This will probably bring internet flotsam to my site, but I thought you expert geeks out there might want to see the long headers (and raw source, just for fun) of the Facebook phishing email I just found in my Inbox. I received three different phishing attempts, but I just chose this one at random. I’m sure they were all similar. Click to see all the lovely, spammy code.
(If you aren’t a geek but you are a Facebook user, you can check out the email to see an example of yet another phishing scam. Remember: Facebook won’t ever reset your password without you initiating the reset first.)
Today I wrote a “stop using my content” email, called a Cease & Desist letter. I also submitted a complaint to Google, who runs blogspot.com (the service provider of the offender).
Here is the letter I wrote, with identifying information redacted:
Dear Mr. (Offender),
On your Blogspot.com site, you committed unauthorized use of my original, copyrighted work entitled “Book Review: Twilight Series Is a Primer for the Mormon Religion and Is Boring.” at http://www.purplecar.net/2009/05/04/book-review-twilight-series-is-a-primer-for-the-mormon-religion-and-is-boring/ (hereto referred: the “Work”) in your content on [redacted].blogspot.com at URL http://[redacted].blogspot.com/search/label/[redacted]. You are in violation of my copyright.
I have reserved all rights in the Work, first published in 04 MAY 2009 and have registered copyright therein. Your content, published [date] at [time], entitled “[title]” is essentially identical to the Work and clearly used the Work as its basis. Paragraphs were copied and pasted, using word-for-word copying. For example, the content on your site, in full:
The fact that the Twilight Series is a fantasy series about vampires doesn’t distract from the heavy religiosity throughout the entire 4-book story. The series serves only one purpose: to inculcate teens into a christian morality, preferably Mormon. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Plus, the repetitive and overly simple writing and transparent plot don’t hold a candle (or a fang) to Harry Potter. Not even close. But that’s plain to anyone who reads the first page. I’ll talk about what must be the appeal at the end of the post. Right now let’s look at the morality messages that pelt you at every turn of the page.
[SPOILER ALERT: Plot is revealed.]
First, we repeatedly see Bella’s and Edward’s “struggle” with staying virgins until they marry. Then they marry at age 18 and 17, respectively, having a child immediately. Plain statements supporting a christian theology, the basic beliefs of the Mormon faith (or, perhaps any conservative christian religion) are clearly outlined in the books. After a while, it becomes clear to the aware reader that the series’ purpose is to spread conservative christian theology and moral beliefs through the teens of the world. The Mormon author of the series, Stephenie Meyer, knew what she was doing.
Unfortunately, the constant hammer-over-the-head schtick gets old quick. Meyer makes no effort toward subtlety, and doesn’t offer any fodder for thought. You don’t have sex until you are married and that’s it. No controversy. No other options. The few days before your honeymoon night you are supposed to go to your parents for a frank talk about sex, or “physical love” as main character Edward called it (in a preachy diatribe about how marital sex is the only sex. It’s one of many religious speeches the characters make throughout the book.).
I’m not taking issue with Meyer’s beliefs. She can believe what she wants. But I would like to have people realize what Meyer’s purpose was. And once you see it, the plot is overly predictable. Knowing that she was a Mormon, and reading the morality in the first two books, I knew a child was coming. I slightly wondered how she would do it, but I know enough about the Mormon religion to see that a child would appear as soon as the honeymoon was over. In the case of Bella, the fetus appeared after only two nights of marital conjugation.
The Work from my site, Purplecar.net:
The fact that the Twilight Series is a fantasy series about vampires doesn’t distract from the heavy religiosity throughout the entire 4-book story. The series serves only one purpose: to inculcate teens into a christian morality, preferably Mormon. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Plus, the repetitive and overly simple writing and transparent plot don’t hold a candle (or a fang) to Harry Potter. Not even close. But that’s plain to anyone who reads the first page. I’ll talk about what must be the appeal at the end of the post. Right now let’s look at the morality messages that pelt you at every turn of the page.
[SPOILER ALERT: Plot is revealed.]
First, we repeatedly see Bella’s and Edward’s “struggle” with staying virgins until they marry. Then they marry at age 18 and 17, respectively, having a child immediately. Plain statements supporting a christian theology, the basic beliefs of the Mormon faith (or, perhaps any conservative christian religion) are clearly outlined in the books. After a while, it becomes clear to the aware reader that the series’ purpose is to spread conservative christian theology and moral beliefs through the teens of the world. The Mormon author of the series, Stephenie Meyer, knew what she was doing.
Unfortunately, the constant hammer-over-the-head schtick gets old quick. Meyer makes no effort toward subtlety, and doesn’t offer any fodder for thought. You don’t have sex until you are married and that’s it. No controversy. No other options. The few days before your honeymoon night you are supposed to go to your parents for a frank talk about sex, or “physical love” as main character Edward called it (in a preachy diatribe about how marital sex is the only sex. It’s one of many religious speeches the characters make throughout the book.).
I’m not taking issue with Meyer’s beliefs. She can believe what she wants. But I would like to have people realize what Meyer’s purpose was. And once you see it, the plot is overly predictable. Knowing that she was a Mormon, and reading the morality in the first two books, I knew a child was coming. I slightly wondered how she would do it, but I know enough about the Mormon religion to see that a child would appear as soon as the honeymoon was over. In the case of Bella, the fetus appeared after only two nights of marital conjugation.
In a side-by-side comparison, you will find that the posts are identical.
You did not receive permission from me to use the Work as the basis for “[title]” nor did you receive permission from me to make or distribute copies, including electronic copies, of same. Therefore, I believe you have willfully infringed my rights under 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq. and could be liable for statutory damages.
