One aspect of social media I dislike immensely is the sense of magical thinking hovers about it. Some of the medium’s most rabid advocates possess a spooky evangelical zeal about digital communications. At times it can feel like snake-oil salesmen who promise miraculous cures. That’s why it’s not usual to find bold proclamations that social [...]
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Following Isn’t a Lifelong Commitment
April 24, 2012
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But a lot of people think it is. Every now and then I take the time to cull through the people I follow and connect with on my social networks. I look at Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and others to see who I’m following and why. Admittedly, I’m connected to too many people. It’s part [...]
Read moreWe Are All Robots Now
April 6, 2012
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My initial response to Google’s Project Glass – a mix of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and mobile technology – was two-fold: Wow, the technology in “The Matrix” movies is beginning to look dated and; When exactly was the date of Judgement Day in “The Terminator” movies? Make no mistake – this project is [...]
Read moreSocial Media is a Requirement
March 22, 2012
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Overheard at the gym. SCENE: A middle-aged man talking to a woman about a recent job interview. GUY: He asked me if I had a Facebook page. WOMAN: Do you? GUY: No, of course not. Who has a Facebook page? I mean besides kids? ———————— I’m going to hazard a wild guess that our [...]
Read moreThere’s No Room for Thank You in Social Media
March 19, 2012
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I get a lot of email. An awful lot. Often it feels like my inbox is a waterfall. The flow of water (with an occasional submerged log) pours down on my head all day long. One of my pet peeves is the “Thank You” email. You’ve probably gotten these as well. An email goes out [...]
Read moreReading Endangered
March 6, 2012
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It is technically possible to read a book on a computer. Or on a smartphone or tablet. I’ve done it. Once. When I was a subway commuter a few years ago I read “The Sign of the Four” by Arthur Conan Doyle on my iPhone. It was the first and last time that I succeeded [...]
Read moreThe Wrath of Social Media
March 2, 2012
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It isn’t easy when your microphone isn’t as loud as Twitter. Just ask Rush Limbaugh this morning. The pugnacious conservative radio entertainer waded into dangerous waters this week when he attacked a Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke, for being in favor of public financing of contraception for women. According to Politico: ‘Fluke is a [...]
Read moreFacebook is NEVER Private
February 13, 2012
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“Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” – Benjamin Franklin, statesman Facebook gives users the illusion of privacy. You get to choose your friends and have the ability to regulate your content. Some people can see this. Others can see that. But regardless of how you direct traffic on Facebook remember [...]
Read moreFacebook Timeline is the New Tombstone
January 30, 2012
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“There are more dead people than living. And their numbers are increasing. The living are getting rarer.” – Eugene Ionesco, playwright People hate the Facebook Timeline. While many of Facebook’s most prominent changes over the years have caused a lot of hand wringing, none of them have caused as visceral a response as the Timeline. [...]
Read moreGoogle Decides to Kill Privacy
January 26, 2012
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Remember when Google adopted “Don’t Be Evil” as its unofficial motto? You’ll find that little ditty at a yard sale next to a Bay City Rollers album and a skinny leather tie decorated like a piano. Because this week Google announced it was drastically changing its privacy policy and the side of sharing – and [...]
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HighTalk by George F. Snell III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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