Unlike the proverbial “calm before the storm,” the current increase in political noise is the storm.
The volume increase is a direct result of the lack of attention to that noise. Eventually, the noise will reach its peak volume, become so distorted that it is extremely unpleasant to listen to, and eventually the “amplifiers” will implode. So the noisier it gets, the closer we are to the end of all this thoughtless blather. Until then, it’s going to get louder and much more obnoxious.
Political noise comes in many fashions. There are, of course, public displays of noise such as the contrived “grassroots” events of last summer. Those have now moved indoors. One example was the 2009 Value Voters Summit.
There is also ”silent noise” which can sometimes be dangerous. A few days ago, this was posted on Facebook.
It was one of the Top 100 Facebook Polls. But if the comments are any indication of the poll’s results, the creator may have had a big surprise from the 731 people who responded before Facebook removed it. Here are a few of those comments. The person responsible for this poll is now being sought by the Secret Service and the FBI. This thoughtless blather may also be illegal blather.
Then there is (was) a recent article from John Perry, that even the very conservative Newsmax.com removed from their website.
Fortunately, we have investigative websites that expose these loonies before their words go back into hiding. Here’s some of what Perry wrote:
“There is a remote, although gaining, possibility America’s military will intervene as a last resort to resolve the “Obama problem.” Don’t dismiss it as unrealistic.”
“Military intervention is what Obama’s exponentially accelerating agenda for ‘fundamental change’ toward a Marxist state is inviting upon America. A coup is not an ideal option, but Obama’s radical ideal is not acceptable or reversible.”
Mr. Perry is suggesting the military, whose Commander-In-Chief is President Obama, “take out” the legitimately elected top military chief of our country.
I know many are concerned about our President’s safety and I am certainly one of those people. But I also cannot imagine anyone more in tune with his unique position in life and our country’s history. I have every confidence no harm will come to him or his family. Barack Obama will be our President for two terms and will remain healthy throughout those eight years and well beyond.
Yes, the silent noise is getting louder, and very close to treason.
ok, actually i’m still in happy mood sebab a) sudah sihat, alhamdulillah and b) nanti malam leh jumpa sayang, yippeeee! but, ada satu perkara been bugging me laa for few months now. i think chics and few fellow bloggers yang saya baca blognya even pernah blogging ala2 hal yang sama. yeahh, it’s about our so called “friends” on facebook. whylaaaa certain people ni suka bagi lawak tak kelakar (trademark wadie ni) or being insensitive bila nak mengomen ek? ko, kalo nak sakitkan ati takyah komen laaa, boleh tak?
case study 1
i put recent pics of malam indonesia 3 on fb. ada mamat ini komen:
yelah banggg, ko jelaaa yang tak pernah gi konsert. ko je laaa yang ahli masjid. ko sangat beriman dan sentiasa solat berjemaah di masjid tak pernah miss! benci laaaa aku orang2 macam ni kan. pehtu ada plak hati nak cakap organizer tanggung dosa sapa miss solat. apsal tanak mention dosa bersentuh2 di khalayak ramai pehtu berhibur2 lagho semua? dah alang2 mention dosa2 ni kan. kasik list laaaaaaaaaaaa panjang skets, huhuhu.
oklah, aku taklaa marah orang nak berdakwah kan. but what irks me the most is the way dia cakap tuh. ko kenapa???? ko aje ke dijamin syurga? ko je ke amalan wajib sunat semua cukup? haduiiiiiiiii. and he is a teacher, mind you. apa punya jenis daaa ini macam pun ada.
case study 2
this mamat adalah ala2 kera sumbang masa kat u. nobody wants to befriend him. since dia budak palapes and 1 of our konco2 kenal/kawan ngan dia, we (the konco) accepted him into our group. groupie laa sangat kan. ahahhahaha. padahal rasanya kami ni konco yang ramai gila orang jaki/dengki/menci. dahhh, ikut kepala sendiri je nak buat apa pun. we joined kelab perpaduan yang ala2 bertentangan dengan pmi :p sangat aktif laa segala kan. tapi takdelaa orang pmi yang anti. ini rakyat2 biasa je anti. kitorang kuat bersembang pun nak anti ke? hoh!
eh lupa citer mamat ni kan. dia basically baikkk. kalau gi kuar pasar malam mesti belikan oleh2 kat 5 orang gundik dia ni, haha. kitorang renggang bila dia kapel ngan bini dia sekarang ni. minah tu jeles kot. he finally found me few months back on fb. i was super excited. until dia menunjukkan belang kepoyoan melampau dia.
lepas jumpa kat fb, we exchanged number and all. so he called me. and tetiba nak mention he’s working at o&g company as project manager ke apa ke jadah ke tah. i was like, huh? adakah perlu nak mengimpress saya dengan memberi statement begitu? hey, i’m surrounded by o&g people laaa! silap orang laa lu, haha. and they are far more decent. tak perlu mention2 apa position dalam company ke apa ke. yang penting aku bleh pow kalau keluar makan >:)
lepas dia poyo2 tuh saya cepat2 mengelak and suruh dia call nob plak. and then i saw some annoying comment in my fb. sudah tak ingat apa dia komen. and saya telah delete sebab mencik, ahahahhahahah.
anyway, ini latest komen dia yang wat saya annoyed:
yelahhh, aku tau aku gemukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. tak perlu aaa buat statement kasik sentap seperti di atas, okehhh!
case study 3
mamat ni (eh, semua mamat je ni, ahahhahahah) plak adalah schoolmate saya. tetttttttttttttt. tetiba berbunyi lak siren kan tak kasik bagi statement banyak2, haha. btw, ini pun saya hairan kenapa sangat laser dan poyo sekarang???
yelahhhh, aku ni bawak kancil buruk je. aku tak mampu beli kereta besar. kereta waja pun tak mampu. pehtu kereta aku dah lama plak tuh kan. orang lain semua bawak kereta cc besar baru berkilat2. sheeeshhh!
case study 4
i don’t even know why she made this comment. asalnya it was on another friend’s walls. itu angah saya itu, memang gemar sangat tanya bila nak kawen. ahahhahaha. as if i have the answer. since she’s my bestfriend (walau pas kawen cam biasa drift away laa kan), saya taklaa nak terasa2 bagai. eh eh, minah ni bukan angah saya tau :p silakan baca komen minah ini:
huwaaaaaaaaaaaa, nanges kan baca komen dia ni. abes tuh saya nak buat apa? nak suruh saya tinggalkan pakwe saya? eh eh suka ati saya aaa kan. and suka ati pakwe saya aa tanak kawen lagik. it’s not as if saya tanya and dia jawablaa tanak kawen lagi tuh, haha. in fact saya tak tanya pon. i’ve made it super clear to him that i’m available – to him. kalo nak pandai2 pinang :p so, kalo lom pinang2, dia lom ready lagillaa tuh. and saya tanak sibuk2 tanya dia, apsal dia tanak kawen2 lagik. ko nak tanyakan ke? nak no tepon pakwe aku tak? huhuhu.
case study 5
ini another minah yang usaha giat mara nak carik customer baru. tengok komen dia. recent sangat ni kejadian ni, haha.
firstly, kita takleh menjamin bleh healthy forever ok. nikmat kesihatan ni Allah yang kasik. alahaiii dik. she’s my junior at school.
and secondly, ada dia tanya saya sakit apa? kalau nak berniaga tuh pun, bawak2 laaa at least PURA-PURA concern ngan bakal customer. ini main terjahh je. sakit jap jiwa saya, ahahhahaha. anyway komen2 lepas tuh buat saya happy balik.
special note buat ayumi, thanks doakan saya sihat! hihi.
ok, cukup dah buat case study hari ni. panjang melampau dah entry. tata!
O canoísta Sebastián Cuattrin confirmou sua participação na Maratona de Canoagem, que será realizada no próximo dia três de outubro. O evento acontecerá em meio a cânions. É a primeira vez que uma prova da modalidade será realizada nesse tipo de cenário.
Cuattrin participou de quatro Olimpíadas e já levou para casa nove medalhas em jogos Pan-americanos. Aos 36 anos, o argentino naturalizado brasileiro começou a remar aos 13 no Brasil. Foi o primeiro canoísta do país a ganhar medalha em uma etapa da Copa do Mundo de Canoagem, em 1998.
A Maratona de Canoagem contará com a presença de atletas de diversos estados do Brasil. Terá largada em Paulo Afonso (BA) e chegada em Canindé de São Francisco (SE). Serão 55 km de percurso pelo Rio São Francisco no percurso da Maratona e 9 km no percurso turismo.
O percurso turismo, além de uma atividade de esporte, será uma opção de lazer. Haverá uma embarcação adequada para as pessoas que estão iniciando na canoagem, a Foca Sit-On-Top, de fácil manobra. O trajeto será o leito do Rio São Francisco, navegando entre as montanhas que dividem o estado da Bahia e Alagoas.
As categorias disponíveis são dupla ou solo, masculino e feminino. Inscrições abertas no http://www.brasilwild.com.br
Efter att ha varit på Facebook några veckor nu börjar jag sakta men säkert se vissa trender och även förstå lite hur det fungerar. Det är ju rätt så avancerat, med en massa möjligheter och inställningar, så det kan ta sin tid att komma på hur man kan göra som man vill.
Något jag funderat på ett tag är själva “vännerna”. I början är det ganska enkelt, man ansluter sig och letar efter folk man gillar. Problemet kommer när andra ansöker om att bli vän. För varje gång man tar in någon, måste man fundera på vad det innebär. Vissa människor innebär ingenting, men andra kan påverka hur man är i Facebook avsevärt.
I förrgår hade jag ett sådant problem. Såg på högra sidan att jag hade en vänförfrågan. Va kul tänkte jag, undrar vem det kan vara? Så jag kollade och hittade till min stora förvåning en av mina största kunder.
Hmmm… food for thought. Han är verkligen trevlig och jag har alltid gillat honom men… en kund…detta ställer saken på sin spets. Analyserade lite vad som kunde hända. Om jag inte accepterar, kan han bli ledsen, vilket kan påverka mitt dagliga jobb. Not good.
Om jag accepterar, måste jag tänka lite på vad jag skriver i framtiden. Tricky question.
Jag valde att acceptera honom, men därmed sätter jag en liten gräns på mig själv.
Och så funderar jag vidare. Jag har tidigare bjudit in min dotter. Hon är 12, vilket också gör att jag kan sätta gränser på vad jag vill skriva om. Och tvärtom, naturligtvis.
Och så vidare. Desto mer folk jag släpper in, desto fler gränser jag får. Den stora “ytan” jag hade när jag började krymper, sakta men säkert.
