Why are so many people leaving Facebook?

Bajillions (hahaha) of subscribers love…err, are subscribed…err, are enchained-enslaved to FB, right?

ABC News reported “that there’s a mass exodus from Facebook.” I don’t know what counts as a mass, but why are people leaving FB? Well, the story provides Araceli Cruz’s take from March of 2013.

Alternatively, just watch Extremely Decent Films’ “A Facebook Update In Real Life”:

No, I’m not quitting. I know there are some quit-FB sites, and I know that Danny Sullivan has reported that Google searches for “delet…” are autofilled with “delete facebook account” as the top item and that “how do I delete my facebook account” is trending up in search frequency over the past few years, but I’ll stick with it. I only check it once or a few times a week, anyway.

Global light maps

NOAA-NASA Satellite Image

I look at maps frequently and at length. I find them fascinating. Aerial images also appeal to me, because they have a map-like quality. Among those that have intrigued me are images of Earth showing lights at night. I came upon a new one to me recently and am sharing it here, in case others might has a similar interest.

I snagged this image from a section of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Web site devoted to the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite. Interested readers can go to the page called “Our Earth at night” to read lots more, but here’s a snippet to explain a bit.

Data > BS

It’s easy to doubt this equation in the political season, but BSers are common on TV and in the newspapers.

Well, The data folx are getting their due, as Nate Silver, Drew Linzer, Daryl Homlman, and especially, Sam Wang get recognized by the smart press because these people are accurately calling election data. Their observations were pretty dang accurate. Even though some advocates called these data people’s observations biased, it turns out that those observations may actually have been biased the opposite direction!

U.S. Election Mega-analysis

Political pundits are second in line after the politicians themselves in putting spin on political poll data to make those data sound as if they support a particular interpretation. But there is another class of analysts who do not prognisticate. Instead, they simply examine the data and tell what those data show at this time.

Nate Silver of the New York (NY) Times has gotten a lot of publicity recently for his versions of this sort of work, but there are several others who are doing similar work (and to me, some are maybe even better, but let’s not argue about that right now). These people aggregate data from the polls (and, in many cases, other sources of evidence) to arrive at statistically dispassionate estimates of the situation. They don’t use hunches about momentum, ad-buys, and so forth. They follow the data.

Technology in the wild

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have wasps nest in the headphone jack of your computer? How about border guards questioning why you’re transporting a computer with a dead battery? Dolly Joseph doesn’t question why these things occur. She’s lived them, and she connects them in an enlightening post about technology and the environment. Recommended.

Be smart about ocean debris

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a blog about marine debris chocked full of interesting entries. As are many other agencies, NOAA is using social media extensively (e.g., see the Facebook page for its Office of Exploration and Research, the Vimeo shows for its Climate Program Office, and, of course, its own Twitter feed and weather information on its own YouTube channel), but the marine debris blog is a bit unique. It has a voice of its own. It’s focused, friendly, informative, and entertaining. It’s a good use of my tax dollars.

Yay, grads!

Randall Munroe’s take on
post-secondary majors.

Over on XKCD (one of my all-time-fave cartoons), Randall Munroe has done it again. He’s produced another marvelous interpretation of the state of the world. Just while I’m finishing up the review of my students’ final exam work and am looking forward to commencement exercises, he’s rendered a cool commentary about higher education that comes flitting through my experience like a butterfly…or is it shooting through like a meteor…or cannonball?

Guide To This Post: (1) Read the XKCD cartoon. (2) Return here and then

Checking e-mail with Wendy McNaughton

Wendy McNaughton, who draws lots of wonderful things, dropped a classic Thursday 19 April 2012 in her blog. I’ve come to think of e-mail as evil. It’s overtaking my life, I have great intentions of only spending certain periods of time using it each day, but I find myself turning to it still at other times. There is so much of the stuff. I am obsessed with cleaning out all the unopened documents. People call me to ask me if I’ve read their messages. Yikes!

So, go and enjoy Ms. McNaughton’s send up of e-mail. And, after you’ve looked at her blog post, scoot over to her Web site and scout about a bit. Admire her map of the neighbohoods of San Francisco or her bit about the SF Public Library

sopa pipa

search sopa & pipa at  free speech (I care about my copyrights, but some things are more important.)

Saving sinusitis sufferers $$: Low tech wins

Do you have problems with allergies but can’t afford to throw $100s at an expensive air filtration system? Jeffrey E. Terrell, M.D., director of the University of Michigan Health System’s Michigan Sinus Center, has help for you. In this video he shows how to construct one for about $25; it takes 90% of the particulate matter out of the the air.

Link to the full press release from NewsWise MedWire. Low-tech wins, no?