Posted by Diana Newby on Saturday, October 10, 2009 08:23 pm
We all know how it goes: If you live in Berkeley, and you’re not politically involved, people will most likely think you’re a tool. Which is not to say that the parameters of “politically involved” are particularly stringent. All you really need is a sign and a red ribbon and hey, look at that! You’re an activist.
So naturally it would follow that the best means of demonstrating your commitment to environmental ethics is to befriend a gorilla. No, we don’t mean getting down and dirty Jane Goodall-style. These are modern times, kiddlins–all you need is the Internet. read more »
Posted by Valerie Woolard on Monday, September 21, 2009 01:20 pm
Don’t you wish Facebook were just slightly more effective as a privacy invasion tool?
Well, apparently, you’re not alone. Some students at MIT have created a “Gaydar” program which, by analyzing the gender and sexual orientation of a person’s friends, seems to be able to fairly accurately predict when men are gay.
The program apparently doesn’t work as well at predicting bisexual men or lesbian women, so make of that what you will.
Image Source: waldopepper under Creative Commons
Project ‘Gaydar’: An MIT experiment raises new questions about online privacy [Boston Globe]
Posted by Jill Cowan on Sunday, August 30, 2009 03:21 pm
… and ironic? According to a poll conducted by San Diego State University and something called “Youth Pulse LLC,” students are aware that their reasons for social networking are pretty much entirely self-centered.
So, let us get this straight. We know that no one else gives a flying f*ck what we drank last night and we still post it up all over the place for all the world to see?
Yeah, we guess that sounds about right, even if the poll doesn’t exactly reek of scientific significance. But does our self-awareness justify our obnoxious attention whoreishness? We say nay. Hey that rhymes! Ohmigod, we’re so clever. We totes have to go tweet this right now.
Image Source: pescatello under Creative Commons Students Say Social Networking Is All About Themselves [Paper Trail]
Posted by Jill Cowan on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 08:47 pm
According to a post on the official White House blog, Secretary of Energy and former Berkeleyan turned celebrity, Steven Chu is soliciting you … for your opinions and ideas. How is he going about gathering and disseminating such crucial information?
Why, through Facebook, of course! In the post, Chu says he’ll “keep you up to date on all the latest developments, as well as share tips that will save you money on your energy bills,” and that he hopes to have “a true dialogue.” If it’s a dialog that’ll save us money, we’re so there.
Plus his info doesn’t reek of editing by a P.R. department, which totally ups his street cred in our (Face)book. His activities include “Cooking, biking, doing crossword puzzles with my wife Jean, and trying to learn to golf.” Oh, and his default is a-freaking-dorable. Aw, Steven Chu, we love you!
Whilst we bury our pretty college noses in photos of ourred cups friends and 160-character personal tedium status updates, a dark and rapidly growing underworld of baby boomers tugs at the roots of our beloved social network. Be afraid: Since January the number of 35 to 54-year-olds has surpassed the number of 24 to 34-year-olds (which was already more sizeable than our humble slice) to take the biggest FB chunk. Not only that, but they also bring in the most read more »
Posted by Jill Cowan on Sunday, May 10, 2009 08:28 pm
.!.
Has this whole University Health Services data security breach thing left you forlorn and stressed? Do you find yourself shaking your fists at the heavens, bitterly cursing the powers that be and wishing there were an outlet where you could more effectively unleash your fury, since merely placing a fraud alert on your credit profile didn’t quite do it for you? Well, look no further than your truest ally, your trustiest of all trusty friends. Look no further than Facebook. People out there feel your pain–and they want you to help them take down the ones responsible. All you have to do is join their group. read more »
Posted by Alex Bigman on Thursday, May 07, 2009 10:03 am
It’s easy to forget that on the Internet, for all its vast anonymity, there is always somebody watching you. Turns out, Website watchdog is a burgeoning and lucrative career. And since that Facebook photo of you at last weekend’s Edward Fortyhands party probably nixed your shot at Secretary of State anyway, this economy says “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” If you’re looking for a cushy post graduation gig, Facebook alone employs a massive squad of “porn cops” whose mission it is to keep their quaint little site wholesome, free of nipples, bong rips and read more »
Posted by Jill Cowan on Monday, February 23, 2009 02:06 pm
OK, kids. Today and tomorrow are the big days! That’s right. After tomorrow, you’ll never have to hear another word or think another thought about the ASUC and the clusterf*cks it calls elections. Except for when the results of the recall come out. Or when the actual ASUC elections roll around. And when the results of those elections come out. But don’t you worry your pretty little heads about those just yet.
The Clog’s here to help you keep focused on the matter at hand, which has–like all things really worth fighting for–sparked a heated Facebook bitchfest. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, for your consideration, we present the defense … read more »
We put a lot of trust in Facebook. It knows more about us than most of our parents do: our favorite bands, what we said to our best friend last week, what parties we’re planning to attend and can even show us pictures of how many vodka shots we had over winter break. All of this information is now in the Facebook database to do with as they please, forever.
Facebook recently changed its Terms of Sevice and kinda forgot to tell us ‘book-users, not that you read the original TOS before you hit “create account,” anyway. Basically, this is what you willingly (or unknowingly) agree to:
You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you… Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service. read more »
Loading ...
Print This Post
Don’t you wish Facebook were just slightly more effective as a privacy invasion tool?
… and ironic? 
According to a post on the official 
Has this whole 
OK, kids. Today and tomorrow are the 
We put a lot of trust in Facebook. It knows more about us than most of our parents do: our favorite bands, what we said to our best friend last week, what parties we’re planning to attend and can even show us pictures of how many vodka shots we had over winter break. All of this information is now in the 