Why is Facebook Lactose Intolerant? - November 20th

Why is Facebook Lactose Intolerant? You might be surprised to learn that sweepstakes, giveaways and other contests are fairly tightly regulated by a variety of government entities. And in case you haven’t noticed, Facebook is fast becoming the go-to site for that kind of activity. That’s why it makes sense that their lawyers have been hard at work coming up with a failsafe way of protecting the company from litigation. Still, I can understand the ban on contests that feature dangerous weapons or controlled substances, but why the ban on dairy products?

Schadenfreude Everywhere you look, social media experts are touting teenagers as the technologists of the future. The holy grail seems to be about how to capture their attention, tap into their expertise, and remain up to date with their ever-changing interests. So it was with not a little joy for a middle-aged guy like me to find out that the kids don’t know everything. This week on Brazen Careerist (which is a sort of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter mashup), I discovered that even the under-30 crowd can use a few tips about how to write a blog. Nice to know that in the 21st century, age and treachery can still overcome youth and skill.

Visual Basics There are a million and one tutorials on how to use social media sites, but many of them are either overly complicated or too simplistic. That’s why I want to give a shout out to Wildfire, a company I’m using to help me with a client project. Their method of explanation is to use step-by-step screen shots, which is my all-time favorite way of learning something. It’s like my car, I don’t need to know how it works, I just need to find the ignition.

Location, Location, Location What’s the “next big thing”? As technology evolves seemingly at the speed of light, entrepreneurs, technologists and pundits are constantly trying to figure out what the future will look like. And more importantly, how to make money off it. The consensus of the moment is that location based services will be the landscape-altering next step. In essence it’s about discovery — not just you finding the nearest pizza joint, but companies and applications finding out where you are and targeting your perceived needs. Intriguing as it is, it makes me wonder, will electronic privacy one day become a crime?