A Blogger's Code of Ethics

Sorry, been a while since my last post. Been very very busy at work. Damn! Now I really know why teaching is called a vocation! Haha!

Anyways, I thought of dropping by now because a co-teacher of mine placed something on my table. Now, I've been familiar of this Blogger's Code of Ethics before, still, it was a nice thought that he shared it with me. So here I am, sharing it to the world. Just wanna let you know that this list came from Cyber Journalist.

Here we go:

A BLOGGERS' CODE OF ETHICS

Be Honest and Fair

• Bloggers should be honest and fair in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
• Bloggers should:
• Never plagiarize.
• Identify and link to sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
• Make certain that Weblog entries, quotations, headlines, photos and all other content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.
• Never distort the content of photos without disclosing what has been changed. Image enhancement is only acceptable for for technical clarity. Label montages and photo illustrations.
• Never publish information they know is inaccurate -- and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it's in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

Minimize Harm

• Ethical bloggers treat sources and subjects as human beings deserving of respect.
• Bloggers should:
• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by Weblog content. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of information is not a license for arrogance.
• Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone's privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
• Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects, victims of sex crimes and criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.

Be Accountable
Bloggers should:

• Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
• Explain each Weblog's mission and invite dialogue with the public over its content and the bloggers' conduct.
• Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas.
• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence content. When exceptions are made, disclose them fully to readers.
• Be wary of sources offering information for favors. When accepting such information, disclose the favors.
• Expose unethical practices of other bloggers.
• Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

Nice list, eh?

I'll try to update The Human Side of Technology, at the same time, my Ateneo de Iloilo Computer Teaching blogsite.

Samuel Morse, telegraph system and Morse Code

Samuel Morse is much known as the American creator of the first telegraph system and notably, the Morse Code. And he was born this day, last 1791.

As a tribute, I decided to make a post to the person, who made communication with long distance possible.

According to Wikipedia.org,

Samuel F.B. Morse was born on April 27, 1791 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the first child of geographer and Pastor Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826) and Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese (1766-1828). Jedidiah was a great preacher of the Calvinist faith and supporter of the American Federalist party. He not only saw it as a great preserver of Puritan traditions (strict observance of the Sabbath), but believed in its idea of an alliance with Britain in regards to a strong central government. Jedidiah strongly believed in education within a Federalist framework alongside the instillation of Calvinist virtues, morals and prayers for his son. After attending Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Samuel Morse went on to Yale College to receive instruction in the subjects of religious philosophy, mathematics and science of horses. While at Yale, he attended lectures on electricity from Benjamin Silliman and Jeremiah Day. He earned money by painting. In 1810, he graduated from Yale with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

In addition to this, after his education, he became a painter who created little known masterpieces. Though he isn't know for painting, his invention of the Morse code is one of the reasons and the foundation of why we have technology like telephones and cellphones. Read about the overview of the brief history of how he came up with Morse code at Wikipedia.Org

You rock Samuel Morse!

Try and decode this: - .... . & .... ..- -- .- -. & ... .. -.. . & --- ..-. & - . -.-. .... -. --- .-.. --- --. -.--

Yadda!

Translate Dot Google Dot Com

Language has always been a barrier in all of us. From the start of the time until the modern age, we are4 still divide by how we speak. But since the technological innovations are being created every minute and communication has become more accessible, we can never deny serious efforts and inventions to erase the gap between all of humanity around the world.

And honestly, I can't help it but laugh at the desperate efforts of the few. Don't misunderstand me, this post is not meant to insult the innovations made by Google, but rather, it is to praise them for this great achievement. It is a great effort of bridging all of us. But you also cannot deny that, damn!, they make me laugh.

Yup, I am talking about Translate.Google.Com!
If you have time, go ahead and try it. And just for curiosity, educational and testing (or any other kinds of) purposes, I decided to try it to the universal sentence we all love to type in our grade school. Check it out.

English:
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog near the bank of the river.

Español:
El rápido zorro marrón saltó sobre el perro perezoso cerca de la orilla del río.

Français:
Le renard brun rapide sauté par dessus le chien paresseux près de la rive de la rivière.

Filipino:
Ang mabilis na brown soro kumuha ng higit sa mga tamad na aso malapit sa bangko ng ilog.

日本語:
クイックブラウンフォックスは、川の銀行の近くの怠惰な犬を飛び越えた。

中國:
有緣千里來相會附近的河岸。

Deutsch
Der flinke rote Fuchs sprang über den faulen Hund in der Nähe der Ufer des Flusses.

العربية:
الثعلب البني السريع قفز فوق الكلب الكسول بالقرب من ضفة النهر.

Italiano:
La volpe veloce marrone saltato oltre il cane pigro vicino alla riva del fiume.

I am not saying anything like I understand all these languages, but I'm quite sure it contains a lot of errors. lol!

But as I have stated before, I admire this effort of Google to bring everyone on the world closer. A little more time, this would be perfect.

Friendster is back... but will it's users be?

One of the largest, most popular and the best social networking site in the world of the internet, Friendster(Google Pagerank 7 and Alexa Ranking 40 as of the day this has been posted), has been offline for several days last week. After that it went active for about few hours only for most of its users to find their list of friends to be gone. Now, for someone who have loyal for some years and those who have grown in love with the site, that's something very scary!!!

A social networking site focuses on building communities of people who share interests, hobbies and activities online with each other. Many social networking websites, like Friendster, are web based and provide a many of ways for subscribers to interact, like electronic mails and instant messaging.


Friendster, according to Wikipedia, is "based on the Circle of Friends and Web of Friends techniques for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon." Also stated is that "based on Alexa.com, Friendster ranks 2nd most visited website in the Philippines. It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of internet users in the Philippines have Friendster accounts. David Jones, vice president for global marketing of Friendster, said that 'the biggest percentage of users is from the Philippines, clocking in with 39 percent of the site's traffic.'"

Now, what happened? Here is the statement released by their team (which is found on the page of the full friends list):

What happened to my friends?
Currently, the number of friends in the friends list is being displayed incorrectly.

Are my friends lost permanently?
No. The data for all friend connections is intact and is not lost.

When can this be fixed?
Friendster is currently working on this problem and we hope to have this fixed within 24 hours.

Can I still add friends while the problem has not yet been fixed?
Yes, users can still add new friends and use other features of the site.

What caused this problem?
There was a building-wide power outage at the QTS / Globix data center in Sunnyvale, California, USA where Friendster’s servers are co-located, along with about 50 other customers. As a result, the memory caching of data was affected. Since Friendster has 85 million users, the cache is taking a considerable amount of time to build. Once the cache has been completely built, all friends will re-appear.

I have my full trust that their technical team can indeed fix this issue. To date, I see no problem now with one of my accounts, but on the other account of mine, I have ZERO friends!!!! All my hard work, the sufferings, the heartbreaks, the triumphs and the sacrifices of collecting those 200+ friends, all gone!!! Huhuhu! Nah, I'm just overreacting, but well, good luck to them on fixing the problem.

Will the hordes of followers of continue to patronize Friendster, even when they have to start again from scratch? Yes ofcourse. To most users, Friendster has been parts of their lives. I, myself, wouldn't consider my internet life complete without signing in to my account in the site once a day.(Thank goodness, my friends are still intact on my primary account.) Friendster has become one of the most effective way to find old friends, create new ones and stay in touch with them. Friendster is the human side of technology.