Little by little I noticed that the once so-popular and hyped Facebook platform has turned in to a perfect spam box, spam with friendly greetings of… your friends.

Day after day my mailbox is flooded with spam messages, clickthrough messages, every time requiring me to visit the FB website. Sometimes just to read a message or discover that someone has added a picture. Basically the same thing I would have discovered anyway, when trying to follow my friend. That is whenever I log in. Daily actually.

And when I log in… then I am greeted by another spam box, the requests.
A little more than 24 hours of facebox absence generated this nice list, as seen in the screenshot at the right. This list obliging me to go on and on with my rant, because the screenshot is more than 700 pixel high. 700+ Pixels of useless spam, cyberwaste waiting to be added to the list of 32 applications I already have installed. And don’t use except for 4 or 5.

A never-ending list of applications, because most of time someone has been flirting cybervirtually flirting, more than just poke, and I HAVE TO add the application to see what they gossiped about me or check if they gave me a slippery banana or a wet nipple growing in my garden to produce endless bread for the rest of my life as a pirate bitten by zombies who lost the battle against the ninjas.

Not to forget the many notifications landing in my so conventional mailbox, because XXX wants me to add a slideshow to my facebox profile… just because she is too damn lazy to click the link to my flickr account in my facebook profile. sigh

Luckily facebox can be rather satisfying, ego-galaxy-stroking even, too… because right now I am… see the second screenshot.
If only they would have spammed me to let me know that!

I haven’t been here for quite some time, mainly because I’m still negotiating my network blogger deal, but today something horrible happened, and we should all forget the blogosphere for a second, a minute.

Angelo, who contributed often here at JOAB was struck by a family tragedy.
I still can’t find any words for what happened, but why don’t you just go over to his blog and join us in our prayers for Angelo and his family at this time.

Many thanks.

franky.

I used to think DMOZ is the holy grail of web directories. Turns out I’m wrong. Being controlled by human beings, DMOZ is also prone to—and is in all likelihood riddled with—corruption, just like the rest of the intarwebs. Jeremy Shoemaker writes about his experience with a DMOZ editor attempting to extort five grand out of him or else shoemoney.com would be removed from the listings.

A while back I got a email from a guy claiming to be a DMOZ editor saying that I had to pay him $5,000.00 or he would have my site: shoemoney.com removed from the dmoz.

I thought nothing of it…. then today I got a email from him saying it was removed and I might want to rethink not paying him. I thought I would check just for grins.

It was removed… WOW
...
Google seriously its time for you to aquire a business directory that has paid inclusion. There is so much porn and spam in the dmoz its a huge black eye for you. Business.com just got scooped up but there is another one that might be able to get got for a nice price cough best of the web cough

DUMP DMOZ

What was that again about Google saying paid links were bad?

Steve Rubel, power marketer raises a good point in yesterday’s entry, Building an Online Identity Through Lifestreams.

Where I will publish in a year’s time is anyone’s guess. However, what you can bank on is that I will have even more community accounts than I do now.

Right now, just as most other bloggers, the number of online profiles I have reminds me of the early days of domaining. You never have enough of them and any semi interesting, or worse even hyped, platform soon has you as member too.

But what’s the point of all those profiles? Agreed, there’there’s Facebook, where one can add almost everything. Or just stick to a Facebook profile and MySpace-ify the formerly geek cyber space of students.
But does exclusive Facebook networking alone satisfy the blogger or does one have to jump the bandwagon and spend valuable time on every possible network? And how much time does all this cost?

But most of all, where will you blog next year? Will any of those profiles, or services such as tumblr, replace your blog?

Web Worker Daily today published a myth busting entry on home based web workers. Except… there’s nothing myth busting in the entry. Because all the myths are true.

Lets have a closer look at the myths and their reality.

1. You’re “working” at home…nudge nudge, wink wink.
Wink, wink… just don’t tell anyone, OK, but you’re right. All I do all day long is play Desktop Tower Defence and chat with my colleagues who also work from home. To be honest, I never get anything done. When I twitter that I have to run and do some shopping, actually it means that I’m heading to the nearest Starbucks to finally have some peace from my comfortable environment at home and get things done, because at home….
Aaarrrggh! Busted again at level 84!

2. You’re wearing pajamas, or are perhaps naked from the waist down.
Of course I am naked from the waist down. And also from the waist up. And you want to know why?
Working from home I don’t have to bother about shaving, showering or wearing a nice perfume. Actually everything here is perfumed: perfumed of days without showering, a full and overloaded ash tree, not washed plates all over the office and then, then there’s the need to be naked from the waist down. Because sometimes, sometimes I just itch. And isn’t the internet about accessibility? Nothing as accessible as being naked from the waist down. To scratch of course!

3. Home-based work is great because you get to spend more time with your family.
Yes! And I’m glad I took the decision to work from home and spend more time with my PMSing partner, my kids always running the office down and telling me how they just set a new family high score for Desktop Tower Defence. Finally I can share my wife’s hours of phone fun… with the neighbor’s wife! A dream come true, quality time with the family!

4. You must get so lonely.
I truly am. Really. If it weren’t for the quality time with my family and all my pets I would be close to a mental break down. I miss my always bitching, never satisfied and perpetually complaining assistant. I miss mthe constant shouting of my exes because I didn’t reach the target I set myself and defined best all-time performance. I miss having to fire people if they don’t hit an average 8% growth based target. I miss all those people around me. It drives me nuts not to be bitched at anymore!

