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A couple of eye-brow raising stats came out recently. The Society for New Communications Research released a study regarding journalists and their use of social media. It’s no shock that the study revealed the “use of social media tools by journalists is surging, growing in double-digit percentages in some cases.” But, as ZDNet points out… there’s interesting insight to how many of the 341 journalists surveyed are not taking advantage of social media sites.

• Over 50% of journalists do not watch videos online
• Approximately one-third of the journalists surveyed do not read blogs
• 75% don’t listen to podcasts
• More than half of the journalists do not use Twitter or other microblogging sites and tools
• Nearly one-third of these journalists don’t use social networking sites

But hey, 91% of journalists surveyed agree that new media is enhancing journalism. I wouldn’t be able to get away with not using social media and blogs at work. Then again, I wonder what percentage of these journalists are online journalists… hmm…

Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project stirred a few stats up for a Reuter’s article. According to the survey, 56% of Americans believe it’s “irresponsible” to be Facebook friends with your boss. More so, 62% of those surveyed said it’s wrong befriend an employee.  Other intriguing highlights:

• 52% believe it’s appropriate for companies to review the social media profiles of job candidates
• 73% don’t think it’s appropriate to update your Facebook status while at work; 72% say you shouldn’t tweet at work
• More than 40% of parents believe you shouldn’t post photos of children online
• Although just under 70% of parents are friends with their kids on Facebook or MySpace, 31% of them monitor their children’s Facebook accounts
• 72% of parents limit the time their kids spend on social media networks
• More than 80% of parents say teachers shouldn’t interact with students online

Do SND readers agree with the lot above? These findings come as sort of a surprise to me, I’ll admit. Not too long ago, I befriended my 8th grade teacher after my friend told me she was online. And I’m definitely friends with past employers… Okay, so maybe it’s different since 8th grade was a long time ago. And perhaps it depends on the relationship you’ve developed with an employer. For me, Facebook is a networking and contact tool where I’m usually eager to befriend employers and co-workers. Does that mean the cheese stands alone? Uh, I mean, do I stand alone on this? Share your thoughts!

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Continue reading »]]> Loopt, a mobile application, announced they are donating $1 for every check-in at Chipotle, Whole Foods or Panera Bread before the end of Sunday. The proceeds will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti and there’s no charge to the Loopt user either. Minutes later, I read that Gowalla, a competing app, will be launching a campaign called “Hearts for Haiti” on Monday, February 8th.

The Hearts for Haiti campaign will take place in the SF Bay Area at three specified locations — two Peet’s coffee shops and the Barenaked Ladies concert. When someone uses Gowalla to check-in at one of those locations during the event, $50 will be donated in to the Red Cross in that person’s name. Gowalla hopes to reach $20,000. In addition to Gowalla’s charitable efforts, the two Peet’s locations will also be donating 10% of sales towards Haiti efforts. Details on when to go where can be found over at the Gowalla Blog.

Okay, it’s great that these two rival apps are working towards a greater cause but… how do you check-in? What does it mean to check-in? Do you live in the dinosaur age and only use your cell phone for calls? It’s okay, because I live in that era as well. In fact, I don’t even do the text thing — I know I know, I get a lot of crap about it…

Well, Loopt and Gowalla are location-based mobile apps for the mobile user. Think of a “Super Twitter” (yes, I agree that Twitter is also very confusing) with an interactive map, sort of… Loopt and Gowalla allow you to share your location, status and photos with friends. These programs also allow you to share events and places with your friends. All this information is then provided conveniently on a detailed interactive map. There wasn’t much information on Gowalla, but Loopt describes itself as a “social compass.” I imagine it’s fairly useful when your friends are out and about and you are looking for something to do that night. Find out where your friends are and what they are doing through the app then, connect. Loopt even alerts you when a friend is nearby!

Anyway, when you “check-in,” you are basically sending an update to your friends. Does that make sense at all? If not, the Business Insider has a step by step slideshow of how Foursquare, a similar app, works. Sorry, this has been a very confusing post… Please comment if you can help explain things better!

