Identity theft: a risk to popular newborns

According to a recent survey by AVG, an Internet security firm, "82 percent of children in 10 Western countries have a digital footprint before the age of 2"

A digital footprint includes any of a person's information that can be found using Internet search engines or websites. The article "Study: 82 percent of kids under 2 have an online presence" by Mark Milian, CNN, primarily focuses on Facebook.

The photos of children on Facebook are not the primary issue, but the personal information which is found

alongside the photos is where the problem lies.

Over 92 percent of U.S. children have photos on the Internet. The personal information that often gets disclosed (full name, birth date, family members, etc.) along with the photo can contribute to identity thefts.

"Obviously there's a privacy issue," said AVG spokeswoman Siobhan MacDermott, "if they're applying for credit [later on] and having that information readily available for people who want to compromise their identities."

The more shared photos there are on Facebook, the more likely someone is to find them and utilize the information which accompanies them.

Most people aren't considering the information they're putting on the Internet until it's too late. It's important to educate people on how to prevent outside viewers from viewing the photos to begin with.

Facebook is in the process of fine-tuning privacy settings for these very reasons. It is now an option to allow only a small group of people to view certain information at one time.

 I would advise everyone to take advantage of these options, whether or not they are sharing information about their children, but especially if they are.

"It's a matter of being aware of what you're doing," MacDermott said. "When you're posting it to a public forum like Facebook, use privacy settings."

As easy as it is to assume no one but family is interested in newborn baby pictures, they are. And sometimes not for the right reasons.

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American Idiot?...What About American Hypocrite?

"Don't wanna be an American Idiot, one nation controlled by the media"

...but what about an American Hypocrite that controls the media?

Lou Dobbs, a reporter turning politician from CNN, has been accused of encouraging that which he does not exemplify--he has become notorious for his angry rants against illegal immigration and has called for criminal charges to be placed upon employers who employ illegal immigrants.

But, WAIT! What did we come to find, "The Nation" reporter, Isabel Macdonald? Dobbs...employs...illegal...IMMIGRANTS?! *gasp!*

Dobbs has recently joined the political arena telling Fox's Sean Hannity "that he does not rule out a possible Senate or even presidential run in 2012." We all know what position he will take on the immigration debate! ...or do we?

Dobbs 22-year-old daughter keeps five European warmblooded horses all of which are owned by a New Jersey company of which the president is Lou Dobbs himself. The upkeep of these thoroughbred animals require quite the array of labor workers.

In an investigation by "The Nation" and the Investigative fund at The Nation Institute found that like most companies responsible for the upkeep of racing horses, over half of the employees are illegal immigrants. This includes the laborers that Dobbs has employed for the upkeep of his daughter's horses.

It's no secret that politicians are not always the most honest of men and women, but it is a rare occurrence that an opinion held so highly by a particular politician is the very opinion that he or she goes against in his or her own life?

How can someone who has so violently spoken out about his detest for illegal immigrants receiving work in America, employ them himself?

Once must also consider that his angry rants against illegal immigration were present long before his political career...they began in his journalism career.

Don't be an American Idiot....but maybe even more importantly, don't be a journalist and an American Hypocrite.

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Make Way for Data Visualization

Journalist Anthony Calabrese- who specializes in data visualization and digital storytelling- said in his article "Six Stunning Projects that Show the Power of Digital Visualization," that "data visualization is taking the web by storm and, with a little luck, it might be the next big thing in online journalism."

Your question then, of course, must be "What is data visualization?"

According to Calabrese, a data visualization is a visual representation of information that comes in the form of a motion chart, an interactive dashboard, a timeline, and many other things.

Journalist can use data visualization to tell stories or present information in a way that will draw viewers in and, in some cases, awe them. Statistics become more interesting; ideas become easier to understand.

For example, Journalist Latoya Egwuekwe wanted to show how the Recession has affected employment in the United States. Her choice to use data visualization in The Geography of a Recession put her in national headlines.

If you didn't understand the country's unemployment rate before viewing her visualization, you will after.

Furthermore, data visualization has the ability to make figures that may be confusing- such as the nation's spending- easier to comprehend.

In his visualization entitled The Billion Dollar-O-Gram, David McCandless provides an easy-to-understand visualization that shows viewers where the United States is spending it's money.

One visualization I found intriguing was from Randall Munroe- who is the author of a "XKCD," "A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math and Language."

Munroe's data visualization called Online Communities 2 shows social media sites in the form of land masses: Facebook takes up most of Asia and includes the "Northern Wasteland of Unread Updates."

As bloggers, we must remember that presenting our information in the fastest and easiest way is of the utmost importance. We want our readings to enjoy what they are viewing.

Data visualization takes confusing statistics and shows them in a new light and morphs fun facts into amazing visuals.

