About Kathy Drasky
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. She also writes “US and Under,” a feature about the unique similarities and interesting differences between Australian and American culture on her blog KazzaDrask Media. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7x7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
Recent Posts by Kathy Drasky
Gossip and Tech Buzz: What People Are Talking about Online This Week
February 4, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Never underestimate the power of online backlash. That’s what the Susan G. Komen breast cancer charity learned the hard way this week. After announcing on Tuesday morning that they would rescind grant funding to Planned Parenthood because the organization was under investigation (um…more like a witch hunt) by Republican members of Congress, online backlash on the social networks was swift and harsh.
In fact, by the time a dozen US Senators put out an email denouncing the Komen action, online activists has already raised enough in donations to surpass the annual $400,000 grant Komen makes to Planned Parenthood. By Friday morning, the pressure was utterly overwhelming. The Komen people announced they’d continue the annual donation to Planned Parenthood, because unlike what Republican lawmakers would like you to believe, PP is about a lot more than abortions. You can see for yourself with this handy pie chart pictured here.
Keep health care for all women affordable and accessible – donate to Planned Parenthood here.
Could anything else get through the online media channels other than the Komen vs. Planned Parenthood story? Well, Facebook made its plans for its initial public offering (IPO) official – and in case you were wondering, yes, it’s true. A billion dollar company is really cool. Even cooler…the graffiti artist who opted for stock options rather than cash when he created some original art on the walls of Facebook’s first Silicon Valley offices. David Choe is set to make about $200 million.
If online media were a battle between the sexes, and the women’s story this week was Planned Parenthood and the men’s the upcoming Super Bowl, the ladies win hands down. But we’re not being fair. Since the New England Patriots have already been declared the winner over the New York Giants and the two-plus minute Honda ad takeoff of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has already been viewed on YouTube more than 10 million times, there’s really no reason to watch the big game this coming Sunday.
Did you know:
- 49-year-old actress Demi Moore was partying like she was 19, complete with Red Bull shots and penis-shaped birthday cakes before she dialed 911?
- Soul Train creator Don Cornelius committed suicide (let the Soul Train YouTube channel take you back in time for some fond memories)?
- More than half of American cell phone users have answered their phone while in the bathroom?
Graphic courtesy of Planned Parenthood.
New England Patriots Win SuperBowl XLVI
January 31, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Put down that six-pack and the nacho cheese dip. According to a mobile browser called Opera Mini, the New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl this Sunday. Game over.
ReadWriteWeb reports that Opera Mini called 3 out 4 playoff games correctly. The only miscalculation was that the New York Giants would lose to the Green Bay Packers (they didn’t). Opera Mini predicted both the Giants and the Patriots would win their respective league title games and go onto the Super Bowl. Now, its system of gauging online analytics (see the ReadWriteWeb story for exactly how) says the Pats will beat the Giants. You can bet on it. Las Vegas oddsmakers even say so.
But Giants fans won’t let this info stop them from watching, and football fans in general needn’t forgo the wings and things party spread. Opera Mini was wrong once before and it involved the Giants. Not to mention the Giants propensity to come on strong late in the season and pull off an upset or a few (hello, Super Bowl XLVI!).
Gossip and Tech Buzz: What People Talked About Online This Week
January 28, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Cher is not dead. The latest Twitter death hoax played out in rapid real time on Thursday night, only to be quickly proven false. The 65-year-old singer is alive and well and at home in Malibu, hanging with comedian Kathy Griffin and watching reruns of son Chaz on Dancing with the Stars. (Okay, so we made up that last part!)
It was a mixed week for women in politics, especially from those in states and countries beginning with the letter ‘A’.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ-8) resigned her seat via a YouTube video. Giffords was severely wounded last year when she was shot in the head during a Tuscon shooting rampage. Her recovery thus far has been incredible, yet partial, and her moving video announcement was only eclipsed by her appearance on the House floor during President Obama’s State of the Union address (more popularly known now as #SOTU). Obama and Giffords exchanged a long and swaying embrace – only the staunchest Tea Party members were able to keep their eyes dry.
A day later, President Obama flew to Arizona, only to be greeted by a finger-pointing Republican governor Jan Brewer. The photo posted ’round the online channels is drawing some unfortunate comparisons.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Prime Minister Julia Gillard required an avalanche of security to remove her from a glass restaurant where an angry mob of Aboriginal activists pounded on the windows. In the ensuing pandemonium, the PM lost a shoe. A Tumblr blog called Julia Gillard’s Shoe is covering the saga.
Not be outdone by these lovely ladies, the GOP men running for president continued to make headlines. Newt Gingrich, in an effort to out-space alien opponent Ron Paul, promised that the US would not only colonize on the moon if he became president, we’d make it a state! Senator John Kerry (D-MA) showed up at #SOTU with two black eyes – reportedly from a couple of hockey pucks gone astray.
Beyond the political realm, people were talking about Pinterest – the new social media tool that has entered the Social Media Top 10, thus warranting you to check it out. Might be a good thing, since it was reported that Facebook can make you depressed. Silicon Valley got the sh*t people say treatment, with a video that quickly went viral and if you think Kim Dotcom is not a real person, think again.
Australia Day: Australian PM Julia Gillard Loses Shoe in Angry Mob Attack
January 27, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Australia’s top two politicians were whisked away from an angry mob in Canberra during Australia Day festivities this week. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott were celebrating the national holiday in a swanky restaurant, sipping champagne when a group of some 200 people from the nearby Aboriginal tent embassy surrounded the premises and began chanting ”Shame”, ”Racist” and ”Always was, will be, Aboriginal land” while banging on the restaurant’s the glass walls.
