General Facebook Facts:

Sources – ( http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?timeline and http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=9166#/press/info.php?statistics )

• Facebook was launched in Feb. 2004
• Facebook now has more than 300 million active users (which makes it bigger than the population of all but 4 countries in the world. Just passed Brazil, next in line is Indonesia and then the US.)
• with more than 2 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) shared each week

Facebook Beacon:

link – http://www.facebook.com/beacon/faq.php

Pitch from Facebook -
“Facebook Beacon is a way for you to bring actions you take online into Facebook. Beacon works by allowing affiliate websites to send stories about actions you take to Facebook.”
(http://www.allfacebook.com/2007/11/breaking-facebook-updates-beacon/)
Facts:

• Launched on Nov. 2007 with 44 partners (src: http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=9166)
• Partner sites include eBay, Fandango, & Blockbuster
• Originally, if no user action was taken partners could publish information to their Facebook account with updates such as:
• Prompted civil action groups to ask Facebook to change the way Beacon functioned
• As a result Beacon became an opt-in service – users had to explicitly approve any website’s attempts to publish information to Facebook.

Facebook and Canada

links: http://www.pcworld.com/article/171030/thanks_canada_facebooks_4_big_privacy_fixes.html &
http://www.facebook.com/press/releases.php?p=118816

Only two months ago (August 09) a set of recommendations from the Canadian Privacy Commissioner made Facebook change its privacy policy:
“to better describe a number of practices, including the reasons for the collection of date of birth, account memorialization for deceased users, the distinction between account deactivation and deletion, and how its advertising programs work.”

Before these changes went into effect, Facebook users could “delete” their account but it would remain in Facebook’s servers in a deactivated state in case the user wanted to come back and rejoin Facebook. This obviously creates some privacy concerns because an account might contain sensitive information that a user really wants to be erased.

“Increasing the understanding and control a user has over the information accessed by third-party applications. Specifically, Facebook will introduce a new permissions model that will require applications to specify the categories of information they wish to access and obtain express consent from the user before any data is shared”

Even with these changes any third-party application could gain access to most of your profile information through one mouse click:

Many concerns still remain as documented by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C.) at http://epic.org/privacy/facebook/

Playing For Change: Song Around the World “Stand By Me” from Playing For Change on Vimeo.

“Dammit I’m Mad”
by Demetri Martin

Dammit I’m mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I’m in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level “Mad Dog”.
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider… eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one… my names are in it.
Murder? I’m a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I’m it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I’d assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
“Sir, I deliver. I’m a dog”
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I’m mad.

I made a quick program to confirm that this poem is in fact a palindrome and here is the result:

Demetri Martin Palindrome Check

The internet has been the best thing to happen to cats since catnip

• Internet – massive growth in interactive social networks
• Mobile Phones – widespread use of portable media with devices that combine other forms of media into the mobile form factor.
• Video Games – immersive virtual worlds become popular places for work and play
• Recorded Audio – music is around but sadly the one-hit-wonders are too.
• broadcast/cable TV – still around but struggling to adapt to the times
• Print Media – becoming relics as paper is digitized and displayed on portable devices
• Radio – fewer choices in radio programming have caused a decline in listenership
• Film – still popular as new filming technology is developed to keep moviegoers interested

I imagine that in 15 years I will be even more dependent on visual media to aid in the continuous learning that is associated with the computer science field. I believe it will be more effective and convenient to watch instructional material perhaps on the go in a visual form. Life seems to be lived in an increasingly hectic pace as the rate of technological development quickens. Multitasking and time management will be key to my future success. As a result of this, my personal locus will be focused on advancing my career while having enough leisure time to maintain my sanity. A sample week of my future media life might look like:

Mobile Phone Media:
New York Times,
Wall Street Journal – portable print editions
Technology news
Weather forecasts

Internet
facebook – if this isn’t around another similar service has taken its place.

TV
any Discovery channel show

Video Games
casual games – easy to pick up and play during my free time.

