Reddit and the new Internet

Lately on the social media site Reddit, there has been a lot of discussion over SOPA and other government plans for censorship and filtering of the internet.
In my opinion this is one of the worst uses of government time and they have no right since the world wide web is used world wide, no one government should have control over it, but I digress.
There is a group of people on Reddit who has created a subreddit (subcommunity)called Darknet where they are working on creating a new "internet" that would not be under control of the tyrannous government acts.
I am excited to see where this goes.

Penn State Alumni Tries to Help Out

Found this article about some Penn State Alumni who are trying to do a good thing and raise some awareness during this awful tragedy. Hopefully, something good can come out of these evil acts.

http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-newark/penn-state-alumni-turn-to-social-media-to-raise-awareness-for-child-advocacy-1

No longer Six degrees...

Six degrees of separation has just gotten closer. New research has shown that it is no longer 6 degrees that separates people but it is now 4.74. The experiment used Facebook and a series of algorithms as the means to calculate the links between people and the friends they have. This experiment shows how social media has created a vast network of people. A person can easily connect with a person on the other side of the world through connecting with 4 different friends. Facebook is bringing people closer together.

This makes sense, because 1 out of 10 people in the world have a Facebook.

The full article can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/technology/between-you-and-me-4-74-degrees.html?_r=1&ref=technology

A Viral Video Waiting To Happen

Last week the on campus police of UC Davis were ordered to remove the students who were Occupying the campus. The police officers pepper sprayed a group of students sitting on the ground linked together by their arms. The video can be seen here.

I think it's amazing what social media can do. This particular video has the perspective of 4 different video cameras. I think once the order to remove the students was sent down the chain of command a viral video of the events was inevitable.

Now some of the officers have been put on paid administrative leave, but Chancellor Linda Katehi, who gave the original order says she has no plans to step down. I think if you're going to put the officers on administrative leave, it's only right to do the same for the person who gave the officer the order. Although Katehi may not have had control over what the officers did specifically, she had to have known extreme measures were going to take place due to other removal efforts of Occupy rallies around the country.

I think it's very important that people start thinking of the consequences before they order action. It has to be assumed with today's technology that videos, tweets, and fb statuses are going to get out quickly and cause an up-roar. Someone on this campus was not thinking ahead......

Tweet me at the Alter

As most of the class could probably guess I follow all things Disney on different social media platforms due to my newly found obsession with it. On Facebook I follow the page for Disney's Fairytale Weddings, since I desperately want to intern for them. The other day they posted a link to an article letting you know how to tastefully use social media at a wedding.

My mouth dropped. Social media platforms have truly taken over our lives. I thought in NO way could I ever consider tweeting or updating your status on your wedding day because you have a billion things going on.

But after reading the article and putting down some etiquette rules I did find some helpful tips, especially for those addicts that tweet everything.

Main sections of the article go over 1. Pre-Wedding preparations 2. Staying offline during the ceremony 3. Appoint a Chief Twitter 4. A social media station 5. Live stream for those who can't make it. and 6. Enjoy the moment!!

Some really cute idea that I never considered was changing your status from engaged to married shortly after the ceremony (cute). I really liked the idea for a hash tag for wedding guest to tweet about so the bride and groom could look back on after everything settles down. Having the photographer upload images to flicker and then stream them at the wedding. And loved the thought of live streaming for those who can't make it.


But as far as a social media station I put my foot down on that and say no way! Unless of course I become a huge social media figure which I don't for see in my future.

Embracing the force that is social media and incorporating it into your wedding sounds crazy but might give the newlywed's some great memories to share.

Here is the link again:http://mashable.com/2010/11/09/social-media-wedding-etiquette/

YOU WILL BE GOOGLED

Prepare your social accounts.  Make sure you are comfortable with your potential employer viewing everything on your profile.  Even the pictures "only friends" can view.  Also, it's a good idea to get connected with potential employers by following them on Twitter, "like" on FB, and connect with them on LinkedIn to increase your chances of being noticed.  To read more of this article visit moneyunder30.

Facebook Hacking

So in the past few days I've seen a lot of people post ABOUT recent hackings on Facebook, but I hadn't actually seen any myself. So I decided to look into it to see what everyone was freaking out about. Apparently within a span of 48 hours pornographic, violent and just plain disgustingly graphic images were flooding people's newsfeeds and message inboxes. This of course wasn't the first time Facebook hacking has happened, but its reportedly one of the quickest spreading hacks that anyone has ever seen. Facebook users were posting about the nasty images on Twitter and claiming that they were officially leaving the social media site because of what they had seen. CNN posted that Facebook reported that they have eliminated almost all of the spam caused by the hack and are working to better improve their systems to prevent such an attack in the future. Other articles and reports online have offered advice on how users themselves can prevent their own pages from any hackers. It's pretty plain and simple, DON'T CLICK ON IT IF IT SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

CNN Story:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/15/tech/social-media/facebook-porn-spam/index.html

Tips on avoiding a hack:

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/business/facebook-users-flooded-with-porn-dpgoha-20111115-fc1321394427379

An App to Fight Crimes Against Women

The FightBack app has been created in India to report crimes against women. The goal of this app is to increase the number of reported crimes against women in India. According to the article Women in India tend not to go to the police to report abuse due to the lack of cooperation from police officials and family influence to keep it quiet. Crimes against women are so common in India that police officials have almost gotten desensitized to the issue. The app will serve as a way for women to quickly report an attack and define their location so that police officials can have a greater understanding of where these attacks are happening and address the situation. This app allows users to report the violence on facebook, twitter, and on whypolls own website in order to raise awareness of this growing problem and increase the number of arrests made for female harassment. The app also has a GPS location devise so that once an attack has occured users can show where and when it happened.

I'm not really sure if the point of this app is to protect women or to just get more accurate data of how often crimes against women occur. I also don't know that this app will be any more useful than a help hotline or website. I think it's a great start in the right direction for protecting women and I am excited to see what new technology they will come up with to help this cause even further.

Twitter Can Predict Who's Winning the GOP Presidential Race

Political candidates do better in the polls when they gain more Twitter followers, new research reveals. National polls happen all the time but it’s possible to predict when certain candidates will climb in the rankings based the rate they are followed.

This study is showing just another way that social media is changing the political game along with many other things in our lives. It will take more comprehensive research to find out just how accurate this actually is but this recent study is proving itself to be more true everyday.

The link to this story is below:

http://mashable.com/2011/11/14/twitter-predict-polls/

When Sites Drag the Unwitting Across the Web

Maggie Leifer McGary is a mother, social media fan, and blogger. The social media sites she has includes Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare, and she is on Klout. Klout is a popular site that assigns you a score based on its analysis of how influential you are on the social web.

Something very strange happened just days before Halloween. Ms. McGary decided to check her Klout profile and above her score are the names of those she had influenced which is calculated by Klout. She noticed that her 13 year old son Matthew appeared on her profile. Matthew never set up a Klout page, Klout automatically created a page for him and gave him a score. Matthew was only a friend of his mother on facebook. Ms. McGary's 15 year old daughter Mimi then appeared on her Klout page as well asking her to invite Mimi to join.

