{"id":19645,"date":"2010-07-17T21:08:34","date_gmt":"2010-07-17T20:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=19645"},"modified":"2010-07-17T21:08:34","modified_gmt":"2010-07-17T20:08:34","slug":"the-web-is-fun-but-written-communications-gets-things-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/the-web-is-fun-but-written-communications-gets-things-done\/","title":{"rendered":"The Web Is Fun But Written Communications Gets Things Done"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ <![CDATA[\n  google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><br \/>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.markencom.com\/index.htm', 'Marken Communications']);\" ><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">Marken Communications<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking commentary. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the opinions expressed are solely those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and the opinions of the rest of the ABT staff.<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> <\/span><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"><span style=\"color: #00ccff;\"> \u2013Mark Poppin,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #00ccff;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/span><\/span> <strong> <\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Staying in Touch<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<blockquote><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19661\" title=\"Untitled-1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-1.png?resize=450%2C294\" alt=\"Untitled-1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-1.png 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-1-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/strong><em>\u201cForget about the weapons there mate, it doesn&#8217;t matter. Forget about the weapons!\u201d<\/em> <strong>\u2013 Wikus Van De Merwe, District 9 (Key Creatives \u2013 2009)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If we listen to our kids and all of the glowing reports, the world revolves around social media:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> YouTube serves up as many videos as McDonald\u2019s serves burgers\u2026but McDonald\u2019s makes a profit.<\/li>\n<li> Facebook \u2013 according to \u201cthem\u201d \u2013 hosts more videos than YouTube and they also make a profit.<\/li>\n<li> LinkedIn is where professionals meet and profitably exchange business stuff.<\/li>\n<li> More people follow your and my tweets; and no, they don\u2019t make \u201cmuch\u201d money<\/li>\n<li> With all the content out there, P2P has been replaced by links to great video<\/li>\n<li> New smartphones put everything from everywhere in your hands anytime, anywhere<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our daughter doesn\u2019t understand why we actually look forward to opening our email all the time&#8211;especially since most of the stuff in the inbox is SPAM (about 85% WW).<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s because we remember using dialup, opening our email and hoping someone on the globe wanted to talk with or exchange an idea with us.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Those were the days!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Open the inbox and there were 10-40 emails from real people who wanted to \u201ctalk.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The number is still about the same.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, now we have to wade through 100-400+ spam messages to find them.<\/p>\n<p>Actually, the percent of email SPAM WW has gone down, but it\u2019s still a lot \u2026 a lot of marketing stuff.\u00a0 A lot of \u2026 well, you know.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19662\" title=\"Untitled-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-2.png?resize=324%2C76\" alt=\"Untitled-2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-2.png 324w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Untitled-2-300x70.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Percent of E-Mails that are Spam Worldwide<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Figure 2 \u2013 A Lot But \u2013 <\/strong>Sure, you still get a lot of SPAM when you open your inbox; but believe it or not, the volume has decreased.\u00a0\u00a0 Better use of filters keeps most of it at bay.\u00a0 Even with the email SPAM, the social sites are more dangerous to navigate because that\u2019s where cybercriminals are focusing so much of their attention.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 MessageLabs <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>sMail Slide<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post office would like to have a lot of that stuff back because their numbers are heading south \u2026 fast.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19663\" title=\"Figure-3\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-3.png?resize=450%2C338\" alt=\"Figure-3\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-3.png 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-3-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 3 \u2013 Digital Mail \u2013 <\/strong>With the Internet, people don\u2019t have to worry about rain, sleet, dark of night or even heroic acts.\u00a0\u00a0 The message is sent and received almost immediately.\u00a0 How long it takes to get a response is something else all together.