Mediaboss Marketing

by Carina Cruz Posted on 10/02/2013 12:22 PM |Updated 10/02/2013 5:29 PM

GOOD OR BAD? Social media can build or destroy depending on how you use it. Graphic by Jay Javier/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines - October 2 is the International Day of Non-Violence. Since the advent of social interaction on the Internet, we've seen that a lot of today's violence is done online.

We live in a world centered on and dominated by social media, where one post can easily be crafted, seen and shared by millions of users. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other highly popular social networking websites have created a new generation of technologically savvy users who now have the power to voice out their opinions and advocacies, influencing the perception of others in the process.

People who speak different languages can now belong to one community and cross boundaries, interact and share valuable pieces of information with one another. Social media unifies. Social media engages.

But it is also one of if not the most those influential tools that can also cause blunders. Social media, given the power it gives to anyone with a smart phone, laptop or tablet, is sometimes used to abuse and violate others.

Oddly enough, this harmful though rampant practice seems to be deemed normal by most users.

Blackmail, sexual harassment, humiliation

Greg* is a high school student who uses Facebook to get updated with his daily homework and to socialize with his friends through chat. One day, he was conversing with his friend Ana* about his problems when he noticed something different about how Ana was composing her messages, only to find out that Ana's account had been hacked by Gregs other friend, Matt.*

Shortly after he revealed himself, Matt started mocking Greg, his problems and how they were being handled. Matt then sent a message to Greg saying, For every report you [file], I will tell everybody your secrets that are here in this account. I will take a screen shot of all these things you said to Ana and post it on Facebook. After Greg reported the incident to his teacher and after further investigation, the blackmailing stopped.

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Is cyber bullying normal in the age of social media?

Social, mobile and analytics technologies are disrupting business as usual at companies in all industries. In 2014, the disruption will continue, morphing into a new kind of business as usual with enterprises expanding their reliance on the cloud, mobile technologies, social media and, increasingly, predictive analytics. The goals: reducing costs, creating new revenue streams, boosting customer satisfaction and beefing up brand awareness, to name a few.

In the next three to five years, the five technologies most likely to upset the status quo are social networking, the cloud and software as a service (SaaS), self-service IT, predictive analytics and mobile payments, according to Computerworld's Forecast 2014 survey of 221 IT executives.

At Washington-based Special Olympics, that disruption is already well underway and yielding significant benefits, according to Noah Broadwater, head of digital products and technology.

"We have no real data centre, and most things are cloud-enabled. We're already entirely on Office 365," Microsoft's SaaS-based suite of tools, says Broadwater.

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Originally posted here:
Forecast 2014: How to master disruptive technologies

Video by INQUIRER.nets Matikas Santos

MANILA, PhilippinesWithout Filipino netizens knowing, their identity and personal information could already have been stolen by cybercriminals through their social network profiles or accounts.

An online survey on the social networking habits of Filipinos conducted by computer security company Trend Micro found that 63 percent of respondents share their date of birth, 82 percent their full name, and 42 percent their personal email address.

Full name and date of birth are among the details financial institutions most use for verification of transactions, Trend Micro said in a statement Wednesday regarding the results of their survey.

Yet, it is the top two pieces of personal information easily available on social networks, it said.

The survey conducted July 2013 with 396 respondents, also found that almost 24 percent voluntarily gave personal information in exchange for alleged discounts, coupons, and getting more friends or followers.

As much as 37 percent gave their personal information to be able to join raffle draws online, the study found.

Myla Pilao, director Core Technology of TrendLabs Marketing, said that cybercriminals steal personal information to sell in the black market or to customize or tailor attacks based on a persons profile.

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Cybercriminals steal info from Facebook, other social media

Smoking is a major public health problem, killing approximately 443,000 people every year in the United States. Quitting smoking can have a profound effect on a person's health, but it is also one of the hardest addictions to kick. A recent paper published in the Journal of Communication found that people who engage in health specific social networking sites found it easier to quit smoking.

Joe Phua, University of Georgia, examined health-based social networking sites that focus on helping members to quit smoking. He found that as participation on these sites increased, members began to build a sense of community on the sites. Specifically, they started to identify more strongly with other members, receive and give more social support, found common ground from smoking behaviors and built a sense of trust.

As a result of the increased social connectedness associated with participating on the sites, these members ultimately become more likely, and found it easier, to quit smoking. They also maintain abstinence for a longer period of time, because of their increased sense of self-efficacy to abstain from smoking during tempting situations (e.g. when out drinking, when stressed, when sad, etc.).

Past research has examined the use of social media for quitting smoking. However, these are mainly intervention studies that focused on the various features on the sites to increase engagement. There have been no studies that specifically looked at how various forms of social interconnectedness on these sites can help people to quit smoking. These findings show that on health-based social networking sites, members can build strong social interconnectedness with other people who have the same health issue.

This can help users to achieve their health goals in a shorter amount of time, without having to go through more traditional, offline support groups and services. These offline groups are often much more expensive and require a lot more effort to use, especially for people who live in rural areas and have to travel long distances to attend offline smoking cessation programs.

"This study helps further the notion that social networking sites and other forms of social media can help people to improve their health conditions," said Phua. "These can be used as a standalone way to improve chronic health conditions, or as part of a holistic treatment plan that includes both professional offline help and online social media sites."

Keywords for this news article include: Tobacco Use, Quit Smoking, Gastroenterology, Smoking Cessation, Clinical Trials and Studies, International Communication Association.

Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2013, NewsRx LLC

(c) 2013 Clinical Trials Week via NewsRx.com

Original headline: Quitting smoking easier for social media users

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Social Media Helps Smokers Quit

We must leave no stone unturned in dealing with the growing issue of HIV/AIDS in our beloved country, Liberia. By this, we should do away with utterances and comments that have the inclination to stigmatize those living with the virus.

Our guidance is predicated on keen surveillance that stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS continue to be a major impediment to the fight against this killer disease in our country. We believe most people, if not all of who are tested positive, will not openly declare their status once people living with HIV/AIDS continue to be stigmatized and discriminated.

Honestly, the continued fight against HIV/AIDS will be meaningless if the stigmatization and discrimination against those living with the virus does not stop. It is very important that we stop the unnecessary debate concerning where, when and how people get the disease and also we must dispel religious perception that people living with HIV/AIDS are cursed by God.

We encourage our religious leaders to also help take the issue of HIV/AIDS very seriously and that they must discourage utterances and comments that have the propensity to stigmatize those living with the virus. Like the campaign against the crippling Polio Disease, we think, by showing compassion and love for HIV/AIDS victims, the fight against the deadly disease will also be successful.

To this end, we again urge those in the habit of stigmatizing and discriminating HIV/AIDS victims to desist or else, the launched campaign against the killer disease will not achieve its desired objectives.

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Liberia: We Must Leave No Stone Unturned in the Campaign Against HIV/Aids