1. I admit writing a blog about facebook is kinda lame
2. All things (stole from Tony I think the term) The book of Face aren't bad
3. Been meaning to write this for like a week so it might be a little weak and not how I really want it to read

Yeah I can admit that I have found a little bit of Drama over there... Maybe I'm just use to the blog Style where ... You get to see others points of view and think about your own and not saying change but think about it another way or at least gain some knowledge ....Oh but on facebook forget about that.....I recently got into it with someone whom I thought was a friend what ever that is whom requested me and is now deleting people ... Why so angry cause I don't agree with that ? and try to hold you to a high standard .....

But see that is the thing with facebook is we all state our opinion in many ways some times those funny cards and there is what happens... People who agree we can like or we can share... And then when we share everyone else sees and people who agree share.. So what happens is we whom ever does that sharing the same idea so We have a little group of Conformity ? Now to disagree with ones ideas oh no on facebook you can't do that... People yell and tell you to stay out of it and it really ugly really fast and people want to delete you and all kinds of stuff ... Ok maybe over doing it a bit but that is the attitude .... This happens with music as well see a band and share the video and next thing you know all the friends who like that band like that it and you have another little circle of people who like the same thing....

The fact is that yes people can like and share what ever they want and be friends with whom they want... There are a lot of great things one can do on facebook but that isn't what I'm writing about... There is one of those little pictures that says something along the lines of it is my wall if you don't like it delete... Yes it is good to say that I post what I want if you don't like it or are offended it is easy don't report me just delete me.... But the under current is what bothers me... It implies that they only want to state their opinion and that your is unwanted at least if it is different .. If you conform to their ideas then great if not don't say anything ..........

TheNote: Yes on facebook if you are going to make something longer then a status update they have a note... Aka a blog ? Yes You can tag people in it but I think only once it is written in other words I can't write about cats and then Tag Say (e:TheeCarey) in one part and then ask someone else something in another part.... They just show up as part of the note.... But see it isn't right on the front page every where you go (some might say it is a programming thing but I don't buy it) You have all ways had to use a few clicks to get there.... And I think again cause facebook wants things to be shared and talked about that people agree on....

TheLikeButton: Of course you can post comments and still disagree but the like button tells everyone you agree with something and also now shares it before it went to like a little pop up if someone was on screen and they could find it... Now unless settings are changed you see what people like... Now I think this ties right into ads... Pepsi posts a nice ad and or coke and I like those cute little bears that if they could would rip you to pieces and let the penguins eat what ever is left..HA You hit like and everyone sees it...

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>TheDislikeButton: That is correct there isn't one . This yells to me that you have to agree.. But what it really does is if you don't like something you just don't hit like instead of saying you don't like it... This helps the circle of people who agree on something to form again... Now I get that they don't want (I assume this is one of the reasons) people to dislike sponsors and ads and that kind of things like movies cause it could cause people (Yes Companies are legally people now aka Citizens United even though I don't completely understand) to not be part of facebook and not bring their movie clips and stuff.... The wanting for a Dislike got so bad that there was company that through Firefox gave you a dislike button.. If you disliked it , no one saw it other then the person who posted the thing they posted if they used firefox it might have even been a hack...

I just think that Facebook isn't set up for decent yes it can be used that way.. It is so that people can share interests that they share and that is fine.. But there is also a side of we are all going to agree and if you don't agree well fuck you... Oh yeah and don't tell me either...

Just read it and I guess I said what I wanted to say kinda of course over the time when I wanted to get here and really couldn't it has faded a little bit but......... Maybe I'll get some comments.... And maybe it made sense ?

Great ? by (e:hodown) The Answer as I watch football is both Yes and No?

I think Yes in that places like Buffalo Rising, The Huffington Post aren't they really Pro Blog sites...... I kinda feel that is the way we are heading... Not sure how many there are but people do follow some famous blogs ...

But also No is an answer: Now I don't have the numbers but just compare how may blogs now on here Vs. the past... Of course (e:paul) and (e:lilho) and maybe a few others still blog... Or maybe there is just more time between them?

