Mutt Media’s Extra Bone 6.16.09 Twitter going dark today at 11AM for One Hour!

Follow us on Twitter @muttmediany

Twitter users will be without their favorite platform today for a bit as Twitter is going dark for an hour at 11AM (NY Time) for some scheduled maintenance. Click here to get more info.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 6.16.09 Fade to Black – No more analog TV

This past Friday marked the first official day of the switch over from analog tv to digital. With an estimated 1 million people now left unprepared for the switch, this means they will be left without tv service.

Unless you live under a rock, I don’t see how these million have missed all of the print, television and other advertising that has gone on notifying us to the pending switch. The switch was supposed to become official back in February but was delayed. The FTC did a “soft test” just last month and found at that time that over 3 million homes were unprepared, which means those televisions would’ve gone “dark” had the change happened then.

There are a couple of ways around this. You can purchase a new TV or obtain a converter box that will switch your analog signal to digital, enabling you to receive your picture instead of “snow”.

My guess is that if you are reading this Blog, this problem will not affect you. You have a computer and you read a Blog? Then it stands to reason that you probably don’t have an analog television set. However, as a public service, here’s the link to help those who do. Pass it along to your grandmother or better yet, print out the FAQ page and hand it to her.

A footnote: The latest reports indicate that the switch went far better than planned, with only around 300,000 calls to the FCC on Saturday – a significant increase over their normal volume, but far less than expected. Many of these calls came from New York but that’s really no surprise when you consider the volume of people that live here and the amount of televisions we have.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 6.15.09 My daughter & I go see Jonas Bros. thanks to Ryan Seacrest & Twitter

MuttMediaNY_thanks_Ryan_Seacrest

Sometimes I have no idea why I do the things I do. Like following Ryan Seacrest on Twitter. I don’t really have a particular affinity for him but there he is on my Twitter list of people I follow. His Tweets are usually pretty cool and unlike some, not so frequent that I’ve wanted to turn him off, so there he remains.

On Thursday, I happened to log on and the most recent Tweet by those I follow was from Ryan announcing to his Z100 listeners that the Jonas Brothers were performing that night at a free show at Irving Plaza (the Filmore). Now, I am not an avid Z100 listener, nor do I consider myself a Jonas Brothers fan, but I do have an 11 year old daughter who has set up a shrine to them in her bedroom.

I think I saw this Tweet at around 4PM and within minutes I grabbed a screenshot (see above) and forwarded it to the BEST ticket broker I know – John Bretschneider over at All Shows.

John happens to be a good friend and so the fact that this was a free show and he wouldn’t make money on me didn’t stop me from asking him to check into this and make sure it wasn’t a rumor.

By 6:30 I had was at dinner with the family. I hadn’t yet told my 11 year old daughter (according to her the future Mrs. Nick Jonas) that this was in the works, so as I was feverishly checking my phone for confirmation, she became suspicious and asked me what was keeping me so distracted.

Since John is so connected, he was able verify that there was a show, that it was unadvertised until that very morning and only then to the Jonas Brothers Fan Club and get us VIP’d so we could watch from an area where we could actually see the band.

My daughter reacted like she just won the Mega Million Jackpot and we were off for a last-minute, unplanned and spontaneous mother/daughter night out. It was great. Here’s a clip (taken from youtube):

So, thanks Twitter, Ryan, John and the adorable Jonas Brothers.

This story has a bittersweet ending. My daughter left a bit miffed at Nick. He ran right by her as they exited (he was less than a foot away) and he didn’t fall down on one knee to propose. I told her that he was probably too embarressed in front of all those people, to which I got the proverbial eye-roll.

Moral of the story – Twitter works!

Mutt Media | the Daily Bone 6.12.09 "Tagged" – You're It! How was it for you?

One Phish, Two Phish, Red Phish, Blue Phish – just say no!!! Mutt Media’s cautionary TAG tale…

Have you been tagged yet? Well I have and I must say, I did not find the experience enjoyable. It actually happened to me a few times this week alone.

It began with a simple enough email from a familar name that I haven’t heard from in awhile, so I opened it. Basically, the contents of this email were that “Jane Doe” has tagged me in their personal photos and wouldn’t I love to “click here” to see them? Let me save you the trouble if you should happen to receive an email such as this.

I clicked. I was then propelled into an environment where they asked me to sign up, join etc. in order to see these precious photos. By now, my antenaae was up but I decided to play along and join. Big mistake. The program began asking for access to my address book in order to find my friends and invite them to join too, which, as I suspected – was done to my friend Jane too.

