Technology in the Newz

I need to blog here too.

2011-02-16T05:51:00.001-08:00

(34 drafts...) I better get crackin!

For every one minute on Facebook

2010-12-29T23:03:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would share.

According to this video, in each minute on Facebook, there are:

Links shared = 50,304
Photos tagged = 66,168
Event invites = 74,204
Wall Posts = 79,364
Status Updates = 82,557
Friend Requests approved = 98,604
Photos updated = 135, 849
Messages sent = 231, 605
Like button hit = 382,861
Comments left = 510,404

Glogster is 3 years old!

2010-12-11T16:17:00.000-08:00

Glogster has created a special glog just to tell us the story of how it all began. According to Crunchbase, "Glogster is the leading social network for fun expression. Glogster users can create online rich media posters using text, videos, photos, images, graphics, music and more."

YouTube Countdown

2010-12-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Cute. YouTube is counting down the year's most memorable videos.

No deal for Google & Groupon

2010-12-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Google has been trying to get into the local game, but is not having too much luck so far. Back in December 2009, Google tried to buy Yelp for a reported $550 million.

Now, a year later, Google set its sights on the Chicago-based Groupon. But Groupon rejected Google's offer, too, which was reported to be over $5 billion.

This is certainly a pretty impressive offer for a company launched in late 2008... first in Chicago, then Boston, New York City, and Toronto ... now in hundreds of cities across at least 35 countries (source)! Groupon's founder, Andrew Mason is barely 30 and seems to be humbled by the company's growth. (Read an Aug 2010 interview here.) Curious how Groupon works? This site tells you everything you need to know.

Who might be next of Google's "local" list?

Grouspawn?!

2010-11-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

When I first read this, I thought it was a joke. Groupon has done some strange things, like challenging someone to live on nothing by Groupons for one year, but this one is certainly the weirdest things yet.

Mason asserts that because Groupon as a company feels a responsibility towards the children it has spawned, it has set aside a trust fund of $60,000 a year for two kids born to customers who meet and concieve on “Groupon Dates” a year. The money will be released when the Groupon babies reach 25 years of age. (TechCrunch 9.29.10)

All you need is proof that "you and your co-spawner" used a Groupon on your first date. And, to help facilitate these relationships, Groupon has also created the Groupon Date Assistant.

Watch Groupon's ridiculous announcement of its newest side project, Grouspawn at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference (September 2010).

And, if you haven't had enough already, you can watch another Grouspawn interview with Andrew Mason or read another article.

Is this what happens when young people have too many brains and too much money to play with?

My ____ redesign

2010-10-30T14:16:00.001-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/web/10/27/myspace.revamp/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Technology makes it simple to make unlicensed Giants souvenirs

2010-10-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/28/BU5D1G2G4T.DTL

souvenirs

Google must divulge cyberbullies

2010-10-28T05:33:00.001-07:00

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/21/google-identify-youtube-cyber-bullies

Astronaut check in on Foursquare... from Space!

2010-10-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

http://mashable.com/2010/10/22/foursquare-checkin-space/

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/22/video-the-first-ever-foursquare-check-in-from-space/

Doug Wheelock unlocked a special NASA Explorer Foursquare badge and received this message:

“You are now 220 miles above Earth traveling at 17,500 mph and unlocked the NASA Explorer Badge! Show this badge and get a free scoop of astronaut ice cream.”

text

(video here)

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Creative Commons, etc. online card game

2010-10-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

This is so good, I am posting it twice.

http://opencontent.org/game/betagame.html

Lots of Blogging Options

2010-10-23T09:29:00.001-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/23/BUGR1FUC3J.DTL

Facebook Groups

2010-10-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc3871
funny article

Indeed, the story that sparked this whole debate about the Groups feature involves someone with more than 4,000 Facebook friends. I don’t think I’ve even met 4,000 people in my 41 years on Planet Earth, much less know 4,000 people whom I’d be willing to "friend" on Facebook.