Ms. McGary stated, "It freaked me out because these are my kids. It's wrong. They shouldn't be marketing to children." After this incident happens, Klout no longer creates profiles automatically for people and if you own a Klout you can now delete a profile entirely.

Klout finds information about people from publicly avaliable sources such as engagement on Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, post and followers on Twitter, and so on. Joe Fernandez is the chief executive of Klout and says that rates are based on how people engage with the content you create. “Let’s say you and I were friends on Facebook, and I had commented on your Facebook wall,” Mr. Fernandez said. “Klout would see that, and I would get a score from my post on your wall.” Klout has turned off that feature though.

This site can be used by anyone to gauge someones popularity, for example, teachers, employers, homecoming queen committee and etc.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/technology/klouts-automatically-created-profiles-included-minors.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=social%20media%20trends&st=cse&scp=1

IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING, THE 'MINORITY REPORT' IS HERE.

Smart signs using facial recognition software are
scheduled for introduction in three cities this month.  (credits: Immersive Labs)

I was already concerned about my privacy before I read this article in the NYTimes, "Face Recognition Makes the Leap From Sci-Fi"

As this excerpt explains, "As SceneTap® suggests, techniques like facial detection, which perceives human faces but does not identify specific individuals, and facial recognition, which does identify individuals, are poised to become the next big thing for personalized marketing and smart phones. That is great news for companies that want to tailor services to customers, and not so great news for people who cherish their privacy. The spread of such technology — essentially, the democratization of surveillance — may herald the end of anonymity."

"SceneTap, a new app for smart phones, uses cameras with facial detection software to scout bar scenes". This app has been rolled out to the excitement of 20-somethings, hoping to successfully hook-up on their night out on the town.

Facebook is also incorporating this facial recognition software to assist in ‘tagging’ friends in photos (see FB article: http://www.facebook.com/blog.php?post=467145887130).

The article states, “When you or a friend upload new photos, we use face recognition software—similar to that found in many photo editing tools—to match your new photos to other photos you're tagged in.”  However, this FB practice is drawing fire from both governmental agencies and users alike so it is doubtful that this new feature will be the success that FB originally had in mind.

Mixel

So I am doing my blog post early, but I should be writing a paper right now and found something on the internet instead that will help me with a different project so now I am blogging about it for this class. So it's as if i am getting 3 different class assignments done at the same time, while procrastinating. Awesome.

I found this site Mixel.cc on Uncrate. TANGENT ALERT: If you haven't heard about uncrate you need to do it now. It is a buyers guide for men and it is awesome. There is stuff on their from tanks and yachts to bluray movies and video games. It just really awesome dude stuff so go check it out gentlemen. and Ladies, it can give you inspiration for gift ideas for the dudes in your life as well as just show you awesome stuff. TANGENT COMPLETE.

The project I am working on is a scenic design for a play and I need to create a collage for research. this website is an interactive collage. "Mixel lets you make, share and remix collages in a whole new way." You can use the site but I think it is geared towards mobile devices, especially the iPad. The creator calls it a "social art app." I understand that it may not be useful to everyone but it got me so excited because its literally exactly what I need right now. I had already started to use pinterest to draw inspiration and create a sort of collage but its more organized and works better as an album and catalog than the actual collage I need.

Introducing Mixel for iPad from Mixel App on Vimeo.

Alright, I guess I have to go back to writing the paper now.

Minimun Age to be on Social Media?

I found an article discussing a minimum age limit to be on social media I wondered what other would think of it. The article says Facebook requires people to be 13 to be on the site but there is no way of checking. So Should there be an age minimum? Would this harm or help? I do not have kids and I am fine with my nieces and nephews being on social media.But what do others think?

Link

Aliens; Colonial Marines

I posted this link on Twitter earlier for the new Aliens: Colonial Marines game coning out this fall for 360! Chek it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy8bul3jb7c

Penn's State crisis and the use of social media

The Penn State crisis is thought to be one of the worst crisis in the history of college athletics. This article ask the question on weather or not Penn State University is handling the situation correctly using social media. Many of the fans are going to social media for answers, but Penn State is not answering back. It first started with canceling the press conference. Though Penn State is not commenting they however, are allowing the angry, emotional,and sincere post to stay up on Facebook. Though this can be a positive thing the fans still want answers.


http://socialmediatoday.com/chrissyme/385012/how-would-you-grade-penn-states-use-social-media-crisis

Skype makes Long Distance calls

Long distance relationships for some seems out of the question. To others its a way of being with someone with out the commitment. Any way you look at it many people come up with the conclusion that it is tough. I don't understand how some people can do it.

However with the arrival of Skype, Long distance relationships has become some what useful to the couples looking to continue that summer romance. Many couples in relationships that are long distance turn to Skype to help them still have those romantic evenings. Although for some it just makes it harder. Some advantages to Skype is being able to see the other person you are talking to, you get to interact with them through facial expressions and see their non verbals. But disadvantages include the lack of haptics, or missing the set appointments. This article talks about some couples who used Skype in their long distance relationship.

Occupy Facebook

We have seen the use of social media to revolt in several different countries all over the
world. We have also seen it to be a very powerful tool to assist in over throws and legislative changes.
Before "Occupy Wall Street", The United States had never put the main players in social media to this test. We have typically used Facebook and twitter to post about our everyday routines or events we attended.
According to The Daily Athenaeum, North Americans have used social media in its most meaningful form since the beginning of this movement. This form is the power to organize on a mass scale.
In this article, the author encourages Occupying protestors to "Combat this by supporting social media – not through your ‘wall posts' or TwitPics – but through embracing an edifice that doesn't conform to the conventional media structure, instead relying on actual journalistic integrity and the absence of media bias."
This is the reason it has proven itself effective in situations like these and will always be the ultimate organizing tool.

Siri Down

The voice-based intelligent assistant, baked into the iPhone 4S, needs to connect to external servers to perform any of its tasks. For many users Thursday, there’s been only one response to any query: “I’m sorry, I’m having trouble connecting to the network.”

We’ve reached out to Apple for confirmation, but the service appears to have been down since at least 12:30 p.m. ET. That’s when users started posting to this MacRumors forum, complaining of being unable to access the service.

As most of us iPhone 4S owners know, Siri will occasionally have trouble accessing the network — but the problem tends to go away in a matter of minutes. An outage of three hours or more suggests some serious problems with Apple’s servers.

Print and Viral Combine

This article http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/a-print-focus-on-social-media/?scp=3&sq=social%20media&st=cse

talks about how print newspapers are beginning to help business by focusing on Social Media outlets Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.

These publications are unique, I think, because they combine the more traditional print method of news and the more contemporary viral news media in an effort to help local business owners be more successful.

People helping people...an interesting combination and an unusual idea in this time.