Tagged claims to have over 70 million users but I question how many of those have actually opted-in knowing what they were getting into. This week I have been doing extensive research for an article I’m writing on Social Networking and the traffic these sites attract. I’ve read the data and I do believe people have stumbled into this trap and been added to their 70+million statistics, which just serves to help legitimize this practice of phishing.

Ok…I know you are going to ask, so I’ll save you the trouble of emailing me about this. According to Wikipedia, here’s their definition of phishing. And don’t worry – it’s happened to us all!

If you click on the word “phishing” in the previous paragraph, you can get the full-monty definition, it’s origins etc., but here’s the cliff note version:

“In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT Administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Even when using server authentication, it may require tremendous skill to detect that the website is fake. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users, and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.”

So there you have it…a cautionary tale on spamming, tagging, phishing etc.

A quick disclaimer…some may actually enjoy this site and what it has to offer. This post is primarily a complaint about their methodology in signing up new members and siphoning off of your address book.

Oh…and a little footnote. Go and do a Google search on the Harvard-educated founders of the company and you’ll find a few skeletons.

I’m in pretty good company on this one. Just yesterday, Time‘s Sean Gregory called Tagged.com “The World’s Most Annoying Website”. I’ve provided the link, as Mr. Gregory, being the news writer, actually contacted the two founders of the company to inquire about their sign-up practices. It’s an interesting article, so check it out. Since I’m not a news journalist, I don’t have that responsibility. I’ll just say no thanks.

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 6.11.09 Tip #10 Do your homework!!

Mutt Media Tip #10

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

10. Finally, it has never been easier to research your target employer. Once you have dazzled them with your résumé, Blog and get that interview – BE PREPARED!

Aside from your physical appearance, communication skills and experience, be informed about your potential employer.

Go to your preferred search engine and look up the person who will be interviewing you! Have they been quoted in an article or press release? Are they on a networking site where you can see their work history and background? Get to know the person and the Company as best you can. Who have their Clients been? What is their philosophy?

Look at the Company Website and Blog and find out who they are. This will go a long way toward making a lasting impression and shows you’ve done your homework.

When the time comes during your interview (and it usually does) when you are asked if YOU have any questions, be prepared! Look carefully at the research you’ve done in preparation and ask an informed question – whether it be about the direction of their business or some recent changes made within the company. Just show them that you’ve kept up with your industry and specifically – with Company XYZ. This will go a really long way. Trust me.

Mutt Media | the Daily Bone 6.10.09 Do some Twitter Citizens yield too much power?

A few weeks ago, Twitter made an announcement that they were becoming involved in a proposed new reality TV series that centered around the micro-blogging platform.

The premise of the show was people using Twitter to track down celebrities. For anyone not familiar, there are many celebrities who use the site – and quite often I might add.

These include Rainn Wilson (The Office), Demi & Ashton (please don’t ask, “Demi & Ashton who?”), Kim Kardashian, John Mayer and the list goes on and on. Some have well over a million followers, so it’s fair to say they can have a huge influence. And they use their accounts to tweet often. Well, someone, possibly a publicist – may be tweeting on their behalf (even though I think that’s a big no-no).

Anyway, back to my point. Ashton & Demi were not on board with the reality TV concept. How can you blame them when you look at the proposed premise of the show? Celebrity stalkers via Twitter? Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Twitter backed off the reality TV concept – for now. But here’s another concept…the very population that helped to put Twitter on the map and bring it mainstream would/should/will be alienated should such a project come to fruition. So here’s a case of the tail wagging the dog

Does this give the celebrity population the right to dictate the business model that the Twitter “executives” envision for their company? I am torn between feeling that celebrities (who, incidentally have shrewdly embraced this technology as a free modality to aid in their self-promotion [not that there's anything wrong with that]) are feeling that this is a one way street.

Just log on and check out one of these celebrities. Millions of followers but some not following many themselves. That is to say, they are very interested in talking at – but not really listening to – their fans. This does not go for all of them.

But I forgive Rainn for not following me back. He makes me laugh with every one of his tweets.

Oh, and follow MM on Twitter to hear from me at all hours of the day

Here’s a great clip from Larry King’s show. He interviews Kutcher and Sean Combs, who says here that you Tweet because you have something to say. Agreed.

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 6.9.09 A lonely fish contemplates joining Facebook.

Here’s a comic strip I found in my travels. Really cute. My prediction is this fish will become addicted, soon after will need a support group then will go back to life in the fishbowl. Any thoughts? Email me at feedback@muttmedia.net

Enjoy

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 6.8.09 How much is too much on Facebook?

Over the weekend I read about a woman who was murdered back in March named Caroline Wimmer. Ms. Wimmer was unfortunately strangled with the cord of a hair dryer in her home on Staten Island. One of the EMT’s who responded to the call was a retired NYPD Detective named Mark Musarella.

