History

As was witnessed recently with the Iranian Twitter Revolution and the protesters making their voices heard on Twitter and Facebook this past June, the Arab World is embracing social media in an impacting way. Now more important than ever, the Middle East is involved in open dialogue, no matter what risks may be incurred as a result.

Ben Franklins for Freezers? Dollars for Dishwashers? Coin for Central Air? or Cash for Appliances? Whatever you'd like to call it, after the overwhelming success of the "Cash for Clunkers" program, the next government incentive to save consumers money will debut as early as this fall. However on this go around, you will receive rebates for the purchase of new Energy Star-qualified home appliances.

Having exhausted every possible fruit flavor for their popular Kit Kat chocolate bars, Nestle Japan is inflicting KitKat Enhancement Vegetables upon a weary nation's taste buds.

While the movers and shakers on Twitter might be just "micro" bloggers...they sure know how to create a "macro" influence. Forbes Magazine compiled a list. Every country has their own top ten ranking. The top most influential tweeps within the DC Beltway according to Politico lists Barack Obama as number 4 behind Dick Gregory, Claire McCaskill and Karl Rove. You can determine your own list by tallying a user's number of followers, their number of tweets, their number of status updates -- or an algorithm thereof.

Haitian voodoo not working for you? Try this traditional Japanese home voodoo doll kit, complete with hammer and nails.

"They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said: no, no, no!"  A 'rehab center' for all those socially networked, gaming addicts out there.... has opened its doors. And for the low, low cost of $14,500, your followers, contacts and friends can send you straight from your intervention to its Redmond, Washington headquarters. 

Holy Roller, Batman, apparently social networking has gotten a little too risque for some. Since language is not censored on sites like Twitter and Facebook, Christians soldiers are marching onward in a pilgrimage to clean up the social media space, with a beta launch of Cross.tv. While the social networking space is getting a little crowded, Cross.tv is one of the first to focus on a faith-based approach to reach out to prospective network members.

Is posting an altered image of the president to Flickr an acceptable practice? Or should copyrighted photos in general never be altered and published online or in print? If so, why are do so many contrived photos and artwork popping up daily on social networks and in magazines?  Check out this TOP TEN list of altered images that have have sparked censorship controversy over the years, right up till today.

To grow a population larger than Brazil and slightly less than than the US does Facebook need to adapt to change? And if so, could its underlying success become its ultimate downfall? Being all things to all people normally dilutes the effectiveness of any system. If governments have failed at it is Facebook enough of a chameleon to take on the challenge? Just how many faces does Facebook have?

Katrina's devastation of New Orleans was BSM (before social media). It's hard to think that we lived during a period of time without social networking, but only 4 years ago Facebook was barely one year old, and Twitter was yet to be inked out on a restaurant napkin.

Since Web 2.0 is now passing its 5th year anniversary, there is enough data to assess just how much of an impact social media has had on our lives. While there are still those who believe it's nothing more than a passing fancy, a fad, the Studio 54 of our day...one cannot deny the numbers. Statistics don't lie and Kagan, Fisch, McLeod & Qualman are here to prove it so!

Like the Disco era, the Hippie Era, the Flapper Era, every decade is affected by the social consciousness of its time. Each is normally earmarked by a frenzy of interactive activity that becomes a world-wide sensation capable of capturing the imagination of millions. From the 'gate-crashing' of the 70's to the 'crowdsourcing' of 2009, have we come such a long way?

Apple, Apple, Apple! Like Marsha from The Brady Bunch, it always seems like Apple gets all the attention. Even when its quiet! Yes, without one single PowerPoint presentation from Steve Jobs or even a whiff of a press release, Apple is out there front and center churning up the rumor mill!  The latest fodder to hit the digital airwaves is a reported social media app that will simultaneously connect various social networks and integrate with iTunes.

Remember when Comic Books fit neatly in your back pocket ...available for quick access while on the go. Well its a new millennium, and print has gone digital. Now your Comics and Graphic Novels are even more accessible on a mobile platform of your choice.

Obama promised transparency during his presidential campaign. He is keeping that promise with the current push to lock up legislation on healthcare reform by using social media as his communication tool of choice. A strong proponent of social networking for the 21st Century, the Whitehouse reaches out to the 'wisdom of crowds!' to place the debate front and center.

When the GLBT community launches their social network in 2010, do you think the name "Queerbook" is an appropriate handle? Reece W. Manley, the founder thinks so as he has registered trademarks for Queerbook.com and Queerbook.net, in addition to establishing their logo.

With the DDoS Twitter attack fresh on our minds, one has to wonder who is utilizing social media for anti-social reasons. Could our enemies be covertly watching our every move in the Twitterverse, awaiting to seize an opportunity to use the free-flowing firehose of information for ulterior motives and surprise us again with another denial-of-service ambush?

A cyber-attack, a lone blogger and a little known country in Russia were responsible for our Ferris Bueller day off from Twitter this week. People had to resort to the antiquated twentieth century source for the news, the newspaper! And the lives of the Twitterati were put on hiatus for hours on end! On August 5,  'DDoS', 'Cyxymu' and 'South Ossetia' meant nothing to the average Twitter user. Today, we know a little more about blocking social networks and political friction back in the USSR!

With the Iranian Election protests and the Big Brother governmental control of China, we are familiar with some of the bans of social networking around the globe. But what about in our own backyard? Why are some organizations and corporations choosing to block sites like Twitter and Facebook right here in the US? This is a list of the top five bans that exist today in the land of the free and the home of the brave.