Universities utilizing social sites

It's time to start the recruitment drive for next year and Canadian Universities are finding the social networking sites to be a good place to start. “We are on Facebook because our incoming students kept asking us, ‘Why are you not on Facebook?' ” explained Bailey Daniels, assistant director of MBA recruitment and admissions at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, in this Globe and Mail story. Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick has existing students who work closely with the school's admissions staff and besides operating a Facebook group, there are student-produced YouTube videos and blogs, all commissioned and paid for by the university.

This is quite possibly the best quote from the article: “The ongoing challenge for any university is that there is a massive generation gap between the people that do recruiting and the people you are recruiting,” said Rob Steiner, assistant vice-president of strategic communications at the University of Toronto. “Every recruiting team and every marketing team is trying to find a way to stay on top of this stuff.”

Companies embrace e-greetings this Christmas

According to this NY Times article, corporate America is embracing technology and abandoning paper greeting cards this year. The move comes about because the e-greetings are said to be "cheaper, greener and more versatile than traditional cards". While some find the ease of generating an e-greeting appealing it seems that their are still those who expect the personal touch and some experts are suggesting that you be careful in your selection, especially when you are sending seasons greetings to paying customers. I for one prefer the e-version but then again I'm a geek!

Ten Startups to watch in 2008

As the year winds down, Wired brings us a top ten list of Startups to watch over the next year. Though some of these companies have been around for a while, it seems the list represents those that the Wired folk think will make big moves over the next 12 months. From VOIP to DNA, there are plenty of buzz words and lots of Venture Capital funding represented. My money is on 37Signals, I've always been fond of their keep it simple attitude and I like the fact that they have kept things modest... and I'm a fan of Basecamp!

NORAD keeps tabs on Santa

It's been a few years since my children have followed Santa's global trek, but if you have young ones who are anxiously awaiting a visit from the spry old elf you might want to fire up this link. The good people at NORAD (North American Air Defense) keep an eye on Santa and according to them he's currently located at Mahajanga, Madagascar. If your little tykes want to speak to a NORAD Santa tracker in person they can call 1 (877) Hi NORAD or 1 (877) 446-6723. By e-mail they can be reached at noradtrackssanta@gmail.com

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Are we there yet!

This Disney animation from 1958 is a great look into our past and what the visionaries of the time thought life would be like. It's interesting to see how some of the ideas have become reality, more or less, while others were really far off the mark! Credit to Laughing Squid for this find.

Queen Elizabeth creates her own YouTube channel

Buckingham Palace has created a special Royal Channel on YouTube to which archived video of the Queen is being posted and over which the Queen's 50th Christmas address to her nation and the colonies will be delivered. According to The Globe and Mail, the palace said, “She has always been aware of reaching more people and adapting the communication to suit. This will make the Christmas message more accessible to younger people and those in other countries.”

I recall watching the Queen's addresses as a child but have not viewed one in years... perhaps this year I'll check out the 50th online.

FBI building a billion dollar biometric database

According to Reuters the FBI is about to award a 10 year contract for the building of a billion dollar database comprised of digital images of faces, fingerprints and palm patterns. "If successful, the system, called Next Generation Identification, will collect the biometric information in one place for identification and forensic purposes". This sounds a little big brother like; no matter how you spin it...

Wirelessly upload your digital images without a Wi-Fi enabled camera!

Here's a handy little package that turns your digital camera (if it accepts an SD card) into a Wi-Fi enabled cam. According to their website, "The Eye-Fi Card comes with everything needed to make it simple to set up and connect to your home Wi-Fi network. After that, pop the card into your digital camera and start capturing those memories. It stores pictures like a regular SD card no matter where you are, and uploads your photos automatically as soon as you return to your home network. All you have to do is turn the camera on." At $100 for a 2 GB card it's a little pricey, but a lot less pricey than springing for a new digital camera! I'm interested in hearing from anyone who's actually purchased this little guy... as it's moving to the top of my "gadgets to purchase" list.

Twilight Zone pinball promo courtesy of YouTube

You have got to love YouTube... no wonder it's the most popular video site on the net! This is a neat find!

EA blamed for Christmas without Rock Band

Electronic Arts (EA) is feeling the heat over the absence of the full version of Rock Band from Canadian retail shelves. The highly anticipated game title which was released State side last month was delayed several times here in Canada but was supposed to hit store shelves on Thursday. Our local Future Shop has told us that it would not receive any until the 28th and according to an EA spokesperson "Demand has been incredibly strong in the U.S. and Canada and we're shipping Rock Band to retailers as quickly as we can make them, but we suggest lining up early if you want to get one in time for the holidays,". The CBC has more here...