Så läste jag en intressant artikel i New York Times. Den gav mig lite nya idéer som är bra att veta.
Well it’s official. Nielsen’s Consumer Market research had confirmed that more and more people are spending their time on Facebook. In fact the research company findings show that people spend almost 4x more of their time on Facebook than YouTube and 3x more than Google.
While it’s true that the number may have been pulled up by highly engaging flash games like Texas Holdem Poker (guilty!), this new reality also underlined the current trend that more and more people are into Social Networking.
In business, Social Media has become a mainstay for many online professionals. Having an active online presence in social media sites is one way of getting your personal brands validated on the web. As more and more online consumers conduct research for brands and services before spending on them, ensuring that your business is presented online in the right perspective contributes to the success of your business. Professionals in the reputation management have also started to use social media to establish a verifiable and valid online business for their clients.
Expanding your Professional Online Presence through social networks is an essential business practice. As a Facebook user, I have associated with several gambling sites and groups and personally attest to the benefits it provides to my business networking campaign. While it is tempting to be lulled into time consuming flash games, I tend to fend it off by devoting my time on equally satisfying game of growing my business network.
Well, if you are into Facebook too, you might find it convenient to add me as your friend….
I just created a new Fan Page for Cleopatra’s Palace Casino: Be Cleopatra’s Palace Casino Fan!
Am Donnerstag den 24.September fand das alljährliche Hervis Strategie Meeting im Brandlhof bei Saalfelden statt. Blizzard trat zum ersten Mal mit dem Konzern Bruder Tecnica auf.
Dank der wirklich gelungenen, trendigen Blizzard Kollektion 09/10 und den genialen Innovationen konnten wir unsere hochqualitativen Ski aus Mittersill mit breiter Brust präsentieren, ohne irgendetwas extra ausschmücken zu müssen. Weiterlesen.. ..
As Ondoy poured out his wrath on our archipelago, people from all persuasions and class, total strangers, neighbors who were previously nodding acquaintances, businessmen from big corporations to the lowly sari-sari store are generously lending a helping hand to the less fortunate victims of Ondoy, and as my every contact here on facebook are seeking volunteers to facilitate relief for our fellow countrymen who are starving or may be struggling for their lives, gasping a limited amount of air, waiting to be rescued, WE watch the toll rise up to 73 dead and almost 300,000 people severely affected by this tragedy. And as we offer prayers and whatever small help we can give to ease their loss, some people just don’t seem to care, and even, they feel good about what happened.
A former classmate, Ea Acaylar shared with me this snapshot of a comment from a certain JACQUE BERMEJO who posted a status update that undeniably spurred the rage of hundreds of facebook users.
I was dumbfounded the moment I read this, and unknowingly found myself trailing the profile of Ms. Bermejo, feeling so sure of what I am doing. I sent her a message. Here’s the look of the letter.
A bright sunny day to you!
Never in my life have I sent a letter like this but this time around, I can’t contain myself of what I am feeling towards you, Ms. Jacque Bermejo.
73 people died and 300,000 people were severely affected and still counting. I believe now is not the right time for anyone to accommodate any negative energies from SUCH IDIOTIC and BARBARIC thoughts from imbeciles, but I just want to get my message across.
You are obviously a lot older than me, MS. Bermejo, but I cannot seem to understand why such tragedy could ease you with so much relief, being aware of the fact that the people you are referring to is your people. For your info, Ms. Bermejo, I have 2 siblings and a brother-in-law in Dubai and I suppose no matter how nuclear your family may be, I know you know that Filipinos value their relatives, even if they are on the 5th or 6th degree of your lineage. And I wouldn’t doubt that a number of your personal contacts here on facebook are Filipinos as well, who may be in the Philippines right now or with you in Dubai who are dying of worry for the safety of their families here. If you do not have anyone to be worried about here, would you mind keeping your insensitive and rather useless remarks to yourself? People don’t need it, and they most damn definitely don’t deserve it.
Now I start to laugh at how we Filipinos deem you ÖFWs “the modern heroes of the Philippines” because honestly, seeing what you outrageously said about this tragedy, I am wishing you would never set foot on our land ever again, AND that you were never ever born a Filipino.
Facebook è sicuramente un metodo rapido e veloce per dire a tutti i propri amici cosa stai facendo, come ti sente o cosa ti è capitato durante la giornata.
Ma come vedi dall’immagine qui sopra, bisogna sempre stare attenti a chi sono i propri “amici”, perchè le conseguenze possono essere non delle migliori: perdita del lavoro, amicizie rovinate o situazioni imbarazzanti.
Quinidi la prossima volta che su Facebook leggi la scritta “A cosa stai pensando?”, pensa prima due volte a quello che vuoi scrivere – e anche a come lo scrivi, potrebbe essere interpretato in modo diverso da come la vedi tu – e probabilmente non incapperai in problemi come quello che ti ho appena presentato.
Qui anche la traduzione di questo (divertente) imprevisto su Facebook:
“O mio dio! Odio il mio lavoro! Il mio capo è un totale pervertito testa di ca##o che mi fa sempre fare fare cose di mer#a solo per farmi inca##are! Testa di ca##o!”
“Ciao ### credo tu abbia dimenticato che mi avevi aggiunto qui? Prima di tutto non esagerare. Seconda cosa, lavori qui da 5 mesi e non hai ancora capito che sono gay? Lo so che non giro per l’ufficio come una regina, ma non è veramente un segreto. Terzo, quella “cosa di mer#a” si chiama “il tuo lavoro”, lo sai, quello per cui ti pago. Ma il fatto che riesci a combinare un casino anche nella cosa più semplice che devi fare può probabilmente contribuire a come ti senti. A ultima cosa, credo tu abbia dimenticato che mancano ancora 2 settimane dei 6 mesi di prova. Quindi non preoccuparti a venire domani in ufficio. Metterò il tuo P45 nella posta, e puoi venire quando vuoi a prendere le cose che hai lasciato qui. A si, sono serio”.
I first heard about this story a few weeks ago on NPR and couldn’t wait for it to happen, and then it did. There is not an app on mytwitface (myspace, twitter, facebook) where for a minimum of a $1 donation you can befriend a gorilla in Uganda. You will receive regular updates, learn trivia and have your new friend’s picture on your homepage. The dontaions go to the Wildlife Authority who help to protect the Gorillas who are threatened by poachers.
Ugandan Gorilla
So hop on your fav social media networking site and see if you can befriend a Gorilla.
Qui negli US, molte persone utilizzano Facebook con una certa leggerezza, rendendo spesso disponibili pubblicamente i loro profili. Tali profili, poi, sono tendenzialmente assai dettagliati e ricchi di informazioni molto personali, come ad esempio indirizzo di casa, numero di telefono, centinaia di foto, hobby…
Ho cosi’ deciso di compiere una sistematica opera di indagine sui miei 24 studenti di questo semestre. Ben 7 hanno profili pubblici.
Con una certa perplessita’, ho scoperto che di questi 7:
- 1 si dichiara liberal
- 4 si dichiarano (piu’ o meno direttamente) conservative
- 1 ha un profilo vuoto
- 1 non dice le sue political views
- 3 sono estremamente religiosi
Limitandomi a questo ristretto campione, direi che non c’e’ di che rallegrarsi. Risalendo un po’ lungo i loro network di contatti, la preoccupazione cresce. Pare che idee retrive e bigotte siano piuttosto diffuse tra gli studenti, che, e’ bene precisare, hanno in media 20 anni.
Leggendo alcuni dei loro post, appare evidente che e’ mancato qualcosa nella loro formazione. Pur essendo giovani universitari, mostrano l’apertura mentale di un contadino leghista o di un ascoltatore di Radio Maria. Lo so cosa si portrebbe obiettare qui: meglio non generalizzare. Ma la generalizzazione e l’astrazione sono il fondamento di qualsiasi tipo di analisi ed elaborazione della realta’; il linguaggio stesso ne e’ un esempio ed il pensiero comunque si fonda sul linguaggio. Quindi: obiezione respinta.
Mi convinco sempre piu’ della necessita’ di rendere obbligatorio lo studio della storia della filosofia, al pari dello studio delle tabelline o della grammatica. Non ne ho le prove, ma credo che un contatto, seppur minimo, con il metodo ed i principali temi del pensiero occidentale spazzerebbe via certe incrostazioni politico-religiose.
Una qualunque persona che abbia l’opportunita’ di sfiorare la complessita’ e la corrosivita’ critica della filosofia contemporanea non potrebbe che ampliare i propri orizzonti. Sarebbe una vera e propria mutazione cerebrale.
Non si tratta di erudizione o di sapere citare a memoria massime argute. Si tratta di ricevere, ad un certo punto della vita, una sorta di imprinting culturale. E’ una trasformazione del modo di pensare: da una modalita’ ingenua e superficiale si passa ad una maturita’ critica. Alessandro Bergonzoni chiama cio’ il dentresco. Sempre lui, nei suoi spettacoli (che consiglio di ripescare su YouTube), parla delle metastasi culturali che sono generate dalla banalita’ degli stimoli che ci provengono dai mass media.
Non pretendo certo che tutti debbano diventare filosofi. Io stesso non ho avuto altro che una formazione liceale al riguardo. Ma basta davvero poco per innalzarsi della bassezza del ragionare ordinario. L’elemento piu’ forte che un’esposizione alla filosofia puo’ trasmettere e’ il dubbio. La filosofia e’ grande innanzi tutto quando e’ “filosofia del martello”, alla Nietzsche, quando demolisce la Verita’ in favore delle verita’ o, meglio, delle interpretazioni. Ancor prima di Nietzsche, comunque, gia’ il dubbio cartesiano e’ un magnifico esempio di questo atteggiamento mentale. E che dire dello splendido lavoro della critica kantiana? Forse la sua applicazione alla ragion pura appare un po’ troppo astratto: non lo e’ affatto, visto che la gnoseologia, a ben vedere, e’ forse la parte piu’ fondamentale di ogni riflessione filosofica seria ed e’ inestricabilmente legata alla metafisica. Non si puo’ pero’ non apprezzare la rilevanza del metodo critico nel campo della morale, quando investe la ragion pratica. E’ Kant colui che fonda un’etica immanente, in epoca illuminista (fine Settecento); eppure ancora oggi (2009), ci tocca sentire le trite e ritrite tesi del Capo dello Stato di Citta’ del Vaticano sui rischi di una societa’ priva di una fondazione ideale trascendente.
In generale, tutte le farneticazioni dei fondamentalisti religiosi e politici di ogni colore avrebbero vita dura se solo la popolazione fosse minimamente smaliziata culturalmente. Ad esempio, una inflessibile applicazione del metodo genealogico di Nietzsche, da sola, coprirebbe di ridicolo tutti i falsi profeti di verita’ che riempiono gli schermi delle TV e imbrattano i quotidiani.
