Alan Is Good

I saw this gem on YouTube recently.  E-Mom tells us how to check out what our kids are REALLY doing by logging onto the Facebook and the Twitter.  Watch.

First off, its via the Today Now! video series by way of the Onion, so it is indeed satirical.  There is no actual E-Mom.  Actually, I’m not sure if Vanksen buzz and communication agency is aware that its satire, as they comment on the video in a tone that’s either obliviously serious or sarcastically beyond me.  (PS: Hire me)  Even so, beyond the lulz to be had, the commentary here is noteworthy.  There are more and more parents joining Facebook and Twitter, and while they all get a honeymoon period where its so ‘cute’ that they can post on your wall, the monitoring undertones are a clear and present danger. More »

Lately I’ve noticed a few updates and notables to some of my previous posts.  None truly warrant an entire new post on the matter, so I’ll just jot them down here in this update post.  It’ll be like those reality shows on VH1, where they have the “Reunion Special” and everyone gets together for 15 more minutes of drama.

The Darker Side of Google Latitude

I wrote about the dark effects of this new app, but I didn’t consider the lighter side!  Yesterday TechCrunch wrote about a San Francisco woman whose purse was stolen, with her iPhone inside.  Sure enough, she was a Google Latitude user.  She called her sister who had access to see her location at all times, and they were able to track down the criminal, arrest him and get the purse back.   Check out this CBS video covering the story.  Epic!  Turn on your Google Latitude function and let a family member have constant updates to your location.  You never know!

The Fate of The Facebook Relationship Status

Facebook has since changed the layout of their front page, and for a time I thought this nullified my relationship status posts.  It seemed like the only way to check on relationship status was to actually visit a person’s page, which so few of us do on a regular basis.  Then I realized that the relationship updates do show up in the Highlights box on the right side of the page!  In my personal life, I found it in me to hit the “Like” button for a recently ended relationship of a long time friend.  It also put the status update at the top of the highlights list for the week.  

Additionally, with the “Comment” option on these relationship updates, I’ve been seeing more and more threads unfold from them.  So far they have all been light hearted, fun comments, like ‘ooo,’ or ‘who’s the lucky gal?” but I have yet to see snarky or vindictive ones.  My appreciation for my friend’s breakup probably falls under that category, but I’ve made several justifications internally for why I did it.  

Skittles Tastes the Fail Boat

Skittles is again using the Twitter Search results for “Skittles” as their homepage at Skittles.com.  At this point who knows what their strategy is.  They have the age filter, but no word filters or anything.  It’s like they just said, “Umm, I dunno.  Put the Twitter results up again, I guess.”

Cisco Fatty and Social Media Censorship

Many bloggers wrote the standard ‘this is why you should watch what you say on Twitter,’ or the ‘how to lose your job via Twitter’ postings, but I didn’t really see anyone take my stance.  My stance – you know, the one that was featured on Brazen Careerist and was one of the most popular posts of the week!  The only other update to this post was that horrible cisco fatty video on YouTube.  Very high chance of being offended, even higher chance of chuckling hysterically.

TIME Magazine’s Most Influential Person of . . . LOLwut? 

The voting for this is still going on, but it’s all for naught.  4Chan’s founder, moot, is ahead by an astronomical amount.  Here’s the latest tally, from TIME’s website: 

Of course, it doesn’t end there.  Just to show the world the power of the Anonymous, they also went ahead and strategically voted up the rest of the top 21 such that they acrostically spelled out MARBLECAKE, ALSO THE GAME.  Do you see it?  The phrase means nothing, really.  It’s another meme that’s lulzy.  Just the muscles of the Anonymous being flexed for the entire world to see.  The day that a viral campaign or digital PR effort is somehow supported by the Anonymous is the day that the marketers responsible for the campaign become quite wealthy.  

No Further Updates

This concludes the VH1 reunion special “AlanIsGood Blog Posts.”  See you next season.  And by next season, I mean tomorrow.

Enter: Cisco Fatty

This week, the Cisco Fatty was born.  This girl applied for a job with Cisco, and apparently they made her an offer.  Then she goes and updates her Twitter profile with this: 

“Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.”

Of course, someone with Cisco sees her update, and replied to her – on Twitter.

“Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web.”

Laugh, laugh.  Get it all out.  You can see what everyone is saying about the Cisco Fatty in the Twitter Search results for – of course, Cisco+fatty.  The story is spreading quickly, and it will reach ‘meme‘ status in no time.  Someone even made a quick blog in her honor just to make sure she cries about this, at http://ciscofatty.com.   She made her Twitter updates private, but Twitter search archives all.  Long live the Cisco Fatty.  

Social Media Censorship

I’m not a fan of this growing wave of censorship in social media.  It’s interesting to see how it affects different people across various industries.  Here are a few cases I’ve seen recently:

More »

I told myself earlier today that the next post would not be about Facebook status updates…  But then a very relevant article was brought to my attention.

(Click the image to view the article on the NY Post)

Indeed we are ’shocked,’ Chris

More »

This is an interactive chart I made to describe the difference between what is posted and what I find true re: Facebook status updates.  Its a combination of what I have found true from my Facebook experience, and what I have generalized through others.  It pretty much speaks for itself, so I won’t ramble on.

For full interaction, scroll over the buttons at the bottom, and don’t forget to click over the tabs at the top to see Relationship Status Chart and the Status Update chart.  Enjoy.

More »

(Disclaimer: This post harbors no intentional distress or insult toward anyone ever truly hurt by Facebook relationship status or Facebook-related heartbreak.  My approach is from the angles of influence between technology and society in our modern world.)

What does the future hold for the Facebook relationship status?

Obviously the thought train is topical due to this weekend’s looming holiday, but even without, it proves sufficent food for thought.  Its fun to see if any relationship statuses change around this weekend.  That will be an extra special dose of “Aww” or “Oh no!” or “yes!  She’s/He’s single!” due to the romantic aura this weekend.  (Readers of Haiku Monday might understand why I say ‘weekend’ and not holiday.  The epic return of arguably one of my first loves is easily challenging the legacies of previous V-day weekends)

Less tangentially speaking, the Facebook relationship status is what I wish people were writing about this week.  Facebook recently loosened up their status API and rumors are circulating that there could be a Facebook vs. Twitter battle somewhere down the road for social networking ego stroking supremacy.  While indeed interesting and stimulating to the marketing/social media chunk of grey matter I house, I was far more enlightened by a recent conversation I had with friends about those nifty little hearts and broken hearts that pop up year round in the news feed.

Take the examples of online matchmaking, cyberdating and Facebook news feeds – at first we resisted, and often taunted these strange, ‘unnatural’ methods of interaction.  Nowadays its not at all weird to hear about people in loving relationships or even marriage stemming from online meetings.  Facebook features like the News Feed and the Status Update started off rocky but ended up being the most often used functions of the whole site.  I think the relationship status is next.

More »