Year: 2011

Day in brief – 2011-08-25

Who to follow on Google+?

A lot of people joining Google+ don’t know who to follow.  Most of their friends and colleagues aren’t on Google+ yet.  And having an empty circles kind of defeats the whole purpose of the social network.  Gladly, there are many blog posts and directories on the Web already, that provide lists upon lists of who to follow, based on interests, popularity, geographical location, and other criteria.  The most recent of such listings that I came across is the Unofficial Google+’s Recommended Users.  This one has a variety of categories that cover everything from technology and blogging to food and music.  Take a look, browse through the categories, and populate your circles.  The more people you follow, the more interesting tidbits are coming your way.

P.S.: And if you are still not on the Google+ and need an invite, let me know your Gmail address, and I’ll send you one.  I have plenty left.

RFC 2142 : Mailbox names for common services, roles and functions

I’ve always relied on my mail servers having a complete and correct /etc/aliases file with all the necessary aliases.  I never even thought about who puts them there and why.  It was just one of those many things that just work.  Today I discovered that there is actually an RFC 2142, which describes standard mailbox names for common services, roles, and functions.  Here is the abstract:

This specification enumerates and describes Internet mail addresses (mailbox name @ host reference) to be used when contacting personnel at an organization. Mailbox names are provided for both operations and business functions. Additional mailbox names and aliases are not prohibited, but organizations which support email exchanges with the Internet are encouraged to support AT LEAST each mailbox name for which the associated function exists within the organization.

US Navy embracing social networks

While reading this article, I was really amazed by how much US Navy embraced social networks.

Over 90 documents relating to Navy social media use were made available online that give a window onto recommended military security practices for popular services and how naval culture squares with the anarchic world of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. More importantly, it also reveals how the Navy keeps tabs on sailors via social media.
In one case, the Navy shared a poster of sexual assault prevention tips on their official Facebook page at the request of the Defense Department’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office. The poster was a repurposed graphic that the Navy copied from Slutwalk Austin’s Facebook page.
The idea was to intentionally spur a debate among Navy personnel on sexual assault and to bring discussion of the topic into a semi-public forum. According to the Navy’s own report, “many thought [the poster] was funny, ‘dumb,’ or a joke, others were outraged, a few recognized the tone and intent” and Navy social media personnel managed the resulting comments thread. They moderated the discussion, noted how sailors treat discussion of sexual assault online and attempted to keep a respectful tone. In one case, the thread even uncovered what appeared to have been the sexual assault of a former sailor.

I wish more companies and organizations did the same.

Civil servants salaries in Cyprus

Cyprus Mail reports:

Around 65 per cent of civil servants (some 35,000) are paid wages that are substantially higher than the national average.

And if that wasn’t enough,

The discrepancy between the wages of civil servants and the general population may be substantial, yet even this is slightly misleading. Civil servants’ salaries weigh heavily in calculating the average national salary. It follows that the figure for the average national salary, as given by the Statistical Service, is “bumped up” by the high wages received by civil servants, thereby concealing the true extent of the difference between public and private sectors.

The numbers breakdown follows:

Civil servants wages (May 2011)
Salary Number of recipients
€0 – €1500 10,871
€1501 – €2500 16,465
€2501 – €3500 14,449
€3501 – €4500 6,866
€4501 and above 5,360

Read the rest of the article for more details.