catbird’s world

It’s true. I’m addicted. I update my status at least once a day. I obsessively read friends’ status updates. In the evening, I often leave my computer tuned to “Live Feed” so I can keep up with people while I watch TV. And, it’s true, I have lost hours of my life looking at photos of people I don’t know at parties I wasn’t invited to.

I’m also out there pushing for the Facebook kingpin. “Just do it. Everyone is on there. You’re not cool unless you’re on Facebook.” Okay, maybe not that last one. Maybe.

Being addicted to Facebook isn’t just about the time you spend online. It’s also about how active you are. Some say that Facebook makes people a little too uninhibited and prone to oversharing. Well, okay, maybe that’s true. But I say if you don’t want to know what I’m doing every moment of the day, select “less about Cat” in your feed settings. If you don’t want to know 25 random things about me, don’t read my notes. If you don’t want me to comment on photos of your family, use friend lists. And if you aren’t truly interested in connecting with me, well, don’t friend me in the first place.

The problem, as I see it, isn’t that people overshare, it’s that people don’t know they are oversharing. I’ve read enough private conversations posted on public walls to know that people don’t know I can read their private conversations posted on their public walls. Just like that sloppy drunk at the office Christmas party who thinks everyone wants to see his Xeroxed butt, people on Facebook often forget that some things are best kept private.

If you do nothing else to manage your FB addiction, do this:
1. Use friend lists. Does your old co-worker care about your photos from high school? Probably not.

2. Set your application settings. Are you sure you really want all your friends to know how often you play Scramble? I didn’t think so.

3. Change your photo tag settings. Because, really, just because someone has an incriminating photo of you shouldn’t mean they can tell all your friends about it.

Most importantly, if it’s not in a private message, it means you don’t mind if anyone else reads it.

There is an upside to my addiction, though. As a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM? Some acronyms just weren’t meant to be), Facebook is like my happy hour hangout where I can commiserate with other moms, chat with friends, and yes, when I log on, everybody knows my name.

It hasn’t decreased my real-life socializing, since I wouldn’t otherwise be out with friends. It has, however, given me a low bandwidth way to keep in touch with old friends, continue conversations with current real-life friends, chat with family members I rarely get to see in person, and reconnect with friends that I truly wish I had never lost touch with in the first place. Rather than make me more isolated, it has actually made me more social.

As anyone who has ever celebrated their 21st birthday with a pitcher of red death knows (I won’t name any names), self-control is very, very important. But anyone who has ever gone to happy hour with friends knows a little socializing is good for the soul. I figure, as long as I remember to log off now and then, this is one addiction I’ll keep.

catbird :: Feb.07.2009 :: socio-pop, technology :: Comments Off

I love Spamusement.
It’s very funny.

catbird :: Feb.11.2005 :: socio-pop, technology :: Comments Off

Steve sent me this cool link to razzberry in the Way Back Machine. Wow it brought back a lot of memories! I still remember building and posting the very first razz site iteration. It doesn’t seem that long ago , but then again, sometimes it does….

catbird :: Jan.15.2005 :: technology :: Comments Off

Although he would prefer me to install a news aggregator, Steve told me back in September about the launch of Yahoo! RSS feeds.

“Woo-hoo!” I thought and the first day I set it up was great. After the first day, though, I noticed that the entries never updated. Thinking maybe I screwed something up, I clicked “edit,” but that led me to a blank page. Well, at least I could still use it as a sort of backward, inconvenient bookmark list.

While early on the blogs block often wouldn’t show up, now it is completely MIA. What gives, Yahoo?

catbird :: Nov.19.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

Yesterday, the FCC approved rules that would insert a digital marker into the data stream being transmitted. The goal is to block people from sharing movies and TV shows recorded from their televisions. Officials say that the technology will allow people to record for their personal use, just not share.

Consumer groups are concerned:

The rules may also make it impossible to share content that is in the public domain. As icing on the cake, the rules could allow technology to track the viewing habits of consumers.

Hopefully the government, businesses, and technology innovators will figure out effective ways to handle new technology and copyright issues soon. This certainly doesn’t seem like the answer.

catbird :: Nov.05.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

… Otherwise known as “Something that won’t be happening at the Hatchlet birth.”

[From boingboing.net] Matt sez, “the very cool presence of wi-fi here at the hospital means that I can blog my second daughter’s birth as it happens. Finally my two favorite things (my daughters and my laptop) come together!”

catbird :: Nov.04.2003 :: technology :: 3 Comments »

Just when non-linear photo sharing had saved you from looking at your friend’s six wedding albums while she waits for you to comment on how stunning she looks in each one, Picasa gives us “Hello.” From the press blurb (and lifted from boingboing):

catbird :: Oct.23.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

I work for a magazine that offers free subscriptions. The mag is targeted to parents of college and college-bound students.

A recent subscriber has the email address SoftSwtMoistKiss at isp.com – can you imagine emailing your mom at that email address?

catbird :: Sep.02.2003 :: socio-pop, technology :: Comments Off

Steven Johnson over at Slate wrote an article about Google and so-called “Googleholes” in the system.

