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Google CEO Larry PageGoogle+, the smaller rival to Facebook, shows signs of gaining traction by exceeding 100 million users, but when those users log on to the social networking service they are spending less time at the site than previously.
Some observers would say that isn’t good news, while others would point out the two services are vastly different in how people use them and how their companies are integrating them into their business models.
Google CEO Larry Page published a public letter recently in which he mentioned the increased user numbers. He also said the company’s social network, which was introduced last summer, is now integrated with 120 services, including Search, YouTube, and Android.
At the same time, it was only a little more than a month ago when market analysis company ComScore reported figures indicating that Google+ users in January only spent on average a little more than three minutes at the site, which was down from December.
So what gives?
There are some indications Google+ may be making headway, although to be sure it’s a far cry away from putting any dent into Facebook’s numbers.
Experian Hitwise says U.S. visits to Google+ exceeded 61 million in March, up 27 percent from February, according to CNET, which also reported that Facebook’s U.S. visits in March totaled 7 billion. While that’s an incredible number, it’s actually down since July by 15 percent representing 1.3 billion lost visits, although those numbers don’t include mobile visits to the site.
And speaking of numbers that don’t count, the Experian Hitwise numbers that indicate Google+ is growing only account for U.S. visits, which makes things interesting considering Google+ has a strong user base abroad. Nearly every day someone from outside the United States adds me to his or her circle. In comparison, that has only occasionally happened with my Facebook account.
Not only that, but comparing Google+ to Facebook feels a bit like an apples and oranges thing.
Anyone who has spent any time using either network can see they are vastly different in terms of how people use them.
While Facebook remains a place where people largely only associate with people they know, Google+, like Twitter, is where you’re more likely to engage with strangers. As a result, on Google+ you’re less likely to hear personal news such as “Junior got an A on his math test” or “I just ran five miles” and more likely to see posts commenting on news or photos or videos that aim to make a point and influence people’s thinking or behavior.
Another important consideration is that the numbers that often get thrown around about the growth of Google+ often don’t include visits from mobile devices or traffic driven by the Google+ notification bar. That means without even going into Google+ you can see who’s giving your posts +1s, commenting on them, or adding you to circles.
It’s a number-crunching game that can be tricky to understand.
Google+ has some devoted users who don’t really much care that the masses haven’t jumped Facebook’s ship. If they do, the Google+ experience may become more like Facebook’s and that’s not something that some people want to see happen.
Follow Christina on Twitter and Google+ for even more tech news and commentary and follow Today@PCWorld on Twitter, too.
Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/253399/google_numbers_show_social_network_is_growing.html
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marine Corps officials are seeking additional guidance from the Pentagon regarding service members’ use of social media amid discharge proceedings against a Camp Pendleton sergeant who criticized President Barack Obama on Facebook.
Joe Kasper, spokesman for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said Friday that Hunter’s office was notified of the plans in a letter from a Marine Corps major general.
Hunter had urged authorities to withdraw discharge proceedings against Sgt. Gary Stein because he said the Pentagon’s policy limiting service members’ free is ambiguous about the use of social media.
A Marine Corps administrative board concluded after a daylong hearing Thursday at Camp Pendleton that Stein violated the policy when he posted anti-Obama comments and images on Facebook, including allegedly putting the president’s face on a “Jackass” movie poster.
The board recommended that Stein be given an other-than-honorable discharge. That would mean Stein would lose his benefits and would not be allowed on any military base.
The board’s recommendations go to a general who will either accept or deny them. If the general disagrees with the board, the case could go to the secretary of the Navy.
Stein’s lawyers and Hunter and argued that the Pentagon policy is vague and military officials do not understand it.
Stein has said his opinions are his own and he put a disclaimer on his Facebook page saying so. His attorneys argued that service members have a right to voice their opinions as long as they do not appear to be presenting their views as being endorsed by the military.
“If there is anything good to come out of this, it’s the fact that the Marines realize the guidelines need to be updated,” Kasper said Friday. “It’s just too bad it took all of this to get there.”
The Marine Corps has said it decided to take administrative action after Stein declared on Facebook that he would not follow orders from Obama. Stein later clarified that statement saying he would not follow unlawful orders.
