heh it appears i missed one of the tasks in week2 tutes.
Well i decided to try MSN as the chat program.
It was a great start...I couldn't even install it...for some reason, the online downloading app just sat idol...no downloading progress. So i did the slightly convoluted way of installing it. I searched for an older, standalone version, and once that was installed, upgraded it with the streaming download.
This gave me the chance to see the two different versions of MSN. Quite frankly, i prefer the older look rather than the jazzy new interface, although the new interface is interesting and offers a little more in the way of customisation.
As with any new chat program, the path of the conversation i had was rather predictable. Starts of with the "hello!" "hi!" and works into the "so where are you from?" to "what do you do for a living" and "i like artichokes too!!!" and before long, they get the general gist of sending messages, and turn to the more annoying past times of emotes, and MSN specific "winks" and "nudges" >.< gah!
I'd like a dollar for every different emote, wink and nudge i received ;) hehe
But in all seriousness, i found MSN to be rather good. Not spectacular nor inadequate, but it seemed it has been created for it's purpose; sending quick messages and the exchange of greetings.
I'm used to Skype which is essentially a VOIP or in other words, online telephone system which happens to have the added advantage of chat, and file transfer.
It's clear to see that MSN is far more suited to messaging than chat. setting up voice was a pain and when it did finally work, not everyone was easy to hear. Skype is far superior in that regard.
Over all, i think MSN is a pretty popular and useful tool. The adverts are annoying but most can be removed and from time to time, the connectivity can drop out for no apparant reason, but as i sooned discovered after mentioning it to my friends, most people seem to use it as a means of staying in touch.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Clarity
It was a surprise to see senator Conroy on Q&A last night. I think it was a very brave move considering the turmoil he's created in regards to the compulsory internet filter.
What was more of a surprise was my reaction by the end of the program! He pretty much summed up what i suspected; people have blown the scheme way out of proportion, and that the sensational claims have no factual basis.
In some ways i was very disappointed in the scheme in the first place. I don't think its the responsibility on the Government to enforce such restraints, but then again, it's their responsibility to do what it can to protect people that are unable to do so themselves such as children.
It was reassuring to know that the scheme is very much in a trial phase. And that, even after these trials, nothing is final and if the scheme falls over, they wont continue with it.
I say that if the filter does significantly slow the net, then of course they wont go through with it. But it seems it is part of a feasibility study to see if a number of systems, brought together, can make a difference and improve the safety of the net.
For all those out there saying "OMG! they can't censor the net! what about freedom of speech!?" well i have news for you: stop being a moron and actually look into what exactly you are saying...the filter is not designed to filter political content nor block peoples views...it is designed to block content that is ALREADY regulated by the ACMA. ie. content that is already considered inappropriate. content that is already classified but has skipped such classification because of the nature of the internet.
If you think that freedom of speech is an issue here, it's highly likely that you are a 1st year Arts student who after a few weeks of studying sociology, think you are the almightly expert on the topic. Either that or an easily convinced and simple minded fool who is likely to join your local universities Communist Socialist group.
If none of the above applies, then grow up and act your age. Use some common sense, and do some research before blurting out sensationalist and unfounded claims. Even just an hour of research will show you what the goals and objectives are of the scheme.
What was more of a surprise was my reaction by the end of the program! He pretty much summed up what i suspected; people have blown the scheme way out of proportion, and that the sensational claims have no factual basis.
In some ways i was very disappointed in the scheme in the first place. I don't think its the responsibility on the Government to enforce such restraints, but then again, it's their responsibility to do what it can to protect people that are unable to do so themselves such as children.
It was reassuring to know that the scheme is very much in a trial phase. And that, even after these trials, nothing is final and if the scheme falls over, they wont continue with it.
I say that if the filter does significantly slow the net, then of course they wont go through with it. But it seems it is part of a feasibility study to see if a number of systems, brought together, can make a difference and improve the safety of the net.
For all those out there saying "OMG! they can't censor the net! what about freedom of speech!?" well i have news for you: stop being a moron and actually look into what exactly you are saying...the filter is not designed to filter political content nor block peoples views...it is designed to block content that is ALREADY regulated by the ACMA. ie. content that is already considered inappropriate. content that is already classified but has skipped such classification because of the nature of the internet.
