Facebook Timeline and the Perils of Oversharing

The new features of Facebook were announced a week and half ago with showy, real-life feed shown-where else, on their own "f8"-page. Anticipation is high in the air. What kind of new tricks and gimmicks have Zuckie and his pals   invented this time to  waste/consume/spend our time with? To begin with, as I commented during his speech, the logo looks somewhat similar:

Ring a bell? Has it been so long from the end of "Lost"? The first image is the official logo from the Facebook new change launch. The latter, well, is the logo of the "Dharma Initiative". I guess the bluebook-boys (and girls) are fans of the show. In any case, my comment was swiftly moved. Or disappeared to the abyss of the web. Charming coincidence.

Back to the topic of hand. What are the new changes waiting us all inside the great FB? Besides linking us together, Facebook now wants to be able to influence what we watch, hear, read and buy. Netflix, Hulu, Washington Post, Ticketmaster and Spotify among others are moving inside Facebook. "Like"- button will have other verbs, although the negative ones most definitely won´t be entering the menu. And this is just the beginning. It could be argued that it almost feels like the entire web experience is being swallowed inside the FB. And globally speaking, when FB indeed is currently the second most  opened site of the web in general, am I wrong to imply that?

"Facebook Timeline" is the major term on everyone´s lips as of speaking. (The chosen  term actually has postponed the renewal of the site, as a small web company from Chicago decided to sue the big blue book for using their  own name. Well, we all know this will be settled in no time. Money talks and... Let´s leave it at that, shall we?) What does "Timeline" imply for us common folks? Short and sweet, it is a practical face lift for the old profile. The main picture is bigger and bolder, and your personality with all its myriad epitomes is better conceptualized and communicated for your chosen audience. The idea is to enable dynamic view on your life, past and future. Electric diary of one sort-only to be shared with your preferred audience. Naturally, the idea is to get us more immersed into the world of Facebook and share more information of ourselves.

Looks like something you desire as an upgrade? Want to feel like one of the hip early adopters? For the majority, this is not open yet. But wait! By signing up as a "developer", you can try to change your profile into the new sleek look. Instructions for example here. Or here.  At present, around 100 000 people are signing up as "developers" per day.

Increasingly, our online- and offline- life is being watched and defined through the renewed Facebook. Can you choose to leave your embarrassing movie options outside its watchful eye? Maybe, but it most certainly will be difficult. All this information of your consumption habits will be made open for your friends to see, and hopefully have an effect on their shopping habits. Not to mention of the bigger, corporate significance. Next to this picture, the information gathered from your chain store vip cards pales in comparison. It may be time to suggest that Facebook will never start charging you for using their site- why should they? If anything, it should be the other way around in exchange for giving personal information. As it is the case, "we the people" are not Facebook´s customers -the advertisers are. And boy, are they eager to get their hands on that ever-growing personal data.

The question of privacy is tricky in an era, when an increasing amount of people just do not care whether their  identity is  open for discussion. We share and exist through our public personas, and it may be time that the whole concept of "fame" or "public" is redefined. Last week´s news on the upcoming (18.10) Facebook "tv-show" called "Aim High", which uses actual personal data and images of all the profiles, went largely unnoticed. So did the little tidbit on how FB tracks its users even when they are not logged in to the service. (The instructions on how to stop the tracking, are here. ) It is almost as we have quietly accepted this little exchange of info in order to gain access. And the bottom line is, nobody has to be logged in. Or share everything. But then again, it is a handy little tool to keep your contacts in check. After all, upon hearing of the looming changes most of the people seem to be worried of only one thing: how to stop people of seeing those embarrassing tracks on your "Spotify" playlists.

Facebook Timeline and the Perils of Oversharing

The Audacity To Think differently

At this year´s Elonmerkki-conference (25.8.2011), the "Branding of Finland" -project  was visibly represented through the Finnfacts- display stand. It has been almost a year since the national "brand-team" published their report with the help of Jorma Ollila, yet the work still continues. Last year the team concluded  that Finland´s strengths and modes to distinguish itself  is through "great functionality of the society, nature and education". The executive director of Musex (Music Export Finland) Ms. Paulina Ahokas was a member of the Jorma Ollila -led brand team. Her organisation, Musex, focuses on representing Finnish music industry abroad and tries to improve the export revenue income. Ms. Ahokas also served as the moderator for "Elonmerkki", and gave her view on the significance of design in exporting the Finnish brand abroad. International economy is in turmoil, and the way to survive is through constant adaptation and renewal. In this regard, Finland as a country has a lot to catch up to, according to Ahokas. Companies must recognize the significance of design in renewal, differentiation and profitability. In sum, "design" is not plain decorative speak for the organization, but a strategic approach on action.

