Category: new media

Radio Interview on Shellshock

So last week the tech world woke up to the news that Bash, a component in Linux had a flaw that had been around for 22 years. This flaw enabled 3rd parties to take control of a system, whether it was to run arbitrary code or simply gain control for nefarious purposes.

I got a call from the local radio to give them some background into the exploit and what can be done about it. I tried to keep it fairly basic as most of their listeners probably had less of a technical background that I was used to. Have a listen:

Any suggestions to improve for next time would be appreciated. (Yeah, lots of emms in there 🙁 )

MTV – Relentless Ultra presents Soundchain

Check out the upcoing Soundchain by MTV and Relentless

It’s always interesting to see cross-over media and advertising moving from TV over to YouTube. Of course, it all depends on the successful conversion of viewers from one channel to another, which is always hard, but given enough incentive, the switch can be made!

Third Thursday – 19th June 2014 – #smc

And once again Third Thursday is upon us, time for the Isle of Man Social Media Club to get together for lunch and a chat. And what do we talk about? Well, whatever’s new in the world of Social Media, whether it’s new tech, new networks or old technique being applied to New Media. We’re an informal gathering of technologists, marketeers and other people interested in Social Media and how it’s transforming the way we live, play and do business.

If you have an interest in Social Media, come join us; we’re always looking for new ideas and faces. You don’t have to be an expert; in fact joining us for lunch is probably the best way to learn!

Come join us for lunch if you can make the time, if not just for a coffee. We’re meeting at Jabberwocky at 12:30 on 19th June. See you there!

4 Facebook Users Who Deserve An Immediate Background Check

Facebook is the king of social media, there’s no doubt about that. It’s almost strange if you meet someone who doesn’t have a profile, but then again there are some people who probably shouldn’t be allowed on Facebook because they’re just plain creepy. When you encounter these creepy users, your first instinct might be to simply ignore them, but you never know if someone on your friends list could actually be a threat.

The only way to find out the truth about your creepy Facebook friends is to do a little research, and lucky for you, there are plenty of online resources that provide easy access to public records. One of these sites is InstantCheckmate.com, which provides background reports that include pertinent details about an individual’s criminal history including arrests and prior convictions. Criminals could easily be browsing around your Facebook profile and trying to chat with you, and you definitely do not want that. Check out the list below of four types of Facebook users that deserve an immediate background check!

1. The Lurker

You know those random people who you see on your friends list, yet you’ve never once seen them in your news feed? These are what we like to call “Lurkers” because that’s what they do—they lurk. Most Lurkers don’t have any interest in being active on social media or communicating with other users. They simply create accounts so that they can browse around other users’ profiles and read updates and look at pictures. How creepy is that? If you notice any Lurkers on your friends list, then it’s definitely time to run a background check.

2. The Liker

This one’s pretty self explanatory, and anyone reading this probably has some Likers on their friends list. Likers are the people who, without fail, will “like” all your updates immediately after you make the posts. Sometimes the notification pops up in a matter of seconds, which often makes you wonder if the person is just sitting around stalking your profile and waiting for your next move.

3. The Inappropriate Commenter

Inappropriate comments can come in many forms, but not matter what, they’re usually not welcomed. This is especially true when it comes to random people on your friends list who, for some reason, like to leave strange creepy comments on your timeline or your photos. It’s safe to say that this type of user deserves a background check.

4. The Chatterbox

The Facebook Chatterbox is the person who blows you up on chat ALL THE TIME. Regardless of how many times you’ve ignored them, they just keep at it, and it can get creepy really, really fast. Obviously, if you’re ignoring someone, that means you have no interest in engaging in the conversation, at which point any normal person would take a hint and get lost. If you’ve got a chatterbox on your hands, you should background check them to make sure they’re not actually dangerous, and then probably delete and/or block them from your profile.

Can YOU think of any other social media users that deserve a background check? Let us know in the comments!

This is a guest post by Jennifer Burke, a blogger from Palo Alto, CA who she specializes in writing about the correlation between crime and social media. Thanks Jennifer!

Newspapers reporting what they read in Social Media

I just love this news release on the local newspaper website:

TweetStory

It’s fantastic to think that some news editor somewhere saw a Tweet and decided that a 3-line news article was needed, without any context, any investigation, any journalistic value. No wonder newspapers everywhere are struggling …

The Isle of Man in space

I’ve been hearing a lot recently about the Space Industry being more prominent in the mix that makes up the local economy here in the Isle of Man. Here’s a video that was produced by one of the UK channels about what’s going on, in case you were curious:

It’s always great to see economies diversify. As time passes, trends change and it’s important to keep up to date and current. The Isle of Man has had a very stron financial sector over the last couple of decades, but external pressures and a changing market could jeopardise that. Having a presence in other sectors is the way to mitigate that risk, so it’s awesome to see this happen!