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One for the Money, Two for the Show
By Thomas Gallant
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the Winklevoss twins have had their latest lawsuit shot down. Take a look at the headlines and you’ll be sure to see that they were not able to get a revised settlement out of Facebook. Take an even closer look and you will see the stirring angry mob in the comments section of just about every article out there (and maybe this one by the time I’m done) letting fly their spiteful agreement with the courts and providing armchair suggestions on why the Twinklevii got more than they deserved.
I get the lack of sympathy, I really do. These guys are as blue-blood pedigree as it gets: Brunswick Academy > Harvard > Olympics > Oxford, likely with a hefty trust fund to boot. From what I hear, they aren’t bad looking either. There is no reason to feel sorry for them. However, in the case against Facebook I tend to side with their view.
Social Network for the Win
By Adam Ferguson
The King’s Speech is a great film. Great performances, great story, great set pieces, and some awesome directoral elements from director Tom Hooper. But it shouldn’t win best picture. It shouldn’t win just because it should win best picture. It’s about someone overcoming a difficulty. It features people acting very well and using British accents. It is quintessentially everything Academy voters look for in a best picture. But it’s because The Social Network is everything The King’s Speech is not that The Social Network deserves the win.
Facebook Like Communism? Let’s see why not.
Zuckerberg is like Lenin, says Mustafa.
Mustafa is one pissed off Staten Island guy. He’s made because he got kicked off Facebook. There was no real explanation why. One day he was denied access and a simple way to communicate with his family and friends around the world.
So he’s suing Zuckerberg and Co.
Fine. Sure. It’s dumb, but not as dumb as the lady who claims Puffy cause 9/11. Except, in his argument, Mustafa equates Facebook with that of a communist country.
“I lived in a communist country where people had no rights. This looks the same to me,” he says.
Well duh. Everyone on Facebook knows you have no rights on Facebook. (Except for the terms and conditions. And the fact that you choose to accept them. And it’s your choice to join the site.)
If there’s one thing everyone knows about Facebook, it’s that it was created by a Marxist. A follower of Lenin. A believer in Mao. (Zuckerberg? Sounds communist.)
It was created for us, the proletariat. It was certainly not created as a way to emulate real life social experiences, online. Or, as a place for companies to sell their goods and services.
Mustafa is onto something. And I’ve got to say, the more I think about it, I see his point. Consider the similarities….
Unreachable
By Thomas Gallant
I have returned from Middle Earth and am adjusting back to the pace of my normal life. I’ve noticed that my BMW has a few more miles on it and Adam wasn’t even nice enough to top off the tank. Also, judging by the stains on the bed and the empty bottle of AXE personal lubricant, he did in fact sleep here.
It’s been nearly 10 years since I last crossed the Pacific and just about as much time since I took a solid two week vacation from anything. Luckily, my blackberry data connection wasn’t working and wifi was tough to find and usually overpriced when available as I toured through New Zealand. This was a refreshing return to the primitive life we lived back before the late ’90s. I don’t miss dial-up or the popularity of Birkenstock sandals, however I do still get a little teary-eyed when I hear the Verve’s “Freshman” and have spent many days wondering how I ever used to live without a cell phone. Not even a smart phone, just a dumb cell phone with a fancy alphanumeric display. Ah the good old days.
UpGo
By Adam Ferguson
Creating lists of friends on Facebook sucks, even with their new “Groups” feature. Most people who attempt this feat will never finish due to the painful process of individually selecting friends, scrolling, and putting them into appropriate groups. It takes too long, but UpGo has solved all that by making it easy, visual, and intuitive.
[Full Disclosure] This is an application developed by a company I work for (you know, when I’m not making dick jokes). We launched this last night at the New York Tech Meetup, so if you’re reading this on October 13th, you’re one of the first people to try it out. Not only is it easy to use, but it’s actually fun to see how you visually interact with friends on Facebook.
So start making groups, send out some invites, and send me some of your feedback in the comments section. Please tell your friends, and if you’re feeling incredibly generous, give us a “like” on Facebook.
Sugar & Spice?
By Brook Hill
I know what you’re all saying…”a GIRL blogger?” Yes, dear followers. The boys of the Desonesto Doctrine found that it was time a lady join their ranks. As it turns out, I am not only a writer, but also a member of the fairer sex. I’m here to lend a female perspective and to include some topics that the guys don’t already broach.