MySpace has traditionally been a place for music and fledgling bands to get discovered by fellow MySpace members. For this reason, I would say the ideal user of MySpace is a 15-25 year old Male/Female who is a member of a band and has set up a profile to increase their band’s exposure. Since profiles for musicians in the website’s MySpace Music section differ from normal profiles in allowing artists to upload songs they can put on their band’s top singles. The band member is probably the load vocalist or lead member and has an outgoing but affable personality.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• If you like any kind of music, you can find it on MySpace.
• You can sell your music and perhaps attract the attention of a record label
• If you get a huge following of fans, you can get put on TV like Tila!

cons

• Being the original social networking juggernaut, MySpace has been the target of many security exploits. MSNBC has reported that “social-networking sites like MySpace are turning out to be hotbeds for spyware.”
• People often disguise their identities on MySpace so its hard to tell if you are friends with someone genuine.
• MySpace has a tarnished reputation when it comes to its creepy stalker control.

Description of the ideal user on the social networking site Facebook:

A site which started as a social network for Ivy League college kids has turned into an international network of 90+ million members. This has opened the flood gates for anyone with an internet connection to join in. However, I feel the core functions of Facebook still benefit the college aged person the best. This being the case, the ideal user of Facebook is a male/female who is attending college and wants to connect with the established community of his or her fellow students online. Facebook then provides the user with the ability to find other people in the classes they are taking and perhaps other people in their dorms.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• With 90 million users and counting, you’re sure to find someone you know.
• Facebook is not going to fizzle out like some dot.com bust in late 90′s, it has dedicated developers and millions of dollars in capital. (I know, I’ve toured their offices)
• Photo tagging feature lets people know what you’ve been up to.

Cons

• Turns everything about your social life into a popularity contest.
• Photo tagging proves to be a risk when people are applying for jobs
• Who knows what Facebook will do with your personal information, their EULA is nearly 7000 words long, chock-full of lengthy legal jargon. I.E. happy segments such as “By posting User Content to any part of the Site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to the Company an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, publicly perform…”

Like any potentially habit forming activity, online social networking should be used in moderation. I would say if you are spending more than three hours a day on either one of these sites I would consider it an unhealthy habit.

TV

• Dirty Jobs – “Animal Rendering“
• Man vs. Wild – Yukon
• Fringe – Bound
• Lost – S.5 e. 1 Because You Left
  (season 5, seriously I hope they wrap things up soon)
• The Office – Prince Family Paper
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – Wash. D.C.
• CNN‘s coverage of The 2009 Presidential Inauguration

Video Games

• Counter Strike Source
• Enigmo – for the iPod Touch

Audio

• Podcasts – This Week in Tech, Security Now, Katg, Diggreel
• 97.9 FM the Loop Johnny B Mornings

I am starting to notice how I reiterate some of the random bits of information I learn throughout my weekly media exposure. Whether during dinner conversation or casual banter I like to give out random facts from Discovery program shows. For instance, I learned from Man vs. Wild that in the Yukon the snow fall is so heavy that the roofs of buildings must be occasionally cleared or they risk collapsing under the weight. Also, did you know that you can make a glue to plug holes in canoes from boiling the sap collected from tree bark? I might never need to know this information but it sure makes for some interesting conversation.

An embarrassing event in my media week occurred because I was playing this new very addicting game on my iPod Touch called Enigmo. Using it as a new way of passing my time on the EL I soon became so oblivious to my surroundings that I went two stops past my intended one without even realizing it. I was more frustrated than embarassed as I realized that this time-wasting game cost me even more travel time. I suppose it should be a credit to the developers of this game that it’s so good that it makes you miss your train stop.

As for the most important event of my week, the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, I watched the majority of it at the DePaul Student Center with about 50 other people. It was a very moving experience to say the least. Particularly since it has been a long eight years since it last happened and its rare to witness such a great moment in the democratic process. The commercials that played during the event were of particular interest to me becuase of their prestigous caliber. Pepsi is trying to play on a new generation theme (again?) and this supposed clean coal technology is trying to get my attention. Starbucks coffee is offering an interesting promotion that involves you volunteering five hours of your time to community service and they give you a free tall brewed coffee. I heard Starbucks was starting to suffer from the economic situation but that seems a bit stingy to only offer one free coffee? I mean, I can go to McDonald’s and get a free coffee every Monday.

