YouTube: Is it Possible to Watch 4 Billion Views a day?

YouTube Statistics - Views Per Day

YouTube – Hits 4 Billion Views a Day

  • How many videos do you watch in a week?
  • How many times have you gone to youtube to watch 1 video and ended up watching 7?

Google confirmed that YouTube is now averaging 4 BILLION views per day. They also confirmed that 60 hours of video is uploaded into the site, every MINUTE.

Back in 2010 we were awed that YouTube hit 2 billion views per day, bringing up many discussions about whether YouTube was helping or hurting our culture as a whole.

Then Back in May 2011, a mere 8 months ago, YouTube celebrate it’s 6th birthday by citing YouTube is averaging 3 billion views per day and 48 hours of video uploaded per minute. Incredible. At the time, YouTube cited this is equivalent of every US Resident watching at least 9 videos per day. That is EVERY US RESIDENT. That means if some guy without internet is not watching a video, someone is watching 18 times. But now at 4 Billion Views, YouTube has seen a 50% increase in views in about less than a year. At this rate, they would probably hit 5 billion within 6 months.

Is there a ceiling to this?

How many videos can one person possibly watch in a day?

That is an insane about of videos. We really need a resurgent of hobbies or find some meaningful work! Anyone have any good stories of replacing mundane video watching with something productive?

Ironically having said that, below is a YouTube video highlighting this latest milestone. HA! Add another view to that figure.

Confession Time

So a little confession time. Let us know below in the comments & poll:

  • How many videos do you think you watch a week?
  • How many times have you gone to youtube to watch 1 video and ended up watching 7?

Don’t leave out those outliers where you watched 25 videos with your two friends around the couch!

[poll id=”16″]

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Who has Access to Your Facebook? Clean it in 1 Minute.

Facebook Lock Privacy Settings

Do you know who has access to your Facebook? Your Twitter? To your Google Account?

What Apps, Programs, Websites have you given access to over time that you have forgotten about?

You may be surprised how many apps have access to your account!

With the new year, take a few minutes to see who has access, and clean it up! A new site called “mypermissions.org” provides links to the various settings pages. It’s quite simple. No login needed. Just click on the link to go to your settings and see who is linked to your account.

If you are so lazy or so fearful of clicking over to another site… I have provided the direct links to your setting pages below. Just click on the links below, log into your account (unless you are already logged in) and you should be at your settings/access page. Just click off the ones you don’t want accessing your data! A fresh new start for 2012.

Facebook Settings
Twitter Settings
Google Settings
Linkedin Settings
Instagram Settings
Flickr Settings

  • Let us know, how many applications were accessing YOUR ACCOUNT?!
  • Were you surprised?
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Top 10 Fastest Rising Google Searches in 2011

Google Releases Zeitgeist 2011 Search Statistics

Google has released it’s Zeitgeist 2011 statistics. Google Zeitgeist highlights the top search trends of the year. I also see it as a snapshot into our culture because it really highlights recent fads, what sparks our interest and what grabbed the most attention. Whenever I see these lists, it’s a mix of excited curiosity and a bit of sadness over what grabs the most attention in our society. Take it as you will. Here is the top 10 list with some notes and comments for reference.

google zeitgeist search rankings 2011

Google Plus IconTop 10 Fastest Rising Google Searches in 2011

1.) Rebecca Black [WHY?!!]
2.) Google+
3.) Ryan Dunn [He was the main daredevil in the show jacka**. Died this year]
4.) Casey Anthony [Mother was found not guilty of first degree murder charges of her daughter Caylee]
5.) Battlefield 3 [Video Game]
6.) iPhone 5
7.) Adele [Singer]
8.) 東京 電力 (TEPCO) [Japan’s Nuclear Power Plant Evacuated after Quake.]
9.) Steve Jobs
10.) iPad 2

Considering all the tragedies that happened this year, you would think such things would be higher on the list, but Rebecca Black? Really?

Couple more top 5/10 lists for those interested.

