Don't get me wrong. I love virtual worlds and the unusual social networking schemes they foster. That said, there is a need to play devil's advocate against the excessive hype these phenomena can generate. My recent blog post asks, "What would you think if you are using something like twitter, and a competitor of the organization you work for starts 'following' you?" A reader with a nifty-looking blog called Virtually 3D (One of the links on his site has some great ideas on the creative use of virtual realities) says, twittering is the same as putting content on a Web page or talking to a friend in a crowd. The same rules apply. If what you say is confidential, you should not be saying it...

Confidentiality is certainly an issue. But when employees and companies start interacting on the same communication level, how does one know where to draw the line? It's great to engage your readership with your special slant, but how personal can you get on your tweet without getting in trouble with your company? The Miami Herald has bunches of well-written blogs which seem to nicely walk this fine line. My favorite: Burnettiquette by James Burnett. Aptly, another blog discusses social networking etiquette for the working world. However, the name of that blog is enough of a double entendre that I hesitate to spell it out.

Here comes another conundrum: Who are you REALLY talking to? What brought this to mind was a Fox news item reporting that an imposter had been "tweeting" (e.g., posting messages) under the name of famed televangelist Robert H. Schuller. And he is not the only one to have run into trouble. "Twitter has also had to delete fake accounts set up by impostors purporting to be David Bowie, basketball players Shaquille O'Neal and Nate Robertson, the Dalai Lama, comedian Michael Ian Black, actress Emma Watson, actor Ewan McGregor, and the Austin Police Department," says the report.

Questions? Comments? Send them in, and we might publish them here!

Energy Efficiency Web Conference & Expo –
May 14

• Power-efficient drive techniques for lighting
• ROI for high-efficiency capital equipment
• Energy monitoring and energy standards
• Designing for SEMI S23 and the Energy Act of 2007
• Working with alternative power and battery technology

Machine Design Video Spotlight

	High-flex silicone flat cable
	A silicone injection molding process developed by Cicoil Corp. embeds wires, coax, fiber optics, and even piping into a single highly flexible flat cable for industrial applications.

Check Out the New Machinedesign.com

UPCOMING WEBCASTS

Design Essentials for Plastic Gear Peformance
Sponsored by Thermotech
DATE: April 9th, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT

Engineers are focused on creating cost effective, energy efficient designs that offer performance and high value to the end customer. Luckily, advancements in design, materials, manufacturing and inspection have made it possible to meet product development goals and expand plastic gear applications.
The webinar presents a unique approach to plastic gear development including:

Efficiency in Fractional HP Motors & Gearmotors
Sponsored by Groschopp
DATE: April 16th, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT

Efficiency is often one of the last factors that design engineers think about when specifying for an OEM application, yet it is critical to a successful, optimized design in many ways. Join Groschopp engineers Ron Didier and Jared Birk for an overview of efficiency as it relates to other design considerations such as power source, operating cost, temperature, purchase cost and size.
Webcast attendees will receive an early release download of the new STPe desktop design tool that allows engineers to calculate operating cost based on speed, torque and power requirements and local kwh energy costs.

Click here learn more and to register!

Improving Collaboration with Customers and Suppliers
Sponsored by PTC
DATE: April 23rd, 2009
TIME: 2:00pm ET/11am PT

The need to respond and capitalize on new customer requirements is more important than ever during the current economic downturn. However, the pressures of globally distributed design teams and more stringent time, cost, regulatory and quality requirements continue to complicate the product development process. In order to succeed, Small and Medium Organizations need to collaborate across project teams more efficiently to bring the right products to the marketplace at the right time.

In this live webcast, you’ll learn best practices to effective collaboration:

• Enabling concurrent engineering with members of a distributed design team
• Conducting efficient design reviews across the value chain network
• Creating a controlled collaboration environment
• Proving secure collaboration to the design team and suppliers

ARCHIVED WEBCASTS AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING

First Cut
CNC machined parts in 1-3 business days. Get parts with better material properties, surface finishes and dimensional properties than additive rapid prototypes. Visit www.firstcut.com

Free Multiphysics Presentations CD
It's here - The 2009 Edition of the COMSOL Conference CD, packed with multiphysics presentations from our recent conferences in Boston and Hannover. Included are over 400 contributed papers, slides, videos and more. Get your complimentary copy of the CD right now at: www.comsol.com.