TV

• Dirty Jobs - Abandoned Mine Plugger
• Man vs. Wild – Belize Season 5 episode 8
• American Idol - Season 8 (seriously, season 8!?)
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – Venice
• “The Beast” – Pilot episode
• Great Performances – Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago
  (great PBS series and a fantastic Chicago performance)
• AFC/NFC championship games

Movies

• Gran Torino (Friday 1/16)

Audio

• Podcasts – This Week in Tech, Security Now, Katg, Diggreel
• 97.9 FM the Loop Johnny B Mornings

The most influential experience of this week’s media had to have been Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino. I decided to see this movie after hearing many positive remarks including during the discussion of Thursday’s class. I had high hopes going into the movie and I feel Clint Eastwood didn’t dissapoint with his latest film. He seems to play such a natural grumpy old man character that it leads me to believe he might actually be like this in person. The movie touches on many topical issues in today’s society namely: immigration, racial discrimination and gang violence. I find it related well to our situation in Chicago where many innocent people are becoming victims of random gang violence. However, Eastwood’s character gives hope to us that their are people who are willing to stand up and fight back. What I really liked about the film was how much it developed Eastwood’s character as he progresses and evolves throughout the story. It a sign of a good movie when I find I actually care what happens to the characters and Gran Torino is one of those movies. It also seems that Gran Torino is going to come in second at the box office this weekend behind Paul Blart: Mall Cop. This is an interesting upset in my opinion because it far surpassed the Hotel for Dogs movie which would have logically attracted a larger audience.

The next piece of media that I was pleasantly surprised by was this pilot episode for A&E’s “The Beast” starring Patrick Swayze. I am happy to report that Swayze is still a good action star as he plays a veteran undercover FBI agent in this new T.V. show. The show was particulary interesting because it was filmed in Chicago and I enjoyed seeing the characters board the Red Line at a recongnizable stop. I was also drawn to the show partly because of Swayze’s well publicized battle with cancer. I’ve been a fan of a few of the films he’s been in and I think it is commendable that he is continuing his acting career despite his run-in with cancer. I definitely like the looks of this first episode and will be watching the next one when it airs. The story could use some work to keep it from becoming cliché but I’ve seen worse examples of T.V. shows.

Television:

• Scrubs – “My Jerks” & “My Last Words”
• Dirty Jobs – Bologna Maker
• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – Mexico
• SNL Neil Patrick Harris/Taylor Swift s.34 e.648
• Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern – Philippines

DVD:

• Arrested Development – Season 2

Web:

• Gizmodo – CES coverage
• Various Lifehacker articles

Print:

• This month’s Wired Magazine
• Chicago Red Eye
• Terry Pratchet – the Light Fantastic

Audio:

• Podcasts: This Week in Tech, KATG, SModcast, & No Agenda
• 97.9 FM the Loop Johnny B Mornings

Out of all these various forms of media I usually consider the most wastefull to be television programs because they usually are mindless and not educational except for the occasional History/Discovery channel program. My audio consumption passes through my ears during long commutes to and from school, work and home. I feel like it would be a waste not to use the time I spend on the CTA wisely. It also helps to drown out the noise but, unfortunately, not the smell of the notoriously stinky red-line.

The most important of all the media I’ve absorbed this week has to be Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel channel. I don’t normally watch this show but I have a particular interest in Filipino culture and experience with the various foods involved. The premise of the show is that this food critic Andrew Zimmern travels to various destinations around the world and samples their most exotic cultural cuisine. In this episode he travels to the Philippines where he tastes some of the most interesting food they have to offer such as balut (fertilized duck eggs) and coconut grubs. I’ve been to the same areas that Andrew Zimmern goes to in the episode this last summer so I was able to relate to the experience. Through the show I even learned more about traditional Filipino food than I had through my visit to the country.

During the summer of 2008 I traveled to the Philippines with a Filipino friend and his family to visit his relatives and to tour the country. It was my first international experience and having no Filipino background myself, I found the experience to be eye-opening and enlightening. At first I experienced culture shock but as I became accustomed to the Filipino way of life I was surprised to find many aspects of American culture all around me. I never worked up the courage to eat most of the foods Andrew Zimmern ate but those were what the local people ate on the streets of Manila. By the end of the show, I was missing the freshly caught fish and warm tropical climate that I had enjoyed so much.