The concept is simple. You pay someone to break up with your significant other over the phone. $10 for a basic break-up, $25 for an engagement and $50 for a divorce call. IDUMP4U uses some basic information to get the point across, records the call and puts it online.

The Globe and Mail claims the mastermind behind the anonymous parting of the ways is a Mount Pleasant, Iowa native.

If you find other people’s anger/pain amusing, there is plenty to feast on. Recordings are even separated into categories like Chicks, Cry, and Psycho.

I could barely stomach a single phone call. But the site claims more than just a money-making purpose.

“Studies have shown that 9 times out of 10, the typical “It’s not you, it’s me” approach can lead to a history of several more dumpings. Why not help the person you are dumping as well as helping yourself! Then you go away with not only a free life but also that sort of “Pay it Forward” type feeling that you can only get from Helen Hunt.” 
- IDUMP4U.com

Excluding the ups and downs of my elementary school romances, I have only been officially dumped once with the termination of a high school summer romance. I think that boy fully deserved to see my heart break in front of him before he ran after the pageant princess across town. And I’m pretty sure there was no global lesson to be learned from the experience.

There is a lot I could say about people who don’t have the guts to end their own relationships. But apparently, some people think otherwise.

Your thoughts?

Posted under Web/Tech

I made my second trip to Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High today to speak to their 7th graders about technology in the workplace.

During my last trip in October, we talked a lot about technology being part of a life long passion for learning. Technology will always be changing, and if you aren’t prepared to always be learning, you’re going to run into problems in the workplace.

Today I focused more on accessibility, mostly because the quality of consumer technology has impressed me lately.  I break the students up into groups and tell them to brainstorm technology used in fields like medicine, law enforcement and education. Their first answers normally include the  high-end, specialized equipment.

But, it’s surprising how much of my job, and many others are impacted or even improved by things we can buy at a large super center or basic electronics store.

Instead of using a live truck that takes lots of training and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, I can live stream from my cell phone in a matter of seconds. Is the quality the same? No. But, it could be in the near future.

I think looking at existing technology and finding applications in our own field is just as important and inventing new, specialized technology.

Thank you 7th graders for your thoughtful answers and insight during our brainstorming today. Hopefully you learned as much from me as I did from you!

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

If you had asked me this morning how long YouTube has been around, I would have guessed maybe 7 or 8 years, and I would have been wrong.

Yesterday was YouTube’s 5th birthday! And it’s been a crazy 5 years. Like Google and Facebook, YouTube has morphed from a noun to a verb (YouTube it!), and arguably the number one source for video online.

I think people have connected with the site because YouTube provides us the opportunity to share our lives - videos of our cat, a rant about an ex, or an air guitar solo. And more recently it gives us the chance to inform and interact, even hosting a viewer guided interview with President Obama.

Mashable argues that an early adoption of Flash and lenient policies helped YouTube dominate in a world of video start-ups.

You can argue and philosophize about it. All I know is when I’m looking for an awesome 80’s video like this KWWL promo, I know where I’m going.

Posted under Web/Tech

I am generally a problem solver. I enjoy a challenge that requires a creative solution. Taking all of the pieces I have at my disposal, analyzing the abilities of each one and figuring out how they can work together to achieve a goal.

I get it from my dad. He is the king of creative solutions. It may not always look pretty, but he can always find a part, or invent one, that will make it work.

But even those that enjoy a good puzzle have their limits - and the most frustrating problems tend to come from technology. Mostly this stems from something not doing what I expect it to be able to do.

For the last week, I have been trying to solve a problem. I’ve tried different cords, different computers, different settings, different programs. I’ve changed every variable I can think of in a process that, in theory, should easily work. And that’s when I hit that frustration wall. I just knew that it was supposed to work, but I had reached the point where it wasn’t a matter of putting the pieces in the right order, I simply didn’t have the knowledge I needed to make it work.

That’s the most frustrating part of technology for me. I’m mostly self taught, and despite the fact that I spend almost every waking moment connected to some form of machine, there is still so much that I don’t understand. And one unchecked box can drive me to edge of sanity. That point where you start to feel fatigued both mentally and physically, wanting to throw something across the room and wishing you could just walk away and not let a box made of plastic and metal make you feel completely incompetent.

And then you have that spark, you finally see something that triggers an idea. Sometimes it leads you right back to hopelessness, but every once in a while, it works - like nothing was ever wrong. And suddenly you feel like the smartest person in the entire world, until the next frustration comes along.

There are so many things you can say this about, but it is truly a love/hate relationship between me and the machines. They make me want to pull my hair out, and I blame them for my 3 gray hairs, but I can’t imagine my life without them.

Posted under Web/Tech

Every morning I get a weather forecast on my phone from Mark, Jeff, Eileen or Jennifer. And now I can add Phil to the list.

This year, Punxsutawney Phil’s“weather prognostication” will be texted as well as streamed live online.

I signed up earlier this week. It looks like the Pennsylvania Visitor’s Bureau is hoping you’ll be interested in more than just the groundhog and sign up for alerts about vacation opportunities as well.

When my phone buzzes on Tuesday, I hope it’s good news!

To sign up text “GROUNDHOG” to 247365.