Mi scuso per il lungo sfogo, un po’ contorto e poco argomentato. A volte, pero’ e’ necessario scrivere.
If you want to be a professional actor, you have to have an agent.
There may come a time when a self-submit system – organized by a sophisticated social networking algorithm – makes the act of finding, pitching and landing auditions as simple as filling out a profile page.
(Actually… wait a minute. Why has that not happened yet? Oh, yeah. It’s because the entertainment industry is still convinced that the internet is an operating system in the likeness of Bernie Madoff. Everywhere you turn in Hollywood people are saying “when we learn how to monetize the web”, or, “we’ll just charge a small fee, people will pay it”. No, we wont. Ever. You can generate ad revenue, sure. But you cannot replicate the business model for television or movies, online. It is impossible. *End Tangent*)
In 2009, you need an agent.
So what does an agent do?
Since we’re dealing with young actors or people new to the business we’ll talk about the basic functions that an agent performs on standard jobs and contracts:
They submit you for the job.
They try to convince a casting director to see you, if they’re resistant.
They follow-up with said casting directors – when appropriate – to see how you performed in an audition.
They recommend acting workshops and photographers for head shots.
They make sure that you are being treated professionally on set.
When you are not being treated professionally, they handle it.
They create something in the likeness of an excel worksheet to chart your progress.
They update your resume and make sure that you’re Casting Workbook and IMDB pages are accurate.
Once you graduate onto lead roles, picture deals, box-office bonuses, gross percentages and the like, you need someone who is thinking dynamically about the overarching theme of your career. In the beginning, you need a level-headed, detail oriented, honest and motivated person that you get along with. Ideally, the latter becomes the former.
If an agent asks for any of the following things, it should raise a red-flag.
Money up front. Did you know that you can earn $4000 – 9,000 working from home? Just send us your Visa number…
Commissions higher than 15%. 15% is standard for film and television. Theater is usually 10%.
They don’t have to work in an office. It’s perfectly reasonable for someone to run a single-person agency from their residence. That being said, if they don’t put on pants for your interview, I’d pass.
You should be able to see the entire roster of the agency. In fact, it should be a selling feature.
Now, onto the important stuff. You want to become a professional actor with reputable representation and you don’t know where to start:
Resume. Write down everything you have ever done that was not directed by your parents. Unless you had a parent that also taught drama at your school. I wasn’t kidding when I said write down everything. Write down everything.
Organize that resume in this type of format: Click here to view my resume as a Google Doc.
Headshot. It should be an 8 x 10. Everybody has a digital camera. Snap a shot, print out 50 copies. Your agent will probably want you to get a new one. Don’t spend more than $100. And… Just have them printed on nice paper. Don’t bother with whatever expensive s*it the photographer suggests. You should also keep a .jpg file.
Demo reel. Again, it’s the year 2009. Get a camera and shoot a couple of monologues with an introduction off the top; edit it together on iMovie and upload it to YouTube. Don’t burn any copies to CD. (3 minutes max.)
Find three people that you know in the industry and ask them to suggest 5 agencies in your city. If you don’t know anyone in the industry than sign up for a free trial with IMDBPro. Find actors that you recognize from your city and see who represents them. If that doesn’t work, then find those people on Facebook and send them a brief message asking for recommendations. If you’re still searching, send me an email – stephenamell@gmail.com – with the actors names and I’ll email you back with their agencies. The point is: Find 5 Agencies.
Contact each agency and try to set up a meeting. They’ll request a headshot, resume and demo reel. You’ll have all three on the ready. If you leave a message and don’t hear back within 3 business days, call back. Rinse, wash, repeat.
Treat the meetings like – wait for it… job interviews. Ask as many questions as possible. See if the agent is the right fit for you. When you’re answering questions be honest, direct and as brief as possible. You’re not going believe this, but actors have the tendency to be long winded and maddeningly vague. Above all, remember that this is the first opportunity for the agent to see you perform. So take that room by storm in a concentrated, controlled manner.
If you are rejected after the initial meeting ask the agent for 3 different acting workshops to help you improve. Pool the suggestions together and complete the one recommended most. Then call the agents back.
Signing. 1-year contracts are not uncommon. Don’t agree to anything longer. If the agent tells you it’s their “policy”, ask for proof.
Bring the acting industry to its knees.
Actors, by and large, are analytical to a fault. They get so wrapped up in meaningless, remedial bullshit that they forget why they’re in the business to begin with. To perform. To entertain. To bring people joy and laughter. (I don’t care how that sounds.)
Once you have an agent standing behind you, do your best to separate yourself from the business side of the equation and focus on your craft.
For all those people who want to find out if your partner is cheating or the password to your partner’s facebook/myspace/e-mail/msn and other. Or if you are a parent worrying about what your kid might be doing at the computer behind closed doors.
Business going bad? Time to check up on your employees surfing habits. But how to do this, without getting caught trying to get some information?
Keep reading, I have the solution for all of you people. I chose to introduce you to a keylogging/surveillance program after finally finding the tool that will give myself some answers to questions regarding my own relationship. I have searched for quite a long time and thought that there just aren’t any effective programs out there yet. But I found out that there is, it’s called All In One Keylogger, I gave it a try and I was honestly said frightened about the information it is able to collect, it will give you the answers to all your questions and suspiciousness.
The program fits for:
a) People in a relationship b) Business administration, finding out what your employees do when they “work” c) Parents who want to keep track of their kids.
From their homepage you can read about the futures of All In One Keylogger, as I find it a bit pointless to copy paste whole production info page. Don’t be scared off by the word keylogger, YOU are the master of the program, only you will ever have control of the logs, pictures and audio that it monitors. Below is a lot of information about the features and what the program does, I recommend to read it in order to get a idea about the program.
I chose to speak more about my personal experiences of the program instead of talking about all the futures, those can all be found by following the link above to the product site.
What does All In One Keylogger do?
All In One Keylogger logs all keystrokes and passwords that have been typed into crypted files on your computer, it tracks all windows and applications that have been launched, clipboard, chat conversations (sent and received), all Web sites that have been visited, e-mails sent and received.
You can set it to take screen snapshots every few seconds or on each mouse click, just like a surveillance camera. It can also record Microphone sounds and restrict the access to specified Web sites and applications if wanted. It can even be set up to send these logs to your e-mail or FTP for tracking when you are away!
Personally I hate it the times I get the feeling in my stomach that something might be going on when I’m away from my partner, this is the solution to get rid of the paranoia, or to get proof for your suspicions. It snaps up all usernames and passwords into the very easily readable log viewer supported in the All In One Keylogger program. And maybe even more importantly you can set it up to take screen snapshots every few seconds and view the pictures later. I chose to divide the potential usage areas into different categories, you might wonder what the All In One Keylogger could be good for, I’ll tell you.
Relationship: In the survey that took place in United States in the year of 2005 which includes married couples only, 56% of the participants of the survey said that during their marriage they had at least one sexual encounter with a person that is not their spouse. Are you living in a relationship and suspect that your partner is cheating on you, or doing other stuff he/she shouldn’t be doing on your/her computer (flirting harshly on community sites, MSN messenger contacts, webcam usage, microphone usage or visiting sites that are uncomfortable in a relationship.. the list goes on.
This is where All In One Keylogger can be there to save you from wasting time on your relationship, you wonder what your partner does when he/she is on the computer and you are away or working night shift. Well there is no reason to keep wondering and being paranoid about what she might be doing, you can find it out directly by downloading the trial version straight away (it is amazingly easy to set up, and the best part is that it is totally undetectable/invisible in windows, so no one can find out it’s installed and running.. read more on product site for more detailed info).
It basically records all keystrokes, and shows in which program the text has been typed in, stores visited sites and you can set it up to take a picture of the screen for example every 10 seconds!
Employers: In the survey that took place in Britain in the year 2006, 87% of the employees participating in the survey said that they surf on the internet during their work at least once a week. 73% of them said that they surf at least once a day. 23% of them said that they dedicate more time to surfing on the internet than to their work! In the additional survey that took place in the same year answered 36% of the employers, participants of the survey mentioned that they are afraid that secrets of the company will be sent to their competitors from the company computers by their employees. 4% announced that they fell victim to the theft of company secrets by their workers from the company computers.
Are you running a small sized company, and wonder why you aren’t getting as much work done as you should be getting. Well the solution is here, with All In One Keylogger you can make sure who are actually working and who are not. The result can be scary, you might find out that the employee is actually playing online poker half day or such, no wonder that the results aren’t so promising. There are a lot of people who don’t care as long as their getting paid, so they will just entertain themselves in some way instead of actually working.
Download trial (7 days free): http://www.plimus.com/jsp/download_trial.jsp?contractId=1682768&referrer=Niar
Parents: Today, almost every child has access to internet. This comes thanks to the advance in technology, but has also risks involved. Did you know that: The average age when the children encounter pornography in the internet is 11? The age of the largest pornography consumer group in the internet is between 12 to 17? 85% of children between the ages 6-16 encountered pornographic content intentionally or unintentionally (most of them while preparing their homework). 25% of children between ages 9-17 will freely disclose their home address in the internet? 60% of children who committed suicide, declared their intentions online directly or indirectly? One in five children who use the computer chat rooms has been approached over the internet by pedophiles? Only 25% of youth who received sexual solicitation told a parent.
The children today are very sophisticated and most of us parents don’t have the knowledge to know what they are doing behind their closed doors in front of the computer. Are they browsing to inappropriate websites, are they downloading illegal content using P2P programs that will in the future result in lawsuits of thousands of dollars? What personal information they disclose about themselves, are they talking to adults, or maybe they meet them?
All In One Keylogger has many features:
No activity on your computer will be able to evade this high quality Keylogger. Does your kid make secret chat conversations with adult strangers? Maybe even with a pedophile that searches for his next victim? Does he surf to pornographic sites? Maybe he even exposes his personal details where he is not supposed to? Does he use P2P programs, sharing copyrighted materials which could constitute a pretext to a lawsuit of tens thousands of dollars? Have you ever wondered why does your husband “work” on his computer so late at the night? Does he have a secret online lover?Have you ever wondered who is your wife’s “partner” she talks with all the time? Do your employees surf on the internet instead of doing their work which you pay them for? Do they sell company secretes to your competitors? A high quality Keylogger should give you the answers to all these questions. No activity will be able to evade from it. No undesirable activity will be able to evade from you! As said, a high quality Keylogger is an “All In One Keylogger”, so just press this link to download “All In One Keylogger”:
Download trial (7 days free): http://www.plimus.com/jsp/download_trial.jsp?contractId=1682768&referrer=Niar
Link for buying full version: https://www.plimus.com/jsp/buynow.jsp?contractId=1682768&referrer=Niar
I tried to bring up the most important things in this article, but there sure is more to read if you still aren’t sure, simply visit the links provided and read more about people who have bought the product or view the awards that the product has received. Everyone has different use or needs of the program, and it sure was a relief to my head after finally getting answer to my questions using this brilliant program.
