Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DtfrnZDuYg4/the-future-of-texting-is-a-mess
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Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Future of Texting Is a Mess
Twitter announces 'Trends' for 100 more cities, spreads the trending topics love
Even though there's an ongoing kerfuffle between social giants Instagram and Twitter, the microblogging service is putting that aside and focusing its own efforts on improving the experience for some of its (many) users. With that in mind, Twitter announced earlier today that it has expanded its trending topics feature, also known as Trends, to an additional 100 cities around the world, including big-name places like Frankfurt in Germany and Guadalajara down in Mexico. Of course, this means more people can now easily glance at some of the most talked about things around the Blue Bird social network -- still, don't expect Justin Bieber's name to pop up every single day on the list, as Twitter was pretty clear on how it feels about that.
Filed under: Internet
Via: The Next Web
Source: Twitter
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Cu83lqRnA2o/
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Will nonprofits feel the pinch under Republican fiscal plan?
House of Representatives?Speaker?John Boehner hopes to avoid the fiscal cliff by closing loopholes and deductions. President Obama suggested that only by completely eliminating charitable tax deductions could the Republicans increase revenues sufficiently without also increasing taxes on the wealthy as he would like to do.?
A victim of Hurricane Sandy receives a meal from an American Red Cross Disaster Relief truck in New York in this file photo. In an interview on Tuesday, President Obama suggested that charitable deductions may be eliminated under the Republicans' fiscal plan
REUTERS/Andrew Burton/Files
EnlargePresident?Barack Obama?warned on Tuesday that Republican tax proposals could threaten the collapse of hospitals and universities benefiting from charitable deductions.
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"There's been a lot of talk that somehow we can raise $800 billion or $1 trillion worth of revenue just by closing loopholes and deductions," Obama said in a Bloomberg TV interview. "The only way to do that would be if you completely eliminated, for example, charitable deductions."
Senior administration officials met with representatives of the largest charities in the country at the?White House?Tuesday to press their case, a?White House?official said.
The president and congressional Republicans are clashing over how to prevent so-called fiscal cliff year-end tax increases and spending cuts that analysts say could throw the economy into a recession. The two sides are deadlocked over Obama's insistence that tax cuts enacted under former President?George W. Bush?expire for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
Republicans oppose any increase in tax rates, but have said they are willing to agree to $800 billion in additional revenues to help ease a massive budget deficit that both sides want to see tamed.
However,?House of Representatives?Speaker?John Boehner's proposal would lower tax rates, not raise them, and rely instead on closing loopholes and eliminating deductions.
Obama said on Tuesday he believes that no more than $300 billion to $400 billion in additional revenue can be raised through closing loopholes and cutting deductions.
The president and his aides argued that raising revenues solely by closing loopholes and eliminating deductions could cut deeply into programs that benefit the middle class, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction, and could have a devastating impact on organizations that depend on donations.
"If you eliminated charitable deductions, that means every hospital and university and not-for-profit agency across the country would suddenly find themselves on the verge of collapse," Obama said.
White House?Chief of Staff?Jack Lew, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett,?Domestic Policy Council?Director?Cecilia Munoz?and?National Economic Council?Director?Gene Sperling?met with non-profit and charity leaders, the official said.
The attendees included?American Red Cross?chief executive?Gail McGovern, United Way Worldwide U.S. President Stacey Stewart, and Catholic Charities USA President the Reverend Larry Snyder. Together, those three organizations draw more than $6 billion in contributions annually.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
McAfee says he plans to seek asylum in Guatemala
Software company founder John McAfee, right, accompanied by his girlfriend "Sam," leaves after a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Software company founder John McAfee, right, accompanied by his girlfriend "Sam," leaves after a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Software company founder John McAfee talks on his mobile phone after a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Software company founder John McAfee talks on his mobile phone after a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Software company founder John McAfee, front, speaks to media members outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Software company founder John McAfee poses for pictures after a press conference outside the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. McAfee, 67, who has been identified as a "person of interest" in the killing of his neighbor in Belize, 52-year-old Gregory Faull, has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) ? Software company founder John McAfee has surfaced in public for the first time in weeks, saying Tuesday that he plans to ask for asylum in Guatemala because he fears persecution in Belize.
McAfee spoke to The Associated Press in a restaurant near a high-end hotel where he is staying in Guatemala City after sneaking out of neighboring Belize. Police in Belize have called him a person of interest in the November slaying of a fellow American ex-pat but say there is no warrant for his arrest. Since there are no restrictions on his travels, it's unclear why he would need any special status in order to stay in Guatemala.
