The [X]press Blog

It’s too corrupt, to build up! Tear it down!

I know. Awesome.

(via Gawker)

Young people and most college students are aware of social media tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter but do they really know how to exploit these tools to their advantage?

I read an interesting article in BusinessWeek titled “Teaching the Facebook Generation.” It is not only important to know about social media, it is also crucial that students know how to exploit social media tools to their advantage.

If we can bring social media into existing curricula, our students will learn not only how but why they should be used within an overall communication strategy. Our mission hasn’t changed, but we must bring these tools into the classroom and show our students how they are used in business today and will be used tomorrow.

What makes one student who has knowledge different from one who has skills? Knowledge will only get you so far, after that, if you have no idea how to use that knowledge to reach a specific goal, it is pointless. Teachers need to incorporate social media into their courses and help students understand as well as teach them how to use social media tools.

you might have missed it but a small demo was at sf state today, about 100 people blocked the admin building, take a look:

So do you all know what the Konami Code is?  Basically, a cheat code that works on an entire range of games to do various things. (Wow, how was that for a description?)

↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A

Well i’ve noticed it experiencing a revival on Facebook as people who have no idea about the Konami code or any other nerd things are posting the “Facebook Bubble cheat.”  Try typing the sequence while you are logged into Facebook (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A) to see “bubbles” on your Facebook page (don’t worry you can just reload the page to get rid of it).

I tried it on my Google Reader and got a little ninja on the left. How kawaii!!

Wikipedia has a great list of games that use the Konami Code, so go try it out!  Also, feel free to leave a better description of the Code in the comments section.

Interesting article I read on BloggingStocks that talks about how community colleges haven’t embraced social media as a communication medium of the 21st century.

Main points from the article:

- Community colleges are not taking advantage of all the social media tools available at their disposal.
- Free social media tools that enhance student experience are not being used, even though money is available.
- Social media tools help students engage outside the classroom.

My theory is, with all the jobs vanishing from the college and university system, the last thing on the mind of educators is to harness the power of social media. By the time they realize that there is something profound out there that can be used but is being ignored, it will be too late.

“Israel displayed for the first time Wednesday a collection of rare coins charred and burned from the Roman destruction of the Jewish Temple nearly 2,000 years ago. About 70 coins were found in an excavation at the foot of a key Jerusalem holy site. They give a rare glimpse into the period of the Jewish revolt that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Jewish Temple in A.D. 70, said Hava Katz, curator of the exhibition.
The Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire and took over Jerusalem in A.D. 66. After laying siege to Jerusalem, the Romans breached the city walls and wiped out the rebellion, demolishing the Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism. The coins sit inside a glass case, some melted down to unrecognizable chunks of pockmarked and carbonized bronze from the flames that destroyed the Temple.”

Read More:http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091111/D9BTK7G00.html

“A government panel’s recommendation that women under 50 do not need regular mammograms is attacked by oncologists, gynecologists and cancer groups.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Chicago – A government panel’s recommendation Monday that women under the age of 50 do not need regular mammograms set off a furious debate about the importance of the routine screening tool, leaving many women confused about how best to protect their health.”

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mammogram17-2009nov17,0,3942708.story

“NASA said last week that the world was not ending — at least anytime soon. Last year, CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, said the same thing, which I guess is good news for those of us who are habitually jittery. How often do you have a pair of such blue-ribbon scientific establishments assuring us that everything is fine?”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/science/17essay.html

Bear  Playing Hockey

Sarah Palin is back in the news with her much anticipated Oprah interview and the release of her new book: Going Rogue. Michiko Kakutani reviewed it in the New York Times today. Apparently she is using this book as an attempt to get back at those who criticized her in the campaign–but not the ones you’d think. Kakutani:

The most sustained and vehement barbs in this book are directed not at Democrats or liberals or the news media, but at the McCain campaign. The very campaign that plucked her out of Alaska, anointed her the Republican vice-presidential nominee and made her one of the most talked about women on the planet — someone who could command a reported $5 million advance for writing this book.

(via McArdle)

In the United States, many people treat blogs like a trivial outlet for information–a place to post funny pictures of cats. But in countries run by repressive regimes, blogging can be a revolutionary enterprise. In Azerbaijan, two bloggers have just been sentenced to jail time for being involved in “hooliganism”. GlobalVoices has been following the story closely.