Social media saves the day

A 22-year old woman released a video on Youtube a few years ago of her father beating her. Her father is a judge for Aransas County. So, as you can assume, shit is hitting the fan. The father was apparently harassing her, which is why she posted the video. And now that cops are searching for him, he seems to have magically disappeared. What a douche, and what a courageous thing to do by the girl. Hurray social media.

http://news.yahoo.com/dad-caught-video-beating-daughter-needs-help-070228201.html

Managing your E-Reputation

Before saying anything online, you should really consider the long-term effects of what your comments would do to you when applying for a job. A digital marketing firm, KBSD, gathered information, tips and techniques about what to do online so you can come across well to a future employer.

Results from the search found that 48 percent of recruiters and HR professionals refer to personal websites when deciding if they should hire you. Another statistic found that 78 percent used search engines to find out more information about you. What about social media? They check that too. Sixty-three percent of recruiters check social media sites while eight percent of companies have fired someone for abusing social media.

People you know also pose a threat to you by their postings. To avoid negative material about you, KBSD released some tips to help people stay on top of things such as googling your name frequently, checking social media sites to see everything that is being said about you and securing your accounts so a hacker cannot post unpleasant things.

Infographic

Mr. Clean gets creepier

In addition to no-shave-November, the month also has the nickname Movember, "which supports funding for prostate cancer." Mr. Clean is accepting donations via his Facebook page and will grow a mustache to mirror the size of the collection.

So far the campaign has raised just $25, but that's likely to improve as word gets out. There's also this quote from Mr. Clean himself apparently:

“I’ve gone over 50 years without facial hair of any kind. Even the 70′s couldn’t make me grow a moustache. But for an important cause like this, I’m gonna grow the greatest mo’ ever illustrated.”

So creepy.


http://mashable.com/2011/11/02/mr-clean-movember/

Homeland Security reviews social media guidelines

Well, if you, the class and anybody else how knows me best, couldn’t tell by now that I listen and watch many forms of publicized political news - listen, we are all crazy to someone else - then you don’t understand the feeling I have towards this article I’ve linked at the bottom of this confession. It’s not as direct as it may seem I’m more interested in the implications of what is being said, rather. Basically, the article is talking about the impact of social media on the Homeland Security Intelligence Department. I know, that’s a lot to swallow, I believe in you though – wink. Here, maybe I can help; the United States Homeland Security, more specific the intelligence department, has run across an evident relationship between data from social networking sites and its supportability of resolving, and quite possible preventing complex global issues. The Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary Caryn Wagner theorizes the real issue is not the data itself but how to gain and use the data efficiently i.e. gathering correctly, how to use things like Twitter or Facebook to produce an intelligence product. Like many of you probably know, data is useless until it can produce information. In other words information is a sort of measurable and concrete feeling, usually following some sort of protocol, which can be reached from its littler parts, data. That’s to say, that information helps explain some sort of effect or lack of an effect by studying the little bits that make up the entire effect. She went on to say a part of that challenge is the ‘developing of guidelines for collection and analyzing information’ from social media sites. The wheels are defiantly in motion over at the Homeland Security Department; however, according to Mrs. Wagner Homeland Security is not currently monitoring any social networks. Yeah! I’m not sure how much I believe that, but ok.

Aren

Homeland Security reviews social media guidelines

Apps for Education

Facebook is always changing and adding things to make it better. One thing that Facebook does, as do many other businesses because of its trendiness, is have applications. Facebook Applications range from silly games to productivity to even educational application. I always thought of apps on Facebook as just games but when I saw the infographic about Facebook last week in another blog post it sparked my interest to check out these "educational" applications further. To my surprise these educational applications aren't just trivia question type of apps, they are applications to help students get their work done, educators to get their information out there, and even programs to publicize events on campuses. These Facebook apps are used for a wide variety of educational purposes.

Here are a couple of neat ones for you to check out:

• Flashcards: With this application you can create flashcards to help you study on Facebook.


• SlideShare: Create presentations to send to students with this slideshow application.


• Rate My Professor: Find out what other students think of professors before you register for their class.


• BookTag: This app offers a great way to share and loan books out to students, plus create helpful quizzes for studying.


• ClassNotes: Use this application to find scanned notes for your classes on Facebook.

Twitter and Slang

This article discusses the differences in words that show up on Twitter from specific regions of the United States. There are distinct words that someone from the East coast uses that others don't, etc. The article then goes in to discuss how people are getting angry with others because people who aren't from certain coasts are using slang from a seperate coast. It all seems so trivial. Words are words, who cares who uses what slang? It seems as though claiming others can't use your slang just further divides us, which I think is the exact opposite of what social media does. With social media becoming more and more prevelant it's inevitible for trends (words and slang) to spread faster and to a larger audience. To read the full article click here.

NBA Commish Fines Heat Owner for Tweets

In my social media paper about athletes I raised the question "Should coaches/management have censorship rights?". Well, the NBA seems to be a dictatorship (it has been since David Stern became the commissioner) when it comes to this issue. Micky Arison, owner of the Miami Heat, was fined $500,000 for tweeting comments related to the NBA lockout. David Stern has a long history of controlling players and owners and he should be credited for helping save the leauge in the 80's (Magic, Bird, and Jordan might have had something to do with that too), but his reputation as a power hungry commissioner has gotten worse over the last few years. Bryant Gumble recently equated him to a slave owner running a plantation. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-wojnarowski_nba_micky_arison_fine_103111

Dating in the social media world.

Being inspired by my paper for this class and the discussion in class of being FACEBOOK OFFICIAL I found this a very "trendy" topic to talk about. I even updated my status the other day to "Writing a paper on dating on social media...seriously what has the world come to?". I was surprised about how much research was out there and blogs giving advice. The normal dating rules from pre Internet days have been changed. And the funny thing is we never master those either. One blog that I found interesting was created by a recently divorced mom giving 5 rules on dating. #1 Get Noticed #2Rule No. 2: Don’t come on too strong. #3Reciprocity: Is she/he just not that into you? #4 Easy there killer #5 keep your house (blog) Clean.

You can read the article to find out what each rule details you to do but she makes great points.

So many more people are now meeting via website, so we defiantly need to take notes on the do's and don't in this new game of dating.

War With Taliban, via Twitter!!

There is now a new type of war that US forces must engage in with the Taliban.  It has gone viral...literally, from tanks to tweets! The Taliban and there supporters were constantly flooding tweets with false information about the progress they were making. To put an end to this, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings said, "Some of it was so wrong we finally had to start engaging, and backing up our information with the facts". Cummings finds it important to use twitter and other social media outlets in order to keep the young generation informed.  Targeting the younger generation and giving them the facts will help the future success of Afghanistan and hopefully eliminate the Taliban.  If interested in reading more about this article check out the security section at CNN.com.

The words out of my mouth were, "Duh, Facebook changed everything!"

