Web 2.0
Simply put, Web 2.0 is another name for "the Internet". It is basically a search engine which uses tags or keywords to find what we're looking for. It is characterised as using user-generated content. Web 1.0 on the other hand, does not support user interactive applications.
That being said, we were provided with 2 examples of link lists. The first "blinklist" features all characteristics of a web 2.0 application, tags and keywords used for searches. This application also provides the ability to create an account enabling you to contribute to the contenet, thereby allowing access to other users. It is also possible to add "friends" to your account whereby you can view their links.
The second link provided for this task was "live file store", this is a simple list of links. Although both contained the same links, this application doesn't allow user interactivity so there is less freedom to contribute.
After comparing both, I have to say that I prefer the blinklist because I am given the freedom to search in a way I am used to. If I have another thought for a keyword which might produce links to similar information, blinklist allows this. We all have different ways of thinking about things, something which blinklist takes into consideration, for example, when searching for information about "cats", one person might type in the keyword "kitten", while another person might use "cute" and yet another person might use "musicals" Live file store doesn't allow this kind of freedom.
Friday, June 27, 2008
MODULE 3 TASKS
Blogs
Having never experienced blogging before creating this one, I had no idea of the different types of blogs out there. From personal blogs, such as this one, albeit for study purposes, to podcasts. During my time exploring blogs, I have come across many interesting blogs. Here are a few examples:
Having never experienced blogging before creating this one, I had no idea of the different types of blogs out there. From personal blogs, such as this one, albeit for study purposes, to podcasts. During my time exploring blogs, I have come across many interesting blogs. Here are a few examples:
Photoblog: http://www.montmartrephotoblog.org/ This is a blog belonging to photographer/artist Amanda Gilligan. This site features some amazing photos taken by Amanda, she wanted the blog to depict creative artistry. I think she succeeded.
Artlog: http://straythoughtsart-yamadoggirl.blogspot.com/ I was unable to find out the name of the artist. One thing I can say about her though, is that she is enormously talented. A gift that she is truly grateful for.
Vlog: http://www.archive.org/vlog_meredith This video blog I think is a fantastic idea as it's sign language. It is a series of different blogs, all signed in American sign language. Perhaps I might search for any video blogs which use Australian sign.
Business: http://djacobson.typepad.com/ This blog features everything you need to know about business management, ethics, planning, advertising, risk management forAustralian Businesses. Very helpful for one starting their own business
Political: http://andrewbartlett.com/blog This is a web diary belonging to Andrew Bartlett, a senator from Queensland and member of the Australian Parliament.
As you can see, there are a great variety of blogs in the "blogosphere" Whilst blogging is not the same as creating a web site, I am enjoying blogging and i think I just might continue blogging on a personal level, perhaps share some of my skills in the coaching area, or techniques on preventative taping. Who knows what I'll choose to blog about, the future will tell.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
MODULE 3 TASKS
FTP
Because I had already uploaded my web page to the presentation area, when I tried to upload it via FTP, I was told that the file already existed and was asked if I wished to overwrite it. I chose to overwrite. I then went to the presentation area to check that the file was still accessible and it was :) YAYYYYYY MEEEEE!!! Here is the URL:-
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group21/index.html
Because I had already uploaded my web page to the presentation area, when I tried to upload it via FTP, I was told that the file already existed and was asked if I wished to overwrite it. I chose to overwrite. I then went to the presentation area to check that the file was still accessible and it was :) YAYYYYYY MEEEEE!!! Here is the URL:-
http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group21/index.html
MODULE 3 TASKS
Legal Issues
In looking at the legal issues invovled in the creation of my web page, I have contravened none. As I created all the images myself, I am in no breach of copyright laws. The association's logo is not my design, but I did receive permission to use the logo from the association.
There were other legal issues I had to consider before submitting my page. Because there will be images of the girls included on the site, I would need permission from their parents to publish any photos on the site. This will come through the association providing handouts for the parents to sign, either allowing or denying the publication of photos of the daughters. So for the purposes of uploading my page to Curtin, I used images of my daughter, including the page's banner (which is subject to change once permissions are known). There is one photograph of my daughter warming up, which shows a couple of the other team members as well, because these girls are friends of my daughter and I know their parents, I was given verbal permission by the parent's of those girls to include this photo.