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Continue reading »]]> In spite of constant layoffs and a (seemingly) still drowning economy, Americans set a record for mobile giving yesterday. Tens of thousands of cell phone users texted donations that totaled $3 million. This record-setting amount of donations to the Red Cross will benefit the recent Haiti earthquake. According to Daily Finance, yesterday’s record blew away previous single-day mobile giving numbers. The Indian Ocean tsunami crisis in December 2004 brought in $200,000, and in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina received $400,000. The Haiti earthquake hasn’t seen anything yet, though.

News of the earthquake rang around the world, perhaps much more quickly than news of Google leaving China. And this also seems to be the case for news of text donations; word has spread like a viral video on YouTube. The dollars are still banking in by the text message. Right now, donations to the Red Cross, alone, have succeeded the $4 million mark.

Wait, there’s more. Twitter is abundant with tweets about donations to various organizations. Google live search also shows a constant stream of chatter. Even the President is spreading the word. If you would like to contribute, here are a few organizations accepting donations via text:

• Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross.
• Text “HAITI” to 85944 to donate $10 to the International Medical Corps.
• Text“HAITI” to 20222 to donate $10 to the Clinton Foundation.
• Text “HAITI” to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee
• Text “HAITI” to 45678 to donate $5 to the Salvation Army in Canada.
• Text “HAITI” to 864833 to donate $5 to The United Way.
• Text “YELE” to 50150 to donate $5 to Wyclef Jean’s Yele fund.

As we are becoming more comfortable and reliant on technology, I wonder what numbers the our next mobile giving record will reach… What do you predict?

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Continue reading »]]> Is China going too far? Was the Chinese government behind, as Google puts it, “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack” that’s gotten Google ready to pull out of China? In mid-December Google and, apparently, about 20 other companies, were attacked. Google’s investigation discovered “that the accounts of dozens of U.S.-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties.”

A blog post from Google’s Chief Legal Officer, David Drummond, declared that Google is “no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn.” Google doesn’t necessary dominate the internet search market in China (about 15% or so), but there is lots of potential for growth — especially since Google will soon dominate the world. And if they pull out, Baidu, China’s leading search engine, will surely saturate the market even more.

Although Google will attempt to work with the Chinese government on a censor-free possibility, I doubt it’s likely. I mean, I had a hard time with the internet limitations while I was vacationing in China (and nope, I didn’t look up one political site). Just trying to plan the next leg of our trip to Taiwan, I had extreme difficulty accessing tourist information sites. Oh and did you know it costs an American $130 for a single entry tourist visa to China while it costs a Canadian just $30? I’d say there’s some sort of agenda there…

What do SND readers think of Google’s decision? Do you support Google’s decision? Click comment and let us know!

There is much more information out there, in case you’d like to become a bit more informed… you know, before you comment and tell us what you think of it all. We like interaction.

Oh, and on a side note, looks like Baidu, the Chinese-run search engine, was recently hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army. First Twitter, now Baidu, who’s next? Who are these guys!?

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Continue reading »]]> How are you saying good-bye to 2009 tonight? Sleeping like any other day? Dinner with friends? Clubbing with strangers? Counting down with Dick Clark (or is it Ryan Seacrest now)? Here at SoftwareNewsDaily, we wanted to say farewell by reminiscing our top 10 technology news stories of 2009. When I say “our” top 10 stories, I suppose it’s really more “my” top 10 stories. That’s okay, I don’t mind dominating the office opinion; they’ll agree with me. Counting down to the number one story, here are “our” picks.

10. Obama stimulates IT
An avid techie, Obama creates stimulus packages to adopt various IT practices. Embrace change.

9. Bing
Cashback shopping, flashy and colorful interface for search – Powerhouses Microsoft and Yahoo team together to bring a new search. Bing ups the ante and brings a better competition to Google search.

