Jamey Tucker

Beside the Point

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Archives for November 2009

Facebook Hackers Adds Comments to Posts

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We’ve all gotten those Facebook messages we think are from friends. “Is this you?” or “You weere caught on our secret cmera!”
By now most of us know these are from hackers, gaining access to our Facebook accounts and then our passwords and finally our computer.

Many Facebook users have figured this out and delete those messages rather than click on them.

But now, those hackers are trying to add some credibility to their creepy messages.

I got one the other day from a high school friend that read “You weere caughht on our secreet cameraa!” and included a shortened link to a site.

But below that message were comments from some of my other friends. Drew wrote “Have a HAPPY Thannksgiving see you soon” and a day later Donald posted the comment “Thanks , and may you have a great Thnksgiving day!”

I’ll admit the comments below the post made me look twice and even think briefly that it might really be a link that other friends found useful.

But it isn’t. Hackers are able to get your Facebook information because just one of your friends clicked on a similar link. So now, they’ve figured that adding fictional comments to their fictional posts might encourage you to click on the link. Don’t fall for it. Generic messages of “is this you on a hiiden camera” are from hackers. Always from hackers.

No matter who you think may have commented on it.

Life Comes at You Fast

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Whenever I watch my kids participate in a play or musicial or anything else really, I feel like I’m in one of those insurance commercials. You know, the “life comes at you fast” ads.

I picked up a new video camera a few months back. It’s a Kodak Zi8 which shoots high definition and fits in your shirt pocket. The advantage of having a video capable of capturing such high quality within reach at all times far outweighs the disadvantages that a pocket-sized camcorder brings with it.

Plus, this one has an audio-input so I can connect a wireless or wired microphone for interviews.

One of the neat features of this and some of other flip-style cameras is that you can hook it up to your computer and in a few minutes( seriously, 13 for this one) you can upload it to YouTube.

Sunday night, Delaney was part of the “He Has Been Good” musical at our church, FBC Hendersonville, TN. It’s an annual production just before Thanksgiving where the children’s choir sings and we collect new toys to give to kids whose parent’s aren’t able to give this year.

I’ve uploaded the performance of the song her group danced to.

Once the video starts playing, you can click the HD button on the lower right (the red one) to watch in High Definition.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Don’t Give Up on Television Yet!

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The Nielsen ratings are in and guess what: People are watching television more, not less.

4 hours and 49 minutes a day we watch the boob tube and that’s more than any other year since 1991-92.

This is good news for broadcasters who’ve watched, or at least have been told that they’re watching the audience move from tv to the pc.

Of course there are some notes: the amount of tv watched is affected by the number of tvs in a house and people are using DVRs more than we used VCRs.  Still, tv station owners and employees can some optimism in this report.

Here’s the report:

This Just In….

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For me, one of the coolest things as a tv news anchor  was when a producer rushed into the studio with fresh wire-copy.  Our teletype machine had warning sounds when there was a weather alert, or news alert. When something big happened on the national or state level, we’d all read the words as they were printed on the paper by The Associated Press.

Now some major newspapers are going to see if they even need the AP.

 

teletype-1Next week The Chicago Tribune, LA Times and other news outlets are going to cover the news without using any content from the Associated Press. According to a story by the AP,  180 newspapers have threatened to drop the service.

Cost is obviously the biggest factor. Newspapers have relied on the AP for nearly all of the national and international stories included in each edition. TV stations subscribe too but the dependency on AP content is not what it used to be.

In the last 15 years or so, news departments where I have worked would not report certain national breaking news stories until The Associated Press ran the story. Gradually, instead of tv stations waiting to say “According to the Associated Press”, we started hearing “CNN is reporting….”. With social media and the up-to-the-second live pictures of breaking news, I imagine news departments looking to cut costs are wondering “do we really need the AP?”

The Associated Press has reduced the rates it charges for member newspapers in 2009 and 2010. At the same time, the AP sent warning that it would seek payment from any blogger using its material without permission.

Many working reporters aren’t old enough to remember another wire service that used to be as big, or at least as visible as the AP. UPI (United Press International) has been around 102 years now. It started to hurt when afternoon newspapers began disappearing.

One of the tv stations I worked for (WOWL-TV15) in Florence, Alabama didn’t have an AP ticker but used the less expensive UPI when I anchored there in 1989. But, the station manager banned the news department from using UPI material unless WE confirmed it on our own with local sources.

Had the governor been shot while I was there or any other big breaking news coming out of the capitol, we would have been the last to report it for sure. But he wanted us to focus on local news. Hyper-local news right down to the street crossings.

I believe the tv station dropped UPI in an effort to save money, getting those breaking news story tips instead from CNN.

Will newspapers and tv stations find out they do not need The Associated Press as much as they think they need it? I don’t doubt it.

I did learn of Michael Jackson’s death from AP but probably because I was looking at the AP wire at the time instead of CNN.

Right now I subscribe to the UPI twitter feed for all of its news.  Associated Press offers limited tweets. Plus I get alerts from CNN, ESPN and the local channels right on my iPhone. Who has to wait?