Twitter has been a popular subject in class. As we twitter on the debate, and then debate about the twitter. One question comes to mind. What, if any, is the practical use of twitter. I think we could all agree for our debate function, a chat log would work just as well, if not better. I would think that most could agree knowing your friends every move isn't exactly what i would call productive.

 This is where Yammer comes in. The people over at Geni, (a genealogy/family tree web sight) have created a business model of Twitter. Where twitter asked 'What are you doing?', Yammer asks 'What are you working on?'. Yammer has a bit of a different style, but still has twitter written all over it, in it's, graphics, setup and flow. There is one key difference between the two other than "what are you working on", and that is in the networking. The key to this style of net working comes straight from the ground floor of Facebook. Yammer uses the origin of your email to link you up with the other people that share a similar email. For example if I used my school email, my feed would display what everyone else was doing for work in my company(school).

 The key to this is the First.Last@hws.edu email setup. If you don't have an hws.edu email your out of luck. This will (in theory) allows people contained in the same business to know what each other are working on. This could lead to some real productivity gains. Where business is transparent to it self and the problem of two people working on the same thing can be solved. Will this ever take off? Only time will tell. Certainly in the next coming months a common Yammer post my be 'Looking for a new job.....'

Here is a link to a New York Times article on YAMMER

It’s not often that I listen to the radio…

…And even more rarely do I listen to NPR…

..... But there I was in my car, a few short steps from the entrance of my house… 20mins after I had arrived…. Stranded listening to Terry Gross interview James Bamford. The author of a new book called The Shadow factory a book about the government and eavesdropping on every day American citizens… How telecommunications companies have cloak and dagger style agreements with the government in which they sell our conversations to the NSA. James Bamford claims that secret offices in all major communication industries funnel data into the government’s hands, unrestricted. He claims that or privacy is slipping through our grasps… He describes the Shadow Factory, a plethora of sub-contracted privet companies who sift through the NSA’s ill-gotten goods…information, more importantly our information. These companies operate in immunity, a certain immunity that does not originate anywhere in the constitution….

“The mother of all watch lists is on a dell computer in the basement of the national counter intelligence center, and this computer is not even compatible with the NSA and CIA computer data bases.”

 Listening to the interview gives one a shocking face slap of reality about how our constitutional rights are crumbling under the convince of technology and behind the curtain of national defense.

 I am not entirely sure I will get a chance to read the book, but I know that listening to the interview gave me a look into some of the major themes. I would suggest anyone interested in the subject of surveillance should do the same the interview is available at.. NPR

I thought the Twiiter experiment was interesting, although i don't feel i got the full affect of the process. I was not able to be at a computer and had to "Tweet" by phone rather than online where I could see other peoples comments. Looking back at my feed I am able to more remember the things that stuck out in my mind during the debate. Somethings were political, where some others were more just commentary. When I first created my twitter I made one friend that has stuck with me through and through, Barrack Obama. He twitters to me about once a day, which is forwarded to my phone. I have a constant track on his movements around the country. recently I have been able to track him around, moving from Abington, PA (community gathering) to a "Change We Need" rally in Asheville, NC. 

A review of I SPY

I SPY was not a book I expected it to be. I was disappointed in the school book store for not carrying one single copy of I SPY. Lucky i found it in the schools Curr Library,...Which naturally I thought would suggest current events... as I know this book was a recent publication.
To naturally start at the end of my experience with I SPY I will say...I found no liberal tone. Nothing that made me feel as though some one was watching me; more that I was watching some one, or say for something. Even to the most open interpretation, i found not one single instance where i felt the current administration was under attack....(Save maybe the reference to cowboy boots and white doves on page 9)...
The book was bigger than I expected... about fourteen inches by 9 inches.. much larger that my usual school texts. I find that the first chapter really spells out the theme of the book, (in what I would call a strong thesis statement)

