individual’s rights to privacy. However, once you post a picture on the internet, it is no longer yours.

Photos posted on Facebook can and will be used for every possible purpose: from keeping one from getting a desired job to prosecuting under aged drinkers to stalking to worse. You do not know who is looking at your Facebook page right now. The internet is not private.The internet is permenant.

Please do not get me wrong. I am not opposed to social networking or having my photo posted online. I love twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and Facebook. It’s just, I know I have no control over any image I upload to a website. I understand the dangers involved in posting my images on the internet. I do not like these dangers, but I am aware of and accept them.

I am not sure every person posting pictures and comments on Facebook understand these dangers. There is no privacy. That is the main theme to my next body of work.

I am going to draw every “friend” I have on Facebook. Many of these people I haven’t seen in years. Some I’ve never met. While I am doing my best to draw flattering portraits, I have not asked permission to draw these people.

The drawings will be made strictly from photographs I have found on Facebook. Every drawing will be tagged initially. Should the subjects of the drawing choose to untag themselves, that is their right. The point is, I drew them. Without the subject’s knowledge I spent time looking at his/her photographs. Then, I thoroughly analyzed and drew his/her face. All while he/she was off living life. An image posted simply to entertain was used in a way never intended. That photo is now a part of my art. It is now mine.

Enough jabber. Here is every Facebook friend I have whose name begins with the letter “A”.

[Via http://jenashmen.wordpress.com]

Facebook's Email could really Take Down Gmail Supremacy

2010-02-06T02:53:00.000+02:00

Today, I read about Facebook’s idea of launching their own email platform: it is a genius idea.

Just a few days ago Facebook reached 400 Million users, and most of them log in every day. They definitively take a look at their Walls, the homepage, and check their messages. Facebook does not have to do anything more than setting up a few SMTP/IMAP servers, tell everybody that they now have an email @fbmail.com and the deal is done.

For Facebook, this is a great move. They will be able to look into your email stream and figure out what your interests are to improve their targeted advertising.

[Full post at new address]

[Via http://deepintech.wordpress.com]

Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea by Guerlain Perfume for Women

2010-02-06T02:39:00.000+02:00

Celebrating Guerlain’s fifth anniversary of it’s first edition in the Guerlain Aqua Allegoria collection, Guerlain presents a new wonderland of fairytale florals called Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea. Perfumer Thierry Wasser blended a beautiful assortment of citrus inspired blossoms and optimistic spring flowers. Release sparkles of feminity this 2010 as Guerlain takes you on a vibrant journey through all six senses. Fade away to paradise with Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea for women!

Relax and take a deep breath! Your about to embark through notes of syringa flower and orange blossom. With beneficial honey on your side, each dabble soothes your mind. Sources say Guerlain Aqua Allegoria was “initialized by Jean-Paul Guerlain with a wish to illustrate poetry of natural notes and raw materials with a vivid watercolor of each composition.” Over 10 years of brilliance has been condensed into this elegant fragrance. (see more Guerlain)

Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea will be available in a 125 ml Eau De Toilette by creator Robert Granai. It’s beautiful bottle reflects the unique characteristics of a bee and it’s honeycomb. Reveal the fairy tail this April 2010 with Aqua Allegoria Flora Nymphea by Guerlain. Enter a new era in bliss.

Ultra Fragrances.com has over 12,000 designer fragrances for men and women up to 80% off everyday! We are your one stop shop for designer beauty, hair, and skin care products fit for any occasion! Remember, at UltraFragrances.com you get FREE SAMPLES with every purchase and FREE SHIPPING with orders over $80! Visit often for exclusive offers and contest details for your chance to WIN BIG and SAVE! Got Facebook? How about Twitter? Did you know UltraFragrances.com fans receive special coupon codes and hot deals on this years fragrances including upcoming launches for 2010? – Add us below! Visit Ultra Fragrances.com today; where luxury meets affordability!

[Via http://ultrafragrances.wordpress.com]

e Marketing element: What to do what to use?

2010-02-04T02:41:00.001+02:00

e Marketing element: What to do what to use?

When deciding on the eMarketing element you want to use you need to Analise who your target audience is, how you are going to address them, and how you are going to build a small powerful network. You want to have consistency, know your goals, the message you want to send, and how or who is going to maintain your campaign/networks. Once you have decided on what eMarketing element to use you want to create a template you should follow to keep consistency; social networking is often misunderstood and misused if not used correctly and safely. It is recommended you do your research or have someone who is Internet and Marketing savvy to maintain and monitor your sites if not be sure to do your research and get the training you should have. Training is always to top recommendation considering the trainer is usually someone in that area of specialization. Now here is a punchline: the more and more people are becoming internet savvy more and more people are conducting seminars (webinars) through the internet and conducting business through web communication. For all we know they could be very well sitting in their birthday suit.

[Via http://kdmc.wordpress.com]

Internet Marketing (e Marketing)

2010-02-04T02:41:00.000+02:00

Internet Marketing (e Marketing)

What is e Marketing? e Marketing refers to the application of marketing principles and techniques via electronic media; it is the process of marketing a brand using the internet. It includes both direct response marketing (emails, forums, blogs, etc), and indirect marketing elements and uses a range of technologies to help connect businesses to their customers (social networks, feeds, applications, ads, etc). e Marketing encompasses all the activities a business conducts with the aim of attracting new business, retaining business, and developing its brand. It is stated that the average North American spends 4 hours a day on the internet. And during this time of recession, where are the majority of people going to be spending their time? -on the internet. Even though there is not much money to be spent it is a great time to be branding yourself and getting your brand out there. e Marketing has its advantages during this cost cutting time where compromising your marketing initiatives will not be an issue. When implemented correctly, the return on investment (ROI) from e Marketing can far exceed that of traditional marketing strategies. Why e Marketing? The Internet is a force that cannot be ignored. Currently there is a shift in the way we are marketing; Internet Marketing -the end of traditional marketing as we know it is here. There are numerous advantages that make e Marketing appealing to businesses, including cost savings, time savings, better response rates, communication, and tracking. Benefits to e Marketing: – environmentally friendly (paperless); – better reach (it is a means to reach literally millions of people every year); – measure your ROI (Google Analytic is a great resource); – better communication (interact more effectively) – ability to target your audience; – ability to get repeat exposure; – time efficient; – …and cost effective. Evaluate: – What does the average business spend to have a billboard up for a particular increment of time (e Marketing you can reach just the same amount of people if not more in one day for far less)? – What could be your cost savings? telemarketing vs traditional print marketing; consider the cost to mail (stamps, envelopes, etc), printing out the materials, and then consider the limited reach you get from traditional print marketing. – Time Savings -an email is instantly sent to the recipients mail box if you are doing direct emailing. Traditional print marketing it takes time to print, prep material for mailing, then days for the delivery source to deliver the mail. – Target your audience -Internet you can stress your demographic, opposed to traditional print that only yields to the specific geographic.

[Via http://kdmc.wordpress.com]

Is your business intelligent enough?

2010-02-02T10:29:00.000+02:00

5 tips to consider

1. Check your cash position

1.1. Are you making best use of your overdraft? Banks will look to cut this facility where they can, particularly if there has been low usage.

1.2. Check your margins – are they benefiting your business

1.3. Get a grip on credit control

2. Staff

2.1. Cross train staff. This prevents quality dip in case of redundancy, but also helps increase motivation through the development of new skills

2.2. Reward employees based on commission and bonus schemes

2.3. Provide clear direction – winning teams know their goals

3. Purchasing

3.1. Look at your existing suppliers and check alternatives

3.2. Do you have/make best use of your CRM system, this could easily increase productivity

4 Marketing. It’s proven that those who invest in marketing during difficult times emerge strongest when the good times return.

4.1. Network – attend events and seminars

4.2. Make best use of resources available – your database, referrals, innovate

4.3. Negotiate better deals

4.4. Target the right people

5 Online marketing.

5.1. Is your web page doing its job – research search engine optimisation (SEO)

5.2. Write blogs and ensure people can find them

5.3. Making best use of social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)

5.4. Integrate all your online marketing efforts to guarantee it goes viral

Stop and take stock and if you need any help please give us a call.

www.quantumtraininguk.co.uk

[Via http://quantumclinics.wordpress.com]

2010-02-02T02:17:00.000+02:00

click here for link

This article talks about how many friends is realistic, especially when it comes to social networking sites like facebook. I personally have over 1,000 friends but rarely visit their pages or “connect” with them. I believe in what Dunbar says about having 150 true friends who you can stay connected with. Social networking sites make having this many friends possible. A person may have only a few close friends and then up to 150 people who are labeled friends. Then there is another ring of acquaintances who you never talk to but they are still someone who you know. Some people believe facebook is a popularity contest in which they have thousands of friends some of who they do not know. Since the launch of facebook applications there are users who will friend certain people to get ahead in the game. Friends on facebook are not necessarily real friends and therefore weak links may not even be a a tie. People now have massive amounts of friends on facebook who may or may not actually be “friends” or even “acquaintances.”

[Via http://alisonsweeney.wordpress.com]

Dear Facebook: Where’s Our Group?

2010-01-31T02:31:00.000+02:00

PRESS RELEASE

Saturday, January 30, 2010

2:00 PST

Contact: Shelby Gifford, Cox Family Spokeswoman

253.255.1624

Shelby@theshelbynetwork.com

SUBJECT: Friends & Family of Susan Powell Facebook Page Mysteriously Disappears

The Cox Family and administrators of the Friends & Family of Susan Powell Facebook page are asking for the social networking site’s help in restoring a page dedicated to the disappearance of missing Utah mom, Susan Powell, who was last seen December 6, 2009 in West Valley City, Utah.

The page contained information about Susan and her disappearance, and was a place where members of Facebook could come for up-to-date information about the case. “An entire database of people willing to help with searches and provide other services was deleted from Facebook as of approximately 2 PM Friday, January 29, 2010” said Shelby Gifford, family spokesperson for the Cox family and an administrator on the popular Facebook page. “Additionally, our page had over 45,000 members, all of whom can no longer see the page and who are not able to get or distribute information about Susan’s disappearance.”

The Facebook page has also been plagued by a “troll” who continues to visit the page under assumed identities, even pretending to be Susan Powell herself at one point. The Cox family and the Friends & Family of Susan Powell page administrators have made repeated complaints to Facebook and have not received a response. Susan’s father, Charles Cox, even applied online for a job with Facebook to try to get the company’s attention, but received no response. Other Facebook sites that strive to provide information about Susan have experienced similar problems.

“Obviously, our reason for using Facebook is that it can reach such a large audience quickly. This was proven in our successful Find Susan Media Blitz conducted earlier this month, during which the site grew to over 43,000 members in just a matter of days,” said James Hofheins, Social Media Coordinator for the Friends & Family of Susan Powell group. “We would like to talk with a representative from Facebook so we can remedy this problem once and for all. Their lack of response is causing great frustration among Susan’s friends, family and supporters.”

Various law enforcement agencies have been contacted with regard to threats made to the individual administrators of the Friends & Family of Susan Powell Facebook site. “We will continue to pursue those avenues as needed,” said Gifford.

NOTE: The Cox family had previously planned (but not announced) a press conference for Monday, February 1, 2010 in Puyallup, WA. THIS HAS BEEN POSTPONED. When the conference is rescheduled, members of the media will be notified via an emailed press release. To add your contact information to the Cox Family media database, please send an email to Shelby@theshelbynetwork.com.

[Via http://heartsknitforsusan.wordpress.com]

Week Two A Success!

2010-01-31T02:20:00.000+02:00

This week was FarmVilleValley’s second and was very successful! We’ve got over 400 views in less then ten days which is above my wildest expactations. So it’s time again to thank all the pepole and websites which have sent us visitors! This week WordPress blog searching has gotten us 20+ views, Google 10+, and FaceBook 30+. As well, I have started handing out ads in school which has dnoe it’s share. So as well as those, we here at FarmVilleValley thank:

Panic Button Blog Steelowl Anticscheats NeopetsValley

Remember that link could be your’s next Sunday if you refer to us.

Thank you all! I am looking forward to another wonderful week!

Yours,

Gil

[Via http://farmvillevalley.wordpress.com]

"Paranormal State" turns to these New Jersey PROs

2010-01-30T02:42:00.000+02:00

By Ava Gacser

In a world where reality television is the norm, and for many, Andy Warhol’s prediction of everyone getting their 15 minutes of fame is often attainable, it’s unusual – and pretty darn sweet – when fame literally falls into your lap.

