Copiii cu smartphone

Copiii cu smartphone

Cei de la Bitdefender, care ne sunt si parteneri in proiectul Sigur.info, trag un semnal de alarma pentru parintii care considera potrivit ca un copil de 6,7 ani sa aiba propriul smartphone. Chiar daca pustii din ziua de astazi sunt mult mai avansati intr-ale tehnologiei decat eram noi la varsta lor, e greu sa explici unui copil mic despre pericolele online.

Sa ne gandim doar, la ce poate folosi un copil un smartphone (in afara de functia de baza, cea de telefon): la jocuri. Un pusti va dori sa descarce cele mai noi jocuri, lucru usor de realizat avand in vedere ca se intra usor in platformele de aplicatii online. Pana acum totul e inofensiv dar …

• va sti un copilas sa respinga / sa deosebeasca aplicatiile de spam care ii vor umple dispozitivul cu reclame si aplicatii de tot felul?
• va sti sa citeasca review-urile inainte de a descarca un joc pentru a se asigura ca aplicatia chiar functioneaza?
• va sti ca daca jocul nu e gratuit, sa isi intrebe parintii daca are voie sa cumpere acel joc? Daca aveti datele cardului de credit introduse in platforma de aplicatii online, pustiul poate cumpara cate aplicatii ii permite limita.
• va sti sa nu raspunda reclamelor agresive de pe internet?

Asadar, impreuna cu partenerii nostri de la Bitdefender, va intrebam dragi parinti: ati lasa in mana copilului de 7 ani un smartphone fara sa il supravegheati cu atentie?

Sursa: www.dailybussiness.ro

Pelerina care te face invizibil nu mai e de domeniul SF-ului

Pelerina care te face invizibil nu mai e de domeniul SF-ului

Tind sa cred ca majoritatea dintre voi ati vazut Harry Potter si ca tot majoritatea stiti la ce ma refer cand spun pelerina care te face invizibil. Ei bine, in film totul era posibil, ca doar e film, nu? Dar ce-ati spune voi daca ati afla ca se poate sa devii invizibil si in viata reala?

Profesorul John Howell de la Universitatea din Rochester, New York si de fiul sau Benjamin au reusit sa construiasca un dispozitiv care te poate ascunde de ochii tuturor, adica, mai pe scurt, te face invizibil! In filmuletul de mai jos aveti o scurta demonstratie:

Bineinteles, este loc destul pentru imbunatatiri, dar primul pas a fost facut  . Daca v-am facut curiosi cititi mai multe despre dispozitiv pe www.yoda.ro

Asa-i ca ati vrea si voi o perlerina care sa va faca invizibili?

Dependenta de apreciere pe Facebook

Dependenta de apreciere pe Facebook

V-ati intrebat vreodata de la ce vine legendarul buton “Like” al lui Facebook? V-ati gandit vreodata ce inseamna el si ce va ofera de fapt? Ei bine, va raspundem noi, inseamna si va ofera apreciere. Prietenii, cunoscutii, amicii si necunoscutii (desi nerecomandat) va arata cat de mult va apreciaza pe Facebook. Ca e vorba de un Like la o poza sau un like la un comment, un articol sau un share, cu totii isi arata aprecierea pentru postarea voastra.

Nimic gresit pana aici, Facebook este si poate fi un mediu interesant unde poti impartasi idei, interese si poti cunoaste oameni noi si interesanti. Totusi, poate deveni o dependenta nociva cum e cazul unei tinere adolescente care a devenit dependenta de like-urile primite la pozele de tip auto-portret (selfie). Cum asa? Ei bine, Emma, isi face in fiecare zi in jur de 60 de poze in diferite ipostaze pe care le posteaza pe Facebook pentru a fi apreciata de prietenii ei. A devenit atat de obsedata de Like-urile primite incat daca o poza nu primeste destule Like-uri sau primeste un comentariu negativ se afla in pragul disperarii.

De asemenea, se simte foarte rau si este foarte agitata atunci cand nu poate posta poze cu ea insasi pe Facebook.  Tanara din povestea noastra este pur si simplu dependenta de aprecierea celorlalti prieteni online si deja are probleme foarte mari in ceea ce priveste  increderea in sine. Ce e mai inspaimantator este ca a ajuns in aceasta situatie in doar 1 an de zile!

Acum, spuneti-ne voi dragi parinti: cate poze posteaza copilul vostru zilnic? Sau voi dragi adolescenti: cate poze in fata oglinzii, in parc, in mall sau la plimbare postati? 

La ce e bun profilul de Facebook

La ce e bun profilul de Facebook …

Pe langa faptul ca putem comunica cu prietenii aflati la distanta si suntem tot timpul la curent cu ce mai face gasca noastra (pe unde au mai fost, ce filme au mai vazut, ce au mai facut, etc) se pare ca profilul de FB incepe sa fie utilizat si-n viata reala. De exemplu, exista un club in California unde nu poti intra decat daca esti prieten apropiat de-al proprietarului pe Facebook. La intrare esti verificat si daca n-ai fost destul de bun prieten cu proprietarul, nu ti se permite sa intri.

De ce conteaza cat de bun prieteni sunteti pe FB tu si proprietarul clubului? Ei bine, pentru ca asa s-au redus considerabil nr de probleme (certuri, batai, alte pbl ce pot aparea intr-un club). Toata lumea prezenta in club, poate fi identificata dupa datele din profilul de Facebook asa ca toti stau cuminti si se distreaza fara sa creeze probleme.

Interesanta strategie, nu credeti?

Comunicare online fara calculator, telefon sau tableta

Comunicare online fara calculator, telefon sau tableta …

Mai tineti minte filmele SF in care personajele comunicau intre ele prin telepatie? Pur si simplu purtau o discutie de la mii de Km distanta fara sa foloseasca nici un dispozitiv, doar cu ajutorul creierului.

