Free2Thee.com

Posts Tagged ‘time’

If you are dissatisfied with your current Antivirus Solution, and are thinking about switching, now is the time! Vendors are more willing than ever to earn your business. Price concessions, upgraded suites, automated replacement programs – everything is on the table. This paper will talk about some of the core benefits to trading out your antivirus solution, what to ask the vendor for, and how to determine if it is the right thing for you to do. Request Free!

View post:
HOW TO: Switch Antivirus Solutions and SAVE Money

Written by Elaine Hirsch Etymologically speaking, the word “dating” (as it pertains to the romantic pursuit of an intimate liaison between two people) probably entered the American vernacular during the Roaring Twenties. The subject of dating’s antecedents and the connection between classic dating and contemporary practices could easily occupy a dissertation for a PhD online . Before then, romance between couples was hardly an exercise in intimacy. Courtship was a matter of familial and communal interest back then. It wasn’t until around the Civil War that courtship developed into a very private matter for American couples. Coquetry and chivalry prevailed, and the romantic pursuit was to be conducted under gentlemanly and ladylike terms. For better or worse, the era of the gentleman caller ended in the early decades of the 20th century and gave way to the dating phenomenon. The first half of the 20th century marked the beginning of “going out,” meaning that couples were no longer forced to ply romance in their homes where everyone could monitor their amorous activities. While gender roles were still clearly defined trough the Great Depression and the two World Wars, dating was becoming less a comedy of manners and more an exercise in intimacy and communication. It also no longer had a strict matrimonial connotation, though there was still an expectation of “going steady” until after World War II, particularly among young women. By this time American society had come to accept certain customs and courtesies which eventually became dating institutions. The postwar period of American prosperity and the sexual revolution managed to shake up the establishment when it came to romance. Dating was no longer just a conduit to marriage, but a matter of personal freedom. Societal pressures were scorned by people who wished to take more liberties in choosing their mates. As more women entered the workforce and divorce rates increased, gender roles were no longer so strictly defined. The arrival of oral contraceptives forever changed the dating landscape, and the gay rights movement brought a different perspective. Mating was probably a lot easier before the 20th century due to the unbridled influence exerted upon romance by those old societal institutions of class, organized religion, and civil law. But once lovers shook off those undue pressures, technology and commerce promptly moved in to create today’s fascinating dating industry . In the internet-connected world of the 21st century, the courtship rituals of yore have been largely replaced by online dating, social networking, and “hooking up.” Lovers have always relied upon the latest advances in communications technology to facilitate their budding relationships. The perfumed, handwritten letter delivered by personal courier was replaced by the more efficient postal service. Post office boxes afforded privacy, efficiency, and later anonymity (something later treasured by newspaper readers who ventured into the world of personal ads). As soon as other communication technologies arrived, they were quickly adopted by daters: telegrams, radio, telephone calls, fax machines, computer bulletin boards, the Internet, text messaging, and so on. Today it’s generally accepted that technological advances in broadcasting or personal communications will be quickly adopted for romantic purposes. The history of personal ads brings into focus the fact that daters yearned to free themselves from being arbitrarily paired off by society long before the 20th century, and to this extent they looked to mass communication media to help them look for romance. As seen from personal ads published in New York newspapers during the Civil War, the signs of a restless and mobile American society looking for love were already evident in the mid-19th century. The gentleman seeking marriage in the following remarkable ad exemplifies this trend: Matrimonial. – A young unmarried cavalry officer, who intends to