The military has had a policy since the Civil War limiting the free speech of service members, including criticism of the commander in chief.
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Pentagon directives say military personnel in uniform cannot sponsor a political club; participate in any TV or radio program or group discussion that advocates for or against a political party, candidate or cause; or speak at any event promoting a political movement.
Hunter told Marine Corps officials in his letter supporting Stein that the policy “is both vague and contradicting in the context of new ‘social media.’ In fact, nothing in the directive actually mentions social media and what activity is or is not approved for active duty service members.”
He said the policy needs to be updated to reflect “the changing dynamics of social communication” that includes a forum for the interaction between friends, families and acquaintances.
During Stein’s hearing, the prosecutor, Capt. John Torresala, said Stein ignored warnings from his superiors about his postings.
The government submitted screen grabs of Stein’s postings on one Facebook page he created called Armed Forces Tea Party, which the prosecutor said included the image of Obama on the “Jackass” movie poster. Stein also superimposed Obama’s image on a poster for “The Incredibles” movie that he changed to “The Horribles,” the prosecutor said.
Torresala also said anti-Obama comments by Stein that were posted on a Facebook page used by Marine meteorologists were prejudicial to good order and discipline, and could have influenced junior Marines.
Stein’s lawyers argued that the nine-year Marine, whose service was to end in four months, was exercising his First Amendment rights.
“We’re truly surprised and disappointed but it was an honor to fight for a hero like Sgt. Stein and every other Marine’s right to speak freely,” Stein’s defense attorney, Marine Capt. James Baehr, said after the hearing that ended close to midnight Thursday.
Stein told board members he loved the Marine Corps and wanted to re-enlist, Baehr said.
Stein said his statement about Obama was part of an online debate about NATO allowing U.S. troops to be tried for the Quran burnings in Afghanistan.
In that context, he said, he was stating that he would not follow orders from the president if it involved detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights.
Stein said he was removed from his job at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego last month and given a desk job with no access to computers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Article source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46980716/ns/today-today_tech/t/marines-seek-dod-guidance-social-media-use/
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The two biggest American exchange operators are rivals for virtually every IPO in the country and competed for Facebook, which filed for a $5 billion initial public offering on Feb. 1. Winning the IPO would mean more fees, a boost in trading revenue and the chance to link an exchange’s brand with the largest social-networking website in the world.
“People are asking about what it means for NYSE to lose it, but it was critical for Nasdaq to win,” Richard Repetto, an analyst at Sandler O’Neill Partners LP in New York, said in a phone interview. “What it does is it keeps the momentum and likely leads to further IPOs in the future. Whatever brand Facebook attracts, whether it’s tech or social media, it likely helps Nasdaq’s cause.”
Robert Madden, a Nasdaq OMX spokesman, declined to comment on the decision. So did Jonathan Thaw of Facebook and Rich Adamonis of NYSE Euronext.
Blow to Niederauer
The decision is the latest blow to Niederauer, who saw his own attempt to merge with Deutsche Boerse AG fall apart when European antitrust regulators blocked the deal. Shares of the company slid 13 percent in 2011, while Nasdaq OMX climbed 3.3 percent and the Standard Poor’s 500 Index was little changed.
Greifeld will get bragging rights about luring Facebook after his unsolicited attempt to acquire the New York Stock Exchange parent in conjunction with IntercontinentalExchange Inc. fizzled out when the Justice Department said last May it would sue to block such a transaction. Niederauer was on the board that rejected Greifeld’s offer and referred to it as “loosely worded and full of unanswered questions” in an interview with Bloomberg on April 10.
Nasdaq rose 1.2 percent to $25.52 yesterday, while NYSE Euronext fell 1.3 percent to $28.31.
Biggest Technology Companies
Nasdaq OMX lists seven of the 10 biggest U.S. technology companies by market value, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., the two largest, as well as Google Inc. and Intel Corp. The NYSE is the home venue for International Business Machines Corp., ranked third.
Inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 Index may have spurred Facebook toward Nasdaq, Josef Schuster, founder of Chicago-based Ipox Schuster LLC, which has about $2 billion tied to indexes that track IPOs, said in a phone interview. The benchmark gauge comprises nonfinancial companies including Apple and Google.