A rocker a Facebookon számolt be egészségi állapotáról, és kijelentette: nem a változatos szexuális életének köszönheti a betegséget. Az influenzajárvány kezdete óta több neves zenészről is kiderült, hogy elkapta a vírust, és szerencsére egyikükben sem okozott maradandó károsodást a betegség. Most Marilyn Manson jelentette be Facebook-oldalán: kénytelen felvenni a harcot a “sertésinfluenzával”, és bejelentéséből úgy tűnik, igen büszke arra, hogy ő is elkapta a betegséget…
“Hivatalosan is sertésinfluenzásnak nyilvánítottak, ezt egy igazi orvos állapította meg. Mondhatják, hogy így jár az, aki disznóval fekszik össze, de a doktor szerint a betegségemhez semmi köze ahhoz, hogy kivel bújtam ágyba” – írta Facebook-oldalán az énekes.
Forgive me if the title offends you, I am a World of Warcraft player myself and I know that no Facebook Game can ever EVER match up to the glory of World of Warcraft. What I am comparing here is the popularity and reach of the two games. Mafia Wars didn’t boom at first what with all its competition prancing around Facebook Games Directory, for a certain time, it remained in limbo until its competition starts falling one by one.
The difference with all these games and what Mafia Wars did right was probably take care of its community. Everybody started with the same strategy and business model. Game is text based. Loading time is fast. This is the type of game that you could play during short breaks.
Soon enough, you’ll find a Mafia Wars Gold Guide or a Mafia Wars Leveling Guide out there. Before long, you would see game guides that you actually have to pay for.
Am I exaggerating? Of course not! Have you seen the number of people who have been taking this seriously? Groups of people ganging up on each other. It’s insane! The steadily growing facebook game Mafia Wars may have a long way to go before it reaches the same status as World of Warcraft but what the Mafia Wars Cuban Expansion will tell you is that they are well on their way.
Today there are many ways in which our loved ones can embarrass us. It’s not just publicly with the example of my mother, when she goes out and starts making my friends spin on the dance floor, but in the cyber realm too. I overheard a friend talking the other day and who stated ‘You know Facebook is no longer cool when your grandpa has a profile’. Now I don’t know about most people, but my grandmother can just about use a mobile and even then, she cannot have it on a locked setting due to the fear of being unable to call me ten times a day.
Social networking is a fantastic way to keep in touch with relatives across the globe, however it also means that those individuals also have an online profile which may not be something you want to associated with. A fine example is one of my relatives who has a slightly narcissistic tendency- I’m afraid to say, and has pictures on a personal website wearing, not much, perhaps ‘wearing’ is too strong a word. Now I was deeply embarrassed when I was showing my boyfriend who my family members were across the oceans, when we saw these pictures. Oh gosh, too late then, association made, even with my boyfriends short term memory I don’t believe he will ever let me forget!
There is now I find a hierarchy/snobbishness/ladder of cool, of which social websites people are expected to use. I found that I have acquired an inbuilt social network preference when I received an email, informing me that my estranged Father wants me as a friend on a network I used about five years ago. Now he’s not an old man, and he certainly lives in a place where there is a high media out put- so why oh why would he wish to use a unfashionable site. There’s no accounting for taste, and I will use all of the power on my privacy settings to minimise being embarrassed even further by my family…if that is at all possible!
Pengguna Facebook telah mendapat peringatan agar lebih berhati-hati setelah criminal menjalankan layanan hacking password online, dengan denda $100 (£61) per account. Peneliti di vendor keamanan, PandaLabs telah menemukan situs yang menampilkan pesan “With our site you can hack any Facebook account that you need. Our server uses revealed ‘holes’ in Facebook.com protection and gets access to databases of all users.”
Namun, hingga kini belum jelas nama situs tersebut, hanya saja hosting domain situs berada di Moscow Menurut PandaLabs, situs tersebut digunakan untuk menipu pengunjung situs untuk berpartisipasi dalam situs tersebut dengan meminta ID dan password Facebook. “Dalam banyak kasus, halaman web tersebut memiliki desain yang baik. Sangat mudah untuk mengontrak layanan tersebut dan menjadi korban dari kejahatan online atau cyber criminal dan akhirnya ke pencurian identitas user.” ungkap Luis Corrons, director PandaLabs.
“Sekali penyusup meng-hack ke account Facebook, semua data personal yang dipublikasikan di situs tersebut dapat dicuri. Sama halnya, account user di Facebook dapat digunakan untuk mengirim malware, spam, atau dapat mengancam ke kontak teman lain di Facebook.” tambah Corrons.
Mzinga and Babson Executive Education recently conducted a survey on social software in business and the results became available this month.
The highlight of the survey for me was that 61% of the companies in the survey use social technologies as an ongoing part of their business.
However, several challenges emerged in terms of budget, resources and ROI.
Only 55% of the companies reported that they devote part-time or full-time resources to manage and drive their social media initiatives and only 40% have devoted budget dollars to social media efforts. To me, this seems like many companies are paying lip service to social media or implementing it haphazardly instead of fully embracing social media and making it an integral part of their corporate DNA.
Measuring ROI remains a challenge for most companies as only 16% are able to measure ROI for their social media programs. This means that software vendors and analytics vendors need to do a better job of making it easier to capture, measure and analyze metrics from social media.
When you look at how businesses are using social technologies, Marketing tops the chart at 57% penetration. There remain significant opportunities for growth in the customer service and sales areas which only have 29% and 21% penetration respectively. These areas are also where the ROI numbers should be more concrete and easier to measure too.
"What Areas of Your Business Are Using Social Media" -- Mzinga-Babson Social Media Survey
I was pleased to see that the most mentioned social media applications and technologies matched my own list. The survey respondents listed blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, chat and standalone community sites as their most used technologies.
Mzinga Chairman Barry Libert (@blibert) also added his own commentary and predictions in his blog on the Mzinga website.
Barry predicts that:
1. Brands will strive for deeper user engagement within social networks and online communities.
2. Strategy and metrics will become more closely integrated
3. Bigger budgets will be devoted to social media initiatives
You can read a summary of of the report from eMarketer or visit the Mzinga website to download the entire seven-page Social Software in Business report.
I’m going to skip slightly ahead (I promise I’ll finish the other Learning 2.0 exercises very, very soon!) and blog about my experiences with good old Facebook, because this is one of the Discoveries that I use ALL THE TIME!
I was introduced to social networking through MySpace but quickly grew sick of that when I joined Facebook. Initially I only got a Facebook account because my mates in America and Canada were using it, but soon virtually everyone I knew had a profile! It’s such a great way to keep in touch with all my friends and family, and also to meet new people too. Through Facebook, we organise parties and get-togethers, holidays and meetings, and swap all our photos!
Before Learning 2.0, I didn’t have any library-related groups or applications, although in my defense most of the groups I have joined are to do with Harry Potter! I have now joined Books iRead which is an awesome application and I’ve looked at all my other friends Books iRead profiles too to suss out some good new novels. When I have a bit more time I’ll look in to some library-related groups and some other applications too. But right now, it’s almost home time so will get back to Learning 2.0 later
In thinking about topic for this blog entry, I realized I was once again procrastinating by surfing the web, playing with our dogs, looking out the window – anything to avoid writing. This routine is all too familiar to me. With every writing project, small or large, I go through an “I hate to write” phase where I struggle to find my inspiration and my drive for writing. Eventually, I do, and after a while, the writing takes on a life of its own. When that happens, I realize I have transitioned over to the “I love to have written” phase, which is a lovely place to be.
So, what do I do to move past “I hate to write” to “I love to have written”? Writers are like fly fisherman. We cast our line about to find right hook, the right angle or the right inspiration. Some writers are very efficient about this. They read the newspaper and find a dozen ideas, and they’re off and running. For me, sometimes it takes longer. Finding my inspiration is not something I can time nor do I find it in the same place. I’ve learned to be patient, to give myself permission to have false starts, to pace around my office, to walk the dogs – all the while thinking about the project.
The key is to start writing. Don’t worry if you feel like your writing junk or your having a lot of false starts. Those false starts can be the foundation of some truly inspirational ideas. I use a “words” document, which is just a holding document for sentences or paragraphs I’ve written but I’m sure I want to use. Very often, I will go back and rework those phrases and sentences and insert them back into the document.
Another technique I use is to read over what I’ve written the day before first thing the next morning and do any needed polishing and editing. By the time I have reached the end of the document, I am back in the groove and ready to write. By going with the ebb and tide of my own writing cycle and knowing that it is just part of the process, I gradually and methodically forge ahead – sometimes slowing, sometimes with joyful speed. Before I know it, I have moved on to “I love to have written” phase, and once again realize why I enjoy writing so much. It’s the feeling I get of a job well done.
Please feel free to contact me if you are stuck in “I hate to write” and need some encouragement. Sometimes, just a word from someone who knows what you’re going through is all that is needed to break through and get the words and ideas flowing once again.
Quelques news concernant les paramètres de confidentialité de Facebook, qui je vous le rappel, étaient pas très clairs, cliquez ici pour plus d’infos… Suite à la pression exercée par les membres du Commissariat à la Protection de la Vie Privée Canadienne, les applications devront désormais développer une demande de permission transparente quant à l’utilisation faite des informations des profils.
Hier, le membre Facebook autorisait l’accès à toutes les informations de son profil lors de l’installation d’une application. Demain, il pourra spécifier l’accès à des catégories spécifiques telles que le sexe ou encore la ville. Une nouvelle permission sera sollicitée par les développeurs pour accéder à chaque catégorie non signalée lors de l’installation de l’application. Plutôt cool, non ?
Vu sur Inside Facebook France
After being introduced by Melissa Taylor from Porter Novelli as a little “wacky and off the wall” and heading the blog called “Nuts about Southwest,” we knew we were in for an interesting keynote. Paula Berg did not disappoint, providing the group with an entertaining look into how Southwest airlines integrates social media into their communication.
Berg started by providing us with the background of the “Nuts about Southwest” blog. Originally it started as a way to follow up the A&E series Airline featuring Southwest employees. The success of the show revealed increases in sales and job applications. The airline had no editorial control over the show and though at times there were some “cringe moments,” they trusted their employees to represent the company.
