Top 10 moments in social media in 2009

Posted by Mark Milian | December 29th, 2009 at 9:49 pm |

This year was certainly significant in the world of online social media. Facebook surpassed 350 million users — more than the U.S. population — and Twitter’s short blogging service skyrocketed in popularity, led by celebs, tech lovers and top companies.

Here’s a look back at 2009’s biggest events in which social media played a major role.

10. "Word of Web." As people spent more time chatting online and in public spaces like Twitter, buzz surrounding product and entertainment releases became instantly quantifiable. The elusive word-of-mouth promotion could now be measured, and "word of Web" became that new currency. (Marketers love to use the word "viral.")

The movie "District 9" played the game rather well. The low-budget sci-fi flick started the buzz train early with cryptic alien decals around major cities before its release. Despite relatively low advertising spending, the movie did extremely well. The fact that it was actually a good film certainly didn’t hurt.

9. Whopper Sacrifice. Facebook was quick to kill this marketing ploy, but Burger King had a picnic with this one. The Whopper Sacrifice game asked Facebook users to delete 10 friends in exchange for a free burger. In just a couple of weeks, 233,906 friends were dropped like a bad habit.

It proved to be a hilariously successful way to promote a brand that seemed to get only more controversial and creepy over the course of the year.

8. Google Wave. In Gmail-like fashion, the exclusive nature of Google’s newest product (people vied for a limited number of invitations from friends) made it the must-have free service of 2009. Of course, once people finally got hold of Wave, their lust died down.

The interface is still pretty confusing, and the team continues to struggle with growing pains in its mission to create a stable collaboration platform. However, it packs some intriguing technologies that could very well transform journalism in addition to a number of industries. But right now, e-mail replacement it is not.

7. Twitter and Facebook under hack attack. Just when it seemed like Twitter had finally outgrown its glitches and constant bandwidth overload at the beginning of the year, summertime rolled around and,poof!, Twitter was down. And Facebook. And LiveJournal. And YouTube. What’s going on?

It was the first major malicious attack that successfully targeted a number of massive social sites. It wouldn’t be the last. A source at Twitter tells us the denial-of-service attacks had been going on for months, and they were also aimed at Facebook, which was seeing increased downtime too.

In addition to the site-aimed missiles, users were increasingly targeted for phishing scams. They were showing up in practically everyone’s Facebook inbox and Twitter direct message list.

As Microsoft knows all too well with its Windows platform, along with majority market share comes an army of bad guys.

6. Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN. In lieu of creating a separate list for "top 1 stupidest moments in social media," we guess this deserves a mention. The former star of "That 70s Show," under the guise of his Twitter alias @aplusk, led a high-profile campaign against CNN’s breaking news account.

The @cnnbrk profile was among the most popular on the social network at the time when Kutcher challenged the news network to a race to a million subscribers. The winner would donate money to a malaria charity.

Amid all the free promotion, the ridiculousness factor multiplied by a hundred when we saw digital billboards springing up with the directive "follow Ashton Kutcher" and a link to his page.

Kutcher won, and you can’t downplay such unstoppable tactics as Twittering a few, um, choice photos of his wife, Demi Moore. Lucky twit.

5. Susan Boyle launches career. Perhaps the most notable product of that "word of Web" we talked about earlier, this 48-year-old Scottish singer rose from absolute obscurity after low-key appearances on "Britain’s GotTalent," England’s precursor to "American Idol."

Videos of the dowdy singer resonated online as the YouTube videos echoed in every corner of social media. Both Boyle and show creator Simon Cowell have acknowledged the massive role the Internetplayed in her newfound fame.

4. R.I.P. Michael Jackson. TMZ was the first to confirm Michael Jackson’s death. For an hour or so while news organizations cautiously ignored or speculated on its validity, the social Net was ablaze with mourning and cynicism. By the time the L.A. Times confirmed the news, the information was already being debated to death on Twitter in bite-size bits.

The death of one of the biggest pop stars in recent history was a perfect example of how quickly big news can spread on the Web.

3. R.I.P. Jeff Goldblum? The Web is also fantastic at quickly spreading misinformation. Most of the time, you don’t even need a bogus news story to accompany your false tweet.

Here’s a list of notable people who didn’t die this year but had their "obitweets" spread far and wide: Jeff Goldblum, Natalie Portman, George Clooney, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Lohan, alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, Jared from Subway, Emma Watson and P. Diddy.