I demand that you immediately cease the use and distribution of all infringing works derived from the Work, and all copies, including electronic copies, of same, that you deliver to me, if applicable, all unused, undistributed copies of same, or destroy such copies immediately and that you desist from this or any other infringement of my rights in the future. If I have not received an affirmative response from you by [date give them about 2 weeks] indicating that you have fully complied with these requirements, I shall take further action against you.
You also appear to be in violation of Blogger.com/blogspot.com’s copyright policy. I have submitted a form to Google to bring their attention to your unauthorized use of my copyrighted work.
I have copied a Mr. [redacted] from Blogger.com/blogspot.com on this letter.
If you haven’t heard of all this mess yet today, let me sum up:
Harriton High School, one of the richest high schools in the country, has been named in a lawsuit for using webcam-activation software on school-issued laptops to spy on a student. It’s come to light that all 2,000+ laptops issued (for which the students paid insurance) had been set up with remote-activation webcam software. This means that the school district could turn on the webcam in any laptop at any time. It did so in the case of Blake Robbins and used evidence obtained from the laptop in Robbins’ possession to bring about disciplinary action against Robbins. Robbins parents are now suing the district, seeking class-action status.
One of only three International Baccalaureate Diploma Programs in the Delaware Valley (i.e. western Philadelphia suburbs); student/teacher ratio of 16:1; extensive AP programs) and honors course offerings; 94 percent of graduates attend four-year college; two-time recipient of Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award. The school district of Lower Merion township, in Montgomery County, PA, has an annual budget of $175.2 million. The school district serves mostly privileged upper middle class and upper class kids.
Here are a few of my questions, as a former systems admin:
How efficient is this webcam tracking system? If a real criminal stole the laptop, he or she would have the harddrive wiped clean before attempted resale, so the webcam- remote activation software would be wiped with the rest of the files on the drive. Basically, this software was installed with the intent not to catch hardened non-student criminals. It was installed to catch fellow students stealing other students’ laptops. Intentionally spying on minors without guardian consent is in violation of the wire tapping act. Plus, I’ve met a few of these students before and I’ve seen the laptops. They informed me they had to pay insurance on them. Why track them if there is money to replace them? Doesn’t this kind of action put students at risk of retaliation and violence? Just let the laptop go and replace it! This kind of spying also opens up the school district for lawsuits, obviously. It will definitely be a landmark case, however it plays out.
Did Blake Robbins, the student against whom evidence gathered from the webcam, steal the particular laptop? Did the webcam get activated upon request of the victim of theft? Harritons’ website is suggesting this in their statement.
Did the school district ever inform parents of the possibility of remote-activation of webcams? Did each student and parent give informed, signed consent for this potential action? (Everything I read says NO. A clear Terms of Service would have helped the school district in this situation).
This smacks of amateur administration to me. When I worked as a systems administrator, the Fortune 500 I worked for issued laptops to the sales force. The support staff could access the laptop remotely, but only with the user there to click through the permission screens. As soon as the user rebooted the machine, the permissions would have to be granted to the support staff again. Also, we had very, very clear policies of appropriate use of the laptop and software, including email. As an administrator, I could go into anyone’s email. Absolutely any email account in the entire company. Did I? No, of course not. Having the keys to the kingdom also means having the knowledge of the policies (Plus, who has time? I’m not interested in your emails to your mom. My team was busy enough trying to keep the manufacturing lines up and the grid healthy).
I actually got into a bit of hot water once, when a very high-ranking manager came to me, asking for access to his employees accounts. A “bad email” (i.e. racist jokes) was being sent around to his whole manufacturing site. He called me and asked me to track the emails. Together (him remotely) we paged through some email accounts.
I was too inexperienced to have the wherewithal to tell the supervisor to contact my supervisor or my boss’s boss who was equal in rank. I told my boss what happened and I was on the verge of being disciplined. They took mercy on me, because I was new. Eventually I’d come to say “No” constantly to all sorts of high-ranking CEOs in the company, but it was a lesson hard learned.
My point in telling you this story: it’s the tech administrator’s job to know what opens up the company to potential lawsuits. The installation of this webcam software without a very clear Terms of Service and informed consent was just plain stupid. If you are a techie at all, you know about the wire tapping act. You also know that the law doesn’t much care about who “owns” the camera. Your job is to know how to design the infrastructure to protect the company.
I must hold out hope for humanity by imagining that a lowly techie at Harriton High School knew the score, probably spoke up, and the non-technical department heads ignored the warnings. (I can’t tell you how many times that happened to me, telling my boss or others about a weakness in the infrastructure, me being ignored, then a few days later watch it all crash down. After a while, you just don’t even get angry anymore. You just do as you’re told and go home at the end of the day.) It’s hard for me to think that there was not one person in all of the sickeningly-well-funded Harriton school district’s employ that didn’t have 1 clue about the potential mess remote-activation of camera software would bring, no matter what circumstance. I can’t stand to think they’d ALL be that stupid.
And yet, here we are.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
-Christine Cavalier, PurpleCar
UPDATE: Feb 19, 2010: The Associated Press reports that the FBI is now looking into criminal charges against the district. The webcams were activated 42 times in the last 14 months supposedly in search of stolen or missing laptops. article here. Also, this video says that Apple released a statement about a bug in the intel-based macbooks that caused the webcam recording light to come on even though the camera wasn’t recording. NBC10 has a bit more to say, including the name of the assistant principal involved. The main question: if only 2 tech admins had access to turn on the webcams, how did the assistant principal get access? (Probably she strong-armed a tech into giving it to her, or she stood over the shoulder of the tech and watched while she/he carried out her commands, much like the email scanning situation I was in that I mentioned above).