Now some of that is that sites like Mysapce and Facebook you can write nice blogs but that isn't what the sites are really set up for...

Now don't get me wrong twitter is great for somethings like quick little comments or maybe sharing a blog or big pieces of info.... But mostly these 3 media and others are really set up to do short things ... Some many things on there wouldn't really make a good blog... For example yesterday I went to see Skyfall... Thought it was on par with other James Bond movies and really enjoyed it... But how even though I have in past make that a blog? But maybe if one uses these short forms it makes one kinda think like that so maybe it makes it tougher to write a blog...

Now i never prof read a blog maybe I should.. It is just free forming thought... but again I'm not paid to blog there isn't all ways a point.. You are both writing for you and for some reader...So should one?

Oh one point I don't know if a blog counts with pictures unless each picture is explained....

So now the important ? is whom do we blame... Well that gets a bit more complex... 1st lets blame the TV news media on the national level... From what I've heard there was a time when the news division was that.. It wasn't a profit making machine.. Once Profit is the goal that changes everything.... It becomes entertainment and preaching to your viewers.. Debates become talking points... Yes there is media Bias.. Facts are facts but there are different ways to present and different parts of the story to be told and different perspectives to see it from...... But often it comes down to short talking points and not a debate and if we watch that again that teaches us to express our selves shortly?

Now one thing that I use to do was post a link to an article and then give my own take on that... Yes no one who was paid by the paper or whom ever they work for got money from that since the paper was free on line ... Now AP has sued people for it... Not sure whom and when think it was like news site? Again here you can blame Facebook a bit and twitter and G+ sites have one button you push and then you just type in what you think... They make it so easy.....Plus I shouldn't really be here during work....... Of course one can give the link and still give their thoughts... But think that day is quickly going away?

Now if one likes to find out about issues from TV... The writer of the show The Wire.. Worked in Papers and the last season had that tie in... He has said the papers made a mistake of going on line since people could see the content for free and that ad money on line just didn't add up and paper got worse and made less money....I can only speak of the Buffalo News but I think if you don't pay for digital you can see 9 stories a month or something like that....

Now what will happen with papers not sure... Even if they should fail some how the news comes from some where and those journalists Will I assume sell there stuff to news companies somewhere... Or maybe people won't care about sources and everyone will be some form of blogger...

I also think that the news has brought in some aspects of blogging.... I'm sure you've seen the pieces .... Where Like Channel 2 covers an event that they sponsor or have news people a part of.....

In my opinion the difference between say the paper or the news pieces and a blog.. Is in theory the blog is supposed to be the personal perspective....I'm not sure where to take this really got a bit lost but maybe it makes sense. To wrap it up with a little bow.... I guess ? People present them selves the way they want online and keep what they don't want off line... Again with the short form this kinda makes sense... So the personal stuff is left off... So we wind up being little status updates?

So can't really talk about windows 8 currently haven't used it enough... Just had to vent... So far the computer is nice but it is frustrating .... I sign up for internet and get the stuff and set it up so no dial tone... No help something is wrong they want be to call Verizon but I have no phone it doesn't call.... ARGH.... Now that being said though tweeting as I watch stuff is a lot of fun....... Yes as I watched the bills game... Now one thing I guess I can add about windows 8 is that some things don't change... They have this photo program with the memory card and it imports it like it should and everything and then... I try to upload the pictures and it is cool it logs you into facebook and you make an album then it stops In the middle and you have to try again and post more...ARGH.... Now that being said though one thing that does work in windows 8 is the picture tiles (should have gone touch screen oh well) Wait maybe I could try flckr I forgot I have an account is that still Yahoo ? but I could view my facebook pix right from the computer as opposed to on there not sure how to really use it yet..........

