Friend of the Book

There are some things in this life that should remain timeless. In a social media fueled world, we live in a digital environment where a computer is the closest some of us come to human interaction. You can have a conversation with an art student in Japan, promote your business on a fan page and twitter to your heart's content but all of it lacks the charm of the tangible. Some could argue that wearing out the keys on your keyboard is as tangible as it should get, I disagree.

Don't for a second believe that I don't twitter, update my facebook status or skype a colleague instead of walking to their office, I'm guilty of partaking in the allure of having the world at my fingertips but I wonder if I'm missing out on the simple, more realistic times. Penguin, the publishing giant is concerned and in turn has made me concerned.

The iPad, a cross between a smart phone and a laptop, is helping foster a market for tablet computers that is expected to grow to some 50 million units by 2014, and with it, also expand the market for e-books. The term e-book makes my brow wrinkle. Books are one of life's true joys, curling up on the couch and reveling in a story that touches the imagination. There's a timeless romance connected to a book. Walking into a library or a quaint bookstore is a thrill in itself, rummaging through all the titles, taking in the silence and the smell that can only be described as that "old book smell".

In fact, a survey of 600 college students conducted by pollster Zogby International found that 43 percent of people identified smell, either a new or old smell, as the quality they most liked about books as physical objects.

I'm sure e-books are the way forward for us all, but I cant help but feel like we are missing out on something greater, better and a lot more appealing. Books are a timeless joy, let's not lose sight of that!

Dear John....

The Dear John letter was formerly the way out of a relationship if you couldn't muster the courage to say it and as the digital world expands this is becoming outdated. According to a new survey the way to end a relationship is in the cyber world avoiding the tears and uncomfortable confrontations. Changing your status on Facebook from "in a relationship" to "single" seals the deal in ending things. It really doesn't get any more clean cut than that but does it make it right?

Over one third of 2 000 people polled (34 percent) said they had ended a relationship by email, 13 percent had changed their status on Facebook without telling their partners and six percent had released the news unilaterally on Twitter. By contrast, only two percent had broken up via a mobile phone text. The rest had split up the old-fashioned way by face-to-face conversation (38 percent) and by telephone (eight percent).

People are claiming it's an easier and more effective way and avoids any misunderstandings. What exactly is there to misunderstand? I must be honest here, this is the most disrespectful thing I've heard about in a while. I realize that each situation is dependent on circumstance but this seems a cruel way to avoid an uncomfortable situation and can cause a lot more harm than good. No one likes to break up with someone else but its an unavoidable aspect of all our lives and we have to stop for a minute and wonder how we would feel discarded before we've even realized it? Weigh your options when you're dealing with someone else's heart because it's as fragile as your own.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

The latest individual to make Facebook fame is a 33-year-old Orangutan named 'Nonja.' She lives at a Vienna zoo and has been winning over fans with her photographs of her daily life. Nonja takes the photos with a camera that dispenses raisins each time she snaps.

So far, Nonja has won over almost 3500 fans since the zoo launched her online photo album just three days ago. Its true, Nonja will have to work on her technique, some of her pictures are off center and blurry but we have a suspicion its more about the raisin-dispensing-camera than anything else;)

My favourite part of the story? The Vienna Tiergarten set up the project to help keep Nonja and her three ape friends entertained in their enclosure. Who knew that even monkeys get bored and have to resort to multimedia social networking sites for entertainment. Makes me wonder who is really in the zoo?

Get Out of My Face(book)!

Remember when when social networking sites were regarded as another way in which the world was opening up. Looking for your best friend from playschool? Get on Facebook and you'll find them. It was probably around about the same time that religious denominations decided that Noddy and Big Ears were gay, the Teletubbies were direct descendants of Satan and the witches, wizards and goblins of Harry Potter and Narnia were the catalysts for subliminal messages corrupting youth and innocence.

The latest however is that the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England has slammed social networking sites stating that modern technology is "undermining people's ability to communicate, retarding social skills and in worst case scenarios, increasing suicide risks." Pretty strong I'd say but lets dissect it before we decide what side of the fence we're sitting on.

