6 Guidelines for Better Development Outcomes Using Social Media In the next few years, another 2 billion people will be coming online; transforming the Internet from what once was an elite network of the world’s privileged to a democratizer of information and power. This wave of new users will mainly enter the Internet via mobile phones on social networks. Of course Facebook feels dominant today – there are now more people on Facebook than the total number of people online in 2004. And there are more Facebook users in Bangkok or Jakarta than London. Facebook’s success is followed closely by Twitter, which is (rightly) seen as a whole different kind of social media. More powerfully than radio or TV, social media allows you to interact directly with your constituents, breaking down hierarchical barriers. So if social media has this great reach, how can we implement and manage a social media strategy in international development programs to effect real world actions and long-term behavioral change? 6 Guidelines for Better Outcomes Using Social Media 1.
Skynet [Terminator] "Intelligence Artificielle" The Nest-Google privacy statement The defensive FAQ by Nest to alleviate widespread fears about the Google acquisition has been quoted extensively. The whole thing (it’s short) is worth examining critically. Before we dig in, I want to acknowledge what I consider the first great Nest partnership. I’m not talking about Google. How patronizing. Let’s all give each other a big hug! Keep this next part in mind: Will Nest and Google products work with each other? This is fairly straightforward and obvious: the division between Nest and Google products and services will blur, leading to merged products in the future. The definitions of “products” and “services” can be broad. So when I see so many people only quoting this part and thinking it changes anything, it’s pretty easy to have a more cynical (and realistic) interpretation: Will Nest customer data be shared with Google? Statements like this should be interpreted as if you’re a lawyer trying to find a loophole. Will Nest customer data be shared with Google?
Google eats the world Finally, journalists have started criticising in earnest the leviathans of Silicon Valley, notably Google, now the world’s third-largest company in market value. The new round of discussion began even before the revelations that the tech giants were routinely sharing our data with the National Security Agency, or maybe merging with it. Simultaneously another set of journalists, apparently unaware that the weather has changed, is still sneering at San Francisco, my hometown, for not lying down and loving Silicon Valley’s looming presence. The criticism of Silicon Valley is long overdue and some of the critiques are both thoughtful and scathing. The New York Times recently published an opinion piece that startled me, especially when I checked the byline. What do the US government and Silicon Valley already have in common? 'Googlisation' Google, the company with the motto “Don’t be evil,” is rapidly becoming an empire. The tipping point Mr. Like Gandhi, only with guns
This startup has now raised $1.1 billion - Quartz Silicon Valley venture capitalists like to crow that it’s now cheaper than ever to establish a startup company. While that may be true for internet firms, the amount of money required to fund a Silicon Valley green tech startup can be mind-boggling. Case in point is fuel cell maker Bloom Energy, which Fortune today reported had taken its total raised to $1.1 billion, thanks to a new $130 million round. The company is one of Silicon Valley VCs’ last big bets on green tech, with funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and other marquee venture players. One of the explanations for the mammoth $1.1 billion funding is that Bloom has been around since 2001. As I wrote in The New York Times: In contrast to the usual Silicon Valley practice of announcing a coming product, Bloom spent nearly a decade developing its solid-oxide fuel cell technology while saying nary a word.
Internet activism is a myth However, the online public spaces have almost all the facial features of offline public spaces. The categories and variables, which decided social interaction in every day life, have also been traced here. Social variables like gender, sexuality, power, class, caste, race and knowledge are vastly reproduced on Internet. The categories which mediate social world prior to the emergence of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, Flickr are also visible after its coming out and they are as problematic as they were before. The question that arises is what exactly the public sphere on Internet looks like. People are giving vent to their feelings, expressing their ideas, thoughts and opinions—be it political, social, economic or otherwise on social media. Questions are high on various corners in the wake of recent happenings associated with social media enabled activism. Everyday, tens of millions of people chat, text, email, poke, tweet, IM and Facebook.
Skynet (satellite) Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. Lancement du premier satellite Skynet, Skynet 1A, par une fusée Delta en 1969 depuis Cap Canaveral Skynet est une famille de satellites de télécommunications militaires britanniques, qui fournit des services de communication stratégiques aux trois branches des forces armées britanniques et aux forces de l'OTAN. Skynet 3 a été abandonné au profit de Skynet 4, plus avancé. Représentation d'un Skynet-5. Skynet 5 est la nouvelle génération de satellites, remplaçant le système existant Skynet 4.
Google announces a new Cloud platform Google recently announced new and improved Cloud platform offerings. For businesses regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) or Gramm Leach Bliley Acts (“GLBA”), moving data to the Cloud is not something to be taken lightly. HIPAA and GLBA place a heavy emphasis on the protection of sensitive customer or patient information. In reviewing Google’s white paper detailing the security of the offering, it was interesting to note the following language: In addition to a full-time information security team, Google also maintains several functions focused on complying with statutory and regulatory compliance worldwide. The paper went on to discuss various aspects of the platform’s security controls and incident response.