One question we were ask to contemplate was would we be in breach of any copyright laws if we were to put the curtin logo at the top of the web page for an assignment. After reading (and comprehending) as much as I could, I still found this issue to be a little blurred. The fair use policy states that a student can copy a little information for study purposes, it's difficult to know exactly what you can and can't use because most of the laws revolve around what teachers can and cannot use in a classroom situation. I think the safest thing to do would be not to use it, I mean, is there any need to use the Curtin logo for assignments? I say no. Err on the side of caution and you should be fine.
In looking at the legal issues invovled in the creation of my web page, I have contravened none. As I created all the images myself, I am in no breach of copyright laws. The association's logo is not my design, but I did receive permission to use the logo from the association.
There were other legal issues I had to consider before submitting my page. Because there will be images of the girls included on the site, I would need permission from their parents to publish any photos on the site. This will come through the association providing handouts for the parents to sign, either allowing or denying the publication of photos of the daughters. So for the purposes of uploading my page to Curtin, I used images of my daughter, including the page's banner (which is subject to change once permissions are known). There is one photograph of my daughter warming up, which shows a couple of the other team members as well, because these girls are friends of my daughter and I know their parents, I was given verbal permission by the parent's of those girls to include this photo.
One question we were ask to contemplate was would we be in breach of any copyright laws if we were to put the curtin logo at the top of the web page for an assignment. After reading (and comprehending) as much as I could, I still found this issue to be a little blurred. The fair use policy states that a student can copy a little information for study purposes, it's difficult to know exactly what you can and can't use because most of the laws revolve around what teachers can and cannot use in a classroom situation. I think the safest thing to do would be not to use it, I mean, is there any need to use the Curtin logo for assignments? I say no. Err on the side of caution and you should be fine.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
MODULE 3 TASKS
HTML Tags.
For this task, we were asked to complete a tutorial on HTML. Being a real novice with HTML, I found this task enormously beneficial. Whilst I had a little knowledge, I learned vastly more by following this tutorial. In the past, I would search for a code for a particular function, eg disabling right-click on my homepage or my space page. Having found the code for that, I would simply copy and paste the code, not fully understanding what all the tags meant.
After following the tutorial, and writing the code myself in notepad, my understanding of the tags and how they worked, and what each tag related to, grew immensely. I absolutely loved doing this task as this is the area of employment I am striving for.
Comparing this to blogging, HTML wins hands down, there is no comparison for me. Although I designed the background images for this blog, all i had to do was add the link to the images into the pre-built functions provided here. Designing the images myself gave me a sense of achievment, yes, though nowhere near as much compared to designing your own site from scratch. From here, I have done some reading on CSS and Javascript, to further my knowledge.
Before I end this post, I would like to offer my thanks to Kate, Fiona and Vernon:
To Kate, for her invaluable help, her knowledge is vast and she doesn't find it too much trouble to offer ideas on how to add elements etc.
To Fiona, for helping me de-stress, halping me to realise that this was just a task, not an assignment. My blood pressure dropped back to normal after she reminded me of that fact.
To Vernon, for helping me upload my file to the presentation area, something I was becoming frustrated with. Turns out I had named my index html just that so when it uploaded it became index.html.html. Isn't it amazing how it is humans who detrmine how things work, not the computer ;)
For this task, we were asked to complete a tutorial on HTML. Being a real novice with HTML, I found this task enormously beneficial. Whilst I had a little knowledge, I learned vastly more by following this tutorial. In the past, I would search for a code for a particular function, eg disabling right-click on my homepage or my space page. Having found the code for that, I would simply copy and paste the code, not fully understanding what all the tags meant.
After following the tutorial, and writing the code myself in notepad, my understanding of the tags and how they worked, and what each tag related to, grew immensely. I absolutely loved doing this task as this is the area of employment I am striving for.