It is true that communication has become muddied and has to an extent, evolved to something unimaginable a hundred or more years ago. While the world has opened up, people have shut down in a way. Lonely love seekers would rather risk it behind a computer than offer to buy the object of their affections a drink. Shopaholics don't even have to leave the house to get the latest and greatest deals online.

OK, so we don't get out much but when we do...we go big. Travel is one thing that's taken an upturn since the technology age. Now you can go anywhere without going anywhere really. Like with www.hummba.com, a new travel and lifestyle website that takes independent travel to new heights.

But the archbishop still isn't taking kindly to the idea. He said that "As a society, we are losing the ability to build interpersonal communication that's necessary for living together and building a community." Now, he has a point, but a shaky one. We won't get into it on this show but I will say that society comprises of families. And therefore, the breakdown within families can be attributed to the breakdown in society and that doesn't have anything to do with technology. That's people...parents and children.

The archbishop went on to say that "the exclusive use of electronic information dehumanises a very important part of community life and living together." The "very important part" he was referring to is in fact, face-to-face interaction, or at least telephone conversations. At least.

Poor Facebook is getting bullied on the social networking playground, a similar scenario to the Bowling for Columbine meets Marilyn Manson incident. Apparently, Facebook and the likes don't provide "rounded communication" but is it really Facebook's job to make sure that we're communicating?

Isn't that what its about? Us. Not them. That's like saying that our communication skills will be improved with technological improvements. Its a tall order for a cell phone or PC to make sure that we're communicating our messages effectively.

Here's what I think, social networking sites are here to stay. Well, for now at least, but the balance is up to the individual. A great way to see if you haven't morphed into a technological mute is to visit www.hummba.com and talk back, tell them something, upload an audio clip and photos to share your travel tips and advice with other travellers. Who knows, you might even make a friend.

Anti-Social Behaviour

There was a time when social networking sites were a friendly space. Sure, there were a few incidents with some guy that you've never met sending you a stream of friend requests but on the whole...it was a happy cyberspace. But as the old saying goes...where there's space, there's room for trouble.

All the idle hands seem to be making light work of all the hacking that can be done. Facebook, MySpace and the myriad of other social networking sites have become something of a playground for cyber-criminals. Ah, for the days when your purse got stolen and you had to re-apply for your ID and change your locks and cancel your credit cards. These days, all your information is right there in front of your criminals, name, address, birthdays, star signs, employment details, hobbies, email and phone numbers. We've never been more accessible to evil. Good times.

Now, before you go adding privacy accounts to anything and everything...listen to the rest of the story. Early this week I wrote about the Campus Party taking place in Valencia, Spain. Its one of the world's biggest online entertainment events and has been taking place annually since 1997. Its the meeting place for internet enthusiasts and a sort of cyber church warning users against the dangers that hackers present in the social networking world.

Meet Koobface. "Koob" for those of you who don't know is "Book" backwards, so "Facebook" in reverse. While Facebook is all about spreading the love, Koobface is a vicious virus that has been infecting users of Facebook and Twitter since 2008.

As with all virus there are a number of variants or strains, in this case, more than 4000 have been detected. The virus hijacks accounts of users on the mentioned SNS and sends messages steering you to nasty sites containing malware. FYI...malware equals "malicious software often designed to infiltrate a computer system for illicit purposes.

So its counts in real life and in cyber space now too...know who your friends are. That's usually how they'll get you...Koobface will send you a friend request or another invitation, either to update software or download applications and the like. The social networking sites being affected have assured their users that incidents have been very few and that they do take precautions to ensure that their space remains your space.

One thing to remember is that most hackers aren't just hacking to make your life miserable, there are Cyber Mafias out there (not kidding) who hack for profit. Cyber Mafias have been identified in Brazil, China, Russia and the Ukraine. and they're making a killing. So do yourself a favour, know who your friends are, if it seems suspicious, it is and report people who aren't playing the game, the friendly social networking way.

Hackers or no hackers, social networking is one of the ways we can stay in touch. Visit www.hummba.com and discover a whole new way to see the world.