Cercetatorii de la Universitatea din Washington au reusit sa transforme filmele SF in realitate reusind sa realizeze prima comunicare de la creier la creier prin intermediul Internetului.

Daca v-am facut curiosi puteti intra pe www.hit.to sa vedeti despre ce e vorba

Detinem locul 2 la cele mai infectate computere

Detinem locul 2 la cele mai infectate computere

Vineri, septembrie 6, 2013 8:01

Suntem si noi fruntasi sau aproape fruntasi in unele topuri … pacat ca nu-s printre cele cu care sa te mandresti. De exemplu astazi am aflat de la partenerul nostru pe proiectul Sigur.info, Bitdefender, ca tara noastra frumoasa si draga ocupa cu mandrie locul 2 in topul tarilor cu cele mai infectate computere si dispozitive. Bineinteles, nu suntem singuri in acest top, India ocupand locul I iar Franta si SUA vin imediat dupa noi.

Cum, de ce si unde puteti afla de pe www.business24.ro. Totusi, ca sa nu facem parte dintre cei care contribuie la urcarea in top, trebuie sa tinem cont de cateva aspecte de securitate foarte importante:

1. Instalati o solutie antivirus in care aveti incredere (fie ati mai folosit-o, fie o folosesc apropiati fie are review-uri bune)
2. Orice solutie antivirus are si o solutie de baza, gratuita, care poate sa va scuteasca de multe batai de cap, in cazul in care nu vreti sa folositi o solutie platita
3. Faceti update de cate ori vi se cere – solutiile antivirus au nevoie de update-uri pentru a face fata noilor amenintari aparute
4. Scanati computerul des, cel putin 1 data pe luna pentru a identifica eventualele probleme din timp
5. Evitati sa intrati pe site-uri in care nu aveti incredere

Cam astea ar fi ideile de baza pentru a va bucura pe deplin de computerul / dispozitivul dvs 

Cum va arata viitorul smartphone

Cum va arata viitorul smartphone?

Marţi, septembrie 17, 2013 8:03

In aceasta perioada piata IT e invadata de tablete si smartphone-uri, care de care mai motate si mai interesante pentru a atrage cat mai multi cumparatori. Piata e plina de tot felul de marci care produc de fapt acelasi dispozitiv dar in diferite combinatii de elemente, asa ca de ce sa nu avem un singur dispozitiv dar pe care sa-l combinam noi cum vrem?

E doar un concept acum, dar sincer e o idee geniala: telefonul pe care ti-l customizezi in functie de nevoi. Iti trebuie o camera buna si portabila? Pur si simplu o atasezi la telefon! Iti trebuie o baterie mai mare, care sa tina mai mult, ei bine, poti sa-ti re-desenezi telefonul.

Urmariti clipul de mai jos ca sa intelegeti despre ce e vorba:

Sursa stire: www.yoda.ro

Internet mai sigur pe smartphone

Internet mai sigur pe smartphone

Miercuri, septembrie 18, 2013 8:42

Ideea de Internet mai sigur pentru copii (si pentru adulti, de ce nu?) a dus la nasterea proiectului Sigur.info in tara noastra. Aceeasi idee a facut ca nume mari din lumea IT si nu numai sa ne sprijine in ceea ce facem si sa ne ajute in a imprastia mesajul pe tot teritoriul tarii.

De curand, doi dintre cei mai importanti parteneri ai nostri, Orange si Bitdefender si-au “dat mana” si au creat posibilitatea unui internet mobil mai sigur. Cum asa? Ei bine, Orange Romania, va include in toate abo­namentele un anumit volum de trafic de date si o aplicatie antivirus, furnizata fara costuri suplimentare in parteneriat cu Bit­de­fender. Astfel, veti putea naviga in mai multa siguranta.

Mai multe detalii pe www.zf.ro

Nu vom mai avea telefoane crapate, distruse sau zgariate

Nu vom mai avea telefoane crapate, distruse sau zgariate

Luni, septembrie 23, 2013 8:30

De cate ori nu ti-ai scapat telefonul pe gresie sau pe beton? De cate ori n-ai stiut cum sa te duci sa le spui parintilor ca telefonul cel nou pe care l-ai vrut de atata timp si pe care ti l-au luat cadou, e acum in 2 sau mai multe bucati?

Nu incerc sa va sperii sau sa va trezesc amintiri neplacute ci doar sa fac o introducere in lumea noastra de astazi. Visam la un gadget interesant, care arata super-bine si cand ti-e lumea mai draga reusesti (tu sau apropiatii) sa-i modifici infatisarea si chiar functionalitatea cu o zgarietura sau mai multe, depinde de caz. E adevarat, specialistii lucreaza foarte mult la rezistenta gadget-urilor, avem sticla care nu se zgarie si care nu se sparge decat in anumite situatii, se folosesc materiale din cele mai rezistente si totusi parca nu e de ajuns.

Ia ganditi-va n-ar fi frumos ca telefonul dat de pamant, sa se repare singur? Fisura aia urata de pe ecran sa dispara sub ochii vostri? Specialistii au descoperit recent un material care chiar se repara singur si este considerat a fi viitorul materialelor folosite la constructia de gadget-uri. Mai jos aveti si un filmulet care cred ca va va convinge sa asteptati lansarea lui pe piata cu nerabdare:

Ce se intampla cu un iPhone in apa

Ce se intampla cu un iPhone in apa?

Miercuri, septembrie 25, 2013 8:11

Asta cu siguranta va pot spune cei care au crezut reclama online lansata de forumul 4chan. Baietii de la 4chan au lansat un zvon pentru toti utilizatorii inraiti de iPhone, care spunea ca odata ce ti-ai instalat iOS7 telefonul tau devine rezistent la apa.

