Social Media sites – are they allowed in China?

liste-weibo

China is a civilization that has been around for thousands of years. When communism took over many people rebelled without success. Among one of the past events to eliminate communism in China was the Tienanmen Square incident. This event would have been a success in overthrowing communism in China had the People’s Army refused to obey Deng Xiaoping’s order to use lethal force to disperse the demonstrators. Even after this incident China still continues to battle against all those who challenge the communist system. The next war they face is the digital age of social media. The power social media sites have not only made the government declare war on them, it also declared them the ‘New Digital Tienanmen Square threat’.

So what was the first move they made you may ask? Eliminate the enemy of course..

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Instagram account used to expose “rats”

Last Thursday an Instagram account used to intimidate and identify violent crime witnesses in Philadelphia was finally shut down. The account, “rats215” had nearly 7,900 followers. Through the account over 30 witnesses had been exposed since February. In addition, the account posted confidential photos, police statements and a testimony.

Instagram account used to expose "rats"

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Social Media Disaster Relief

New technology is being put to use to help disaster relief during the crisis after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. This new social media technology is being used to scan different sites to gather research on where relief is needed the most. Social media disaster relief is the newest way to use social media mediums to help send aid to different parts of the world through geotagging and more.

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Home Depot’s twitter account makes a fumble

Home Depot’s twitter account hit a new low yesterday when the company tweeted in regards to its ESPN College Gameday show sponsorship saying, “Which drummer is not like the others? See more @CollegeGameDay pics at #HDgameday #football.”

While this tweet didn’t read offensively, the photo that accompanied it of three drummers, two being African-American and the third wearing a gorilla suit, did. The tweet was quickly removed from Home Depot’s twitter account, but was unfortunately removed too late to avoid the negative social media buzz.

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Traffic Alerts Provide New Waze to Travel for Google Maps

An act of kindness doesn’t take much; an oncoming car flashing their brights to warn drivers of a speed trap ahead, or a coworker sending an email informing the office that a road on the way out of town is closed. Helping others is fulfilling, even if the results don’t affect friends or coworkers.  Google Maps has made it possible for users to warn fellow travelers of traffic delays by adding alerts provided by Waze app users. 

A live Waze map of Dallas and surrounding areas from waze.com

A live Waze map of Dallas and surrounding areas from waze.com

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Personalized Homepage Providers to substitute iGoogle

Google delivered in its promise to pull the plug off its customizable home page. This has left an opportunity to explore alternatives among a growing number of personalized homepage providers to replace iGoogle.

iGoogle Personalized Homepage Providers

iGoogle Nostalgia? Continue reading!

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Do You Want To Smell Your Iphone Notifications?

 

scentee2

According to the Los Angeles Times, a company called “Scentee” created a device that releases a small spray of fragrance every time you receive a notification. The small white device plugs into the phone’s earphone jack and incorporates the use of an LED light along with releasing a scent. The company offers scents such as strawberry, coffee, lavender, and mint. Continue reading

Social Media at Concerts

Social Media at Concerts

“PLEASE DO NOT WATCH THE SHOW THROUGH A SCREEN ON YOUR SMART DEVICE/CAMERA. PUT THAT S— AWAY…” stated a sign at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert. We’ve all done it. We’ve taken loads of pictures, tweeted, Instagrammed, and checked in, experiencing the concert through a screen. We do this to preserve and share our experiences with others, but using social media at concerts actually takes us out of the experience altogether.

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Social Media Marketing: Dallas Mavericks YouTube

The Dallas Mavericks have a new approach to social media marketing through making parodies of viral videos. In the past month, the Mavs have been posting short, hysterical, parody videos to the Dallas Mavericks YouTube page. Paying attention to viral internet trends like popular music or videos, the Mavs have created a comical persona through social media.

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Whisper App: Anonymity Prevention of Cyber Bullying

The mobile social media app, Whisper, allows users to express themselves anonymously and reveal secrets that they wouldn’t feel comfortable revealing behind a username or profile.

Users create a “whisper” by creating a personally styled card where they can write a secret that are displayed in front of pictures the user chooses. Users of the app are able to “like” and comment on whispers, however because there are no user profiles following a particular user is impossible.

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Vine Updates Show the App Is Still Holding On

Vine has introduced the app’s first major update since its launch in January of this year. The changes, announced on the company’s blog last week, give users two new editing options: Sessions and Time Travel. The app has traditionally only allowed the recording of six second videos, so the Vine updates will present new opportunities to users.

Image courtesy of Vine Blog

“Sessions” Vine update

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