Found this in an IT blog comment about Network Password Policies.

During a company’s recent password audit, it was found that a blonde employee was using the following password:

“MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento“

When asked why she had such a long password, she said she was told that it had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.

Posted via web from Ed’s Posterous

A response to: Debunking Rumors about Advertising and Photos

The “Truth” about profile pictures appearing in Facebook Ads (according to Facebook). Facebook reacts to the recent outcry regarding the misinformation about their policy on using personal/profile information for Ads.

From the Facebook Blog:  “In the past couple of days, a rumor has begun spreading that claims we have changed our policies for third-party advertisers and the use of your photos. These rumors are false, and we have made no such change in our advertising policies…”

The Rant Begins:

The Source of the personal violatons was from 3rd party applications and Advertisers, not Facebook.

So many people are willing to click on any link that is put in front of them without considering the source or the consequences. Facebook applications (having nothing to do directly with facebook itself) are no different. These applications are created and developed by 3rd parties with their own agenda. Some are legit, but there are also some that walk the line (and sometimes cross it) when it comes to using or protecting your personal information. Every time you add, enable or allow an application to access your profile, you sell a small piece of yourself. There is a reason you see a extra “do you want to allow this application” message when you add applications like the oh-so popular “share a drink with you friends”.

If you are concerned with your personal online safety and privacy, take responsibility for protecting your own data first. Know what your getting into or agreeing to before you click the “allow” button. Read and understand the terms of service and privacy statements for the applications you allow on your facebook account – or any online account for that matter.

That’s my rant and I’m sticking to it.

Have your own thoughts about this? Leave a comment.

• Installing and testing different Wikis (by the way, I really like Deki Wiki so far)
• Signing up for and poking about on different Social Media sites and web apps.
• Trying out different OSS alternatives to Microsoft and Windows based software
• Experimenting with Social Media in business
• Even writing my own .Net twitter client for windows called TwitterPatter

Honestly, there is no good reason why I couldn’t just take some time to share what I discovered or learned over the past few weeks. I sort of feel like a kid being called home at the end of a long summer day and thinking “Aw, just a little longer…??”.

The event was hosted by Bryan Person and featured presentations by:

Scott Monty @scottmonty
Laura Fitton @pistachio
Doug Haslam @dough
Jim Storer @jstorer

You can view their presentations at:
http://topazpartners.blogspot.com/2008/02/social-media-breakfast-presentaions-how.html

Each speaker was allowed 5 minutes to present his/her story and experience, describing how twitter has changed their life and each presented some really great thoughts. It was very interesting to see how they each made twitter work for them.

In keeping with that theme, I figured I could write a quick post to share my experience with twitter, and how it has changed my life with more of a personal twist. Let me begin by sharing a little something about myself that you are probably not aware of. Simply put, I struggle with social anxiety. I do not do well in crowds or groups where I am unfamiliar with others or in a setting/environment that I am not familiar with.

Now back to the point:

Since I’ve started using twitter regularly, it was pretty obvious how useful and valuable it was. Twitter has provided a way to make connections with other people who shared similar interests and ideas. I also found twitter users that, even though I have not made a two-way connection, I choose to “follow” for the ideas and bits of info and knowledge they share – the ability to virtually “pick their brains”. For me, this is significant because in the “real” world, it is difficult for me to engage others whom I am not already familiar with. Unfortunately, this has given people the impression that I am anti-social, snobbish, and even intimidating (huh?) which couldn’t be further from the truth.

So, how has twitter changed my life?
Twitter has allowed me to make connections, have conversations and get to know people in a way that removes the anxiety. When an opportunity comes about to meet these people in a real world setting, I am more at ease and feel as if I already know them to some degree which helps to reduce the anxiety significantly. I still have a lot of work to do to manage anxiety, but twitter has given me a tool to ease the process and helps to break down the wall that my anxiety creates.

So there you have it.
Has twitter changed your life? Want to leave a comment?
I’d love to hear from you.