MapMyRun.com

I’m playing with MapMyRun.com this morning because I need a better way of tracking my progress as I train for this fall’s half marathons. Here’s my route from this morning:

<a href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/san-francisco/961155606651″ mce_href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/san-francisco/961155606651″>JCC</a><br/><a href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/ca/san-francisco” mce_href=”http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/ca/san-francisco”>Find more Runs in San Francisco, California</a>

I call it the JCC run because I literally run to the JCC at Presdio and California and then run back home.  I did this run with my roommate Megan and it felt pretty good to get it done and overwith this morning.

Social Network Sites vs. Social Networking vs. Network-Based Tool

My head is being thrown for a whirlwind as I try to catch up on some posts from Danah Boyd on apophenia.  In this post, Danah talks about the difference between Social Network Sites and Social Networking Sites.

I think she basically says the difference between Network versus Networking is whether the relationship is initiated online or not.  Networking implies new relationships are being made, while Network implies a reflection of existing relationships. I believe most sites (Yelp, Flickr, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter) are a combination of both existing relationships and those relationships made online.

I like this definition:

Social Networking sites are “any network-based tool that allows for community creation and content sharing” -Harkness

I just want to make sure I use the correct words when I communicate my project to others. Since I intend to look at the connections Israelis make with others abroad, be it from their travels or simply through social networking sites.

Ruminations on this Fulbright App

I’m trying to figure out what I should do for the next hour before I go to the Asian Art Museum.  Besides reading blogs and articles online, I’ve also read a few papers from the professors I’m interested in talking to in Israel.  I should write about these, but I could also start to summarize all of my readings into a more coherent project statment.  I’m thinking the latter might be more productive as I am meeting with my professor this Tuesday.

Blog #9 Facebook: Meaningless Policy Against Inflammatory, Hateful, Racially, Ethnically Objectionable Posts

From the blog titled “Progressive Muslima News” we have this article.

This blog is talking about another article that appears in the Star-Ledger, so I’ll have to read that first.  Link to that article.

Reading the intro, this story sounds somewhat familiar, but a reread is always a good idea.  I think the ad for singlemuslim.com is actually more interesting right now.

This article readdresses what the NYTimes article called out.  The atheist group that created the hateful anti-Islam group also has a group against Christianity and Judaism.  ”Obviously” the anti-Islam is the most offensive……..

So over 150 counter-groups have been created in reaction, and the author seemingly frames it as if these groups came out of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  If this is true, it goes to show that material like this travels quickly!

“I just quit everything. I just got sick of it,” she said. “If Facebook is allowing these things, then I really don’t want to be a part.”

I usually take these threats in jest because Facebook is so addictive and has so many redeemable qualities that I think these people can’t be serious.  I guess I’m biased.

“The courts haven’t got into this yet,” said Frank Askin, who teaches constitutional law at Rutgers School of Law in Newark. “It’s like the Wild West. … I don’t think there are any rules.”

The free-for-all has led to bitter exchanges involving abusive or threatening language — often from those claiming they are offended by indecency of the original group.

Interesting words to describe these hateful groups – venom, anger, emotional, inflammatory, dicey.

“We just don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”

— So now lets see what this blog has to say —

The writer claims he does not join the groups that protest the original, anti-Islam group because he feels like it actually promotes the anti-Islam group’s popularity.  He also doesn’t want the title of that group affiliated with his profile, which other users could see in his news feed as well as his list of groups.

Not much else there…although it obviously highlights, just like my previous entry on the blogger who chose not to post the picture of Gilad Shalit, that some people choose not to perpetuate certain causes.

Article #8 Brawl Over Islam on Facebook

I’m back at it again.  Reading articles to make sense of my Fulbright research ideas.  This time, I’m reading an actual editorial-reviewed newspaper article courtesy of the NYTimes.  Link to Article

Basics

• Facebook dealing with speech codes
• Group denies Islam as a religion
• A bunch of outcries including the “we will stop using facebook” threat

Article/Blog #7 (I’ve lost Count): Israel, Facebook, and National Security

Link to Article

from the Jewish Internet Defense Force:  Leading the Fight Against Antisemitism and Terrorism on the Web

This article is writte by Dr Andre Oboler and posted to Jerusalem Post on 4/24/08

• There is a “growing problem of sensitive military information leakinginto the public domain through social networking sites”.  yes, we’ve seen this in the US too.
• Palestinians use Google Earth to plan attacks on Israel’s military bases.
• Anyone can easily find pictures on Flickr, Photobucket and Webshot (I’m sure others) of soldiers and military equipment.
• On Facebook, friends, job and current “status” can be examined.  The article notes that there is more data privacy and protection, but only if people choose to use it.
• There is a clear call for IDF and Israeli Government to improve their Information Security (do I sniff a spin to my research idea?) at the policy, procedure and education level.  Hmmm, develop these as applied to online behavior and conduct..
• Solution is simple, implementation is harder.  Maybe the IDF should prevent the relase of info before the pictures leave the army base, or prevent the pics from being taken in the first place.
• There’s obviously the potential for the IDF to go overboard and be too restrictive.