McAfee says he is being persecuted by the Belizean government, and he has sensitive information about official corruption in that country. He has hired a well-known Guatemalan lawyer to assist him.
"I need a safe place where I can actually speak out," McAfee said. "Now that I'm here I can speak freely. I can speak openly."
Belizean police have denied they are persecuting McAfee or are motivated by corruption, saying they have simply been investigating a crime about which McAfee may have information.
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has expressed doubts about McAfee's mental state, saying: "I don't want to be unkind to the gentleman, but I believe he is extremely paranoid, even bonkers."
McAfee told the Associated Press that he will petition the Guatemalan government to allow him to stay. McAfee said he fears he will be killed if he turns himself in for questioning in Belize.
"Belize does not have a good track record of providing safety when they ask to question you," he said. "I felt much more secure crossing the border into a country that had laws that were backed by the justice system."
McAfee is wanted for questioning in connection with the killing of Gregory Viant Faull, who was shot to death in early November on the Belize island where the men lived.
Faull's home was a couple of houses down from the compound where McAfee kept several noisy dogs, armed guards and entertained a steady stream of young women brought in from the mainland. McAfee acknowledges that his dogs were bothersome and that Faull had complained about them, but denied killing Faull. Several of the dogs were poisoned shortly before Faull's killing.
"I am absolutely innocent," McAfee said on Tuesday.
The Faull family has said through a representative that the murder of their loved one on Ambergris Caye has gotten lost in the media frenzy provoked by McAfee's manipulation of the press through phone calls, emails and blog posts detailing his life on the lam.
For two weeks, McAfee refused to turn himself in to authorities in Belize and claimed to be hiding in plain sight, wearing disguises and watching as police raided his house. It was unclear, however, how much of what McAfee ? a confessed practical joker ? said and wrote was true.
On Monday, McAfee said he had fled from Belize using a bizarre ruse involving an elaborate distraction in neighboring Mexico.
In an email to The Associated Press, McAfee confirmed a posting to his website in which he described, in what appeared to be joking tones, how he mounted the ruse.
"My 'double,' carrying on (sic) a North Korean passport under my name, was detained in Mexico for pre-planned misbehavior," McAfee wrote in the posting, "but due to indifference on the part of authorities (he) was evicted from the jail and was unable to serve his intended purpose in our exit plan."
In his comments to The AP on Tuesday, McAfee didn't provide details of how he crossed from Belize into Guatemala.
McAfee had earlier said he didn't plan to leave Belize but ultimately did because he thought "Sam" was in danger, referring to the young woman who has accompanied him since he went into hiding.
McAfee, the creator of the McAfee antivirus program, has led an eccentric life since he sold his stake in the anti-virus software company that is named after him in the early 1990s and moved to Belize about three years ago to lower his taxes.
He told The New York Times in 2009 that he had lost all but $4 million of his $100 million fortune in the U.S. financial crisis. However, a story on the Gizmodo website quoted him as calling that claim "not very accurate at all." He has dabbled in yoga, ultra-light aircraft and producing herbal medications.
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Titan, Saturn's largest moon, icier than thought
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2012) ? Scientists have long suspected that a vast ocean of liquid water lies under the crusty exterior of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. New analysis suggests that the internally generated heat that keeps that ocean from freezing relies on the moon's interactions with Saturn and its other moons.
A new analysis of topographic and gravity data from Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons, indicates that Titan's icy outer crust is twice as thick as has generally been thought.
Scientists have long suspected that a vast ocean of liquid water lies under the crust. The new study suggests that the internally generated heat that keeps that ocean from freezing solid depends far more on Titan's interactions with Saturn and its other moons than had been suspected.
Howard Zebker, a professor of geophysics and of electrical engineering at Stanford University, will present the findings at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco on Dec. 4.
Zebker is part of the team interpreting radar data of Titan acquired by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004. He has been studying the topography of Titan, and has combined improved radar measurements of the moon's surface with newly released gravity measurements to make the new analysis.
Titan has long intrigued scientists because of its similarities to Earth. Like Earth, Titan appears to have a layered structure, crudely similar to the concentric layers of an onion, albeit far less edible.
"Titan probably has a core that is a mixture of ice and rock," said Zebker. The core is overlain by the ocean and icy crust.