2. Iran "green" protests. The violent political protests in Iran spurred support from countless international sympathizers in the form of turning their avatars green (not to be confused with turning blue for "Avatar" or going ’50s cartoony for "Mad Men.")

Though the movement was really big on Twitter and prevalent on the streets of Iran, no change actually happened. The revolt, dubbed the "Twitter Revolution," was listed as Salon’s third-most-bogus story of the year.

1. Hudson River plane landing. Demonstrating the true power of social media, the iPhone snapshot of the rescue mission in the Hudson River was legendary. The picture says a thousand words about how no moment has to be missed just because a reporter or photographer didn’t happen to be near the scene. Anyone can be a reporter for a moment and broadcast to the world.

Top photo: Twitter creator Jack Dorsey. Credit: Mark Milian / Los Angeles Times. Middle photo: Ashton Kutcher. Credit: Associated Press. Bottom photo: Hudson River plane landing. Credit: Janis Krums via Twitpic

Privacy concerns could limit benefits from real-time data analysis

ScienceDaily (2009-12-18) -- Society will be unable to take full advantage of real-time data analysis technologies that might improve health, reduce traffic congestion and give scientists new insights into human behavior until it resolves questions about how much of a person's life can be observed and by whom.

Full article is here.

Iraq-born teen cracks math puzzle

By AFP on Thursday, May 28, 2009

STOCKHOLM - A 16-year-old Iraqi immigrant living in Sweden has cracked a math puzzle that has stumped experts for more than 300 years, Swedish media reported Thursday.
In just four months, Mohamed Altoumaimi has found a formula to explain and simplify the so-called Bernoulli numbers, a sequence of calculations named after the 17th century Swiss mathematician Jacob Bernoulli, the Dagens Nyheter daily said.
Altoumaimi, who came to Sweden six years ago, said teachers at his high school in Falun, central Sweden were not convinced about his work at first.
“When I first showed it to my teachers, none of them thought the formula I had written down really worked,” Altoumaimi told the Falu Kuriren newspaper.
He then got in touch with professors at Uppsala University, one of Sweden’s top institutions, to ask them to check his work.
After going through his notebooks, the professors found his work was indeed correct and offered him a place in Uppsala.
But for now, Altoumaimi is focusing on his school studies and plans to take summer classes in advanced mathematics and physics this year.
“I wanted to be a researcher in physics or mathematics; I really like those subjects. But I have to improve in English and social sciences,” he told the Falu Kuriren. – AFP

Source

Texting, tweeting ought to be viewed as GR8 teaching tools, scholar says

ScienceDaily (2009-12-14) -- Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, says that critics who equate texting with literary degradation are wrong, and that they also overlook the bigger role that texting and its distant cousin, "tweeting," could play in education and research.

Full article is here.

Are you ready for Google's Chrome OS?

Lots of reviews, lots of enthusiasts and critics, one question that pops to my mind, WHERE will all my data be stored? and WHO will have access to it?

If you don't know much about it, check out this video (thanks Collene):

source

Google documents Iraqi museum treasures

(Google chief Eric Schmidt,right, gives a Google logo to Qais Rasheed, chairman of the state board of antiquities and heritage during a ceremony at Iraq's national museum , in Baghdad, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009 - Associated Press)

BAGHDAD November 24, 2009, 03:47 pm ET

Google is documenting Iraq's national museum and will post photographs of its ancient treasures on the Internet early next year, Google chief Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday. The museum was ransacked in the chaotic aftermath of Saddam Hussein's ouster in April 2003, and only reopened to visitors early this year. Schmidt, who toured the museum with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill on Tuesday, said it was important for the world to see Iraq's rich heritage and contribution to world culture. "The history of the beginning of — literally — civilization is made right here and is preserved here in this museum," Schmidt said at a ceremony attended by Iraqi officials. "I can think of no better use of our time and our resources than to make the images and ideas from your civilization, from the very beginnings of time, available to billions of people worldwide," he said. Schmidt said Google has taken some 14,000 photographs of the museum and its artifacts, and the images will be available online in early 2010. The antiquities in the museum's vast storage vaults and artifacts from other sites across the country will also be photographed as they become available and then put on the internet, he said. The museum was among many institutions, including universities, hospitals, libraries and art galleries, that were looted or set ablaze across Iraq in the days and weeks that followed Saddam's ouster. The museum holds artifacts from the Stone Age through the Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods. The richness of its collection and its importance as a caretaker of the relics of early civilization triggered an outcry around the world. U.S. troops, the sole power in the city at the time, were intensely criticized for not protecting the treasures at the museum and other cultural institutions like the national library and the Saddam Art Center, a museum of modern Iraqi art. The national museum reopened in February after being closed for nearly six years. Its director, Amira Edan, said around 5,000 of the estimated 15,000 artifacts that were looted have been recovered so far. Edan said Google's project marks another step toward normalcy for the museum, and will provide a useful tool for scholars studying ancient Mesopotamia, but also "a kind of tourism journey" for people with a more casual interest in the region's history.

