Facebook, We Forgive You

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/09/facebook-expert-if-youre-scared-about-privacy-stop-over-sharing.html

I remember, halfway through the first semester of college this year, when Facebook made some serious changes and everyone absolutely lost it- including myself. It was harder to understand, things weren't done effectively, posts weren't able to be found easily and friends weren't really visible and it all quite frankly just seemed wrong. Therefore, when Facebook started to integrate the new 'timeline' format of homepages, I have to admit I was nervous. Who knew how upset the new Facebook would make the public this time? I switched, though, and have to say... I love it. According to the bloggers at the LA Times in this article, I'm not the only one, either. People love it- it's easy to follow, the rest of Facebook didn't change with it, and it gives your homepage a sentimental value that had been missing beforehand. I took some screenshots of it to show you, too-

this is how the timeline can be looked at- it goes as far back as you've had an account. You can view old statuses, see who you were friends with, and look at photos people posted to your wall. Here, my computer is loading the highlights from 2008.

This picture, on the other hand, is what the new homepage looks like. With background banner photo capabilities and less room for background info, more room for posts, people can now keep in touch with a person in a much more logical fashion.

This is an extension of the picture above- rather than looking at my homepage, this is the new and improved 'About Me' section.

A Look at Censorship...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/nov/01/governments-must-not-censor-internet


My Mass Communications professor gave me an essay: 

"Write an essay developing the concepts behind media regulation. Provide a specific example."

At a loss, I Googled 'media regulation'. The first five pages of results? China. China and TV, China and the Internet... it seems that China's not handling the advent of social media well. One concept that I found highly improbable that was proposed? International Regulation of the Internet. Say what? I looked it up, and found this- according to the UK newspaper 'The Guardian', China's not the only one wanting to regulate the internet. Russia's on the bandwagon, too. In this article, British Parliament's Foreign Secretary William Hague is arguing against this- which I agree with. He states that the internet shouldn't be regulated for a multitude of reasons- namely, our privacy and our freedom of speech. He mentions the idea of cooperation, citing that 'cultural differences are not an excuse to water down human rights'. Fundamental issue? I certainly think so.

In a conference fabricated and created by Hague, The London Conference on Cyberspace, hundreds of internet users and influential member of the cyberspace society got together and discussed the future of the global economy, culture accommodation, and what potential regulations might be necessary. For almost three weeks, the problems posed by the advent of social media were speculated about by people from almost 25 different countries, giving countless cultures and opinions a voice in the matter. The common consensus? Internet needs to be monitored- for such a rapidly growing industry, countless problems and dangers could and will arise- but regulation? Sorry, China. That's a bit much.

Siri says she's smarter than the average human...

http://mashable.com/2011/10/21/teach-siri-how-to-say-your-name/#30851Siri-Pronunciation-Training-All-Done


For the most part, my name is easy enough to pronounce. Cat. Marie. Silverman. Right? Still, coming from a huge, international city, I know plenty of people who both a) have highly unpronounceable names and b) can't pronounce names themselves, no matter how hard they try. Apple's digital personal assistant droid Siri, though, seems to have no such troubles. According to the article I found,  Apple created a place in your address book where you can, quite literally, teach Siri how to pronounce your name. As this article shows you step-by-step, you put your name as phonetically as possible under the 'phonetic name' tab of your address book information, and she will automatically use that pronunciation before the one she would have automatically used based on the actual spelling.

As exciting as that is, though, Siri herself is exciting enough for me. I discovered her while studying with a friend. He kept trying to talk to me, and I kept shushing him and reminding him gently to do his part of the research- so he pulls out his phone.

'Siri, will you say hi to someone for me?' he asks. I glance over, alarmed at the fact that my comrade seems to be quite possibly losing it. Who is Siri- certainly not me. Has he named his iPhone? Is there a reason to name his iPhone? Better yet, though, even if she has a name- why is he talking to her (him? it?!) as though she's an animate object that can respond? As I'm thinking this, though, I hear-

'Yes, Gary. Who would you like me to say hi to?'

Wait. What?? That was crazy. The phone just spoke! Gary grinned at my face. 'Say hello to Cat, Siri.'

'Hello, Cat. Would you like me to send Cat a text or an email of this message?'

