Social Software and Tagging

Burger King's Twitter Account Hacked: The Best Responses Across Twitter

Starting around 11 a.m. yesterday morning, a merry prankster "hacked" Burger King's Twitter account and began posting status updates in a style which Gizmodo writer Sam Biddle described as "a combination of McDonald's and amphetamine addict." Read the first fake Tweet from the Burger King account: ... More >>

Denise Pratt: Family Court Judge Issues Blanket Gag Order, Because it Sucks When the Public Knows What's Going On

We've heard of judges issuing gag orders in especially sensitive cases, but until now, we've never heard of a judge issuing a blanket gag order: Harris County Family Court Judge Denise Pratt on January 23 sent a motion to attorneys in her court involved with SAPCR cases -- suits affecting parent-chi ... More >>

How Social Media Is Making Band Breakups Even Worse

Though we had previously noted on Rocks Off that psychedelic prog-rockers the Mars Volta had gone on the dreaded "indefinite hiatus" last year, none of us foresaw how truly acrimonious the split would become a short time later. For those who missed it, last week TMV front man Cedric Bixler-Zavala w ... More >>

Help Calliope's Po-Boy Choose Its New Name

"What's in a name?" asked owner Lisa Carnley on the Facebook page for her restaurant that was -- until two months ago -- known as Calliope's Po-Boy. After a slight bit of legal drama with the new Calliope's Po-Boy on West Bellfort, Carnely decided to let that shop keep the name and in September ann ... More >>

Projection: Social Media Wins Big in 2012

Thanks a lot Christians, for not showing up.You disgust me.— Victoria Jackson (@vicjackshow) November 7, 2012 Amidst the pundits and the graphics and the touch screen monitors and the iPads strapped to the arms of The Daily Show's John Oliver, probably the most watched network on election ni ... More >>

TDCJ's Existing Nonexistent Facebook Policy: Its CFO Was Facebook Friend with Inmate, Too

A prison guard fired for being Facebook friends with an inmate was reinstated after it was discovered that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's chief financial officer was Facebook friends with the same dude. The alleged idiocy was uncovered by The Backgate, a blog run by TDCJ employee Duane ... More >>

B(r)and Awareness: 5 Easy Tips to Maintain Your Web Presence

Doing research on famous bands is easy. If you're famous enough to have your own Wikipedia entry, then you're big enough to have dozens of pages on the Internet about you filled with the most interesting and boring bits of minutia. Anything a blogger needs to know to interview, write about, or make ... More >>

Know Your Local Media: The Houston Chronicle's Dwight Silverman, from Rock Critic to Nerd King

A number of years ago, one of the then music writers at the Houston Chronicle recruited me to write a music blog for Chron.com. I had done some writing for the defunct Houstonist website and personal stuff, but nothing like that. I happily accepted and began writing a music business blog called Brok ... More >>

Nick Saban's Daughter Has Responded To Her Sorority Sister's Civil Lawsuit

Conflict stokes people, especially when it involves a cat fight between two sorority girls at Alabama, and especially when one of those two sorority girls is the daughter of the head football coach, Nick Saban. The number of people that read my post last week on the civil lawsuit filed by Sarah Grim ... More >>

Phantom Cellphone Vibration Syndrome Is Real, Damn It

Talk about a first-world, (half) white person problem to have. This past week I developed a sporadic vibration in my left thigh where my cellphone usually resides when it rests in my pocket. I will feel a phantom vibration every few minutes that mimics my phone's notification buzz. It got worse at F ... More >>

ReShonda Tate Billingsley: Local Author's Punishment Of Daughter Sparks Social-Media Debate

ReShonda Tate Billingsley is a romance author of such books as Can I get a Witness? and Holy Rollers. It's not her writing that has people talking about her online, though, it's what's happened with her daughter. Tate Billingsley's daughter posted a picture of herself on Instagram holding a vodka ... More >>

Who Are You? The Weird World of Twitter Bios Reveals Politics, Marital Status and Justin Bieber Love

It's a very odd thing to have a 140-character bio. Any person in marketing will tell you that good ideas require an "elevator pitch," meaning you could pitch your idea in the time it takes to travel a few floors on an elevator. Really great ideas, some say, can be boiled down into a few words. But w ... More >>

Playing The Over/Under Game On Twitter: 8 Bets To Consider

I don't really do any gambling. It's not really because I don't enjoy the thrill of a good game of chance. It's more because I like the little money I earn to not be flushed down the toilet. If I did gamble, I'd have to take a class on sports betting because I still don't fully understand the whole ... More >>

