Blogamole › Google

By Michael Lopez

Notice a lot of “green” messaging popping up this past weekend? No it wasn’t St. Patrick’s Day Part II. Sunday actually marked the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day and celebs and eco-warriors alike united to celebrate la tierra.

As expected, Twitter was fluttering with hashtags about Mother Earth. Noted vegan Alicia Silverstone took the opportunity to post her favorite animal pictures. Britney Spears sent out a themed message too, though we weren’t sure if it was Tweeted in jest.

"Happy Earth Day! My kids love Rainforest Cafe, therefore let's support the rainforest!" she said.

Environmentally conscious actor Emilio Estevez made sure his voice was heard in the Twitterverse too, writing,

“Earth DAY? Really? What about Earth EVERY day? Celebrate our planet 24/7/365. Get your hands off the keyboard and into the dirt.”

“Happy Earth Day to everyone. Let's all learn to be more mindful of our impact on the planet that sustains us. #EarthDay,” came from Taylor Lautner’s Twitter account.

Edward James Olmos encouraged his Followers to join him for an Earth Day paddleboard race in Santa Monica, California. And Ke$ha kept things short and sweet, simply Tweeting, “Happy #earthday animals!!!”

Even Google got into the mix, transforming its letters into a colorful array of flowers. Of course what made the home page pic even more interesting was the fact that company exec Jennifer Hom actually grew the logo in her own backyard.

But of course the Earth Day activities weren’t just relegated to cyberspace. Around the world, thousands of environmentalists took a stand for the environment. In Budapest, thousands of activists took to the streets with their bicycles for a successful march.

In Tokyo, the message was skewed towards “No Nukes.” Tons of decorative citizens hit the streets in costumes and surgical masks to protest Japan’s nuclear power plants.

Half a world away in the California deserts, the message was the same. Coachella weekend two brought out tons of Earth Day fans and shout outs from the bands performing. The organizers even went so far as to build a 20-foot “dinosaur” out of tin cans, which they lovingly called Recyclosaurus Rex.

Celebs like Kristen Stewart, Emma Roberts and Joe Jonas were also spotted at Coachella this weekend, donning green bracelets and paraphernalia to celebrate Dia de la Tierra.

One other new Earth Day celeb worth mentioning is Oscar the monkey! His eco-friendly Chimpanzee movie made an impressive amount of cash this weekend, coming in fourth at the box office right behind The Hunger Games.

How did you celebrate Earth Day? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Alicia Silverstone, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Britney Spears, Celebrities, Chimpanzee, Coachella, Earth Day, Ecology, Edward James Olmos, Emilio Estevez, Google, Holidays, Hot Stuff, Ke$ha, Recyclosaurus Rex, Taylor Lautner

By Michael Lopez

Having a tough time trying to research your favorite topics on the web today? You're not the only one. Millions of Googlers and Wikipedia fans found themselves at a loss this morning with the 24-hour "blackout" the companies have adopted to protest SOPA.

What is SOPA you ask? No it's not something your abuelita cooks up in a crock pot. It actually stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act and it could get your favorite sites into a lot of trouble. If the SOPA legislation is passed through Congress, search engines and information sites (like Wikipedia and Google) could be penalized if they link you to "pirated" material.

Clearly corporate monsters like Google and Wikipedia don't support online piracy, but they believe the bill is ineffective and would do more harm than good.

"The bill is poorly constructed, quite dangerous and won't actually address the real problem of piracy," Wiki co-founder Jimmy Wales said. "Internet piracy shouldn't be set by Hollywood."

Wales' "Hollywood" statement refers to the fact that industries like the music business are pushing SOPA the hardest. Clearly their field is being crippled by bootlegged songs, but Jimmy feels that music execs lack the technological expertise to craft a proper solution.

Google seems to agree and though they're not shutting down their site for the day, they did put a prominent black bar over their logo with a link that says, "please don't censor the web." Even Craigslist has joined the fight by making their homepage completely black for one day.

"The [online] community got together and had a huge conversation and decided we needed to take a stand," Wales went on to say. "Our interest is really about the fundamental structure of the Internet."

Do you think there is too much piracy on the internet? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Blogger: Michael Lopez, Craigslist, Google, Jimmy Wales, Online Piracy, Politics, SOPA, Stop Online Piracy Act, Technology, Wikipedia

By Michael Lopez

It may be the #1 search engine on the planet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few specific words that don’t agree with Google. Terms like “pornographer” and “panties” we understand, but “Latina?” Yup, believe it or not, that word is now officially banned by Google.

Now don’t get us wrong, your computer won’t explode if you type “Latina” in a Google search. But as an experiment, punch it in and you’ll notice that the term gets cut off the second you hit the “a.” Similarly, swap in an “o” for “Latino” and you’ll see a host of search options appear after your word.

So is Google sexist or what? Well, not quite. It seems the word “Latina” has been connected to numerous adult-oriented searches, which the company strongly discourages. Other terms they believe are tied to the genre, like “lesbian”, “teen”, and even “Paris Hilton” got axed as well.

So far, The Daily Beast has uncovered a total of 15 terms that have been officially blacklisted. And before you get all heated up about Googling stars like Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek Pinault, keep in mind that Blogamole has a nice little Search window right there at the top of the screen…and we never discriminate!

Source: [Daily Beast]

Are you a big fan of Google’s? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Chisme, Google, Internet, Latina, Paris Hilton, Technology

By Bashira Webb

British artist/activist M.I.A. is known for many things: her crazy style, love of global rhythms — but mostly her political lyricism. She is a woman who definitely isn't afraid to speak her mind and question authority. Since her Arular debut, M.I.A. has lashed out against economic disfranchisement and invasion of privacy.

We weren't surprised to hear about M.I.A.'s latest targets: Google and Facebook. Are search engines and social networking giants teaching us to love Big Brother? M.I.A seems to think so. Who's watching you?

image via Nylonmag.com

In the June/July issue of Nylon magazine, M.I.A., aka Maya Arulpragasam, raises her concerns about censorship and privacy on the Internet:

“Anybody who is called the government is right. And anybody who isn’t called the government is not right… And you know, all governments are connected to Google, and all governments can shift their search engines so only what they want you to see comes up… I want kids to be aware of this digital circumstance…

Everyone on the Internet is like, “Oh my God, come and join Facebook!” They’re all so optimistic… and really, everyone is f*cking you up behind the screens. And I don’t like that. It makes it difficult for me to interact with my fans knowing that. Google and Facebook were developed by the CIA, and when you’re on there, you have to know that.”

Whether you agree or disagree with what M.I.A. is saying, you have to admire her fervor. We should all take a page out of M.I.A.’s book and not be afraid to express our views on political issues.

M.I.A's forthcoming album, MAYA, is set to hit stores and digital outlets on July 13.

We're all about that "Born Free" video, M.I.A.! Team Blogamole salutes you!

Source: [Spin]

How much does your freedom on the web mean to you? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3!

Tags Facebook, Google, M.I.A.