Facebook, the ever so popular social networking site, which is known for its ease to find out what your friends are up to recently came under fire by its users again. This time Facebook is being criticized by users for its new feature, called Beacon posts where users visit on the web and do online shopping.

Annie Kadala, a 23-year old student at the University of North Carolina in an interview with the New York Times said, “Just because I use a Web site, doesn’t mean I want to tell my friends about it.”

According to Lousie Story and Brad Stone of the New York Times, in the last 10 days, more than 50,000 Facebook members have signed a petition objecting to the new program.

Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research said, “Beacon crosses the line to being Big Brother.”

"Facebook executives say the people who are complaining are a marginal minority," said Story and Stone. "With time, Facebook says, users will accept Beacon, which Facebook views as an extension of the type of book and movie recommendations that members routinely volunteer on their profile pages."

Battle for speed

As of now telephone and cable companies have been neutral with their service to online companies, but this may not be the case soon. Groups have been lobbying to create a hierarchy system similar to the airplane seating system. The more a company pays the higher up they will be and the faster a user will be able to use that companies material.

On the other side, companies like Yahoo and Amazon have been lobbying to have a "network neutrality" law and regulations to be written up. Both sides have their reasons. Telephone companies say the priority system would create more competition, which in turn would lower prices for telephone and television services. They say they aren't getting very little for their services.

"They don't have any fiber out there. They don't have any wires. . . . They use my lines for free -- and that's bull," said AT&T Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr . "For a Google or a Yahoo or a Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes for free is nuts!''

Online companies defend their side stating the internet has always been a neutral venue.

"If carriers are able to control what consumers do on the Internet, that threatens the model of Internet communications that has been wildly successful," said Alan Davidson, Washington policy counsel for Google.

The other side of Google

Everyone loves the convenience of search engines. You can search for anything imaginable and collect information you are interested in. However, not many people know how much information search engines are collecting on the people using their services. "It's only a matter of time before other attorneys realize that a person's entire search history is available for the asking, and the subpoenas begin to fly," said CNet News staff writer Declan McCullagh. As of now there is nothing preventing a search engine from collecting information from its users since the last legislation, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act was passed in 1986, before search engines were in existence. Search engines are free to collect and retain information and attorneys have few obstacles preventing them from obtaining that information said McCullagh.

Another very funny man, Dana Carvey. Here he is talking about politics on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Spoof, Spam, Lurk and Lag

Here are some more terms used in the conversational world of the web. They are spoof, spam, lurk and lag. In her paper "Spoof, Spam, Lurk and Lag: the Aesthetics of Text-based Virtual Realities" Lee-Ellen Marvin describes these saying, " briefly, "spoof" is unattributed communication, "spam" is an excess of communication, "lurk" is a refusal to communicate, and "lag" is a mechanical delay of communication. These expressions are used as verbs ("He spoofed! And then I was lagging.") or as nouns ("I was hit with lots of spam and there was a lurker in our midst.") There are no positive expressions in the jargon which correlate with these negative terms. The observed use of these expressions shows that they are not only used to describe technical problems but are regularly used to metaphorically describe social, cognitive, and emotional experiences."

The web has created a whole new vocabulary for people to learn

Converstaional Terrorism

Have you ever sent an e-mail to a person and said something that was a bit malicious or have been a low blow tho the receiver? This is becoming known as conversational terrorism.

My favorites are the heat seeking phrases, which Dean and Marshall VanDruff of vandruff.com describe as "throw[ing] the other person's competence in doubt while at the same time changing the subject. A question is asked that the other person is not likely to know the answer to, destroying their credibility and confidence. To really rub it in, the questioner can give a full answer to his/her own question proving that him/herself to have superior knowledge of the subject."

It is all a war of words out there on the e-mail and instant message fronts these days.

Linkbombs

Google is always thought to bring up in a search what deemed as most relevant and accurate information, but this is not always the case. What is known as "linkbombs" are appearing in a lot of google searches. A linkbomb is setup to bring up the worst information possible in a search. For example, if a person searches for a political candidate instead of unbiased information showing up in the search, political propaganda portraying the candidate negatively will appear in the search results.

Portfolio

Now that I've started to create some decent material I need to start creating a portfolio. That way I can show the world how decent I really am.

I should include:
All my press releases and copies of all the new media they have generated.
Any brochures, visual material of promotional events, etc that I have put on
My resume

My target audience should be potential employers.

This is crazy

Two Korean boys schools cheer for their soccer teams creating human LCD screens and they do it all with their shirts, not cards like you would expect

This is an advertisement I made in my Photoshop class.

This is not a real advertisement for travelturkey.com
(But, if you want to check out their site click here)

I love this video, Bobby Lee is Hilarious!

Online Profiles

I recently have heard a lot about Facebook and Myspace profiles and the effects they have on professional networking.

According to Michelle Jarboe a staff writer for News-record.com, jobs are being won and lost daily on online social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace. In her article, "Job hunters, what's in your online profile?," potential employers are starting to look past the primped and primed resumes and portfolios and to online profiles of their potential hires.

Jarboe says, "Students' online profiles, some experts say, are arguably better representations of an applicant's life. They're not polished for hiring, and they're rarely vetted or controlled by parents or career counselors."

I think this is true. If I ran a reputable company, I would what to know what kind of people I was hiring. What better way than to find a raw view into someone's life.

I have a Facebook profile and it is great, but it is interesting to think that it could make or break a potential job.

First Blog

Well, I've never blogged before and never thought I would, but now here I am writing my first blog. Well that's all for now. When I think of something else smart to say I will write it down.