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AP file image of ISIS used for representational purpose only.

HYDERABAD:Konakalla Subrahmanyam alias Omer, who was arrested recently by the Hyderabad Special Investigation Team (SIT) for having links with ISIS, was allegedly influenced by reading three books on Islam.

In his confessional statement, the 24-year-old Omer said he had met one Abdul Shukur, who worked in a madarsa at Pedana in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and was gifted three booksShrushtini Kaadu, Shrushti Kartanau Poojinchu, O Manishi Nee Shrushti Kartanu Gurtinchu and Life History of Prophet Mohammed and Laailaahailla-Illaihu Mahummadur - Rasoolu-Illahwhich influenced him to convert to Islam.

I got circumcision (Kathana) at Machilipatnam with the help of Dr Chand Pasha. I also attended prayers at Tabligh Jamath Masjid in Machilipatnam. Later, I attended Tablig Jamat at Siddipur in Gujarat where I met one Mohammed Shafi of Hyderabad. I underwent training in rituals at Darul-ul- Uloom madarsa for nine months at Khali village near Siddipur, he told investigators during his five-day-long questioning.

Omer also allegedly assisted Srinagar youth in collecting funds in Hyderabad. In May, Mohammed Amir of Islamic Global School of Srinagar told him that they wanted to visit Hyderabad to collect donations for his school. Amir advised me to listen to the speeches and bayaans of prominent religious scholars such as Zakir Naik, Fayaz Syed, Abu Zahid Iamir, Qarie Shoib Ahmed, Mufti Menk, Arshad BashirMadani, Mohammed Ali Mirza that are available on social networking sites. I followed his instructions. I worked for Islamic State Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through social netwokring by motivating the youth and discussing atrocities on Muslims in India, Omer said in his confessional statement.

Omer, who was born and brought up at Kotha Majeru village in Krishna district, came in contact with one Abu Qahafa Al-Hindi Waseem, a resident of Saudi Arabia, through Telegram App. Omer also contacted Abu Muhammad of Pakistan, Abudl Jaleel Oyelese of Nigeria and Aidi Sumaili of Johannesburg Ismail Sha Sahil of Pakistan through Facebook.

The investigators have obtained Omers Facebook messenger details from his mobile phone in which Omer had conversation with one Ismail of Pakistan on June 7, 2016 regarding Moulana Masood Azhar, a dreaded terrorist residing in Pakistan. Omer also had a chat with Abu Mohammad of Pakistan on December 20, 2016. Omer received a PDF file by Telegram App from Abu Qahafa Al Hindi on March 3, 2017 on how to prepare a petrol bomb and how to use it. Similarly, Abu informed him that he would sent another important file that would give a useful formula, said sources.

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'I worked for ISIS through social networking sites to motivate youths ... - The New Indian Express

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Theres a certain 10-letter word that incites dread among shy college students and young professionals: networking.

Whether youre in high school, college or just starting out in the workforce, chances are you have a relative or teacher who lives by the Its not what you know, its who you know mantra. But what actuallymatters most when it comes to landing a dream internship or job: who you know or what you know?

While its nice to think that a stellar GPA and packed resume will land you the job, a recent LinkedIn study proves as painful as it may be to hear that, in some cases, our parents and teachers have been right all along. For students looking to go into certain industries like banking, film and higher education it does matter who you know after all.

Seventy percent of professionals worldwide were hired by a company at which they had a connection, the professional social networking service found.

(Graphic provided by LinkedIn)

Industries that require highly specialized training or degrees such as technology, entertainment, and defense companies are most likely to hire within their own networks.

Since those individuals tend to have specific capabilities and experiences, the hiring pool tends to be much smaller, the study states. Whats more, hiring managers will often rely on current employees with the specialized skill or qualification theyre looking to attract recommendations.

So, if you want to work in these industries, its in your best interest to hold on to all those business cards.

(Graphic provided by LinkedIn)

But if youre looking to go into fields like graphic design, photography and medicine, you can clear some of those business cards out of your wallet or purse.