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Journalists in Juárez, Mexico

Last week I blogged about how reporting can be dangerous, especially in war-torn countries. This week, I wish to expand upon what some American reporters believe should be reported on the happenings in Juárez, Mexico.

Chris Lopez with the El Paso Times wrote an article about how it is the reporters' job to inform the world of what they see going on. Lopez focused on how it is a necessity to report about what is going on near the border, and just over it. He does not, however, see it was a bad thing to be reporting on (as the gangs in Juárez think it is), but rather just doing their job. Lopez argues that if this were happening in the United States, then the reporting would be just the same.

These are clearly people who have no fear in going out and getting the story they want. News sources from as far away as the BBC have traveled to Mexico to report on the violence. Or if they do have fears about anything, they are still willing to go get the story.

It is interesting to me that thus far, most accounts of reporters that have been murdered have all been Mexican citizens, and not so many of other nationalities. Surely the gangs know that there are other people reporting on what they are doing, yet a reaction has not been seen.

Is it up to other countries to report about issues that go on elsewhere? Or should this all be left to the natives? For the situation in Mexico, I think that it is important for other nations to keep everyone up to date, because those in Mexico are being scared into silence.

As a world, we need to keep each other informed, so that help may come to those who need it. It is refreshing to see that there are people that are willing to go get the story, and not worry about what will be said. They are seeking to tell the truth.

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Harm Social Media Can Cause

Bullying and suicide via social media has attracted a lot of attention lately.

Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, committed suicide on Septemper 22. This was after a video of his "intimate" encounter with another male was broadcasted live on this Internet by his own roommate, Dharun Ravi and fellow student Molly Wei.


Clementi updated his Facebook status to "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry" sometime during that day he committed suicide.

This action of his roommate and fellow student is being viewed as not only a hate crime but also an invasion of privacy. If convicted they could face up to 5 years in jail.

This incident also brings up the question about the harm social media can cause.

Many children, teenagers and even adults have experienced bullying in one technological way or another.

18 year old Jesse Logan committed suicide because of "sexting". She sent nude pictures to her boyfriend, of the time, via picture messaging on her phone.

When they later broke up her boyfriend sent these pictures to other girls in their school. These girls then proceeded to harass her until she hung herself a few months later.

A lot of focus has been put on not only bullying but bullying due to one's sexuality. Teenagers and young adults are afraid to "come out" because of the harassment they know they will have to endure.

A recent "It Gets Better" campaign has been started to tell youth struggling with their identity and sexuality that over time it gets better.

Online media is used for all sorts of inappropriate things. One man actually committed suicide live online.

Many viewers egged him on, others tried to persuade him not to while others had no idea what was going on until it was too late.

All of this just goes to show that social media is a powerful thing that should not be taken lightly.

Everyone has poked fun at or even bullied someone online at one time or another. Next time they're thinking about it they need to step back and think about the possible consequences.

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iPad Has Been A Big Hit For Apple

At first when the iPad premiered it seemed as just another novelty to have and people were unsure how many people would actually purchase the expensive electronic device. The iPad could hit in the top consumer electronic products within the next year.

According to the article below people are consuming the iPad more than the iPhone or near-ubiquitous DVD players. The iPad is continuing to grow it was not a huge hit right away like some other products made by Apple, but it is working its way up on the charts.

The iPad rates are about 4.5 million units per quarter. This is ahead of the 1 million units per quarter the original iPhone made when it was released and the 350,00 per quarter when the DVD players launched.

If this continues to be a popular consuming item the number could go up to 9 million per year business. Putting the iPad in the top five of largest consumer products placing it behind televisions and lap tops. And placing it in front of game systems. Along with these rising numbers it explains why companies like Samsung are wanting to incorporate touch screen into their products. It always is about being competitive. So I'm curious to see what Apple will make next!

http://bit.ly/aTKEpU

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When Social Media Turns Deadly

For the majority of Internet users, social medias are a way to connect people.

They bring the miles and distances between people down to a minimum, and they are a great tool for entrepreneurs in terms of business and marketing. But what people don't see is the harm that can come from being able to access, record, and broadcast information to millions of viewers any where, at any time.

Newfound victimizations have occurred over these new mediums, particularly to teenage users.

Online bullying, in recent years, has become an issue

of concern for schools, kids, and their parents. Not only has it given a new outlet to perpetuate hate, but bullying and threats online have become more severe than the typical verbal assault: When students don't have to have a name or a face to their speech, they aren't held accountable for the harm they cause.

Recently, tools such as iChat, YouTube, and Twitter have been the most detrimental in spreading gossip, hate, and ridicule to students to the point of suicide. In the case of Tyler Clementi, a student at Rutgers University, his roommate recorded footage of Clementi and, in turn, exposed to an audience that he was gay. Traumatized by this event, which was spread across the web via Twitter and iChat on two separate occasions, he took his own life at age 18.