Comparing this to blogging, HTML wins hands down, there is no comparison for me. Although I designed the background images for this blog, all i had to do was add the link to the images into the pre-built functions provided here. Designing the images myself gave me a sense of achievment, yes, though nowhere near as much compared to designing your own site from scratch. From here, I have done some reading on CSS and Javascript, to further my knowledge.
Before I end this post, I would like to offer my thanks to Kate, Fiona and Vernon:
To Kate, for her invaluable help, her knowledge is vast and she doesn't find it too much trouble to offer ideas on how to add elements etc.
To Fiona, for helping me de-stress, halping me to realise that this was just a task, not an assignment. My blood pressure dropped back to normal after she reminded me of that fact.
To Vernon, for helping me upload my file to the presentation area, something I was becoming frustrated with. Turns out I had named my index html just that so when it uploaded it became index.html.html. Isn't it amazing how it is humans who detrmine how things work, not the computer ;)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
CHAT TASK
CHAT TASK
Welcome to the world of Virtual Chat.
For my chat task, I chose to use IMVU, a site where i have been a member for around 1 year. For this task, I met up with Fiona (MsFi), JT (Magellina) and Penny(DigitalMyrth). We tried to add Chris (BartiusCromwell) to our chat, however, we had trouble keeping everyone in the room at the same time, which is one of the most common problems with such a program, due to individual computer speeds etc.
Meet UnlikelyAngel
Hang Gliding
Dancing
Ride a Harley
Stumbling across this site just over a year ago was a major factor for me deciding to get into web design etc. Not only is this a chat site, it provides the opportunity to delve into the world of "developing"
With some great advice from people I met in chats, I became a developer, making products to sell in the shopping catalog. I found this so much fun, and read everything I could about designing my own graphics and textures, as well as learning a little about html, which enabled me to make my own banner and pass the code for my banner on to those who wanted to display it on there home pages. The banner is clickable and links straight to my products page.
This form of communication opened up a world to me which I was unaware existed. It can become addictive, sometimes to the point of people spending every waking minute on the site, as it can provide a real "fantasy life" for some.
Compared to say MSN, this form of chat provides more than just text -based communication. In my opinion, IMVU is used most commonly for people who want to create a "fantasy life" , where MSN etc, allows a synchronous form of chat more commonly used to keep in touch with people you actually know.
In my experience, I use MSN to communicate with family members who live inter-state or some distance from me. It allows me to keep in touch without having a huge phone bill at the end of the month. Whereas IMVU for me was just a way of meeting new people from other countries, enabling me to learn about the cultures of people in other countries. Of course there are nasty sides to chat in whichever form you prefer, however, with the proper behaviour and security measures, this nastiness can be avoided.
Welcome to the world of Virtual Chat.
For my chat task, I chose to use IMVU, a site where i have been a member for around 1 year. For this task, I met up with Fiona (MsFi), JT (Magellina) and Penny(DigitalMyrth). We tried to add Chris (BartiusCromwell) to our chat, however, we had trouble keeping everyone in the room at the same time, which is one of the most common problems with such a program, due to individual computer speeds etc.
Meet UnlikelyAngel
The following pictures show just a few of the activities available in IMVU, there are so many more, these are just a taste:
My Garden:
Hang Gliding
Dancing Ride a Harley
Stumbling across this site just over a year ago was a major factor for me deciding to get into web design etc. Not only is this a chat site, it provides the opportunity to delve into the world of "developing"
With some great advice from people I met in chats, I became a developer, making products to sell in the shopping catalog. I found this so much fun, and read everything I could about designing my own graphics and textures, as well as learning a little about html, which enabled me to make my own banner and pass the code for my banner on to those who wanted to display it on there home pages. The banner is clickable and links straight to my products page.
This form of communication opened up a world to me which I was unaware existed. It can become addictive, sometimes to the point of people spending every waking minute on the site, as it can provide a real "fantasy life" for some.
Compared to say MSN, this form of chat provides more than just text -based communication. In my opinion, IMVU is used most commonly for people who want to create a "fantasy life" , where MSN etc, allows a synchronous form of chat more commonly used to keep in touch with people you actually know.