Se pare ca au existat cativa curiosi mai naivi care chiar au vrut sa testeze noua optiune si si-au bagat telefoanele sub jetul de apa. Din pacate, noua optiune n-a functionat cum au crezut iar acum trebuie sa opteze pentru un alt telefon…

Inca un exemplu minunat care ne invata sa nu credem tot ce apare pe net. Vorba proverbului romanesc “Nu tot ce zboara se mananca”

sursa: www.yoda.ro

Spanish journalist abducted in Syria

Veteran Spanish war correspondent Marc Marginedas, who writes for Barcelona's El Periodico, was abducted in Syria by jihadist rebels on 4 September, according to his paper.
Marginedas, 46, was being driven on the outskirts of the western Syrian city of Hama when he was taken captive. He had entered Syria from Turkey three days before accompanied by members of the Free Syrian Army.
No group has admitted to holding Marginedas. But El Periodico reports that there was a call on a jihadist internet forum to capture all reporters and search them to discover if they have photos and news reports about jihadists.
Marginedas, who began his foreign reporting career 25 years ago, is the author of the book Periodismo en el campo de batalla (Journalism on the battlefield), which was published last year.
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune/EFE

iPhone 5S ‘dropping September 20th’, iPhone 6 a few weeks later

Business site names a date.

 

The next edition of the standard iPhone will beat its much-rumoured low-cost stablemate to market, a leading tech business site forecasts.
Dave Smith, editor of International Business Times, has hung his hat on a September 20th due date for the full-fat, full-featured iPhone 5S. His forecast is based on Apple’s previous release cycles and supply-chain rumbles.
The more affordable handset, which be titled the iPhone 6, will join it on shop shelves not too long after, he claims, with a launch event likely to happen a matter of weeks later.
Smith’s logic derives from Apple’s habit of leaving 100 days between the announcement of a new operating system and the day it is made available to the public, as was the case with iOS 6.
Assuming that happens again (and it’s worth noting here that Apple typically very closely adheres to previous rollout patterns for new devices), it means that iOS 7 will drop on September 18th.
Looking once more to the last iPhone, Smith notes that it was launched two days after iOS 6 landing. If Apple does the same this time, we’re looking at a big bells and whistles event on September 20th to announce the coming on a new handset.
The mooted release of the cheaper iPhone 6 within weeks is, Smith says, aimed at avoiding “excess lines [that’s queues to you and me] at the Apple stores".
Fresh images purported to show the handset surfaced today, corroborating claims that the phone will come in a host of colour options and will swap premium materials for a more economical plastic construction.
Source:
International Business Times

US judge fines website editor $300 a day over refusal to reveal sources

 

It is open season on US journalists and their sources nowadays. An Illinois judge has fined a news website $300 a day because its editor refuses to reveal his sources.
Joseph Hosey, who edits the hyperlocal news site Orland Park Patch, has been ordered to pay a fine of $1,000, costs and $300 per day from 29 August up to 180 days. After that period, he faces jail.
The judge ruled that Hosey was in "minor direct criminal contempt" for not giving up the police reports he obtained about the circumstances of a double murder in January 2013 (see here) and revealing the source of those documents.
Hosey's lawyer, Kenneth Schmetterer, immediately announced an appeal and the fines were stayed pending that appeal.
Schmetterer said after the hearing: "Illinois courts have upheld the shield law to protect reporters precisely from having to divulge confidential sources because of the chilling effect it can have on the important work reporters can do.
"That's a principle that's established and recognised by appellate courts and the Illinois supreme court by the statute, and that's why we're going to vigorously press forward with our appeal."
Orland Park Patch is part of the Patch Media network of news sites across 23 US states. It is owned by AOL.
Sources: Orland Park Patch Hat tip: TechDirt

Victoria Beckham portret in cafea portrait in coffee

Ultima fita printre vedetele de afara: portretul in cafea. Cum arata chipul Victoriei Beckham realizat din spuma unui latte

Dupa ce a primit rochii, pantofi sau adidasi cu numele ei, Victoria Beckham a dus cultul personalitatii la nivelul urmator si s-a laudat cu un latte cu portretul ei.

Celebra sotie a lui David Beckham a postat ieri imaginea de mai jos pe contul ei de Twitter, alaturi de textul "Cafea???".

In fotografie putem recunoaste trasaturile Victoriei realizate din...spuma unui cafe latte. Este vorba despre opera artistului newyorkez Michael Breach, renumit pentru "desenele" sale in cafea.



Singura parte proasta a "operelor" lui Breach este faptul ca rareori dureaza mai mult de 3 minute - durata medie de viata a spumei de pe un latte. Probabil ca Victoria s-a grabit atunci cand a imortalizat "capodopera", deoarece a reusit sa suprinda imaginea inainte ca trasaturile sa-i dispara din cauza topirii spumei.

Atunci cand s-a laudat cu cafeaua ei personalizata, Victoria nu a facut un gest narcisist, ci, dimpotriva, a ajutat la mediatizarea unei strangeri de fonduri in scopuri caritabile care va avea loc saptamana aceasta.

Ce parere ai despre noul trend? Ti-ar placea o cafea cu portretul tau in ea?