I stumbled upon this infographic article and the title is "Is Facebook changing the entire college experience?" It gives specific data on professors on Facebook, and qualities of people most likely to succeed in college based on their activity on Facebook. I think that is one of the most interesting points it brings up because I consider myself on studious person (Dean's list for the past 3 semesters, always take over 15 hours, summer school and minimesters every year) and I do recognize that I comment more and am active on the site. Facebook has changed how we make friends and socialize in the real world. for example my freshman year I added a lot of the people in my dorm, all of whom I had just met, and got to know them much faster than I would have without facebook, and it created that relationship fast. I feel like I am even more connected to the people around me because I can see what is going on in their life.  You can make more friends, get more party invites, socialize online; all of these things are the college experience with a little boost from Facebook. Except for your mom being able to follow what you do.

YAMMER

Yammer is a new social media networking site that targets businesses and university students. The website opened in 2008 and already has over 3 million users. The site is similar to Facebook and Twitter however it is used for more consolidated purposes. Nearly 1700 of the 100,000 organizations that use yammer are educational institutions. Several noneducational organizations and businesses utilize this site as well. Over 80% of fortune 500 companies are active users of the social network.

Yammer is dedicated to being an internal social networking site much like Facebook began as. The site blocks users from joining networks that are not directly affiliated with their email. For example an @txstate.edu email can not connect with a University of Texas network. Very similarly a IMB email cannot connect with an Apple email.

Graduate students that have utilized this tool say that it is a great way to get instant feedback over homework questions or to instigate class discussions. Students have the ability to talk to their professors who are on yammer to get additional information about a topic discussed in class. Many professors have chosen to use this resource as a learning tool and have begun posting assignments on the website. Most undergraduate students claim that their classes are too large for this site to be useful however for smaller classes and group generated assignments this is a great resource for extra help.

Yammer has made it clear that they do not intend to open up their access much like Facebook and Twitter have. They are determined to set themselves apart from these other websites and function as a free private social network.

No longer is the "I forgot" excuse a valid thing to say.

Most users of facebook these days get on the site two or three times a day on average. Facebook reminds us when people have birthdays, special events and many other things that in the past people would forget about. Everyday facebook reminds us of which friends have birthdays or if someone has invited us to an event. Gone are the days when we had to remember these certain events. Most people get reminders or alerts on their phone and that includes birthdays. Just the other day someone asked me why I didn't tell them happy birthday and when I replied "I forgot" that person immediately asked how that could happen with facebook. I couldn't even say I didn't get on facebook that day because I had posted a status visible for anyone I am friends with to see. Some people might consider it a bad thing but why? Whats wrong with having constant reminders about what is going on with your friends and loved one's. Most people wouldn't even know what to do with out this and they might forget a special event or a birthday of someone close to them.

President Obama Adds Tumblr to His List of Social Profiles

President Barack Obama has added another social media site called Tumblr. He already has a Facebook and Twitter and gained a reputation as the social media President for using these sites. He had a lot of supports in the 2008 election due to using his Facebook and Twitter. The Barack Obama Tumblr is run by the 2012 election campaign staff and it is used to show a more approachable and human side. The Tumblr is used to focus on behind-the-scenes shots, grassroots supports, and submissions.

His Tumblr is going to gain many followers and submissions around the country and will be one to watch as his election nears. People are allowed to click on the donate button and send a few paragraphs about why there in for the 2012 election. Your also allowed to ask questions, tell jokes if there polite and upload pictures of t-shirts or signs. I think having a Tumblr will help with his election but it is not going to be a significant difference. Its a great way to get people on his side but a lot of people have already made up there minds on whether or not they will vote for him.

http://mashable.com/2011/10/24/president-obama-tumblr/

Social Media OVERKILL

This weekend I went to a national conference in Tulsa, OK for our school's programming board, SACA. Basically it was a conference for all the programming boards in the central region of the U.S. to gather and watch artists and performers that they may want to bring to their campuses. And there were also a few leadership sessions here and there.

WELL as soon as we got there, they kept pushing their different forms of social media on us to "help us be more involved with the behind the scenes stuff", mostly following them on twitter for conference updates. I for one was kind of annoyed by it. I'm not the biggest fan of twitter. Personally, theres just too#much@goingon#in a RT:sentence. <<< like that weird stuff. So anyways, I just went along with it because I could see how it MIGHT be useful. Well then it just kind of all exploded. Artists were going onstage and saying stuff that they saw on twitter and giving shout-outs about it and it was just annoying. Like okay okay, I get the internet is fun, but lets move on from it, theres just too much to keep up with! Oh and agents could tell when their artists were popular because of how many tweets they had. Okay, why can't you just determine that with how many contracts you actually sign?? #annoying.

Anywhos, well THEN at the closing banquet, they said that to find out the theme for next year's conference we would have to look at twitter. THAT really bugged me. When I'm sitting at a nice dinner, listening to awards being given and what not, the last thing I want to hear is "were not going to TELL you the biggest piece of news, were going to make you take out your phones and look for it!"

And that's where I had my realization, social media has officially taken over, but not necessarily in a good way. I remember when I used to go to conferences or retreats and using my phone was considered a bad thing. But now they're expecting us to replace REGULAR FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION with social media usage over our mobile devices?! I mean I could see where its fun for a little bit, but I think its getting out of hand when it's predominately conversation through a website. And honestly, I don't mean to sound cliche or dramatic about it, but in a room full of over 500 people, I've never felt so alone because we were encouraged to use our phones more than our voices.

I NEVER thought I would feel this way about something that I thought was SO COOL. But I really think we need to tone it down and try to communicate with each other as humans again.

...OH! And guess what the theme of next year's conference is? SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!!!!

geez.

Mysterious Site Creates a Horror Movie, Starring You

In keeping with the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d look for something mildly scary (for wussy people like me) and found this article on the New York Times Blog, Mysterious Site Creates a Horror Movie, Starring You.

This site works by mining Facebook information, willingly given by the owner of the account (or, as in my case, given with great reservation). In the name of research, I allowed ‘Take This Lollipop’ access to my Facebook account.

To quote the author of the article, Jenna Worthham, the mastermind behind this online interactive site, Jason Zada, a television and music director who works in Los Angeles and San Francisco, “…promises that the site is intended purely for entertainment, and a fun, seasonal thrill.”

I was unnerved by how quickly this video assimilated my personal information, including my friends and photos, into its environment. It’s frightening to remember that anyone with these coding skills can hack into our social media accounts and cause catastrophic damage (i.e. the ‘Love’ virus on Facebook).

Paranoia aside, I’m a big baby when it comes to the horror genre in any medium and this interactive video creeped me out!

I’m not so sure I would participate again as I’m not sure if the creator, Jason Zada, will continue to have access to my Facebook account. I can only assume that the author will live up to his word by discarding my personal information (like my ‘Friends’ list) afterwards. I truly hope that he’s an honest man or this really will be a horror story!


http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/mysterious-site-creates-a-horror-movie-starring-you/?ref=socialnetworking

Facebook inspires grumbling...