Finnish know-how, and ways to export it abroad  was an underlying theme in many of the day´s speeches.
Panel discussion "Design in boosting competitivity" (Design vauhdittamaan kilpailukykyä) highlighted the concerns, hopes and visions for the Finnish brand internationally. Panel members were Atte Jääskeläinen (YLE, Finnish Broadcasting Company), Mirkku Kullberg (Artek, Finnish  furniture company), and Veera Heinonen representing Finnish Foreign Ministry. The moderator for the panel was Pekka Timonen, the leader for the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012-project.

The shared view among the panel members was apologetic. According to Veera Heinonen, the encapsulated message of last year´s Finnish brand team (functionality, education and nature) is good, but it has not been successfully communicated globally. The problem lies with under-communication, if anything. The notions of "sauna, Sibelius and Finnish Grit" are old-fashioned and need to be upgraded. As a skillful recent example Heinonen mentions last winter´s "Finnish snow-how" -phenomenon, and how it gained international attention and recognition. While the rest of the Europe struggled with too much snow on their airports, Finnish airports remained open, no matter what. This skill with snow removal was widely admired and reported even at CNN. But how could this one-shot attention be integrated as part of the country brand? How could it generate longtime buzz and boost export?

According to Kullberg from Artek, their company is often  mentioned internationally when referring to Finnish design. The problem is, that the company is actually smaller than their fame and name-recognition. Their small size comes as a surprise to many foreign stakeholders and has turned into a golden cage for the company itself. How does a company utilize their brandname productively while avoiding pitfalls? At times, it felt like Artek´s challenge was in risk-taking. This is what Kullberg admitted herself.

In effect, the panel concluded that a much of the challenge with communicating Finnish brand lies with cultural modesty and reservedness. We simply do not have the natural tendency to speak loud enough repeatedly and take risks when it comes to marketing and communication. The phenomena of "Rovio" is admired yet feared at the same time. Is that the kind of attitude we should adapt in marketing? Surely Vesterbacka is pushing the limits of good behaviour- after all, it is not "The Finnish way" to act. But discreetness does not gain you followers in today´s cacophony of messages sent. In the end, everybody cannot be pleased, when it comes to designing the message. From where can we garner the audacity to talk louder and push for influence?

The uber-innovation activist (yes, that is his self-made title, "yli-innovaatio aktivisti") Anssi Tuulenmäki from Aalto university had many pointers to give in this. Hopefully the panel members were listening and throwing their shy ponderings away. Tuulenmäki is not shy to admit the influence of environment to communication style. The Finnish landscape has been traditionally rural, cold, distant, barren and small-scale. There is not simply even enough of Finns to speak of to gain profits based on mass. However, the nationally characteristic ability to survive on the basis of smallness, independence and reliability are strong assets to be recognized.
The seed for success lies in differentiation and clever innovation. What do we do differently than the others, and how can we capitalize that? Simple, yet the idea does not bear labor for offspring easily.

One of Tuulenmäki´s clever insights into "differentiating the message" is being ordinary. In this day and age, we have all come to associate startling messages with something special, lavish, unique, outstanding, better than the norm. But this not always the mode to take. As an example he cites Lauren Luke, your-average single mom from South Shield, England, who happened to stumble into making amateur makeup-videos into the internet sometime in 2007. Today, she is a Youtube-phenomenon with 111 million views, her own cosmetics line sold at Sephora, a book, newspaper column and a Nintendo game. Her secret lies in being ordinary and approachable, not the supermodel-style we have come to associate with cosmetics. Can an entire nation take example from this? Of course, according to Tuulenmäki. The best communication is different communication. Copying the mainstream is not strategic innovation. It is safe, yet poor and lazy thinking. Common convention is the killer of brilliant ideas, regardless of the field of operation.

Are Finnish companies doing things differently enough? Is the value of deviation and difference acknowledged? The speech of Anssi Tuulenmäki surely left the audience with a thought or two to reflect on, hopefully with fruitful results.