CNN has more, citing quotes from Doug Young, the school district’s spokesman:
“Doug Young, a spokesman for the Lower Merion School District, said the district would only remotely access a laptop if it were reported to be lost, stolen or missing.
Young said if there were such a report, the district first would have to request access from its technology and security department and receive authorization. Then it would use the built-in security feature to take over the laptop and see whatever was in the webcam’s field of vision, potentially allowing it to track down the missing computer.
Young said parents and students were not explicitly told about this built-in security feature.
To receive the laptop, the family had to sign an “acceptable-use” agreement. To take the laptop home, the family also would have to buy insurance for the computer.
In an “acceptable-use” agreement, the families are made aware of the school’s ability to “monitor” the hardware, he said, but it stops short of explicitly explaining the security feature. He termed that a mistake.
Young added that mistakes might be made when combining technology and education in a cutting-edge way.”
Wow is this district in hot water or what? There are some lost careers here for sure. Unfortunately, the poor lowly techs – who should’ve known better and should’ve refused – will face criminal charges most likely, when this all comes out. Ultimately, they are the ones who broke the wiretapping laws. Take heed, fellow admins: know your limits.
And Mr. Young’s last statement is ludicrous. Oh sure, “mistakes might be made.” Yes, mistakes might be made when combining technology and dressing rooms too. Or combining alcohol or cars. How about combining idiots with security design?
Flippantly saying “oh, you know, we’re trying, and it’s all new to us” trivializes the matter and further violates and betrays the students and families in the district. It really is no excuse. He’s trying to garner public sympathy by playing on the same old fears of any new media and technology.
The family speaks: ABC6 News Apparently, Blake Robbins was “dealing” Mike & Ikes (mute your speakers before you click that link, jeez!). In the news video, listen to what the father says about worrying about his daughter being photographed when exiting the shower, then see Forrest’s comment below. This case will come down to child porn, especially if the feds are involved.
UPDATE: Feb 22, 2010: Evidence that the admins were stupid, and the administration should listen to its student leaders: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_top_stories/20100222_Laptop_camera_snapped_away_in_one_classroom.html The computing staff lauds the security system in this article, and there’s a link to a webcast about it. The systems administrator goes on and on about how great the camera shots are, without any sense of the law or the possible implications of using this feature with minors. Wow. Just, wow.
This techrepublic blog has a great round-up of tech articles about the software, LanRev, and some other similar apps, as well as commentary about the implications. http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/itdojo/?p=1559
- Great for small businesses: map your contacts!
- Add satends & family directly from your address book
- Look at History from Above: Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, & more
- Free videos help you discover Google Earth’s secrets
- Plan your trips: get accurate ETAs & travel routes
-Satellite imagery from NASA, Microsoft & others
-Take to the sky with our powerful flight simulator
-3D videos of places like Disneyworld, Area 51 & Budapest
-eBook that explains how to maximize Google Earth
New visualization capabilities will thrill and intrigue you. With the newest version of Earth, you’ll discover things about the world you never knew before.
Media Internet Consultants, Edif. Neptuno, Planta Baja, Ave. Ricardo J. Alfaro, Tumba Muerto, n/a, Panama
_________
I clicked through, not especially paying attention to the warning signs (not from google.com or anything resembling Google, hard sell, generic services, etc.). I clicked through until I got to the page that asked for money. That’s when I woke up. I tried to close the page and lo and behold, the 30% off offer of $58.97 for a 3 year subscription suddenly has a pop-down window that changes the offer to 50% off! Spam, spam, spam. And they almost got my money. I was thinking, well, that’s super cheap, only 7 bucks (US) a year for google earth?
Seriously, don’t check email when you’re tired.
While there is a pro version of Google Earth (for industry people, not you or me), this scam tries to imply that the entire product is PAY, which is not, the most common Google Earth is free. Don’t pay for services unless you really know what you and your company are doing.
Phishing is the practice of trying to trick people into revealing their passwords. Email is the usual medium. The emails are designed by experts and are made to look like they are being sent from a valid service or application.
At first glance, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t. In reality, it’s easy to discern real emails from phishing spam. A little education about how systems administration works and about how we fall into the trap of misguided beliefs on privacy and ownership is all you need to avoid phishing scams. You’ll never be fooled by these “Please reset your password” emails again.
HOW ACCOUNTS WORK: FACEBOOK DINNER PARTY
Facebook owns this candlestick
Here’s a little story that sort of explains computing and user accounts work.
Let’s say that the powerful and organized Facebook Family owns a house in your neighborhood. They have lots and lots of well-planned dinner parties. You don’t know them very well, but you are going to one of their parties.
The night has come, and it’s time to go to the party. You walk up to the door and knock, and the Facebook Family lets you into the house. You sit down to a nice dinner; the silverware and place settings are beautiful and the food is scrumptious. The conversation flows. Everyone has a great time. Then the night is over, and your hosts walk you to the door, then they close the door and lock it as you leave.
Now, let me ask you a few questions:
At the beginning of the night, would you have to bring keys to the Facebook house in order to get into the party? No, that would be silly. Facebook House is owned by Facebook, naturally.
When it is time to enter the Facebook House, do you have to open the door yourself? No, you’d knock on the door. Facebook owns the house and the door, so they will open the door from the inside of the house.
When dinner is over, do you take the silverware or the plates? No. You wouldn’t even be able to if you tried.