Those fields are among the least likely to hire from within their networks. LinkedIn speculates this ispossibly because many medical positions are decided on a more geographically-random application process and often value quantitative results like test scores over culture fits or referrals.

In other fields, though, the importance of networking isnt as clear cut.

Students looking to work in higher education should focus on building their networks, but those who want to work in primary or secondary education dont have to worry about their networks as much.

Only 16.1% of primary and secondary education hires come from network connections, compared to 36% of higher education hires. Professionals at colleges and universities rely on the work of professionals at other schools, which is how they forge network connections. The primary education industry, however, is less driven by these relationships.

If you plan to enter an industry where networking is key but dont know where or how to start, dont worry. LinkedIn Senior Product Manager Kylan Nieh has some helpful tips:

Acomplete LinkedIn profileincreases your chances of being discovered by recruiters. Even just adding a photo makes you stand out from the crowd. Add any relevant job or volunteer experience, education and skills both soft and hard skills to make yourself stand out.

Yourprofessional network is the best tool you haveas you embark on the job hunt. Add friends from your class or campus clubs, and consider joining LinkedIn Groups that are relevant to your professional interests.

Reach out to alumni from your university, as they may be more open to talking with current students. In addition to helping your search, this can also give you a better sense of the types of jobs people with your same major got after graduation.

People and companies that you find interesting. This will help you understand more about the industries you care about. But also, when you follow a company on LinkedIn, you will be among the first to know about their job listings and news. You can also see shared connections and those who can help you find your way in to a new opportunity.

Kyler Sumter is a USA TODAY College digital producer and a Boston University student.

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Your connections matter most in these industries, according to LinkedIn - USA TODAY

You don't have to look very far to notice teenagers with their noses glued to their phones, but it's hard to know what -- or who -- is on the other side.

Caresse Jackman , WWLTV 10:24 PM. CDT July 12, 2017

NEW ORLEANS- You don't have to look very far to notice teenagers with their noses glued to their phones, but it's hard to know what -- or who -- is on the other side.

This week, police say a 13-year-old girl left her home with a 22-year-old man she met through social media. Experts say this kind of incident is more common than you think.

"Unfortunately this story is not surprising. What we're seeing play out more is thisfalstsense of security," Dr. SherylKennedy-Haydel, Associate Professor at Xavier University said, "That you know someone just because maybe you interact with them through a direct message maybe a few times a day. When, in essence, you don't know them. All you know is what they're allowing you to know through the social media platform."

The New Orleans Police Department arrested 22-year-oldRigobertoUsher on July 12 for the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl. Investigators tell Eyewitness News he picked up the teenager from her home against her guardian's consent. The two reportedly met on social media.

In a study by KidsLiveSafe.com, the number of sexual predators using social media has more than doubled over the last few years, with more than 82 percent of sex crimes starting on social networking sites.

Jim Kelly with Convenant House knows this leads to potentially dangerous consequences.

"This past year we cared for over 90 human trafficking victims. And what we're finding this summer, is that we're coming across more and more who are under 17 years of age," Kelly said.

Kelly said those victims often become scarred for life.

"There are people out there preying on them. And what happens to those women, and their dignity taken away. And they're raped and assaulted," Kelly said.

According to Dr.Kennedy-Haydel, preventing these crimes could be as easy as talking to your children about social media and what might be out there.

"Whether you like it or not. Whether you think it's useful or not, it's still going to be around for quite some time," she said.

Usher is now in central lockup on a count of simple kidnapping.

2017 WWL-TV

Read more from the original source:
Kidnapping case reminder of social media dangers - WWL

Here is a German version of this article.

Currently it looks as if the Stories format invented by Snapchat and copied and popularized by Instagram will become one, if not the major component of social networking. While predicting its exact adoption trajectory is impossible, one can not rule out that in 2018, the number of users who consume other peoples Stories or who contribute with their own, will cross the 1 billion mark. It would be a shame if this growth segment would be completely left to the 2 currently dominating, centralized and rather closed players.

But even suggesting that an open alternative to Snapchat Stories and Instagram Stories is desirable likely puts many people off understandably. After more than a decade of failed attempts to create successful social networking services based on open principles, decentralized infrastructure and data portability, one has to be a hardline optimist to still believe in such a possibility. It seems as if the common approach of centralized, ad-financed and data-hoarding platforms has unequivocally won.

