zaiDInk
design.life
To Facebook or not to Facebook.
0
Use Facebook Responsibly: Don't Facebook and Drive!
In recent news it has been stated that to Facebook will give third-party developers and external websites the ability to access users' home addresses and cellphone numbers. This brought me to share my opinions on Facebook and your privacy. Ejoi!
NAVIGATION:
WHY (reasons behind why you should quit/moderate)
HOW (how to quit/go stealth/be safe) along with backing up your pictures.
note: I will be posting links to key terms and will also be linking quotes to the sourced page(s).
WHY
Times have changed. We have gone from using forums with avatar's, alias's to using Facebook with thousands of profile pictures to 'first and last name' user names and our actual home address. There seems to be a sense of trust given to Facebook that seems to be misplaced as it grows to become the top website in the world. The following is an insight as to why you should be cautious with sharing all your personal information (especially when they can sell it).
Throughout the past few years we have seen social networking websites come and go. Xanga to Myspace to Friendster to Facebook. All of these websites have a common factor for it's success: you. Without your contribution/participation/acceptance no product in our society can succeed. Don't forget, any social website is indeed a product. You buy into it by simply logging in, dealing with advertisements, clicking on them, submitting your information, recruiting and sharing your personal likes and dislikes.
Simply put: you are a goldmine. That brain of yours contains information any marketing director would kill pay for. This information is on your 'secure' Facebook yet it turns out that the black market already has your information due to a large amount of profiles being hacked.
You may have noticed the changes to Facebook allowing you to input all your personal information from school and classes to languages spoken. New Profile!! at first you had a choice to convert , but then you were forced to convert. All these changes and future changes are leading up to a inconvenient truth. You put down all your personal information ,your location, you 'like' what products/media you frequent and you are dynamically given advertisements based on all those stats. From where you check-in to your all your indicated interests: all is relevant.
Why does this matter?
Given the right friends list (or access to one) and the information provided a company can literally know what billboards and what products to advertise in a certain city and/or even at a certain school. How? For example: By seeing what students at what school has the most Pepsi fans based on the School information you provided and your 'like' you clicked without thinking twice. Say good-bye to focus groups, free samples, independent companies and say hello to a prefabricated shopping list.
Now call me paranoid but some creepo can even e-stalk a girl on facebook, know what school she goes to and know 1: how she looks 2: where she lives/goes to school 3: what she likes and what social locations she frequents (via check-ins). How to catch a predator is going to have their hands full once predators know how to utilize Facebook even moreso.
Facebook let's you know that all your personal information is safe. Well, As long as you don't post to 'Everyone' which has gotten people fired or put in jail or even saved from jail. Due to the simple fact that:
"When you publish content or information using the "everyone" setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture)."(terms of agreement)
Although it seems none of this will matter due to the fact that Facebook will allow your information to go to third parties soon anyway. From your Home address to your Cell-Phone!
Already you give them full rights to your content.
"you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License")."(terms of agreement)
These are just the first steps towards an online database of almost all internet savy users in the world and their information indexed for the highest bidder. All signs point towards this, and Facebook's reputation precedes itself.
All I ask is for you to be safe with your information and remember that only you can prevent forestfires your intellectual property from being used against you or being wrongfully distributed.
No need to completely neglect the power of social networks, just be careful and moderate what you do with it.
HOW
Look for alternatives:
Photos/Sharing- I recently took a class on 'Teaching Shutterfly to Students' and with ease at this site not only can you order prints of your photographs but you can setup a site (even password protected) that shares your pictures, events and blog style interfaces. So easy a chimp can do it. You have unlimited storage it seems like and so far Shutterfly seems to be my favorite alternative, especially for families and privacy.
If all else fails you can hire me to start and train you to run your own blog :) or go Google+
Social Networking- Use other (less privacy intense) sites like twitter or go ahead, continue to use Facebook just follow these steps to go steath on Facebook (quitting without quiting). I personally love using Facebook for events and sharing useful information to people (such as this article). Just use responsibly and don't go on a 'like' spree if you honestly do not want to be cataloged as a marketing tool. Just use common sense when it comes to what you 'share' and remember that the 'share' is public!