If you think that freedom of speech is an issue here, it's highly likely that you are a 1st year Arts student who after a few weeks of studying sociology, think you are the almightly expert on the topic. Either that or an easily convinced and simple minded fool who is likely to join your local universities Communist Socialist group.
If none of the above applies, then grow up and act your age. Use some common sense, and do some research before blurting out sensationalist and unfounded claims. Even just an hour of research will show you what the goals and objectives are of the scheme.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Email Lists
Well my experience of email lists was mixed.
I joined a Lord of the Rings email list focused around the books and the movies, and half the time, people wouldn't respond to others emails, and when they did, it was rather easy for the topic to go off on a tangent.
Despite that, it was a rather unique way to discuss topics.
The best bit is you don't necessarily need to look at topics you have no interest in as is sometimes the case with forums and discussion boards, and you can contribute and view posts on the go if your mobile has email access.
I will stick with forums, as it is a lot easier to follow the flow of the discussion, and i get enough spam everyday as it is :P
I joined a Lord of the Rings email list focused around the books and the movies, and half the time, people wouldn't respond to others emails, and when they did, it was rather easy for the topic to go off on a tangent.
Despite that, it was a rather unique way to discuss topics.
The best bit is you don't necessarily need to look at topics you have no interest in as is sometimes the case with forums and discussion boards, and you can contribute and view posts on the go if your mobile has email access.
I will stick with forums, as it is a lot easier to follow the flow of the discussion, and i get enough spam everyday as it is :P
Communicating on the Web
Ah yes, more tutes to document...
Other information that can be gleamed includes other recipients of the email, if it has been forwarded, the past senders of the email (in the body of the email), time and date the email was sent, and if the sender has a signature attached to the email, pretty much everything about the person including phone number, address, place of work, etc!
In regards to emails, essentially it allows the sender of the email to add additional recipients to an email. The same objective can be achieved by adding such recipients to the 'To' field, but the discrepancy is that if the email is not necessarily addressed to the recipient, it is better practice to add them to CC. It notifies all the recipients that those added to CC are being sent the email for refernece purposes.
BCC on the other hand, is similar to CC although no one knows that the email has been sent to them. It is a great way to address an email to a lot of people without everyones email address being visible to all recipients. Newsletters for example can benefit as each email may be sent to thousands of recipients and they don't neccessarily want to have to see thousands of email addresses on their newsletter!
Also, using a program to zip the files to a .zip or .rar format will ensure that the files sent are small in size, and won't be blocked my email filters.
On a more obsure note, keeping the name of the file simple and oppropriate will stop attachments from being blocked, but will also let the recipient know what the file contains.
Others include rules that automatically send emails to certain folders in my inbox that are either from certain senders, or have certain titles (regular newsletters etc) and filters that block pesky senders.
It helps to break up all the emails into types so that i don't need to sift through hundreds of emails for the one I need or filter the list by name, date etc.
- What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
Other information that can be gleamed includes other recipients of the email, if it has been forwarded, the past senders of the email (in the body of the email), time and date the email was sent, and if the sender has a signature attached to the email, pretty much everything about the person including phone number, address, place of work, etc!
- In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?
In regards to emails, essentially it allows the sender of the email to add additional recipients to an email. The same objective can be achieved by adding such recipients to the 'To' field, but the discrepancy is that if the email is not necessarily addressed to the recipient, it is better practice to add them to CC. It notifies all the recipients that those added to CC are being sent the email for refernece purposes.
BCC on the other hand, is similar to CC although no one knows that the email has been sent to them. It is a great way to address an email to a lot of people without everyones email address being visible to all recipients. Newsletters for example can benefit as each email may be sent to thousands of recipients and they don't neccessarily want to have to see thousands of email addresses on their newsletter!
- In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Also, using a program to zip the files to a .zip or .rar format will ensure that the files sent are small in size, and won't be blocked my email filters.
On a more obsure note, keeping the name of the file simple and oppropriate will stop attachments from being blocked, but will also let the recipient know what the file contains.
