When I began this blog a year ago, my main intention was to to connect readers with shared opinions, insightful reviews, experiences and my growing knowledge of the technology and new media fields from a female geek’s perspective. I was hoping to get to know some people with interests similar to mine.

On this blog, however, the interest I most strongly put forth for everyone to view was my interest in technology. My love for technology is a huge part of my life. But it is not the only part. I want to give my readers a more personal look into my life, allowing my readers to get to know me as a person better. I must say, however, that text and pictures can only go so far. Some things can only be fully appreciated when presented in the form of video.

That is why I am happy to announce that I’ve begun a new YouTube channel entitled “that female geek’s videos”. The YouTube channel can be found at the address below or by clicking the YouTube logo in my “about me” section in the sidebar to the right:
http://www.youtube.com/ForeverG5

Below is my first YouTube video entitled “The Nose Piercing”. For my 18th birthday, my best friend bought me a nose piercing, which is something I’ve wanted to get done for a while. My sister and other friend tagged along for the fun. This video contains the before and after events of the piercing. Just as a disclaimer, this particular video does contain strong language.

With this channel, I am hoping to add another way by which people can share my experiences with me. Not to worry; I will be able to create a happy balance between this blog and YouTube. My YouTube channel will include random videos from my daily life that I feel are significant enough that you would wish to view. I also intend to post unboxing videos and video blogs relating to my recently purchased and yet to be shipped 13″ MacBook Pro. If you enjoy this blog, I recommend you subscribe to my channel on YouTube. I’ve happily created a design on the channel with colors and schemes very similar to this WordPress blog, to produce a consistent experience for any reader who will be migrating between the WordPress blog and the YouTube channel.

For the time being, I will be embedding all of my YouTube videos into posts here on the blog if I feel they are technology related. If they are not, I will be posting a blog about it to direct you to the video, but not necessarily embedding it, given that after all, you originally came to this blog as a reader to read about technology and new media.

I hope you all enjoy this new aspect of my online presence and that it only allows me to get to know all of you better as my readers and friends. If you would like to receive more personal updates, feel free to follow me on Twitter as well (a link is also in the sidebar to the right). My Twitter username is alwaysg5, thus I can be found at:
http://www.twitter.com/alwaysg5

Thank you for all the support I have already gained for the YouTube channel. I look forward to where this may lead. Any comments, suggestions or thoughts regarding my addition of video? Please share below. I’m anxious to hear your opinions.

redvsblue. (n.d.) Source: http://www.miller-mccune.com. Retrieved on July 17, 2008

The “Old Media” was forced to cooperate under the new set of rules introduced by the convergence culture. The new set of rules was basically this: If you lie, we will expose you. And we can assume that in return the old guard will feel obliged to do the same. Which begs the question: What if they both lie? Jenkins warns against assuming that the internet is the great truth detector in the sea of “Old Media” lies. He also warns against believing that everyone now has the ability to access all human knowledge right at their fingertips, the main problem being that human knowledge is just that. Human.

That is to say “not Divine”, which is to say, flawed. Humans operate with filters in their brains, sometimes willingly, sometimes not. If a human wrote it, I can assure you that there is a spin behind it. Yes that applies to all of my posts. I would claim to be un-human to say that I can write anything without a spin. No one can. This is why Jenkins can easily make the observation that the new media immediately takes the opportunity to spin things as soon as it gets posted. The refreshing thing is that most in this arena unabashedly admit it, but not everybody. I don’t really consume media that isn’t honest about it’s angle whether old or new. Let me know where you stand, and then I’ll listen to what you have to say.

Unfortunately, the new media is often times no better at discerning the truth than Dan Rather was. While the “conservative” new media heartily criticized the Dan for his obvious bias against Bush, they pushed different biases on the rest of us. I’m sure you witnessed all of the ruckus about how Sadaam was going to bomb all of us if we didn’t act immediatley. If you missed that, then check the home page of the Drudge Report when you get done reading this post. You can see all of it unfold again in textbook fashion with Iran.