The Nasdaq-100 has surged 165 percent since equity markets bottomed in March 2009, beating the 107 percent gain by the Standard Poor’s 500 Index.
Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/facebook-for-nasdaq-helps-greifeld-forget-nyse-takeover-failure/2012/04/06/gIQA4hf1zS_story.html
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BY ANDREW LAGOMARSINO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
If you are going to drink, please do not drive. And if you do drive…try at least to avoid hitting a cop car. So goes the sad saga of Hollywood actress Amanda Bynes.
The former Nickelodeon star turned 26 earlier this week and perhaps the partying never stopped.
She was arrested for driving under the influence in West Hollywood after she rammed her black BMW into a marked police car. She was released on $5,000 bail.
According to the International Business Times, this is not the first time Bynes had a brush with the law. Back in March, Bynes was pulled over by police for talking on her cell phone while driving. But as the officer was collecting her information to write her a citation, she drove away from the cop as while writing the ticket.
Police did not go after Bynes since the incident was not determined to be dangerous. TMZ reported Bynes went to the police station later that day to sign the ticket.
Friday’s incident comes just a day after Bynes tweeted about being a “bad girl” on Twitter.
“Live fast die young bad girls do it well!” Bynes tweeted on April 6.
Article source: http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44830:amanda-bynes-twitters-bad-girl-hits-cop-car-arrested-for-dui&catid=71:movies&Itemid=166
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NEW DELHI, Times have changed and so has political campaigning. In order to reach out to the younger generation, candidates in upcoming municipal polls in the capital are using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other social networking sites to communicate with voters.
Gone are the days of loudspeakers and posters. The Election Commission has banned posters and severely restricted the use of loudspeakers.
A growing number of professionals and people who have lived abroad, who are contesting the April 15 elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in their bid to improve the living conditions in the city, are using modern means and tools of communication to convey their message and canvass support. Parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are using the mobile to reach out.
Besides door-to-door campaign, 22-year-old Ankita Saini, the youngest in the fray, is using Facebook to reach out to her voters.
“I have created my page ‘Support Ankita Saini’ on Facebook which has already got 200 likes. My TV interviews, photographs, newspapers clippings feature on my page which will help the common man know more about me,” Saini, who has studied in Canada, told IANS.
Asked whether voters will really go on the internet and view her profile, Saini, fighting on the BJP ticket, said: “My ward comes under the upscale zone where people are aware of networking websites, They would like to read about their candidates and their background,” said Saini who is fighting from south Delhi’s Hauz Khas ward.
Saini says she will join Twitter to let people know about her development plans in her ward.
The BJP, which rules the MCD, has developed a mobile application through which users can go to the party’s websites and read speeches, watch videos and other campaign material.
“A recent survey stated that people spent 7-8 hours surfing the internet and 65 percent of Delhi’s youth is under 40 years of age. We are effectively using the medium of internet to communicate with voters,” said Arvind Gupta, in-charge of the technology innovation project for the Delhi BJP.
“We are inviting people’s response through our Facebook page and their responses and views will be incorporated into our vision document of the party,” he added.
Congress’ young candidate Kapil Yadav, who is a law graduate, is utilising Facebook to the hilt, putting his objectives and issues before the people.
“I am updating my Facebook page with the burning issues in my area like problems of sewage and roads. I also want to spread awareness among people about the policies of our party,” Yadav, contesting from Rohini North in the capital, told IANS.
“Soon, I will also use telecalling for campaigning. Wherever we will go we will take the numbers of voters and call them for their feedback and response. I would like to know what they think about how a candidate should be,” Yadav told IANS.
Amrita Dhawan, a young woman candidate from the Congress, has a large number of fans on her various Facebook pages where users’ comments hoping for her victory can be sighted.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jai Prakash Agarwal said the party will be actively involved in the campaigning on its official website.
Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/How-Facebook-Twitter-Youtube-are-helping-candidates-in-local-polls/articleshow/12571607.cms
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By Ben Fowlkes
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Apr 7, 2012 – Congratulations, fight fans. You’ve made it all the way to the final weekend of the UFC’s spring hiatus. That wasn’t so bad, right?