- What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
Others include rules that automatically send emails to certain folders in my inbox that are either from certain senders, or have certain titles (regular newsletters etc) and filters that block pesky senders.
- How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
It helps to break up all the emails into types so that i don't need to sift through hundreds of emails for the one I need or filter the list by name, date etc.
Shout!
Wow! I'm actually impressed with blogging for the first time!
Don't worry, I still dislike it with a passion, but the ability to add widgets and gadgets is amazing if you have a look around.
Having used forums quite a bit in the past few years, I naturally was curious to see if it was possible to add a Shoutbox to the blog.
For the uninitiated, a Shoutbox is a little area set aside so that people can make a quick and brief remark about anything on a site.
More often than not, it's a great way to have a quick convo with all the users on the site at the time. The best bit is it keeps track of all the past messages that have been left.
So i was amazed to find ShoutMix which not only provides you with the code to make such a box on any website, but allows you to fully customise it!
<--- So go check it out over here and tell me what you think :)
It takes all of a minute to sign up, generate your own shoutbox and place it on your site :)
Don't worry, I still dislike it with a passion, but the ability to add widgets and gadgets is amazing if you have a look around.
Having used forums quite a bit in the past few years, I naturally was curious to see if it was possible to add a Shoutbox to the blog.
For the uninitiated, a Shoutbox is a little area set aside so that people can make a quick and brief remark about anything on a site.
More often than not, it's a great way to have a quick convo with all the users on the site at the time. The best bit is it keeps track of all the past messages that have been left.
So i was amazed to find ShoutMix which not only provides you with the code to make such a box on any website, but allows you to fully customise it!
<--- So go check it out over here and tell me what you think :)
It takes all of a minute to sign up, generate your own shoutbox and place it on your site :)
New Google panic button!
While browsing the net, i came across this new feature for Gmail.
Pretty much it's a button that can stop the sending of an email. If you accidentally send an email to the wrong person, or discover a mistake just after you have already sent the email, you can hit the button and it will stop it from being sent.
Although you only have a 5 second window of opportunity to stop the email from being sent, I think it's a pretty cool feature which i will probably use a lot!
Pretty much it's a button that can stop the sending of an email. If you accidentally send an email to the wrong person, or discover a mistake just after you have already sent the email, you can hit the button and it will stop it from being sent.
Although you only have a 5 second window of opportunity to stop the email from being sent, I think it's a pretty cool feature which i will probably use a lot!
The leaking sieve
A recent revelation for the proposed nationwide Internet Filter has been the supposed "leaking" of the ACMA's Internet Filter Black List.
Obviously, the ACMA has comeback saying that it is not the same list and that there are some inconsistencies. Even if it isn't 100% current, it is still a very damaging leak and one that has placed doubts in the minds of even the biggest advocates of the proposal in it's ability to adequately achieve the intended objectives...
P.S. you may find that due to the huge surge in traffic to the wikileaks.org website, you may not be able to access it from time to time.
Obviously, the ACMA has comeback saying that it is not the same list and that there are some inconsistencies. Even if it isn't 100% current, it is still a very damaging leak and one that has placed doubts in the minds of even the biggest advocates of the proposal in it's ability to adequately achieve the intended objectives...
P.S. you may find that due to the huge surge in traffic to the wikileaks.org website, you may not be able to access it from time to time.
A drop in the ocean
In case you haven't heard (been living in a cave for the past year?), the Australian Government has proposed a nationwide, compulsory, ISP based, web filtering system with the intention of "protecting our children" from the evils of the Internet.
The primary aim is to block child porn sites but it appears as though the scope of the filter is being extended to include other "inappropriate" sites.
Currently in a testing phase with a handful of (unknown and small time) ISP's, the project has been met with strong resistance from the general public as well as the countries biggest ISP's including Telstra, iiNet and Internode.
Quite frankly, I can't see how this project can possibly come close to protecting our children from being exposed to elicit content on the Internet. For starters, the filter will only block a couple of thousand sites with an anticipated number coming closer to 10,000. But with over 4,200,000 porn pages on the Internet amounting to 400,000,000 individual pages, it will only be a drop in the ocean...
