HILARIOUS
h/t +Nozavi Psydok

What makes me (and possibly other people on Google+) WANT to circle you/follow your page:

1. You, posting things that have never been posted before (use the search feature because I do to try and find the first person posting about something and add it to my content streams)
2. Your friends, sharing one of your posts
3. You, commenting on my/other people's posts
4. You, sharing my/other people's posts
5. You, responding when other people mention your name in their comments/posts
6. You, posting either about the same topic or making sure you don't post just for the sake of posting (this allows me/others to categorize the content you're sharing easier)
7. You, posting about things YOU find interesting (most probably others will also find them too) and not about what OTHERS find interesting (before adding someone to my circles I ALWAYS go through at least their last 20 posts to see if they have a stream of content that could add to what I already get from my other circled people/pages)

If you do any of these it means that you will most probably do it again in the future and engaging people are the engine of a good social networking experience.

P.S.: I want to see what you have to say in the future

I (and probably other people too) DO NOT circle you/follow your page just because:

1. You have a complete profile (I DON'T CARE about profiles, the only thing that matters is what content you're share with the rest of us)
2. You have a really snazzy profile pic (it might get people's attention buy I, and probably others, don't care about having pretty pictures inside a circle)
3. You asking others to add you to their circles
4. Your friends asking others to add you to their circles.

That's about it. Just had to get this out there to hopefully help people get the most out of what Google+ has to offer.

Not that I really care, but who needs soooooo much white space??? o_O It just seems hilarious to have this much nothingness...

"pwnat, pronounced "poe-nat", is a tool that allows any number of clients behind NATs to communicate with a server behind a separate NAT with no port forwarding and no DMZ setup on any routers in order to directly communicate with each other."

Other VERY interesting stuff at http://samy.pl/code/?x=new and at http://samy.pl/code/?x=old . ["tracertspoof.pl - this is just a proof of concept I wanted to make which spoofs routes when someone traceroutes you."]

Excuse me, but this is completely moronic.

RESHARE:
2011, March 03 O_O

Reshared text:
After another larger earthquake off Oregon today, I thought I'd share this VERY cool animation showing earthquake activity... sped up to a speed so that we can experience things with a little bit better sense of geologic time and perspective. The Japan earthquake in there is pretty stunning. We live in a very dynamic world!

AeroFS. FREE file sync without servers for Linux, Mac, and Windows.
No limits. No caps. End-to-end 2048-bit RSA encryption. Dropbox who?
- Lets you sync all the data on your devices. No limits. No caps. You already have all the storage you need, now use it!
- Will only share your files with those who you invite. Files are never stored in the cloud unless you specifically enable Cloud Backup.
- Encrypts your data end-to-end. This way, we are able to provide better security than most online storage services. Seriously.

The three things EVERYONE should do to get the most out of Google+:

1. If you find someone's post interesting, "+1" it.
2. If you think that people in your circles will also find it interesting, "Share" it.
3. Don't forget to post your own content so that others know you're here.

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
This ridiculous and beautiful graphic of the history of space exploration has made my day. I ask myself: what distances will we travel in the future?

RESHARE:
"Share that stuff you see, to empower others and expand on their own knowledge, creating a fantastic G+ experience"

Reshared text:
SHARE

What does the word SHARE mean to you?

To me it means ensuring that others benefit from that which I see and Do... So for instance I create an Image of say a sunrise, I take time to get up in the wee small hours, brave the elements and capture that precious moment, someone comes along and sees the Image.

They may if I'm lucky leave a +1 (to be honest this doesn't take much.. they made it easy by leaving the button there), not only does this allow the post creator to see that someone has appreciated the work that has gone into the post, but how many people have acknowledged reading the post.

If you are really lucky someone may come along who really likes what they see and have taken the trouble to hit the share option to ensure that someone else can benefit from seeing the information/image/video etc..

As +pio dal cin would say +Sharing is Caring on G+

SHARE can also mean this:

*S*ome
*H*angouts
*A*re
*R*eally
*E*ntertaining

Wow did i really write all that.. OMG!!! i must be ill anyway you get the message hope.. Share that stuff you see, to empower others and expand on their own knowledge, creating a fantastic G+ experience

RESHARE:
True story.