Suggestion: If you’re seriously worried about people adding you to groups that you’d rather not be a member of, maybe it’s time to pare down your Facebook friends list, starting with anyone who added you to a group you didn’t want to be a member of. The "Remove from Friends" button can be, in fact, your friend.

more text

Virtual schools on Second Life

2010-10-08T23:00:00.001-07:00

OU
http://www.open.ac.uk/colmsct/activities/details/detail.php?itemId=478b5caf2c3f7

NPR: Michael Demers is a geography professor at New Mexico State University. He not only uses a standard classroom to teach his students, but also uses the online virtual world, Second Life.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101580485

online worlds: http://knowledgecast.wordpress.com/

virtual dental school: http://www.slentre.com/second-thoughts-on-second-life-virtual-dental-school-trains-real-world-dentists/

the journal: http://thejournal.com/articles/2007/03/15/a-second-life-for-middle-school-science.aspx

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/shouldnt_schools_have_embraced_second_life_by_now.php

teaching language: http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/secondlife.php

Duke U Nursing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL3D-59MbnY

higher ed: http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/e-learning/2008/01/10/a-second-life-for-higher-ed.html

Google Street View covers Antarctica?!

2010-10-02T06:30:00.001-07:00

http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2010/10/google-extends-street-view-to-antarctica.html

The Social Network? Facebook doesn't approve

2010-10-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/01/BUOO1FLQMT.DTL

Researching current tech topics

2010-09-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

I figured since I am doing a similar project each year, it may be helpful to provide a list of sites that may be helpful to you as you research your topic. Remember, we are focusing on "How has technology changed the way we communicate and interact with information?"

Check out the following sites (all descriptions are taken from the "About Us" page):

Crunchbase (wiki) - CrunchBase is the free database of technology companies, people, and investors that anyone can edit.
TechCrunch - a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news.
Mashable - the top source for news in social and digital media, technology and web culture.
ReadWriteWeb - One of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day's Internet industry news.
Gizmodo - blog about consumer electronics

And don't forget, you can always:

Try searching popular news places - (Newsweek, Time, New York Times, Gizmodo, (ex: "Foursquare +Chicago Tribune")
Use other media, such as videos (TED talks, YouTube interviews) or podcasts (KQED, NPR)

Facebook birthday party gets out of control

2010-09-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc3675

Vimeo incorporates CC

2010-09-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

Creative Commons licensing in Vimeo and SoundCloud

A very exciting thing happened in July, when the popular video sharing site Vimeo launched formal support for Creative Commons licenses. Now if you want to add a CC license to your Vimeo video, you can do so quickly and easily by choosing it from a menu inside your publishing settings. This is a big deal for video creators who want to grant usage rights to the public, as it makes sharing on your own terms easier than ever. It's also great news for people looking for high quality videos that they can easily find and legally use and repurpose. It was a great pleasure for Creative Commons to work with Vimeo on this project, and we're looking forward to seeing new CC-related features and functions roll out on the site in the coming months.

Craigslist Controversy

2010-09-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=71630&tsp=1

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20016570-36.html

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/09/adult-services-shutdown-is-permanent-craigslist-tells-congress/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wiredbusinessblog+%28Blog+-+Epicenter+%28Business%29%29

Craigslist adult ad XXX-it permanent

More time on Facebook than Google

2010-09-10T20:42:00.001-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/09/10/facebook.google.time/index.html?hpt=T2

GPS dating apps

2010-09-03T15:56:00.001-07:00

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/gps-dating-app-risks/story?id=11551069&page=1

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/09/03/facebook.places.reaction/index.html

Mappiness App

2010-09-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2010/09/02/anderson.mapping.happiness.cnn?hpt=C2

http://www.mappiness.org.uk/

Facebook gift cards?

2010-09-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-09-01-target01_ST_N.htm

Just like Groupon!

2010-08-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=7X8YRypc

Webcams in school laptops? Creepy, but not criminal.

