Group items tagged

With all that's been happening with the Super storm, Hurricane Sandy, social networking may seem far from our mind, but it turns out social network sites, like twitter has become a common source for breaking news about what's going on in different places. At times like these, people often join together and find courage and compassion in one another, while others simply seek to make the problem worse. That's what happened when someone had tweeted false news about the hurricane, like tweeting about the New York Stock Exchange building being flooded and under three feet of water. The rumor had spiralled and even been repeated on CNN and the Weather Channel before being found fake. Normally, false tweets are simply overlooked or scoffed at, but at times like this those kinds of tweets can create mass panic and worry. They are definitely immoral, but what has come into question is whether it should be considered illegal. Some think that this type of tweeting was done to increase fear and endanger, but should his behaviour be considered criminal? After all, he does have freedom of speech and the freedom to lie is included in that, except in "rare occasions". Personally, I think that, normally, silly, fake tweets can be overlooked and just scrolled past, but in times of emergency, tweets like this that can add more fear and panic to an already troubled situation should be considered a criminal action. In times of crisis, everybody should be uniting and helping each other, not creating more danger and trouble. Freedom to lie in the face of disaster like this, about that kind of information is not something that should be tolerated. No matter how big or small the aftermath and reaction to those tweets, they should not be overlooked and in no way should the law consider it okay.

This article describes how scientists are working to create new top off the line security. As we've seen in many sci-fi movies ; there is such a thing as eye scanners. they have existed for sometime now, but they have been primitive and worked just by using the iris of your eye. This could be faked easily by someone just taking a picture of your eye and simply holding it to the screen. This new technology however is a lot more sophisticated. It uses your eyes "fixations" and "saccades" to determine if it is really you. Fixations is how your eye behaves when it is still and saccades is how your eye behaves when it is moving from point to point. This new technology is a breakthrough in security, as it is virtually impossible to fake. no more stolen passwords, or hacked systems. Now unless its really you, the system wont let the person in. THis is extremely important as it prevents theft, hacking, and many other problems. To conclude, this technology is extremely important to our security and will greatly contribute to our future

This article talks about how hackers have been scamming netflix users into believing that there is a problem with there netflix account. when the user calls the 'tech support line" (which is also fake) they are transferred to a scammer who will prompt you to download a program that allows them to search your computer for any valuable information. These scammers have also charged these innocent people with a fake bill of $400. So do not fall for these tricks or else you'll be dealing with your information stolen and $400 down the drain. This article reminds us how careful we have to be while enjoying our computers.

A 16 year old teenage girl attracts the attention of her followers after her tweet claiming that there was someone in her house. The girl was supposedly kidnapped by the stranger in the house when she disappeared; however, after the investigation, the police confirmed that she left voluntarily. Within two days of searching for the lost teen, the police found her walking at the side of a highway. The police finalized that the teen faked her kidnapping.  After the teenage girl tweeted that there was someone in her house, more than 30,000 people retweeted and the local police department received over 6,000 calls about her frightening situation. This event shows how fast news travels through social networking sites and how messy the issue could become if what you post is untrue. The teen that was once known as the young lady who was kidnapped by an intruder, is now someone who has made poor choices and worried many people for reasons unknown.  

In the state of North Carolina, acts have been passed in order to protect students from cyber bullying. This state has also recently passed The School Violence Protection Law of 2012 to protect teachers from being bullied by their own students. Some teachers claim that they are wrongly accused by students who post rude insults and lie about them on the internet, but feels as if nothing can be done to stop the hate. This new law prohibits students from creating fake online accounts of any school employee, posting confidential information about them, and sending them junk or inappropriate websites to their electronic mails. As a result, any student who is caught will face serious consequences such as getting fined up to $1,000, being transferred to another school and sent to jail if he or she is found guilty. The consequences are quite serious since cyber bullying is a growing problem within and outside the school community and that it is considered to be a criminal offence. 

YES!!!! GET AT ME STUDENTS!! GET AT ME!!

The "Green Brain Project" aims to create an insectobot (a robotic insect) with the brain of a honey bee. It's not as crazy or difficult as it sounds though, the researchers working on this project are not directly copying a bees brain but trying to recreate it. More specifically they are recreating bees two most important senses- sight and smell. They will then upload this fake brain into a small insect like robot so it can act somewhat like a real honey bee. This is important, as it would be a huge step forward in robotics and also because scientists say they could use robotic bees to artificially pollinate. This could help  with the reduced number of honeybees. Bees are very important to the whole environment so this project could possibly be revolutionary. I chose the tag "environment" because scientist are trying to recreate a natural animal that not only comes from Earth but greatly impacts it. Plants need bees pollination to grow, and animals need plants to eat so with a lack of bees, the whole food web would take a major hit. This project aims to try to fix this. To me, it seems like it would be extremely expensive and difficult to create as many bees as the earth would need. Maybe in the distant future though, this may be realized.

Just a few days ago, another Twitter hoax is called into question. The tweet suggested that 18-year-old Justin Bieber is supposedly diagnosed with cancer. This prank all began with a screenshot of the tweet that seems to be from Entertainment Tonight's Twitter account which informs fans to go #BaldforBieber to support the ill celebrity. A website BaldforBieber.com was set up not long after the tweet and showed photoshopped tweets from Justin Bieber, thanking his fans for their support. On the website were also a number of fake news reports that proved that the rumors were "real". On Friday, the #BaldforBieber was revealed to be a hoax that the pranksters of 4Chan created.   I personally found this prank harsh and insensitive; however, it does teach a lesson, especially to those who actually shaved their heads with the intention of supporting the supposedly ill pop star. The results of this joke indicate how many people these days believe what they read and see on the internet. After such a well thought out yet extreme prank, Twitter users should think twice about information presented to them from the internet and make rational decisions.