Below I have listed 5 tips in which users should take into account in order to have a successful social networking experience, as well as the effect each of these tips has had on the alteration of the networking sites by their hosts.

1. Choose the Right Network Service

With the popularity of social networking increasing exponentially over the years, it is no surprise that many social network hosts try to appeal to different social groups more than others.  Naturally, since there are many people using online social networking sources these days, the populous of social network users is made up of  a very wide variety of people. As a result, social network hosts target and try to attract specific types of people that may be more interested than others in their services. For example, Facebook and Myspace aim to attract users mainly in their teens or young adult years. However, websites such as Match.com or Yelp, Inc. are obviously aimed to attract those of a much older and mature age group. Social networking sites are now being used for more reasons other than social interaction as many people use these sites for work and business as well. So, before starting your social networking experience, make sure you are using a networking site appropriate for your wants and needs, whether it be for recreational use or business. 

2. Be Unique: Use Apps and Other Customizable Features Abundantly

Since social networking has grown to become such a large part of each of our lives, there are now many aspects and features customizable to each individuals “profile” in order to create a sense of uniqueness from any other. These may include layout design, the ability to add customizable text, or the recently popular ability to add “apps” to one’s page. These customizable features all help to display the users personality, and set their profile apart from everyone else’s. And, since apps now come in almost any shape or form, even the business world uses apps including currency converters, trip planners, live stocks,  etc.

Social networking hosts have taken advantage of the “app” wave of popularity and use their varieties of applications as a positive selling point. For example, Apple recently released a series of commercials entitled “There’s an App For That,” where the point of the commercial is simply to glorify the variety of applications available for a product (in this case the Iphone).

Similarly, Google recently added new customizable features to their social networking browser “Friend Connect.” Everyone can now customize their profile and represent themselves further, which is exactly what network hosts are attempting to do these days.

So, with the abundance in apps to customize your profile, USE THEM.

3. Organize Your Communities: Make Groups

Because there are so many people that you may keep in touch with through online social networking, it is important that you make groups and organize your community. For example, there are over 350,000,000 people as members on Facebook, and on average people on Facebook have 130 friends. In order to have a successful social networking experience, it is a very good idea to categorize your contacts into groups. This allows you to keep track of who you keep in contact with and how often you do so. This also allows for easy accessibility in contacting large groups of people at one time, which may come in handy when trying to send out a mass email for work or trying to get a hold of the guys in your sunday basketball league, for instance. These days, social networking sites often revolve around grouping people together within a similar network in order to use their site. This allows them to have constant accessibility with their community, whether it be to share a picture or share a work presentation.

4. Create A Sense of Online Presence

Once you have gotten comfortable with your social networking site and you being to understand the way it works, create a sense of online presence for yourself by communicating with others using the same networking site or method as you. Usually that is the whole reason you are involving yourself in social networking in the first place; to communicate or talk with other people. Involve yourself in groups to meet people, write on walls or leave comments for friends, and just stay in contact with as many people as you can. Because you have the accessibility to stay in contact with so many people, you might as well use it to your advantage. Make yourself allowable and respond to those who initiate contact with you, maybe even with the intention of trying to have an extended online conversation.

Because people these days have been so conscious as to staying connected and keeping their online presence these days, major social networking sites have started to intertwine, allowing people to manage multiple social networking sites at the same time. For example Twitter and Facebook have an application that allows you to update your status from the other’s networking site. This is because more and more people are starting to use social networking websites, and more and more people are wanting to stay connected more.

5. Update Regularly

In order to maintain a successful social networking experience, it is best that you update or tend to your profile as often as you can. If you want people to view your profile and stay connected with you, it is imperative that you keep it interesting for them. Upload new pictures, leave new posts for your viewers to read, and let everyone know what you’re up to. In the instances of Facebook and Twitter, update your status recently. In the cases of Flikr and PhotoBucket, load new photo albums for people to view. For any blog sites or lifestreaming sites, leave new videos. The point of your involvement with social networking sites is to stay connected to people. You want the people that are going to be viewing your profile to enjoy what they see, and in order to entertain them, you should update your profile regularly.

One current master of the video parody remix is Iman Crosson, who uploads his creative work under the name “Alphacat” on YouTube. This brilliant Barack Obama impersonator uses his lyric transformation skills and creative genius to make remixed videos of rap songs with an Obama twist.

He includes current issues of the day and capitalizes on the fact that old stereotypes still exist in the political arena. He rides the coattails of the President elect and his personal success goes hand in hand with Obama’s as he uses social networking websites for personal gain. The Ohio native started perfecting his Obama impression while working as a waiter in Manhattan and claims, “people told me I looked like Obama because I was the only light-skinned black guy at work ” (http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/12/meet_alphacat_the_man_who_prov.html
). Iman is not only a talented artist but a follower of current trends and events, from the death of a pop legend to the scuffle between the President and a national news corporation. He listens to popular music and incorporates hip hop and rap videos in his remixed creations. His sense of humor is impeccable and it has made him a popular figure of social websites around the world.

The YouTube sensation is at it again with his current parody of President Obama as Michael Jackson, in the legendary “Thriller” video. In “Obama Does Thriller,” Crosson seizes the opportunity to comment on Fox News and the stereotype of black “gangsters.”

Only a black impersonator could get away with exaggerating the stereotypes of African Americans. Iman takes advantage of the fact that the death of Michael Jackson still weighs heavy on the hearts of his fans and uses his parody as both a tribute and a platform. Everything from the concept, to the costumes, to the choreography, closely resembles the original video; however, the message is quite different.