2010-08-31T12:14:00.001-07:00

http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/08/31/lower-merion-staff-avoids-criminal-charges.aspx

GPS tracks kids on the school bus

2010-08-31T10:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/08/gps-keeps-track-of-palos-heights-student-bus-riders.html

'Places' in the real world

2010-08-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/27/BU6O1F3U54.DTL

http://www.facebook.com/#!/places/

Facebook pushes the boundaries of privacy again with Places

2010-08-20T09:09:00.001-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/19/BU1T1F0D99.DTL

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc3439

Video: how to turn it off:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/08/20/mxp.westhoven.facebook.places.hln?h

2010-08-13T02:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/2010/08/01/sign-language/

Caught on Google!

2010-08-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

Google

http://www.urlesque.com/2009/02/05/top-10-moments-caught-on-google-maps-street-view/

http://gawker.com/392059/google-maps-catches-chicago-kid-about-to-shoot-someone

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/none/google-street-maps-captures-nude-chinese-girl-taiwan-550974?TrackID=obpaid

UPDATE:
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Google-Street-View-Google-Maps,news-7288.html

NEWEST:

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=9O8dvecx

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16036/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=mtJ56Mhk

GPS apps - cool or creepy?

2010-08-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

GPS
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/08/06/gps.dating.apps/index.html?hpt=C1

Foursquare?

Wikipedia vs. the FBI?

2010-08-04T11:51:00.001-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?entry_id=69353&tsp=1

2010-07-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Track you kid with this GPS device?

2010-07-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

http://mashable.com/2009/10/27/little-buddy-tracker/

erasing your "digital footprint"

2010-07-06T11:05:00.001-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/05/BU4V1E8D9V.DTL&tsp=1

Facebook to introduce face recognition?

2010-07-03T07:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/07/02/facebook.recognition/index.html?hpt=T2

2010-06-06T08:17:00.001-07:00

yelp & open table

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=64968&tsp=1

2010-06-03T08:35:00.000-07:00

suing google maps??
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/scavenger/detail?entry_id=64852

Just joking on Facebook

2010-05-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.theworkbuzz.com/news/fired-for-a-facebok-joke-again/

Groupon - Too much of a good thing?

2010-05-28T13:25:00.001-07:00

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/28/BULM1DLA5T.DTL&tsp=1

Zuckerberg admits privacy issues

2010-05-25T06:44:00.001-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100524/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc2204
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100526/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_facebook_privacy
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?entry_id=64239

A Facebook blog post, Understanding You Privacy Controls on Facebook, highlights some of the Here's a recap of some of the ways we've simplified the settings:

Reduced the number of settings required to make all information private from nearly 50 to less than 15.
Introduced presets that cover 18 individual settings for sharing with one single control—two clicks to control what had been more than 100 different options.
Consolidated 10 settings on three separate pages into seven settings on one page.
Reduced the number of separate pages in the privacy settings from 13 to eight.

xx

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/12/business/facebook-privacy.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/13/facebook.delete.privacy/index.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/14/MNIO1DEDJL.DTL&tsp=1

Facebook helps a couple adopt a baby

2010-05-23T09:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/05/22/nr.facebook.adoption.cnn?hpt=C2

http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=385390287130

http://www.parentdish.com/2010/05/14/facebook-makes-couples-adoption-dreams-come-true/

Stuff My Dad Says - A Twitter Story

2010-05-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Internet has many stories of picking up obscure artists and launching them to fame (ex: Esmee Denters, lonelygirl15, Tay Zonday, Will It Blend?) so it may not be surprising to learn that a (not-school-appropriate) Twitter feed ended up growing into a book deal and a CBS Television show.

Justin Halpern started the Twitter account on August 3, 2009 after moving back to his parent's San Diego home with his cranky father. The first tweet said: "I didn't live to be 73-years-old so I could eat kale. Don't fix me your breakfast and pretend you're fixing mine." Soon, his friend shared the link, and his tweets quickly spread.

In September 2009, Halpern started looking at book deals and the book by the same name was published on May 4, 2010.

In November 2009, CBS starting looking into making the sitcom and it the pilot aired on February 19, 2010, starring William Shatner as the dad.

Hmm... this may be one of the rare instances where moving back in with your parents was actually a good idea....