Yet that’s exactly what happened to Greg Papalcure, who – along with his fellow New Jersey Paranormal Research Organization (NJ-PRO) co-founders, husband and wife Andy and Christine Rivera – will be featured in Tuesday’s episode of “Paranormal State” (10 p.m., A&E), entitled “Lost Souls.”

And it’s all thanks to a seemingly innocent conversation Greg had with a Pennsylvania woman named Kathy.

“‘Oh, my house is haunted,’” Greg, 23, recalls the woman telling him back in 2008. “Do you want to come in?”

Did he ever. With his NJ-PRO colleagues in tow, Greg – who serves as a lead investigator and tech specialist for the Central Jersey-based group – took Kathy up on her invitation. And then they came back, again and again.

“Every time we were there we uncovered something,” Greg recalls.

“Everything was escalating,” explains lead investigator and case manager Christine, 34. Unexplained events (which allegedly began during home renovations several years earlier) were disrupting Kathy’s daily life and negatively affecting her relationships with friends and family, as well as impacting her son, Michael.

“She was being locked up in her own home because nobody wanted to come visit her,” Christine says.

Things took an even more serious turn when unexplained phenomena began happening while Kathy’s infant grandchild was visiting.

“The baby was interrupted sleeping,” lead investigator and audio specialist Andy, 27, says. “(Something) was taking the covers off of the child.”

It was then that the team decided to contact Paranormal Research Society (PRS) at Pennsylvania State University. Founded by then-student Ryan Buell in 2001, PRS and its investigations have been the subject of the hit A&E program “Paranormal State” since 2007.

The evidence NJ-PRO had amassed in a year of documenting Kathy’s case – which includes electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) and the physical manipulation of objects – was enough not only to intrigue PRS but convince Ryan to check it out for himself. A week after sending off an email, Greg received a response: PRS was interested.

The investigation of Kathy’s home took place in September 2009 and includes impressions by Michelle Belanger, one of PRS’ go-to psychic mediums. Filming lasted three days, and Christine, Andy and Greg were present on one day. Christine and Greg were interviewed on camera by Ryan and his tech specialist, Sergey Poberezhny, but the team was not invited to join PRS’ investigation of the property.

“We were getting updates from PRS throughout” the day, however, Christine explains.

PRS has often expressed a willingness to work with other paranormal research groups. In an A&E online video, Ryan explains, “The great thing about having a paranormal team that’s already worked on a case is that you suddenly have a lot of information.”

NJ-PRO’s members say they appreciated PRS’ involvement in the case. They also enjoyed watching how the seasoned team works, which Andy says is similar to how his group functions – with one main difference.

“They tend to go with psychics, and we try to stay away from that,” he says.

Greg agrees.

“We deal with more of the scientific side of the investigation,” he adds.

However, all three admired how PRS relates to the people it is trying to help.

“We really like the way that they are more client-based,” Greg says.

Being so close in age – the PRS members are in their teens and 20s – certainly helped the groups get along, too.

“Everybody was really nice,” says Andy.

“They were very approachable – individually and as a group,” agrees Christine.

The two teams got along so well, in fact, that PRS last fall invited Greg, Andy and Christine to attend an advance screening of the film “Paranormal Activity” on the university’s State College, Pa., campus.

The positive experience with PRS has whetted NJ-PRO’s appetite for a show of their own.

“We are working with a producer in developing episodes we hope to market to TV channels,” Christine says. “It’s a new field that’s been opened up to us.”

And while the status of PRS’ investigation into Kathy’s home remains uncertain (the conclusion of Tuesday’s episode will hopefully shed light on that), NJ-PRO says its case remains open.

Contact NJ-PRO

In the meantime, the non-profit group is actively seeking clients. If you are experiencing unexplained phenomena and live in the tri-state area (or beyond), you may contact NJ-PRO by visiting its website, Facebook and Twitter pages, or by calling (908) 4-HAUNT-0.

[Via http://avagacser.wordpress.com]

Bras on Facebook and the Batsymbol

2010-01-30T02:36:00.000+02:00

Here’s a story from a couple of days ago…I’m very proud of myself as I was able to use the term ‘batsymbol’ in a joke. It’s very hard to work that phrase into a joke. But there’s no joking about breast cancer. I was sent a Facebook request to post the color of my bra as my post with no explanation and to not send it to men. The whole purpose was to keep men in the dark for a while as it is women who have to be vigilant about what goes into our bras. So I post the word BLACK. One of my African American friends responded to my post at the speed of light as if he was, indeed, Batman, and said “Yes?”…Had to let him in on the joke. So, thus, it was like I had sent out the Batsymbol in the sky, and my good friend wanted to come to my rescue. Thanks, David. You’re the best.

[Via http://tamaramanor.wordpress.com]

Facebook Privacy Policy

2010-01-28T02:23:00.000+02:00

The facebook privacy policy, or lack thereof, should be a pressing issue for all facebook users. Many users do not know that whatever is said on walls, uploaded, or commented on is owned by facebook. When you sign up for the service most people just click I accept the terms of the privacy policy without really taking a look. Well what they do not know can really hurt them in the long run. When applying for jobs and such employers can view any pictures or inappropriate groups to see if you would be an ideal employee. Most people on facebook have things they would not want their employers seeing.

In the privacy policy on facebook there is a section about how they use the information. They use it for personalizing advertisements to target the user. For example on my facebook they advertise a lot of clothes and shoes and specifically say for 19 year-olds. Also “some information” is public to help “friends find you.” This is where the “privacy” policy looses its security. The information is shared to anyone on facebook that could be your friend. There is no safety in this.

I work at a summer camp and I’ve had campers friend me who are younger than the “required” minimum age of 13. These girls are very vulnerable and probably do not even know it. A lot of these kids will friend people they don’t even know because to them facebook is a popularity contest. Some of them have over a thousand friends! The general public needs to be aware of this issue to help prevent the easy access to these young kids.

Overall the facebook privacy policy does barely anything for its users. Even if you decide to “delete” your facebook it will never permanently be gone. Facebook saves everything and anything you’ve done. They claim to save your account “in case” you want to reactivate it at a later date. This is both good and bad because they still have all of your data and can use it to your disadvantage.

[Via http://alisonsweeney.wordpress.com]

Encounters with Angry Idiots

2010-01-28T01:54:00.000+02:00

Earlier today, on Facebook, I noticed that several of my friends had joined a group called “12.21.13 – Obama’s Last Day”. Admittedly, I am quite liberal, but my interest was piqued by the sheer fact of this group’s existence – what, less than a year into Obama’s presidency? And so, being the curious person that I am, I clicked on the link to the group’s page and read some of the positions and arguments composed by some of the group’s approximately 2000 members. Excerpts follow.

Note: Names have been changed so as not to embarrass the (person / ignoramus / non – entity / idiot) that came up with aforementioned (political views / opinions / lies / smears / doublespeak / jargon). The majority of this group’s members are self-proclaimed conservatives/Republicans. However, there are several members of this group that do not agree with its espoused views, but have joined merely to participate in ‘friendly debate’ with the members who do. These people are generally liberals/Democrats. Their names are have been changed as well, and are underlined in order to provide a distinct delineation between the two sides of debate. Try and notice a trend in the arguments (who makes the valid points and who just types random jargon intermingled with obscenities?). All statements are placed in the same order in which they were written on the group’s page. Some statements have been omitted because they either consist of total gibberish and are therefore indecipherable, or because they do not particularly contribute to the stated aim of the group (for example, statements such as “obama go die” or “palin ’12!!!” have been omitted). All comments have been copied exactly as they stand on this group’s page. All spelling, punctuation, and/or grammar mistakes are exactly as they were typed in the original setting, and are solely the fault of their respective author.

The following took place between December 8th, 2009 and January 12, 2010 entirely on the status of one of the group’s members. His status read:

stop complaining about obama, bush was by far worse than obama and all you guys are complaining about obama sucking as president, well first of all he’s only been in office for under a year now and second it wasn’t obama who got us into this is was bush

08 December 2009 at 20:16

The argument that followed:

Peter: Once the Republicans take power in the Senate in 2010 that will be the beginning of the end of Obama. Tom: he wont make it the full term. im not sure how he wont, but he wont. Beth: let’s just “HOPE” we are not a socialized health care nation by 1.20.13!!! God Help Us ALL!!

Richard: bill o’reilly is one of the smartest individuals in this country so why dont u actually listen to what he says for once in ur life, instead of believing what the gay liberal media tells you

Kevin: wow thats a good one, Bill O’Reilly one of the smartest individuals in the country haha wow

Richard: kevin, ur an idiot, have you ever watched his show?..its actually pretty entertaining and who knows, maybe u liberal jackasses can learn a thing or two

Kevin: maybe i could learn a thing or two but sure as hell not from someone like O’Reilly. The guy feeds on popular misconceptions and uses it as fodder to attack politicians.

Richard: noooo, o’reilly uses truth to portray the real image of liberals

Steve: YEAH NIGGUH BACKK UP WHATT MY BOI RICHARD HAD SAID

Kevin: sure sure. but im happy you conservatives gladly take bill o’reilly as your figure head.

Richard: i dont take bill o’rielly as my figure head at all…i take rush limbaugh

Kevin: haha even better

Steve: yeah RUSH LIMBAUGH eat it KEVIN

Richard: yeah, i know. he exploits u damned liberals like no other man on this planet

Kevin: id say he exploits you conservatives more than us liberals. the guys a loon. hes right up there with o’reilly

Steve: HEY KEVIN I DONT WANNA HEAR IT. HEY KEVIN GUESSS WHATTt

Kevin: what youre a tool? yeah i know

Steve: NAHH NIGGUH YOU CANT HIT ON MY LEVEL BACKK UP …. BUT FOR REALLL YOU CANT

Patrick: you obviously know absolutely nothing about politics. you sit and watch CNN and listen to all the liberal junk they feed you day in and day out. Bush secured our nation from further attacks after 9/11 and successfully made an impact in Iraq. I dont see people complaining about past presidents during war when the economy isn’t going great. You are so quick to blame Bush when O’bama is turning our nation into a socialist system

Kevin: whatever you conservatives are so close-minded.

A heated, lengthy argument ensues regarding the roots of conservatism and liberalism, the causes for the Iraq war, and whether or not Bill Clinton is a ‘dickhead’. The majority of this argument has been omitted in order to save paper, ink, and time. A few choice excerpts:

Kevin: evidence like what thesupposed WMDs? or maybe the fact that when given the chance to stop the attacks on september 11th Bush and the rest of you pious conservatives buried the man who made any headway in stopping al qaeda

Steve: no kevin thats not legit evdence i wipe my ass with evidence liek that

Patrick: and you are wrong kevin, it was a liberal that was the taking out al’quada. ive watched several films on that case, get some facts

Kevin: not legit huh? look up John O’neil’s story. head of investigations involving all that is al qaeda until his death after a forced retirment from the bureau and his taking a job at the twin towers just days before they went down. And the WMDs arent legit either? why havent we found any then?

Steve: sorry kevin but i have soo im not looking it up…. no it isnt legit you know whats legit? my ballsack … got em’

Steve: yeha kevin get facts

Steve: i have a life*

Steve: hey kevin i was making a list of who ive fucked this week … whats your sisters name again

Richard: kevin, so u blame bush for the 911 attack? this just proves that ur a faggot

Steve: yeah thats right

Steve: kevin give up your a cocksucking fagg you lose quit trying you cant win this

Kevin: youre completely right. i cant convince a brick wall of anything. its a shame that our country is built on closed minds such as yours

Steve: awww yeah what a shame if we were all open minded liek you we could just completely fuck over our countryy sounds great

Steve: damn straight ima brick wall aint no touching me

Charlie: its a shame liberal mother fuckers such as urselves walk about this country and that we have to deal with ur idiotic bullshit that ruins the counrty whenever u finally gets ur heads out of your asses our country will already be torn apart

Patrick: (posts a video of Howard Dean’s infamous career-ending on-stage scream)

Charlie: suck that dick mother fucker u think u liberals can handle our country when u cant even go on stage without screaming like a bitch yeahh eat that dick u cocksucking leftist faggot to top it off ur prolly a jew too arent you?