As we await the new layout for Facebook to launch for the public in a couple of weeks, more and more people will continue to grumble. I personally am not bothered by the changes. Technology will always continue to change and adapt to the ideas of people. Facebook runs the internet, they will continue to change and modify themselves in order to standout on top of the social media world.
This article on the changes for Facebook gives a rundown on the new improvements and why people dislike or like the change.

Pretty Much...I Love My New Job

A couple weeks ago I was hired at Lone Star Music in Gruene. We have music events called "in stores" where artists come and play for about an hour or so and it is completely free, along with the samples of Ziegenbock and Dripping Springs Vodka. We tweet about all of this and also have a Facebook page that advertises us as well. This past Friday we tweeted about our in store featuring Adam Hood, and before we knew it Cody Canada and his band tweeted us and said he was going to stop by also and we all got really excited. I thought it was pretty awesome how everyone knows about us via social media and it even draws in other musicians to just stop by for a visit.

OPOWER + Facebook = Socialized Energy!

Facebook, OPOWER partner on 'Social Energy' App

OPOWER, a company that put together gaming and energy saving into one are now trying to create an app with Facebook that will let friends compete against each other while saving electricity.

"The hope is to get friends to compete against each other to use less energy, and to hold each other accountable for energy-use-reduction goals, said Ogi Kavazovic, a spokesman for OPOWER."

The app is expected to allow people to share their energy use data with their friends.

Users who use OPOWER show 2-3% less energy use in comparison to those who don't, so this app could be not only helpful for the environment (and our wallets), but could also be fun.

iOS 5 claims its first victim(s)

Technology has made it easier than ever for the insecure and paranoid to feed their own delusions. Apple's newest firmware, iOS 5, provides the easiest tool yet in the app called "Find My Friends". This app, when activated, allows select friends to find your location on a map using GPS technology. I understand the uses of this feature, but I see far too many downsides for it to gain many users.

In the article linked below, a husband who suspects his wife of cheating surreptitiously installs and activates the app to allow him to track her movements. He catches her in a lie about her whereabouts and presumes that she is cheating on him.

While this marriage is beyond saving, I think it's important to take a step back as technology consumers and look at the ways we can prevent this kind of paranoid spying from undermining our own relationships. This issue can best be addressed with communication. I mean real communication, not Skype, or Facetime, or text messaging, or email, but sitting down with someone and TALKING to them. Communication is the most important tool for building and maintaining relationships and technology can hinder and facilitate this act at the same time.

Respect the power of technology and remember that being in a relationship is hard work.

Also, don't cheat. That is also a good tip.

To those that choose to ignore my sound advice, happy hunting!

Source: [9to5 Mac]

"Put Her in the Driver's Seat"

An article survey claims that women who read consumer blogs about cars are more comfortable buying and climbing into a new car. The survey revealed that, as a gender, women car-buyers were both more excited (74%) and more nervous (53%) about car-buying than were men buying cars (71% and 42% respectively). Of this group, women who sought advice from blogs and social networks during the car buying process demonstrated higher excitement levels: Women who consulted blogs about buying a new car were +13 points more excited than women who did not, and women who consulted social networks were up +12 points. This is awesome because anyone, as we know, can blog. We can truly see that blogging empowers consumers. blogging now can only empower us, as consumers, and force companies to compete to build a greater product.

Infographic resume

I came across an article about infographic resumes that listed 4 sites, or programs, that use Linkedin to create the resumes. I figured it would be relevant since we talked about these recently.

1. Visualize.me- uses basic profile info and formats it to an info graphic
2. Re.vu- puts job history information in a timeline
3. Kinzaa- outline job responsibilities and use of time
4. Brazen Careerist- a Facebook app for young professional that creates infographic resumes based on profile information



http://mashable.com/2011/10/15/infographic-resume-apps/

VIBE

A new form of social media called Vibe has emerged and is being used primarily by the Wall Street Protesters that have been all over the news recently. NYTimes.com posted an article http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/anonymous-messaging-app-vibe-gets-boost-from-occupy-wall-street/?ref=socialmedia discussing the popularity of such a small media outlet.

According to the article, Vibe is an outlet similar to Twitter but does not require a username or account.

For me, it seems like social media outlets are becoming more and more specialized to a specific movement/action/group and their needs or desires.

Twitter helps residents of Mexico avoid danger

Many residents in northeastern Mexico are checking their twitter multiple times a day to avoid locations of shootouts. Journalists for local news stations are under pressure from drug cartels not to report the violence. The residents help each other out by reporting any incidents they hear and where to avoid. Since the tweet is real time, it gets information to the residents faster than the local news would if they were able to broadcast the information.

CircleMe: Connecting You to You

Another new social platform was announced recently called CircleMe, a site dedicated to just you. CircleMe was launched last week and is still in private beta but has received positive feedback from thousands of early users.

The site allows you to collect your Facebook likes such as people, places, movies, etc., Foursquare checkins and Netflix streaming activity and put all your favorite things into one profile that is just you. This site is unlike other social media networks in that it doesn't focus on connecting you with friends and family members.

I thought it was a nice change to have a site drastically different from all the other social media sites.

iTunes 10.5 Launches Ahead of iOS 5

iTunes 10.5 launches Ahead of iOS 5

Well, just when people started to think Apple drop the call on it famous iPhone series it makes a colossal splash with new products and services this month. Where do I begin…? Apple is releasing the iPhone 4s, iCloud, and iOS 5. Moreover, Apple just dropped iTunes 10.5, which will allow for the above products & services to even exist come October 14. By the Way, the article I posted is about the new iTunes 10.5 but who can’t stop to comment on the full body of work. In terms of iTunes 10.5, there are just a few minor changes: 1) download perversely purchased content such as TV shows and music, 2) by default, content can be delivered to all your devices that meet the system requirements (10.6.8 or later, Windows Vista & 7, any device with iOS 4 or later), and most important iTunes 10.5 will be the only way for devices to muscled up to iOS 5 (not necessary for device with iOS 5 already installed).

Now for the fun stuff… iOS 5 is adding over 200 more features to the iPhone (iPhone 3GS, 4, 4s) including reminders, gestures, and Siri (click on the links I provided for more information). Apple is also releasing iCloud, which allows users to sync everything on their device except photos & videos over the air. This new service also includes receiving software updates for the device, a serious innovation to the cell phone market. Last but not least, the iPhone 4s, which includes the A5 processor. The same processor in the iPad 2, which is a dual processors meaning it’s really two processors in one. Many people in the world have never even owned a computer with a dual processor let alone a cell phone with one. Moreover, if you know anything about Apple’s success, then you might consider a huge argument that would explain Apple's success – processing speed. That’s not to say, graphic cards, Apple owning both the software & hardware of their products, battery life, and overall user friendliness didn’t play a huge role in Apple’s success as well; but perhaps, the most obvious difference to the eye is how smooth the screen searching in comparison to other devices. The iPhone 4s is also getting a major upgrade in the camera department. It will come equipped with an 8 mega pixel camera with the added ability of editing pictures on the device such as removing red-eye, crop photos, etc…