We still have to find a way to get through these last few days, so we might as well pry open the Twitter Mailbag one more time and see what’s in there. You know, aside from a bunch of questions about Alistair Overeem’s testosterone levels. Let’s start with something different and work our way up to The Reem, shall we?
sonnysaggese @sonnysaggese
Ben I know u r no huge Rampage fan but these attacks on him for that skit r absurd. R the MMA pundits now the new censors?
Before we get to the video itself, let’s make an important distinction between censorship and commentary. Censorship involves suppressing free expression in some way, whereas commentary is free expression about free expression. It’s the difference between telling someone ‘You can’t say that’ and telling them ‘I think what you just said was stupid.’ Nobody is censoring “Rampage” Jackson’s video. It’s still there, still in its original form, still just as baffling as it was the day it was uploaded to YouTube.
For those of you who haven’t seen the video yet, well, I can’t exactly recommend it, but if you want to be able to follow this discussion I guess you might as well take a look at it. Obviously, once we start talking about whether a video on YouTube was funny/entertaining/offensive/dumb, we drift into the land of subjective value judgments. What’s funny to me might be offensive or just boring to you, and vice versa. Personally? I thought the video was unwatchably bad. It is so unfunny that I can’t even tell if it was supposed to be funny. It is so bizarre that I have to consider the possibility that everyone involved in making it was under the influence of powerful hallucinogens at the time.
I don’t think any subject should be off-limits for humor. I think you can joke about absolutely anything, as long as you’re funny. There’s some valuable humor out there on every subject — rape included (link is totally NSFW, by the way) — but the more sensitive the topic, the greater the risk. You tell an unfunny joke about your parents, people might smile politely and feel embarrassed for you. Tell an unfunny joke about violent sexual assault, and you’ve just alienated everyone within the range of your voice. Tell that same joke at work, and you just might lose your job.
Honestly, when I saw that video my first thought was that it must be an attempt to get fired from the UFC. Maybe I just hoped that’s what it was, since at least that made some sort of sense. After Miguel Torres was fired for making a rape joke on Twitter, who could seriously think it was a good idea to star in a how-to video about a parking garage sexual assault, even if, according to Jackson, it had some sort of convoluted anti-rape message? It’s just shockingly bad judgment. It would be like some fighter seeing what happened to Mo Lawal after he lashed out at a state athletic commission member on Twitter, and then deciding that it would be a good idea to go egg Keith Kizer’s house.
Some people seem to find Jackson’s video funny. I don’t understand how or why, but I could say the same about most Adam Sandler movies. If you watched it and came to the conclusion that, yes, this is an excellent use of time for both a pro fighter and a film crew, then fine. But when other people tell you that they think you’re wrong, they’re not censoring you. They are disagreeing with you. That’s how this free expression stuff works. The traffic runs in both directions.
Roger Crandy @rogercrandy
what are the odds that Frank Mir is the next heavyweight champion?
Not great. Dana White recently assured a tweeter that the Mir/Velasquez fight would go down as scheduled, so Mir probably still has to get through a fellow former champ before he can get within smelling distance of UFC gold again. Even then, I don’t like his chances to beat Junior dos Santos — assuming he still has the belt by then, and who knows with this division. In answer to your question, I say it’s 3-1 against Mir becoming a UFC champ again, and 5-1 against him becoming the very next champ.
Ryan Young @YoungRyan4
Great Overeem article. Should he be released by Zuffa and, more importantly, do you think will he be?
History tells us that punishments for failed drug tests in the UFC vary greatly depending on the fighter and the situation. Chael Sonnen gets popped for high testosterone after a title fight? Let’s let “the government” sort it out. Vinicius Quieroz gets popped for steroids after losing his UFC debut? It was nice knowing you, kid.
Typically the UFC has gone harder on fighters who get busted before a fight (see also: Nate Marquardt), and Overeem definitely falls into that category. Not only did his drug test failure put the main event in jeopardy, it messed with the entire UFC heavyweight title picture. Dana White normally prefers to leave punishment for failed drug tests up to the commissions, but you know he’s got to be fuming over this one.
Personally, I don’t feel right about going all torches and pitchforks on a guy for his first failed drug test. While it certainly seems possible that Overeem has dabbled in PED’s before now, officially this is still the first strike for him. Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance? Don’t some fighters get a third and fourth chance? Overeem looks to have screwed up big time here, but he has plenty of company in the drug test doghouse. Seems only fair to give him the same chance to redeem himself.
