LinkedIn Steps Up to the Plate

LinkedIn, the social networking site used predominantly by professionals, has apparently felt neglected as of late. It's been wondering why its 90 million users haven't been giving it as much attention as they've been directing towards Facebook, Google News, and Yahoo News. LinkedIn has been taking this sort of abuse for quite some time now, but it appears that the site has finally decided to act on its dissatisfaction.

A New York Times article has announced the company's new service which provides relevant links to and summaries of the daily news on its site in a move that places the site in direct competition with other new aggregators such as the aforementioned Google and Yahoo general news services.

“We want to give you what you need to know to be better at what you do,” said LinkedIn's chief executive, Jeff Weiner.

To gain access to one of their newest features, "Maps," click here!

YouTube Prepares for Battle

It was only a matter of time before YouTube (owned by Google) made a definitive move to branch outside of its current role as merely a video hosting site. According to a New York Times article, last week (Monday, 03/07/2011), YouTube acquired Next New Networks, which is a video production company. It appears that YouTube hopes to break into the markets where sites like Hulu, which (legally) provides episodes of many television shows and movies. The appeal to Hulu is that viewers can depend on the site for providing the television shows and movies listed on the site, whereas YouTube can not necessarily make these same guarantees due to copyright laws, among other issues.

If my memory serves me correctly, YouTube provides a movie rental service as well, though this has not, apparently, garnered enough of the market for the company to remain satisfied. The acquired company was reportedly acquired for less than $50 million, which seems like a steal for YouTube. Next New Networks has already established itself among its various projects, including Barely Political, Indy Mogul, Hungry Nation, and it's various works on iTunes and Vimeo.


One of the most visible changes viewers can expect from YouTube is the production value of the videos created and uploaded by YouTube's many partners, who are determined based on how many unique hits they receive on their videos and how many subscribers they accumulate. But the bottom line is that Google has got its eye on bigger and better things and is currently preparing it's visual media arm, YouTube, for war over the growing market segment currently dominated by Hulu and a few other sites. So long as this healthy competition breeds higher quality products and services, I don't see how we can complain!

*UPDATE*

Facebook enters the arena!

A Bittersweet Boon

To be honest, the subject of rape and sexual assaults make me greatly uncomfortable. The fact that I'm writing a post about an instance of rape surprises me to no end. But the reality of it is that these things happen all over the world, even in the most progressive and forward thinking societies. And unfortunately the small town of Cleveland, Texas, with a population of about 9,000, was no exception.

According to a New York Times article, a total of eighteen local males have been charged with participating in the gang rape of a young, eleven-year-old girl. The males range from players on the local high school basketball team, to middle school students, to previous felons, etc. What basically happened is that the victim, who had a history of hanging around older children - according to one interviewee- accepted a ride from a nineteen-year-old man who then kidnapped her and took her to a location where several other men were waiting for them.

There are, however, a few redeeming points to this story:

1. The victim walked away with her life and is attending school in a different district.
2. The perpetrators, or at least a great many of them, have been detained.

What makes this story remarkable is the way in which the crime was brought to light and the wrongdoers identified. Several (I'm using plural though it may have, in fact, merely been one person) of the individuals who were present at the time of the assault had taken video on their cellphones. This video circulated around the town, even permeating the elementary school. In fact, it was one of the girls in the elementary school who brought the video to the attention of a teacher as it included her classmate. I applaud this child who stepped forward and did the right thing at her young age, when dozens of others who had either witnessed the crime itself or heard about it later did nothing. Needless to say, it will be a long time before this little town recovers from these shocking events.

I came across this incredibly dimwitted poll as I was looking for an appropriate image for this post and thought I would include it to share with you all how ignorant some people can be: Poll: Is the 11 year old girl from Cleveland, Texas to blame for being gang raped?

For Love or Cell Phones

I believe that cell phones destroy relationships.

A couple I know built their relationship on the love of cooking and bus driving. They spent most of their time involved in various activities that did not involve electronics and were almost always together. This togetherness helped their relationship grow and they were one of the closest and most functional couples I've ever known; however, this changed once they made the decision to both get an iPhone. The first argument erupted even before the new phones were purchased. More arguments followed until their new phones arrived; however, things did not get better. They stopped arguing but, the also stopped talking. Instead of sharing and preparing a meal together, they were transfixed on their iPhones. They used their phones for the simplest tasks and preferred the company of an electronic device to each other. I don't know if this will ultimately be the ruin of their relationship but, I do know that it isn't helping them grow closer.

