Choose Your Candidate

With all the media attention surrounding the 2008 Presidential Election some often forget to do their homework on the candidates and are instead distracted by Hillary's Inner Tracy Flick or Vote Different.

But as Super Tuesday is fast upon us, registered voters still flip flopping from one candidate to the next are encouraged to make an educated decision on the issues at hand, before hitting the polls. And WashingtonPost.com steps in to assist those still struggling with Tuesday's big decision.

"Chose Your Candidate" was developed following WashingtonPost.com's submission of a series of issue questions to Democratic and Republican candidates. Although a few front runners chose to respond, participants including Democratic hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama openly answered questions ranging from gun control, gay marriage and their top three priorities as president.

The way "Chose Your Candidate" works is fairly simple. As a reader, you are asked twenty-five questions with an option of two possible responses for the Democratic edition and four for the Republican edition. Each response represents a candidate's personal opinion. At the conclusion of the Q&A's, numbers are tallied and you are placed in a percentage category with the candidate whose responses you sided with most.

Keep in mind election day is only nine months away (November 4, 2008) and whether you use "Chose Your Candidate" to make your official decision or not, it is a great way to participate and learn more about our country's biggest conversation of the year.

Photo

Cell Phone Couture

Cell phone use has taken a new spin as Bluetooth recently introduced the vibrating Bluetooth Bracelet. Forget the headset worn around the ear, that is so 2007 and is sure to confuse the not so technologically advanced passerby.

According to Techie Diva, "If you hate wearing a Bluetooth headset wherever you go, but can't live without one since a wired headset is way too inconvenient, then perhaps the Vibrating Bluetooth Bracelet is the right cellphone accessory to own. It will give you a vibrating alert whenever there is an incoming call or text message, and works within 5 meters of your handset. Since it is compatible with Bluetooth versions 1.1, 1.2 and 2.0, you can rest easy knowing that just about any cellphone with Bluetooth connectivity will be able to work with it perfectly. A charge time of 3 hours will yield a standby time of 100 hours. Great for those who don't want the inconvenience of having a Bluetooth headset hanging off their ears in public, but you will still have to stick to that modus operandi if you want to take the hands-free route while driving. The Vibrating Bluetooth Bracelet retails for $48."

Photo

$15 Billion Things To Know

Online group discussions are questionable in this day and age and hey, so is this blog. So why do we continue to put our two cents in on everything from reality television to Cricket? The answer may only be reflected on a person to person basis, but as we continue to do so we must not forget or for some understand the unwritten rules of the World Wide Web.

Cornell University Office of Information Technology's Thoughts on Facebook has reasonable expectations for its students expressed in a sensible manner. Thoughts include "Five Things to think about when using Facebook." The concluding "thing to know" features "The Law."

V. The
Law

Most of the time when we talk about Facebook it is a very individual matter. There
is yet another angle to consider: the privacy of others. "Privacy" is a
complicated matter in American law. It evokes everything from the right to
family planning through Fourth Amendment search and seizure to torts, or civil
rights, "to be let alone" in our person.

Watch what you say! If you post an
alleged fact about someone that proves incorrect, you may be liable for damages
under either defamation or libel. Moreover, if you post photographs or
information about someone that can be construed to be an "invasion of their
privacy" (say while they were sleeping in their own bed), or "false light" (say
suggesting that they are of one sexual persuasion when they are of another), or
"misappropriation of likeness" (a claim usually reserved for celebrities, but
then again we have them here at Cornell too!) then you may be liable for a tort
under the broad rubric of "privacy."

If you are interested in joining Facebook or have been "logging-in" since your first day of college, either way do yourself a favor and check out what being a "Facebooker" is really all about and what this $15 billion dollar social utility (Read BBC News Online's 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn) has in store next.

Photo

On The Verge

Journalism students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst will benefit from the departments newest course offerings in the upcoming spring semester. The latest additions include Multimedia Convergence Journalism, Feedback Journalism and Politics, Journalism & the Web.

Stephen Fox is also new to the department. A full time lecturer, Fox instructs the Multimedia Convergence Journalism and Journalism Sports Writing courses. Fox is a former employee of The Washington Post where he served in various editing and sports reporting roles both print and online for ten years. During his years at The Post he also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland’s journalism school. Fox’s latest venture as project manager alongside New York University’s Jay Rosen and others introduced NewAssignment.Net - where "open-source reporting gets tested - to the Web before packing his bags and moving to the Pioneer Valley.

Just shy of one semester under his belt at the largest public university in Massachusetts, Fox has already been designated as the department’s “media guru” guiding faculty and students in to the world of convergence where old media meets new media.

It was right around this time last year that University of Massachusetts Amherst adjunct lecturer and Daily Hampshire Gazette reporter Mary Carey entered the "blogosphere."

With the support of the Gazette, Carey created her blog, AboutAmherst, which she considers to be both personal and work-related. Carey chronicles her life, family and friends connected to the Pioneer Valley in her daily posts. Since 2007, Carey has also introduced her journalism students to blogging, requiring individuals to create and actively maintain a blog.

AboutAmherst has made it a long way since Carey's first post in December 2006 and now features stories and snip-its accompanied by original photo and video content.

University of Massachusetts Amherst students are applying what they learn in class to the student-run newspaper The Daily Collegian. As convergence becomes a "newsroom" name, Collegian editor Nick Belanger recently hired Web staff members to create one solid product.

Former editors, journalism and communication majors with a background in multimedia make up the newly hired Web staffers who are responsible for bringing the Collegian's print readers online to explore the Collegian's videos, podcasts and photo slide shows.

With new staff and equipment, the Collegian's online transformation is underway but revenue remains low. Belanger and his staff don't let minimal profits get them down and instead focus on improving the site's content, increasing advertising and an eventual break from their content management support company College Publisher.

Oh My My MySpace

Since my last post I have overheard or participated in numerous conversations about the unfortunate circumstances regarding the death of young Megan Meier. Meier who committed suicide in her suburban Missouri bedroom has her parents still looking for answers one year later.

As we approach the year 2008 it may not come as a surprise to many that what Meier's mother and father have discovered is that the social networking website MySpace may be partially to blame.

As this story continues to make headlines worldwide, US News reports that Meier's hometown of Dardenne Prairie is taking big local steps to put a stop to cyberbullying and online harassment.

A Missouri town has passed a law to prevent cyberbulling in response to last year's suicide of 13-year-old school girl Megan Meier after receiving intentionally hurtful messages on MySpace.

The new law passed for Megan is prompting more state and federal laws to stop cyberbullying and online harassment.

Photo

Oh My MySpace

From behind the computer screen, yet another gruesome story makes headlines on CNN.com's most emailed story list today. A young girl from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri is found dead in her bedroom after her hanging herself.

The suspected cause? MySpace.

Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.

The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.

Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet.

The girl's mother, Tina Meier, said she doesn't think anyone involved intended for her daughter to kill herself.

"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.

Click: Parents say fake online 'friend' led to girl's suicide to continuing reading.

Price Chopper

BBC News online provides readers with an exquisite interactive guide to the latest worldwide technology developments involving laptop computers. Not only are these laptops innovative they are inexpensive. At $100 each the demand is on the rise for these cute and consumer friendly systems.

Computer manufacturer Quanta has started building the low-cost laptops at a factory in Changshu, China.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), the group behind the project, said that children in developing countries would begin receiving machines this month

Last month, OLPC received its first official order for 100,000 machines from the government of Uruguay.

"Today represents an important milestone in the evolution of the One Laptop per Child project," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder of OLPC.

To continue reading, click here.

Photo