talkingDigital

Do you know the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web? Many people don’t.

READ COLUMN AS IT APPEARED IN THE BEACON

The internet is the massive network of computers that allows you to use email, send pictures via your phone, and see who’s at the door from all the way across town, using that new video doorbell you keep seeing on the home shopping channel.

The World Wide Web is the collection of websites that you access by typing an address into the web browser of your device.

It’s acceptable to say, “I went on the internet to find out if giraffes can see in color.” But it’s more accurate to say that you did your research on the web.

Everything you do on the web is done via the internet, but not everything on the internet is done using the web.

Where does social media fit in?

Sometimes you’ll hear the argument that social media is the new World Wide Web, suggesting that Facebook is the preferred channel for information. Rather than visiting www.beaconseniornews.com to read the news, for example, many people simply follow the BEACON Senior Newspaper on Facebook and let the news come to them. This is a totally acceptable way to get the news, but you don’t want to use social media as your only source for gathering information online.

Don’t limit yourself

The biggest downside of using social media sites exclusively is that they only show you what they think you should see. If you follow The BEACON on Facebook, you won’t get all of the paper’s updates. You’ll only see updates that Facebook thinks you will interact with.

It’s also important to remember that there are great sources for news, information and shopping that you’ll never find if you don’t go directly to sites like news.google.com or www.cnn.com.

But there are some things social media does better by design than the web ever could.

Social media’s advantages

If you lose a pet and don’t post about it on a Facebook page designed to help find lost animals in your area, you miss out on the best possibility of reuniting with your furry friend.

The reason it’s so effective is because when you post your lost pet update, everyone in the group shares the post on their own Facebook pages, connecting with their friends. Suddenly you have a whole network of pet sleuths helping you.

Social media is also becoming the best place to sell your used items. Unlike sites like Craigslist, Facebook shows you the first and last name—and usually the face—of the person with whom you are dealing. It’s also becoming the best place on the web for job searches, business recommendations and even product reviews.

So the next time you hear someone say, “I don’t use social media because I don’t want to see what my friends ate for lunch,” explain to them that social media has as many practical uses—like videos of cats getting scared by cucumbers.

English: The impressive Egyptian-themed entrance to the Cinemark Egyptian 24 movie theaters located at Arundel Mills Mall. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The cost of going to a first run movie is roughly the same as tickets to the nosebleed section of a professional sporting event – especially if you get popcorn and soda. The high cost of movie tickets is a better small talk conversation topic than the weather. Some people like rain, some like the heat, but everyone feels that movie tickets are too expensive.

For well under $1500, you can get a great home theater system, including the 65″ television. The subwoofer will shake the house, the floors aren’t sticky, and you can can pause it when the baby cries or you need to pee.

Those of us who pay extra to see a movie in the theaters do it because we love the experience. The smell of the popcorn, that moment when the lights dim, the bad red robot moving through the grass – often the movie itself diminishes the experience. Nobody wants to see the end of theaters. In fact, we want the ceremony of the theater experience to be greater than what it is.

Over the past 20 years, theaters have increased efforts to make the experience that is worth the premium price. Megaplexes have added stadium seats, cup holders, cuddle seats, and even tables with group seating in some hipster venues. The results have kept the industry alive, but they have also muted the nostalgic red curtain experience.

When discussing films, friends often provide opinions of a given movie by declaring it to be worth seeing in theaters, a rental, or wait for it to come on Netflix (or worse television). This is a confession that the theater experience still offers something significantly more special than all of the the amenities of home viewing.

The problem with the current movie theater business model is that it is too rigid. The most avid Adam Sandler fan will pay $20 (including the snack – maybe) to see Grown Ups 6 on opening day. After that week goes by, Sandler begins competing with Avengers 9. Avengers will likely be well attended, even on week nights, for two or three weeks while Grown Ups will barely fill 50 seats all day on the weekends. Read the rest of this entry →

THR.com is reporting that the Farrely brothers (There’s Something about Mary, Dumb & Dumber) are directing “The Three Stooges,” scheduled for release in 2010.

Casting is rumored to be  as thus:

Moe: Benicio del Toro

Larry: Sean Penn

Curley (the fat bald one): Jim Carrey – at least he is in talks to play Curley

Surprisingly, I think that Penn and del Toro can pull it off. Carrey on the other hand is no Curley.

If it were me, I would cast Don Rickles, if he is up for it. Maybe an unknown could be found.

I like Jim Carrey, I just think there is too much Jim Carrey in him to portray Curley.

Three Stooges coming together at MGM.