"Can you use this photo, please and thank you"

"Woman offers media more flattering photo to replace mugshots after Sydney jailbreak"

The police statement alerting the public to her escape was accompanied by two images they had taken of the young woman, wearing a glum expression and a red blanket over her shoulders.

Both the photos and the statement were shared to Sydney’s 7 News Facebook page.

Almost immediately, Sharp commented on the post from her personal profile with a more flattering image of herself and a simple request. 

"Immigration officials prohibited from looking at visa applicants' social media"

The Hill: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson decided against ending a secret U.S. policy that prohibits immigration officials from reviewing social media posts of foreigners applying for U.S. visas, according to a report by ABC News.

Johnson decided to keep the prohibition in place in early 2014 because he feared a civil liberties backlash and “bad public relations,” according to ABC.

“During that time period immigration officials were not allowed to use or review social media as part of the screening process,” John Cohen, a former acting undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security for intelligence and analysis, told ABC News.

The policy's revelation comes after U.S. officials learned that Tashfeen Malik, one of the San Bernardino shooters, posted a message on Facebook declaring allegiance to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria; 14 people were killed.

The Great Unlearning

Link to video

"Orange County Public Schools to monitor students on social media"

"The Orange County school district is now monitoring students' social media messages in an effort to curb cyberbullying, crime on campus and suicide."

"This is a tool that gives the district intelligence into a situation that could possibly prevent something more serious from happening," Orange County Public Schools Senior Director of Safety and Security Doug Tripp said.

"Safety in and around school campuses is the top priority for Orange County school leaders," OCPS said in a news release. "Recognizing social media is a major communication system, the district has acquired social media monitoring software."

Wait until Rand Paul finds out about this.

Via @GaltsGirl

"Reddit Declares Itself a ‘Government’"

"In response to the rapid growth of the /r/TheFappening subreddit, (where celebrity nudes were posted) Reddit CEO Yishan Wong took to the official Reddit blog to explain why they would not be shutting it down. In the post, called “Every Man Is Responsible For His Own Soul,” he said:

The reason is because we consider ourselves not just a company running a website where one can post links and discuss them, but the government of a new type of community. The role and responsibility of a government differs from that of a private corporation, in that it exercises restraint in the usage of its powers.

If that sounds like grandiose language for a social network, consider that if Facebook were a country, it would nearly be tied with China for the highest population. Consider that everything from political organization to the way we move money is tying itself to social media... (read more)

Shortly after Mr. Wong’s post went up, r/TheFappening was, in fact, shut down, and probably for the best. One minute it stays, the next it’s gone. It could happen on any community, at any time, without explanation. After all, even if Reddit can be called a government, what we can’t call it is a democracy.

BetaBeat

First Ever Vine From Space

Astronaut sends first ever Vine from space http://t.co/5sQH2NHbb1 https://t.co/duKcylMNzQ
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) June 9, 2014

Hashtag diplomacy

The State Department Is Getting Ruthlessly Mocked For Tweets Of 'Hashtag Diplomacy'
Businessinsider

This took me far too long to figure out what twitter users were on about. The logic on twitter is fractured and scattered, what there is of logic. To our tremendous embarrassment our State Department imagines twitter hashtags will have any affect whatsoever on Russian actions. This is their sense of enlightened diplomacy.

The State Department's idea is to spread awareness of the situation in Ukraine, this while Russia masses on Ukraine's eastern border.

That would be spread awareness among Twitter users, no?

Jen Psaki, spokesperson for U.S. State Department tweeted this:

Igniting a snark riot.

My favorite:

Although I'm not sure how Dewey/Truman newspaper error has anything to do with it, that was the confusing part, but sill kind of funny. Others more apposite than this and more snarky. Here are a few in plain text stripped of confounding Twitterese:

I hear laughter in the #Kremlin -> John Kerry Just Gave #Russia A Final Warning

2016 Barack Obama wins the Nobel Hashtag Prize.

"We will Hashtag you !" Khruschev at the UN.

Khruschev pounded his shoe. Obama State Dept pounds...a pound sign. Cuz #hashtagdiplomacy y'all!=>

Has the hashtag been voxsplained yet?

(Ew, good one -- a twofer.)

Maybe it's just time to defriend Russia and ignore their texts?

The right to bear #hashtags shall not be infringed.

Jay, Adams, Seward, Hay, Acheson, Dulles... Our great past Secretaries of State wish they could come back to pimp slap Kerry right now.

The hashtags are going out all over Europe - English Sec Grey at the start of WWI.

at least Kerry can say he accomplished a #hashtag attack on #russia   #hillarynotsomuch

if you outlaw #hashtags, only outlaws will have #hashtags

Obama promised that we would beat our blogs into ploughshares; now he wants to escalate into a flame war.

We shall have peace. We shall have peace when Saruman honors his hashtags. - Theoden King.

And so on. I am so proud to be American right now. That whole 'world's policeman' thing was getting old. Our legacy squandered.

Harry Reid's Facebook page

Finally something truly cheering on Facebook, Harry Reid's Facebook page. Comments are full, too full they expand so hidden treasures in there tucked away easily overlooked. A cheerful read indeed. Opening and clicking, amusing pictures, heartening links all the way down, delightful uplifting commentary to all Harry's entries.

The most extraordinary case of profound deafness I've ever seen. Harry Reid's posts followed by comments are two entirely separate conversations. Harry against everybody. He presumes to lead.