After a nine-month planning phase, the blog team had established the main goals and objectives and found those “people who oozed Southwest” to post to the blog. Their overall plan with social media was to connect with people they way they wanted to connect. In the process, they got to know their audience including those who wrote aviation blogs and participated in forums related to aviation.
Case Studies
Berg also discussed a few case studies featuring how Southwest has used social media in various situations. Each provided Southwest with valuable lessons to incorporate into their overall strategy. When they asked their customers to comment about their preferences between open and assigned seating, they got an overwhelming response to keep their open seating policy. Southwest learned “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and more importantly to keep what makes them unique.
The airline has faced two major public relations situations in recent years, involving sensitive topics. In the first one, the received negative feedback in a situation regarding a woman wearing revealing clothes being asked to cover up by flight attendants, they chose to wait before responding. As a consequence, when Southwest again faced negative feedback dealing with the “too pretty to fly” story, Berg revealed they applied the lessons and created a three-pronged approach to respond. The plan provided an online spokesperson, create an official statement, and a YouTube video.
One of the biggest threats to the Southwest reputation happened in March 2008 when the FAA fined the airline $10.2 million for inspections. This situation was the first where the legal department stepped in to limit the conversation. Berg said that they could only repost information already posted, but not create any new content. Though the received much fewer comments during this situation, they learned to “take every situation seriously.”
Berg also discussed some of the tools Southwest uses outside of the blog. The airline uses YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. One of their most popular recent videos was of a rapping flight attendant. That video sparked popularity for others on their YouTube channel. He has since been dubbed the rhythmic ambassador for Southwest.
In all of the case studies discussed, Berg emphasized that the “micro interactions lead to lasting impressions,” providing organizations with a unique opportunity to connect with their audiences.
All you Facebook creepers and stalkers and average users in-between may have seen or even fallen to the bait of the promise of a laughs one of these video links- however, the joke’s on you the user and those on their friends lists. The facebook post found on either comments or wall posts are written as this article’s title and contains a seemingly harmless but (if you read) is a false and deadly link, bent on stretching into the depths of your social network. The post accompanies this follow link (DON’T COPY THIS INTO YOUR BROWSER AND/OR LINK TO IT. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY- IM JUST INFORMING!):
“(http://)video-facebook.secure-logins(.com)/”
or originally/alternatively looked like this:
“haha, u should see this funny vid (http://)videoblog.facebook.rnypsaceslogin(.com)”
To be honest, i find virus links stupid and pointless. (plus it ruins my organized and good looking wall) But who wouldn’t be annoyed to have it spammed on your wall or posts? XD But not to mention, can you guys PLEASE Look at the link before you open it? like if you look at the second one -> rnysaceslogin <- like one it’s a spelling error then two, what kind word/website is like that?!?! :\ Not to mention facebook doesn’t have a video blog >>” though the update viral link does seem legit, the ending url is securelogins.com… aka, not a proper url >>” (it’d be after the .com).
I’ve yet to find any articles online about the origins of these viral links but this isn’t the first time that this has happened. Back around winter time of ‘08 the infamous “Koobface” virus that attacked all forms of social networking via email was deemed by PC World as a virus that “turns your computer into a zombie”. When opened, spammed your user accounts and those on your friends lists… (not to mention sms facebook spams your phone =_=”"”)
The best way to avoid all this? Don’t be mindless! Take care and always read the fine print eh?
p.s. for those who’ve got it in my friends lists i forgive you guys! ._.”
This is the question we are asked a lot more because of sites like Facebook or MySpace. It is kind of flattering when you can look at your Facebook page and see that you have 100s of “friends”.
On the other hand there are those difficult friend requests and you first have to ask “who is this person” or “what the $@%#, I don’t even like this person.” I personally have a hard time turning down these friend requests no matter how awkward they are because there is that whole Minnesotan I-don’t-want-to-offend-people nature. I figure what is the big deal if this person sees a few pictures or reads my impulse driven comment I write, after all they anyone can read this blog.
All-in-all I am happy about these convenient and minimal-effort tools that allow me to stay in touch with my friends and my face friends:)
Tweet me, kay?
Nanti fotonya lo aplot, abis itu lo tag gue yah?
Ngaskus dulu ah (pertamax, gan!)
Familiar sama kalimat-kalimat di atas? Jangan ngaku anak jaman sekarang kalo ngga tau.
Ngga punya Blackberry tuh hina banget tau.
Add gue di facebook ya, awas jangan sampe ngga…
Begitu tuh obrolan abege jaman sekarang. Generasi yang lebih kenal e-mail daripada pos kilat, sms daripada telegram, e-banking daripada wesel. (apaan tuh wesel? ;p)
Okelah seru, punya 1000 temen di Facebook, 200 follower di Twitter, atau sibuk mencet-mencet Blackberry baru (yang bahkan cara makenya aja belum ngeh banget). Jaman sekarang banget lah…
Tapi apa gunanya cuma punya temen ribuan di Facebook, nyatanya yang dikenal cuma kurang dari separuhnya?
Padahal kalo ketemuan, sapa-sapaan aja ngga. Wong ngga kenal kok.
Atau lebih parah. Depan-depanan, bukannya ngobrol langsung, malah chatting via MSN.
Social media itu bikin kita jadi makhluk sosial ngga sih sebenernya?
Hmm, jadi inget lagunya Saykoji.
Siang malam ku selalu, menatap layar terpaku, untuk online online, online online…
Just lately my internet has started getting personal, but in a good way, and the blame lies firmly with Facebook, you see I have been using networking sites for quite some time now and blogging for almost as long, first I used Yahoo 360 for both networking and blogging, then I tried Multiply for both but never really settled properly with either of these services. And now I think I know what one of the problems was, why I didn’t settle properly with these services, the answer has come in the form of Facebook.
I think one of the main problems I had was that although I had plenty of online “virtual” friends I never really knew them in “real life”, I had two very separate existences. I had my real life, in other words my life offline, in this life of course I have friends, family and workmates, and at the same time I had my virtual life, my life online where I had only “virtual friends”, in other words folk I only knew online and had never actually met in real life.
These two lives existed quite separately from each other, ok I had one or two friends or family join and connect with me online but it was only ever one or two, every one else was purely on these services and not real to me in many ways. I enjoyed these services to a certain extent but ultimately found them unsatisfying and unfulfilling and eventually left. The networking side of things seemed so distant and unreal, not really relevant to me and my life, I had a lot of contacts with whom I had nothing in common with, we had no common ground between us and our lives, our existences, were completely separated
The blogging side of things was no better either, my blog was only being read by the same folk, people who didn’t know me properly, people with whom I had little or nothing in common with, again it was unsatisfying. Also I found that as these services were designed to be both blogging and networking services the actual blogging side of things didn’t really suit me too well. Don’t get me wrong, both 360 and Multiply were good but they were, for me anyway, just too virtual and not relevant to my life.
I moved my blog to over here on WordPress, a dedicated blogging platform and found it much better and more suited to my purposes, as far as blogging is concerned anyway, but I was still missing the networking side of things, one that I could feel was relevant to me. Then I decided to give Facebook a try, the fact that Facebook is separate to my blog doesn’t bother me, in fact to a certain extent I like it this way, it means I have a certain amount of freedom between the two, I can post what I want from my blog to my Facebook page but stuff I’m not too fussed about having on Facebook I just don’t bother cross posting, if avid readers want to see it they only have to pop over to my blog to check if there’s something new that hasn’t been posted to Facebook, as if I have any avid readers
What I swiftly discovered about Facebook, apart from the fact that I actually quite like it, is that there are plenty of folk on it who I already know, yes I have luckily found a few of the good friends I made on those other services there on Facebook so I still have these good virtual friends as contacts, and I am making a few new virtual friends here on Facebook. I am though trying to keep it all relevant, I don’t want a friends list full of people who I don’t know and have absolutely nothing in common with, been there, done that, instead I’m mainly trying to fill my friends list with folk I do actually know, I will accept some people who I only know on Facebook but only if we have something in common, an interest, hobby or life experience.
But I have discovered much more than that. I found there are a lot of my workmates, my friends and family on as well, folk from my real life who have now become my contacts on Facebook. I love this, I can chat or make comments to folk on Facebook who I really know and really know me, I can keep in contact online with family and friends
I find Facebook far more relevant to my life and me, it means more in the context of my real life, its more personal, it also means that the folk I really know on Facebook, my work mates, friends and family are far more likely to pop over here to my blog and have a little read, meaning of course that my blog is also being read much more by people I really know now, I like this as well
My real life and my virtual life are now much more in synch, they do still exist separately but they also co-exist together, they are linked in a real way like they never have been before, I do still have some friends, some of them very good ones, who are purely online virtual friends, but I also have plenty of friends online who are friends in the flesh as well.
My internet life has indeed become much more personal now and my life in the real world now has much more of a link with my internet existence and its mainly due to Facebook, thanks Facebook
Technorati Tags: yahoo 360,multiply,Facebook,blog,wordpress,personal,relevant,virtual,real life
The first thing that gets your attention about the new INQ Mobile Mini (Launching in Singapore this Saturday, 19 September 2009), is the quirky design of the packaging.
It’s promising, as a relative newcomer into the mobile phone market, INQ Mobile sets to redefine what it means to be socially mobile, by integrating one click access from your mobile phone, to the social web. The unorthodox and eye-catching marketing makes it clear who they’re trying to target, the vibrant, connected and exciting.
After the INQ Mobile blogger event on Monday night at Supperclub, I was loaned an INQ Mobile Mini to try out for a couple of days. Now, I happen to be an iPhone user, so I’m sort of pampered when it comes to ‘one-touch’ connectivity, plus, it’s been awhile since I used a phone that had real number pads. However, it’s like riding a bike, the interface is reminiscent of any Nokia phone, and with the ’switcher’, and handy dial, it was a breeze to flip through different applications albeit a slight lag when it comes to loading time.
Connectivity The INQMobile Mini comes with integrated access to Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live Messenger.. probably some of the most used social tools on the web. At the touch of a button, you’re in touch with your contacts. But here’s where the OS goes slightly deeper, your address book is pretty much sync-ed to your Facebook account, so you’ll be able to read status updates from your address book.
I will admit I haven’t had that much time to port everything over, or try it myself, but the demo by the INQ Mobile staff at the event did a live demo, and that was pretty impressive, some of the complexity that lies beneath the supposed simplicity.
The last thing I did before returning the phone, was download a music track from the AMPed store. For this, I just clicked on the AMPed application and proceeded to scour through the music library. Now, I’m not much of a mainstream music fan, but I was quite surprised to find Athlete. Still, I guess they’re signed to a major label, so that makes sense. Anyhow, you just use the curser, click ‘buy’ go through a few more steps and you have a new song on your mobile. Pretty easy I reckon, even though I download my music the old skool way.