Celebrities, rights groups, and LBGTQA communities are appalled at the rate of suicides because of this form of bullying. In the wake of Clementi's case, four other male students had committed suicide in the same week for similar cases of hate crimes and online threats.

Video campaigns have been launched by many influential people, including Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Lance Bass and Kathy Griffin to stop these acts of hate.

A gay rights activist, Dan Savage, has recently opened up a YouTube channel called "It Gets Better" in response to these recent suicides. His goal is to raise awareness through this medium as a way to educate people about the harmful and 'dark side' of social media as it relates to cyber-bullying.

So what do WE do about it? --It starts with education.

Not only do schools need to be aware of what's going on, but so do kids and their parents; this is a very REAL concern. Counseling and outreach/support systems and groups need to be formed for those who are being victimized. The ignorance of hate speech can only be stopped once we being to acknowledge that IS a problem.

There's not much we can do about censoring social media usage without getting into legal disputes over privacy, but that doesn't mean we should sit back and let these tools be abused either. As much as culture begins to rely on technology, we need to understand that it's not an excuse to not be held accountable for our actions...especially if we're trying to teach kids about how to function and live in society.

As cliche as it might be, the wise Peter Parker said: "With great power comes great responsibility" and that's exactly the kind of mentality needed if we're going to tackle the malicious evils of online bullying in social media now and in years to come.

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Google TV Moves Forward

Google divulged on Monday Oct. 4 2010 who their partners in television will be. Although the announcement of their partners is a big step forward, they have a long way to go.

Companies working with Google to offer web are, HBO, CNBC, Twitter, Netflix and Amazon. They hope to allow on-demand viewing or build apps for TV screens.

Big hopes of this marriage is for people to chat with friends on Twitter, or just searching the internet all while watching television.

Big time television networks like ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC are not needed in Google TV's effort. Their plan is to stick with smaller networks that way they do not have to share any money.

Google's promise is to make all the living room’s audio and video as searchable and instantly accessible as the Internet’s content. To fulfill that promise it requires a great deal of cooperation from media companies.

Google TV also wishes to be a leader in with Google TV, the company wants to be a leader in the budding industry of Internet-connected television sets, or 43 million United States homes by 2015, up from two million this year.

Watching television is a huge medium which makes it the biggest for advertising . Another potential problem is that only 3% plan to own a internet-connect television set.

Google's TV announcement was held in May 2009, and should be available to public in the coming weeks. Logitech is creating a remote control which will be used for searching the TV and the Web. Viewers will also be able to use their Android phones or iPhones as a remote control and “fling” a video they are watching on their phones to the television.

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VisualCV as an Alternative Digital Resume

VisualCV is a social media that utilizes all of the information a paper resume while infusing other online media.

Although paper resumes are the traditional format of presenting professional material, online media have started to change the way employers look at resumes.

This is not to say get rid of your resume. This is simply saying to use an online resume as an alternative, and one of the social media that is available is VisualCV.

As shown above, VisualCV is an online multimedia resume that takes the form of a paper resume online, but allows users to do more than what a paper resume is limited to.

Some features VisualCV offers are a side bar where images, audio, links to other social media, writing samples, video clips and more are placed to show what you are currently working on.

VisualCV also offers convenience. With paper resumes there is a need to update, print and send to employers whereas in VisualCV updating your resume for potential employers online takes a matter of minutes for them to see instantly.

Another feature is that you get your own online url address thus making it easier for recruiters to find you.

If you are worried about the written material being taken out, don't. VisualVC still allows descriptions of recommendations, education, work experience, etc. See examples of resumes on VisualVC here.

Having an online resume is essential to have today. Because VisualVC is convenient, easy and free to use, it is a great alternative to the paper resume.

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Facebook To Upgrade Photos Feature

It appears that yet another upgrade from social media giant Facebook is set to be launched.



According to Jolie O'Dell's article Facebook Upgrades Photos: Look Out, Flickr, Facebook will soon be upgrading its photos feature which will reportedly put them into competition with photo sharing site Flickr. High-res photos, photo-downloaded links, bulk tagging options, and a lightbox interface that allows images to be viewed anywhere on the site are all being added.


Up until now Facebook's photos feature has only been able to be used for capturing memories but this upgrade will completely change that. Facebook will be able to target photographers to post their portfolios along with modeling and graphic design portfolios.

Very soon users will be able to download high-res images of up to 2048 pixels or higher. Currently Facebook users can only download 720 pixels.

Another big change will be the lightbox UI. When you click on a photo a black screen will come up with the photo you desire and limited navigation features. This is being done to let users focus better on the picture(s) they want to see.

The new bulk tagging feature sounds handy as well. This feature will let users tag people in photos by grouping pictures of them together and then clicking on a single thumbnail to tag all the photos.

