Facebook larger than Porn...

I used to have social network accounts in MySpace, Orkut, Friendster and Facebook. As of today, only my Facebook account is still active with 244 new Facebook friends, the majority of which are Generation Y folks (i even consider my research supervisor one of them because he's cool).




Then i came across an article at Hitwise data that help me to find out more about my group of friends (the GEN Y Folks). By examining which websites social-network users visit after logging into their profiles, we can gain a bit of insight into how sites like Facebook fit into their members' daily online lives. The data showed that after other social networks, the most clicked-on category of sites was search engines, with 11.6% of all downstream visits. Web-based e-mail services were next with 8.5%. Blogs came in third in popularity at 6.1%, claiming more than four times the number of visits to traditional news sites, which logged 1.5% of downstream visits.


Perhaps a more interesting — and more accurate — way to figure out where these folks are going online is to assess which of the 172 web categories tracked by Hitwise get the most hits from 18- to 24-year-olds. Here's a shocker: Porn is not No. 1 (What? you gotto be kidding me because the last time i browse STAR paper their top hits are always sex-related). I've actually been puzzled by the decrease in visits to the Adult Entertainment category over the last two years. According to Hitwise figures, visits to porn sites have dropped from 16.9% of all site visits in the U.S. in October 2005 to 11.9% as of last week, a 33% decline. Currently, for web users over the age of 25, Adult Entertainment still ranks high in popularity, coming in second, after search engines. Not so for 18- to 24-year-olds, for whom social networks rank first, followed by search engines, then web-based e-mail — with porn sites lagging behind in fourth. If you chart the rate of visits to social-networking sites against those to adult sites over the last two years, there appears to be a strong negative correlation (i.e., visits to social networks go up as visits to adult sites go down). It's a leap to say there's a real correlation there, but if there is one, then I'd bet it has everything to do with Gen Y's changing habits: they're too busy chatting with friends to look at online skin. Imagine.


This reshaped online landscape leaves me feeling old (and yes i am old approaching the big 3) and out of the loop. It seems that social-networking sites have not only usurped porn in popularity, but they've also gobbled up time Gen Y-ers used to spend on traditional e-mail and IM. When you can reach all of your friends through Facebook or MySpace, there's little reason to spend time in your old-school inbox.

The reality is that Facebook isn't just for kids. Last week — and this was a highlight — my elder bro (who's not so savvy with computers), added me as a friend on Facebook (and also successfuly uploaded his recent South Africa trip pictures). I considered sending him a virtual beer to celebrate the occasion, but I didn't think either of us would see the point. Back in my day, we drank beers out of bottles and cans — we didn't have these new-fangled virtual beers. But, then again, I think that's something I probably still have in common with the younger generation, something I don't need Hitwise data to back up: the love of a good old-fashioned beer (Heineken, Tooheys or Bud any1?).

Let the messages roll in.

United to sign the new Ralph Milne...

How can i not blog my favourite beautiful game...alas Red Devils

It's that time of the season again, the summer transfer window has flung wide open with every Tom, Dick and Harry being linked to my fav club, Manchester United. As soon as the last whistle went out on this sunday Euro 2008 finale (Spain vs Germany), expect the transfer gossip to move up into overdrive. The tabloid press and their spin doctors have only been warming up - it is going to get a lot worse, by the end of the silly transfer window your nerves are likely to be shredded. The news has so far has centred on the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the focus very much on outgoing talk.

If Ronaldo is sold, which I would love to materialise, United will have to replace him. Then for the next god knows how many years we will have suffer the press labelling targets as 'the new Ronaldo'. It was seemingly ever thus. United have always been associated with great players, when George Best retired, we were told that Sammy McIlroy was to be the new Georgie, then it was Norman Whiteside, even last year a young Irish lad named Rob Brady was burdened with the label and of course comparisons have been made with Ronaldo and Georgie.

The thing is the tabloid press know that we fans want to read that our club have found a diamond. The media play on our love of all things great where the beautiful game is concerned, particularly if the player in question is being strongly linked to your beloved club, they know that we fans are especially receptive at this time of year, we are like mares in season, waiting to be serviced by the next big juicy transfer rumour.

But for every football fan, there is always a nightmare scenario; you dream that this new signing will be every bit as good as hype that surrounds this shining new star, but often when reality bites, you realise that instead of signing the next Ronaldo you have in fact signed a bit of a donkey in the form of the new Ralph Milne.

Folks, sans Ronaldo, we can look forward to that for the rest our days, for now let us hope that Ronaldo stays for a while longer so we can savour the real thing and not have to endure silly headlines. Only in the world of blogging can you get away with "United to sign the new Ralph Milne?..."

Great expectations:

Keith Gillespie - another likened to Georgie, but like his fellow compatriot suffered demons off the field play.

Djemba-Djemba - so bad they named him twice, likened by some to the next Keano.

