On Gene Morphis’s blog Morph’s View, he writes, “I’m a middle-aged, politically conservative guy. I’ve been married to the same wonderful woman for 36 years.

I’ve had a good career run as a financial officer. I’m also increasingly unhappy with demise of the conservative movement in the U.S., which will be the topic of many posts.”

He also reviews cigars. In other words, he’s every dull old white dude who’s ever decided to try his hand at this newfangled social media thing.

His Twitter and Facebook are more of the same, featuring posts about sports, traveling, and traffic court. But while Morphis’s efforts at interacting online are mostly anodyne, and his efforts are even admirable, they also got him fired.

To read more: CLICK HERE

With a father famous for his embarrassing encounters with technology, it’s little surprise Shane Warne’s ex-wife, Simone Callahan, is wary about letting their children explore the world of Facebook.

For some parents the decision is less clear cut, so we asked some experts – at what age should you let your child use Facebook?

The figures:

- Facebook’s terms of use state you cannot use the site if you are under 13.

- According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2.2 million Australian children aged five to 14 said they used the internet in the 12 months to April 2009, with one in five saying they accessed social networking sites.

Facebook sets 13 as the minimun age to use the social network but data suggests many under-13s use the site.

- Nearly half of children aged 12 to 14 said they used social networking sites, compared to 11 per cent aged nine to 11 and 3 per cent aged five to eight.

Co-founder of social media company SR7, Peter Fraser:

Mr Fraser said he endorsed Facebook’s minimum age of 13.

But he said data showed there were 20 million underage Facebook users around the world, with some allowed access at an earlier age under parental supervision.

While parents needed to be aware of the potential risks of children using technology, Facebook gave children many opportunities, he said.

“One of the opportunities here is for young Australians to become really conversive with the technology and also the way in which people communicate.

“This is the way people are going to be communicating well into the future.

“So if they’re not conversive with it, they’re going to be operating with one hand tied behind their back.

“Technology is developing new jobs, which young Australians will be able to take advantage of.

“A lot of people still consider social media to be a fad … but there’s enormous opportunities for future development.”

He said it was also the natural evolution of communication.

“This, in my way of thinking, is like saying in 1956: ‘No, I just want to the stick with the radio and not have a television’.

“What we’re seeing is another evolution in the way which we consume information, the way in which we communicate, just like the enormous shift from telegraph to radio, radio to television.”

Read more on The Sydney Morning Herald

James Griffin, of social media consultancy sr7 says some people get a kick from making comments online they would never make in the real world, and that are then viewed by many others online.

Social media expert Laurel Papworth says these views are not new to our societies – it’s just that we haven’t heard them before in public.

“Those voices in the past have been silent. The only voices that we heard in the past were highly educated, have communication skills and were comfortably with speaking publicly,” she said.

“One thing that social media does is that it shines a spotlight on different value systems in the Australian community. The challenge going forward is – do we want people to be honest or do we want them to be thinking those things and then to be too scared to say them?”

Echoing her thoughts, BBC presenter Richard Bacon, who presented a documentary on internet hate campaigns - The Anti-Social Network - in March, questioned if such online anger just reflected the truth about human nature.

“Does the net exaggerate our views, or are these views that people really hold? Either way, perhaps we can comfort ourselves with the idea that they are a tiny but vocal minority,” he wrote.

“Or maybe this is what we are really like. Perhaps our day-to-day social interactions are the artifice, and these forums expose a dreadful truth about human nature. Could it be that deep, deep down, we just aren’t very nice.”

*The BBC suggested in a recent blog post that the 90-9-1 participation rule is “outmoded“.

Read more on the Sydney Morning Herald

People can now be held accountable for their actions on social media.

A jilted boyfriend who put nude pictures of his former lover on Facebook has been sentenced to six months’ jail – the first social networking-related conviction in Australian history and one of just a handful in the world.

Ravshan ”Ronnie” Usmanov told police: ”I put the photos up because she hurt me and it was the only thing [I had] to hurt her.”

The six pictures, according to court documents, showed his ex-girlfriend ”nude in certain positions and clearly showing her breasts and genitalia”.

Shortly after posting the pictures on his Facebook page in October last year, Usmanov emailed his girlfriend with the message: ”Some of your photos are now on Facebook”. She had ended their relationship and moved out of their shared home less than three months earlier.

The woman, who The Sun-Herald has chosen not to identify, ran to Usmanov’s flat at Pyrmont, demanding he take down the pictures. When he refused, she called the police.