The Audacity To Think differently

Angry Birds, Peter Vesterbacka and the Uncomfortable Insolance

Vesterbacka´s speech at this year´s Elonmerkki -conference divided opinions. Some thought he was inspiring. Some said he is brave and exemplary. Others- could not take his arrogance. The underlying discussion beneath the day´s speeches had been Finnish design and ways to take it abroad  - marketing. Or, the lack of better Finnish marketing. As Artek´s leader admitted, they are well-known internationally, but  do not know how to capitalize their fame. Vesterbacka knows a thing or two about capitalizing and taking action when the iron is  hot. And he is not afraid to say it out loud, without embarrassment or demure attitude. And this direct pride is not accustomed to in the Finnish landscape. It is... showy.

The Chief Marketing officer of Rovio ( the company responsible for producing "Angry Birds" game into our cultural consciousness) does not bow down in front of his company´s success. He drops facts and numbers like Agent Orange to a Vietnamese field. The audience gasps and smiles uncomfortably. Some cheer.
"Surely this kind of success cannot happen just like that? Surely this kind of success cannot last? Just look at What happened to Nokia- we shouldn´t brag."

The "Angry Birds" has been downloaded approximately 350 million times so far. At the present rate, it is being downloaded 1 million times a day. 200 million minutes are played every day. They have around 130 million active users around the world. According to Vesterbacka, the company is growing faster than YouTube, Google or Facebook (at present). Last year the company´s revenue was a meager 6,5 million euros. This year, they are expecting the number to reach 100 million (euros). Within the next couple of years, they are going public.  Vesterbacka himself was voted the seventh most influential person in the world
(TIME -magazine, April 2011). Interestingly, the international commentators found his reaction to the newly appointed status as "humble". So what is it that made the company so huge?

Before the company made it huge, they were in deep trouble. Money had been burnt by the owners Niklas and Mikael Hed, and something needed to be done. "Angry Birds" was Rovio´s 52. game. There were 51 attempts to make it before the success, and in the beginning, even the birds weren´t that catchy. Game designer Jaakko Iisalo´s pet project was a raw idea that needed a lot of meat for the bones. There were no pigs, there was no slingshot. Besides the brain power of gifted designers, there was also the marketing genius of Peter Vesterbacka, who knew the direction to go for and the measures needed to make the game big. Before the slingshot, the game was not understandable for the average user. Before the pigs, there was no enemy to go against. (Adding the pigs as enemy was also a clever move the in the midst of global swine flu-epidemic). In December 2009 the catapult-puzzle  game was released. By February 2010 it was the top-selling game in both UK and US Apple application stores.

When asked, even Vesterbacka himself does not know the exact reason for the worldwide popularity of the game. He lists the swine flu, the fun and colorful characters, the concurrent rise of the touch-screen smartphones, attention to detail, smart marketing and a cheery game-idea (there are no negative punishments for mistakes).

By now, Rovio´s main goal is to strengthen and widen the brand. There is the cookbook coming, the toys, the film, the shoes, the clothes... Vesterbacka is comparing the brand to the world famous "SpongeBob" -phenomenon, which still (after its creation in 1974) is selling merchandise in the ranges of 4 billion US dollars
annually. The great goal is to be the first entertainment brand with 1 billion fans.This is no small talk, no unassuming muttering, this is plain determination. Will the company make it there?

While focusing on "Angry Birds", it is easy to forget that there is much more happening overall in the Finnish game industry, and Rovio is just the first mega success on the road to many more. According to the recent  Finnish Game Industry  2010-2011 study, the revenues of the whole game industry have grown steadily, and topped 100 million euros last year. The revenues for this year are expected to rise to 165 million euros. In comparison to  game industries in other Scandinavian countries, Finland is now holding the number one spot. In the light of this, it is surprising to learn how little the Finnish government is investing in the education or finance regarding game industry. Preconceived ideas against the field of entertainment?

So what are the possible "next" success stories in the field of Finnish game industry? This year the foreign finance was totaling approximately 60 million euros, from which Rovio took the main cut ( 34 million). The second biggest company to hit the big league was called Supercell, which collected 12 million euros in venture capital from Accel Partners. Also a company called Grand Cru has received 1 million.  According to insiders, much is expected from the oldest Finnish game company Housemarque, when it releases its new version of an old game for Sony  and a puzzlegame for iPad. There is also names like Recoil with its "Rochard" -game and "Trine 2" from Frozenbyte. (On a sidenote, you should check out the soundtrack for Trine1, which features world-class classical players instead of machine-generated pseudo-music. Thank me later.)