Alphacat exposes a bit of his own opinions throughout the video as he transforms Obama into a “gangster” while watching election coverage on what appears to be Fox News.  The video opens up with Obama and his wife Michelle sitting on the couch, watching the news pertaining to the election.

It’s interesting to see how this scenario closely related to the pictures released online of the “real” Obama and Michelle watching the news on election night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/3009095726/in/set-72157608716313371/
). Characters in the video also turn into “zombies” while watching the same “supposed” news station to reiterate Iman’s issue with the Fox News station. “They claim they’re fair and balanced but I know this can’t be right,” sings Obama as he refers to Fox News as, “Thriller, it’s a fright.” Crosson plays into the scuffle that occurred between the President and the news media by playing up insinuated stereotypes.

The president undergoes a transformation that includes a “40 ounce beer,” a cigarette, an enormous necklace, and the classic “afro” wig to display the stereotype of Obama one day turning into a “gangster” due to the color of his skin. Alphacat also includes current political issues in his parody as the dancers react to joblessness, healthcare reform, and the troubled economy. Although the video is a spoof meant for entertainment purposes, Iman touches the pulse of America, whose only choice is to laugh at the things they worry about, but have little control over. Perhaps this melancholic phase is the reason why Iman’s video remixes have an audience of millions. Although Alphacat’s opening disclaimer states the video is all about entertainment, it would be a lie to say that this master impersonator is not vying for his place in the media spotlight and expects to be compensated for it.

Since their inception, Crosson’s video parodies have made him a household name, with movie and television deals pouring in from all media outlets. Appearances on television, voice-overs, and a “YouTube Partnership” (revenue sharing) have given Crosson the financial freedom needed to focus on his creative projects. This fact raises the question of compensation for the artists of the videos he remixes as he clearly makes a profit as a result of their usage. Why doesn’t everyone who makes remix parodies enjoy the benefit of being compensated? Why does Alphacat receive this privilege? At the end of the video Crosson acknowledges the choreographers but makes no comment about the music and video concept. No one knows what Alphacat’s next move will be and many anticipate a new video launch on You Tube.

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery-creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally usable. Artificial information about the environment and the objects in it can be stored and retrieved as an information layer on top of the real world view. The term augmented reality is believed to have been coined in 1990 by Thomas Caudell, an employee of Boeing at the time.

The list is organized from # 10 to 1 (1 being the most innovative concept design). The list is comprised of video games, applications, devices and concepts. I also included a list of honorable mentions that didn’t make it into the list. But without further delay, lets get on to the list.

10. ARhrrrr Zombies

ARhrrrr is an augmented reality shooter for mobile camera-phones. The phone provides a window into a 3d town overrun with zombies. Point the camera at the special game map to mix virtual and real world content. Civilians are trapped in the town, and must escape before the zombies eat them! From your vantage point in a helicopter overhead, you must shoot the zombies to clear the path for the civilians to get out. Watch out though as the zombies will fight back, throwing bloody organs to bring down your copter. Move the phone quickly to dodge them. You can also use Skittles as tangible inputs to the game, placing one on the board and shooting it to trigger an explosion.

9. Yelp!

Yelp’s Monocle is the first iPhone App with augmented reality. It takes a lot of  Yelp’s database of information and data and overlays it onto the real world.

Once activated on your iPhone, the application will pull up your phone’s camera which you can then direct at a street scene in front of you as you walk or drive. The overlay that pops up will then begin to show the names of restaurants and bars and provide you with reviews, store hours and all the other pertinent data Yelp has been known to provide its users.

8. iphone

The iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPhone functions as a camera phone (also including text messaging and visual voicemail), a portable media player (equivalent to a video iPod), and an Internet client (with email, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity) — using the phone’s multi-touch screen to render a virtual keyboard in lieu of a physical keyboard.

7.Car Finder

Car Finder is a navigation application that lets you mark exactly where your car is. Close the application and everything saves. When you’re ready to find your car, open it up, and follow the directions. You can also look at it on the map so you can find out where it is in relation to where you are.

6. I-Tag Action Figures

Mattel is using the same type of 3-D imaging and augmented reality in its  “i-Tag” action figures for James Cameron’s new movie Avatar. The toys include a card containing a marker, which then projects as a 3-D action figure onto your computer. This allows children to battle each other’s virtual characters as if they were real.

5. AR Business Cards

Many business cards are basically boring calling cards. Most list your name, rank and contact info. James Alliban has decided to used augmented reality to put a new spin on the traditional formula. The cards printed at moo.com contain a coded graphic that when recognized by a webcam, a cool 3D grid pops up and a video can be played back displaying the business card owner delivering a message that was pre-recorded.

4. Roku’s Reward

• A handheld camera device,
• live video overlaid with 3D graphics,
• computer recognition – identifying real life objects,
• positioning and acceleration sensors,
• virtual objects interacting with reality,

3. Human Pac-Man

When Dr. Adrian David Cheok wanted to create an exciting augmented reality game, he chose to remake the first video game to ever introduce a character – the legendary Pac Man. Cheok literally stepped into Pacman’s shoes in this first-person-shooter-like real world game.

