Blogs, what are they good for?

Absolutely nothing, say it again!

According to a post on the Uni Blackboard by Russell Show Parent Post, well almost.

My response was:

Hide Parent Post

Author: Russell Airey
Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 11:04:49 PM WST
Subject: In response to Peters question

This is an attempt to answer the question of why im so against blogging/why i wouldnt continue to blog/etc etc.

Peter raised the question (in a round about way) and a few other students have too so ive created a new thread so i dont hijack someone elses.

here goes...


Telling the world about my life and feelings and thoughts does not interest me in the slightest.



I'd sooner do that with people I'm close to and who I love and care about and who love and care about me.



I have no need to preach to the world
what it is that makes me an individual in order to gain some sort of
inflated sense of self worth. And I don't feel the need to snoop on
others to get in on the latest gossip and exploits.



To say I have nothing to do with
blogs is a little incorrect. I in fact frequent sites such as
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/ which provide a very clear and practical
purpose. Aside from that, I have nothing to do with any sort of "social
networking" site and beyond this course, never will.



I find sites such as myspace and
facebook unhealthy and parasitic. They encroach on privacy and foster a
welcoming environment for stalkers, bully's and many other types of low
life scum to pray on nieve and unsuspecting people.



Not to mention an extremely efficient means of spreading spam, chain letters, and spyware to the masses...



On a more technical note, they are
the classic examples of how NOT to develop websites. Take myspace for
example. Everytime you visit a page, a song and video and whatever
other rich media content has been added is loaded straight away.



The use of such sites as grown
exponentially so fast, that it has exceeded the use of bandwidth used
by illegal downloading! (gah can't find the source on that >.<)



Having been a network admin for a
number of different organisations, the single biggest issue I faced was
network congestion and bandwidth usage which was largely a result of
constant social network use. Surprisingly, illegal downloading was not
a problem (it did consume a lot of bandwidth, but its rate of increase
was minimal and could easily be catered for). When you have a dozen
teenagers on a single connection each with half a dozen
myspace/facebook pages open, simultaneously refreshing all pages and
from time to time proclaiming: "someone left me a comment!!" its not
hard to see why lol.



I guess that alone is not a great
reason to dislike social networks, but if you wanted a full
explanation, id be here till next week explaining.



Im expecting to kick up a stink about this now, but there it is!

"In principle I agree with you on the personal blogs, I don't give a damn about other peoples lives in which I have no contact with BUT, I do like blogs as an information service such as http://twipphoto.com/ and other educational sites. My experience with my own blog for NET11 has been one of self awareness and for this it's worked incredibility well. Putting my thoughts into typed words certainly encourages me to think about the process more than just my nebular brain waves. I haven't decided if I will continue blogging once I've finished this unit but there is a good possibility I will, even if it's only for a therapeutic reasons. I'm not sure if I care if others don't even read it, it's just for personal self reflection." (Gardner, 2009)

Like Russell, I too was very skeptical about the vale of personal blogs, see "First Thoughts". Now my views have changed—I have very much enjoyed NET11 and have equally enjoyed blogging. Putting my thoughts into words has help cement the ideas I've been studying and has become more of a personal journey than anything else. I still don't see myself following other peoples personal blogs—my life is as full as I can cope with just now and I just don't need to read sagas or another Greek tragedy. I feel personal blogs are a bit like this blog, just a method of recording one's thoughts, a pseudo dairy but in this case live for anyone to read—even if I don't care if others read it or not!

The blogs I like the most are the aggregate sites or blog filters like the Adobe news, it give me access to a whole heap of blogs in a particular field I'm interested in and perhaps would not of otherwise find through my own searches. It's a very convenient method to surf the web.

The fact is, blog sites are, as they say, only limited by your imagination, they are an incredible tool for people to showcase their creative side and gives the blogger a voice in a crowded world. It can be a fantastic ego booster, therapeutic, an outlet for a hidden genius or for just plain fun.

Have a go!


Reference:
Gardner, L. (2009, April 2). In response to Peters question. Message posted to Discussion board electronic mailing list, archived at http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_14736_1%26sc%3D%252fwebapps%252fdiscussionboard%252fdo%252fmessage%253faction%253dlist_messages%2526conf_id%253d_23724_1%2526forum_id%253d_47944_1%2526message_id%253d_585326_1%2526thread_id%253d567152%2526nav%253ddiscussion_board%2526course_id%253d_14736_1


What a bugger of an address!

Curtin logo use part 2

The definitive answer

Under the Curtin Policies and Procedures page on the web site you can download the "Logo Use Procedures". Under point 5.5 subsection 3 is states:

"External requests for the use of the logo must be addressed to University Marketing in writing. In
making a case the applicant for the use of the logo must state:
the purpose of the use of the logo;
the proposed format of the use of the logo; and
the date(s) or periods when the logo will be used."(Logo Use Procedures, 2004)

"External requests" are defined in section 4 as:

"Outside Agencies
Includes students, staff and organisations whether or not affiliated with Curtin." (Logo Use Procedures, 2004)

So the first answer is NO but if you ask real nicely it maybe a little yes.


Reference:
Logo Use Procedures. (2004). Retrieved April 3, 2009, from http://policies.curtin.edu.au/local/includes/getdoc.cfm?url=https://ecm.curtin.edu.au:443/alfresco/gd/d/workspace/SpacesStore/116ebc3d-ff02-11dd-92c2-39e23a1f1a54/Logo%20Use%20Procedures.html?guest=true&policyId=959f55ad-fec2-11dc-b6c5-253dc30d60f2

Curtin logo use

Yes another post for today.

I found the information regarding the use of Curtin Uni logo, it was hiding in someone's blog. see LavaTiger. (gee they make it difficult to find things at the uni.) This ties in with my post on the future direction of emails see post. The collective working as a group is far more efficient than the individual. I'm sure I saved lots of time not searching the Curtin site to thoroughly but getting the info from another NET11'er who was luckier in their searches than I was. Great work LavaTiger!

Individual thought wins again, or is that collective?

Copyright—How much money do you have?

Only fools tread where copyright lawyers are keen to prosecute

I don't pretend to be a copyright lawyer but it would appear from the copyright website that if I intend to use the Curtin logo on my blog I need to show that I have "Fair Use" rights.

The Fair Use rights are:

1. "the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work." (Copyright website, 2009)

There's a do-it yourself version which you can dial in your opinion and come up with the answer.

(Fair Use Visualizer, n.d.)

But if your still not sure you can ring a lawyer.


(ask a Lawyer, n.d.)

I wonder, if you end up going to court do the lawyer uses the "Fair Use Visualizer" and will it depend on how much you pay the lawyer to how far he spins the wheel.

You can avoid the problem altogether and just purchase an image from one of the may image libraries such as istock for as little as $1 for web use, granted it's not the Curtin logo.

As for using the Curtin logo on my blog it would appear from the dial a rights (wheel of fortune) that I could use the logo if I argued "Fair Use" under the terms of not for profit educational purposes. However, if the Uni decided that I have used the logo inappropriately that somehow degrades or devalues the logo by associating my work with the Uni, then the Uni may have other views. You know the saying, all views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Uni.
So in answering this I tried to find the information on the Curtin web site but had no luck, so sent an email to the Vice Chancellor office to ask permission to use the Curtin logo on my blog, I'll post the response when I receive it.

Well I just received the first response and that was:

Dear Lawrence,
Thank you for contacting OASIS Central.
As you are a Open University student please contact Open Curtin directly regarding this enquiry.
Open Curtin: +61 8 9266 2102 , opencurtin@curtin.edu.au
Kind Regards,
Louise (Louise, personal communication, April 2, 2009)

I think finding the answer to using the Curtin logo will be problematic and just lead me on another wild goose chase.

So for the independent thought criteria—if I real need to use the Curtin logo on my blog with the accompanying defamatory text that's scandalous, then I would publish the blog somewhere on a pacific island like Vanuatu or the Cocos islands where international law is clouded by the beautiful blue sea.

And NO, I haven't breached any copyright law with my images, (I think) I used my camera in public space. As for the screen shots, hell I don't know, I suspect if it's used for educational purposes then it's probably fine.

Reference:

Copyright Website. (2009). Retrieved April 2, 2009, from http://www.benedict.com/Info/Info.aspx


Fair Use Visualizer [image] (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2009, http://www.benedict.com/Info/FairUse/Visualizer/Visualizer.aspx

ask a Lawyer [image] (n.d.). Retrieved April 2, 2009, http://www.benedict.com/Info/FairUse/Visualizer

hot tip options

Optional ‘standards’ task
Think about any differences between the articles: for example, is the advice in Nielsen’s paper -- written in 1997 – still current?

I believe all the three sites are basically giving the same advise for writing for the web.

1. start with your best information first, give the critical data first and they might read on if they need to.
   
2. structure the text so it can be quickly scanned (read).
   
3. don't write too much, people don't have time to read epic tales.

However, some differences do start to appear on Jerz site which I believe is due to the natural progression of the web—improvments in graphical user interface and web applications. You just need to look at Nielsen's site to compare how web site design has progressed due to the increased bandwith and more powerful computer processing. Nielsen's site has a 90s feel about it, a garish colour scheme and a design that reflects the web from the past.
Jerz has included some general design advise for page development that is aimed at reducing reader interference by not including distracting page elements well as breif writting methods. Nielson has included information regarding low literacy that crosses over the same boundary.

However, read between the lines, the advise on all three sites are still current. It just shows that when researching, you need to take in multiple view points and get a second opinion to achieve a balanced web site.

Anyway, this is getting too dry again, where's the jam?

email part 6, the future?

I attended a meeting last night at the Canberra Branch of the Australian Computer Society where they held a talk on Web 2.0 and the future direction of email. The speaker, Ralph Dermuth, Director of Technology Sales SW service support, Asia Pacific at IBM Software Group, presented a strong argument that emails are on the way out. He indicated that the group working as a collective community was much stronger than the individual working on email in one-to-one contact. He gave a few examples but the most interesting point he presented was an employee at IBM decided that emails were not an efficient way to combine work and communication, so he decided to stop using emails and created an internal blog (not for public viewing). He used this blog as a communication channel, everyone could see what he was working on and could also contribute to the work as a group. He said the main benefit of this was to generate a community that supported each other. If a question was asked by a contributor in the comment area of the blog, anyone could provide the answer, the support gradually grew which provides a diverse range of suggestion and answers that they claim keeps IBM innovative. Apparently this form of communication was particularly successful when people were away from work.
The speaker then went on to talk about how kids use email, they interviewed a number of them and the most common answer was, they use email to contact their parents, apparently the older generation don't chat or Skype. I feel so old but privileged, I use Skype to keep in contact with my kids at school.
He then went on to say web 3.0, the "meshing" of web 2.0 technologies is the next step in enhancing communication tools. The main problem people encounter today with web 2.0 services such as Flickr, blogging and other web user contribution applications is that they are very isolating, they don't cross over and work together. "Meshing" will bring all these communities together to allow for greater interaction.

It was very interesting presentation but it did leave me feeling that I've missed the boat and was trying to swim in the wake of a ocean liner.

I'm not sure how to reference this as I said it was a presentation and the notes on APA referencing 2008 don't give details for this type but I'll give it a go, see below.

References
Ralph Dermuth, (2009). Enterprise 2.0, presented 31 March 2009, 7pm at the Southern Cross Club, Canberra.

Five hot tips—writing for the web

Hot toast with yummy stuff!