Besides Rovio therefore, much is happening in the Finnish game industry at the moment. Although the money might be there, the process to reach glory and fame is still slow and laborious. This does not seem to dispirit the energetic designers. The buzz and drive has spread to other cities outside the capital Helsinki,
and the hopes are high. Who will be the next success in a red shirt? According to Rovio´s brand image, as we have come to associate him, it takes a good idea, some smart marketing and pure courage to try. After all, it was the golden 52. game which took the world by storm. Not the first, not the third. The number 52.

Angry Birds, Peter Vesterbacka and the Uncomfortable Insolance

Facebook pushing advertising into Your Friend Feed

For those of you not yet alarmed by the growing problems of the big blue beast, here is one more interesting add on -feature interfering your social enjoyment: Facebook is planning to integrate shameless advertising into your Friend Feed. Yes, in the middle of your lifeline. In other words, if you think you can escape and ignore those agonizing ad slogans on the side, think again. Think of tacky Viagra ads popping up in the middle of ogling at your friends whereabouts. And there will be no way to hide those pesky lines. Yes, a mass of people will probably object. But will they abandon ship?

With over 750 million users and growing, the chances are good old Zuckie just simply doesn´t care what we think. Why should he? At this point, the beast of a company is mainly interested in generating income, in masses. We, the people, are commodity being sold to the advertisers. This is nothing new, it is how most of the privately-owned media works. But has Facebook grown to be something more than just a medium? A virtual living room consisting of our social life, private information, desires, loves and hates? If you change your status into single, would you object to condom ads popping up in your feed? Heck, they already introduced the idea of announcing your unborn child, so what is off-limits anymore?

E.B. Boyd from Fast Company already announced Facebook´s new partnership with the Nielsen company in creating an Online Campaign Ratings -system, which basically observes the demographic data behind ad usage within the network. Who is viewing and what; much like what Nielsen has done so far with measuring television use. This is clearly just the start. 

One might say that ads aren´t cool, but then again, is Facebook cool anymore? Has the fickle aura of hipness shifted and traveled over the rainbow somewhere like the Google+circles? What do you think?

Facebook pushing advertising into Your Friend Feed

Google+ after the Initial Infatuation

So how many of you have already tried out Google+, the bold contender against the stealth monopoly of Facebook?
Not many, I suspect. After the not-so-secret launch this week, Google+ is now -supposedly-open for the great public to join. Although many became enamored with the sleek and clean design, the truth is that it is slightly... lonely. Yet. The new social network is, as I described earlier, a sandbox without active playmates. Or am I just the only one being left out of all the fun games on the yard? Can´t be.

Over time Facebook has managed to acquire not just headcount, but games, company pages and easy sharing options with Youtube-clips and print media articles. Is it even possible to do the latter with Google+ yet? As it is, besides posting the idiosyncratic egonews flashes on the like of "I am watching tv", people seem to like to share video clips and news articles over the social network. Pastime for the electronic masses.
And in many online publications, the button for Facebook is _there_, just a click away. Youtube is owned by Google. I tried adding a music video the normal way to my Google+-profile. It placed itself to the +1 recommended -area, where the actual video can be accessed and watched through redirection to Youtube. Why would anyone want to leave the social network to see my "recommendation"?

As Janne Ruohisto recently wrote, it is possible that Google+ will, over time, become more like a closed social network for purely professional circles, in the likes of Yammer and Socialcast. So far, they have a lot to catch up to. The interest is there, the desire to swift over from Facebook is growing. The once celebrated indie-spirited Facebook has grown into a megalith, which guards itself fiercely (try switching your friends over to Google+? We will bury your profile!!). Except when it comes to the question of privacy. The repeated accidental bugs opening up the private information are all too familiar for us.

The new announcement over the union between Skype and Facebook is great, and was magnificently timed. But the real question is, whether they will be able to answer to the much bigger questions out there: the division between growing amount of "friends" and the ownership of added personal information. Google+  has the idea of division beautifully embedded into its design with "circles". When will the same idea pop up in Facebook? Quite soon, I suspect. But also, the larger public has begun questioning Facebook´s policy of owning everything one adds into the system.Is it fair? Is it right? And more importantly, above else, should we tolerate it?