Overall, it’s a well designed phone with plenty of good ideas to capture a market that’s ready to stay connected. It’s no iPhone, but I don’t think that’s the point. I’m expecting a much more affordable price point that appeal to people who don’t like the iPhones and wished their phones could do more than just call and SMS. In that regard, it’s a top player.
Pros
- Good size
- Nice buttons
- Great connectivity for its class
Cons
- slightly laggish
INQMobile Roadshows!
The provider for INQMobile is Singtel , and they’re launching the INQ Mobile Mini at a roadshow from Saturday to Monday (19 – 21 September 2009) at Ngee Ann City. Details here (links to Facebook event).
You can win yourself an INQMobile Mini mobile phone by simply going down to the Pop-up store on any of the 3 days, and take part in a lucky draw. Simply state that you’re a supporter of harmless?bananas! and they’ll announce a winner at 6pm every day!
I’ll probably be going down on Sunday from 4pm – 6pm to hang out at a special blogger area. Don’t really know what to expect, but if you wanna come and chillax with me, lemme know! Get me on Twitter at @litford! Look out for details there too!
Details
Where: Ngee Ann City
When: 19 – 21 September 2009
Extra: I’ll be there, 20th September 2009 (Sunday), 4pm – 6pm to hang out!
Seguimos con noticias de Facebook…, al mismo tiempo que ha alcanzado la nada despreciable cantidad de 300 millones de usuarios, cuando hace sólamente uno año tenían 100 millones, lo que la convierte en la red social más grande el mundo, se comenta que hará oficial dentro de pocas semanas la implementación de un chat de voz de manera gradual, el cual se encuentra ahora en una beta cerrada para usuarios previamente seleccionados.
Se trata de un nuevo servicio incorporado, que trabajará como plugin, gracias a un sistema tercerizado de voz, en este caso el de la compañía estadounidense Vivox, que permitirá a cualquier usuario poder mantener una conversación hablada con cualquier amigo de su lista, incluso también realizar chats grupales . Para ello los usuarios interesados deberán adoptar la aplicación externa de Vivox manualmente, ya que no será promocionada por Facebook hasta tener un cierto número de adeptos y la certeza de buen funcionamiento.
Facebook a anuntat marti ca a ajuns la impresionanta cifra de 300 de milioane de utilizatori. Cresterea se pare ca a fost forte rapida: in 5 luni s-a ajuns de la 200 de milioane de utilizatori la 300 de milioane de utilizatori. Sa aiba oare legatura cu spam-urile care vin in casuta de email prin care “prietenii” te invita sa te alaturi acestei retele de socializare? Sigur ca… nu. Oficialii Facebook au mai anuntat de asemenea ca sunt in profit. Uite o companie exemplara care stie sa se descurce pe timp de criza.
Notizione che rassicurerà molte persone per lo più un certo Mark Zuckerberg: facebook il più popolare tra i social network esistenti ha raggiunti i 300 mln di iscritti e perciò è riuscito a chiudere il bilancio con un saldo positivo. Molti penseranno che non sia una cosa incredibile chiudere il bilancio in positivo ma non è vero, fino a questo periodo Facebook ha navigato in cattive acque perchè ha sempre avuto una condizione economica non favorevole visti gli ingenti costi degli investimenti fatti per poter realizzare e concretizzare il progetto del “Libro di Facce”.
La notizia è stata data dallo stesso CEO Zuckerberg nel blog ufficiale di Facebook dove ha pure dichiarato che hanno battuto le loro previsioni economiche che prevedevano un saldo positivo solo nel 2010 e rendendolo orgoglioso di aver creato un servizio che lega 300 mln di persone nel mondo.
Per continuare a mantenere il primato tra i social network e permetterne lo sviluppo è stata creata una versione “leggera” di Facebook utilizzabile in paesi con connessioni lente: lite.facebook.com.
Insomma Facebook dopo aver dato una ritoccata al bilancio è pronto a ripartire con nuove scommesso combattendo contro gli scetticismi dei sui detrattori. Go Facebook carry on this way
What is the effect mobile users have on social network sites. The Australian Herald Sun tells the following story. For the original article please click here.
The number of mobile phone users accessing the popular social networking websites Twitter and Facebook has exploded. Traffic on Twitter, which allows users to post short messages or “tweets” about their every move, has soared 1382 per cent worldwide in the past year. The number of Facebook users connecting with friends and posting updates about their status on mobiles has ballooned to more than 65 million people a month – and it’s growing, the Herald Sun reports. Such is the global love affair with social networking via the mobile internet, telecommunications experts and mobile phone companies believe the phenomena is changing the way we communicate on the run.
Facebook’s director of mobile, Henri Moissinac, said that since the website’s launch in 2004, Facebook membership had soared to more than 250 million. “Fifty per cent of them connect every day. That’s more than five billion minutes spent on Facebook every day,” Mr Moissinac said at a recent mobile phone conference in Stuttgart.
However, parents need to be aware that it is not safe.
Poedaphiles have a new tool to lure young children. I speak from experience as my 13 ye… (Read More) No Facebook for kids of QLD “To put things in perspective, for most of these users, they spend more time on Facebook than watching TV.” Between 2007-08, the number of people accessing the net on a mobile device surged 315 per cent. One of the biggest drivers has been Facebook. “Since 2008 our traffic has gone through the roof,” Mr Moissinac said. “Growth is not slowing down. Facebook is now becoming one of the largest mobile services in the world.” Driving this huge growth is people’s desire to connect and share the details of their lives more often. “We used to see that happen once a day on the computer, but now we see them doing it 10 or 15 times or more (via mobile),” said Mr Moissinac.
Nokia’s executive vice-president of markets, Anssi Vanjoki, said the trend has seen a burgeoning appetite for maps, restaurant recommendations and photo sharing on mobile phones. These factors were driving the business now, he said. Veteran telecommunications analyst and researcher Paul Budde said online social networking was revolutionizing mobile phone use. He said 18 months ago, an estimated 3-5 per cent of Australians used their mobile phone to perform tasks beyond voice calls and SMS messaging. That figure is now nearly 40 per cent, with the trend most prevalent among younger Australians. “They are born into it. They don’t know any other way than social networking,” said Mr Budde. “Increasingly, this will become an integral part of how we communicate.”
Hvis man har set min status tideligere i dag, eller læser wuuha.com – min kollegas Michael Nilssons blog, har man nok allerede opdaget det, men det er nu muligt at “tagge” andre i sin statusupdate på facebook.
Mere præcist, ser det sådan her ud:
Hvis man har lyst til at refere til andre, i sin update, om end det er en gruppe, en af du er fan af, eller bare en ven, benytter du blot @ og derefter går i gang med at skrive navnet, og så hopper der selv en forslagsliste op.
Smart smart, men må nok indrømme jeg synes det på en eller anden måde er plat, da det kommer direkte fra mikroblogging som f.eks. twitter og jaiku.
A story in the Brisbane Times tells of a Western Australian who has been scammed out of $1000 by a criminal who hacked into a friend’s Facebook account and hooked him with a story of desperation. The good news for him is that he got suspicious when a second demand was made, and can afford the loss. Other people might not be so lucky.
Today, Facebook added a new way of tagging. Users are now able to use tags within their statuses. As the number of social network sites grow, Facebook must have also thought there’s always room for improvement. This new feature can be used to tag your friends, groups, applications, pages, etc.
But what’s the point? Well, it’s all about staying connected. Now being more similar to Twitter, Facebook users have an easier way of connecting themselves to others. Say you’ve just updated your blog and you want to let some people know… Well, update your Facebook status with your blog’s URL and tag away. The people you tag will get notifications and will most likely be more inclined to check out your blog.
How’s it work? When you are typing in a new status, include ‘@’ and begin entering the name of whatever you’d like to tag. A drop-down menu will appear and you’ll be able to select what/who you’d like to tag. Additionally, you can tag multiple friends, groups, applications, pages, etc in one status.
Want to know more? Check out the ABC Action News online article as well as Facebook’s blog.
What do you think? Will you use this new Facebook feature to promote your stories, blogs, etc?
Eden bolj zanimivih prispevkov z RTV SLO link do originala
Facebook je ena velika zabava z veliko zabavnimi, zanimivimi ljudmi, s katerimi se z veseljem pogovorite. In potem so tu še tisti drugi ljudje – tisti, ob katerih se nakremžite, ko vkorakajo.
Ta članek, ki so ga pred kratkim objavili na CNN-u, je o teh zadnjih.
Že res, da je Facebook lahko odlično orodje za ohranjanje stikov z ljudmi, ki so vam pomembni v življenju. Vzemimo, na primer, status, sporočilce s 160 znaki, ki ga uporabniki objavijo v odgovor na vprašanje: “What’s on your mind?” (”Kaj razmišljaš?”). Izviren, duhovit ali navihan status je pravi užitek – kot majceno okno v prijateljevo življenje.
A precej več zapisov se prebira kot duhamorni izseki iz dnevnika ali, še slabše, smeti. Nedavna raziskava je kategorizirala 40 odstotkov zapisov na Twitterju kot “nepomembno blebetanje”, zato lahko sklepamo, da se tudi Facebook giblje v podobnih okvirih. Združite dolgočasne statuse z brezsramnimi samopromotorji, množičnimi zbiralci prijateljev in tistega prijateljevega prijatelja, ki vam pošilja kvize vsak dan, in Facebook kmalu postane vsakodnevni opomnik, zakaj vam gredo lahko ljudje tako na živce. Sledi 12 najnadležnejših tipov Facebookovih uporabnikov.
1. Dolgočasnež tipa “naj vam povem vse podrobnosti svojega dneva”: “Zbujam se.” “Za zajtrk sem jedel kosmiče.” “V službi. Dolgčas.” “Na morčiju.” “Obtičal v prometu.” Kako zelo fascinantno. Za nekatere ljudi ni noben trenutek preveč vsakdanji, da ga ne bi delili s svetom. Samo zato, ker imaš 432 prijateljev na Facebooku, še ne pomeni, da si vsi želimo vedeti, kdaj čakaš na avtobus.
2. Samopromotor: OK, verjetno smo se vsi na Facebooku že vsaj enkrat pobahali s svojim dosežkom. In ja, mogoče si tvoji prijatelji res želijo brati o fascinatnem članku, ki si ga napisal o letošnjem pridelku pese. A ko je skoraj VSAK status povezava do tvojega bloga, tvoje poezije, tvojega rezultata teka na 10 kilometrov ali tvoje razstave, zveniš kot bahač ali samovšečni karierist.