So it is tough to believe sometimes depending on what one counts as what how many social networking sites there are.... As an example has anyone ever met anyone through ok cupid or is that really just about tests and you see people on there you all ready know from the world and other sites... It is supposed to be a dating site.... Now do other dating sites get counted.... What about rating sites.... What about adult versions of these like not sure the exact name but Like My nude pix, or fling? Well even if you don't count those now there is instragram and I think some new camera phone or android makes an app so you get load pictures directly and maybe from there right to facebook or where ever.... Yes this might be a ramble but there will be a point after the ramble.... The other big Picture one is Tumbler or something like that........

The point I wanted to make is that a couple days ago on the book of face or as someone else called it facefuck or some other version I can't remember... Someone I was following had a link to pictures or picture on twitter but when i got there had to be a member to view it.... So signed up.... Now my posts go right to facebook from there....

To be honest don't think I will be on there that often.... See from what I've seen is when you share to twitter it is just a link no picture and so no one knows what the link is unless you explain it.... So news article best make your points real quick.... I don't even have any idea how to post pictures yet..... But again I think that is because it is really made for cell phones and not computers.... Plus man there is a lot of stuff on there.... Well we shall see.......

I don't post many articles on here but this is one I thought I should... Anyone who has been to even lets say a dating site or a site where pictures are rated knows that there is a way to take pictures so that certain things are shown off and certain things can be hidden..... Well if it is Facebook or Myspace or some site where you write a blog You only get the perspective of the person they are showing.... Not as much here or other blog sites but most out looks are positive.... Party Pictures lots of smiling .... Fun Events.... It isn't pictures of the women laughing who ripped out their heart .... Or even the crappy job they have.... So yes it often looks like people have this perfect life.... So I do agree with this article ..... So I say play games on facebook?

So Don't like to write about people who aren't me but Warranties are something I wrote about before in the past and how they are kinda stupid... Yes they do help people but in terms of a camera you might be covered but it snows to much and you aren't covered....

Here is the issue My Sis bought a computer some kind of dell with monitor and printer it is a wireless printer so no USB cord... Really that cheap that it doesn't come with a USB cord...ARGH! In any event she gets Kasp... how ever you spell it and the extra warranty from best buy.... So we go out there today cause she has the from what I've heard nasty windows 7 virus and guess what virus isn't covered the people with the virus protection I guess hung up on her..................... $200... What?! Sounds like a scam to me.... Who has $200 when how much would a new tower be maybe you could find a decent one for 300-400? Again it just isn't right... If you make something and you charge people just fix it......................

Now she does have a friend who has a Brother who knows about computers she might take it to Rochester but not sure what she will do.... But I think Best Buy should just fix it.... If they give you software that doesn't do what it is supposed that kinda puts them at fault .... Yes I get it you have to pay the geek squad people in every store... But pass part of the cost onto the virus people?

I have trouble believing this article..... Well I'm sure it is true using the stats they used but I find it hard to believe... (e:strip), Buffalo Rising, and Skunk Post (never been but I assume local and still around) are 3 sites that quickly come to mind.... I know there are others like there is a blog that is only Buffalo sports and know a lot of the news station people have there own blog but not sure where and I know there is at least another 2 (don't have the names sorry) Buffalo Blog sites..... I think that to figure this out they went by facebook and myspace and then used other sites that maybe they heard about..... That being said I didn't read the article I just read the new piece about the article don't think they have a link to it though......

Updated: April 12, 2011, 7:01 AM

If Buffalo were a person, she would have 26 Facebook friends, 17 Twitter followers and three LinkedIn connections.

That’s according to Men’s Health, which gave the Queen City a D+—and the No. 72 position — in its ranking of the nation’s 100 largest cities based on social media savviness.

The magazine was trying to find America’s Most Socially Networked City.

Some of this area’s most devoted users of social media say Buffalo deserves a higher grade.

“There’s a lot of great people out there who are doing a lot of great things. To see that ranking really disappointed me,” said Jason Mollica, public-relations manager for Carr Marketing Communications, who has sent more than 18,000 Tweets as @JasMollica on Twitter.

Men’s Health said it based its ratings on data that included the number of Facebook users per capita and the percentage of households that visit blogs.