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ماغي فرح 2010

Its that time of the year again, and this time its early ;-)
Here are the 2010 astrology predictions by Maguy Farah - the new year looks good, it'd better be :-D

:: أبراج 2010 - توقعات 2010 - حظك 2010 

- تنبؤات 2010 - الابراج2010 ::

ابراج سنة 2010 تععد باستغلال كل احداث 2009 و الاستفادة منها من كل النواحي يستمر المشتري و نيبتون في سباق الدلو نحو الحوت لنرى تاثرهم نحو الناس و نلاحظ انهم اصبحوا اكثر مسؤولية بكل ما يتعلق بالامور العلمية و الطبيعية.

رغبة بالتحرر من الافكار نلحظها لدي كل من مواليد الاسد الحمل و القوس.

بلوتو سيسمح لكل من الجدي و الثور و العذراء برؤية اوضح لاهدافهم مما يجعلهم قادرين على اختيار الامور الامثل و الاصح لسنة ابراج 2010 .

اولانوس ببرج الحوت يفيق الابراج المائية الحوت السرطان العقرب فيجعلهم يهتمون بمشاريع ابداعية و فنية.

بالنسبة للجوزاء الدلو و اليزان هناك بعض العقبات بالسلطات و الجهات القانونية.

الحمل:

اجمالا سنة جميلة للحمل سيتواصل فيها تقدم كل من ينتمي لبرج الحمل و سيكون التقدم رائع سيسجل بحظك هذه السنة دخول كوكب بلوتون في برج العقرب عمليا لن يأثر هذا على برج الحمل سلبيا لكن سيتسبب في بعض الهواجس و التخوفات في شهر يناير تحديد و سيكون هذا مرافق لبعض التغييرات الجذرية في اوضاعكم او في شخصيتكم و تفكيركملا تحاول عزيزي الحمل السباحة عكس الثيار ، تقبل الأمور كما تأتيك و دع التغيير يسحبك للاحسن فالحياة هكذا

الشهور التي يسعدك الحظ فيها بمجال العاطفة هي : فبراير ـ ابريل ـ ماي ـ نوفمبر

الثور:

بالنسبة لك عزيزي الثور سنة 2010 هي سنة ايجابية جدا في الاجمال فيما عدا رغبة ستلازمك في تضخيم الامور و يجب عليك التحكم فيها اذا اردت الاحتفاظ بسعادتك وصفاء الجو حولك. سيكون كوكب جوبتر هو المؤثر عليك في تضخيم الامور و تكبير ردود فعلك و هنا يجب عليك التريث و الهدوء خصوصا في شهر فبراير و مارس و يونيو 2010 و كن حذرا في عدم خرق القوانين باي وجه لتفادي مشاكل مع الجهات الرسمية و القضائية...كن حذرا كذلك خلال هذه الشهور حتى لا تدخل في نزاعات مع احد المقربين منك و عندما تحس بعصبيتك تزداد سارع بالانسحاب و تغيير الجو لتفادي الجدالات.تمتع بشهري يناير و سبتمبر 2010 لان حظك سيكون رائع بالحب و بالمشاريع الشخصية و المهنية فلا تضيع فرصك فيها. افضل الشهور للعاطفة : يوليو و اغسطس و سبتمبر 2010

الجوزاء:

هذه السنة يا صديقي الجوزاء هي سنة التناقضات بالنسبة لك فستكون فترات التقدم متبوعة بفترات تراجع مباشرة و ستحس ببعض الاشياء تعيق طريقك في التقدم خصوصا في شهر ماي 2010 يجب عليك عزيزي الجوزاء استغلال فترات التقدم لتمضي في تصفية مشاكلك و عمل مشاريعك و استغل النصف الاول من السنة خصوصا شهري فبراير و مارس لان حظك فيهما كبير جدا و استغل السنة بشكل عام في التفكير في احلامك المستقبلية لان الفلك يبشرك بنهاية سنة رائعة و بالتالي امكانية تحقيق جزء كبير من احلامك بغضون ال 2011 افضل الشهور للعاطفة : ماي يونيو يوليو و سبتمبر

