Quantcast Blog Addicts: August 2007 Archives

August 2007 Archives

WATCH out: hackers are taking advantage of the popularity of Google's Blogger site to post fake blog entr ies that link to malware, namely the Storm worm. Once unwittingly downloaded by users, the malicious code will allow hackers to hijack infected computers. Here's an excerpt from the BBC News article:
Infected computers are being hijacked by the gang behind the attack s and either mined for saleable data or used for other attacks. The Blogger attack is the latest in a series by a gang that has managed to hija ck hundreds of thousands of PCs. Attack pattern Security researcher Alex Eckelberry from Sunbelt Software first noticed the boo by-trapped links turning up on Blogger on 27 August. Now many hundreds of blogs on the site have been updated with a short entry con taining the link.
BLOGGERS around the world have been invited to join a mass blog effort for one day about one topic, starting with the environment. "On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind -- the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get eve ryone talking towards a better future," the organizers behind the Blog Action D ay announced on their blog. As of this writing, the call has already attracted 1,358 blogs, the organizers said. A-list bloggers have already signed up first for this call to action, in cluding Lifehack, Copyblogger, Get Rick Slowly, The Simple Dollar, and Zen Habits, among others. Organizers said there are three ways to join this call to action: post an entry in your blog relating to the environment on Blog Action Day; donate your day's earnings to an environmental charity; and promote Blog Action Day around the W eb. The organizers said the blog posts should relate to an issue of their own choic e pertaining to the environment. "For example, a blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena," the org anizers added. Posts need not have any specific agenda but should relate to the larger issue i n whatever way suits the blogger and readership, they said. "Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion," they added. The environment was selected as 2007's theme "both for the clarity of its impor tance and the undeniable urgency that issues like global warming and pollution have," the organizers said. Blog Action Day was launched sometime in the first week of August 2007.
I'VE recently picked up the book "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson. It talks about the impact of the Internet on our culture and economy and how it has created more choices (niche s) for consumers. But this concept does not only apply to commerce but other as pects of society, including journalism. This brings me Abe Olandres' blog entry which I recently read, "Why I'm Into Open Source Consulting?" It's an interesting take on the state of the Philippine blogosphere, and how di scussions (especially controversial ones) could spark greater discussions and s ome form of journalism. Abe writes:
...But that is the beauty of blogging. Everyone wields the power, n ot just a small group of people. Anybody can express their opinions and be hear d. No one is preventing anyone from joining the conversation. Itâs all there an d you are free to join or exclude yourself from the discussion. That power is s o potent that you can even shut it off in a blink by clicking on that small squ are box with an x at the top right corner of your browser. Out of sight, out of mind. The exchange of opinions (minus the cussing) is a sign that the blogging space is vibrant. Anyone can add or subtract to it and that choice is solely theirs. What would have been more sad was if nobody cared nor lift a finger. I feel ble ssed that we are free to express our thoughts and weâre aggressively expressing that freedom. My workshops around Asia opened up my eyes on why some people in neighboring countries are afraid of blogging while others are being jailed for it. I believe that the recent rounds of debate is a testament of our growth, both p ersonal and as a society.
Blogs have allowed everyone who has a personal computer and a decent Internet c onnection to say their piece. From time to time, we will see people take on nat ional issues, and derive insights, which are then picked up by journalists. In some instances, bloggers engage in some form of journalism and find out for themselves the real score. Abe's recent effort to clarify ce rtain issues was, in my opinion, journalism. As a general observation, blog gers often write opinions about a lot of issues. They also do write about perso nal experiences, citing news reports they find in blogs and online news website s. But if they go the extra step to dig up the real story from people involved, then I call that journalism. The long tail phenomenon suggests that bloggers are now part of a group of invi duals involved in producing interesting and sometimes controversial pieces, whi ch in the past are often published by newspapers. The Internet has literally ma de everyone producers of content (i.e. opinion and news) on almost everything w e could imagine. "The Long Tail's" author writes::
Although it was the photocopier that first put lie to the aphorism that "the power of the press goes to those who own them," it's blogging that ha s really sparked the renaissance of the amateur publishing. Today, millions of people publish daily for an audience that is collectively larger than any singl e mainstream media outlet can claim. What sparked blogging was, again, democrat ized tools: the arrival of simple, cheap software and services that made publis hing online so easy that anyone could do it."
To all Filipino bloggers, let's keep the conversations going.

Voice of the youth?

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SO, is the youth wing of Malaysia's ruling party really speaking for the youth when it urged the government to regulate bloggers? Here's an excerpt from the Agence France-Presse story:
KUALA LUMPUR--The influential youth wing of Malaysia's ruling UMNO political party is pressing for "regulatory control" over Internet bloggers fol lowing two widely publicized cases, state media reported. The proposal was made by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) youth chief Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Bernama news agency said late Saturday. "UMNO Youth warns that freedom has its limits and we will not tolerate those wh o touch on the issue of national stability, harmony, cultural values and the pe rsonality of national leaders," Hishamuddin said.
HERE'S an excerpt from a story from Ephraim Aguilar of the Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau:
MASBATE CITY--Four youths here have found blogging a chance to tell the world not only about the beauty of the seas surrounding this island provin ce but also about the threats that could doom their rich marine ecosystems. Representing the country at the international forum "Fishes Feed Us," Ralph Ced ie Fabon, 13, Kristine Yentyl Esber, 14, Soccii Nenotchka Tuason, 15, and Phili p Joseph Alarcon, 15, all from Masbate, joined the exchange of ideas with youth s from India, Malaysia, Philippines, and the United States on the global fish c risis. The Fishes Feed Us b log was a p roject of the Arts and Science Collaborations Inc., a nongovernment organizatio n based in New York City devoted to exploring the intersections of arts and sci ence.

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