We are paying $4 per gallon. What is Exxon doing?

Making money. Simple. I know there are those who will say it isn't their fault, that they're the beneficiary of Cheney or Iraq or whoever, but when you look at a 30% profit gain for a company that is already the most profitable in the universe at a time when people are making drastic changes in their lives to cope, I just can't feel that Exxon is exempt from any blame.

read more

Makers of Dove buying palm oil from suppliers who destroy Indonesian rainforests

This is just stupid! Is it so bad that major companies have to cut corners just to make an extra buck? The link below leads to the greanpeace story itself -- not much there other than the facts -- but the real kicker is the video and the open letter at the bottom of the page that goes to Unilever, the makers of Dove products. Please help. Do your part. It takes a minute.

read more

Wow. Desperation at work, but at least it's clever.

One of the most amazing displays of "Is it clever or is it just plain dumb?" I guess that will depend on if it works or not, but either way, I have to say that I like the attempt. The fact that it will probably get over 10k diggs is just absolutely mind-blowing.


digg story

Pondering the Potential of a Web 3.0: Social Hybrid

This is a well thought-out post about the potential that is (hopefully) coming. Web 3.0 has been bubbling for a long time. Many have claimed to have started it, but nothing has really been different enough from Web 2.0 to really make a mark. What we really need is something fresh, something different. You would think that it wouldn't be that hard, but hey -- it's the Internet. Everything seems harder on the Internet.

read more | digg story

Toys "R" Us Gives more evidence that society is stupid

I normally get annoyed when I see "kids" under drinking age with lower back tattoos. How did they get them, why did they get them, yadayadayada. This absolutely blows my mind that society finds it okay when a major retailer for children is even willing to offer "slut advertisement" on their shelves. I'm not a prude -- just a concerned parent.

read more | digg story

Furniture Recycling - Fun, Functional, and Fabulous

Sorry -- just a must see. No worries about reading it -- I barely scanned it -- but the pictures are enjoyable and may actually spark some ideas for your... garage? Home? Office? No, probably just the garage, but still cool, nonetheless.

read more | digg story

Where is the "Algorithm Justice" on Digg

This one blows me away. Here is a good story from a great source, arstechnica.com. It has been on Upcoming Hot in All for several hours now. It has as of the time of this blog post 218 Diggs and 20 comments. It wasn't shouted or anything like that. Yet, it has been passed over by the following titles with the following number of Diggs:

1) Possibly the Greatest Invention of this Millennium - 25 Diggs, link died after 2 minutes on front page

2) Living Upside-down Shapes Spiders For Energy Saving - 65 Diggs, a good story by a great submitter, but definitely not a better story

3) Fighting with spouse can be good for your health - 25 Diggs, unreliable content

4) Hillary's - 106 Diggs, good source, but what's up with the headline?

5) Bad Fashion - 40 Diggs, picture that isn't exactly Digg front page material. I hate whining, but this is ridiculous. I have 4 stories on the Upcoming sorted by Most, and it looks like this is the only one of them that will hit. Oh well. It's just Digg.

read more | digg story

Manifesto to Avoid a Google Media Monoculture

For many decades we had a PC monoculture controlled by Microsoft and, to a lesser degree, by Intel. Today, in the world of online media, that same thing looks like it could happen. But it doesn't have to be that way. This 4-point manifesto lays out how to avoid a Google media monoculture.

read more | digg story

Whither Internet freedom?

With Verizon and AT&T gobbling up even more spectrum, SavetheInternet.com asks what needs to be done to ensure the mobile Internet doesn't become like cable TV: closed off and antidemocratic.

read more | digg story

Semantify - SEOs are scared - is this the solution?

Anyone in the search engine optimization industry who keeps his or her eyes on what is coming around the corner is aware of Semantic Web. They are researching the implications and making decisions about the adjustments that they're going to have to make. Here is a solution. Is it the right one?

read more | digg story

Official Google Blog: Google for Non-Profits

Official Google Blog: Google for Non-Profits: "Many of you spend your days making this world a better place, and we want to do our part to help. Today, we're excited to launch Google For Non-Profits, a one-stop shop for tools to help advance your organization's mission in a smart, cost-efficient way."