I agree, children being exposed to pornographic images and content on the Internet is a serious issue, but wasting vast amounts of money on a system that is flawed and unreliable (has a great potential to block legit sites), and will slow down the Internet is not a step forward, but a set back.
The solution? Education! and parental responsibility! it doesn't matter what you do, kids will ALWAYS be exposed to situations that are not child friendly. That's life. But punishing the public is not going to ease the problem.
Parents MUST be held responsible for the actions of their children. Too often, kids are let go and are free to get into trouble and mischief. Supervision will significantly reduce the problem and education about the dangers of the Internet must be taught in schools, the same way that kids are taught not to talk to strangers.
We need to recognise that technology and the world is changing rapidly and being complasent about educating children about new and present dangers won't cut it anymore.
The primary aim is to block child porn sites but it appears as though the scope of the filter is being extended to include other "inappropriate" sites.
Currently in a testing phase with a handful of (unknown and small time) ISP's, the project has been met with strong resistance from the general public as well as the countries biggest ISP's including Telstra, iiNet and Internode.
Quite frankly, I can't see how this project can possibly come close to protecting our children from being exposed to elicit content on the Internet. For starters, the filter will only block a couple of thousand sites with an anticipated number coming closer to 10,000. But with over 4,200,000 porn pages on the Internet amounting to 400,000,000 individual pages, it will only be a drop in the ocean...
I agree, children being exposed to pornographic images and content on the Internet is a serious issue, but wasting vast amounts of money on a system that is flawed and unreliable (has a great potential to block legit sites), and will slow down the Internet is not a step forward, but a set back.
The solution? Education! and parental responsibility! it doesn't matter what you do, kids will ALWAYS be exposed to situations that are not child friendly. That's life. But punishing the public is not going to ease the problem.
Parents MUST be held responsible for the actions of their children. Too often, kids are let go and are free to get into trouble and mischief. Supervision will significantly reduce the problem and education about the dangers of the Internet must be taught in schools, the same way that kids are taught not to talk to strangers.
We need to recognise that technology and the world is changing rapidly and being complasent about educating children about new and present dangers won't cut it anymore.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Path Finder 2.0
Well after downloading the suggested freeware tool 'A-Tool bar' http://www.tucows.com/preview/323577
It crashed when i went to run it. Damn you 64bit Vista!! Ah well. I have a better idea anyway ;)
Visual trace route! http://visualroute.visualware.com/
This site only has two starting locations, but offers an interesting way to represent tracert information. Better standalone programs are available which achieve a similar result.
When i used the tracert command via command prompt, I had about 21 hops with an average ping of 119ms. The only latency was between the Sydney and Perth routers which makes sense.
It crashed when i went to run it. Damn you 64bit Vista!! Ah well. I have a better idea anyway ;)
Visual trace route! http://visualroute.visualware.com/
This site only has two starting locations, but offers an interesting way to represent tracert information. Better standalone programs are available which achieve a similar result.
When i used the tracert command via command prompt, I had about 21 hops with an average ping of 119ms. The only latency was between the Sydney and Perth routers which makes sense.
Path Finder
It seems the tasks are getting a little more interesting now...
Time for some trace route.
A lot of "fun" (depends what tickles ya fancy ;) ) can be had doing a tracert to different servers and seeing what routers you get a response from.
One method is through a website such as http://network- tools.com/
A quick trace to curtin.edu.au reveals a list such as what follows:
What it reveals is a list of routers that relay requests from the site to the Curtin Uni server.
Time for some trace route.
A lot of "fun" (depends what tickles ya fancy ;) ) can be had doing a tracert to different servers and seeing what routers you get a response from.
One method is through a website such as http://network- tools.com/
A quick trace to curtin.edu.au reveals a list such as what follows:
What it reveals is a list of routers that relay requests from the site to the Curtin Uni server.The IP addresses are those of each router on the way, and the three sets of numbers in microseconds are the average response times (ping) to and from the router. Obviously the lower the ping number the better.
What's interesting about this particular trace is that there appears to be some latency issues between hop 9 and 10. If the next set of pings were lower again, then the spike could be disregarded as a router priority issue. In such a case, a high ping is not due to latency and is not really an indication of the true ping to that router.
Also the timeouts may be due to a firewall in the way. The average ping to the Curtin server (ip: 134.7.179.56) is about 243ms.
