Social networking

Harriet Pearson once joined a petition signed by Facebook users, urging the social-networking site to do more in terms of privacy.

But the privacy expert considers herself a moderate when it comes to protecting her personal information.

Pearson, IBM's chief privacy officer for the past nine years and also its security counsel since last year, says each person needs a mental model to assess the benefits or risks associated with providing personal data. In the same way, she said, governments ought to be thoughtful when drafting policies and laws on data protection.

In town recently for Singapore's annual … Read more

There are those moments in the business cycle of a young dynamic brand when people look back and say: "If only that hadn't happened."

And so it is with Twitter. And so it is with Miley Cyrus.

You see Miley, she who is sometimes Hannah Montana, was rapidly becoming one of Twitter's most trusted Swiss Guards. She had almost 2 million followers.

Now the sheep have lost their shepherdess. For Miley Cyrus has silenced her tweets, starved her Twitter feed, and drifted off into the uncertain socially not-working darkness from which some stars never return.

This … Read more

Just because there's a recession, it doesn't mean you can't find your dream job. So allow me to direct your boundless ambition toward an ad on Craigslist's Calgary site.

While many people scour Craigslist to see if Starbucks or Bed, Bath and Beyond might be seeking additions to their cheery teams, the poster of this ad is searching for an altogether more adventurous type, proudly announcing "Astronaut Needed (Northern Alberta)." Is that the cough of a million scoffs I hear? Perhaps. But this is truly an interesting opportunity, to say the least. Just look … Read more

In a decidedly Facebook-style move, Twitter is asking for its users' help in translating the service into new languages. To start, Twitter is focusing on translating the site into French, Italian, German, and Spanish.

Twitter is starting with a small set of translators, but if you want to sign up to translate the service to the language of your expertise, you can enter your information here. They're looking for translators for just about every language from Finnish to Thai. As translations of the site are completed, Twitter also plans to offer up the translation files to the developer community … Read more

We all, at one time or another, fail to think straight when under pressure. However, when we decide the time has come to rob a bank, arrow-like mental functionality is imperative for our tool belt.

I mention this only because of the tale of Garry Lee Damon. Damon is currently being subjected to the police's careful hospitality on suspicion of having robbed a Citibank in Santa Clara, Calif.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the police looked at surveillance photos of the robber and wondered who he might be.

They showed the photos to a parole officer, who seemed … Read more

Let us be frank. Frank will do anything for sexual pleasure. So will Harry, Dilbert, and Freddie. Yes, and perhaps even Mao.

I have come to this revolutionary conclusion thanks to a story that will undoubtedly go down in legend--if it didn't already start there.

You see, a number of reports from across the world are suggesting that the Web in China is being stressed to distraction by Chinese men searching for a very particular sexual distraction indeed--Chako Paul City.

Should Chako Paul be less familiar to you than, say, Chaka Khan, might I tell you that legend has … Read more

It is not easy to feed the egos of Hollywood celebrities. It is not even easy to merely feed their intestines.

This seems to be the conclusion one reaches from the story of Jon-Barrett Ingels, waiter to the stars. Well, now former waiter to the stars.

You see, Ingels was merely an extra in the vast set that is Beverly Hills. He would be still or sparkling, depending on his audience. And occasionally, he would turn his Twitter account into a diary of how hard it was to make his daily bread.

According to the delightful Los Angeles Times blog … Read more

May I begin with a message to the Federal Trade Commission, which is demanding that bloggers now reveal if they have been paid or incentivized by a company they are reviewing?

I have not been given any money by Amazon. I have not consulted for Amazon. And the only thing that Amazon has ever given me for free is free Super Saver shipping when I clicked that very button on the checkout page.

There.

So please now let me tell you about a certain experience with the Kindle-bearing online seller.

While traveling through Europe over the last month, I decided … Read more