But Nicole Schuman was among those here who questioned the magazine’s ratings and said Buffalo has a large and active social-media community.

“I just feel like we’re right up there with everybody else,” said Schuman, the Web editor for Roswell Park Cancer Institute and president of Buffalo’s Social Media Club.

Men’s Health anointed Washington, D. C., as the Most Socially Networked City, with the nation’s capital joining Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle as A+ social-media cities.

El Paso, Texas, sat at the bottom of the list, with midsized cities from Texas and California receiving the six “F” grades.

The ranking appeared at least as scientific as any of the lists that assign superlatives — from “most livable” to “best sports fans” — to various cities throughout the year.

A researcher collected data on the level of usage of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, chat rooms, blogs and other social networks.

No matter what Men’s Health found, Schuman and Mollica said Buffalo has a dedicated community on these sites.

If you don’t believe them, check out all of the Tweets that fly around in response to every momentum turn of a Sabres game. Use the hashtag #sabres.

“I think if Men’s Health had gone onto Twitter during a hockey game, they’d see something different,” said Schuman, who is no slouch herself with 24,000 Tweets as@Buffalogal .

A lot of local companies, politicians, nonprofit groups and sports teams have set up shop on these sites to reach potential customers and supporters.

Someone even sends out tweets as the neckwear of the Sabres coach,@LindyRuffsTie .

Buffalo’s Social Media Club is one of the largest in the country, Schuman said.

“We have to get a new space for our meetings, because we’re running out of room,” she said.

Local social-media users regularly get together offline, holding everything from tweet-ups to Foursquare Days, and area companies are hiring social-media experts.

Maybe there’s a perception problem, Mollica said, and this region can work harder to get known as a social-media hub.

“I think it’s sort of a clarion call for us in Buffalo,” he said. “How can we change it? How can we make ourselves better?”

If nothing else, at least we beat Honolulu, at No. 73. We can send a tweet to brag.
swatson@buffnews.com

So I admit I wanted to post about this yesterday but with all the Zombie Pets playing, and setting up the Christmas Village and stuff and Catching up on here I didn't get to it.....



That is about if the Internet really connects us more..... I will say this before I copy the article. I think in some ways it does. Yes it is true that often times you connect online with people you all ready know.... But look at like how ever flash mobs work... I assume that some of those people wind up meating each other and also connecting off of the web. Some shows in some cities (bigger then Buffalo I assume) have viewing parties for TV shows.... Then there are things like (e:drew) has had Viewing parties (not just for Church People either) and that great Champagne Brunch... Oh and bye the way thanks to you and (e:Janelle) they have been a great time and I'm sure a lot of work for you two.... I guess the point I'm making is it isn't the Internet it is how we use it... Yeah you can watch porn all day untill it hurts and you have no fluid left and you can order food and never go out side... But you can also find people on dating sites and chat on video and keep connections tight and find new people online. At the least you can keep up with people who you don't have time to see or call ....................................


I admit I'm hoping for some Comments>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Does Web really connect us?
Many use Internet to unite with others like them, experts sayBy Stephen T. Watson

News Staff Reporter

Published:
December 20, 2010, 8:00 AM


Updated: December 20, 2010, 11:06 PM


The Internet promises to let us connect with a stranger in Tokyo, but in reality we're much more likely to talk to a friend in Tonawanda.

It was viewed as a potentially globalizing tool. But if you look at how users really spend their time online, they interact with people who are a lot like them -- sharing the same ethnicity, hometown or class status.

"I think in part that's just natural human behavior," said Gregory R. Wood, Canisius College associate professor of marketing, who studies how businesses use social media. "Our online behavior tends to reflect, in part, our offline behavior."

Millions of conversations take place on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other websites every day, but most are segregated from the rest. Users talk near, but not with, others unlike them.

Local users say they notice the same pattern in their own online interactions, where they mainly chat with friends from school, or back home, about what's on their mind.

