Twitter, Facebook Downed by DDoS Attack… Simultaneously

On Thursday August 6th 2009 at 9:45 AM, some hackers somewhere claimed victory; Twitter and Facebook were down. At the same time. The victory was rare and short lived, as Facebook came back up (though showing some problems) within minutes. However, as of 11:35 AM, Twitter was still down. Those who gather news on Twitter (and send it out) are obviously paralyzed for a solution.

According to a PC Magazine article, Twitter confirms this outage in their status blog, updating that they “are defending against a denial-of-service attack.”

The site is likely to return to working status before the end of the day. It seems as though such a large and clearly coordinated attack on large social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter would have been noticed and prepared for. Clearly, Facebook was more ready than Twitter for this. They’ve been around longer, have more hardware and more staff to deal with such problems, and have likely faced them before.

Whatever the case, this has been a clear reminder to Twitter of its vulnerability (They shouldn’t need one – they get hacked almost weekly).

Social Sites Decentralizing News

This isn’t news. It’s been clear for a while now that with the rise of blogs and other user-generated information, professional journalism (especially the stuff that comes on paper) is losing clout. As the influence of large sites like New York Times online and CNN fall, smaller news sites are on the rise. The unexpected side of this is that these sites are, in fact, reputable.

Tumblr

In my never-ending quest to have a strong and enjoyable presence on the internet, I’ve created a tumblr page to compliment my blog as well as Twitter. There are so many thoughts I have that are worth more than a tweet, but that I don’t have time or energy to put into a blog post. I’m hoping tumblr will help me fill these gaps and help me get my two cents in.

You can find my page here. Tumblr is simply a mini-blogging site. I can make a quick post of a cool video I’ve found, an article I liked, or a quick story from my day. We’ll see how it goes. Enjoy!

Smart Marketing

Twitter has given a place for many very cool and interesting marketing ideas to bloom. I came across one today that was so incredibly simple, yet so brilliant that it merits a blog post.

As I logged into twitter earlier today, I glanced over at the trending topics, which have become an amazing way to discover news and events as they happen. The leading topic was “#squarespace.” This confused me as it is usually a phrase such as “inauguration speech” or “American Idol.” After a quick google search, I found out that square space is a company that helps with web site creation. I haven’t used the service, but it looks good and I will probably give it a shot soon. In other words: mission accomplished. When I woke up this morning I didn’t know that the company even existed, and now I want to try their product.

Summer: The Screen Addict’s Dillema

It’s 73 degrees outside, the sun is bright, there’s a farmer’s market going on down the street. Life is good, right? Right. I won’t go so far as to say summer is bad, but when you’re a nerd like me, there are those dillemas. I just bought two new games and got photoshop with the momentum carried through by spring fever, and I would really like to be playing with them. (Of course, now I’m writing a blog post without enjoying the weather or the toys.) So as a geek and (sort of) athlete, I’ve always been very torn in the summer. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 or the skate park? MLB 07 or the ballfield? As things like Dr Pepper, coffee, and Monster have become ever more present in my life, and bedtime has fallen into the past, I’ve been more and more able to have both worlds. Work and outdoorsy stuff from 9-5, social from 5-9 (PM), and then games, gadgets, and geekdom from 9-5. Yeah, maybe I’m working on four hours of sleep sometimes, but I’m having a sick (the good kind) summer.

Social Media: What Did We Do Before?

I was working a long 9 hour shift today making pizzas, which isn’t exactly a career plan, but helps with the college savings. As I was going through the day, though, things kept happening that made me think “I should tweet that,” or “That’d be a funny Facebook status.”

Having these thoughts every little while made me realize how much social media has integrated not just into society but into our minds. Social media, at least for me, has eliminated much of the idle texting or IMing between two individuals and put it on a more mass level. Instead of texting someone to tell them that I just watched “the best movie ever,” I can post a tweet or a Facebook status commenting on the movie.

Social Media Moment

A blurb on one of the many benefits of social media…

Tonight I was helping my girlfriend put together a mix CD. Since I am the more net-savvy half of the operation (but by no means the brains), she asked for my assistance. I quickly took to the web, using my various normal ways of grabbing music, and got most of the songs she needed. There was one song, though, that I wasn’t able to get my virtual hands on. As the prideful person that I am, I wasn’t about to tell her “I can’t find it,” and tarnish my super-geek crown. Somewhat desperately, I turned to Twitter asking if anyone would send me the song.

Just a few minutes later, I was notified of someone’s tweet in reply to mine saying that he had it and to send over my e-mail address. Simple as that.

Ten minutes after posting my tweet, I had the song. I didn’t really expect to get anything by posting on twitter, but like I said, I was desperate. Social media comes in in the clutch. Again.

Why I Want a Netbook

Well most of us would be kidding ourselves if we said we wouldn’t love to have one of those sleek little netbooks that are smaller than most of my college textbooks, but I like to think I have logical justification for wanting one. Much of my reasoning is obvious and common, but it’s common because it’s good!

So, why do I want one of these $400 little wonders?

Twitter Madness on The Dobbs Method

For those who read my last post and chose to ignore it and not get a Twitter account, I would just like to say that twitter had a huge effect here at The Dobbs Method yesterday. Before yesterday, despite those of you who loyally follow my posts, the best day for The Dobbs Method was 66 hits.

After posting my 5 Reasons Why You Should Get Twitter post, @Twitter_Tips picked it up and posted a link to their 62,000+ followers and the blog hit an all time high: over 852 views. If there’s a point you want to make and you want to get it out fast, post it on Twitter.

If you ignored yesterday’s post, think again.

5 Reasons Why You Should Get Twitter

The student newspaper at my college recently published a very funny and cynical piece on the pointlessness of Twitter as a social network. If that’s not enough, friends are constantly heckling me about it and asking what the point is. While Twitter does highlight some of modern society’s flaws (like the infinite ability we have to be impersonal), it also creates many benefits for its users.