Amazon Kindle FireTop 5 Google Searches – Gadgets

1.) Amazon Kindle Fire
2.) iPhone 4s
3.) Sidekick 4g
4.) HP Touchpad
5.) Spb Shell 3d
*6) iPad 2
[case you were wondering]

Top 10 Fastest Falling Google Searches in 2011

1.) Myspace [it has traffic to be falling?]
2.) Hi5 [oh I hate those spam friend emails!]
3.) Mebo
4.) Nasza Klasa
5.) Netlog
6.) Baidu
[Largest Search Engine in China.]
7.) Wer Kennt Wen
8.) Meinvz
9.) Hotmail Correo
10.) Delta Airlines

Top 5 Clean Cut Media Searches

Only because I know you are dying to know this…
I’ve also linked to the article driving the most traffic.
Note that these statistics favor postings that came earlier in the year since the data is cumulative.

In 2011 (search queries grouped by category).
1.) YouTube [YouTube Statistics – The Ultimate Time Suck]
2.) Chalk Art [3D Chalk Arts in the Streets Part I]
3.) Michael Jackson [Michael Jackson Death Causes Social Media Explosion]
4.) Social Media [Social Media Statistics Video]
5.) Clean Movies [Clean Family Friendly Movie Reviews & Ratings]
6.) 9/11 [Sept 11, 2001 – World Trade Center, Remembering 9/11]
7.) Art [Amazing 3D Building Chalk Arts]
8.) Photoshop [France to Regulate Airbrushed & Photoshopping Pictures]
9.) Facebook [Change Your New HTTPS Facebook Privacy Settings Now]
10.) Nickelback [Nickelback – Savin’ Me Music Video]

  • Any of this shock you or surprise you?
  • Any thoughts on this list?
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YouTube Statistics – Growing like a Man Child [Infographic]

YouTube Logo Big

YouTube Statistics – Growing like a Mad Child

By Paul Lee

YouTube is celebrating it’s sixth birthday and the statistics are in… It’s a Man Child.

(e.g. lebron james, greg oden, that 6 foot 200lb “12 yr old” pitcher at little league)

A mere two years ago, we wrote a post called YouTube Statistics – The Ultimate Time Suck. This article is currently the one of the most popular posts on Clean Cut Media. However it is amazing how quickly YouTube has grown. 90% of the YouTube Statistics you see out there are clearly outdated… thus here we’ve gathered some of the most current data, straight from YouTube and from articles dated in the last month. Enjoy!

YouTube History

  • Feb 2005 – Founders register domain name
  • July 2006 – 100M video views per day, 65,000 new video uploads per day
  • June 2007 – YouTube launches in 9 countries. Launches YouTube Mobile
  • Oct 2008 – 15 Hours of video uploaded every minute
  • Oct 2009 – YouTube announced more than 1 billion views per day
  • March 2010 – 24 Hours of video uploaded per minute
  • Feb 2011 – 490 million unique users worldwide per month

YouTube Growth & Ranking Statistics

  • #1 online video content: 142.7 million unique viewer (#2 Vevo @ 55.2 Million)
  • #2 Largest Search Engine (#1 Google, #2 YouTube)
  • #3 Biggest Site on the Web (#1 Google, #2 Yahoo, #3 Youtube, #4 Yahoo)
  • Did You Know? – 1000s of full-length movies on YouTube (WHERE!!??)

Youtube Logo RedYouTube Traffic & Upload Statistics

  • 13 Million hours of video uploaded in 2010
  • Equivalent of 240,000 full length film every week
  • More video content is uploaded to youtube in 60 days, than the three major US TV networks has done in 60 years.
  • 48 Hours of video uploaded every minute
  • Equivalent to nearly 8 years of content per day (100% inc YoY)
  • 70% of YouTube traffic from outside the US
  • YouTube is localized in 25 countries and 43 languages
  • YouTube mobile gets 400M views a day (13% of all views)
  • YouTube past the 3 billion views a day mark…

YouTube Statistics 48 hours Uploaded Minute

YouTube on Facebook & Twitter Statistics

  • 17 million people have connected their YouTube account to a social service
  • 150 years of YouTube video are watched daily on Facebook
  • 500 Tweets per SECOND contain YouTube links
  • AutoShared Tweet results in 6 new youtube sessions

Speaking of Facebook… come check out our Clean Cut Media Facebook Page!

YouTube Opinions Poll

Did you know that the average person comes to watch ONE youtube video ends up watching more than SEVEN?

Youtube is ridiculously addicting. You know it. I know it. Considering how much time is spent (wasted?) on Youtube… OPINION POLL!