All of this upgrading will cost more money though which will inevitably mean more ads on Facebook. However if that keeps us the users from paying anything for it and getting a more advanced Facebook, I say bring on the ads.



Image courtesy of Flickr, Jay Cameron

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Technology and journalism converge at Newseum

The front pages of newspapers after Obama's victory
on an inside wall of the Newseum

Hewlett-Packard and the Newseum will become founding partners and are encouraging the rapidly changing technology and media worlds as they converge.

HP has generously offered $5 million to the Newseum in Washington, D.C. in an effort to create a journalism technology exhibit.

The exhibit will incorporate a live "Twitter-like"  news feed on touch-activated walls for which museum goers can interact.

This will allow a large array of museum goers to learn about the uses of media and how it affects them in order to spark the interests of all age groups and backgrounds.

Shelby Coffey, a Newseum trustee and former editor of the Los Angeles Times said the exhibit will be designed "so we'll be able to change things within it" as quickly as possibly and in time with the fast-paced changes in technology.

The more I pay attention to news about the media and journalism, the more I see it coinciding with advances in technology. There is an obvious correlation between the two and I found it to be clever that HP has  employed their own resources to better educate the population.

HP has realized the growing uses of technology in the media world and this large donation is evidence of just that. McKinney pointed out that "our customers use our technology to access that kind of information."

McKinney hopes the exhibit will represent coverage of breaking news in similar ways that live streams like Twitter have done. At the same time, it will educate viewers about being wary of the accuracy of some social-media sources. Not everything you read on the Internet is true.

This generation of journalists will likely benefit from the exhibit because the majority have grown up using technology to gain a competitive advantage.

More than anything, it's common sense that says journalists are going to be moving right along with advances in technology. It's encouraging to me and I'm sure many other journalists that museums such as the Newseum are staying as relevant as media says they should.

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Paradox Over Internet Privacy

This past week, President Obama introduced a radical proposition that could end with the concept of Internet-communication as we know it.

On September 27, the New York Times reported on new regulations being considered by President Obama's administration that would allow national security officials to wiretap all kinds of online-communication platforms. This bill would require all Internet-based communication companies to redesign their servers and adhere to federal security measures of wiretapping laws.

Although the bill won't be submitted to lawmakers until next year, the bill is already rising doubts and criticism. Among the opposers, one of them is Christopher Calabrese, Legislative Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Mandating that all communications software be accessible to the government is a huge privacy invasion," Calabrese said.

From e-mail to Facebook and even mobile texting, law enforcement would be able to tap private communication software and track conversations in an effort to identify possible threats to the U.S., including terrorist attacks.

Furthermore, another concern brought by this bill is the possible damage to all online-communication systems in the U.S. Bruce Schneier, a security technologist, expressed his concern of the bill in a special report by CNN.

"Communications systems that have no inherent eavesdropping capabilities are more secure than systems with those capabilities built in," Schneier continued "Any surveillance system invites both criminal appropriation and government abuse."

In other words, not only will it be easier for federal security to spy on people but criminals would be more likely to do it as well, which I think defeats the purpose of increasing security measures.
Obviously, this new bill would have a drastic impact on individuals' privacy.

The free and open sharing of ideas and thoughts and the private communication scheme provided by the Internet years ago, could be seriously damaged if this law were to be approved.

Of course, security is an important issue, but will you be willing to give up your privacy for increased security?

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$5 Million Donation for Journalism Exhibit

HP donated $5 million to build a new journalism exhibit at the Newseum in Washington D.C.

The new exhibit will focus on technology and how it relates to journalism.

The exhibit will be an interactive place for visitors to experience the news, and it will show how certain forms of media may be used to report the news first.

In the article created by the Washington Post, one form of media was specifically noted.

Twitter was mentioned as to how it may be the first to deliver word or pictures of breaking news. Many journalists these days are utilizing Twitter to spread the news quicker.

The Newseum is clearly also relevant to journalists these days because it seems to educate the public on the importance of social media with how news is spread. I still here people complaining day to day about how Twitter, especially, is boring an inapplicable to them.

In reality, Twitter is applicable to those people because if they care at all about the news, which I think they should, then Twitter is an important tool for keeping up with it.

My hope is that this new exhibit at the Newseum will help non-journalists to better understand the uses of social media.

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Homosexuality Subjected to Bias on TV too

President Obama said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that Fox News has a "very clear, undeniable point of view," a point of view not shared by the President.

Obama went on to say that the clearly conservative view held by Fox and enforced by Fox owner Rupert Murdoch "is ultimately destructive for the long term growth" of the country--a country Obama said has "a vibrant middle class and is competitive in the world." Obama is the Democratic party candidate from the 2008 election and has very liberal views unlike Fox which is said to have a very conservative bias.