Germans did not appreciate the Google Street View joke

2010-05-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

An group of artists, Free Art & Technology decided to play a joke on Germans. They build a fake Google Street View Car and drove it down a street in Berlin. You can watch the (PG-13) video and see the outrage.

Germany has very strict privacy laws, and has vehemently opposed pictures of their property (and faces!) being posted on the Web. Currently, in all countires, software automatically blurs faces and license plates. Users can also fill out a form to ask Google remove images from Street View. However, in (only) Germany, Google had to agreed to delete footage upon request before the images are published.

You can read more Google Maps / Google Earth news on Google's LatLong Blog - "Notes and News by the Google Earth and Maps Team."

UPDATE 11/2/10: Google has launched its first city in Germany with Google Maps Street View, Oberstaufen. Here is Google's announcement.

Cupid + Cupertino = a dating site for Apple fans

2010-05-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hilarious! In June 2010, four self-described geeks from San Francisco and Seattle will launch Cupidtino, a dating site specifically for Apple fans. According to its FAQ page, the idea was hatched "from a fight one of us had with his girlfriend over whether the iPad is allowed at the dinner table. Boyfriend storms off saying "I'd rather date someone who loves Apple products!" and BAM! - Cupidtino was born. (they're still dating, btw)"

It's set up like a lot of dating sites - you create a profile, etc. The pay structure is simple: sending messages is free, but reading them requires a paid membership ($4.79/month). And, you can only sign up for the site using a Mac.

According to a Wall Street Journal article, as of May 7, two days after the beta version launched, there were "12,000 users signed up, about 50% of whom live in the Bay Area." Why does this not surprise me? Sit in any cafe in San Francisco, and it is hard to believe that Macs have only about 10% of the market share.

You can check our Cupidtino's Press Page for more information. (It has a kinda cool UI, too.) :)

Living off Groupons

2010-05-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

Josh Stevens is a 28 year old man from Chicago, Illinois who is going to live off of Groupons for a year. Seriously. Starting on May 10, 2010. He has to leave his apartment, put his stuff in storage and follow these crazy rules:

NO CASH
Only five people allowed to visit Josh once during one year
No overnight visits from friends/family
No care packages unless approved by Groupon
No performing jobs for goods or money
Bartering Groupons for goods or services is allowed
Must be an exemplary Groupon customer at all times / polite, excellent tipper

If he makes it to next May 10, 2011, he will win $100,000. This is definitely one contest I would NOT enter. But if it makes Josh happy....

Groupon started in 2008 in Chicago, IL and relies on the collective bargaining power of a group. One blog sums it up nicely, "The innovative service, which launched only a year ago, features a “daily deal” with a huge discount on a wide range of things–from spas to skydiving and, recently, pole-dancing lessons–in more than two dozen U.S. cities, including Chicago, Boston, New York and San Francisco."

It began with a challenge from Groupon’s founder, Andrew Mason (who is only 29) – could you live off Groupons for an entire year?

The premise is simple: No cash. The Groupawn (customer chosen to Live Off Groupon) has nothing but a year’s supply of Groupons good for the best things to eat, do, see and buy across the country. From skydiving and upscale cuisine to body waxing and foreign language classes, Groupon deals will shape the Groupawn’s daily life. He will need to rely on the kindness of strangers for social niceties (like tax and tip) and basic human needs (like somewhere to sleep and a ride to any of Groupon’s 60 cities.) ... more about Live Off Groupon

You can follow Josh and his adventures on the Live Off Groupon blog.

Happy Birthday YouTube!

2010-04-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

CNN lists four of the most memorable videos on YouTube. They include Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, OK Go's Here It Goes Again, Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up (Thanks to Rick Rolling), and Gary Brolsma's rendition of the Numa Numa song.

I might argue about these four being the MOST memorable, but CNN is entitled to its opinion.

It's truly incredible to think how much YouTube has become part of our lives in just five years. I wouldn't want to imagine teaching without it! In case you haven't already seen it, or want to revisit the fun, here is the first YouTube video, posted exactly 5 years ago today, on April 23, 2005.