[poll id=”7″]

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3 Ways Steve Jobs & Apple Ushered the Mobile Marketing Age [Infographic]

Mobile Marketing Statistics

As a professional who has been in the online marketing world since it’s birth, “mobile marketing” was the “next big thing” touted in every marketing conference for the past 6 years. I was always skeptical because, mobile was ALWAYS mentioned as the next big frontier, but I saw no medium in which the marketing ads could be delivered. There was no evidence or the numbers to back that claim.

Then came the iPhone, which changed everything. (RIP Steve Jobs).
Steve Jobs picture RIP

Apple iPhone (Steve Jobs) Ushers in the New Age of Mobile Marketing

Those who are just now reading articles about how Steve Jobs was a great visionary may not realize how much he really revolutionized every industry he touched. He isn’t just the CEO who introduced the iPod or the bringer of the iPhone. He literally led the way in creating products and ecosystems that created brand new industries and as a result thousands and thousands of jobs. Numerous companies out there can give some credit to their existence and growth to much of what Steve Jobs contributed to the technology sector. Think about the 100s of companies centered around building apps, or building games for the phone, apple product accessories, geo-location marketing companies, or mobile marketing service agencies. Think of all those companies centered around some product or service related to the digital music / mp3 market which not that long ago was owned by big media, then by organizations like Napster. Think about whole divisions created to tap into and create applications on tablets or all the cool little startups utilizing the social mobility of smartphones. Think about all the executives out there, innovators in their own right, sharing how Steve Jobs helped them conceptualize and grow their own companies. Apple products drove the strategy and goals of other competitors from big music labels, computer makers to phone carriers. The list goes on and on. There is a reason why Steve Job’s death has had led to such huge ripples across the nation. RIP Steve Jobs. Thanks so much for everything.

Just one of such industries that changed forever, is the mobile market.

How did the Apple iPhone change the mobile landscape?

Smartphone Becomes the Norm:
To put it simply, the iPhone made having a smartphone the norm. Only a few years back, very few had smartphones. Smartphones were reserved for the executives of big companies, mainly in the form of the blackberry. No one thought about using it as a “personal” device. It was too expensive, too hefty, seemed a bit complex. It was seen as a “professional” device. Everyone had flip phones and were content.

Then the iPhone became the “apple” of everyone’s attention. (oh no you didn’t!)

Simple. Affordable. Snazzy. Hip. Apple said, hey you want it. You need it. You can get cool apps on it. You can play games on it. You need a calendar. You need to access email instantly. You need it to watch videos. You need it to text with a bigger screen. All of syncs with your computer really easily so it’s easy to use. It was cool, it was hip, the iPhone.

Steve Jobs iPhoneSteve Jobs drove Apple to create a product that is simple and affordable for the public. Just like the iPod, iPhones took the basics of what mass consumers use (surfing the net, watching videos, taking pictures, texting), and created a product that did those things well and made it easy to use. While most of the technology world was still competing over adding more and more complex features, Apple focused on the core-uses of the consumer and made it simple and easy. Suddenly smartphones became a personal device that everyone must have. As everyone started to buy iPhones, other mobile phone competitors jumped on the bandwagon, recognizing the shift in the market. Now everyone and their mother, and their teenager daughter has an iPhone. I’ve seen kids still in middle school with the iTouch giving them free access to the internet. Which I have problems with, but that is another story.

Easier to Browse the Internet
The iPhone has also made it much easier to browse the web. Once checking the internet on your phone was so painful, that often it was just not worth it. You would have to click 24 times just to get to the article you wanted. It would be hard to read, the links were the infamous blue, taking up half the screen. Clicking on it was impossible unless you had petite fingers. Not to mention the tiny screens where web formats would break or a unfriendly page of blue links dominated the user experience. It wasn’t worth it. Don’t even get started on the ads.

The iPhone suddenly made surfing the internet, easy and simple. It was just like browsing on the computer, just on a smaller screen. Full browser, full experience (minus the flash! save the complaints!). No more nasty mobile ad formats and spammy links or 14 clicks to get back to the homepage. Surfing the net on the mobile phone became a reality.

Created an App Ecosystem

The iPhone also did a fantastic job courting developers and creating a whole “app” centered world. All kinds of creative apps were developed, as well as numerous ways to connect with the consumer. There are so many interesting and creative geo-centered applications, interest based apps, productivity apps, and all of these apps became an avenue in which marketers can use to engage the users.