Reshared text:

RESHARE:


Reshared text:

Rip-off Apple stores in China.. Best part? "Employees actually believe they work for Apple"

Home made vortex cannon AKA shooting with ghosts

via http://urn1350.net/video/vortex-cannon-student-science

RESHARE:


Reshared text:

Nice move Apple.. NOT!

[...] they’ve soldered the RAM to the motherboard, so you not only can’t use cheaper third-party RAM, but you can’t upgrade the RAM at all.

http://www.ichilton.co.uk/blog/apple/new-apple-macbook-pro-ram-is-soldered-to-the-motherboard-513.html

via +Ian Chilton 

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
This is absolutely incredible

Microsoft no longer allows Windows Live Messenger (MSN) users to share Pirate Bay links

Stupid and, most probably, highly profitable.

Many ISPs have been ordered to block their customers’ access to the website, and recently Microsoft joined in on the action by stopping people sharing its location with others.
Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger (MSN) now refuses to pass on links to The Pirate Bay website, claiming they are unsafe.

19k people can't be wrong :)

RESHARE:
Origami art - simple, yet very expressive. Also neko FTW! :)

Reshared text:
#origami

It doesn't matter if you liked or hated him, he was right on this one:
(via http://www.tweakiz.com/2011/11/excellent-quotes/)

RESHARE:
Siri vs Android Voice Actions
0 - 1
As +Brian Baskerville noted, the Droid uses a WiFi connection and the iPhone4s AT&T's 3G.. Therefore, in my opinion, THIS DOES NOT PROVE anything.

Reshared text:

Over 100 Members of Congress are backing a bill (CISPA) that would give private companies and the US government the right to spy on any of us at any time for as long as they want without a warrant.

This is the third time the US Congress has tried to attack our Internet freedom. But we helped beat SOPA, and PIPA -- and now we can beat this new Big Brother law.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_cispa/

RESHARE:
Google+ Start-Up Guide

Reshared text:
Hello (rest of the) World

Google+ is finally open for the rest of the world so I thought it was about time I updated the Google+ Start-Up Guide.

Today I am releasing version 2. Thank you all for the tremendous feedback for version 1. I took the most important things and updated the presentation accordingly to help increase its clarity. The changes are subtle but helpful.

Please share this version to your new friends instead of the original :) & Enjoy!

Also, if you have read my 3-part meditation on Google+ you know that I don't think Facebook will be going anywhere anytime soon. So I finally added the subscribe button to my Facebook profile so feel free to add me there as well :) Competition is great.

http://Saidur.com/f or
http://facebook.com/saidurh

Cheers,
+ Cy

If you thought that IE 10 can't beat Firefox at anything, think again! (via reddit's AU_Scarecrow).

If you see your e-mail inside ad widgets, this is why:

"If you search for “pet meds” on Google and you’re signed in, Google pre-fills your gmail address into the ad widget. That doesn’t mean they’ve automatically sent it to the advertiser – God help them if they did – but it sends the absolute wrong message to users about where Google’s priorities lie."

RESHARE:
Only in Japan ^_^

Reshared text:
....

RESHARE:
For anyone not knowing the difference.

Reshared text:
**Trolling vs. Losing Your Cool (aka Flaming!)**

Let's get our definitions of these words straight once and for all.
Let me just say; it's just my subjective take on it.

What trolls do: Their purpose is simple. Trolls exist to inject humor or nonsense into a dialogue thereby either making you laugh, smile, or entirely confused. They speak crazy to merely get a rise out of you. They are fun in my opinion. See also: +Matt McCroskey. Our very own expert at internet trolling. See this as a golden example: http://i.imgur.com/5QyJM.png


My favorite example of my own trolling is when I start my own death match server on my favorite multiplayer video game. Everyone wants the guns - the super guns. But I'll choose the default weapon such as green perfume spray that fogs up all in my proximity. That or I'll use mines as the default weapon that just annoys the crap out of the unsuspecting innocents who join the game and are frustrated that there are no guns! :-) Some people get the humor in that and once the flow begins, it's hilarity that will ensue. I just love it!!