السرطان:

سنة مستقرة و جميلك لمواليد السرطان . كما في سنة 2009 سيؤثر عليك ايجابيا كوكب اورانوس طوال سنة 2010 مما سيعطيك حرية اكبر في اختياراتك خصوصا بمجالات التعليم و السفر و التعاقدات و التعاملات مع الخارج ... كوكب ساتورن في برج العذراء سيساعدك كذلك في اتخاد قراراتك الصائبة في الاختيارات و في تحسين علاقاتك في محيطك الاجتماعي , سيسود بعض الضغط في شهري ماي و سبتمبر 2010 فقط مما سيؤثر على اعصابك قليلا فحاول عزيزي السرطان استغلالهما في الترفيه و الرياضة و تأكد ان باقي الشهور ستكون خفيفة و لن تشعر بشيء يضغط على اعصابك خلالها. افضل الشهور للعاطفة : ابريل و يونيو 2010

الأسد:

سنة 10لديك ايها الاسد تنطبع بدخول جوبتر ببرج الدلو و هو البرج المعاكس لبرجك جوبتر كوكب جالب للحظ و قد يجلب لك بعض المفاجئات السارة جدا هذه السنة لكن احذر من المبالغة ببعض الاشياء خصوصا ببداية فبراير و منتصف مارس 2010 حاول عزيزي الاسد ان تكون عقلانيا و متوازنا في تصرفاتك سيكون هذا التحول في منزلك الشمسي السابع مما قد يؤدي الى ارتباط شرعي او زواج لغير المتزوجين و قد تكتفي عزيز الاسد بايجاد شريك حياتك و التخطيط لحياة مستقبلية و زواج السنة المقبلة فتأكد ان الحب قريب منك جدا في سنة 2010 و قد يكون دخل حياتك بنهاية 2009 فابحث جيدا ..افضل الشهور للعاطفة : ابريل اغسطس وفي سنة 2010 و قد يكون دخل حياتك بنهاية 2009 فابحث جيدا ..افضل الشهور للعاطفة : ابريل اغسطس و ديسمبر 2010

العذراء:

هذه السنة يا عزيزي العذراء يجب عليك التحلي بالصبر لوجود كوكب ساتورن الذي يعاكسك في فترات كثيرة خصوصا في النصف الثاني و في شهر مارس 2010 لكن تأكد ان سنة 2011 ستكون رائعة لديك و ستحل فيها كل مشاكلك لان كوكب ساتورن سيرحل عنك فيها ليستقر بجارك الميزان في سنة 2010 ينصحك الفلك بان تكون حذرا و الا تخالف القوانين و بالنسبة للحب و العاطفة قد يتأخر امر الارتباط الجدي للراغبين فيه لكن ستكون امورالحب جيدة و قد تتلقى مفاجئات رائعة طوال السنة و خصوصا ببدايتها فلا تتشائم كثيرا افضل الشهور للعاطفة : يناير يونيو و يوليو 2010

الميزان:

سنة رائعة لك عزيزي الميزان لانك تحظى بحماية جوبيتر و تاثيره الايجابي جدا في مجال الحظ و التطور. استغل حظك هذه السنة للتقدم في كل مشاريعك فهذه السنة رائعة بالنسبة لامور العمل شهري مارس و ابريل سيكونان مناسبان للبدء بعمل جديد او مشروع جديد او حتى استثمارات كبيرة . احذر فقط عزيزي الميزان شهر ماي 2010 لانه قد يكون شهر المعاكسات الفلكية. بالنسبة للحب و العائلة و الاطفال فهذه السنة مستقرة و جميلة جدا لديك و خصوصا لمن يعملون بمجالات الابتكار و الفن فلا تتردد عزيزي الاسد و استغل سنة 2010 في كل ما هو جميل افضل الشهور للعاطفة : فبراير مارس يوليو اكتوبر و نوفمبر 2010

العقرب:

سنة جميلة يا عزيزي العقرب رغم تاثيرات نبتون التي قد تواصل معاكستك قليلا في بعض المجالات برجك سيتأثر باغلب الكواكب هذه السنة لكن مجال الاسرة و العائلة سيكون الافضل بين جميع المجالات خصوصا بمرور جوبتر لكن كن واثقا في خطواتك و متزنا في كلامك حتى لا تخدعك ثقتك في نفسك فترتكب هفوات انت في غنى عنها. في مجال العاطفة شهر ابريل هو الاحسن على الاطلاق اذا كنت مرتبط بعلاقة جادة و هو شهر اللقائات الشيقة ان كنت خاليا و احذر من شهر يونيو الذي قد يورطك بمشاكل مع الحبيب بسبب غيرة او بسبب شك من ناحيته ناتج عن تصرف غير لائق منك فلا تحاول الخيانة حتى لا تندم ...افضل الشهور للعاطفة : فبراير مارس ابريل مايو و نوفمبر 2010

القوس:

سنة مشابهة تقريبا لسنة 2009 بالنسبة لمواليد برج القوس و ذلك لاستمرار تواج [

د ساتورن و اورانوس بعض المشاكل بالعائلة و العمل بمنتصف شهري غشت و سبتمبر 2010 فكن حذرا عزيزي القوسالجميل في سنة 2010 لديك هو مجال العاطفة و الحب حيث تساعدك الظروف بشكل كبير في اول شهور السنة لتعيش لحظات رائعة مع الحبيب و للعزاب لقائات رائعة جدا قد يجد العزاب شريك حياتهم هذه السنة فلا تقفلوا ابوابكم فهذه السنة تبشر بارتباطات جدية و مناسبة جداافضل الشهور للعاطفة : يناير فبراير ابريل و مايو 2010

الدلو:

سنة مستقرة و جميلة بشكل عام فيما عدا تواجد نبتون الذي قد يعاكس مواليد الدلو المولودون بعد 2 فبراير جوبتر سيساعد الدلو في ابقاء الحظ معه طوال السنة و ستكون سنة جميلة في مجالات الصحة و يجب استغلالها في علاج كل ما كان يتعبك عزيزي الدلو. شهري فبراير و مارس 2010 شهران للمفاجئات و المواعيد الكثيرة ستشعر خلالها بضغط كبير و هما مناسبان للمشاريع الجديدة .خد يا عزيزي الدلو اقساطا من الراحة و الاستجمام و لا تنسى الحبيب او الزوج افضل الشهور للعاطفة : فبراير مارس يوليو واغسطس 2010

الجدي:

يتابع الحظ محالفته لك عزيزي الجدي هذه السنة و لن يعاكسك اي كوكب / النتيجة : سنة رائعة بكل المقاييس تفتح خلالها ابواب الحظ و يكون كل شيء متاح حصتك الاكبر من الحظ هذه السنة هي في الحب و العاطفة حيث تتكاثر فرص اللقاء للعزاب و تكون قمتها في فبراير 2010 مجال العمل يزدهر و تقوى فيه العلاقات المفيدة و النافعة لك و قد يكون لبعض مواليد الجدي حظوظا باعمال مرتبطة بخارج بلدانهم و تكون الفرص مغرية جدا فلا يجب تضييعها افضل الشهور للعاطفة : فبراير و يونيو 2010

الحوت:

اخيرا يتخلص مواليد برج الحوت من تواجد اورانوس و ساتورن بابراجهم و قد تابعتهم تأثيراتهما كثيرا و عاكست العديد من المواضيع سابقا خلال 2009. مواليد الحوت المولودين بشهر فبراير سيتنفسون الصعداء ببداية 2010 و تنتهي الفترات العصيبة و معاكسات الحظ و يستطيع كل مواليد الحوت استغلال السنة الجديدة في بداية صفحة جديدة.

source

My current state of mind....

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IQ-SICAN

Hello everyone,
I am so glad to share with you my new initiative that I have just launched, called: IQ-SICAN (stands for IraQis Studying In CANada).
While working on my Master degree, I always thought about the thousands of Iraqis who would have loved to study in Canada, but just couldn’t because they don’t know where or how to apply.
I strongly believe that Iraqis make the best students once given a chance, and I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to study at a reputable university.
Now that I am done with my Masters degree, I would like to fulfill another humble dream of mine, which is to help prospective Iraqi graduate students get enrolled in Canadian universities.
While I do not promise admission or provide scholarships, I do promise to research educational opportunities for prospective Iraqi graduate students and help them fill out their applications in a prompt and professional manner.
If you know a prospective Iraqi graduate student who is an excellent student just needing a chance, or if you are one, please check out my new website dedicated for this mission:

http://iq-sican.blogspot.com/

Please help spread the word,
Thank you and I look forward to help :-)

Seeking Privacy In The Clouds: Research Aims At Isolating Social Network Information From 'Control Of A Central Entity'

ScienceDaily (2009-10-15) -- Millions of Internet users have been enjoying the fun -- and free -- services provided by advertiser-supported online social networks like Facebook. But a computer scientist worries about the possible down side -- privacy problems.