Jordi Cruyff - burdened by his own namesake.I'm certain there's many more, send in your names of former players who were either labelled as the next 'xxxxx' or those who failed to live up to expectations.

blogolistic...

this blog is not about me trying to write in my blog, but i gotta say it is a shame i haven't came around to it in a while. my problem is that I am too much of a perfectionist, so when I do something, I want it to be as good as it can be. therefore, i thought i haven't had enough time to make any writings be quality enough to post. but, just recently, I have learned to loosen up and relax more. If everything you do in a day is work, and you end up skipping the other things in life that you also enjoy to do, you simply become unhappy after a while. you can't be unhappy and do good work. So this post took 3 minutes to type up. it may not be that interesting, and it is not perfect.

My point, it is just blogging.

Oh Hello Kitty...

After reading this article, It left me in silent wonderment. Japan Tourism has named Hello Kitty as its choice to represent the Land of the Rising Sun in China and Hong Kong where Hello Kitty is huge among kids and women (and some say even men). Officials expect that the iconic kitten will be able to attract a streamflow of tourists into Japan.

This is the first time that any tourism ministry has endorsed a fictional character as a country's tourism ambassador.They should be applauded for taking such a bold move but what about the risk?

Although Hello Kitty has been around since 1974 and found herself in many hearts, but is being cute sufficient enough to lure people to visit Japan? Hello Kitty is such a wonderful character but to be the key driver for tourists to visit Japan? It's a cute execution but a little far-fetched maybe?

p/s: check out this Hello Kitty song !

Episode 1. Where's the green?

This is no ordinary piece of empty land. An impressive building will sit on here when its door open next week. Stay tune for more pictures and features.

Can't get any worse for Zimbabwe...

Although his opponent has quit the presidential race because the reigning despot was basically threatening to kill every Tom, Dick & Harry who didn't vote for him, let's take a look at Mugys's plucky-but-ugly campaign poster.

Since present conditions in Zimbabwe suck dirt(1000x inflation), Mugabe understandably decided to focus on the past to fire up some patriotism, while also reminding the ungrateful citizenry that it is because of HIM that they've been independent since 1980.

However, R-Mug's no idiot; he realizes that the downtrodden people need some assurance that the future is going to be better. And, like any good politician (by the way, do good politician really exist?), he addresses this need with a slogan that promises absolutely nothing. But "all good things are possible" is maybe the worst campaign slogan ever recorded.

Art direction-wise (i don't really have much art sense but 5cents worth of comment), the layout is an absolute mess but I do like the "100% Empowerment" call-out (like old school sales circular). But the poster's visually torturous—way too much copy, and all the competing typefaces/colors/weights are headache-inducing.

Anyway,it make no difference because Mugsy will retain his seat with ease—"Politicians are the same all over..."

Melbourne...

Should you by chance find yourself in Melbourne, a fair city that rests along the southern side of the southern continent, you will be at once taken by the feeling that you have entered a foreign country. You have barely stepped off the train at Flinders Station and even before your gait sheds the rolling movement of the train, you step onto the surreal heart of this city. And the heart is not one you expect after all your wanderings , it is a space totally devoted to a stance away from the normal. The square is not a square, it is a jagged irregularly lit space lined by equally angular buildings, all glowing this way and that in the cold wintry morning. The rain that falls intermittently is cold as well, but you will scarcely feel it, dear traveler (in my case worker), as you wander around the square with a jaw threatening to drop in anticipation of further wonders. Here, for example, is the debris of a celebration, with only a giant and serene Buddha bathed in the light of an enormous screen relaying a popular entertainment. Here, for example, is the nerve centre of that most excellent of broadcasting services, and seeing the familiar blue and white logo makes you nostalgic for a time that is yet to come, a time when you realize that you are no longer in Australia. Words sidle across buildings, lights dangle between buildings, and there in the distance you can make out a spire reaching for the sky.

As you wander among the alleyways and the bylanes and the little connections between the streets, you notice throngs of people gathered together, huddling in barely lit cafes on chairs thrust onto the streets. You get the feeling, as you walk past the people, and as you peer into the various shops selling exquisite paper, or clothes or coffee or even books, that there is at least one city in this land that knows how to be a city. And the walls themselves bustle with the efforts of hundreds of artists who seek to claim a tiny bit of the wall, knowing full well that this claim shall soon fade to another’s hand. Some find a little more permanence than others, their work protected by a perspex sheet, but even this is mocked in this impermanent world.

A multitude of languages beguile your ear here, dear traveler, and even though you might be schooled in many, there are still several here that elude your grasp. And as you walk along the road, you will soon encounter the trams trundling along anachronistically, electricity arcing from the wires. And if you forego the road for the trams, you will soon realize that an entire series of lessons in etiquette await you. There are wonders here, in buildings that house ancient manuscripts that gleam in the light, in secret museums devoted to the capturing of light or to stones that capture the light, and in eccentric shops that are crammed with scientific curiosities -from miniature engines that work with the heat from light to insects and spiders fossilized in resin blocks.

