Vox Clamantis in CyberSpace

Please find me at: http://gothamgreen212.wordpress.com/

bitshare:

Before #Linmania, #Linsanity or the #Linderella story of Jeremy Lin being picked up by the New York Knicks and becoming the recent driving force of their success, the NBA star used to attend Harvard University. Getting into Harvard is no easy task. How did Jeremy Lin do it? He lays out in five easy steps exactly how it’s done so that in the end, you will be #Linning.

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I wonder how they feel about middle-aged people looking to do career changes & willing to intern.

In a new twist, venture capitalists have begun doing some intern legwork for their companies. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, recruiting at 25 college campuses across the country, helped a cohort of its companies hire around 25 engineering interns for the coming summer through a new program called KPCB Engineering Fellows…

Meanwhile, Facebook Inc. plans to hire 625 interns for next summer, up from 550 this year. Google hired 1,000 engineering interns this past summer, up 20% from the previous year. Yolanda Mangolini, Google’s director of talent and outreach programs, says the company is still figuring out its target for 2012, based on its overall staffing plan.

Google generally extends offers to the majority of its intern class, Ms. Mangolini says. “It is one of the primary ways we find full-time hires.”

America Needs New Ideas for Entitlements and Old Age

According to a recent survey conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion on behalf of Home Instead Senior Care, there is no single definition. The youngest of those surveyed old age starts around age 62. Generation X said 71. The “Baby Boomers” said 77. And “The Greatest Generation” said 81.

It’s an important question, and not just where quality of life issues are concerned. Some of the largest federal entitlement programs—like Social Security and Medicare—go toward ameliorating a lot of the cost of getting old. Unfortunately current projections indicate that it will not be all that long before the demands on those programs outstrip the economy’s ability to pay for them, at least as they are currently structured.

According to The Indypendent “It takes 25 minutes to unwrap American Idol Barbie — which features 55 pieces of packaging materials, including 30 pieces of tape and 45 inches of wire.”

…It came as no surprise to me that Barbie dolls are manufactured in China, and what is apparent in the photos I found of Chinese factories, these dolls are packaged by hand. Concerned that I may have indirectly contributed to furthering sweatshops, I was relieved to find an article from the New York Times touting Mattel’s commitment to proper treatment of its employees.

…So there you have it; the next time you wrangle with a Barbie doll secured so tightly to its package that you risk bodily harm separating them, know there was someone far away snickering to his or herself as all those ties were assembled 

A little media heavy for those of us who don’t have 4G on our phones, yet, but still a good list.

I have many of the top ten installed & I’m looking forward to trying Google translate.

WhatsApp is really great if neither you or your friend from abroad has an international calling plan on your phones.

Best List Of Android Apps And Games 2011

I’ve had my slips. I’ve had my ups and downs, and I don’t deny them. I don’t leave people indifferent. I have a personality—good or bad, you can like it or not, at least I’m straightforward. My destructive past both forced me and allowed me to reach who I want to be… I have many weaknesses, but I have one strength. When I do something, I do it 300 percent. I’m not a middle man.

~ Lapo Elkann

increased sales of “consumables,” the food and household products traditionally sold by grocers.These items now make up 70 percent of the company’s sales, up from 61 percent five years ago.

This year, Family Dollar plans to expand its food selection, as well as open 450 to 500 new stores, according to executives. Dollar General, the largest national dollar chain, also plans to open 625 new stores in 2012, the company announced last week...

typical customer has a family income of $40,000 or less, “a lot of growth is coming from the middle-income family in the $40,000 to 70,000 range,” Bloom said.

…when it comes to low-cost food, there are hidden costs, said Gallagher. “Society ends up seeing the cost of it through emergency room visits and diseases that could be prevented or moderated by a better diet,” she said.

Many of us know we need to eat healthier.  However, when faced with

• Stagnant / lower / no income
• Rising prices of goods
• Little time to cook

+ the resulting exhaustion & depression of the aforementioned, what do you think people will “choose” in the short term?

Choice, or the lack thereof, is key to consider.  Do you really believe that the uptick in sales growth is because people have suddenly decided to eat more poorly devoid of external factors??

The Web giant announced Tuesday that it plans to follow the activities of users across nearly all of its ubiquitous sites, including YouTube, Gmail and its leading search engine…

Consumers won’t be able to opt out of the changes, which take effect March 1. And experts say the policy shift will invite greater scrutiny from federal regulators of the company’s privacy and competitive practices…

Google can collect information about users when they activate an Android mobile phone, sign into their accounts online or enter search terms. It can also store cookies on people’s computers to see which Web sites they visit or use its popular maps program to estimate their location.

The change to its privacy policies come as Google is facing stiff competition for the fickle attention of Web surfers. It recently disappointed investors for the first time in several quarters, failing last week to meet earnings predictions. Apple, in contrast, reported record earnings Tuesday that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.