Zach Thorax @sephiroth872
y is it that TRT seems to be exploding nowadays? Are fighters just now using it, or is it being caught more 4 sum reason?
Testosterone use itself isn’t new, but it does seem like more and more fighters are discovering it lately, and I can see how it must be an attractive option. For one thing, you can get it legally, if you find the right doctor. The same is not true of anabolic steroids. For another, it’s the rare PED that you don’t have to make any effort to mask in your drug tests. As Dr. Johnny Benjamin points out, testosterone occurs naturally in the body, so it’s just a matter of doing the math and figuring out when your levels will come down to the acceptable range, which is relatively easy to do.
I also think there’s a fad element to it. Fighters are no different than people in any other business. Of course they talk and gossip about each other. So do NASA scientists and hairdressers and carpenters. That’s just how it goes. Fighters hear through the grapevine that so-and-so has a doctor willing to play ball on TRT, and suddenly that guy’s hitting the gym harder than ever and feeling great. He doesn’t get as worn down in training camp. His nagging injuries heal faster. He has more energy, and he’s winning fights. That sounds good, right? Sure it does. And what if you have to fight that guy? Odds are you think you’re a better fighter, but if he’s getting that outside help then don’t you want to level the playing field? Of course you do. That’s why you should go see this doctor. Tell him I sent you. Trust me, he’s cool.
quebert X. einstein @oldskoolunchbox
Nobody mentions Cain Velasquez for a title shot…Why has the MMA world shunned him so?
Nobody’s shunning Velasquez. It’s just that, when your last fight was a first-round knockout loss, it’s tough to make the case for an immediate title shot. You’ve got to win at least one before we can start talking about you as a top contender again.
Money @Money644
seeing how your gonna get a million questions about reem, I figured I would spice it up bit. Best UFC fight ever was?
I appreciate you breaking up the monotony for me. My fingers were getting tired of typing the word ‘testosterone’ this week. To answer your question: the best fight in the history of the UFC, in my humble opinion, was Dan Henderson vs. “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139. Though, I guess there’s another fight where testosterone played at least some sort of role. Forget it. There is no escape.
Tim Kennedy @TimKennedyMMA
who is hotter Katy Perry or me as Katy Perry?
You know, I didn’t think this question would be so difficult until I really started to think about it. It’s possible that I spent entirely too much time thinking about it, in fact, but I can’t change that now. For those of you who somehow didn’t see Mr. Kennedy’s Katy Perry music video…what, parody? Homage? I don’t even know what to call it, but it doesn’t matter. Stop what you’re doing and go watch it. Then come back here and tell me that you still think “Rampage” Jackson’s video was funny. I dare you.
Anyway, back to the question. While Katy Perry is an attractive woman, she’s also a terrible singer and kind of a cultural disaster. Tim Kennedy, on the other hand, is an American hero who isn’t afraid to put on a wig and dance to make his point. After crunching the numbers on this one, I declare it a tie. Katy Perry is exactly as hot as Tim Kennedy dressed up as Katy Perry.
Martin Lindgren @MarreoMedia
Do you think it’s right to take away everything an athlete has done prior to his/hers doping conviction? #twittermailbag
Good question, and one I’ve thought about a lot with regards to both Overeem and “Cyborg” Santos recently. It does seem unfair for one positive test to wipe out everything that came before it. At the same time, what are the odds that this person got caught on their first and only effort to cheat? It makes you look back at their other accomplishments and wonder. It leaves you with this nagging doubt you can’t ever get rid of, and it leaves the fighter with a suspicious public that will always look at him like it’s trying to figure out whether he’s lying right now. Maybe that punishment fits the crime.
Matt Baxter @Sneaky_Scrote
#1 contender for the hw strap getting popped for roids = watershed moment? does random testing HAVE to be implemented now?
How do you think we got this positive test result to begin with? That was out-of-competition testing, so maybe we should take a minute to appreciate the Nevada State Athletic Commission stepping up its efforts. The UFC 146 heavyweights showed up for a press conference in the middle of their training camps, and NSAC executive director Keith Kizer wisely took the opportunity to hand them each a cup to pee in. As easy as it is to beat up on athletic commissions, let’s not forget to pat them on the back a little bit when they get it right.
