Ebbsfleet home win draws in small crowd

When MyFootballClub announced the proposed takeover of Ebbsfleet United FC there were talks on the website of every fan going to the home games in support.

Imagine my surprise when I read that only 1,055 attended the home game against Stafford Rangers yesterday.

It was the first time that Ebbsfleet have come from behind to win this season thanks to goals from midfielders George Purcell and Stacy Long.

I was also pleased to read on the club’s official website that Ebbsfleet chairman Jason Botley has addressed the fans regarding the involvement of MyFootballClub. Football is all about the fans and Ebbsfleet’s loyal followers have a right to know where this leaves the club.

It reads:

We are delighted to hear that the club’s Supporters Trust, at their AGM, unanimously supported the proposal.

Despite the small attendance at the game, it follows on:

A lot of clubs have fans who are based outside the immediate area in which the club is based, but that doesn’t mean that those people are less passionate about the club. It means that the club is well supported, and capable of going further.

These are exciting times.

I’m certainly excited. Ebbsfleet’s win takes them up to eighth in the Blue Square Premier League.

US analysis firm predicts net gridlock by 2010

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

After flicking through the BBC’s technology pages on their website, I found this story on a research study that found internet bandwidth could run out by 2010.

The study, by Nemertes Research, explained that the network would struggle with the amount of data it has to carry and eventually see a return to the ‘dial-up days’ when you could be waiting minutes for a simple web page to download.

It also says that the total cost of upgrading the broadband network stands at around £66billion on a worldwide scale.

The BBC article said:

The demand for bandwidth-intensive applications shows no sign of abating.

Nearly 75% of US internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video and viewed more than 8.3bn video streams during May, according to research by measurement firm comScore.

It appears that money must be invested soon, else the ever-expanding internet that we talk about so frequently could be short lived.

Get Safe Online – Who’s responsibility?

I’ve not come across many blog articles on the Get Safe Online campaign going on this week, but did find MSN’s Tech & Gadgets Editor, Patrick Goss, had commented on his blog.

He interesting raises the question about responsibility:

…the biggest thing for me about online security is how little people seem to think it is up to them to keep themselves out of trouble.

I think this is a matter for the government to promote more awareness about staying safe online, something which the campaign can initially do. While I don’t think huge amounts of money should be ploughed into making people aware, I do think there needs to be more done to make sure people stay safe.

What can be done, however, I don’t know. The only suggestion I can make is for internet browsers to carry some kind of warning or search engines to promote the subject on their main search page. By using these, the message can reach the masses and hopefully get embedded into people’s minds.

I’d be interested to hear other people’s opinions on this…

My Football Club – Deal agreed with Ebbsfleet United

I opened my inbox this morning to see that My Football Club has agreed a deal with Ebbsfleet United.

The conference team currently stand 9th in the table and the purchase fund created over £700,000 in takeover money.

The BBC’s article Website agrees Ebbsfleet takeover recognsies the landmark move for not only English football, but the game in general:

The takeover is a landmark for English football, given the website’s stated intention of involving the members so radically in the running of the club, particularly with team selection.

MyFootballClub members, thought to be over 20,000, will own a total share of 51% in the club and will get to vote on signings, the starting line-up and which players to sell.

Simon Perry at Digital Lifestyles said:

We think this is a brilliant idea – in terms of the world’s Internet public owning a business and managing it through democratically made decisions, carried out online – as far as if it will be good for the club or football generally, we’ve no idea.

The transfer funds will become available to head coach Liam Daish in January so I guess we’ll be hearing more about this unique chance very soon.

‘Get safe online’ warn of social networking risks

To mark Get Safe Online Week, a campaign from the government, they have launched a warning on staying safe when ’social networking.’

The article gives the basics, from choosing a safe username to not publishing your mobile phone number online. It seems a bit lacking though, considering social networking is a big part of today’s popular culture.

This BBC article covers the area in more detail and draws some facts from the organisation:

The survey also found 13% of social networkers had posted information about or photos of other people without their consent.

This figure surprised me, I thought it would be higher.

The Get Safe Online scheme, run through SOCA, also focuses on the over-65’s who seem at particular risk of identity fraud. The BBC said:

And more than half of the over-65s polled use a single password for every website they visit, the group said.

The group is advising older internet users to change their passwords more often.

Tim Stevens posted a useful article on choosing a safe password on Switched – Is your password on this list? Again it’s basic and simple advice, but obviously something that is getting ignored. He also links to a password generator which I’ll definately be taking a look at.