Reflections from Crumbly Acres: blogging

Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

Wednesday, 11 August 2010

Why do I blog?

Read, every day, something no one else is reading.

Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.

Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.

It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.

-Christopher Morley, writer (1890-1957)

Friday, 23 July 2010

This falls in the realm of told wrongs...accountability, and listening to creditable sources.

US official may sue rightwing blogger
Shirley Sherrod threatens action against Andrew Breitbart over edited video that led to race row.

In an amazing article from Guardian UK, a blogger BigGovernment.com, posts edited video from an unnamed source, which seems to indicate that Shirley Sherrod, a black woman and US federal head of rural development for the agriculture department in Georgia at the White House, was accused of making racist comments against white farmers. She was fired by the White House, and then the full video was listened to by the Powers-That-Be and they realized their mistake. Her speech had contained a parable that was edited by someone, the blogger claims 'not me', that was misinterpreted. President Obama apologized.

Lessons learned-the takeaway message...

In this day and age of blogging, we must be accountable. I would sue him...
Perhaps the White House should be given a course on choosing reliable sources,
in checking 3 sources (which is what I always counselled my students when doing research),
and the corruption of power of some who make choices.

Video: USDA official resigns amid racism claims
2 days ago
www.msnbc.msn.com

At least the White House corrected the mistake. Interesting editorial blogs (by 'real' journalists) who wonder at the people behind this story. This reminds me of the chaos around the distortion of the truth about Canadian medicare, twisted to suit extreme, white wing Americans trying to fight President Obama's universal health care. At the time, many Americans were asking me, through my Ontario Seniors' Health Care blog, for the truth around our system. I had spotted some bloggers who were citing private health information (illegal in Canada) about a particular patient, which was reprinted verbatim in many blogs. I follow Ontario health news particularly!

Lies and gossip about senior health care

I am always amazed with the information people pass on to one another!

Canadian Health Care System - part I

I was asked to write about our system in Canada, as there is much misinformation in American news about our weird ways. They even videotaped a woman who was distorting her truth about her Canadian health care experiences. What criminal action this is, to bash away at our health care. Where does truth lie? Somewhere in the middle. Read with a critical mind. Reflect and research. All may not be as it seems.

Saturday, 24 April 2010

SEO, blogging and ethical communication

Blogging in 2010...all about search engine optimization.
You know that the blogosphere is abused by those without a conscience and contains many items where technology has been integrated into marketing.
You'd think that those using the name 'Muskoka', for example, would actually live here!

Not so.

I am tired, too, of being asked to be a 'fan' of someone who simply wants to use my readership, or my name, or my page rank on My Muskoka to increase theirs. The porn ads, and the others (member enlargement, etc.) are just disgusting! I do not mind helping flog a project, an event, a good company, or where to buy a good cuppa joe. If you are driving 35 km to the next Muskoka town, you want this info!

I have clearly differentiated My Muskoka blog from personal positions on things not Muskokan (which I put on this blog). I only use my own photos on My Muskoka, and credit videos not my own. If you embed a YouTube video it does add to the creator's hit count, and that helps them. It can also be viewed directly on YouTube.

money made from
YOUR videos
and posting ads

We are wise to be increasingly wary of those usurping topics, images, and ideas not their own, to ensure that Google searches bring up their web pages. It seems a bizarre way of making a buck. If not unethical, perhaps immoral. Even YouTube, bought by Google for US$1.65 billion in October, 2006, from YouTube's three founders, Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, has gone from fun, personal videos, to an incredible amount of ads. As the UK Guardian article states, "YouTube's expansion has not been without growing pains. Inside, the site's community spirit has been shaken by debates over authenticity after the exposure of the likes of LonelyGirl15, the home-schooled American teen who turned out to be a New Zealand actor."

There is an underlying community of professional web designers and Internet workers, masking as bloggers, who are simply trying to increase their ratings to gain fame and fortune. Well, fortune. That said, with journalists being laid off, sue to lowered newspaper sales, it seems that they have to make a buck somewhere. Unfortunately, there is not one editing them, or ensuring that content is correct, not plagiarised, and fair. Many folks, whose only goal is to increase web presence, are using the web to make a profit off of things that are near and dear to non-profit blogger's hearts.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is at the heart of it all. The table from Wikipedia, right, shows some of marketing gurus' other tools. This is why organizations are willing to pay prizes for those who will encourage friends to visit particular pages and 'vote for me'. Some will send out such emails on a daily basis, total SPAM, cluttering bandwith, and frustrating or grabbing friends attention as some non-profit tries to win a prize.

Those featured are sending out bulk email, thereby highlighting a low-ranking webpage, raising their profile, and encouraging friend and foe to visit a site. Nothing is done for free. Many have a reason to blog. Most to flog something; a product, or their services. Some do it without being obnoxious, with gentle ads, or subtle reasons why you should buy, visit or entertain their ideas. Marketers have learned that word of mouth is cheap and cheerful. They avoid Search Engine Marketing in favour of 'word of mouth' of the internet and social marketing sites.

They all know about it. Even Wikipedia ...

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results as opposed to other forms of search engine marketing (SEM) which may deal with paid inclusion. The theory is that the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or spamdexing, uses methods such as link farms, keyword stuffing and article spinning that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.

Dave Eves wrote: about libel laws last December, but it is true for bloggers, as well. "This story matters as it demonstrates that the law is finally beginning to grasp what the internet means for our democracy and society." (I quoted part of his article, the full blog post: The Supreme Court of Canada: There are no journalists, only citizens )

In our democracy, we need to keep our eyes open and understand when we have been used by a business. We need to know when we are helping sell a website for a company by a marketing agent and go into it with our eyes open. We need to differentiate between those companies we believe in, and how and when blogging, bloggers, and our intellectual property is being used by one another. We need to understand when we are acting as pimps for profit by someone. With eyes wide open.

