Week-2 Williams

FACEBOOK......... You see this companies name everywhere. City buses , wal-mart ads , youtube, and almost anyother ad that wants to make money. I came across a article stating that Facebook is ready to file their IPO papers meaning Facebook is opening stock chances to the public and other large companies . My first thought was what took so long? The should be no quetion if this is a smart or good idea facebook is the face of the internet along with google, youtube , and other compaies that have been on top for years , so why not open stock to the public it will increase their earning so much more. I do not know alot about stocks but i know nothing nefative can come out of anything Facebook does. I trust the BOOK!

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505124_162-57367651/will-facebooks-ipo-delight-or-disappoint/?tag=mncol;subStories

Week 2 - Clark

Whenever the phrase "social media" is brought up, a similar vision or knowledge comes to ones mind and to those of us who actively use them. From chatting with friends on Facebook to keeping up with our favorite celebrities on Twitter, we all use these forms of media to stay connected. While most of us are mainly using these to see our friends, some are taking advantage of these means to get people informed.

Take AIDs for example. This is a disease that is taking over parts of our world and something to not take lightly. Yet, not everyone is getting the important information that they need to keep themselves protected. AIDs officials all over the world are coming together to spread the message about the transferal of AIDs, primarily from mother to child. There are around 400,000 children born a year with AIDs, a sad reality.  Officials see they opportunities that various social media sites offer and plan to use them as resources to get the word out about the AIDs virus.

They plan on modeling their mission after Randi Zuckerberg, the sister of Mark Zuckerberg, inventor of FaceBook. After pulling in 1,000 influential Twitter and FaceBook users, she used social media to raise $200 million to fight malaria. Social media, although fun and wildly entertaining, can be used in a very beneficial and inspiring way. They can broadcast the needs and informations regarding crisis occurring globally.

Remember that the next time you're stalking someone's pictures on Facebook or subscribe to someone famous on Twitter. Social media can be a simple way to save ones life. Information is there for those who seek it, and by making information available to all, it can be pretty powerful.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/27/3394851/business-social-media-to-prevent.html

Week 2- Lara

Seeing as how much a lot of people, including myself, use Facebook for just about everything, I chose an article that’s kind of intense to think about. I’m sure many people have thought about it, but haven’t really discussed it. It seems that everyone now has a Facebook. From our youth to even the little number of older folks. Whether it’s to interact with others to meet new people, share information, or even keep in touch with distant family. But, the question is, what happens to your profile when you pass away? 

“When you die, your social media presence lives on. But should it?” My opinion on this subject is kind of on the fence. But thinking about it more and more, a lot of people want to be remembered. Don’t you? I mean even if it’s your Facebook page, it was still your Facebook page so that people could always know that you were someone special. I think that you digital presence shouldn’t be completely erased, but I think that there’s a line to where seeing old statues and other things on someone’s page could be kind of hard for family members and close friends. 

Only Oklahoma, Idaho, Rhode Island, Indiana and Connecticut have created laws governing digital asset management after death. I think that Facebook has a good outlook on it. According to their policies, even after death they can’t issue login and password information to family members. However, Facebook does give the option for family to decide to keep the Facebook page up or even turn their page into a memorial page to where the page can’t be logged into again. 

http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-death-law-160533502.html

Week 2 Crayton

BlizzCon 2012, a huge gaming convention focusing on the products released by Blizzard, has been canceled. This convention is usually held every year, but Blizzard has stated that they are canceling it this year in order to work on products. Personally, I think their reasoning for cancelling this event is lame. With a company as large as Blizzard, I find it hard to believe that a 3 day convention is going to pull team members away from game programming…undoubtedly, they have a staff that would exclusively handle the event.