When you leave, do you tell the Facebook Family to leave, too? No. It’s their house. They stay, you go.
We all know how this basic social situation works. It isn’t too different with online services.
If a service like Facebook, MySpace, American Express, etc. runs into some sort of technical problem, they will never ask you to reset your passwords. For Facebook to ask you to reset your password is like the Facebook Family asking you for keys to the Facebook House. They’d never need to ask because they OWN THE SERVICE; they have the “keys to the kingdom.” They will reset your password from the inside if you knock on the door and ask them to. But only if you knock and ask nicely. If you have forgotten your password, then YOU can click a button and they will send your authorized email account a reset link (remember which email account you use for each service). This is how it is supposed to work. It’s like you knocking on Facebook’s door and Facebook inviting you in to the their house. That is not Facebook wandering the streets looking for you, a stranger to them, hoping you have keys to their house. It just wouldn’t happen. Facebook never gets locked out of their own house. Ever.
The service owner (which, sadly, isn’t you) can reset any password they like. In fact, they can do WHATever they want WHENever they want. It’s their house; They can serve you whatever dinner they choose. They can read your emails, they can post using your ID, they can change any information on your account that they want. Do they fool around with user accounts? No (who has the time?!). But they’ll NEVER need your help with account administration. Ever.
So, knowing that all services have access to all aspects of their service, ask yourself why they would need you to reset your password. They wouldn’t. Phishing emails prey on the innocent who don’t know better.
HOW OWNERSHIP WORKS: THEY GOT IT, YOU DON’T
You don't own these! (photo by Peter Rice)
Western culture’s views on privacy and ownership help phishing scams work. We all think that we own our accounts. We don’t. Let me repeat: We do not own our accounts.
Don’t believe that your account is your own. It isn’t. It’s Facebook’s. You don’t own the dining room chair that you sit in at the Facebook House dinner party. You don’t own the food they serve you, or the forks or knives or napkins. You have no claim to anything within the Facebook House. You can come to dinner, enjoy yourself, and go home, but you can’t take your plate home with you, because it isn’t yours.
This was the hardest thing to drill into people’s heads when I was an systems admin for a Fortune 500: The company can control, look at, search, read, take over, claim and otherwise wreak whatever havoc they desire on your email account. The company owns it; you do not. Our inherent ideas of privacy and ownership run deep, and the fact that you don’t own your email, Facebook, or any other online account is hard to swallow for most people. But it’s the truth. No legislation is ever going to change this fact. Accept it now. I’ll give you a moment for this to sink in.
…
OK. Ready? Now that you’ve accepted the hard truth, you’ll be safer in the long run. Why? Because you will recognize phishing attempts for what they are: well-designed tricks meant to prey on your deep-set cultural notions of privacy and ownership. If you realize that services don’t need your help in administering accounts because you, in fact, don’t own the account (the service does), you will be less likely to fall for the onslaught of phishing emails coming down the pike. You’ll realize that the email must be a fake attempt by scammers who aren’t the owner of the service (because if they WERE the owner, they’d wait for you to knock on the door before they opened it).
——-
Below is the example of phishing I received today. I knew it was fake because:
1. Facebook doesn’t need my help in changing my password.
2. I didn’t ask Facebook to change my password.
3. The email was sent to the wrong email address. I use a different one for Facebook.
4. It has a zip file attachment. No way should any password reset emails (even the ones I initiate by asking the service to reset my password) should have an attachment. Only a link.
5. It’s super generic. It doesn’t address me by name, not first and last, not any. Just “Dear Facebook user.”
6. If a service contains it’s own messaging system, the service will use that messaging system first. (i.e., Facebook would just send an in-Facebook email for any announcements, etc.).
Here’s the email:
From: password@facebook.com (Facebook Security)
Subject: Facebook Password Reset Confirmation! Customer Message.
Date: February 8, 2010 10:05:38 AM EST
To: christine@purplecar.net
Dear user of facebook,
Because of the measures taken to provide safety to our clients, your password has been changed.
You can find your new password in attached document.
Thanks,
Your Facebook.
(attached file: Facebook_password_37413.zip ZIP archive 36.7 KB)
——
WHAT TO DO IF YOU’VE FALLEN FOR A PHISHING EMAIL:
1. Try to reset those passwords that you gave up immediately. Go to the service (e.g. Facebook) right away and click on the password reset button.
2. Change the password on your email.
3. Change the password on your financial accounts, if it was the same password (hopefully NOT!)
4. Consider requesting a credit report if your passwords to your accounts were the same, or if you suspect that the scammers have gotten a hold of your financial or other important private information.
5. Contact the customer service departments of all of the accounts that have the same password that you gave up to the phishing attempt.
6. Stay alert and wait to see if anything odd happens in your account over the next several weeks.
Data, Media, Rice, Water. Emerging language and winds of change.
Language changes. It grows. It adapts. Nouns are turned into verbs (e.g. “friend”), words take on many meanings (e.g. “peer”) and subject/verb agreement transforms. Scholars know that the phrase “correct English” is a misnomer at best, a downright falsehood at worst. Languages are living things that grow and change.
We are on the cusp of one of those changes now. It truly could go either way. For a language geek, it’s an exciting event to watch. How will the now-ubiquitous words “data” and “media” be treated? Will the educational system catch up and drill the original usage of “data” and “media” as being plural nouns that require a plural 3rd person verb agreement? Or will colloquial usage overwhelm the textbooks and the subject will be simple, single and quick?
Let’s go over some details.