Google+ , ask me for an invite :-). This social network looks promising, here is an example of how it already beats Facebook.
Event Planning- I found that using a using a less personalized Facebook account may be useful to continue this and I also used Doodle to help people I know choose a good time/place for an event. Don't forget, nothing beats having a meetup at someones house to go over some plans. You can also use your new safer profile to still make events and invite people.
Figuring Out Mutual 'Like's- Coffee date...
Quiting or KINDA Quiting! without losing any of your pictures!
I loved this tutorial on Quiting Facebook without actually Quiting Facebook but before you click it, be prepared to set aside about 10-15 minutes to dedicate to your time to decide and read.
In the end, social networking should always be taken a bit more naturally. Nothing will ever beat a campfire or a meetup, not even a night of Farmville.
love,
zaiD
zaiDiary #2: H
0Today was one of the weirdest days of my life. This morning I was told that one of my good friends had been found dead. I can't even begin to accept the fact that I can write these words and they are truth, I feel as if I will wake up tomorrow and everything will just go back to normal. This sense of denial has stuck with me all day and I pretend to enjoy myself so the people around me don't bring up why I am so emotionless. Stuck with a blank expression; oh and how I would give to be able and cry as hard as I can. I can't cry, every time I get close the pressure behind my eyes lowers from my mind playing tricks on me.
I will never understand how fate chooses its victims and why. He, my sister and I were very similar; free spirited minds with no absolute goals to obtain and grow old with. We roamed, we laughed, we went with the wind. My sister was a lot closer to him and there is no way I can feel her level of pain in her heart. I knew him well enough to say he had an impact on my life. He was one of the rare people in my life that would tell me "get it!" with any spontaneous or random idea I had in my head. He would point out things to me that I never realized about myself and I would still be to modest to agree or feel proud about it.
It's sad to think that we would never even have the chance to have the same boss again to bitch about. There won't be another chance to tell people that we are food critics, when in reality it was just a reason to eat somewhere expensive/new for lunch instead of take our own lunch. We can't make fun of Jerry anymore and his Tobias ways. We can't play Wii anymore and laugh at how we are both losers for playing an MMO. My sister, him and I won't ever be able to go to an art museum together like we planned, or just ride bikes too Subway or Albertsons.
The more I think about not being around the last few months of you being our roommate, the more it hurts. It hurts to think that "what if" scenario. As I continue to just hate whichever god that took him from this earth I continue to think what if I chose to stay home, would that be a butterfly effect to change things. Everyday there is constant reminders that life is too short, you never know what will happen. It never truly hits you until someone you know suddenly vanishes from time. The great thing about time is that we can look back and remember. Our brain will trigger something whenever something comes up that reminds you of them. I can guarantee that I will smile every time I see Legolas or an Elephant.
The idea is not to mourn forever and shrink the heart but to remember and smile.
As I cry I do remember... and I smile.
Road Trip: zaiD has reached Lundenburg, MA
0I have reached Lundenburg, MA. I am staying at my Aunt's house, which I got to tell ya is in am amazing location. The day is a little gloomy so I think I will take pictures to help explain what I mean on a sunnier day. Until then here are the pictures I took during my journey cross country. My camera is not the most amazing thing in the world, since it's located on my 5 year old phone :-p, but it still did the job. There are also some videos I took of Niagara Falls and a March in downtown Cleveland that I ran into.
Oh and the picture of the burgers, well that is definitely a special one for us Californians, can you catch why?
I plan to write what I've learned from the trip, some guides/tips for future reference and anyone who'd like some pointers, some future plans and some other helpful information.
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Road Trip Update
0So.. it's been quite a ride. I sit in a Cleveland Hotel Downtown listening to Muse to get ready for the long day. I can definitely say that I will do this again, I'm not even to my destination yet but I realized quickly how addicting the open road is. I do have an extra piece of luggage that seems to give me trouble and unfortunately does not let me roam as I wish I could. Lots of my stops canceled because of the dog, but I was able to foresee this predicament. I also have learned enough to write out some Road Trip guides that will be up after my trip.