In my experience, I use MSN to communicate with family members who live inter-state or some distance from me. It allows me to keep in touch without having a huge phone bill at the end of the month. Whereas IMVU for me was just a way of meeting new people from other countries, enabling me to learn about the cultures of people in other countries. Of course there are nasty sides to chat in whichever form you prefer, however, with the proper behaviour and security measures, this nastiness can be avoided.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
NEWSGROUPS
For this task, we were asked to explore Newsgroups. I joined usenet.com.au and became involved in a group called aus.sport.cricket. Once opening the groups page, I saw a number of interesting post titles, and started with this one:-
I thought this was an interesting question so replied, here is my reply:-
E-MAIL LISTS
For this task, we were asked to experiment with E-Mail lists and compare the differences between E-Mail lists and discussion boards, thinking about some of the pros and cons of one v's the other.
So, lists V's discussion boards. Basically, they are both forms of asychronous communication, which is really helpful for keeping up with the latest posts at your own pace, regardless of your time zone. While both lists and discussion boards are similar in function, discussion boards are much more pleasureable for myself personally. Lists bombard your e-mail account with e-mails from every member who posts, which I found myself deleting right away, as I could go to the List site at a later date to read any posts which peeked my interest.
In our newly created internet studies group in yahoo, i had the opportunity to experience a Moderator status, which enabled me to "thread" posts into a particular order or topic, to help keep the posts in some kind of order. A freedom not afforded to me in the discussion board.Another down side of the discussion board, is the inability to edit posts or delete them at a later date.
I found both lists and the discussion board very time consuming, and I honestly don't see myself keeping up my involvement in any of the e-mail lists i have subscribed too. It may be just my personal opinion, but I much prefer the synchronous communication.
So, lists V's discussion boards. Basically, they are both forms of asychronous communication, which is really helpful for keeping up with the latest posts at your own pace, regardless of your time zone. While both lists and discussion boards are similar in function, discussion boards are much more pleasureable for myself personally. Lists bombard your e-mail account with e-mails from every member who posts, which I found myself deleting right away, as I could go to the List site at a later date to read any posts which peeked my interest.
In our newly created internet studies group in yahoo, i had the opportunity to experience a Moderator status, which enabled me to "thread" posts into a particular order or topic, to help keep the posts in some kind of order. A freedom not afforded to me in the discussion board.Another down side of the discussion board, is the inability to edit posts or delete them at a later date.
I found both lists and the discussion board very time consuming, and I honestly don't see myself keeping up my involvement in any of the e-mail lists i have subscribed too. It may be just my personal opinion, but I much prefer the synchronous communication.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
E-Mail Task # 1
In this task we were asked to complete an Email Tutorial and then answer the following reflective questions:-
1.What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
From an e-mail message, I can assertain the senders username, e-mail address,whether or not the user is using a free web mail server, or one provided with their computer Eg Outlook Express. I can also tell how many other people received this message. For example, if the sender recieves an e-mail and chooses to forward to all, the names and e-mail addresses of all the recipients are included.Also, you are able to determine who sent the message originally by looking at the "FROM" line.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?
CC FUNCTION: this function is useful when you want to send a copy of a message to someone, using this function can save you time as you don't have to rewrite or copy the message.
BCC FUNCTION: this function is very useful for sending multiple copies of messages, however it allows the identity of the other recipients to be unknown to all other recipients of the message. Great for protecting privacy
REPLY ALL: This function is a great time saver if you wish the message to be replied to every recipient listed. Rather than send mutiple e-mails containing the same message, you only need reply once.
3.In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Most importantly, you must be aware of what type of software or computer the recipient uses and save your file in a format that can be read by their computer before you send the file.
If however, you are unsure of what type of software or computer your recipient has, the best thing to do is to send your file as plain text or ASCII. Alternatively, use a format which can be read by many apllications eg: rich text file (RTF). In this way, you can be sure that your attachment is able to be opened. Another helpful hint is to include in your file what system created it eg: Word or Excel, which allows the recipient to see what kind of file they are opening, thereby being able to determine if they themselves have that particular software.