2. AR Art Graffiti

This is the “Tagged in Motion” project, which builds a bridge between real graffiti art and its virtual depiction. The centre of attention is the graffiti artist DAIM, who co-created the nextwall. Equipped with the appropriate technology, DAIM sprays graffiti into empty space. In a large hall, three cameras using Motion Capturing record DAIM’s position and the movements he executes with a virtual spray can. The assimilated data is shown to him in real time in a pair of video glasses — as free-floating 3D graffiti in space. In this way he can decide how and where to apply his strokes, and via a Bluetooth controller can also determine the colours, strength of brushstrokes and textures of his work.

1.  “A Twinkle in the Eye” Contact Lenses

Called “A Twinkle in the Eye,” these lenses have been fabricated with an LED, a small radio chip and an antenna.The unit is powered wirelessly by the RF electrical signal and represents the start of research that could eventually lead to screens mounted onto contact lenses inside your eyes.

With AR technology moving at lighting speed, it looks like once this lens technology is perfected, we will no longer need smartphones any longer, as augmented reality chips will eventually be able to be implanted into our eyes and ears, making humans the extension of their own reality.

There You have it! My top ten augmented reality. Don’t you feel super excited for the development and implementation of this technology? I know I do.

*Honorable Mentions

PIT Strategy

PIT Strategy is an Augmented Reality Game that uses a game board, cards to determine your pit strategy, a webcam to look at the board and a screen to show the 3D objects.

Rainbow’s End by Vernon Vinge (Book)

Rainbows End is a 2006 science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge. It was awarded the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The book is set in San Diego, California, in 2025, in a variation of the fictional world Vinge explored in his 2002 Hugo-winning novella “Fast Times at Fairmont High” and 2004′s “Synthetic Serendipity”. Vinge has tentative plans for a sequel, picking up some of the loose threads left at the end of the novel.

The many technological advances depicted in the novel suggest that the world is undergoing ever-increasing change, perhaps destined for a technological singularity, a recurring subject in Vinge’s writing (both fiction and non-fiction).

The real-time search feature includes headlines from news and blogs, as well as content from social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.  There are so many reasons why this is useful and appealing, some of which I will go over in this article, but the bottom line is the real-time web keeps us well informed at all times and allows us stay connected with the world around us.  Here are five ways that the real-time web plays a very important part in our every day lives.

#5. Live Traffic Updates

This is extremely useful for people like me, in particular, that have a long commute to work or school every day.  I live about about 45 miles from school, and I know better than to leave my house in the morning before picking up my MyTouch Google phone and checking how traffic is looking on the 101.  My phone can calculate exactly how long my commute will take based on current traffic conditions, and help me decide either what time I need to leave, or to just sleep in until traffic dies down when there’s absolutely no way I’ll make it on time anyway. 

I would much rather be getting that extra sleep than burning gas and sitting through stop-and-go traffic for hours on end, and real-time web makes that luxury possible.

#4. Breaking News and Disasters

This is arguably one of the most important aspects of the real-time web.  It allows us to inform masses of people everywhere of breaking news and disasters such as a growing fire, an upcoming storm, or earthquake, where every second counts.  I remember every time a wildfire hit San Diego (several times within the past few years) my family and I were glued to the TV awaiting evacuation orders for our area.  I’m sure real-time media would have also been useful during those times for relatives of San Diegans everywhere who wanted to know whether or not their loved ones were safe.

#3. Life-Streaming

To “lifestream” is to create an online record of one’s daily activities, via direct video feed or aggregating one’s online content in the form of blog posts, social network updates, and online photos, as defined by Word Spy. Remember what life was like before social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter?  Remember when we actually had to call people to find out what they were doing?  Not anymore.  According to Facebook statistics, 35 million users update their status at least once per day, 40% of whom are within the age range of 18-24.   People use these sites to upload their current thoughts, plans, and even information about upcoming events.  No need to print paper invitations, just send a Facebook invite to all your friends to organize your next big event. 

This means our generation can pretty know exactly what all our friends are doing or thinking on any given day simply by logging in.  Which leads us to #2.

#2. Celeb Gossip

Now we’re getting to the really juicy stuff.  Whether we want to know about how many women Tiger is up to now,

Lady Gaga’s new outfit,

or whatever it is, real-time social media will never fail to keep us updated.  In many ways, social media informs us of the latest gossip in ways that the traditional media can’t even deliver.  Why?  Because regular people just like us are the ones reporting.  We don’t have to watch what we say or follow any kind of protocol or procedure like they do.  When news of Michael Jackson’s death hit, Twitter servers actually crashed due to the surge of Tweets that followed.  In an article in the UK Sunday Times, India Knight describes how she got news of MJ’s death via Twitter much before the media would confirm it. She went on to say, “Twitter is an extraordinary thing which we should all feel privileged to be able to access: a snapshot of the global consciousness at any given moment, whether you’re interested in Jackson or Iran or bee-keeping, with information, opinion and emotion thrown in.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/india_knight/article6590378.ece?print=yes&randnum=1151003209000

India put it into words perfectly.  Social networking gives us the ability to access “a snapshot of the global consciousness at any given moment” and allows us to relate to our peers (or even celebrities) on a level that was never before possible. 

Are you ready for #1?  Drum roll, pleeeeease!

#1. Streaming Sports Games

You got it, #1 on our list is being able to stream sports games anytime, anywhere.  Now you can go to church or run all your Sunday errands without the sacrifice of missing a football game.  You can watch the whole thing REAL-TIME from your laptop or even your cell phone. 

