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The decision facing Facebook is advertising without invading people’s privacy. Facebook knows that if companies are not getting quality advertisement on their site, it will cause to site to take a collapse. Without the adverts, Facebook would not have enough money to fund their site. They basically have to find a balance between advertising, making money, and keeping the users happy!

Strengths that Facebook has are: great for networking, another source of emailing, and is great for marketing yourself as a person. A weakness that Facebook has is that there could be sexual predators on the site, adding to many features that are making Facebook more of a kiddy site. Facebook also has a problem displaying too much information on a person which creates privacy issues.

Facebook has a chance to be the biggest virtual networking site in the world. Thus it could be used as a great advantage once a strategic plan is formulated to advertise while keeping the users happy. However, threats can still be posed. MySpace and other virtual site could steal Facebook’s users if care is not taken due to privacy issues. Also, the site has to make sure people are posting pictures that are suitable; if not the site can be shut down.

This summer, many will find themselves cooling off by the water, grilling out with friends and family, or playing a game of volleyball. Whatever it is that you decide to do outdoors - you need to consider wearing an SPF to protect your skin from the sun. The exposure you have to the sun today will show up as damage in the skin you expose not only in the days that follow as a sunburn, but in the months and years to come as wrinkles, freckles, discolorations, an uneven skin tone. In addition to the sun, the skin can be damaged over time and lose its luster from free radicals. Free radicals are from chemical compounds with a missing electron. When free radicals make contact with the skin, they can “steal” electrons from collagen strands to stabilize it. Collagen is what gives skin its luster and elasticity.

Cell Block-C New Cell Protection SPF 20 from BeautiControl protects your skin not only from sun with UVA/UVB protection, but also has the added benefit of vitamin C. Vitamin C benefits skin in two crucial ways. One, research has shown that vitamin C is really the only thing that stimulates the growth of collagen; and second, its antioxidant properties help reduce skin damage caused by free radicals. Therefore, when vitamin C is delivered to skin cells, it can help to reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture.

Vitamin C, however, can be very unstable; and this instability can make it very difficult to harness the benefits of the vitamin C. When vitamin C is exposed to air it rapidly undergoes oxidation, reducing its potency. BeautiControl, has helped solve this problem with innovative packaging. The special pump with a double tube system only allows the product exiting the tube to come in contact with air. With immediate application from tube to skin, the vitamin C benefits are maximized. There are very few sunscreens/ daytime moisturizers available that supply skin with such an impressive cocktail of beneficial ingredients that not only prevent future damage but also target existing damage. In fact, 80% of the signs of skin aging in adults are a result from suntans gotten as a teen. This product, with all of its benefits, also deserves strong consideration for those with sensitive skin issues such as rosacea. As a user, I can vouch that it works beautifully!

Throughout history people have used folk remedies and herbs to improve their memory. Even if these techniques aren’t scientifically proven, people use them to this day. For example, sage has appeared in many cultures as a stimulant and an aid to health. In medieval times, purple sage was an ingredient of tonics that were concocted to improve memory and longevity. Ginseng root powders were used to improve memory in Asian cultures. The green leafy vegetable kale was used to help rheumatism, eyesight and memory. This list goes on. Sweet violet, ginkgo biloba, fennel, hazelnuts and cayenne, have all been used to help with memory loss.

The Indian culture came up with a help for memory loss by observing elephants in their natural habitat. Those who worked closely with elephants noticed how much the pachyderms favored the herb gotu kola. It prompted ancient Indian medical practitioners, who practiced what is known as Ayurvedic medicine, to use the herb as a nerve tonic to enhance clarity, balance and calmness. Interestingly, the same herb was used in Appalachia for the same reason. In modern times holistic doctors and health care providers sometimes prescribe gotu kola to stimulate circulation. It now comes in capsules and is mixed with horse chestnut and butcher’s broom.

