R Petty's New Media Blog

Greetings from my vacation! I’m still hard at work, finding some interesting little tidbits that you may take something away from.

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Google is making lots of news today TWO expansions on their current offerings; one to their “Street View” application available on GoogleMaps, and also with additional languages which will now be available on the Google Translate service.
GoogleMaps is sending its Pedicab tricycle to college campuses, starting with University of Pennsylvania, to take 360-degree pictures of foot trails and local parks. The benefit of this feature will be to “allow prospective students to get a good fell for the campus…let incoming students map out routes to classes and let alumni fondly remember their school days,” (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).
Google is also adding the Persian language, also known as Farsi, to their translation service due to increased interest in the recent events in Iran, (Virginian-Pilot, 2009).

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It’s pretty tough to find a job, but this will make it even harder!

The city of Bozeman, Montana has been requiring applicants to city jobs to supply their social media USER NAMES and PASSWORDS along with their resume’s! This policy was in effect until Friday when the city ‘rescinded the policy after local news reports highlighted it,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009). The local TV station also ran a poll in which 98% of respondents called the policy an “invasion of privacy,” (Virginia-Pilot, 2009).

I am sure that I am not the only one of us who feels that this is not only an invasion of privacy, but is also a cause a great many lawsuits. My first question is HOW ON EARTH DID THIS IDEA BECOME POLICY? Wouldn’t this type of procedure be the result of a vote, by some committee? And if the hiring practices were set by an executive branch, then wouldn’t it seem as though SOMEONE on the staff would realize this was not only a ludicrous idea, but also could create backlash?

Christopher Dawson, tech director for the Athol-Royalston School District in Massachusetts and blogger for ZDNet, found evidence that this has been a ‘long-standing practice’ in Bozeman, where he was once a resident. “However, the fact that this policy is “long-standing” certainly suggests that people have been complying with the policy for a while. How desperate are people for jobs that they are willing to turn over this very private information?” (Dawson, 2009).

Dawson asks the same questions that have been rolling around in my head. How long has this been going on? Why are people complying with such a ridiculous practice? How many other cities, or firms, have been trying to get away with the same thing? Why aren’t people smart enough to not post the types of things on their social sites that an employer would NOT want to see? This is part of the reason I have stayed out of the social media scene for so long…I did not want to be Google-able. Looks like this may have been a smart practice.

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Just because you have a blog, doesn’t mean you have a brain!

I’m sure many of you have heard that celeb-gossip monger Perez Hilton was assaulted Black Eyed Peas tour manager, Polo Molina. It seems that Hilton, who is openly gay, called singer and front-man will.i.am a “gay epithet” in a night club after the singer told the blogger not to write about his band on the site. An argument ensued and Hilton got popped. Not that I can say I blame the manager…I think it’s fair for a celeb to ask for privacy, or even to demand it, but does that really require a blogger/reporter to call you names and act like a little spoiled baby?

Did he deserve to be assaulted for this childish behavior? Well, Hilton knows he’s an instigator, his site even states “Welcome to PerezHilton.com – Hollywood’s Most-Hated Web Site,” (PerezHilton.com, 2009). I guess if you continue to mess with the bull, you get the horns. Not that I assume he will learn his lesson from this little scandal. I am sure that many more people will check out this site and ads will increase with each new publicity stunt…may be why he is such an antagonist to the celebs?

What’s funnier about this story is that after the assault, Hilton used twitter as his first communication tool. “I am bleeding. Please, I need to file a police report. No joke,” (Associated Press, 2009), was sent at 4:00 am. I mean, really, if you’re that stupid that you try to tweet to get help instead of calling 911, do you really deserve medical attention and help from the cops? Isn’t this a sign that you are TOO involved with your social media?

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On a final note, the iPhone 3G S was released Friday in the US and seven other countries and sold 1 million units in 3 days! I guess the Apple phenom is still going strong. I like all the apps that are available, but I’ve got to say…I like Palm’s touch screen better. I just don’t like that swoopy movement you have to use on the iPhone, (Associated Press2, 2009).

And did everyone else (but me) know that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant two months ago and has been out from work since January? This has been his first statement since he took medical leave.

References:

Associated Press. (2009). “Perez Hilton, Blogger, Punched After Argument.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 2.

Associated Press2. (2009). Business Day: Nation: “More than 1M New iPhones are Sold.” Virginia-Pilot. June 23, 2009. A, 9.

Dawson, C. (2009, June 20). “Would Your Students Hand Over Their Passwords to Bozeman?” ZDNet. Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://education.zdnet.com/?p=2723

PerezHilton.com. (2009). “Home Page.” Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://perezhilton.com/

Virginian-Pilot. (2009, June 23). “Surf Side: Tech World News.” Virginian-Pilot. June 23, 2009. C, 1.