No need to miss late night classes to watch the basketball game because you can do both at once.  I can’t count how many times I’ve read a Facebook status of someone whining about how they would be forced to stream the game over their phone because they have to go to class, or even had someone make an announcement about game updates right in the middle of a lecture.  Ridiculous, I know, but it just goes to show how much the real-time web has spoiled us and mixed up our priorities. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

So there you have it.  Whether for informative purposes, convenience, or simply entertainment, the real-time web has definitely become an integral part of life.  It’s nearly impossible to even imagine what more technology will have to offer us in the near future.

Walk the plank and take a plunge into Davy Jones’ locker or join me crew of pirate supporters known as the infamous Pirate Party. The Pirate Party originated in Sweden but resides in other nations under the umbrella organization known as Pirate Party International (PPI). These private parties all have three core policies: reform laws regarding copyright and patents, strengthen the right to privacy, both on the internet and in everyday life, and ensure that everyone has real freedom of speech.  Leading the pack would be the Swedish Pirate Party where it all began while stemming from individuals beliefs, controversial opinions of legality and an important lawsuit filed against the “most resilient” BitTorrent site, The Pirate Bay.

Ye Ol’ Pirate Code

The basic principles of the pirate party were created relative to Swedish law. They want to promote global legislation to further adapt to the emerging informational society with the current times of daily technological advancements. Due to the advancements in technology they claim that today’s copyright system is unbalanced which is why they stand behind the decriminalization of file sharing in general. Another of their policies discussed is the patent and how privatized monopolies are one of society’s worst enemies and are obsolete because they put an unnecessary protection on innovation. The last policy upheld by the group is personal privacy and ending excessive surveillance by the government and big businesses by abusing the power of profiling, tracking and monitoring of innocent people.

Read More On Their Platform:

• Pirate Party Agenda – 3 Issues – Link to German post of party issues
• Analysis of The  Manifesto of the Swedish Pirate Party by David Johnson – Blog

Shiver Me Timbers! Pirates Return!

On January 1, 2006 the pirate party website was launched and marked the beginning of a worldwide movement involving the creation of a new political party with a voice in government. The beginning started in Sweden where Pirate Party leader, Rick Falkvinge, collected 2,000 signatures to become recognized and later 1500 handwritten signatures to become official. Quickly they raised money to organize and print ballots for the election in hopes of enough votes to grant them membership in Parliament. On June 7, 2009 the Pirate Party polled at 7.1% during the European Parliament election initially giving it one seat. Instantaneously they grew in numbers and shortly became the third largest political party in Sweden of the seven and now hold two seats due to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty on December 1^st, 2009 (Read More on the Process of Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty). Today Sweden is still the leader in political progress of the approximate 33 other nations who have also started pirate parties, some registered and other active but unregistered, all working together towards a common goal through Pirate Party International (PPI).

Alright Ya Scallywags! Surrender Your Plunder And Let Me Send My Shot Across Your bow!

“South Park S:13 E:7”

Waves of supporters flocked to the aid of pirate party during the early stages. Most of these supporters themselves have also pirated music, movies and games before and share the same beliefs of the party.  One incident that has garnered large support for the pirate party occurred with the notorious website known as The Pirate Bay. The Swedish website, run by Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm, and Peter Sunde (shown below in same order), indexes BitTorrent files.

What is BitTorrent? Are torrent files legal?

These torrent files allow for faster downloading of files using peer-to-peer file sharing. This allows a user to pull from multiple locations instead of a single location allowing for a faster transfer rate. The website however does not hold the files but instead it is a pointer to a location that does share the data.

On January 31, 2008 a case known as The Pirate Bay Trial involved the three creators of The Pirate Bay and Carl Lundström, a Swedish businessman who sold services to the site, were charged for the breach in copyright law. Over the course of ten days, many of the chargers were dropped but one charge did stick. On April 17, 2009 the court found them guilty (Convicted Pirates!) of being accessories to copyright infringement but all defendants have appealed (Grounds for A Retrial? / Perhaps A Conflict of Interest?) and are now awaiting their next hearing. This ten day trial caused the party to double after the verdict with the additional support of 25,000 more members making the party the fourth largest Swedish party with a membership count of over 40,000 members. The Pirate Bay raid incident also caused a surge in members when Swedish police raided multiple facilities housing servers of The Pirate Bay, causing the website to go offline for three days. These incidents led to a breakthrough for the Pirate Party in the public eye; the exposure The Pirate Bay has received has become a very large influence on the Pirate Party’s size and has greatly helped increase the amount of supporters for their cause.

Carl Lundström

More on Trial:http://mikefrangos.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=700

• Explanation of Pirate Bay Trial – A short video explaining the trial (*Turn off Volume*)
• Pirate Bay Guilty – Article posted on France24.com
• Pirate Bay Verdict – A more in depth video on The Pirate Bay Trial by G4

Cast Away! Course Be Plotted! This Young Vessel Be Leaving! Off Ye Go, Now!

