As you know, South Carolina is under a massive flooding crisis. As of Monday morning October 5, nine people have died. As much as 25 inches of rain has fallen in some neighborhoods and towns. According to Governor Nikki Haley, her state is at a 1,000 year level of rain. That’s no understatement, and social media is capturing these floods.
Twitter has been instrumental in reporting this weather phenomena. Meteorologist Jim Cantore tweeted about a low pressure system that’s causing the massive rains. One of the hardest hit areas is Columbia, the state capital and largest city. The University of South Carolina, located in downtown Columbia, tweeted about open health centers to tend to the sick and port-a-pottys available just in case power and plumbing were out. Ordinary citizens have taken pictures of homes and neighborhoods being flooded. There’s even a picture tweet of deer swimming toward higher ground. A drone captured the devastation of one eastern South Carolina town and the bad choices people can make in floods, like driving into lots of still water. In Lugoff, South Carolina, a video captures a wall of water emptying into neighborhood. In Summerville, South Carolina, another social media video captures local firefighters rescuing a women, her three children and their pet. In Charleston, people are seen wading through flooded waters. And on You Tube, the National Weather Service put out a video urging driving safety in such conditions, telling motorists to, “Turn around, don’t drown”.
On Facebook, family and friends in affected areas are communicating their safety and well being to others. And government officials are using social media urging people not to even be on the roads. Social media is also being used by non-profits and charities informing people of how they can help. What modern technology and social media are doing is bringing the story home through personal experience. It’s also a powerful tool in bringing critical information and safety precautions. How can social media help you?
As you know, computer maker Hewlett Packard‘s former CEO Carly Fiorina is a Republican candidate for US President, running for 2016. At first, her campaign got nowhere. What does Silicon Valley think about her presidential campaign?
It depends on who you ask. Some at HP and in Silicon Valley support her. Others criticize her of being the stereotypical super rich CEO who is out of touch with the 99 percent. The Washington Post printed an article about a contractual clause to have her yacht shipped from New York to San Francisco. A Wall Street executive criticized her lack of public service. That was nothing compared to the choice words of Yale professor Jeffrey Sonnenfield, who called Fiorina, “one of the worst technology CEOs in history.” And the fact Hewlett Packard cut up to 30,000 jobs won’t help any. But those in Silicon Valley know this could be history in the making. It’s the first time a start-up tech boss has ever run for US president. And Silicon Valley urges her to use her campaign to bring up tech issues, such as net neutrality. For example, she’s against illegal immigration. But hasn’t said anything about the grueling process of foreign workers getting permits in Silicon Valley. One Silicon Valley insider said watching the last debates reminded him of a 1990s debate. There was hardly mention of 21st century technology issues.
Despite these criticisms, Fiorina is making tremendous progress in the race. Many polls have her in third place, out of 17 candidates, behind only Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson. But when you’re the first Silicon Valley start-up CEO to run for US President, Silicon Valley expects a lot of you. Many in her own neighborhood don’t think she’s living up to that. I think she really needs Silicon Valley to be successful in this race. How are you going to get respect all around the country, expect in your hometown, own neighborhood, or own community? How does that work?
Apple iPhone 6 is wildly successful around the world. It’s Apple’s most successful creation yet. This should be a peaceful, celebratory, non-controversial time right? Wrong! As the old Scarface song said, “You’ve reached the top but you still gotta learn to keep it.”
Despite this success, Apple is under fire from human rights and labor rights groups throughout Asia. Students out of Hong Kong and an?organization called Students Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) accuse Lens Technology of exploiting their factory workers. Lens Technology is the company that manufactures Apple’s touchscreen glass. These organizations claim Lens Technology force employees to work overtime without compensation, withholding wages, and providing unsafe working conditions. These accusations come after a three month investigation at three factories. Lens Technology is also accused of making employees work a month without a day off and failing to pay social security. As the new iPhone 6 debuted in Japan and China (which has included Hong Kong since 1997) SACOM urged Apple to take immediate action to make this situation right. At one Hong Kong Apple Store, a handful of protesters carried pickets and giant phones saying, “Down with the bad apple”. Lens Technology denies any and all wrongdoings. They insist employees have at least one day off a week, overtime is optional and regulated, pays social security regularly, and regularly inspects factories to ensure clean and safe working conditions.
This definitely sounds like a case of one word against another’s. But have you looked at China‘s human, labor and environmental rights records lately? They’re among the worst in the world. So when accusations like this emerge, it makes it easier to believe them. It’s not just about one company in the hot seat. The whole corporate culture has to change if it wants this stigma gone. I don’t know whose right or wrong in this case. Who do you side with?