Privacy experts say Usmanov’s case has exposed the ”tip of the iceberg” of online offences that rarely go punished. Sentencing the 20-year-old, the Deputy-Chief Magistrate, Jane Mottley, said she was ”deterring both the offender and the community generally from committing similar crimes”. She said: ”New-age technology through Facebook gives instant access to the world. Facebook as a social networking site has limited boundaries. Incalculable damage can be done to a person’s reputation by the irresponsible posting of information through that medium. With its popularity and potential for real harm, there is a genuine need to ensure the use of this medium to commit offences of this type is deterred.

”The harm to the victim is not difficult to contemplate: embarrassment, humiliation and anxiety at not only the viewing of the images by persons who are known to her but also the prospect of viewing by those who are not. It can only be a matter for speculation as to who else may have seen the images, and whether those images have been stored in such a manner which, at a time the complainant least expects, they will again be available for viewing, circulation or distribution.”

The court could cite just one other relevant case in which a 20-year-old New Zealand man was sentenced to four months’ jail in Wellington in 2010 for posting nude pictures of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook.

Usmanov, a credit controller for a shipping company, pleaded guilty to publishing an indecent article but appealed the six-month sentence that was to be served as home detention. Justice Reg Blanch of the District Court confirmed the original sentence but quashed the home detention order in favour of a suspended sentence on February 15.

Court papers from the original sentencing reveal discussion over the gravity of Usmanov’s offence. His lawyer, Maggie Sten, argued his was not a ”serious offence”. Ms Mottley fired back: ”What could be more serious than publishing nude photographs of a woman on the internet, what could be more serious?” She added: ”It’s one thing to publish an article in print form with limited circulation. That may affect the objective seriousness of the offence but once it goes on the worldwide web via Facebook it effectively means it’s open to anyone who has some link in any way, however remotely.”

David Vaile, the executive director of the cyberspace law and policy centre at the University of NSW, said crimes of harassment when conducted online were not taken as seriously as physical offences.

”In a sense this is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. ”There are very few convictions under harassment and indecent publication. It’s not treated as the same way as, say, breaking into a bank website. There is more police support for criminal damage. In this case, he didn’t slash her tyres in an act of revenge. He slashed her reputation.”

Facebook Australia did not return calls.

The privacy expert Alec Christie a partner at law firm DLA Piper, said the federal government review of privacy stemming from the Australian Law Reform Commission report should include online measures.

”She should be able to take action for the invasion of her privacy but she can’t at the moment. In the online world it is not a Polaroid shared with people at the pub; it’s a Polaroid shared with a billion people or more.”

When approached by The Sun-Herald last week, Usmanov declined to comment. In mitigation, Ms Sten said: ”He was upset so he put the photos up on Facebook. He did this to hurt her. He’s sorry he did that. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. It’s just not something he would normally do.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/exlover-punished-for-facebook-revenge-20120421-1xdpy.html#ixzz1t7B0qyUz

The Olympic Athletes’ Hub aggregates the verified social media feeds of more than 1,000 current and former Olympians. It will post content directly from their Facebook and Twitter accounts and incorporate a gamification layer incentivizing fans to interact with the site. Users will be able to access exclusive training-tips videos and gain virtual and real-world prizes according to how many athletes they like and follow online.

“Another interesting thing that might come out of the hub is that Olympic Athletes will be able to connect not only with their fans but with each other before, during and after the Games are over, if they so desire,” IOC social media head Alex Huot told Mashable in an email. “If we take a step back we have a pretty cool scenario of fans connecting with athletes, athletes connecting with athletes and the IOC becomes a platform of sorts connecting everybody together.”

During the Games themselves in July and August, real-time social updates from competitors will be incorporated into the site, which will also host exclusive chat sessions with athletes. The London Games are being branded as the world’s “first social Olympics,” although some have expressed surprise at regulations restricting social media use in some cases.

Nonetheless, Huot believes the social media portal should be a powerful tool for bridging the gap between athlete and fan.

“The Olympic Games have at its heart the athletes,” he says. “The hub also has the athletes at its heart. We want the hub to be a platform which can inspire athletes and fans to share the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence through their everyday stories.”

Check out the Olympic Athletes’ Hub for yourself and let us know what you think in the comments.

Read the Article on Mashable

In the 24 hours after the earthquakes, the total number of messages posted on Twitter using the word “tsunami” peaked at 76,000 an hour, according to social media research firm SR7.

Jakarta, Indonesia, Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore were the top locations for tweets, which told of fears that large waves would flood low-lying areas.

But Twitter was both a help and a hindrance. Early posts from the quake zone conveyed initial shock and fear. User Krisharaj Mahadeviani tweeted: “Large earthquake everyone worried about potential tsunami.”

Shafakat Reshavala described how residents fearful of a repeat of the devastating 2004 Boxing Day tsunami were moving to safer areas. “In town. Bit chaotic everyone talking about 2004 we are moving to higher ground.