Jenkins is right. When online, most only associate with and move in the circles of those who think just like themselves. It’s an incestuous relationship that is bad for all of us, no matter what our political ideologies are. I post on your blog and you post on mine because we agree with each other. They all tell the same lies because they want to believe them and so does everybody else they know. If they are so-called conservatives, they rabidly defend Bush because he claims to be against abortion, and supposedly loves God. I’ve never seen so much damage done to a nation by somebody who was both a conservative and God-lover. In reality we can say for certain that Bush was not conservative. I won’t dare to judge a man’s belief in God but I will this: Even Satan believes in God and I don’t think it is doing him much good. The real tragedy in all of this is that “conservative Christians” kept Bush in office for eight years. Solus Deus Judicabit

On the other side of the coin we have the left-leaning side of the new media who constantly kept their audience in a state of angst because Bush was . . . well, Bush. It didn’t seem to matter that he appointed pro affirmative action, pro-abortion, anti-gun attorney general. It didn’t matter that Bush approved a bill that allowed minors to have abortions without consent from parents. It didn’t matter that Bush gave the UN unfettered access to our military. They just hated Bush. Here is a president that literally vetoed five bills. Five. The man let Teddy Kennedy write the education bill. I could go on about this for pages. I mean, what more does the left want? It’s just mind-boggling.

The point is, the internet offers little promise in rectifying political ignorance, as Jenkins seems to hope it will. People are willingly ignorant. There’s nothing we can do to change it. On a more optimistic note, the internet is allowing those who truly want to find the truth the opportunity to seek it out, and the convergence culture can go a long way in helping us all determine what is indeed truth and what isn’t. We can pool our knowledge collectively and arrive at it.

Sources:

Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.

Altijd doen wat je moet doen en nooit voorspelbaar zijn. Het is een filosofie waar wij dames van houden! Vanaf de eerste minuut dat de KANEpromoladies online mayhem gingen verkopen deden ze lekker eigenwijs hun ding; love us or hate us darlings… We gingen voor meer (community marketing weet je wel), stijlvol (natuurlijk) en de in your face mentaliteit (de dames zitten overal). En omdat we zo lekker onvoorspelbaar zijn… tijd voor verandering. Om het fris en spannend te houden. Of anders gezegd: Innovate never imitate!
Zoals geweten houden de KANEpromoladies van en maken ze intensief gebruik van social media sites en New media. En dus verhuizen we naar WordPress. Omdat de WordPress filosofie perfect aansluit bij die van de dames.
Check het allerlaatste KANEnieuws, kicken wedstrijden (vanaf Maandag weer een nieuwe kicken wedstrijd!) en mayhem vanaf nu hier!
Hope you like… or at least have a gossip about it

New hangout

Always do your own thing and never ever be predictable. We ladies love this philosophy! From day one the KANEpromoladies got online and started making trouble they were known for their mayhem; love us or hate us darlings… It had to be more (community marketing as it’s called), stylish (as it is) and we use the in your face mentality (the ladies are everywhere). And just because we’re delish’ unpredictable… time for a change. To keep things fresh and exciting. Or in other words: innovate never imitate!
It’s a known fact the KANEpromoladies love and use social media sites and New media on a daily base. Ad so we’re moving to WordPress. Because the WordPress philosophy connects with that of the ladies.
Check the latest KANEnews, awesome competitions (on Monday we launch a New competition!) and mayhem right here!
Hope you like… or at least have a gossip about it

• Η υπουργός Απασχόλησης σχηματοποίησε με την απάντησή της στον πρώην πρόεδρο της Βουλής, το βασικότερο λόγο για τον οποίο της ασκείται κριτική για τα έργα και τις ημέρες της.