Gary requested a text, and Siri pulled open his messages, opened my contact, typed out 'Hello, Cat'... and sent me the message. It was fascinating. This isn't all Siri can do interactively, though. You can open contacts,  text them, email them, call them, or set appointments with them- that are texted or emailed to them based on your preference, and then added to your own appointment calendar. You can open apps, select songs, hold a conversation, ask questions, or hear a story... should you be so inclined. Well done, Steve Jobs. Truly- well done. And the best part, planet? Siri's not only useful, but she can pronounce anything. Want more information on Siri or the iPhone 4S? Go ahead and visit Apple's website- I'll post the link below.

http://www.apple.com/

Waiting for my Train to come...

http://www.mta.info/countdwn_clocks.htm

As someone who makes the almost daily commute from Queens to Manhattan for work, nothing is more aggravating than having no idea whether or not the train is two seconds away, or if it left two seconds before I descended the steps onto the platform. This is aggravating, irritating, and causes me to be one of those millions of pedestrians who does the train-wait lean. You know what I'm talking about- you step so close to the platform that falling onto the infamous third rail actually passes through your mind as a possibility, you lean waaaaay over, you peer down the dark tunnel, and you will the train to appear. This is incredibly dangerous, but you're running late and you quite frankly don't give a damn. The MTA (Metro Transit Authority, New York) realizes this, though, and are taking steps to make things easier for you. You might have seen the countdown clocks in the subway stations. Maybe? No? They haven't all been put in yet, but according to the MTA website, these clocks that show when the next train is arriving, the number train, and its destination will be put into a projected 167 stops along the numbered train lines, as well as the N, Q, and R stations, by December of 2011. Get excited, guys! These tickers show you the trains, which track you need on multi-level stations, the ETA of the next two to four arrivals, whether it's local or express, and informs you of any delays or track changes.


Don't take any of the numbered trains? Don't worry- most of my commute involves the F, so I feel your pain. The MTA has proposed putting tickers in those in the near future, too- for now, they've just wired the clocks to signal when the train is coming. Still, they're improving every day- thank god for public transport.

You know we all want the iPhone 5...

http://www.iphonestuffs4u.com/iphone-5-release-date-and-features/

Therefore, we're all speculating like crazy. It's kind of a touchy subject, what with the passing of Steve Jobs... but you know we're all still speculating. It's harder to speculate about the actual features at this point, according to the article I read. The iPhone 4s, while nothing mind-blowing like we all hoped the 5 would be, has an 8mp camera and a sleek new body design. What could the iPhone 5 have, then? We have no idea. I, personally, hope it has a longer battery life and a way to wirelessly connect to things like my kindle, my iPad, etc. The point of the article, though, is that now we have absolutely no idea WHEN the iPhone 5 will come out, for a multitude of reasons-


First, it's hard to gauge how long the iPhone 4s is going to sell well. On the plus side, it's got the camera, which is a phenomenal addition to the phone- I know a friend with a Droid that has that good a camera, and we all adore it. If the 4s sells well for a while, there will be no need to introduce the 5 for at least a year. If not, though, people might lose hope in the Apple name, and stocks might plummet. It's going to be a tough call, sales over credibility... Apple's a little lost without Jobs, for every obvious reason. In addition, Apple tends to only introduce one new product in a certain time span, and speculators have reasoned that the third iPad is set to come out in March 2012. If the 5 comes out too closely to either the iPad 3 or whatever is speculated to replace the MacBook, sales for all products involved might not sell as well. After all, we can only afford so many Apple products a month, right? Regardless of the reasons for and against the 5 coming out next year, though, people have reasoned that sometime before 2012 is over, we should all have a new type of iPhone firmly wedged in our jeans pockets. Any thoughts? I think it makes sense... and I think it makes me happy.

Gears of War- why I'm obsessed

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/119/1194638p1.html

I didn't want to play video games, ever. For anyone who knows me, this makes sense. I love to write, I love to run, I love to shop. Why would I play a video game when there's the real world to live in? My friend was playing Gears of War 3 a few weeks ago when I spent the night, though, and I ended up watching the game... and then cheering it on... and next thing I knew, it was six hours later and I was kind of hooked. Reviews say that this isn't uncommon... GOW3 got incredibly high reviews. It's addicting, it's bloody, it's corny, it's primal and carnal and theatrical like you wouldn't believe. There's a weak storyline, but there's so much intricacy and excitement that it doesn't end up mattering too much.



You should try playing... fight to the end, overthrow the government of chaos, and don't get killed. Oh, did I mention the aliens?