30 min till checkout time and I have writers block! zanG!
Oh... So I figured I'd make a way so people can also follow my status via the website (Sidebar - Top).
Oh.. and enjoy these pictures from the trip from my camera phone (something I will def upgrade to a coolpix or rebel xt before my next trip. There aren't many since it was from my cell phone which I had no car charger too x_0...
Roadtrip 09′ Utah to Boston (Updated)
1updated with some stops** scroll down
Well well well, finally it seems that I will be hitting the road. Here I come pep pills! I ask my visitors for a favor: help me fill in my plan book. I know only a couple spots I could stop by, maybe you know of an awesome landmark, restaurants, coffeeshop, art district, art gallery or maybe you'd like to have coffee with the infamous zaiD :p (only if i know you , no pedibears please).
Woot, tis excited. Bring it on truck stops!! I will be driving my uncles ford explorer to him in boston, in return he will pay for the costs to get it there and pay my flight back home.
I plan to leave next tue the 28th and span the trip between 2 days. Maybe extend the travel days if the spots I must see are worth it. Also stay tuned as I will also take pictures of my trip and share with you the experience
HELP! You can comment with any suggestions you have.
STOPS
- Fort Bridger State Historic Site, WY
- 2200 Dodge St, Omaha, NE 68102 (Joslyn Art Museum)
- Missippi River Visitor Center, Illinois
- Old Lighthouse Museum, Indiana
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio 44114
- 1285 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222 (Albright-Knox Art Gallery)
- 2181 Delaware Ave, Buffalo, NY 14216 (Niagara Falls)
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Watchmen Review
02 years ago
by zaiD
in Entertainment
Amidst the anticipation for the release of Watchmen I got myself to read the Watchmen Graphic Novel. It's a great novel and I think that gave me a better understanding of how and why I felt after I watched the movie.
I will be the first to say that Zack Snyder is definitely a pro at eye-candy.
Is he a great director? I can't honestly say just yet.
When I watched 300, I watched it without ever reading 300 the graphic novel and I am not a history guru; This resulted in my two thumbs up for 300 because it was just plain sick! Awesome Eye-Candy.
Zack "copy + paste" Snyder is, to me, A kid with an amazing imagination and someone who has a great way to convert motionless comics to the big screen. But thats it...
So the gist of all my ranting is: there will never be a good comic movie as good as the comic itself. In the long run, choosing to read instead of watch always hits ya harder in terms of emotion and brain activity.
I still give Watchmen the highest rank in my book, because I do understand how hard it would be to play up to Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons standards and it was awesome to see the pages come to life. A+ for effort and a great movie with a great soundtrack.
p.s. "No comic book has been the subject of more essays and serious literary discussion than Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. " I wish I could say the same for the movie, then again its Zack "THIS IS SPARTA!" Snyder.
The following is the review from the eyes of a "fanboy" and a newbie to it all. Its the best review I could find that resembles my feelings (the neutral host) and the one with the least spoilers.
my suggestion DONT READ THE BOOK UNTIL AFTER THE MOVIE
-zaiD
SKA SHOW against cancer!
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Last year I worked with American Cancer Society to gather money, via fundraisers and events, to help increase the awareness of Cancer in the Hispanic community and help fund the fight against Cancer.
This year I will be working with South Gates first Relay For Life (a huge event for ACS members, their family and anyone who wants to come and support) and I was asked to make a flyer.
Enjoy the flyer and hopefully see you @ the show, as it will be one of the first of many events this year.
Grindhaus Wednesdays!
0I would love to announce that one of by good friends Carl is spinning at Grindhaus LA! Go support!COME CELEBRATE THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE YEAR with GRINDHAUS and your resident DJs Hot & Sweaty
Pasha
and Dr. Dank
with special guest
TRIF3CTA
AND
ANIMAL BLK CO.
Doors Open 9:30pm - 2am
$5 w/Flyer before 10:30pm or RSVP
Table Reservations email RSVPGRINDHAUS@GMAIL. COM
Jimmy's Lounge 6202 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles Ca 90038
Please be kind and repost