Death isn't the end... Week 7

I love Digg.com. I check it evey other day or so when I have a free minute and desire some interesting info. Tonight when I looked at the site, a top article caught my eye. The title was, "What happens to your web stuff after you die?"
I never pondered that question before and it is weird to think about. When people die, part of them is still living on--perhaps in their Facebook profile, Flickr account, or personal Web site. Does the account last forever? Do you want it to still be out there once you're gone? Apparently some people think it is necessary.
I'm sure there are cases where a Web site should continue after the creator dies, like in business situations, or if they want to keep photo galleries online for friends to have access to. But otherwise, I don't think people should be worried about making sure their online presence outlasts them.

In the article, Struan Robertson, Legal Director with Pinsent Masons and Editor of OUT-LAW.com explains, "You can bequeath your copyright to others. So I can say in my will that I'm leaving all my rights in my photographs or website to a friend. If I don't do that, the copyright will belong to my estate - and in most cases it will survive for 70 years after my death." Most online accounts are terminated if there are extended periods of inactivity. For Web sites, if the domain name isn't renewed every couple of years, someone else can purchase it. If people really want their sites and accounts to continue after they don't, the article says the best thing to do is to leave their log-in information and passwords to a trusted source and let the source take over. It doesn't have to be in a formal will, it could just be a mutual understanding.

I know when I'm gone, I would rather my online presence be gone too. It is creepy to think of people visiting my sites, or me visiting theirs, after knowing they have passed away.

RSS Week 6

Due to this class, I have really delved into the whole RSS concept. I always saw those three letters on Web sites but they simply annoyed me because I had no idea what they meant. I always considered myself pretty Web-savvy too; guess I was mistaken. In the New Influencers, Paul Gillin says that earlier versions of RSS were confusing and difficult. I think it just hasn't recovered from it's bad reputation yet.

Gillin writes, "RSS is an extremely powerful but somewhat clumsy technology that is central to the blogging movement." After playing around with it, I definitely believe it. Since the other week when I started subscribing to feeds of some of my favorite sites and blogs, I've been amazed at how efficient and easy RSS is. I save an adequate amount of time since I only need to click one button to get to the feeds and choose the one I want to read. Then I receive the instant info! I find myself searching for the little orange icon at the top of the pages I visit.

In the same chapter of the book, Gillin says that, "Most blog search services also let you save your search terms as RSS feeds." I find this technology to be extremely advanced. Right now I don't have a need for it, but I'm sure someday I will. Corporations have got it made with these media tools. And they are free! There isn't any reason why every organization shouldn't start tapping into these resources.

Txt b4 Tlk Week 6

Cell phone users have finally done it! We have exceeded the limit of texting more than we talk.

I'm due for a phone upgrade and I've been keeping my eye open for what I like. There are so many styles out there, it's all about finding the most functional style for me...and it has to be pretty too. I think I've settled for the 'text fiend' genre in the cell phone realm. I want a phone that has a full keyboard to make texting significantly faster. I've found that my cell phone standards are similar for many people.

Many phones these days are hardly used for their original purpose. Since the phenomena of texting has been revealed, it has taken over. Through Digg.com, I found an article on cnet news that claims Americans text more than they talk. The article says, "For the second quarter of 2008, U.S. mobile subscribers sent and received on average 357 text messages per month, compared with making and receiving 204 phone calls a month, according to Nielsen." These 2008 texting statistics exceed the same statistics from 2006 by 450%. Marguerite Reardon, the writer of the article, also says, "On average, American teens send and receive 1,742 text messages a month." I know that I send more than that. I was talking with some friends the other day about our monthly amount of texts, and a few of them said they normally send and receive at least 10,000 a month! I don't have the time for that amount of texting, but apparently some people do.

Texting can simply be more convenient than calling, and noone can deny the fun factor of intimate, constant contact with people. I even got my mom hooked on it this summer. Whenever I'm shopping by myself and am unsure of an outfit, i'll snap a picture, send it to her, and receive her opinion in a few minutes. Definitely useful.
This article proves another way that social media is rising to replace traditional actions. With a 450% texting increase in only two years, new forms of communication are rising faster than we can imagine!

