FCC approves emergency alert text-messaging system

Cell phone users will get text message alerts of emergencies under a new nationwide alert system approved late Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission, according to FCC spokesman Robert Kenny.

An emergency text message would be sent in the event of a widespread disaster, severe weather or child abduction.

Under the plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency to create the messages and pass them on to cell phone companies that choose to participate, an FCC representative said earlier. Once that agency is named, the participating cell phone providers would have 10 months to comply with the new system's requirements.
"It is essential that we support and advance new ways to share critical, time-sensitive information with them in times of crisis," FCC chairman Kevin J. Martin said in a written statement.
Earlier, the FCC representative explained how the plan would work. Cell phone companies that voluntarily opt into the system would send text-based alert messages to subscribers in response to three types of events:
A disaster that could jeopardize the health and safety of Americans, such as a terrorist attack; these would trigger a national alert from the president of the United States
Imminent or ongoing threats such as hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes
Child abductions or Amber alerts. Watch how the cell phone alerts would work »
T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and AT&T all stated that they would be likely to opt into the alert system if it is passed by the FCC.
"While we obviously need to review the details of the FCC's decision, we look forward to offering mobile emergency alerts to our customers," AT&T said in a written statement.
A Sprint representative said the company would participate if the FCC adopts the plan exactly as it was recommended by an advisory group.
A federal agency, yet to be appointed, would create the messages and information that would go to the participating cell phone companies, an FCC spokesman said. Once that agency is named, all carriers that opt into the system will have to meet the requirements of the system within 10 months.
Subscribers would be able to opt out of receiving the messages, according to the current plan, and carriers would be required to provide vibration or audio attention signals with a distinct sound for people with disabilities.
The alert system plan was generated from an act Congress passed in 2006 that looked at emergency communications. The act directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the FCC and other agencies to work together to enhance and expand the capabilities of emergency communications in the United States.

Facebook...topic of conversation?

I just wanted to comment on the post I made about the Facebook lawsuit. I think it is interesting that a social networking site like Facebook (a rather simple idea) holds so much value. This simple idea has gone a very long way, of course. Well it just seems as if someone is always after the $$$. Would these once upon a time ago students really be sueing Mark Zuckerberg if the site wasn't such a huge success? Probably not.

Anywho, for a site that only started a few years ago, there seems to be a whole stir up of conversation surrounding it. Another exciting mention about Facebook is the launch of its new IM tool and scrabble application! I've seriously been waiting for this to come out...so it was my idea folks. Thanks. But isn't that cool? In the age of digital promotion...that is going to attract so many people to their site. Watchout AOL.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/08/facebook.chat/

And for the record...look at me promoting facebook for free on my blog...:D

interesting...Facebook close to settling suit?

NRI expects big settlement from Facebook
9 Apr 2008, 0538 hrs IST,IANS

NEW YORK: Facebook , the popular social networking website, is close to settling the suit about its origins brought by three founders of ConnectU site, including Indian American hedge fund analyst Divya Narendra. The three were students at Harvard together with Mark Zuckerberg, who started Facebook.

The proposed terms of the settlement have not been divulged, said a newpaper on Tuesday. But it might turn out to be a huge sum, considering that Facebook , launched in 2004, has 69 million users and is valued by outside investors at $15 billion. ConnectU.com , an online community for students and alumni of colleges and universities, started by Narendra and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, accused Zuckerberg of basing his site on their original project.

They also alleged in the 2004 suit that he had illegally used the source code intended for the website they asked him to build for them in 2003. After the earlier suit was dismissed last year, they filed again in a Boston court. Facebook filed a suit in Califronia, accusing ConnectU of unfair business practices. A federal judge in California ordered the parties into mediation last year. Motions to dismiss the case were expected "within weeks", the paper said.

Poverty & Blogs

I thought more about what I said about how I thought the Internet could serve as a helpful tool in spreading the word about my experiences in Juarez. Interesting enough, I found a particular blog that directly coincided with the issues surrounding poverty. I thought that the people I met in Juarez would benefit greatly from what the Internet has to offer. They could gain so much knowledge from just one tool. It still strikes me to think about the digital divide where not everyone may have access to the Internet, let alone a computer. Going to Juarez and applying the digital divide to my particular situation was very eye opening. There are many benefits to being on a college campus, and having access to a computer with the Internet is one of them. However, this advantage has allowed me to take this for granted.

The Internet is a valuable tool to keep individuals informed about not only how the power of the Internet can spread awareness, but how blogs can be a part of this whole spreading awareness idea. Blogs are becoming an essential tool for voicing opinion about endless topics.

This blog is pretty simple, but links to interesting worldwide stories about poverty...countless I suppose.

http://povertynewsblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/advocates-seek-help-for-poor.html

Juarez and the Internet

After a recent return from my spring break trip to Juarez, Mexico, I have experienced a reality check. Most of the population in Juarez has been left behind by their own government, in which they have scarce resources, making it very hard to survive. Challenges include femicides (murdering of women) on the border, globalization or imperialism, land wars, etc.. However, applying the whole concept of my concentration (CMC) to their economic situations partly leaves me with hope. After spending time in Juarez, I realize what a powerful tool the Internet can be. I look to the Internet now as a resource to help spread awareness and outreach about the challenges the people of Juarez face...