Antje Duvekot is one of those singer-songwriters that should be wildly (and widely) well-known and appreciated. Her music so original, so engaging so utterly individual and creative, that it can already take its place among the songwriting giants. Yes, that means folks like Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Duvekot’s lyrics are lush, but never end up in the land corny conclusions or predictable love mush. Her songs make you think, they make you tear-up, they make you want to fly. The can make your heart flip with tenderness or harden up a little with anger and doubt.

Duvekot, who emerged from Boston’s rich folk music scene, moved to the United States from Germany when she was a teen. (Thus, the cool sounding name.) She first identified with the feminist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, and one can see some similarities. But Duvekot’s lyrics and melodies are more internal and poetic and less overtly political than DiFranco’s. Not to diss, Ani DiFranco, but Duvekot has the potential to entire the league of songwriting greats. DiFranco’s music doesn’t have as wide of an appeal as Duvejot’s. Her latest CD “The Near Demise of the High Wire Dancer,” is exquisite. It showcases her wide vocal ranges and features the production of songwriter Richard Shindell. His hand can be felt in the authenticity of the CD. It is not “over-produced,” something Duvekot’s last CD, Big Dream Boulevard, was criticized for.

One of the big business stories of the past couple of years is the decline of the traditional newspaper industry. Once powerful media giants such as the Chicago Tribune and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer have been on the skids. The Post-Intelligence ceased publication in 2009, making Seattle the first major U.S. city without a daily print newspaper. Most major daily newspapers have such a drastic decline in advertising revenue that threatens their very survival. Across the country, newsroom staffs have been slashed. It’s all led to the speculation that print journalism as we know it is on its death bed. Is it true? In five years will it be possible to sit down with a cup of coffee and read the Sunday newspaper?

Unfortunately, it is probably true that print journalism will never be what it used to be. The majority of people now get their news on-line or from TV. But there is likely still room for some kind of print product to survive in the marketplace. Experts believe many of the products that survive will be smaller, more targeted towards niche markets and less ambitious than in the past. Some papers will follow the lead of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and migrate on-line. Others might publish stories on-line everyday, but print editions a couple of times a week. This is the model currently being used by The City Paper in Nashville. It remains to be seen if a successful business model will emerge from the industry crisis. This leaves gaping questions, especially about watchdog reporting. Who will report on the bad guys, the scandals, the hard-to-investigate stories? Many newspapers are unable to pay the salaries of top investigative salaries anymore. They opt for boiler-plate stories about the community. The stories have use, but lack impact. Outlets such as the Public Broadcasting System or private foundations might fill the gap by subsidizing investigative work, but it all remains to be seen.

Even though Crooked Still is one of the most lauded bluegrass bands in the world, they aren’t the usual suspects. The band isn’t based in Nashville, Kentucky or other likely bluegrass hubs. They have emerged from Boston’s eclectic folk music scene. Although not as widely known as progressive bluegrass groups such as Nickel Creek or Allison Krauss and The Union Station, Crooked Still is the darling of critics. And it’s no wonder. The quintet has a pristine, high-winding sound that’s a mix of angelic vocals, Celtic-laced melodies and perfect harmonies.. The Boston Globe has called this group “the most important folk group to emerge from Boston since the early 60’s.”

Crooked Still’s latest CD, Still Crooked, is its best yet. The ensemble effort is inspired music that honors bluegrass but pushes it into a new direction that’s looser and more lyrical. There’s plenty of tradition on this recording, but there’s also a big dose of improvisation. You can hear it all in the mix - old-timey music, bluegrass, folk, Appalachian ballads and jazz. The entire album was recorded in one big room, with everyone in the band playing together. Eric Merrill’s production is even-handed and wise, perhaps because he’s a performing alternative bluegrass musician himself. The result is an infectious cluster of alternative bluegrass songs that can produce a range of emotions - from joy to melancholy. It’s the best bluegrass album of 2008, well on its way to becoming a classic in the genre.