Currently most Pirate Parties are looking for support and donations to officially register as a political party so they may have Pirate Party Candidates at the general election.  The Pirate Party also has an associated youth organization known as the Young Pirate which is now the largest political youth organization in Sweden by membership count. Another current development is the addition of a seat in European parliament by the Swedish Pirate Party. Recently on December 1^st, 2009 they obtained a second seat due to the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which ironically they were against, and have given the second seat to Amelia Andersdotter, who is the youngest Member of the European Parliament (MEP) to date. She will sit with fellow pirate Christian Engström who had the only seat before the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty was signed on November 3rd, 2009. With the Pirate Bay Trial pending until 2010, the Pirate Parties are organizing and attempting to get their parties officially registered in hopes to hinder the government’s attempts to implement an internet censorship regime. The UK Pirate Party has officially registered at the Electoral Commission in August and Canada’s Pirate Party is active and is in the process of becoming an official, registered political entity. Following the rest, Pirate Party Australia is currently attempting to get the party officially registered with the Australian Electoral Commission. With the Pirate Party now holding two seats in Parliament, what is to become of the party and its agenda? Will the party muster enough strength in numbers or is it just another ship waiting to be sunk? Godspeed!

South Park Parody Videos:

• FBI
• Not A Big Deal #1
• Not A Big Deal #2

Movie:

• Filesharing Movie

Game Reviews – E3 2010 – The Loop

On January 31, 2008 a case known as The Pirate Bay Trial involved the three creators of The Pirate Bay and Carl Lundström, a Swedish businessman who sold services to the site, were charged for the breach in copyright law. Over the course of ten days, many of the chargers were dropped but one charge did stick. On April 17, 2009 the court found them guilty (Convicted Pirates!) of being accessories to copyright infringement but all defendants have appealed (Grounds for A Retrial? / Perhaps A Conflict of Interest?) and are now awaiting their next hearing. This ten day trial caused the party to double after the verdict with the additional support of 25,000 more members making the party the fourth largest Swedish party with a membership count of over 40,000 members. The Pirate Bay raid incident also caused a surge in members when Swedish police raided multiple facilities housing servers of The Pirate Bay, causing the website to go offline for three days. These incidents led to a breakthrough for the Pirate Party in the public eye; the exposure The Pirate Bay has received has become a very large influence on the Pirate Party’s size and has greatly helped increase the amount of supporters for their cause.

1. AMERICA ONCE HAD TIGHTER INCOME EQUALITY. The U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) data trace a J-shaped evolution of post–World War II inequality. In 1947, the top quintile of families received $8.60 for every dollar of income received by the bottom quintile. This ratio fell gradually through the 1950s and 1960s until 1969, when it reached $7.25 to $1.00—the low point of inequality. Beginning in the late 1970s, the ratio began to rise again until, by 2002, it had increased to $11.36 to $1.00, significantly greater than in 1947. Household data tell a similar story. [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/DistributionofIncome.html#lfHendersonCEE2-042_table_018]
   

   This image illustrates by the Gini index the last century of inequality trends, showing the sharp increase since 1979. The Gini index is an indicator of social inequality, with a higher coefficient corresponding to greater income stratification.

2. RECENT ECONOMIC BENEFITS FAVOR ALREADY-RICH. By one estimate, 95% of the benefits of economic growth between 1967 and 1996 went to the richest 5%. In the past few decades we have seen a huge increase in inequality in America. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think-tank, between 1979 and 2000 the real income of households in the lowest fifth (the bottom 20% of earners) grew by 6.4%, while that of households in the top fifth grew by 70%. The family income of the top 1% grew by 184%—and that of the top 0.1% or 0.01% grew even faster. [http://www.osjspm.org/101_income_facts.aspx#6]
   
3. INEQUALITY DATA EXCLUDE SUPER-ELITE. The most frequently cited income inequality statistics come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS), the monthly household survey best known as the source of the official unemployment rate.  Since 1948, the March edition of the CPS has collected household income information for the previous year, as well as the personal characteristics of household members—their age, education, occupation, and industry (if they work), and other data that help give insight into changing income patterns.  The CPS uses a restricted income definition: pretax money receipts excluding capital gains. This definition is further restricted by a “cap,” currently $999,999, imposed on reported annual earnings for reasons of confidentiality.  [http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/DistributionofIncome.html#lfHendersonCEE2-042_table_018]
4. 

   This representation of income distribution resembles a wine glass, and provides an ironic metaphor for the way luxuries are accorded in today’s globalized industrial society: the lower quartiles form the glass stem that supports the nectar to be drunk only as one nears the top class.

   TRADITIONAL STATISTICS SKEW INCOME SPREAD. A second source of inequality statistics is the U.S. Treasury’s Statistics of Income (SOI), which summarizes income reported on federal income tax returns.  Inequality estimates based on SOI data expand the income picture.  At the outset, SOI data do not “cap” high incomes, so household income inequality as reported in the SOI is significantly larger.  Using “capped” statistics, the CPS reports that the top 20% of households receives 49 percent of all pretax money income. The SOI estimates, more accurately, that the top 10% of households, with average annual income of about $200,000, receives 42 percent of total pretax money income. The top 1 percent of households with average annual incomes of about $800,000 receives 15 percent of all pretax income. [ibid]

5. A RACIAL INCOME HIERARCHY EXISTS. African-Americans earn the lowest average annual income of all the statistic racial divisions.  The ratio of black-to-white family incomes was about 64% in 2001. Households with householders who reported Asian as his or her only race category had the highest median income under all definitions of income.  In between, ascending, include: Hispanics, the national average, and Caucasians. [http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p60-221.pdf
6. CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS AFFECT INCOME. Family structure. Over time, the two-parent, one-earner family was increasingly replaced by low-income single-parent families and higher-income two-parent, two-earner families. A part of the top quintile’s increased share of income reflects the fact that the average family or household in the top quintile contains almost three times as many workers as the average family or household in the bottom quintile. Expanded markets. With improved communications and transportation, people increasingly functioned in national, rather than local, markets. In these broader markets, persons with unique talents could command particularly high salaries. Immigration. In 2002, immigrants who had entered the country since 1980 constituted nearly 11 percent of the labor force (see immigration). A relatively high proportion of these immigrants had low levels of education and increased the number of workers competing for low-paid work.[http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/DistributionofIncome.html#lfHendersonCEE2-042_table_018]
   

   As population demographics change, Americans continue to deficit spend, and inflation debases the remaining middle-class assets, many Americans feel vaguely conned, and confused about their financial futures in the wake of the 2008 stock market collapse, such as this cartoon illustrates.