Steve Jobs and what we've missed.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/8-things-didn-t-know-life-steve-jobs-172130955.html


So, it's obviously no longer news to any of us that Steve Jobs passed away last week. We sat there in shock and watched Dateline, we teared up when discussing it in class, we thought about it every time we opened up our Macbooks... but what might be news to us are the parts of Steve Jobs' life that people didn't always think about- the parts of his life that had absolutely nothing to do with Apple.

First interesting fact- while some of us knew that Jobs was adopted, it was news to me that his biological father was a Syrian- I personally never would have guessed that Jobs was part Arab. I personally think this is rather cool, since I'm mostly Turkish- power to the darker haired and not always remembered nationalities! Secondly, we all hear about how Jobs dropped out of college. Like Edison and Einstein, we use this as a sign of his higher genius- 'I heard Steve Jobs dropped out of college. It just wasn't challenging enough for him! He's so brilliant'. This is true. The facts behind the dropout, though? The college- Reed College in Portland, Oregon. The duration of his college education? One semester. The reason for the dropout? Not lack of intellectual stimulation, actually. Quite the contrary- Jobs cited his reason for dropping out as being the steep tuition costs.

Another thing you might not know about Jobs- he and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak worked for Atari back when Pong was first being developed. Jobs reportedly lied to Wozniak about the payout they received for their developments, though, and only handed over $375 of the $5k they were given. This is one of a few facts about Jobs that show him in a less idolistic light- he was human, after all. He made mistakes, both with work and with his partnership. One relationship he seemed to have no public mistakes to leave behind with, though, was the one with his wife, Laurene Powell. They met while she was receiving her masters at Stanford, and the rest is history. Not every relationship he had was as perfect and romantic, though. In 1978, Jobs and his high school girlfriend had a daughter who Jobs denied paternity of until she was in high school. He went on to pay for her Harvard education, but had even gone as far as to claim sterility in court documents predating the mended relationship with her mother, his ex. He also at one point was reported to have had a brief fling with folk singer Joan Baez, and officially dated Diane Keaton before meeting wife Laurene.

Human. Jobs. Love him, hate him, remember him... I sure will.

Facebook... Really now?

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/22/decided-report-facebook-users-incensed-over-updates/

Facebook, you're failing us.
Honestly, every time Facebook changes, we all bitch and moan. We whine, we post a status or two about it, and we move on. But this time, 'too many changes, too fast' and the similarities to Google+ are upsetting people on a bigger scale... to the point where I actually found an entire article covering it on the Fox News website. Citing the way people are 'incensed' over the new updates, Facebook should take note...

9/13/2011: 'Harness Twitter, Change the World'

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/harness-twitter-change-the-world/2011/09/05/gIQANzKL4J_story.html

Claire Ortiz, a social innovation leader for Twitter, Inc, wrote this article to show readers how easily they can tweet their way to fame, fortune, or social justice. Twitter, a social networking site based off 'tweets' about what someone is doing at a given moment, started out as a way for people to keep in contact and know what their friends were up to. It personally took me until this school year to actually create a twitter account-  up until recently, I (along with large quantities of the population) thought twitter was stupid. Who needs to know exactly what you're doing at any given point in time? I don't care if you're about to shower- tell me something worthwhile.

According to Ortiz, though, twitter users listened to the cries of 'tell me something I actually care about reading!' and have been using the social networking site to further social justice, politics, club/organization popularity, and raise awareness for charities, events, fundraisers, and causes. Charities can now tell you to 'follow' them on twitter (which gives you the opportunity to receive updates as the charity or other followers send them) so you know what's going on. Better yet, with twitter, you can give solid feedback by 'replying to a tweet'. Simply send a message back to the original poster, and it shows up in their news feed or alerts. This is more effective, in my opinion, than a facebook fan page- for more than one reason, as well. For starters, when someone replies to a tweet, not everyone can read it- only those following the person who made the reply tweet in the first place. This keeps people from antagonizing other fans, and gives the organization more of an opportunity to read single comments without them compounding like they do on Facebook. In addition, you can respond to someone's tweet, even if they don't follow you. A lot of organizations, therefore, can receive fan responses without receiving updates every single time said fan posts something. Finally, twitter has this great concept called 'retweeting'. This is like playing telephone, but with much more clarity. By clicking the 'retweet' button on a tweet someone wants to spread the word about, it becomes a tweet of their own- therefore enabling all their friends to read it.


I thought this article was interesting, not only because it offers a new perspective on furthering social justice through multimedia development, but because I personally am just getting into Twitter myself. It's actually horridly addicting- and is perfect for all the clubs, organizations, and charities I'm a part of, myself.