CUM GASESTI PARTENERI DE SEX ONLINE

Sexul fara obligatii cu un strain poate fi greu de gasit, in ciuda numarului din ce in ce mai mare de barbati si femei fara un partener de cuplu.
Din fericire, internetul ne ofera tuturor, indiferent cat de atragatori am fi sau nu, oportunitatea de a ne gasi un partener potrivit sau mai putin potrivit, depinde de situatie. A gasi pe cineva care sa accepte sexul ocazional nu mai este atat de greu ca in trecut, dar nici nu este cazul sa va culcati pe o ureche. Pana in pat aveti de trecut cateva etape `virtuale`...
1. Creeaza-ti o identitate
Femeile vor sa gaseasca intotdeuna pe cineva atragator, interesant, glumet si inteligent. Prima impresie conteaza cel mai mult, mai ales in mediul virtual. Profilul tau de pe internet este cartea ta de vizita. Aici nu vei avea sansa sa demonstrezi cat de perfect esti. Imaginea trebuie sa spuna totul, asa ca prezinta tot ce ai mai bun in ea.
2. Inscrie-te online pe website-uri de profil
Sunt cateva situri de agatat, unde oameni de pe intreg globul ofera cele mai diverse experiente, printre care si sexul ocazional. Incepe prin a te inscrie pe aceste website-uri. Va trebui sa iti completezi informatiile de la profil si sa rapsunzi la cateva intrebari pentru a ii ajuta pe ceilalti eventuali parteneri sa afle daca esti sau nu potrivit pentru ei.
3. Vorbeste cu lumea
Vorba aceea: `Daca bati la zece usi, una cu siguranta ti se va deschide`. In mediul online poti merge linistit dupa acest model. Asa ca incepe sa bati. Asta inseamna sa incepi sa trimiti e-mailuri si alte mesaje online prin care iti arati atat interesul pentru diferite persoane, cat si dorinta de a le cunoaste mai bine. Nu te astepta sa fii primit cu bratele ... sau picioarele ... deschise de fiecare data cand vei contacta pe cineva. Incearca sa fii dezinvolt, haios si in acelasi timp misterios. Sa deveniti parteneri ocazionali de sex nu inseamna sa ajungeti sa va stiti unul celuilalt mancarea favorita, culoarea preferata sau numele animalului de companie.
4. Programeaza intalniri
Cand simti ca a venit timpul, invita-ti noul partener virtual la o intalnire in oras. Aceste intalniri se vor transforma cat de curand in partidele de sex mult asteptate.
Cum stabilesti relatiile cu alte persoane in mediul online depinde foarte mult de ce fel de persoana esti. Este foarte usor sa faci o miscare gresita, asa ca pastreaza lucrurile cat de simple cu putinta si adapteaza-te dupa caz atunci cand este necesar. Poarta-te cu ceilalti asa cum ai vrea tu sa fii tratat si totul va merge struna. Cine stie, poate sexul ocazional cu o anumita persoana se va transforma intr-o adevarata relatie sentimentala. 
Laura Popescu - Editor Studentie.ro

inselatorii,internet,online,pereche,valentines day

Îți cauți perechea pe internet? Cum să nu cazi pradă înșelătoriilor online

Cu ocazia Valentine’s Day, experţii Kaspersky Lab au decis să sublinieze câteva dintre pericolele care pot fi întâlnite în căutarea „jumătăţii” pe internet. Numeroase persoane rău intenţionate încearcă să profite de dorinţa naturală a oamenilor de a-şi căuta un partener. Diferite forme de „capcane dulci” sunt întâlnite frecvent în mediul online – și, sub impulsul unei „pasiuni” de moment, un utilizator poate rămâne foarte uşor fără bani sau cu PC-ul afectat serios de un malware.

Unele site-uri de dating prezintă pericole ascunse / FOTO: favim.com
 
Popularitatea unor site-uri matrimoniale precum match.com, badoo.com sau mamba.ru atrage atenţia infractorilor cibernetici. E-mail-urile de tip spam, care imită notificările unor site-uri matrimoniale cunoscute, sunt foarte întâlnite în aproape toate ţările. Accesând link-urile din aceste e-mailuri, utilizatorul riscă să îşi infecteze computerul cu tot felul de fişiere dăunătoare, care sunt descărcate în locul fotografiilor cu o persoană atrăgătoare.
Site-urile matrimoniale false nu constituie un pericol doar din perspectiva fişierelor malware sau a activităţilor de phishing asociate, ele pot pune în pericol finanţele unui utilizator credul. Una dintre cele mai simple înşelătorii menite să ia banii utilizatorilor este aceea în care se cere confirmarea sau înregistrarea vârstei printr-un SMS, care costă între 0.30 USD şi 12 USD. Însă, odată ce a fost plătită suma solicitată, nu este oferit niciun acces la informaţiile promise, deoarece conţinutul respectiv nu există.
Cel mai creativ tip de e-mail-uri de tip junk, care nu şi-a pierdut popularitatea de-a lungul anilor, este aşa-numitul spam nigerian. Autorii acestor scrisori ţintesc potenţiale victime care au conturi pe site-uri matrimoniale.
„Fata” care trimite aceste e-mailuri trăieşte de obicei într-o ţară africană foarte îndepărtată şi afectată de război. Potenţialul „mire” află că posibila sa „logodnică” este moştenitoarea unei averi de un milion de dolari şi că doreşte să îşi împartă averea cu viitorul soţ. Însă, pentru a-şi scoate soţia promisă - şi banii acesteia - din ţară, el este rugat să plătească o anumită sumă pentru a rezolva câteva probleme legale. Aceste strategii presupun o corespondenţă pe termen lung, dat fiind că foarte puţine persoane ar fi de acord să plătească o sumă considerabilă de bani mânați doar de motive sentimentale şi nu de raţiune. La primele e-mailuri trimise de victime răspunde un robot, însă, de îndată ce infractorii identifică o oportunitate, intervin în procesul de corespondenţă. Gestionarea unei potenţiale victime poate dura destul de mult timp, iar în această situaţie este nevoie de o abordare foarte personală şi de câteva cunoştinţe de psihologie a victimei.
Spre deosebire de aceste mirese „nigeriene”, cele din Rusia au nevoie de bani pentru a-şi cumpăra biletul de avion ca să îşi întâlnească bărbatul visat. Desigur, aceşti bani devin uşor de obţinut de infractorii cibernetici.
„Internetul oferă multe oportunităţi de comunicare,” explică Tatyana Kulikova, Senior Spam Analyst în cadrul companiei Kaspersky Lab. „Însă, nu este întotdeauna cel mai sigur loc pentru a iniţia o poveste de dragoste. Am descris doar câteva dintre ‘capcanele dulci’ care au fost lansate pe internet. Pentru a evita dezamăgirile, este bine să respectaţi următoarele reguli de siguranţă: nu vizitaţi site-uri matrimoniale necunoscute, în special pe cele promovate în mesaje de tip spam, nu deschideţi e-mailuri de la persoane necunoscute şi nu răspundeţi la e-mailuri care par suspecte.”, avertizează Tatyana Kulikova.