Η κυρία Πετραλιά σε ερώτηση για το αγγελιόσημο στα new media, απάντησε με πολλές λέξεις, φράσεις και παραγράφους που αποδεικνύουν άγνοια, αδιαφορία για την επίλυση του θέματος, υστεροβουλία για τη νομοθετική ρύθμιση που επιδιώκουν ορισμένοι και πάντως, τεκμηριώνει την κριτική που δέχεται, ότι μόνον ως υπουργός Εργασίας δεν λειτουργεί. Αυτή τη φορά όμως και με δεδομένη τη διπλή κρίση στην οικονομία και το ασφαλιστικό, η κυρία Υπουργός επιλέγει να σφυρίζει αδιάφορα για το συμφέρον των πολιτών και στην προκειμένη για το ασφαλιστικό μέλλον των δημοσιογράφων.
Αναλυτικά: Η Υπουργός υποστηρίζει ότι για να ασφαλιστούν στο ΕΤΑΠ-ΜΜΕ οι συνάδελφοι που εργάζονται στις ειδησεογραφικές ιστοσελίδες, είναι… αναγκαίο να αποφανθεί η Γενική Γραμματεία Ενημέρωσης για το εάν αυτές είναι… Μέσα Ενημέρωσης. Πετάει δηλαδή την ευθύνη σε άλλο κυβερνητικό φορέα, υποκρινόμενη ότι δεν συνάγεται από κανέναν νόμο πως τα new media αποτελούν Μέσα Ενημέρωσης – ενώ συμβαίνει το ακριβώς αντίθετο, όπως έχουμε ήδη τεκμηριώσει.
Σαφώς η πολιτεία λειτουργεί με νόμους και κανόνες, χωρίς να αυθαιρετεί, αλλά αυτό δεν σημαίνει ότι πρέπει να νομοθετήσει την έννοια του σκοταδιού, για να ορίσει τη νύχτα…
Σε άλλη παράγραφο η κυρία Πετραλιά «εντοπίζει» τα Μέσα στα οποία εφαρμόζεται το αγγελιόσημο, παραγνωρίζοντας επιτηδευμένα ότι μέσω internet ξεπερνιέται η πρόθεση του νομοθέτη, οι δραστηριότητες μιας επιχείρησης, το ασφαλιστικό ταμείο των δημοσιογράφων και η εφορία. Ακολούθως, επισημαίνει ότι εδώ και τέσσερις δεκαετίες έχει θεσπιστεί με αυτό τον τρόπο και το ποσοστό του αγγελιοσήμου και οι δικαιούχοι – το οποίο μεταφράζεται: όποιος ανοίξει τη συζήτηση για νέα νομοθετική ρύθμιση, θα φορτωθεί και την ευθύνη επώδυνων αλλαγών του νομικού πλαισίου.
Για να μην υπάρχει καμία παρεξήγηση, η κυρία Υπουργός αναφέρει ότι δεν υπάρχει πρόβλεψη για επιβολή αγγελιοσήμου σε διαφημίσεις και δημοσιεύματα που προβάλλονται σε ηλεκτρονική σελίδα ή πύλη διαδικτύου, απαλείφοντας την έννοια του ΜΜΕ και κυρίως αποφεύγει να προσεγγίσει ακόμη και την έννοια της «άλλης μορφής διανομής», της ίδιας ή αντίστοιχης δημοσιογραφικής ύλης.
Λέει ακόμη ότι τυχόν επέκταση του πόρου, προϋποθέτει διάταξη νόμου, μετά από ενδελεχή εξέταση της δυνατότητας αναλογικής εφαρμογής και στο διαδίκτυο, των όρων μετάδοσης μηνυμάτων που προβλέπονται για έντυπα και ραδιοτηλεοπτικά Μέσα. Με άλλα λόγια επιβεβαιώνει ότι δεν έχει μελετήσει το θέμα. Το προσεγγίζει με αρνητισμό και πάντως με ιδιοτελή διάθεση, που περιλαμβάνει από την πλήρη απόρριψη του ενδεχομένου έως την περιστολή των κεκτημένων.
Με βάση τα παραπάνω, ή δεν γνωρίζει το θέμα, ή γνωρίζει πολύ καλά ότι δεν πρέπει να ενοχλήσει τους εισφοροδιαφεύγοντες παραδοσιακούς εκδότες και διαφημιστές, που λειτουργώντας ένα site – αντίγραφο του μέσου ενημέρωσης που διαθέτουν, αξιοποιούν την κυβερνητική αβελτηρία για να περνούν τα απαλλαγμένα από αγγελιόσημο έσοδα διαφημιστικών πακέτων, μέσα από το αυθαίρετο ψηφιακό τους υποκατάστημα.
Πάντως εάν γνώριζε το θέμα, θα επέβαλλε άμεσα, με απειλή κακουργηματικής δίωξης στο ΕΤΑΠ-ΜΜΕ, την είσπραξη του πόρου διότι αυτή είναι η κερκόπορτα για την κατάρρευση των ταμείων Τύπου. Αλλά για να το μάθει, θα πρέπει να ρωτήσει μεταξύ άλλων και το συνάδελφο δημοσιογράφο υφυπουργό Γιώργο Κοντογιάννη.
Το μόνο για το οποίο είναι όλοι βέβαιοι, με βάση την απάντησή της, είναι ότι η ΝΔ δεν πλήρωσε αγγελιόσημο για την ευρω-προεκλογική της καμπάνια στα μέσα του διαδικτύου. Ελπίζουμε το ίδιο λάθος να μην έχουν κάνει και τα υπόλοιπα κόμματα!

