so don't ask if you don't want to know
Posts tagged Internet
Social media wins again?
Feb 3rd
I’m telling you, if you don’t get the power of social media today you need to get out more.
Not only did the Internet rally when legislation came up that would put anyone at risk of losing their websites with no notice and no real recourse…
Over the last few days the Susan G Komen Foundation’s foundation had some serious cracks. On Tuesday social media was rampant with the news Komen would not donate to Planned Parenthood anymore. The comments I read said it was because Karen Handel is rabid anti-choice. You can look this all up on Google. Then BAM! BACKLASH! People everywhere were PISSED! It was like Komen suddenly had the worst cooties from hell. Groups are dropping them like flies. Support for “the cause” takes a drastic hit. The founder of SGK Nancy Brinker goes on youtube and tries to explain some bullshit about it not being political (anti-abortion) but because PP doesn’t actually do mammograms – they farm them out – which is against their new internal guidelines. Whatever. That’s not the answer the people want to hear. Anyway, as of today Komen has reversed their decision. I’m guessing this too late change of plans won’t repair their big mistake. And PP has received more donations in the ensuing days than they normally get from SGK anyway. SGK may or may not recover.
Yes, I was pissed. Yes I posted a few tweets to @Komenforthecure. But I didn’t go off as expected (nodding at you @TSDivaDani) because I recognized this bandwagon before I jumped. I read a shitload of blogs and watched numerous videos and every one of them had a slightly different fact base. What was the real story? SGK was painted by a HUGE paintbrush as the evil without really getting to defend themselves and now anything they say sounds like bullshit. Is this foundation coming out officially as anti-choice or was it just a poorly thought out policy change? If it’s the first then they need to stand up and stand by their decision and take the lumps. Are they so sure of their pink-ribbon everybody loves SGK that they could just do whatever they want with the money people entrust to them? Or did we pro-choice people just bully them into reversing their decision? Are we really bullying or just forcefully stating our opinions?
Here’s what I get out of it for sure. Anti-choice people may be loud in their self-righteousness but when it comes right down to it, the Internet is decidedly pro-women’s rights and especially pro-choice.
Maybe people should donate to their own choices instead of these clearinghouses? Yeah.
Cox (Non)Communications
Jul 28th
First let me say, Ralph Wiggins*.
Last week I popped online to make arrangements to move my existing Cox service to my new address. I logged in and after a few false tries, found the actual link that says, “move existing service.” You’d think that would be the right one, right?
It logged me out and sent me to the new service page with all the stupid bundle (meaning they can’t give phone service away) options. I logged in again and looked for a different link, maybe that one was faulty. No such luck so I tried again… about 4 times. Tried again the next day. Every single time I was logged out automatically and sent to the new service page.
Stupid Internet provider. You’d think they could at least get that right, right?
Drove over to the local Cox office on Broadway. Building is empty. Really empty – meaning they moved. Girlchild and I had a race on our smartphones to try and find where it went. The new store at Tempe Marketplace didn’t show up on Google Maps. Swell.
So… I went in yesterday to move my existing service from point A to point B. Sounds simple, eh? Sure, they’re all smiley like they want to help you. But I get the new guy.
Again, Ralph Wiggins!
I will say there was a nice female employee that took charge of Kira and kept her amused while I spent 27 minutes trying to schedule moving my existing service moved to a new address. IT AIN’T THAT HARD! Stop account #blah at this address on August 1 and start account #blah at this address on July 31. One day overlap because I just know they’ll fuck it up. Even though I’m doing all the physical moving myself and all they have to do it tell their computer.
Thank you nice lady who amused Kira, but the rest of you people are useless.
* referring to our Atheist cuss word that replaces Jesus Christ!
We'll never agree
Jun 10th
I wish people wouldn’t feel the need to beat you over the head with their opinion:
ME: Hot atheists and agnostics http://bit.ly/b37g57 Aren’t Agnostics just Atheists with a fear of commitment?
(Meant to be humorous)
Other Person: agnostics = there is a god! Athiests = there is no such thing as this god nonsense
To which I stupidly reply:
ME: Agnostics are just-in-case Atheists. You can’t have God without religion. Like believing in Huck Finn without Mark Twain.
Which in turn opens the angry floodgates:
OP: uhhhh… I’m agnostic. Yes, you can have spirituality without religion. You can’t be Christian without Christianity though.
OP: it’s more about abandoning religion than anything. Don’t tell me what I am.
OP: people don’t understand that spirituality and religion are two totally different things.
Oh, I had a reply but I refrained from comment there. I mean it’s twitter! Land of the quick comments not long discussions.
OP: that is like saying people of earthly (pagan) religions are athiests because they don’t believe in the Christian God.
My eyes are glazing over here…
OP: or that I am an athiest because I believe in and thank the universe for what I am blessed with. I am not Christian…
Fine, whatever you say dear. Go eat a cookie and calm down.
ag·nos·tic: (wishy-washy)
- One who believes that it is impossible to know whether there is a God.
- One who is skeptical about the existence of God but does not profess true atheism.
- One who is doubtful or noncommittal about something.
a·the·ist: (definitive)
- One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.
Somehow I think believing in a Mother Nature type energy (pagans?) or Lady Luck or any sort of mystical energy is different than believing in God or Muhammad or Buddha. There is no big giant head controlling the entire universe.
I believe in my parking angel. I have an angel on my visor that if I rub her tummy and ask nicely a great parking space will open up as if by magic. It works nine times out of ten. Do I think she’s getting her power though God? Shit no. But maybe she’s tapping into some karma-luck energy field. Or maybe it’s just coincidence. Who cares.
Oh right, the subject of this post. I learned a long time ago there’s just no arguing with people. You state your opinion and leave it at that. What’s the point of defending your position over and over again? You’re not going to change someone else’s mind.
Drives me nucking futs when people do that. But not as much as when they can’t spell Athiest.
Internet Swimming
Jun 3rd
A friend of mine posted this on twitter:
The phrase tech-savvy really needs to be abolished. It’s time to expect that ppl can use computers.
This comes from a young man who makes his living on the Internet. In fact I have a lot of friends who make their living on the Internet. These people are so totally immersed online and surrounded by the like that sometimes they forget there are people who don’t even swim.
If you picture the Internet as a giant swimming pool:
- You have those that jump off the high dive and spend all day and all night in the water, diving deep and cavorting around, barely coming up for air. If they’re not on their laptop/computer they’re still tied to their smartphones. They chose total immersion and love it. <- this is me, sort of. I’m more of a floater than a diver, but I’m mostly submerged. I get it all, I just can’t manipulate it as well as most Internet swimmers. Most of my friends are like this.
- You have those that jump in and swim around the shallow end for a while, but don’t venture far from the ladder. email, Facebook, myspace and basic Google searches are all they try to do. Overwhelmed by the infinity of the Internet, they chose to inch forward. <- my kids and their friends
- And then you have those sit beside the pool in chaise lounges. They know the pool is there and maybe ask those in the pool to help them out. They don’t swim, they don’t even sit on the edge to dangle their feet. They are so totally afraid intimidated by the crowded pool that they prefer to sit aside. <- my parents and their friends.
Don’t underestimate the amount of lounge chairs outside the pool. Don’t get so immersed in your Internet world that you can’t see those sitting outside anymore. Invite them in, but don’t punish them for choosing to stay out. You can’t dump people in who aren’t prepared to swim or the rest of us have to save them. The Internet should be a choice.