Google is bringing official  brand pages, or company page possibity, into the Google+ in two weesk. In other words, they are suspecting the critical mass to grow into such portions within this time period, that it becomes worthwhile. At the moment getting in, or "getting an invite into circles" is troublesome and takes patience and many, many tries. This illustration describes it perfectly. Still, will you be joining "The Plus" when you can? As a hint, it is good to start with old Zuckie in your circles. After all, he is the most circled person inside Google+ as I´m writing this.

Google+ after the Initial Infatuation

The Race is on: Facebook versus Google+

Earlier this year we learned about the slight slump in popularity of the megaorganism known as Facebook. 
The number of Americans using the"blue timekiller" (as I lovingly call it) had dropped within the period of May from 155 million to 149 million. And this, they (as in the faceless, all-encompassing specialists)say, is a reason to worry. Is the pop rocket of a phenomenon showing signs of fatigue? Entering mature phase? (In all fairness it is gaining more adult users over 45 rapidly). Every trend has their beginning and an end. And now, with us all hooked into using social media services, it appears to be almost translucently cool to be able to resign from joining the game. At least, that´s what I blogged about at the end of last year, with hints of antisocial network and the luxury of saying no. Because let´s face it, being "off-grid" nowadays is getting rare indeed.

Then again, for a discernible part of us, Facebook, is just... plain fun. It is like the good old handy telephone book, with only a few tiny little upgrades. I like not always being forced to leave the house to talk with friends -especially when it is freezing cold outside and you feel overdrained. If only it did not play with our privacy so much. All the little bugs and crunches that made us cough, worry and shake our heads over the last year -could this be done differently? And hey, as we are talking about it, why is there no good competition? Sure, there was (and is) diaspora , where at least you can own the rights for your own pictures. But that did not really catch fire. Nowadays, it seems diaspora is mainly being visited by its developers. Correct me if I am wrong. So what is a girl (or a boy, or an animal) to do?


Enter Google+.  The latest development of the magnate company to get us all hooked inside the big megacorporation. After being released a few days ago for a selected group of people (ok, the ones who managed to buy, bag or steal an invite) it has generated buzz all over the web. Is this the Facebook-killer? Can the social network be redone, and better?
So far, my experience is quite narrow and clinical. With the lack of an as established and large friendsupply inside the "+", playing around just isin´t as fun, at least for now. One feels like the odd kid left on the sandbox with a plastic toy and anticipation hanging in the air. However, the positives of the new social media are visible, and Google has definitely noted the problems within Facebook, which we all are more than familiar with.

The pages are clean, sleek and free of clutter. Have you noticed how the sideline of ads in Facebook has grown deviously over time? How everything you search or write about is instantly met with similar themed ads? So far, there is no such thing in Google+, but then again, they might start playing the moneygame any day soon. Google+ consists of "hangouts", "circles" and "sparks". "Sparks" is where news become social and users can set the news to match their preferences. "Hangouts" is like the name: place to hang out with your friends from various circles -through video chat. And guess why Facebook announced they are bringing Skype-powered video chat this week? The competition can be fruitful for the large public.

"Circles" is the main pro side of Google+. Tired of setting up limitations for various friends over at Facebook? Yes, the whole thing can be done differently and smoothly. In Google+ the user can easily place people in separates "circles", and set limitations to these circles of friends. Now you can literally put those parental units in their own circle, and not worry about them seeing you every post from last Friday. Let´s not forget business contacts, either.  Oversharing just is not what most of have a need to do.

Another pro (or con, depending how you look at it) is that the whole thing is integrated with other Google services. Just log into your account (gmail, Youtube etc) and you are free to play with Google+, as well. This should be good news for Android- phone users as well, as the "app" for Google+ is already available, as write this. And I got it yesterday, thank you very much. Intrigued, but wondering how to switch all you hundreds of close friends from Facebook to Google+ smoothly? No worries, there is a solution! Courtesy of a friendly developer named Mohamed Mansour, one can easily switch the bundle of pals from the blue system into the G-system. It is called "Facebook Friend Exporter", it is free and available here . Be prepared to move everyone into their respective circles, though.