Unfortunately, his Googleholes 1 and 2 sound more like user error than “systemic problems” to me.

If you are looking for information on growing tulips, why would you search for “flowers” rather than “growing tulips“?

And if you are looking for information about regular old-fashioned apples and not apple computers or Fiona Apple, why wouldn’t you search for “old-fashioned apples,” “red delicious apples,” or even “McIntosh apples“?

Come now, Steven, are we really to believe that your inability to develop appropriate search phrases is a flaw in Google?

catbird :: Jul.17.2003 :: technology :: 2 Comments »

“Computers were making every existing authority obsolete. Information would be free, censorship impossible. Consumers would buy products directly from suppliers, cutting out the middlemen and threatening every traditional business.”

Gary Wolfe’s new book recounts the making of Wired.

catbird :: Jun.25.2003 :: technology :: 1 Comment »

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of forcing libraries installing anti-pornography filters on computers. In fact, libraries must conform to this new law or sacrifice government money. The Court decided that the law does not violate the First Amendment, regardless of the fact that it restricts access to legitimate, informational Web sites.

Library computer users can request to have a site unblocked and adults can request to have the filter turned off.

While something about the blackmail technique makes my stomach queasy and the restriction on freedom of speech seems to forebode of things to come, I also recognize that with tens of thousands of public libraries in the U.S., this law will be hard to police.

Somehow, when I read this story, I couldn’t help but envision conservative Republicans dressed as Microsoft butterflies running around shielding people from the horrors of pop culture.

catbird :: Jun.23.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

Orrin Hatch said he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet. Even though legal experts say doing so would violate federal anti-hacking laws, Hatch thinks it “may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights.”

It kind of makes me want to use his computer to download some music.

catbird :: Jun.18.2003 :: music, technology :: 1 Comment »

Like Nelson on the Simpsons, the RIAA is just a bunch of bullies.

Recently, the RIAA sued Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute freshman Jesse Jordan for creating a search engine that would search the campus network. He wasn’t sharing music, he just created a way for students to find things on the existing network.

In the settlement, the RIAA agreed that Jordan did nothing wrong, but took his whole savings account, $12,000, anyway.

They are just a bunch of playground bullies, pushing kids around and taking their money. You can almost hear them saying “Ha-ha.”

catbird :: Jun.10.2003 :: music, technology :: Comments Off

After four years (well, four and a half – thanks mom, dad, and the hospitable Brits) working my butt off (or at least, working) to get my BFA in graphic design, I graduated into a world where anyone with a computer, PowerPoint, and CorelDRAW thought they could generate good design.

Are weblogs the same thing for writing and journalism? Sure, others slaved for four or more years to get a degree in journalism, english, or writing. But, hey, I have a weblog. In fact, screw all you professional photographers – I have a digital camera and a photoblog, too.

catbird :: Jun.06.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

“So now we have the following exciting scenario: Candidate gives speech. ABC News reports speech. ABC’s Note blogs speech. Then candidate blogs his own speech, knocking down any negative interpretation by other bloggers. And we blog the whole incestuous process.”

Media Notes from Howard Kurtz

catbird :: Apr.29.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

AOL has filed five separate lawsuits against more than a dozen individuals and companies that have sent about 1 billion unsolicited messages to AOL subscribers.

As much as I detest spam, I am having trouble cheering for a company that sends me unsolicited CDs in expensive and non-biodegradable tin cases every month. Which is worse, email spam or polluting the earth with waste?

catbird :: Apr.15.2003 :: technology :: 3 Comments »

Forbes has an interesting article about companies that are using EBay auctions to advertise and market products, both to build buzz about new products and to keep consumers loyal. Companies using this channel include Nissan, Continental, and Cabury Schwepps. Even Burger King is testing the waters.

Just as interesting with regard to EBay‘s impact is that Forbes has a whole section of articles entitled “The EBay Economy”.

catbird :: Apr.15.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off

“A Hong Kong mobile phone company is launching a service that lets customers know which nearby buildings have housed carriers of the deadly SARS virus.” (Yahoo News)

When this technology comes to the US: “A US mobile phone company launches a new service that lets customers tap into Match.com and know which nearby buildings house singles who are looking for a match.” Either that, or we’ll be able to locate the nearest burger, donut, or convicted sex offender.

catbird :: Apr.14.2003 :: technology :: 1 Comment »

My husband reminded me about the infamous hacking cat ad banners I did when I worked for the now defunct tap online web site. Some would say I never quite reached this height of creativity again…. Thanks to rhumba.com’s Brian Alpert for archiving this piece of my creative history.

catbird :: Mar.28.2003 :: technology :: 2 Comments »

Lexus recently built a web site called Luxury for Living that is designed to provide content while also subtly advertising the company’s products.

According to Geoffrey Ramsey, chief executive at eMarketer, a market research firm in New York, “Advertising on the World Wide Web needs to provide useful information because Web users typically go to the Internet for a specific reason and do not want to be bothered.”

Hey, I’m not saying this is the wrong strategy (or the right one, either), but haven’t advertisers been doing this this since the mid-90s?

catbird :: Feb.11.2003 :: technology :: Comments Off