SOMEWHAT FRANK

18Seconds.org Spotlights Energy Savings

18Seconds.org is campaign Yahoo recently launched in conjunction with Lawrence Bender, Oscar-winning producer of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth,"  devoted to informing the world about the energy savings associated with switching from a normal light bulb to a compact fluorescent lamp. The campaign is based on the idea that is only takes 18 seconds to change a regular light bulb to an energy saving compact fluorescent light bulb. Lawrence Bender authored a guest post on the Yahoo! corporate blog which stated:

"If every American swapped just one bulb, it would save more than $8 billion in energy costs, prevent the burning of 30 billion pounds of coal, and keep the equivalent of two million cars worth of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere."

Those are some pretty eye opening numbers. At the same time it is inspiring to hear that everyone can pitch in to help save energy and ultimately the planet. The 18Seconds.org web site offers a mashup which places the current compact florescent lamp purchase numbers by geographic location on a Yahoo map. Currently, Arkansas is the leading energy saving state and Bellingham, Washington is the leading energy saving city in the United States. For additional information about 18Seconds.org, check out the video below.

9/11 - Five Years Later

The world changed forever on September 11, 2001 - we will never forget.

*Image taken of a flag which was recovered from ground zero at the WTC. 

Facebook Redesign Angers Students Over Invaded Privacy

Facebook launched a redesign today (September 5, 2006) which changed the layout of the homepage and introduced a few new features.  The Facebook redesign introduced, "News Feed" which on the surface appears to be an excellent feature. It leverages the users attention to show the most recent activity of the 9.5 million users in the community and displays it on the homepage. The "News Feed" display items in a feed reader like "river of news" stream of Facebook updates. The redesign enables Facebook to harness the attention of its users as TechCrunch highlighted by saying:

"It’s interesting because Facebook clearly gets the idea of an attention metastream, where page views aren’t the currency that matters but rather how effectively the service allows users to communicate. Facebook users will now have a much easier way of staying up to date on what their friends are up to."

Alternatively, the users, mostly undergraduate students around the country do not agree, as they find the "News Feed" feature (shown to the right) an invasion of their privacy and "basically creepy."  Using the "groups" feature of Facebook to rally together, one user, Ben Parr of Northwestern University, created a group called "Students Against Facebook News Feed."  The group's description reads as follows:

"We want to feel just a LITTLE bit of privacy, even if it is facebook. News Feed is just too creepy, too stalker-esque, and a feature that has to go." 

Open since early this morning "Students Against Facebook News Feed" already has over 60,000 members and is growing literally by the minute (it was only 50,000 members when I started writing this article). Group members are pledging to stop updating their profiles until the new features are removed or altered.  There is also a call to "boycott" Facebook on September 12th.

Will users grow more comfortable with the new design? Or will  more of the 9.5 million Facebook users join the revolt? It will be interesting to see how Facebook handles the situation since privacy settings have remained the same yet students feel more exposed.

*Special thanks to LBJ for assisting with this article.

AOL Search Data Put To Good Use

The release of AOL search data last week was an admitted mistake by AOL which prompted them to apologize and express anger for its release. With the NY Times identifying the first person, AOL searcher 4417749, based on her search query data AOL representatives once again apologized. I like the way AOL handled the situation. With the damage done, the event can be leveraged into a wonderful lesson as it brought to light the fact that search companies have personal and identifable data that could be released to the public at any time.

So the question is, what should search companies do with search data? Should they hold on to it? Or should it be deleted after a few months? It is a debate that I am sure will take some time to determine the correct course of action. In the meantime, web users should realize that when using the web a footprint is being left that can be traced back to your foot - or in this case your search history.

Focusing on the positive, Lee Odden pointed me to an interesting tool called the AOL Keyword Analyzer. It offers keyword search information and domain name popularity derived from the AOL search data that was released. I think this is the type of useful resource AOL had in mind when they released the search data in the first place so I am happy to see someone followed through and created it.