So how does one get inside the happening hotspot of the moment? My, by invitation only! As I am writing this, the invitation system does not work smoothly as of yet (that´s why the system is not officially open yet!). But every now and then a few invites slip by. So... does anyone want an invite? If so, write a nice comment, send your gmail-address (snoweffect333@gmail.com) and I will do my best.

The Race is on: Facebook versus Google+

Air Travel 2000: Packed like flesh in a can

Seriously, does anyone like traveling by air these days? Flying was once classified as pure deluxe, with free meals, all-inclusive plane tickets and actual customer service with a smile. Long lines to the airport security screening to prove one´s innocence (Look! I´m not wearing shoes and I´m humiliated in many ways in front of strangers! Cannot be a terrorist!) were unheard of. And you could easily throw that perfume, vodka, absinthe and glide lotion into your hand baggage and walk through the gates without being harassed like a petty criminal. Not that I´m speaking of any of my past traveling escapades. This is just late night theorizing. Honestly.

So the fast-growing pyramid of extra fees just got higher last week. The "low-cost" American airline Spirit introduced fees for hand baggage. So now you cannot even go and try to cram all your life into that tiny carry-all without being sucked dry as a hard-working consumer. Let´s not get mistaken, people: there is absolutely nothing remotely relaxing or "deluxe" in being an air passenger these days. Well, maybe for first class customers (or for those lucky ones with their own private jets).

In an effort to save cash, I fell for those "always cheap" airline companies recently (The name starts with an "R". Need further hints?). There is something seriously wrong with pricing when most of the end total comes from added fees. And if that wasn´t enough, they made me pay extra baggage fee (40 eur) for the bottle of liquor I purchased at the airport. When did duty-free purchases become extra baggage?I was agitated, to say the least. After that, they inquired whether I am truly old enough to sit by the emergency exit. The minimum age is 18. I suppose anger suits me, if I am not mistaken?

Well, to cut the almost unnecessary personal ranting short, I will get to the point at hand. At last!
Have you thought of the layout of the planes and what it resembles? How tightly packed "the Pax" is? (Yes, that air pro talk for us mortals)How you cannot move, turn yourself or otherwise be comfortable? That´s because the economical design is not new. It has been borrowed from a much, much older form of travel.

Introducing slave ships, circa 1791.

And let´s have a look at the modern airplane interior seating design.

Still not sure of this? Why don´t we have a few more pictures!

And fast-forward back to the future :

Don´t get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against anybody, I believe in peace and understanding. Slavery was, and still is, fundamentally wrong. But don´t you think it´s funny that we are paying for the privilege of being pushed together like flesh cargo on a trip to somewhere? Please, be free to share you horror tales of being a modern air slave!

Air Travel 2000: Packed like flesh in a can

Easter Nostalgia: Microworld and William Shatner

Happy Easter, folks. As a sidenote, the whole tradition of celebrating Easter actually originates from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Let´s all have a drink for female Goddess Eostre, shall we?


There´s something incredibly sweet and nostalgic about reading old predictions on future.
(Future meaning now)
"2001: A Space Odyssey" never quite materialized, but here is a tiny bit of retro blast from the good old days of 1976 on the topic of  microprocessors. At the time they a relative novelty, but the information given here is still quite accurate. Moore´s Law still upholds. All this old-school technotalk would not be nowhere near as watchable, if it weren´t for our lovable Mr. William Shatner in action. The man is multitalented. Have you seen his version of the Elton John -classic "The Rocket Man?" Let´s add it here, as well. Epic entertainment, if anything. Guaranteed to give you a smile today.

Easter Nostalgia: Microworld and William Shatner

How Does Chernobyl Sound like?

In the midst of sad and tragic occurrences happening in Japan right now, people have remembered another old incident involving radiation and nuclear plants. Namely, April 26, 1986 and Chernobyl. 25 years have passed, and now the once dead ghost town seems to be puzzling with journalists, extreme travelers and well, nature. In 1986, the reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant (80 miles north of Kiev) exploded and spew out enough radioactivity to make up Hiroshima bombing 100 times over. Nature recovered, albeit barely. Strange deformities and tumors are abundant and visible on the fauna of the area, yet, they strive and exist.

The remains of the evil reactor were covered with a concrete sarcophagus 25 years ago- but it is slowly caving in and needs to be replaced. The poisonous mix of radioactive isotopes underneath the crumbling covering is still alive and well for the next 24 000 years. This certainly gives chills when thinking about the situation in Japan.