I booked it!
That's right, I have my tickets to attend the Australian International Airshow!
I can't wait!
I've been once before as a kid and loved every minute of it. I guess living near a RAAF base most my life fueled an interest and love for all things that can fly. Dad used to park on the RAAF road so we could watch the touch-and-go at night.
The RAAF roulettes are pretty amazing too. I would often watch them practising above the house.
Also sometimes at night I could feel the bombs going off at the bombing range which was a good 30km away!
I can't wait!
I've been once before as a kid and loved every minute of it. I guess living near a RAAF base most my life fueled an interest and love for all things that can fly. Dad used to park on the RAAF road so we could watch the touch-and-go at night.
The RAAF roulettes are pretty amazing too. I would often watch them practising above the house.
Also sometimes at night I could feel the bombs going off at the bombing range which was a good 30km away!
Monday, March 9, 2009
FTP - File Transfer Pleasure!
When first asked to use FileZilla for some tute questions, i was pretty wrapped as I use it on a daily basis.
So much of my work involves uploading files to hosting servers and to date the easiest and smoothest way has been to use a third party program like FileZilla. The best part is that you can use it in either passive or active mode which is great for servers that are configured differently.
Refer to this link for info on the two different modes: http://www.slacksite.com/other/ftp.html
I can think of far more exciting things to do with ftp technology, but alas, I had to find a file and quote this: "CAPITALIZATION MATTERS!" ...which was actually fun! As the server was full of random stuff! Some of the photos where quite nice, but I'm too scared to post any in case I over stayed my welcome >.>
So much of my work involves uploading files to hosting servers and to date the easiest and smoothest way has been to use a third party program like FileZilla. The best part is that you can use it in either passive or active mode which is great for servers that are configured differently.
Refer to this link for info on the two different modes: http://www.slacksite.com/other/ftp.html
I can think of far more exciting things to do with ftp technology, but alas, I had to find a file and quote this: "CAPITALIZATION MATTERS!" ...which was actually fun! As the server was full of random stuff! Some of the photos where quite nice, but I'm too scared to post any in case I over stayed my welcome >.>
Some flowers and a kiss should do it
Wow! Blogs are such high maintenance!
Let them go a couple of days and they want to know where the hell you have been!
I now have my first comments (yay) and reactions. Although I did forget that i had enabled comment moderation >.< (sorry everyone)
The subject in general has been crazy. So much reading, writing, monitoring, commenting. I'd hate to think what it would be like if i was doing the standard four subjects...
Maybe if i give my blog some flowers it will behave *wink* *wink* .
Let them go a couple of days and they want to know where the hell you have been!
I now have my first comments (yay) and reactions. Although I did forget that i had enabled comment moderation >.< (sorry everyone)
The subject in general has been crazy. So much reading, writing, monitoring, commenting. I'd hate to think what it would be like if i was doing the standard four subjects...
Maybe if i give my blog some flowers it will behave *wink* *wink* .
Sunday, March 8, 2009
I want more
After doing the telnet tasks, i wanted to do a bit of exploring and see what other hidden gems are out there in the interwebs ( :P )
Well i was a little disappointed. It's hard to find any good ones that are still operating.
When i stumbled across the dr.nostrum.com (port 2000) Mud, I got freaked out and halted my exploration for a while. Something about text based role playing games is unsettling...
Well i was a little disappointed. It's hard to find any good ones that are still operating.
When i stumbled across the dr.nostrum.com (port 2000) Mud, I got freaked out and halted my exploration for a while. Something about text based role playing games is unsettling...
cmd Telnet
I've had to do a few tasks for my course. Sometimes the best way of doing things also happens to be the simplest.
In this case, the humble command prompt is by far the best way to use telnet. Jazzy GUI's are great and all, but why bother when you can achieve the same results with a couple of written commands? xcopy is also a great example of just how powerful DOS prompt can be.
So what did I need to telnet to? Deakin Uni's Library! It's interface brought back memories of using the old macs at the local community library as a kid.
