Birmingham Mail - Technobabble

Girls Aloud celebrity murder blogs

2009-06-30T12:49:49Z

The internet never ceases to amaze in its propensity for giving a voice to the most extreme examples of humanity.

A court case has just finished which saw a formal civil servant cleared of obscenity over a charming tribute piece he wrote about harmless pop group Girls Aloud.

Darryn Walker, 35, of South Shields, South Tyneside, was charged under the Obscene Publications Act after the blog appeared on a fantasy pornography site.

The story concerned, and there's no way of dressing this up really, involved descriptions of, and I quote from the blog: "the rape torture and mutilation of five of the sexiest girls in pop today."

There is a disclaimer which gives warning to anyone who has happened across the site by accident: "The following is a work of erotic/sadistic fantasy set in a world in which women are disposable sex objects that exist solely for the pleasure of men. It contains themes of extreme sexism, misogyny, torture, rape, mutilation, dismemberment, murder, execution and male supremacy over women."

Anyway Darryn got off because his defence argued the blog could only be found by those looking for specific material.

Mr Walker's 12-page blog - Girls (Scream) Aloud - was brought to the attention of police by the Internet Watch Foundation, an organisation for the public and IT professionals which polices potentially obscene material.

The courts also heard that Mr Walker had lost his job since his arrest.

The blog itself...well suffice to say each member of the group is visited in turn.

The web certainly allows all kinds of wackos to indulge the darkest corners of their personalities and meet like minded people.

And, amazingly the internet also seems to prove that nothing is too weird, far out and downright strange for there not to be a thriving community glorying in it.

Perhaps we should get the people who fantasize about murder together with groups which fantasize about killing people who fantasize about murder and see what happens. Whatever the outcome is, there will be web denizens with an unhealthy interest in the results.

Below: Girls Aloud, thankfully not screaming.

DIY survey - population at risk

2009-06-29T13:21:48Z

I'VE poked fun in the past at pr people sending us surveys to publicise products.

Anyone on a regional newspaper knows that unfortunately the well of inspiration usually runs pretty dry when it comes to promoting some contracts. They basically carry out a survey, which is somehow regionally broken down, to ensure coverage in small papers around the country.

But this one from Citigate deserves a mention in despatches for one of the greatest ever extrapolations of data from a pretty minute source.

The release relates to 'DIY Disasters' and is aimed at publicising Homeserve - a company which offers workmen to come round and do your DIY for you.

Anyway, let's look at their figures. "New research by HomeServe shows that some 956,000 people injure themselves every year in the region by taking on troublesome home improvements."

"Accident and emergency units across the West Midlands have to deal with around 42 injuries caused by botched DIY problems every day." (they didn't actually get in touch with any hospitals, just based it on the survey results).

Ah - I geddit - make people think they'll end up in A&E putting up those shelves and they'll hire someone - ie Homeserve - in!

The figure of 956,000 people injuring themselves every year sounds a bit iffy. In the press release they explain their reasoning thus:

"People in the West Midlands that have had a DIY accident in past 5 years: 956,000 [how this figure is arrived at given they asked 2051 adults from across the whole country is not explained].
Therefore spread over 5 years = 191,200 per year
Divided by 365 days = 523 per day
8% of injuries in the Midlands resulted in victims being checked at A&E = 42 A&E visits per day"

Hang on a minute - they said it was 956,000 EACH year - not 191,200. And it does seem something of a leap in statistical analysis to say that if eight per cent of the small number of Midland respondents answered they had been to A&E in the last five years, therefore eight per cent of the ENTIRE population must have.

Anyway I feel like I've come up with the answer. Don't do DIY, certainly don't hire someone in to do it, and spend the money saved on beer. And certainly don't believe any figures you read in 'survey' stories.

Miliband twitter Michael Jackson Hoax

2009-06-27T17:11:15Z

Foreign Secretary David Miliband fell victim to an internet spoof after Michael Jackson's death.

A Twitter account page set up in his name by a prankster carried a tribute to the singer, which was then picked up by media organisations.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "This is an apposite moment for us to point out (as some commentators suspect) that the Foreign Secretary does not have a Twitter account.
"The FCO does, however, and you can find it here www.twitter.com/foreignoffice."