I do admit that cell phones are useful tools in long distance relationships; however, I do think that the overuse of this technology may very easily lead to the downfall of relationships. My boyfriend and I have gone through this same struggle. We decided to downgrade our phones so that they might only serve their basic purpose. I believe that this has helped our relationship and may do so for many others as well.

Too Much “Winning”

In January the hit CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men was suspended for Charlie Sheen (image) to go to rehab. Sheen, 45, was then suspended late February for a rambling interview in which he directed anti-Semitic insults towards “Men” producer Chuck Lorre. Between then and the disasters in Japan, it was impossible to turn on the television or read news coverage without hearing about the latest Charlie Sheen interview or sound bite. It was only natural that he quickly became an object for jokes throughout the late night talk show circuit.

On one hand, constant connectivity has placed Sheen under the public microscope and allowed everyone to see the self-destruction of a successful actor. On the other, this attention has inflated his sense of self-worth. He has reached out to the masses to confirm his (correct?) assumption that he is, in fact, leading a “perfect, b----in’, rock-star [life].” According to an article from PCmag.com, Sheen recently landed a Guinness World Record when he “achieved the fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Twitter. It took him 25 hours and 17 minutes between March 1 and 2, Guinness confirmed Thursday.”

I am of the opinion that his “warlock brain” is unwell. However, as long as he feels he’s “Winning,” we should leave him to his newfound Twitter success and focus on more important issues. Like saving and restoring Japan. Or more locally, March Madness. Or, even more locally, final exams. Good luck on your endeavors, everyone; may we all “Win” as much as Charlie Sheen.

The Phone Space

Even though the topic of our seminar is such a current issue, one of the most insightful descriptions of how people adapt to constant connectivity I read during the course of my research came from a study published in 2000. The paper is "Life in the Real-time City: Mobile Telephones and Urban Metabolism" by Anthony Townsend. It examines the effects of increasing mobile phone usage on urban dynamics. Although it was largely speculative, one observation Townsend made has proven to be extremely accurate, even today:

"Individuals live in this phone-space. They can never let it go, because it is their primary link to the temporally, spatially fragmented network of friends and colleagues they have created for themselves. It has become their new umbilical cord..." (94).

I love this quote because it is a great figurative representation of how people become dependent on constant connectivity. They pick it up for the convenience or the novelty, but then they restructure their lives around it. Most of us got cell phones in high school so that our parents could keep track of us. Now, however, many of our social interactions would not be possible if our friends were unable to contact us at any time through our cell phones. This is the phenomenon to which Townsend refers. Our communications either occur in, or would not be possible without, the "phone space."

The "phone space" is becoming even more pervasive with the introduction of Smart Phones, which allow us to be constantly connected not only by text message and phone call, but also through the Internet. This evolving "phone space" is the root of many of the issues we have discussed throughout the quarter. Doing homework on our iPhones is just the beginning.

"App"sorbed

In response to our recent class discussions regarding smartphones and our immense reliance on them, I decided to dig deeper into the topic. For about the past ten years laptops have been all the rage. In today’s society, one is considered abnormal without a laptop and the wifi to come with it. The trend is shifting and smartphones are becoming the new laptop.

One definition of smartphone is a phone that has computer like qualities such as internet access. Although the “first” smartphone was released in 1992, what many consider the smartphone revolution started with the iPhone. The first iPhone was released in June 2007. Since the iPhone release, many other companies have developed smartphones similar to it such as the Blackberry Storm, the Android, the HTC Thunderbolt and the Samsung Galaxy. Most of these share common characteristics: internet abilities with access to wifi, e-mail, music players, and a touch screen.

Currently, it is application abilities that distinguish these phones and in general the iPhone contains the largest quantity and most current “apps” of all the smartphones. Some of the most common apps today include GPS, Facebook, Words with Friends, and Urban Spoon. Apps are providing so many resources that are just at the touch of the screen, however soon we may not even need to make the effort. In a recent New York Times article, Jenna Worthman reported on the Mobile World Conference taking place in Barcelona. During the conference, the chief executive of Google, Eric Schmidt talked about the future of smartphones. He explained that smartphones will become more intuitive. Schmidt used the example of a civilian walking through the streets of Barcelona. Using previous knowledge and Google activity, one’s smartphone might alert the individual of something they have expressed great interest in like a Spanish architecture museum.