Additionally, I'll make my screen name to be a dot or a comma or something trolly and then other humorists will do the same to the point where we don't know who we all are anymore as we're all using the same handle. It can be a blast! The right people have to play along (like my hubby) and when the serious folk enter, I laugh so hard at their utter confusion and frustration, I pop a vein in my brain laughing so hard at the fact that they just don't get it. hehe [trollface.jpg]
Trolls are deliberate.

Flaming: They happen upon a comment or post on the internet in either good or neutral spirits, albeit they could be having a bad day. These folks see something and challenge the argument. It may start out civil. It may start out by the person posing a rebuttal and losing their cool right off the bat or later into the argument. Anger obfuscates all reason. That is all. Flamers don't pick fights or become harsh with their words for the sake of it. They are genuinely driven by their frustration at another poster. Not deliberate at all.

Griefers: (AKA sadistic a-holes!) Operative word: sadistic. They just ruin everything for their own delight. They hate everybody, everything, and themselves. They get pleasure out of injecting their poisonous venom on to online discussions and online games. Like trolls, their intention is deliberate.

Never make the mistake of thinking this is an online phenomenon. This happens offline ALL THE TIME TOO. I worked for years as a sales and customer service representative and I got a colorful mixture of all three scenarios. It was fun. Not really.

Don't lie to yourself. Both on and offline not too many of us are immune to at least one of these fatalities of human nature. The dark side. Honey. The dark side of human nature. As for myself? I will never say I'm "guilty" of trolling. I'm a very proud troll as I spoke about this quite a while ago: http://bit.ly/yMiL7b Guilty, I am of flaming. Occasionally I fall off the ladder and lose my way. Hug me during those times. Maybe I forgot to take my meds or something. ;-)

It would be awesome if people would stop confusing trolls with flamers and griefers. What I see 99.9% of the time are folks who call you a troll for presenting an alternative perspective to another's opinion. The reaction? You're a troll. That's right. You get called a troll for civil dissent.

Anyone else see the irony in that?

If you can't handle dissent, you fail at life. Not online, but at life. If it's flaming-dissent, that's a different story. But when someone simply disagrees.... get a grip. Get a hold of yourself.

Like this: http://bit.ly/e5qI3y

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

ONCE AGAIN: I'd just like to repeat what I said in my post. This is all just my subjective interpretation of trolling vs flaming and griefing. I'm not telling anyone what to do or how to think. I just speak strongly of my opinions. But that's all they are: opinions.

░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

Have a great weekend, everyone! :-)

Photo source: http://www.quickmeme.com/
Illustrator: +Allie Brosh

11 minutes of awesome :)

RESHARE:
I don't often share posts publicly, but when I do it's a true story :)

Reshared text:
Unanticipated Consequences of Joining G+
In the few months I have been participating in the Ghost Town that is Google+, I've found myself doing some things I never expected: I'm buying art. I'm helping to fund products and projects I'd never heard of before. I'm buying books by people I'd never heard of about subjects I'd never have considered previously, I am sponsoring people for charity events, and donating directly to good causes from all over the world.

I can tell you exactly how many of these events have occurred as a result of years of other social media inputs: zero.

But it is different here on G+. Here, instead of being spammed by marketing and self promotion I am able to engage with the people first and the move to buying from, or buying into, them is an organic progression, fuelled by an interest in and empathy with the individuals whose work I support.

The great and the small alike have benefitted from this. I've bought books from bestselling authors and I've been a photographer's first ever commercial sale. (I am particularly warmed by that last one). I've donated to large charities and I've sent individuals what help I am able.

All because I've engaged with the people here and because they in turn have engaged with me. Interaction, that's the solution to the puzzle of G+

(Image: Taiwan Recycling Symbol on Puzzle, http://i.istockimg.com/)

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
wow.....

RESHARE:
Batshit insanse and the most awesomerest inventor ever...