7. EMPLOYMENT DOES NOT ASSURE A RESIDENCE. Up to 40% of the homeless are employed and working.  There are many reasons for homelessness.  Changing society, changes at the work place and health related issues are contributors, as well as disability, domestic violence and natural disasters. At least 3.5 million people experience homelessness at some point each year, including 1.35 million children. Based on estimates of the depth likely to be reached by the current recession, 1.5 million additional Americans are likely to experience homelessness over the next two years, over and above the number who usually become homeless. [http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/general/detail/2161]
   

   This chart shows the varying intensity with which American homeowners have been struck by bank foreclosures on their property. The housing bubble of the 2000s deceived many people about the value of their assets and encouraged heightened levels of risky lending, such as subprime mortgages.

8. RISING HOME PRICES HURT MIDDLE CLASS. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “affordable housing” should cost less than 30% of a family’s income.  Yet many middle class families have to pay much more of their disposable income for housing.  From the end of 1994 to the end of 2004, housing prices rose 46 percent faster than overall inflation. In the period of a weak labor market, from March 2001 through the end of 2004, housing prices outpaced overall inflation by 25 percent. According to Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, families face more hardship now than they did a few decades ago.  Warren says “more and more families today are sending both parents into the workforce – it has become the norm, it is what we now expect. The overwhelming majority of us do it because we think it will make our families more secure. But that’s not how things have worked out. By the end of this decade, one in seven families with children will go bankrupt. Having a child is now the single best predictor of bankruptcy, and this holds true even for families with two incomes.” [Who Will Pay the US National Debt By Abbas Bakhtiar Al-Jazeerah, September 27, 2006 http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2006%20Opinion%20Editorials/September/27%20o/Who%20Will%20Pay%20the%20US%20National%20Debt%20By%20Abbas%20Bakhtiar.htm]
   

9. INFLATION HURTS MOST WAGE-EARNERS. For the sake of simplicity, we can assume that the economy is inhabited by two types of workers: “outsiders,” who accept nominal wage contracts; and “insiders,” who accept inflation-adjusted wage contracts. Great costs affect outsiders: inflation reduces the value of all nominal assets they hold.  Irrespective of time spent by the worker, the losses stemming from negative real returns can be avoided only if inflation is fully anticipated and if the holding of currency can drop to zero.  The latter is clearly an unsustainable assumption in a cash-in-advance economy. [Income Inequality: Does Inflation Matter? ALESˇ BULÍRˇ http://www.perjacobsson.org/External/Pubs/FT/staffp/2001/01a/pdf/bulir.pdf]
10. INCOME INEQUALITY RESEMBLES PRE-DEPRESSION ERA. Income inequality grew significantly in 2005, with the top 1 percent of Americans — those with incomes that year of more than $348,000 — receiving their largest share of national income since 1928, analysis of newly released tax data shows. The new data also shows that the top 300,000 Americans collectively enjoyed almost as much income as the bottom 150 million Americans. Per person, the top group received 440 times as much as the average person in the bottom half earned, nearly doubling the gap from 1980. The top tenth of a percent reported an average income of $5.6 million, up $908,000, while the top one-hundredth of a percent had an average income of $25.7 million, up nearly $4.4 million in one year. [Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows By DAVID CAY JOHNSTON http://www.americastoppriority.com/newsroom_details.asp?id=877]

The idea that a happy worker is a more productive worker is not ground-breaking.  In fact, this idea was even apparent as early as 1937 in the classic film Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.  In the scene where Snow White sings, “just whistle while you work. . . it won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace” shows that happiness, more than anything else, is essential to productivity.

The best way to be happy at work is to be surrounded by a happy and creative working environment.  The more creative the workplace, the more creative the worker.  And similarly, the more dull the workplace, the more unimaginative the worker.  Some of the most successful companies understand this concept, and consequently have applied these practices to make themselves even more successful.  Here are a few companies whose creative workplaces make their employees feel like “whistling while they work” (in no particular order):

Google

You can’t talk about creative workplaces without talking about Google.  The Googleplex offers a gym, swimming pools, laundry service, beach volleyball courts, ping pong tables, a day care center, as well as restaurants and a massage salon.  Google employees are given full freedom in the workplace.  Bringing your pet to work, or riding around the premises on electric scooters is not uncommon. 

It’s clear that what seems like vacation to some, is reality for Google employee.

Google (Swiss offices)

The Google offices in Zurich are just as awe-inspiring.  Massage chairs, pool tables, games and even slides are provided for the Google engineers, who are encouraged to reawaken their inner child while at work.

The corporate, office atmosphere is not apparent at all.  Instead, the surroundings are relaxed, informal, and fun.