Java Gibbons - Deforestation at 300 Soccer Fields Per Hour is Killing Them

Indonesia destroys an estimated 300 soccer fields of forest every hour. EVERY HOUR. The Java Gibbons are down to 4,000, which classifies them as basically done for. This doesn't even take into account the damage that is done to the rest of us because of the idiocy over there. I'm not an environmentalist by any stretch of the imagination, but this doesn't take "green love" to understand that it's wrong and needs to stop.

read more | digg story

Digg: Growing or not?

The video in this link is from SXSW. Worth a watch and a Digg!

read more | digg story

Disconnection Anxiety - It's real, but that really sucks (and yes, I have it)

If someone were to have told me 10 years ago that there would be an actual condition that was associated with disconnecting from gadgets and the internet, I would have guessed that it would effect maybe 5% of the country. To find out that it actually effects 68% is at first shocking, but when I stopped to think about it, I realized that most people I know suffer from it We all need to stay connected to some extent and we get anxiety when we disconnect for long periods of time. It is a real thing, it's just become so commonplace that most don't even notice it. It is the norm. It sucks.

read more | digg story

Amazing Speed Painting to Ray Charles Music

Here is another one from Metacafe that didn't get the justice it deserved when it was initially submitted to social media sites. Until they figure out how to either (A) Recognize quality content even if the submitter is not a "stong" user, or (B) allow do-overs when content that should hit doesn't, we'll have to rely on linkjacking to get good content out there. As always - the disclaimer - this crappy little blog has no advertising or adsense or anything on it to make money. This video is posted here because it's good and people need the opportunity to see it. Enjoy!


StrangelyDrawn Speed Painting - "Ray Charles" - The most amazing home videos are here

See more good stuff (and some crappy stuff) at the social media blog homepage.

Plagiarism Sucks, and Here's 8 Reasons Why

To me, plagiarism is 100 times more difficult to (A) Prove, (B) Combat, and (C) even Catch -- all because today's internet world cranks out 150K new websites a day. The reason for posting this is to point out one way to find where your work is being plagiarized. It's call Google, a search engine.

The standard "duh" response comes to mind, but for those who don't know, just use the quotes. If you search for a unique line from your writing and place it in quotations in the search box, it will find entries on the internet that only occur with those exact words, that exact order. Just as an example, give it a few days and search for this line:

If we eat raw media, our social minds will implode.

Put quotes around it and see who plagiarized this story. The answer should be nobody, but you never know. If you try the search without the quotes, you'll get around 100k results. Once this page is indexed, you'll get only the results from this blog. If you get anything else, please let me know. If you do, I'VE been plagiarized! Wouldn't that be funny?

read more or check out oboy's archive.

One Journalist, Times Job, 9 Stops Along the Way

When I was young, I was idealistic. I felt that the best way to position my skills was to become a journalist, exposing the evils of the world while promoting things that people need to hear.

One year and one childbirth later, I noticed that my fellow journalists were driving Pintos, Datsuns, and occasionally even bikes to work while the advertising executives were cruising in Beemers and big trucks. Need overcame ideals, and I found myself switching to the dark side.

This piece touched me because it represents what could have been had I stuck to my guns. But hey... then I wouldn't be here putting out content on these blogs!

read more or read less

An Article to Keep For Buying Cars - the checklist

There are certain things that just don't happen enough to get the practice you need to be good at it. If that didn't make any sense, it's okay. Just remember, buying a car is a very important event.

Many people treat it with haste or lack of effort because they don't like it. Who wants to deal with a car dealer? Still, it's one of those "gotta do it, so might as well do it right" kind of things, so keeping this car buying checklist handy is a perfect way to not lose it when the time comes.

Check out the Car Buying Checklist or read more social media stories.

Blogs Making Lots of Money - Don't Sell

A look from one of the sources into why blogs that are making over $1,000,000 a year should not sell, and why building a blog portfolio for business is a good thing and a bad thing. The article itself makes decent points, but the writing is very strong. Highly recommended reading, whether you're a blogger or not.

read more or not

Show your receipt at Walmart OR ELSE!

Now, for fairness sake, the guy could have just showed his receipt. The customer had it in his wallet and was too proud or offended or whatever to pull it out and show it. With that said, the rest of the story is ridiculous and totally not the customer's fault.

There are things that multi-quadrillion dollar companies should put into place to fight theft, but there are ways to train employees on how to handle situations properly. Maybe it's my bias against Walmart. Somehow, this story tugged at my cynical heartstrings.

The Consumerist Walmart Story is an interesting read. The posts here at 0boy's social media blog are not.