8.Tablet computers and netbooks
My mom has one. Apple seems to be in the works towards creating one. They are the must-have accessory for the modern, swanky professional on the go, I’d say. They are just going to get more popular.

7. Windows 7 blows Windows Vista out of the water
Windows XP users finally have a reason to upgrade their systems.

6. iPhones are given a bit more competition with the Droid
I once heard a rumor that Verizon was originally approached to offer the iPhone. Were they waiting for the Droid all along? They’ve certainly put on a fierce campaign with the new Motorola phone. For weeks, I had thought it was an upcoming blockbuster film. Here’s one of the many commercials.

5. Bill Gates retires
Okay, so technically he stepped away from the reigns in 2008, but I honestly had no idea until just a couple of weeks ago. So it’s news to me in 2009! Ha, I know. I know.

4. Social media explosion
Although Twitter started back in 2006, more celebrities and other users jumped on board causing social media to explode and almost become a necessity in the workplace. Was this blog a result? Hm…

3. Google announces it’s own operating system: Chromium OS
I’m telling you! Google is going to dominate the world. It’s just a matter of time.

2. Switch to digital television
It was pushed back a bit, but it eventually happened this summer. I can’t decide if I like it or hate it. As someone without cable TV, it’s been easier to pick up better signals with the transition. But, as someone without cable TV and DVR, I can’t really utilize my VCR to record missed shows anymore. I suppose that’s why there’s Hulu…

1. The Birth of SoftwareNewsDaily.com
This article would not exist otherwise. This has to be the most important tech news of the year! Muwahahaha.

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Continue reading »]]> Backupify is dropping all charges and providing free services until January 31st. Securely back up all your online accounts automatically. As an attempt to gain a stronger and larger customer base, Backupify is providing its services without charge during this promotional duration. Backupify president Rob May urges internet users, “If you sign up during this time period, you get unlimited storage, for free. You get an account that is not a free trial, not free for a limited time, free forever.” Act now, before it’s too late!

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Nuance has released another mobile application for iPhone, Dragon Search. Powered by their popular Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, the app lets you search the web just by saying the words. It’s the “fast, easy, and smart way to search online content on your iPhone using your voice,” declares Nuance. Voice your search and receive results from engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, YouTube, Twitter and iTunes. Their top five reasons for getting it?

• Most convenient way to search on your iPhone
• Amazingly accurate
• Up to five times faster than typing
• Easy to use
• Safer and more productive while you are out and about

And the best reason that’s not mentioned? It’s a free download (at least for now). Download either Dragon Dictation or Dragon Search at the Dragon Mobile Apps site; it’s also available through iTunes.

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Continue reading »]]> The Federal Government in Australia is introducing an internet filter that will block access to sites containing obscene and criminal content — think child sex abuse, sexual violence, bestiality, detailed tutorials on how to commit crimes and other things that are most likely found in the Anarchist’s Cookbook. The Huffington Post reports that such material is already banned from Australian sites, but the government has no control over its access on servers overseas.

The reasoning behind such censorship? Communications Minister Stephen Conroy says, “The Government believes that parents want assistance to reduce the risk of children being exposed to such material.” Conroy also believes that some internet content is just not appropriate for civilized society.

There’s still democracy at play though. An independent body, not the Australian Government, will determine what sites will be blacklisted (or in Australian, “rated RC for refused classification“). I suppose that is enough time before the papers and legalities are pushed through Parliament next year… then another 12 months before implementation.

Legislation will require all internet service providers to filter these sites.

Australia is definitely not the first to implement internet censorship. The Associated Press mentions how “countries such as Egypt and Iran impose strict Internet controls, and bloggers have been imprisoned.” AP also mention voluntary filters in Canada, Sweden and Britain. And through three weeks of frustrating, restrictive browsing while vacationing in China, I know from personal experience that China implements filters as well.

