Wordle is my new fave!

Ok, I've found something else to be addicted to.  If you haven't yet discovered Wordle, please check it out at once!  It is SO cool!  Here's a Wordle I created quite simply using this very blog.

I can't wait to use this again and again on things that inspire me like good parenting skills and delicious food and healthy living.  LOVE IT!!!

SlideShare Gold

There was a time when I thought PowerPoint was the answer to everything!  Got a point to get across?  PowerPoint it!  How exciting it was to learn about SlideShare, a place where PowerPoint presentations on virtually ANY topic are available for your viewing pleasure.  Of the many, the one I found most interesting was A Twitter for your Intranet. It's a short presentation about the importance of unlocking silo's of information via a private Twitter-like environment where employees share and collaborate and connect.  A topic I'm particularly interested in, being in a satellite office of a statewide organization.  Harnessing the power of social networking type applications in the office place will go a long way toward bringing the organization into harmony and getting everyone on the same page.  Maybe I should share this presentation with the higher-ups!

Google+ Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

I never really thought about how social networking applications used my information until the hubaloo over Google's new privacy policy.  For kicks, I checked it out and discovered Google will mostly use my information for benign purposes such as to "provide, maintain, protect and improve them [services], to develop new ones, and to protect Google and our users. We also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more relevant search results and ads."  They'll also keep track of any name changes and update my name across all Google services in order to maintain 'consistency'.  They also collect information gathered from cookies to 'improve user experience' such as ensuring my preferred language is English no matter which Google service I use.

The trouble with all of this is that one never really knows the totality of use of personal information provided when signing up for Google+ or any other social networking application.  If it will generate more revenue, it seems social networks will use your information to the max with or without your permission.  With any luck, users will be able to harness the power of social networks to keep the social networks on the up and up!