Musarella, according to the accounts I’ve read, had a stellar record while serving on the NYPD, logging a few downright heroic deeds such as saving a man from a burning car and helping to rescue a mother and daughter who had fallen from a boat that had capsized (NY POST Friday, June 5, 2009).

Musarella is claiming that the posting to Facebook was accidental and that the photo inadvertantly got uploaded with several others.

The question remains, why would an Emergency Medical Technician take a photo with his cell phone while performing his duties? Why would he need or want this image for personal use? Beside being pretty macabre, I believe this is a breach of ethics. The upload to Facebook notwithstanding this is something that he should probably be disciplined for on a professional level. According the story in the Post, while the photo was on his account for only “Friends” to see (his account is set to “private”), one viewer took offense to it and called the hospital that Musarella worked for (Richmond University Hospital). The hospital fired him and he is now facing charges – he is charged with official misconduct and faces up to a year in prision.

I think about the victim of this terrible crime and the family that she leaves behind. Ravi Batra, the attorney for Wimmer’s family believes that prosecuting Musarella will, “keep society civil”.

Good luck.

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 6.5.09 Bernie Kerik is a Twit(terer)

Today Bernard Kerik tweeted from a Washington courthouse where he was appearing to plead Not Guilty for the third time since he was brought up on charges of lying to the Bush White House.

Twitter is great because you can really see where a person’s head is at on any given day, any given moment – if you like that sort of thing. Like it or not, micro-blogging gives all the opportunity to vent and to be vented upon.

For those of you not keeping up (or heretofore uninterested) Kerik is the former Police Commissioner of New York who was the top guy during 9/11. He was tight with Rudy Guiliani and was, in 2004, nominated by George Bush for the position of Secretary of Homeland Security. Kerik withdrew his name from consideration due to some controversy over a Nanny.

He’s been indicted under ethics charges and, according to the Associated Press,

“Kerik is charged with two counts of making a false statement to aides of President George W. Bush in late 2004, after the president had picked Kerik to run the Homeland Security Department established in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Kerik is accused of denying to Bush aides that he had financial dealings with contractors seeking to do business with the city. But prosecutors say contractors spent more than $255,000 renovating his apartment in 1999 and 2000 while he was New York’s corrections commissioner.

He’s facing charges relating to the case in New York state court and federal courts in Washington and New York. The false statement charges were originally brought as part of the larger federal case in New York but were dismissed and transferred to Washington, where prosecutors say the crimes occurred.”

Here’s a snapshot of Kerik’s Tweet from early this morning…

Bernie Kerik's Tweet 6.5.09

This is a man who has, as of this writing, only about 100 followers (not a lot considering his notoriety and frequent news-mentions, but this Tweet has gotten lots – and I do mean lots – of press. He also maintains another business of sorts. Here’s a link to his site where the homepage reads, “THE KERIK GROUP LLC is an internationally respected global provider of Homeland Security and industrial security services.”

Is the interest on his Tweet because of what he said? Or the platform he’s using? Maybe just great PR.

Anyway, have a great weekend. Grey skies are gonna clear up here in NY

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 6.4.09 Shameless Self Promotion will get you famous on the 'net

For starters, Happy Birthday to my father-in-law, Stan……

You may have heard about the news item regarding Mark Malkoff.

He’s the “comedian, writer and filmmaker” from Astoria, Queens who, in the past has gotten press for sleeping at the IKEA in New Jersey for an entire week and chronicled the experience on film (which can now be viewed on his website and on YouTube). Another one of his stunts involved visiting all 171 Starbucks in Manhattan in a 24 hour period and making a purchase in each one (again, captured on video for all to see).

His latest adventure takes him on an airplane for an entire month. In that month he will travel the country, sometimes logging as much as twelve flights per day. Of course this will all be captured on video, tweeted about and so on.

Personally, I don’t get what value any of this has, except to bring Malkoff some noteriety, which is fine. Let’s not forget the point here – exposure for him as well as a few corporate giants who also reap the benefits and the attention. Starbucks, Ikea and now Airtran.

Things like this remind me a bit of reality TV (of which I am not a fan). Caught about 15 minutes of “I’m A Celebrity – Get me out of here!” the other night and let’s just say I don’t get the whole Spencer Pratt / Heidi Montag thing. Nor do I get the John & Kate + 8 thing…..can you say SELF-E-X-P-L-O-I-T-A-T-I-O-N??

If this type of thing interests you and you’d like to follow along, click here to get the play-by-play on Twitter…Malkoff’s got a lot of followers!

This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved