We all saw the Facebook statuses about how much everyone hated the recent Facebook changes. We all saw the public reaction on Twitter and other networking sites--the hashtag "#newfacebook" trended on Twitter for days after the switch.
The public, overall, was in an uproar about how the new "creeper bar" that rests on top of your Facebook chat-available-friends list was an invasion of privacy and how you could see updates from people you didn't even know--like, friends of friends. This means that, yes, people we aren't friends with could end up seeing one of our updates. Susie Imnotfriendswith could see my photo comment on Bobby Imfriendswith's album instantly when it happened and without even looking at the album herself. Personally, I don't have anything to hide, and you can still approve who you're friends with--you also still have privacy settings. Realistically, if Susie Imnotfriendswith wanted, she could see my comment anyway. Honestly, I'm not worried. And Facebook executives aren't either. And they've released an explanation of the changes--it's not worth reading, however.
New changes have also given way for your Facebook pals to see what you read, listen to and watch, outside of Facebook, so be careful what you "link" to your profile or "like." The article linked here from the Washington Post explains these changes in greater detail. I recently unlinked my Twitter account from my Facebook.
Bottom line is...Facebook is changing. I think it's interesting that we still can't handle that fact. Does anyone ever remember the ORIGINAL Facebook? The never-ending scrolling? The hundreds of separate notifications....daily fortunes? Look how far we've---they've----come.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/facebook-changes-timeline-and-apps-spark-new-privacy-concerns/2011/09/26/gIQAl8JfzK_story.html
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/29/technology/facebook_ticker_privacy/index.htm
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Watch out! That Celebs's Dangerous
Don't worry, Heidi Klum won't pull a gun on you, but clicking on her name because you see it in an ad and "love her so much" might make you want to take that gun to your computer. We're talking about viruses, spam and other headaches that arise when shady internet users utilize celeb names to draw in their victims.
According to McAfee's Security Advice Center, who does a study listing "the most dangerous" online celebrities, super model and reality show host Heidi Klum is this year's most dangerous celeb on the internet. According to the article and McAfee's findings, searches for this superstar have a 10 percent chance of sending the searcher to a not-so-safe site, which in turn creates a big risk for the searcher and their computer. Through pictures and downloads brought up by unassuming search engines, thousands of computers every year are infected with spam--and not the friendly canned meat product.
Not only was I not aware that McAfee even did this kind of research, I was also unaware that this was a threat to me.
Other virus-spreading frontrunners include: Mila Kunis, Brad Pitt and Emma Stone.
What's the big deal about spam, you ask. I'll tell ya.
This is the definition of spam according to "The Spamhaus Project," an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to track the internet's spam operations and sources: 'An electronic message is "spam" if (A) the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND (B) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent.'
In real words...spam can make a mess of your computer and can cost hundreds of dollars to clear from it.
I think the effect this issue (which has recently come to my attention) has on media and internet communities is really obvious. This can happen to you, to anyone. Just by clicking on a photo of your favorite celebrity so you can post it to your photo blog, you could give your computer a virus.
The CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/15/tech/most-dangerous-celebrities/index.html
McAfee's list of Dangerous Celebs:
http://home.mcafee.com/advicecenter/most-dangerous-celebrities?ctst=1The definition of (the non-edible) spam:
http://www.spamhaus.org/definition.html
According to McAfee's Security Advice Center, who does a study listing "the most dangerous" online celebrities, super model and reality show host Heidi Klum is this year's most dangerous celeb on the internet. According to the article and McAfee's findings, searches for this superstar have a 10 percent chance of sending the searcher to a not-so-safe site, which in turn creates a big risk for the searcher and their computer. Through pictures and downloads brought up by unassuming search engines, thousands of computers every year are infected with spam--and not the friendly canned meat product.
Not only was I not aware that McAfee even did this kind of research, I was also unaware that this was a threat to me.
Other virus-spreading frontrunners include: Mila Kunis, Brad Pitt and Emma Stone.
What's the big deal about spam, you ask. I'll tell ya.
This is the definition of spam according to "The Spamhaus Project," an international nonprofit organization whose mission is to track the internet's spam operations and sources: 'An electronic message is "spam" if (A) the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND (B) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent.'
In real words...spam can make a mess of your computer and can cost hundreds of dollars to clear from it.
I think the effect this issue (which has recently come to my attention) has on media and internet communities is really obvious. This can happen to you, to anyone. Just by clicking on a photo of your favorite celebrity so you can post it to your photo blog, you could give your computer a virus.