Charlie: fucking jew

Charlie: come on bitch make another comment so we can just shut ur fucking liberal jew ass down AGAIN u ignorant piece of shit

Alan: yo people are fuckin retarded. the only ignorant one on this wall post is u guys. hey patrick fyi stimulus packages have been happening for decades not just obama u tard. and all u crying because obama sent in more troops… u do know al qaeda are not in iraq they are in afghanistan so bush was a dumb fuck for starting up a war that his dad … See Morefailed at. o and u claim we cant back up why we dont like bush? look at our nations economy when clinton was in office compared 2 bush… need i say more? oooo how about bush’s brilliant no child left behind act which had all these big big dreams with not even 50 % enough funding for all it promised… im gonna leave this one comment and also let you know hey steve richard patrick and the rest of u… try going to a bar or getting a girlfriend or anything of the sort instead of jerking off and playing on facebook all day

Sarah: hey richard, patrick, and steve just wanted to say thanks- you’re the reason why our country still has hope yet. its good to see everyone isn’t as ignorant as the liberals these days.

Charlie: oh and alan im fucking 15 dumbass how the fuck am i gonna go to a bar u shouldn’t call ppl stupid especially when u have a fucking typo on the first word of ur attempt to insult us i guess. go back to CNN and rant about global warming and all that other stupid shit that liberals have entwined u in

Charlie: if ur a liberal bastard and u comment on this u will get shut down so just dont do it ask kevin hahaha

Thus concludes this rather long, very interesting, vaguely amusing, and somewhat terrifying exchange of words. The last post was dated 12 January 2010 at 7:38. Since that time, more may have been posted in addition to what is here. I have drawn my own conclusions and formulated my own opinion and I leave you to do the same. Although I would like to ask you to look for a trend in the manner in which the argument was conducted. Which side argued more effectively? Which side utilized actual logic and reason, as opposed to foul language, street slang, verbal threats, and poorly-thought out arguments? Just something to pay attention to…

Thanks for reading.

~Helios

[Via http://openmoment.wordpress.com]

As the pole turns... another day at the club.

2010-01-26T02:31:00.000+02:00

I have to admit, a friend and fellow DJ actually use the “as the pole turns” name before, I always thought it was pretty funny… Today was definitely a better day for the bar than that of last Monday. I was pleased to have more than one dancer for the first part of my shift, in fact, I had five of them for the majority of the day. The customers were coming in pretty steadily, and I had a rotation going almost non-stop, but, the customers weren’t really tipping or getting dances. The bar, however, rang a pretty good number of sales, and that is, at least, positive.

My plan to be at the gym this morning did not go as planned. I have not been planning and doing things properly to minimize wasted time. I am, before I go to bed tonight, going to prepare my lunch and dinner for tomorrow. I just don’t have enough time to do it the same day. I need to start getting up at 7am again and getting to the gym no later than 8:45. That will allow me to have the 1.5 to 2 hour work out and then home to shower and dress and go to work. I will be working, as far as I know at now, every day this week with only Sunday off. I do need the money, I just don’t want to get burned out on the club too soon. I hope that we can find another DJ to handle the swing shift.

I have written a total of 3 articles for eHow.com, and I have to say, I have had some positive responses. I am really considering pursuing something in the writing field as a source of income. I believe, with a little perseverance, I could really succeed. I am also planning on starting the rough outline of the book I want to start writing. I lay awake last night for at least an hour just thinking of possible titles and directions that I might go with it. There are a lot of possibilities, I just want to choose wisely so that I can write something that many people would like to sit down and read. Of course, that is the goal of any author. I know that the likelihood of my writing a best seller is fairly slim, I still have the passion and urge to try.

I am pretty tired and still have to prepare my food for tomorrow and hop in the shower. I will check back in tomorrow with a bit of a longer post. I am trying to learn how to balance all that I am doing now. I want to record another video this week as well, I really enjoy doing that too!

Thanks to all of you for your continued love and support.

As always, take care and remember…

Every day is a chance to turn it all around!

- Kenny

<——- Back to Kenny Is Losing It – Home

Donate to Kenny Is Losing It

Read my articles on eHow.com

[Via http://kennyislosingit.wordpress.com]

The Community Manager Role Is Essential

2010-01-26T02:23:00.000+02:00

I’ve been putting off a new post for a while now and was inspired by this post from Jeremiah Owyang on “Community Manager Appreciation Day”. Within the organization where I am employed the community manager role has evolved as an essential role with our launch in 2009 of an external community for clients. Even more, I read about it every day thru Twitter, Friendfeed, articles from major publications and the blogs of those that have evangelized and basically created this space we call social media.

At the end of 2009 I carefully aggregated percpetions and preditions on what would happen in digital/social space in 2010. Social network aggregation and growth, video, and mobile were the key trends that I found. Although I do agree, I’ll put my bets on community building online (via paid community platforms).

Community building can be looked at a few ways. There are external communities that are housed on networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook, but I see a big play in the organizationally created community. This would be something on a community platform such as Jive, KickApps, Telligent, and Awareness (to name a few). These types of communities can be structured to meet every organizational goal, which is something not easy to do on a “free” social network. They can be used internally and/or externally.

Home-grown communities can be driven from key initiatives in the orgnaization through the collaborative nature of these platforms. If it be to drive sales, deliver thought leadership, customer support, consulting, or just giving a platform for customers to talk to one another, these platforms will be able to support it. Even better, you will have all of the acitivity on one dashboard, tailor promotions around one community (rather than multiple i.e. facebook, linkedin, etc.), and more importantly, moderate [and in a way] control the message – at least this is the tactic you can take to get executive buy-in.

When making this move it is essential for organizaitons to designate a community manager to be the “go to person” in building out more communities within the organization – did I say that these platforms are very scalable! In talking to colleagues from various industries, I am seeing the creation of one community spark ideas and interest from many business units and groups within the organization that may have shyed away from the original idea of talking to customers online. And a community manager can facilitate all of this giving best practices and leveraging one platform across the organization.

The role is real and essential to build the proper roadmap and strategy for the entire online community envolvement of the organizaiton. I put my bets on seeing more and more community manger roles evolve for both internal and external roles. What are your thoughts?

[Via http://samsova.wordpress.com]

Collectable Minifigs Series 1 available June 2010

2010-01-24T02:32:00.000+02:00

I mentioned in November about the possibly of Collectable Minifigs coming this year. Well now Brickset has posted detailed pictures of both the figures and the packaging.

I was already excited before I saw the close up images, but now I’m practically drooling (okay, not really ).

Apparently Mike Rayhawk was one of those who came up with this idea. He recently stated on Facebook:

They finally did the collectible minifigures idea that James Knight and Eugenia Chen and I pitched years ago – they told us it would never, never happen, but that was before Joergen took the helm. The luchador and the magician were part of my contribution to the original pitch; my caveman was still sitting on Cephas’s shelf last time I was in Denmark.

The only “problem” I see is that at the rumored $2 per unit price, people will be buying entire cases to ensure that they get all the figures or so that they can turn right around and sell the figures at outlandish prices.

The hardest thing to predict is what will be the most popular. I’m sure everyone who has seen these figures already has their favorites. Of course any of the exclusive elements that have never been produced before such as the cheerleader’s pompoms, the clown’s wig and trumpet, and the spaceman’s helmet and gun will go for more on the second market (i.e. Bricklink).

They are all exclusive, and the “Series 1″ indicates that there will be more to come. I just hope that LEGO will be smart enough to not make them too exclusive so that everyone can get some!

[Via http://modelbuildingsecrets.wordpress.com]

Does UVic ComSci Department need a blog or facebook group?

2010-01-24T02:18:00.000+02:00

Does a department like UVic’s (stands for University of Victoria) department of Computer Science need a blog or a facebook group?

Very general question ey. But as with most questions of that kind: “It depends.”

Let us take a close look at what UVic’s CS department want: “More good graduate students.” I won’t talk about what the CS department considers to be a good graduate student I’ll only go over how they want to attract them.

To attract a larger number of students the department wants to established a better public presence that is more social, active and informative than the current one. A great problem is currently that a great portion that we think is interesting to current and future students alike is simple not there or hard to find. What are those information students seek? We came up with a small list that we hope to refine with your help:

Information about ongoing research.
Current Events.
Live style.
Information about what Alumni’s do.

You see the list tries to cover three dimensions, the work life, the social life and the future. Most students come because they want to be part of a great research team pursuing interesting projects. There is always the way to read the papers of research groups but they are not always easy accessible (e.g. due to ACM and IEEE restrictions) but reading paper is often for starters on the master level to much effort.

Its even worse with the social life. Unless there are students that find the time to write something about their hobbies on their home-pages the only way to get to information about the social life in and around the department is often to ask students directly. But most often people are to afraid to disturb people or start conversations with strangers.

With alumnis it is kind of mixed, because the University itself is more and more concerned about it, but tracking down and keeping in contact with alumnis specifically to computer science is often not easy. So getting information about what a typical UVic Computer Science alumni (if something like that exists) does for a living heavily depends on the whether the alumni is still in touch with the department.

So in order to connect and reconnect with former, current and future students the department is thinking of building up a web presence through a blog and/or facebook group. This should allow to distribute information about ongoing research and event in and around the department as well as offer a platform for more social exchange as well.

I personally think we should go for both a blog and a facebook group. The blog enable a newspaper like style of providing information about current research and makes everyone aware about what research is going on in the department. The facebook group on the other hand would offer a platform for social exchange were people could talk about activities that are not necessarily related to their research but about the life you can live here in Victoria.

So what do you think, does something like a facebook group or blog make sense for a computer science department and what would you put on that group/blog?

[Via http://adrianschroeter.wordpress.com]

Is there a need for professional journalism?

2010-01-23T10:37:00.000+02:00

Last week the New York Times announced that from 2011 it would be charging its readers for full access to its website. According to reports, it would appear that many UK papers will follow suit. So where does that leave us?

On Radio 4’s Today programme Professor Tim Luckhurst expressed his optimism for the future of journalism. He believes people are accustomed to the idea that you need professional journalism, and that in the new era of the Internet, social media networks are beginning to drive people towards professional journalism. He added that the culture will have to change if people want edited, professional journalism. (Follow the link above to hear the whole interview.)

I would beg to differ.

There are, as he says, plenty of people who want professional journalism. If you want to know the news and know it’s correct, you’ll go to a respected source such as the BBC, as discussed in Tasha’s last post. Therefore those people will be willing to pay for it.

Optimism

These, however, are people who are already interested in news. Who already read The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph… But going back to Giles’ previous post. Who is the future audience? Children, teenagers. I can’t imagine many of them will be paying for a subscription to The Times any time soon.

If online newspapers do become subscription only, I think there could be problems for professional journalism. People could grow up getting their information from other, less reliable sources, and that will become the norm. According to this article, 18 to 24 year olds are already heading elsewhere. By the looks of it the need for professional journalism is on the decline.

Reliable

At the moment if you search for a news story, apart from television-related sites, and the likes of Reuters, the majority of top results will be linked to a newspaper, be it local, national or international. Take all but a few away, and you’ll start hitting blogs, Facebook and other sites.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so long as the information’s accurate. So is there any way we can ensure that the news people are accessing is correct? Another question for another day.

[Via http://tamingthebeast.wordpress.com]

iPhone, uPhone, We All Love The iPhone

2010-01-23T01:55:00.000+02:00

Christmas came and went in its usual manner – five or six days of familial films, pine needles in the socks and the exchange of gifts squirreled into the house under jumpers, in plastic bags and camouflaged by elaborate cloaking devices. One of those gifts given to me was a huge surprise: An iPhone 3G S. This, I was informed, was a combined birthday (which was in May), graduation (which was in November) and Christmas present. While it led to my having to abandon the excellent Meteor network after four and a half years of service, it nevertheless excited me beyond belief. The element of surprise was only one reason for this excitement.

See, I have that same envious side to me that inhabits the minds of children who holiday in the country but who see their friends jetting off to exotic climes. I have that jealousy which twentysomethings with Toyotas feel towards fatcats in Ferraris. I bear that grudge which exists between Bebo and Facebook, MSN and Skype, TV3 News and RTÉ News, Steve and Alec Baldwin, Pluto and the other planets, Bert and the other Sesame Streeters. Yes, it’s true: I have the PC-user’s heartfelt desire to be an Apple.

Apple are just the coolest of cool. They look sleek and sexy, bright and shiny, with pretty ways of operating, fancy futuristic programmes and they are the computers of Douglas Adams and Stephen Fry for whom my admiration is detailed elsewhere. They are the anti-clunk of Microsoft and PCs, with their constant need for Ctrl-Alt-Deletes and restarts. They are the sports car of computers, the Lambourgini to PC’s Volvo. They have been see-through and glistening white, they were flatter, thinner, quicker than any previous computer we’d seen. And they have a cool logo!