In case you were wondering, our banana loving Foreign Secretary didn't say on Twitter: "Never has one soared so high and yet dived so low. RIP Michael."

So there you go.

Council bans twitter after insults

2009-06-24T12:17:19Z

A council today banned staff and elected members from using the social networking website Twitter after complaints that abusive and inappropriate language were being used.

Plymouth City Council staff trying to access the site are now directed to the authority's home page.

The move came after the council received a number of complaints about content on the site, including the city's Labour group leader Tudor Evans, who was warned he could face disciplinary action for using insulting language about a BNP member and calling him a "Nazi".

]]> Some councillors said the ban was "ridiculous" and robbed them of an important form of communication with the electorate.

Luke Pollard, Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate for South West Devon, was recently named the 10th most influential Labour person on Twitter and said the ban "exposed the council as backward".

He said: "It is disappointing that the city council hasn't recognised the value of using Twitter like so many other councils have.

"By banning Twitter the council has done more to promote its use in Plymouth City Council than anything those on Twitter could have done to promote it.

"In the process they have exposed themselves as a backward looking authority blundering about in the internet age."

Labour councillor Bill Stevens told the Plymouth Herald that many other authorities encouraged the use of social networking sites.

He said: "Not even the Iranian Government has sought to ban Twitter.
"We are always told we should keep in touch with our constituents.

"All good practice from councils upcountry is that use of social networking is encouraged."

The council confirmed that access to the site would now be restricted to the corporate communications team.

A spokeswoman said: "We are currently reviewing our policies and procedures on use of information technology and social networking sites following complaints from staff and members of the public about use of language and inappropriate comments.

"Anyone representing the council has a duty to uphold the highest standards and while these problems have been caused by a very small minority of individuals, inappropriate communication can cause great offence and damage the council's reputation.

"Access to Twitter is now being limited while the review is being carried out."

Children at risk to online smut without safeguards: warning

2009-06-24T08:01:39Z

Children are at risk from "YouTube-style" websites which offer free access to pornography without proper safeguards, the president of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) warned today.

Sir Quentin Thomas said a number of sites have developed which provide instant access to explicit video clips but make little or no effort to stop children viewing them or warn users about what they are about to see.

]]> Three such sites are in the top 50 most used websites in the UK, with the most popular receiving more hits than the websites of some national newspapers, the BBFC said.

Introducing the BBFC's annual report, Sir Quentin wrote that efforts to regulate potentially harmful content on the internet were hampered by the fact that many of the websites are run outside the UK by people with no interest in restricting the material they provide or the ease with which it can be accessed.

"It is accessed by people who are not predisposed to the idea that they might need protecting from such content (or that society might need protecting from the effects that such content might have on their beliefs, attitudes or behaviour), or by children whose parents lack the technological sophistication or inclination to make effective use of the tools available," he wrote.

"To take just one type of potentially harmful content, we know that many children are coming across pornographic or obscene material online.

"With the recent development of YouTube-style pornographic sites, such exposure can only increase.

"These sites offer instant and free access to a vast catalogue of explicit pornographic videos uploaded by users of the sites.

"Many of the videos contain violent, abusive or obscene content. Like YouTube, they have no gatekeeping in place."

Some such sites lack even a page to warn users about the explicit nature of what they are about to see, Sir Quentin warned, as the extra mouse click is thought to drive people to other sites.

The BBFC said the "Pornhub" site is the 24th most used in the UK, while "Youporn" and "Redtube" are 33rd and 39th in the list respectively.

The Daily Telegraph website is 30th, the Daily Mail 31st and The Times 42nd, the BBFC said.

Press Association

BBC Website reflects sport priorities

2009-06-23T07:10:40Z

Why is the BBC determined to treat some sports with contempt while others are given Rolls-Royce treatment?

The situation was crystallised for me when I went to the www.bbc.co.uk homepage yesterday to discover that the news rundown had been shoved half way down and replaced, unasked for, with a huge Wimbledon section.

I've got nothing against tennis, but it did seem somewhat presumptuous to thrust this upon all the internet visitors without asking.