But yes, I agree that this should serve as a reminder that there is a huge difference between scheduled drug tests the day before a fight and surprise tests more than a month out. That doubt and fear is what will help keep fighters honest, and we need more of it. Hopefully the UFC realizes that too, and will start conducting some of its own random testing, if only to avoid this exact situation. Dana White is right when he says that it’s difficult and expensive to do. Then again, how much money do you think the UFC will lose by having Overeem pulled from this fight? How much bad press and needless headaches will result from it? How many ulcers do you think this one situation caused in Zuffa’s Las Vegas office? If I had as much money as Zuffa, I’d be willing to spend some of it to avoid weeks like that.
James Alberghine @JamesAlberghine
As steroid use becomes unveiled (TRT/Otherwise) do you think it’s effected the decline/legacy of clean fighters like Fedor?
After spending the bulk of his career in Japan, you think Fedor knew what it was like to fight a ‘roided up opponent long before TRT became so fashionable? I’m going to say yes. He probably beat plenty of dudes who were chemically enhanced, and unless he was completely naive, he probably knew it.
In general though, I think we have to be careful about assigning too much importance to the ability of PEDs to decide the outcome of a fight. When Fedor got triangle-choked by Fabricio Werdum, that had nothing to do with what was in either man’s bloodstream. The same is probably true of his loss to Antonio Silva, who would still have a tremendous size advantage over Fedor even if he was subsisting on a diet of Ritz crackers and acai shakes. That’s not to say PEDs don’t matter, or that we shouldn’t do our best to eradicate them from the sport. We should. But in the meantime, let’s be honest with ourselves and admit that Fedor’s decline probably had a lot more to do with what was going on with Fedor than what was going into the bodies of his opponents.
Karim Zidan[Founder] @TheFlyingKneeTO
still didnt get your thoughts on Jake Shields as a middleweight contender? Do you think he would beat Bisping/munoz etc
I think the Akiyama fight showed that Shields still has some shortcomings in his game, and I doubt they’re the type that will be fixed by going up in weight. Obviously, he’s a superb technician on the mat. He’s just not that great at getting the fight there, and not threatening enough anywhere else to make up for it. Against a guy like Mark Munoz, I think he’d be in a lot of trouble right now.
sonnysaggese @sonnysaggese
Ben why has Reem been so silent? And not asked for b sample test? Every second that goes by he looks ..guiltier
Absolutely. Unlike with your view on the “Rampage” rape video, here I totally agree with you. The longer a fighter in this situation says nothing, the more it seems like an admission of guilt. It’s like an episode of The First 48, when they bring a murder suspect in for an interrogation. The innocent man slams his hand on the table and demands that the police apologize for even daring to suggest that he could have killed his friend. The guilty man shakes his head and mumbles something about a lawyer or cigarettes. I can understand taking some time to form a coherent response, but if you think there’s even an outside chance that you may be innocent, you ask the NSAC to test that B sample right away. If you’re Overeem, you have to know that the whole MMA world is calling you a cheater right now. To remain silent is to tell them that they’re right.
Matt Looney @RMLooney
since you are such a manly man, and for sake of comparison, what’s your T/E ratio?
I have no idea. It never occurred to me to go get it checked, but maybe now I will. Maybe all of us should, just so we can have some personal frame of reference for when a bunch of heavily muscled pro athletes in their late 20s and early 30s try to tell us that their own levels are chronically low.
Oron L Crawford @OronLCrawford
twitter mailbag: all four of mike russow’s opponents have been cut after losing to him. Is he MMAs grim reaper?
Maybe he is. And you know what else? Maybe that’s kind of awesome. If I were Russow, I’d embrace it. I’d let everybody know that the worst thing that could happen to their MMA career is a loss to me. “The Grim Reaper” seems like kind of a cliche nickname, so I might go with something like “The Contract-Shredder” or “The Harbinger of Pink Slips.” If he wanted to go all Chael Sonnen with it, he could even cut post-fight promos where he referred to himself as the worst thing to happen to the unemployment rate since The Great Depression. Then again, maybe this still isn’t the right economic climate for that particular gimmick.