I think it has more to do with the fact that Blizzard’s release calendar as of late has been lack luster. While they do have some big name titles coming out this year, their recent release have been spread out far and few between. If anything, they are missing out on an opportunity to showcase Diablo III and the other titles this year. I think it has more to do with the fact that other conventions, such as PAX and PAX East, focus on multiple game publishers (including Blizzard) and they are beating Blizzard in the convention realm.

http://kotaku.com/5879120/blizzcon-skips-2012-as-blizzard-focuses-on-kicking-ebutt-and-making-games

Week 2-Qi

     Twitter may censor tweets in individual countries? When I first read this title, the first reflection came into my mind is it will be back in China in future. There is no doubt that is a good news for the users who onced sighed a account on Twitter, however, one day you found you cannot access to its website at all. I have known Twitter since 2008, and I felt it was very interest and you can compose your status or your word whenever you want and you don't have to write it so long. As the article said, it become our megaphones. In addition, you can find lots of celebrities also have a Twitter accountant, you can focus your idol just click the button. One thing I remember that at the night that I signed on the Twitter, I wrote three tweets in a row! Unfortunately, we cannot use Twitter and Facebook in 2009. The reason why Twitter and Facebook are not allowed to access is that our government regard them as a potential threaten unless they will be allowed to censor their content and wipe out sensitive ones.
     As the article said, Twitter's born make the world change though it is a only 6-year-old boy. It really make big effort to our society and our lifestyle, it makes our life colourful and informative. The new policy they will do definitely will good for them because they will enter into more countries and have more customers. One of the biggest customer is China. It is estimate the amount of people who are active on line in China is 50,000,000. This is only China's market, I do believe if Twitter change their policy, the countries that closed their service or never let them enter will open their heavily doors to Twitter. For Twitter, a net company, survival is the piority thing they need to consider everytime, especially they also have an ambitious agenda. Morever, the first thing they censor is to wipe out the childporngraphy, that's what they should always noticed and defend. In a word, it is a good news for us that our favorite net company will do some thing benefits us and we can use it in more places!

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-01-27/twitter-censor-tweets/52811702/1
http://www.chillingeffects.org/

Week 2 - Willis

Everyone has their share of regrets. Everyone has skeletons in their closet. Everyone goes through a time that we wish others didn’t remember. Typically, these times can be kicked under the rug and forgotten about. However, with Facebook’s recent implementation of the “Timeline” profile format, these memories could haunt you, and whomever views your profile, forevermore.

Available since the beginning of December, its been optional for users to switch their profile format over to Timeline. However, Tuesday of this week, Facebook released a warning to those who have yet to convert, telling them they had seven days to clean things up. (Remove photo tags, delete statuses, hide posts, etc.)Following the cleanup grace period, all profiles will be converted, making all of our pasts extremely visible. By simply clicking on a year on the right side of the page, observers can be directed to all the activity the user completed during that year. Including but not limited to: friends added, notes written, photo albums uploaded, and statuses published. Scary thought.

With enough effort, Facebookers can successfully hide their not-so-proudest moments from the typical base of Facebook users. Anything and everything posted to the Internet is archived, and accessible to companies and other investigators. All in all, it is of the utmost importance to comb through your past and clean it up NOW. Don’t wait. Your closest family and friends can understand when you say “the past is the past”, but future employers may not share that view.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/facebook-forces-users-to-switch-to-timeline-making-their-pasts-more-visible/2012/01/24/gIQAx3qNOQ_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

Week 2 - Ogle

Early this morning, Wired.com published an article about Google’s recent acquisition of an abandoned paper mill that the company will use to house a new, state-of-the-art data center. One of the most compelling things about the article, and Google’s use of the building, is the symbolism behind it all. One of the internet’s biggest corporations expanding their reach farther than ever by “recycling” a facility that manufactured the very medium they’re replacing. Poetry for the tech-minded, but bitter irony for those who are still clinging to the last threads of the print industry. 

The building, which sits on the coast of the Baltic Sea just outside of Hamina, Finland, operated as a paper mill from 1953 until 2008 was forced to close due to the decline of the print medium and Google took immediate advantage of the situation. Google’s green initiatives go beyond the simple act of renovating and existing structure opposed to building from the ground up in a location; the facility itself comes with its own environmentally-friendly features. The builders of the paper mill dig a tunnel that used water from the Baltic to cool its steam-powered generators, and Google has adapted method to keep the data center’s array of servers from running too hot. 

As we move out of the industrial age and into the era of information and factories, plants and mills are being left to dilapidate; Google’s actions in Finland should be repeated more often. In Germany, for instance, empty steel mills and bombed-out relics from World War 2 now serve as restaurants, recreation centers and other businesses. Think of all the towns in America that are slowly dying thanks to the factories that were once the cornerstone of local economy. Those buildings sit unused, while forward-thinking companies could easily repair and renovate, thereby rejuvenating the town itself. 

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/01/google-finland/