The rock in the core is thought to contain radioactive elements left over from the formation of the solar system. As in Earth's core, when those elements decay, they generate heat. On Titan, that heat is crucial to keeping its ocean from freezing solid.
As Titan orbits Saturn, Titan is slowly spinning on its axis, one spin for each trip around Saturn. Still, that spin is enough for the gravity instrument onboard Cassini to measure the resistance of Titan to any changes in its spin -- also called the moment of inertia.
"The moment of inertia depends essentially on the thickness of the layers of material within Titan," Zebker said. Thus, he and his graduate students were able to use that data to calculate the moon's internal structure.
"The picture of Titan that we get has an icy, rocky core with a radius of a little over 2,000 kilometers, an ocean somewhere in the range of 225 to 300 kilometers thick and an ice layer that is 200 kilometers thick," he said.
Previous models of Titan's structure estimated the icy crust to be approximately 100 kilometers thick. So if there is more ice, then there should be less heat from the core than had been estimated. One way to account for less heat being generated internally is for there to be less rock and more ice in the core than previous models had predicted.
That all seems simple enough, but there is a complication. Titan is not a true sphere. Its shape is distorted by the gravitational pull of Saturn, making the moon sort of oblong along its equator and a little flattened at the poles.
From measurements of the observed gravitational field of Titan, one can compute what the shape of Titan ought to be. But the new data show that Titan's shape is much more distorted than would be predicted by a simple gravitational model.
That discrepancy means the internal structure of Titan isn't quite so simple.
For Titan to exert its observed gravitational pull, the average density from any given point on the moon down to the center of the core has to be the same, said Zebker.
But that's not the case, since Titan is somewhat squashed. For the data to line up, the density of material under the poles must be slightly greater than it is under the equator.
Since liquid water is denser than ice, Zebker's team reasoned that the ice layer must be slightly thinner at the poles than at the core, and the layer of water correspondingly thicker.
The team members calculated that the thickness of the icy crust is about 3,000 meters less than average at the poles and 3,000 meters greater than average at the equator. And the combination of gravity and topography further suggests that the average thickness of the icy layer is about 200 km.
For the icy crust to vary in thickness across Titan's surface, the heat distribution within the moon must vary as well. But that variation is not likely to come from the moon's core -- heat generated there would be fairly uniform in all directions.
Zebker said the variation in ice thickness could be a result of variation in the shape of Titan's orbit around Saturn, which is not perfectly circular.
"The variation in the shape of the orbit, along with Titan's slightly distorted shape, means that there is some flexure within the moon as it orbits Saturn," said Zebker. The planet's other moons also exert some tidal influence on Titan as they all follow their different orbits, but the primary tidal influence is Saturn.
"The tides move around a little as Titan orbits and if you move anything, you generate a little bit of heat."
For example, if you take a thin strip of metal and flex it, it will begin to weaken and eventually you can break it. That weakening is the result of heat being generated as you flex the metal.
The tidal interactions tend to be more concentrated at the poles than the equator, which means that there is slightly more heat generated at the poles, which in turn melts a little bit of ice at the bottom of the ice layer, thinning the ice in that region in comparison to other parts of the planet, Zebker said.
The Cassini mission was recently given funding to continue operating through 2017, which means about five more years of data will be acquired that can contribute to further refinements of Zebker's model of Titan.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University. The original article was written by Louis Bergeron.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/space_time/astronomy/~3/ZFoG13-Q2Pw/121204112215.htm
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39;Mountain Biking, an Excellent form of Recreation and Sports ...
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Top 7 Tips for Humanizing Your Brand | Social Media Sun
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So why would I oppose everyone and their dog being on social? Because too many are doing it for the wrong reasons; in most cases, ?just because everyone else is. If your competitor were to jump off a bridge, would you follow?
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It takes thought, strategy, time and effort to utilize the powerful tools presented through social media. And more importantly, it takes a human approach. You have to like people. If you aren?t well suited to social media interaction, you don?t know how social media can help you, and you haven?t formulated a strategy to make that happen, it?s time to re-evaluate your business?s digital presence.
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Make Social Media Coffee with Friends
No one wants to communicate with someone who doesn?t reciprocate. No one wants to talk to someone who only talks about themselves. And no one wants to support someone who takes, but never gives.
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It seems like a simple concept, but how many brands or people can you think of who are guilty of all of the above?