Datum is a single piece of data. Data are more than one datum.
Medium is a single type of media. Media are all the mediums lumped together.
The subject/verb agreement with these words traditionally went like this:
The datum is written on a piece of paper.
The data are enclosed in the report.
The medium was radio.
The media were newspapers.
(Or, in the case of journalists as a group of people: “The media report a storm coming up the coast.”)
Usage of “data” has morphed into the singular subject/verb agreement for many colloquial speakers (that means “regular people speakers and not specialized people like academics, scientists, etc.) “Data” and “Media” are being treated as mass nouns, like rice (e.g. “The rice is in the cooker”) or water (e.g. “This water is cold!”). Now we are seeing usage like “The data doesn’t support your claim.” and “The media isn’t welcome in the courtroom.”
We are seeing the singular subject/verb agreement usage more with the word “data” and with the word “media.” I don’t think most people would have “medium” on the tip of their tongue if they were asked to name the singular of media, but journalists have been drilling us with their self-referential phrase forever. So we know what “media” is supposed to sound like in a sentence, for the most part (If “data” usage changes, then I think “media” won’t be far behind. But we’ll leave “media” be for now).
“Data” is another problem entirely. I’ve been intimately aware of the usage rules around the word “data” for my entire adult life. When I was 18, I started at the University of Pittsburgh in a Psychology major, and I was quickly treated to a grammar lesson I didn’t soon forget. After years of psychology and biophysics research, then on to business research, I knew the expected plural subject/plural verb conjugation for the word “data.”
But here we are at the crossroads, where seemingly everyone else besides the hardcore researchers use “data” as a mass noun. Sure, the Twitterati will do their best to knock you back into their supposed knowledge and comfort zone as soon as they see a wayward “data is” or “data was.” But they aren’t looking at the big picture. Let’s think for a moment about data. This is a perfect example of why language changes. A cultural change happens, then language reflects that change. (I am now going to start using “data” as a mass noun. That means I will be using it in the singular, so those of you who are grammar-feint-of-heart, I suggest you stop reading now. But I do wish you would just hold your breath for a second and hear me out.)
Data is everywhere. It is coming at us from all sides. We have many convenient ways to get data. We have to make an effort to avoid data. We are data junkies. All of us. But in the end, we see data as a separate entity from ourselves. It is something we consume, like water. We choose to step up to it like we walk to the ocean’s very edge. We make the choice to dip our toes into it, or run away. We have our favorite ways of getting data, just like we have our favorite shoreline beaches. But we see it as a huge mass, almost one big entity of which we take small parts. We make distinctions on its bits. The grains of rice are in the container, but my rice is already cooked. No drops of water are on the window but water is leaking in everywhere. Bits of data are scattered around the internet but my data is on my blog. Wikipedia defines as mass noun as such:
“In linguistics, a mass noun (also uncountable noun or non-count noun) is a common noun that presents entities as an unbounded mass.”
An unbounded mass. Think about that. Think about all the info on the internet. Doesn’t it feel like “an unbounded mass” to you?
(ok grammarians, you can let out that breath. wasn’t too bad, was it?)
See what I mean? Which way will this go? Will data be accepted as a mass noun in the general culture? Or will everyday speakers be exposed to the word in its plural form so much that the phrase “the data are everywhere” sounds right to them?
Let me know what you think in the comments. Your data is/are important to me.
Today I sparked a whole conversation in Twitter about the term “social media.” Here is the edited (for ease of reading) conversation. Weigh in with your own opinions in the comments (or tweet me at http://twitter.com/purplecar).
My comments are in bold.
++++++++++++++++++
PurpleCar: Getting a little sick of the term “social media.” Networks are social by definition. All recorded communication is media. It’s antiquated.
mikeyil: agreed
greendeeds: agree with you. The term “social media” is just so generic.
charleshope “social media” is a dumb term anyway.
PurpleCar: @charleshope agreed.
mleis: It’s the only term society could agree upon to describe making the adjustment to ubiquitous computing. Is what it is. Cliches are good. They hurt but they’re good. We all know what they mean.
PurpleCar: The time for calling the phone system “Ma Bell” is over. The time for calling communication online “social media” is over too. @mleis
PurpleCar: RT @deanwhitbread: calling it “social media” is like calling the telephone the “telephonic interpersonal talking machine”
potsie: Shall we re-introduce consumer generated media?
PurpleCar: @potsie I don’t see why, in general conversation, we need to identify who made the media. Unless it’s relevant, we don’t need to categorize.
potsie: It all depends on the audience. Some clients are still comfortable/think about traditional and social media separately.
PurpleCar: @potsie I say “paper copy” or “print book” – I make distinctions about the tech, not the product.
romez: How do you feel about emerging communication technologies being referred to as “New Media” ?
PurpleCar: “New Media” is a stupid term, too. New tech is fine. What it does isn’t relevant. It’s new tech or it’s old tech (like the wheel). @romez
MattTGrant: I absolutely agree re: “Social Media” – name me a medium that isn’t social? it’s like saying “social language.” sometimes I will say “emerging media” instead of “social” – at least it gets at the temporary novelty of the new.
PurpleCar: A Medium is something through or by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on (m-w.com) (inherent social quality). but that’s my point. It’s emerging tech, delivering human communication. I say we just call it media and point out the tech diff
MattTGrant: The question is are “social media” essentially different from traditional media? A wiki is really different from a newspaper. The difference is the “two-way-ness” – I can edit a wiki – I can’t edit the newspaper – I can tag on Flickr, I can’t on TV (yet)
PurpleCar: @MattTGrant That is amateur vs. professional media. Sponsored vs. volunteer. That is where the difference lives.
