Questions with Facebook?

When facebook was first created, people were able to join regional networks to meet people. The only problem with these regional networks is that they are not so regional anymore. According to the letter, approximately 50% of all users are in one region or another. The problem with this stems from the fact that some of these regions have over one million people in them . Facebook has decided to get rid of these settings entirely and create a much simpler method to safety. Over the next few weeks people will be asked to review their settings and make sure that they coincide with the user’s desire.

I know these numbers are severely outdated, but I think it demonstrates my point

I think that this is a good idea on facebook’s part for several reasons. One of the most obvious is safety. 350 million people are using this social media platform… roughly around the same amount of people who live in the United States. The privacy system which was based on regions can leave users sharing information with strangers that they did not wish to be public. Another reason that I think that this is a good idea is that it is a lot easier for people to understand. I can recall several conversations that I have had with friends about how to make sure strangers cannot see your pictures, and I have heard a lot of different answers, I’m not even sure if any of theirs was correct.  The new facebook settings will only have 3 possible choices. You can: share your information with strictly your friends, friends of their friends, or everyone. This is a great idea for facebook because this is as clear-cut as it can possibly get. Social media is continuing to evolve, while keeping safety in mind, what could be better?

Cyber Predators

According to a press conference held in New York yesterday, a total of 3500 known sex offenders have been removed from the social media websites myspace and facebook. The social networks were able to identify and remove the accounts in question with the Electronic Securing and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-Stop), which was passed in 2008 and requires that all known sex offenders in New York State register their e-mail addresses and all other online aliases.

Many of the known sex offenders who were removed had violated the conditions of their parole by being a part of these websites.

I think this is a tremendous step in the fight against predators. Although it would be ridiculous to say that they even got close to removing the majority of them, it is a step in the right direction. Since the beginning of the World Wide Web, there have been those who have misused it. Cyber predators prey on the innocent and literally destroy lives. The removal of these predators is an absolutely vital first step in the fight to make children safe while using social media. I am extremely happy that people are beginning to really take some initiative and help keep kids safe on the internet.

As many people know, Sesame Street is the longest running program in the history of television. It broadcasts in dozens of languages and has been doing so for decades. Well, their success continues thanks to youtube. The muppets have their own channel on youtube called muppet studios. It only makes sense that its success would continue to the internet and become viral. I don’t think anything on the internet could be more successful than muppet studios latest video… Bohemian Rhapsody.

As if this needs a caption...Its the muppets

Yes the muppets have been singing classics since its inception, but I feel that this video just demonstrates the power of a viral youtube video. According to google news, their Bohemian Rhapsody video has received over 7,000,000 views since 11/23/09. I’m no mathematician however, I can assure you that means more than 1 million views per day. Break that down by hour? By Minute? It doesn’t matter, what it proves is how successful the internet can be in spreading a video, an idea, or a random song by one of the most influential rock bands of all time. Yet again, the power of youtube and social media is beyond epic, it is omnipresent.

Using Youtube to rap and get messages out

So I know that I’ve written a few posts about people bragging on the internet about crimes they committed. I’ve often said how stupid it is because they always seem to get caught. I have now found something from the other side… how to avoid a crime by using youtube. According to an article I just read on Allgov.com, a man in London avoided a murder charge by creating a rap video on youtube. Although it is unclear if the man actually did commit the murder, it is clear that his rap song definitely helped.

His song allegedly had lyrics which intimidated the potential witnesses. It talked of snitching and how those who mentioned his name would end up dead. The song worked…the witnesses were too scared to come forward and the man was convicted of acting to pervert the course of justice. This basically means he did something to prevent his conviction but hey… he only got four years of it. So I guess if I’ve learned one thing is that youtube and the internet can be used in one of two ways. It can either get a conviction by misuse, or help a man to stay out of prison.

Marc Zuckerberg the Creator of Facebook

Click Here for the full article!