Posted under Weather, Web/Tech

If you are interested in watching President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, you have your choice of options. It will be on-air (on KWWL), online (KWWL.com, YouTube, whitehouse.gov, etc.) and on your phone (the White House iPhone app).

But now the President and YouTube are offering a unique opportunity - a chance for the average citizen to get their questions answered following the SOTU. During the speech and for the next few days, you can submit questions regarding the SOTU in text or video on YouTube’s CitizenTube. Users will be able to vote for their favorite questions, and the top picks will be used in a live online interview with the President next week.

So if the President says something tonight that really gets you thinking, record a short video question (they request 20 seconds or less) and see if other people want to know the same thing.

YouTube Blog: The State of the Union

Posted under Politics, Web/Tech

Today the Department of Transportation announced an immediate ban on texting while driving commercial vehicles like semis or buses. Those caught in the act could be fined as much as $2,750.

The move is part of a concerted effort by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to limit driving distractions. An executive order took effect last month banning federal employees from texting while using a government-owned vehicle. And just this month, the DOT launched Distraction.gov, an entire site aimed at highlighting the dangers of distracted driving and efforts to reduce distractions.

So the question remains, will either a state or federal ban for the average driver be soon to follow? I’m not sure if soon is the right word, but I’m sure it will happen eventually.

I’ll be honest, I occasionally text and drive. I don’t do it nearly as much with my iPhone as I did when I had a normal keypad. Sometimes it isn’t even texting - I’m looking at directions or messages. I understand it’s not safe, and if there is a law forbidding it, I’ll stop. Sometimes it’s work related, and sometimes it’s not. I have a close friend who won’t even let me talk on the phone while she’s in the car, and I have other friends who spend their lives on the road and would lose productivity with a texting ban.

I can see both sides of the argument. What do you think? There’s a poll question up on www.KWWL.com or you can leave a comment below.

Posted under Web/Tech

I’ve always known that universities like to control their public image, but I guess it never dawned on me that a school would have official Web colors.

On Friday, UNI updated its Web colors for the first time in 10 years, citing new technology and further testing as the reason for the change.

The Web gold is still the same, but the new purple is this instead of this.

Look for UNI sites to start making the switch.

UNI Webtools: UNI Colors

Posted under Education, Web/Tech

…if I don’t friend you on a social network. It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just that I take my privacy seriously.

I have chatted with many soon to be college grads and discussed my philosophy on social networking, and my advice is always the same - You have to make a choice. Is your profile for personal or professional use and how easy is it for people to access the information.

Here’s what I’ve decided:

Facebook is for personal use. If I don’t know you in real life and consider you a good friend, I won’t accept you as a friend on Facebook. It’s not that I have anything to hide, I just don’t necessarily want the general public seeing photos from my family vacation.

Twitter is for work and public consumption. I feel like I am still fairly candid and open, but I realize that what I say reflects on KWWL, just like it does on this blog.

And now there is Foursquare. I’ll admit that I’m giving it a try. I’m always open for a new form of social networking. While I don’t mind the general public knowing that I’m at the TV station most of the day, I don’t even want all of my friends to know where I’m at on a Saturday afternoon.

Lately, I’ve been getting friend requests from some of you who have found me on Facebook or people who see me nearby on Foursquare. I guess I just wanted to reassure you that it’s not meant to be an insult if I don’t accept your friend request.

I really am interested in getting to know you through my blog and through Twitter. But at this point, there are certain parts of my online life I’m not interested in sharing with the World Wide Web.

On that note - what are your thoughts? Do you protect your online life or open it up to the public?

Posted under Web/Tech

Yesterday, the White House released its own iPhone app to complement WhiteHouse.gov, promoting live streaming video as one of the key features ahead of President Obama’s State of the Union address.

I decided to give it a try. I’m watching live streaming video of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. And the quality isn’t too bad considering the fact AT&T doesn’t have a 3G network around here.

The app provides 5 tabs across the bottom: Blog, video, photos, newsroom, and live.

The newsroom and blog tabs are very similar. The newsroom tab includes more official releases and the text of speeches. The blog covers a wider range of topics and is a little less formal, but there seems to be a lot of overlap between the two sections.

The video section is playback of a variety of speeches, press conferences and public appearances, while the live tab includes a list of live and upcoming events. This is probably my one request for an improvement. There are currently four events under the live tab and they are not in order of start times. An event for Friday is at the top, two events for today in the middle and the President’s State of the Union is listed last. Also, if you click on an upcoming event, it actually loads video of a White House live graphic. I think it would be much better if it showed details of the upcoming event or even allowed you to sign up for some type of reminder.

The images under the photo tab include captions and can be sent in e-mails. They mostly feature key officials at events and public appearances, but there was a picturesque photo of the West Wing under a blanket of snow.

Overall, the design is simple if you’re looking to browse, but if you’re looking for something specific, I’d use a search engine.

It’s interesting watching the government work to catch up with technology. The White House also announced plans to unveil a WAP site, mobile.whitehouse.gov. And despite claiming more than 3 million followers on his own account, President Obama sent his first tweet ever from Haiti this week using @RedCross - “President Obama and the First Lady are here visiting our disaster operation center right now. ”

I might try out the app during the State of the Union next week and see how it holds up. Of course - you can also watch the President’s speech on KWWL.com! (Couldn’t resist slipping that in there.)

Posted under Apple, Politics, Web/Tech