Sound artist Peter Cusack has recorded the sound scape of Chernobyl in 2006, and his recordings give hope for the once barren and sterile land. I highly recommend listening to his otherwork as well, like the sounds of the Azerbaijan oil fields. All Cusack´s recordings involve areas of environmental damage.

How Does Chernobyl Sound like?

"Sexting" now an official word

Yes people, it is not no longer an obscure word used by cooler than hip teens, gangsta-rappers and the occasional redhead blogger. "Sexting" is among the new words accepted by the Oxford Dictionaries online. The other soon-to-be classics are: "onliner", "scareware", "cyberbullying", "clickjacking", "Tbh"(to be honest), and "fnarr fnarr" (which I had no idea of. Marsian influence? No, apparently it means sniggering. )

Technology and short acronyms are creeping their way into our dialectic, whether we like it or not. If this shortening of announced words gets any more trendier, I wonder if in 50 years we all talking legitimately with cut down words. A new language?

"Sexting" now an official word

The Antisocial Network

Funny how trends go about. First it´s the few innovators that proudly show off their new toys and habits for the rest of the vulgar herd. If it works, the masses catch on. The cycle dies, when the conservative everyman has heard or adapted the trend. Early adapters and coolness hunters are valuable in showing the way forward. This reminds me of Iceland, and how it is commonly used by companies as a closed testing ground for new fashion. If it passes there, it will most definitely work elsewhere. Don´t believe me? Go and visit. What the people wear now, is all the rage a few years from now. If anything, the current economy might even push out the creativity and craftiness in full blossom.

In the light of this cycle of chic, should we be alarmed of the recent death of the oldest known Facebook user? Ivy Bean was 104-years-old, had 4949 friends (!) and proud to be part of the network since 2007. She also used Skype, which I suspect is not the usual tool of communication for seniors in her golden age. Yes, the mature surfers are catching on the social media wagon. I blame it all on William Shatner. The old prankster with a phase gun has been tweeting since the early days of the service and currently is the proud owner of 417 394 followers. He turns 80 next year.




Jesse Eisenberg, the actor mostly known for portraying the founder of Facebook, was recently interviewed by Time Magazine. The young hipster proudly claims to not reading his mail, not having a television set for the last 10 years, and no, he does not have a Facebook account. (So I suppose the nine fellows or so presenting themselves under his name on Twitter are not really him, either) In essence, Jesse has decided to opt out of the all-encompassing influence of real-time networks, being in touch 24 h and knowing the news instantly. Or, that is at least the image he likes to give us. Why? Because it is cool. I can almost  picture Jesse carrying a vintage retro Nokia log, which works occasionally, carries a ton -but brings instant street cred for the lone cowboy who just doesn´t want to be like the rest of us. (Oh please, he so has a Blackberry or iPhone with him at all times. Trust.)

Another low-tech trendster and the original lady of hip is our very own Winona Ryder. She also has declared her open dislike for our digital age. While she treasures her old mix-tapes (remember those?), the girl has no computer. Apparently Winona has heard  that "one can find anything on there; troubles, salaries and such". Ms Ryder lives in San Francisco, of all places, so the idea of her being isolated amids the hot spot of global information technology development seems absurd. But plausible, yes.When you think of all the necessary information and services being available today online ONLY, it becomes  hard to imagine someone being able to live separate from the web (in United States). This leads me to assume that this kind of living is a right for the rare and privileged. In other words, one has resources  and people working for them in minding their affairs. Can you imagine living without a computer and modern communication technology?

The Antisocial Network

Amazing Images of 2010

Here is some of the imaginative, mind-boggling shots of the year. Wow, can´t believe it is almost 2011 soon.


Dancing girl robot, manufactured by Japan´s Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.

 YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images

Ping-pong playing terminator. Made by Vietnam´s first robotic firm, TOSY.

Kim Kyung-Hoon



Comet Hartley II. NASA managed to get never-before-seen pictures up close of the comet. Big rock.

Nasa

 The European Space Agency has got some nice pics as well, this time we have the Mars. And more precisely, Orcus Patera, a long crater near Mons Olympos on Mars. The rim rises to about 6000 feet.

Esa



An Avatar wedding. Need I say more? Apparently this is a big thing in parts of China. What ever makes one tingle, that´s what I always say. 