4.What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
Because one of my children is heavily involved in representative sports, i regularly receive e-mails from the respective associations informing me of changes to training times, or venue changes etc, I have my e-mail set up to highlight any e-mails received from Cricket NSW , Netball NSW and Hunter Academy of Sport. In this way, I know that I need to read these e-mails pretty well right away.
5.How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
My folders are set up in the traditional way, Inbox, Outbox etc, however, I do have folders which i added. I have a folder specifically for usernames and passwords for sites which I have registered for. If I should forget my login detalis for a certain site, i know they are easily accessible. I also have a folder set up specifically for reports on my sales from a virtual chat site, this is an easy way to keep track of my "virtual income" knowing they are in one place and I don't have to go searching for them saves me alot of time.
I found the tutorial straight forward, although there was nothing in it which I didn't already know. I think however, that it is a fantastic tutorial, especially for absolute beginners. I had a little bit of fun playing the match the smiley game :)
In this task we were asked to complete an Email Tutorial and then answer the following reflective questions:-
1.What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
From an e-mail message, I can assertain the senders username, e-mail address,whether or not the user is using a free web mail server, or one provided with their computer Eg Outlook Express. I can also tell how many other people received this message. For example, if the sender recieves an e-mail and chooses to forward to all, the names and e-mail addresses of all the recipients are included.Also, you are able to determine who sent the message originally by looking at the "FROM" line.
2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?
CC FUNCTION: this function is useful when you want to send a copy of a message to someone, using this function can save you time as you don't have to rewrite or copy the message.
BCC FUNCTION: this function is very useful for sending multiple copies of messages, however it allows the identity of the other recipients to be unknown to all other recipients of the message. Great for protecting privacy
REPLY ALL: This function is a great time saver if you wish the message to be replied to every recipient listed. Rather than send mutiple e-mails containing the same message, you only need reply once.
3.In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
Most importantly, you must be aware of what type of software or computer the recipient uses and save your file in a format that can be read by their computer before you send the file.
If however, you are unsure of what type of software or computer your recipient has, the best thing to do is to send your file as plain text or ASCII. Alternatively, use a format which can be read by many apllications eg: rich text file (RTF). In this way, you can be sure that your attachment is able to be opened. Another helpful hint is to include in your file what system created it eg: Word or Excel, which allows the recipient to see what kind of file they are opening, thereby being able to determine if they themselves have that particular software.
4.What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
Because one of my children is heavily involved in representative sports, i regularly receive e-mails from the respective associations informing me of changes to training times, or venue changes etc, I have my e-mail set up to highlight any e-mails received from Cricket NSW , Netball NSW and Hunter Academy of Sport. In this way, I know that I need to read these e-mails pretty well right away.
5.How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
My folders are set up in the traditional way, Inbox, Outbox etc, however, I do have folders which i added. I have a folder specifically for usernames and passwords for sites which I have registered for. If I should forget my login detalis for a certain site, i know they are easily accessible. I also have a folder set up specifically for reports on my sales from a virtual chat site, this is an easy way to keep track of my "virtual income" knowing they are in one place and I don't have to go searching for them saves me alot of time.
I found the tutorial straight forward, although there was nothing in it which I didn't already know. I think however, that it is a fantastic tutorial, especially for absolute beginners. I had a little bit of fun playing the match the smiley game :)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
TRACEROUTE
TASK#4 TRACEROUTES
In this task, we were asked to firstly choose a site with which to access the traceroute/ping tools. I chose to use network-tools. Upon entering the site, I then typed in curtin.edu.au. This is the result of that submission
From the results we were asked to determine the following:-
"How many ‘hops’ are there?"
"what is the average time in milliseconds from the tools site to the curtin server?"
"find out the IP NUMBER of the hostname curtin.edu.au"
As you can see from the screenshot, there were 18 hops, and the average time from the tools site to the curtin server was 267ms.
The IP Number for curtin is 134.7.179.53. These results also tells us where in the world this site is "134.7.179.53 is from Australia (AU) in region Oceania.