Or maybe it hasnt. With the rise of the Blockchain technology, there is reason for hope. With the Blockchain in simplest terms a distributed database managed by a peer-to-peer network new approaches to developing and operating a social network are becoming feasible.

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A Blockchain could be utilized to create a decentralized and continuously updated contact database for each participating user. Thereby, not a single entity such as a company like Facebook or Snapchat would own the users social/interest graph. Instead, it could be operated in a way so that any third party approved by the user could have access to it.

Another use case of the Blockchain for new social networks are crypto tokens. An ambitious player in this field could launch a so called Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which means selling crypto tokens for real money to curious individuals and institutional investors. While the cash is being used as capital to fund the development and expansion, the owners of the tokens are betting on a value increase of these tokens, which can roughly be compared to a rising stock price. The crypto currency on which the tokens are based on might also act as the official currency of the social networking service, enabling platform (micro) transactions and encouraging third party developers to build apps on top of the core infrastructure even during a very early stage.

ICOs have a reputation of being a risky way to raise money and to speculate, as this practice is pretty much unregulated. However, many advocates consider the token approach to be a promising way to mitigate the chicken and egg problem, which poses one of the main obstacles in establishing a new social network. Since buyers of tokens want its value to appreciate, they are expected to show high levels of activity, engagement and evangelism, thereby increasing the chances for reaching a critical mass of users (and developers, if a platform approach is chosen). The famous network effect becomes the Token Network Effect.

The messaging pionier Kik is currently planning to launch its own crypto currency and to perform an ICO. While this will be fascinating to watch, Id favor if a non profit such as Mozilla or Wikimedia would operate the core infrastructure of the type of solution I envision.

I am aware that this text sounds like buzzword bingo. But that doesnt disqualify the ideas described. In a time in which acceptance of the status quo (= Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp, a bit Snapchat, a bit Twitter) is the default, any optimism-fueling hype should be welcomed, buzzwords notwithstanding.

The current transformation of user patterns from vertical news feed consumption to watching and creating Stories marks one of the few turning points in the history of social networks. I find it reasonable to speculate that, while users are anyway in the process of adapting, their willingness to experiment and to even switch platforms might be temporarily higher than usual. This coupled with the enormous potential of the Blockchain and the increasing capabilities of smartphones which nowadays can run many processes locally opens up for new radically different solutions.

I hope that I am not the only one who sees a rare opportunity for a technological and philosophical reboot of social networking.

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Originally posted here:
Stories, the Blockchain and the chance for a reboot of social ... - meshedsociety.com (blog)

July 11, 2017 by Mary Beth O'leary Jim Christian SM '14 is co-founder and vice president of product for Mountain Hub, an app-based network in which people can upload and share critical real-time information about outdoor conditions. Credit: Jim Christian

The peace and quiet that envelope a lone hiker on a leaf-riddled trail or a rock climber perched on the top of a cliff seem a world away from the noise of a social media feed. But Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) alumnus Jim Christian SM '14 had an idea to tap into the superabundance of social-media data to benefit athletes and outdoor adventurers. He, along with MIT Sloan School of Management alumnus Brint Markle MBA '14, created a device that could help determine avalanche risk. Their device has led to a network in which people can upload and share critical real-time information about the conditionsincluding avalanche riskon a particular slope or mountain.

"We want to crowdsource trip data and safety information for the outdoors," Christian explains. Their motivation inspired a free app, Mountain Hub, on which outdoor adventurers can share information to benefit others.

Mountain Hub's inception began far from muddy trails and snow-capped mountains. Safely within the halls of MIT, Christian was charged with designing a product that solves a real-life problem for course 2.739 (Product Design and Development). Inspired by Markle's brush with a dangerous avalanche in Switzerland, Christian and his fellow students designed a probe with sensors to measure the structure of snow. The device could be used to quickly identify weak-layers in the snowpackcritical features in assessing avalanche risk.