Reshared text:
#Tesla, the most inspiring human being http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
Google Acquires WhiteSpace For $120M

#WhiteSpace

In a surprise move perhaps intended to counter Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, Google has purchased a little known app company, WhiteSpace, which cleverly adds large, random pockets of white space to any interface.

When asked why WhiteSpace posed an interest, David Lawee, Head of Google's Business Development team responded:

There are synergies here, the scale of which we don't yet fully understand. The color white, to Google, is like air. WhiteSpace is like air in outer space and everyone agrees it would be cool if there was more air in outer space. It is equally as cool to have more white in our space.

Lawee refused to speculate as to whether WhiteSpace would be added to their new Google Glasses interface.

9-legged ... something.

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
#atheism

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
bonjour à tous

Vatican cracks down on priests who abuse boys. Just kidding, they are actually pissed about feminist nuns.
(via http://www.fark.com/cgi/go.pl?i=7059028&s=1)

Sophos: “Mac Users, Please Get an Antivirus, for Goodness Sake”

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Sophos-Mac-Users-Please-Get-an-Antivirus-for-Goodness-Sake-285653.shtml

RESHARE:
It works, although some things might overlap.. Well, until they add the Display Density switch...

Reshared text:
Wider Stream for Google+

Use a CSS restyling browser extension such as StyleBot to apply this CSS to the page to get a wider stream. Adjust px widths to taste.


div.RazREb.ZI35oe.c-wa-Da.ncGWdc {
width: 900px;
}

div.lzqA1d {
width: 899px;
}

div.Ye {
width: 830px;
}

div.CPLjOe {
width: 830px;
}
#newgoogleplus #css #stylebot

RESHARE:
Truer words have never been written!

Reshared text:
I wrote about the music/movie industry's responsibility for piracy: http://mattgemmell.com/2012/02/17/the-piracy-threshold/

(Warning: contains swearing. Only grown-ups who aren't unduly frightened by the f-word need apply.)

8 differences between the Microsoft Store and the Apple Store
Small sample: "The Store Randomly Shuts Down Once You Step Inside"

RESHARE:


Reshared text:

o_O

"Stay safe online" for Dummies via

"... the battle for internet supremacy has moved to another level" via http://www.fark.com/go/7244427

"I wonder what will happen if I turn the car friction to -9..." in GTA IV

CHAOS!

My Win7 desktop.
#showyourdesktopfriday

RESHARE:
Because more people should hear his music.

Reshared text:
A friend of mine made this video of beautiful landscapes that fits nicely with my piano composition, "Ode to the Southern Sun". I hope you enjoy it ; )

"homakov opened this issue in 1001 years
I'm Bender from Future."

You made my day +Egor Homakov :)

"You blink and you'll go online."
via +boo Jay

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
Saw this floating around and couldn't resist posting it - especially in light of the ongoing Bunny discussion:

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
[Scifi ] [Geek]

"Keep calm, live long, and you can't take the Force from me."

And Number 6 is whispering in my ear, "So say we all..."

"SpiderOak never stores or knows a user's password or the plaintext encryption keys which means not even SpiderOak employees can access the data. Our zero-knowledge privacy approach means we can never betray the trust of our users. SpiderOak also recently added 2-factor authentication." ROCK si bye bye Dropbox!

Watch out!!!

Microsoft invents Google Docs (via Fark)

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
New Samsung Galaxy S III render with edge to edge display. What do you think? http://www.concept-phones.com/samsung/samsung-galaxy-iii-render-features-edge-edge-display/

RESHARE:
nice find :)

Reshared text:
If you want to ADD UNLIMITED PEOPLE TO YOUR CIRCLES> Not just 5,000. It works if you want to do it I will show you.

Firefox FTW!

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
Can't believe this 9-year-old is for real... 

"You really need to check out the first, second, and third part of this series before reading any further." (links in the 2nd paragraph).

iMan??

It DOES look spaceshippy enough to me... 0_o
Check the Death Star video too: Breaking - Unidentified Object SUN! March 11, 2012 ...

What do you think?

RESHARE:
One does not SIMPLY walk into Mordor!

