Disqus - Latest Comments for Burnman

Re: Facebook Gives Us the Lowdown on Its Redesign [VIDEO]

Burnman — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:56:06 -0000

One of the main issues I see with the new design (aside from it's clunky appearance) is the loss of functionality. With the last version, you could set the "Status Updates" feed as the default view. With this new deal, you have to click "Friends" then "Status Updates" every time you wish to see that view. It's a pain in the backside, especially with all of the application spam. I couldn't care less what achievements any of my friends get in Bejeweled. I can't imagine why anyone would.

I haven't had the time to really delve into the new design yet, but what time I have spent on the site has been frustrated. It looks like they have buried useful features, and dumbed the whole thing down.

Re: Facebook Gives Us the Lowdown on Its Redesign [VIDEO]

Burnman — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:43:53 -0000

The new design is absolutely horrible, and I am not in the minority in thinking so. In fact, I have yet to hear anyone in my own social circles say anything positive about it at all.

Re: Facebook Gives Us the Lowdown on Its Redesign [VIDEO]

Burnman — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:42:09 -0000

Oops... double posted

Re: Fred or Dead: YouTube Star Lucas Cruikshank Is Latest Web Rumor Victim

Burnman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:37:09 -0000

I still cannot fathom why in the hell "Fred" was ever popular in the first place.

Re: Bing’s Growth Grinds to a Halt [Stats]

Burnman — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:58:51 -0000

I don't prefer Google over Bing because I have any issue with Microsoft. I actually enjoy some of Microsoft's products. I am not a Microsoft fan, but I am not a hater either.

Bing's results are not any better than Google's, in fact I usually have better results with Google than with Bing. Google is fast and efficient, and while you wish to separate Google's other offerings from search, the integration with all of their other services is a wonderful convenience.

If Bing was better than Google Search, I would switch faster than you could type monopoly. If Microsoft is serious about taking market share from Google Search, they have a lot of work to do.

Re: Bing’s Growth Grinds to a Halt [Stats]

Burnman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:20:39 -0000

A clearly superior product will often change people's minds about their favorite brand. Bing would gain market share if it truly had something special to offer.

Re: Bing’s Growth Grinds to a Halt [Stats]

Burnman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:17:51 -0000

You are using an inferior product because you don't like that Google's success? Google has the corner in search because they have the superior product, and have for quite some time. Additionally, Google has many peripheral services which aid in user retention. Microsoft has a long way to go before they offer the same level of service, and Microsoft hasn't really done a wonderful job promoting their image over the years. ;)

Re: Google This: 5 Reasons to Switch to Bing

Burnman — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:29:32 -0000

Yeah, the people who use IE8 anyway. I don't use Internet Explorer. I've tried Bing a few times, and it doesn't live up to all the hype in my opinion. It's ok, but it isn't up to par with Google just yet. And as it has been pointed out, many of us Google users also utilize Google Docs, Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. Microsoft has a long way to go to catch up.

Re: The Worst Anti-Piracy Ad Ever?

Burnman — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:15:37 -0000

I cannot express in words how horrible that video truly is.

Re: I Am Free to Tweet

Burnman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:20:27 -0000

"It seems funny that the individual has rights that should always supersede the group...hmm."

To this, I shall quote the U.S. Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Re: I Am Free to Tweet

Burnman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:16:22 -0000

Unfortunately, this is true. The US Constitution does not technically apply to the private sector. Citizens employed by private companies do not enjoy the same freedoms which government employees do. Ironic, eh?

Here is a relevant read:
Freedom Of Speech In The Workplace: The First Amendment Revisited - http://library.findlaw.com/...

Re: I Am Free to Tweet

Burnman — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 11:03:54 -0000

Excellent article Kris, I could not agree more! While I can understand limiting the use of Social Media while in the workplace, I do not believe companies should be dictating what can and cannot be said by their employees (with the exception of libel, trade secrets, private information like personnel records of course). I think people should be responsible with what they say in a public forum, but employers should not mandate what is acceptable speech any more than government should.

Re: Apple to App Developer: Remove the Most Useful Function, Please

Burnman — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:53:29 -0000

I'm glad you were interested.

Re: Apple to App Developer: Remove the Most Useful Function, Please

Burnman — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:50:24 -0000

This is one of the many reasons I will not buy Apple products.

Re: CHA-CHING: iPhone Users Twice as Likely to Buy Apps Than Android Users

Burnman — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:35:42 -0000

Since I do not have an iPhone I have no idea what the numbers are like, but it would be interesting to see the number of paid vs. free applications available for both operating systems. It may simply be that there are more free applications for the Android OS than for the iPhone.

I wouldn't buy an iPhone anyway. I don't like the idea of having to send a phone to the manufacturer to change the battery.

Re: Twitter’s DOS Attack (And Why Social Media Sucks)

Burnman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:20:31 -0000

Outperformed what? Did you try anything else, like "WP Greet Box" for example? Highly configurable, widely used, professional, and it won't force the user to close an irritating popup before being able to read the content.

With all due respect, popup blockers didn't become so popular because people like popups. You may be getting more subscribers now because you're begging every visitor for a sub, but I would be willing to bet that your bounce rate went up.

Anyway, no offense intended. Just offering a bit of my personal experience. Take care!

Re: My Pledge to You

Burnman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:08:04 -0000

We all are. Other people build that wall for us, we certainly don't put it there ourselves. We have two choices. We can continue to run into it, or we can ignore the obstacle and go around it.

Ultimately, what you write and how you write it is up to you. You can't please everyone, and trying will only give you heartburn and headaches. The only thing you can do is try to write honestly, from the heart, and in your own words. We are our own moderators, and it is our job to present our message as we wish it to be seen.

As for sarcasm and satire... as with all things... they are good in moderation. Too much of anything is too much of anything.

Re: My Pledge to You

Burnman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:11:53 -0000

Satire can be entertaining and provide a humorous quality to material which many will appreciate. Sarcasm can also provide some level of humor, though it is a bit of a slippery slope.

In today's media, it does seem that "Sarcastic Heckler" is the marketing mantra. Look at the current advertising campaign which KFC is running. Two people making snarky, sarcastic remarks aimed at belittling their pier for paying more for a lunch. Rather than point out a good tip to a friend who shows appreciation and is later shown eating KFC, they decided to go with sarcastic insult.

Personally, I would not give up on satire, there is nothing wrong with trying to make people laugh. It's all about disclosure and delivery. Just make sure people know it's satire, and make sure it's not too negative, and everything should work out just fine.

Re: Twitter’s DOS Attack (And Why Social Media Sucks)

Burnman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 10:53:44 -0000

Interesting read, though I did get a chuckle that you mentioned Facebook as an additional social media point of presence since it was also a target of the attack. ;)

The most important point you make here, however, is running your own site with your own domain pointing to it. Social media is about networking and information sharing, and if used properly, it can generate significant traffic to your revenue generating pages on your own domain.

* Note - This was my first visit to your site, and within seconds of the page loading, I was presented with a "subscription" popup. I am not a fan of subscription request pop-ups, especially before I have any idea whether I will like your content or not. ;)

Re: Full Disclosure: Sponsored Conversations on Twitter Raise Concerns, Prompt Standards

Burnman — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:53:52 -0000

I wish Twitter should simply launch their own advertising system, and blacklist everyone else from providing sponsored Tweets. At least then I would feel as though the advertising supported the service, rather than the bandwidth pirates currently vomiting spam into the Twitterverse.

Re: Win $500 Wal-Mart Gift Card! | Frugalous!

Burnman — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:15:11 -0000

Money saving tip? DON'T SHOP AT WALMART. Sorry folks, but as a Patriotic American, I will not shop there, and I recommend you don't either. Walmart is responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs and the devastation of local economies. Then we have Walmart's unethical businesses practices including (but not limited to) discrimination against women, child labor violations, use of sweat shop suppliers, lack of domestic purchasing (80% of Walmart's products are manufactured in China), environmental impact, and contribution to the rise in poverty. Shopping at Walmart will cost you and your community more than anything you could save at the register.

Re: Yes, Twitter is a source of journalism

Burnman — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:05:15 -0000

I don't think any particular news source should be used exclusively. I am a big believer in checking multiple sources for news about a particular story.

Re: Yes, Twitter is a source of journalism

Burnman — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 16:58:47 -0000

@ Tom - Initial reports are most often inaccurate snapshots of what little is known about a story as it breaks. As the story unfolds, and more details are available, the initial reports are verified and updates to the initial reports are provided. This is exactly what happens when Twitter users break news. Initial reports come in, the details are later verified and followed up on.

Pick up 3 or 4 newspapers covering the same thing, and you will find 3 or 4 different sides to the same story. Each will contain details which conflict with the other papers, each will contain its own bias. Mainstream Media's track record for breaking news is no different than what I have seen so far with Twitter. In fact, the information I received via Twitter yesterday regarding Mumbai is as accurate as what I am seeing reported by Mainstream Media... today.

Twitter cannot possibly replace Mainstream Media's in-depth reporting, but it can do more for getting important news the attention it deserves much more quickly than calling a news desk at CNN or MSNBC will. Live reports by the people experiencing a situation will often be as accurate as hearing about it from reporters who asked the same people after it was all over.

Have you considered that perhaps these live reports that come out of Mumbai will HELP mainstream journalists with source material for more accurate reports about the attacks? Or have you considered how much more likely governments are to react to situations they may otherwise ignore simply because the story cannot be contained? Or perhaps, the likelihood that Mainstream Media will pick up a story because it's already out rather than ignore it for whatever political or financial reason they may have? Imagine how useful this wealth of information will be to investigators as they begin piecing this all together. Mainstream Media would not be able to provide the same level of documentation which live witnesses did.

Personally, I welcome Social Media to the world of journalism, and I look forward to watching the forced evolution of journalism it will bring.

Re: Social Network Advertising is a Waste of Time

Burnman — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:53:57 -0000

Very interesting read, and good advice! From my own experience, I completely agree that social media advertising can be a huge turn off. One of the things I can't stand about MySpace is the excessive advertising.

Re: Massachusetts Ballot Questions

Burnman — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:26:08 -0000

I am not sure why Q1 didn't pass either, that one surprised me. I know I could use the extra cash, and I know Massachusetts doesn't.

I was surprised that Q2 passed, but I think it is for the best. The criminal justice system doesn't need to be clogged with such minor charges. Better off using the resources to focus on more serious crime.

I am personally happy dog racing has been banned. The tracks have until 2010 to change their business model, so it isn't exactly time yet to worry about foreclosed homes, lost jobs, and failing businesses. There is time for people to find work in more reputable and respectable fields.