Arranged Delirium

Here’s another article that I had sitting around my desktop and forgot to post along with my commentary on Google+ a few days ago:

9 Reasons to Switch from Facebook to Google+

Of the elements listed, I’d say the ones that I feel most strongly about - and agree are actually somewhat achieved by the Google+ services - are 1, 5, 8, & 9. I think that issues 8 & ( will require more time to see if Google really comes through as we all hope they will; but for know we know Facebook doesn’t care about privacy, so that’s at least one known quantity.

Whenever a new operating system comes out, it creates issues for preexisting software. Since I am a particularly big Phoptoshop user, I’m always most concerned about Adobe applications. Adobe has published a convenient list of known issues with OS X 10.7 which I find very useful - especially given the breakdown by application. You should note that this is a revised version of the list, as Adobe has redacted their earlier commentary regarding hardware acceleration of Flash. (BTW, you can ignote the commentary on this page - I believe more and more commenters on the web are incapable of writing.)

The only real issues here are actually driven by Apple’s hiding of the Library directory and forcing users to install JRE manually. Older versions of Adobe software will have greater problems, but it seems like most things should work if you are running versions 5 or 5.5 - with the exception of some certain features.

I’ve been using Google+ for a while now. I have to say, I really like it a lot. It’s a good replacement for Facebook for me. I was skeptical when I first read about Google’s initiative to go social - especially following their blunder with Buzz - but it seems that they have learned from those mistakes and done a good job of implementing a valuable service. If you’re not already familiar with it, you can learn more at this Geek.com article.

There are things I like and don’t like about it, but overall I give it two thumbs us - let me know if you want an invite. What I like most about it is that Google seems to get the desire of the community for some semblance of privacy. I actually think I can post some material and delete it effectively in the future. I like the idea of circles, which makes it much more easier to organize relationships. I’m also a big fan of the integration available since I also use Gmail, Calendars, and Docs. Its very nice to be able to access multiple tools through one location, when they are the tools I use every day.

My only real gripe is that I’d like to see an text-based messaging system that is integrated into Google+. There is chat and a good video conferencing tool, but I’d like to be able to send messages akin to email without having to go out to Gmail and mail someone. Such messaging is really the only thing I miss from Facebook. Which is of course the item that I am most pleased with! I can now easily abandon Facebook. I’ll likely keep a pointer there for a while, but I’m happy to leave - Facebook never cared about privacy or user preferences. This why it consistently make mistakes, said they weren’t mistakes, then apologized and changed things anyway. Google seems smarter: able to make mistakes, learn from them, and produce something that serves their purposes but also serves the user base.

PS: I think it’s open to everyone now…

You need to imagine Stephen Colbert doing his bit to get the real humor in this. But,

I Did It! I Did It! Woot!! I Did It!

Both regular readers of Arranged Delirium will remember my criticism of Facebook’s unannounced UI changes. Thanks to me and all my readers’ incessant lobbying, FB naturally made modifications. Its good to know that one person can make a difference. Here’s a screen capture of the new interface that we’re all able to enjoy now:

The interface allows you to chose for yourself how you’d like to make use of the return key - either as a return, or as a mechanism for entering your comment. Imagine that - giving users the choice of what they want to do! What a novel approach for Facebook…

Of course, this was done months ago, but I’m only now getting around to blogging about it. Thats because I’ve been so busy on the media circuit taking responsibility for instigating this change. You’re welcome.

I have to thank (?) my colleague AMH for pointing me toward Rebecca Black and her rendition of Friday. It’s painful and we all want to mock it - that’s understandable. Just take a look:

But in truth, I just feel sorry for her. There’s a lot of hate out there. But perhaps more frightening is the fact that some young girl’s parents thought it was a good idea to pay for a vanity label to produce a video for her and then go public with it. Really? Yes.

Our College paper actually had a good article on it, attributing the epic fail to Ark Music Factory, the vanity label that actually produced this tripe (I refuse to link to them in fear that more traffic might be driven their way, even if only three people read this). I’d link to the newspaper article but the Red & Black doesn’t have a web edition, because…well, why doesn’t the Red & Black have a web edition? It would take all of 30 minutes to set up and would give our students a more realistic understanding of journalism. But I digress…

The biggest affront to me personally was the vapid nature of the lyrics. Listening to this song, actually made me more stupid. And, while I don’t possess the empirical evidence, I’m quite sure it killed some of my brain cells without the corresponding ‘high’ one might anticipate. I really need to stop now. Just Google it and you can find all the nasty mockery you’d like. I’m so dumb now I can’t even type. My kid’s toddler music is more complex and lyrically mature than this song. Its mere existence causes me to see the world as a darker place.

Addendum: And to continue my rant, I think this underscores the broader narcissistic fascination with ourselves that our culture has embraced due to the extreme prevalence of ‘social’ media - which is actually just all about the individual.