Before Computers - After Digital

An interesting piece of article I came across today which highlights the travails of the technologically challenged in today's world - in a lighter vein...

A conversation between two individuals from either side of the digital fence…

BC: Looks like they finally caught the Google guy.
AD: They caught the who?
BC: That guy who leaked important documents? Can you imagine? First, he creates a website through which we can search for information and then, he leaks it all himself!
AD: Wait a minute! That's not the Google guy.
BC: He's not? Oh ok, he's the guy they made that movie on, right? The guy who reportedly lost all his friends in the process of making a site that helped people make friends?
AD: Mark Zuckerberg? No, it's not him. He created Facebook. And he didn't leak documents. He gave us all an opportunity to leak our personal information to the world. Incidentally, where do you get your information from?
BC: I searched for it on Xing.
AD: You mean Bing! Xing is a social networking site for professionals, much like LinkedIn and Viadeo.
BC: Viadeo is that American media giant, right?
AD: No, Viadeo is a professional networking site. You're confusing them with Viacom, an American media conglomerate.
BC: So what's Bing?
AD: It's a search engine like Google that helps you find things.
BC: And who owns Bing?
AD: Microsoft bought them over. Now don't ask me who founded Microsoft.
BC: I know, I know. Bill Gates!
AD: And…?
BC: Steve Jobs?
AD: Here we go again! Steve Jobs is the guy who founded Apple with Steve Wozniak.
BC: But Apple is the Mac company, right?
AD: Whew, yes!
BC: Isn't that owned by John Sculley?
AD: Sculley was the CEO, but Steve Jobs founded the company.
BC: And Microsoft?
AD: It was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. And please don't mistake him for Tim Allen or Paul Scherz.
BC: Who are they?
AD: It doesn't matter.
BC: And who owns Google?
AD: It was started by two guys…
BC: Ah, the famous pair! I know them – Jerry Yang and David Filo!
AD: Nope, these were the guys who founded Yahoo!
BC: Speaking of Yahoo!, I just registered on Buzz – I'm trying to locate my friends now.
AD: Er, aren't you talking about Google Buzz? That's the networking service. Yahoo! Buzz is about sharing stories and articles with others.
BC: Talking of Google, a friend of mine was telling me about Google's new smart phone, the Wave, with touchscreen and…
AD: You're getting mixed up again… That is Samsung Wave, a series of edgy phones with social networking features. Google Wave is an online platform that helps you collaborate on various interaction and communication tools.
BC: You were going to mention the guys who created Google…
AD: Oh yeah, Google was the brainchild of Sergey Brin and Larry…
BC: Sanger!
AD: You got the wrong Larry… Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google… Larry Sanger and Jimmy Wales began Wikipedia.
BC: Wikipedia! That's the company that owns Wikileaks, right?
AD: No, Wikipedia has nothing to do with Wikileaks! And Wikileaks was started by Julian Assange. He's the guy you were referring to. He was arrested and is now out on bail!
BC: But what did he do to get arrested?
AD: Oh, that's a long story. If you want to know more, why don't you just Google him?

Connecting Us..

In this fast moving world, everything goes far away from us even our closed ones. We are introduced to several social networking sites today so as to keep us updated of our closed ones.While the internet made the world a global village, the social networking sites brought the world within the four walls.Geographical locations are no barrier to stay in touch.Well, one of the many advantages is that you can connect with lost classmates, lost family members on social networking websites. Simply type in a name and you might see a picture of someone that you haven't seen in years. Some of the sites such as Friendster and MySpace are the two most popular sites that aim to build special niche for people who share common interests and passions. Whereas social networking sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn are more professionally related and help the business men promote their businesses.

However, everything has a positive and negative side.

    Social networking of course helps in a lot of ways but the users have to be really careful to stay secure and safe. Security is one of the topmost concerns of social networking sites that you currently use. This is mainly because the social networking sites allow you to display your personal information such as name, location, and email address. There are some people who always in search of a fake identity. If they get all the information about you on internet, they may use your identity for different type of illegal activities, which may cause you problems in future. It is always advisable to don’t provide your entire identity information online.

You may get many requests for adding as friends or joining different communities. Always try to know as much as possible before adding anyone as friend or joining any community. Because they may use fake identity or may involve in some illegal activities, which may spoil your image.

 Another cause of concern is cases of online harassment and stalking. Since the social networking sites, are very poorly regulated so it can be a very fertile ground for people trying to get even with you. They can spread malicious humor among your friends and also download and morph your photos. 

 To be honest, I am not against these sites , but the poor regulation of these sites. They should be properly regulated so that people enjoy the whole benefits of it.

                                           

                                 ENJOY THE BENEFITS BUT BEWARE OF TROLLS

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/letters/article890320.ece?service=mobile