XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Thursday 29 March 2012

Think Twitter's full of it? New site prints out all your Tweets (or favourite celebrity's) as rolls of toilet paper -

Think Twitter's full of it? New site prints out all your Tweets (or favourite celebrity's) as rolls of toilet paper - 
The site prints out all your Tweets - or anyone else's - as a roll of toilet paper

A new site prints out your Twitter feed on rolls of toilet paper - or you can pick your favourite celebrity and turn their words into wipes.
The site S***ter charges $35 for four rolls of paper printed with 140-word Tweets. 
The Tweets appear printed on sheets with about four Tweets per sheet.



'Obviously this is fairly tongue in cheek, but we’re reasonably pleased we monetized Twitter in a way that avoided advertising,' said founder David Gillespie, in an interview with Venturebeat, which found the company.
'We all have other jobs, though would obviously like to make it a full-time thing. I don’t know where the revenue is, it may very well wind up needing to be funded by brands. I can’t imagine Kleenex putting their name to it.'
The site's slogan is 'Social Media has never been so disposable.' 
Two hundred million Tweets are posted worldwide every day. 
Even Twitter's own users admit that much of what is posted via the popular microblogging service is not worth reading, according to a survey by Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. 
Around 130 million messages a day sent out on Twitter are not worth reading, says a survey of the site's own users. 
Account holders admit only a third of the tweets they receive are of any interest, and the rest are largely forgotten almost immediately.




Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2122318/Think-Twitters-New-site-prints-Twitter-page-favourite-celebritys-rolls-loo-paper.html

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests - like Dinosaur Poverty -

War On Words: NYC Dept. Of Education Wants 50 ‘Forbidden’ Words Banned From Standardized Tests - like Dinosaur Poverty - 
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George Carlin is rolling over in his grave.


The New York City Department of Education is waging a war on words of sorts, and is seeking to have words they deem upsetting removed from standardized tests.

Fearing that certain words and topics can make students feel unpleasant, officials are requesting 50 or so words be removed from city-issued tests.


The word “dinosaur” made the hit list because dinosaurs suggest evolution which creationists might not like, WCBS 880′s Marla Diamond reported. “Halloween” is targeted because it suggests paganism; a “birthday” might not be happy to all because it isn’t celebrated by Jehovah’s Witnesses.


Julie Lewis’ family celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa, but she told CBS 2′s Emily Smith she wants her children to appreciate and learn about other holidays and celebrations.


“They’re going to meet people from all walks of life and they’re going to have to learn to adjust,” Lewis said.


Words that suggest wealth are excluded because they could make kids jealous. “Poverty” is also on the forbidden list. That’s something Sy Fliegal with the Center for Educational Innovation calls ridiculous.


“The Petersons take a vacation for five days in their Mercedes … so what? You think our kids are going to be offended because they don’t have a Mercedes? You think our kids are going to say ‘I’m offended; how could they ask me a question about a Mercedes? I don’t have a Mercedes!’” Fliegal said.


Read more - 
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/26/war-on-words-nyc-dept-of-education-wants-50-forbidden-words-removed-from-standardized-tests/


Concerns grow over children using tablet computers - can cause developmental difficulties, autism, or ADD -

Concerns grow over children using tablet computers - can cause developmental difficulties, autism, or ADD - 




Electronic tablets like the iPad are a revolutionary educational tool and are becoming part of childhood, but should be watched carefully so that overuse doesn't lead to learning or behavioral problems, experts say.
"It's a topic that really emerged in the last two years. You can't pull it from their hands," Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Technology Review, said this week at a New York panel titled "Baby Brains and Video Games."
According to a late 2011 survey of 2,200 parents and children in Britain and the United States, 15 percent of kids between three and eight had used their parents' iPad. Nine percent had their own iPad, while 20 percent had their own iPod.
The same study, by the marketing agency Kids Industries, found 77 percent of parents believed that using tablets was beneficial for their children and the same number thought the gadgets helped develop creativity.
Amid warnings from some researchers that tablets can cause developmental difficulties and problems including autism or attention deficit disorder, experts at the forum recommended not rushing to judgment.
"Technology maybe fosters some things and dampens others," Rosemarie Truglio, from the children's TV producers Sesame Workshop, said. "It's definitely about balance."
Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New American Foundation, said that critics blaming devices like the iPad for child developmental problems should differentiate "between a cause and an association."
Still, Guernsey, author of "Screen Time: How Electronic Media -- From Baby Videos to Educational Software -- Affects Your Young Child," urged parents to establish limits on use of electronic devices.
"Can they focus on a conversation, not look a screen for 30 minutes?" she asked.
Truglio noted that "researchers have proven they need adult-child interaction," in addition to the electronic helper. "Interactive doesn't mean educational," she said.
Annie Murphy Paul, author of "How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives," said there's no need to panic.
"Your brain is changing all the time, each time you learn something new," she said.


Read more -
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/concerns-grow-over-children-using-tablet-computers-203057554.html

Rapper "ZOEJA" Releases Trayvon Martin Tribute Calling for Race Riots - burning of houses, and the death of Zimmerman -

Rapper "ZOEJA" Releases Trayvon Martin Tribute Calling for Race Riots - burning of houses, and the death of Zimmerman -