Look out for the future of connectedness…

Next, we’ll be asking how to disconnect…

Something Stinks

Last Saturday Texas A&M and Texas Tech played in what might be one of the last meetings between the 2 schools in a while, and it didn't go without incident. Apparently the night before the football game, some unknown pranksters vandalized the Aggies buses (which were really Lubbock buses, the Aggies flew to the game). The fact that something sinister was done to the buses isn't in question. What is in question is exactly what was done. Both sides are making different claims to the severity of the pranks, and it starteed with the Aggies' AD posting on his Twitter about the incident (and he never even saw the damage). It just goes to show how quickly (and probably inaccuratley) a story can fly through social media. I have included a link to an Aggie message board for your entertainment. http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1943969&forum_id=5

A Devastating Loss

With the death of Steve Jobs last Wednesday, many people took to social media to express their condolences, sadness, and celebration for the life of the Apple founder. Twiiter said it is the second most talked about topic, falling behind Beyonce's baby anouncement at the MTV movie awards, and ahead of President Obama's announcement of the death of Bin Laden. Many people also took to Facebook and Youtube, creating videos and pages to honor Steven Jobs. His death was the most talked about topic on all social media sites from Wednesday night into Thrusday morning.

This just goes to show how much our world is changing. Within minutes, everyone had access to the information on Steve Jobs' was death, without having to watch the news or listen to the radio the next morning. Also, people were able to reach out in many different ways. Although social media has it's negative effects, I think getting the news out in a quick manner is definitely a positive one!

To read the NYTimes article click here.

Top 5 Reasons to Unsubscribe

When I first made my Facebook it was for the purpose of keeping in touch with old friends, and networking with new ones.  However, with Facebook’s huge growth over the last recent years, it has become almost impossible to not see the occasional random friend request or message from strangers.  This is incredibly annoying for those that wish to simply log on and not be bothered by weirdos! Now, Facebook has offered a new option for these “crazy” individuals.  The Subscribe button!  This new feature enables users to follow someone and receive shared public updates without even friending this person! Just thinking about this is creepy.  So, have you thought of ways to perhaps avoid this??

Brenna Ehrlich, senior writer at MTV, teamed up with Andrea Bratz, senior editor at Psychology Today, and have unveiled a Top 5 TO DO List in order to make your followers hit the “Unsubscribe” button!

1. Musings about the weather
2. Passive- aggressive comments
3. Rants
4. Oversharing 
5. Cliched explanations of joy

Read more about this article at CNN online. 

Social Media News Site Gains Clout

Mashable was a one man blog that creator and chief executive Pete Cashmore turned into a popular news site about social media and digital culture. Cashmore is now 26 but at age 19 is when he started Mashable. The concept that made him want to start Mashable was how online social connections are fundamentally changing the way people communicate. He named his new blog Mashable because he liked the way other websites were mashing together maps and date. Cashmore was allowed to hire another writer when the blog soon started generating 3,000 dollars a month in advertising revenue. Mashable started to steadily increase its audience just like other social media sites at the time like Myspace, Facebook, Tumblr, Google Plus, and etc. In June 2009, Mashable became the most popular technology blog. Mashable has a visible role as an ambassador of social media and this role has helped Mashable to form partnerships with big brands and traditional media organizations like CNN and USA Today. Mashable which was only a one man blog now generates 40 employees because it generated enough revenue from display advertising, custom programs with markets, and event sponsorships and conferences.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/business/media/mashable-once-a-one-man-blog-gains-clout-in-social-media.html?_r=1&ref=socialnetworking

If you want to know my mood follow me on twitter.

Many of us post our current feelings as our status to let the Internet world know we are happy, sad, angry, excited, etc. But according to the New York Times there is now a study being done on tracking our mood changes. The study is being done by studying tweets on twitter, tracking particular words and associating them with a mood. For example anytime someone has the words, "awesome" or "agree", it is associated with positive moods. This study is watching everyone from the night owls to the early birds. Trying to learn more about already common believed mood changes like people being grumpy when they wake up or depressed during the winter months.

The Report that was done at Cornell University tracks mood rhythms, when certain moods peak and decline, not just in the day but during the year. Following the trends of certain moods and seeing when they were popular. For example more positive emotions are used around the spring equinox.

This makes me laugh and think are they are going to track my menstrual cycle next based on when I post moody status's around the same time of every month? One part of the article the I agreed with was that people post what they want others to think, it's not necessarily how they really feel . This is the major downfall with the success of the report.

I could see it being successful to advertisers if they could pin point a certain time of year or hour that they could reach their target audience. This study is taking the understanding of social sciences to a whole other level and so much research can be done for us to understand more.

Overall I thought the study was interesting and I'm interested to see what else they will come up with. And I will think about the next time I decided to add a mood indicator (smiley face) on my status or composed tweet.

iPhone announcement!

I hope some of you all got to check out the post that I posted on Tuesday about the announcement that Apple was going to make!

While I was watching it I was really disappointed that they didn't have a live video feed. With such highly anticipated news, I thought they would have provided an easy way for people to view. The link that I posted was a website that gave minute by minute updates, which was handy, yes, but it was frustrating when the page would shut down! Get with it allthingsdigital!

Haha but now the good stuff:

Along with announcements about iOS5 update info., Lion, iPad 2, iPhone, Mac and other various apple product stats, they also announced improvements to the iPod nano, and iPod touch.

And finally they got to the fun stuff... the iPhone. Shocking to most people, the "iPhone5" that everyone had been hoping for actually turned out to be the "iPhone 4S", basically an upgrade to the iPhone 4. Whomp whomp. BUT, that doesn't mean it's not cool! It will have faster graphics, a longer battery life (8 hours of 3G to 10 hours of video time), two antennas that will switch between receiving and transmitting for better call quality and faster data retrieval. Also if the iPhone camera wasn't already awesome, apparently it just got better. Because I don't understand all the high-tech mumbo jumbo, I'm going to spare you my crappy explanation and just post the link later if you want to read more about it... haha. And lastly, they talked about Siri, the new voice activated "intelligent assistant" that can help you accomplish tasks with just the sound of your voice. It seems prettyyyy awesome :).

The end of the announcement included iPhone 4S prices and availability information, this is when they announced that, yes, Sprint will officially be a carrier ALONG with AT&T and Verizon, none of this "Sprint gets it first!" nonsense.

I hope I helped provide some information for those of you who didn't get a chance to check it out! :)

My Virtual Neighbor

My Virtual Neighbor is a social media site aimed at neighborhood homeowners hoping to fight crime in their locale. Founder Amit Mehta claims that this new social website has reduced neighborhood crime by a large percentage. Mr. Mehta claims that this site is the cornerstone of "National Night Out", which, as a member of a HOA, I've known about for years. In my own neighborhood, we have used a Yahoo® Groups for years and it has been helpful in keeping up with events in the neighborhood.

