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The Death of the [Year] Book, Thanks to Facebook

The final printed edition of Purdue University's yearbook.

Online social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are now leading to the decline of college year books and other printed alumni publications.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise, considering the goals of Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes when they launched Facebook from their Harvard dorm rooms back in 2004.

Facebook was originally intended to be an alternative, or even a better version, to the typical printed "facebook" that many colleges distribute to incoming students. It lets them get a look at who their classmates will be, usually listing hometowns and a few other personal facts.

After Harvard, Facebook was made available to Stanford. And Columbia. And Yale. And soon the rest of the whole entire world, it seems.

With pictures, personal details, and the capability for constant updates and expanding connections, new online social networks make the traditional yearbook obsolete. Many colleges are cutting back on their print runs. Some, like Purdue University in Indiana, are discontinuing their printed yearbook, called "Debris," after this year, citing a decrease in "sales, reserve funds and student interest." (Oddly enough, the title of this final edition is "Bringing It Back." Perhaps it should have been "Putting It Out Of Its Misery?")

An Economist columnist cites high costs for printed yearbooks – as much as $75 per copy – as a primary reason for new graduates deciding not to buy the books. But maybe its just easier and more satisfying to stay in touch with fellow alums online.

And while you can write "Best Friends Forever" in your yearbook, in the online world you can use your link to actually stay in touch over time. [Source: Economist]

NYC Department of Health Is Teens' New MySpace Friend



The New York City Department of Health is pretty all right. Yesterday it launched a new MySpace campaign, 'NYC Teen MindSpace,' designed to help teens deal, on their own turf. The DOH says that about a third of NYC youth admit to feeling depressed, and 20% say they don't talk to anyone when they feel bad or have a serious problem.

Mindspace, which can be accessed like any other MySpace profile, encourages at-risk teens to seek help for mental health issues, substance abuse, and dating violence. The page features profiles and video clips from fictional characters dealing with damaging relationships, drugs, and the whole shebang. Users can follow the characters' stories, and take online quizzes and polls on themes like their take on prescription drugs, depression, etc.

Young people with problems or questions can send confidential e-mails to counselors and get referrals and advice without even picking up the phone. This seems like a really good idea, actually. In our day, there was just 'Degrassi Junior High,' which was amazing in its own right but had no hotline, just a lot of hilarious hair.

The site also features a playlist and downloadable music to suit the mood. And its pretty good, surprisingly. The Secret Machines? Gang of Four? When did the DOH suddenly get so awesome? [NYC Teen MindSpace, via wcbstv]

Facebook Surpasses MySpace as World's Most Popular Social Network

Facebook Surpasses MySpace as World's Most Popular Social NetworkWhen it comes to online social networks, MySpace has long been the proverbial 800-pound gorilla. Lately that's been changing, with Facebook quickly bulking up and catching its rival, signing up far more people each month than MySpace. As of two months ago, the 'Book (founded by Marc Zuckerberg, pictured) finally surpassed its rival, becoming the most visited social network in the world.

MySpace still dominates in the U.S., where it attracts about 65-million visitors each month -- Facebook pulls in a relatively paltry 25-mil. However, both are attracting over 115-million worldwide, with Facebook now taking a slight lead. That trend is expected to continue, largely thanks to the site's integration with other online destinations via hundreds of applications. This is an area were MySpace is fighting back via its new data availability initiative, letting you access your MySpace info from other sites like Flickr.

However, since a security flaw in that same initiative helped to expose the private profiles of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, we're putting our money on Facebook in the long run. [Source: TechCrunch]

Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton Private MySpace Pics Exposed--Are You Next?



Thought you were hiding the naughty pictures of you and your friends on your private MySpace profile? Think again, social networker, or face the fate that just befell Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, whose MySpace page private pictures were hacked and posted on the Web for all to see (this is the second time their MySpace pages have been compromised, by the way).

How did this happen? Well, it looks like the site's new "data availability" enhancements that let you take your profile info with you to a variety of other social networking sites has some serious flaws -- namely, they're letting armchair hackers view any person's complete MySpace profile, regardless of its privacy settings.