On the other side of the political spectrum, James O'Keefe, a conservative prankster, was recently caught trying to pull off a prank that would show an obvious bias of CNN. He tried to make CNN anchorwoman Abbie Boudreau stubble upon a fake scandal. O'Keefe is known to have a strong opinion that CNN has a clear bias and he must have assumed that Boudreau would jump at the chance to uncover his conservative sex scandal.

Scandal is intriguing when it comes in connection with politics. Everyone has a bias, whether it be in politics, religion or another aspect of society. These biases cause networks like Fox to present things like homosexuality in a particular way--a way that may not always be true to reality.

A recent study showed that one in five television viewers--gay or straight--are unhappy with the portrayal of homosexuals on television. Some heterosexuals commented that seeing homosexuals portrayed as they are on television makes them uncomfortable as a viewer. Some homosexual viewers commented that the way homosexuality is shown on TV is nothing like the life of most homosexual persons.

Many homosexual viewers discussed how they want to see a homosexual character who is NOT defined by his/her sexual preference.

Just like political affiliates are branded with the names of conservative or liberal and every form of media has a, while usually unintentional, bias, characters on TV who are homosexual are branded with the cast iron rod burning HOMOSEXUAL into their television skin.

Characters branded with HOMOSEXUALITY are the subjects of scandal in many TV shows and movies--this is intriguing to viewers, but would it be as intriguing if the character wasn't defined by his or her sexuality?

We can see this branding in TV shows like "Degrassi" in which gay males are known on the show as 'the gay male.' Being gay is the entire importance of their character to the plot. In the movie Bound, actress Gina Gurshon plays the role of a "butch lesbian." This leads an inexperienced audience to believe that all homosexual men are known only for being gay and that all lesbians are "butch." The homosexual viewers said this was not true to reality and seemingly biased.

What is the true cost of intrigue, especially when it leads us to see a fake reality through a biased lens?

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Tips for Contemporary Journalists from Experienced Writer

You've heard the words, "Anyone can be a reporter nowadays." You've heard talk that the internet is changing journalism and the definition of a journalist. However Carl Hiaasan, novelist and columnist at the Miami Herold says this must not change the way we approach journalism and reporting.

Hiaasan spoke about the issue on September 25th at Flagler College.

Hiaasan says that reporters today often tend to write a quick online version of a story rather than taking the time to check facts, and this is dangerous behavior.

Another change he's noticed in journalism is that employers are hiring more writers with English backgrounds and creative concentrations, when they used to steer away from this and go only for those with writing background in law, history, etc. This shows that journalism is becoming more diversified.

Hiassan urges journalists to keep working and reporting with accuracy. "We've never needed good journalists more than we need them now", he said in a recent article.

Explaining that journalism is all about discipline, Hiassan says journalists not only need to have talent but they need to know how to discipline themselves and meet deadlines. They also need to learn how to constantly listen to what people are saying.

Hiassan thinks that most importantly journalists need to be committed and dedicated with many open ideas to make it in the competitive media job market now.

As a student majoring in journalism, Hiassan thoughts are very helpful. Journalism is becoming more contemporary now, but it's important to remember that people still want traditional liability. It's also important to remember to approach the changes and advances in journalism with open eyes and open minds, and be constantly ready to adjust.

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President Obama Holds Phone Conference with Journalism Students

President Barack Obama takes time out of his busy schedule to conference call select universities to answer journalism students' questions.

I am proud to have a president that will take time away from running our country to talk to college students. It reinsures his statements about believing in and supporting a brighter future.

Obama answered questions such as the Affordable Care Act enabling the eligibility to stay on your parents' health plan until the age of 26.

As a young adult I know how hard it is to make a decedent wage with or without a college education. I wouldn't be able to afford health care if I wasn't on my parents' health plan. Health care is very important not only for the obvious health benefits but I wouldn't have been able to spend 12 months in Europe through my college if I couldn't afford health insurance.

The main point Obama made to the students was that his goal was to have more students complete college. He discussed his plans to raise the value of Pell Grants and triple the college tax investment for middle-class families.

As a senior in college I exceeded my loan and grant money and my parents had to take out a personal loan for me to complete my last year of college. Luckily my parents are very supportive of my education and signed a personal loan, under their names not mine, so I can have a degree.

If my parents hadn't helped me I would have been among the one-third of college students that do not finish. Something needs to change and I'm glad he is planning to make college more affordable.

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Make Tweets More Like Headlines

Being a new tweeter myself I am still getting used to the in's and out's of what and how to say what you want in 140 characters.

One Twitter user offers some pretty good advice.

While you have 140 characters it doesn't necessarily mean you need to use each and every one of those to say as much as possible.

Instead of having diarrhea of the fingers you should try and make you tweets more like a headline.

You all remember back in the good old days when newspapers were still around when the headline was what captured a reader's attention.