Citeste mai mult pe REALITATEA.NET: http://www.realitatea.net/i-i-cau-i-perechea-pe-internet-cum-sa-nu-cazi-prada-in-elatoriilor-online_1113552.html#ixzz2LH1TFNVj

A Bunch of Stuff You’ll Wish You’d Never Known

Competitive Eating: A Bunch of Stuff You’ll Wish You’d Never Known

Competitive eating involves consuming as much of a declared food as possible in an impossibly short amount of time. Speed eating contests tend to be under 15 minutes total. The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest boosted competitive eating popularity by televising the gluttonous sausage free-for-all every 4^th of July. What could be more patriotic than enjoying a hot dog while watching professionals eat an ungodly amount of the same substance?
The Preparation
Professional speed eaters train rigorously to secure financial earnings and sponsorships. The pros generally consider the stomach the essential component. Competitive eaters train by drinking excessive amounts of water, stretching the stomach until it’s ready for a caloric onslaught. Eaters may consume low-calorie foods like veggies in bulk to further boost the stomach’s potential, or chew gum to fortify the muscles of the jaw. For major national eating contests, competitors may train locally months in advance using the designated food.
Professional competitive eating organizations aggressively discourage any amateur eater from training for a food event. So stop daydreaming.
The Disgusting Techniques

Competitive food eating
photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Competitive eaters call themselves ‘gurgitators:’ their goal is to cram the unnecessary foods in without spewing them back out.
Chipmunking is an eater’s attempt to cram as much food as possible into their cheeks in the last few seconds of a professional event. Some contests ban the practice – others allow the competitors two minutes or less to swallow the menacing mouthfuls before judging begins.
Dunking is the process of submerging foods in water or other liquids. By cramming, say, a hot dog in a glass of water, competitors soften the substance to make chewing and swallowing faster and easier. Professionals claim buns and doughy breads respond best to water-boarding.
Regurgitating food is grounds for immediate disqualification. It’s up to the judges to spot and penalize contest-induced vomiting, politely euphemized as ‘reversal.’
The “Glory”
Does competitive eating really leave contestants with anything more than unsightly bloating and a stomach full of career regrets? Title-holders get a degree of recognition and acclaim for their efforts, and may garner prize money totaling over $10,000 for the most coveted speed-eating records.
Whatever their motivation, here are a few disgusting, excessive, and potentially vomit-inducing records held by top speed-eating specialists.

Pizza: Pat “Deep Dish” Bertoletti. He scarfed down 47 slices of pizza in 10 minutes.
Butter: Don Lerman. For reasons incomprehensible to mortal men, Lerman ate 7 entire sticks of butter in 5 minutes.
Tongue: Dominic Cardo. Cardo enjoyed over 3 pounds of whole pickled beef tongue in 12 minutes.
Brains: Japanese eating legend Takeru Kobayashi indulged in 17.7 pounds of cow brains in 15 minutes.
Haggis: Eric Livingston. If you’ve never heard of haggis, now is a good time to make a run for it. Haggis is a savory blend of internal organs wrapped appealingly in a tidy animal stomach. Livingston consumed an unthinkable 3 pounds of sheep heart, liver, and lungs in 8 minutes.

Take a hint from the professional leaguers – this sport isn’t for the timid, the picky, or the health-conscious. This July 4^th, watch speed-eaters scarfing down Nathan’s hot dogs with a renewed sense of respect (disgust?) for what they accomplish.

Affiliate Marketing Trends According to Forrester

MyAdminSpace.com: Affiliate Marketing Trends According to Forrester

Forrester predicts that 2013 will finally be the year that affiliate marketing migrates successfully to mobile platforms. The marketing experts at MyAdminSpace.com take a look at all that it might entail.
The influential market research firm Forrester predicts 2013 will be the year affiliate marketing gets serious about mobile platforms. The affiliate marketing experts at MyAdminSpace.com say it’s about time.
Recent research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project confirms that in 2012, 46 percent of Americans used smartphones. Market penetration is more specific for certain demographics than for others.
Smartphones are most popular with affluent young people under the age of 45. The next largest groups of smartphone users are African Americans and Latinos respectively.
Most smartphone owners use their phones for accessing the Internet. At least 25 percent of all smartphone owners say their smartphones are their primary means of accessing the Internet.
Increasingly, e-commerce businesses design two sets of websites, one accessible by computer and the other accessible by smartphones. The design specs and elements for these two types of websites are very different from one another.
Affiliate marketers have been slow to jump on the mobile wagon. There are several reasons for this.
• Bumpy transfer between partners: The referral from the affiliate marketer’s content site to the retail site must take place as effortlessly as possible. If it doesn’t, customers start to wonder about the nature of the transaction.
• Referral must be properly credited: Affiliate marketers need to be properly credited for referrals they make to mobile retail partners. This type of programming is still problematic on a mobile platform.
This may mean that affiliate marketers and retailers will need to rethink their relationships with advertisers, says Forrester. “Now is the time for advertisers to form strong ties to the publisher community.” Increasingly, affiliate marketers will be forming relationships with advertising networks rather than with retailers themselves.
• Mobile platform templates: Finally, many affiliate marketers publish content sites using their web hosting site’s templates As of yet, though, no web hosting has begun designing templates specifically for mobile use.
Programmers for WordPress, the open source content management system, recently developed a Mobile plugin. In theory, any affiliate marketer who can use the WordPress content management system can customize content for mobile phones. WordPress may be difficult for neophyte affiliate marketers, however.
The WordPress Mobile plugin allows users to earn commissions through the global mobile advertising network AdMob.
• Conversion rate: The conversion rate for mobile phone affiliates is far lower than the conversion rates for laptop and desktop users. This is because many standard affiliate marketing strategies don’t work as well on mobile platforms.
For example, article marketing is not an effective mobile strategy. Many people prefer not to read content on their phones, so article marketing won’t be as successful.
MyAdminSpace.com is an online hosting network that provides its clients with the tools and expertise they need to become successful affiliate marketers. Whether clients are looking to supplement their job income or replace it entirely, affiliate marketing can help them succeed.