Alice Rawsthorn has a brilliant article in the the New York Times today, in which she confesses her often fraught love affair with typography:

That’s the problem with loving typography. It’s always a pleasure to discover a formally gorgeous, subtly expressive typeface while walking along a street or leafing through a magazine. (Among my current favorites are the very elegant letters in the new identity of the Paris fashion house, Céline, and the jolly jumble of multi-colored fonts on the back of the Rossi Ice Cream vans purring around London.) But that joy is swiftly obliterated by the sight of a typographic howler. It’s like having a heightened sense of smell. You spend much more of your time wincing at noxious stinks, than reveling in delightful aromas.

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Kevin Drum rebuts the arguments that universal health care will lead to outrageous costs for the government and, in effect, the taxpayers.

It’s plain that eventually we’re going to have to control healthcare spending one way or another, and the sooner we give it a serious try the better. Even if the productivity regs in the House bill don’t work, at least we’ll learn something along the way. Maybe the Senate’s plan to tax high-cost health plans will work. Maybe comparative effectiveness research. Maybe delivery reforms. Maybe figuring out why we pay 5x as much for an MRI as Japan does. Maybe something else. Who knows? Eventually we might even get to the point where we can talk about serious cost-cutting measures without Republicans going into manufactured conniptions over death panels. After all, it’s either that or national bankruptcy.

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I have not seen it yet, but the reviews are claiming that it might be Anderson’s best. Via Kottke:

In stop motion animation, Wes Anderson has found the perfect medium for telling his special brand of precise yet fanciful tales. I won’t go so far as to say that it’s his best film — Rushmore will be difficult to dislodge from its perch — but there are some pretty special moments in Fantastic Mr. Fox.

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Ryan Avent argues that zip cars are a way to reduce the difficulty of moving stuff around the city. On the surface this seems like a reasonable claim, but I’ve had a different experience. It seems like, even in the city with its reduced amount of cars, everyone knows someone with a car. Usually, I’ve been able to coax these drivers into hauling stuff for me. Presumably, it would be easier to go pick up a car and use it for the afternoon. I just fear to get stuck in this habit. I’d rather mooch of other’s gas guzzlers.

In addition, he argues that this could motivate suburbanites to move to the city. I am afraid it’s just not that simple. Cars are just one of the many complaints of suburbanites about the city. Crime, children’s safety, the lack yards, traffic, high costs etc. Cars seem like the relatively small reason. And what about all those parking garages?!

Apparently, this is what we look like in the dream state.

(Via: BehanceNetwork)

Levi Johnston, father of Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol’s child, just finished shooting for the cover of Playgirl. There are many different ways to respond to this, but this quote from the press release sums it all up. Via Sullivan:

“We were talking in the greenroom about gay categories: bear, cubs and Levi asked what his type would be-we decided a twink, but older, so we anointed him a ‘twunk’,”

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Oh Google Santa, how you will fill my Christmas vacation flights with glee. Looks like the company is trying to make itself look even better by providing free wi-fi at 47 designated airports through the holidays. Sounds good to me!

Google Gives Gift Of Free Wi-Fi in 47 Airports For the Holidays

These words that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
I am with you in Auschwitz when a child suffers
I am with you in Auschwitz when a soldier dies in battle
I am with you in Auschwitz when a man divorces his wife
I am with you in Auschwitz when a child renounces his faith
I am with you in Auschwitz when a father abandons a son
I am with you in Auschwitz when God is put on trial
I am with you in Auschwitz when neighbor lifts hand against neighbor
I am with you in Auschwitz when tradition is ignored
I am with you in Auschwitz when history is neglected
I am with you in Auschwitz when each bomb is dropped
I am with you in Auschwitz when each bullet leaves the chamber
I am with you in Auschwitz when you feel alone
I am with you in Auschwitz when you least expect hope
I am with you in Auschwitz when disease and death prevail
I am with you in Auschwitz when a child buries his mother
I am with you in Auschwitz where dirt and gas prevail
Continue reading →

Long time anti-immigration and birther advocate Lou Dobbs recently announced that he would be leaving his show on CNN effectively immediately. While the story on CNN.com presents Dobbs as merely going on to pursue other ventures larger than the network can provide, the New York Times presents a slightly different story. In their story suggest that CNN might not be too distraught over the loss as they can more fully pursue a middle-of-the-road network in comparison to FOX and MSNBC. Even more damning is the fact that Dobbs has left after disagreeing with the politics of CNN, feeling that it was restricting him; last year he was forced to make his show more objective and save the opinions for talk radio. The lack of further comment for the network and the uncertainty of Dobbs’ next move will do for the national conversation make the whole deal a bit suspicious. Still, at 64 he may just want a break. Whatever the case may be at least we will soon have an anchor who believes the president was born in this country