Social networks#Mediause

Social networks are big businesses nowadays, billons of Euros are spend on these digital environments. We are always busy with work, school, working out, shopping and so on, that we don’t have time to relax. Besides our busy day schedules we want to see our friends also. Problem nowadays is that we got a lot of friends but not a lot of time to see them on a weekly base. So the social network popup, which is great because now you can see your friends digitally and you don’t have be a shame if you don’t see them for a will in real live.

So, we start singing in on Hyves, Face book and twitter, than you got your blog´s to worry about, one for your gaming geek friends and another one for your school mates who are also following Media use. Lives great, but them you got maintain all your accounts and social contacts by ´Twittering´, ´Tikken´ or ´Krabbelen´. So now you got less time to do the other important stuff like doing your homework, writing your papers, working-out and going out.

Then someone creates a tool `The suicide Machine` to commit suicide on your digital social network life and then someone really does it and says that they feel free again. But when you think about it we are all junkies who are addicted to being online (myself included). I can’t imagine my life without internet, in special the social parts of it. So junkies we are……

So, are these social networks a hype or here to stay? Frankly I don’t know the answer to that question….. Time will tell I guess, but they are handy for now.

Shame on Apple´s new sexy rules #Mediause

So, Apple has decided to delete applications which are containing sexy images from its apple store. It is said that they are doing this because apple is bring the new presented Apple-tablet iPad on the market. The iPad is also for family use, so Apple decided to make the necessary adjustments to their policy concerning the use of sexy images.

Instead of deleting the applications they could also create an age border form applications which are too sexy. The user needs to fill in its age and judging by his age he/she is allowed to use the application. Besides that Apple hasn´t got any clear rules defined, developer Jon Artherton (from the famous Wobble application) called to Apple and asked them to explain what the rules are. This is what an Apple employee answered:

1. No images of women in bikinis (Ice skating tights are not OK either)

2. No images of men in bikinis! (I didn’t ask about Ice Skating tights for men)

3. No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)

4. No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs (yes – I am serious, we have to remove the silhouette in this pic)

5. No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex – all banned

6. Nothing that can be sexually arousing!! (I doubt many people could get aroused with the pic above but those puritanical guys at Apple must get off on pretty mundane things to find Wobble “overtly sexual!)

7. No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content (not sure how Playboy is still in the store, but …)

So, besides that these rules are still strange it also shutdown the income of developers. These boys and girls are contributing a create deal to the success of the apple applications. Personally I think apple should withdraw its ridicules set of rules. Shame on them!!

A new job, #mediause

Hi, I just started a new job! Well besides that this is great news, I have to work with a couple of IT-systems. So I thought, this could be a new input for my blog. But let me tell you first what I have to do there, customers email questions to me and I answer them in a nice and satisfying way. Yes you're right its customer service, sounds easy. I thought so.....

After a couple of days of training, my new found knowledge was put to the test. I got my own email account and opened my first email, so far no problems.....

During the training it became clear to me that they were using four different kinds of IT-systems, which are far from user-friendly (the fun part is that the rest of the employees agrees). So for the next 30 minutes I was looking for the answer to a simple question, after 30 minutes the system crashed and was down for 2 hours.

This meant that I could not work during the malfunction, resulting that I tried nine different kinds of coffee at the coffee machine.

It-systems help solving problems but some are not userfriendly, unreliable and create a high level of irritation among users. But without the systems I could not do my work properly aswell as my colleagues working on the customerservice.

The fact that I could not function without the systems shows that systems should support users suche as myself and not make them dependent on systems, which is not the way systems where intended.

Hope to see you next time