Tech Talk

Facebook, according to at least one news report, is taking down fan pages that support the man who allegedly crashed a small plane into a Texas office building.

The social networking giant could be setting a dangerous precedent by restricting the speech of its users if the report disseminated by the reputable Breaking News Twitter account attributed to NBC News is true. As Facebook becomes the modern-day water cooler across America and around the world, it is becoming increasingly important to foster conversations — of all perspectives.

While Tech Talk would never condone the alleged actions of Andrew Joseph Stack, simply stating opinions should not be restricted.  In fact, such actions will likely make the situation worse as users could feel further ostracized and go further underground.  It would be better to have such conversations carried out in open.

It has been widely reported that Stack crashed a plane into an Austin office building with federal offices around 11 a.m. ET Thursday.  At least eight people were injured, according to the Statesman, and at least two people died, possibily including the pilot.  The newspaper reported that officials said the incident “appears to be an intentional act, appears to be by a sole individual, and it appears this individual was targeting federal offices inside that building.”

While it is still not certain what exactly the respective groups are stating, if they are simply discussing the act of domestic terrorism and not encouraging similar actions, it seems that they would not pose a threat to national security. 

America is founded on the freedom of speech, and such expression should be protected whether it is favorable or not, so as long as it does not encourage violence.

Google will launch a new feature as early as this week to make sharing media and updates with friends easier, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The new module, which will be integrated into Gmail, is intended to make the e-mail application “more social” by allowing users to “view a stream of status updates from people they choose,” the newspaper reported.

The new feature seems to expand off of the Google Talk application currently integrated into Gmail. 

I regularly update my Google Talk statuses to reflect what I am doing, and utilize the application to communicate with friends and colleagues — as I once did on AOL Instant Messenger.

The difference, according to the Journal, is that the development will include an area where users can sift through a stream of updates — that includes the Google-owned YouTube and Picasa services —  in a similar timeline view as on Twitter and Facebook.  It remains uncertain if updates from non-Google entities will be included.

If the development goes across networks, Mashable notes:

[T]he new features could be thought of more like a TweetDeck or Seesmic, looking to provide an aggregate view of your friends’ social media activities along with the ability to push status updates to the services you use from inside of Gmail. If not, it could be thought of as a major competitor to Twitter and Facebook as Gmail looks to covert its millions of email users into users of a whole new breed of social media service.

I started noticing that many of my Facebook friends were posting random colors as their Facebook status. 

My feed quickly became bombarded with statuses like:

• Blue
• Ma-genta
• Black
• Lime
• Purple

And so I began wondering what the heck was going on.  After a little digging, I found my answer: Women are revealing a little bit more about themselves than they usually do in an attempt to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Apparently I am not the only one who was curious.  As of this hour, Google is reporting that “facebook colors” is the fifth most popular search.  It began to spike in popularity just after 10 a.m., according to the search engine giant.

One article I found indicated that part of the mystery of this campaign is that instructions to post one’s bra color was sent only to women via private message:

“Something fun is going on,” the message reads. “Write the color of your bra in your status. Just the color, nothing else. And send this on to ONLY women no men. It will be neat to see if this will spread the wings of cancer awareness. It will be fun to see how long it takes before the men wonder why the women have a color in their status…..LOL!”

Breast cancer is a serious and deadly issue that deserves all the attention it could get.

Learn more about breast cancer here.

The American justice system is facing a threat that could result in the incarceration of the innocent and freedom of the guilty.

Graphic courtesy of California Court System

For years, judges have instructed juries to refrain from reading newspapers or watching local television news to preserve each defendant’s right to a fair trial.  However, the Internet threatens to strip our society from that inherent right of all men, women and children.

As Americans, and particularly folks from Southwestern Connecticut, become increasingly connected, it is becoming more difficult to avoid tainting a jury pool.  Countless blogs, tweets and Facebook statuses are disseminated everyday on a variety of topics — in an unpredictable manner.  As an example, a Tech Talk post from last week reported that almost 100 million words a day were posted in Facebook status updates at the beginning of the year.  It is impossible to anticipate the information one will find by logging onto the net.

For this reason, judges need to instruct juries to not just avoid – but stop visiting blogs and social networking sites – during their service as a juror.  Who knows, as was mentioned in a Tech Talk post earlier this week, it might even do the jurors some good to cut their digital leash for a little while.

The Internet also allows people, jurors included, to find supplemental information.  Jurors should be banned from using the net to find more information on the case they have been selected to offer a judgement on.

A TIME article reported that one juror doing research led to a mistrial in Miami.  This juror should be imprisoned.  It may seem harsh, but such actions threaten the very integrity of this country’s jury system — it’s that simple.  Think that juror’s actions were an isolated incident?  Think again! It was determined that at least nine of the 12 jurors Googled after hours.  America needs to get serious on this issue.

In another instance cited in the same article, a New York City juror sent a Facebook friend request to a witness during deliberations.  Following a guilty verdict, the defense team tried to get the verdict overturned, according to the article.  If the request had been granted, a potentially guilty person could have gone free and threatened the innocent.  If this person was innocent, someone who should not have been jailed was. How would you like to be imprisoned for something you did not do because of Facebook?  Either way, it is clear that judges need to prohibit jurors from utilizing social networking sites entirely during trials — and make clear that any use of the Internet, or any other means, to get supplemental information or to connect with people involved in the case will be a jailable offense.

Facebook released a fascinating snapshot of its users Monday afternoon.

In its most recent company blog post, Lars Backstrom offered a perspective of the world as perceived through the words of the social network’s users in status messages over the past year.