Affiliate Marketing Up in a Down Economy

By Lindsey Miller

While other markets are struggling or even disappearing, affiliate marketing is an exception. Find out why it works.

There is no denying that the state of the economy is sad, to say the least. We are watching some industries struggle to stay afloat and finding others disappearing altogether.

The Internet has created new options in many markets. Industries that are flourishing despite the turbulence are ecommerce and affiliate marketing.

As reported by affiliate marketing blog affiliateprograms.com, staying current with the industry is all it takes to get started (and eventually thrive) in the business.

People are increasingly turning to the Internet for most of their shopping. It’s convenient, easy, and fun. Being able to shop on the Internet makes products all over the world completely accessible. E-commerce is directly linked to affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is about rewarding the publishers of the ads that line websites we visit on a daily basis. When people navigate away from a page by way of one of the accompanying advertisements and make a purchase, that’s when the affiliate makes money. It’s really a very simple concept. And what’s great about affiliate marketing is that anyone can get involved.

As an affiliate marketer, you don’t actually have to make or sell products you have created. You’re selling someone else’s goods for them. Online e-commerce business Internet Solution Source sums it up perfectly: “As an affiliate marketer, you won’t be marketing your own products, so all of the research and development stuff… well, you can forget about that. Your job is to sell products for another company, period.”

Seems pretty simple, right? Internet advertising in general is a booming business. Affiliate marketing is just one of the many facets of that growing market of online advertising. 

It’s long overdue that we come to terms with the state of the economy. Many people are looking for ways to bring in a little extra money, and an easy way to do that is with affiliate marketing. Somehow, online marketing is a flourishing industry, and there aren’t really many industries in the same boat.

Sure, everyone has their fingers crossed that the economy sees its upswing sooner than later, but in the meantime, it might be worth looking at getting involved in affiliate marketing.

Facebook Shopping Flop

F-Commerce: Facebook Shopping Flop

By Lindsey Miller                               


At the close of 2011, there were more ways for people to shop than ever before. Facebook offered one of those ways to shop. Who knew?

There are tons of ways that we can shop in today’s world. We can do it on computers, at actual locations, on tablets, on mobile phones, etc. Though many people may think that Facebook is simply a social networking site, it can also serve as a shopping site.

Marketing Pilgrim gathered some of the opinions and experiences people had with using Facebook as a shopping tool at the end of 2011. They recently brought all that data together and released an interesting perspective about it.

Advertisements line the perimeter of so many websites we visit on a daily basis; Facebook is no exception. Advertisements on Facebook cater to our interests and places we visit on the Internet. Are these ads useful, and do we even notice them anymore to begin with? These advertisements can direct us away from Facebook and onto other pages we may like, based on what Facebook has learned from and about us.

Fan pages are another way to use Facebook to shop. Users can become fans of companies and make purchases on the fan sites. Fan pages often feature options to navigate away from Facebook and to other related pages or official websites for companies.
As Marketing Pilgrim reports, “When asked if they bought anything from a Facebook fan page, 91.4% of respondents said no.” Users also admit to hardly even paying attention to the extra nonsense on their social networking websites. “80.2% said that they weren’t even influenced by anything they saw on social media or their social media connections.” Trying to make social networks into shopping hubs may actually prove futile and could ultimately turn people off altogether.

Marketing Pilgrim created a report card of sorts, ranking the ways that people shopped in this past holiday season. Among shopping on at a retail website, on Facebook, on a tablet, and on a mobile phone, Facebook shopping fared the worst, receiving a “C+” grade.

People are most concerned with privacy issues when it comes to using Facebook as a shopping tool. All of those ads on the sides of the page make you feel like Facebook is getting to know you. It’s a strange mixture of cool and unsettling.

Is Facebook trying to be something it’s not? Maybe it should just stick to what it’s already good at—an effective, popular, and successful social networking site. I think it’s safe to say we can do our shopping elsewhere. Thanks, Facebook, but no thanks.

Lindsey Miller is a lively free-spirit who loves to go out and experience life and then write about it. She takes photographs frequently, listens to music constantly, and bikes aimless hours around Philadelphia—sometimes all at the same time. Lindsey is truly fascinated by human beings and the relationships they have with one another. All she really wants to do is travel the world… and write about it.