The semi-hack is so easy that just about any novice computer user can pull it off by following some simple instructions. It relies on MySpace integration with Yahoo!'s widgets, which are little utilities that enable you to access Web content from your phone. One of them is a MySpace widget that, apparently, has no real notion of the concept of privacy or security. This hack has allowed intrepid surfers to expose pictures posted to the otherwise hidden profiles of exposure mavens Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.

So, if you needed another reason not to post those incriminating pictures of you and your manager from your last corporate party, then let this latest hack be it. As for Lohan and Hilton, they're probably not too worried, since the exposed pictures are not of the particularly scandalous variety. [Source: ValleyWag, via ShinyShiny]

Man Changes Facebook Relationship Status, Gets 400 Calls From Ex's Friends

Social networking status can complicate personal relationships.

If you use a social networking Web site like Facebook or MySpace, just how explicit are you with your personal details, especially your relationship status?

Some users have been getting themselves into awkward social situations, even provoking problems in their personal relationships, all due to status messages that sometimes reveal more – or sometimes less -- than they would want or intend.

Changing the status from "in a relationship" to "single" got one man into hot water with a very large circle of online friends – and caused his ex-girlfriend significant embarrassment when many of those friends reached out to her.

Others find themselves pressured by girlfriends or boyfriends to change "single" status to "in a relationship," perhaps to announce to the world (the online one, that is) that they are, in a sense, off the market.

One psychoanalyst says social networking sites can add pressures to a relationship as it develops. Making the status public for all to see alters the dynamic between people and breaks down some of the intimacy.

So, how much do you reveal to all your networked friends? [Source: ABC News.]

New Feature Lets You Take Your MySpace Profile to Other Sites

MySpace Launches Social networking is obviously a lot of fun, but if anything it's getting a little too popular; you can't pick a movie on Netflix or upload a picture onto Flickr these days without having to wade through a web of friend recommendations.

What's more annoying is that each network is completely disconnected -- sign up for some hot new site, pick a crew of friends, then move on to the next hot site and try to find the same crew of friends again. Annoying. MySpace is finally looking to end that with a new initiative called "data availability" that will let you take your profile with you to other profile-based sites and services, including Twitter, Photobucket, and Yahoo!.

The changes, set to go into effect in a few weeks, will let you effectively sync up your profiles at a number of partner sites with your MySpace profile. For example, on Twitter you would be able to set up Twitter to pull in your picture and other information from your MySpace profile, in real-time -- so, if you update your main pic at MySpace, it would be propagated over to Twitter as well. You'll be able to do the same with your eBay profile, creating a more informative set of information about you that will "yield a deeper connection between individuals," according to the press release.

It would also let eBay shoppers learn an awful lot about you, something that many people will be uncomfortable with. The opportunity to save time by syncing up your profiles sounds quite appealing, but making yourself more identifiable to potentially irate eBay buyers and sellers sounds a little -- unnerving. [Source: BusinessWire, via New York Times]

Scientology's New YouTube Channel Praises Openness, Blocks Comments

The Church of Scientology doesn't have many friends online. It's constantly attacked by hackers, mocked for its silly videos, and has had its secret documents published for all to see. But now it appears to be changing its approach to the Internet. Embracing the Web, The Church is spreading the word by posting its own videos on a custom YouTube channel.

The channel, which features softly lit images and an introductory video with gentle music, hosts a string of videos that explain the religion. After a first watch, we got a vague impression of Scientology's core beliefs and anti-drug stance, but found it curious that they left out many of the religion's more curious details. However, the group has chosen to prevent embedding of the vast majority of the videos, with only its public service announcements (like the one above) open for inclusion in blogs and MySpace pages. Posting of comments on these videos has also been disabled, which might be a good move given the kind of response Wal-Mart got to its own Facebook page. [Source: Wired]

Everex Launches Sub-$500, MySpace-Ready MyMiniPC



Everex just launched its new sub-$500 mini desktop PC, the MyMiniPC. The computer runs an operating system called gOS, a version of Ubuntu Linux with glossy styling and interface elements similar to Apple's OS X.