Experienced by a trial conducted earlier this year, Conroy has hopes for success. “Our pilot, and the experience of ISPs in many western democracies, shows that ISP level-filtering of a defined list of URLs can be delivered with 100 percent accuracy,” he says. He also proclaims the “negligible impact on internet speed.” Then again, Conroy admits “the government has always maintained there is no silver bullet solution to cyber-safety.”

NoCleanFeed.com pushes for action against Conroy’s filtering. “We can bring about a policy change,” the site announces. Australian Comedian Chas Licciardello (@ChasLicc) asks his followers, “After the [government] censors the Internet, how will we be able to describe the acts that should be done to Conroy?” Other Twitterers are also replying in farce, many via a #nocleanfeed tag.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s reader poll has readers overwhelmingly against Conroy’s filter. Over 90% of its readers believes that the policy violates their freedom.

Would this ever happen in the United States? AP did mention that Pennsylvania briefly tried to impose certain filters for child pornography sites, but a federal court took them down. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you agree with Conroy? Share your opinions with us – hit that comment link!

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Continue reading »]]> Adding to our last post about customers switching to Google Apps, CNET News has just reported that Los Angeles is ready to make the switch. The city, like many government agencies, has had security concerns over making the switch. The concerns were brought to light “after the poor e-mail practices of an employee at Twitter and an easy password reset mechanism at Yahoo gave a hacker access to sensitive Twitter documents stored on Google Apps.” While this has nothing to do with the security of Google Apps, it did raise questions about cloud computing in general.

Despite concerns, L.A. appears to be moving forward with the 5-year, $2 million contract. The main driver appears to be cost. Meanwhile, the city will keep Microsoft Office on PCs that already have it, and future additions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

What do you think of the country’s second largest city making the switch to Google Apps?

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Continue reading »]]> If you’ve been on Twitter today, you probably have noticed that Outlook 2010 is a trending topic. Why all the hype surrounding Microsoft’s new and unreleased email client?  A group called the Email Standards Project recently started a website called FixOulook.org in response to Microsoft’s plan to use Word as the rendering engine for Outlook 2010. This microsite is rallying people together to get Microsoft’s attention, in an attempt to ensure they comply with standards and use a web-based browser to render emails.

The new Outlook 2010 is still a year away from its commercial release. As such, Microsoft’s designers are beta testing its new features and are looking for public input on the software. A blog post on the Email Standards website gives an insight into Microsoft’s thought process surrounding their decision to make Outlook 2010 a walled garden and to not support web standards.

To quote from that blog post, when asked why Outlook 2010 is using Word to compose email, Microsoft project manager Dev Balasubramanian said:

“The reason for this lies in the benefit Outlook users gain by having Word as their e-mail authoring tool; rich tools like SmartArt, automatic styles and templates, and other benefits found in Word 2007 and 2010 enable Outlook users to write professional looking and visually stunning messages.”

“I am aware of where this decision on our part places Outlook from a standards perspective – at the same time, we ask that you consider the benefits Outlook users get from having Word tools in their e-mail authoring experience.”

This is simply not acceptable from the perspective of any person that uses html when writing emails. Every single other email client uses a web-based rendering tool that presents emails in the same manner. If Microsoft proceeds as planned, Outlook users will see broken html emails from everyone that composed that email using any software other than Outlook. Do you want to see broken emails in your Outlook inbox?

Even worse than seeing broken emails in your inbox is sending out emails that were composed in Outlook. If you currently use Outlook 2007, you know what I’m talking about. You write a nice email and format the text, colors, and images to look professional and clean. Then you send the email, and the world opens it in Gmail or Yahoo, and your nice email looks like garbage. Why? Because Outlook 2007 composed the email using Word, which no other email client can understand. Outlook 2007 just made you look stupid. Enough is enough – Outlook 2010 needs to supports web standards.

To make your voice heard on this issue, send a Twitter update with the link http://fixoutlook.org in it. There are over 16,000 people that have sent tweets with this link so far! For more info, check out the Email Standards Project.

Just another example of how social media is changing the world…

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