Time.com has an interesting article discussing the issue of what happens Facebook profiles after you die.
This issue arose recently when a new version
of Facebook added a feature to automatically generates suggestions
of people to reconnect with. Within days there were complaints about
suggestions to connect with friends who had died.
I'm pretty sure Facebook doesn't have some medium connection to the after world !!
Anyway Facebook has now clarified that profiles of people who have died
are sealed and only made available to friends and family and will not
be part of the reconnect with friends function.
It does make you think of the broader issues of real life and virtual lives, ever after lives.
Food for thought....
This is an excellent and funny video presentation by Rory Sutherland at TED.com on how advertising adds value to a product by changing our perspective.
This video from wired.com shows a museum
in Sacramento, California which is hosting a display of all the famous
costumes for science fiction films and TV series.
All I can say is, "Holy Cow its fascinating"
Sometimes its hard to get a sense of how much activity is occurring across the internet at any point in time.
This Internet Statistics counter gives you some awareness. Just let it run for 1-minute and then click
on the +1 week and +1 month links and you get staggering statistics. Now think of all the
business opportunities clocking up...
"We Live in Public"
This film reveals the effect the internet is having on our lives. It took 10 years to make and includes content from over 5000 hours of footage. View this trailer clip from Wired.com
This video draws connections between Fibonacci and fractals in nature and how they are echoed in financial markets. If only they could extend the connection to predicting the Lotto !!
We've tended to think of photography as "capturing a moment in time" but perhaps its worth considering that it could be a sequence of moments in different images and by just positioning two or more images beside each other we can create a synergy - an idea that connects the set of images and creates something new - a new meaning for the set of photos or perhaps a serendipitous side effect.
E.g consider this set of images: ( 1) an image of a photographer taking a photograph, (2) another image of a photographer at work, (3) a shot of a girl posing. Viewed individually and there is no connection between them, however viewed as a set of images gives the impression that the girl is being photographed by the photographers.
Often the connection between photos is just an idea in a viewers head. If the viewer writes their thought as a comment on the set of photographs, then something new has been born. The set of images and the comments become a new entity themselves and can influence subsequent viewers. Its no longer a point in time, rather, its a living growing idea, communicating to people.
Social Media has grown exponentially to become the primary communication method in the 21st century. Check out this video which where its come from and where its going:
In these days of credit crunch around the world, here's an article on how much you
are paid on minimum wage, in the USA, the richest country in the world. After paying your minimum rent, you have $18 per day, thats about 14 Euro per day, for everything, food, clothes, light, heat, everything !! and, get this, you even have to pay tax at this level of income. Read more here.
A recent study of attitudes of potential IVF treatment patients has
shown that there is a distinct preference for embryo screening for
diseases and also for tall, athletic and intelligent characteristics.
Read more on ScienceBlogs.
Joel Meyerowitz is a veteran of street photography for more than 40 years. Two videos
have been added to the Photo / Video area where he discusses his
philosophy and approach to photography.
Reverend George Exoo has helped more than 100 people die, as a leading member of the right-to-die movement, and many of there people were depressed, rather than terminally ill. After he helped an Irish woman die in 2002, the Irish police sought the extradition of the Reverend for the crime of assisted suicide. Jon Ronson's documentary delves into this strange world, in which George Exoo and the other members of the right-to-die movement, inhabit. Watch the documentary on Channel 4 on 19th May 2008 at 10 p.m. or catch it on 4OD anytime later. And read more in the Guardian
Daniel T. can do incredible things with maths and languages. He knows 9 languages an can learn a new one in a week. He demonstrated that her could recite pi to 22500 places, in a stunning public performance which lasted over 4 hours. This 44 minute video demonstrates his amazing abilities. Watch this video on video.google.com
You could say that half the world's population are addicted to shopping (i.e. women), however recent research has shown that the brain chemistry of spenders compared to non-spenders is significantly different just before the purchase. A group of economists and psychologists found that although the cost and desire are important factors in the decision to buy, it turns out that certain people are addicted to the excitement and the high from buying, and it can be the greatest deciding factor. So it seems, the next time your significant other arrives in with yet another pair of new shoes, just remember, it was an unconscious decision which she had no control over. Read more about the study here.