Fear soon turned to relief. Indonesian Twitter user Ebony Vitucci posted how she watched official confirmation on TV: “Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he remains confident there is no threat of a #tsunami after earthquake.”

James Griffith, a partner at SR7, made it clear that the social media landscape was dominated by traditional news media as users searched for credible information.

“Interestingly the most retweeted Twitter handles were @breakingnews, @bbcbreaking and @CNN, which shows how people use traditional media sources to provide information from a legitimate source,” he said.

“After the tsunami warning, social media once again proved itself in acting as an important conduit between government agencies and concerned members of the public.”

Zoe Daniel, the ABC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, said there were numerous false reports on social media prompted by concerns about a tsunami.

“It’s a very useful source of information but it has to be treated with caution,” she said.

See the original post in the Australian

The findings from risk management group Aon place brand and image factors – spanning fields like compliance, ethics, product quality, sustainability and social media – at the top of the list of risks for companies.

With a mean score of 5.69 out of seven for severity of risk, brand and image topped the chart for the fifth year in a row, followed by market environment at 5.57, regulation and corporate governance also at 5.49, and human resources at 5.46.

The study surveyed 319 executives in Australia and 32 in New Zealand to gauge the trends and shifts they perceived as posing the greatest threats.

Paul Looker, group manager of Melbourne IT, told AON: “Brand and image will always be up there, because it is the outcome of all the other risks.”

Co-founder of intelligence provider SR7, Peter Fraser, was quoted in the report as identifying social media as a key risk tool, “Intelligent organisations are embracing the medium for opportunities and mitigating the risks by using social media command centres.”

The report isolates last year’s natural crises, the carbon tax, Qantas’ fleet grounding and the European debt crisis as key influences or corporations risk perceptions.

Read the article HERE

Over the last decade risk management in Australia has evolved into a much broader function. No longer focused solely on
the transfer of risk, we have seen the emergence of more mature enterprise-wide risk frameworks.

Organisations are now more connected to the global economy and markets through their suppliers, customers, employees and their own operations. This evolution has introduced new and increased risk exposures including supply chain risk, economic and foreign currency risk and increased people risks.

Brand and image has remained the top risk concern for the past five years. Most likely this is due to the fact that other risks often have a knock on effect on brand and image, so it can be seen as an outcome risk that is compounded by increases in the other risks facing organisations.

To download the report 2011-12 Australasian Risk Survey Report

Other speakers on the day include;

• Andrew Wearne, Chief Risk Officer, Coca-Cola Amatil
• Stuart Hamilton, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Risk Strategy, Large Business and International, Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
• Margaret Gorman, Clinical Risk Manager, Department of Defence
• Kerry McGoldrick, Enterprise Risk Manager, Woolworths Limited
• Joanne MacDonald, Head of Risk Management and Compliance, Colonial First State Global Asset Management
• Robert Oldfield, Head of Group Risk and Assurance, PMP Limited
• Janine Brown, Director Audit, Evaluation and Risk Management, IP Australia
• Grant Whitehorn, Enterprise Risk Manager, Vodafone Hutchison Australia & Director, Risk Management Institution of Australasia
• Paul Muir, Executive Manager Risk Assurance and Chief Risk Officer, Suncorp
• Andrew Calvin, Senior Legal Counsel, Stockland
• Ian Bowyer, Manager Risk and Assurance, Queensland Rail
• Dean Sleigh, Group General Manager Internal Audit, Tabcorp
• Greg Saunders, Former Chief Risk Officer, Civil Aviation Safety Authority
• Jeff Floyd, Strategy and Risk Advisor, Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA)
• Tim Janes, Australasian Chapter President, Business Continuity Institute Australasian Chapter
• Anthony Lloyd, Partner, Minter Ellison
• Damian McKenzie-McHarg, Consultant, Freehills

Find out more: CLICK HERE

Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media websites, where users can share, curate and comment on photographs ranging from dream holidays to surfing and coffee. The images are ”pinned” to online boards. ”Organise and share things you love” is the website’s mantra.

Online Australian data companies have reported a ”significant growth” of users – predominantly female – attracted to the site.

Half a million users have signed up to the ”invitation only” website (there is a waiting list) since September, according to the online data company Experian Hitwise.

The website has boomed in Britain, with nearly 2 million visits a month, online media companies report.

Since social media exploded online five years ago, there has been a shift away from the written to the visual and audio, said Peter Fraser, the co-founder of the social media intelligence company SR7.

”Pinterest allows the user to cultivate their online persona via imagery,” he said. ”This is a departure from the traditional platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This shift has been recognised by Facebook, who are pushing more of an emphasis on photos in the news feeds of users.”