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Answer E. All of the Above

Karen E. Lund1 Comment

When I was in school it seemed like every multiple-choice test included at least a few questions for which the answer was “E. All of the above.” Once you get the hang of it, it’s not difficult: if you’re absolutely sure that at least two of the answers above are correct, “All of the above” is the right choice.

Moore's Law Graph

It’s been a while since I graduated high school. The intervening years have seen the rise of the Internet, the availability of smaller, faster, cheaper computers, and a sometimes bewildering choice of mobile communications technology. Along the way I’ve become a huge fan of Moore’s Law, which in 1965 predicted that “The number of transistors incorporated in a chip will approximately double every 24 months.”

If you think that the number of transistors on a chip doesn’t matter, think again. You many not know what goes on inside your computer, but because Gordon Moore turned out to be right the laptop you’re probably using right now could run rings around ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), the world’s first general purpose computer, which weighed 30 tons. And your laptop is much, much cheaper. Continue reading →

Seven Things I Shouldn’t Need to Tell You about Social Media (4 – 7)

Karen E. Lund1 Comment

On Monday I posted the first three of seven types of online behavior that seem so obviously wrong that nobody should need to be told not to do them. This morning I’m back with the other four.

4. Obey the Rules
Regardless of what anyone tells you (including me), you should read the rules, policies and privacy statements of any social media websites you register with. You need to know what you are and are not permitted to do on each site, and also what others may and may not do to you. The rules are different on each site so you need to check.

For example, LinkedIn promotes itself as a networking platform for professionals and they expect corresponding “professional” behavior. This includes using your real name and photograph (if you include one) in your profile–no nicknames, no cartoons or pictures of your kids. Facebook and Twitter are more social than professional and allow you to use nicknames, your company or organization name, and nearly anything that isn’t likely to be considered obscene or offensive. Still, if you are using Twitter or Facebook to promote yourself professionally–and especially if you link between either of those and your LinkedIn profile–you’ll want to keep it businesslike.

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Seven Things I Shouldn’t Need to Tell You about Social Media (1 – 3)

Karen E. LundLeave a comment

About a month ago I signed up with Twitter and I have to say that I’m totally addicted to it. I had wondered what anyone could possibly say in 140 characters or less; it turns out that with clever use of links, one can say quite a lot. Even the short quips can be amusing, informative or a pointer to explore elsewhere.

The one thing I don’t always love about Twitter is that it’s a much more open platform than other social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. This is good because it enables ‘Tweeple’ to follow almost anyone they fancy. It’s less good because it means some annoying fools may follow you. But that’s not limited to Twitter, just easier. Even on supposedly professional networking sites such as LinkedIn there are some jerks.

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