Counting Greg Oden's Blessings

Greg Oden, in between microsurgeries.​"I'm sure he's saying, 'Why Me?' Sometimes in life, things like that happen, and you wonder why it's happening to you. Some of these injuries have occurred, not only on the floor but off the floor. There's really not an explanation for why, or sometimes ho ... More >>

South Park Mexican's Dope House Records: Help Wanted

​The other day Rocks Off was unpacking a bunch of old boxes from our recent move and found Disc 2 of South Park Mexican's Power Moves, the one that starts off with a phone conversation between South Park Mexican (SPM) and DJ Screw. It even had DJ Screw's mug on the disc's cover. Fittingly, the ... More >>

Four Ways the Nerdy Yet Useful "If This Then That" Website Will Help Organize Your Online Life

A handful of the IFTTT "channels" available for subscription​I recently stumbled onto the brilliant website If This Then That or ifttt.com. IFTTT is a website that brings together a range of different online services and makes them play nice together. And what makes IFTTT so unique is that it ... More >>

Saluting C.M. Punk With 5 Awesome Wrestling Promo's (w/ Video)

C.M. Punk lights up Twitter​If you're plugged into social media, the new litmus test for the relevancy of a show, a sporting event, a singular occurrence is "Did Twitter react?" And if they did react how heavily did the reaction clog your Twitter feed. I am a fan of professional wrestling. I ... More >>

Houston Web Awards: And The Winner Is...

​...you, for getting a half-off ticket to our inaugural Houston Web Awards ceremony on Thursday, June 30. As mentioned in last week's Upcoming Events, the Houston Web Awards tickets are normally $30, but the VOICE Daily Deal today gets you those same tickets for $15. And although it might not ... More >>

Would You Sell Your Soul For A Million Twitter Followers?

​Recently, Rocks Off was rolling the List o'Craig like we do when an all caps entry screamed at us that for only $50 they would gain us thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook friends. $50? That's less than a the price of a good Lego set! However, is it a good deal? Rocks Off firmly belie ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Placing Blame for Facebook Addiction

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

New York Times Launches Subscription Service

One wonders if they will start charging admission to enter the lobby too.​The New York Times announced the parameters of its much-anticipated digital subscription service to subscribers via e-mail. Beginning March 28 in the United States (Canada gets a ten-day head start to act as guinea pig), ... More >>

App of the Week: Five Ways to Improve the Facebook App

​Dear Mark, please improve the Facebook app. Sincerely, Everyone.​​App: Facebook Platforms: All Smart Phones Web site: Facebook.com Cost: Free Facebook has become such a part of the way most people connect online, it's hard to imagine that the app Mark Zuckerberg and company produce coul ... More >>

Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich at Ziggy's

​For a restaurant known for its healthy dining options, Ziggy's Bar & Grill has an impressive edge when it comes to junk food of the highest order. To wit: The grilled mac & cheese sandwich seen above. The story of the grilled mac & cheese sandwich -- a special, limited-time creation inspired ... More >>

The 12 Stages of Facebook Addiction

No one is safe.​The Internet is addicting and there are studies to prove it. Once people get involved with watching videos of kids falling down, leaving overly harsh anonymous comments on news stories and reading about how Swiffer will kill your dog, well, it's just damn difficult to stop. So ... More >>

Comment Of The Day: Second Life Represent!!

​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

Aggies Shelter In Place With Gunman Report (UPDATED: All Clear)

Texas A&M is in a lockdown mode after reports of a man carrying an AK-47 on campus.The school's "Code Maroon" warning page says no gunman has been found, but police are still searching.Reporters listening to the local police scanner say the shooter is described as a white male with olive or gree ... More >>

Bill White Takes Big Lead Over Rick Perry (In Facebook)

Facebook: The road to Austin​Bill White may have been unable as yet to top Rick Perry in any political poll on the governor's race, but that hardly matters: White's winning the Facebook battle!!And that's very important, says the person who did a study of it."Numbers don't have an agenda or ideolo ... More >>

Christopher Rohrman, Dumbest Employee Ever: Tries To Solicit His Boss' 11-Year-Old Daughter

Christopher Rohrman, using Facebook to sex-chat with an 11-year-old girl​If you think Facebook-sexing your boss' pre-teen daughter is a good idea, you have something in common with Christopher Rohrman. And you don't really want to have too much in common with Christopher Rohrman. At least partly ... More >>

Mary Rambin: The Chronicle's Newest Blogger Is A Former Gawker "Star"

Mary Rambin: All about the internet​The Houston Chronicle has a new social-media writer!! And she's a piece of work!!Mary Rambin is perhaps best known in web circles for her time as a favorite target of Gawker (don't miss her unhinged call to complain about their coverage, in which she calls for a ... More >>