Digital Promotion in Travel

Video-share sites for travelers

Story Highlights
Video-share Web sites specifically targeting travelers are springing up
Travelistic gives an embed code for most postings, so others can post the clip
Revver pays users half the revenue it makes from ads on their submissions

By Steve Friess

(Budget Travel) -- Hard as it may be for anyone under 30 to imagine, there was a time when people used to shoot eight-millimeter films while on vacation and then show them to friends and family gathered around a projector in the living room. Nowadays, capturing video is far easier (whether you use a video camera, a digital still camera with video capability or even a cell phone), as is the sharing: YouTube has proved that millions of folks have learned to upload video to a computer and instantly e-mail a link to family and friends.

Whether you use a video camera, a digital still camera with video capability, or even a cell phone, capturing video has never been easier.

While YouTube remains a popular venue for sharing vacation videos, Web sites specifically targeting travelers are also springing up. The quality of the applications and usefulness of the content, however, vary greatly. We tested four to see which are easiest, which have bugs to work out and which can even help you offset your travel costs.

Travelistic
For anyone just getting the hang of online video sharing, no-frills Travelistic -- founded by veterans of Condé Nast, iFilm and MTV -- is a good start. Before you upload a video, Travelistic directs you through a simple registration process and asks you to write a short description of your clip. When the video is posted, you can e-mail friends to tell them to watch it. You can also create a profile page to list your videos, add links to other people's clips and indicate on a world map where you've been and where you'd like to go.
Cool: Similar to YouTube, Travelistic gives an embed code for most postings, allowing anyone on the Internet to add the clip to his or her own Web site or blog. Likewise, YouTube videos can be embedded into Travelistic.
Not cool: No registration is required to leave comments on other people's videos, leading to spam. Travelistic also doesn't restrict who can post videos, so some material on the site comes from tourism promoters.
Upload time: Painfully slow at 20 minutes.*
Don't Miss
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BudgetTravel.com: 15 places every kid should see

Revver
Revver is a general-interest video-sharing site with a category devoted to travel clips. Its process for uploading a video is similar to Travelistic's, but the personal "dashboard" is much more sophisticated. You can collect friends, à la Facebook, and add other people's videos to your playlist (a compilation of favorite clips). There are also more ways to share your videos: The site allows you to use embed codes to link your videos to social-networking sites, and your friends can download the clips as podcasts in iTunes.
Cool: The site affixes small advertisements to the bottom of every video, usually promoting something germane. (For example, an ad for a Miami hotel is attached to a home movie of Miami Beach.) Revver then pays you half the revenue it makes from the video ads -- the total depends on how many people view the ads or click on them. You can track how much you've made in your dashboard, and you're automatically paid through PayPal once you've earned at least $20. Earnings can be substantial. The creators of an extremely popular Diet Coke and Mentos video on the site have made $50,000.
Not cool: Editors screen all of the videos to ensure that no obscene or copyrighted material will be posted to the site -- the process can take several hours or even a day. If your video has more than 10 seconds of a Beyoncé song in the background, for instance, the editors could consider it a copyright violation and block the clip's posting.
Upload time: Five minutes.

Tripfilms
Founded by four friends in New York City, including former IgoUgo chief executive Tony Cheng, Tripfilms is geared toward people who think of themselves as filmmakers, professional or otherwise, with higher-quality and more informative clips than those on other video-sharing sites. But that shouldn't deter the novice videographer; Tripfilms's videos may be slicker than those on other Web sites, but the site isn't necessarily more exclusive. The staff posts all videos submitted by users unless the clips are offensive. There are also tips on producing better videos, such as finding an opening or closing shot and writing a more natural script.
Cool: The site has a Film Your Trip program in which people pitch ideas for video travel stories to the editors and -- if their ideas are accepted -- are paid at least $50 for each clip they produce. If you ask, the staff may edit your video to make it look more professional or give advice on how to do it yourself. The site also occasionally gives away an iPod Nano to the creators of the top videos.
Not cool: Tripfilms is less than a year old, so traffic is low. There are just 700 videos on the site; only a handful have more than a few thousand viewings.
Upload time: Six minutes.

Zoom And Go
Zoom And Go sees itself as a combination of TripAdvisor and YouTube. The site allows users to not only upload videos and photos, but also to write reviews for hotels, destinations and attractions, and to search for hotels in certain cities. Navigating the site, however, can be slightly problematic. When you click on a city like London, for instance, you can add it to your Trip Planner, but that just creates a list of bookmarked places -- there's no actual planning function yet. The site also has a tool to check hotel availability, but clicking on the link to book the room in both Firefox and Safari led to an error page.
Cool: Zoom And Go doesn't attach ads to videos, but it's launching a system that'll award points for every video, photo and review posted on the site. The points will then be redeemable for money that'll go to the charity of the user's choice. Videos will be worth 30 points apiece; every 100 points accrued will earn $1. The editors also say that all content is provided by actual travelers, not tourism promoters.
Not cool: Although Zoom And Go claims to have the largest collection of travel videos on the Internet (more than 14,000), the clips are rarely longer than a minute, providing just a cursory glimpse of a hotel lobby or a tourist destination.

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Hello Everyone!

I am new to this whole blogging idea, and eager to communicate with others who are interested in my field of work, post college. Please feel free to stop by whenever your in the mood for just browsing around! I expect to be making comments/responses on my blog about topics covered in my Digital Promotion Management class...:)

Adriana