Some analysts said Google’s move is aimed squarely at Apple and Facebook — which have been successful in building unified ecosystems of products that capture people’s attention. Google, in contrast, has adopted a more scattered approach, but an executive said in an interview that the company wants to create a much more seamless environment across its various offerings…

Death (PHIL 176) The lecture focuses on the problems directly related to the personality theory as key to personal identity. The theory states that a person retains his or her individuality so long as he or she has the same ongoing personality. The main objection raised to this claim is the problem of duplication. The lecture explores cases in which the same personality has been transferred or exported to multiple bodies. 00:00 – Chapter 1. A Mad Scientist’s Experiment to Determine Personal Identity 07:12 – Chapter 2. The Science Experiment Continued: Dilemmas in Mixed Personalities and Bodies 19:38 – Chapter 3. Duplication as an Objection to the Personality Theory 40:26 – Chapter 4. No Branching Clause – Acceptable under the Personality Theory? Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: open.yale.edu This course was recorded in Spring 2007.

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is leaving the struggling company. The surprise departure, announced Tuesday, comes just two weeks after Yahoo Inc. hired former PayPal executive Scott Thomson as its CEO.

Yang expressed his support of Thompson in his resignation from Yahoo’s board of directors. He had been on Yahoo’s board since the company’s 1995 inception.

Yang is also stepping down from the boards of China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. Yahoo is negotiating to sell its stakes in both companies.

Yang is also giving up his title as “chief Yahoo.”

Although a popular figure among Yahoo employees, Yang had alienated the company’s shareholders by turning down a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft Corp. in 2008.

I’m currently on T-Mobile.

“My T-Mobile cell phone bill came today. The Bahamas trip cost $144 in roaming fees. The interesting thing about this is that the phone was turned off for nearly the entire time that it was in the Bahamas and I didn’t make or receive a single call. When I settled in at the first hotel, I noticed that no service was available. To save the battery, I turned off the phone. Once or twice at other islands, I turned the phone on to see if service was available, and once or twice it was, but I turned the phone off afterwards. So the T-Mobile system knew that I was in the Bahamas, but the phone never rang and no calls were ever connected. Nonetheless, they billed $3 for every incoming call that anyone attempted to make during that time and then another $3 as a “voicemail fee” for the person talking to their voicemail system. If the person leaving the message was longer-winded, and spoke for two minutes, the total charge for the call would be $12.00 total.

“One interesting note is that when I checked my voicemail, there were only 5 messages, yet T-Mobile\ charged for 21 inbound interactions with their voicemail system (at either $3 or $6 per interactio\ n).

“I called T-Mobile customer service and asked that they remove these charges. They refused.”

~ Photo.net Founder, Philip Greenspun

“Emotional currency is what makes marketing communications compelling and transactional”

~ Flightpath.com

WASHINGTON — Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. “Movin’ on up,” George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion…

One reason for the mobility gap may be the depth of American poverty, which leaves poor children starting especially far behind. Another may be the unusually large premiums that American employers pay for college degrees. Since children generally follow their parents’ educational trajectory, that premium increases the importance of family background and stymies people with less schooling.

With the recent economic crisis, not only is it harder for Americans to rise from the lower rungs, many have fallen from the heights they spent their whole lives climbing.

What will the American Dream 2.0 look like?

As I’ve stated before, I’m a believer of learning by doing.  Part of doing is exploring.  Go beyond what you already know.

I explore the internet a lot —

Content matters.  Design matters.  Functionality matters.

Recently, I stumbled upon The Copy Editor’s Tumblr.  While I was scrolling down his/her blog, the Wibiya bar at the bottom called for my attention.  Pretty nifty.  I clicked on all the buttons.  I want one, too! 

Color me impressed.  Set up was quick & easy.  & they provide analytics.  Love.

Thank you, Wibiya.

Most Merchants Won’t Run Daily Deals Over Next Six Months 

In a new survey, roughly 400 hundred businesses that have offered special discounts through Groupon, LivingSocial, and other daily deal sites in the past were asked if they had plans to run daily deals in the future. More than half (52%) said they wouldn’t offer a daily deal in the next six months, while 24% said they’d run just one deal in the half-year ahead. After news of the survey broke, Groupon’s stock price dropped by over 6%—on a day when most of the stock market soared.

Via Time Moneyland

I’ve used similar promotion sites & unless you’re dining alone or treating everyone, it’s just too complicated for marginal savings.  What are you really saving after all the planning, frustration & awkwardness?  That’s before the wait staff gives you the evil eye because you’re making their job more difficult & they suspect you won’t leave the a tip based on the final cost.  Was that really worth $2 off an $80 meal??

I think not.

Last month, I gave my friend 5 gift certificates for Christmas.  He’s a smart man & I still had to do all the calculations for us when we went out to eat.  He’s still confounded by the process & agrees that the hassle is probably not worth the minimal discount.

Groupon Etiquette: How To Use A Daily Deal With Panache        

Using a Groupon, Living Social, Lifebooker, Amazon, Scoutmob, or Daily Candy deal is great if it’s for an already shameful, solo activity like tanning or lip-waxing. It’s not so great when you have to expose your couponing ways to your nearest, dearest and waitress while dining out with friends. This is for two reasons. First, because at some point you have to pull out your phone or smushed deal printout and demand your free hummus. Second, because if you want to use a Groupon for a group activity where everyone is expected to pay together, there’s always that question of how or if the deal gets distributed within the group. Does it go towards the whole bill? Should it only apply to you? Do you apply it to the group, but then someone else tips? Here’s a look at how to politely use daily deals when dining, and why sharing is (almost) always the best policy.

Via Huffington Post

Just reading that article pained me.  Ugh.