3. Zbiralec prijateljev: Povprečen uporabnik Facebooka ima 120 (spletnih) prijateljev. Izjemno družabni ljudje – saj veste, tisti, ki sklepajo vseživljenjska prijateljstva na podzemni – še imajo morda razlog, da jih naštejejo 300 ali 400. Ampak 1.000 “prijateljev“? Razen če si George Clooney ali če ravnokar zmagal na lotu, nima nihče toliko prijateljev. To je preprosto samo bahanje.
4. Mestni kričač: “Michael Jackson je mrtev!!!” Od mene ste izvedeli prvi! Ja, od tebe in 213.000 drugih ljudi, ki so vsi brali TMZ. Ti nadobudni raziskovalni novinarčki so razlog, da nas veliko izve udarne novice ne s televizije ali z novičarskih strani, temveč s spletnih socialnih strani. V svoji potrebi, da bi prehiteli novice, ti ljudje tudi širijo trače, polresnice in namige. Ne, Jeff Goldblum ni padel v smrt s pečine na Novi Zelandiji. 5. Tip s “preveč informacijami“: “Janez gre v lekarno, da kupi nekaj za te nadležne hemoroide.” Meje zasebnosti in dostojnosti se zdi, da ne obstajajo za te ljudi, ki delijo čisto preveč informacij s spletno skupnostjo, od podrobnosti o svojem spolnem življenju in zakonskih težavah do telesnih funkcijah. Hvala, da to delite z nami.
6. Porazni slovničarji: “Tko žalosna zarad Fare Fauset ampak vsela da je peteeeeeek, jupi”. Ja, vem, da so pravila ločil drugačna v spletnem svetu. In ne, nihče ne mara po gestapovsko s slovnico obsedenih šolnikov. Ampak zveniš kot kreten.
7. Iskalec usmiljenja: “Barbara je danes tako žalostna.” “Pa sem preživel.” “Franci bi res potreboval kakšno dobro novico.” Kot ribiči, ki lovijo ribe, ti žalostni osebki razprejo svoje mreže – polne vab meglenih tragičnih zgodb – v upu, da ujamejo zaskrbljene komentarje. Resnične slabe novice so ena stvar, ampak ti manipulativni zapisi so samo moledovanja za pozornost.
8. Prežalec: prežalci in zalezovalci na Facebooku, ti voyeurji so preveč previdni ali morda preleni, da bi obnavljali svoj status ali zapisali na vaš “zid”. A vsake toliko časa boste govorili z njimi in oni bodo omenili nekaj, kar si objavil, tako da boste vedeli, da so redni obisovalci vaše strani, skrivajoč se v sencah. Malce srhljivo.
9. Dežurna tečnoba: ti sitneži, ki bruhajo sovražne komentarje pod blogi ali članki, niso še nikdar našli ničesar, glede česar se ne bi imeli za pritoževati. “Tomo ni impresioniran nad idioti, ki ne ugotovijo, kako idiotski so.” Širi ljubezen še naprej.
10. Paparac: ste kdaj ob odprtju svoje strani Facebook odkrili, da je nekdo objavil vašo fotografijo s sinočnje zabave? Fotografijo, ki ne le, da je niste odobrili za objavo, ampak je sploh videli še niste? Res, res ne bi radi pojasnjevali svoji mami, zakaj ste škilili kot pijana hijena in po francosko zalizovali stekleničko Jägermeistra.
11. Obskurnež: “Če ne zdaj, kdaj pa?” “Boste videli …” “Jože je, majhen svet.” “Davo je mislil, da je imun, ampak ne. Ne, ni.” Oprostite, ampak niste skrivnostni – samo nesmiselni.
12. Kronični vabitelj: “Support my cause” (Podpiraj moj cilj), “Sign my petition.” (Podpiši mojo peticijo) “Play Mafia Wars with me.” (Igraj se Mafia Wars z mano) “Postani moj Farmville sosed.” “Kateri lik iz Zvezdnih stez si?” “Top 5 avtomobilov, ki sem jih imel v lasti.” “25 stvari o meni.” “Katera pijača si?” “XY je reševala kviz ‘Kateri ameriški predsednik si?’ in izvedela, da je Millard Fillmore! Kateri predsednik si ti?” Verjetno mislite dobro, a prenehajte. Samo nehajte. Ne briga me, kateri predsednik sem – ali ni dovolj, da sva samo prijatelja?
Llegué al consultorio de mi analista con la cabeza dando más vueltas que después de una resaca, y no había tomado nada. Me acosté en el diván y empecé a hablar…
-La verdad, no entiendo nada… no sé que carajo me pasa. Salí con él tres días seguidos y todo parecía maravilloso pero…
-¿Quién?
-El viajero… ¿no te había hablado de él?
-Creo que no…
-Te lo resumo. Nos conocimos por internet, en facebook. Empezamos a mandarnos mensajitos. El vivía en Brasil. Después se fue de viaje a Europa y nos seguimos mandando mensajitos. Yo ni había visto una foto, pero ni se porqué le empecé a hablar de “luna de miel”. No sé, cada día estoy más loca, C.
-Jajaja…
-Y bueno, seguimos intercambiando mensajes hasta que volvió de viaje y nos vimos. Fue raro. A primera vista no me mató pero había algo. No sé que… Pero es como que somos parecidos, como si nos entendieramos casi sin hablar. Tenemos un ritmo parecido, no se. Además es tan protector. Se la pasa diciéndome “yo te voy a cuidar, vos relajate”. Y bueno, el primer día fue raro, estuvimos mil horas juntos y yo me tenía que ir a un cumpleaños, pero igual subió a casa. y cuando estábamos por hacerlo me paró y me dijo: mejor no, no quiero que sea solo eso… Al día siguiente me llamó y volvimos a vernos. Y después de hacerlo me dice que quiere que “seamos novios”. Ya me estaba empezando a asustar, la cosa venía en serio. Pero al tercer día, me habló de irnos a vivir a Buzios, o a Londres. Y después directamente me zampa un “te quiero”. Así de una, como un baldazo de agua fría. Y yo no sabía que mierda contestarle…
-¿Y qué le dijiste?
-Nada, C. Me hice la pelotuda. Encima vino a casa y se puso a cocinarme. Pero despues en la cena no me pude callar. Me venía sintiendo incómoda, cada vez más incómoda. Y le dije: es que vos me decís cosas lindas y yo en vez de ponerme contenta me siento incómoda, no sé que contestar. Y se enojó. Y se fue. Y yo lo dejé ir. No podía hacer otra cosa, pero me siento una pelotuda!
-…
-Ay esos silencios… La cosa es que no sé que hacer. No sé si salir rajando, si seguir probando si…
-Sí sabés…
-Sí, pero me asusta…
-No seas cagona. -dijo C. y dió por terminada la sesión.
Salí a la calle con la cabeza dando más vueltas que antes de entrar. C. tenía razón. No podía perder una oportunidad solo por miedo, de última ya tendría tiempo para arrepentirme. Llegué hasta mi casa, agarré el celular pero no me animé a llamarlo. Entonces le escribí un mensaje de texto. Lo pensé un rato. ¿Qué poner? Escribí y borré varios mensajes, no me salían las palabras y todo me parecía demasiado rebuscado. Así que resumí. Escribí:
Facebook Lite adı verilen yeni arayüz son dönemin trendi microblogging konseptine yakınlaşmış bir şekilde karşımıza çıkıyor.
FriendFeed’i satın alarak Twitter’a ihtar çeken Facebook bu gelişme ile nereye gideceğini de açıkça göstermişti. Bu birliktelikle FriendFeed’de başlayan yenilikleri Facebook etkisi olarak yorumlamıştık ancak, elbette FriendFeed ekibinin Facebook merkezine taşınması da Facebook tarafında yeniliklerin habercisiydi. Yeni Facebook Lite duyurulmadan önce Facebook yeni bir özelliği de açıkladı. Daha önce aşina olduğumuz @ sembolüyle kişilere yönelik bildirim yapma stilini etiketleme ile birleştiren Facebook, Twitter’ımtrak bir şekilde kişisel iletileri daha dinamik hale getirmiş ancak Twitter’da olduğu gibi @ işareti iletinizi yazdıktan sonra görülmüyor ve kişilerin yanısıra fan sayfalarını, etkinlikleri vs. de etiketleyebiliyorsunuz. Fotoğraf etiketlemede olduğu gibi bunda da ilgili kişi tarafından etiketleme kaldırılabiliyor. Ancak bu özelliği kullanmak için biraz beklemek gerekiyor. Yeniliği sadece ileti paylaşımını aktifleştirmek üzerine yapmayan Facebook, eski yoğun sayfalarından kurtulmuş ve tasarımını da yenilemiş. Google gibi daha büyük ve okunması kolay yazı stili seçen Facebook’un yeni tasarımı oldukça basit bir yapıya kavuşmuş.
Aslında kısa süre önce mesaj kutusu sayfasının tasarımının değişmiş olması bunun bir işaretiydi ama mesaj sayfasında da küçük bir değişiklik yapılmış. Her sayfada sadeliği yansıtan yeni Facebook, eski kalabalıktan kendini kurtararak güzel bir açılım yapmış oldu.
Önce uygulama, sonra video çöplüğüne dönüşen Facebook, üyelerinin aktif olmasını sağlayacak son haliyle sanırım en çok tuttuğum şeklini aldı. Yeni özellikleri arasına şehre göre aramayı da ekleyen Facebook’un stratejisi sanırım üyelerine her trendi kendi içinde yaşatmak olarak kurgulanmış.
Lite versiyonun ilk adımı olan bu özelliğin ardından Amerika’da aktif olarak hayata geçen yeni Facebook arayüzüne dil seçimini İngilizce yaparak ulaşmak mümkün. Siz de denemek için hemen dil seçeneğinizi İngilizce yaparak http://lite.facebook.com adresini ziyaret edin! Kullanıcı geri dönüşlerini almak için reklamlarını seferber eden Facebook gibi biz de sizin yorumlarınızı bekliyoruz. ZAMAN
Baru-baru ini, situs jejaring sosial terpopuler di dunia, Facebook, mengeluarkan versi “ringan”-nya yang diberi nama Facebook Lite. Awalnya, Facebook Lite hanya diluncurkan di Amerika Serikat dan India saja untuk melihat reaksi publik di sana akan kehadiran Facebook Lite. Setelah mendapat respon yang cukup positif dari sampel di sana, akhirnya Facebook Lite diluncurkan secara meluas ke seluruh dunia.
Versi baru dari Facebook ini mengutamakan kesederhanaan, kecepatan, dan keefektifan. Beberapa fitur seperti chatbox dan aplikasi-aplikasi ditiadakan. Facebook Lite ini memang didedikasikan kepada negara-negara yang punya keterbatasan dalam akses internet.