With thanks to Homeless Nation Vancouver Outreach team for this footage

Video by J-Hock and Carter

This was flung over the Granville street bridge. A bag of of human feces, ladies and gentlemen. Yup, that is what the residents of the Granville street bridge area have resorted to…

It is important that we all understand that this is not a random act of vandalism or teenage hi-jinx… This is hate. Pure and simple. Xenophobic and gentrified in it’s intent. There are people living in the best rated city in the world flinging shit at people trying to survive in the shelters below. But, as you will see, they are at war to stay open against those very inconspicuous Fecal Fiends….

Colin

http://www.homelessnation.org/en/node/16508#

——————————————————————————

As someone mentioned today in CCAP meeting at Carnegie Centre

“Give Homeless People Homes, Not Hate or Sh!T!”

From Carnegie Centre Newsletter July 15, 2009

Lunch at Carnegie Centre at Main and Hastings is a City of Vancouver Community Centre where meals are always delicious and very affordable at $1.75 – a price that anyone, especially those living in the inner city of Vancouver Downtown Eastside can afford.

Below is a photo of today’s lunch – Beef Stroganoff with Tomato and Cucumber Salad – only $1.75!

Below is a photo of today’s vegetarian option – Tofu and Mushroom with Salad for $1.75

Below is a photo of Hendrik Beune, Director of AHA MEDIA  with Alvin Clinton, fellow Downtown Eastside resident enjoying their meals

Below is a photo of Peter Davies, Reporter for AHA MEDIA eating his lunch

Η εφημερίδα “ΗΜΕΡΗΣΙΑ” επικαλείται ανώνυμες πηγές που μεταφέρουν την πληροφορία ότι ο πρωθυπουργός έχει στα χέρια του γνωμοδότηση του υπ. Εσωτερικών για την κατάθεση ν/σ που θα εξουσιοδοτεί ΕΥΠ και Υπηρεσία Δίωξης Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος να δημιουργήσουν βάση δεδομένων μπλόγκερ, οι οποίοι σε περίπτωση παρεκτροπής θα παρακολουθούνται και θα τιμωρούνται με πρόστιμα από το ΕΣΡ!

Στο ίδιο δημοσίευμα, με αναφορά σε άλλες πηγές από το υπ. Δικαιοσύνης, σημειώνεται ότι «δεν θα προωθηθεί νομοσχέδιο καθώς η κυβέρνηση καλύπτεται από την εισαγγελική γνωμοδότηση προς τις αρχές να συλλαμβάνουν παρανομούντες διαχειριστές μπλογκ όταν βρεθούν από τη Δίωξη Ηλεκτρονικού Εγκλήματος».

This week, Wired.com ran a “Dual Perspectives” discussion on the future of newspapers in the digital age.

In one column of the two-part piece, Douglas Wolk addresses the challenges that newspapers face as they try to remain both profitable and competitive while making their content available online — a landscape where most information is free. In the second article, Glenn Fleishman discusses concerns that the financial struggles faced by the newspaper industry are pushing many papers to cut back on investigative and local news reporting.

Fleishman and Wolk both conclude that the future isn’t as bleak as it may seem. Journalism will survive, they say, but not without adapting to the contours of the Internet age.

Fleishman describes how some newspapers are using nonprofit and ad-supported reporting to overcome the online hurdle, while Wolk suggests that papers look into developing mobile content and services that their readers will pay for. Both columnists point to innovation as the key to journalism’s future, but the newspaper industry isn’t the only one that needs to change to keep up.

Here’s a third perspective: The online shift that has posed such challenges for print media is also affecting the way we do PR. As the Web evolves and brings people more ways to communicate with each other, we gain new means for outreach — like Twitter and blogging — as well as new outlets to target on our clients’ behalf. Our campaigns aren’t limited to long-established papers and their online versions; we work to secure hits for our clients in blogs, podcasts and other emerging forms of new media. We also counsel our clients on how to improve their Web sites, build their presence in social media and strengthen their standing in Web 2.0.

The ways we receive news are changing and expanding, but by tailoring our business to change along with them, we can help our clients take advantage of the innovations of the digital age.

EDITORS WEBLOG: More Americans turned to traditional media than to the internet to find information about the financial crisis in the past year, with broadcast sources leading the pack, according to the latest Pew Internet survey. READ MORE>

A little time can cure anything.

The media Web site 10,000 Words is the end product of out-of-work journalist Mark S. Luckie, who after losing his job took solace in the fact that he was given the opportunity to hone his new media skills. It’s accurate to infer that his last name refers to his current occupational state.

In a recent blog post Luckie writes that being laid-off was “the best thing that ever happened” to him. He believed he was secure from lay-offs because of his skills in new media technology and his passion for the job. But even those at the top can fall.