Full article is here.

Obama and the Nobel prize???

Hmmmm, well that was a surprize! oh, I thought it was a joke- seriously, but apparently its not!

I mean, as much as he is liked by most people in comparison to his predecessor, where are the "solid" actions that deserve such an honor? Or was it because of the endless hours spent in academia?

Better yet, maybe that prestige associated with the nobel prize is a joke too! Truly, I had much more respect for that prize before :-<

I also wonder, if this "prestigious" prize is given based on words, I can think of many people whom I personally know to make a difference in this world, whose intentions are sincere and efforts to make this world a better place go unnoticed. If the criteria is that the nominee has to be famous at a universal level - then let's give it to a person like Amitabh Bhachchan - seriously! At least he has pleased millions of people around the world for many many many years, and his efforts to help others are tangible. (I have much respect for this actor, but I am sure there are many others who are very worthy. He just came to mind as an example).

Well - two important lessons to be learnt: whatever you do, do it for yourself first, not for the honor you may receive after; and second: things don't necessarily mean what they seem to be...

I guess to be fair, Obama did seem sincere and humble when talking about it.

In arabic we have a saying "Elli Yeaish Yama Yeshoof"!

National New Biology Initiative Offers Potential For 'Remarkable And Far-reaching Benefits'

ScienceDaily (2009-09-18) -- A report released by the National Research Council calls on the United States to launch a new multiagency, multiyear, and multidisciplinary initiative to capitalize on the extraordinary advances recently made in biology and to accelerate new breakthroughs that could solve some of society's most pressing problems -- particularly in the areas of food, environment, energy, and health.

Full article is here.

Web-based Screening And Intervention May Reduce Drinking In University Students

ScienceDaily (2009-09-17) -- Web-based screening and personalized interventions for alcohol use may reduce drinking in undergraduate students, according to a new report.

Full article is here.

Would you like to share your story?

Dear ladies,

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The aim of this community is to bring women together, to share their stories (successful and frustrating ones) about their experiences working in male-dominated fields/environments, so we can share and learn from each other.

Young female graduates in these fields could learn from the experiences of other skilled professionals, and these professionals have a space where they can reflect on their experiences.

I would like to invite you to check out the website and register to post your own story. Kindly note that to maintain privacy, no names or direct references to people or organizations are allowed. You are free to create any alias name, but your story has to be real.

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Please join our community, and help spread the word to other women.

Happy Eid...

Best wishes for a happy eid

Ramadan Kareem 2009

Best wishes for a prosperous Ramadan 2009. Although Ramadan is just a few days away, many Iraqis have lost yet more relatives in the recent deadly explosives in Iraq. Is it ever gonna end?

Happy Left-handers Day :-D

Celebrations ... celebrations :-D

Today is a very special day, the beginning was very stressful, but the end was surreal!

I successfully defended my M.Sc. thesis today, it went well, my committee members were very supportive, which is truly appreciated. I want to thank them all for their support during my studies and defence, also, a special thanks to my supervisor – Dr. Julita Vassileva, not only is she my supervisor during this journey, but also a mentor and friend…

What a journey… these past 2 years felt like being on a roller coaster, many ups and downs, but it was all worth it in the end! I am glad I hung in there when “the going got tough”.

I am still trying to comprehend what just happened a few hours ago, it still feels surreal… I guess it will sink in soon – nothing a good night sleep can’t help :0

To all of you out there still working on your graduate degrees, please don’t give up, just keep going, it will all be worth it in the end – and to all of you who are thinking of starting grad school, make sure you know why you are going for it. It is not an easy journey, but definitely not impossible J

Why We Learn More From Our Successes Than Our Failures

ScienceDaily (2009-08-03) -- Scientists have created for the first time a unique snapshot of the learning process that shows how single cells change their responses in real time as a result of information about what is the right action and what is the wrong one.

Full article is here.