Mobile Marketing becomes Legit

What Steve Jobs and Apple did was legitimize ads on mobile phones. With the iPhone, it put smartphones in the hands on the consumer, it provided a good browsing experience like nothing before, and created an world of applications which opened up even more avenues to reach the consumer.

For the last year and a half, mobile marketing has become a huge play in the online marketing world. In fact in most industries, Mobile Marketing paid traffic you can find on Google alone will be greater than all of the traffic from Yahoo / Bing Paid Search combined. The quality has dramatically improved because users can actually read, click and engage the companies that serve the ads.

So for all you working in some field related to mobile marketing, give a little thanks to the innovations of Apple.

Mobile Marketing Statistics

Enjoy the mobile marketing statistics info graphic below.

Some of the highlights:

  • 4 Billion Mobile Phones in Use
  • 1.08 Billion Smartphones in Use
  • 3.05 Billion are SMS enabled phones.
  • By 2014, mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage.
  • 50% of all local searches are performed on mobile devices.
  • 86% of mobile internet users are using their devices while watching TV
  • 200 Million Youtube Views occur on mobile devices

Average American spends 2.7 hours per day on their mobile device – socializing.

  • 61% of users use their mobile phones for Games
  • 55% to check the Weather
  • 50% for Maps and Direction search
  • 49% for Social Networking
  • 42% for Music
  • 36% for News
  • 33% for Entertainment
  • 25% for Dining
  • 21% for Video

Take our poll below and tell us how YOU use your mobile device!

[poll id=”28″]

Mobile Marketing Infographic Statistics

Mobile Marketing Infographic Statistics

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When AOL & Geocities Ruled: The Internet 1996 vs 2011 [Infographic]

AOL Logo - American Online

When AOL & Geocities Ruled – The Internet

Who here remembers when AOL first came out?
The annoying modem sounds, the hundreds of chat rooms, the a/s/l?
Am I dating myself here?

Who here remembers Geocities?
Creating that first personal webpage full of nasty graphics and icons. YES!

Geocities LogoWho here remembers Prodigy and Compuserve, AOL’s big competitors?

Who here remembers Netscape going up against Internet Explorer as the browser of the web?

If you remember, then you are… probably old.

AOL, Webcrawler, Infoseek, Netscape: Beasts of World Wide Web

Before the Googles, before the Yahoos, before the Amazons and Facebooks, there was AOL, webcrawler, infoseek, netscape, prodigy and oh look Yahoo.com. Say what you will about Yahoo sad state, but it has been resilient. These were the Beasts of the “World Wide Web”. That was the actual common term back then. No one said “internet”…

Take our Quick Internet Poll!

[poll id=”27″]

See this fun infographic below and feel young (old?) again.

Infographic – The Internet: Then vs. Now

Internet Then and Now 2011

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“Plot Device” Viral Video by Red Giant Software

Plot Device Red Giant Viral Video

Plot Device Viral Video by Red Giant Software

Check out this viral video from Red Giant Software highlighting the use of their Professional Video Tool, Magic Bullet Suite 11. It’s well done and fun to watch! Not only is it fun, but it actually shows you the capabilities of the product itself. Magic Bullet Suite 11 is a tool with built in visual effect plug-ins that are easily implemented into any video product. The company brought in an indie filmmaker named Seth Worley to create this piece called “Plot Device” to show off some the different visual effects. Love sharing some good clean advertising!

Magic Bullet Suite 11 is professional toolkit for filmmakers designed by film director Stu Maschwitz. I highly recommend this product for anyone working on a budget or desire Hollywood quality results for their short films and videos. It’s convenient, easy to use, and really makes things look awesome with very little effort. Magic Bullet Suite helps with color grading, color treatment, removing noise, and adding tons of simple effects such as adding specific glows, lighting, flares, vignettes, shadows and so on.

Intel – The Chase Commercial

Agency: Venables Bell & Partners

Another well made commercial created by Intel to build up buzz around the 2nd eneration Intel® Core™ i5 processor. It is another video where an fun action spot is created but has the dual purpose of showing of the performance capabilities of the product itself. It isn’t as well-done as the previous video, but clever none the less and a creative idea worth sharing.

