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Mary Hansen Staff Writer @maryfhansen

To help with cleanup after storms hit Springfield this week, Ward 5 Ald. Andrew Proctor offered to coordinate branch pickup for residents in a Facebook post Tuesday night.

By Wednesday afternoon, the post had reached about 700 people, and six residents sent him messages through the social media site looking for help, Proctor said.

Hes hearing from constituents more frequently through Facebook, he said.

Hes not alone.

The majority of the city's 10 aldermen maintain an official page on the social networking site, sharing information on city services and sometimes seeking opinions on decisions before the Springfield City Council.

Some embrace social media sitessuch as Facebook, Twitter and NextDoor, a private social networking site organized by neighborhood,as an essential way to communicate with constituents. Although it also has the potential to backfire.

Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen drew criticism and even some calls for his resignation after a controversial Facebook post he wrote in response to an uptick in gun violence in Springfield in early June.

The 10-year veteran on the council said the experience changed his approach to using social media as an elected official.

"Ive decided that theres too much open for interpretation when you dont hear someone's inflection or you dont see the whole conversation," Theilen said. "Ive decided that other than just sharing things I find funny (or) things that are informational, Im not getting philosophical on there anymore. Its not a good forum for that."

He said he'll continue to respond to questions heoccasionallygets from constituents on the site and post construction or service updates from the city.

Keyboard viciousness

A couple of council members cite time constraints and a climate of divisiveness on the sites that deters them from using social media more frequently.

For example, Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer has a personal profile and an official page, Ralph Hanauer for Ward 10, which he started during his campaign.But he said keeping up with the page takes a significant amount of time on top of the time he spends answering phone calls and emails from constituents.

Plus, social media can bring out more vicious attacks, some that can get personal, Hanauer said.

He pointed to threatening comments state Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove, received after voting last week in favor of a state spending plan that included higher taxes.

Im not afraid to sit there and discuss an issue, but youve got some people (who) will not meet person to person, Hanauer said. They want to do it online and they can be really vicious behind a keyboard. You cant talk to them, they dont want to hear your side.

He said that affects his decision to be less active on social media, but he plans to try to use it more.

Ryan Keith runs the Lincoln-based public relations firm RK PR Solutions and assists clients, mostly state lawmakers, with social media strategy.The best response to online attacks is ignoring them, he said.

Those who clearly have no interest in engaging in any thoughtful interaction, you ignore them, Keith said. You make your case, This is why I voted this way. You take your lumps and you move on.

While some use the sites to attack politicians they dont like, many others find raising a concern to their state representative or other elected officials on social media more comfortable than making a phone call, Keith said.

Its a perception change, he said. It breaks down some barriers that probably arent all that strong to begin with.

Exchange of ideas

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin sees things differently. He has a website(www.joeforward7.com) he updates regularly, but does not use Facebook or Twitter in his work as an alderman. Maintaining a social media presence can distract from deeper research that many issues the city council deals with require, he said.

"As an alderman, you need time to study the issues and research the issues," McMenamin said. "I think its important to put time into those areas."

However, there could be value in using social media on the campaign trail when looking for help from supporters, McMenamin acknowledged.

Despite some of the downfalls, Keith said sites like Facebook offer a free or inexpensive way to connect with voters. With limited campaign funds, that's an advantage for candidates.

Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso, the newest member of the council, found that to be true in her campaign. She said her frequent posts to Facebook and Twitter helped gain name recognition she needed in the short springtime campaign.

Now, shes continuing to keep up with constituents through social media. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, shes active on NextDoor, aplatform launched in 2010 that connects people who live in the same neighborhood. Users post about lost pets, petty crime reported in their neighborhood, block parties or other events and household items for sale.

DiCenso will often answer questions about city services such as branch pickup or road construction on the site.

Its just kind of a lot of ideas floated that may or may not be true, DiCenso said.

She's also conducted polls asking for feedback on the city's food truck policy and the proposed conversion of two-way streets downtown.

Many aldermen, including DiCenso, re-post information from the mayor's office and City Water, Light and Power's Facebook pages.

