With the events this week on Twitter surrounding the unfortunate death of a Florida toddler, one cannot help but wonder how much social media is too much. This story has garnered national attention, due to the thousands of tweets flying back and forth between two separate “camps”. One camp – those who are friends of the woman whose son drowned – are rabid in their defense of her. Those on the other side of the issue – who feel that her social activities contributed to her possibly not watching her child – are just as rabid in their opposition. It’s enough to make your head spin, attempting to keep up with everything going on.

I am not going to take any “sides” in this issue, as I feel that’s an absurd thing to do. I don’t know the woman in question, and my heart breaks for her for the loss of her son. However, I can’t help but speak out about the social media aspect. There are times when people turn to it a little TOO much, as well as times when it is used in a completely counter-productive way. As I said in a video earlier… if you have nothing nice to say, keep your mouth shut! Yes, it’s okay for you to question something, or to speak your mind. But do so in a productive and nice way. You don’t have to turn nasty or threatening to get your point across.

In my mind, too much social media comes in to play when it dominates your life, and when you rely on it instead of your own family or friends. Yes, online friends are very real, and sometimes even “closer” than your “real-life” ones. However, using social media as your entire outlet and life is not a healthy thing. Make sure that you have activities and hobbies away from your computer. Take the time to reconnect with family or neighbors whom you have lost touch with. Don’t rely solely on the Internet to get comfort and support. That’s my take on it, anyway. What do you think?

This isn’t the only story being talked – or written – about online today, you know. Our community has been busy talking about everything from hardware to Twitter to BumpTop! I hope you’ve taken the time to read some of it today!

• Couples who do dishes together stay happier.
• Malware is on the rise – are you protected?
• How do ‘fanboys’ look at operating systems?
• Is Microsoft discriminating against XP 64-bit?
• What are the top (predicted) threats to your identity in 2010?
• AMD is reloading the mobile sector.
• Does Sirius XM think that it has no competition?
• The cure for the AT&T 3G headaches is not available in many areas.
• How did you become a hardware junkie?
• Xtreme Speed: Breaking the 200 MPH barrier with world-class driving!
• Are you a planner when it comes to time and money?
• Brands that we loved – and lost – in 2009.
• Kaspersky speeds up antivirus scans by a factor of 360!
• The Flip UltraHD would make an excellent little stocking stuffer, according to Matt.
• What is a PPU, and why should gamers care?

The blog posts aren’t the only happening thing going on! We have several new – and updated! – pieces of software in our downloads center, just waiting for you to check them out!

Do You Share Too Much Online?

Add to iTunes | Add to YouTube | Add to Google | RSS Feed

Flip Deals:

• Amazon - Flip MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes only $169.99 + Free Shipping (Posted on 10/2/09 and Expires on 12/31/15)
• The Flip - Flip MinoHD Camcorder, 60 Minutes only $143 + Free Shipping at Amazon.com (Posted on 10/2/09 and Expires on 12/31/15)
• Vista Print - Free Photo Flip Book (Posted on 9/4/09 and Expires on 12/31/15)
• OnSale - Flip Video Black Mino HD Camcorder only $179 + $5.99 Shipping (Posted on 5/6/09 and Expires on 12/31/15)
• B&H Photo - Flip Video Black Mino HD Camcorder only $149 + Free Shipping (Posted on 4/2/09 and Expires on 12/31/15)

Find Coupons for over 1100 Stores

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Kodak Zi6. It is HD supported, but it has good quality. I also did a review of the Flip Ultra awhile back. I just finally got my hands on the Flip Mino HD. Now, I get to make some serious comparisons. Since the new Mino is HD as well, I decided to do a little playing around with some recording on each device prior to making this video.

First off, the Flip Mino is definitely much smaller and lighter than the Kodak Zi6. If you look at the differences between the two videos, you can see that the contrast is much better from the Zi6 than what the Flip Mino is. I’m not sure if there was a problem with the lighting, but there’s a definite difference. However, with the Zi6, I look more “yellow”, whereas with the Flip Mino my skin looks its normal color.

Both of them have a fair amount of noise in them, yes. However, the Kodak video is just a bit sharper than the Flip camera. On the other hand again, the Kodak camera always tends to drop frames, to an annoying degree. That needs to be fixed in the firmware ASAP, seriously. It happens constantly, and is a really huge drawback.

The image overall is shaper when using the Zi6 and the blacks are richer, but it does drop frames often. That makes it impossible to recommend over the Flip Mino. The Flip doesn’t have removable storage, but it is 4GB. The Flip software has been seriously upgraded, and it’s excellent software.

Overall, if you’re in the market for a new compact camcorder, I’d have to recommed the Flip Mino HD at this point. Even though the quality of the Kodak is better, the frame dropping is just something that is hard to live with for many people. You need to weigh the pros and cons against each other, and choose what works best for you.

Want to embed this video on your own site, blog, or forum? Use this code or download the video:

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fL4UC7ZomFs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fL4UC7ZomFs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://chris.pirillo.com/">Chris</a> | <a href="http://live.pirillo.com/">Live Tech Support</a> | <a href="http://media.pirillo.com/">Video Help</a> | <a href="http://feeds.pirillo.com/ChrisPirilloShow">Add to iTunes</a>

Flip Mino HD vs Kodak Zi6 vs Flip Ultra Video Cameras