Starting Your Own Business

Jason Proch – Starting Your Own Business

An entrepreneur and business owner, Jason Proch wants you to succeed in the best way possible for your business. Check out the four tips he gives for staying cool under pressure when trying to get your start-up off the ground.
Starting your own business is scary. The unforeseen production costs, sleepless night, and fear of failure can cause so much stress that you talk yourself out of it daily, even after you’ve already started. No one knows this better than Jason Proch. Jason is the owner of his own business consulting and project management firm, Grandview Solutions, LLC. He is also the creator of the Game Glide™, a new ultra light deer tent used for transporting game. It wasn’t long ago that he was working for someone else’s company, and that his passion for fishing and hunting were just a hobby. Here’s how he took his passions and turned them into money-making realities.
Think Fearlessly. Too often the problem with starting your own business or selling your own product is that you’re afraid of the outcome of a number of different situations. Perhaps you won’t get the funding you need. Or maybe there’s someone you’ve been meaning to talk to that could help grow your business, but you’re scared that they won’t have time to help you, or maybe they’ll ridicule your endeavor. Stop that thinking right now. Start taking action on the things you know you want to accomplish today. When you stop fearing the outcome the actions won’t seem so daunting.
Act with Confidence. You aren’t always going to know all of the answers. Whether you’re just getting started, or whether you’re established, there are going to be times that you won’t be confident. But, fake it. It’s not suggested that you lie or give false promises, but confidence is the key to your reputation. If you believe that you’ll be able to hit your numbers for the year, or produce enough retail to continue to build your product, you will. When you’re in meetings with potential investors or clients, you need to exude can-do confidence.
Speak calmly. Stress and fear can have a killer affect on how you speak about your business and abilities. A “no can do” attitude stops with your language. Start speaking positively about your actions and future plans, and don’t include negative or
“can’t do” speak into your business vocabulary. When you start to speak calmly, slowly, and with more intent you’ll realize that you’re setting the pace for your own success, and you will begin to speak more positively.
Employ your body. Your body is you. And you are your body. If you’re feeling tight, stressed and clamped up, your body language will display it. This is unhealthy for you and for your business. When your employees and clients begin to see that you’re stressed all of the time, they will change their reaction to you, either by avoidance, or fear. Instead of taking out your stress on your body and your staff, carve out a little time each day to remember that you cannot run a business properly if your body isn’t properly functioning. Continue to do things you enjoy, like Jason Proch does with hunting. Meditation, brief exercise, and a commitment to allowing yourself a break will actually help your business.
Jason Proch is the owner of a successful project management company, Grandview Solutions, LLC. He is also an avid hunter and the creator of the Game Glide™, an ultra light deer sled that transports your game to your truck or car easily.

Innovative on the Internet

By Lindsey Miller                                                                                                                                                                         

With everything and anything taking to the airwaves, it’s going to become more of a challenge to make your name stand out on the Internet.  It’s time to get creative.

            The Internet is creating a place for everything—music, retail, social networking, and a world of information.  That being said, it’s getting competitive out there on the World Wide Web.  Standing out in the pack and asserting yourself as a strong force on the Internet is going to become increasingly important.  Some helpful tips can keep you up to speed.
            Know what you are good at and what you are not.  Know your message.  When marketing yourself or your business or whatever it is that you do online, play to your strong suits.  If photography is part of your shtick, incorporate it in your website.
If you’re a good writer, use your words where they will be read on your site.  David Meerman Scott, viral-marketing strategist and author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR says for Forbes, “The Web allows you to tell your story directly.”Do not put something out on the Internet that you are not proud of.  Know what your strong suits are and use them to your advantage.  Others will only be confident in you and your message when you are.
            This tip is nothing new: people like funny.  What’s new about it is that the things people find funny are often changing.  By simply turning on the television, you can see what people find funny today.  Talking babies, for example, are the faces of several companies.
People poking fun at one another, or harmless jokes are also in right now.  It can be hard to find a balance between stupid and funny, but people are doing it.  Mastering that technique is vital.  People have always and will always enjoy finding something funny.  People remember things they laugh at.
            Send your message.  The innovation behind smart phones has made it possible to get emails to your phone.  People have their inboxes at their fingertips.  Why not put your message in those inboxes?  Maybe there’s some interesting advancement in your company.  Maybe you’ve got some breaking news.  Get it out there.  People are receiving messages more rapidly and more conveniently than ever before.
            The Internet is only going to become a bigger ring for contenders as time progresses.  Making yourself a strong challenger is going to become increasingly important.  It is vital that businesses owners and professionals learn how to keep up.  You don’t want your message or your company to get lost under all the others.  Your message should come across strong and confident.Make it likeable and get it out there.

Instead of Social Media Hurting You at Work, Work on Social Websites Daily

By Courtney Amberik                                               

Employees’ ethics are directly related to social media.  Active social networkers have become less ethical in the workplace as opposed to those who steer clear of social media websites.  Creating your own company and using affiliate marketing may be the active social networker’s ideal job.
            According to Yahoo! News, a new study shows that ethics are currently lacking in the workplace over the past two years.  Social media has been connected to this.  As workers spend more of their time on social media sites, their ethical behavior has slowly turned negative.
“In addition, active users of social networks are much more likely to accept behaviors that have traditionally been considered questionable, such as keeping copies of confidential work documents for use in a future job, personal use of the company credit card and taking home company software.”
            Employees who do not use social media are less likely to experience pressure to compromise standards than those who do.  People are more accustomed to sharing information that was never available before, thanks to the social media sites.
            Instead of worrying about being fired for glancing at your social webpage while at work, why not work on social media sites as your job?  By using affiliate marketing, you can be on social media websites whenever you please.
There are multiple websites that allow you to create your own site, and they help you market your products or services all over the Internet.  These programs guide you step by step on how to create an organized, useful website for people to navigate through.
There are online training programs to ensure that you understand what you are doing.  Users are given personal training instructions depending on the specific needs of their business.  Each business is different, and these programs want to help you create the best website possible for your personal needs.  Novice Internet users as well as seasoned navigators are encouraged to sign up for these website programs.
The highly educated staff members will give directions on how to best create your website while showing examples.  This way, users can learn as they do it.  Learning this way is proven to be one of the best ways to understand information.  Once your website is up and running, the affiliate marketing programs will take over and give your company all the publicity it needs.
Affiliate marketing programs use blogs, social media websites, email, banners, and pay-per-click programs.  Pay-per-click campaigns will earn you money every time someone clicks on your advertisement.
Affiliate marketing allows you to earn money even while you are not working.  Instead of being tattled upon in the workplace, try your hand at creating your own company and website.  The affiliate marketing programs will help do the rest!