Orcas Island is the largest of the San Juan Islands, a chain of over 100 islands in the Puget Sound. The island is a popular vacation spot for those seeking serenity, privacy and beauty. Even before it was discovered by Spanish explorers in the late 1700s, Orcas was a “vacation spot.” Coastal Indians treated the island as sacred hunting and burial grounds. For 4,000 years they conducted “summer camps” where harvested fish.  About 20 years ago, the Lummi Nation, a Northwest tribe centered near Bellingham, WA, reclaimed an ancient burial site on the island’s Madrona Point. The event was covered in major newspapers and seen as a victory for the property rights of indigenous tribes.

Accessible by a ferry that launches from Anacortes, WA, Orcas is uncommonly beautiful. Within its land mass of about 57 square miles, there are valleys, small mountains, gorgeous rocky beaches, picturesque farms and tiny unincorporated villages. The island is shaped like a pair of saddlebags. Each side of the saddlebags is separated by the fjord-like East Sound. At the northern end of the island is the central village of Eastsound, where there are a few streets, a public school, tourist shops, a grocery store, public library, restaurants and lodging and historical structures. It takes about 15 minutes to drive from the ferry landing to Eastsound.

The opposite colors of hot red and cool blue combine to create the color purple. It’s a mysterious color, often associated with nobility, spirituality, wisdom and divinity. Purple was not on Sir Issac Newton’s original color wheel, which adds to its hard-to-get mythology. On the color spectrum it’s placed between red and violet. It doesn’t have its own wavelength of light because it only exists as a combination of red and blue. There are different shades associated with purple, including violet, plum, lavender, lilac, puce, thistle, orchid, mauve, magenta, amethyst, wine, eggplant, pomegranate and mulberry.

In Western Civilization, purple dye was the most expensive to produce because it was made from a rare species of mollusks. It was a costly process to create the dye, which meant only the rich could afford purple garments. Purple was the preferred color of the Byzantine and Roman royalty. In China, purple was considered the color of the North Star and the center of heaven. In Thailand, a Buddhist county, purple is the honored color worn by mourning widows. In the United States military, The Purple Heart is a medal of honor given to soldiers who have been wounded in battle. There’s also a new tradition in the United States of associating purple with wisdom that comes with the celebration of aging. A popular book in the 1980s, “When I’m an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple,” drove this point home, suggesting that the older one gets, the more purple they are

Work/life balance has gained steam as a relevant topic in America because so many citizens are burning the candle at both ends. A recent on-line survey showed that 70 percent of employed Americans are working more than 40 hours a week. There are many reasons for our collective workaholism. Some people are simply trying to make ends meet, others have a competitive desire to advance their careers and still others have a deep fear of losing a job during a recession that has pummeled most industries. If you are working more than 50 hours a week, you need find ways to make sure you don’t burn out completely. Don’t use the recession as an excuse for neglecting yourself or your family.

Researchers at The Mayo Clinic say striking a work-life balance is a continuous process that’s important for our overall health and lifespan. It doesn’t mean swinging from one extreme to another, but it does require examining priorities and setting boundaries. You will need to discipline yourself and treated private “down” time the same way you would getting to work on time. Make sure you take the vacation days and personal days you have coming. And remember, having a personal life shouldn’t mean you aren’t fully available to your career. What are some small steps that you can take? Can you turn off your cell phone for a long weekend and rent a cabin at a State Park? How about working from home for a day?

It’s being called the new way to meet your life partner, and it’s, well, just a litle bit bizzarre. The idea behind “Speed Shop Dating” is this: The organizers rent out a local organic grocery store for an hour one night, and then invite all the local singles looking to kill two birds with one stone.

“We always hear of happy couples who met in the produce isle. So we thought we would get more intentional about that,” says Catherine Wood, creator of SpeedShopDate, Inc. in Boulder, Colorado.

“So in the space of an hour or so, people walk the isles, shopping for things they need, all the while meeting and talking with other local singles looking for love on isle five. It’s a lot of fun!”

Indeed.

But when asked if it changes shoppers’ behavior, she replied, “Oh, definitely. Women rarely grab personal hygiene items, and for some reason, men are embarrassed to be seen buying a six-pack of beer.”

Sounds like real-world dating to us! Where do we sign up?