Have you ever had an unusual symptom and looked it up on the internet or asked a medical professional on social media? Of course you have. Everyone does this at one point or another, right? Well, then you probably know the horrors that are waiting for you. It might be a simple rash or a respiratory infection, but just the suggestion that it could be cancer sends your heart and mind racing. That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about today. A report was issued that shows that many more people are researching medical symptoms on the internet and discussing these things on social media than ever before. Is it good, or is it bad?

Personally, I don’t really have an opinion. Well, I guess it’s more that I can waver on the topic than not having an opinion at all. I use the internet to research medical symptoms all the time. Sometimes I get unnecessarily freaked out and other times I’m exactly right and I can start making changes to make myself better. Here’s an example: I was taking doxycycline for an extended period of time as treatment for Lyme disease. I know you’re supposed to stay out of the sun when you take this medication, but I couldn’t help myself. It was too nice out. So, I sat outside and before too long, my hands started burning. Not visibly, but I could feel them burning. Of course, I went inside, but the feeling didn’t subside right away.

After a few weeks, I noticed that my nails were separating from the nail beds. I freaked out; naturally. I was going to run to the doctor, but I could just imagine the barrage of tests that I was in for. So, I did a ton of research, ruled out everything that didn’t make sense for me, and I learned that there were a few documented cases where photosensitivity from tetracycline have caused this to happen. So, I decided to wait it out and my nails eventually grew in completely normal. Since this is an odd case, I don’t know that my doctor would have been able to diagnose it without extensive (and expensive) testing. I saw lots of travel and copay expenses in my near future.

But, then again, there’s a case to be made for the danger of it all. What if it had been something serious and I decided to wait on going to the doctor because of what I read on the internet or heard through social media? That would be a serious problem. So, I see both sides. And I understand why doctors advise you not to research symptoms on the internet in lieu of an office visit. But, I’ll probably continue doing it anyway.

Mashable recently conducted an experiment of sorts to see how plugged-in people would handle a two week break from social media. I know, for some of you it may seem cruel and unusual, but that’s what went down.

Every single person out of the five voluntary participants pretty much said that they agreed to do it out of curiosity. They wanted to see how unplugging would affect their lives, if at all. If you think about it, that’s actually really smart. We tend not to evaluate things as we go, and I think that’s how we often find ourselves in situations where we’re either unhappy or in over our heads or just plain not managing our time well (as it goes with social media).

Unplugging offers you the opportunity to see what your life would be without this distraction. If there’s a stark contrast; like, say, you get more work done or feel better about your in-person connections with people; it might be time to scale back on the time you spend on social media for the long haul.

You’re probably wondering how it affected the participants. Well, it affected each of them differently. One said he realized how trivial Facebook was after getting back on after the break. Another said the break made her realize how disconnected inter-personal relationships are without social media. I’m not sure I understand her perspective, but maybe she means that people are more straightforward on sites like Twitter (you kind of have to be). Another participant commented on how great it was to be able to watch a movie from beginning to end without looking away to update a status or reply to someone else’s. For the full story, check out Mashable.

But, I guess that means that social media means different things to different people. At the very least, a social media break will probably let you know where you stand (true addict or casual user). And don’t say you can’t take a social media break. There are very few careers where you are required to be on social media in order to get your job done. Actually, most employers take measures to keep their employees off of Facebook and Twitter. So, if you’re a paralegal, fireman, teacher or dog trainer, you don’t have any excuse not to take a break. On the other hand, if you’re a social media manager, you’re kinda stuck. The best you can do is maybe neglect your personal accounts (unless they are somehow tied to the success of your business page).

A verdict has been announced in the Rutgers trial. Dharun Ravi was found guilty of a hate crime for using his webcam to spy on his roommate, broadcasting his gay sexual encounter on the internet. Ravi could spend up to 10 years in jail – and he could be deported.

This was a really interesting case in many ways. It touches on online privacy, freedom of speech and cyber bullying. Members of the jury who were interviewed said it was not an easy case to decide. Ultimately, the piece of evidence that sealed Ravi’s fate was a recording of his first interview with prosecutors where he admits that he purposely spied on Clementi.

At one point, the defense argued that Ravi had the camera set up so he could keep an eye on his belongings while a strange man was in his room.

As I read the story today, so many things stood out that I wasn’t aware of before. First, I didn’t know Ravi was in danger of being deported. But, he’s not a U.S. citizen (he’s Indian), and the U.S. deports almost all criminals that aren’t U.S. natives.

