Mutt Media throwin' you a bone….an oldie but a goodie. Enjoy the Alligator King from Sesame Street

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.22.09 Marketing Yourself Online Tip #7: Check out the Competiton!

Another Tip from Mutt Media NY

Mutt Media Tip #7

7. Check out your competition!

Go online and take a look at your competitors. Look at the functionality of their website. Look at their skill-sets and what they have to offer.

Are your skills in line with today’s job market? Never before has there been an opportunity such as we have today to actually know our competition in the job market! Use this to your advantage and acquire the skills necessary to give you that competitive edge and make yourself stand out.

Try to take your skill set to the next level and ensure that you will be able to provide a prospective employer with this added incentive to hire you over the next person, giving them more BANG! for their hiring bucks.

Have a great weekend!

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

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.11.09 | Craigslist – Does this online community really come in peace?

Mutt Media NY asks, "Craigslist: Symbol of Peace?"

Recently, we have heard about some unsavory news stemming from the ‘connections’ people are making on the popular site Craigslist.org. The most visible has been the case of Philip Markoff, a medical student attending Boston University who has been accused of killing a masseuse when she showed up to render her advertised services. Markoff has also been charged in the assault and robbery of a woman in a different incident that occured in Rhode Island, as well as robbing another just days before the murder. (source: Metro.us click here)

In Newsday on May 9th, I read about a woman named Margary Tannenbaum from Hauppauge, NY who was arrested and charged with aggravated harrassment for her attempt to exact revenge on her 9 year old neighbor. In this case, the neighbor was in a conflict with Tannenbaum’s daughter (also 9). It’s unclear what this conflict was, but this mother somehow convinced herself that it was appropriate to place an ad on Craigslist that advertised, “Looking for a good time? w4m 21″. For the uninitiated, that’s shorthand for women for men – 21 years old. When men responded to the email address contained in the ad, they were directed to call the 9 year old victim’s house. The ad supposedly netted 22 calls. Tannenbaum has been released on bail and will be arraigned this summer.

George Weber photographer: Dan Brinzac

In March of this year, news radio reporter George Weber was killed in Brooklyn by John Katehis, a 16 year old he solicited on Craigslist, supposedly for rough sex.

In 2007, a Minnesota man was sentenced to life in prision when he was found guilty of murdering Katherine Ann Olson who responded to his ad on Craigslist for a babysitter.

I went on Craigslist this morning (as I’ve done countless times before) and, in the interest of full disclosure, I have used the service in the past. I’ve sold a car and done some hiring – all with great success. This morning I went in search of something entirely different…..I wanted to take a closer look at their “About Us”. This led me to their FAQ page (click here) which, to my surprise – contains a purple peace sign within their tab container.

This strikes me as ironic, given the recent press and the call to action by several states and their Attorney Generals. The following quote first appeared in an article in the LA Times Business section just today….”This is the world’s oldest profession using the world’s newest technology,” South Carolina Atty. Gen. Henry McMaster said in an interview. Last week, he warned Craigslist that it would be “subject to criminal investigation and prosecution” if the erotic services section wasn’t removed by May 15.

There is a recurring theme here and the words of every parent, grandparent and caretaker are ringing in my head. “Don’t take candy from/talk to strangers”….remember that one? Given the world we live in today and the fact that we make many legitimate online connections that result in mutually-beneficial, sometimes profitable relationships, provides a counter-point to the “Don’t take candy” admonishment. Common sense must rule here….don’t put yourself into a potentially dangerous situation from which you cannot escape.

What do you think? Is it the responsibility of Craigslist to protect it’s visitors and screen it’s advertisers? I think this is a tricky question. It could be the buyer or the seller who becomes dangerous. How can anyone predict who will be the victim? Please share your thoughts.

Just so you don’t think I am picking on Craigslist…I am posting a story I just read a moment ago on a terrible story out of England. Click here to read about a couple whose online life resulted in real life tragedy.

You can just click on “Leave a Comment” below or send your email to feedback@muttmedia.net. Your feedback may appear on this page, so be forewarned!

Click here to become a fan of Mutt Media NY on Facebook and follow Mutt Media on Twitter @muttmediany

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

Mutt Media NY | Daily Bone 5.8.09 Taking Social Networking to a new level. What's on your mind?

I woke up this morning and had my tea, looked through the newspapers and began to check my online accounts – same routine as usual. Mixed in with the typical status updates was a glaring remark from a teenager who is one of my “friends” on Facebook who proclaimed, “_____________(insert name) just found out his dad is moving out”. This was followed by a barrage of comments from other friends telling this teen how sorry they are to hear this sad news.

I am dumbfounded…by this news, by the manner in which it was delivered and by the public responses to such a personal upset in his life. Clearly he needed to talk this out and this just happened to be his communication tool of choice, but what does this say about our evolving society and how our children cope?

Unfortunately, separation and divorce have become almost commonplace. But status updates on such a personal level seem disturbing to me and are shedding light on a trend. Never has the question, “What’s on your mind?” felt so loaded as it does for me today.