Muslims in Solapur in India have an ancient ritual which involves throwing their young babies from tall buildings, "to improve their health". They claim no babies have ever been injured and that the babies are actually stronger for it. I guess this is a practical example of "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger" !! View the video of the dropping babies on YouTube.com but don't try this at home.
Last year Radiohead released a digital download album on the Net and asked their fans to pay what they thought it was worth, effectively reinventing the music industry. They don't have a label so of course they were free to do as they please, and this is one experiment which didn't work. Now six or seven months later they're putting this genie back in the bottle, and Thom Yorke said recently that they'd be un-inventing the music industry and going back to the traditional sales model. Read more in the Guardian.
The superb marketing machine for Palm Jumeirah, the man-made luxury island in Dubai, described it as the Eight Wonder of the World, and it is indeed a tremendous feat of engineering. However all may not be so well in this paradise which has been built by tens of thousands of low paid, migrant workers. Luxury multi-million pound villas are closely packed side by side and the lush tropical vegetation from the marketing materials, is not as evident. There are certainly many good features to this location, but the reality of £800 monthly air-conditioning bills and sometimes 48 C temperature, can take the edge off it. Read more in the Guardian
It could only happen in LA… A plastic surgeon, has sensed the pain that intending cosmetic surgery patients were experiencing when trying to explain to their young children, that mommy was getting her nose reshaped and her sagging stomach, tucked, to become a trimmer, leaner mommy!! He’s come up with a kids picture story book for 4-7 year-olds explaining why mommy is going under the knife. I can just imagine the kids questions while this “story book” is being read at bedtime. “Mommy, is the surgeon going to cut my tummy open?” Read more about the solving the plight of those getting a “mommy make-over” on the Reuters site.
When you think of green homes, it brings up an image of a hi-tech house in a rural area, with solar panels soaking up the sun’s free energy and a few wind turbines out the back to collect and convert more free energy. But now Robin Wilson has created a zero net energy home right in the centre of San Francisco suburbia. La Casa Verde in the Mission district is as green as they come. Read more on News.com
Life
Reverend George Exoo has helped more than 100 people die, as a leading member of the right-to-die movement, and many of there people were depressed, rather than terminally ill. After he helped an Irish woman die in 2002, the Irish police sought the extradition of the Reverend for the crime of assisted suicide. Jon Ronson's documentary delves into this strange world, in which George Exoo and the other members of the right-to-die movement, inhabit. Watch the documentary on Channel 4 on 19th May 2008 at 10 p.m. or catch it on 4OD anytime later. And read more in 
You could say that half the world's population are addicted to shopping (i.e. women), however recent research has shown that the brain chemistry of spenders compared to non-spenders is significantly different just before the purchase. A group of economists and psychologists found that although the cost and desire are important factors in the decision to buy, it turns out that certain people are addicted to the excitement and the high from buying, and it can be the greatest deciding factor. So it seems, the next time your significant other arrives in with yet another pair of new shoes, just remember, it was an unconscious decision which she had no control over. Read more about 
Muslims in Solapur in India have an ancient ritual which involves throwing their young babies from tall buildings, "to improve their health". They claim no babies have ever been injured and that the babies are actually stronger for it. I guess this is a practical example of "if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger" !! View the video of the dropping babies on 
Last year Radiohead released a digital download album on the Net and asked their fans to pay what they thought it was worth, effectively reinventing the music industry. They don't have a label so of course they were free to do as they please, and this is one experiment which didn't work. Now six or seven months later they're putting this genie back in the bottle, and Thom Yorke said recently that they'd be un-inventing the music industry and going back to the traditional sales model. Read more in the 
It could only happen in LA… A plastic surgeon, has sensed the pain that intending cosmetic surgery patients were experiencing when trying to explain to their young children, that mommy was getting her nose reshaped and her sagging stomach, tucked, to become a trimmer, leaner mommy!! He’s come up with a kids picture story book for 4-7 year-olds explaining why mommy is going under the knife. I can just imagine the kids questions while this “story book” is being read at bedtime. “Mommy, is the surgeon going to cut my tummy open?” Read more about the solving the plight of those getting a “mommy make-over” on the 
When you think of green homes, it brings up an image of a hi-tech house in a rural area, with solar panels soaking up the sun’s free energy and a few wind turbines out the back to collect and convert more free energy. But now Robin Wilson has created a zero net energy home right in the centre of San Francisco suburbia. La Casa Verde in the Mission district is as green as they come.