Net Compulsives

Tech Savvy Street Gangs Take On Social Media

The fight against Indiana’s gangs isn’t always waged on the street. School officials, social workers and probation officers said the newest battle ground in gang warfare is social media. According to Indianapolis anti-crime advocates who attended a gang awareness seminar on Friday, Indy gang members are younger, more mobile, and they’re using social media networks to recruit and plan. An Indianapolis Metro Police Department gang unit detective said he carries out most of his investigations online and undercover, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported. "I have a Facebook account. My alter-ego has over 210 gang member friends. I have a completely fictitious account,” the IMPD detective said. IMPD have identified more than 300 street gangs in Indianapolis, all of them engaging in various levels of assaults, thefts, robberies and even murder. Lt. Marshall DePew said that because of the gangs’ expansive territory, police have expanded their base of operation, too. "We've expanded our detectives in the unit, and we’ve expanded the number of deputy prosecutors. We have a great liaison with the U.S. attorney’s office. I think more so than ever before, I think we're doing a better job of connecting the dots," DePew said. Police said that every school district in every Indiana county has a gang presence. In Hagerstown in Wayne County, school officials have banned bandannas, sagging pants and cellphone use in school. Officials said they're also contemplating a uniform dress code for students. Dave Land, assistant principal at Hagerstown High School, said he warns parents about the dangers of social media. "I tell parents that if you allow your kids to be on Facebook or do the texting, you're probably going to get into a bullying situation with your son or daughter,” Land said. Police and gang experts agreed that the best deterrent in gang involvement begins at home.

Tech Savvy Street Gangs Take On Social Media

The fight against Indiana’s gangs isn’t always waged on the street. School officials, social workers and probation officers said the newes...

Facebook May Help Online Luxury-Goods Sales Grow 20% Annually

Online sales of luxury goods may climb 20 percent a year by 2015 as producers build networks of potential customers on social media websites such as Facebook.com, according to a study published today. Revenue from fashion, jewelry and other luxury products is likely to reach 11 billion euros ($15 billion) in four years, the report from Italian luxury trade group Altagamma shows. “The explosion of social media and the increasing investments in the online channel by luxury companies has reinforced and enlarged the community of those who explore, comment upon and eventually purchase luxury goods,” Milan-based Altagamma said in a statement. Luxury companies are more than doubling their “friends” on Facebook annually in recognition of the link between online and offline purchases, according to the report. At least half of consumers in Europe, the U.S. and China form an opinion or seek information online before buying in a store, while most online luxury sales are preceded by a boutique visit, Altagamma said. Burberry Group Plc (BRBY), the U.K.’s largest luxury goods maker, gets “the most reach and most response” from digital initiatives compared with other media, Burberry Chief Financial Officer Stacey Cartwright told analysts on July 13. To promote the Burberry Body fragrance, which hit shelves this month, the London-based company offered exclusive samples to its nearly 7 million Facebook fans. It received more than 225,000 requests in little more than a week. The Internet plays a key role in increasing the hype around luxury brands and their products, Altagamma said. Fashion Blogs The web’s influence on perceptions of luxury goods is strongest in China, where fashion blogs are the source of opinion for 58 percent of consumers, compared with 27 percent of their counterparts in Europe and the U.S., the report said. The Asian country also has a higher penetration of online purchasing. Seventy-eight percent of Chinese buy luxury goods online, compared with 56 percent of Europeans and 46 percent of Americans, “mainly because they wish to avoid interactions with sales personnel or their insistence,” Altagamma said. The study included surveys of 187 companies with total revenue of 60 billion euros ($82.1 billion), interviews with 1,500 consumers and analysis of 450 websites in seven countries.

Facebook May Help Online Luxury-Goods Sales Grow 20% Annually

Online sales of luxury goods may climb 20 percent a year by 2015 as producers build networks of potential customers on social media websit...

Microsoft online services hit by major failure

Millions of Microsoft users were left unable to access some online services overnight because of a major service failure. Hotmail, Office 365 and Skydrive were among the services affected. Microsoft was still analysing the cause of the problem on Friday morning, but said it appeared to be related to the internet's DNS address system. Such a major problem is likely to raise questions about the reliability of cloud computing versus local storage. Especially embarrassing is the temporary loss of Office 365, the company's alternative to Google's suite of online apps. Its service also went offline briefly in mid-August, less than two months after it launched. The latest disruption is believed to have lasted for around two-and-a-half hours, between 0300 GMT and 0530 GMT. In a blog, posted at 0649 GMT, Microsoft said: "We have completed propagating our DNS configuration changes around the world, and have restored service for most customers." The Domain Name System (DNS) is responsible for translating URL web addresses , such as bbc.co.uk into the internet's native system of IP addresses, e.g. 212.58.246.95.

Microsoft online services hit by major failure

Millions of Microsoft users were left unable to access some online services overnight because of a major service failure. Hotmail, Office...

Millions of Hotmail users cut off by Microsoft 'cloud' failure

As well as Hotmail, the outage affected Office 365 and the Skydrive online storage service. Microsoft said the cause appeared to be related to the Domain Name System, the computer network that ensures that web addresses are connected to websites. “Preliminary root cause suggests a DNS issue,” the firm said on its office 365 Twitter feed. The problems lasted for at least two-and-a-half hours, beginning at around 4AM British Summer Time. On a company blog, Microsoft said it had fixed the problem at 5.45AM, but the repairs took some time to “propagate” through the DNS network.  "We are working on propagating the DNS configuration changes and so it will take some time to restore service to everyone. Again we appreciate your patience," the firm said. For Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription-only competitor to Google Apps, which went live earlier this year, it was the second major technical failure in less than a month. Such incidents are likely to give pause to organisations considering migration to online “cloud” services, whereby software is delivered from vast data centres, over the internet.

Millions of Hotmail users cut off by Microsoft 'cloud' failure

As well as Hotmail, the outage affected Office 365 and the Skydrive online storage service. Microsoft said the cause appeared to be relate...