'Brain-reading' Methods Developed

ScienceDaily (2009-07-28) -- It is widely known that the brain perceives information before it reaches a person's awareness. But until now, there was little way to determine what specific mental tasks were taking place prior to the point of conscious awareness. That has now changed.

Full article is here.

Can Pen And Paper Help Make Electronic Medical Records Better?

ScienceDaily (2009-07-29) -- A new study reports that pen and paper workarounds employed by health-care providers who use an electronic medical record system may help make electronic medical records even more useful to health-care providers and the patients they serve.

Full article is here.

How To Maintain The Integrity And Accessibility Of Research Data

ScienceDaily (2009-07-23) -- Though digital technologies and high-speed communications have significantly expanded the capabilities of scientists -- allowing them to analyze and share vast amounts of data -- these technologies are also raising difficult questions for researchers, institutions and journals.

Full article is here.

Northern Lights (Aurora) :-D

Hey hey!

Hope all are well....

I really wanted to watch the Northern Lights in Saskatchewan, however, I was told that their activity was not so strong this year, besides, I should move further North to notice them, since the city lights dim their color... I almost gave up till 2 nights ago, when my friend Anna asked me to get out to the balcony and take a look at the skies. Although not very clear, but we saw them dance in the skies in a beautiful green color, here are a couple of shots: (thanks Anna ;-)

Of course, this is not much compared to this these ones, which are on my list of things to watch:

The Aurora research team in Saskatchewan can be reached here, and here is a nice Aurora watch from Alberta.

Advanced Mathematics In Mother-child Relationships And Climate Change

ScienceDaily (2009-07-17) -- The hearts of pregnant women and their unborn children sometimes beat in synchrony. This interaction is significantly influenced by the mother's breathing, researchers report. The mathematical approach to identify the synchronisation epochs could be applied to detect complications early in pregnancy. It could equally be used for the analysis of complex patterns in the climate system.

Full article is here.

Human-computer Interaction: Beyond – Way Beyond – WIMP Interfaces

ScienceDaily (2009-07-17) -- Human-computer interaction is undergoing a revolution, entering a multimodal era that goes beyond, way beyond, the WIMP (Windows-Icons-Menus-Pointers) paradigm. Now researchers have developed a platform to speed up that revolution.

Full article is here.

Tracking The Life And Death Of News

ScienceDaily (2009-07-14) -- By observing the global flow of news online, computer scientists have managed to track and analyze the "news cycle" -- the way stories rise and fall in popularity.

Full article is here.

Online Computer Games Could Encourage Children To Eat Healthy Foods

ScienceDaily (2009-07-14) -- Children who play an online game promoting healthy foods and beverages appear more likely to choose nutritious snacks than those who play a game promoting unhealthy products, according to a new report.

Full article is here.

Evian live young ad :-D

Awesome!

Check out new stories on WISETales

Dear ladies,

Check out WISETales - an online community for Women in Science and Engineering.

The aim of this community is to bring women together, to share their stories (successful and frustrating ones) about their experiences working in male-dominated fields/environments, so we can share and learn from each other.

Young female graduates in these fields could learn from the experiences of other skilled professionals, and these professionals have a space where they can reflect on their experiences.

I would like to invite you to check out the website, enjoy reading others' stories or simply comment on them. You can post your own story by registering (for free).

To maintain privacy, no names or direct references to people or organizations are allowed. You are free to create any alias name, but your story has to be real.

The website address is : http://wisetales.usask.ca or http://www.ourwisetales.com

Please join our community, and help spread the word to other women.

Treating Lazy Eyes With A Joystick

ScienceDaily (2009-07-10) -- Researchers have developed a computer game therapy that is now ready for treating adults.

Full article is here.

Robot Learns To Smile And Frown

ScienceDaily (2009-07-11) -- A hyper-realistic Einstein robot learned to smile and make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning. The researchers used machine learning to "empower" their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions. "As far as we know, no other research group has used machine learning to teach a robot to make realistic facial expressions," said a computer science Ph.D. student involved in the research.

Full article is here.

Mom’s Weight During Pregnancy Affects Her Daughter’s Risk Of Being Obese

ScienceDaily (2009-07-05) -- A mother's weight and the amount she gains during pregnancy both impact her daughter's risk of obesity decades later, according to a new study.

Full article is here.

Inexpensive Thin Printable Batteries Developed

ScienceDaily (2009-07-05) -- For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery is revolutionizing the field. It is thinner than a millimeter, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process.

Full article is here.