How are Social Security numbers made?

From Wikipedia.org…

The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format “AAA-GG-SSSS”. The number is divided into three parts.

• The Area Number, the first three digits, is assigned by the geographical region. Prior to 1973, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the Area Number represented the office code in which the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be in the area where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Since 1973, when SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number assigned has been based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant’s mailing address does not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the Area Number does not necessarily represent the State of residence of the applicant, neither prior to 1973, nor since.

Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving south and westward, so that people on the east coast had the lowest numbers and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. As the areas assigned to a locality are exhausted, new areas from the pool are assigned, so some states have noncontiguous groups of numbers.

Complete list of area number groups from the Social Security Administration

• The middle two digits are the group number. They have no special geographic or data significance but merely serve to break the number into conveniently sized blocks for orderly issuance.

• There is a theory that the two middle digits can be used to identify a person’s ethnic background. This is debunked as an urban legend on snopes.com as well as on the Social Security Administration’s website.

The group numbers range from 01 to 99. However, they are not assigned in consecutive order. For administrative reasons, group numbers are issued in the following order:

1. ODD numbers from 01 through 09
2. EVEN numbers from 10 through 98
3. EVEN numbers from 02 through 08
4. ODD numbers from 11 through 99

As an example, group number 98 will be issued before 11.

• The last four digits are serial numbers. They represent a straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001-9999 within the group.

Currently, a valid SSN cannot have an area number above 772, the highest area number which the Social Security Administration has allocated.^[14]. This should not be confused with Tax Identification Numbers which include additional area numbers^[15].

There are also special numbers which will never be allocated:

• Numbers with all zeros in any digit group (000-xx-####, ###-00-####, ###-xx-0000).^[16]
• Numbers of the form 666-xx-####, probably due to the potential controversy (see Number of the Beast).^[16]
• Numbers from 987-65-4320 to 987-65-4329 are reserved for use in advertisements.^[17]

The Administration publishes the last group number used for each area number.^[18]. Since group numbers are allocated in a regular (if unusual) pattern, it is possible to identify an unissued SSN that contains an invalid group number. Despite these measures, many fraudulent SSNs cannot easily be detected using only publicly available information.

Free tacos at Taco Bell this Tuesday!

Logo property of Taco Bell

Thanks to some baseball player who stole a base during this year’s World Series, Taco Bell is giving everyone in America a free taco! (I know, I don’t see much of a connection either…)

Stop in your local Taco Bell this Tuesday, October 28th between 2 p.m.-6 p.m. and get a free taco!

Check out the Taco Bell official website for more info

National Republican Trust PAC uses 9/11 footage in GOP ad

Wonderful, it’s official: the thousands of lives that were taken on 9/11 have been politicized. I can’t imagine anything more disrespectful. Then again, this style ad is consistent with the kitchen sink strategy– when you can’t beat ’em, stain ’em.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “National Republican Trust PAC uses 9/…“, posted with vodpod

IMPORTANT! Drudge Puts Dangerous Spin on Mugging, Implies Violence Targeting McCain Volunteers

I usually never post a full and complete article but I felt that the things Feldman talks about need to be communicated to as many people as possible, as soon as possible. Please read it, especially if you read DrudgeReport.com as much as I do!

Please visit the original article here and support their advertisers! Thank you!

By Jeffrey Feldman
for HuffingtonPost.com
Click here for the original article

Yesterday, a horrible incident took place in Pittsburgh: a young woman was robbed; and then, after the assailant noticed that her car had a McCain sticker, he returned to brutalize her, including scratching a backwards ‘B’ in her cheek with a knife. Although horrible by itself, what makes this story even more shocking is the way right-wing media has tried to twist the coverage with rhetoric suggesting that this ATM mugging was actually a pre-meditated act of political violence aimed at the McCain campaign.

At 4:03pm, today, a WTAE-TV Pittsburgh reported that a 20-year old woman was robbed at an ATM machine, and then subsequently had the letter ‘B’ scratched into her cheek with a knife–supposedly in response to her assailant seeing a ‘McCain’ campaign sticker on her car.   This is how WTAE reported the story:

Woman Attacked At ATM, Assailant Carves Letter Into Her Face

Woman Robbed, Attacked With Knife At Bloomfield ATM
POSTED: 4:03 pm EDT October 23, 2008
UPDATED: 4:30 pm EDT October 23, 2008

PITTSBURGH — A 20-year-old woman who was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield was also maimed by her attacker, police said.

Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Diane Richard tells Channel 4 Action News that the victim was robbed at knifepoint on Wednesday night outside of a Citizens Bank near Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m.

Richard said the robber took $60 from the woman, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim’s car. The attacker then punched and kicked the victim, before using the knife to scratch the letter “B” into her face, Richard said.

Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank’s surveillance cameras.

The robber is described as a dark-skinned black man, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 200 pounds with a medium build, short black hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes. (link)

The crime was horrendous. Anyone who mugs another person, whether it is for $0.60 or $60, is a criminal who deserves punishment.  And to beat someone up–and then scratch a ‘B’ in their face–supposedly in response to seeing a McCain campaign sticker on a person’s car–that is an act that demands immediate criminal prosecution.  The young woman attacked deserves a speedy recovery and quick restitution of her property and dignity by the courts.

The problem with this crime, however, is not just that it happened, but the way that Matt Drudge has obviously tried to spin it into a political watershed for the 2008 Presidential campaign by rewriting the headline and carefully omitting several crucial elements.  The end result is that a mugging punctuated by an odd act of violence has been transformed at the hands of a right-wing media figure to appear like a targeted act of violence against the McCain campaign.

Not long after the original WTAE story, Drudge added the following incendiary headline on The Drudge Report:

SHOCK: MCCAIN VOLUNTEER ATTACKED AND MUTILATED IN PITTSBURGH…

‘B’ CARVED INTO 20-YEAR OLD WOMAN’S FACE… DEVELOPING…

Note two things that Drudge has strategically left out of this headline: (1) the actual details of the crime (e.g., an ATM robbery, followed by an assault) and (2) the fact that the robber brutalized the young woman after the initial crime had been completed, when the criminal noticed the bumber sticker on her car. The omissions are crucial because they repackage a story of theft and assault into a story of political violence.

What Drudge has done, in other words, is reframe a report about a mugging to make it seem like the beginning of targeted political violence against the McCain campaign.  Hence, it seems from his headline that there are criminals in the U.S. currently out looking for McCain volunteers with the goal of brutally assaulting them–that someone was looking for McCain volunteers to attack, found one, and beat her.

Now, Matt Drudge’s blog is one of the most visited websites on the internet and is well-known for its Republican Party leanings, it’s deep connection to right-wing media outlets, and the phenomenal speed with which it can disseminate a story–whether that story is true or false.  It is important, therefore, to consider the grave danger carried Drudge’s spinning of this story.

Given Drudge’s choice of words, one could imagine the Drudge headline as the basis for right-wing media and the Republican base to conclude that political violence has begun against the McCain campaign–despite this being a false and misleading representation of the events.

Even worse, the immense site traffic at The Drudge Report enjoys, combined with Drudge’s implication that this horrible mugging incident in Pittsburgh was in fact targeted political violence against Republicans, could result in widespread panic amongst by McCain supporters mislead by Drudge’s manipulative reporting into thinking that they were the target of some kind of organized assault.

If either of those things were to happen, the Drudge headline of the WTAE story could quickly tip the the Presidential election into a dangerous place by heightening the ‘us vs. them’ tensions already set in motion by the McCain-Palin campaign rhetoric.

Finally, since Pennsylvania is a ‘swing’ stage–a state that is still too-close-to-call in the Presidential election polls–it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Drudge’s deceptive re-framing of this mugging story could result in heightened tensions on the ground, and possibly contribute to outbursts of violence by people who believe they are under ‘attack,’ as a result of Drudge’s rhetoric.

However Drudge’s headline is interpreted, it has the potential to provide an excuse for actual political violence under the guise of self-defense.

Just to give an idea of how incendiary this story could become, since I began writing this post, the Obama-Biden campaign has already issued the following statement:

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the young woman for her to make a speedy recovery, and we hope that the person who perpetrated this crime is swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.”

Their response shows the necessary and swift intolerance that any crime of this nature deserves.  Whether or not The Drudge Report will succeed with its dangerous ploy to recast this crime as the beginning of political violence against Republicans remains to be seen.   But at the very least, we can expect Drudge’s spin to be the lead on every right-wing media outlet at least to the weekend.