There has been much made of the Ashes series not being on terrestrial TV this year (which I am outraged about too), with the BBC being one of the stations which could have broadcast this to the nation at large (as opposed to a small number of high-fee paying subscribers).

But when I was really keen to see the Twenty20 highlights on BBC I looked at the schedule and was delighted to see the hour long show was at the excellent slot of 11.35pm - and as I have to be at work at 6.30am most days, I ended up taping it, and watching a day in arrears.

In spite of this ludicrous scheduling they managed around a million viewers for the highlights - and would presumably have done much better had it been earlier.

Given most games finished at around 9pm there's no excuse for not having a show by 9.30pm - after all channel 5 do it for the test matches.

Below: Maria Sharapova at the AEGON Classic in Birmingham recently. The BBC has the crazy notion that viewers would rather watch her than a load of ugly cricketers...

Anonymous online bloggers

2009-06-17T18:44:11Z

The 'outing' of police blogger Detective Constable Richard Horton poses some interesting questions.

For those who haven't been following the story, he wrote an interesting, provocative, humane, touching and thoughtful blog about the day to day life of a copper.

The fact that he wrote it anonymously annoyed some people.

Eventually he was tracked down and finally named after Mr Justice Eady ruled he had no 'reasonable expectation of privacy', so lifting an injunction which he won against the Times.

So he's now known, and his blog is finished. After all a serving police office couldn't write 'live' about cases he's dealing with.

Simple considerations like contempt of court would be regularly breached as in many cases the blogs, hitherto impossible to link with specific incidents, would easily be traced, and would breach the Magistrates Court Act, which, once a person has been charged, allows only ten details (age, name, charges etc) to be printed until a trial begins or the person pleads guilty.

DC Horton received a written warning from Lancashire police and his 'Nightjack' blog has now been deleted.

Shame really - it gave a real insight into the police, and the strange world of some forgotten estates they so regularly visit (and which are completely alien and unknown to so much of the population).

Another recent emergency services blogger has been more sympathetically treated - Tom Reynolds, an ambulance worker whose Random Acts of Reality site has been given support from his health authority.

In this case his employers, while not endorsing everything he says, realise that a true to life blog by a committed and caring worker generates sympathy and understanding of what they are trying to achieve.

For me, this is what 'Citizen Journalism' is all about. Not about just sitting alone in a bedroom blogging, commenting, retweeting (etc) blindly about what someone else is doing just so you can be first with something.

This is creating something worthwhile, interesting, moving, and real.

This issue also has some resonance with the debate currently taking place over the inquiry into Iraq.

In the case of DC Horton it was impossible for him to blog when it was known who he was.

He could harm court cases, make himself liable to defamation suits and almost certainly lose his job.

In the case of the Iraq inquiry, some people have said they will only give evidence if it is heard in private, presumably for similar reasons.

It is a difficult line to walk - do we want as close to the whole truth as possible or something which has been effectively castrated? (And in the case of the Iraq inquiry there is also the question of what will be revealed in the end.)

I'd certainly rather read Nightjack than some pre employer approved anodyne nonsense.

Illegal downloaders mostly escape under Digital Britain paper

2009-06-17T13:19:47Z

Internet users who illegally download music and films will be encouraged to change their ways before they face legal action.

The Digital Britain white paper makes a distinction between otherwise law-abiding citizens and the "hard-core" who "wilfully continue unlawful activity".

This means the authorities will not be devoting their energies to teenagers who use file-sharing websites to download a couple of their favourite songs from their bedrooms.

]]> Instead ministers want to persuade these people to use legal alternatives, such as the service unveiled by Virgin Media and Universal Music offering unlimited and unrestricted music downloads for a monthly subscription fee.

The report notes: "The Government believes piracy of intellectual property for profit is theft and will be pursued as such through the criminal law.

"The civil infringement of taking someone else's intellectual property or passing it on to others through file-sharing without any compensating payment is, in plain English, wrong.

"However, the Government also believes, and the evidence suggests, that most people, given a reasonable choice, would much prefer not to do wrong or break the law."

But ministers have taken note of the pain that illegal downloading is causing to Britain's creative industries, and are now aiming to cut unlawful online file-sharing by 70-80%.