Dance The Night Away: Passion Pit Ticket Giveaway

You know the phrase. While the cat's away, the mice will play. Señor Rocks Off is taking a much needed vacation and in the meantime, the natives are going nuts around here. The above video is pretty much what it looks like in the Rocks Off offices right now as Craig Hlavaty and yours truly have t ... More >>

Game Time: Twitter -- My Houston Sports "Follow Friday"

Follow me....to freedom!!​I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit crushed. I read Craig Hlavaty's fantastic overview of the Twitter universe (or as named in the article, "The Twitterverse"; somewhere Dwight Shrute and his "funtivities" -- short for fun activities -- approve), and in it he manage ... More >>

The Yelp Effect

​Although there was no shortage of food-related panels at the Interactive portion of South by Southwest (SXSWi) this year, none were as insightful or as incendiary as The Yelp Effect, a frank discussion on the effect that online reviews and criticisms have on the restaurant industry. Led by A ... More >>

DirecTV Caves to Social Media Pressure and Eventually Helps Stroke Victim

​The Leeder family recently found out how DirecTV does business: The company will not, under any circumstances, break a contract or waive cancellation fees, even if you've had a stroke and will never need the service again, unless you complain on Facebook and Twitter. That's pretty much the w ... More >>

The Other Winners And Losers Of The 2009 Election

​Every election cycle, there are winners and there are losers. 2009 is no different. Here is a list of winners and losers and brief reason why.WinnersGarnet Coleman -- He was one of the few African-Americans that supported Annise Parker when she began her career. He stuck out his neck once again, ... More >>

Local Mayoral Campaigns Use Social Media, and Apparently That's News

​If you don't have eyes, ears, or a television set with that nonsensical converter box, you may not be aware that today kicks off early voting for stuff that's pretty crucial to the Houston political agenda. Not only can you stick your ballot in the box for City Council, City Controller, comm ... More >>

Site Scavenging

Internet content is the "found object" of the 21st century.

The 7 Most Obnoxious Twitter Users

​Twitter is faced with a looming problem these days. As it grows in popularity (and in users), Twitter backlash has grown alongside it. Non-Twitter users don't understand the social opportunities associated with using Twitter and how Twitterers can quickly become part of networks that were ... More >>

Social Media Smackdown: Facebook vs. LinkedIn

They tell you landing a job via social media that won't trigger your gag reflex is a piece of cake. They share insider tips and tricks like Carrie and Samantha dishing blowjob techniques over Cosmos. They tell you to keep your nose clean, but if you can't, don't post photos of it online. So whe ... More >>

Perverts, Beware

Highlights from the Blog at HOUSTONPRESS.COM

Local Guy's Suit Against Pat Robertson Helped By Racism From Pat Robertson's Students

New evidence may help a Spring man prove the freedom of expression case he's filed in federal court claiming that Regent University, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson in Virginia, unconstitutionally kicked him out of school for posting a picture on the Internet of Robertson scratching his face ... More >>

A New Way to Crawl

Lennie Ambrose, events and marketing director at Saint Arnold and @saintarnold on Twitter.Any Houstonian who's fond of beer is familiar with Saint Arnold, our hometown hero microbrewery.  And anyone familiar with Saint Arnold has been on at least one of their famed pub crawls through Ric ... More >>

Follow Friday for Foodies

The group collective on Twitter, the increasingly popular micro-blogging and social networking platform, has developed a recent tradition called Follow Friday.  Follow Friday is part circle jerk, part honest and helpful advice from your Twitter friends on who to follow if you're new or simply l ... More >>

Sole of Houston: Airline Drive, Part 2

The longest walk in the history of the Sole of Houston requires the longest piece. This being a blog and all, we have decided to break it up into three installments.This is part two. Yesterday's is here, and we'll wrap it up tomorrow.In this installment, we venture west down Aldine-Bender from Aldi ... More >>

The Secret World Of Dan Patrick, Via Twitter

Dan Patrick -- hyperbolic talk-show host, slightly unhinged state senator -- has joined the Twitter world.Normally, that wouldn't be too exciting, as his Twitter page proves ("Getting ready for the 81st Texas Legislature session").But the decision gave his compadres at Lone Star Times the chance to ... More >>

This One Time at BandCamp

In the Shade: News on the March to play around 3-ish

Navigating MySpace’s Musical Wilderness

You’ve Got a Friend in Drenched

Dan Hunter and the MySpace Race

Can clicks become sales?

That Girl Is Top Eight Material