Facebook the key in search for new blood: Lancet

Posted on June 22, 2010 by indonesianurbanfamily

Full story: www.odt.co.nz
A leading medical journal says the world could boost its blood supply from young donors by tapping into social networks like Facebook.
In an editorial last week, the Lancet calls for doctors to encourage young people to donate blood, including recruitment drives on Facebook or running advertisements for national blood donation agencies on Google.
Blood transfusions save millions of lives every year, but demand far outstrips supply.
This year, the World Health Organisation has decided to focus on young donors in its search for blood, with the slogan “new blood for the world”.
By recruiting young people to donate, officials hope they will then give blood regularly in the future.
“By recruiting a new generation of those in their late teens or 20s, the hope is to boost supplies of blood from a healthy pool of donors, who will then continue to give blood regularly all year round,” Lancet’s editorial said.
It suggested blood donor rates could be improved by campaigns at universites or by Google carrying free advertisements for national blood donor organisations, for example.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.

Facebook: The movie - it's coming

Full story: www.stuff.co.nz

fbfilmIs there any topic beyond the reach of Hollywood? With a Facebook movie on its way to the silver screen, the answer seems to be no.
"The Social Network" reportedly follows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's time at Harvard and the trials he faced along the way while creating the world's most popular social network.
I feel strangely compelled to say that Zuck hasn't quite made it to 500 million pals, unless every user is his friend by default.
He doesn't actually have a personal Facebook account, which makes his public figure profile the next best thing, with 558,7854 people liking him at time of writing.
Still more than me, though... you win this round, Zucker.
Then again... that's actually quite realistic.
I also wonder if this is just the movie industry's latest attempt to capitalise on a trend. Will this be just another cheap thriller masked in social media self-indulgence?
fbposterOr maybe I'm being too harsh and there is a decent story behind the guy who became the world's youngest billionaire.
There is already a book about Facebook's creation, The Accidental Billionaires, and the movie will supposedly draw from it.
"...one lonely night, Mark hacked into the university's computer system, creating a ratable database of all the female students on campus-and subsequently crashing the university's servers and nearly getting himself kicked out of school.
"What followed - a real-life adventure filled with slick venture capitalists, stunning women, and six-foot-five-inch identical-twin Olympic rowers-makes for one of the most entertaining and compelling books of the year.
"Before long, Eduardo's and Mark's different ideas about Facebook created in their relationship faint cracks, which soon spiralled into out-and-out warfare. The collegiate exuberance that marked their collaboration fell prey to the adult world of lawyers and money.
The movie is due to be released in October.