To achieve this, they are planning to introduce legislation giving communications regulator Ofcom new powers to clamp down on persistent illegal downloaders.

The regulator would require internet service providers (ISPs) to write warning letters to users whose accounts are used for online piracy.

ISPs would also have to release personal information about illegal file-sharers if legally required to do so, allowing the worst offenders to be sued in a civil court.

If these measures fail to dent levels of illicit downloading, Ofcom will be able to invoke powers to force the ISPs to use technical means to stop the culprits.
This could include blocking certain websites or slowing the speed of the internet connection.
The UK's film and music industries voiced fears that the higher broadband speeds heralded elsewhere in the report could lead to more illegal file-sharing.

Industry bodies also suggested that the initial measures proposed by the Government would not be enough to reach its 70-80% target.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: "Evidence shows that the Government's 'write and then sue' approach won't work.

"And Government appears to be anticipating its failure by lining up backstop powers for Ofcom to introduce technical measures later.

"This digital dithering puts thousands of jobs at risk in a creative sector that the Government recognises as the driver of the digital economy."

Gum? smile? makeup? Answer to the eternal question

2009-06-16T08:18:00Z

I suppose if you're in the pr office of a product like chewing gum, finding ways to plug your ware in the press must pose some problems.

Just got off the phone to one and - shock horror - the answer to this conundrum from Orbit is conduct a survey (the only thing pr people ever really try) which duly rocked up on email.

This revealed people from the West Midlands (yep, they've regionalised the stats to ensure country-wide story penetration) prefer women who smile to those who plaster on the make up.

The study said: "Each woman was photographed twice, once wearing usual make-up and not smiling and once without make-up and smiling, and interestingly, both men (66%) and women (73%) believe a smile makes you more attractive than make-up - so the beauty choice of the future is free and at your instant disposal."

What if you like a woman smiling AND wearing make-up? Didn't ask that, did they?

Guess how "face of Orbit Complete" Louise Redknapp keeps her smile nice? She said (and this comment is in no way influenced by being handed a huge wodge of cash from Orbit): "Flashing a friendly smile costs you nothing but can have a big impact on the way people perceive you. That's why I make sure I take care of my teeth and always carry a pack of Orbit Complete sugarfree gum with me to help keep my teeth and gums clean and healthy when I'm on the go."

Personally speaking I don't find women chewing very attractive at all. It's just not ladylike! ;)

Below: Louise Redknapp. Look her mouth is open. And there's no chewing gum in it. Orbit should sack her immediately!!!

Pretentious, self obsessed, narcissistic yep, it's twitter users

2009-06-15T08:49:30Z

A recent study found that less than ten per cent of twitter users are responsible for 90 per cent of the messages.

It also found that 55 per cent don't 'tweet' (send messages) at all.

And this website tweeting too hard reveals that a good proportion of those ten per cent who send virtually everything are, er, up themselves. (The website's tagline reads: " Where self-important tweets get the recognition they deserve.")

Yes the twittersphere is packed to capacity with self loving jerks sending self justifying messages, which have the basic purpose of driving home the undeniable truth of how wonderful they are.

In my own experience a whole bunch of messages on the site are aimed at driving traffic through to websites (people who do that - what jerks eh? ;)) and a lot are 'musings' on life in a philosophical kind of way.

To be fair what can you do with 140 characters apart from thoughtful haikus on life, or just report the banal what-I-had-for-breakfast kind of stuff?

I really enjoy the indiscreet 'tweets' from management meetings and have seen people get into trouble when someone sends the 'no-one understands what I'm trying to say and they're all gits' message, forgetting that the md is following them.

Anyway this selection from tweeting too hard randomly reveals the kind of jerks who inhabit the twittersphere, showing that they'll be the first up against the wall when the revolution comes:

"Really enjoy looking smug at the gym. Not going to lie."

"Shopkeep told me I was man of the world. Don't think it was sarcastic - I think it was the beads I was wearing and that I said "ciao"."

"Lovely day in Camden. Brought up that I'd been to India, home of tea, to a Starbucks girl. Think it intimidated her. Seemed to kill mojo."

"Need new ethnic beads. Mine are now a bit scummy. If Indians made their wooden beads from wipe-clean plastic they'd stay authentic longer."

