And now for a laugh. (Facebook in real life)

If you thought that last posting was a downer, then watch this for a chuckle. It's humor is based entirely in truth, which is... Hey isn't that a saying?

MySpace Humiliated Me

To quote from HHH's entry on Monday, "I've been violated." I never did work up the courage to share my experience with you all. In a rage of boredom (can boredom really be raging?), I joined MySpace a year ago. I had already been a member of Facebook for three years, starting back in the day when it was exclusively for college students. Somehow, it just wasn't enough. I wanted more. Knowing full well I'd feel creepy and full of regret, I joined MySpace.

MySpace was tolerable for the few months I had it, but I got bored quickly. Bulletins were abused by certain friends of mine who solicited useless junk, friend requests from swingers in Idaho kept flying in (it felt dirty), top friends got jealous if they got demoted in rank. My lunch hours would consist of filling out useless survey bulletin posts with no relevance to life. At one point, I threw my hands up and purged my top friends' list. Among my top four friends were politicians, singers and maybe a few bigots just to show how ridiculous the notion was. I couldn't take it.

Over the course of my membership, my account got "phished" three times. The first two times, it was harmless but annoying, nonetheless. The third time, I had to find out through a group of people at work. I quote, "WHAT was that naked video you posted on my comment space?" WHAT!? OH MY GOD. I was mortified. And THAT...was when my scandalous, unwilling affair with MySpace ENDED. There's no looking back; we're done.

While Facebook's security has become a little looser these days in the vast social orb, I can still say that it's 100 times safer than MySpace.

So, without further adieu, I close with some MySpace etiquette.

Bluetooth Marketing

What a great Bluetooth campaign.
-mags

http://www.cscout.com/blog/2008/05/06/trend-bluetooth-marketing.html

.................
Sent from my iPhone

The mentos Kiss-Cam
Need a kiss? I like this experience a lot, except for the webcam-connection which made me wonder 'what are they doing with my image here'. I wonder if others feel the same way?

Other than that it's a fun use of video online. It has a touch of interactivity built into the video too, Not bad! (Nice talent selection too)

Have we no manners??

I've been violated. Or, at least that is how I see it with my latest run-in on FB. All along, my biggest concern about joining FB was the privacy, or lack thereof. After much persuasion, I ventured into social media-land regardless and to my surprise it's been amazing - just in the number of old friends I have been able to reconnect with. That is until today.

Today, I opened my inbox to a rash of messages from friends demanding to know who the hell "So and So" was, because this person had invited god knows how many of my friends to be his friends. 99.9% of these he has never met, knows not how I know them nor how they came to be my FB friends and his perception was that this is acceptable FB behavior. Now, I am sure we have all gotten the completely random FB friend request, and we accept it or ignore it, and it's no big deal. But suddenly, when one of your own friends does it, and it results in an influx of messages into your inbox, it is a completely different story. It's the online version of a party crasher, and I did not react well.

So, in an effort to determine whether or not my reaction was completely irrational, and whether I should block him and go hide my head in the sand after sending a note of apology to all my friends, I googled "Facebook Etiquette". We should all take note with this quick refresher on proper behaviour on FB, and use these Top 10 as our "Facebook Mantra":

1. One should NOT friend another with whom they have no association with, that is without a proper introduction. You don't want to be the creepy dude on FB, do you?? Oh, and for those of you who are still single, it is recommended that you wait 2 days before friending someone you hooked up with.

2. If you must "Poke", do so with moderation and caution.

3. In conversations with fellow FB members, be careful not to let on that you know everything about them, even if they have plastered their page with gory details about thier latest breakup or conquest. Stalk secretly all you want, but in conversation do respect some level of (dare I say) privacy, otherwise you are right back in the "creepy" category.

4. Keep a clean profile page - avoid abusive posted items, notes, information or wall posts. And post pictures that include clothing - lack thereof is just wrong, no matter how you slice it.

5. Treat FB friends with respect - respect their views, even if they are of lesser quality or you perceive them to be wrong.

6. RSVP'd event attendance must be respected and upheld.

7. Tell the truth. (this is worth multiple mentions)

8. Be gentle and patient with non-savvy FB users (like the elderly and small animals).

9. Help friends who seem to be in distress - reach out to them, share the love.

10. Lastly, FB is not an acceptable replacement for socializing offline. Make time for your friends outside FB.

Domo Arigato, Rocky Roboto!

Meet Rocky, the doppelganger "robo-squirrel" residing on the lush, green campus of Hampshire College. Rocky's mission: to help observe animal (group interaction, individual behavior and patterns) behavior in a more "natural" fashion, as opposed to laboratory testing. The technology inside Rocky, who's a few years old, is constantly being updated.

Rocky's anatomy: a basic computer and speakers that mimic various squirrel calls. And yes, he can even discreetly connect to laptops!

"One recent afternoon...[they] brought Rocky out for field testing and placed him near real squirrels. Mounted on a board, he was shielded by a camouflage hood and a long cord connected him to the researchers' laptop.

After the computer's program flipped the hood open, Rocky went into a sequence of tail-flagging, barking and other motions squirrels recognize as warnings of danger.

The most successful experiments are when the real squirrels respond by 'flagging' their own tail, halting their foraging to check for danger, scamper up a tree or take other actions that show they picked up on the signals..."

Of course, optimal results can only be achieved if the actual species being tested is reasonably capable and intelligent. (Also, the smaller the easier when it comes to mimicking body language and signals.) Among other animals/reptiles/critters tested are lizards, wild parrots, sage grouses and even sea slugs!

Thoughts? Could this potentially be pulled off with some small dog breeds? And please, let's not call the robo-Chihuahua "Tinkerbelle."

Never too Late to Change...

Can you guess what this is a picture of?

Hint: Its really thin and really cool and may get me off a PC once and for all!