How mainstream media handles it is another story.  Will news producers at CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS refute Drudge’s irresponsible flirtation with rhetoric that has the potential to spark widespread panic?   Let’s hope so.

©  2008 Jeffrey Feldman, Frameshop

Facebook tops MySpace in unique visitors

By Kevin Allison
Financial Times – FT.com
June 22, 2008
Click here for the original article

Facebook, the fast-growing social network, has taken a significant lead over MySpace in visitor numbers for the first time, according to one popular measure of internet traffic.

Facebook attracted more than 123m unique visitors in May, an increase of 162 per cent over the same period last year according to ComScore, a company that monitors websites. That compared with 114.6m unique visitors at MySpace, Facebook’s leading rival, whose traffic grew just 5 per cent during the same period, ComScore said.

The findings mark the first time that Facebook, launched in 2004, has taken a significant lead in unique visitors, after ComScore’s April traffic figures showed the rivals in a virtual tie. They come at a time of change inside Facebook, as the one-time upstart attempts to transform itself into a leading media company. Several members of the original executive team have left the company in recent weeks.

The departures include Adam D’Angelo, chief technology officer and personal confidant of Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s 23-year-old founder and chief executive; and Matt Cohler, Facebook’s first official hire, who was in charge of product development.

Mr Zuckerberg has appointed Sheryl Sandberg as his second-in-command. Ms Sandberg, who helped develop Google’s lucrative advertising business, is expected to play a crucial role in the development of Facebook’s revenue model.

The management changes come as the company is under pressure to justify the $15bn valuation it drew last year in an investment round with Microsoft.

Facebook is a private company and does not disclose official sales or profit figures. But people close to the company have claimed that it made $150m in sales last year. That figure is expected to grow to $300m-$350m this year as it attempts to broaden its revenue stream.

Counting unique visitors is just one way to measure the website popularity. Many sites, including Facebook, measure audience engagement by tracking the number of repeat, or “active” users of their sites, leaving out those who visit a site once and never return. MySpace claims to have about 110m active users, Facebook about 80m.

Why Generation Y is Going to Change the Web… and the World

By Sarah Perez
ReadWriteWeb.com
May 15, 2008
Click here for the original article
___________________________

Gen Y is taking over. The generation of young adults that’s compromised of the children of Boomers, Generation Jones, and even some Gen X’ers, is the biggest generation since the Baby Boomers and three times the size of Gen X. As the Boomers fade into retirement and Gen Y takes root in the workplace, we’re going to see some big changes ahead, not just at work, but on the web as a whole.

There’s some contention over where exactly Gen Y starts and stops – some say those born 1983-1997, others think 1982-1997. In this week’s Entertainment Weekly, Gen Y is defined as “current 13 to 31 year-olds” and BusinessWeek says they can be as young as five. Regardless, we know who they are – they’re the young kids of today, the most digitally active generation yet, having been born plugged in.

How They’re Different

They’re Plugged In: The term “digital native” applies to most Gen Y’ers. Those in Gen Y grew up around computers, the Internet, mobile phones, video games, and mp3 players. They are web savvy multitaskers, able watch TV, surf the web, listen to music, and talk or text on their phones, often performing several of these things at the same time.

TV Isn’t King: Although you’ll find Gen Y’ers obsessing over the latest episode of “The Hills,” and other shows, they aren’t watching TV as much as other generations do. Instead, Gen Y’ers spend more time surfing the net and using other devices, like iPods and Xboxes, even when it cuts into TV viewing. For them, TV is often just “background noise.”

They Don’t Care About Your Ad, They Care What Their Friends Think: Because they are immersed in media, both online and off, Gen Y’ers are marketed to left and right. But when it comes to making decisions, Gen Y tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads. “Ads that push a slogan, an image, and a feeling, the younger consumer is not going to go for,” says James R. Palczynski, retail analyst for Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Instead, they respond to “humor, irony, and the unvarnished truth.” They’re also somewhat distrusting of ads, which is why grassroots efforts can also work. However, don’t get to comfortable, Gen Y doesn’t have brand loyalty – they’re quick to move the next big thing.