"I spy a hammer, a rabbit, a pail, A whistle, a button, a horse on it's tail; A pencil, a Penguin, a car that is blue- What else should you find? The Blocks give the clue."1



*1


At first I do not agree with the author, I say... "You are wrong, I do not see a rabbit or a pail"... The Deeper into the book I looked... the more I saw from the perspective of the author. The things that he said all turned out to be TRUE>>> There were hidden meanings masked behind what seemed to be blocks scattered about. But under further reflection and research, I am able to see the authors true message. Along with the other crazy stuff i found, was hidden more stuff... J-A-C-K-S... I found my self scanning all that I had read before... looking back to places I thought i looked at carefully!! Once again the book does not disappoint... jacks were clearly visible on both pages eight and nine...

I quickly turn to the second page.... I find it quite the page turner....

Through the book I found many central themes... I have to agree with many of my class mates in these central themes. Surveillance... I definitely felt that this theme carried throughout the book. The importance of close surveillance is quite clearly the authors main objective. PRIVACY... Page two down right creeped me out, it described (by showing a direct picture of ) the inside of little kids rooms. Something I found to be down right disturbing , cutting straight to the core dangers of government surveillance....

*1


This book affected me in such a profound way I was even pressed to go above and beyond the assignment... By reading the appendix "EXTRA CREDIT RIDDLES" and "MORE MYSTERIES". I found both to be tying the book together by sending the reader back to pages already covered.


1.First Scholastic Printing® 1993

I think that this idea of TV being an interactive media, is a real one. Mostly for the reason that to survive the new era a television program must make it self, interactive. Starting with shows like America's Most Wanted... A show that veils itself in the cloak of public service, showing the terror and cunning of some of Americas "best" criminals. I used the word best, for only the most skilled criminal are able to do things so shocking and terrible to catch the eye of the FBI and be getting away with it. What makes the show exciting is that fact that these people are still out among the free. This is the basis of the interactivity. What makes the consumer connected with the show is that this criminal may be in the house next door. That they are walking around free, and that you can be a part of their capture. If it was Americans worst locked up criminals... the show would have no aspect of interactivity. The hook in this marketing expedition, is that the big fish are all landed by the common citizen.
In the case of Mark Cerino

Capture #859 , Sep 11, 2005 Waterloo, NY
Cops in Florida are tried to track down Mark Cerino. A man who was running around Florida praying on the elderly in the aftermath of a terrible storm. Estimating jobs, collecting money and disappearing. Unable to find him, he lands on America's Most Wanted....

The Capture
"When the show aired, the phone lines on our hotline lit up. One after another, after another call came in, nine in total, stating that Cerino was living in Waterloo, a small town located between Syracuse and Rochester."

For people of upstate new york this brings the interactivity directly into their back yard. Like a winning lottery ticket at a local gas station, it makes the possibility of aided capture seem much more likely.

Do dogs go to heaven? I have a dog (CHESTER) who is 12 a year old Chesapeake bay retriever. He lives at my house in Maine by the water, my idea of heaven on earth. He is getting to the golden years (AARP)... in other words he'll only live a few more... When he dies does he go to heaven?

 I want to know what John Mccain would say. What is his position on the issue. Sara must have some advice for me, I haven't had the chance to have a beer with someone to ask this important question... I'm sure Sara would be completely qualified to handle this tough question. Which is why I support Sara Palin for Vice-president of the United States. 

 She has answers for the tough questions in life. She can be an outlet when I can't make it to the bar. I can reflect on the inspiration that is her life, because I believe that Wasilla, Alaska is a microcosm of America. With it's 7,025 residents (85.46% White, 0.59% Black or African American, 5.25% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, 3.68% Hispanic or Latino.) perfectly represents the great U.S.A. 

Is Chester going to doggie heaven? I don't know, but I rest assured that when it's his time, God will be smiling on America's excitative branch. 

For a religious perspective go here Do Dogs Go To Heaven (funny)

Is Technology Destroying Privacy

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