CNN Launches User Video Play via Blip.tv

Time Warner is looking for citizen journalist videos as CNN has launched a product called the CNN Exchange. The exchange asks users to submit video footage for specify stories on the CNN site. The videos can be up to 30 MB. CNN will then moderate and display the videos it finds the most riveting. It should be interesting to see some of the videos that appear. The product is is powered by Blip.tv, an online video hosting and sharing service,which is mildly underrated and should benefit from the excellent exposure to a mainstream audience. 

There are a lot of skeptics of the move (UPDATE: many of which posted replies on this TechCrunch post), however I find it is a great move by Time Warner. They are a media giant but have made a number of innovative and creative moves in the last few weeks - I am sure there are more to come.   

Cluetrain Manifesto, Blogging and Life

Lounging poolside at the Bellagio, in the 105 degree Las Vegas temperatures, I re-read a few chapters of the book Cluetrain Manifesto. I read it previously in bits and pieces while commuting to and from work therefore I felt I might have lost the flow of the book. If you work in business, PR, marketing or are a blogger or plan on being one I would highly recommend you read Cluetrain Manifesto.

I noted a few quotes that I wanted to mention. The first quote I came across today may summarize my constant participation in the online conversation that is the blogosphere. I think the reason I love the web so much is because:

"The World Wide Web reinforces freedom."

I blog my mind which reinforces my freedom. I don't want to give too much of the book away but one other quote popped out today as I reflected on life while I relaxed inVegas.

"Life is too short because we die."

This quote may have stuck out more because I am currently in sin city, Las Vegas, but in actuality it can be transcended to everyday life. Life is short and we die, therefore you have to live in the now and enjoy the ride because life is always changing. Trite as it may sound, you never know what will happen next - so enjoy it.

First Amendment Covers Bloggers Too

Apple lost a court appeal yesterday (May 26, 2006) which upheld the protection of the rights of bloggers to not have to disclose their sources. The decision puts bloggers into the same class as traditional journalists and further blurs the lines between bloggers and mainstream media journalists.

I think this is an extremely important victory for bloggers. I am happy to see bloggers protected. If bloggers are protected like traditional media it makes me wonder, do bloggers:

• Need to follow the same journalistic code of conduct?
•  Need to check sources?
• Need to ensure that that they have permission before using copyrighted photos, documents, quotes, materials etc?

These are all things that concern me since I do not want the grassroots style of blogging to have to conform to traditional media standards. Of course the blogosphere is rejoicing the ruling for blogger rights. For a few perspectives from the blogosphere check out the views of Dave Winer, Doc Searls and Mike from Techdirt. Finally, for a related First Amendment ruling check out this previous item on Somewhat Frank.

Pearl Jam Releases Thru Google Video

Pearl Jam, with the voice of Eddie Vedder and best known for its early 1990's rock, has released a new video on Google Video. It is released under a "some rights reserved" Creative Commons license meaning that you can download, play and share it via Google Video. More details are on the Google blog.

Music is an art form and therefore should be enoyed and observed by all. Artists however should be taken care of so that they can continue to produce such fine works. Pearl Jam's move to Google Video could be the start an interesting trend for artists in the music industry. 

Freedom Rings At New Museum

I recently had a chance to get a sneak peak at the newly created McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum which opened to the public today (April 11, 2006). The museum is three stories and offers visitors an interactive experience focused on our first amendment rights which include speech, religion, press, assembly and petition.

The museum is located next to the Tribune Tower and is operated by the McCormick Tribune Foundation. t houses a unique sculpture center piece which I previously wrote about. If you are ever in the city of Chicago you might want to check it out on Michigan Avenue. The Museum admission fee is only $5.00, a dollar for each first amendment freedom, and getting through the museum probably will take you about 45 minutes.

I take my first first amendment rights seriously, especially with my activity in the blogosphere,  so I am glad to see a museum dedicated to them.

For more information visit: FreedomMuseum.us. Also check out my Flickr Freedom Museum photo stream from my recent visit.

