Mediaboss Marketing

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

21-Oct-2014

Contact: Brendan M. Lynch blynch@ku.edu 785-864-8855 University of Kansas @KUNews

LAWRENCE Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey. Grumpy Cat. "Peanut," the Ugliest Dog in the World. These might be a sampling of the most familiar animals to millions of users of social networking sites like Facebook.

But one doctoral student in geography at the University of Kansas recognizes social networking sites as a potential boon for scientifically documenting Earth's biodiversity, particularly in developing nations. In fact, for this idea, Vijay Barve was just honored with a Young Researchers Award from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, an international organization focused on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet.

Barve said that social networks could supplement data available via established biodiversity web sites.

"Though data about birds is available on sites like GBIF, social networking would add a lot of data on groups like butterflies, moths and other insects," he said. "Basically any organism which can be identified using photographs to certain confidence would be available on social networking sites."

In a paper recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Ecological Informatics, Barve demonstrated social networks to be a viable source for photo-vouchered biodiversity records, especially those that clarify which species exist in what places within developing nations.

"There are two main reasons why geographic and taxonomic gaps exist in developing nations," he said. "First, because of colonial history, most of the historical collections are deposited with European museums and are not largely digitized yet due to lack of priority. Second, most developing countries have not invested in curating and digitizing biodiversity in their collections yet."

Barve has pored over photos of monarch butterflies and snowy owls on the photo-sharing social network Flickr, finding them to be a rich source of biodiversity data. Not just photos, but also their associated metadata, make this possible, he said.

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Beyond LOL cats, social networks could become trove of biodiversity data

In high school, Shane Fischbach 15 checked his Facebook incessantly. Like the vast majority of his peers, he consistently liked statuses, posted photos and received updates on the college acceptances of friends he hardly knew.

At a superficial level, (Facebook) didnt make me any happier, Fischbach recalled. I would go on and sort of satisfy this addiction for snooping into other peoples lives, and what would happen is I would get systemically less happy because, by definition, people are performing on Facebook.

Disenchanted with the superficiality of the site, Fischbach decided to terminate his relationship with Facebook and unplugged in March of his senior year of high school.

Fischbachs decision places him in a small minority of undergraduates who abstain from using social media. In an age when efficient communication and widespread connectivity are increasingly emphasized in students lives, the move to digitally disentangle stands in stark contrast to mainstream trends. Fostering relationships today involves more than a mere exchange of telephone numbers or emails addresses, with the Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and Instagram feeds taking a prime role. To many, social networking has exploded into an art of self-advertisement, and the use of and participation in social networks seems inevitable.

Within this increasingly plugged in landscape, Fischbach and other Brown students are intentionally opting out.

I think its natural to want to be connected to people you care about, said Reem Rayef 15, who recently deactivated from Facebook. But I dont think its natural to be so in (tune) with so many people that are so marginally important to your life.

The inauthenticity and prevalence of online presentation and communication similarly motivated Pia Brar 15.5 to deactivate her Twitter account.

But as a visual arts concentrator with a focus in photography, Brar retains her Instagram account to stay in the creative process and uses the platform to post her photos regularly, she said.

Though Brar is a heavy Instagram user, she said she remains skeptical of the superficiality of modern social networking sites.

These sites are playing on the vanity of humankind, Brar said.

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Unplugged: Students opt out of social media

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - October 21, 2014) - Hearsay Social, provider of the leading social business platform for the financial services industry, and Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich), a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets, today announced an expanded program empowering Zurich agents in Europe to share content with clients through social media.

At the end of 2014, Western Europe is expected to have over 178 million social networking users representing nearly two-thirds of its Internet population, according to eMarketer. As social media becomes crucial to insurance agents to connect with customers, Zurich is leading the industry by cooperating with Hearsay Social for its global social media program.

After initially kicking off its social media project in Germany, Zurich has since chosen to expand across multiple countries, including Austria, Spain, and other countries. As Zurich's global service provider, Hearsay Social is playing an instrumental role in driving agent success on social media.

"Today and over the next several years, digital technologies will become an increasingly important driving force for our thousands of agents around the world," said Monika Schulze, Global Head of Brand Marketing of Zurich Insurance Group. "Our global relationship with Hearsay Social allows us to empower our agents to excel on social networks and connect with customers."

"We are proud of the successes we have seen working with Hearsay Social in Germany, which we have now expanded to other countries in Europe. Through the social business program so far, we have been able to drive marketing," said Michael Holzapfel, Digital Strategist at Zurich Germany.