Nate Pagano @Nate_Pagano
Do you see Anderson Silva retiring with the belt? If not, who beats him for it?
Chael Sonnen is the last best hope to separate Silva from that belt. If he can’t do it, then yes, I think “The Spider” will ride into the sunset with the strap still around his waist. It’s either that, or do what so many other great fighters have done and stick around way too long for no good reason. Fortunately, I don’t think he’s that type. Or maybe I just hope he isn’t.
Matt Giesbrecht @MattGiesbrecht
What do you think of Brock Lesnar’s return to pro wrestling? What kind of legacy do you think his MMA career leaves? #mailbag
I think Lesnar is better off in the WWE. The money there is good, or so I hear, and he no longer has to worry about people trying to hurt him on purpose (just on accident). As far as his legacy, my guess is we’ll look back on the Lesnar era in MMA and think of it as a strange period that was as exciting as it was brief. I mean, it’s pretty weird when you think about it. The guy quits pro wrestling, can’t make it in the NFL, becomes the UFC heavyweight champ in his fourth professional fight, then retires three years later, following his second consecutive loss. It was a wild ride, but I’m not even sure you can really call his time in MMA a career. Let’s think of Lesnar as a sort of visiting professor in the grand university that is the UFC. He swept in here, freaking out the undergrads and smashing his office furniture, then swept right back out again without even returning his parking pass. They’ll still be talking about him at faculty cocktail parties for years to come.
Read More: Frank Mir (MMA), Antonio Silva (MMA), Cain Velasquez (MMA), Fabricio Werdum (MMA), Dan Henderson (MMA), Nate Marquardt (MMA), Jake Shields (MMA), Anderson Silva (MMA), Chael Sonnen (MMA), Mark Munoz (MMA), Tim Kennedy (MMA), UFC 139: Henderson vs. Rua, UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Overeem
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Article source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2012/4/7/2932512/twitter-mailbag-talking-alistair-overeem-this-weeks-best-and-worst
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The verdict, which was made public Thursday, has been condemned by some as an attack on freedom of expression and a mark of the rising tide of religious conservatism in the country since a popular uprising ousted a dictator a year ago.
Since the fall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a moderate Islamist party Ennahda won elections in October but has promised not to enshrine Islamic law in the new constitution. That has put it at odds with a vocal minority of hardline Muslims known as Salafis.
Tunisian society has become polarized between those demanding more religion in public life and those who want to preserve secular traditions.
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki was a noted human rights activist under the 23-year dictatorship of Ben Ali.
His spokesman Adnan Mancer told The Associated Press on Friday that “attacks on the sacred symbols of Muslims and Islam cannot be considered part of freedom of expression.”
“We are a Muslim country and so are against those who insult religions,” Mancer said. “It is a form of extremism which provokes more extremist reactions which we should avoid during this delicate period.”
The two men were tried after a lawyer filed a lawsuit against them. Their defense attorney, Ahmed Msallemi, said the two deserved punishment, but that he found the verdict excessive.
“While I fight for freedom of expression with all my might, I feel freedom has its limits, as (Jean Paul) Sartre said, once it harms others,” he said.
Majeri is currently in being held in prison in Mahdia, in southeast Tunisia, while Jribi fled to Algeria before trial, Msallemi said.
The head of the private television station Nessma also is on trial for insulting Islam after screening the Iranian animated film “Persepolis.” The film includes a portrayal of God, which is forbidden by Islam.
The trial, which continues on April 19, was the result of a suit filed by a private citizen and also has been condemned for being an attack on freedom of expression.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/tunisias-presidency-backs-conviction-of-men-for-insulting-islam-on-facebook/2012/04/06/gIQAqjCvzS_story.html
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Google+ may be a ways off — a long ways off — from unseating Facebook, but it’s not exactly a ghost town, either. U.S. visits to Google’s still fledgling social network exceeded 61 million in March, up 27 percent from February.
That’s according to Experian Hitwise (report not available on the Web), which shared its figures with me by e-mail. Here’s how Experian reckons the growth in Google+ visits since its inception last June:
Just to be clear, Experian Hitwise defines a single “visit” as any period in which a user stops by a site and then returns within 30 minutes. So if you read or posted on Google+ for a bit, then hopped over to Facebook for 25 minutes, and then came back to Google+, that would still count as a single G+ visit. Stay away for 31 minutes, though, and the next time you come back counts as a second visit.