It’s believed the protests were sparked by comments made by Abbott about ”moving on” the Aboriginal tent embassy, which celebrated its 40th anniversary yesterday.
In the scramble by security to whisk the Prime Minister and Abbott to safety, Ms. Gillard lost a shoe. The protesters are now alternating between using it as a trophy (as shown in the video above) and/or hostage (as shown in this video) to get Gillard to meet with the new Aboriginal parliament.
Australia’s relations with its Aboriginal citizens has been contentious, to say the least, since European settlers began arriving on the continent in the 1600s.
“Sh*t Silicon Valley Says”
January 27, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
In the sh*t people say and the YouTube video craze around it (Sh*t White Girls Say to Black Girls, Sh*t Girls Say to Gay Guys, Stuff PR People Say, etc.), this parody of Silicon Valley is a little late. In fact, if it was technology it would be the rotary dial phone to today’s smart phones. But the Valley isn’t necessarily known for its sense of humor, which is evident in the first string of comments denying that people who live and work there talk like this.
Since the Valley ate San Francisco, or the San Andreas fault line moved us closer together, I think I speak from experience when I say I’ve heard a few of these phrases. And, I’m guilty of a few myself. “It’s like Instagram…” or “It’s like Foursquare” and “I’ve already retweeted that…and reblogged it, too!”
SOPA and PIPA Who? These Two Congressional Acts Explained
January 26, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Did you spend January 18th in the dark? Did you sign petitions, attend a rally, keep a low profile online or do something to explain to someone why the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the lesser known PIPA (Protect IP Act) are a bad idea?
A lot of people did. In fact, the grassroots movement led by the tech industry – both big players and small – to halt these two pieces of legislation was so fierce, “more than 162 million people saw the protest message on Wikipedia, 18 senators have backed away from the proposed legislation, and 4.5 million people signed a petition against the acts.”
In fact PC World also reports that “The New York Times called Wednesday’s online activism, that also included messages of protest from Craigslist, Google and Mozilla, “a political coming of age for the tech industry.”
Like we said above, the online activism was not limited to just the “big” players like Wikipedia, Mozilla, Wired, et al. Some small players like TheOatmeal.com came on strong – with this animated .gif you see playing here.
This should sort out what could happen if SOPA and PIPA in their current forms became law. Yes – the movie industry needs protection from their materials being blatantly pirated and sold for profit. But protections put in place for that multi-gazillion dollar industry should not be so full of holes that they can be turned around and applied to those who are freely expressing themselves on the Internet, using link backs and crediting original sources, like this.
So, share the love with a link, credit your sources, call your representatives in Congress and sign an online petition. Do what you can to keep the Internet free…and interesting.
Sources: TheOatmeal.com, PCWorld and Worthwhile (blog).
Gossip and Tech Buzz: What People Are Talking about Online This Week
January 20, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
There was only really one story this week – wasn’t there? SOPA – and how to stop it. The Stop Online Piracy Act and its bastard cousin PIPA (Protect IP Act) sound like something we would want. But in reality, they are something that Hollywood wants to protect foreign countries (um…China) from copying movies and selling them, thus keeping the Hollywood moguls from getting even richer.
Nothing wrong with that, really. But the way the legislation is written leaves a lot of room for interpreting what exactly constitutes “piracy” and “protecting IP”. Read “SOPA and PIPA Explained – at Last!” or, if you’re a more visual type, check out TheOatmeal.com’s rendering of the big Internet balckout. You’ll be up to speed in no time.
With the Internet on strike all day Wednesday, January 18 one might have feared those crazy Republican presidential contenders wouldn’t have enough online time this week to out-whackjob one another. But, lo and behold, the minute the Internet blinked back to life, one of Newt Gingrich’s ex-wives came forward to tell us how Newt asked her for an open marriage…and wanted to trade her in for a “Chevrolet.” Ah, you can’t make this stuff up!
Not to be outdone by celebrity chef Paula Deen’s controversial diabetes type 2 diagnosis (that’s what happens when you need a side of breadsticks to accompany your bacon cheese fries), Jersey Shore “star”, Snooki took a photo of herself sans makeup.
And how was your week online? All these stories – and more – are curated over at the Online Media Roundup.
Photo courtesy of KazzaDrask Media.
What Can You Do to Stop SOPA?
January 19, 2012 by Kathy Drasky
Lots of sites went dark yesterday, January 18, 2011. With all this talk about the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill in Congress that is meant to stop foreign Internet sites from pirating copyrighted US materials off the Internet, it’s easy to get confused. Surely, none of us want our materials stolen by a “rogue” overseas site or anyone else. But the way the current bill is written, there could be backlash against sites as big as Wikipedia.
In the worst case scenario, SOPA could shut down your site for an infringement you may not even be aware of. Small businesses or self-employed bloggers would probably go out of business rather than try to keep up with regulations meant to protect them that could be ultimately be turned against them. A lot of bigger sites could find themselves in hot water and endless legal disputes that could severely harm their bottom lines as well. The ACLU sees this as a free speech issue.
How SOPA would affect you? – FAQs answered on CNET.com
Besides turning your site off for the day and/or doing your best to keep a low-profile online what else can you do to stop SOPA?
First, you can try to understand what SOPA is and share that information with as many people as possible. (See the FAQ link above). Then, if you support the work of the ACLU and their dogged protection of our first amendment rights, you can sign their petition. There is a Senate version of SOPA that is much better written than the current House version. Even President Obama opposes SOPA in its current form. Do what you can to stop SOPA and keep the Internet safe to express your opinions and freely share information. There is no place for censorship in the United States. Here’s also a link to a HuffPost piece where SOPA forces Obama to pick sides between donors from Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
