on For your eyes only, everyone Remembering social media isn’t secret media Sharon Miki assistant editor new concourse the other day and, lo! What did I see on the giant TV? Douglas College’s twitter feed was rolling across the bottom third. My first reaction? Nausea. Thoughts of random tweets I’d made to @douglascollege (namely, tweets about the availability of cake on campus) haunted me; while I understand that the nature of the social media that I love so dearly is to be, well, social, I was startled at S o I was walking through our shiny of stalkers in compiling and displaying everything there is to know about you since the fateful day you joined the site. From your friendships to breakups to marriages to photos to comments— Timeline helpfully tracks your life for you and any creepy or curious online fellows. Look, I’m not against social media: I don’t tweet my social insurance number and I like making jokes (my 337 Facebook friends provide me with a larger audience than my 13 real-life friends) so for me, the benefits outweigh the possibility of crushing embarrassment. Still, it’s important to remember that posting anything online— even if you’re alone when you hit send—is as public and vulnerable an act as running “We love our social media—instantly sharing our lives with the click-clack- clank of our fingers—but many of us forget that publishing posts, tweets, and instagrams is akin to shouting personal updates into an auditorium.” the overtly public display of it. We love our social media— instantly sharing our lives with the click-clack-clank of our fingers—but many of us forget that publishing posts, tweets, and instagrams is akin to shouting personal updates into an auditorium. We forget, that is, until we see them rolling across a large screen at our college. While social posts might seem closed and transient when we clumsily post “gfgodfgha drunk n seksi wooot” at 2 a.m. or tweet (in moments of intense existentialist contemplation) “life is truly: life #deep,” they’re actually open and enduring. Need proof? Take the case of the new Facebook Timeline. As Facebook’s latest invention, the Timeline takes the place 12 through a crowd: if you’re going to do it naked, be prepared for people to look. My tips for maintaining a successful online presence: e Never, ever, ever post anything that you wouldn’t want your mom, grandma, religious leader or future children to see. Because they will. And so will your boss ¢ Be mysterious. Try posting comments to events you don’t attend and check into places you’ve never been to in an attempt to throw your stalkers off your trail ¢ Photoshop all pictures of yourself that you post so online friends and followers think you’re more attractive than you actually are What to do when your back’s up against the Wall Occupy Wall Street returns to its birthplace By Dylan Hackett, Staff Writer he mass occupation of Wall Street is surging beyond the financial mecca of New York and spreading the revolutionary fever through to the rest of North America, with occupations being arranged at most major cities—including Vancouver. This means you don’t need to book a plane ticket to the Big Apple to be able to join the cause, but can simply unite with the Occupy Vancouver community on October 15, this Saturday, at the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Why me” you ask? Well, the causes being championed by the movement are actually very relevant to students. With tuition skyrocketing well beyond the more than just unemployed youths and has official support from many New York trade unions, including the 38 ,000-strong transit workers union. Also among the crowd are WWII veterans, donning full-uniform and signs. One of the heroes’ signs read “make Wall Street the tomb of greed.” With Occupy Vancouver, the movement is coming home to its intellectual birthplace. The Vancouver- based anti-consumerist and revolutionary publication Adbusters came up with the idea of occupying Wall Street, NYC after the sudden uprisings against corrupt, military-rule in North African countries had mass popular support and forced out cruel leaders such as Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya (though “What “#occupywallstreet” (the movement was thought up with Twitter hash tag in mind) and the demonstrations peripheral to it stand for is simple: the electorate refuses to be the victims of corporate kleptocracy.” pace of inflation, we have to remind our bought-and-paid for federal and provincial governments and the big businesses that fund their agenda that it is the voting public who elects them and us, not banks, oil companies, and other corporations, whom they should be held accountable to. We should be able to carve out our careers without amassing debts that can grow to be double what you borrowed, or in worst cases, bankrupt you. What “#foccupywallstreet” (the movement was thought up with Twitter hash tag in mind) and the demonstrations peripheral to it stand for is simple: the electorate refuses to be the victims of corporate kleptocracy. The fact that the occupation and demonstration is finally receiving media attention beyond that of progressive and independent blog-sites shows that the formidable 20,000 plus people camping out in New York are being acknowledged. The occupation is attracting the NATO invasion definitely helped spur him out.) Seeing the power of social media like Twitter and Facebook being used to organize individuals— citizen to citizen— was enough for Adbusters to publish the proposition of occupying Wall Street. From there, the idea carried itself to New York through social networks and has been facilitated by independent organizers. There are no corporate sponsors to the movement. Sure, Michael Moore has dropped by the protest zone and Radiohead played a free show for those demonstrating, but Adbusters neither paid nor told them to. We are at the beginning of an organic and grassroots movement that if built by determined people will facilitate real change beyond election-time sound bites and campaign promises. Show up to Occupy Vancouver as a student, as a citizen—as someone with a stake in your own future.