Lacey+Clay

=__ Lacey Clay __=


 * Posted November 16, 2010**


 * http://mashable.com/2010/11/11/twitter-bomb-threat-appeal/**

Man Who Joked About Bombing Airport Via Twitter Convicted In January a man from South Yorkshire was arrested after Tweeting that he was going to blow up an airport. While the airport was closed down due to snowstorms, Paul Chamber specifically Tweeted, “Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together, otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!” Authorities showed up at his door a week later. People claimed that his Tweet was taken seriously and it was said too clearly and dangerously. This leads us to wonder the privacy issues linked with Twitter as well as a person's freedom of speech. Chamber Tweeted with intentions of joking to his friends. It is questionable how authorities got ahold of his Tweet. Are online social networks being watched by the government? Or did one of Chamber's friends take him seriously and turn him into the authorities? This also leads to the question of a person's freedom of speech. Is it limited on social networking sites? And if so, there should be some type of law explaining the boundaries.


 * Posted October 28, 2010**


 * http://mashable.com/2010/10/28/farmville-murder-mother-baby/**

"Farmville" Interruption Cited in Baby's Murder. A 22-year-old mother was charged for murder after shaking her 3-month-old son to death for interrupting her Farmville game. The mother admitted to shaking her son, taking a cigarette break to compose herself, and then continue to shake him to death. The Farmville game has been said to be so addicting that it has actually led people to lose their jobs and to go into debt. Farmville has over 60 millions members, most of which access the game through Facebook. This is not the first time a virtual game has led to a death. In 2008, a 28-year-old of Chicago shot his companion while playing the game Xbox. Can virtual games really lead people to insanity? Or are these people already nutty, and are pushed over the edge by these games? Either way, it is apparent that virtual games can have a huge impact on peoples' lives, possibly even taking over.


 * Posted October 12, 2010**


 * http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/social-networking-can-bring-students-stress-as-well-as-connection-survey-finds/27526**

A survey finds that social networking can provide students with stress as well as connection. A social network site, Facebook, started out as a casual over-the-web connection and has transformed into the necessity to stay in-tune with others at all time. A quarter of the respondents said they would feel relieved if they set off their social networking and cell phones while 57 percent said they would only be more stressed. Most respondents said they were puzzled when someone didn't instantly respond to a message. This is an example of the vicious cycle technology can take. It can trap us into certain behaviors and make us feel as though we need to partake in technological activities. Is our generation forever trapped in the constant "on call" type of communication?


 * Posted Septermber 23, 2010 **

http://mashable.com/2010/09/16/mcdonalds-foursquare-campaign/



**"Is Foursquare really effective as a platform for bringing in new business? McDonald's seems to think so"** McDonald's was able to increase foot traffic in stores simply by taking advantage of Foursquare day on April 16th of this year. The company used gift cards to bribe consumers to check in at McDonald's on Foursquare. The advertising agency spent a measly $1,000 in their efforts to increase sales. With a multi-million advertising budget, the $1,000 that was put towards this marketing technique had a huge impact on the company. Most marketing executive were unaware of the new application called Foursquare and the huge impact it could have. A little effort partaking in new social networks can now go a long way for company sales. Other companies such as Dominos are now joining social networking sites to help increase profits.


 * Posted September 16, 2010**

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/fashion/05noticed.html

Austin Considine discusses in the New York Times the effect of deleting a friend on Facebook. Now defined in Oxford American Dictionary, defriending has become a term to describe deleting a friend on Facebook. Defriending takes only a click of a button to instantly remove a friend without the person even knowing so. This process involves no emotion for the defriender but can come as a shock to the person being defriended. Apparently people who loose friends on social networking sites can feel rejected and un-cool, causing them to actually suffer real psychological consequences. Who would know that simply clicking a button and deleting a friend could result in such dramatic emotional suffering for the other individual.