Mutt Media discusses taking Facebook Status Updates to a whole new level

On a personal level, this is upsetting, but in this situation in particular, I know the family will be ok…they are all good people. It furthers my thinking on this subject though. Don’t know how many reading this read the book or saw the movie, “He’s Just Not That Into You” but Drew Barrymore delivers one of the most funny and telling dialogue in the film when she tells her friend that she is (and I am paraphrasing) “exhausted” from chasing the different modalities of messaging.

We can video chat, instant message, BBM, text, leave a voicemail, use a pager (very retro, it seems), tweet, report our status and the list goes on. We can communicate instantly without ever really connecting and to take it one step further, people are really doing a lot of their living – totally online.

I personally feel lucky to have grown up in a different time while still being an active participant in this constantly-evolving technological boom we find ourselves in the midst of. There is an expanding gap for our children but they don’t even feel it because that’s all they know. I already find myself sounding like my parents when I tell my kids “when I was your age, we didn’t even have cell phones” in response to my daughter’s request to upgrade to a Blackberry. She tells me she needs it and that a bunch of her friends have one. She’s 11. I feel like I’m living in upside-down world but then again, I am the most guilty enabler. After all, wasn’t it me that text her to come down and set the table?

click here to become a fan of Mutt Media NY on Facebook and follow Mutt Media NY on Twitter @muttmediany

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

Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.7.09 | LEET or 1337 The language your kids may be speaking – are you fluent?

The following definition was copied (with some edits by me) from http://www.wikihow.com.

LEET (1337) is a written language used in online gaming, e-mails, text messaging, and other electronic communication. The root of the term “leet” is the word “elite”–translated as 31337. 1337 was initially developed as an exclusionary language: a way to encode text so that messages could only be read by the initiated. The defining characteristic of 1337 is substitution of symbols and numbers for letters (for example, in the term “1337,” 1=L, 3=E and 7=T), but the language has also developed to include intentional misspellings, phonetic spelling, and new words.

H4XORZ | Translation: HACKERS Licence Plate

I’ve taken some time to try to become familiar with this cryptic language, but, truthfully I find that it’s more trouble than it’s worth. However, if my children were frequently using it, I would make it my business to become fluent!

From what I can tell, LEET has been around for a really long time and has been widely used in certain chat rooms and alot on various gaming sites.

Rather than try to give you a primer on the language (there are many sites that you can find with a simple Google search) I thought I’d just provide a little social commentary on this phenomenon.

Its of course, remarkable that some of our children would go to great lengths to communicate with one another cloaked in a different language but not at all surprising. Does anyone remember Pig Latin? Ubby Dubby Language? You had to be a fan of the original ZOOM back in the 70′s for that one. So my point here is that we needn’t be shocked. We have all adopted some form of LEET into our texting and emailing. The symbol online for a heart is <3, which kind of looks like a heart turned on it’s side. LOL, ROFL, BRG, G2G are all little pieces taken from the LEET handbook.

I am hopeful that your kids are not discussing anything too crazy, but you probably already know the answer to that question. If you suspect that some topics (underage drinking, drugs, sex) are being discussed that you haven’t yet covered at home, now may be a good time to start speaking their language. Barring any international espionage or other illegal activities, I say let the kids have their fun. We did! Feedback? Comments? Just click on the link below.

Follow Mutt Media NY on Twitter @muttmediany | Become a Fan of Mutt Media on Facebook – click here

Leet Translation courtesy of Albinoblacksheep.com | Mutt Media NY

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

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 5.6.09 | Teen Sexting

Click here for Katie Couric CBS piece on Sexting from YouTube

Last night’s episode of Law & Order SVU shed some light on a rapidly-growing occurance and one that I don’t think is going away anytime soon….teens and text messaging or as it has been coined, “Sexting”.

Sexting has received a lot of press in the last couple of months. I’m attaching here a short clip of Katie Couric covering it on CBS. Loosely defined, it is the transmission of nude or semi-nude photos using the text message or MMS feature on your cell phone or PDA. There are laws on the books that specifically prohibit the dissemination of pictures of this kind of children who are underage and authorities all over our country are using these Child Pornography laws to prosecute teenagers. The laws do not distinguish whether or not these photos are consentual in nature and currently, by the letter of these laws, teenagers can and will be prosecuted.

If convicted, they can be branded as Sex Offenders under Megan’s Law which would require these teens to register with local authorities. Information about their whereabouts can and is published for all of their community to see. This is a stigma that can follow them for the rest of their lives.

I think we can all agree that the laws in place haven’t caught up to technology. Poor judgment and decision-making are a natural part of growing up. Our children are in the (un?)fortunate position of acting as the “crash test dummies” in our new age of technology. Like it or not, they are paving the way for their children, who will, in all likelihood – be much more aware of their online image and more adept at controlling their personal information.

We are all learning that that our momentary lapses in judgment can often come back to bite us and we should really be guiding our children to guard their images carefully. No small task, to be sure. It’s a lesson in personal responsibility.

Here’s an interesting footnote – two teens in Pennsylvania have turned the tables with the help of their parents. At a slumber party they took pictures of each other in their underwear. Pennsylvania District Attorney George Skumanic Jr. offererd them a deal to help them avoid prosecution. Before agreeing to this deal, they filed suit alleging that their civil rights were being violated.

Please share your thoughts – I welcome them. Just click on the link below where it says “Leave a Comment”or send me an email (which I may publish here – full disclosure!) feedback@muttmedia.net

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