The only thing stopping me from converting to Apple was the fact I was brought up with PCs and, having reached the level of proficiency on Windows at which I am currently, I didn’t have the patience or time to make the change while in college with essays to do. But now I have finished my college education, I’m questioning my computer-sexuality. And the gateway to that conversion came in the form of my new iPhone. It’s touch-screen. You can drag the Apps about. It makes future-into-whooshing noises when you send messages. It IS the future.

Having been brought up with Star Wars as a central cultural reference point in my life, before moving on to the anything-goes future-vista of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, the sci-fi world has always fascinated me. Not in the Trekkie-anorak way, not in the pedantically-correcting-someone-when-they-give-the-wrong-circumference-of-the-Death-Star way, not in the World-Of-Warcraft-is-my-life way. But I loved programmes like “Tomorrow’s World” – yep, flying cars and TV glasses, all that stuff was eye-candy to my pre-teen eyes.

I grew up during the advent of mobile phones. I’ve watched them shrink from bricks to Lego. I remember when Nokias only had the BIG point on their chargers. I’ve made that coming-of-age journey from Nokia 3210 to iPhone. When I opened that present on Christmas Day, it was like I leapt into hyperspace. And when I discovered the Bump application (where you simply bump two iPhones together to send files) I was giddy with glee. This is surely how Luke Skywalker would send photos to Han Solo. Of course, he might not spend as much time updating his Twitter as I do…

@bazmcstay tweets: Just written a blog post. Lol.

[Via http://bazmcstay.wordpress.com]

15 Funny Facebook Fails...

2010-01-21T02:40:00.000+02:00

Lesson #1: Don’t trash talk your boss.

Lesson #2: Always be thankful for what you’ve got.

Lesson #3: Family always comes first.

Lesson #4: Love letters should be kept secret.

// //

Lesson #5: Don’t skip Geography.

Lesson #6: I mean, really, dear, don’t.

Lesson #7: Don’t skip English either.

Lesson #8: Don’t ruin surprise parties.

Lesson #9: You can’t assume anything.

Lesson #10: Keep the jargon to yourself.

Lesson #11: Always make your mom proud.

Lesson #12: … by don’t telling her your plans.

Lesson #13: Keep some things to yourself.

Lesson #14: Not everyone is your friend in this world.

Lesson #15: And yes, men are always men.

[Via http://mauritsalbert.wordpress.com]

Is Social Media killing "friendship?"

2010-01-21T02:31:00.000+02:00

In today’s world, we focus more and more on digital tools and social networks to, as the old Bell Systems ad goes “reach out and touch someone.” Email has for the most part usurped the written letter as our primary means of long distance (and not so long distance) 1:1 and 1:few communication; Facebook, and to continuing lesser degree MySpace are becoming the preferred means for keeping in touch with friends and family – even over the mobile and text.

So as a class mate of mine recently queried: “Is social media making us anti-social?” I decided to write briefly on this question in the context of friendship given a recent class discussion on the topic.

The concept of friendship certainly has evolved (or devolved) since ancient times. In William Deresiewicz’s article for The Chronicle entitled Faux Friendship we see that the ancient concept of friendship implied true intimacy between friends, and was a rare commodity. Once found, love and loyalty to a friend was almost supreme. As an example, he cites the friendship between Archilles and Patroclus. Achilles, Greece’s greatest warrior weighs his loyalty to Patroclus beyond his loyalty to Greece itself as demonstrated when he quits the Trojan war, and chooses to return to battle only after the death of Patroclus, and for the sole purpose of avenging Patroclus’ death.

With the rise of Christianity, the classical idea of friendship began to weaken (except for a brief resurgence during the renaissance) with the Christian belief intense personal bonds should be discouraged in favor of a “heart… turned to God.” So as Teri questions, is social media furthering the deterioration of the original idea of friendship? Just thinking in terms of Facebook, how has the concept of friendship changed? Some things to consider: the temporal nature of FB friends; willingness to share personal thoughts with our entire FB universe via The Wall; what having 312 FB friends says about our concept of “what a friend” means.

Leisa Reichelt offers a counterpoint to this perspective with what she coins Ambient Intimacy. Given the nature of this forum, I won’t get into it, but you can read about it on her blog, disambiguity.

[Via http://davewjon.wordpress.com]

Hello...

2010-01-19T02:54:00.000+02:00

I am working on presenting an accurate collection of my photos for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime, you can find me (Laura Trommer) on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned!

Cheers!

PS. If you’re bored, go check out Shore Alternative.

[Via http://lauratrommer.wordpress.com]

Save 25% on Autographed Copy of Facebook and Your Marriage

2010-01-19T02:47:00.000+02:00

Be one of the first to get a copy of Facebook and Your Marriage!

Place your pre-press order, SAVE 25% on Facebook and Your Marriage! and it will be shipped straight to you when the books come off the presses. (And you’ll get it signed by the authors too!) But hurry, this special offer lasts only until February 15, 2010.

Get the Facebook and Your Marriage pre-press order form.

Facebook and Your Marriage can best be described as Dear Abby meets Facebook. As an active, experienced, Facebooking married couple, Jason and Kelli respond to people’s questions about Facebook, from the general how-to’s to helping husbands and wives deal with the relationship issues surrounding Facebook.

Different than most marriage and relationship books which read from cover to cover, with Facebook and Your Marriage, the reader determines where they start, where they end, and gets the answers to the questions they need help with.

Facebook and Your Marriage is due out in late February, 2010.

………………………………………………………………………..

Facebook and Your Marriage ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Jason and Kelli respond to 125 pressing questions and issues Facebooking couples face on the popular social network. Here’s a sampling of some of the questions dealt with in Facebook and Your Marriage:

Get answers to basic questions:

“Should I really exchange passwords with my spouse?”
“How do I protect my marriage on Facebook?”
“What are boundaries my wife and I can set up?”
and more!

Get help for common issues:

“Should I friend an ex?”
“My husband is chatting with an old girlfirend. How do I talk with him about this?”
” How do I address the amount of time my wife spends on Facebook each day?”
and more!

Get hope for tough situations:

“Where are all these feelings coming from when I see my old boyfriend’s profile?”
“My wife is having an online affair. What do I do?”
“My husband has left me for someone he met on Facebook. Help!”
and more!

………………………………………………………………………..

Facebook and Your Marriage is a MUST HAVE FOR MARRIED FACEBOOKERS

Whether you’ve never been on Facebook, just getting started or are an avid Facebooker — Facebook and Your Marriage is a great source of tips and insights to make your Facebook experience fun for yourself and stress-free for your marriage.

Whether you’re happily married, on the brink of divorce, or somewhere in between – Facebook and Your Marriage provides principles and practical advice so your relationship can survive and thrive on Facebook…and in real-time.

………………………………………………………………………..

Facebook and Your Marriage is JUST ONE HALF OF THE RESOURCE YOU GET

When Facebook and Your Marriage (the book) is released, readers will have access to FacebookAndYourMarriage.com (the website) to get even more out of their Facebook experience! (Note: website will not be live until the book is on the presses).

So what are you waiting for? Get the Facebook and Your Marriage pre-press order form.

………………………………………………………………………..

K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky have been married since 1994 and have co-authored Facebook and Your Marriage (due out in late-February 2010). Jason and Kelli have co-written three blog articles (Our Top Dozen Do’s and Don’ts for Facebooking Couples, Is Facebook a Cyber-Threat to Your Marriage?, and How Facebook Can Improve Your Marriage) that have been widely distributed, written about and reposted. Jason also authored Before “I Do” – Preparing for the Full Marriage Experience, an interactive premarital book for engaged and seriously dating couples. Jason and Kelli live in the foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains with their four children. Contact them at kjasonk@fullmarriageexperience.com, on Twitter or through Facebook.

Find out more about the Jason and Kelli and their marriage efforts at their website (FullMarriageExperience.com) and blog (MarriageJunkie.com).

[Via http://marriagejunkie.com]

The Private Sketch Diary of Sarah

2010-01-17T02:52:00.000+02:00

I found this yesterday in my cleaning spree, I have to say, it’s brilliant.

I particularly like that this one says "Touch and Die." My sister pointed out that she used to look at this a lot and never once died.

The drawings in here are HYSTERICAL. In the back, there are about 40 pages of “Before” and “After” style makeovers, sort of like my own version of “What Not Wear.” I scanned some of the drawings for your benefit.

A self-portrait

There are about 2o self-portraits in this sketchbook alone. I really love the fact that this one features me in one of my favorite outfits, a pair of white denim short overalls with purple flowers, which I believe were from OshKosh B’Gosh. I’m not sure why I loved these things so much, but I wore them everywhere, they showed off my tan, they hit my fat stomach (or at least I thought they did) and they were easy to throw on with a pair of sandals and a t-shirt.

I’m also going to go out on a limb here and say for a picture that was dated 1995 (for whatever reason, my younger self was convinced that one day there would be a retrospective of my work, so dates are EXTREMELY necessary), that my 8 year-old self did a pretty accurate impression of me. I was certainly no Picasso, but this is a pretty accurate representation.

You’ll also notice that my arms are folded behind my back. In later pictures you’ll see that I do this a lot. I probably still do this when I draw people because I inevitably screw up the proportions and they end up having giant King-Kong sized hands on normally proportioned bodies.

A portrait of my dear friend Kate

My "other best friend" Lauren, or La

This picture on the right is a portrait of my dear friend Kate. My note in the lower right-hand corner calls Kate “My best friend.” This is accurate, in fact, she’s still my friend. On the next page, however, there is another picture of my friend Lauren, with a similar note, only it reads “my other best friend.”

When I put these on facebook yesterday, La wanted to know if being the “other” best friend meant that she was in some way inferior. On the contrary, I was just apparently so popular that I was lucky enough to have not one, but two “best friends” to split friendship necklaces with and to dance around play with that I needed to let the world know that they both existed. Something tells me if I had drawn Lauren on the first page and Kate on the second, Kate may very well have been the “other best friend.” The beauty of this finding though is now I don’t have to worry about what to get my nearest and dearest for their next birthday or gift-giving occasion. They’re getting one-of-a-kind Sarah Morgans, framed, and signed by by 8 year-old self. Lucky them.

For my last masterpiece of the evening (fear not, there will be more, this was just one sketchbook and I got tired of scanning), I leave you with “The Friends Music,” which I’m certain was inspired by the Spice Girls, even though we’re dressed like ABBA.

Matching outfits? Bell-bottoms? Big hair? I love it.

I vaguely recall plotting with my friend Alex, on the left and my sister about starting our own girl band. I’m certain this was influenced by the Spice Girls and our desire to spread “Girl Power” far and wide. I cannot, however, carry a tune in a bucket (though I don’t let this stop me from participating in karaoke), but this is probably not enough to prevent me from being a member of a successful girl pop band. It would seem as though this isn’t really a problem for the Jonas Brothers either. If we had become a band, you can be assured that we would have dressed like this, Kate with her beehive, Alex with her processed crunchy curls and me with a haircut that looks like I should be in the cast of Beverly Hills 90210.

Perhaps I ought to consider these sketches as a starting point for my A-Ha! moment hunt. Maybe the secret lies in ranking your best friends or wearing matching outfits and starting a girl band.

[Via http://sothensarahsaid.wordpress.com]

Cross Genre Recording Artist RhythmLife

2010-01-17T02:41:00.000+02:00

Okay, What exactly is meant by cross genre. Well it is what the group RhythymLife uses to refer to their style of song writing and performing. Meaning that they show no allegiance to any specific music genre. Funk, Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Pop, Gospel. They touch on it all and let the listener decide where it goes . They just want to make memorable music. Having said that they have now released four titles of their new Cd on their Ourstage music site. Go by the site at http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/rhythymlifeband and see what the cross genre buzz is all about.

[Via http://rhythymlife.wordpress.com]

issue 002 of sublime rush hits the digital shelves

2010-01-16T18:04:00.000+02:00

My baby is growing up! You can now read issue 002 of Sublime Rush magazine at SublimeRush.com

It is full of all sorts of art-and-culture-y goodness, from intrepid nature photographers to fetish club performers to music you need to listen to. Not enough rush for you? Find us at…

- Twitter

- MySpace

- Facebook

At SublimeRush.com, you can find out how to get involved in the magazine (do it!) and register with our spam free mailing list of awesomeness. Our mailing list friends get to see everything first AND get their hands on some sneaky little between-issue bits that no-one else ever gets to see. Totally worth it.

The content deadline for issue 003 (apr-jun ‘10) is 28th February. Bring it on!

[Via http://momentarysolutions.wordpress.com]

January 15, 2010

2010-01-16T02:40:00.000+02:00

Today was an especially dreary overcast and rainy mess. Who feels like doing anything in that?! Regardless, I went shopping today and picked up some sweat pants (is that one word or two? I’m not sure) and t-shirts to work out in. I wanted to make my get fit time comfortable and stylish as possible. I got some cute shirts to wear, I think. I want to feel my best when I’m on my journey. I want it to be a happy time and not… Well, a dreary time, really. (I think I’ll start calling it my journey instead of get fit time. I’m sure some would say that is silly… But, it’ll make me feel better about all the hard work I’m going to have to put into this. Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps.)

Yesterday, I made a playlist for my ipod to take on my journey (I’ll change it out periodically). I chose upbeat hard rock, pop, and alternative to accompany me. Well, here… I’ll tell you what I put on there: Run To by Emerson Hart, Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol, One Time For Me by Reverend Horton Heat, When Worlds Collide by Powerman 5000, Intergalactic Planetary by The Beastie Boys, A Sex Type Thing by Stone Temple Pilots, Abracadabra by Sugar Ray, I’m Your Boogie Man by White Zombie & Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind. The upbeat music really does the trick! It makes the time seem to go by faster!

I have a Gazelle to work out on. (My brother was kind enough to pull it out of hiding and clean it up for me Monday.) I get a rythm going with the music when I’m on it. It’s almost like I’m dancing. I love to dance, so that makes the whole thing a lot easier to endure.

I’ve decided that everyday I will devote half an hour or so to working out, be it on the Gazelle or walking. I asked my brother to go walking with me twice a week. I also asked my friends on Facebook if anyone would like to go walking with me. At first no one replied, but then a wife of one of my husband’s co-workers said she would like to walk with me one day a week. I can go walking three times a week and work out on the Gazelle the other days of the week. Maybe, on weekends I can get my husband to walk with me, so I won’t have to use the Gazelle as much. I’d much rather be out walking and enjoying the great outdoors!

Well, that was my day. Three days down on my journey. I do already feel a difference, if you can believe that! My mood is better and I’m not as achy as I have been in the past. I’m really excited about what the future holds!

[Via http://mistysjourney.wordpress.com]

Online Dating, oh God.

2010-01-14T02:18:00.000+02:00

We debated online dating over at the Perpetual Post this week.

As confused, shy and neurotic as human beings are, we don’t really want anyone else to know that about us. When it comes to letting other people find out who we are, we like to have creative control. That’s one of the exciting things about online dating—and even social networking in general: it offers a forum in which one has complete creative control over what they choose to reveal about themselves to others. Of course, we don’t want anyone else to know how important it is to us that we be shown in a certain light, so even if every inch of it has been painstakingly planned, it’s crucial to make sure that your online profile appears to be a casual reflection of who you think you are, and who you want others to think you are.

Personally, I think that a lot of what I find attractive in other people, I put there myself. It’s not necessarily there to begin with. Especially at first; when I don’t know the other person that well, there’s a lot of projection going on. And then I as learn more about them, and discover more about what they’re actually like, I kind of add bits and pieces of that reality into whatever perception-of-them stew I’m concocting which filters they way I view them and affects how attractive they are to me.

Granted, some of what I see in others is also probably what they want me to see. And I definitely I do the same thing to other people; trying to make them see me the way I want to be seen. The people I tend to like the most are the people whose perception of me, to the extent that I can tell, jibes with my perception of myself, and/or my perception of the way I want them to perceive me.

This projection is has been compounded tenfold by the advent of the social networking website. Based on the sketchy pictures and information provided by a person’s online profile, it is very easy to extrapolate virtually anything you want to about virtually anyone on the web. Are they pictured with a kid? They probably love kids! Do they seem to be doing a lot of quirky things with attractive other people in their photos? They are probably fun and have sexy friends! Do they have poor grammar and bad spelling? Maybe they didn’t take much time working on their profiles because they had to dash off to do fun things with their sexy friends! Or maybe they’re just careless. Or a sociopath. Who knows what they wanted you to see—maybe it was what you saw, maybe it was what YOU wanted to see. Really, you won’t know until you meet each other, if you ever do meet. Actually meeting someone you’ve only communicated with online can be a thrilling adventure or a staggering defeat. It’s very easy to build someone up and make them into your ideal match when all you know about them is filtered through the medium of text and pictures. It can be crushing to realize that the scrapbook person you’ve pieced together is nothing like the actual live version.

One thing I like to keep in mind when viewing people’s online profiles is the fact that had I seen my boyfriend’s online profile first, we never would have met. “No way,” I would have thought. This guy is not for me. We have nothing in common.”

Fortunately, we met in person first. It just goes to show you, you can’t judge a boy by his Myspace. We’re all wading through bullshit, but sometimes we find each other.

[Via http://mollyschoemann.com]

Replying Facebook Comments via Email

2010-01-14T02:15:00.000+02:00

Facebook has this setting where you can receive email notifications of comments about your wall posts, photos and comments. Just recently, Facebook even leverage this functionality by allowing its members to not just receive email notifications but also able to reply to comments directly from email. Just hit the reply button and write your comments then send. The comments will be posted to Facebook even if you’re not accessing the site. So this is beneficial to those Facebook addicts who can’t access FB at work because the site is blocked. Kudos to Facebook admin.

See FB blog site for more details.

[Via http://itsmedru.wordpress.com]

tentang sebuah blog

2010-01-12T02:50:00.000+02:00

sepertinya eksis di dunia nyata sudah menjadi kebutuhan tiap manusia (normal).. lihat saja bagaimana Facebook dan Twitter merajai situs yang paling banyak diakses. malah sebuah penelitian menyebutkan,, jika facebook adalah sebuah negara maka dia akan menjadi negara dengan jumlah penduduk terbanyak ketiga didunia setelah RRC dan Rusia. benar-benar fantastis. selain itu,, sejak beberapa tahun yang lalu blog juga menjadi ajang eksis. lihat saja bagaimana Raditya Dika dengan suksesnya mendapatkan jutaan rupiah hanya berawal dari menulis sebuah blog!! yang kemudia blog itu dibukukan dan terakhir difilmkan. meski filmnya tidak se-booming blog dan bukunya,, tapi setidaknya itulah hari ini. yang bisa ngetop bukan hanya artis,,tapi orang biasa jg bisa. tidak harus cantik, tidak harus ganteng, hanya butuh kemampuan untuk memanfaatkan teknologi yang sekarang sudah sedemikian maju. itu lah hari ini.

internet sebagai suatu kebutuhan,,gadget sebagai suatu keharusan sepertinya tidak ada yang akan memungkiri. dan pemikiran saya berakhir sementara pada sebuah blog. blog sebagai buku harian,yang mana dulu buku harian merupakan suatu rahasia besar penulisnya. teringat anne frank yang mencatatkan sejarah yang dilihat dengan mata kepalanya sendiri dalam sebuah buku harian,, buku harian itu begitu rahasia. tapi saat ini sudah tidak ada rahasia. orang-orang cenderung membuka privasi mereka. baik lewat situs jejaring sosial,, maupun lewat blog. siapa saja bisa mem-publish pikirannya,,kegiatannya,,uneg2nya,, tanpa sensor.terima kasih pada teknologi yang sangat mengerti keinginan manusia hari ini. bagi sebagian orang,, blog digunakan untuk sarana menunjang bisnis di bidang marketing. tentu saja karena gratis dan bisa diakses siapa saja. meski sebagian blog sekarang mengenakan biaya untuk blog dengan kapasitas tertentu,, tapi blog-blog gratis seperti ini benar-benar membantu untuk bisnis. tapi tentu saja sebagian orang yang lain menggunakan blog untuk mengeluarkan pikiran terdalamnya. salah satunya saya dan banyak lagi yang lain. tentunya dalam hal yang positif mengingat Indonesia saat ini sudah ada UU ITE yang mengatur tentang hal-hal semacam ini (jujur,,saya belum baca UUnya). tapi tidak sedikit juga yang negatif. seperti contohnya pada blog beritamuslim.wordpress.com saya benar-benar tidak mengerti apa maksud pembuat blog ini. isinya penuh kebencian terhadap agama yang saya anut,,yaitu ISLAM. entah dapet bahan dari mana penulis blog tersebut. tapi isi blog itu sungguh-sungguh membuat gerah pembaca. mungkin memang maksudnya untuk membuat geram dan marah,, tapi sungguh dalam hati saya ingin melakukan tindakan hukum terhadap penulis blog tersebut. tapi entah bagaimana caranya.. inilah salah satu bentuk penyalahgunaan blog menurut saya. yaitu menyebarkan mosi negatif yang menjurus ke SARA. inilah wajah teknologi saat ini dan orang-orang yang kurang bisa memanfaatkannya dengan baik.

[Via http://pintukeluar.wordpress.com]

Our Favorite Facebook.com Status Updates

2010-01-12T02:29:00.000+02:00

Here is a short list of our favorite Facebook.com status updates.

“One of those days “ — It sure is.

“I need to work on my McConaughey” – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this.

“When will I see my Thad again?” — That’s right. “Thad”!

Video game updates — All day I was wondering if Donny completed the “Manage a Chop Shop” mission in Mobsters 2… And now I know.

“Watching Jersey Shore” — Great show.

“Happy New Year!” — Can’t go wrong with a good old fashioned HNY.

“Just watched ‘He’s Not That Into You’… Good movie wish I had seen it sooner! Lol.” – What!? He’s right, it is good!

“Out and about. Where you at?” – Is this a rhetorical question?

“Picking my nose… Can’t decide if I should eat it or not” — I swear I saw this and the person who posted it is older than 8.

“I just pooped my butt cheeks” – Different person, but again, older than 8.

“Staining my new book shelves” — Why on earth would you ever announce to the World that you are doing this?

And in the just when you think it can’t get any worse department: When researching this post I came to learn that their are websites independent of Facebook.com solely dedicated to posting “funny” Facebook.com status updates… I feel a little dirty.

[Via http://decentcommunity.com]

The Top 10 Social Media Blog Posts In 2009

2010-01-10T02:46:00.000+02:00

Its been a big year for social media in 2009 with Twitter going mainstream, Facebook passing 300 million users, Twitter real time search being integrated into Google, Monthly online video views passing 25 billion a month, Pepsi forgoing it’s normal $20 million dollar SuperBowl traditional mainstream marketing spend and instead invest it on a social media marketing campaign.

I would also like to send a big thank you to all my readers in helping me reach a personal milestone, with my blog passing 100,000 views since starting in March, 2009 (only 9 months ago).

In putting this list together it is fascinating to see what my readers have found to be the most interesting and engaging topics in 2009.

Two areas stood out

Surveys, reports and research on the social media made up 4 of the top 10 (40%). I think this show that people are hungry for facts and figures to validate and assist their efforts in the social media space and to see what the top companies andbrands are doing or not doing.
The CEO’s role in social media or lack thereof, found traction in readership at 20%. This shows people identifying with each other in having experienced similiar experiences in trying to get the managers and leaders of brands to take on the new paradigm shift in marketing and trying to get their CEO’s to enter the 21st century, whether they be internal or external as consultants or agencies.

My Top 10 Social Media Blog Posts for 2009

9 Ways To Convince The CEO To Use Social Media and Enter The 21st Century (5,559 views)
Report Reveals:15 Best Practices of Social Media Implemented by the Top 100 Brands (4,710 views)
How Many Social Media Channels Should Your Brand Be Using? (3,514 views)
28 Reasons Why The CEO Is Afraid Of Social Media (3,372 views)
5 Case Studies on Companies That Win at Social Media and eCommerce (2,983 views)
13 Ways to Monitor Your Brand on Social Media: Do You Know What Is Being Said About Your Company Online? (2,723 views)
Latest Study: How The Fortune 100 Are Using Twitter (2,714 views)
20 Reasons Why You Should Blog Before You Twitter (2,644 views)
Marketing Trends Report 2009: Where does Social Media Stand? (2,442 views)
Survey Reveals: The Top 5 Social Media Channels Companies Are Using (2,213 views)

So what do you think 2010 will bring in the social media ?

[Via http://jeffbullas.com]

Unknown vs BNP

2010-01-10T02:02:00.000+02:00

This is a Diary entry from a fictional journalist explaining how Britain is after the BNP take over. Ending is sad… 24th July 2010 - Just over two weeks ago the BNP, or the British National Party, took control of Britain. They somehow won in the elections and have promised all of the ‘British’ people that they will once again be a pure country. Just over a week ago, after the BNP had partied and accepted the fact that they were now the top men, I received a official letter from the government stating that if I am not of white British origin, I have to leave. The BNP also kindly said that they will pay for our tickets and we have to all pack up and leave by the end of the week on Sunday. Many people fought, even a lot of white people fought alongside us. I was proud to have been a part of it, but then there comes a time when you just can’t fight anymore. My family packed and left for Pakistan on that Sunday, I asked to stay behind. It was so hard, so hard to say goodbye. My mother cried, scared that it might be the last time she sees me alive. I promised I would take care of myself, and I will. The BNP also stated that if any person not of white British heritage will be caught and killed. On top of that, the BNP threatened respective countries that if they did not take the prisoners that are of their race, they will let them loose in their country. That really pissed the different countries off. I am now living undercover although I can walk the streets looking like a white person because of the colour of my skin. I may be Pakistani, but I am also a light skin colour which has mistaken many people in the past of my heritage. Now I can use it to my advantage. My mission is to stay in this country and find out exactly what is happening within the BNP. I can’t believe that freedom of speech has taken England into complete shutdown. Shouldn’t freedom of speech have a limit? Isn’t saying “only white British people” the same as saying “only white people”. The BNP in no way represent all of the white population, my friend that helps me hates the BNP. They have cursed his entire life. Tommy, my friend, tried to get out of the country at the same time my family were leaving as he hated what the word ‘British’ had become. They didn’t let him leave. Can you believe it? The BNP have trapped all of the white British population in Britain and have forbidden them to travel out of the United Kingdom. That is absolute rubbish, it makes me sick to my stomach. Right now, me and a few other journo’s are staying in Epping forest…epic isn’t it. We pass information via our trusty little gadget that many of you have heard of called a phone. Read how sad this is, in the forest we have no electricity. Luckily though, we met a newsagent (off-licence happy chap) who was happy to help us. Within our little rebellion team there is me, Tommy, Shanq and Nathalie (the only girls), Ali, Lee and Theo. We have our joking moments, we also have the moments were we have to wake up really fast and run for our lives. Fun times (sigh). 2nd August 2010 - Yesterday my friend Theo was in his old apartment when members of the BNP force came in and performed a type of torture on him. They tried to make Theo tell them were the rest of us were hiding. Luckily myself, Tommy and Ali came just in time to beat the fuck out of the BNP force and drag Theo out of there. We got Nathalie to check his cuts, the bastards had made little cuts around his face, one by one. They shouted abusive comments at him and cut the words ’dirt’ into his forehead. They cut him so deep he passed out. How much longer will we have to endure this sickening torture. Just last week I had to walk the ’pure’ streets to find out when the leader of BNP was meeting with a leader of a racist group from America. The guards at the National Building started to get suspicious of me as I made sickening faces as I looked upon the BNP leaders. I had to literally fly out of the building as fast as I could. I have to go on a mission tomorrow, this time I have to find out what other country is conversing with Britain. 1st September 2010 - England are running out of their fruits, I haven’t eaten a banana in over two months. Their trade has gone to the trash and no country is willing to co-operate with them for other foods. Asia and Africa set words to the leader of the BNP along the lines of “sorry but we don’t want to send you our ‘impure’ food” . That pissed the BNP off. So much so that they refuse to complain and have now made a new rule that if anyone complains they will have to pay a fine. What the hell is that about? How far will they go until they realise that they are nothing without other peoples help? Damn, they are so arrogant. Apart from all of that bullshit, staying in the forest tonight, Tommy is going with Shanq to get some food from our trusty insider newsagent. 3rd September 2010 - Just realised that I should be in the 3rd year at University right now. I worked so hard to become a journalist. So many hours I have put into making my dream come true and now this. How could this happen? The BNP are sending a few people out to hunt the people that are secretly living in Britain. Its less then usual, so I think there is something bigger going on. Bigger then what has happened in Britain. I’m a bit scared, but I have to remember to keep my head up high, not too high, and live life. Oh well, at least my birthdays coming in about 3 days time! 6th of September will hopefully be a good day, without any chases, racism or hate. Fat chance that will happen in Britain. Alright I’m going to get ready for the next ‘Day-walking’! We decided to call walking out in the open Day-walking…makes sense doesn’t it? Next mission is day before my birthday, I think the guys are throwing me a surprise and Tommy is going to tag along with me as we creep into the Nationals Building. I hate surprises, do you think I should tell them that? 5th September 2010 - Newspaper in other countries headlines. ‘Journalist killed doing an Angels work’ – America ‘Pakistani – British Journalist killed trying to make peace’ – Pakistan ‘A Son, A Brother, A Friend, A True Soldier has died trying to keep his people safe’ – Canada ‘Journalist killed brutally saving his friends life’ – Africa ‘Peacemaker found dead day before his 21st birthday’ – India ‘Another Fucker killed, good job!’ – Britain

By Hump(a)Monkey

[Via http://humpamonkey.wordpress.com]

Facebook Gives Sibling Rivalry a Whole New Edge.

2010-01-09T02:21:00.000+02:00

This is a story about revenge. Sister tells parents about brother hiding a 12 pack of beer in his room. In a fit of rage, brother scans her hookup list and posts it on Facebook.

An online battle ensues in the comment section of Facebook.

Sometimes we hurt the ones we love.

[Via http://savorydish.wordpress.com]

Don’t Miss These Twitter and Facebook Guides

2010-01-09T02:17:00.000+02:00

Whether you are teaching a class, helping a friend or just looking for information for yourself these guides from Mashable are a great resource.

The Facebook Guide topics include:

Facebook 101: The Basics
Managing Your Facebook Wall
Using Facebook for Business
How to become a fan of Mashable
Using Facebook Applications
Facebook 305:Advanced Topics

Twitter Guide topics include:

Twitter 101 – The Basics
Building Your Twitter Community
Twitter for Business
Twitter Guide Book To Go: PDF Download and Slideshow
Sharing on Twitter
Managing Your Twitter Stream

via librarianbyday.net

[Via http://heyjude.wordpress.com]

I Had a Dream That We Were Dead

2010-01-07T02:48:00.000+02:00

Flyleaf, again. No, I didn’t have a dream that anyone was dead..I just like that song ^_^

Today started off really well, and continued to be a good day for most of the night actually. However, I found out that one of my youth kids lost their virginity a week ago…and it just breaks my heart. Plus, Dillon just emofies me. But what the frick…I’m done with that.

I got on facebook and saw that Brandon had tagged me in this note thing he had done. He considers me his best friend, tied with Kayla, which makes me feel better. He then went on to say the he didn’t think he could “have a crush” on any of his best friends right now. That the stuff between us was “a long story.”

There’s no long story! Just a long distance! I’m frustrated! And….really really emo. And I really don’t know why.

[Via http://orangepanda42.wordpress.com]

YouTube Video Promotion

2010-01-07T02:43:00.000+02:00

Well, I posted Part one of the Webinar and discovered a lot about YouTube.com in the process.

They have an adwords type program where you can promote your video based on keyword searches.

I ponied up a whopping $1.00 per day to advertise the webinar (which I am not too pleased with the quality) and have had several clicks. With my whopping budget, I only get about 4 views a day, but I’m not here to get massive clicks, only to learn the mechanix of using the internet for marketing.

Also, I found www.WarriorForum.com today as well. There was a rant about an IM (Internet Marketing) program that I almost bought for $497 (AutomatedSalesFormula.com). Lots of talk about the program and the dude and his past history with customer service and disgruntled customers, blah blah blah. I didn’t buy any of his programs but was glad to find the www.WarriorForum.com.

Instead, I bought the new Google NEXUS Android phone. I get it tomorrow. I’m so excited. I can have all the coolness of an iPhone without AT&T. That means better customer service and 1/2 the price. Check out the phone at www.Google.com/Phone. I may have to blog about that separately.

Back to Internet Marketing Automation. Here’s the deal. I have to go and invite my past interested folks to view the webinar recording tomorrow. That means that that one outcome will require several more steps.

Step 1, Finish formatting and uploading the other three sections of the webinar.

Step 2, Put them in a linked fashion in YouTube.com (and learn how to do that).

Step 3, Capture the correct link and send out the invitation to the recording.

Step 4, Create another link that I can post on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc etc etc.

Step 5, Work out

Oh Wait, that’s not a step, that’s just more on the schedule.

Ok, that’s it for now. I’ll let you know when the Nexus shows up.

Best Regards,

Dominic X Carubba, CPT

Director

Center for Performance Solutions

www.TheADDguy.com

[Via http://theaddguy.wordpress.com]

A quick post about war

2010-01-05T02:26:00.000+02:00

In this post, I’m not promising anything special. I’m a bit out of it thanks to my good friends co-codamol and Captain Morgan. However, seeing a couple of friends on Facebook join the following group caused my angry-self to come out from hiding and start bitching:

PARA REG TO LINE WOOTTEN BASSETT AND DO SOME DAMAGE

First of all:

Group Description:

if these fuckers want to bring the war over here lets be having them

Let’s ignore the terrible grammar for now. Let’s just lower ourselves to the same level as a minority of people who disagree with the war and feel the need to take some measures to get their point across.

There’s nothing that says that the planned protest will be a violent one. It’s us that are instinctively rising up to “DO SOME DAMAGE”.

What fucking message are you sending out here?

There’s a tiny amount of Muslims in the UK that aren’t happy with the current global political climate, that aren’t happy with the fact that we’re at war* and want to let the government and the world know in a way that doesn’t involve shoving a petition through a letterbox. So what we’re going to do is storm into Wootton Bassett, a place which holds a fuckload of sentimental significance for the families of those killed and cause some trouble before the Muslims do. CAUSE IT’S OUR COUNTRY AND WE CAN.

Read some of the comments on that group. I dare you. It’s sickening.

-facepalm-

Yes, it’s a terrible shame that people are dying. It’s a terrible shame that there’s so much conflict and mistrust between nations because of one horrible act of terrorism sparking an international crisis.

I don’t think I have any real conclusion to this. I’m thoroughly ashamed to be English when I see these kind of groups crop up – knee-jerk reactions and blatant racism, grouping all Muslims under ‘terrorist’. It’s exactly the same as saying all white people are Nazis.

Get. A. Fucking. Grip.

*If you hadn’t noticed, there’s a fair amount of British citizens that think so too. But, y’know, us liberals don’t count, do we?

[Via http://perfekt0.wordpress.com]

BABYLONIA REVISITED

2010-01-05T02:14:00.000+02:00

Tevet 12, 5770 Dec. 29, 5770

So old biblical Jerusalem is once again under siege by our enemies. They are once again at our wall, hoping and waiting for our spirit to weaken. And if we lose Jerusalem again, only HaShem’s intervention will restore it.

Is it a coincidence that the 10th of Tevet fast and the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead (Gaza war) fell on the same day? The 10th of Tevet fast commemorates the start of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonians, for any reader who may not be familiar. Since this fast is not so much for mourning but rather a reminder to make repentance to HaShem, is it also a coincidence that also during this time, only Jews are FORBIDDEN to build in biblical Jerusalem by Israel’s own call? Not in my opinion.

It is now two days after the 10th of Tevet, and I think Jews need to do some serious soul searching. I believe this fast actually holds greater significance now more than ever, and Jews need to be aware.

Since the world, especially the EU & the USA, are determined to force the Jews in Israel to give up ‘East’ Jerusalem willingly to our enemies, for a peace that everyone knows will never come.

Lets face it. ‘East’ Jerusalem is biblical Jerusalem, and if the secular, anti G-d of the old testament world can trick the Jews into giving away biblical Jerusalem, the very center piece of Judaism, it will be a tremendous victory for all those who wish to destroy Israel. This would, in their mind, also debunk thus destroy the concept of the G-d of the old testament.

It is common knowledge that a secular, socialist, internationalist movement is sweeping the world, and, like Nazis, it doesn’t want an ‘Israel’ to be part of their vision of the ‘one world order’. It wants no recognition of the G-d of the old testament and it rejects ANY connection to it, this is why Christianity is also rejected (a Neitzsche idealism).