Google Scares Me!

With the recent leak of Google Calendar images onto TechCrunch, the speculation of GDrive and the indexing of the personal desktop via Google Desktop, all I can say is:

Google scares me!

Google appears to be out to own everyone's information whether it be cellphone conversations, emails, documents on your PC and most recently your schedule of events via Google calendar.

Does this bother anyone else?

Google has everything that is necessary to totally invade my privacy. It is the classic case of "big brother" that could alter our behavior, which in part invades our freedom. Like most of the general public, I like Google. It is to the point where my girlfriend calls me a" Google-phile" because I converse about them so often in the blogosphere, verbally and sometimes even while in my sleep. I even have a Google fleece throw that is quite honestly one of the nicest fleece blankets I have ever seen, which only further reinforces my liking for Google. However, Google's transparent and somewhat arrogant public relations approach has created a disconnect and its actions are speaking louder than its words.

What is Google doing to help ease the disconnect?

Google has executed a lousy public relations strategy. On the Google blog this week -- the same week that dropped both the speculation of a GDrive and Google Calendar -- the posts highlighted pugs and the Google News expansion. I think pugs are cute dogs and could act as a distraction, but it seems like a total avoidance of the week's happenings. I am afraid this type of avoidance could hurt Google in the long run. I am already hearing the whisper campaigns of a "Google is evil!" drawing parallel to similar campaigns towards Microsoft five or six years ago. I would hope that Google was able to learn from Microsoft and that the company will address these rumors now in the blogosphere where the conversations begin. Have a conversation with a blogger. Show them that Google is not too high and mighty for conversation with a lowly grassroots journalist with a love for cool products and the scope. The real irony here is that Google's simple rule of thumb has been:

"Don't be evil."

I would advise you to listen to Steve Gillmor's Daily Show as he talks with Mike Arrington of TechCrunch about Google. Mike shows some love for Microsoft for the way that they have been embracing the blogosphere and calls Google evil. I do not think Google is evil but do share similar fears to Mike in regard to Google's plans to invade our privacy and potentially our freedom. If Google would just take a more apparent approach to educating the general public on the ins and outs of its products and ultimately its intentions for all of my personal information, the whispers would most likely be quelled.

G__gle Censored In China

With Google's decision to launch a censored version of its search engine in China heeding the strict censorship laws of the Chinese government, many are left to question Google's stance on freedom. However, this move may not have been totally in Google's control since they do have to obey China's laws. But when the goal of Google is to provide and organize the world's information they may now need to place an asterisks next to the word "world."

Google could be facing a public relations nightmare due to the situation in China. The blogosphere is already flexing its muscle as some blog networks are removing Google ads from their sites as a way of boycotting the move. I am not going to make these types of moves, though I would recommend one thing to Google: stick to what made you what you are. In other words, rather than deluding its reputation Google should bring down the censored search. In its place Google should purchase additional shares of Baidu, the Chinese search engine that it purchased shares in 2004. Baidu could be the Google search in China and not the Google Search we know and love.

*Censorship is Unamerican image thanks to www.pinkdome.com

Google Contacts Ex-Google Bloggers

I just read a report on Google Blogoscoped that indicated that Google requested to talk with  ex-Google employee's Ron Garret and Doug Edwards for their blog about their experiences at Google called Xooglers. Ron of Xooglers talks about the recent legal request by Google to talk to him. Apparently Google said: 

"We think Xooglers is great, but please be careful not to reveal any confidential information, and if you have any doubts about what might be confidential please feel free to call us and ask."

Hmm? For other related posts on Somewhat Frank check out: Ex-Googlers Blog on Xooglers

Missile Fired At Plane Near LAX?

I read a report yesterday about a pilot who witnessed a missile or other surface to air projectile targeted at his airplane near LAX sometime last week. I just wondered why this story did not make bigger headlines. It sounds like it is still unclear as to what was shot at the plane however it was enough for the FBI to launch an investigation. Why have we barely heard about this incident?

