For the longest time, companies have been warning the public that online presences such as social networking profiles and web pages have effects on employment (or keeping your job once you’ve been employed).

If in the last decade, social networking sites are considered “kiddy” activities that don’t deserve a second look, the same cannot be said for today. Employers are now routinely doing “background checks” by viewing pages on Multiply or Facebook. This allows potential employers a view into the life of a potential employee in a way that has never been made possible before.

What are the consequences of such “snooping” on the part of employers (or bosses)? Well, there is the usual disciplinary measure against the employee who has inappropriate pictures of himself on the Internet, as well as layoffs for more severe offenders.

A common call

The concept of employers checking out the online profiles of current employees and yet-to-be official employees started in 2001 (well, at least that’s what they say), with the increased popularization of social networking websites like Friendster, Multiply, Facebook and others.

There has been a common call for “decency”, because employers want to keep the company name pristine, and they believe that professionalism extends well beyond the physical borders of the office.

The snooping is done even by small companies and even private and government institutions, like schools. There have been many cases of teachers being questioned after appearing less-then-professional in their Facebook profiles. In a large way, social networking websites are now included in the evaluation of a person’s personality and mental well-being.

More effective than vague psychological tests, employers can now simply check the online profiles of employees to see how they are in real life. If they appear as less than deserving online, they just might get their knuckles rapped.

Control what is posted

If used properly, social networking websites are fine. The overuse, and to a certain degree, misusing it gets people in trouble. For example, there might be something wrong when employers see an employee saying “I will drink sixty beers later” on a blog post or a Plurk. Or the employee that is seen with her top off, drunk at some secluded beach party. All these online activities are considered a no-no for employers.

In a very big way, employers are training people to be more responsible and consistent in they way they build their images on the Internet. One has to be consistent if one is to succeed in any kind of work; this includes being consistently decent and toned down when it comes to social networking websites.

People don’t need to wait to be at odds with their employers before they practice a certain degree of restraint- as much as possible, confrontations of this nature should be avoided at all costs. If you do get communication about your Facebook account, you are in deep trouble already.

Legal consultants and employers everywhere have one, uniform recommendation for all: lack of restraint means conflict; unresolved conflicts means trouble for you and not for the employers.

Popularity: 1% [?]

NFC or Near-Field Communication has been around for years in Japan; it’s the same technology that has allowed countless Japanese folk to monitor and finish transactions wirelessly through NFC-enable mobile phones. This year, there is a move to globalize NFC by introducing an international standard protocol for its use by banks, shopping malls and other commercial institutions.

The GSM Association has its sights fixed on the standardization by next year, and according to press releases, a simple yet powerful interface would be used for all yet-to-be-released NFC mobile phones.

Phones as electronic wallets

The basic conundrum is hardware and software compatibility between the commercial institutions and the persons wishing to transact wirelessly with their SIM cards. This problem will be resolved by popularizing NFC mobile phones, which can interact with NFC hardware.

AT&T and other large telecommunication conglomerates are positive regarding this particular development. If carriers are willing to support this shift to NFC enabled mobile phones, then shipments and sales are predicted to increase as well.

NFC technology is strongly affiliated with 3G, or the latest international protocol for GSM phones worldwide. Its development will overlap the increasing proliferation of 3G Smartphones as well, which will definitely expand the business-related dimension of current mobile phone technology.

As expected, large companies are already on the move. Nokia for example, already has a mobile unit that is NFC-enabled: the 6212. What NFC technology and what other similar technologies emphasize is wireless transactions coupled with value-added features.

For example, important file types like business cards can be wirelessly communicated to another NFC-enabled handset. This is quite useful for people who need to keep track of people they meet.

Making life easier

The point of wireless payments and other wireless transactions is you eliminate middlemen and you eliminate the need to go to brick-and-mortar structures to take care of business. For example, if checking your current savings account balance is already efficient, then imagine a fuller banking experience with NFC-enabled mobile phones.

In a way, the proliferation of NFC-enabled mobile phones is another progression in the ever-dynamic network of globally-linked financial systems. By strengthening the technology, simplifying the interface and protecting the consumers by safeguarding the networks where it all lies, companies are giving tech savvy consumers power over how they use their money, and when.

Credit cards and debit cards

Financial institutions (and we’re not talking about just banks) are also on the move, and are doing everything in their power to make their presence significant in the global telecommunications region of the market.

Development has been a key feature in making the presence of credit cards like MasterCard successful. With clear marketing goals in mind, companies like AT&T are partnering with these financial institutions, and are staying for the long run, in the effort to standardize and normalize the use of mobile phones for purchases; and we’re not only talking about small purchases, but online shopping as well.

Nowhere to go but upwards for Near-Field Communication; it seems that we’re all going to have much slimmer wallets in the next few months. And we can’t wait to test this technology.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The search giant was in blaming mood this week on Viacom. This followed the controversies that were because of the lawsuit filed by the website on YouTube. Google, the parent of the video sharing site was held responsible for the number of videos of Viacom in YouTube without copyrights. Google now came with a report that this lawsuit threatens what is called as Internet Freedom and is ready to face the lawsuit. The technology of Google gets many critic appraisals and Google improves in the journey of those. While Viacom blames the same on Google, there are users across the world enjoying the controversy and the videos for sure.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Billionaire financier desires Jerry Yang out of Yahoo. The famous Billionaire shareholder Carl Icahn has affirmed that if he wins in his alternative battle in opposition to Yahoo over its removal from office of the Microsoft contract, he would look forward to take away Jerry Yang as its chief supervisory. Icahn barbed at details in patio documents from the investor suit in opposition to Yahoo Inc., viewing that Yahoo had by now taken steps to repulse the Microsoft takeover bid before it became open. The court case charges that Yahoo had in use aggressive steps to wedge the contract which showed the way to a breakdown in negotiations. Yahoo market shares value fell 1.3 percent to claim the figures of $26.05 on the Nasdaq this Tuesday.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The technology of web applications is something that is rather important for the social network sites. The search giant, Google has started revolving the concepts of web applications nowadays in a good stretch. Orkut is a finer example for this, whereas Facebook is the social networking site that is known for its use of web applications. To standardize the site, Facebook has started to impose regulations on the use of web applications. Now that the standards have started entering the concepts of the companies, the competition for the control of the world of web applications have started to heat up between Google and Facebook.

Popularity: 14% [?]