Well, while we still have newspapers and more than enough online it seems people are forgetting that less is more. So get to the point people and save space for other things, such as hashtags or a link.

Here I will offer a few pointers from not only the article I read but also my Beginning Newswriting and Reporting Professor.

First off, always aim for the "active voice". Make your subject do something rather than have something happen to them. It's catchier but passive is sometimes acceptable as well.

Next, ditch the conjunctions and articles. You can simply replace conjunctions such as "&" with a comma. No one cares about, and really need the "the" to get the point across.

Abbreviate when possible, it save's time and space. The final piece of advice offered in the article is to not capitalize every single word in your headline.

So, take this advice everyone and make your tweets shorter, snappier and more like a headline.

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iPhone Adds New Application

The iPhone is continuing to add new applications that will make life easier and more terminologically advanced. One of the latest applications is Sumazi In a nutshell this application can connect people in a single touch as the article's headline says.

Everyone always wants to connect with the top dog person to help them get the job opportunity. Or that one person that would be perfect to help with a project. The right person never seems to come to mind. Making a good connection with the right person can change your life forever. According to a study only about four meaningful connections happen each year.

LinkedIn has a similar application but no one uses the connection option because it does not always provide the best results. Which is what Sumazi is hoping to do the opposite of on the iPhone application. This application allows one person to instantly connect two people on their contacts list and then an explanation is provided as to why the two should be connected. Feedback is offered is people do not want to accept the connection.

The web application does the same thing providing possible connections for jobs or whatever it may be. The founder Sumaya Kazi is hoping to make in so human interaction is not necessary with the program. That way the application will just know who to suggest as a possible connection.

This will benefit a lot of people in whatever they may be looking for. Making good connections can change a person's life for the better because at times it's all about who you know.

http://nyti.ms/dml33N

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Is Journalism Dangerous to Your Health?

How many of us want to travel (outside of our own state) to cover news stories? The chance to go to a different country would seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and many of us would probably jump at it. However, have we stopped to think of the consequences?

If you've looked at the news lately, you've probably noticed that reporters in Mexico are have been "disappearing" or are being murdered. This has been ongoing since 2006, when their new president came to office, Felipe Calderon. A South Carolina newspaper recently ran an article about how reporters in Mexico are being urged to use extra caution. What are they being murdered for?

Reporting on the drug trafficking problems. Since 2000, at least 65 reporters (in various fields) have been murdered, sometimes seemingly at random. This makes Mexico the deadliest country in the world for news people, according to a report from a Utah news station.

To us (or so I'm assuming), reporting on something such as drug trafficking doesn't seem like that big of an issue, but we are sitting a couple thousand miles away from the problem.

So why are journalists being killed for doing their jobs?

This is nothing new, and people have been persecuted over this for years. Do you remember Daniel Pearl who was beheaded over his investigation into Al-Qaeda a few years back? He had traveled to a war-torn country, tried to do his job, and was subsequently killed for doing so.

Would you be willing to travel to a foreign country, is you knew there was a chance you wouldn't be coming back? Do these kind of reports scare you, as a potential reporter, about what could happen? Or does it make you want it that much more? Just because the United States embraces journalists (for the most part), does not necessarily mean that the rest of the world does.

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Vevo May Be on TV

If you've been on Youtube and looked up songs of current popular artists, the first video listed may be one from Vevo.

Vevo is a music video website designed to attract big advertisers that launched a year ago this December. It plays videos from large record labels like Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI.

On Youtube, the Vevo video usually has the best quality and plays music videos to their entirety. They also have their annoying 30 seconds or less long advertisements at the beginning of each video. In the end it's worth waiting the extra 30 seconds because it's doubtful you will find a video with better quality.

Since Vevo launched it's been very successful. So successful that it is making plans to make their own television network and compete with MTV.

Vevo claims that they are the number one site to visit if you're looking for music videos. Although MTV receives more views when you add up everything they have on their channel.

Surprisingly in my opinion, MTV is not bothered by Vevo's hopes of creating their own TV channel. “We welcome new players in the music video category and think any exposure for music is good for the industry and everyone in it, from Fuse to Vevo,” an MTV spokesperson said.

That being said from MTV, I give them a lot of respect for being up for the challenge.

Vevo has yet to sign deals with satellite and cable providers since they are just beginning. If the Vevo channel happens, I wonder what the difference will be compared to MTV. For example, if Vevo will be strictly music videos, like MTV used to be.

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Twitter To Unveil Promoted Accounts Feature

It appears that very soon, Twitter will be launching a new Promoted Accounts product. According to the article Twitter to Launch "Promoted Accounts" by Ben Parr, businesses will be able to pay Twitter so that they can be featured in the who to follow section. This move would increase the businesses visibility and help said business collect more followers.