No need to worry though. I promise to not write about anything overly girlish and I definitely won’t discuss periods or anything else that may make a man say “ew.” Further, I pledge that any reference to douche bags will be strictly in the pop culture sense (eg. the Situation is a douche bag).
So here’s the short list of what you need to know about me:
1. I’m single (and looking - wink wink).
2. My dog is my best friend.
3. I’m a Grad student at a CT university, majoring in Elementary Ed.
4. I’m a grammar Nazi, but that doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes.
5. I’m a facebook addict.
6. I’m a Veronica, not a Betty, which means I’m a bitch but people forgive me for it because I’m hot.
All else will be revealed in due time…
Are You Gonna Go Our Way?
Love The ‘Doctrine, but can’t access it at every single conceivable moment of your day? We have some solutions for you!
Because, really, you’re only using Facebook to see how fat your high-school girlfriend has become.
Like Mark Zuckerberg gives a shit.
Or - Why I quit Facebook. by apierno When you deactivate your Facebook account, it takes you through several steps of grief for your loss. First, there’s “are you sure you want to quit? You’ll no longer be able to connect with…”. This was the first reason I knew deactivating the account was the right move. It pulled up 4 people I wouldn’t miss. Sorry mom. Next it showed me pictures of puppies being tortured. “If you leave, our intern will turn this pug into chili.” That almost worked. But then I remembered the pug chili I had last time I visited Tucson. Absolutely gummy. No one’s gonna eat that, no way they waste their time on it. After showing me visual cues of my depressing life without Facebook, they showed me a poll, asking straight up why I wanted to leave. They gave me a list of choices. Privacy, no. Relevance, no. None of the reasons listed are the reasons I left. I’m not high-minded about Facebook. I don’t think it’s beneath me. I signed up as a way to understand the site, and learn about how others used it. At first it was interesting to reconnect with people from high school and college. As someone lacking in basic social skills, it followed the same path as most other interactions with people. Meet. Quick chat to catch up. Never talk again. And since I make my real life miserable, imagine how my virtual life went. FMVL. After a few months, I stopped finding people. Then I started dropping people who showed up in my feed to much. Then I stopped logging in. Then I stopped responding to alerts from the site. Then I realized, this is just what I thought it was. Partly the technology, partly who I connected to, partly my personality (and responsibility), Facebook for me was the worst kind of surface level relationships. The kind I’ve run from my whole life. Most of my interaction on the site was the kind of high school crap that I avoid like the plague. Farmville, MafiaWars, pointless causes, invites I couldn’t accept. For me, Facebook was like the entire internet sending their daughters to me to sell Girlscout cookies. When I tried to make a go of it, I realized I couldn’t even find the people or things I was looking for in my feed. It was all noise. And that’s when I decided to split for good. The media is starting to paint Facebook as some kind of bad guy. The media will figure out the right mix of privacy plus greed plus technology for their stories shortly. But it isn’t. The truth is, it’s an amazing service that they offer for free. For me (and I suspect many others in the near future) Facebook has just become boring. It was a fad to join. And it will be a fad to quit. I guess you could say I’m an early adopter. Full disclosure: Facebook did not show me pictures of tortured puppies, or threaten to do so. But it was kind of implied.
George W. Bush’s Facebook Page
By Johnny Wright - National Correspondent
For a former president that didn’t have a computer in the Oval Office, this is actually a technological achievement.
George W. Bush started his own Facebook page. Or at least someone on his staff did. I say that because Dubya’s first entry was:
Since leaving office, President Bush has remained active. He has visited 20 states and 8 countries; given over 65 speeches; launched the George W. Bush Presidential Center; participated in 4 policy conferences through The Bush Institute; finished the first draft of his memoir, “Decision Points”; and partnered with President Clinton to establish the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. More on his activities in future posts…
Not exactly a personal note. Unless the former president has decided to speak like Karl Malone or Ricky Henderson. “George W. is going to do what George W. has to do.”
But here is where the funny is. Look at the picture/screengrab at the head of this post. Notice the last comment (before it’s taken down.) This may not be the best idea.
