The online life

  Isn't it kind of passe that one wants to spend the whole life on the Internet these days- Facebook, Twitter, and the other army of social networking sites that get updated every second by people. And guess what, people lap it up too.
 
    I don't understand the way people think their lives are historical, that they share every single moment of it; most of them useless updates to be frank. What, are they waiting for some historian to look up their electronic diary?

   Well, I guess it's the will to communicate.

    I like the way people present a specific though, opinion or idea in the form of a tweet or a blog post, as long as its sane enough to be read. That said, I have read some wonderful things on the net as well as some bad things. It all, comes down to the writing.

   Finally, I hope this ain't something hat hard-hitting. No, I haven't intended it to be. Just the fuelled ramblings of a man.
 
   

After my death, please post this on Facebook

I am dead.:-)

Have you ever thought about what would happen to your Facebook page after you die? While researching about algorithms used by Facebook, I came across an app “If I Die”. This app enables the user to upload a post or video that will be published post mortem. The death has to be confirmed by 3 trustee friends named by the user when he uploads this message.


If you think about it, the idea for this app is not revolutionary or even new. They are simply making use of social media to publish the final message to a larger audience. The mediums used by If I Die, like video and text, have been around for a long time.
What other purpose could a final message via Facebook serve? I can think of one. Many people have hundreds of friends on Facebook, who only connect online. For these people, a last message would spread the information that the profile owner is dead. How else are they to learn about the death, without someone informing them via Facebook? Who better to do it then the owner of the profile themselves? After all, the close family and friends are probably busy mourning.

Would I use this app? At this point in time, I would have to reply with a negative. I have no secrets or vendettas I want to air after my death. Furthermore I tell those I care about that I love them, while I am still alive. I do not see the need to do it after my death.

Are you interested in or already using this app? What were the motivating factors for you to do it?

Kapil Sibal and his censorship; Dear, Keep it Sibal, Silly.

 

   #IdiotSibal is back. Yes, such hashtags have been doing their daily rounds. Earlier this week, Kapil Sibal, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology expressed his desire to web services like Facebook and Google to pre-screen material that may be considered offensive, inflammatory and/or defamatory. He examples he showed the services, included a Facebook page where Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh were not portrayed in a very good light, as well as examples of religious intolerance on the social networks. Facebook and Google already have facilities in place to report offensive content and removal of offensive content. However, setting up a human task force to pre-screen content and ensure its removal is a task too big for the tech giants. For one, the amount of content that Indian web users produce on a daily basis is far too much for the services to possibly screen. The other problem is that their employees cannot be held responsible for deciding which content is offensive and which isn’t.

   The two giants, Facebook and Google, have been silent on the matter. Thanks for that.

    I guess it's time to dish out real fast at Sibal now. So it's screening content after it's uploaded now. Been getting objectionable dreams about Sibal these days. He is never quiet. According to media reports, Sibal met top executives of companies like Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft and told them to find a way of screening and thus preventing disparaging comments or imagery about himself or his ilk from appearing on the internet. (Normally what happens is they first appear, then some idiot takes offence, and they are taken off.)

   But the executives let him down. They told him pre-censorship was impossible because Facebook has 25 million users in India, and Google, 100 million. Anyway, why can't he get a life, and solve what really are problems and which also happens to be your job. Not gagging netizens! Henceforth all song lyrics containing sonia/soniye will be banned! Live, up Sibal! That's my advice to you.

   PS: Do check out this picture below: