Published by
samanthacr on
September 25, 2009
my typical browser session looks like this:
Now. that’s all fine and dandy until IE crashes on me, or when my computer does it’s automatic Windows Vista updates. (what do you mean I’m supposed to turn OFF the computer every now and then? huh-what?!) — and that twilight banner was a total coincidence. 
So, thanks to Paul Boag’s post (wow this was work related browsing hitting my other internet life!!) I’ve discovered Instapaper. It’s a simple little bookmarklet that you can install in your firefox/safari and while you are browsing, you can click “Read Later” and it will give you a twitter-like page of all your URLs!
it’s archives your links, you can read from your iphone (if you had one, which I don’t) and even turn your list of unread articles/links into an RSS feed.
So, i’m sharing this out there for any other fellow blog-readers who live and breathe thanks to multiple tabs — there is an alternative.
We’ll see how long I can do this!!
–sammy
Published by
samanthacr on
August 20, 2008
Ahh… the evil world of social networking… Or so the media likes to hype.
I have an account both at facebook and at myspace (as featured from the library challenge: my anonymity may be compromised, so I asked Samantha to step in for this post) .
I pretty much started the MySpace page because a handful of the people I know (in real life) had their profiles set to private, so I joined up and friended them. Also, my favorite rockstar pretty much dropped maintaining his awesome self-designed website for MySpace, so if I wanted to keep up with him and continue to be a “fangirl”, I had to do MySpace. Plus, if you want to see the pictures someone posts or read their blog, you have to have an account. So, there we go.
Personally, I find these websites are not all that visually pleasing to the eye. Mostly, because it enables people with no html skills to create their page, but without a nice and easy template to make things look semi-decent. The dreaded return of repeated backgrounds and clashing colors… *sigh*. Then again, I should talk: look at my myspace page again and shake your head in disgust. 
To understand the Microsoft version of CSS that MySpace features is just as much of a headache. I could try harder, I guess.
I recently concluded that MySpace is the Badlands of the Internet — where everything is dumped into one. You get a blog (if you can call it that), a photo gallery, and a cheesy place where your friends can leave cheesy notes for you, or what have you. In my mind, it’s not nicely organized. Much like the Badlands. “Hmm… Let’s just plop everything… over here.”
There are pros and cons to social networking — such as many up and coming bands/musicians will create a MySpace page to create a connection to fans and share clips of their music. (I recommend Expelliarmus Kid, btw), sometimes I’ll go to a person’s page only to be bombarded by their favorite songs, which are not my taste at all. (where’s the mute button?)
Facebook is just as much of an enigma to me as well. Once again, I joined up here because of one friend, and here’s where I realized that this concept totally compromised my attitude about the internet. To “officially” utilize facebook, you have to use your real name — how else would people find you? (Granted, this is if you WANT people to find you) However, trying to “friend” your real-life friends back in high school who may not know your online persona, well anyway, you get the picture. So why do I use an online persona? Um, because when I first started playing on the internet, every time you turned around you were warned “do not use your real name” “Do not give out your personal information” yadda yadda yadda. Facebook is one example that this doesn’t apply. Wish I had realized that before I started my account. Oh well.
I’m caught in a generation gap in this. My cousin (in high school) had spent the night at my house several months ago, mostly because I had wireless internet, and Grandma doesn’t. So not only does she introduce me to the Twilight series, but she admits that she LIVES on her MySpace page. So, I’m curious — and I send her a friend request. I didn’t think anything of it. Only for me to realize that she pretty much deleted everything she had on her page over the course of the evening. In fact, I think she deleted her account that night. Sheesh, cuz, if there was something you didn’t want me to see, I would have respected it if you said so. On one hand I felt really accomplished to be on top of something like social networking, but then I get smacked down by my own 16-yr old cousin because I’m too old (I guess). Thanks. You’ll let our other cousins (20-somethings) on, but not me. Yep. Now I feel like I ruined MySpace for you or something. Sorry.
So, I sound pretty gypped about social networking. True, to an extent. On Facebook, you can share stickers with your friends (but they are just graphics) or “buy” and “sell” your friends. Um, ok? Seems kinda Junior High-ish to me. Ask my friends to duel me on the Oregon Trail, but we’re not going to Oregon, and I’m not really going to dual anyone; we just have a graphic that says “Oregon Trail” now. Maybe on one hand I just don’t get it.
But. (everyone has one. ;D )
Now, is LiveJournal considered social networking? This is a site that I totally jive — I guess it’s more blog/writing based, but it’s still a portal of which to find fellow LJr’s with similar interests. You can post images/photos. Share links. There are communities out there to watch/join — just choose or search the subject that you fancy… (um, “Harry Potter” or “Twilight” comes to mind).
I had created my LJ account over a year ago to help satisfy a personal obsession (um, see above subject suggestions). What really surprised me was that I initially created this for myself, and I probably only shared it with a couple of close real-life friends. Then I started receiving comments — other LJr’s were reading my posts and friending me. Wicked! Some even linked back to some of my posts from their LJ blog/community. So, I was flattered. More LJr’s find my site and leave their comments, and I make more friends, so to speak. It’s encouraging. So, I’ll continue with it as long as it’s fun. That’s the whole point, right?
Of course, I admitted to my 20-something cousin (who had a LJ page before I even knew what LJ was) that I finally created a LJ account. He gave me that look that clearly said: “You’ve officially crossed over.” Then he warned me about InsaneJournal.
LiveJournal, for as much as I know, has been around longer than MySpace or Facebook, and it’s audience is more my generation, I guess. There are tons of really nice looking templates out there — most of which still maintain that your page is clean and manageable.
So, not all social networking has to have a bad enigma. It all boils down to personal tastes and needs. Like everything else in life.
However, I still prefer the rockstar’s self-designed website. Unfortunately, it’s pretty much a portal to his MySpace page. Dang it, Rikki!
–Samantha
Thanks, Wynn, for letting me spout off on this schtuff…
Published by
samanthacr on
February 19, 2008
Marcus Lillington, co-host of Boagworld (a british podcast about web development), usually ends the show with a few jokes…
These happen to be tommy cooper style…
Boagworld episode 110:
- I found a local gym and I asked if they could teach me how to do the splits. He said, “How flexible are you?”
I said, “I can’t do Tuesdays.”
- So I was getting into my car and this bloke says to me, “Can you give me a lift?”I said, “Sure. You look great. The world’s your oyster. Go for it.”
- Exit signs. They’re on their way out, aren’t they
Boagworld episode 111:
- When I left home, my mum said, “Don’t forget to write!”
I thought less than likely, it’s a basic skill, isn’t it?
- You know, somebody actually complimented my on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen. It said, “Parking Fine.” It was nice.
- This bloke said to me, “I’m going to chop off the bottom of one of your trouser legs and put it in a library.”
I thought, that’s a turn up for the books.So, I ring up my local swimming [pool] and asked, “Is this the local swimming [pool]?
He said, “Depends on where you’re calling from.”
—–
Sam’s easily amused…