I have read the suggested information on "writing for the web" and assimilated the data and have compiled MY tips for writing for the web. My tips are a combination of the information from these sites and from my experience in using the web, what I like and how I perceive useful information. In attempting to complete this post I have written and rewritten it a few times, but it keeps coming out so dry, like a piece of "old toast" (Goetzman, Hanks, Zwick & Vardalos 2002), but I want it with butter and raspberry jam. So here are the:

five hot tips:
five tips:
five
Six toastie soldiers with butter and raspberry jam:

1. structured text—use easy to read text that can be quickly scanned, like the leading points of this text so readers can jump to the information they require. (Dennis, 2008)
2. best foot forward—give the reader the most useful information first, if they like what they see or want more information they keep reading. Otherwise, like me, I'll bugger off and find something better—lifes too short and too quick these days to hang around. When do we want the information—we want it now! (Ibid)
3. low word count—17% users of the web only view a page is 4.4sec (Nielsen, 2008). Writing for the web you need to get the message across without beating about the bush, no procrastinating, be precise in the use of language, be economical with your words, a stitch time time saves something but not this para. "cut the fluff" (Nielsen, 2007) blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. It's all Greek to me!
4. low literacy level—write to "6th grade" (Nielsen, 2005) level, even the highly literate people appreciate the simple things in life.
5. straight to the point—cut the crap, don't get to flowery or overly descriptive with the words, given them the facts without the hype. (Nielsen, 1997)
6. chunking—write like your talking to a person you have never met before. Give them all the essential facts of the article in one place, don't let them gather the information from several pages because they will probably miss some vital point. This style may result in some repetitive writing on other pages of similar topics but grouping to information so it can be accessed quickly will save frustration. (Horton, 2001)
   

As I was skimming through the "Writing for Web" on the useit.com site when I remembered my earlier post about this topic on 7 March, see Reflections on Week 1 Point 2, the fact I usually only browse web pages. It confirms that I'm just a statistic.

The odd thing about writing for the web according to Dartmouth College is you need to take into account if people are going to print the web page and read it offline. My experience this the printed pages tend to be very disjointed and you usually get a lot of extra crap on the side (side bar menus and adds) so I don't do this very often. My extra bit of toastie advise would be, if you expect people to print it, you should supply a fully formatted print version in PDF to download.
Don't just repurpose the text, rewrite it for the approiate media. Maybe that should be points 7.

Reference:
Nielsen, J. (2006). F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Nielsen, J. (2007). Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill?. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/intro-text.html

Nielsen, J. (2005). Lower-Literacy Users. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20050314.html

Nielsen, J. (2008). How Little Do Users Read? Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html

Nielsen, J. (1997). How Users Read on the Web. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Horton, S. (2001). Writing for the Web. Retrieved April 1, 2009 from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/text.html

Dennis, J. (2008). Top 5 Web Conventions (Writing and Design). Retreived April 1, 2009, from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/conventions.htm

Goetzman, D. & Hanks, T. (Producers), & Zwick, J. (Director) & Vardalos, N. (Writer) My Big Fat Greek Wedding[Motion picture]. United States: Gold Circle Films

Get a second opinion

Bugger, has all this time been wasted of time?

After reading a few posts on the uni Blackboard by Peter Fletcher and taking his advise to have a read of the great articles on Dave Carr's blog, I became a bit concerned of the way I have approached my studies. This is the the my first unit of study after returning to Uni from a break of ten years and I think I have confused speed with quality—trying to keep up with the Jones to finish the modules as quickly as possible. Reading Dave's blog has been a great eye opener to see that doing just a bit of extra research adds validity to his argument—I think I'll take a leaf out of his book and do the same. Slowly, slowly catch a monkey! This type of writing was also advised in Rebecca Bloods Book, The Weblog Handbook but I can't quote from it because I have already sent it back to the library.

As for a waste of time—no I don't think so, I'm taking it as a learning experience!

So the moral of the story is, I may not blog as often but try to put more convincing content into it.