Despite the "Office of the Mayor" designation, city communications director JuliaFrevert uses the page to share updates from all city departments, everything from road closures to job opportunities to downtown events.

"Social media makes us more approachable than government has been in the past," said Frevert. "We hope that for residents, it's just one more they can communicate with us."

-- Contact Mary Hansen: 788-1528, mary.hansen@sj-r.com, twitter.com/maryfhansen.

Springfield City Council Facebook pages

Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath: None

Ward 2 Ald. Herman Senor

Ward 3 Ald. Doris Turner

Ward 4 Ald. John Fulgenzi

Ward 5 Ald. Andrew Proctor

Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin: None

Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen

Ward 9 Ald. Jim Donelan

Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer

Office of the Mayor - City of Springfield

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Aldermen experience highs, lows of social media - The State Journal-Register

Michael Newberg | CNBC

New virtual reality apps are revealed at Facebook's F8 conference in San Jose, California, on April 18 and 19, 2017.

Facebook's Oculus will release a $200 wireless headset in 2018, Bloomberg reported, marking a leap in affordability and technology for the virtual reality brand.

The device, code-named "Pacific," will be designed for immersive gaming, watching videos and social networking, according to Bloomberg's unidentified sources. Game designers will be briefed by October, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook told CNBC, "We don't have a product to unveil at this time, however we can confirm that we're making several significant technology investments in the standalone VR category."

The technology has already seen steep price cuts this year: This week, Oculus began charging $399 for its Rift device, controllers and some games, a bundle that was last priced at nearly $600, and even higher before that. The new device will not be a replacement for the Rift or third-party devices that use Oculus technology, like some Samsung phones, and does not mark a significant strategic change, sources told CNBC.

Oculus has lagged competitors in bringing a range of affordable headsets to market amid a series of setbacks.

Facebook's 2014 Oculus acquisition was the subject of a high-profile lawsuit. A jury ordered Facebook to pay $500 million indamages after a company sued Oculus, claiming Oculus "commercially exploited" computer code and trade secrets. Oculus founder Palmer Luckey recently left the company after some scrutiny over his political ties.

But Facebook has recently stepped up its ambitions in virtual reality. The company recently unveiled Facebook Spaces, a social VR product that is reportedly slated to include live virtual reality streams.

For more on the story, see the full report at Bloomberg.com.

See more here:
Facebook's Oculus will release a more affordable wireless headset next year, report says - CNBC

News Brief

12 Jul 2017

A bill has been submitted to the Russian parliament which would require social networks and messenger services to remove defamatory statements or comments deemed to promote war or national, racial and religious strife.

If passed, the law would come into force on January 1, 2018 and would compel social networking sites to remove incendiary comments within 24 hours of receiving a complaint or face a fine of 30 to 50 million roubles ($495,000 to $825,000).

The draft bill, submitted by members of the ruling United Russia party, also stipulates that all social networks and messaging services with over 2 million registered users in Russia open a representative office in the country.

In recent years the Russian parliament has passed a number of restrictions on social media and online publishers including a 2016 law commonly referred to as Yarovaya law (named after one of its authors) which requires telecommunications and internet companies to retain copies of all content and communications for six months, including text messages, voice, data and images.

Freedom of expression advocates have described these raft of laws as draconian attempts to limit free speech online.

Dozens of Russians are believed to have been arrested and even imprisoned for their posts on social media.

An explanatory note submitted with the current bill states that it seeks to preserve the informational function of social networking sites, but prevent them from being used for illegal means.

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Social Networking Sites to Remove Incendiary Comments or Face Hefty Fines Under New Russian Legal Proposals - Coda Story

AP file image of ISIS used for representational purpose only.

HYDERABAD:Konakalla Subrahmanyam alias Omer, who was arrested recently by the Hyderabad Special Investigation Team (SIT) for having links with ISIS, was allegedly influenced by reading three books on Islam.

In his confessional statement, the 24-year-old Omer said he had met one Abdul Shukur, who worked in a madarsa at Pedana in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and was gifted three booksShrushtini Kaadu, Shrushti Kartanau Poojinchu, O Manishi Nee Shrushti Kartanu Gurtinchu and Life History of Prophet Mohammed and Laailaahailla-Illaihu Mahummadur - Rasoolu-Illahwhich influenced him to convert to Islam.

I got circumcision (Kathana) at Machilipatnam with the help of Dr Chand Pasha. I also attended prayers at Tabligh Jamath Masjid in Machilipatnam. Later, I attended Tablig Jamat at Siddipur in Gujarat where I met one Mohammed Shafi of Hyderabad. I underwent training in rituals at Darul-ul- Uloom madarsa for nine months at Khali village near Siddipur, he told investigators during his five-day-long questioning.

Omer also allegedly assisted Srinagar youth in collecting funds in Hyderabad. In May, Mohammed Amir of Islamic Global School of Srinagar told him that they wanted to visit Hyderabad to collect donations for his school. Amir advised me to listen to the speeches and bayaans of prominent religious scholars such as Zakir Naik, Fayaz Syed, Abu Zahid Iamir, Qarie Shoib Ahmed, Mufti Menk, Arshad BashirMadani, Mohammed Ali Mirza that are available on social networking sites. I followed his instructions. I worked for Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through social netwokring by motivating the youth and discussing atrocities on Muslims in India, Omer said in his confessional statement.

Omer, who was born and brought up at Kotha Majeru village in Krishna district, came in contact with one Abu Qahafa Al-Hindi Waseem, a resident of Saudi Arabia, through Telegram App. Omer also contacted Abu Muhammad of Pakistan, Abudl Jaleel Oyelese of Nigeria and Aidi Sumaili of Johannesburg Ismail Sha Sahil of Pakistan through Facebook.

The investigators have obtained Omers Facebook messenger details from his mobile phone in which Omer had conversation with one Ismail of Pakistan on June 7, 2016 regarding Moulana Masood Azhar, a dreaded terrorist residing in Pakistan. Omer also had a chat with Abu Mohammad of Pakistan on December 20, 2016. Omer received a PDF file by Telegram App from Abu Qahafa Al Hindi on March 3, 2017 on how to prepare a petrol bomb and how to use it. Similarly, Abu informed him that he would sent another important file that would give a useful formula, said sources.

Go here to see the original:
'I worked for ISIS through social networking sites to motivate youths ... - The New Indian Express

You don't have to look very far to notice teenagers with their noses glued to their phones, but it's hard to know what -- or who -- is on the other side.

Caresse Jackman , WWLTV 10:24 PM. CDT July 12, 2017

NEW ORLEANS- You don't have to look very far to notice teenagers with their noses glued to their phones, but it's hard to know what -- or who -- is on the other side.

This week, police say a 13-year-old girl left her home with a 22-year-old man she met through social media. Experts say this kind of incident is more common than you think.

"Unfortunately this story is not surprising. What we're seeing play out more is thisfalstsense of security," Dr. SherylKennedy-Haydel, Associate Professor at Xavier University said, "That you know someone just because maybe you interact with them through a direct message maybe a few times a day. When, in essence, you don't know them. All you know is what they're allowing you to know through the social media platform."

The New Orleans Police Department arrested 22-year-oldRigobertoUsher on July 12 for the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl. Investigators tell Eyewitness News he picked up the teenager from her home against her guardian's consent. The two reportedly met on social media.

In a study by KidsLiveSafe.com, the number of sexual predators using social media has more than doubled over the last few years, with more than 82 percent of sex crimes starting on social networking sites.

Jim Kelly with Convenant House knows this leads to potentially dangerous consequences.

"This past year we cared for over 90 human trafficking victims. And what we're finding this summer, is that we're coming across more and more who are under 17 years of age," Kelly said.

Kelly said those victims often become scarred for life.

"There are people out there preying on them. And what happens to those women, and their dignity taken away. And they're raped and assaulted," Kelly said.

According to Dr.Kennedy-Haydel, preventing these crimes could be as easy as talking to your children about social media and what might be out there.

"Whether you like it or not. Whether you think it's useful or not, it's still going to be around for quite some time," she said.

Usher is now in central lockup on a count of simple kidnapping.

2017 WWL-TV

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Kidnapping case reminder of social media dangers - WWL