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Do you like other people? Do you enjoy yourself when interacting with others? You may have to let go of some beliefs or personality quirks to be a ?social person?, or you may not be a ?social person? at all.
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Amy Jo Martin of Digital Royalty explains it well in her book Renegades Write the Rules: How the Digital Royalty Use Social Media to Innovate
, ?Those who want to win over and keep an audience today have to dig deep and then adjust to the new way of doing things. There are countless competitors in the marketplace with a similar, if not the exact same, type of service or product offering. Your brand?s intent and personality are the differentiating factors.?
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The first step in humanizing your brand begins with a very simple question:
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Who is your brand?
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You can?t create authentic relationships with your fans and followers if you aren?t authentic yourself. And remember, when you enter the world of social media you need to be prepared for all of your secrets to be exposed; transparency is rule #1. So how do you answer such a broad question? Whether you are just getting started or you are rethinking your current brand strategy, these 7 tips will help you build a dynamic brand your community will want to engage with.
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Define Your Objectives.
If you aren?t clear on why you?re using social media, how can you expect to see results? You know what your brand wants to achieve, and those goals are the basis for your communication strategy. If your objective is to be a thought leader in your industry, it will affect your content. If you want to drive sales, it will affect your target market. Every cause carries with it an affect.
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Find Your Voice.
Think of your brand as a person. How would he/she sound? You don?t need to be an English teacher to gain credibility online, you need to be real. Regardless of if it?s the experienced CEO or the new intern communicating on your social media channels, your voice needs to stay consistent and easily identifiable. Pick 5 qualities you want your brand to embody, and create guidelines for what kind of punctuation is acceptable. Do you think your brand would use emoticons and exclamation marks? It?s those little details that make a big difference.
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Seek Your People.
Your target audience will find you when you position yourself in the right niche. Identify the brands, individuals, partners and allies you want to be associated with that have similar target demographics to yours. Engaging with like-minded brands will extend your reach to a broader audience of potential consumers.
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Break The Ice.
Every party has one guest who just stands in the corner and keeps to themselves, don?t let that be you. You need to initiate contact with your potential consumers and with related brands. Introduce yourself! And build your relationships from there. Hootsuite offers an incredible tool in its search stream feature. You can enter keywords related to your brand or industry and monitor conversations happening in real time and find opportunities to connect and engage with your audience.
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Be A Friend with Benefits.
Most people, including myself, hate automatic direct messages?. There is nothing sincere about an auto-generated, generic message. You wouldn?t walk up to someone in real life and say, ?nice to meet you, do you want to buy my e-book?. Why would you do it online? What are you bringing to the relationship?
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Whether it?s supporting them by sharing their content or offering them a tip or trick they may find useful?offer something! Social is not a space where you can take, take, take and expect to succeed. Be generous with your communication and relationships. Gary Vaynerchuk does a great job of reminding Nicki Minaj about value exchange in this video.
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Timing isn?t Everything.?
In an ideal world, you would have the ability to monitor your social streams all day everyday and respond within seconds. That is not realistic for most companies. While responding in a timely matter is optimal, you don?t always need to respond right away, especially if it means compromising your credibility.
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If you?re asked a question that you don?t know the answer to, take the time to find the correct answer by asking someone in your company. If you receive bad feedback, a defensive response will get you negative attention, while a solution will show you care. Your community appreciates a genuine and well thought out response far more than a 2 second reply time.
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Be Multidimensional.
It may be tempting to use social media strictly as a sales tool? but how is that working for you? It?s a dialogue, not a monologue. No offense, but no one wants to hear you talk about yourself all the time. Humanizing your brand means curating and creating multi dimensional content and a community hub for your niche.
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Identify your brands? interests, and what kind of content your audience would appreciate. Whether it?s motivational, educational, or brand related, switch it up. Dedicate certain days of the week to specific kinds of content. Using Facebook Insights or other analytics platforms??to gauge which content is receiving the highest traction and adjust your content calendar accordingly.
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Remember, real people use social media. You have an incredible opportunity to create real connections with billions of people. Use social wisely, or don?t use it at all.
Sunny Lenarduzzi is a social media strategist who has made it her mission to communicate for a living. She works with a wide variety of clients, developing corporate and individual brand strategies. You can find Sunny at her website, SunnyLenarduzzi.com.
Sunny Lenarduzzi
Source: http://socialmediasun.com/humanizing-your-brand/
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