serve his country till “this cruel war is over,” desires, should he be slain during the war, to leave an heir to his name and inheritance. He therefore wishes to open correspondence with a view to matrimony with a patriotic young lady of intelligence, accomplishments, common sense, &c. Address K, Nineteenth New York cavalry, Manassas Junction, Va. This soldier took time off from his war duties to place an ad in his hometown newspaper. One can almost see the reaction of New York society at the time: “How honorable of this dashing Union officer to want to leave a legacy, but he will most likely be killed in combat or die from dysentery, thereby making you a widow. Read the next ad, Mildred.” Personal ads paved the way for more specialized publications dedicated to the Gordian world of dating. By the late 1970s, newspapers such as the Single News Register turned dating into a virtual marketplace for romance. Even with the advent of the Internet, personal ads still had a strong global presence in the 1990s, as they combined communication technologies such as 900 numbers, voice mailboxes, conference calling, and even VHS tapes. The cringe-worthy “text speak” preferred by teenage users of short messaging services (SMS) today had nothing on the cryptic personal ads of yesteryear (try interpreting “SWF 28 ISO S/D W or B M 30-42 for NSA/LTR”). Personal ads, once scoffed at by traditional daters as the last recourse of the desperate, were easily adopted by the mainstream upon the arrival of computer matchmaking technology. In 1964, at the height of the sexual revolution, a giant IBM computer was used to match potential mates according to their responses to a questionnaire that cataloged their personalities. Based in New York City, Project TACT (Technical Automated Compatibility Testing) became the first computerized dating service. Marriage as an institution had fallen out of favor in the ’80s, and with so many singles to choose from, dating became a highly casual affair. Enter the world of computer bulletin board systems, precursors of internet-enabled communications. Early adopters of BBS technologies were mostly tech junkies, but it wasn’t long before digital romance was transmitted via modem. By the mid-’80s, the always-romantic French had already transformed their own Minitel system into a dating haven with their messageries roses (“pink messages”) chat lines. When the major commercial computer information services such as CompuServe and America Online arrived, online dating became a staple of American life. In the 21st century, the worldwide Web facilitates algorithmic and psychological matchmaking with sites such as Match and eHarmony. The online dating industry has become highly profitable , even for free services. Specialized dating sites continue to spring up as well, filling out the corners of a very wide niche market. The current evolutionary stage of dating owes a lot to technology, specially to the online social media platforms and the popularity of smartphones. The premise of finding and evaluating potential mates through social networking was realized by Friendster in the early 2000s. Early sociological research on Facebook found that online dating was the main reason many users flocked to the site. Facilitated and perhaps encouraged by these technological developments, the prevalence of “hooking up” (meeting for sexual dalliances with a diminished sense of intimacy or commitment) has gone beyond the realm of high school and college students. Working adults are now engaging in hookups instead of dating, and are meeting and vetting their mates on web-based social networks rather than in person. There seems to be a predilection toward finding playmates rather than partners, and modern communication technology empowers this trend. To this extent, the smartphone application Grindr may signal the future of dating. Grindr is an app developed for gay men to find each other through geosocial proximity. With the clever use of wireless connectivity, GPS technology, and social networking elements such as messaging and personal profiles, the app enables instant connections in real time. Grindr has been compared to a pick-up bar without the grimy stools and expensive drinks, and smartphone apps for heterosexual daters are already in development. It seems likely that for the next generation, digital connection will be the fully normal way to meet potential mates, short-term or otherwise. Whether calling it “dating” will make much sense anymore is quite a reasonable question.

