Just Pay $9K For A Master Degree In Social Media

If you thought online social networking was just an idle pastime, think again.

A university is to offer a Masters degree covering sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo.

Students will learn how to set up blogs and podcasts online and also how to use the sites in communications and marketing.

Birmingham City University is offering a one-year Masters degree in Social Media, which covers sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo

The £4,400 one-year MA in Social Media will start next year at Birmingham City University.

It has been advertised through a makeshift video on the university's website.

Its convenor, Jon Hickman, said he had received a good response from potential students.

He said: 'It's not for freaks or IT geeks. The tools learned on this course will be accessible to many people.

'It will definitely appeal to students looking to go into professions including journalism and PR.'

However, one Birmingham-based student, 20-year-old Jamie Waterman, said: 'It's of no interest to me whatsoever. Virtually all of the content of this course is so basic it can be self-taught.

'In fact most people know all this stuff already. I think it's a complete waste of university resources.'

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Giant 400 Years Old Egg For Sale

Its mother has long since departed the scene. As, indeed, has its entire species.

But this giant egg is a great survivor. It was laid around 400 years ago by one of the great elephant birds of Madagascar.

Before becoming extinct in the 17th century, the flightless creature was the world's largest bird, standing 10ft tall and weighing half a ton.

Duncan Phillips holds a Giant Elephant Bird of Madagascar egg, which went on sale in London today.

The egg, which is more than 3ft in circumference, was discovered by Victorian explorers and has since been held in private collections.

Its current owner is antiques dealer John Shepherd, of Ashford in Kent, who bought the egg after seeing David Attenborough discover one while filming in Madagascar.

Mr Shepherd, a trained palaeontologist, has decided to sell the egg, which is on display at the Chelsea Antiques Fair, which runs until Sunday.

The egg is larger than a rugby ball and measures more than 3ft in diameter.

It is expected to fetch at least £5,000. He said: 'The egg is a talking point. It's very eye-catching and it has a wonderful simplicity about it. It stands on its own.

'It has a great social history. The Madagascan elephant bird was the only giant bird to exist with man and man caused its extinction.

'It's nice to be able to show children today about environmental issues that have been going on for hundreds of years.'

Great elephant birds became extinct after being hunted by the natives of Madagascar.

Even though the bird weighed about half a ton, it also suffered at the hands of other predators such as pigs who ate their chicks and destroyed their eggs.

The flightless bird, the largest to have ever lived, resembled a heavily-built ostrich. It had long legs, talons and stood at more than 10ft tall.

But despite its fearsome appearance, it was a herbivore.

The bird as it would have looked 400 years ago, and right its skeleton reveals how much larger it was compared to its giant eggs

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