  • Know of other well made commercials that serve the dual purpose of showing of the product?
  • Please share in comments!
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Does Social Media Work for Small Business?

Social Media Marketing Benefits

Social Media Usage by Small Businesses

Social Media is in a very interesting stage of it’s life in terms of how it is used by different businesses and organizations. It’s growth is undeniable but the level of usage varies across the board. Many companies have jumped in. Some are showing great profits, others just see it as a good “brand” play, while others are skeptical just dipping their toes and seeing what happens. It reminds me where SEM and SEO was just 6-7 years ago when businesses would hire interns to figure it out for them. But look where online marketing is now…

A full fledged social media play may not be for everyone, but no matter what business or organization you run, there is great benefit of using this medium to interact with your customer. Whether it is to drive sales, gain brand exposure, to get feedback from customers, or perhaps to lower cost of customer service, there is numerous ways social media is being used with great results. See this nifty little video below:

Social Media Is Becoming More Important

Michael Stelzner has released his third annual social media study that surveys 3342 marketers, half of whom are small business owners. Here are a few key points found in the study:

  • Important: 90% say social media is important to their business
  • Increased Exposure: 88% of social media marketers found social media increases their exposure
  • Increased Traffic & Subscriptions: 72% of social media marketers found increased traffic and subscriptions
  • New Partnerships: 56% reported gaining new partnerships via social media
  • Improved Sales: 48% of small business owners saw improved sales as a direct result of social media efforts
  • Reduction in Marketing Costs: Small Business Owners were more likely than others to see reduction in marketing costs due to social media marketing
  • Get Qualified Leads: Small Business owners twice as likely to find qualified leads via social media efforts
  • Video Marketing: 77% of marketers plan on increasing their YouTube and Video Marketing.
  • Facebook Still King: 92% of marketers are using Facebook, 75% plan on increasing their activities

Social Media Icons Facebook Twitter YouTube

Time Equals Money in Social Media

This report also showed that the more time businesses invested in social media, the higher the success rate. For example:

  • 80% of those with 3+ years of experience in social media marketing report forming new partnerships. (25% for less than 3 years)
  • Those who spend 6+ Hours per week are TWICE as likely to generate social media leads as those spending less than 5 Hours per week.

Social Media Marketing Hours

Download the Full Report Here: Social Media Marketing Report 2011

Social Media on Clean Cut Media

For the curious, Clean Cut Media has both a Facebook and a Twitter Account.

Clean Cut Media Facebook : ‘Like’ Us!
Clean Cut Media Twitter : ‘Follow’ Us!

For Clean Cut Media, Facebook is the second largest referral of traffic after Google. Our readers have been gracious enough to post our articles on their walls (thanks it really helps!).

  • Let us know if you found social media helpful for your business or organization.
  • What has worked well, and not well?
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Best April Fools Day Jokes Online

Best April Fools Day Jokes Online

It’s that time of the year again. April Fools Day. More and more, you can’t believe a single thing you read on the web. I love it. Last year we summarized the Best April Fools Jokes in History. The year before we actually posted a fake april fools post. This year we’ll just be adding a few more recent online april fool jokes of note. We only included the latest. See last year’s post to see a fuller list. Enjoy!

Starbucks Plenta and Micra Sizes

“Whether customers are looking for a large or small size, the Plenta and the Micra satisfy all U.S. and Canada customers’ needs for more and less coffee,” said Hugh Mungis, Starbucks VP of Volume. “Our size selection is now plentiful.”

Starbucks last year announced that in response to consumer requests for more sizes, that they would add two additional sizes. The Micra at 2 ounces and the Plenta at 128 ounces. The Plenta looks pretty much like a KFC Bucket. Awesome. This came after the announcement of the new size Trenta at 32 ounces which help give a bit of legitimacy. Check out the hilarious sizes below. April Fools!

Starbucks Plenta Micra April Fools Sizes
Give me my KFC Bucket Latte

Google Chrome – Browse the Web with Sound

Google Chrome Sounds Extension
Now You can Experience the Sounds of the Web

Surfing the web when bored? Bored of surfing the web? Google Chrome last year differentiated itself by offering the latest plugin to add SOUNDS to your web browsing experience. It provides audio feedback depending on what you do and what you browse. April Fools!