The CNN article:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/15/tech/most-dangerous-celebrities/index.html
McAfee's list of Dangerous Celebs:
http://home.mcafee.com/advicecenter/most-dangerous-celebrities?ctst=1The definition of (the non-edible) spam:
http://www.spamhaus.org/definition.html
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Yahoo's callin' it quits
The value of Yahoo has plummeted from $47 billion (it's selling price in 2008) to $17 billion (it's selling price as of now).What does this tell people like you and me?
Yahoo is not longer an technological innovator, that's what it tells us. This former super power, once a contender alongside Google, is failing and has been giving away things like their search option through a partnership with Microsoft's Bing. Throughout the years, the multiple features that have made Yahoo usable to the public, are declining in usability and necessity.
Yahoo is in desperate need of someone to bail it out of the hole that it's in. With little improvement in past years, due to the super power that is Facebook (among others), there is seemingly no other option.
This is such a weird realization for me. Yahoo has been around for as long as I can remember. The effect that this "bail out" will have is not really determined, but it's safe to say that the sixth time is probably not going to be the charm for this organization.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/07/technology/thebuzz/index.htm?hpt=te_bn8
http://cnnmoneytech.tumblr.com/post/9899051363/a-brief-history-of-yahoo
http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/08/carol-bartz-fired-yahoo/?iid=Popular
Yahoo is not longer an technological innovator, that's what it tells us. This former super power, once a contender alongside Google, is failing and has been giving away things like their search option through a partnership with Microsoft's Bing. Throughout the years, the multiple features that have made Yahoo usable to the public, are declining in usability and necessity.
Yahoo is in desperate need of someone to bail it out of the hole that it's in. With little improvement in past years, due to the super power that is Facebook (among others), there is seemingly no other option.
This is such a weird realization for me. Yahoo has been around for as long as I can remember. The effect that this "bail out" will have is not really determined, but it's safe to say that the sixth time is probably not going to be the charm for this organization.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/07/technology/thebuzz/index.htm?hpt=te_bn8
http://cnnmoneytech.tumblr.com/post/9899051363/a-brief-history-of-yahoo
http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2011/09/08/carol-bartz-fired-yahoo/?iid=Popular
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The Stats: Social Media is "Good"
According to Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, 5 percent of Americans used social media sites in February of 2005. Currently, in the year 2011, 65 percent of American's are using these sites, Facebook and Twitter being among some of the most popular. That's only 6 years.
Within this 65 percent, "young women are leading the way," CNN reports in their article from August 26. A recent Pew survey discovered that 69 percent of women who are online are using social media on a regular basis, versus 60 percent of men.
Why?
According to Gina Chen via the Nieman Journalism Lab, women want to connect and build relationships, which results in their increased use of social media.
Chen says, "What do I do with my girlfriends? I sit around and chat, talk about life, build relationships. What does my husband do with his guy friends? They play golf or tennis or poker or volleyball. What is social media all about? Virtually sitting around and chatting, talking about life and building relationships." http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/10/women-use-social-media-more-than-men-whats-news-orgs-response/
I think these statistics are interesting, along with the feelings people show towards social media. When asked to describe their experiences in social media, social-media users eloquently responded with words like, "good" and a few other variances from that, including "fun" and "OK". For people that spend hours on Facebook and Twitter, communicating with others and spilling their thoughts, opinions and problems all over walls and feeds of friends, coworkers, and family, don't you think we could come up with something a little better than "good?"
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/26/women.social.networks/index.html
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites.aspx
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/~/media/Infographics/Report%20Infographics/2011/22%20-%20SNS%20Update/Wordle%20-%20SNS%20Responses.jpg
Within this 65 percent, "young women are leading the way," CNN reports in their article from August 26. A recent Pew survey discovered that 69 percent of women who are online are using social media on a regular basis, versus 60 percent of men.
Why?
According to Gina Chen via the Nieman Journalism Lab, women want to connect and build relationships, which results in their increased use of social media.
Chen says, "What do I do with my girlfriends? I sit around and chat, talk about life, build relationships. What does my husband do with his guy friends? They play golf or tennis or poker or volleyball. What is social media all about? Virtually sitting around and chatting, talking about life and building relationships." http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/10/women-use-social-media-more-than-men-whats-news-orgs-response/
I think these statistics are interesting, along with the feelings people show towards social media. When asked to describe their experiences in social media, social-media users eloquently responded with words like, "good" and a few other variances from that, including "fun" and "OK". For people that spend hours on Facebook and Twitter, communicating with others and spilling their thoughts, opinions and problems all over walls and feeds of friends, coworkers, and family, don't you think we could come up with something a little better than "good?"
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/26/women.social.networks/index.html
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites.aspx
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/~/media/Infographics/Report%20Infographics/2011/22%20-%20SNS%20Update/Wordle%20-%20SNS%20Responses.jpg
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