Electronic signatures are gaining momentum among businesses of all shapes and sizes due to accelerating consumer technology and the need to reduce both transaction costs and the time to close business. The technology has found traction particularly among banking, insurance, and home and auto lenders as these companies double down their efforts to reach customers via the Web. The reason is simple: Customers, who are more comfortable with the Web and mobile apps, are now driving e-signature adoption; it’s no longer just enterprises looking to reduce paper costs. Looking ahead, consistent attitudes and best practices within industries are required to kick the bottom out of the dam and push e-signatures toward becoming an accepted practice within an industry sector. Request Free!

Read the rest here:
Customer Experience Drives E-Signature Adoption

Adam Grosser discusses his time as general partner at Foundation Capital, a Silicon Valley venture firm. Series: “Distinguished Innovator Lectures” [Business] [Show ID: 20001] [ Audio Podcast ] [ Video Podcast ]

See the original post:
Adam Grosser General Partner Foundation Capital

Laurel Reckert, a recent graduate of the online Masters of Music in Music Education program at Boston University, discusses her time in and experiences with the program.

Read the original here:
BU Online Degree Student Profile: Laurel Reckert

Written by Natalie Hunter The adoption of social networking sites has been nothing less than spectacular. While once Google and other search engines reigned as kings, sites such as Facebook and Twitter attract more attention and more hours each day from nearly a billion users. Visits to Facebook and Twitter are at an all-time high. It has been reported that over 1 billion people are using social media sites, with Facebook in the lead. Most people that frequent social media sites have more than one on which they post. As of today, Facebook alone has about 750 million active users. This puts the nation of Facebook, if there were such a thing, as the third largest country in the world. Social Media’s Impact on Young People There are some harmless results of social media that take the kind of shorthand used in SMS’s, to the messages used on the web, to e-mails. Initialisms such as BRB (be right back), LOL (laughing out loud) are becoming spoken acronyms and creeping into other written forms of communication. This is changing the shape of the English language and, according to some, creating its own new dialect. This isn’t just affecting a small number of young people, either. According to the Wall Street Journal , 38 percent of 9-12 year olds are using social networking sites. In addition, an amazing 77 percent of 13-16 years olds are frequenting these types of sites. How does this impact their social interaction? In many ways, their privacy is lowered. Sharing secrets on the playground or in the lunchroom can be subject to gossip on a small scale. Sharing personal information on line that may be sensitive or embarrassing leaves these children exposed to all of cyberspace. Sometimes, this has devastating consequences. Cyber-bullying has resulted in suicides in more than one case. Regular bullies may bother a child at school, but cyber bullies are able bother them wherever they go in much more insidious ways. As well, many young people become highly reclusive, preferring to interact with people in video games and go to online schools as opposed to going outside and actually speak with other people. Society is still coming to grips with these unanticipated impacts on social interaction. Social Networking Enables Social Interaction People who are less mobile, such as the elderly, can find great comfort in meeting others online. People with disabilities, who are shy, or have limits on their ability to travel all have their social lives enhanced through social networking . Those that live in remote areas or areas far from others with shared interests may also find new friends and enjoy enhanced lives through interacting long distances on line. Where once, a local stamp collecting group may meet monthly with a dozen or so members, these same people can meet with millions around the world on a daily basis to share exponential amounts of knowledge. Loving relationships can even blossom online, as evidenced by the boom of online matchmaking sites. These types of interactions are considered to have a significant positive impact on society. Yet there can be risks to making friends with people whose faces you have never seen. One such risk is that your friends may not be who they say they are at all, and may even be trying to scam you. When you meet friends at a party or public place, there is often a social group that will recognize you and create a record if you meet and leave together. Online interactions have no such “audit trail” and relationships can go on for months or even years without having a clue about each other’s true identities, and without anyone else actually knowing. After establishing trust, online stalkers and predators will set up meetings with unsuspecting victims and the results are sometimes front page stories. There are some excellent tips for safely meeting a cyber-friend in person here . Social Media’s Impact on Political Involvement Those of us that may have strong political ideas have traditionally kept to ourselves or voiced them within a small social group. Our voices would not be heard on any large scale and the result of our thoughts, no matter how earth-shattering, were insignificant. The only people that could get a voice about political issues, were professional politicians with financial backers and qualities that people found appealing. This is no longer the case. The average person is able to gain a voice and join with others to make their political and social statements heard. Instead of idle chatter with a few friends over coffee, those with social change in mind are meeting in virtual town squares by the thousands and even millions to demand change and solidify their power. This was never possible until social networking arrived. Twitter and Facebook have been so powerful in creating change in Iran and Egypt; countries like China have banned these social sites completely. With the advent of social media, otherwise disconnected people are able to connect and organize at levels frightening to many governments. A Force for Good On Feb. 12, 2009, 202 cities around the world took part in Twestivals. This was an online event to raise money for “charity: water.” Charity: water helps to provide drinking water for people around the world in need. They dig wells or find the best solution for the situation. They’ve helped millions so far. The Twestival event raised more than $250,000 for the cause. There was also a “Tweetsgiving,” a project by Epic Change that managed to raise $10,000 in 48 hours for a school in Tanzania. Beyond that, there was a 12-hour “Tweetathon” that raised money and awareness for “Water is Life.” The “Well Wishes” campaign enacted by Laura Fitton utilized Twitter to raise over $20,000 for charity: water by asking just $2 from each of over 12,000 people. The low amount was possible because of the great number of people on her list of followers. Since social media has the ability to contact so many people, events like fund raising and helping others have become much easier to organize and promote. Some of the events become viral and don’t require the usual meetings, flyers and bulk mailings that were needed before. In this way, those that act for social good have had their social interactions revolutionized by social media. Accepting the Good with the Bad Social networking is here to stay. Twitter, Facebook and other leading social networking sites are growing at 2-4 percent each month and more. New applications are springing up all the time that continue to revolutionize social interaction. The impact of the prevalence social media in our lives can be a mixed bag. Sometimes there are suicides, and sometimes entire countries are liberated. As when humans first came to handle fire, we have to accept the dangers with the benefits, and take the time to understand how best to handle these innovations. Related posts: How the Academic World Is Using Social Media Is Social Media the Next Tech Bubble? Perry Hewitt on Harvard’s Social Media

Continue reading here:
The Ramifications of Social Media On Actual Social Interaction