As most of you know, Pope Francis will spend the next several days visiting the United States. Pope Francis will be visiting President Obama and Congress in Washington DC, then the United Nations in New York City. He will then hold mass in Philadelphia, PA. Social media will capture it all.
Thanks to new social medium Periscope, you can catch Pope Francis’ first trip to the US as it unfolds. The White House is helping broadcast this historic occasion to Periscope users live. This Periscope footage began yesterday. It started from the very beginning, as Pope Francis’ plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews airfield in Maryland. The footage isn’t exactly a close-up, but what do you expect? You can see the plane landing. You can see Pope Francis stepping on US soil for the first time. You can hear the cheers and screams of the fans. You can see President Obama, Vice President Biden, their families and other dignitaries greet him on the tarmac. They’re at least 10,000 Periscope users hoping to catch a glance of this historic occasion. This video will remain on Periscope until 4pm ET today. This Periscope was produced by the White House. Will the UN have Periscope ready when Pope Francis visits their headquarters?
Periscope isn’t the only social media outlet getting in on this moment. You Tube has footage of Pope Francis’ arrival. Facebook talks about it a lot. Pope Francis is the first social media Pope. Social media was in it’s infancy when Pope John Paul died. It grew up when Pope Benedict reigned. During this visit, Pope Francis’ visit will be captured by social media. What does Pope Francis and social media have in common? Lots! In the days to come, you‘ll probably see social media be used to capture every step of this historic occasion. Will you be between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC in the coming days? ?Will you be taking your smartphone with you?
The US and China has had a turbulent history, especially when it comes to cyber and hacking issues. It’s been one accusation and one incident after another. Now, the US and China make a cyber deal.
Both governments are negotiating a modern day arms race deal. But instead of traditional military weapons, this arms deal has to do with computer hacking. The US and China formally promise each other not to take each other’s government down by cyber attacks or hacking. These intense negotiations have been going on for weeks, just in time for Chinese President Xi Jimping’ visit?later this week. Not to mention the United Nations are having their 70th general assembly at this time. Yes, the UN is expected to address cyber security, especially when it comes to international security. One UN principal is that no nation shall engage in activities, “that intentionally damages critical infrastructure or otherwise impairs the use and operation of critical infrastructure to provide services to the public.” US officials want China to embrace such principals. Most attacks have been about theft and ID hacking, like the 22 million Office of Personal Management files that were compromised.
There’s been other attacks too, though China has either denied or played off. I’m still wondering if they had anything to do with the infamous Sony Pictures hacking of December 2014. The more I read into this, the more this reads like a lecture from the US and UN to China. This almost sounds like they’re wagging their finger and telling China, “This is bad. You should be ashamed. Don’t let me catch you doing this anymore.” But history shows us this has happened before. How many times has the opponent said, “Okay. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” only to have all hell break loose? Will China honor this UN code and US deal? Come to think of it, will the US honor this UN code and this potential deal?
The refugee crisis in Europe has dominated the headlines. Thanks to years of civil war in Syria, countless refugees are flooding into Europe. Germany has agreed to take in up to 800,000 Syrian refugees. What does this have to do with anything technology?
Facebook leaders are helping out…somewhat. They’re working with the German government to silence hate speech and xenophobic comments. Facebook leaders, the German justice ministry, ISP’s, other organizations, governments and businesses form a task force to delete hateful comments toward these incoming refugees. Facebook is expected to team up with German financial institutions to track hate speech. Germany promised to take in more refugees from war torn Syria, and some from war torn Afghanistan, than any nation on Earth. But last month, Germany’s Justice Ministry Secretary Heiko Mass criticized Facebook for not doing enough to combat hate speech. Some are even bracing for xenophobic riots. In Hungary for example, the border has been closed to migrants. There’s been tension in other parts of Europe as well. According to German law, comments, whether spoken by word or through computer, that incite violence, especially against another race or ethnicity, can land someone up to three years in prison. No Facebook leader or representative have commented on this initiative.
I somewhat get where Heiko Mass is coming from. These incoming refugees should be treated with dignity and respect. They’ve already been through war and violence. They don’t need to endure bullying and trolling. But these efforts sound more like Orwellian/Big Brother than protecting refugees. ?What will they consider offensive? What if someone makes a great case on Facebook against bringing in so many refugees? Is that offensive? Will that person be thrown into prison? It should never be any government or online company’s place to determine what is offensive or hateful and what isn’t. We live in a time where phrases as innocent as, “nice dress”, or “you look nice today” can be called offensive. What Mass and other leaders should do is urge and encourage tolerance of these refugees. Run commercials urging and educating people to do the right thing. But the way Facebook and the German government are handling this, they’re crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Do you think this initiative is protection or censorship?