BTW

Most of the graphics here were purchased and included with various web design packages. I used graphic converter to change the signage. Once I purchase and change them they are now mine to use but not sell.

Friday, 4 December 2009

Federal Trade Commission - US Policy

This, I think a hoot! US bloggers beware...

Interview with the FTC’s Richard Cleland

This morning, the Federal Trade Commission announced that its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials would be revised in relation to bloggers. The new guidelines (PDF) specified that bloggers making any representation of a product must disclose the material connections they (the presumed endorsers) share with the advertisers. What this means is that, under the new guidelines, a blogger’s positive review of a product may qualify as an “endorsement” and that keeping a product after a review may qualify as “compensation.”

How are they going to monitor this?! How will they find bloggers, who are often anonymous? I am a Canadian blogger and U.S. law doesn't apply to me. Many, many website feature reviews of pharmaceuticals, for example, with ads paid for on the site. It is a buyer beware world in which we live.

For my American friends: Here is a site that explains disclosure statements and helps you generate one.

The Federal Trade Commission published a recommendation that companies who promote their product through word-of-mouth marketing must disclose these relationships. The recommendation applies explicitly to blogging, meaning that bloggers must disclose the fact that they are being paid to promote or review a product whenever that is the case.

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

BLoggers over age 50

Celebrate your world! This is my list of bloggers over age 50! I regularly read these...

Saturday, 12 September 2009

Calling bloggers over age 50

My late mother (1925 - 2006), I did so admire her, learned to use a computer at age 55, to process the Toronto Rotary Club's weekly newsletter. She had worked there for 35 years, or so. She had never touched a computer before. She had only used an electric typewriter.

I have many memories of sitting down with her, handing over my laptop as she scrolled thro

ugh my photo albums, sharing digital photos of the places we had been to, to allow her to travel vicariously.

I learned my computer skills for work in 1989. Doing classroom newsletters, I added to my skill set in order to teach it to my students. I found, through my work at uOttawa at the Faculty of Education in 2005, that many professors have not successful

ly integrated technology into their curriculum. Not to say they do not use it, but they have not bridged the gap from dispensing URLs like holy water, to fully understanding how we balance computers, digital tools, and curriculum with classroom management and the practical aspects of the process. From this point of view, tech-savvy young adults do not understand the wild waves my generation rides on our journey through this world.

Having just finished a Skype chat with kids and granddaughter, I would like to dispel the myths. I am looking for middle-aged, senior, grandparents, retired and tech-savvy people with life experiences, e.g., those over age 50.

I find that technology and ageism seem to go hand-in-hand in this day and age. I have complained to the CBC about an ad for a tech show that totally denigrates people of my age who learned computers in high school using those dear computer cards. (You know who you are!)

I know that many of us Skype with children and grandchildren.

I know many of us blog, chat with one another, and share our sorrows, joys, trials and tribulations of cancer, dementia, surgery, ill adult children and find strength in one another through photos, fine quotes, and simple positive message of endearments, spirituality, love and joy.

If you know a person over 50 who blogs, could you either send me their URL, or have them contact me? I want to create a master list. I want to do a Shout Out. If you want your blog included, I will do so.

I am determined to write a blog post about this issue!

So very many of us use digital camera, videocams, the Internet, Skype and other platforms in an integrative, creative, professional manner. Unlike my generation, our parents seldom learned computers. We adapted, changed and integrated them as far as our abilities allowed. I have many photos of my students as they worked busily away, while I managed the rest of the class.

Above is the computer equipment I learned to use with my students. Many of us learned to adapt in our work lives. Some do not understand that the more you learn, the easier it is to learn new things. The brain uses these neural pathways for new learning once the old is assimilated into normal practices. Once you retire, it is important to keep learning, and many of my blogger buddies have done so.

I am proud of our generation!

Let us celebrate.

Friday, 20 March 2009

google ads

Recent concerns (see the CBC article) over Google ads prompted a rewrite of this post. Physicians are concerned with the quackery of it all. I don't blame them. While people may be foolish to be lulled into promises of cures, they are being victimized.

It is a big decision to put up an ad. I wrestled with it for some time. I did ponder the preponderance of ads towards seniors, in a previous blog, who may be more vulnerable. Some, of course, have social, emotional, cognitive and physical issues and are easily targeted by fast-talking folks. They market as much towards geriatrics as they to pediatrics these days. It is appalling.

When I saw a google ad for "100's of Asian Women" on someone else's blog about their life in Asia, I dumped it! It looked cheap and detracted from the site! In my opinion, it demeans a site. I loathe visiting major companies, CBC or Oprah, for example, and having to wend my way through ads.

The worst ads are the ones that take forever to load dynamic content, and slow your page. The google ads, at least, are small and succinct.

The ones on my ontarioseniors.blogspot were quite rational, the ones I noticed, but since you need a million 'clicks' to make a few cents off of it, I thought I'd delete it! You can see that despite many comments, and 1700 profile views, unless people click on the ads you do not make money.

It didn't necessarily lead people to acceptable sites, nor did they lead to reputable or local businesses. They use your blog content to attach appropriate and relevant ad content, but you just never know what they will post. Others have found that the ads don't match well and don't bring in much income.

I have dumped them. It leaves more space for my own photos and sidebars.

Reflections from Crumbly Acres

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