Traditionally, the industry method for avalanche risk assessment starts with digging a hole, analyzing the snow pack in that hole, and determining if there are any weak layers. Digging and assessing a snowpit can take close to an hour and provides just one data point. The scope Christian and his classmates constructed could gather a lot more data about the snowpack in just a few seconds, and it could assess an entire mountain slope in the time it takes to dig just one hole.

"Jim and his team identified an important opportunity for a new product," says Warren Seering, the Weber-Shaughness Professor in MechE who co-taught 2.739. "They all put a great deal of energy into the development process."

Christian and Markle walked out of the class with a proof-of-concept prototype for measuring snowpack, and along with MechE student Sam Whittemore, they co-founded Avatech, a company focused primarily on avalanche risk assessment. Avatech's first product was the SP1a 5-foot long probe with pressure sensors that could collect 5,000 measurements per second. The SP1 instantly generates a graph showing snow layer hardness, which snow safety teams can use to identify weak layers. This information is vital for avalanche prevention.

It quickly became clear, however, that the data generated from this device couldn't exist in a vacuum. The information needed to be shared with those who would most benefit from it. Christian, Markle, and their team set out to build a network that would enable skiers or climbers to upload, share, and read real-time information about the slope or mountain they were on. The scope of the network became far greater than just snowpack assessment; customers wanted to share information about bike paths, hiking trails, and an assortment of outdoor activities.

"Most mountain athletes do multiple activities all year round," says Christian. There is an opportunity for information sharing across these various activities. "What a rock climber has to say about hazards on a trail is relevant to hikers and mountain bikers in the same area."

With this transition from scientific measurement tools to a social networking app, Christian and Markle rebranded their company as Mountain Hub. With technologies like a live map, terrain visualizations, and trip reporting, the app aims to diminish the danger associated with solitary or remote sports like hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and skiing.

Christian hopes Mountain Hub will become a platform for people to share their experiences, access real-time conditions, and plan new adventures. "We are spearheading a culture of contribution and sharing in the outdoors," Christian explains. "We want to build a real-time network that has daily engaging content so that the first thing someone does before they hit the trail is open up our app."

Explore further: Against a snowy death: predicting avalanches with self-driving car technology

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.

It's a bountiful winter in the snowy Sierra Nevada, with the biggest snowpack in 22 years. That's great news for skiers and snowboarders, but all that snow can transform in an instant from a beautiful blanket to a deadly ...

Avalanches such as the one that smashed into a hotel in central Italy on Wednesday are complex phenomena triggered by a combination of local factors.

The amount of snow needed to trigger an avalanche in the Himalayans can be up to four times smaller than in the Alps, according to a new model from a materials scientist at Queen Mary University of London.

Thanks to a small screen on their skis, backcountry skiers can see various data recorded by sensors as they ski. The length and number of turns going up, their cadence and even the symmetry of their steps appear on the device. ...

Some climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest during the upcoming spring climbing season will be strapped with a GPS device to locate them in case they are in trouble and to prevent false claims of reaching the summit, ...

A team of researchers from EPFL and the SLF has developed a new model that describes how slab avalanches release. In the long run, it will allow improving avalanche forecasting.

Dutch researchers unveiled Tuesday a model of what could become within two decades a floating mega-island to be used as a creative solution for accommodating housing, ports, farms or parks.

Microsoft wants to extend broadband services to rural America by turning to a wireless technology that uses the buffer zones separating individual television channels in the airwaves.

What's the point of smart assistants and intelligent electricity meters if people don't use them correctly? In order to cope with the energy transition, we need a combination of digital technologies and smart user behaviour ...

The US newspaper industry on Monday warned of a "duopoly" in online news by Google and Facebook, and called for legislation that would relax antitrust rules allowing collective negotiations with the internet giants.

Can you imagine fully charging your cell phone in just a few seconds? Researchers in Drexel University's College of Engineering can, and they took a big step toward making it a reality with their recent work unveiling of ...

In their work toward 3-D printing transplantable tissues and organs, bioengineers and scientists from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have demonstrated a key step on the path to generate implantable tissues ...

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Using sensors and social networks to make slopes safer - Phys.Org