Pixar

At Pixar, employees have no limits when it comes to designing their own space.  For the type of work Pixar artists and designers do, doing so in a creative and comfortable atmosphere is so much more beneficial than doing so in a cubicle.

Twitter

The new Twitter offices in San Francisco are airy and open.  Employees have room to breathe and decompress instead of feeling claustrophobic in a tight cubicle.

Facebook

Facebook hired a design team to create their new offices in Palo Alto, California.  The designers took time to interview with many of Facebook’s employees while formulating their plans.  Consequently, the result was a fun yet functional workspace.  Facebook is still a relatively new and growing company.  So as the company grows, the offices will change as well.  Employees are encouraged to draw on the walls, bring in their own photos and art, and move furniture around as they see fit.

In the future, it seems highly likely that other companies will catch on to this new trend of creative workplaces.  But these concepts can also be applied beyond the office.  Any positive change you make to beautify your surroundings will result in a positive change in your mood, attitude, and thus, productivity. 

 http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/12/10/monday-inspiration-creative-workplaces/

http://positivesharing.com/2006/10/10-seeeeeriously-cool-workplaces/

http://designmovesme.com/12-inspiring-creative-offices/

http://positivesharing.com/2007/03/top-10-reasons-why-happiness-at-work-is-the-ultimate-productivity-booster/

Wikipedia. The first time I ever heard of it was when I kept seeing it as the first result from every Google search a few years ago. Now it is one of the most-used and quick, collaborative knowledge bases. When there is something I need to research about, Wikipedia would give me the perfect starting point and introduction of what I need to find. Because there is an article on nearly every single thing that anyone can think of, it is very useful in searching. Although there are people who spam the articles (but the spam bots take care of them), most of the content is accurate.

New technology like HTML, PHP, and Javascript and their modern day improvements that make embedding possible for flash videos, or the “add this” button. However, Wikipedia has no sort of embedding features available for people to use, perhaps because there is no easy way to change articles when embedded. So I decided to write a PHP function that would handle this.

The goal was to grab the article directly from Wikipedia and strip it from its excess sidebar and leave its contents intact. It also has the feature to change articles while embedded so people wouldn’t leave the page when clicking the links. Unfortunately, editing a page is different than viewing the typical article because clicking edit would take the browser to the Wikipedia’s page, so no one can edit an embedded wiki, yet.

Although it may seem vague at first how this feature might be useful, I thought it might help if I could view more than one article at the same time. I wrote this simple page showing how I could display up to 10 articles (given that the screen is big enough to even use this many frames) at the same time. Here is an example with 3 articles:

Example 1: Researching Web 2.0 and Social Media topics

Another use for this would be to have a website that already has its own version of a wiki and link the main wiki page so the user wouldn’t have to change the page. It’s really great for comparing articles like music artists, looking up formulas and saving the hassle of having a Wikipedia page in a separate tab or window.

Example 2: Looking up how to do density functions and double integrals at the same time

Although this isn’t a completed piece of work, I do plan to make this more flexible so it can take wiki articles from custom made Wiki’s.

WikiGrabber source code
WAMP (Apache MySQL and PHP for Windows)
Multiple wiki’s in a page (The Examples) (Not always up)
Wikipedia

1. On May 8, 2008, a mother returned to her home with her three children to find that everything inside had been vandalized and trashed with racist messages. There were racist slurs and gang symbols spray painted in every room of the house. Channice Davvy, the homeowner and an African American woman, is too afraid to reenter her home and has moved out until she can save enough money to buy a new home for her family. http://www.ktla.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=847a265c-724f-452a-a7a5-0727428c35cc&cat=c3d15e20-be56-43b6-b206-de573751f1ac&src=front

2. On election day in Staten Island, New York, a seventeen year old black male was beaten by three white men. The men were bitter about the election of Obama and went out to look for African Americans to assault. They came upon the boy who was walking home from a friend’s house and beat him with a metal pipe and baseball bats while yelling “Obama!” They went on to commit other racist crimes that night, ending with crashing their car into a man who they believed was black. http://wcbstv.com/topstories/obama.bias.attack.2.858230.html

3. As a black family near Pittsburgh was inside their home watching Obama give his victory speech, their car was being torched outside by two white men. The men spraypainted “Obama” on the trunk of the car and then lit the vehicle on fire. The flames almost reached the family’s house, leaving them completely shaken and afraid for their safety. http://newsone.com/nation/racist-terrorism-follows-obama-victory/

4. A few hours after Obama’s victory, three white men torched a church of a black congregation in Springfield, Massachusetts. They were furious about the election because they strongly believed that minorities would receive more rights as the result of a black man becoming president. After they set the Macedonia Church of God in Christ afire they boasted about destroying it, and when asked why they did it one of the men replied, “Because it was a black church.” http://www.nowpublic.com/world/church-arson-racism-and-presidential-election-springfield-ma

5. A few days after the election, a family in New Jersey who supported Obama found a blackened wooden cross on their lawn. In the past, the KKK would frequently burn crosses to terrorize African Americans. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/3515800/Hate-crimes-against-ethnic-minorities-rising-since-Obama-victory-civil-rights-groups-say.html

6. In December 2008, an African American man was the first black person to move into the neighborhood of Lena, Louisiana. Unfortunately, the gentleman did not receive a warm welcome. Justin Sigler, a white nineteen year old, gathered two accomplices and they fired shotguns at a target in a field which bordered the black man’s house. One of them went on to turn his shotgun away from the target and aim it straight at the victim. The next evening Sigler dressed in a white robe to resemble a member of the Ku Klux Klan and returned to the field adjacent to the victim’s residence, shouting “White power!” The man and his family were so terrified by these events that they sold their house immediately.  http://www.civilrights.org/publications/hatecrimes/african-americans.html

