Archive for July 3rd, 2009

Climate Change And Shrinking Sheep

Sheep living on a remote island off the coast of Scotland have been shrinking for 20 years. New research suggests that climate change is to blame. Natural selection would suggest that sheep would get larger over time, however warmer winters and longer summers have led to wild Soay sheep, which live on the island of Hirta, shrinking by 5 percent since 1985.

Researchers believe that the milder weather in recent years has meant that small lambs who would not have survived previous winters are now surviving, reproducing and consequently breeding smaller offspring. The change in climate also means that mothers are giving birth earlier and so they produce smaller lambs.

Local residents thought something wasn’t right when they noticed their lamb chops were not as big as they used to be. Have you noticed any other animals getting smaller? Let us know!

Tweet, Tweet. 100,000 New Followers

Social networking has become a major part of the lives of so many in today’s world. Twitter has become one of the latest internet sensations. It’s micro-blogging feature, has attracted many celebrities to the site, from Barack Obama to Britney Spears, all tweeting their every movement, attracting thousands of “followers”. Though not everyone is able to attract such vast amounts of followers.

“Oh no!” I hear you cry…well there is no need…uSocial.net now has a solution. The social marketing company, based in Australia, has launched a paid service where Twitter users can buy followers. The company searches for potential followers through areas of common interest. It then sends the potential follower a message alert, to which the potential follower then decides whether or not to follow that person.

The company’s packages range from $87 for 1,000 twitter followers in 7 days to $3479 for 100,000 followers in 365 days. It markets it’s service on the basis that Twitter can be an advertising tool to earn an individual or company, customers and therefore sales. It states “The simple fact is, Twitter followers are worth money to you and your business. The more followers you have, the more money you will inevitably make marketing your products and services to them.”

However, it is thought that such a procedure will lead to an increase in “Twitter spam” as users are faced with irrelevant tweets.

Personally, I am not a fan of this approach to gaining followers. Yes, gaining 100,000 new followers is likely to be a somewhat effective advertising tool, however I believe that a follower who has been bought is unlikely to be as valuable to an individual or company as a follower who has voluntarily gone out of their way to follow a user and therefore has a genuine interest in their tweets.

What are your opinions on uSocial? Do you know anyone who has used this service or are you someone who is considering it? Let us know your motivation for this, and what you have gained from it.

“Chav-Free” Holidays Are Flying

British holiday firm “Activities Abroad” is at the center of controversy over it’s pledge to promise it’s customers a “chav free” holiday.

People with names like Charles, Michael, Alice or Charlotte are much more likely to be allowed on an “Activities Abroad” holiday, after the firm researched that children with “middle-class” names were eight times as likely to pass their high school exams than those with lower class names such as Dwayne and Wayne.

Activities Abroad contacted 24,000 customers with a list of names they were unlikely to encounter on one of their holidays, including Britney, Dazza, Chardonnay and Candice.

The founder, Alistair McLean, has since received many complaints with customers threatening to boycott the firm. Mr McLean said that he meant it as a tongue-in-cheek joke.

Though with sales up 32% on last year, it becomes apparent that this may be what the public want?

What are your views on this story? Is this a clear sign of society’s prejudice against a minority or just a publicity stunt that went too far?

’nuff sed,

Benny G