Greetings everybody.

I am concerned for the future of the social networking site Facebook.  A newly added feature, News Feed, has caused a major uproar across the site, as well as elsewhere.  You can read a good summary of the issue here.

I also joined the massive Facebook group protesting the News Feed, which as of this writing has over 700,000 members, almost 10% of the Facebook user base.  The largest group on the site, to my knowledge, has well over 800,000.  The protest group has come together in just 2 days, compared to several weeks for the larger one.  Quite impressive.

I sent a request to the administrators to revise the implementation of the News Feed, which you can read below:


"Dear Facebook,

Please make the new feature, News Feed, an optional one, and also please revise the privacy settings so that I can control what others can know about me.  I understand the claim that there is nothing new being made available information-wise, but the fact that I can know everything a friend has done (or vice-versa) is disconcerting.

I have learned that friends of mine have changed their profiles in some way, nothing new; on the other hand, I have also learned WHAT changes were made to their profiles.  I can see what specific info has been added or removed.  That just goes too far.

I am in the main group protesting this issue, and I will remain there until either progress is made or September 17 arrives, when I will alternatively delete my Facebook account.  Please be aware that I will be discussing this issue on my college podcast, TruCast, this weekend, and I will be delivering negative commentary about this organization unless real and meaningful progress is made.

I hope you will take my concerns (as well as those of the rest of the user base) seriously enough to make the changes we request.  Many in this generation tend to be fickle bunch; one mistake can send people scattering to other communities.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that Facebook is any more important than any other social networking community.  You will be proven wrong.

Thank you."

I'll be talking more about this, and hopefully whatever resolutions come along, on this weekend's TruCast.  Stay subscribed!

Hey everybody, hope you're having a great week so far. I know I am. Episode 0008 is still on hold, but as you can see, I've been making some additions to the site. The right sidebar now contains links to about a gazillion different ways to subscribe to this show, be it in iTunes or Yahoo or other podcatchers. So, if you haven't already, do subscribe!

I've also made progress on getting the word out on this show to more and more potential listeners. Just below my email link, you'll also see I've been accepted as a member of the Teen Podcaster's Network, so check them out to find some other cool shows being done by the younger crowd of podcasters.

Lastly, a little further down, I've got a couple of ways for you all to vote for the show. You can vote for the TruCast at Podcast Alley by clicking the image for the site or at Digital Podcast by choosing a rating and clicking vote. It's that easy, and it'll help get the show out to more and more listeners.

So, as always, thanks for listening to me. I'm really excited that people I don't really know at all are taking an interest in what I have to say. If you have any suggestions for future topics I can talk about, send me an email! Stay subscribed!

Thanks for your continued support as the TruCast completes the first month online.

For those interested in hearing more of the awesome Rob Costlow (and his piano), two of his albums have recently been added to the iTunes Music store for purchase. Click here to visit his artist page in the iTMS and support him with your purchase of his songs or albums. Both of the tracks I have played are available here, albeit with better audio quality than what you heard in the podcast. Just FYI.

Let me know what kinds of music you'd like me to look into for future Podsafe selections. You can visit the Podsafe Music Network here to browse and listen to tons of indie music just waiting to be included in a podcast. It's free, and there's no signup involved for listeners, though you can't download music, only playing it from within your browser. Let me know if you find anything you want to request.

Again, thanks for listening, have a great Sunday, and I'll be back with Episode 0008 soon!

Hey, everybody. I know some of you are probably wondering when this endeavor of mine will be continuing. The answer is TONIGHT!! I am currently editing and will be releasing it in the next couple of hours. Stay tuned!

Wow, that was fast! I submitted the show to iTunes for the Podcast Directory on Friday after releasing Episode 0001, and it's already in the directory! Just search for TruCast. Episode 0002 is currently being edited and should be online tonight or tomorrow. Stay subscribed! Update: I've got a picture of the iTunes listing now, check it out!

Hey, just a quick update tonight. I went to a concert near the campus, and was it worth it! I had a great time, heard a lot of awesome music, and got material for Episode 0002 all at once. I recorded this band while I was at the show using the iPod/iTalk/Lapel Mic combo, will be posting snippets of it as Episode 0002 over the weekend. In the meantime, you can check out the the website of the band, The Bad Habit.