A quick search for "bennahum" gave me the following results:
Now this is a good use of DOS and telnet! Starwars animated in ASCII characters! :D
A quick telnet to towel.blinkenlights.nl brings up the fourth episode of the series. Albeit it is unfinished which is a shame (yes, i actually sat down to watch it all!) but still rather ingenious in the creators use of characters to form images.
I've always had a soft spot for ASCII images. I'm not sure what it is, but i guess it brings back memories of Dad printing them out on the noisy dot matrix printer.
In this case, the humble command prompt is by far the best way to use telnet. Jazzy GUI's are great and all, but why bother when you can achieve the same results with a couple of written commands? xcopy is also a great example of just how powerful DOS prompt can be.
So what did I need to telnet to? Deakin Uni's Library! It's interface brought back memories of using the old macs at the local community library as a kid.
A quick search for "bennahum" gave me the following results:
Of all the possible authors in the world to search for, the creator of the tutorial decided to pick the name of a guy who wrote a finance book, and happens to have the same last name as someone who wrote a book on dance... Ah well, at least the name kept me amused during the course of this task.
Now this is a good use of DOS and telnet! Starwars animated in ASCII characters! :D
I've always had a soft spot for ASCII images. I'm not sure what it is, but i guess it brings back memories of Dad printing them out on the noisy dot matrix printer.* ,MMM8&&&. *
MMMM88&&&&& .
MMMM88&&&&&&&
* MMM88&&&&&&&&
MMM88&&&&&&&&
'MMM88&&&&&&'
'MMM8&&&' *
|\___/|
) ( . '
=\ /=
)===( *
/ \
| |
/ \
\ /
_/\_/\_/\__ _/_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_
| | | |( ( | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | ) ) | | | | | | | | | |
| | | |(_( | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
jgs| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/ascii_cats.htm
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Circles, lines and triangles
Well I've just spent the last six hours doing some R&D for my flashy new banner! Check it out and tell me what you think!
I'm pretty thrilled with it. To be honest, I had no idea what it would eventually look like, but I think the elements have come together to mimic an authentic looking Soviet poster :)
I'm pretty thrilled with it. To be honest, I had no idea what it would eventually look like, but I think the elements have come together to mimic an authentic looking Soviet poster :)
What's in a Name?
Well those of you who have decided to read through my first post and onto the next have made a conscious decision to persevere with my ramblings and probably have a few questions to ask.
I bet the first of which is "how on earth did you come up with the name of your blog??" followed closely behind with "so if you are so against blogging, what made you change your mind?"
Well I'll explain the later first which will help to explain the former.
The reason I've started a blog is because i need to. Study is a funny thing. It often makes you do things you really thought you would never do, as well as achieve things you never thought possible. Maybe over the course of the next fourteen weeks you will bear witness to something truly amazing; A cynical and tenacious "non-believer" adapting and embracing the blogging revolution! ...or maybe the experience will just reinforce what i already believe ;)
I just happen to be undertaking a correspondence subject with Curtin University in WA. The subject is different in that it's a technical IT course, but incorporates a philosophical componant. It makes you think out side the square a bit and looks at basic internet concepts in a variety of ways. One aspect involves maintaining an online blog.
The title of my blog is kinda in reference to the "Iron Curtain" that formed post World War II dividing Europe. The "them" and "us" mentality i have in regards to blogging is represented and the lifting of the curtain is symbolic of my willingness to "break down the wall" of resistance I've put up against anything to do with blogging.
Yeah it's pretty deep, but now that im in the swing of things with blurting out thoughts, theres no stopping me!
I bet the first of which is "how on earth did you come up with the name of your blog??" followed closely behind with "so if you are so against blogging, what made you change your mind?"
Well I'll explain the later first which will help to explain the former.
The reason I've started a blog is because i need to. Study is a funny thing. It often makes you do things you really thought you would never do, as well as achieve things you never thought possible. Maybe over the course of the next fourteen weeks you will bear witness to something truly amazing; A cynical and tenacious "non-believer" adapting and embracing the blogging revolution! ...or maybe the experience will just reinforce what i already believe ;)
I just happen to be undertaking a correspondence subject with Curtin University in WA. The subject is different in that it's a technical IT course, but incorporates a philosophical componant. It makes you think out side the square a bit and looks at basic internet concepts in a variety of ways. One aspect involves maintaining an online blog.
