Instagram has unexpectedly and questionably disabled sharing of their photos to Twitter accounts. Kevin Systrom confirmed the permanent change in a conference today, December 5^th, explaining that Instagram is all about the “user’s experience,” and when pictures are shared to Twitter, they tend to become distorted, framed incorrectly, misaligned, etc.

Personally, I have shared many pictures from Instagram to Twitter, and have never experienced any of the supposedly issues mentioned above. Although Systrom stressed that there is no “bad blood” between Twitter and Instagram, I cannot help but think that the aggressive and unforeseen move is due to Facebook.

Facebook is Instagram’s parent company, and in recent months Facebook has seen a drop in users mainly due to the websites’ constantly changing privacy settings. With that, as Facebook loses popularity, Twitter appears to be gaining it. What could be more beneficial than disabling a feature from Facebook’s main competitor?

How about creating a new social media site similar to Twitter? According to Instagram, the popular picture sharing application will now include an online profile that will allow you to share pictures and thought updates similar to what is shown on a typical Twitter feed.

The spiteful and genius move on Instagram and Facebook’ s behalf will secure the relevancy of the company.  Social media sites are fad, just like fashion trends that change every so often, so do social media sites. With Facebook edging more closely to social media heaven, where it will join the likes of MySpace, Facebook can ensure that they will still have increased revenue rolling in for their company, something that Myspace failed to do.

Facebook is safe for now, but who knows what will happen when Instagram profiles have seen their day…

As much as Facebook is a great way to showcase your accomplishments and build integrity, all it takes is just one click to destroy your integrity and deter college admissions from accepting you.

According to a recent survey by Kaplan, 27% of admissions searched potential students on Google and 26% viewed Facebook profiles as part of the application process. Facebook is constantly changing its privacy settings, so users should be wary of what information can be easily searched, or considered public knowledge. Not to mention, recent years has shown us that social networking sites have gained popularity and complexity, and with that comes a new wave of grey-area to dispute: What constitutes information that is private vs. public?

Unfortunately, the public vs. private issue is not going to be resolved anytime soon. With that, there are precautions that students should take when applying to colleges, and there is a simple service that colleges can provide applicants with. Nicolaus Mills suggests colleges “explicitly tell all prospective students that anything they write online can be held against them” in the application process.

Until colleges can come to an agreement about the content of their disclaimer, students should exercise a few easy tips to heighten their chances of acceptance:

• Be mindful of the types of photos you are being tagged in
• Be wary of status updates that could be incriminating or seen as scandalous
• Delete posts from friends that can be seen as inappropriate or offensive

Bottom line, if a student has any inkling that a post, picture or status could be negatively interpreted, whether out of context or not, it should be deleted.

David Petraeus is the former CIA director that can attribute his quick career downfall to his salacious affairs with not one, but two women! Petraeus’ affairs were accidentally uncovered when Jill Kelley, “an unpaid social liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC),” went to an FBI source to report “jealous” e-mails she had been receiving from an unknown source. Allegedly, the supposed e-mails in question were being sent from Paula Broadwell, more likely known as Petraeus’ mistress and co-author of his biography, “All In.”

According to recent reports, investigators explained that they found e-mails that demonstrated a more intimate relationship, or for lack of a better word, “affair,” between Petraeus and Broadwell. The story continues to unravel. In recent days, Petraeus has stepped down from his position as director of the CIA, and has admitted to only having an affair with Broadwell…lucky her.

The collateral damage of the affair has left Holly Petraeus without a husband, and with one less friend. According to Dr. Kelley, Jill Kelley’s husband, the two families have spent several holidays together including Christmas each year. The place settings will be a tad different this year to say the least. Kelley has lost her husband, her lover, and her position as social liaison. Paula Broadwell has potentially lost her journalistic merit. However, I’m not sure there is a specific clause relating to carrying on an affair with your writing buddy.  The FBI is also looking into the steamy e-mails sent between Petraeus and Broadwell to ensure that the CIA’s security had not been comprised. Lastly, Petraeus has lost his job, his extramarital toys, and his wife of 37 years.  Although, there has to be a bright side to all of this…

According to news outlets, Hollywood is hoping to make this into a movie. I mean, it already has all the facets to a Lifetime movie, so why not make it into the next blockbuster. Plus in the wake of the scandal, people may feel more motivated to read his autobiography, driving sales of his book. Let’s face it, Petraeus could benefit from the extra income with all the lawyer fees he is going to be slammed with.  Lastly, even the most disciplined and decorated of individuals have trouble keeping it in their pants. If Bill Clinton can bounce back, maybe there is hope for Petraeus after all.