(Credit:
Experian Hitwise)
Google CEO Larry Page, by the way, claimed yesterday that Google+ has well over 100 million “active” users, though he didn’t define what “active” is supposed to mean in this context. ComScore recently reported that Google+ users spent just 3.3 minutes a month on the site in January.
So, a few caveats about those numbers. First, as noted, they only account for U.S. visits. Second, they don’t include visits from mobile devices or traffic driven by the Google+ notification bar (that red number that sometimes shows up at the top of your Gmail or Google Docs screen).
Third, while growth in Google+ U.S. visits seems strong, it’s oddly lumpy. The network previously saw big jumps in September and again in December, but in between those big months things were largely flat, at least in Experian’s estimation. In the entire first quarter, for instance, U.S. visits only grew 23 percent, largely because visits actually fell from December to January.
While this won’t exactly surprise anyone, Google+ also remains way behind Facebook. Experian Hitwise says Facebook’s U.S. visits in March totaled 7 billion — more than a hundred times what Google+ saw.
That said, by Experian’s reckoning, Facebook has been on a downward slide in the U.S. for much of the past year. From its recent peak last July through March, Facebook’s U.S visits have fallen by a fairly astonishing 1.3 billion — a 15 percent drop.
Again, these figures don’t include mobile visits, so you wouldn’t want to overinterpret them. Still, that’s a lot of missing clicks.
It’s also still a bit humbling for Google+. Put it this way: since last June, Facebook has lost 20 times as many monthly U.S. visits as Google+ has ever seen — and hardly anyone noticed. (Facebook’s would-be IPO investors certainly haven’t.)
(h/t Mashable)
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57410684-93/google-not-exactly-a-ghost-town-sees-visits-jump-in-march/
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Facebook recently rolled out the new Timeline layout for business pages. The launch of Timeline came with a small hiccup, though, as images have been randomly replaced for some users. What’s more concerning is the fact that the images that were inserted don’t actually belong to the owner of the Facebook page.
I know because it’s happened to me. Twice.
Facebook just pushed the Timeline out to the entire social network, but I jumped on board and published my Facebook Page using the Timeline layout as soon as it was available at the beginning of March. I added a Cover photo, and went through the process of customizing the linked tiles below the Cover photo to replace the default “iFrame” image with my own pictures.
The image above “Buy My Books” and “Welcome” are not the ones I assigned. They’re not even mine.Fast-forward a week or two. I logged in to Facebook one day to find that one of my images had been replaced, and I had absolutely no idea where the new picture came from. I could almost understand if some Facebook glitch randomly substituted one of my other images, but it seems like a security or privacy concern for Facebook to display someone else’s image on my Facebook Page.
I decided at the time that it was just a fluke, so I went back into the settings and replaced the bizarre random images with my own pictures once again. But, a couple weeks later two of my images were again replaced by pictures that don’t belong to me, and the same thing happened to my wife’s Facebook Page for her business. Apparently, it wasn’t just a fluke.
The images that appeared on my Facebook Timeline were unremarkable. They weren’t family vacation pictures, and didn’t really seem to be personal at all. It’s possible that the Timeline glitch scrambled the data on the Facebook server, and was simply serving up images from other Timelines. But, that’s just speculation. It’s possible that private pictures were somehow being shared out without permission as a result of this Timeline glitch.
I brought the issue to the attention of Facebook. I was told that the product development team addressed the issue last week. A Facebook spokesperson explained that the bug pulled images from other Timeline app images, and not from personal profile photos. Facebook claims the issue had no impact on privacy or security.
I have asked Facebook for further clarification of what happened, what was done to fix it, or what security and privacy concerns may have existed prior to the flaw being fixed. That response is still pending.
Article source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/253385/facebook_timeline_bug_replaced_random_images.html
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Article source: http://www.birminghammail.net/news/top-stories/2012/04/07/twitter-user-slammed-for-joking-fabrice-muamba-s-24th-birthday-could-be-his-last-97319-30710992/
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