"<--Has now been hit-on and asked out more times than she can count!"

Yes you could suggest that they were being ironic, pricking the balloon of their own pomposity, but I doubt it. And some were Americans (therefore incapable of irony) or 'new media' types (ditto).

Follow me on twitter (ha!) at http://twitter.com/BenHurst

New soft toy character selling something

2009-06-09T12:16:19Z

Those highly paid marketing executives have once again earned their corn.

A new campaign is being launched to promote digital channel Virgin1 - and they've hatched a method which will rock the industry.

Or not. As it happens the campaign is not entirely dissimilar to that Johnny Vegas and 'Monkey' soft toy one of a few years ago during the ITV Digital promotion.

In fact the cuddly toy protagonist is almost identical - except it's red. Red by nature and Red by name (you'll recall Virgin's logo is red...).

There's the usual 'viral' touches, offering 'fans' (fans - hah) the chance to interact with the character on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and blog pages.

Jeff Dodds, the brand and marketing director of Virgin Media Television, said: "He's exactly the kind of character that our viewers love and we're sure his impish charm will play a major part in the success of our rebrand."

Or to be more exact he's exactly the sort of character viewers (inexplicably) loved when it appeared for the first time in the ads with cuddly funnyman Vegas.

The whole thing puts me rather in mind of 'Poochie' from the Simpsons.

Below: The original, and, goshdarn it, absolutely LEGENDARY Monkey. (all right it's a soft toy selling something).

No Wait! NOOO - just noticed - those Krazy Kats in the marketing department at Virgin1 have missed something! You'll not that 'Monkey' above is wearing a t-shirt, wait for it, bearing the name of product to be plugged. Whereas 'Red' isn't. Guys you've missed a trick there. The oldest one in the book - ie putting the name of the product on the thing which is promoting it.

Follow me for updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BenHurst

Online fraud - new survey

2009-06-08T11:15:28Z

'BE vigilant' is the only suggestion put forward following a new survey which shows how many people have been targeted by online fraudsters.

To be fair the sample size of the survey - 1,563 - is small, the results which had 77 per cent saying they had received 'phishing' emails seems to ring true.

I blogged about my own experiences recently, when I discovered that there is no real capacity in police forces to look into online fraud.

It's understandable, given your average force has enough on its' plate dealing with ordinary street crime.

Not to mention the fact that many of the criminals concerned don't even operate from the UK, and trying to track them down would require a phenomenal level of resources and international co-operation.

The survey also found seven out of 10 people said they had received emails asking for money, while 67 per cent had been told they had won a lottery or competition that did not exist, according to life assistance company CPP.

Around 17 per cent of those questioned said they had also received emails from people claiming to be acquaintances or relatives in a bid to con them into handing over money or revealing personal information.

]]> Michael Lynch, identity fraud expert at CPP, said: "Cyber criminals now operate in very sophisticated ways.

"Although we are seeing very high levels of phishing email attacks asking for passwords and account details, we are now seeing more 'malware' attacks such as key-logging, where fraudsters can read what you type on your computer to capture your passwords and other sensitive financial information without you even knowing.

"People need to be vigilant and make sure that they have the proper security in place such as up-to-date anti-virus software."

It's in your hands, basically. Never ever reply or click on links in unsolicited emails.

Spacemen - short, fat and bald

2009-06-08T09:40:45Z

Humans making long space voyages, perhaps lasting lifetimes, would never pass the audition for Star Trek, an expert has claimed.

They would be far too ugly.

Living in permanent microgravity, the first travellers to the stars are likely to end up short, fat and bald, according to astrobiologist Dr Lewis Dartnell.

Growing up in space would leave humans stunted and cause their bones and muscles to be underdeveloped, he said.

Dr Dartnell, from University College London, added: "With little effort required to move around in microgravity and an environment that is never too hot or cold, future spacemen and women are also likely to become pretty chubby.

"Without gravity, fluid would float up to pool in the skull, which would cause the head to look permanently swollen out of proportion. Also, with no need for hair to insulate the head or eyelashes to flick dust from their eyes, future humans may become completely hairless."

