Tag: Facebook

All Things Must Pass

~ K ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been going through old blog posts, scanning them for any topics I want to revisit. What struck me most is how much my blog was a product of its time. Except for, perhaps, YouTube clips that haven’t been taken down, most of the media I linked to is defunct.

One of the video sites I used, Vodpod, no longer exists so most of my videos have disappeared. I linked to Grooveshark and that no longer exists either. Does anyone use last.fm anymore?

I created other blogs that were deleted or hidden from view. I’m weirdly organized in an “all over the place” kind of way. I’m not neat. But for the most part, I’m organized. I usually know where everything is or where everything is supposed to go. But that doesn’t mean it’s been done neatly.

I suppose I choose efficiency over being neat. I love looking at minimalistic designs like in the Nordic regions and Japanese culture.

I am not neat enough to keep it looking like that, but it is aesthetically pleasing to my eyes.

George Harrison sang, “All Things Must Pass.” And I feel like that’s so true of things as I’ve grown up. Online store profits beat those of brick-and-mortar stores. J.C. Penney’s and Woolworth’s are no longer household names. Napster was the IT music site back in the day. I do believe there will come a time when Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google will eventually fade away and yield to something new and snappier. Vine died so that TikTok could live. Will anyone know what TikTok is in 20 years? I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.

My Favorite iPhone Apps

~ K ~ 3 Comments

apps

I have some go-to apps on my iPhone. Here’s a list of them (in no particular order):

  • Google Maps: So much better than the disastrous and inaccurate Apple Maps, Google Maps is a lifesaver with its up-to-date traffic information and (mostly) accurate streets. (free)
  • Remote: I have an Apple AirPort in the kitchen with speakers and sometimes I’ll stream from my iTunes (Mac or PC) to the AirPort in the kitchen. Remote is handy to have when a song comes on that I’m not particularly in the mood for and want to change without running to another room to do so. (free)
  • UberSocial: A Twitter client that allows you to “mute” certain people you follow on Twitter. It also allows you the option of “quoting” a tweet when attempting to retweet. (free)
  • SoundHound: Shazaam is the popular sound/song-matching app, but I like SoundHound. It automatically posts songs that it has matched to Twitter and Facebook. (free)
  • PNC Mobile: I love PNC Bank’s Mobile app that allows me to easily deposit checks simply by taking a picture. I would say that I liked the Virtual Wallet app but the regular PNC Mobile app is just as easy to use for my business account. (free)
  • Starbucks: I can load my cards onto my phone, reload balances, and use my phone to pay for drinks and/or food. And each Tuesday, I get a notification to download their free iTunes song of the week. (free)
  • Time Master + Billing: When freelancing for a client of mine, I use the Time Master app to enter job codes, keep track of my time, and see how much the client will owe me. It allows me to easily back up all my data to Dropbox so in case something goes wrong with my phone, I can access past information. This app has more than paid for itself. ($9.99)
  • Google Voice: In an effort to keep my texting costs down (I am on the 200 texts for $5-dollars plan), I use Google Voice that provides me with my own local number (a separate one from my phone) that people can text to. It has confused a number of my family members and friends that I’ve got two cell phone numbers, but it keeps costs down. (free)
  • Todo by Appigo: A handy way to keep track of things to do. Set schedules, create checklists and projects, and specify things to do by location, phone number, or website. ($4.99)
  • Foursquare:  A location-based check-in game, and a race to see who can be the top of the leaderboard! (free)
  • Scrabble: The popular board game comes to life in a digital version. (free ad-supported version and occasionally on sale for $0.99)
  • Draw Something: It’s like Pictionary but on the phone. You don’t need to be an artiste to have fun. (free ad-supported version and $2.99)
  • Gmail: Primary email of choice. This app allows me to access all the things I cannot through the Mail app: searching my archives and accessing my drafts. (free)
  • MyFitnessPal: A tool for tracking calories. I know people who have lost weight using this app, but I can’t seem to get myself together. (free)
  • YouVersion Bible: Access certain translations of the Bible online and offline. Why carry a Bible to church anymore? (free)
  • Facebook: The Facebook app helps me to stay connected to friends and family. And now, it’s easier than ever to share links. (free)
  • WordPress: Whenever inspiration for a blog post may strike me, I have a reliable blogging tool at my fingertips. And if I really wanted to, I could use it for my professional blog. (free)

The Queen Bees of Social Media (It’s Only a Dream)

~ K ~ 4 Comments

This post has probably been stewing inside of me for the past couple of years, and some women might find it offensive while other women won’t care while others might agree and others might disagree. I don’t care. This is how I feel. Continue reading “The Queen Bees of Social Media (It’s Only a Dream)” →

My Fight with Facebook and Twitter

~ K ~ 6 Comments
Image from blog.sevnthsin.com

Facebook and Twitter are two social media tools that feed into a person’s habit of self-absorption. (Blogs do a great job of that too.) For me, Facebook and Twitter feed into my delusion of self-importance, one I will attempt to curb. Continue reading “My Fight with Facebook and Twitter” →

Is the idea of privacy simply a long-lost memory?

~ K ~ 3 Comments

When I joined Facebook six years ago, it was a social networking site only open to college kids. When I joined, I had to have a .edu email address and join my college network. Networks were rather small and since I wasn’t really close to anyone at my school, I rarely used Facebook. Apart from status updates, the only other thing available was to join local groups such “I hate people who walk slowly over the Unispan!” or “I wish I had a girl’s superpowers so I could wear tight, revealing clothes in the middle of winter.” (Yes, these were real groups that existed.) Due to Facebook’s college students-only policy, MySpace was the dominating social network since it was available to nearly anyone with an email address (of any kind).

By “Liking” a brand or product on Facebook, you consent to your profile being used publicly on a product’s external site regardless of privacy control settings. (On Mashable, these profiles are clickable.)

I never dreamed that by the end of the decade, I’d be forced to choose between my desire for keeping my information private or having it broadcast — not only to my 200-plus Facebook friends but also to advertisers who want to fine-tune the ads they target at me or sites that want to let you know that I “Like” their brand or product.

Today, Facebook is open to anyone and currently boasts more than 400 million users globally. In addition to group pages, it now has features such as applications (FarmVille, ZooWorld), Like (formerly Fan) pages, Share, and Facebook connect to connect your profile page with other sites on the Web. What used to be a small networking site among college students is now a social behemoth that can broadcast nearly anything almost anywhere in a matter of seconds.

Some people will argue that once you post your information out on the Internet, in any way, you can’t expect it to be private. These people view the Internet as the information “town square” — in other words, the public information areana. In the past, I would have agreed with that to the extent of the information not being excluded from public searches (Google, Bing, etc.).

But to give the impression that a person’s information can be kept private while finding subversive ways to keep it public is misleading. In the six years I’ve been using Facebook, I’ve watched the social network giant cross that line time and time again. There are enough stressors and things to worry about in this world — Facebook’s complicated privacy controls shouldn’t have to be one of them. Continue reading “Is the idea of privacy simply a long-lost memory?” →