Academics Anonymous
As we’ve said many times before, privacy is essential to academic freedom and free expression. Anonymous browsing is one way for academics to ensure their privacy online (to the extent that’s possible) and can be done in a number of ways; chief among these are virtual private networks (VPNs), proxy servers and TOR – a browser purpose-built […]
Ghostery: track your trackers
Ever feel as though you’re being watched? If you spend a lot of time online, that sentiment may be justified. It is no longer a secret that an overwhelming number of online companies now use data mining to target their ads based on individuals’ specific internet histories. Ever looked up an item online, only to […]
UBC Snaps: the appeal of “disappearing” media
If you’re a UBC student with a Facebook account, you’ve likely already perused the UBC Compliments and UBC Confessions pages, and perhaps even made an anonymous contribution of your own. Given the exponential rise of Snapchat, a disappearing-photo sharing app, it is no surprise that UBC Snaps is the latest in a series of […]
Campus Confessions: What do you have to say?
“Each time the barista at the Starbucks in the SUB asks for a name to put on my drink, I respond with a different, ethnically improbable name, even though I get the same drink at the same time every day.” – #1384 This is one of over 1,300 posts on UBC Confessions, the Facebook page where UBC […]
Digital Dating: The way of the future?
Are you single? Ready to mingle? Tired of searching for Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now) with depressing results? Well, why not try digital dating. From the convenience of your laptop or smart phone, you can let cyber cupid take the wheel and join the millions of individuals that currently use dating websites and apps to mix and mingle […]
Events
Image from Flickr@photosteve
Facebook for Educators: Should it be banned?
The Vancouver School Board has drafted and presented a policy that would ban teachers from friending their students on social media sites. The policy states that “teachers would still be encouraged to use social media to engage their students in a strictly-professional capacity, such as creating event pages to discuss upcoming field trips.” The issue […]
Personal Branding tips for Young Adults
It’s official – the paper resume and cold call have gone the way of the dinosaur. Linkedin, which once seemed cutting edge, now represents the basic standard of professional networking. Marketing yourself in the job market has become much easier with the rise simple content creation tools and Web 2.0. The tricky part is standing […]
University Admissions Counselors Social Media Policies
Many students see graduation as the time to buckle down and clean up their social media footprint. It’s their first step into the real world. Time to put on the business suit of the virtual world in order to make a good impression. This mindset, although good in theory, isn’t early enough to take control […]
The Dangers of Phishing
Phishing is the act of using a fake and malicious link to lure the user into giving away private account information to a hacker. Often the user doesn’t even need to send their password to the hacker, with a dangerous link in a tweet or email users can give up account passwords in just one […]