And then, dear traveler, as your feet weary and you yearn for respite, you may well be surprised to stumble upon a restaurant that serves you food from your homeland, and in the manner that you only have memories of, and then, as you watch the city unfurl before you as you drink a fine coffee, you realize that you have always known Melbourne. You only had to see it to be sure it existed.

P/s: the writer was on a 10 hours working mission in Melbourne (& even got enough time for a decent haircut)

my ideal day at work

Last month I participated in a cultural probes study of communication at work. One of the things I had to do was writing about my ideal day at work. Found it in my pile of papers today and thought of posting up here- could be interesting to look back at it in 10 years :)(that is if i got a job then)

***

Ideally I would have a teleportation device. Something that would bring me closer to far away people I work with. Of course, we have all technology-mediated ways of working, all presence-awareness-ambient-intimacy tools, but nothing could beat having a lunch together. Even tea/coffee (a good fika) would do. Something “around work”, not actually working on things (this we can manage in technology-mediated ways), but bits and pieces of connecting at more personal level in between.

I would also have a little babel fish in my ear, so I would understand those speaking other languages, without becoming stressed myself or making them uncomfortable.

And I would have a “Mary Poppins” bag - I’d put my office stuff in there - books, papers, gadgets. Then I’d teleport to nice locations and work there, taking breaks to do little sightseeing or to taste local food while continuing work conversations. I’d also have a foldable “awareness” screen in the bag. It would show in some easy to decode visual way when people I work with or those in more extended professional network do something relevant to my own interests.

And my laptop will be sand-proof with perfectly visible things on the screen while outside and it would fold to almost nothing. And it would work from sun or wind or rain or movement of the train and would have internet connection even in a forest.

Or, if I have to be more practical… I don’t know… I’m working on changing things I don’t like and try to be patient with those I can’t change. I like having an office where I can put all my stuff (inclusive my Corinthian figurines) around and work without too many interruptions. I like having opportunities to socialise if I feel like it. I could definitely do with better food, like a nice café downstairs with wifi, whiteboards and a projector. I’d book it for all my meetings and spend some other time with my laptop, piece of cake and a cappuccino.

Mother Nature's Son

He is a dashing young man that draws a beeline of admirers.

He possesses an aura that smells invisibility.

But his enigmatic personality left many questions unanswered.


up next: strange happenings

Inevitable Marriage?

What's the biggie?



A couple of hundred same-sex couples in Arnie-town (yes, it's California) flock to the justice of the peace -- why should anybody care?
This is the single most powerful argument for gay marriage out there: Why should you care?

Gay marriage is inevitable, so stop worrying about it.

But hey, if the word "marriage" can be redefined as a civil rights imperative, why balk at lesser ideas like "monogamy" or "fidelity"?

I do not mean to underestimate the powerful forces pushing for gay marriage. But excuse me, I'm 28 years old. I've grown up with successive waves of progressive myths, all preaching "resistance is futile." I was told as a teenager that nobody would be pro-life once all the old folks died off, and that no mothers would be home with children. I was told communism -- or at least socialism -- was inevitable, too. Have you looked at the Soviet Union lately?

War is not about killing your enemies; it's about crushing your enemies' will to fight. Guess what? Culture war is too.

Nothing is inevitable but death and taxes. If Obama don't march into the White House this November, it will be because gay folks cared more, fought harder, gave more -- and I don't believe that's going to happen.

P/s: Californians are going to surprise the elites and the progressive mythmakers by joining the 27 other states (from Oregon to Wisconsin) that have voted to protect marriage as between husband and wife. and gay-marriage will be a fad in the rest of the world (apart from the Gulf countries)

And by the way, i am not gay and am getting married to a lovely lady next January ;p

F**king Town

THIS Austrian town is a major hit with foreign tourists – and it’s no f**king wonder.


Situated some 35km north of Salzburg, the village of F**king has been so named since 1070, in honour of a man called Focko (yes! Uncle F**ker).




Residents held a vote on whether to change the name in 2004 after becoming sick of village traffic signs being constantly stolen.

But the vote was defeated and it looks like the village of F**king is here to stay

p/s: the F**king Euro 08 organizers should have build a stadia in this town and name it F**king Stadium(sound much nicer than Emirates or Stamford Bridge).

Shoot! Closed down! What next?

After 39 years of service, Shoot's demise means no more of their legendary questionnaires.

The first issue sold over 300,000 copies and they sustained these figures throughout the magazine's first two decades with a ground-breaking Panini stickers edition.

For those of a certain age Shoot! magazine was fundamental to one's footballing education. For fantasy and kick-back enjoyment you might turn to Scorcher and Score or Roy of the Rovers, but for close textual analysis, breaking news stories, hard-hitting questionnaires, beautifully reasoned player columns and, of course, 'You are the Ref' it was to Shoot! you would turn every time. Shoot! was what one read before graduating to Hugh Mcllvanney. And now it is gone. Killed off at 39 years of age.

P/s: the writer still own a library full of Shoot! & MATCH magazine. Any takers?