Affiliate Marketing Can Start Depending on Google

By Courtney Amberik

Google Plus users will have their information searched so that Google can personally cater to each user.  Affiliate marketing will find Google’s new feature a big help in locating their key audiences.
            As Google gets ready to launch their new social media website, affiliate marketers can get excited.  Affiliate marketing is a program that assists companies who want to reach more people when advertising.  This marketing system uses software that detects the companies’ key audience.  Affiliate marketing then uses social media advertisement space to spread the word on the client’s product or resource.
            Google’s new social media website will inspect the websites that its users travel to.  According to Yahoo! News: “The Internet search leader eventually hopes to know enough about each of its users so it can tailor its results to fit the unique interests of each person looking for something.”
Now that Google is importing results from their Plus social media program, search results will start catering toward its members.  Google Plus was originally created to compete with Facebook and Twitter.  Google’s rival sites would not allow it to browse through their members pages, making it difficult for Google to get a grasp on what search users would prefer.
            Google designed this new feature to connect the Google Plus users with others who have similar tastes in things.  “For instance, a query about the San Francisco 49ers might include links and comments made about the football team by other people in one of the social circles on the user’s Plus account. A search request that includes the name of a dog owned by the user or a friend might turn up photos of the pet that have been posted on Plus and Picasa.”
            Other companies, such as Bing, have been doing this same thing.  Bing has been filtering through Facebook in order to find out their user preferences and other shared information.  Google is expected to have greater feedback from this new feature since it dominates two thirds of the Internet search requests.  Ultimately, Google hopes the feature will be more useful to their users.
            Privacy concerns are not needed, as Google and Facebook alike have to sign agreements that make them submit privacy audits every other year.  Affiliate marketing users will be thrilled with this new setup on Google Plus.  These programs want to cater to their clients by finding people who would be interested in buying or using their products.  Google Plus users are expected to increase by at least 20 million users this year.

Playing Hard-To-Get Can Pay Off

Study Confirms: Playing Hard-To-Get Can Pay Off

Every parents’ advice for their daughter to play hard-to-get actually does have scientific backing, reports NBC News.
Pretending to be the least bit interested in a potential mate to increase your desirability has now gained scientific support. The new study says that if you want to be involved in a serious relationship, it is good for men and women to play hard-to-get. Even if you’re not.
A benefit of playing hard-to-get could be attracting a higher-quality partner who can commit to a relationship, said the study.
The new study was published in the European Journal of Personality. In the study, psychology researchers conducted four different experiments to see how and why people play hard-to-get, and if or when it works in attracting a potential partner.
In one of the tests, researchers looked for the ways people play hard-to-get and how often the different sexes use them. “Acting confident” and “talking to others” was rated as the two most commonly used methods of playing hard-to-get from a list of 58 strategies that almost 500 American college students rated.
Men and women are different, so naturally there was a change in strategies. When women acted uninterested, and tended “not to call,” “not to talk a lot,” and ”to stay busy,” more than men did.
When men acted uninterested, they used three methods more than women did such as ”acting snooty or rude,” ”saying all the right things but not calling,” and ”treating others like s#@t.” This sounds about right.
In their findings, researchers noticed that women played hard-to-get more often than men.
The study author Peter Jonason, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Western Sydney in Australia, said:

“Women derive more benefit from playing hard-to-get because it allows them to test men out and increase the demand men place on them.”

“Because women have greater value in the biological mating market, they can afford to play hard-to-get more than men can,” said Jonason. “Men who are too hard-to-get may miss out on a mating opportunity.”
The study shows that for a committed romantic relationship, women preferred a man who was not too easy or too hard-to-get. Men preferred a woman to be harder to get.
“We all would want honesty in dating but this is never going to happen,” said Jonason. “We are not overtly lying, but we’re always trying to marry up.”
Researchers said that their study only looked at college age students, so their results could vary among other age groups of single people.
Nevertheless, the findings did give some insight into playing hard-to-get.

7 things guys are afraid of… in bed

Here we are thinking that only women have a ton of issues that prevent them from loving their bodies. While that very well may be true, men have just as many hang ups when it comes to themselves and sex. Though most men hide it well, it’s a guarantee that most of them have one or more of these fears running through their mind when they’re in the act.
#1: Size
Though someone made up some phrase about ocean motions, and vessel sizes not mattering, there’s a good argument for the opposition. While most men have nothing to worry about, and they’re partners are sufficiently pleased they can’t help but comparing themselves to the tried and true beside manual.Like many other elements of pornography, size is unrealistic. Do yourself a favor guys, put the measuring tape down. You’re just fine the way you are!
#2: Body issues
Both men and women can agree on the fact that who we fantasize about and who we actually date differ. Many times because women are fantasizing about the cast of True Blood and men are flipping through Sport Illustrated for images of feminine perfection. Men worry about their bodies just as much as women do during the act. Except they wonder about a solid six pack and muscular shoulders.
#3: Sweat

Lots of fluids can cause embarrassment during sex, but sweat is one that guys think of more than others. Some men sweat more than others, and they usually sweat more than their female partners. Many men worry about soaking the sheets and their partners while their in the midst of coital bliss.
#4: Bodily Odors
There are tons of studies suggesting that pheromones, or the scents that you secret that are only detectable by the opposite sex are great for sexual attraction. There are also studies that suggest women love the way their man smells after the gym. Nonetheless guys worry about how they smell all over, all of the time.
#5: Duration
This is a big one. Guys will think of almost anything to avoid finishing too quickly. It’s a huge concern because men associate lasting longer with virility and masculinity. And while most women think that it’s cute that they turned someone on enough to have a quick session; who wants to be described as cute when it comes to sex?
#6: Bad Lovin’
Though most men like to think of themselves as a horizontal Casanova, there are many that worry about their technique. Jack hammering your partner or super sloppy kisses are a turn off. Though someone would hope to be corrected many men fear their partners are telling them things are great, and telling their friends otherwise.
#7: Pleasure factor
Besides worrying about being a bad lover, many men are concerned with being a great lover. Though many people have had bad experiences with selfish partners, many are quick to tout the ones whose primary concern was their pleasure. In most cases, men are concerned as to whether or not their partner is getting off.