Homecoming Week 6

This week I've really been feeling the ONU love.
Firstly, I was nominated a while ago for homecoming court by my NCF comrades. Actually, I was basically forced into the nomination. I thought I would go along for the ride to appease my friends.
My fine running mate, Jordan Rowsey, and I did the whole picture taking/sign making fiasco. It was slightly stressful. It's not like I have enough to worry about without making tons of homecoming posters... Anyway, we hung them up as soon as we could and I didn't expect anything more to happen. We got a few compliments about our attempted humor with "The Office" theme that we chose. Jordan just happened to significantly resemble Jim from The Office, so I had to put on my best Pam persona.
Voting was the beginning of this week and only five ladies and five gentleman were to be chosen out of the massive amount of nominees. I was completely shocked Thursday when I got the call that I had been elected as one of the five! I know it's not a big deal, but I'm excited nonetheless. I'm proud to be selected as a possible representative of ONU. Besides, we get treated pretty well all homecoming weekend. :)

I wouldn't trade our small school atmosphere for anything. I'm constantly impressed by the attention we receive as students. Most faculty and staff make an effort to know our names and show interest in our lives, we can delve right into our course of study and gain practical experience, and it's not uncommon to pass twenty friends on the sidewalk on the way to our next class. Even though I occasionally crave the excitement and diversity of big college towns, I'm content right now, right here.

People's Choice Podcast Awards Week 5

In chapter 6 of The New Rules book, the People's Choice Podcast Awards were mentioned. In 2006, Diggnation apparently won as the best tech podcast. I thought I'd research what the Podcast Awards are exactly, and what their stipulations are. Listeners and podcasters nominate and vote for the best podcasts. The winners then receive various awards and prizes as well as recognition. Last month was the nomination period and over 281,000 listeners submitted nominations and the website had over 2.2 million page views during the nomination period. Once that period has ended, all the nominated podcasts enter the reviewing process.
I have pasted the site's review process.

"The Review Process:

There will be approximentally a 18-19 day period in which Podcast Connect and it's volunteer reviewers will review all of the nominations. The review process will include the following and those shows nominated should pay attention to some of the things we found in grading in the 2006 and 2007 event details can be found at PodcastConnect.com

Verification Podcast fits in Category Nominated
Verification that the Podcast has 8 Shows Produced
Verification the the Podcaster has been creating shows on or before 1 August 2008
Verification that the Podcaster has a visible RSS 2.0 feed with Enclosures
A confidential non-releaseable grading sheet has been created , nominated podcast will be graded:

Number of Nominations 40%
Quality of Website Design 15%
Quality of Sound 15%
Quality of Podcast Delivery and Show Format 10%
Relevance of Content 20%
Once the top 10 nominees in each category are selected by the review committee and added to the website, voting will commence."


The People's Choice Podcast Awards are a great incentive for podcasters. Obviously it is effective because the people determine the winners. When researching podcasts to subscribe to, I will definitely keep the winners of these awards in mind. Especially since October 19th the 2008 winners will be announced! Tune in!

Who's Your Daddy? Week 5

Through Digg.com, I found a shocking blog post. A blogger named Amy who is part of The Garage Sale Blog Network wants to have a baby. And she is turning to blogging to make that happen. Her story reminded me of the lady we talked about in class last week...the one who was selling her virginity online. Amy has a slightly different request. On her latest blog post, she states that she is "looking for some good, hearty seed." She discarded the idea of sperm banks or asking friends, so she decided to turn to her blog's readers and commenters for their sperm contribution. Weird, but true. Her blog's network is helping her finance the baby and she just needs a male to become her sperm donator aka have sex with, no strings attached. The screwed up part is that a ton of people commented and are willing to do it! All they have to do is contact her and send their picture, then she'll supposedly choose one and have at it. I suppose that is one way to get people to read your blog. She is putting absolute trust in her readers and letting random people play a huge part in her life. What will social media be used for next?

I do feel bad for the baby. Where is his/her choice in the matter? "Little Billy, who's your dad?" "Oh I don't know, some guy who commented on my mom's blog once." Right. Some people take things just a little too far.

tweet tweet Week 5

I attended Billy Fischer's talk about social media at PRSSA last week. The students at the meeting must be crazy if they weren't motivated to jump into the social media realm after hearing him speak. His enthusiasm for what he was talking about definitely impacted me. The next day I created a twitter account and started checking it out. It is confusing. I need to spend more time using it, but so far I am lost. With the little "@" symbols everywhere and sentence blurbs, I'm not sure where to go or what to look at. (I did find some new ONUers on the site who also jumped on the twitter bandwagon after PRSSA.) I soon foresee myself becoming a twitter addict and knowing the site inside and out considering I went through the same process with xanga, myspace, and facebook. At first, all of the gadgets and technology are intimidating, but once I break it down and dig into the site, I realize how simple and straightforward it can be.
Now I need to visit LinkedIn and SlideRocket...