The Emperor Has No Clothes

There is a interesting article over on AdAge about the fact that Facebook, YouTube, Twitter etc. operate without any sort of plan to generate revenue. With all the adulation directed toward these social media behemoths, it never occurred to me that their reigns might be very short-lived indeed. I am curious to investigate this subject a bit more, as I would be very sorry if Facebook decided to shut its virtual doors (where could I store and display all my photos so effectively?) or YouTube went off the air (where would I watch David After Dentist?). In any event, I enjoyed the joke purportedly made by a Facebook exec to an ad exec, "Didn't you know we're a nonprofit?" It's apparently all too true.

Follow the Air Force on Twitter!

Yes, folks, it's happened: Magic 8's favorite branch of the armed forces has joined the social media throng. The Air Force now has a Twitter account and an official blog which is mildly interesting, if a bit surreal with posts like "Starve the Trash Can; Feed the Recycling Box" and "2009 GI Film Festival". I did see a good post on the usefulness of Twitter for public military purposes. Twitter and social networks in general are great at disseminating information, and I thinnk that the Air Force can use all the fast, convenient communication it can get. It does seem a bit emasculating to read that Air Force Materiel Command "will tweet the Annual AFMC Enlisted Awards live as they are announced", etc. But I suppose now that the Commander in Chief is on Twitter (et al.), no one wants to be left behind.