And, like the Nazis, it seems to embrace Islam, my thinking is for several purposes. First and utmost, it is staunchly anti Israel and radical Muslims are willingly the foot soldiers to physically attack Israel with impunity. Second, its a religion that is very oppressive, like Nazis, very controlling of the very personal movements of its followers. Third, once their purpose of eliminating the Bible based religions is accomplished, discarding Islam will prove easier in reality, thus eliminating all religions, because its followers will want freedom from such an oppressive and cruel belief system.

What of the other religions? u may think, such as Hinduism, Buddhism etc., well of course, they too would have succumbed to ‘Jihad’ and have already disappeared also, unless they can successfully resist, we can only hope.

However, my emphasis on the G-d of the old testament is due to the fact that it seems to be the main target as the world works tirelessly to persuade Israel to destroy itself. Strangely, they do not go in an make a major military strike to go ahead and destroy her. Why the hesitation? Who knows. Perhaps the fear that decent people will rise up from all aspects of the world, and permanently stop them. Or perhaps they really DO fear the G-d of the old testament and aren’t quite ready to find out if He really exists.

Eventually they’ll find out.

[Via http://idfinformant.wordpress.com]

Visualizing the Web x.0 / Social Media Spectrum through "The Conversation Prism"

2010-01-03T02:46:00.000+02:00

I saw the Conversation Prism for the first time last February at a MAGC social media presentation by John Wooden of Fredrickson Communications, who also taught my usability class at the University of Minnesota.

Since then I’ve used it in a few presentations I’ve given. It’s a good graphic to help show people how many niches and options there are in the web 2.0/social media realm.

I like to use it to point out that social media isn’t just Facebook and Twitter – there are a whole range of services and tools to choose from, which is why government needs people who are passionate and knowledgeable about what’s out there and what the possibilities are.

Anyway, cool graphic. Ch-Check it out.

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas

[Via http://jakervik.wordpress.com]

Independent Beauty Consultant

2010-01-03T02:31:00.000+02:00

Confucius once said: “If you enjoy what you do, you will not work again.” Don’t have time to start a home based business? Make Time. It is a fact it will save you tons of money just on your taxes alone! The biggest reason, however, is to spend more time with your family.

Here are the 7 Strategies. They can help you in starting a business to earn extra income.

1. Think about what you love doing. Search business ideas about jobs from home.

2. Ignore those who say you can make money fast without any work on your part. A successful business takes time and effort to succeed, just like anything else.

3. Do not join any company who makes you feel pressured.

4. Make sure they are up with today’s technology.

5. Once you find something, test the products and/or service yourself.

6. Find out if the company has a strong support and training system available in order to help you work from home.

7. Do your due diligence on the company and its owners before signing up for a home based business.

Remember: Those on their “death bed” never said — “I should have spent extra time at the office.” Instead, they do say, “I wish I had spent more time at home with my family.”

Living paycheck to paycheck is no fun. Making your boss rich is not either. That is what we actually do when we keep working “for the man” without opening up business opportunities for ourselves.

You can never “bring back time”. Think about what is important in your life, then make your decision.

Becoming an Independent Beauty Consultant is among one of the legitimate home based careers today. They are a far cry from just one of many cosmetics jobs. For those who want to become their own boss, being an Independent Beauty Consultant could be your home business answer. It is worth the time to find out if a home based business is right for you. As you know there is an abundance of “at home” jobs, it is crucial to choose a reputable one. Hear testimonials from those who are successful working at home. Take a minute to watch their videos about their careers in the anti-aging industry.

Jennifer R. Russell

[Via http://pittsburghbusiness.wordpress.com]

Facebook+Beer=Goodbye Secrets! Day 1 (1/1/2010)

2010-01-02T02:36:00.000+02:00

I love being lazy, it’s my main hobby. I just love being able to lie in bed as the alarm clock rings and think “Screw you!” and then fling it across the room…After I do that I rush out to make sure that my iPhone is OK and then think that I am a massive, massive idiot for not only almost breaking my phone(people have babies, I have a iPhone. I’m happy with my choice) but also getting out of bed when I was going to have a lie in.

So the morning after New Year’s Eve, comonlly known as “New Year’s Day”, and after a steller proformance of being “Jimmy’s Lad” down the local for the begining of the year I decided that the first day of the year I would devote it to my brand spanking new addiction/game Football Manager 2010, I spend hours on this game like so many other men thinking your better than Shankly and getting Cambridge United promoted to the Premiership (sadly employers don’t take this as a good answer to “the most proudest moment of your life”…I’m so empty). But after playing it for 2 hours and only getting through a week, I came to the sad realisation that my little laptop is to weak to play the new game and I gave up. And I’m kinda sad about this, it means that instead of being able to play half a hour or a hour whenever I want I have to load up the monster in the corner of the dining room, wait for 20 minutes of it to finish whatever werid things the hamsters inside the box decide to throw up and then play. This may help me get over my addiction and get me hours of my life back, or possibly cause me to start doing smack I’m not 100% sure yet.

I spent the evening with my extended family watching telly and eating Chinese, but there was a bigger reason for us all being there. There was a announcment! A big one! That my cousin got engaged! Sadly for him I didn’t look all that excited, not because I wasn’t happy for him it was just that he put it on Facebook hours before in a drunken happiness. So instead of “Oh man well done I’m so exicted for you” or “she’s up the duff then?”(that was actually a response he got from one of our family members, such a loving family we have) he got “oh so you wern’t lying on Facebook then?” However his mum didn’t know so she got excited for all of us…well kinda, not really it was more of “oh well done son” and a peck on the cheek. I don’t think that kind of boring response was what he was looking for one of the biggest descions of his life. But this does bring up a good lesson, if you are trying to keep something a suprise DON’T POST IT ON FACEBOOK! Not the best of places to keep your secrets the Facebook status bar. It’s kinda like not wanting anyone to eat your cake, so you store it by gently placing a piece of it into the hnd of everyone you know and then hoping that they don’t look down into there hand and go “hmm cake”. Also that way of cake storage would be way unhygenic, it would just be better to put it in the fridge.

[Via http://heald365.wordpress.com]

Facebook App Maker Hit With Data-Breach Class Action

2010-01-02T02:19:00.000+02:00

RockYou, the popular provider of third-party apps for Facebook, MySpace and other social-networking services, is being hit with a proposed class-action accusing the company of having such poor data security that at least one hacker got away with 32 million e-mails and their passwords.

The suit accuses the maker of apps like “Slideshow” for MySpace and “Superwall” for Facebook of making its unencrypted customer data “available to even the least capable hacker.”

“RockYou failed to use hashing, salting or any other common and reasonable method of data protection and therefore drastically exacerbated the consequences of a hacker bypassing its outer layer of web security,” according to the Monday complaint in San Francisco federal court.

So-called SQL injection vulnerabilities are among the top online security defects. Hackers, for example, took advantage of such flaws to steal some 130 million credit card numbers from databases of Hannaford Brothers, 7-Eleven and Heartland Payment Systems in 2007 and 2008.

Redwood City, California-based RockYou admits the data was “breached.” The lawsuit claims a hacker known by the moniker “igigi” exploited an SQL injection flaw and “and removed the e-mails and passwords of approximately 32 million registered RockYou users.” (.pdf)

The suit also accuses the company of failing to promptly notify consumers of the Dec. 4 breach.

Wendy Zaas, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that RockYou “plans to defend itself vigorously. The company takes its users’ privacy seriously.”

The company’s privacy policy said it “makes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the security of our system,” yet its user database was stored in plain text, according to the lawsuit.

In a telephone interview, Zaas declined to address the merits of the allegations in the lawsuit.

Michael Aschenbrener, the lead lawyer suing RockYou, said in a telephone interview that “there was a complete breach of RockYou’s database. It does appear to be a catastrophic breach. ”

More than a week after the breach, the company recommended that its customers “change their passwords for their e-mail and other online accounts if they use the same e-mail accounts and passwords for multiple online services. ”

The company said it was working with the government to investigate the illegal breach, and has begun encrypting passwords and “reviewing our current data security features.”

The plaintiffs are seeking a court order requiring RockYou to increase its security, as well as unspecified damages.

Original post wired.com

[Via http://caintechnews.wordpress.com]

Is that plaid you're wearing or are you just happy to see me?

2009-12-31T02:46:00.000+02:00

That’s great, but what the heck is Project Plaid? Launched in 2009, Project Plaid exists for one simple purpose: to sing the praises of the exceptional. Be it a company, a nonprofit, a person, place, or thing – if a P2 member is a fan of someone or something – we want to share that with the world.

What’s the big deal with “fans” these days? It’s easy to like something, but consider what it means to be a fan. Fans are loyal. Fans are passionate. Fans show up to cheer on their team in rain, sleet, or snow. Fans buy front row tickets even when it’s the third farewell tour. Or ninth.

Being a fan is about more than clicking a “follow” button on Twitter or buying the right jersey. A fan doesn’t just give lip service to something they love, they invest themselves in it. They help grow it. They ignite a movement to share it with others.

Why Plaid? If you ask the dictionary, it will define a clan as “A set of kin whose members believe they are descended from a common ancestor but cannot specify exactly how.” On a more basic level, a clan is simply a group of people united by kinship. In Scotland, plaids and tartans were traditionally used to designate a distinctive clan, a distinguishable badge of honor and identity for its members.

Good people know other good people. With each new person we meet, with every choice and encounter a new thread is woven into our life experience. By choosing to recognize the good in our personal worlds and the global world, we create a fabric that is strong, colorful and enduring.

So how do I get in? When do I get to learn the secret handshake? Our clan has no initiation. Our clan has no membership fees. Induction into the Project Plaid clan is simple and straightforward: just do something and do it well. Leave a lasting and positive impression. In a world of “good enough,” be exceptional.

So now what? As a featured company/person/organization, you will receive an e-mail questionnaire that will help the P2 team create a profile piece on your company to be featured on the P2 blog. Of course we love it when people color outside the lines, so we encourage you not to feel limited by our questions. Elaborate. Tell us all about you. Draw us a picture! Send us photos! Shoot us your favorite recipe! Mail us a plane ticket to come visit!

More than likely, we will have a few follow up questions once we receive your questionnaire back. Once the piece has been compiled, it will be posted to the P2 blog (http://projectplaid.blogspot.com) and you become an official card-carrying member of our clan.

Oh. And in return we have a tiny favor to ask. In order to keep the cycle of good-to-good going, featured companies are asked to provide us with a list of at least 3 companies, organizations, people, items, etc. that you find exceptional. Now is your chance to recognize a fellow entrepreneur, an outstanding vendor, or the best place in town to get pancakes at three a.m.

I’m haven’t been recognized, but I still want in! Think you’ve got what it takes to be a good-wielding, exceptionality-spotting warrior for the kind side? Shoot us an e-mail at project plaid [at] gmail [dot] com. In return we’ll send you a questionnaire to see if you’re one of our kind.

Questions? Comments? Insomnia? Fingers need to take a little jog? You can reach the P2 Clan at projectplaid [at] gmail [dot] com. We love the cheap thrill of new mail in our inbox.

[Via http://projectplaid.wordpress.com]

DC Museums and Social Media: A New Year's Resolution

2009-12-31T02:42:00.000+02:00

While several friends have vowed to curb their Internet/Twitter/iPhone habits in 2010 to reclaim a modicum of face time with friends and family, I’m thinking I need to be more electronically plugged in to DC’s arts and culture scene. A great place to start: DCist’s handy round-up of local museums’ podcasts, blogs and Twitter feeds.

I’m already a Facebook fan of the Freer-Sackler Gallery and the National Gallery of Art, but in truth I’m still getting a lot of my museum news through (increasingly old school) e-newsletters. Not to say that e-newsletters don’t serve a purpose: The Freer-Sackler sent me a year-end fundraising plea just this afternoon, and I succumbed, much as I do after a week of listening to public radio pledge drive banter.

As for blogs, I often skim the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery blogs, which include cool stuff like this time lapse video of shadows moving across the Kogod Courtyard, one of my favorite public spaces in Washington.

The Smithsonian’s Around the Mall blog is also worth checking out, for exhibit updates and quirky behind-the-scenes stories like this post on a couple who recently got engaged at the National Museum of Natural History (in the museum’s forensic lab? really?)

