The Age of Social Networking and Privacy

According studies recently done by the Nielsen ratings, social networking sites take up 22.7% of the time we spend on the web. As members of the information age one has to wonder: With all that time spent online connecting with one another how much of our information is exposed? How much information do we really want to be exposed? As social networking sites become increasingly more and more popular, so does the opportunity to make money. One way to do that and how Facebook generally generates  money without being overloaded with ads is a course of selected ads by using information one has provided on their profile.So, if you mention in your profile that you are a fan of Adidas or any other sportswear brand, the related ads will appear on the right hand side of the page for companies and websites selling them. Facebook ads are not intrusive and hence people do not get annoyed with them, unlike we do with those super-irritating pop-up ads.Although it seems to be a clever way to approach advertising, one has to wonder if they really want their information getting sent to corporations. According to Tatjana Taraszow, a professor at Cyprus Neuroscience & Technology Institute, "At the same time as adults are concerned about the governmental and corporate invasion of privacy, the teenagers and young freely disclose personal and private information on social networking sites." What seems to be the case is that as kids grow up in this interconnecting world, they seem less and less afraid of the information they are giving out. Studies done by Tatjana Taraszow indicate that and I quote," Are willing to share personal information, that is, real full name, gender, hometown and full date of birth." This information can potentially be used for identification purposes and it's enough information to look up social security numbers. This situation can lead to identity theft and other personal identification victimization. In conclusion, social networking sites are a very useful and effective tool for many aspects of communication, but users need to use more conscious awareness to detect  possible dangerous situations they can put themselves into.

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OLED and Me

The next big thing in flat panel television technology is upon us and it's as thin as a credit card. What we have is the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV sets. This has combined the advantages of plasmas clearer motion, blacker black, and angle view with that of a LCD sets thinner, more energy effiecency. Along with this, it is made of thin and flexible materials.Sony was the pioneer of the OLEDs but LG has seem to take the reins, with an upcoming 31'' inch 3D model coming out this winter. Believe it or not, OLEDs have actually been around for a while but lifespan issues of the technology has been a concern. Reporst are that the lifespan is around 30,000 hours which is less than half of that of a LCDs.