"Precious Little of It "

In scrounging around for online news this week, I suddenly realized what we have are a lot of words that are non-stories. News doesn't seem to be news online. It's rumor, speculation and “maybes.”

“According to multiple sources, Yahoo is getting ready for a big restructuring initiative ...”

"Rumors suggest that the first cuts will come from ad technology ...”

"It looks like Facebook is finally taking search more seriously. The company is reportedly working overtime on improving its own search feature ...”

"Last week, the Federal Trade Commission released its final report on privacy. Jules Polonetsky, the Director and Co-Chair of the Future of Privacy Forum explained that, while the FTC did ask Congress to pass privacy legislation, it placed a greater emphasis on finding industry best practices for self-regulation.“

Again – no news!

Be careful about believing what you think you read online. It's likely not the facts you think you're reading. Watch the wording.

Now, sometimes – especially in email – outright lies are passed around. We all know this. And, in an election year, these emails will increase.

Please don't simply accept the truth of every email sent to you – and shoot it out to everyone you know - just because it's something you want to believe. You can make serious mistakes (and look ridiculous) that way. Check it out.

When you receive the one stating the Medicare fee will go up to $247 in 2014 – check Snopes before you have a heart attack:

Check it out here

"Put Broadcast Media on Notice"

Have you noticed how difficult it is to get “real” information from the broadcast media regarding the upcoming presidential elections in the USA? Everything is slanted, and much of it is outright lies.

This is bad enough while trying to choose the Republican nominee, but it will be even more problematic when the election process is in full swing.

It's time (actually it's past time) to put broadcasters on notice:

"The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has launched a new era of big-money politics. The wealthiest 1 percent now have unchecked power to pick and choose our nation’s leaders. And they’re doing it by spending tens of millions of dollars on televised political ads that leave voters awash in misinformation.

So where’s the broadcast media in all of this? Instead of exposing this runaway spending and separating fact from fiction in an election year, they’re lining their pockets with the winnings — to the tune of more than $3 billion dollars in 2012 ad buys."

Put the largest TV conglomerates on notice. Demand that broadcasters expose the money trail and cover election-year issues properly!

Sign Petition

"Browsers and Privacy Issues "

Internet Explorer (IE) full of security holes – always has been. There's no need to even discuss it. Don't use it.

Firefox started off great. But, over time, it got heavy and slow. It seems every upgrade made it more difficult to use. Lately, it's gotten a little better. But if, like me, you're a serious internet user – and don't have time to fool around with it - it simply has too many toys.

Chrome is fast. It's also the most secure. They actually have “hacker competitions” and Chrome is the only browser that leaves those competitions untouched. Unfortunately (for those who care) it's made by Google.

Which brings us to the newest online uproar – Google's new privacy settings. Google is consolidating all their various privacy settings to one setting that will work across all their platforms.

In my opinion, it's much ado about nothing.

It all comes down to Google's tracking policies. So, I'd like to point out – there's nothing new about that! Google has been tracking us all for years! Nothing new there.

You may feel it makes you more vulnerable to having hackers – or, if you're really paranoid, the government – get your information. Well, as I said, Google has tracked us for years and their security has been excellent.

So you want to avoid being tracked? Really not a big deal. Just don't sign in to Google. When you're logged out, your activity won't be associated with your user account.

I never sign in unless I'm actually working with Webmaster Tools or need to use Gmail. Google isn't doing this because they give a pig's wazoo what you're doing online.

They do it to make more money! They do it to attract more targeted advertising. The better they can target, the more they can charge their advertisers!

If you're concerned about what Google knows about you, just go over to Google's Dashboard and sign in. The dashboard gives you an overview of all your activity through Google.

It also provides links to adjust your settings, privacy and security for every Google service. When the new privacy policy takes effect, this page will be even simpler to use.

If you're concerned about the increase of targeted advertising, go to Google's Ad Preferences Manager: Google Ad Settings

It allows you to opt out of targeted ads when you're signed in and when you're signed out!

Yep – much ado ...