"Sometimes we talk about whatever the trending topic of the day is, or an event that happened," said Ricza Lopez, a media production major at Buffalo State College. "I like Twitter for the entertainment. A lot of people go on there and complain about their lives. It's funny."

Experts say this Internet isolation is a concern because, as the problems we face and the economy become more international in scale, we need to become more global in our outlook.

The way to resolve this issue is to translate more websites into other languages and to find the right guides to nudge us out of our online flocks, advocates say.

"These bridge figures, I'm pretty well convinced, are the future of how we try to make the world wider through using the Web," Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said at a recent Technology Entertainment and Design, or TED, conference.

From the beginning, theorists argued that the Internet had the potential to revolutionize how we communicate by opening up people to new perspectives from across the globe.

But social media drive so much of the online conversation, and the people we talk to through Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites are usually people we've met in our offline lives.

On Twitter, where people send status updates in 140 characters or less, users start out by following people they know.

They expand their Twitter base by following people who write about topics that interest them, while Twitter suggests others to follow based on a user's location or current connections.

New technologies such as Twitter "amplify and extend who we are and our existing tendencies," said Steve Macho, an assistant professor of technology education at Buffalo State.

At noontime one Friday earlier this month, the most-repeated phrases worldwide on Twitter were "firstkiss," which encouraged users to describe their first lip-lock; "ifihadsuperpowers," a more whimsical topic; and "Xiaobo," a reference to Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that day.

If you dig down into those conversations, however, you'll see that the people engaging in them for the most part share a common denominator of race or geography or interest.

Zuckerman, in his lecture, said he was surprised to see how many African-Americans use Twitter, which recently did some research on its users.

The service believes 24 percent of American Twitter users are black, about twice their representation in the general population, Zuckerman said. White and black Twitter users aren't talking to each other, however.

Citing research performed by Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Viegas, Zuckerman points out most popular topics on Twitter are exclusively posted by either white or black users. In May, for example, the term "cookout" was posted almost entirely by black users, while the term "oilspill" was almost uniformly white.

Mate Salekovics, a D'Youville College student from Hungary, said he goes online to call friends and family back home, check out news from Hungary and interact with others who study information technology.

He said he doesn't think there's much that would make him change his habits.

"I know many other things are going on online," Salekovics said. "I do what I like."

Digital segregation also occurs in online news.

Google Ad Planner found in June that 99.9 percent of Chinese users, 98 percent of Japanese users and 93.9 percent of American users get their online news from domestic sites.

"We occasionally stumble onto a page in Chinese, and we decide that we do, in fact, have the greatest technology ever built to connect us to the rest of the world, and we forget that most of the time we're checking Boston Red Sox scores," Zuckerman said in his lecture.

Beginning in 2008, researchers noticed a trend of users seeking out websites that have an explicit point of view, and one that reinforces their own views, Aaron W. Smith, a senior research specialist with the Pew Internet & American Life Project, told The Buffalo News.

Smith isn't convinced the Internet is totally to blame.

"Is this a symptom of the broader polarization we've seen in the political world?" he asked.

Others argue the Internet has changed how we consume news, making it more interactive, and the medium is filled with information that can challenge a belief system. Liberals can visit the Drudge Report, for example, and conservatives may stop by Huffington Post.

"The key point is, I have to want to do that. It is there," said Wood, the Canisius professor.

People employ different media -- TV, radio, print and online -- to get their news, and on the Internet they "forage broadly" and rely on friends to fill in what they missed, Smith said.

But these are people you already have something in common with, so they are sending you links to issues that you might already know about.

Jeffrey J. McConnell, a Canisius computer science professor, laments that we don't just stumble across things anymore because we're always directed exactly where to go.

The search engines powered by Google, Microsoft and other high-tech heavyweights don't encourage the kind of pleasant meandering that happens when we go to a library or look up a word in a dictionary.

Data showing the most popular search terms in a particular country or community shows how inwardly focused we are.

Buffalonians using Google over the 30 days ending Friday to look up news or current events most often searched for the terms "news," "buffalo news," "wgrz" and "wivb," with "channel 2" and "channel 4" also high on the list, according to Google's Insights for Search.