5. You must be involved in some kind of bleeding edge technology work to be able to work from home.
YES! I am, I am mapping a technological revolution. A revolution for workers world wide!
I am creating a system that will allow anyone to work from home, totally naked only surrounded by an office squatting family, an über-performing youth and always gossiping wife, suffering the lonely environments and mental challenges a stupid but addictive flash game poses you and hankering to leave the home office for just half an hour to finally get things done and leave your super high tech environment!

Disclaimer: I have a full time job ‘out of the home’ and run a second shift home-based. And trust me if I tell you that the home-based job is much harder. Harder because of all the ‘networking noise’, required discipline not to ‘physically degrade’ or procastinate and to have a working discipline. Resumed: harder because all those myths are totally untrue. But the freedom is enjoyable. That enjoyable I’m considering going full time, home-based!

When Nick Denton leaves Valleywag tomorrow, to focus on his forthcoming book I will miss one thing. Not that much Denton as Valleywag editor, but the hunt for Narcissus or all the pokery at Robert Scoble, the most overrated blogger around.

I just almost felt out of my comfy desk chair when Scoble’s most recent entry popped up in my Google reader.

Today at the party we’ll have a bunch of non cult members over (ie, those who think it’s idiotic to wait in line for two days to buy a device).

Did I miss a memo or did Scoble become an Apple fan boy over night, because he has just spent 34 hours outside under the burning Palo Alto sun, together with a bunch of other idiots he knows since years, waiting in line to be one of the first ones to have an iPhone. Actually Scoble even didn’t have the money to buy an iPhone for himself, but this narcissistic phenomena bought one for his wife and his son, Patrick, had more savings than his dad and also got himself an iPhone.

When did Narcissus become a Microsoft hater? Or is he just riding the waves of popularity.
IMNSHO, it is moronic to cue 36 hours outside, for an electronic gadget, especially if only some hours later you can just walk into the store and get one. Without having to stand in the line.

I wonder what Nick Denton Fake Steve Jobs thinks about Scoble declaring himself iCult. Without even owning an iPhone.

Yesterday’s cat fight between Nick Denton and Robert Scoble seems to have deeper foundations. Although The Scobleizer denied that he’s looking for a new job, this seems to become the biggest public secret.
Why would anyone otherwise suddenly remind the whole blogosphere plus his wife of all the social networks he is present at? With a bonus mention to LinkedIn as well

No, I still don’t do LinkedIn or Plaxo and I rarely use Skype anymore. I’m going to Plaxo on Tuesday to look at a new version coming out. But LinkedIn is close to getting me back.

LinkedIn only because he really tries to ignore all those platforms???

Damn, it seems like everyone in the world wants me to join it. I try to ignore these things, I really do.

I guess the Zooomr flirt with Sun didn’t work out for Scoble and the team around Zoho are an experienced bunch and already have an evangelist.
Certainly no blogger who forgets his work in favor to read feeds. If only I could find that entry I read yesterday, where Scoble mentions he is addicted to feeds. 31000/month isn’t it, Robert?

It must be sad if you’ve already blogged for half the technical blogosphere, gotten presents from Intel (I still wonder what happened to disclosure and the Intel notebooks!) and your content really isn’t that compelling.
I wished I just knew as many people.

Nevertheless Robert, I’m sure you’ll find something appropriate for your needs and if not… there’s always PPP.

Sincerest,

Franky.

I wake up every morning, or occassionally afternoon and try to find inspiration to blog about Web 2.0 and the blogopshere. I’ve been pining away trying to digg up something interesting. Instead I find myself being inspired to plan web apps,themes, and community growth objectives. But what the heck is the future of web 2.0? Does anyone care? I find more and more people getting less interested in the internet in the real world. It’s great for video, music, and social networking but people dont care about all the nonsense that us tech geeks drool over.

My parents don’t get web 2.0. Neithr do I. I’m lost in confusion at the lack of innovation in web 2.0. Does anyone have a passion for it anymore? I know I lost mine. I could care less about Trumpr,grumpr, or laughtr. All I want is the web to be functional and highly community oriented. If it doesnt work I want nothing to do with it.

In the meantime I, the original cowboy has returned to find inspiration again. Even in the form of reaking havoc on the techosphere.

I’m not much of a fan of social networking (it shows, doesn’t it?), but since it’s a very useful tool these days, it has come to be a necessity for the connected individual. And I’m not talking about personal networks only, but also social networks that focus on professionals and more serious stuff.

However, I’m not denying that social networks that cater to personal matters are big. And for these, it’s mostly the younger demographic that perhaps comprises bulk of the membership. Considering that we old people are busier with real world matters like work, moneymaking and making our spouses happy, it’s our kids and their friends who love to play around with MySpace, Friendster, and other social networks out there.

If you have kids, better make sure they’re safe. Here are some useful tips for social network safety that joemanna.com shares. In a nutshell, it lists what you have to do to avoid being victimized by online predators and scammers. It’s important to keep one’s privacy while online, and this would usually entail being very selective with online “friends,” and being mindful of the information that you might disclose online.

And then there are those people who are probably mature enough, but who aren’t really familiar with the workings of the Internet (especially the dangers). These are the same people who reply to 419 scams, give their passwords to phishers and order fake viagra online. They might also have MySpace profiles, and therefore need this advice, too.

Be careful — Social Networking is a double-edged sword. It’s okay to have fun and connect with other people on social networks, but just be alert to the fact that criminals may prey on others. Take precautions to prevent possible negative outcomes.