Unfortunately, I really don’t know alot about Dow Jones or any of that stuff but I still found it interesting.  Apparently, it is changing its share system to a duel one. I think that means that there are different types of shares to be sold (again, this is why i transferred out of the business school. Despite my lack of knowledge on the matter, I do know that dual-share systems stir controversy around it. Facebook has already been around for years and has proven not to just be a fad. It is now selling shares and continues to grow and expand.

Bono, the lead singer of U2

According to the LA times U2 has recently succeeded in having the single largest live stream in the history of the internet. While that isn’t really a huge accomplishment for one of the biggest bands since the beatles, I still think that it’s pretty cool.

U2′s live broadcast took place last Sunday at their Pasadena stop on its 360 tour with one of my favorite bands Muse. Okay I know I’ve been creating a little suspense with what the number is. Is is 500,000 for the single largest live stream ever? Try 10,000,000 streams from 7 continents. That information came from a youtube spokesman. I don’t know how those from Antarctica use the internet to watch one of their favorite Irish bands but hell… what do I know.  Even though youtube’s channel only has 8.4 million subscribers, its pretty cool that they reached 10 million on a single concert.

Yet another idiot, caught via the internet

Literally last week I had a post on this blog about how the police are using social media to catch suspects. Last week the arrested suspect was aprehended in Mexico after bragging via facebook status updates. He was just asking to get caught… and well, he did.

According to an article I just read from the Star Ledger, a man from Middletown N.J was arrested after posting a youtube video. The content of this video? A 21-year-old man bragging about his sexual encounters with underage teenagers. Gary Wolchesky has since been charged with fourth degree child endangerment and authorities have said they found pictures of children under the age of 16. He is now being held on $100,000 bond and faces 18 months in jail.

I can’t reiterate this enough people. Do not post self incrimitating pictures and videos on the  internet. You will be caught, and bragging about touching kids is really messed up. I hope he rots in jail for a while.

Music on Facebook

According to an article I read, facebook is now going to give its users the opportunity to download and enjoy music.  They have partnered with LaLa, an online mp3 website for this new venture. The reason that they are doing this…competition from other web sites. Google has recently announced that they too will allow users to download music, and myspace has done this for years already. The competition between these goliath web sites is forcing them to be more creative and give users more options.

I may be a bit over the top with my music consumption but I think this is an absolutely great idea for facebook. Not only can you download the music you want to listen to for a reasonable price, you can send the music to your friends as a gift. I am actually very excited for this to come out and I can’t wait to use their music service.

Maxi Sopo

According to police, A Camaroon man is now in police custody after stealing approximately $200,000 from American banks. He was living a life of luxury when he was finally picked up by authorities. How was he caught you ask? Was his cell phone triangulated and a swat team stormed his hotel room? No… He was updating his facebook about how fantastic his new life has been since fleeing to Mexico. Law enforcement are now using facebook to identify suspects and attempt to track them down.

Some of his facebook updates talked about how great of a life he was living in Mexico, and through these updates, the police were able to figure out where he was. He is now in a Mexican prison waiting to be extradited to America. If convicted he could face up to 30 years.

From the time we are very young we learn that anything and everything on the internet is public. There is a possibility that the police may find out what you are doing, and what you are saying. Keep this in mind the next time you show some incriminating photo’s and updating your facebook.

Xbox 360 to merge with Facebook

According to Matt Peckham another facebok blogger, a new version of facebook will begin to emerge starting towards the end of October. This new beta version of facebook will merge video games with social media. The new facebook will be available on X box 360 to further its reach of users.

The new facebook beta for xbox

This new version of XBox facebook will not have the full capabilities that the regular computer version does have but it still may prove to be successful. I can’t think of any way that this new facebook will be an improvement on the old; however, with new technology this is usually how people feel before it becomes mainstream. Perhaps this new facebook will be able to connect video game users? It seems like it may just be used to view status updates because of its limited capability. At the end of the day this is just a way that facebook is attempting to further its dominate reach over todays internet culture. I think in theory this is a good idea but it sounds like for the most part this new facebook via 360 will not be too successful.