To many people smartphones may seem excessive but the benefits and possibilities seem to be endless. Any user has the opportunity to create an app, opening doors for a million more ideas in the future. I believe those who do not join in the smartphone revolution will be left behind. In answer to our class conversation; yes we can do homework online but I don’t think that’s even the starting point to where smartphones will take us.

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Smart Chat

Just one week ago I purchased my first iPhone, which also happened to be my first smartphone. Already I wonder how I ever functioned without being able to check my email on the go or keep up on Facebook. One feature that I absolutely love is the ability to Face Chat. With the click of a button you can suddenly go from hearing someone's voice to seeing them face to face via smartphone. This technological capability has already opened many doors to consumers.

Similar to Skype, applications such as Face Time and GroupMe allow smartphone users to participate in group chat rooms on their mobile phones. No longer do we have to be at computers to chat with each other face to face. Being able to pick up your phone and video chat any of your friends allows us to use technology that strengthens interpersonal communication instead of using technology that hinders it. The New York Times reported that GroupMe has raised $10.6 million in the few months it has been available. Now businesses will be able to communicate through conference calls on their phones, and families can talk to each other face to face while apart, all the while being free to consumers.

Advertising and investments are already raising revenue from these new applications. The popularity of Face Chatting is comparable to the texting craze years ago. Video chatting on our phones expands worldwide communication and will help strengthen our communication skills. This new smartphone feature will continue providing opportunities for consumers.

Facebook Attacks Bullying

Social networking sites provide many positive communication aspects for users, but have also lead to the issue of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has become an ever increasing issue that is demanding the involvement of government regulation. Children as young as fourth grade have begun bullying online. If this vicious cycle continues into our youth, bullying will become embedded in society as a social norm. Bullying is already socially acceptable, and it is not at all uncommon to hear of bullying in online environments. Finally Facebook stepped in to try and stop the problem just a few days ago.

The difference in severity between bullying on a playground and cyberbullying is that there aren't teachers, administrators, or even regulations to stop bullying online. Anonymity has given children, teenagers, and even adults the ability to terrorize individuals without repercussions or consequences. According to CNN, Facebook added two new security features to their social networking site this past week. The first provides users with the ability to report to a "support system" of friends, family, and safety experts if they believe they are being bullied. This feature will ultimately provide those being cyberbullied with an outlet so that they may discuss the issue with others who will be able to help them.

The second feature is called a Safety Center. This gives adults and teenagers a place on Facebook where they can watch educational videos, view statistics, and learn from tutorials regarding how to counsel victims of cyberbullying. The collaboration between the White House and Facebook officials aimed to provide an online support system for Facebook users in attempt to decrease online bullying. In addition to being able to report problems, victims of cyberbullying will be able to send evidence of bullying, such as status updates and pictures, to these experts. Seeing as online bullying and harassment continues to worsen with our increase in constant connectivity, hopefully these Facebook features will be able to contribute to solving the problem of cyberbullying.

Google to the Rescue

The recent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan tore apart the country and shook the entire world. The 8.9 earthquake followed by 10 meter high tsunami and waves took the lives of over 1,000 people, and left so many missing and injured. The waves of the tsunami even affected the coasts of Hawaii and California. As millions of viewers around the world turned their attention toward the traumatic aftermath, a particular company was able to once again employ their technology to contribute to search efforts.

Google's Person Finder technology is a somewhat new software that allows people anywhere in the world to post information and attempt to track missing people. The tracking website is available both in English and Japanese, and has various sections. A blog-like feature allows family, friends, and even complete strangers of missing victims to inquire about news and updates. Another powerful capability is the capacity for people to post information about themselves, their location, and the condition of Japan. Google's People Finder was also used recently in response to the earthquakes in New Zealand, Haiti, and Chile. The ability to communicate with anyone around the world is an amazing and powerful tool.

Google has ultimately created a website for anyone to use to retrieve information about disasters affecting nations and the entire world. Thanks to this website, those curious and the victims of disasters such as this can communicate and interact without needing government involvement or media information. Within the first day of being available online, Google's Person Finder already had over 7,000 records for those missing in Japan. While news agencies can still report on Google's People Finder, this feature is truly amazing because it proves that we no longer need to rely on the media. We do not need the media to inform us about news and the current condition or situation during a state of natural disaster.