A case study was done in Houston, Texas, for a period of ten (10) weeks and, apparently, Mr. Mehta has the stats to prove an 80% reduction in crime. Although my neighborhood moderator (of our Yahoo Group) does keep the homeowners well informed, many of us tend to ignore postings that look like complaints or robo-messsages from the association managers (a separate business) and sometimes miss really important messages (like local murders, utility shut-offs, etc. and other frequently occurring events that happen on the East side of ATX).

The article goes on to state that users have more privacy controls than Facebook® or Yahoo by allowing the users to be the moderators as well as the users. This feature encourages homeowners to feel safe when becoming acquainted with their neighbors, with the end result being a more secure neighborhood. For neighborhoods that do not have a virtual network in place for homeowners, this would be a good option.

To read more, visit http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/28/3945100/new-social-media-my-virtual-neighbor.html#ixzz1ZHbfLdlt     Posted by Michele Myette at 2:58 PM

World of War Craft

This is a video from one year ago, showing a family and how they have found unity and can come together via World of War craft, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG).


I am glad that they have found a way that they can all interact and spend time together but it really disturbs me. The internet has changed the way we network and interact with people and I cant tell if its good or bad. Communities are being created online, where they cant be made in the physical world and that is good. it is important for people to find a strong support system and friends that they can talk to. But then people get lost in their virtual worlds and second lives, and spend all their time online. in my opinion, its not a healthy existence. we as humans are not programmed to function without other social human interaction and there is a limit to the interaction the internet can facilitate.


Interaction has come a long way, and I am sure there will be more advances to come, but it cant replace a real human experience

I do's with the Iphone

A new tend is starting in weddings. Many couples are not only saying i do at the alter but are excepting their spouses change of status at the same time. Also, many couples are having their guest tweet through out the wedding. weddings are also becoming easier to plan by just using social media.
I think this taking the status update a litte too far, but It is the new trend.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/10/04/2663665/social-media-mobile-tech-on-the.html

LEWIS PR Rolls Out New Global Social Media Services

Interesting and it is creating new jobs for those looking to work in PR and Social Media.

LEWIS PR Rolls Out New Global Social Media Services

Richard Branson believes having a personal social media presense is important.

Richard Branson started his first business in the 1970s with a record company. Now Branson has over 300 companies around the world. While many company executives tend to stay away from having personal social media profiles Branson believes that it is a good thing to communicate through these sites. Branson not only has his own blog but he also uses Twitter, Facebook and the newest social media site Google+.

Branson was asked questions in an interview about why he uses social media. He says the main reason is because there are so many Virgin companies worldwide but that his main focus is with philanthropy. Branson says he has seen how social media can spread awareness about how to use busniess as a force for good.

He also uses social media to share his life lessons he has learned in the business world and other times he might just tweet about his thoughts at the time or what crazy adventures he is getting into at that time.

Helping students or Invasion of Privacy?

According to a University of Washington and University of Wisconsin-Madison study, Facebook posts could reveal individuals who are at risk for alcohol abuse and dependency. A team of researchers studied Facebook posts, pictures, and conversations of students who wrote about "blacking out" or engaging in other unsafe activities while drinking. Researchers brought in students with these posts on there walls and gave them a 10 item screening test to determine who was at risk for alcohol dependency. According to the results 6 out of the 10 students questioned were at risk for alcohol abuse or other alcohol related problems. Researchers proposed that leaders in the university such as RA's keep watch over their peer's Facebook pages in order to monitor their drinking activity and approach them with concerns. One suggestion that was made to help this cause was for universities to have links to the health center or to have online screening tests show up as Facebook advertisements for students who use terms such as "blacked out" on their pages.

I thought that this study was really interesting in that you can determine something as serious as alcohol dependency just by looking at pictures and posts on Facebook. However, I couldn't decide if this was a invasion of privacy, a good outreach program or maybe a little of both. Facebook does give a large insight into the lives of many of our friends and family members but is it crossing the line to search a student's Facebook page to check for alcohol abuse? In a lot of ways looking at someones Facebook page is a pretty good indicator of what kinds of activities they engage in. By posting excessive drunken pictures, post, videos etc. the individual is portraying themselves in a way that shows that they may need some professional help. But on the other hand is it really fair to have someone monitoring your activity that doesn't know you personally? I think in a lot of ways it depends. I don't agree that a university has the right to interfere in a student's personal decisions however if they could protect someone from alcohol dependency then maybe it's a good thing.

Apple to announce iPhone news!

I'm just going to leave this right here.....

http://allthingsd.com/20111004/apple-lets-talk-iphone/

...and you all can check it out come noon!

And then I'll do my blog for Thursday about what happened!

Enjoy! :)

Is Facebook Still Tracking You After You've Logged Out?

LAWMAKERS WANT FACEBOOK FTC PROBE

"When users log out of Facebook, they are under the impression that Facebook is no longer monitoring their activities. We believe this impression should be the reality," is the argument Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Joe Barton of Texas are making against Facebook. Apparently even after you log out of Facebook it still gathers information about you and the websites you've visited from the "cookies" those websites leave behind. The representatives are moving for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to begin an investigation on the actions Facebook has done, claiming those actions to be a "serious privacy concern."

A spokeswoman for Facebook counter claimed that Facebook hasn't stored any information it shouldn't have.

She also stated that Facebook "moved quickly to fix the cookies so that they won't include unique information in the future when people log out."

As of right now the FTC hasn't launched an investigation.

Saudi Princess Tweets: Female Driver's Lashing Sentence Revoked

Twitter is being used by Saudi Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel to turn the tide against women being prohibited to drive in Saudi Arabia. What originally was to be a punishment of 10 lashes given to Shaima Jastaina after she was arrested for driving, has now been revoked by Saudi King Abdullah. She hopes to gain additional support in this light through the use of social media as she promotes the Women2Drive movement formed a few months back by using Twitter.

The Noosh
John Leinweber

http://mashable.com/2011/09/28/saudi-princess-tweets-female-driver-lashing-sentence-revoked/?WT.mc_id=obinsite

More on Pro Athletes and Teams on Social Media

As blogged about a week ago Social media and professional athletes has become a new problem. Recently ESPN examined the different professional sports leagues to better understand the policies for player's use of twitter. Many of the leagues are the same and some quite different. They either embrace the new idea of getting your own voice out there, or simply hate the idea. In my opinion i do not like to hear what many of the players have to say outside of news conferences. Often many of their opinions cause harm to the integrity of the organization(team).

My Virtual Neighbor

My Virtual Neighbor is a social media site aimed at neighborhood homeowners hoping to fight crime in their locale. Founder Amit Mehta claims that this new social website has reduced neighborhood crime by a large percentage. Mr. Mehta claims that this site is the cornerstone of "National Night Out", which, as a member of a HOA, I've known about for years. In my own neighborhood, we have used a Yahoo® Groups for years and it has been helpful in keeping up with events in the neighborhood.

A case study was done in Houston, Texas, for a period of ten (10) weeks and, apparently, Mr. Mehta has the stats to prove an 80% reduction in crime. Although my neighborhood moderator (of our Yahoo Group) does keep the homeowners well informed, many of us tend to ignore postings that look like complaints or robo-messsages from the association managers (a separate business) and sometimes miss really important messages (like local murders, utility shut-offs, etc. and other frequently occurring events that happen on the East side of ATX).

