Narrowcasting on Facebook

Our social networks should give us the information that we want, when we want it. I have found myself checking my Facebook page less and less because the information of what Sarah H. is doing every three hours, is really not that important to me. Facebook must have heard my pleas because Facebook makes you invisible.

The new Facebook update will eliminate seeing your long lost friends (who you really did not know that well in high school anyway!) daily post about his dogs urinating habits or your too young to be on Facebook cousin discussing sneaking out with their mom’s car.

The new update will only show the news feeds of your friends who you actually keep in contact with. Granted, this will eliminate the daily trolling of distant friends pages for gossip or possible compromising photos. But I’ll be able to talk with and read friends feeds, which I have had an ongoing relationship before the Facebook frenzy.

This may be boring to some and revolutionary to others, but don’t worry you news feed junkies, the setting can be reversed. 

If you are a business this can be bad unless you have a constant dialogue back and forth with customers, which could require tons of time on Facebook.

Many companies that are comfortable using the Web 2.0 tools will quickly be able to get all their content in order and only lose fans or friends on Facebook that they have not made the effort to re-new their ‘friends’ status. However, for many this will be the polite way of unfriending without unfriending.  

Mo' Money!

A report was just released revealing the ability of the iPhone and Android phones to be tracked constantly by the service providers and by anyone with access to the information the phones transmit. This really is not new news, but slightly ironic.

Several years ago there was a rash of iPhone thefts, with very little the victim could do to recover her/ his $500 dollar investment. In many cases, when the victim contacted Apple Customer Service for assistance, they were empathetically told there was nothing Apple could do to help. Now with the release of the article saying that the iPhone is constantly tracked, why did Apple refuse to help its customers in need?

Apple sells it's products with the idea of its customers re-returning after two to three years for the latest and greatest of their new hot items. Folks who unfortunately had their iPhone lost or stolen most likely went back to an Apple retailer and purchased another. However with the constant tracking, Apple could have simply told the customer the phones current location and eliminated the second donation of $500 dollars to the Apple fund.

As I said earlier, there should be very little surprise that the cellphones are always transmitting your current locale and now since anyone who reads knows this information, I think Steve Jobs and Apple need to be more forthright with their information to their customers. What can it hurt, they already know where I am!

Can We Talk?

When was the last time that you had a long drawn out conversation in person and walked away as if there was nothing said? Now imagine that long drawn out conversation is in an online forum or chat room. Do you think that because you can go back and re-read the post that the conversation would be more or less meaningful? Daily people send emails, instant messages, and Facebook status updates, which at times is only an extension of the drivel of what they would have said in person.
Can our society make a shift to social media for our communication when we have difficulty speaking to one another face to face? The Internet allows for it's user to join any subculture that may fit best into their niche of life. It can help the socially challenged to expand their limited range within our social caste system, but does that help that person better communicate when they meet their online companion in person?
Several days ago, a young man said that he was being bullied online and offline and there was nothing he nor his family could do. He said the reason that he was bullied was because of his "sheltered" lifestyle and everything that he was being harassed about was true. At first, his words fell on deaf ears, but as a father I worry about my children having difficulty communicating freely on and offline well; with something meaningful to say. I am not saying that the young man's words or lifestyle is wrong, but there is a clear inability for this young man to communicate in multiple arenas and that is where his issues rest.

My Brother's keeper

Can our society continue to self govern itself?

The Internet has become our new source for expressing our First Amendment Right, freedom of speech. The Internet allows for multiple views to be expressed freely and with very little push back from the "Man". Views that are extreme and not very popular proliferate the Internet that can anger many, but still have the freedom to share their unpopular views. Some outliers who write blogs for the internet, push the envelope of free speech to it's limits, with only his or her fellow bloggers to police their words.
Granted there are rules and regulations that govern free speech on the net that have been established by the government and the supreme court, but in many cases the laws and punishment is handed down by the masses of judges and juries who comb the web, who are merely people like you and me.
Can this freedom of speech on the Internet be dangerous? Do we need more rules to control speech that could incite anger or should we promote the new freedom that the net provides to us all?
We depend on one another to govern the actions of our peers on the net and so far, it seems to be working.

Second Life will make great TV fodder.

Maury: StarChild373, you are not the father of avatar Kikipie304. 

Philip Rosedale may be on to something and it may be how to fill the void that will be created when we grow tired of our current reality stars, virtual reality stars!

Just imagine, you have been dating this really cool girl who shares so many common interest of yours. You met her in a virtual singles bar on Second Life and your avatars caught each others attention from the moment you walked in the place.

After months of Second Life dating, Second Life dancing, and Second Life sexting; never revealing any more than your Second Life life. Your online connection has become so great and your love was virtual and infinite. You decide to advance your virtual relationship to reality, only to find out that your virtual Venus is a middle aged bald man, who is married with kids and really didn’t mean any harm, he just wanted to have fun and meet people (or maybe you bumped into Rosedale's avatar).

I am always for the openness of the Internet and the advancement of technology, but there is something eerie to me about the idea of Second Life that will lead to Maury Povich remaining on the air for at least another 100 years.

Relationships have been difficult to manage and understand since the beginning of time. From Adam and Eve to Charlie Sheen and CBS, no relationship is without its bumps in the road and remember those relationships were face to face. Now imagine the complications of a curious married man who has chosen to express himself virtually with a female avatar and you think she/ he really loves you!  Now that's great fodder for Maury.
 

Facebook vs. Casinos

Over the brief reign of social media, there have been many different ways to describe what they are and many attempts to formulate an easier way to describe them to the masses. The analogy used to compare the social media website Facebook with a casino seems to be accurate, but not without some glaring flaws between the two entities.

One such argument against Facebook being similar to a casino is that you must be at least 18 years old to participate in a casino’s activities, but with Facebook you can be any age as long as you can operate a computer. Almost any application on Facebook will allow its user to have full range of the websites capabilities, including applications that may not be suitable for young children (i.e. Mafia Wars).  However, anyone under the age of 18 cannot sit in an area of a casino where gambling is taking place. Many casinos have designated areas for children and the threat of a casino operator possibly loosing his/ her gambling license because of an underage child participating has placed an even greater reaction from casino operators to constantly enforce their no children policies.

Another obvious difference that stands out in the analogy of Facebook and a casino is the mere fact you cannot win any money on Facebook. After all the pigs you have sold and ganglands that you have overthrown, at no time will any money grace the palm of your hand from this website. Although your chances of winning money from a casino may be minimal, there is still a chance.

As one person said so eloquently, “the House always wins.”  Which may be true, but there are always adult outliers who visit a casino and come out wealthier than when they entered. Facebook can help your existing business grow its consumer base, but its application was not created with its user to gain any monetary advantage. Although casinos were created to give the perception of an individual being able to win, without really allowing them to do so, there still remains a glimmer of possibility that you may strike it rich.