Kemunculan Facebook Lite adalah bentuk adaptasi dari Facebook untuk membuat situs mereka agar dapat lebih diterima oleh masyarakat. Dalam hal ini, banyak pendapat yang mengatakan bahwa tindakan ini dilakukan dengan berkaca dari apa yang telah dilakukan Twitter, sebuah situs layanan microblogging yang dengan cepat melesat menjadi salah satu situs jejaring sosial yang banyak disukai sejak pelucurannya.
Pada umumnya, yang bisa dilakukan di Twitter hanya satu: menjawab pertanyaan “Apa yang sedang kaulakukan?”. Seiring berjalannya waktu, akhirnya Twitter berkembang dan kini orang-orang bisa saling me-reply tweet (yang lama kelamaan makin terlihat seperti chat), me-Retweet (menyebarkan ulang tweet orang lain), sampai akhirnya muncul apa yang dinamakan Trending Topics (topik terhangat yang sedang dibicarakan di Twitter pada saat itu). Yang dilakukan di Twitter hanyalah sesimpel itu. Kita memperbaharui status terbaru kita sambil sesekali menjawab status orang lain, menengok status mereka, atau mengintip topik obrolan terhangat yang sedang berlangsung di seluruh dunia. Dengan segala kesederhanaannya, Twitter sukses menasbihkan diri sebagai penyedia update berita terbaik bagi penggunanya yang aktif. Untuk mereka yang aktif, Twitter memberitahu lebih cepat dari yang diberitakan televisi atau situs internet lainnya.
Selain itu Twitter menjadi situs yang digemari selebriti. Di Twitter, tidak dikenal istilah friend atau teman, yang ada hanyalah follower atau pengikut. Tidak perlu menjalin hubungan timbal-balik untuk mengetahui perkembangan status dari seseorang. Para selebriti merasa sangat nyaman dengan hal tersebut. Mereka bisa berkomunikasi satu arah dengan para fans mereka lewat Twitter sambil sesekali memberi respon terhadap tweet-tweet mereka. Sebuah hubungan yang sangat hangat.
Semua kesuksesan Twitter itu hanya disadari oleh satu hal: kesederhanaan. Memang benar Twitter tidak menyediakan layanan untuk mengunggah foto, video, tautan, atau menulis blog panjang seperti semua yang disediakan Facebook. Apalagi menyediakan fasilitas chat yang realtime atau aplikasi-aplikasi menarik yang sarat dengan kebutuhan akan bandwith yang besar. Tidak, Twitter tidak memiliki semua itu. Akan tetapi, fakta berbicara bahwa sebagian dari pengguna internet tidak memerlukan semua itu.
Kesederhanaan itulah yang akhirnya menjadi perbedaan paling mendasar antara Facebook dan Twitter. Facebook menyediakan hampir semua fitur yang ada di setiap situs jejaring sosial sementara Twitter hanya memegang konsistensi mereka dalam mempertanyakan setiap orang dengan pertanyaan yang masih sama: “Apa yang kaulakukan?”. Sekilas terlihat bahwa apa yang dilakukan di Twitter sebenarnya juga dapat dilakukan di Facebook juga. Namun, untuk sekedar memperbaharui status, apakah kita musti memasuki situs yang sangat “berat” dan dipenuhi fitur-fitur yang tidak terlalu kita perlukan? Di situlah peran Twitter. Karena ada kondisi di mana pengguna internet tidak membutuhkan sebagian besar fitur yang ada di sana.
Masyarakat zaman sekarang suka dengan kecepatan. Segala yang memberikan akses termudah, tercepat, dan ternyamanlah yang bakal mereka pilih. Twitter seringkali unggul dalam hal-hal tersebut dibanding Facebook.
Kini Facebook Lite muncul. Bagaikan kain basah yang dikompres, semuanya kini menjadi sangat ringan, cepat, dan nyaman dipandang mata. Chatbox dan aplikasi-aplikasi yang seringkali dianggap tidak penting dihilangkan. Facebook Lite membuat imej “berat” yang melekat di Facebook menjadi hilang. Lalu apakah berarti bahwa ini adalah akhir dari era Twitter?
Facebook memberikan sebuah surat tantangan yang cukup serius kepada Twitter. Seperti yang pernah dilakukan Mac dan Google kepada Microsoft. Teknologi berkembang dengan sangat dinamis, terutama teknologi informasi. Dan yang bisa bertahan hanyalah mereka yang benar-benar bisa mengakali segala kondisi ini.
Lagi-lagi seleksi alam bekerja. Hanya yang kuat yang bisa bertahan. Dan kecerdikan mereka benar-benar sedang diuji sekarang. Jadi, siapa yang bakal menang di perang kali ini?
I think I’m done with Twitter. I don’t see the point. I love the concept, it is remarkable that it emerged well after Facebook, and still had glory days. It has taught us to keep things down to 140 characters.
I used the Twitter widget on a blog of mine. But the damn thing wouldn’t work as it must. Sometimes, in fact, a lot many times, my tweets wouldn’t show up and the odd time, the blog wouldn’t load fully because twitter’d crashed.
But I’ll be logging into Twitter every once in a while to check out David Loyd’s updates at http://twitter.com/BumbleCricket
Funny old man he is. I follow a couple of other cricketers too, Swann, Anderson, Huges, Tufnell, Jason etc.It is great to hear from them in between cricket.
So off with the widget, I’ll follow these blokes and preserve my account in case I get famous.
Facebook recently rolled out a new web app called “Facebook Lite.” This app is targeted towards users with slow internet connection (does dial-up still exist?) PCMag.com reports that this version is only available in India and the U.S. but Facebook is certainly going for a more global rollout — soon. Facebook’s analysis of its users place 70 percent to be residing outside the United States.
Facebook Lite adalah FB yang hanya dapat digunakan untuk update status dan tidak tersedia fitur yang lain. Hampir mirip dengan Twitter. Apabila Anda hanya hobi update status maka versi ini lebih cocok dan ringan.
Sejatinya baru tersedia bagi pengguna di Amerika. Namun apabila ingin mencoba silakan masuk ke http://lite.facebook.com.
Saat mencoba dengan Opera Mini setiap masuk akan menuju versi mobilenya. Sehingga belum tes fitur selengkapnya.
Joe Wilson is the Republican who yelled “you lie!” at Barack Obama – The President of the United States. Joe Wilson has sky-rocketed from number 516587 in the list of people I don’t like – to the top 10 (haven’t decided where yet). Anyway – check out www.joewilsonisyourpreexistingcondition.com (or click on the picture below) to read the absolute honest-to-God truth about Joe Wilson.
Despite the fact that some people find my recent preoccupation with Farmville amusing, the traffic to my original series of blog posts on the Personal Economics of Farmville has been extremely high. This isn’t surprising given the incoming links from the Zynga Blog and the Wall Street Journal.
Here are the quick links to my first three posts:
The Personal Economics of Farmville
The Personal Economics of Farmville, Part 2
More Farmville Economics
Well everyone knows that bloggers can’t resist traffic, so as a result, I thought I’d add a fourth post to the series, highlighting some of the insights into the economic value of Farmville experience points.
It all started with the analysis I presented in the second post, which modified the profitability matrix for each Farmville crop by adding an economic value for Experience. Here is a snippet:
The question is, how do you blend the value of experience and coins? The truth is, the function for valuing experience is probably too complicated to get right.
However, I did find a simplistic proxy. 1 experience point = 15 coins.
Why? Well, it turns out you can just sit there, plow a square for 15 coins, and get 1 experience point. You can then delete the square and do it again. So at least, in theory, you can “buy” an infinite supply of experience points for 15 coins each.
Boy, did that start a firestorm. It turns out, there is a well-worn analysis that says that Farmville experience is actually worth 10 coins. Why? If you plow a square of land (-15 coins, +1 XP) and plant soybeans (-15 coins, +2 XP) and then delete, you spend a total of 30 coins, and you get +3 XP. Thus 30/3 = 10 coins / XP.
It’s a more complicated series, and it ignores the liquidity issue of requiring the purchase of 3 XP at a time, not 1 XP, but it’s a pretty good proxy for the “cheapest” way to buy experience.
The more I thought about this, however, the more dissatisfied I became with the answer. The reason? It ignores the incredible time cost of those set of actions:
Click the plow tool.
Click the square.
Click the market tool
Navigate dialog, click soybeans.
Click the square
Click delete tool
Click the square
Select “Accept” from the “Are you sure” dialog
Ugh. For 3XP. Can you imagine trying to get 4500 XP this way? I can’t.
As a result, I’m even going to invalidate my original 15 coin / XP assumption. In fact, you’ll notice that for truly painless actions, like buying a building, the number of XP gained is typically 1/100 the price of the item. For example, when you pay 250,000 coins for a log cabin, you also get 2500 XP.
I think this effectively bounds the range of the value of XP. Clearly, it’s worth more than 1/100 of a coin, because you ALSO get the log cabin, which is a pretty snazzy farm improvement. It’s also clearly more than 1/10, because the time cost of that process is clearly extracting value beyond the coins.
So, value of XP is:
0.01 coins < 1 XP < 0.1 coins
I’m guessing the value of XP is close to 20 coins. A haybale is only 100 coins, and it gives you 5 XP. Since a haybale is a pretty negligible improvement, you can assume that most of the price is actually for XP. So, that would bound the range even tighter:
0.2 coins < 1 XP < 0.1 coins
Now, I know what you are going to say: “You can sell the haybale for 5 coins, making it even cheaper!”. The problem there is that now you have to go through the delete process, with the confirmation dialog. Ugh. I’m trying to avoid that work.
In fact, my analysis is still missing a “cost” for the implicit clutter a haybale creates on your farm. You have a limited amount of space, so the “price” of a haybale is really:
Cost of haybale = 100 coins + MIN((time cost to delete haybale – 5 coins), opportunity cost of lost 1/16 of a square of land)
Maybe in a future post I’ll explore the opportunity cost of clutter in more detail. It’s certainly the thing that would prevent you from literally filling your field with haybales to buy experience. (Interestingly, Farmville just rolled out an improvement today that lets you buy haybales continuously!)
Finally, I have to share a tip that was posted on one of my earlier articles that has represented the single largest improvement in my Farmville quality of life:
If you “fence in” your farmer, then Farmville will harvest, plow, seed a square immediately, without waiting for the farmer to walk to it.
I was skeptical of this advice at first, but I tried it this weekend, and it speeds planting a large farm by AT LEAST 50%. I use ducks to “fence in my farmer”. I keep several in a box at the edge of my farm, and first thing I do is walk the farmer into the box. I then move one duck to close the trap, and boom, 15 minutes added back to my life.
