Bothfeef's Weblog

Positive facebook application

bothfeef — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:47:14 +0000

Most applications on facebook seem to be more to less pointless. I receive offers all the time to “be a vampire,” or “be a superfriend”. I find these requests really annoying and a bit childish. However, according to this article, facebook now has an application that allows the non-profit take all people (TAT) to find people to donate blood. When there is a shortage, they can find people with specific blood types and ask them to donate blood. There are many positive aspects of facebook, I found this article very interesting and the TATs idea of utilizing facebook constructive. Hopefully, there will be more applications like this in the coming future.

Virtual Events do’s and don’ts

bothfeef — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:19:47 +0000

This article discusses the growing popularity of virtual events — so much so that Guy Piekarz has written a list of do’s and don’ts for virtual events. Admittedly, I used to be a avid computer gamer. I was on a team for a game called Tribes in which we would have nightly practices and matches against other teams. We had to acknowledge the time differences so we could set a time when everyone on the team could play. I have also had to plan a virtual event. Every year I run a fantasy basketball league. At the start of the season, I have to schedule a time when everyone can draft a team online through yahoo. It is more difficult than you would think. Finding a time when 10 people can all be in front of a computer with a reliable internet connection is challenging. One of Guy’s “do’s” is to never stop promoting the event. I do this with fantasy basketball as I never stop talking trash about how good my team is going to be etc.My parents are both fortunate enough to work from home. It would be really nice if virtual event increase their popularity to the point that we could all do work from home.

Radio represents a wave of hope in Korea

bothfeef — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:42:22 +0000

According to this article, Free North Korea Radio is becoming increasingly tuned into by North Koreans. The station is located in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea does not allow its citizens to tune into radio frequencies that it does not approve of. FNKR broadcasts world news to North Koreans, who do not usually get to listen to these things. Kim Seong Min, the leader of the station, defected from North Korea after he found the frequency to the station. He learned of all the lies that Kim Jong II had been saying and became convinced that it was time for him to leave the country. The station only broadcasts for three hours a day late at night when Kim Min believes most people would be able to tune in. In the future, it will be increasingly difficult to hide information from people with the internet and other methods of communication like this. In my opinion, technology is increasing so fast that governments will have a difficult time regulating the information.

Pakistan and Youtube

bothfeef — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:26:22 +0000

According to this article, Pakistani officials have allowed youtube.com to be available to Pakistan after they briefly banned the website last Friday. Officials banned the website because of a blasphemous video featuring a Dutch lawmaker that made Islam look Fascist. This incident reminds me of a few years back when a Dutch cartoonist portrayed Mohammad as an evil terrorist. These incidents, which are involved with media, shows how sensitive some Muslims are towards western countries portrayal of Islam. With the development and continued popularity of the internet, I would imagine that there will be tons of offensive portrayals of Islam. I would wonder what the rates of internet usage are in the Middle East compared to Western countries. I feel like the Internet is more connected to Western Ideology.

Phishing

bothfeef — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:15:39 +0000

Tobacco sales being regulated online

bothfeef — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:15:24 +0000

According to this article, a law in Maine that allowed sites to tax internet sales of tobacco has been tossed out. They did this in efforts to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors. By ordering off the internet, minors could easily acquire tobacco products. I find this news interesting because it points out the difficulty that our society is having in regulating the internet. The technology of the internet and digital technology is increasing at a pace that our policies cannot keep up with. That being said, im going to smoke a cigarette.

Phishing

bothfeef — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:07:33 +0000

I have an account on hotmail, and recently I noticed an icon the gave me the opportunity to report “phishing”. I knew it was not related to the band, and thus I was confused. According to this article, “Phishing occurs when fraudulent e-mails that appear to be from a legitimate source are sent in an effort to obtain sensitive information from a user”. We all get annoying junk mail, and apparently thieves are starting to use junk mail as a method of obtaining information to rob banks. The article says that of the 20 companies that are targeted most by phishers, 19 of those are banking companies. The phishers steal the victims log in information, and then empty their bank account. I think this news symbolizes the transition to the dependency of digital technology to do business. No longer are these the days where robbers carry pistols and ride horses, instead they are nerds typing in html code.

The Surge of Web Advertising

bothfeef — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:55:25 +0000

According to this article, the amount of money spent on web advertising has exceeded $21 Billion for 2007. I find that this statistic represents the shift of media to the web. Newspapers are starting to really struggle because the decreasing revenue from advertising. Users are depending more and more on the internet for news. The internet is a resource for infinite information. As a result, and increasing amount of money is being invested into the internet. I am really interested in seeing how the dynamic between news from the internet and newspapers changes. Most newspapers now have websites where one can access all of the paper’s stories.

Facebook as the future of search

bothfeef — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:33:08 +0000

This article comments on how the author was looking for a recipe and found it on facebook rather than searching for it through google. This is exactly what facebook wants. Mark Zuckerberg has previously said that he wants facebook.com to be the basis for the whole internet. While at the library today, I saw someone chatting on AIM through facebook.com rather than a separate application. It will be interesting to see how the internet develops in the next few years.

Searching computers at airports?

bothfeef — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 04:29:29 +0000

This article from CNN.com talks about how airport officials have been searching laptop computers during security screening. In my mind, when does this stop? Are they also allowed to search iPods, iPhones, or Blackberries. All of those devices may have information that is similar to that found on computers (iPhones basically are computers). One point in the article is that the advancements of technology have really left law in the dust. No one really know how to monitor these crazy new technologies. A spokesman for Homeland Security, Russ Knocke, even said, “You forgo your right to privacy when you seek admission into this country.”I understand that we need to be careful with terrorism and whatnot, but at what point is enough enough?