The title of my blog is kinda in reference to the "Iron Curtain" that formed post World War II dividing Europe. The "them" and "us" mentality i have in regards to blogging is represented and the lifting of the curtain is symbolic of my willingness to "break down the wall" of resistance I've put up against anything to do with blogging.
Yeah it's pretty deep, but now that im in the swing of things with blurting out thoughts, theres no stopping me!
Friday, March 6, 2009
And so the journey begins...
Now this is definitely something i never thought i would do; start a blog.
For years i have proclaimed to the world (which really only encompasses a handful of friends who are still willing to listen and a couple of random people on the street who probably don't know what the 'Internet' is anyway...)
opps, i guess I've now joined the count less millions world wide who use such services to "have their say" and to show the world how "unique" they really are. Oh, yeah, i shouldn't forget the most important reason! To "network" with other people!
What does "Networking" even mean? Is it no longer cool to just "make friends?" or to "meet new people?" lol, i guess i must be behind the times or maybe just not that easily influenced with the latest crazes and trends.
Like all trends, they eventually fade away and become replaced by new ones. I can't see blogging being any different. Well, i guess there will always be blogging, but its popularity will decline as new technology pushes new and engaging concepts.
Now that I've gone out on a limb, here is a list of suggestions for any up and coming bloggers out there (*warning the following list may be inappropriate for some younger readers*):
For years i have proclaimed to the world (which really only encompasses a handful of friends who are still willing to listen and a couple of random people on the street who probably don't know what the 'Internet' is anyway...)
"I will never start a blog and i most definitely will not join a social network site!"
opps, i guess I've now joined the count less millions world wide who use such services to "have their say" and to show the world how "unique" they really are. Oh, yeah, i shouldn't forget the most important reason! To "network" with other people!
What does "Networking" even mean? Is it no longer cool to just "make friends?" or to "meet new people?" lol, i guess i must be behind the times or maybe just not that easily influenced with the latest crazes and trends.
Like all trends, they eventually fade away and become replaced by new ones. I can't see blogging being any different. Well, i guess there will always be blogging, but its popularity will decline as new technology pushes new and engaging concepts.
Now that I've gone out on a limb, here is a list of suggestions for any up and coming bloggers out there (*warning the following list may be inappropriate for some younger readers*):
- Beverages: siting here writing for so long is taxing. It's only just occurred to me just how thirsty i am. i guess it's time for another beer...
- Comfort: a comfy chair and a good quality keyboard is a must. I suggest a back lit keyboard for those long nights blogging. Either that or some lighting, which subsequently helps to avoid spilling the aforementioned beverage all over your desk, mouse, keyboard, computer, lap and good quality high back leather chair...
- Uniqueness: for most bloggers, making your blog stand out in the sea of spam is a must. I for one couldn't care less, but if becoming a blogging superstar appeals to you, have a signature trait of sorts which you use across all your posts. Wh3th3r it b3 r3placing 3v3ry "e" in your posts with a "3" (not r3comm3nd3d), or something a little more original, having that strange or unique factor can be the difference between a bland blog and a popular blog.
- Styles: theres nothing worse than reading a page thats in a size 12, times new roman font on a white page...brighten it up! with so much css and html intergration plus a copious number of themes available, its criminal not to have a bash and google some code to give ya blog some bling. Its also a criminal offence in 32 different countries to over use fonts, colours and styles on websites, but its a blog! its "you"! jazz it up and go nuts! (refer to point 3, oh and yeah im not going to reference that statement as i have no concrete evidence to support it, which is often the case for most of my arguments...lol)
- Readership: even if you have no friends, blogging can be a great way to create some! whats the point of slugging it out in front of ya compy when no ones going to read your rants! make your blog live to the public, post it on appropriate blog exposure sites. try this link for a start: http://www.howtomakemyblog.com/how-to-set-up-a-blog/get-traffic-by-building-your-blog-awareness. You know you have succeeded when you start getting truck loads of spam comments on your blog as well as the occasional stalker trying to steal your identity. Better still, if you cant find any friends blogging, do what this guy did: http://namb.la/popular create your own! >.>
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