Among the top status trends in 2009 on Facebook in order, according to the blog:

1. Facebook Applications
   Specific words: Farmville, Farm Town, Social Living
2. FML (or F*** My Life)
   Specific words: FML
3. Swine Flu
   Specific words: Flu, Swine Flu, H1N1
4. Celebrity Deaths
   Specific words: Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Billy Mays
5. Family
   Specific words: Family, Mom, Dad, Son, Daughter, Kids
6. Movies
   Specific words: New Moon, Transformers, Star Trek, The Hangover, Paranormal Activity, Harry Potter
7. Sports
   Specific words: Steelers, Yankees
8. Health Care
   Specific words: Health Care, No one should have to…
9. FB
   Specific words: FB, FB Friends, News Feed
10. Twitter
    Specific words: Twitter, RT
11. Years
    Specific words: 2008, 2009, 2010
12. Lady Gaga
    Specific words: Gaga, Poker Face
13. Yard
    Specific words: Yard
14. Religion
    Specific words: Easter, Lord, God
15. I
    Specific words: I, is

The data provides some insight into the social network’s users.  Among the most striking aspects to me:

• How prominent applications have become in users’ experiences on Facebook.  I could attest to how many notifications I receive daily sparked by applications; some days, I am sorry to admit I have nearly as many from applications as I do friends.
• How honest, or perhaps frank, users are about their lives. 
  NOTE: According to the blog posting, this term was used the least over the summer and the most on Mondays and Tuesdays.  On a note, it was posted that it was used more commonly on Tuesdays.  This to me, seems to be an indicative of young people continuing to utilize the social network to communicate among peers.  I wouldn’t expect folks using the network for professional means to use the term “FML,” which is generally used to discuss a negative element of one’s day or existence.
• It makes sense that people discussed the swine flu, as it was one of the most prominently reported stories of the year.  It also makes sense as the target demographic is young people.  However, according to the post, the use of the word was used the least on Sundays.  There is no indication as to the reason.
• The only surprising thing about celebrities making the list is how relatively low it is.  I would have guessed it would have been higher than swine flu.  According the post, Patrick Swayze’s death was almost as discussed as Michael Jackson’s.  I would think this is the data’s first indication of an older audience.
• According to the data, “New Moon” was the most discussed movie.  Personally, I thought it wasn’t very good.  I am also surprised that movie chatter didn’t fare higher on this list.
• Facebook users discussed the Yankees and Steelers more than any other teams, according to the data presented on the blog.  It makes sense as the Pittsburgh team won the Super Bowl and the Yankees won yet another World Series championship. 
• Health Care: An interesting trend.  While this issue has consistently been in the news since President Barack Obama’s inauguration in January, it surprised me it made this list.  I would think the social network’s older demographic would have propelled it into such a trending topic.  According to the data, millions of people posted “No one should die because they cannot afford health care, and no one should go broke because they get sick. If you agree, please post this as your status for the rest of the day.” Apparently viral marketing works.  Beyond that, health care mentions are up 10 times since a year ago, according to the data.
• It didn’t surprise me that people discussed Facebook or Twitter on Facebook.  Social networkers tend to be opinionated.  As for Twitter, many people tie their Twitter accounts with their Facebook equivalent.
• Frankly, I was shocked to see Lady Gaga in the top mix.  I knew she was huge, but had no idea she was this big.  This is clearly a mark of the younger demographic.
• Yard took me and Facebook by complete surprise. According to the data, it appears that the newer, older demographic have been updating their friends on the yard work they have been doing. 
• The mention of religion, according to the data, was up 30 percent over last year.  I would think this is yet another indication of newer, older users who tend to be more in line with God and religion.  It has been my experience that fewer of my teenage and high school friends mention the church or synagogue as often as my older friends do.

According to Facebook, there were almost 100 million words a day posted in status updates at the beginning of the year. That is up by a factor of four in the past year.  No one could dispute that Facebook has become an integral part of our society.  And as such, Facebook offers a unique perspective of what the pulse of our nation, and indeed world, truly is.  While it is far (read: far, far, far, far, far) from perfect, it is one of the best we have.  And as more people sign on to Facebook from more diverse demographics, the more accurate that pulse will become.

Anyone who ever spent much time playing video games likely came across the Konami Code, one of the industry’s most infamous key sequences, named after the folks behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The code — up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A — is active in more than 100 video games and Facebook, according to TIME Magazine.

According to the weekly magazine:

It doesn’t matter where you type it: just have the Facebook page open and active. The result? Lens flares — those groovy circles that appear when pointing a camera into the sun — appear on your page with every click of the mouse. Useful? Not in the slightest. But they’re easy enough to get rid of — logout and they’re gone.

And I could personally attest to its validity.

Go try it, you know you want to.

And then check out other sites that utilize the code.

How great would it be if you were connected to someone who could offer you some really neat perks — like free travel, for I don’t know, a year?

JetBlue Airways is doing just that.

Presumably to increase the number of fans it has on its Facebook page, the airline has offered really generous perks that will increase as the number of its “friends” do.  Currently, JetBlue only has 63,863 fans, which isn’t very many for a corporation with the exposure it has.

Among the prizes offered:

• A pair of roundtrip flights given away to any JetBlue destination from Dec. 9 through Jan. 31.
• A team prize of a 5-day/4-night getaway package for four
• A one year “All-You-Can-Jet” pass valid for travel in 2010

Of course, in order to enter these amazing deals, you must give the airline access to your profile information, become a fan and share your phone number, e-mail address and postal code.

Now talk about buying your friends.  But with that said, JetBlue, if you’re listening, I think I could be friends with you for unlimited travel for a year.