Sunday, September 26, 2010

Promoting Your Blog on Twitter

Hello to all my fellow bloggers and blog followers! It has been about a week since I have last posted. Talk about a crazy week! At any rate, I've been thinking a lot about blog promotion lately. This has been prompted by an assignment our Podcasting professor gave us. The assignment is to write a paper about how blogs are being used in business. I'm not entirely sure yet what angle I'll be writing my paper from, but I wanted to share a link that could be useful for any one of us.

I do not promote my blog anywhere yet, but this article lists tips for promoting a blog on Twitter. I think this could be especially relevant for those active on Twitter, or those with plans to try to make money by blogging.

Have a great week!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

PlayStation Move Release

Hello friends! Thank goodness for weekends right? Not only do I have to run some errands, but I need to make a big pan of baked ziti for dinner too. No small task I assure you! Enough about me though...

Yesterday, the new PlayStation Move was released in stores in North America. Designed to compete with the Nintendo Wii, the system offers active gaming that is sure to appeal to a wide variety of people. It offers many of the same features as Wii, but appears more technologically advanced because it also includes augmented reality and 3-D capabilities. (Ever the safety-conscious consumer, my biggest concern is that I didn't see a wrist strap. Can we just assume this may result in increased television sales due to broken screens?)

We own a Wii in my home, so I doubt we'll be purchasing any new gaming systems for awhile. However, if any of you are in the market for one, or perhaps thinking ahead about holiday shopping, you should check out PlayStation's blog.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

New To Blogging? Watch This Video!

If you are not sure what a blog is or how it works, the video called Blogs in Plain English will help. This video explains why blogs are such a "big deal." To view the video, just click on the large arrow in the middle of the video window below.

Whole-House Surge Protection


It's important to protect all your electronic devices, not just computers, from surges. Printers, televisions, appliances and computer peripherals all require protection. However, it can be inconvenient to use individual surge protectors on all devices that need protection. One solution is to install a whole-house surge protector as shown in this photo. The device is installed by an electrician and is attached to your circuit breaker panel. Whole-house surge protectors function like other surge protection devices, but they protect all electrical devices in the house at once. The typical cost of $200 to $300 (installed) is generally less than buying individual surge protectors for every electrical device in your home. 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Podcasting News at Your Fingertips

Hello to all my blogging friends! It's Monday and I have a hot tip to share with all of you. Interested in hearing the latest in podcasting news? Want to learn more about podcasting's impact and even podcasting jobs? Check out this awesome website I found called Podcasting News - New Media Update. At the very least, the articles are entertaining :) Enjoy!

Also - as an update to my CMPT1700 classmates, I'm in the process of claiming my blog with Technorati. They wanted me to include this on an entry, but you can ignore it: RYUFF5R68PDH

Have a great week everyone!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Will the Internet Kill TV?

I bought a laptop last spring in April. It broadened my horizons to a whole new world of possibilities. Not only could I do my schoolwork while sitting on the couch, but also I had a new benefit available to me. Rather than sitting at my desk to watch a TV show online, I could enjoy shows in the comfort of my living room. Sure, the laptop isn't as big as our television set, but when you don't have cable, who cares? I started watching shows that I'd only ever heard friends speak about, and really became hooked on a few series. And then it hit me - if I'm watching all of these shows online, how is TV going to survive?

This is not a new question. Hulu.com has been providing TV programs online free-of-charge for some time now. And many networks provide at least a few episodes for free online as well. I decided to do some research on this topic and stumbled upon this interesting opinion piece. The writer suggests rather than the Web moving away from TV, it is moving towards it.

Fastest Growing Age Group on Facebook

Surprise! It probably isn't what you are thinking (teenagers). The fastest growing age group on Facebook these days is adults age 50 and older, at least according to a survey given by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Why the increase? As the article on Inc.com explains, older adults are looking to reconnect and keep in touch with family and friends.

This is not having a positive effect on the number of young people signing up for, or even staying with, Facebook. Recent studies have suggested young people are not overly comfortable with parents, grandparents, nosey Aunt Cindy, or potential employers having access to their social network. New websites such as CollegeOnly.com are being launched to cater to this group of privacy-craving young adults.

Where do I fall on the spectrum? As a 27 year old, I have to admit I haven't always been crazy about my family members or in-laws friending me on Facebook. While I value being able to keep in touch with them, I use the privacy controls available and make sure to not post anything I wouldn't want to see in the newspaper.

What about my fellow classmates out there? How do you feel about Facebook and the privacy it affords you?

The Popularity Oracle and Password Security

Password security on websites is becoming increasingly important as cybercriminals become more advanced and brazen in their attacks. This morning I read a fascinating article about a new concept being developed called the popularity oracle. The general idea behind the concept is to monitor the popularity of passwords on a particular website, and when necessary, alert the user that they may want to select a different password that is not as common and therefore possibly more difficult to guess.

The current password guidelines that are in effect suggest using a mix of lowercase, uppercase, numbers and symbols. These rules can be cumbersome, and as the developer interviewed pointed out, could still result in using a popular password (for example: P@$$w0rd).

But how, you ask, could the popularity oracle could be protected? And is this really a viable option moving forward for major large-scale websites such as Hotmail and social networking sites like Facebook? These issues are all addressed in the interview, which I highly suggest reading.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The iPad's Newest Competition - Galaxy Tab

Today Samsung Electronics Inc., showed off its newest addition to the family, Galaxy Tab. Weighing 13.4 oz with a 7 inch touch screen, this is one cute baby! Meant to compete directly with the iPad, it runs on Google's 2.2 Android operating system and offers features such as two cameras, ability to run Adobe Flash and support of Bluetooth, 3G and Wi-Fi. Sleek in design, the Galaxy Tab seems to float seamlessly from a work environment to home environment while remaining fully functional. (It can even function as the remote for your TV!)

If you want to know more, check out the official website: http://galaxytab.samsungmobile.com/. The website itself does an excellent job of exhibiting the product's abilities, and even shows how the product can use augmented reality.