Using Social Media and Tech to Keep in Touch

One of Facebook’s biggest selling points is its ability to string together a bunch of different phases in a person’s life into one place. Friends from High School can see what you’re doing now, and co-workers can get to know you in a more informal setting. One problem many people face is how to deal with family on social networks like Facebook. It can be pretty boring to hear about Aunt Sue’s recovery from knee surgery in your news feed, but if you don’t friend her, then there really isn’t much contact. Not to mention, most people in the two generations above mine don’t have Facebook. It’s a rapidly growing demographic on the social networking site, but of the sixteen aunts, uncles, and (grand)parents in my family, only three have a facebook. This brings up another tough question: When we almost solely rely on texting, Facebook, and instant messaging to run our lives, how do we stay close to relatives who aren’t so well-versed in such technologies?

The Truth About Facebook (video)

A video about Facebook’s extremely sketchy privacy policies and the legal rights they have over their users. I would say the fact that they have these powers isn’t as scary as what they might do with them.

These arguments along with the amount of twisted people who are on Facebook make it a dangerous place to put personal information. I’m not advocating against Facebook, but I do believe everyone should take extreme care in knowing where their photos and status updates end up. As much as we’d like it to be, Facebook will never be as safe as being in a room with a group of friends. There is still a company that claims to own every piece of information you put on their site.

Update carefully!

YouTube and Ustream: Internet Video Taking Over

For my birthday this past week, I got a Flip video camera. I already had a Mini DV Sony, but the Flip has the added bonus of being extremely lightweight and small, making its portability a huge benefit. Since I’ve had it, I’ve uploaded two YouTube videos and recorded about an hour of footage as I’m out and about with my friends.

My extra time on YouTube has also made me aware of a profession that I had no idea existed. People like Philip DeFranco make their living on YouTube. It’s a very, very simple business model: Record a 3-4 minute video three times a week of yourself stating your own opinions on news that already broke, put the video on youtube, have an ad pop up along the bottom, make lots of money. What? I, and the rest of America, has been stating our opinions about Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, and all of the other breaking news this week, but I don’t get paid. I suppose it’s DeFranco’s unique editing style and his great sense of humor that make his opinion so popular.

Infomercial 2.0

Like nearly every other eighteen-year-old guy in this country, I am nearly obsessed with cars. Unlike many of them, I am more interested in the driving piece than the car piece. I’d rather take a Honda Civic out on a track for a day than drive a Corvette around on the streets for a month. As a driving enthusiast, I’m naturally drawn to rally racing. I won’t say that there isn’t a great deal of skill involved in driving NASCAR – doing anything at speeds upwards of 120 miles per hour takes a lot of skill – but I will say that I get much more of a thrill out of watching cars go 90 through trees sideways.

What brings me to this on a tech/media blog? Well for one, I love this stuff too much not to write about it. But second, I saw an unprecedented piece of media today that I thought I would share.