]]> Speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, Dr Dartnell also addressed the question of what aliens on other worlds might look like.

He said: "Certain features of the human body, such as camera-like eyes, head, and legs would evolve time and time again on different worlds, and so many features of alien animals are likely to be instantly recognisable. However other features of life, such as the number of limbs animals develop, or the shape and colour of trees, would be much more variable between worlds."

The Kepler space telescope was launched earlier this year and is expected to find dozens of Earth-like planets orbiting distant stars.

Some of these could host complex life. But even the nearer stars are so far away that travelling to them could take generations.

By the time the first humans arrive on an extra-solar planet, any aliens they meet are likely to find their appearance a shock.

When should you change your Facebook relationship status?

2009-06-02T12:50:58Z

MODERN dating in the digital instant age.

Young people today face some tricky decision making thanks to the ubiquity of online social networking sites, making going out with someone a process fraught with even more uncertainty.

For example: At what point do you update your Facebook relationship status? Too soon might seem presumptuous and needy - wait too long and you seem disinterested.

In order to gain insight into this, I interviewed a young colleague who, as Jane Austen, might put it, is 'out' in society (although as a journalist he's not in possession of a good fortune).

His basic take was that he wouldn't change it from 'single' until he absolutely had to - and commented that it was considered 'bad form' for the man to change his first: "Always let the bird do it".

]]>
Of course, as I pointed out, there is a risk of being accused of not taking it too seriously if your Facebook page proudly pronounces 'single' while you're engaged in trying to show your commitment to the modern day Eliza Bennett.

The individual in question also features prominently in pictures on that site, a significant quantity seemingly 'chatting up' 'fit birds' in hostelries (Austen fans might understand this crude process thus: "Trying to secure the next dance with an eligible gentlewoman at the ball at Netherfield").

He's proud of those pictures, for some reason, including a particular one 'motorboating' a lucky lady (look it up), again while enjoying an evening in a local hostelry (would even Mr Wickham stoop so low?).

At what point should the modern dater 'untag' himself from such pictures, thereby making it unlikely that his 'beau' should have her eyes affronted by such sights.

According to the young gentleman in question he's more worried about his parents finding the pics of him smoking.

So there you have it - modern day Mr Darcys should basically stick their heads in the sand and hope any girl they go out with doesn't use Facebook. Who says men aren't romantic these days?

Targeted by online fraudsters

2009-05-31T17:17:32Z

An email dropped into my inbox to tell me my paypal account had been 'temporarily limited' due to 'several failed log-in attempts'.

It provided a link to log in correctly otherwise: 'If you fail to log in correctly your account will be suspended for fraud prevention.'

Ok I'm not entirely daft and it's an obvious phishing attempt so I forwarded it to the Paypal security centre at spoof@paypal.com

They duly came back and informed me that it was indeed an attempted fraud to get my paypal log in details.

A while ago I spotted something I'd been after for ages on the gumtree online classifieds site.

I got in touch with the seller who provided a host of pics of the item, seemingly genuine.

]]> We agreed a price and they said the best method of payment involved a Western Union transaction via delivery company DHL.

I'd have to wire the cash to a named WD account and DHL would allow the money to be released on my signing for the item.

I contacted DHL direct (the email allegedly from DHL was decidedly fishy) and their security officer told me they offer no such service.

So two direct attempts to defraud me in a relatively short space of time.

It goes to show why some people are afraid of shopping online - where else would you be targeted so frequently by criminals, sometimes personally and quite convincingly?

Is it any surprise therefore that the numbers of reported fraud cases have gone up by a shocking 64 per cent in the last 12 months?

In the second instance of attempted fraud described above, I passed the details on to my local police.

The person I spoke to said that until recently they didn't even investigate most instances where no money had been lost because there were so many.

However, she said that it was becoming a such a massive problem, that I should send the details to their online fraud team. I duly printed out all the emails and sent them via post - three months on and no-one has been in touch.

The fact of the matter is that a lot of innocent people are being targeted and preyed upon - and it is absolutely clear that very little, if anything, is being done by the police to tackle this problem.

Until there is a proper online fraud policing programme in the UK, criminals can act almost with impunity - and a lot of innocent people will have their accounts cleaned out.