Reshared text:
Gotta love Google Maps

After much pondering, my conclusion is that +Google+'s new UI design is usable.
One thing though, if anyone from the team (or any of the +Google+ Developers) will see this:
How about a Display Density switch similar to the one in Gmail/Google Reader to allow one to condense the white space (comfortable/cozy/compact) and, maybe, an option to revert to the old look??

Tone deaf therapy using classical music

Amazing number of people think they're tone-deaf. Actually, I hear a lot, "My husband is tone-deaf." (Laughter) Actually, you cannot be tone-deaf. Nobody is tone-deaf. If you were tone-deaf, you couldn't change the gears on your car, in a stick shift car. You couldn't tell the difference between somebody from Texas and somebody from Rome. And the telephone. The telephone. If your mother calls on the miserable telephone, she calls and says, "Hello," you not only know who it is, you know what mood she's in. You have a fantastic ear. Everybody has a fantastic ear. So nobody is tone-deaf.

Benjamin Zander uses music to help people open their minds and create joyful harmonies that bring out the best in themselves and their colleagues.

via +Moan Lisa
=================================

TO SHARE IS TO GROW via +Chris Lion

here you go +Bleh Meh

It's spring and everything's blooming, so why not let a circle grow from a little seed to a pretty flower or tree.

This is the growing circle experiment. This is my first try and i'm totally excited about how it will work out. i want this circle to grow and to transform so i'm starting with myself and my page. I hope you will join me and help me with this circle to get it big and beautiful. What you should do:

Instructions:
1.) add this circle (maybe call it: "to share is to grow")
2.) reshare it and include yourself (and maybe you best friend)
3.) post these instructions with the new circle so people know what it's all about

you also can just simply share this post so others can help me grow this circle! i'm looking forward to see how big it will grow :D

RESHARE:
Sharing FTW!

Reshared text:
How to Be Circled on Google+
Interaction. Interaction. Interaction.

In real life, people commonly ask me, “how in the world did you get so many followers on Google?” Of course, being an early adopter helped, but the most important thing I did when I arrived here was interacting with other users. I can’t say it enough, interacting with people’s content shows them two things: 1) You’re paying attention. 2) You invested time in starting a conversation.

There are so many people on Google+ that have some incredible content to share. Now, of course, this content might not all be relative to you. Someone into +Lady Gaga and fashion design isn’t going to take too much interest into +Robert Scoble's posts, but at the same time a budding tech blogger wouldn’t make much of an effort to follow a well-known cake decorator.

The point is, all of your circles should be relative to you. You should circle people that interest you.

So how you do you find people that interest you? Well, sometimes you have to take a gamble. You have to see what they have to say, determine if it is relevant and then decide whether or not you want to continue interacting with them. It’s the same principal as making friends at school, work or sports bar.

In order to help some users interested in interacting with more people I created a call to action last night asking users to comment and share if they were interested in being exposed to more users. The response was overwhelming and a great demonstration of how community members can come together.

Lately I have ranted a bit about the Suggested Users List and the What’s Hot List, but the real truth in the matter is that they...don’t matter. This network is only to you what you take out of it. So, here’s an opportunity for a couple of hundred people to show you what they are all about.

Special thanks to +Natalie Villalobos and +Robert Scoble for helping me in the back channel with “re-aligning” my focus. It took a while, but I think I’m back on track to doing what I do best.

There are a few great people in here including Googler +Sara Eleta Reid, funny hangout man +matthew rappaport, culinary extraordinaire +Lee Allison, Google+ enthusiast and business expert +Denis Labelle, and Nashville local +Andy Torres. There are even a few pages sprinkled in to keep it spicy.

Give these people a chance. Add the circle. Once a week, visit the stream for this circle and see what you think. Compare it to who you are already following. Are they engaging? Do they interact? What do you think? After a couple of weeks, tell me what you think of the experiment. I’d love to interact with you!

The Story Behind the Circle: Last night I challenged my Google+ followers to comment and share a post called "The What's Hot Circle" in an attempt to create a circle full of completely organic users that were interested in finding some new people follow them and find some new people to follow in return. The results were amazing and the post proved something. You don't need the assistance of any list or status to have your content ripple into hundreds of shares. It can all happen organically, and that's what this circle is 100% organic.