The author posts a proposed solution which I will copy-paste so I can come back to it:

“A more sensible approach would be to establish a system whereby soldiers get permission from their officers before taking pictures, and officers then check the pictures before they leave the security of the base. A clearance procedure would include a checklist of things that must not be shown, as well as guidelines for soldiers indicating the types of pictures that are unlikely to be problematic – such as pictures with open terrain in the background and an absence of military hardware, infrastructure or identifying landmarks. Once guidelines are prepared and issued, the IDF should declare an amnesty period for those who have pictures on-line, allowing them to check their pictures against the guidelines and resolve any problems. Assistance in removing problematic material should be available without penalty.”

There are some other good points here:

• Facebook groups against the leakage of information (ex:  Can’t you see you’re helping the enemy)
• The author proposes using “clearance officers” within facebook groups as an informal operation.
• He believes that once pictures are online, a community-based approach is the only response.

The thing that’s touchy about proposing a solution, is that you need it, like the author said, to not go overboard, but to also not impede on the soldiers’ lives outside of the army. I wonder if soldiers perceive that as their only life?  What’s the compromise?  How much impedence are they willing to accept?

Education seems to be the solution proposed here as well, which is something we hear a lot in the US.  Except in the US our concerns are primarily on cyber-predators and bullying.

Article/Blog #5: AP: IDF Sees Facebook Threat

Link to Article

I’m starting to feel like my articles are sidetracking me.  I really did enjoy the American Muslim Women video on MuslimChannels.tv because it opened up my eyes to a different rationale.  BUT, nonetheless, I need to focus on the objective at hand:  My Fulbright Application.

So this article from the AP has been reposted on Tzvee’s Talmudic Blog.  The author is from Jersey and describes himself as Liberal in the tag line.  Reading about him, he is a professor who’s taught all over and is now a consultant.  Lets read the article and then see if he puts any spin to it.

The original article was titled Israeli Army Puts Limits on Facebook

• Defense Officials have a new list of rules that prevent soldiers and defense ministry employees from revealing classified information.
• In the past, soldiers have uploaded pictures of classified equipment which can reveal sensitive information.
• The rules do not entirely restrict soldiers from participating but they are not allowed to identify themselves as soldiers or reveal information about what they do.
• The rules have not been officially published.

I would really really like to see these rules and find out what soldiers opinions are on these rules.  Do they trust the government has their best interest or do they feel like the government is restricting them too much?

I  can’t really find anything else with a quick google search.  Note to self:  google in a few weeks and ask Israeli friends.

Article/Blog #5 Muslim Alternative to YouTube and MySpace kicks off with hate vids

Link to Article

I’m starting to see this argument (maybe its a stereotype) a lot:  ”hate-based actions are considered to be only those about or against Islame” in the eyes of Muslims.  If this is the opinion, then they can post hate-based material against anyone else except for themselves.  So, that being said, this is what the author of CreepingSharia.com is pointing out in this post about MuslimChannels.tv.

MuslimChannels.tv is streaming Al Jazeera English, Huda TV (religious programs from Saudi Arabia), Press TV, Link TV, and Democracy Now!. In addition, they’ll have user-generated content from Islamic leaders and congregants.  Looks like they’re focusing on mostly American muslims, and hoping to get content from scholars and imams as well.  Interesting to note, the person interviewed from MC.tv is Stephanie Khan, a female.  I just note this, not because I haven’t noticed strong Muslim Female presence (see Rima Barakat-Sinclair artilce), but because the Muslim world we know outside of the western world does not promote female authority, rather women are treated as second class citizens.  I always wonder how Muslim women in the western world could denounce their host countries and promote the Muslim world when there are no lives for them there.

I decided to take my own look at MuslimChannels.tv to see what they have up there.  This is pretty interesting, the first video I watch is “American Muslim Women” posted by MuslimBridges.org.  It’s fascinating how they rationalize (almost persuasively) that dressing modestly saves them from the psychological disorders of women in the West suffer from (like eating disorders, self-consciousness, etc).  I can relate to that…

Article #4: Why I Can’t Change My Facebook Picture to Shalit’s

Link to Article

From the blog titled “Israel and The Sin of Expulsion: The Implications and Consequences of Expulsion for the Jewish People”

The writer has a problem with Shalit’s pictures being posted on Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites because of the perception that the grassroots movement is connected to what the Israeli government is doing to get Shalit back. The author questions the effort and urgency put forth to get this soldier and others back. And then wonders, if there was no urgency at first, why return such dangerous prisoners in exchange for what potentially may be body bags.

In all, this author’s refusal to post Gilad Shalit’s picture on Facebook as his own is a protest against his government.

Article #3: Social Networking Online, in Hebrew

Link to Article

This article is about the fact that Facebook will soon allow for people to search in Hebrew rather than transliterate a friend’s name into English. The article also lists basic statistics (which are always important):

• Israel network doubled in membership to 152K between October and November.
• Israeli users have not been able to create purely Hebrew-language profiles (musing: I wonder if this has prevented adoption amongst a certain class of citizens that do not speak any English)

Short and sweet, that’s how I like my tidbits of information : ) Reminds me of something I read in a paper yesterday about CMC and usenet groups