\u00a0\u00a0 But the speed and convenience of email has had a significant impact on the volume of correspondence mail services handle around the globe.\u00a0 <strong>Source &#8212; USPS<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There was something elegant about a letter.<\/p>\n<p>Something cool about mail service boxes<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19664\" title=\"Figure-4\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-4.png?resize=222%2C238\" alt=\"Figure-4\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 4 \u2013 Fading Symbol \u2013 <\/strong>The old reliable corner mailbox is disappearing from almost every corner in countries around the globe.\u00a0 In the U.S., mailboxes like this one have gone from a high of 395,000 to about 175,000 in a little over 20 years.\u00a0 Postal services are raising prices and reducing the number of deliveries during the week, but if it weren\u2019t for holiday fliers, gift catalogs and other direct mail even your home mailbox would be empty most of the time.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 USPS <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>But email is just plain faster than sMail.\u00a0 And today, business does business at the speed of the iNet \u2026 it has to!<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to what is happening to the postal service, we agree with Fundiswa Mhlanga, <em>\u201cHe was an honest man, and he didn&#8217;t deserve any of what happened to him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But in today\u2019s world you need the answer <strong><em>BAM!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To avoid most of the SPAM, you simply tune your email filters. \u00a0You don\u2019t have to be a rocket surgeon to wipe out the garbage.<\/p>\n<p>Only someone really trusting or uninformed:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> doesn\u2019t have a complete security package installed (for all the good it does)<\/li>\n<li> doesn\u2019t make certain he\/she has all of the OS\/security updates installed (yes, Mac too!!!)<\/li>\n<li> believes the too-good-to-believe offer (or \u201csuffers from an IO &#8212; idiot operator \u2013 error\u201d)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Web 2.0\/3.0 organizations and analysts are positive people spend all their time on the social media sites being entertained, learning more about people\/things.<\/p>\n<p>They overlook the fact that people today:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li> spend 10-12 hours plus a day working \u201324&#215;7 is a way of life<\/li>\n<li> nearly 50% of companies don\u2019t allow (and even block) access to social net locations<\/li>\n<li> people spill their guts, tell everything about themselves on these social sites \u2013 who, what, where, when, why,\u00a0 how \u2013 and we\u2019re very uninterested in them<\/li>\n<li> cybercriminals love social media because they can\/do grab and put all that information to use for\u2026themselves<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19665\" title=\"Figure-5\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-5.png?resize=450%2C339\" alt=\"Figure-5\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-5.png 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-5-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><strong>Figure 5 \u2013 Identity Fraud \u2013 <\/strong>While reported identity fraud has seemingly decreased over the past few years, the cybercriminals have become better and more creative in their efforts.\u00a0 With their new tools and techniques, they are able to more efficiently and more effectively focus on bigger phish \u2013 financial institutions.\u00a0 <strong>Source &#8212; Symantec<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So we don\u2019t agree with Wikus Van De Merwe when he said, <em>\u201cYou don&#8217;t need that, man. Only sissies wear that. You don&#8217;t need that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Even though the head of the FBI says he won\u2019t bank online, but it doesn\u2019t bother most folks.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re there increasingly (according to \u201cthem\u201d) \u2026 playing games, looking up product info, reading the news, watching videos\/TV, searching for dumb\/dumber videos\/jokes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Nasties<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>All of these things are great ways to spread your information around for the freelance and mob-hired cybercriminals.<\/p>\n<p>The Web and social media have fostered a business that doesn\u2019t need VC money \u2026 H*commerce.<\/p>\n<p>While eCommerce enables people around the globe to buy\/sell what they need\/want, H*Commerce is a little more off the grid.\u00a0 It\u2019s usually just a one-way transaction.<\/p>\n<p>When it occurs, one of the MNU Agents steps up and says, <em>\u201cMNU! We&#8217;re serving eviction notices.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Whether for business or personal communications \u2013 despite the garbage, dangers &#8212; the iNet is still the best communications tool we have.<\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong>Online Activities of US Internet Users<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19666\" title=\"Figure-6\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-6.png?resize=400%2C375\" alt=\"Figure-6\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-6.png 400w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-6-300x281.