BigBossBgilbert: “New media” (to me) describes new forms of media delivery (podcasts, for instance). Not sure what you mean.
PurpleCar: Media hasn’t changed. Delivery systems and participants have changed. Media hasn’t changed. “New media” makes no sense. @BigBossBgilbert
BigBossBgilbert: I think it’s also a question of the way news is being handled. There’s big difference between online reporting and print.
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert How is there any difference between online reporting and print? There’s just a diff b/w amateur and professional reporting. Even with the iPad that will be able to have inline video with print, that is still just regular old media on a new device. I say “tweet” when I use Twitter, “update” for other services, “video” for YouTube. I don’t say “I put some social media up on YouTube.”
hchybinski: LOL thank heavens you don’t say that – because it sounds dumb! LOL
PurpleCar: @hchybinski Yes it’s all media. To call it “social media” is redundant AND too general of a term. Trying to think of other redundant terms…
BigBossBgilbert: That sounds like the opinion of someone who’s never written for both. There’s an enormous difference.
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert If you run a search on my name, you’ll see I’ve written for both. Journalism is good or bad. Has nothing to do with tech.
BigBossBgilbert: I’m not talking about the thoroughness of reporting, I’m talking about the difference between online and print delivery mediums. The most cursory, basic example would be the concept of a “deadline”
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert What makes you think online reporting doesn’t have deadlines? I’m really confused at what you are saying. I write for some online pubs and I can tell you, there are deadlines. I’m saying “social media” as a term is obsolete. Online or off. Good or bad. New tech or old tech. It’s all “social media.”
BigBossBgilbert: Agreed, but you’re painting with really broad strokes here. Let’s take that all the way out and say that any form of media that exists where you can interact with others is “social media.” And no, “deadlines” as a concept online are obsolete. The internet simply exists, there is no printing cutoff. Which is to say that stories are ongoing. Updates are constant. That changes reporting in a fundamental way.
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert stories were always constant. Their ongoing quality was just ignored by the writers after the initial soundbite/story.
BigBossBgilbert: But the medium itself changes how easy it is to update that. The difference between updating an existing story online and doing so the next day in print is ENORMOUS. Also, the direct interaction between writer and reader is far more apparent online.
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert but listen to what you are saying. Communication has increased. Info flows more. It’s all just media. More of it, but same.
BigBossBgilbert: Sure, but there’s no harm in specializing your reporting based on the medium. In fact, it’s greatly beneficial to your reporting.
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert That means our habits are changing. It doesn’t mean someone has invented a new medium, say, like info exchange via DNA. You would be forming your reporting around the tech and the environment, much like writing for NYT vs. small town rag. I hear what you’re saying but you sound like the rest of the old newspaper guys who really want to believe its “new” media.
PurpleCar: Anyway, I’m just saying “new media” should be “new tech” and “social media” should just be “media” or specific terms like “tweet” or “video”
BigBossBgilbert: You’re really nitpicking here. And yes, “new media” does mean “new medium.” It’s fair to call online-based news a “new medium”
PurpleCar: @BigBossBgilbert In a few years, the terms will fade and blend in, when people assume it’s online & paper is more rare. I’m an early adopter
BigBossBgilbert: Agreed! But it’s ridiculous to not parse the two now as they’re still pretty separate.
JustinKownacki: “New” always disproves itself over time. We need to subdivide the media, the tech & the distribution. No “new” required.
PurpleCar: @JustinKownacki exactly. “new” will fade, as will “social.” We need to use more specific terms for which media. NYT article. Blog post. Wiki
ericsmithrocks: but… @bigbossbgilbert is a full-time blogger for @joystiq, not an old-timey newspaper guy. Though his cap is very Newsies-ish.
PurpleCar: @ericsmithrocks yes, I know. I said he sounded like one. I’m just annoyed with the term. It hinders communication and is useless.
JustinKownacki: This is the danger of hastily-applied signifiers creating information muddles down the line. “Podcast,” anyone?
PurpleCar: @JustinKownacki agreed.
PurpleCar: Most people should be using the term “networking” or “networks” when they say “social media.” Making a Facebook fan page is networking.
JustinKownacki: The lack of demarcation between “social media” and “social marketing” also makes me apoplectic. But that’s a different rant.
PurpleCar: @JustinKownacki YES! Or MARKETING. Thank you! Calling media “social” when you really mean “marketing” is misleading and slimy.
PurpleCar: Maybe I can get @chrisbrogan to stop using the term “social media” and just use the specific terms like marketing, networking, online, etc.
PurpleCar: This article uses the term “engagement ads” — see, that is way more accurate and truthful than “social media” http://is.gd/7e2vh
Gruven_Reuven: Might be old school now, But I still prefer Howard Rheingold’s (@hrheingold) term “Virtual Community.” You should read his book “Virtual Communities”. I highly recommend it. The virtual circles we create are mini communities.
PurpleCar: @Gruven_Reuven Yeah, I don’t know how much “community” is a falsehood when one talks about online or virtual networks. Not sure on that one.
Gruven_Reuven: depends on the community. I’m still a part of a close knit mailing list community that’s been around since 1991
PurpleCar: @Gruven_Reuven The jury is still out on that for me. The whole perceived intimacy trap with online relationships can’t be ignored
georgedearing: liking @PurpleCar’s stream today
danieljohnsonjr: Catching up with @PurpleCar’s updates today. Wise she is, yes.