Work Isn’t Their Whole World: Sure, they’re going to go to work, but it had better be fun. For Gen Y, work isn’t their identity. It’s just a place. Gen Y sees no reason why a company can’t be more accommodating, offering benefits like the ability to work from anywhere, flex-time, a culture that supports team communication, and a “fun” work environment. They’re also not going to blindly follow orders just because you’re the boss. Sometimes dubbed “Generation Why?” they need to “buy in” as to why something is being done. Old school bosses may find their questioning insubordinate behavior, but they would be best to just change their management techniques and adapt. Gen Y hasn’t known much unemployment and they’re not going to put up with being treated poorly just for sake of a paycheck. (Bosses, your survival guide is here).

They’re Socially Conscious: Gen Y cares about the world. They pay attention to politics, the economy, social causes, and environmental issues. They think they’re a force to be reckoned with in electionsnot in newspaper format, which is is going to hurt that industry even more as time goes by. and follow the candidates online on social networks. They read the news, but

Gen Y & Technology

Since Gen Y grew up on the web, they’re going to be the driving force behind the way the web of the future is shaped. What Gen Y wants from the web will be the web.

Internet TV: Although watching TV online is something that few Boomers do, Gen Y is perfectly comfortable with this. They time-shift content all the time, not only on the web but via portable devices and mp3 players, too. When it comes to TV on the web, a recent study showed Gen Y leading the way when it comes to internet TV viewing:

• Generation Y (33%) and Generation X (27%) led early Baby Boomers (19%) in use of official TV program web sites.
• Gen Y (62%) users are much more likely to have watched a full episode on the program site than Gen X (41%) or younger Boomers (32%).

Socializing Rules…But They Want to Control It: Gen Y thinks a truly “private” life is a crock. 54% have used MySpace, Facebook, or some other social network. Most of Gen Y had to learn the hard way about the perils of posting everything online. As they’ve aged, they realized blogging their every thought and posting those embarrassing pictures might have hurt their jobs prospects at times, so now some of them are interested in more privacy on their social networks. They’re happy to continue over-sharing with friends, but also learning how to protect their updates and set their profiles to private. They’re also wary of old folks, like their boss, trying to “friend” them in their social space, especially if they’re tragically un-hip wannabes.

But that’s not to say their over-sharing is going to stop – Gen Y is getting into lifestreaming too, streaming live video via services like Yahoo! Live. In their own world, they’re celebrities. Says Jason Barg, a 2004 graduate of Penn State University and founder of an online real estate company, notoriety is more about standing out from the crowd. “A primary goal of people my age is not necessarily to become famous but to become distinctive,” he says.

Marketing Has To Change: Because Gen Y is media savvy and conscious of being marketed to, brands that succeed in the future will be those that open a dialog with their customers, admit their mistakes, and essentially become more transparent (save one notable exception, apparently). Companies’ web sites that want to attract GenY’ers will become more like today’s Web 2.0 sites. Social networking will be just a feature. Blogs will be standard ways for companies to reach their customers. Customer service won’t just be a phone call away, it will be available via non-traditional means, too. Today, savvy companies might be using Twitter, but that could change at any time if Gen Y moves on. Companies will have to keep up with Gen Y and not get too comfortable using any one format. (Oh, and you can stop calling everything “viral” – that’s lame.)

Work Tools Need to Mirror Web Tools: Gen Y will drive adoption of “Enterprise 2.0” products and services. Gen Y in the workplace will not just want, but expect their company to provide them with tools that mirror those they use in their personal lives. If socializing on Facebook helps them get a sale, then they’re not going to understand why they can’t use it at work. For more buckled down companies, if workers aren’t provided with the tools they want, they’re going to be savvy enough to go around I.T.’s back and get their own.

Web Sites Will Need to Cater to Shorter Attention Spans: No more long boring text! Thanks to constant media input, Gen Y has shorter attention spans and their “grasshopper minds” leap quickly from topic to topic. (They also didn’t read this whole article…too long!)

Mobile Web? Yes Please!: Gen Y will be happy to adopt the mobile web – they are practically glued to their phones. Currently, Gen Y is using the mobile web to socialize, not search. Steve Ives, Taptu CEO, in a company whitepaper, Making search social: Unleashing search for the mobile generation, concludes that “…Generation Y, who sees the mobile as a social device first and an information device second, is not using today’s mobile search as much as expected. But Generation Y is using mobile phones to access social networks.”

Conclusion

Ignoring the voices of Gen Y is something you should do at your own peril, especially if you’re a business looking to hire, a company selling a product, or an advertising firm trying to reach them.

(this article and all images are property of ReadWriteWeb.com)