Through its social business program, Zurich agents are using Hearsay Social to compliantly share thought leadership content and build relationships with customers and prospective customers across the social networks. Sharing content helps agents stay top of mind with their customers and reach out at just the right time.

"Hearsay Social is thrilled to help build the social media program at Zurich Insurance Group," said Hearsay Social CEO Clara Shih. "We look forward to empowering Zurich's insurance agents to reach even greater successes as they expand the program across Europe."

About Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich's customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at http://www.zurich.com.

About Hearsay Social

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Zurich Insurance Group Collaborates With Hearsay Social to Empower Agents Through Social Media

Your computer, phone, and other digital devices hold vast amounts of personal information about you and your family. This sensitive data is worth protecting from prying eyes, including those of the government.

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects you from unreasonable government searches and seizures, and this protection extends to your computer and portable devices. But how does this work in the real world? What should you do if the police or other law enforcement officers show up at your door and want to search your computer?

EFF has designed this guide to help you understand your rights if officers try to search the data stored on your computer or portable electronic device, or seize it for further examination somewhere else. Keep in mind that the Fourth Amendment is the minimum standard, and your specific state may have stronger protections.

Because anything you say can be used against you in a criminal or civil case, before speaking to any law enforcement official, you should consult with an attorney. Remember generally the fact that you assert your rights cannot legally be used against you in court. You can always state: "I do not want to talk to you or answer any questions without my attorney present." If they continue to ask you questions after that point, you can say: "Please don't ask me any further questions until my attorney is present." And if the police violate your rights and conduct an illegal search, often the evidence they obtain as a result of that search can't be used against you.

We've organized this guide into three sections:

If you consent to a search, the police don't need a warrant.

The most frequent ways police are able to search is by asking you for permission. If you say "yes" and consent to the search, then police don't need a warrant. You can limit the scope of that consent and even revoke or take it back after the officers begin searching, but by then it may be too late.1 That's why it's better not consent to a searchpolice may drop the matter. If not, then they will generally need to get a search warrant to search.

Law enforcement may show up at your door. Apart from a few exceptions, police need a warrant to enter your home.

The police can't simply enter your home to search it or any electronic device inside, like a laptop or cell phone, without a warrant.

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When Can the Police Search Your Phone and Computer?

The Supreme Court is weighing in on another Fourth Amendment privacy case, this one concerning a Los Angeles ordinance requiring hotels to surrender guest registries to the police upon request without a warrant.

Thejustices agreed(PDF) Monday to hear Los Angeles' appeal of a lower court that ruled7-4 that the lawmeant to combat prostitution, gambling, and even terrorismwas unconstitutional. The law(PDF) requires hotels to provide the informationincluding guests' credit card number, home address, driver's license information, and vehicle license numberat a moment's notice. Several dozen cities, from Atlanta to Seattle, have similar ordinances.

"The Supreme Court will consider both the scope of privacy protections for hotel guests and also whether the Fourth Amendment prohibits laws that allow unlawful searches," EPIC wrote. "The second issue has far-reaching consequences because many recent laws authorize the police searches without judicial review. Thus far, courts have only considered "as applied" challenges on a case-by-case basis."

The appeal is the third high-profile Fourth Amendment case the justices have taken in three years.

In 2012, the justices ruled that authorities generally need search warrants when they affix GPS devices to a vehicle. And earlier this year, the Supreme Court said that the authorities need warrants to peek into the mobile phones of suspects they arrest.

In the latest case,Los Angeles motel owners sued, claiming that the law was a violation of their rights. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the motel owners in December and said the only documentsthey must disclose include a hotel's proprietary pricing and occupancy information.

Businesses do not ordinarily disclose, and are not expected to disclose, the kind of commercially sensitive information contained in the records, Judge Paul Watford wrote for the majority. He said a hotel has "the right to exclude others from prying into the contents of its records."

In dissent, Judge Richard Clifton wrote that neither the hotel nor the guest has an expectation of privacy."A guest's information is even less personal to the hotel than it is to the guest," Clifton said.

In arguing to the justices that they should review the majority's conclusion, Los Angeles city officials wrote(PDF), "These laws expressly help police investigate crimes such as prostitution and gambling, capture dangerous fugitives and even authorize federal law enforcement to examine these registers, an authorization which can be vital in the immediate aftermath of a homeland terrorist attack."

Thehigh court did not set a hearing date.

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Supreme Court to decide if cops can access hotel registries without warrants