PurpleCar: @danieljohnsonjr @GeorgeDearing thanks, guys. I rant, therefore I am. It’s anti-social media.
richpalmer: @PurpleCar That’s why we follow you! It is nicely antithetical.
georgedearing: @PurpleCar you could be the voice behind my new venture @shitsocialmarketerssay / that says a lot..in a good way..really
+++++++++++++++++++++
Today I will change the name of 2 of the subcategories on this blog: Social Media and Social Media Gems to Media and Gems. I’ll think of more descriptive titles later.
This was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone for weighing in. What do you think about the term “social media?” Are there comments in the Twitter stream above that I haven’t addressed or missed? Let’s continue this conversation in the comments.
Back in November of 2009, I attempted to write 50,000 words along with other crazy people around the world. National Novel Writing Month is every November and it’s a mad rush to the finish.
The people at Ravenshead Software sent me a full version of Write It Now 4 (WrIN4) to use during that crazy month. I didn’t get to 50,000 words this year, but I gave the software a thorough 10,000-word thrashing. The software held up well.
There are more than a few software packages out there for writers. One could spend hundreds of underpaid and overworked writer dollars on these applications. Before I delve into my review of WrIN4, just know that none of these programs will write your novel or short story for you. They can help with organization, though.
The WrIN4 application, available for Mac and Windows, is deceivingly simple. The menus and tabs are easy to understand and use, but behind these screens are added drag-and-drop features that make editing almost fun. The Tools menu has helpful things in it like “Create Random Character,” which will create a character for you based on typical story archetypes. For example, the software created the character “Alexandre” for me, and gave me this description:
“Created with the Archetypes personality data using the Character type ‘Trickster’.Alexandre needs to make people happy. He loves surprises. Recently Alexandre worked as an entertainer.
Bart in ‘The Simpsons’ is a typical example of this.
Alexandre is fairly tall. He has a cheap coat. He has smooth skin and is extremely presentable. His hair is expensively cut. Alexandre looks strong and is extremely wiry. ”
That’s probably enough to put you over the top of your writer’s block wall right there.
I could play with the Tools section all day. I particularly like the built-in Thesaurus and reading level assessment (under “Story Readability”).
I kept in close contact with Ravenshead services throughout the month of November. Here were some of the finer points that I’d like to see addressed in the software:
*Can’t add images into the text. We are now in a multi-media age. Writing software needs to catch up. There are times we writers will want to place an image, for example, a picture of a molecule, within the text. You can’t do this with WrIN4, and I don’t know if competing software can do this either.
*The + and – buttons at the bottom of the left-hand column are teeny tiny and their function was a bit confusing. What was I adding? What was I subtracting?
*The program makes you save again to exit. This is ok for most folks, but I find it annoying to have to click through another menu when I’ve already saved the document 2 seconds earlier.
Ravenshead said that they’d look into these complaints and see if they could tweak things before their update release.
One last note: I don’t think the pricing is great. It’s more expensive than Scrivener, another popular writing program (mac only, though). I think they can lower the price a bit to be a bit more competitive.
UPDATE: Jan 23, 2010: Rob from Ravenshead wrote this in an email to me:
Hi Christine
Thank you for the review of WriteItnow 4.
For the next release we’ve changed the expand/collapse tree icons so
they are less confusing.
For the release after that we’ll add an option to add photos to most tabs.
I’ll also look into smarter save options on exit. The program keeps a
constant checksum for the story which can be used to show if it has
changed (and a save is needed). We used to use this to optionally show
the ’save now?’ dialog on exit. It may be time to re-introduce this.
Regards
So I have these massive folders on my laptop. I really should back them up… Anyway, every once in a while I’ll try to clean them out, streamline, organize, etc.
Well, I came across these few paragraphs today, and I thought, at first, it wasn’t my writing. I thought perhaps someone had sent me a story excerpt to review (which happens all the time between us writerly types). Perhaps that illusion that it wasn’t my writing let me read through it with interest (I tend to be a bit self-critical… another common occurrence in us writerly types!).
After I read the few paragraphs and thought for it a bit, I realized it was in fact my writing. It was a quick exercise when I was thinking about writing a short story for a Halloween contest for Apex Books last year. I never got the story off the ground, so don’t read this excerpt if you feel you need closure. But the theme of the short story contest was something about Aliens and Urban Legends, and I remember thinking that I was going to write the story from the perspective of the alien who inadvertently and haphazardly caused the majority of urban legends in Philly while he was in the very volatile process of maturing to adulthood. Interesting concept, right?
Well, it may have worked out if September, October and November … and December, for that matter, aren’t crazy months for me. No writing gets done then (in fact, in 2010 I’m going to make a concerted effort to make sure I don’t shut down in the fall and fall prey to the constant activities scheduled for kids and family.)
Anyway, here’s the excerpt sans editing, for your enjoyment.
As far as plum assignments go, you’d think Philadelphia would be a cake walk. Just set up shop in the Eastern State Penitentiary or at Christ Church at Fifth and Arch. Passersby are used to “ghost” sitings
I got the notice on my birthday. Loosely translated, it said this:
Assignment: Advance Team
Location: Philadelphia
No need to list “North America.” Or even “Earth.” We have a long history with Philly. It’s been the main outpost in that sector for many time cycles. Philly’s notorious.
I had an idea what “advance” team meant, and you would probably use your word “ironic” to describe its use. We’ve been set-up in Philly for a long time, so it would seem a bit late for an “advance team.” I couldn’t be sure, but “Advance” in this case meant The Advance, the once-phantom policy the networks have been dreaming about for years. The time when we fully integrated Earth into the network. Someone would get a big, fat promotion for this. That person wouldn’t be me.
