fail | Agent-X Comics

Facebook Policy Maker

May 25, 2010 Agent X 4 Comments

The really sad thing is that this comic could easily be mistaken for fact.

It is old news now that facebook is in real trouble and whomever it is over there making the decisions on website changes & policy direction, is in serious need of an old school kick in the ass.
Facebook needs to decide very soon what they are going to do to address the unrest and mistrust that they themselves, have created within their user base.
Perhaps the entire business of facebook has just been one big scam to get data to onsell to advertisers? (or as they phrase it “create the open graph protocol for the web”)

Either that, or we are about to see the most the start of the new way that things work on the web, with facebook blazing the path for others to undoubtedly follow. THEY will tell you what you want, rather than listening to your requests?
Many would argue that some corporations and/or industries have been working this way for many years already.

Personally, I am just waiting to see what happens on May 31st, which is “Quit Facebook Day”. Sites such as QuitFacebookDay.com are encouraging you to Delete Facebook accounts on 31 May 2010, if you are fed up of Facebook and its privacy issues.

Facebook has already announced that their privacy settings system will be overhauled some time in the next few weeks, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg more recently admitting in an email exchange to “a bunch of mistakes”. Will these overhauls actually happen?
Possibly, but I think it will not be in the way that the general public are expecting.

Will the mass deletion of accounts really occur?
Yes, I believe some people will make a display of deleting their facebook accounts, but the QuitFacebookDay site shows only around 15,000 committed to this at the time of writing this post. This is not about 0.03% of the total number of facebook users.
If I were a betting man, I would say that I expect at least 45% of the users that delete their accounts on facebook to be back there again in less than 3 months.

So, I look forward to seeing what will occur. Let’s hope it is truly memorable and positive.

Missing

May 19, 2010 Agent X 6 Comments

How many of these people do you know?

I know too many of these kinds of people and I discover more and more of them online every day.
Abandoned foursquare accounts, half-hearted facebook profiles and twitter accounts that have not been touched since the end of 2009 when twitter was the “next big thing”.

I believe that the average everyday “person on the street” from the age of 25 upwards, still does not really “get” online social media.
They merely partake so they can be a part of the excitement that the news media tells them is occurring.

The internet is already full of abandoned sites, forums and message boards.
They are the online ghost towns just taking up file space and providing virtual rubbish for future generations to clean up in years to come.

Dodgy Karate

May 3, 2010 Agent X 1 Comment

Ever had the feeling that you were being had?

The rise of the internet has allowed many unscrupulous people to suddenly become “experts” in a particular field and being touting themselves as the perfect source of knowledge for you to follow.
They tend to target industries in which the general public do not have a great deal of knowledge regarding what the profession actually even does, let alone what is required to become an expert. Professions such as Search Engine Optimisation, Web Design, Online marketing & Social Networking.

One industry that I have had experience with, and which is also prone to many fake professionals, is the world of Martial Arts.

If you want to, you can begin a martial arts school, or even an entire style, overnight. Certifications can be faked, made up or even just purchased online.
The “Master” of the art may have no formal qualifications of experience, yet appear to be a long time practicioner.
This creates a very dangerous environment for anyone that then decides to train with these “Masters” as they can get ripped off or seriously injured.

He who is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.
~ Ben Jonson

Often, these fake Martial art schools are simply a pyramid scheme, designed to make the founder as rich as possible is a very short time.
A common technique is to fast-track students through to being a teacher themselves, often with the purpose of starting their own schools and starting the process all over again.

It is a shame this occurs, be it in the Martial Arts or in any industry, as all it serves to do in the long run is to breed mistrust with the general public and confusion over what that profession or industry could truly offer them.

If you take the time, and think about the information you receive when speaking to any “expert”, then you should eventually work out the true ones from the fakes.
After all, “A man who has attained mastery of an art reveals it in his every action.”

Doubledown Fail

April 22, 2010 Agent X 9 Comments

Fast food is not always a winner.

If you have not yet heard of the KFC Doublebown, then go and check it out here – www.kfc.com/doubledown

This is just another in a very long line of consumer foodstuffs that are produced to get a market reaction.
The companies claim these items are produced based on customer requests – which is a really scary thought.

I want food that I can eat without getting an ill feeling before I even finish it, please.
And there is already plenty of online evidence to prove that this is exactly what happens.
Just have a read through the posts of those that have already been brave enough to try this thing.
(I would call it a burger, but I am not sure that is the right word.)

This thing scares me probably even more that the fabled “McGangbang” burger, because lots more people will try a Doubledown, I believe.

Oh well. People need to make their own choices.
I will just sit now and wait for the “Doubledown sufferers” wards to start opening in hospitals everywhere this is sold……

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