The hilarious part is that the sounds are ridiculous and often really annoying. You can still find it here: Google Chrome Sounds – Try it out, let us know in comments what you think!

Google Translate for Animals

You think Google Translate is awesome? Did you know Google had come up with Google Translate for Animals?

This application recognizes and transcribes the voices of animals for most common species. Best part is all the fun videos. Below is an intro, and one of the fun additional videos. Enjoy. The actor in the second one is hilarious. April Fools!

Videonuze – In Unprecedented Deal, Google and Apple Team Up to Privatize the FCC

Videonuze came out with a hilarious post that Google and Apple has bought out the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). The FCC is the government agency that usually governs the media & broadband business sectors. It also helps controls the rules and regulation of business transactions. Here is an excerpt below. Funny piece. April Fools!

VideoNuze has learned that Google and Apple have teamed up to privatize the FCC in a transaction preliminarily valued at $42.5 billion. Though the U.S. government is already widely believed to be controlled by corporate interests, this is the first time that a formal deal to transfer ownership of a government agency has been contemplated. The deal has far-ranging implications for the media and technology industries, not to mention for American democracy. VideoNuze has gained exclusive access to the details.

…In a follow-up interview, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs added further detail, “I was sitting in my office micro-managing the legal weenies on this HTC lawsuit aimed at gumming up the Nexus One’s rollout when my iPhone rings with Eric’s caller ID. Ordinarily I wouldn’t even answer that back-stabbing, lying sack of you-know-what’s call but I wanted to rub his nose in our big legal plans. So I nonchalantly answer the phone, ‘What’s up dirtbag, looking for some more of Apple’s product ideas to steal?’ And he’s like, ‘yeah, whatever, look, here’s why I’m calling.’ And then he proceeds to tell me about this cockamamie scheme that he and those two Doogie Howser co-founder dorks of his have come up with, to privatize the FCC.”

Full April Fools Article

Google – Official Australian Google Maps Version

Google announced the Australian Google Maps will not be customized to Australian speak. See the hilarious changes below. Yea it was April Fools.

Directions
“Chucka U-ey” – Execute a U-Turn
“Hang a Right” – Make a right turn
“Fang a Left” – Make a left turn
“Hit the frog and toad” – The road
“Hoof it” – Walk
“100 Clicks” – 100 kilometres
“Not within Cooee” – Not close by
“Down the road” – Unspecified term indicating distance

Driving Styles
“Hit the anchors” – Brake, now
“Flat chat” – Going very fast
“Hoon” – Fast, irresponsible driver
“Bingle” – Car accident (not Lara)
“Bogged” – Stuck
“All over the shop” – Veering across lanes
“Rough as guts” – Car needs a tune
“Bag em up” – Smoke the tires
“Drive like my Grandma” – Going too slow
“Amber Gambler” – Runs orange lights
“Sunday Driver” – Poor driver.

Daily Burn iPad Weight Scale April Fools
Try this on Your iPad...

The iPad Fit Series

Not all that funny, but the picture is hilarious so just for kicks.
Try this at home. (if you weight 30 pounds).

Google Gmail Motion by Google

A bonus April Fool’s Joke from this year! Since lot of people are enjoying this newest one from Google, check it out below. If you are confused whether this is real or not, no worries, Google did notoriously come out with Gmail on… you guessed it April Fools Day. I think Gmail still exists today…

Gmail Motion Google Moves
Try out these various moves! It work's!

Want to see More April Fools Jokes?

Check out last year’s Best April Fool in History Post
The year before that we had our own April Fools Post Here.

  • What are some other good April Fools Jokes you know?
  • What is the best Aprils Fools Joke you’ve seen or done?
  • Which one is your favorite?

[poll id=”25″]

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Sparkrelief – Housing for Japan Tsunami Victims

Sparkrelief LogoFind a Home for Japanese Tsunami Victims

Sparkrelief, a new non-profit that provides disaster relief released a special page where Japanese residence can offer up their homes as temporary shelters for those who affected by the recent Japan earthquake and tsunami. It is a very smart and clever idea worth sharing to the masses.