For sheer numbers of followers, however, the reigning champ on the DC museum circuit has got to be the National Zoo’s Pandacam, trained on our beloved Tai Shan, who will soon depart for China. Yes, he’s chomping bamboo as I type. Just try not to click on that link.

Photo by tklancer via Flickr.

[Via http://dcmuseumgoer.com]

Here are the top 25 Funeral News Stories of 2009-Your Funeral Guy

2009-12-29T02:50:00.000+02:00

華叔你好，Martin救我──記為民主下跪

2009-12-29T02:36:00.000+02:00

華叔你好，Martin救我──記為民主下跪

幾天前在facebook看到「跪求民主黨參加公投」的行動呼籲：「面對陪伴走過多年民主路的民主黨，我們願意放下身段，用最溫和、最熱切的呼求，用我們堅強的膝蓋，跪求民主黨參加五區公投」，心裏很受感動。雖然我算不上是民主黨的忠實粉絲，但兩次區議會選舉都投票給民主黨的候選人。五區公投作為新民主運動的開始，有效連結議會和街頭抗爭（參黃毓民12月9日在立法會的演詞http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8bBNucRJ0Q&feature=related）。但大家心裏都明白，民主黨的參與對公投成功與否起關鍵作用。因此這一次，我決定參與跪求行動，為民主運動出一分力。

雖然說參與行動，但網上聚集誰也不能說準，也不知道是不是真的有這個行動，因此我們SCM三個女仔帶了一條自製橫額，若沒有人來自己舉一舉也好，但若有人來，即使只有一人跪下，我也會陪他/她一起跪。

如此一時半到達民主黨會員大會會場YMCA，一看到一個身形略胖的朋友站著，第一句我問他是不是參與facebook行動的人，他說是，第二句我就問他「真的會跪嗎？」，他也說是，不過他也歡迎大家以不同方式表達意見，畢竟不是每個人都認同「跪」這個方式。

我們慢慢聚集，約二十幾人站在YMCA門口，拉起橫額及高舉示威牌。油麻地地鐵站出口和YMCA門口分別有一車警員，後來更多警察增援，來的警察簡直比參與行動的人還多。警察劃出示威區給我們，然而誰都不想進示威區，為了不阻礙市民使用道路，我們一字排開，並盡量背靠牆壁。一切準備就緒，旁邊的朋友問我，認為什麼時候跪才好，我說沒有所謂，大家便一起跪下。

當我們看到民主黨員經過進入大會會場，我們便高喊口號，例如「民主黨，預埋你」。見到司徒華，我們立即大叫「華叔你好」、「華叔你好」，有多大聲便叫多大聲。看到李柱銘則更具創意，有叫「Martin，救我呀~~~救我呀，Martin」，這群朋友實在很可愛。橫額寫上的字句則有：「青年懇請民主黨參與總辭」、「個人榮辱僅屬其次，民主託付不可推辭」、「華叔你好，請支持五區公投」和「我們不要民主擋」。期間有醫生為我們送來雪梨茶和蜂蜜綠茶，麥婆婆送來老婆餅和魚蛋，很溫暖呀~~

民主黨員都進入會場後，我們則稍作休息，有的去洗手間，有的去吃飯。留守的時候間中有民主黨員經過，見到甘乃威，就喊「甘乃威，支持五區公投呀，我知你係無辜架~~」；見到黃成智，有朋友喊「黃成智，我的第一次俾左你呀~~(意即第一次投票即投給黃成智)」，好搞笑~~留守也是讀書的時間，旁邊有個中學生問另一個青年說：「你讀什麼書？嘩，《古文觀止》！」，也有的看《為什麼我不是基督徒》、《一國定兩制》，我自己則看《發明疾病的人》。

其中一位參與者這樣說：「我來，是要用自己的身體，以第一身告訴民主黨民意是什麼。我們小市民，也可以為民主放下尊嚴跪求他們，為什麼民主黨不可以冒險立法會一席？實在愧為民主派。」另一位參與者阿汶則認為，「下跪是要諷刺民主黨思想封建，整個黨的結構都是由上而下，例如要請華叔出來講話。」的確，面對坐擁不少資源的泛民大黨民主黨，又未到下屆選舉能以選票響亮地給他們警告，我們有的，就是自己的身體，就是這雙膝蓋。不知道為什麼，這刻面對民主黨，這刻跪在地上，我竟有如面對獨裁的中央政府一樣，欲哭無淚。決定權在他們手上，好一句不得干擾民主黨內政。我們只有跪求。

有一位女士名叫蘭姐，她來支持我們的行動。她說：「我由六四開始支持中國和香港的民主運動至現在，今天看著你們年青人，跪著叫華叔、華叔的……」，我看到蘭姐流淚，心裏一酸。六四時我還是小學生，也能感受到大人的憤慨，我就讀的小學還舉辦校內遊行。蘭姐真的很清醒，兩條問題也難不到她，第一題是萬一補選失敗失去議會否決權怎麼辦，她的答案是除了政改這類憲制性議案外，其他如23條和高鐵等，只需過半數就能通過，泛民的23席根本起不了作用。第二題是市民普遍不了解總辭變相公投運動，又如何參與呢？蘭姐的答案很簡單：「要發動群眾呀嘛，要向群眾解釋，好似23條咁，你唔發動d人點知係乜呀？」蘭姐就像母親般和我們坐在一旁聊天，連警察也說我們很溫馨，不像來示威的~~(也要讚賞一下警方，後來我們為了讓行動效果更好，希望能在正面對著YMCA門口一段馬路的記者區內示威，及鐵欄不要擋著我們，警方一一答應，警民合作~~)

期間有參與者商量若民主黨不參與公投的話，公佈結果後可以有什麼行動。大家即席發揮，結果麥婆婆搬了一個花牌來，上面寫上「2012民主黨安心上路」；再加上拜神香，大家跪下來一同悼念，不參與公投的民主黨，就如死了般，已離棄了民主運動，而我們也再不會投票給民主黨。一位中學生則拿著悼文，寫著：

悼

民主黨破壞團結出賣香港

李華明中央卧底普選叫停

張文光戀棧權位歪理滿腔

白鴿變了烏鴉

我們對著YMCA門口再次跪下，等待民主黨員離場，當然又是大叫口號。這時的創意口號包括有：「黃成智，好不智，總辭唔敢辭」、「劉慧卿，2012，Delay No More」諷刺劉慧卿自己也講諧音粗口、「天滅白鴿，退黨保平安」、「民主黨，我跪你，你受唔受得起？」、「民主萬死，不辭」。最搞笑的是「走音哀歌大合唱」，大家一起吟唱在中式喪禮聽見的「喃嘸阿隬陀彿」，走音則不是我們的原意。跟這群朋友一起行動真的很開心，很平等，口號是輪流叫的，誰也可以發起叫口號。輪到那位中學生叫時，他這樣帶領我們：「白鴿—白鴿—變了—變了—烏鴉—烏鴉」，大家終於忍不住了，便笑說：「白鴿變烏鴉咪得囉，使乜咁樣兩個字斷開黎叫呀」，引來哄堂大笑。

最氣憤的，是民主黨的態度。何俊仁和劉慧卿在大批警員包圍和黨友攙扶下，只接悼文不接花牌。也有記者罵警員，本來是示威者走幾步交花牌和悼文的，但警員卻要何劉走過來，還讓他們溜之大吉。堂堂一個需要面對人民的民主黨，竟在人民前閃閃縮縮誠惶誠恐，他們跟八九民運時，在人民大會堂外不敢見學生的中央政府有何分別？比常常要他們在政府總部外吃閉門羹的特首又好多少？唉……不服氣，我們搭地鐵到民主黨位於太子的辦事處，把花牌給他們，並在三鞠躬後散去。

剛才一直是行動中，這班朋友又那麼好玩，一時令我忘了民主黨這次大會的決定。現在靜靜的坐下來寫文章，才開始思考這個消息。沒有了民主黨，公投運動要走的路更艱難，我們要撐公投到底，民主黨不做的工作，我們要補上！請民主黨的朋友們，若你們仍有理想和判斷力，請以個人身份支持公投；也請大家向你的家人、朋友、同事、同學等，傳遞五區請辭變相公投的訊息，呼籲他們參與公投運動，在補選時投票支持公投題目，為香港的民主投下神聖一票。

後記：昨天行動時間很長(1pm-9pm)，又跪又站，睡了一覺後，現在全身腰酸背痛痛痛痛痛……真的要做運動好好鍛鍊。

Please visit: http://www.inmediahk.net/node/1005379

[Via http://happyvoters.wordpress.com]

Mengakses Facebook yang dibatasi oleh Proxy

2009-12-27T02:38:00.000+02:00

Apakah masih ada banyak orang yang belum kenal dengan situs jejaring sosial yang satu ini..??, keberadaan Facebook memang sangat popular merambah keseluruh dunia dan pengaruh tersebut merebak ke Indonesia. Kini sebagian aktivitas kaum remaja atau masyarakat kita pun tak luput dengan aktivitas rutin dihabiskan baik itu menggunakan ponsel atau PC/NB hanya untuk mengakses dan berinteraksi melalui situs jejaring sosial Facebook ini.

Apalagi dengan pesatnya perkembangan dunia IT saat ini, telah banyak mempengaruhi perusahaan atau instansi dan lingkungan universitas untuk melakukan pemasaran di dunia Internet. Dan memang ada beberapa tempat yang mengijinkan karyawan/mahasiswanya menggunakan fasilitas hotspot atau sejenisnya tersebut untuk urusan bisnis ataupun akademik dan mencakup pekerjaan lainnya. Namun banyak dari mereka yang salah menggunakan fasilitas internet tersebut, dengan lebih memperioritaskan akses jejaring sosial facebook, untuk urusan pribadi, bukan urusan kantor atau akademik. Sehingga Instansi/Universitas mulai membatasi penggunaan Hotspot atau jaringan tersebut dengan dilindungi oleh proxy yang tujuannya agar tidak disalah gunakan, dan sekarang permasalahan nya adalah kita tidak bias mengakses Facebook atau situs yang lainnya jika jaringan kita dilindungi oleh proxy, Nah bagai mana mencari solusi mengenai akses facebook agar tetap bisa diakses walaupun di kantor/universitas hotspotnya terlindungi. oleh proxy, salah satunya dengan cara Free Proxy.

Jadi dengan Free Proxy atau Proxy Server, sebuah komputer server atau program komputer dapat bertindak sebagai komputer lainnya untuk melakukan permintaan terhadap content dari Internet atau intranet. Atau dengan kata lain Free Proxy dapat dikatakan bertindak sebagai gateway terhadap dunia Internet untuk setiap komputer klien.

Caranya tinggal berkunjung aja ke “privax.us”

Setelah itu, pilih salah satu Freeproxy diatas, misalnya “HideMyAss.com”

Anda cukup mengklik tulisan facebook.com atau tulisankan alamat URL facebook. Dan dilanjutkan dengan mengkilk HideMyAss

Selamat mencoba.

[Via http://heckerlaye.wordpress.com]

The Ten Worst Nightmares Bush Inflicted on America

2009-12-27T02:24:00.000+02:00

10. Stagnating worker wages and the emergence of a new monied aristocracy. Of all the income growth of the entire country of the United States in the Bush years, the richest 1 percent of the working population, about 1.3 million persons, grabbed up over two-thirds of it. The Reagan and Bush cuts in tax rates on the wealthy have created a dangerous little alien inside our supposedly democratic society, of the super-rich, with their legions of camp followers (sometimes referred to as ‘analysts’ or ‘economists’ or ‘journalists’). The new lords and ladies are the Dick and Liz Cheneys and the people for whom they shill. They are the Rupert Murdochs and the Richard Mellon Scaifes, and they are guaranteed to own more and more of the country as long as more progressive taxation (i.e. pre-Reagan, not pre-Bush) is not restored. They are the ones who didn’t want a public universal health option, did not want the wars abroad to end abruptly, did not want the Copenhagen Climate convention to succeed. They are driven by pure greed and narrow profit-seeking for themselves. They always get their way, and they always will as long as you poor stupid bastards buy the line that when the government raises their taxes, it is taking something away from you. It is the alliance of the Neoliberal super-rich with the new lower middle class populists led by W. and now by Sarah Palin that produces clown politics in the US unmatched in most advanced industrial countries with the possible exception of Italy.

http://www.alternet.org/story/144755/the_ten_worst_nightmares_bush_inflicted_on_america

[Via http://ramanan50.wordpress.com]