Another thing that I found interesting was that Ravi turned down a plea bargain that would have kept him out of jail and in this country. He would have had to deal with a probation officer, but that’s about it. That just goes to show that he really didn’t expect to be convicted.

A lot of people are surprised by the verdict. Even “M.B.” (Clementi’s date on the tape) has said that he doesn’t think Ravi should do time.

It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here, and what’s in store for this young man who had a very big, insensitive and stupid lapse in judgment. In a way I’m glad to see this type of precedent being set – because online bullying needs to stop. But, on the other hand, I do feel a little bad for Ravi. I don’t know if it was a “hate crime” or if he just hated his roommate and made a dumb move.

Are you wondering where the girls from your high school class finally ended up? Did Tammy end up finishing her pharmacy technician certification? Did McKenzie ever get into one of the online MBA degree programs she was trying for? Did Jess complete her medical transcription training? If you’re losing sleep asking yourself any of these questions, then it’s definitely the time for you to join the social networking circle.

Social networking has come a long way since it first began. It was not long ago when the extent of computer use was for sending e-mail. Today, while e-mail is still our primary mode of communication, social networking has completely revolutionized the way we communicate with each other. Perhaps the most rewarding outcome of social networking is reconnecting with old friends and family. Today with Facebook and twitter one can not only reconnect but can stay connected every waking moment of the day.

Classmates.com has made it very easy to reconnect with old schoolmates.  Doing a quick search on the site along with a few details can have your entire class at your fingertips within moments. With its 50 million users classmates.com allows classmates from high school, middle school and elementary school connect from any American or Canadian school.  The narrow focus of this site makes it the go-to network for folks looking to connect with their childhood.

Facebook boasts over half a billion users, you read right, half a billion!  Strangely enough Facebook started as a site meant for college students to reconnect, but today my great aunt has her own Facebook profile which she updates on an almost daily basis!

LinkedIn with its 90 million users is another great tool for professionals to connect with. It provides u

p-to-date information with e-mail addresses, phone numbers and all professional affiliations. Besides reconnecting with old friends, new connections can be made that help professionally.

Twitter with its 150 million users is a micro blogging site that not only helps you reconnect but keeps you connected in the most intimate ways. The upkeep with twitter is very simple.  Single word or single sentence tweets can let one’s “followers” know what one is up to at every passing minute.

Just as with any good thing, there is a downside to all of this.  Cyber stalking has become quite the issue among the young and old alike. Although there are precautions one can take with restricting access to one’s profile, there is always a way to get around them, especially as you have no control over the people that do have access. So while you connect with your high school sweetheart, don’t forget that the class clown had a crush on you and might have been waiting for just the right moment before making his move!

Working as computer forensics specialist I spend a great deal of time online. Even my training was through an online course. In my spare time I often wonder where the best deals on the internet are. So here you have it……

What does Amazon’s fourth quarter sales projections have to do with crude oil prices? Quite simple actually, as the shopping season is all set to begin with Thanksgiving just around the corner, gas prices will dictate how many people go out to shop as opposed to doing a majority of shopping online. Amazon.com has become quite the phenomenon by bringing together several sellers to their online store.  

Unlike Ebay there is no bidding and they put the customer directly with the seller. While Amazon will have you believe that they the best deals online, it is quite the contrary. There are plenty of deals to be had on the internet. The problem is finding them. You have new upstarts such as Groupons that offer great deals but you have to pay upfront and it is difficult to get your money back once you have used the services.

So how does one go about finding great deals on the Internet? Pretty much every retail store like Sears, Target, Macy’s and Staples have their own version of online stores. Also, each week they have their must-have sales. So how does one go from one retail store’s website to another looking for these great deals without spending their entire weekend on the computer?

A simple search on Google for “great deals on the internet” will yield over 200 million results, but which one do you trust? This is the dilemma. Over the years I have frequented half a dozen or so sites that, on a daily basis collect the best deals on the internet and post it as a collection that is easy to review and decide if what you want is being sold at a discount and where.

So here are my favorite five –

1. http://www.deals2buy.com – a great resource to start with.
2. http://www.edealsinfo.com – a terrific source for all things electronic
3. http://www.dealcatcher.com – from cruises to desktops
4. http://www.slickdeals.com – deals from mega retailers
5. http://www.techbargains.com – another fantastic resource for everything related to technology.

So no matter what you’re looking for start here and see where it takes you! Happy hunting.