The concept for this was apparently leaked two months ago, according to the article by Parr. At that time it was only in the concept stage but it looks like Twitter has decided to take this idea and run with it.

Much like Twitter's Promoted Tweets feature has had success (many promoted tweets have been going for near $100,000), the company must be banking on the fact that businesses and corporations want to become more visible to the online community.

Full details have not surfaced quite yet however. It is expected that Twitter will present this new feature this Tuesday at the IAB Conference in New York.

Apparently what is known is that this Promoted Accounts feature will be targeted to users who would be more receptive to that product or business much like Promoted Tweets.

In our ever changing society of media and news it would only seem logical that monetizing social media and other forms of journalism online is a natural step. It looks like Twitter may be figuring out how to do this, which has been a difficult task for many. Maybe other forms of journalism and media should look at what Twitter is doing, especially if they are having trouble surviving.

Image Courtesy of Flickr, Matt Hamm

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Coping with Younger Generation Ignoring the News

Newspapers gone, journalists fired and education changed to cope with the digital age uprising.

The younger generation of the digital age has left the newspapers, and have moved to online

news. Unfortunately the question is still asked does this generation even pay attention to the online material?

The answer is no, they don't. The younger generation doesn't pay attention to news when they don't understand how it directly affects them.

Even with the news right online with quick and easy access, if the information isn't comprehended as having an affect on them, then there is no need to pay attention to the material.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So how do we help the younger generation grasp the fact that news is important? Start by making it important to them specifically when they are younger.

As shown in the video above, George Washington elementary has a third grade class that is being taught the importance ofblogging at a young age.

It can specifically be seen when the students are talking about blogging most of them post comments, and look at others comments.

Explained by some of these students, it helps them choose other books that they may potentially like to read because of others comments.

These students saw that the information 'posted by others' can benefit them and their choices of, in this case, books.

Essentially, these third graders are getting 'news' about books read by others. This could progress throughout their education to bigger news topics in the United States or throughout the World.

Whether it is print or online, as long as techniques like blogging show the younger generation how news affects them, there is a chance to grasp their attention.

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Journalism Ethics in Student Newspapers

Ethics. They're what we live by.

In the world of journalism, it is ever so important to hold on to the proper 'codes of conduct' while reporting the news. This ensures that lawsuits are not filed and that journalists hold a level of accountability and credibility.

Unfortunately, some student-run newspapers around the country have had trouble with those boundaries...

The Badger Herald newspaper, printed on the UW-Madison campus, came under fire for letting an ad be published depicting anti-Semitic comments geared toward the Jewish community.

There was speculation as to wether this was intentional or an editing error, but the paper received negative feedback on its online forums and comment boards. The news spread quickly through online channels and the paper had to deal with a variety of consequences. -To read the original article click HERE.

This example shows that writers and publications need to be on their toes when it comes to the content they express. Whether it's in print or online forms of the publication, the speech that gets out there should be censored for such offensive remarks. In this context, this type of 'hate speech' would be only protected insofar as if it didn't target a particular individual...but that doesn't mean it should get printed.

Young journalists should conduct themselves in ways that will help establish their credibility as writers, which I have noted in the video blog about this article. Since these are students, and not professional journalists there should be a little lee-way granted, but it also reflects badly on the publication and the school when such issues are raised in stories.

I feel like the student organization should go to extreme matters to right the wrongs that occurred in this case, and also go to great lengths to ensure that ALL students know what should/shouldn't be allowed to run in an issue.

In order to report the news accurately and effectively, it takes the entire staff's effort to ensure that the right sources and content reach the audience...in a non-offensive way. Not all student newspapers have this problem, but it has become apparent that there needs to be more emphasis made on teaching journalism ethics to young writers and students.

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New Journalists Emerge From Changing Climate

Entrepreneurial Journalism covers several
platforms, all of which begin with technology.

The City University of New York, CUNY, is set to debut its new master's program in entrepreneurial journalism.

As the world of journalism changes, it's important for graduate schools for journalists such as CUNY to stay on top of both media and the changing platforms for which media is to be displayed.

Entrepreneurial journalism is described in the article "New Journalism Degree to Emphasize Start-Ups" by Tanzina Vega, as "pulling journalism, business and technology closer together."

What this means to me is the greater use of media journalism as means to start being heard and recognized as a journalist. Additionally, if students are acquiring entrepreneurial skills, they are more likely to start up journalism-based businesses that will, indeed, further the evolving journalism world.

The school finds this type of journalism to be so important that they're recommending that journalists who have fallen out of date with mainstream media to begin taking these classes.

"We're all very concerned about sustaining quality journalism, and we think the future of journalism is going to be entrepreneurial," said Stephen B. Shepard, the founding dean of the school and a former editor in chief of BusinessWeek.