Ryan Lizza: Why Won’t Obama Rein in the N.S.A.? On March 12, 2013, James R. Clapper appeared before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to discuss the threats facing America. Clapper, who is seventy-two, is a retired Air Force general and Barack Obama’s director of National Intelligence, in charge of overseeing the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and fourteen other U.S. spy agencies. Clapper is bald, with a gray goatee and rimless spectacles, and his affect is intimidatingly bureaucratic. “This hearing is really a unique opportunity to inform the American public to the extent we can about the threats we face as a nation, and worldwide,” Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and the committee’s chairman, said at one point. Toward the end of the hearing, Feinstein turned to Senator Ron Wyden, of Oregon, also a Democrat, who had a final question. Wyden estimates that he gets about fifteen minutes a year to ask questions of top intelligence officials at open hearings. Clapper slouched in his chair.
Asia-Pacific Social Media Statistics Internet usage is sky-rocketing throughout the Asia-Pacific region, obviously making the growth of social media the fastest in the world, as you’ll see, it’s not all about Facebook, but it still leads the way across the region, at least for now. This is a nice collective Infographic from Burson-Marsteller. The social media statistics cover the most popular social networks in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam at a top level, but also lists a few basic internet statistics per country, like the total number of people connected to the internet and the top 5 visited websites… Make sure you save this post for later, I’m sure you’ll need to reference these stats at some stage in the future! (Thanks Alex/Carly) Be Sociable, Share!
Don't be evil ("devise" de Google) Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. Don't be evil (littéralement, « Ne soyez pas malveillants ») est la devise ou le slogan informel de Google. Le sixième point du décalogue philosophique de Google stipule : « Il est possible de gagner de l'argent sans vendre son âme au diable ». En termes de culture d'entreprise, cette devise est devenue le pilier identitaire central de Google[1]. Historique[modifier | modifier le code] Originellement suggéré par les employés de Google Paul Buchheit et Amit Patel, la phrase figurait même en tête du courrier adressée aux investisseurs, quelque temps avant l'entrée de Google en bourse au printemps 2004. Critiques[modifier | modifier le code] Sur la forme, le slogan Don't be evil est une interdiction qui suppose de connaître ce qui est mal. Sur le fond, Google a été pris à partie sur son slogan, en particulier à propos du filtrage interdisant l'accès à certains sites ou à des pages contenant certains mots depuis la Chine. Portail de Google
Google looking for more acquisitions like YouTube Google is likely to buy more companies about the size of YouTube and DoubleClick, its two largest acquisitions, to help offer more online services, said the company's head of mergers and acquisitions. "The world changes really quickly, and companies that were small two years ago are huge today," David Lawee, vice president of corporate development at Google, said last week in an interview. "It wouldn't surprise me to see more large opportunities for us." Google has stepped up its dealmaking in 2010, spending $1.6 billion on more than 20 companies in the first nine months of the year, according to regulatory filings. Google, which runs the largest Internet search engine, is increasingly turning to acquisitions to expand into new businesses and fill its ranks with top entrepreneurs. "These people have a very strong passion around what they are doing and a vision for getting it done," said Lawee, 44. Google paid $1.65 billion for YouTube, the world's biggest video-sharing site, in 2006.
The mysterious story of the battery startup that promised GM a 200-mile electric car - Quartz At the end of November 2012, Atul Kapadia and Sujeet Kumar hosted the staff of their startup company for a holiday lunch of Mexican food at a Palo Alto, California restaurant. For days, the pair—the CEO and CTO, respectively, of a lithium-ion battery company called Envia Systems—had awaited an email from General Motors. It was to contain a deal rare to an industry newcomer—a contract worth tens and possibly hundreds of millions of dollars to provide the electric central nervous system for two showcase GM models including the next-generation Chevy Volt. Untested small suppliers almost never get in the door of the world’s major automakers, which regard them as too risky to rely on. But the talking had gone on so long and with such uncertainty that neither man had even told Envia’s staff scientists of the impending deal. Kapadia’s cell phone rang as he drove back from the holiday party. “Just to let you know this is not my achievement. The Great Battery Race An immigrant’s story
What if Environmentalism Were as Big as Social Media? [INFOGRAPHIC] What if everyone across the globe used his or her social media influence to help the planet? The impact would be huge, according to a recent infographic from Recyclebank, a company that rewards green consumers with discounts and deals from local and national businesses. The data encourages the connected generation to use social networks and technology for a positive effect on the earth. For example, if each Pinterest user shared one green idea per month, there would be 12 million more environmentally-conscious tips being passed around. The efforts can be carried offline, too. What relationship do you see between social media and helping the planet? Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Olena_T.