Homes for Japan Tsunami VictimsProviding More than Shelter, but Community

This page, put together in a matter of days, allows users to submit their homes with a short description so those seeking relief can for the time being find a place to go. The founder Eli Hayes says that providing a home goes far beyond simply offering shelter and food, but it provides a chance to experience community and care. “… you’ve lost a sense of community… What happens when you go into someone’s house and they take you in and start cooking you breakfast in the morning is that you have that community back again.

Sparkrelief Japan Tsunami Victims

Hayes and his brother understands this need as they were once displaced from their homes due to the Oakland fires. Without a place to stay or the means to stay at a hotel, they ended up sleeping in someone else’s home. When Colorado was hit by fires, Hayes found it difficult to find shelters for the disaster victims, grabbing from various bulletin boards as he found them. Thus he create a site to help consolidate the information which he carried over to the current situation. He hopes more groups can be involved and plans to add more features in the future.

Hayes isn’t making any money from Sparkrelief and says he is funding his staff of three out of pocket.

Personal Thoughts

I find this to site to be clever, and well-intentioned. It is one of those “why didn’t anyone think of this before” moments. There are obvious issues Hayes will have to deal with in terms of verifying the validity of the listings, partnering with local governments, getting the word out so people know to turn to this site for as a resource, and of course wondering how those displaced from their homes will ever be able to visit this site. The hope is that those who do have access and are servicing the needy can use this as a resource to find them some shelter.

We wanted to share this site, both as we always admire creativity and good intentions, but also to help get the word out and show a little love for their efforts

  • Good idea. Don’t you think?
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Young People More Comfortable Online than Offline

Teen Online Computer Statistics
hi. my name is... james bond

More Comfortable Online than Offline

This just in. Shocking story! A study from Kidscape, a children’s charity, showed that young people feel more comfortable with themselves online than they are offline. 45% of 11-18 year olds said they were happier online.

” [it’s] easier to be who you want to be, because nobody knows you and if you don’t like the situation you can just exit and it is over. ”

Ok. So not really shocking.
Is any of this surprising to you?

More Statistics Among the Young:

• 60 percent of these kids admit to lying about their age
• 47 percent of these kids admit to behaving differently online than offline
• 40 percent of these kids admit to being dishonest about their personal relationships
• 10 percent of these kids admit to “[changing] aspects of their appearance and their personality for their online activity”

Is any of this surprising to you?

None of it really is, and many might say, hey that’s typical, that’s normal.
But hopefully we can all agree – this is sad.

Anyone else remember lying online or perhaps have a good story about it?

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Change Your New HTTPS Facebook Privacy Settings Now

Facebook Logo - Large Square

Facebook Brings HTTPS Protocol Controls

Facebook is finally rolling out the option to use encrypted “HTTPS” protocol. Turn it on immediately!

HTTPS WHAT? What in the world does that mean you say?

Long story short – Without it, your information is sent and received without any protection (encryption). When you login, let’s just say it stores it in files called “cookies” so websites know each time you click around that it’s you! Attackers can hijack these cookies especially on wireless networks. It’s actually quite easy to do. When you log into GMAIL notice it’s all “https” because it’s protecting your information. Good for them. Facebook? FAIL.

Firesheep Facebook Hijack

There is even simple plugins (e.g. firesheep) that allows anyone to hijack without being much of a hack nerd themselves. Stealing 30 some identities within 30 minutes – easy. Oops did I just create more hackers? Resist the urge fellas!

When Facebook Rolling out this Feature! I Want It!

Facebook should be rolling out to all users today, but seems to be taking their sweet ol’ time, so you may or may not see it yet.

So how do you do it?

Go to “Account Settings” then to “Account Security” and look for “Secure Browsing”. Check it. If you don’t see it, check it later.

While you are there, see “Account Activity” below. Did someone ELSE login to your account from New York when you live in San Francisco? Yikes! Better end his\her session and go change your password…

Facebook HTTPS Privacy

BOOKMARK: Also update your BOOKMARK to have “https” as opposed to “http”.

Note that encryption does take a little bit longer to load so you may see pages opening more slowly. Also note, this is just for websites, your Facebook iPhone app has no such security.

Did you Change your Security Settings?

  • Were you able to make the security change?
  • Did you know that your Facebook connection was not secure?
  • Did you find anyone else logged into your account?
  • Scared?

Update [02.04]: After waiting a week, I finally saw the settings available on my personal account. Facebook took it’s sweet time. Are you seeing it too?

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