Is this insularity bad? "[The Internet] helps us to not feel isolated as individuals," McConnell said. "It can be bad because we don't get a chance to find out what's going on beyond our small world. It still is a very narrowly focused interaction."

Zuckerman suggests following well-placed, internationally oriented guides who can point Internet users to ideas and people and places they otherwise might never have found.

Lopez, the Buffalo State senior, is a music buff, and this is a popular topic among her friends on Twitter. "Not only do we talk about music that we are into, but also music from other regions that I am not from, such as Africa, Europe and the Caribbean," she said.

swatson@buffnews.comnull

So I know it may seem kinda silly to write about ways to improve Facebook, and it kinda is, but this is what I feel like writting about.

1. There needs to be a dislike option. I get that with like and dislike you would need a term to take the like off of something but that could be unlike and for dislike it could be nuetral. I get that they maybe don't want there to be bashings but the fact is that, political stuff and news stories have really taken over and it isn't right that you can't go I disagree or dislike something cause it is bad news, like a break up or something......

2. Facebook is really great at friends. They have this matrix where you can see what is the most popular and the posts are all over the place time wise. What they need is like some other sites is a way that shows who has looked at your wall posts, pictures indivual, and albums. This would include friends and non friends. Here is a perfect example of why. I went to an event at club diablo and friend requested one of the ladies in one of the bands (polly punkneck). So when I go on her page I saw a few pictures of her that where tagged so I checked out the album. There where a lot of great pictures of club diablo. Well if you aren't friends you can't say anything about anyones pictures, but they also don't know if anyone has looked at them. This would be true of the zombie walk pictures I have. I have no idea if anyone looked at them. Often times you might like someones pictures but that isn't enough to be friends over one event picture set.................

3. Facebook needs to use pop ups as new pages. This would make it so much easier to keep caught up. Say you are scrolling through what people have posted then you see a note or pictures you want to see, well when you click on it it takes you off that page and then when you are done you have to scroll back. Hey if you have hit older posts for the 2nd or 3rd time do you really want to scroll through all that stuff again....

4. More langauges. Yes Pirate is fun but they need more. How about Yoda. You could even have accents from all over the country........

Well those are the ones that come to my mind quickly

Well as some of you might know, (e:strip) is not my Only "social Networking site". (e:strip) isn't the same as okcupid, fubar, myspace, or facebook or even webshots. Yes all the sites I mentioned to have some aspects that are the same. Webshots added blogs to try and be like the others. Facebook added the drink apps to try and be like Fubar. Myspace added the updates to try and be like facebook. I like all the sites for different reasons and I hope they stay as being different from each other. Facebook is great for a quick online update, that is really what it is made for. One that I have used there a few times is:
"looking Forward to sleeping in" . Hey during the week with a day off that is a big deal.

But here is the thing. A lot of those statements don't really mean much other then to the person who posts it. Like what does sleeping in really mean. In my case maybe 3 hours more at the most. It implies like noonish. It implies under the covers out cold warm and toasty. But that isn't the case. What it means for me is that I wake up when my body is ready to instead of the alarm going off. It isn't that I'm in this huge bed and am as snug as a bug in a rug.

This is an example of how so much in life is relative. For example my wake up time is about 4:30 AM or sometimes about 5:30 am. So waking up at 8 is awesome. But for the 9-5 crowd 8am is when they wake up to go to work so to them that isn't sleeping in at all. But then sometimes I'm downtown (on a work day) and I see a truck backing into Rite Aid. So I wonder is who ever unloads that still there from like late last night or do they get up even earlier then I do. Then What about the truck driver. Has he been driving all Night? Is he local? Did he drive to Buffalo? If he is local what time did he get up?

Well I guess I just want to remind people that many things in life are relative. Hopefully I can sleep in a bit and hopefully it doesn't rain so I can enjoy the Italian Festival and maybe I'll go see up. In any event hope everyone has a nice weekend.