The MyMiniPC is built with heavy Web and media use in mind -- Everex is marketing the computer to the millions of users of social networks, specifically MySpace. The MyMiniPC's gOS installation -- essentially a collection of Google-esque application -- comes with a dock loaded with shortcuts to MySpace Apps, popular social Web sites (Facebook, flickr, YouTube) and other sites (TMZ, Pandora, Gmail, last.fm).

With a form factor similar to the Mac Mini, the MyMiniPC comes with a respectable 1.86 gigahertz Pentium T2130, 512 MB RAM, a 120-gigabyte (GB) hard drive, a DVD±RW drive (read and burn DVDs), and loads of media connectivity options including an S-Video port (for outputting video to your TV), a memory card reader (for transferring pictures) and audio in/out ports.

Sure, the MyMiniPC isn't the ideal choice for gamers or heavy video work, but we think it's a promising Linux-based PC for anyone in need of an easy-to-use computer for Web work, browsing and collaboration. The MyMiniPC retails for $499.

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Facebook to Add Instant Messaging

Facebook Hopping on the Instant Messaging Bandwagon
It was bound to happen eventually (if for no other reason than MySpace did it first) -- Facebook is finally offering up an instant-messaging service. Ironically, Facebook's new IM service may have the effect of killing off a couple of chat applications already available on the social-networking site.

Initial rumors claimed that the new Facebook IM service, which is to be embedded into people's profiles, would be based on Jabber, the same standard underlying Google Talk. This would have meant that other IM programs, such as Pidgin, Meebo, or even Google Talk, could connect to the Facebook service easily and bring it to the desktop. These rumors, of course, turned out to be false, and Facebook IM, at least initially, will only be available on Facebook pages.

With MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, AIM, Skype, Gizmo, and Google Talk already clogging the Internet, we're pretty confident we don't need any more new IM services. Especially not ones that can only be accessed on the Web by logging into a separate place from all your other IM services. But if Facebook ever manages to get all the other IM programs to work with its IM service, then it might become an attractive online chat place indeed.

From TechCrunch

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Teen Catches Mugger on MySpace

Teen Catches Cell Phone Thief on MySpacePicture this: you're walking down a busy city street chatting on your cell phone when someone runs up behind you, grabs your phone, and runs off. What do you do? Call the police (from someone else's phone)? Shrug your shoulders and be glad that's all they took? Or, do you do what 16-year-old Yudelka Polanco did: go on MySpace and start doing some digital sleuthing.

After Polanco got a new phone to replace her stolen one she realized that her assailant had used her old phone with its SIM card in there, which identifies the phone as hers and stores her address book and history. When she activated her new phone, her provider sync'd up her information and the thief's online activity, including his e-mail address, showed up. She then proceeded to search for the mugger's e-mail address on MySpace and got a hit.

But, the profile was private, so she got a friend to chat him up and get added to his friend's list. Once able to get inside the profile she was able to see more pictures of the guy in question, enough to make an identification. That was enough for the police who, presented with this evidence, arrested 16-year-old Victor Hernandez for the crime.

So, proof that crime doesn't pay, but MySpace does!

From wcbstv.com

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21% Of Babies Have Social Network Profiles

21% Of Babies Have Social Network Profiles, More Friends than YouChances are you're starting to tire of the whole social networking scene. If so, you're not alone. Finding and connecting with friends was fun at first, but before long the whole experience just turns into kooky pictures of people you still don't keep in touch with. That said, there are still plenty of people out there who are new to the social networking scene -- very, very new.

A survey from research firm Orange claims that 21% of babies have their own pages on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. The pages were created by their parents who use them as a way to post pictures and stories to share those defining babyhood moments with all their friends -- friends who can post comments like "Awww!" and "How cute!" every now and again.

From Ubergizmo

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Boycotting Sellers Dent eBay's Business

Boycotting Sellers Dent eBay's Business
Auction site eBay has been suffering at the hands of an online protest over a change in how it charges sellers for listing and selling goods. The change has resulted in a substantial increase in costs for sellers.