Sling Media Could Change The Way We Watch TV

You might be asking the question, what the heck is Sling Media? I was at first too. Then I saw an advertisement for the product and it created more confusion. Its design resembles a gold brick! However, after poking around a bit more on the Internet I have found Sling Media's Slingbox to an invention that could change the way we view and manage our television experience. The Sling Media Slingbox device is similar to TiVo in that it allows you to record television programming by scheduling to record up to 3 days in advance. The key distinction between Slingbox and TiVo is that Slingbox enables a user to access their home television service from anywhere in the world. Also the Slingbox is not meant to replace TiVo but can be hooked up to work with TiVo.

How does Sling Media work?
The Slingbox hooks up to your home computer and turns any Internet-connected laptop or desktop PC into a personal TV. According to the Sling Media website the Slingbox:

"The Slingbox redirects, or "placeshifts", a single live TV stream from a cable box, satellite receiver, or DVR to the viewer's PC located anywhere in the home. If the Slingbox is coupled with a broadband Internet connection, the viewer's live TV stream can be "placeshifted" via the Internet to a PC located anywhere in the world."

So next time you are in a hotel room with an Internet connection and you want to watch your TV programs that you recorded at home, now you can!

"Slingbox™: Watch and control your TV, anywhere."

This is an amazing invention and it is no wonder that Time Magazine has named it one of the top inventions of 2005 among a long list of other awards. I think it is only a matter of time for this invention to catch on with the masses. I also feel this invention will drive more people to set-up media center television stations that are really just glorified computers to take advantage of the benefits of the Slingbox.  Additionally, Sling Media is also soon to be offering the software that controls the Slingbox called SlingPlayer with the ability to send media content to PDA's and other devices similar to the recent TiVo move to allow users to add content to an iPod.

For more information on Sling Media check out these posts on Informitv, SlingBox.org, QT Monster's Place and TV Squad.

Let's just sit back and watch as the Slingbox becomes more well known and hits it tipping point. It should be exciting to watch. With the holidays approaching maybe you should add the Slingbox to your holiday wish list. If you are interested in bypassing the wait for the holidays you can order Sling Media now via Amazon.

Avatars Added To Yahoo Mail

The big news from Yahoo yesterday may have been the fact they has decided to add an RSS folder to Yahoo Mail as reported here by SiliconBeat. I am not part of the beta group therefore have not seen this new folder quite yet. Though to do think it will help the general non-RSS using population have a better handle on RSS. RSS folder aside, I did notice yesterday while checking my Yahoo email account that I had an unusual grayed out picture next to my name in my inbox. Upon click the image area I found out that Yahoo had implemented a new feature into Yahoo Mail in the form of Yahoo! Avatars. At first I had never seen the product before but apparently Yahoo has been offering them as an emoticon for Yahoo Instant Messenger since April of 2004. I use Trillian or AOL for instant messaging therefore was not familiar with the feature.

What is an avatar? An avatar is an icon that you can create in Yahoo similar to making a cutout character that you can customize to express yourself online. You can select what this person wears, hair color, eye color, face shape, clothing, background and even add props. Avatars also let you display your current mood similar to iMood discussed previously (September 25, 2005) on Somewhat Frank. I now am quite familiar with Avatars as you can see I have created one here of myself, Frank Gruber, with my hazel green eyes and everything. So now everytime I go into my Yahoo mail account I see a blinking animated image that looks strikingly similar to me.

It appears others in the blogosphere were just as surprised to find Yahoo Avatar in their inbox judging by these posts on astrochimp, Phil's Slice and Aspiring Minimalist. I am not quite as cynical of the idea, I like it. Avatar is a cleaver name. Though it isn't new technology or groundbreaking my any means but I appreciate that Yahoo is giving me the freedom and ability to express myself in another form. In this instance it is that of an animated state with penguins at my feet.

UPDATE: My girlfriend read this post and wanted to create her own Avatar. So we had to create a Yahoo account for her but after the initial set-up she was able to create her Avatar shown here.