7. On New Years Eve of 2008, two innocent black men were murdered in two different states by white police officers. Oscar Grant, 22, was unarmed and killed instantly when a policeman shot him in the back at a train station in Oakland, California. In Bellaire, Texas, Robbie Tolan was killed  by a white police officer who saw Tolan standing in his own driveway next to his car and assumed that it was a stolen vehicle. The officer shot and killed Tolan, who was a retired professional baseball player. http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/death-threats-against-obama-racist-atrocities-soar-as-america-regurgitates-its-soul-part-two-757633.html

8. Hal Turner, an infamous neo-Nazi radio host, made comments on his blog the week before Inauguration about how explosives should be dropped over the crowds which would be filling Washington DC. He went on to explain how he believed that killing those people would be a “public service.” http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/death-threats-against-obama-racist-atrocities-soar-as-america-regurgitates-its-soul-part-two-757633.html

9. While fishing with his wife in Baltimore on August 19, 2009, a 76 year old black man was beaten by three white men– one who was the instigator and also a white supremacist. This event barely made the news, though the man was badly injured and the victim of a horrific hate crime. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2009-08-19/news/0908180048_1_hate-crime-supremacist-police

10. Lastly, since being assigned Secret Service protection in 2007, President Obama has received more death threats than any of our other presidents combined. There is a large amount of people in this country who are using violence to express their contempt for Obama’s election and the recession. Some people have even mentioned the idea of states seceding from the nation again. http://www.articlesbase.com/news-and-society-articles/death-threats-against-obama-racist-atrocities-soar-as-america-regurgitates-its-soul-part-two-757633.html

While there is much reason to rejoice for the election of Obama as his victory is a significant landmark in our history, it is evident that the derision with which some whites regard blacks will not disappear just because Barack Obama is President. It will take much more than a black president to turn our country into a colorblind society, as these events have shown.

The MPAA on virtually every DVD box ever produced. Ever.

You've all seen it

Although the site has avoided and ignored threats from organizations such as the MPAA, it has had its share of trouble. The site was shut down for 3 days on May 31 2006 when Swedish police obtained a search warrant from judge Tomas Norström(shown below) and proceeded to raid The Pirate Bay headquarters, shutting down the website and taking their servers. Three people, Gottfrid Svartholm, Mikael Viborg, and Fredrik Neij were taken in and held by police for questioning, but released later that evening. Norström later presided over the lawsuit filed against The Pirate Bay. The trial took place over 9 days, starting on February 16^th and ending on March 3^rd.

The creators of The Pirate Bay. On the left, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, and on the right, Peter Sunde

The first day of the trial, defense attorney Per. E. Samuelson made the argument that The Pirate Bay can be used legally as well as illegally, and it is up to the individual user to be responsible for his or her own activities. He compares using the pirate bay to driving a car faster than the speed limit. It is legal under Swedish law to have a service that can be used in both legal and illegal ways.

The second day of the trial, half the charges were dropped. The prosecutor could not prove that the .torrent files brought were actually obtained through The Pirate Bay tracker, and therefore had to drop all charges relating to “assisting copyright infringement” and focus only on “assisting making available”. prosecutor Håkan Roswall stated that “everything related to reproduction will be removed from the claim,” meaning that all charges claiming that the pirate bay was actually duplicating and distributing files have were dropped.

The third day held a pivotal moment in the trial proceedings, when defense attorney presented what would later become known as the “King Kong Defense”. Samuelson states:

EU directive 2000/31/EC^[37] says that he who provides an information service is not responsible for the information that is being     transferred. In order to be responsible, the service provider must initiate the transfer. But the admins of The Pirate Bay don’t initiate transfers. It’s the users that do and they are physically identifiable people. They call themselves names like King Kong… According to legal procedure, the accusations must be against an individual and there must be a close tie between the perpetrators of a crime and those who are assisting. This tie has not been shown. The prosecutor must show that Carl Lundström personally has interacted with the user King Kong, who may very well be found in the jungles of Cambodia…

Essentially, the King Kong defense states that Lundström has no control over the actions of Pirate Bay users, and therefore he cannot be prosecuted for their actions. The court found that the EU directive does not apply in this case because the defendants had collective responsibility of the site and knew that some links on there were for copyrighted material.

Day four passed without much incident, but on day five there was more conflict in the courtroom. The Prosecution attempted to introduce evidence that was not previously shown in the pretrial. The judge instructed the prosecution to hand over all material they had planned to use. The remainder of the day was spent displaying conflicting portrayals of the Pirate Bay. The Prosecution showed the Pirate Bay as a huge business that made tons of money off illegal downloading, while the defense showed the Pirate Bay as nothing more than a search engine, equating themselves to Google. The remainder of the trial was spent hearing court witnesses and contradicting academic research on the effect of illegal downloading on sales for the music and film industry.

Tomas Norström

The verdict was announced on April 17^th. Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström were all found guilty and sentenced to one year in prison and pay a fine of [3.5 million USD]. The defendants have all appealed the verdict due to alleged bias; two of the main judges have ties to pro-copyright groups, and therefore might have had an agenda in how the case turned out.