My parents were dispatched to Philly before I was born. So, in essence, I grew up almost like every other kid here. And just like every other outpost brat, I’ve caused my fair share of royal almost-expose-centuries-of-work mishaps. Thankfully, I was luckier than most, as one of my parents is from a clean-up crew clan and always knew what to do. Still, evidence of my maturization phase lies scattered around the city like a tossed deck of cards. You might make a bad joke here about the “deck being stacked against me” but my people don’t get that kind of humor.
I applied for Translator. After all, being here for so long, I can do both languages. But then again, any of us who are here more than 5 minutes can speak like a native. I felt I was a bit more insightful, though, than your typical alien; I was one of the few who lived like Earth progeny, going to school and socializing. I mean, I have Earth friends. They don’t know what I am, of course, but I can safely say that having friends is rare for us. I figured out a formula for long underwear that blocks the more harmful secretions and magnetic fields from my body, so only a few of my friends over the years have suffered from bad outcomes, and most of those outcomes were gradual and couldn’t be linked to me or my network. My parents are not convinced of my underwear’s efficacy, stating that it is more my superstition than reality. I wear the underwear anyway, just to be safe.
But here it was, my 2908th (in your years) birthday and I am being sent back to Philly. It’s all politics, I’m sure. As I said, this Advance thing is a pipe dream.
————————————–
Loosely translated:
Assignment/ Urging/ Suggestion: Advance Team
Location: Philadelphia
A more strict translation of this message or any event in this story would take too much time, and it would just look repetitive to you. The best way I can describe our communications is like a one-way network: you hear the voices of many, all shouting or whispering at you at once, but none of them hear each other. It isn’t like what you think when you hear the word, but “network” is probably the closest you can get to understanding this.
Here is a rough translation of the conversation with my parents that followed:
Me outward: Philadelphia.
Parent 1 outward: The Mutter Museum is full.
Parent 2 outward: Bring your underwear.
Parent 3 outward: Bring your underwear.
Me inward: *sigh*
Parent 3 is mimicking Parent 2, but really Parent 3 doesn’t realize Parent 2 is making the same joke, because they can’t hear each other. This isn’t one of your conference calls.
So this would be my new assignment. Now, as a full grown person, I would be on the Advance Team on Earth, back home in Philly. I applied for Translator. After all, being in Philly for so long, I can do both languages. But I’ve said that already, haven’t I? We repeat a lot, in our communications. Forgive me. It’s the only way we have to make sure our whole network gets the message.
The Mutter Museum comment I’ll explain in a bit.
_____________________
I wouldn’t be safe until Philadelphia; I knew this. Traveling around in our space is dangerous. There is something called The Trend (this is a sort of “baby talk” translation) wandering around out there and it is to be avoided at all costs. Best way for you to image it is to think of the The Trend as a traveling vacuum vortex that sucks the life out of creatures like me. And I could hear it as I was getting ready to head towards Earth. It was growing, like a sandstorm in one of your deserts, obscuring the pure messages and blocking the wayward thought. The transport was down below, in the garden. I practiced my technique. Slow breath, tunnel vision, simple mind. I tried to be Master Zen Li Zhou.
The Trend got stronger. Turtle, I thought. Turtle Turtle Turtle. The Trend was beating with massive signal noise right outside my door. I had gotten this far, but the turtle wasn’t enough. The Trend crushed the image of the slow-moving earth creature with the devastating wave of a tsunami. I have to think that even Li Zhou would have been no match. I had no choice; I was taken with it.
The signal noise was deafening and constant. My eyes burned and my mind was beginning to race. The speerings started to burn the edges of my brain. Images of Philadelphia were fading quickly into the far away space reserved for dreams.
I could feel my magnetic field expanding, furthering the power of The Trend. I closed my eyes and shut my ears. I struggled to contain it. I fought the nausea that gripped my body. Brutal pain pounded the feeling out of my arms and legs. Then I felt the snap. It was subtle and vaguely satisfying, so small a click I almost didn’t feel it. My friends on Earth described the moment when they realize they are drunk. It seems similar. I was beginning not to care.
My function began to deteriorate. My field was inextricably linked with The Trend. I’d never get back to Philadelphia. I’d be at The Trend’s mercy for the rest of my days.
_____________________
Back in Philly, it was Halloween. It’s a rare holiday celebrated by few inhabitants, but it was my favorite, for obvious reasons.
Cap’n Billy “The Butcher” McDougall’s Guide to Pirate Parenting by veteran writer Tim Bete is a short but sweet parody of parenting books. Within its pages is sage wisdom such as this:
What should my pirate know about fire safety?
There is only one thing your pirate needs to know: Never fire until the captain gives the order. Firing without orders is punishable by 16 lashes.
But even as a parody, it contains some solid advice:
Discipline isn’t punishment.
Remember, there’s a difference between discipline and punishment. The role of discipline is to teach your pirate the appropriate way to act. The role of punishment is to get prisoners to tell you where their booty is hidden.
There’s also solid advice about common kid ailments like cuts and bruises, viruses and what to do with picky eaters. The book covers the range from newborn to the end of the teenage years. It’s amusing and clever and keeps the pirate gag going throughout. I can see this book as a great shower gift for dads (who are usually ignored in the pre-baby process and parties). Just tell your friends to skip the (bit tedious) intro and get right into studying the nitty gritty of Pirate Parenting.
Get a paper book copy today via ThinkGeek’s website or download the free e-book.
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