Faster, better…

Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category

f you’re still not using any of the privacy settings on Facebook, here’s the most compelling reason why you need to change that as soon as possible.The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has given the thumbs up to Social Intelligence Corp, which keeps files of Facebook users’ posts as part of a background-checking service for screening job applicants.

via ALERT: Job Screening Agency Archiving All Facebook.

(Remember, Facebook is NOT the Internet. None of us has to use it, it’s just that everyone seems to.)

The American Academy of Pediatrics published social media guidelines that warn parents about the unique dangers of “Facebook depression,” a condition that may affect teens who obsess over Facebook.

via Doctors Warn about ‘Facebook Depression’ – Live Tweets.

(Despite what you may have heard, Facebook is not the Internet. the Internet is a big place. Facebook is the current favorite among the largest segment of the population as AOL was in the beginning. There is really good content elsewhere. Find yourself stuck on one service try an internet search and explore.)

The virus somehow infiltrates WordPress and adds a new file in your scripts directory called jquery.js and then inserts that file into the header or footer files of your site. It also inserts an iFrame that calls a 3rd party site which is known for malware or other malicious activities.

via WordPress Hacked! Virus Cloaks Search Engines — TECH cocktail.

There is MORE! I wasn’t told this by Network Solutions. I checked and did not find this script. It must have already been deleted.

Fascinating. Shortly after Glenn’s show started this afternoon, Twitter went WAY over capacity. Do you suppose Glenn’s words prompted the sudden surge. I suspect so.

Everything Is Incremental « Dangerous Common Sense.

“The bad economy has generated desperate calls from owners who are begging for the Internet to save their business.

I wish it were that simple. When I talk to these potential clients, I first have to set their expectations.”

(Ed Note: I couldn’t have said it better myself.  Galen must be the last honest Internet marketer. Read the entire article at the Dangerous Common Sense Blog)

The PenguinSix Blog also here in Calvert County wrote about TweetDeck, a PC based interface for Twitter messages. The author is a technically savvy guy so I went to the TweetDeck site and downloaded the program. Until now I was using the simple website interface for Twitter. Since downloading TweetDeck I only go back to the website to see who is following me and to search for new Twitterers I want to follow.

TweetDeck runs in the background and checks the Twitter site for the latest Tweets. When new Tweets are downloaded a polite low-level bird noise comes from the computer speakers. There are three columns to the interface, All Friends, Replies, and Direct Messages. The three types of tweets are separated into columns that are easy to read. I can leave TweetDeck running on one computer monitor and work using the other. You need two monitors on a PC to truly enjoy using a computer.

The TweetDeck interface also includes a big box at the top of the program window to type in your Tweets, replies, and direct messages. A convenient box also allows you to shorten a URL using the bit.ly service. The box counts your characters so you don’t exceed the maximum allowed.

The user interface, UI is intuitive. Anyone can figure it out very quickly. Whether you are new to Twitter or an old salt I think you will like TweetDeck.

Deliberate misinformation is forwarded by email every day on the Internet. Fake causes and bad information is intended as a joke. Some of these jokes have an almost continuous life of their own. One of the famous ones is an email claiming that “In God We Trust” has been removed from the dollar coin. It hasn’t. The motto is printed very legibly on the edge of the coin. How do find out what’s fake and what’s real. You SNOPE it. Visit SNOPES.COM and find out if the information you were sent is actually an Internet legend, the In God We Trust legend. Before you forward it SNOPE it! Especially before you forward it.

Twitter is impressive, particularly because the service is catching on with main-stream America. The Internet netizen loved Twitter from the start. Twitter allowed people to enter brief status messages, words of wisdom, or hapless comments that family, friends, or other interested persons could read. Like other cordial web sites people followed the Twitter broadcasts of persons that interested them. My sisters and I used the service off and on to enter our latest status. Cute.

Twitter is no longer just a unique social networking tool. TWITTER has become a useful wide-area or local notification tool but still maintains its unique status as a social-status notification service. What’s changed is that news services like Fox News and others send notifications associated with breaking news, corporations make announcements, offices of emergency services like Maryland’s MEMA send disaster related information.

Using either the Twitter home page from your computer or even your cellular telephone you are now seconds away from the latest broadcasts. You can either read the brief broadcast or click on the URL contained in the broadcast to connect to to the full story at the broadcaster’s web address. Twitter use a service called TinyURL to create short easy to recall web URLS for each “twit.” The only drawback with TinyURL is it’s occasional down time. As I write this article all the links to news stores I want to read are broken becuase TinyURL appears to be down. The other drawback is that TinyURL is listed by at least one Internet browser protection program as dangerous. The program is by Zone Alarm. In order to use TinyURL on my computer I finally had to uninstall Zone Alarm’s browser protection program.

Using Twitter you can “follow” other Twitter users of interest to you using the Twitter website. You can also use programs like TweetDeck. TweetDeck connects to your Twitter account and displays your latest Tweets and those of the persons or companies you are following. The interface is easy to use. I follow Fox News and several other Twitter users

Using another on-line service called TweetBeep an individual, group, or corporation can monitor the Tweets of others to track trends based on keywords and phrases. This is a real-time marketing tool that a company could use to monitor its reputation e.g. “What are people saying about us.” Used with other tools it is one more tool in a company’s arsenal of information about its public persona.

Twitter is cool. Use Twitter if your are not already using it. Twitter is fun for families and friends and provides a unique way to stay in touch with companies, governments, and others with whom you want to maintain a relationaship.