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PM360 March 2010

LIFE STYLE

BLAST FROM THE PAST

March 4, 1789
The first U.S. Congress held its inaugural meeting in the newly built Federal Hall in New York City. Pennsylvania Senator Robert Morris commented on this momentous day in a letter: “The public expectation seems to be so highly wound up that I think disappointment must inevitably follow after a while, notwithstanding that I believe there will be inclination and abilities in the two houses to do every thing that reasonable and sensible men can promise to themselves, but you know well how impossible it is for public measures to keep pace with the sanguine desires of the interested, the ignorant, and the inconsiderate parts of the Community.”

March 10, 1876
The first telephone call took place between Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson, who was in the next room. The conversation was as short as the distance between them. Bell said, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” He repeated the same command 39 years later in New York, calling Watson in San Francisco, to dedicate the newly completed transcontinental telephone lines. Watson replied it would take him a week to get there.

March 2, 1962
Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia Warriors set an NBA record that stands today by scoring 100 points in one game. In the 169-147 victory over the New York Knicks, he made 28 of 32 free throws, even though he had a meager .506 percentage from the foul line for the season. Chamberlain reached the century mark in style: With 46 seconds left in the game, he jumped high and was passed the ball in midair for an alley-oop slam dunk.
—Andrew Matthius

HEALTH

BODY OF EVIDENCE
The body truly has a mind of its own, and it turns out it takes things quite literally. Embodied cognition is a field of science that has become very popular as it focuses on the concept that our cognitive processes are shaped by our body’s interactions with the world. “How we process information is related not just to our brains but to our entire body,” Nils B. Jostmann of the University of Amsterdam told the New York Times. “We use every system available to us to come to a conclusion and make sense of what’s going on.”

A recent study at the University of Aberdeen found our bodies subliminally act out our thoughts. Participants were asked either to talk about the future or to recall the past, and the direction of time they discussed was reflected in the direction they moved. People recalling the past tended to lean back, while people discussing the future leaned forward, according to results published in January’s Psychological Science.

In 2008 a study at Yale University found temperature can directly affect our emotional reactions, so a hot beverage really can warm the heart. Participants were given a cup of either hot coffee or iced coffee. Then they were asked to evaluate the personality of an imaginary individual based on a packet of information. Those with hot coffee were far more likely to find the person to be warm and friendly, according to results published in Science.

A study from the University of Amsterdam published last August in Psychological Science found the body gives more importance to items that are heavier. The gravity of a situation described on a clipboard was actually determined by the weight of the clipboard. Whether it is temperature, weight, or time, it seems your body has already made up its mind. —A.M.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

BUZZ BONANZA
Google has entered the social media arena with Google Buzz, and while its introduction on February 9 had its rough patches (mainly privacy issues), it looks like the social network mainstays have some new competition. What’s ahead for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter? Social Analyst Ben Parr of Mashable.com explained how Buzz is a game changer.

  • Instant Access Google wired its new service directly into Gmail, which gave Buzz tens of millions of users instantly. A Buzz tab in Gmail provides links to websites you use, such as Picasa and Twitter, and the ability to buzz specific people or the whole world (similar to status updates or tweets) as well as to follow other people’s posts in real time. Buzz also recommends posts you may find interesting.
  • Privacy Issues Buzz automatically appeared in Gmail and auto-followed the people you email most. This allowed others to figure out your email address and emailing habits. Google responded to this criticism by turning auto-follow into auto-suggest, letting you choose whom you want to follow. You can also remove Buzz from your Gmail account.
  • Impact Buzz is not going to be the death of Facebook or Twitter, but it may slow the growth of those social media giants. In September, Gmail was reported to have over 38 million users in the U.S. alone, which gives it more than Twitter’s probable 18 million to 25 million users worldwide. Buzz may also attract advertisers away from those other sites as companies become more familiar with its capabilities.
  • The Future Google Buzz has found fast success with over 9 million posts and comments in its first 56 hours. The social media landscape has changed. Google’s social network has great momentum and if it keeps up, companies will not be able to ignore Buzz’s ability to drive traffic and increase brand recognition.

—A.M.

FRAUGHT FRIENDSHIP
There was once a time when privacy meant information was restricted to a select few, but Facebook may have expanded your network to include almost everyone on the Worldwide Web—with access to everything you post. Last December, Facebook prompted members to adjust their privacy settings, letting them choose between their old preferences or its new recommended settings. If you don’t remember, you probably defaulted to the recommended settings, and you may be surprised to learn you gave Facebook the right to publicize certain private information to everyone browsing the Internet. If you want to reprivatize, ReadWriteWeb.com advises you to revisit these settings.

  • Posts (Status Updates, Photos, Videos) The new default for who can see your status updates is everyone—which means everyone on the site and, depending on your settings, your posts may even show up on search engines. To make this private again, go to Privacy Settings under Account and click Profile Information. Go to Posts by Me and choose Only Friends or whatever other option you prefer.
  • Profile Info Go to Profile Information to check out who can see information such as your interests, activities, favorites, relationship status, political views, religious views, and birthday. Choose who you want to be able to view this information. Keep in mind that Friends of Friends could include hundreds of people you don’t know.
  • Search Engine Access Go to Privacy Settings and click on Search. If the Allow box is checked, this means search engines can access and index any information that you have marked as visible to everyone. To keep this data private, uncheck the box.

—A.M.