The Suggested Users List and the What's Hot List both serve great purposes for Google. Are they perfect? Heck no. But do they serve their purpose of giving people a jump start to their stream? Of course. If we all came here and had no one to follow and no suggested content to read, we wouldn't find it very interesting. Could it be better executed? Absolutely. But how can you do that while being perfectly democratic and retaining your business interests? Google is between a rock and a hard place on who and what to feature. Google isn't perfect, lots of people will admit that, probably even a few people that work there. But, as long as we continue to interact and keep it positive, we can all make this a better place. Constructive criticism is useful so I encourage you all to keep providing it. Together, we can make this a better place.

Thanks for following and share on!

EDIT: +C Bret Campbell was accidentally omitted.

RESHARE:


Reshared text:

Schrodinger's cat :)

RESHARE:
TRUE STORY!

Reshared text:
WARNING If you do not want to face the truth, and wish to continue your life as "normal", do not watch this. But if you are ready to take "the real red pill". Click play

Mac OS X "Mountain Lion introduces Messages, Notes, Reminders and Game Center to the Mac, as well as Notification Center, Share Sheets, Twitter integration and AirPlay® Mirroring. Mountain Lion is the first OS X release built with iCloud® in mind for easy setup and integration with apps. The developer preview of Mountain Lion also introduces Gatekeeper, a revolutionary security feature that helps keep you safe from malicious software by giving you complete control over what apps are installed on your Mac. The preview release of Mountain Lion is available to Mac Developer Program members starting today. Mac users will be able to upgrade to Mountain Lion from the Mac App Store™ in late summer 2012."

"In 24 hours, people across the planet are joining a global protest to bury ACTA for good -- if enough of us act today we can stop the ACTA censorship nightmare from becoming reality. "

Go to http://www.avaaz.org/en/acta_day_of_action_hub/?cl=1576532708&v=12574 for more details...

RESHARE:
Good news, everyone!

Reshared text:
Wunderbar! Germany says "nicht jetzt" to ACTA. Well done, Internet.

(Also, can we talk about how awesome it is that a panarmenian.net link made it to the top of /r/worldnews today?)

From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams the Earth is a special computer the size of a small planet and using organic components, designed to calculate the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Recommended read.

"The number 42 is, in the novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, "The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", and is calculated by an enormous supercomputer over a period of 7.5 million years to be 42. Unfortunately no one knows what the question is. Thus, to calculate the Ultimate Question, a special computer the size of a small planet and using organic components was created and named "Earth".

via Wikipedia:

RESHARE:
programming with timelike loops and more... yup.

Reshared text:
Really fun presentation, with mind-bending ideas. (If you rotate your coordinate system, they collapse back into basic CS, though ;)

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
It's the truth

Breaking news :) Windows apps in Apple's Mac App Store:

Backup link for when it gets removed: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24058/Screen%20Shot%202012-01-13%20at%205.22.31%20PM.jpg

"As of March 1, 2012 all apps submitted to the Mac App Store must implement sandboxing."

@Windows 8 users:

RESHARE:


Reshared text:
Pretty funny but has NSFW language so you are warned.

yeah, son!

OS XI? o_O

Dutch speakers = Netherlanders

Just found out about PartyCloud O_O

Auto-mix, sync, SFX, loop, and so on... Really really good stuff if you're a music junkie...

via http://d.hatena.ne.jp/tanemori/20120601/DailyLink

"After spending 4.3 billion dollars for Hitachi's HDD division last march and right after paying 700 million worth of dividends this spring and buying Toshiba's Thailand HDD plant, Western Digital's board of directors approved a stock repurchase of 1.9 billion dollars.

It's quite strange to see such high amounts of money and specifically cash, being spent only months after the catastrophic Thai floods that affected both Seagate and Western Digital."

Computer tricks 101:

CTRL+F13 to perform a visual inspection of your keyboard. (Windows + Linux only!)

RESHARE:


Reshared text: