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Archive for the ‘Etiquette’ Category

Give A Computer A Cookie

Posted in Etiquette, Links, Opt-in, prediction, Privacy, Technology, Trolling, tagged , , , , , , , on November 30, 2007| 2 Comments »

SafeLike the famous book “Give A Mouse A Cookie…” by Laura Joffe Numeroff and Illustrator Felicia Bond, “cookies” are often used by advertisers and Web analytic firms on most all web sites.   They place “tracking cookies” on your computer.  And like the book, the mouse will “ask for a glass of milk…” you can sure bet those web advertisers and analytic firms will be asking you for something. 

In most cases they don’t even let you know that they’ve ask!  Let me explain.  On the web, a “cookie” is a small text file that contains a string of alphanumeric characters. The tracking cookies tell companies what you are doing online, even though they don’t typically record your name or other personably identifiable information. The cookies are used by companies to try and match ads to a user’s interests or in the above mouse example they will “ask for a glass of milk”. 

There are two types of cookies used on most websites: a persistent cookie and a session cookie. A persistent cookie gets entered by your Web browser into the “Cookies” folder on your computer and remains in this “Cookies” folder after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. A session cookie is held temporarily in your computer’s memory and disappears after you close your browser or shut off your computer. There are websites that use Web beacons (also called “clear GIFs” or “pixel tags”) in conjunction with cookies. Web beacons are small strings of code that are placed in a Web page. For example, if you arrive at website by clicking on a banner ad for a product or service, a session cookie may be used. This cookie will contain an identification number for the ad that you clicked on, or will contain an identification number for the site that you were visiting when you clicked on the banner ad. 

Most web sites tell you nothing upfront about tracking cookies, or how to get rid of these tracking cookies assuming that you want too.  Cookies are used all over the Web, but in most cases, their presence is only disclosed deep inside privacy policies.  When was the last time you read a privacy policy? 

Some of the more reputable web sites want you to know how to get rid of these tracking cookies or opt out of the cookies set by any ad-placement or analytic contractor they might use and will provide the information.  For example, here is a link to a page where you can opt out of the cookies set by an ad-placement or analytics contractor of Omniture. 

 I’d prefer a totally opt-in system, but, as far as I know, the ad industry doesn’t have a practical one yet and not enough consumers have complained about tracking cookies to make an impact for the industry to change. If you want to clean out all tracking cookies from all your Web sites the following links take you where you can download three programs that can help clean out tracking cookies: 

 I’ve used some of these applications and been satisfied with the results, but give them a try and let me know your results. You can also change the preferences or settings in your Web browser to control cookies. In some cases, you can choose to accept cookies from the primary site, but block them from third parties. In others, you can block cookies from specific advertisers, or clear out all cookies. 

Not all cookies are tracking cookies. Like a lot of Web sites, they may place cookies on your computer, in addition to any placed by advertisers. But they aren’t “tracking cookies.” They merely do things like save your registration information, if you choose to register. They do not tell the companies what you do or where you go online. 

I’ll take warm milk with my cookies, thank you.

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Cubes That Don’t Look Like Cubes

Posted in Blogroll, Etiquette, Life on May 10, 2007|

It’s that time of year, again, for a work move. No, I’m not moving downstairs to storage room B (Office Space), but I have lost track of the number of moves I’ve made over the years. This time it’s a quick and easy one down the hallway.

If you are like me and take pride in your workspace i.e. the things that made an emotional difference and brighten the “sea-of-gray” clutter — you’ll take stock, while you pack the papers, event give-aways and trinkets, buttons, magnets, calendars, lanyards, awards, and well, STUFF. I’ve got gaming posters duck taped to my cube and once a piece of paper has been saved in a file, I never seem to look back at my collection again…I like my cube, but the space is full of too much stuff to keep the vibe good.

So, this current “office move” got me to thinking about a makeover for my drab, clunky award placement, overly cluttered and non-intuitive cube. Like a PC with too many buttons it’s a cube with too much stuff! I read recently that PC manufacturers have realized that design matters and consumers are no longer satisfied with a fan laden beige box or a colorful faux skinned chassis and want PCs that don’t look like PCs. What took them so long?!

This Conan video of a famous multi-national corp., is similar to what it looks like in my “sea-of-gray”…

Well, I want a cube that doesn’t look like a cube!

What should I do? A contest? Yeah, that’s it, a contest! One with $$ for the winner. It can be the first annual Cube Design Contest (CDC). Surely this will spur employee innovation and make people more interesting around here? Besides, I spend more time in my cube than at home (excluding sleep time) and I’m sure we all want entertaining cubes that blend our warm house décor.

We can take design entries from around the globe. We could have judges look for the best style, acoustics, functionality, and features.

Possible criteria:

  • Acoustics: noisy, loud, chatter box neighbors vs. quiet/near silent communities
  • Usability: effective makeover for efficient AC adaptor access vs. complicated routing and full of quirks
  • Aesthetics: stylish/pleasant, brought to life w/ flyers/brochures, vs. “Pimp-My-Cube” for mgr attention
  • Overall: Best style with most innovative trophy/award placement that fits character of surroundings

    • Are we overtly focused on meeting the needs of our customers and have cube blindness? It could be the biggest and most successful contest/event ever, because we have the technology and the right workspace for making — Cubes that don’t look like Cubes (CDLC).

    It’s easy after watching that video to see how your surroundings can make a difference and amp up your creativity. Yawn, excuse me while I take a nap…

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    China Mobile – More Subscribers Than The U.S. Population!

    Posted in Blogroll, Etiquette, iPhone, Mobile TV, Privacy, Technology on April 10, 2007|

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    Imagine every man, woman and child in the U.S. with a cell phone — now imagine they all ring at the same time!! Its possible now that China Mobile, the worlds largest mobile operator, recently announced that its subscriber base grew to 301 Million, surpassing the total population of the United States.

    Now that we’ve establish that everyone in the U.S. could have a cell phone…there are some real abuses of wireless technology being perpetrated all around us, and the time has come to create some social order out of this cell phone chaos. Can we have a moment of silence from all the Snoop Doggy Dog, melodies, and listen up – paaha..leaseee!

    I thought about generating a top 10 list on how not to use your cell phone. We’ve all seen etiquette blunders and most of these seem like common sense rules to me, but they get broken every day. So, I have just 2 Big Daddy rules:

    1. You can’t speak louder on your cell phone than you would on any other phone. Especially on Airplanes. These things have sensitive microphones, and it’s gotten to the point where I can tell if someone is calling me from a cell because of the way they are *SHOUTING*, not how it sounds. If your everywhere unlimited signal cuts out, speaking louder won’t help, unless the person is actually standing next to you.

    2. Don’t attempt to impress anyone with your cell phone ring or number of blueteeth (plural Bluetooth?) enable devices attached to your Batman-esque utility belts or purses. Not only is using a cell phone no longer impressive in any way shape or form (unless it’s one of those really cool iPhones months before it ships), when it is used for that reason, you will be immediately identified as a communication poseur.

    2 rules 2 remember. Simple.

    I say, let’s talk less and invent ways to use cell phones that don’t involve that distasteful habit of synthesized ring tones or actually talking on them! For example, Jaxtr, a service that lets you take calls, texts, or voicemail from anyone on the web, without handing them your phone number.

    Now that’s less conspicuous!

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