The article goes on to state that users have more privacy controls than Facebook® or Yahoo by allowing the users to be the moderators as well as the users. This feature encourages homeowners to feel safe when becoming acquainted with their neighbors, with the end result being a more secure neighborhood. For neighborhoods that do not have a virtual network in place for homeowners, this would be a good option.

To read more, visit http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/28/3945100/new-social-media-my-virtual-neighbor.html#ixzz1ZHbfLdlt

"The Social Corps"

The Marines banned the use of social media two years ago. They feared that it's personnel would misuse of the ever-growing communication highway. On September 27th "The Social Corps" was released, which is a hand book instructing Marines how to conduct themselves on the web. The hand book tells them how to handle crisis scenarios and social media, conduct in personal manner, and conduct in a professional manner. They are worried about breech of security issues and feel they need to control the issue. Unfortunately, I do see the problem that looms ahead because everything leaks. They state in the handbook that "With social communication, you essentially provide a permanent record of what you say--if you wouldn't say it in front of a formation, don't say it online." Easier said than done....
We have all had a bad day we post about, a friend tag a provocative photo, or an opinion that isn't very popular. Marines will too. We have all had laps of judgement. Marines will too. I am Glad that social media created more jobs in the Marines (by releasing this handbook and allowing social media), however, I see a huge public relations disaster in their future involving a individual's personal social media profile and something they said wrong.

Facebook Charging Hoax

Have you seen this posted from some of your friends on Facebook:

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER MONTH FOR SILVER MEMBER SERVICES, $3.99 PER MONTH FOR BRONZE MEMBER SERVICES, FREE IF YOU COPY AND PASTE THIS MESSAGE BEFORE MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WHEN YOU SIGN ON TOMORROW MORNING YOU WILL BE PROMPTED FOR PAYMENT INFO...IT IS OFFICIAL IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING DUE TO THE NEW PROFILE CHANGES

It's amazing how many people post this and actually believe it. Apparently no one sees the Facebook homepage, where it says "It's free and always will be" directly under Sign Up. I also don't understand how people actually think that copying and reposting a message is the only way for Facebook to track that you logged in, they can do so just by you logging into your account. Facebook addressed the hoax on its own page saying "A rumor on the internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be." Also does anyone actually think that a company valued at more than $80 billion would need to charge users?

Facebook Updates Alienating Members

I was on Facebook earlier this week and it was so bizarre to me that it was updating and changing AS I was using it...so I googled these updates and found this article: http://www.daily49er.com/opinion/facebook-s-newest-updates-may-result-in-its-loss-of-popularity-1.2638646#.ToH_nWZ5E4Y that says that all these updates are confusing and irritating loyal Facebook users.

The quickness with which different technologies seem to fall out of popularity with the general population just illuminates how easily bored we all are. For someone who obsessively uses Facebook (it's my homepage...#pathetic) the idea of having to figure out an entirely new social media outlet not only sounds annoying but time consuming. Who knows where Facebook will be in the next few years...will Google+ actually take over?

Social Media and its effect on Search Engines

I work for a Web Development company in New Braunfels, Texas and was doing SEO on one of our clients when I came across something that interested me and thought I'd share it.

For a catering company in New Braunfels, I was trying to get them higher in the rankings for the search query "event catering new braunfels". They were 10th on the first page, once I google+1'd them however immediately they hopped to 5th on the first page. How? Well it appears that I came across another one of the many factors in Google's algorithm for search engine rankings. Further investigation showed that it went even further. For friends of mine, who follow and friend me on twitter and facebook, were effected by the search rankings as well.

Search engines are taking notice to the authority that social media have in today's world and rightfully so.

Social media for good or evil?

This article by CIO chronicles various uses of Twitter, both good and bad.

Outside Veracruz, Mexico gunmen were dumping bodies off a road and Twitter users were sending out warning before police could even arrive. Ironically, a law had been passed that same day banning Tweets that "undermine public order".

The article discusses the riots in England and when the Egyptian government blocked Twitter and Facebook. Several U.S. examples are used, including in San Francisco when transit police shut down cellular power to stop protestors from communicating.

http://www.cio.com.au/article/401937/twitter_used_social_good_incite_disorder/

Facebook's Frictionless Sharing

I read this article about how Facebook is beginning to do almost everything for you in regards to sharing your browsing activity with your friends. Every time you read an article on the web, you will no longer have to click "Like" to share the story with your friends. For this to occur, you would have to authorize a Facebook app for a news site, for instance, Yahoo news.

At first, I thought that's kinda cool but after a bit I realized why would my friends care about every single article I read on the internet? If I read a super boring story I don't want my friends to click on the link and share the same misery I just did for reading a story that's not interesting whatsoever. Not all of my friends share the same interests I do so I would hate to bother them with stories they would not enjoy.

I think Facebook is making too many changes at once and is going to lose followers if they don't start keeping their page the same.

Qwikster Conflict

Netflix has recently decided to split their subscriptions into two different sectors. People who want to order movies/tv shows on line, will continue to go through Netflix. However, people who want to subscribe to the DVD portion, will now go through Qwikster. It has recently come to light that someone already owns the Twitter handle @Qwikster, meaning if Netflix wants to gain control of the handle name, twitter user Jason Castillo will either have to give it up willingly, or be paid out for it (if he plans to give it up at all).

The article I read suggests that Twitter may force Castillo to give up the handle, but I feel as though that is fairly unlikely. Castillo also recently tweeted that he has been contacted by three different parties offering to buy the Twitter handle from him. He states that his biggest offer was $1000 but he didn't know if he should accept it. I think if he is really considering selling the Twitter handle, he needs to persue financial advice and wait for higher offer (because I'm sure one will come). I also think it would be in Netflix's best interest to gain control of the handle, because Castillo presents himself as quite the "stoner". This could potentially put Qwikster in a bad light if people aren't Twitter savvy enough to conclude that the Twitter handle @Qwikster is actually not a Twitter account run by Netflix.

To read the article about Netflix splitting into two, click here.
To read the article about Jason Castillo's twitter handle, click here.

Social Media and the Pro Athlete

Ever since Twitter has arrived it has been immensely popular with professional athletes, especially the NFL. A lot of players have embraced it, some to their regret with just how much information they have divulged. Sometimes these guys have to wish that there was a 30 second delay button so they have time to see it out there and have a chance to take it back. A few weeks before the NFL season started, Arian Foster (starting running back for the Houston Texans) tweeted a picture of an MRI taken on his injured hamstring. No big deal, right? Well, he sent this information out to the world without his team's consent. In the NFL teams look for every advantage they can get in order to win. This information was laid in the hands of the world (and the Indianapolis Colts, the Texans first opponent) in such a way that organizations will probably start to write clauses into players contracts that has financial reprocussions for such behavior.