The changes lowered the initial fees for sellers to list items on eBay, but increased the commission charged on completed sales. Additionally, the feedback system was altered to eliminate the negative feedback on buyers option, making it tougher to weed out sneaky or dishonest buyers.

eBay has faced boycotts before, but none approaching the scale of the current one. Thanks to protest related activities on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, eBay sellers have been able to better organize and encourage each other to stick with the boycott.

Since the boycott started on February 18,, listings on eBay have dropped 13 percent to about 13 million items. Nancy Baughman, an eBay retailer taking part in the strike, says if she and the other activists can get the number of listings down to 12 million, then they will have made a very significant dent in the online auction house's business.



From USA Today

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French President's Desperate Text-Message Turned Into a Pop Song



French President Nicolas Sarkozy once again is finding himself in a pretty sticky situation, this time thanks to leaked cell-phone text message and some creative musicians. Last week, it was reported that just eight days before his marriage to Italian model-turned-popstar Carla Bruni, Sarkozy text messaged his ex-wife Cecilia, begging her to return to him.

"If you come back, I'll cancel everything," said the SMS message.

Though the French prez has denied the story and filed suit against the media outlet that originally ran the story, he's out of luck because the story just wont die. In fact, French pop act Jeanne Cherhal has turned the now-infamous text message into a song, 'Si tu Reviens,' and posted it on her MySpace page.

Will Sarkozy sue her too? Probably not, but it does add more fodder for gossip blogs, and, thanks to mobile technology, gadget blogs such as this one!


From Textually.org

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Friending On MySpace Violates Restraining Orders

Friending on MySpace Violates Restraining Orders
It's official: Stalking on MySpace or Facebook is just as illegal as stalking in real life. A judge on Staten Island (Shaolin represent!) has ruled that a teenager violated a restraining order against her when she friended a woman on MySpace.

The story begins last year when Melisa Fernino, now 16-years-old, was accused of making violent threats against a 43-year-old woman who had dated her father. Fernino also made violent threats against the woman's two daughters. The woman obtained a restraining order and a judge instructed Fernino not to contact the woman or her daughters.

And that was that... until Melisa tracked down the object of her hatred on the MySpace. Melisa simply sent her victim a "friend request' on the popular social-networking site, which obviously made the woman uncomfortable. So, the shaken 43-year-old complained to the judge, who ruled yesterday that requesting a person's friendship on MySpace (and, by extension, Facebook) still constitutes contact and is therefore a violation of the restraining order.

So, if you feel like you're being stalked or intimidated online, then you can rest assured that there is now a legal precedent to press charges. Don't hesitate to complain.

From Machinist

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Snow-Day Caller Tells Media to Get Back to Reporting Real News

Snow-Day Caller Tells Media to Get Back to Reporting Real News
You may remember a little story we posted the other day about a Fairfax County High School student named Devraj Kori, who called a school administrator's home to question the decision not to close the area's schools for snow. Dean Tistadt's wife, Candy, returned Kori's call and left the boy a minute long rant chastising him for calling their home number with some harsh words, including the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats."

Well it turns out Kori isn't exactly enjoying the media attention either. Following the coverage from the Washington Post and CNN Kori has been inundated with phone calls from media outlets who he says have better things to cover. "I think there are issues like Darfur, I mean there are presidential primaries going on. There's so many other things that could have this media attention."

We're apt to agree with Kori on this one. We may be reporting it, but as an outlet that purely covers technology it's perfectly reasonable that we would pay attention. Outlets like CNN have probably dedicated more time to Kori's snow day phone call in the last three days than it has to Darfur in the last three months. And speaking of Darfur when was the last time you heard anything about it? Don't even remember do you, so we'll do CNN's job and give you a quick update - It's not getting better. Government forces in Sudan recently opened fire on a convoy of peace keepers from the United Nations and the African Union, though denied the attack was intentional. And to make matters worse, the government appointed Musa Hilal, who is accused of being a leader in the Janjaweed militia and being directly involved in the atrocities in the Darfur region, to a senior position.

Now that we've got the ball rolling maybe CNN can pick up where we left off and take Kori's advice -- start reporting on issues of true consequence and leave the quirky stories of internet phenomena to the tech blogs.

From CNN

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