Uniquedaily.com

300-feet sink hole in the middle of Guatemala City (June 2010). Looks like special effects, but is very real. The tropical storm Agatha is believed to be the culprit.

Paulo Raquec



Mars shines bright red over a "moonbow" in fog in a picture taken in Hawaii´s Haleakala volcano. At the time,  in January, Mars was its closest to Earth.

Wally Pacholka

Her majesty the queen wearing 3D-glasses on a visit to movie studio (July 2010). But alas, no ordinary glasses will do: hers were primped with real Swarovski crystals. And the letter Q on both sides. Show that attitude, Lizzie!

John Stilwell

Amazing Images of 2010

Nokia N8, Pam Anderson and Dev Patel

After my recent posting on this phone, I felt being too harsh. Although it was not my smack down of a machine,I figured this phone needs another view. Here is the anticipated short movie, ad clip, commercial -how ever one calls it. It is filmed in its entirety with the N8-model. There is some famous faces in it, all to give boost and hipness for the new flagship model of a Finnish company. Notice, that we are talking about the film as a marketing vehicle, not the actual product.

Some of the ideas are just plain weird - an Asian samurai jumps out of the blue in a very bad Halloween costume? I can just see the clipboards: And then we put one of those videogame/ martial arts creatures in there to squeak and flash his sword around, that will get the kids´interest, it is so cool. And how much was Pam really paid to just stand around and do nothing? If it was me, I would have actually changed Pam´s usual role from bombshell into something unexpected, and put her into work for the money. Poor Ed Westwick looks entirely uncomfortable and embarrassed of his turn as a plain bell hop. He could do so much more, he could have been used more.
The whole idea of the story is of Dev Patel trying to get to work on time. What is so hip and funny about that? Am I missing something?

 But this is what you get when combining pressure and clumsy ideas. (Notice I do not call it bad, just clumsy) Because pressure is the word that Nokia experiences right now. It has lost a large part of  its value over the last few years, and the competitors are creeping in, taking their share of the markets. Coolness is what they are after, and I am not sure this is the way. What do you think?

Nokia N8, Pam Anderson and Dev Patel

Recording dreams soon possible

Researchers claim that recording and reading people´s dreams is soon a reality. US scientist Dr Moran Cerf writes in the journal "Nature" of his findings. His plan is to actually build a machine, which helps psychologists to interpret and analyze dreams as a form of therapy. Dr Cerf performed a number of tests to volunteers, where he showed a variety of images and objects to them, and was able to monitor brain functions- as in, which area of the brain lit up when looking at a specific item.

However, he did admit that this discovery is a long way from actually precisely "seeing" another person´s dreams  and thoughts, so ideas of "Inception" are not yet upon us.

Recording dreams soon possible

When there is too much time on Your hands

Machines can be frustrating. Lord knows how many times I´ve cursed at an inanimate object for not working, thrown them against the wall and contemplated on giving up the sad case of machinery in question altogether.

This man goes a step further in his hate. Or, he is just plain bored. Any guesses?
After getting tired at his brand-new cell phone for not working, he began to spread the world. These smartphones are expensive. I understand the rage, completely. Reading at the list, this stick seems like a useless piece of something. That captcha-question peek-a-boo when trying to log in to the app service might have just been a sick piece of joke from some tired programmer. Not being able to play your videos? Of course not. Read the list and get the comical relief of the day.

 And the phone? Nokia n-8.

N8 fail- reasons why the Nokia n8 sucks

When there is too much time on Your hands

Facebook Privacy Reach

Wall Street Journal  revealed today that many of the top applications ("apps") on Facebook are actually devices for gathering and selling user data for third parties, namely advertising and internet tracking companies. In other words, every time one engages on Farmville or Texas Hold ´em poker, for example, the Big Brother is watching and recording. Or shall we say, the Ad Brother is.


Officially Facebook claims that no actual private data is compromised and that they are limiting the ad-and data collection companies´abilities to gain information. Thousands of applications are said to have been disabled for violating its policies. However,  it is hard to believe that Facebook itself did not know of the scope of this data mining in action. The growing number of applications are producing revenue for Facebook via virtual currency used in the games.
Data gathering seems to be so pervasive all around the internet these days, that one must ask, are we surprised of this news?

Facebook Privacy Reach