He wrote that he took time off and became “more creative” with how to use his skills–something he believes to be a problem in the industry that reporters aren’t given the time to develop new skills, short of learning them on their own time.

The blog chronicles the state of journalism, introduces new technologies in covering and digesting news, advice for aspiring reporters and much more.

“The time away from journalism has helped me find my inspiration, to remember why I am a multimedia journalist in the first place. I’ve taken day trips to museums to see the interactive exhibits,” he wrote in his post. “I’ve attended (free) conferences to hear about not only what’s being done to revitalize journalism, but the amazing technological advances that are happening outside of the journalism bubble.”

In addition to his own experience, he writes about other journalists taking their knowledge in the field and creating their own digital newsrooms. His latest project is a book that should be released by the end of summer about his multimedia projects

Mobile phones are an increasingly vital link to information, banking and commerce; 11% of the country’s 267 million mobile phone users own Internet-ready smart phones. In recent months brands including Buick, Kraft and Walmart and have been building “M sites”–mobile phone-ready versions of their Web sites. Alexandre Mars, chief executive of Phonevalley and head of mobile at Publicis Groupe, says M sites should be the first step in any company’s mobile marketing strategy. “You can’t teach your baby to run before it knows how to walk,” says Mars.

According to mobile research firm M:Metrics, 49% of American mobile phone users actively use text messaging, which explains marketers’ interest in text-based campaigns. Last year Ogilvy used text messaging in a test pilot with its then-client, mattress and bed manufacturer Select Comfort. Select Comfort bought ads in local newspapers, which instructed users to send the company an SMS message with their zip code. Select Comfort sent back the nearest store location along with a mobile coupon for $50 off. According to OgilvyOne’s Mandel, seven times more people texted in their responses than those who called in the company’s 1-800 number that was also in the advertisement.

Phonevalley’s Alexandre Mars says that both mobile banner ads and text-based campaigns have the advantage of being easy to scale. “The question is still the same,” Mars says. “How can you do it big? When you are talking to clients, you have to be scalable.” In October Phonevalley completed a campaign for Puma in China. Mobile phone users could download a mobile game, after which Puma sent them a coupon for a free phone toy accessory. One hundred and fifty-five thousand people downloaded the mobile game, and 70,000 redeemed the coupon in stores.

Click here to read the full article on forbes.com Cellphones: The New Billboards

MINDY McADAMS: The easiest way to get your video online is to upload it to one of the free video viewing sites, such as YouTube or Vimeo, writes McAdams in the 14th part of her series in video reporting. READ MORE>

“Those two seem to be the most popular; for more options, see this list at Mashable or this list at Top Ten Reviews.

“Sure, you could upload the video to your own server, but then you miss out on the chance to tag it, link it, and associate it with other people’s video about similar topics…”

MARK HAMILTON: Now, all you need is an iPhone to shoot TV news. READ MORE>

US  TV channel CBS4 claims it “made history when we aired a news story which used nothing but video from the latest generation of iPhone which was released that day:

“Using his brand new iPhone 3G S, I-Team producer Gio Benitez created a story about the people standing in line outside of an Apple store waiting to get their hands on the new phone.”

MARK HAMILTON: A whole new one-stop site, product of Rich Beckman’s University of Maimi class, that brings together a wealth of information of what’s being done with multimedia in journalism. SEE HERE>

MARK HAMILTON: At Creative and innovative uses of online video, one of the media web’s best curators and publishers, Mark Luckie, has some eye candy/inspiration for those using the new tools.

ONLINE JOURNALISM BLOG: Other people have tweeted (or retweeted) the Guardian’s URLs 328,288 times over the last four months – way more than any other UK newspaper, according to OJB writer Malcolm Coles’  full analysis here.

A report by Canada’s privacy commission has deemed the actions of the social networking site to be illegal. This is because the site illegally holds on to user information indefinitely and provides ‘confusing or incomplete’ information it its users.

The Canadian law specifies that companies may only hold onto private information for as long as is technically necessary. The report also criticized Facebook for “failing to adequately restrict access of users’ personal details to some of the 950,000 developers in 180 countries who provide applications.”

Facebook spokesperson’s response:

Overall, we are looking for practical solutions that operate at scale and respect the fact that people come to share and not to hide. We continue our dialogue and have every confidence that we will come to acceptable conclusions. I think the concerns are fully resolvable.

Under Canadian law, if action is not taken by Facebook the privacy commission can take them to court and force the required changes.

About 12 million of the 200 million or so users on Facebook live in Canada.