I got an IM today from some random screen name saying the following, "Hi, Billy Mays here with another fantastic coho". Are you kidding me? What the hell is this? Virus? Spam? Well, actually it's neither. It's actually a part of this grand project some group of people have put together called, Project Upstream. I'm not going to get into the details, but basically, they set up fish bots that somehow get your screen name from the internet, and then they connect you to someone else whose screen name they have. It's sort of like a blind date. All of a sudden, you're in an online conversation with someone you've never met and know nothing about. And that's the goal. Project Upstream is all about "promoting social ideals through the use of exciting new technology". It's all a bit too weird for me. Apparently, they get screen names from Livejournals, blogs, and other various social networking websites. I was just editing my Livejournal for the first time in 3 years, when I got the bot message. Anyways, I don't know what's up with this thing. Public feedback is mixed, with some people thinking it to be fun and interesting, and others thinking it to be a little too invasive. I personally favor the latter.
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