I have a similar problem - but what do you do when your social media presence is "incomplete" ie the name is squatted on the 2 biggest of this list : facebook and youtube?
The name has been in use in business since 2001. I have the similar domain in .com etc. since 2003. I have a trademark on the term itself since last year.
the name on facebook is being held without serving any content, by a minor. On youtube another minor, though at least serving content.
I tried both youtube and facebook trademark report process - a mockery a best, requiring time and effort to get a scripted reply.
I will save you some time and money and give you their replies (I hope they're not copyrighted :-)
Facebook in reply to report an infringing username "While we appreciate your concerns, it appears that the user has a legitimate basis for selecting the username. If you believe this is incorrect, we recommend that you contact the user directly to address this issue."
Then you reply to that email, and get the very same reply. A chatbot could do that.
Youtube on trademark support : "Thank you for submitting your complaint. As a preliminary matter, please note that YouTube is not in a position to mediate trademark disputes between users and trademark owners. As a courtesy we have considered your claim, but do not find grounds to take action on your claim. If you have continued concerns, we encourage you to resolve the dispute with the uploader."
Yes, try that with someone who is not replying. Actually I'm considering paying a lawyer.
Thanks a lot for this very interesting message, especially the part about professional helpers. I would second your opinion there - that's where I found the most broken people, who seem to prefer to live in a word of suffering - a good place for their bleeding heart!
I wouldn't give a yes. If what you are doing is meaningless for humanity or detrimental (for the sake of the example, let's say your work is on anti personnel mines), but that you find a great fulfillment in doing that, good for you!
I have always thought very disturbing in the occidental culture the notion that there are "unworthy" occupations, and some people "waste their life" doing something different that they could in someone else's opinion.
But that's just applying peer pressure to make such people comply to our (skewed?) visions of how life should be, and when failing, using guilt to try to destroy the joy they find in doing what they do the way they do.
Maybe because I grew up watching too much anime and reading too many mangas I admire whatever people are, in any field, trying to remove my own bias.
Like - you don't have to be a Nazi to admire what Roemmel (sp?) did in north-africa. A true military genius of the time. Or how a handfull of guys armed with box cutters social-engineered they way to massive destruction and terror. And also it's hard not to admire the beautiful job of some people in charity work - eradicting polio, wow. Using cellphones to develop microcredit and banking in countries with little infrastructure - that's beautiful!
But unlike you, I would but the fun part above the "important" part, because what's important is a personal opinion. If someone find something important, it's important.
If designing and testing landmines aimed at killing and maiming people is fun because, I don't know, the mathematical challenge behind it, the noise of explosions, whatever - it's a worthy endeavour. If you make good money because you're good at the job you love, even better.
BTW the knife cut both ways - my training has been mostly on the medical field, but someday I realised the humanitarian field no longer meant anything to me. I'm not feeling any greater purpose or anything, and I don't believe I ever did. Maybe I tried to fool myself thinking I did. Maybe I resent the fact that's it's difficult to match up my skills to what's usefull in the industry, but I doub thatt and I don't think it's clouding my judgement too much. Anyway it is just no longer fun and that's what matters.
I don't feel bad about that. It's not good or bad - just an indication that's it's time to do something else now, and that as usual change is hard. If I listened to what people would think about my move, I'd up for one another good guilt trip :-) Like why don't I go to some poor country to save people? Because I don't care, don't see the point, and while the visiting part might be fun initially, it would be boring and I may not like the food and the culture :-)
What I fear is many people are doing this for a time in their life - sometimes their whole life - without realizing how empty it is, until it bites them back, a la Lars Von Triers' "Dogville".
Maybe I grew out of the guilt trip that's forcing of lot of people into such training and studies. I'm just sad to see such post and comment, including people downvoting the not politically correct things to say.
Do what you like, and figure out justifications later.
PS: You don't have to spend 8 hours a day working on something BTW - slavery is gone is most part of the world. Economic slavery however remains, and if you want more things than you can affort, yes, you will have to spend your time this way, and might resent it.
Some people, mostly in europe, figure out how to strech their money and benefits to live without doing any purposeful work. I would find that sad - unless they enjoy the "game" part of gaming and abusing the system. In that case maybe a worthy endeavour to them, rest of mankind be damned.
Doing something meaningful, in the way you described it, looks a lot to me like guilt over a perceived unfairness of life. Yes people are dying in remote places, yes people need healthcare in the US, and yes not everyone has a job. You want to try and fix the situation, but many others also have tried, and failed.
Maybe you want to do that to be relieve of your guilt, to try and find happiness instead. I mean it's very popular to say that you are trying to change the world, making it a better place, and so on, but then in the end, will it make you happy?
And even worse- what is your final objective? Being happy?
Maybe you perceive a dysfunction is the way the world works vs how you think it should work. Then your goal might be to "remove biais", or be "less wrong". Some blogger might help you in your path.
If your goal is finding consistence, there are many ways which do not always involve doing "something meaningful" in the sense of charity work. Abstaining from charity and being vocal about it, trying to make more people join such absentionist movements, might be very positive. A lot of people believe the problems for exemple in Africa are due to foreign involvement creating a long lasting dependance on aid, food, and so on. Basically, it might not be good to have more people on a continent that can be fed by the production of this given continent. Here the lack of action would have dire consequences in the short term, but would improve the situation in the long term - and it would be self consistent.
If you goal is happiness, a better shortcut might be finding happiness without having to resort to such a guilt-ridden trip of charity, ie learnt to not care anylonger!
If your your goal is being popular, ie respond to peer pressure which views charity work in a positive light, maybe you could find some other way that is also well received - say american idol, a free software project that'll make you famous, fight again racism/global warming/whatever is popular these days.
But from what I have read in your message, I would sincerily question your premises.
Instead of doing what is better "for the world" or "for the global good", have you considered the possibility of doing "what's fun", "what you like", or "what is important to you"? You do not need justifications or moral endorsement to do that. Yet it requires some serious introspection.
If you do have considered these alternatives, and if you are sure of your premises, have you identified limitating beliefs, ie the reason why you consider these alternatives not to be worth your limited time on this earth?
Yet being around people you can relate with is priceless. We hackers need new thoughts and cross fertilization of ideas. The web helps but personally, my most interesting moments of this year so far where in a Linux meeting in Quebec and a San Diego HN social event last week, before returning home to my tropical island. Don't underestimate the power of socialization until you start to really live outside north america/europe/australia-nz/japan.
Coming to the competition : http://uxoo.com
Now what? A feature race? Back to the problem of monetizing a website based on free software, where there is little to no entry bar.
The name has been in use in business since 2001. I have the similar domain in .com etc. since 2003. I have a trademark on the term itself since last year.
the name on facebook is being held without serving any content, by a minor. On youtube another minor, though at least serving content.
I tried both youtube and facebook trademark report process - a mockery a best, requiring time and effort to get a scripted reply.
I will save you some time and money and give you their replies (I hope they're not copyrighted :-)
Facebook in reply to report an infringing username "While we appreciate your concerns, it appears that the user has a legitimate basis for selecting the username. If you believe this is incorrect, we recommend that you contact the user directly to address this issue."
Then you reply to that email, and get the very same reply. A chatbot could do that.
Youtube on trademark support : "Thank you for submitting your complaint. As a preliminary matter, please note that YouTube is not in a position to mediate trademark disputes between users and trademark owners. As a courtesy we have considered your claim, but do not find grounds to take action on your claim. If you have continued concerns, we encourage you to resolve the dispute with the uploader."
Yes, try that with someone who is not replying. Actually I'm considering paying a lawyer.