This type of journalism is going to become the norm for all journalists. It's going to become apparative that journalists are familiar with a vast number of technological programs and devices and self-management skills in order to thrive in such a demanding job market.

It's exciting to know that unlike many practices that will be taught the same way today and in 100 years, journalism is transforming along with the changing times, in synch with the advances in technology.

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Mashable Names Top Travel Apps

Being informed about where you are going should always be important to travelers.

It helps you understand the culture around you, it helps you make sure you don't get lost, and as Mashable blogger Sarah Kessler said in her post "7 Ways Mobile Apps are Enriching Historical Tourism," it helps you distinguish famous historical sites from "just another old house or pile of rubble."

Although there are ample amounts of mobile travel apps, Mashable chose seven that they believe are among the most "innovative and impressive."

Of course, this should be especially important to my fellow college students, who may be preparing for future May Term trips.

Many students will be traveling to England for their May Term trip this year. The Time Travel eXplorer London app not only provides you with over 750 points of interest in London with personal guided commentary, but also gives you the ability "time travel" by switching from antique maps to a present-day map.

Other apps listed also boast cutting-edge technology.

The Walking Cinema: Murder on Beacon Hill app was the first app to be accepted as an entry into the Boston International Film Festival due to its documentary-like feel, and the Chicago Gangland Tour app was created by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Eig.

Need to save a few dollars? Getting an app for your mobile phone rather than paying for guided tours is a great way to save money. Furthermore, it can save you time and, more importantly, impress your fellow travelers.

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Facebook Goes Down and People Freak Out

For two-and-a-half hours, many of the 550 million Facebook users experienced the "e-pocalypse" this past Thursday.

Two days ago, Facebook experienced an outage due to a glitch on Facebook's databases causing the site to be unavailable for a few hours.

As expected, Facebook was prompt with a resolution to the site's blackout and the site was restored without any changes. Facebook's representative, Robert Johnson, sent a public message via Facebook explaining the situation and apologizing for any inconveniences it might have caused.

Many were not able to update their status, share their pictures, "like" their friend's post, or comment on the trending news; activities that have become regular tasks for thousands, if not millions, of people.

Furthermore, something more impressive is the speed at which the news spread and the amount of attention it generated.

CNN, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times, to mention a few, reported this issue and kept updating their online posts as they found new details on the story. Other websites, like Network World and CBS News, went a little deeper into the story by reporting technical explanations to the outage.

Today, two days after the outage happened, news reports about the Facebook issue are still showing up on my RSS Feeds, which makes me think: Is the media being too dramatic or is Facebook so big and indispensable that it deserves that much attention?

Of course, this little Facebook incident has shown how addictive social media has become, but I do not think it required that much attention, specially if the site only went down for two hours.

Can you imagine what would happen if Facebook ever decides to close down the website? Heaven forbid.

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Top Tool for a Journalist

Every journalist needs what is considered the top tool in some form.

There is a list of the top five tools for journalists, and the voice recorder is number one.

They are crucial to a journalist's writing.

So many mistakes can be made if the journalist doesn't have this tool.

When writing an article that involves interviewing, which I've found that most do, having some form of voice recorder is an absolute necessity.

If a journalist doesn't happen to have some type of recording device on them, they may be in a critical condition later on when trying to write the story.

The reason for the voice recorder is to make interviewing and jotting notes simpler. If something is missed it may be listened to later on to see what was said.

Another reason voice recorders are important is that when quoting somebody, a journalist must use exactly what they said. If the journalist merely jots notes instead of writing word for word then there will be no quotes to use.

Without quotes the article or story will be bland. The public will not want to read anything they can't relate to.

To avoid these mishaps, get some form of voice recorder.

Now, get out there and start interviewing.

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Communication or Entertainment...Or both?

Media consumption has skyrocketed over the past two years.

A study done by Ipsos OTX of 7,000 online consumers ages 13-74 shows that people now spend over half of every day consuming media. New technology like smart phones and high tech laptops has fueled this increase in consumption.


The big form of media that has been fueled by new technology is social media. The study showed that 77 percent of the people who participated in the study were members of one or more social Media site.

So, what is it big deal with social media?

Bruce Friend, president of Ipsos OTX Media CT said in an interview with TheWrap, "Communicating is now entertaining, and entertainment is communication."

Social media has broken its boundaries with the help of new media to take on the role of communication and entertainment combined.

Media consumers want to be informed, they want to be in touch and they want to be entertained. Social media has all of these aspects. Social media sites are constantly changing and revamping in order to attract media consumers who have these demands.

Thanks to new technology, social media sites are also being forced into making products available through every different type of smart phone or other media device on the current market.

Are media consumers demanding too much out of their media outlets?
Is entertainment becoming more important than communication, or can they coexist equally through social media?

Only time, and an eye on new technology, will answer that.

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