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 6 \u2013 One-on-One \u2013 <\/strong>While Web 2.0 sites and social media have given us new places to visit for news, information and entertainment, most people go online to exchange information and ideas with someone.\u00a0 The one-to-one, one-to-a-few communications is the reason for the Internet\u2019s existence and its success.\u00a0\u00a0 Everything else is frosting on the cake.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 USC Annenberg  School Center for the Digital Future<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Even with all the other stuff available to them, when our kids want to really find out about something, do something, exchange ideas\/information, conduct business \u2026 they email.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19667\" title=\"Figure-7\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-7.png?resize=450%2C306\" alt=\"Figure-7\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-7.png 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-7-300x204.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Figure 7 \u2013 Staying in Touch \u2013 <\/strong>Today\u2019s teens and \u2018tweens have grown up with the Internet\/Web at their fingertips.\u00a0 They may be IMing with someone with their system or smartphone and doing any number of other activities; but no matter what, they also constantly monitor their email \u2026 just in case.\u00a0\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Pew  Research Center<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s even more convenient \u2013 and addictive \u2013 now that they have their smartphones with them \u2026 everywhere!<\/p>\n<p>These smaller screens are where the action is!<\/p>\n<p>Every techie worth his\/her salt is doing it all with the smartphone.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the bandwidth sucking apps that carriers see improving their bottom lines.<\/p>\n<p>Folks take\/send\/view a photo\/video, send\/receive a text message, get directions, play games, you name it.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s still a lot of growth potential too because only about eight percent of the devices in use are smartphones.<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the 90 + percent of the units are POPs (plain old phones).\u00a0 The H*commerce folks can\u2019t wait for that number to get huge.<\/p>\n<p>Sweeping the circuits and phone hacking is so much easier than tapping into your computer.<\/p>\n<p>Symbian, Android, Win Mobile, iPhone\u2019s OS and the others just don\u2019t have a lot of protection for you and your information \u2026 yet.<\/p>\n<p>H*commerce folks can bust in virtually anywhere, entice you and get all they need to know.<\/p>\n<p>Like Wikus Van De Merwe said, <em>\u201c<\/em><em>This is, this is very illegal, I mean, this is&#8230; this is a find.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>And SPAM?<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a nuisance and a pain in your computer\u2019s inbox, but you\u2019re really gonna\u2019 hate it on your smartphone screen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>OnPhone SPAM<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You may have \u201cunlimited\u201d minutes, but when ad\/PR tweets and Nigerian\/blue pill offers fill your little screen, you are really going to be ticked.<\/p>\n<p>The always available services are neat but dangerous.<\/p>\n<p>As for the fantastic offers that come across the screen, it\u2019s a lot like officer James Hope said \u201c<em>I mean, you can&#8217;t say they don&#8217;t look like that, that&#8217;s what they look like, right? They look like prawns.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\">\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-8.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-19668\" title=\"Figure-8\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-8.png?resize=450%2C253\" alt=\"Figure-8\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-8.png 450w, https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/Figure-8-300x168.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/em><strong>Figure 8 \u2013 They Walk Among Us \u2013 <\/strong>Unfortunately, cybercriminals don\u2019t look like aliens; they look just like you and the people next to you.\u00a0 They just want something more out of life \u2026 your information.\u00a0 <strong>Source \u2013 Key Creatives<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"># # #<\/p>\n<div><strong>By  G.A. &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken<\/strong><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>President<\/strong><strong> Marken Communications, Inc. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong> <a href=\"mailto:Andy@markencom.com\">Andy@markencom.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>________________<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is by G. A . &#8220;Andy&#8221; Marken, President of Marken Communications Inc. He has kindly given us permission to republish his thought-provoking commentary. As with everything that we publish at AlienBabelTech, the&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,6],"tags":[3945,381,3943,3946,3944],"class_list":["post-19645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-news","tag-cyber-criminal","tag-smartphone","tag-social-media","tag-spam","tag-web-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}