I found this task quite fascinating, and it answered a few questions I had regarding how a friend of mine could possibly know my IP address. Let me explain.... A friend of mine has a remote computer repair service, as well as his own web site, I stream his music playlist at times. One day whilst talking with him, he knew I was listening, he also knew which other people were listening. When I asked him how he knew that particular IP address was mine, he smugly replied "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you". So thanks to this task I can be smug in return and let my friend know that I am becoming more knowledgable, it will not be for much longer that he can hide his "secrets" from me.
FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL)
Task#3 FTP
In this task, we were asked to download an FTP client for our computers. I chose Filezilla, as did the majority of the class. After downloading the client, we were asked to FTP to recall.curtin.edu.au.
Upon opening the client, the screen above is what appearedNext, I typed in the address and logged in as an anonymous user, which then allowed me access to folders and files, as shown above. Our objective was to find the README file and answer the following question:-
"according to the readme file, '_______ MATTERS' - what word goes in the blank?".
Opening the readme file, the answer to the question is:-
"CAPITALIZATION MATTERS"
I found this task rather straight forward, nothing too overwhelming. I did come across a small issue, which I posted help for on the discussion board. I managed to resolve the issues, it turned out that using quick connect could only be done once so i added the site to my server list and was able to acces it after I had done that. Also after reading, i found out that filezilla is sometimes disabled by firewalls, so I also checked the settings in there, and added Filezilla as an exception. From there, it was all smooth sailing. Now on to tracerouting.
LOG ENTRY 2- BLINKINLIGHTS
TASK# 2 ......BLINKINLIGHTS
This task was really an add on from the previous task, an extra to show the various capabilities of Telnet. After completing the Telnet task, were then asked to Telnet to towel.blinkenlights.nl. When connected, on the screen appeared a bit of information about the author/artist, then……low and behold!!!! A mini Star Wars movie!!! A really cute animation which I found quite humorous and entertaining. Here are some screenshots:-
After being entertained by this clever little show, I still didn’t get why people would want to use Telnet, it seemed sooooo old fashioned. I decided I would do a search on Telnet and find out anything extra I could.
This task was really an add on from the previous task, an extra to show the various capabilities of Telnet. After completing the Telnet task, were then asked to Telnet to towel.blinkenlights.nl. When connected, on the screen appeared a bit of information about the author/artist, then……low and behold!!!! A mini Star Wars movie!!! A really cute animation which I found quite humorous and entertaining. Here are some screenshots:-
After being entertained by this clever little show, I still didn’t get why people would want to use Telnet, it seemed sooooo old fashioned. I decided I would do a search on Telnet and find out anything extra I could.Okay, here's some of what I discovered:-
Today, the most common uses for Telnet are gaming sites, or gaining access to government databases, such as libraries (just as we have done in these tasks). Other than these 2 options, it is rare that we would have a use for Telnet.
As an interesting addition, I had a look at the top 10 MUD sites at http://www.mudconnect.com/. Take a look for yourself at what games are available out there, and decide for yourself. As for me, other than accessing libraries, I can't (at this point in time) see myself using Telnet very often at all, however, as we progress through our studies, I may change my mind.
Monday, June 2, 2008
LOG ENTRY TASK#1 TELNET
MODULE 1
TASK#1.....TELNET
In this task, we were asked to telnet Deakin University library and search for book written by authours with the surname Bennahum. In order to do this, I first had to establish whether or not I had a telnet client already installed on my computer. In the address bar, i typed in the following address:- telnet://library.deakin.edu.au/. Luckily for me, I was connected right away, which meant i didn't have to install a client.
Once connected, this is the screen that appeared. After choosing what type of terminal I was using, I was asked to verify my selection
Once connected, this is the screen that appeared. After choosing what type of terminal I was using, I was asked to verify my selection
Once verified, the screen above appeared, which asked me to choose how I would like to search, of course I used the Author option
Which brought up the screen above, I then typed in the name Bennahum
2 results came from that search. I typed in each selection and chose to print both to my curtin email annnnnnnddd........................... 
TADAAAA, the information I had requested was sent to my curtin email inbox :) YAYYYYY for me!!!!!!
I found this task pretty straight forward. Having no idea that telnet even existed, I was impressed to know that there are other ways to find information online. And nowwwww on to the blinkies :p
Top Five Tips For New Bloggers
Success!!!!! I have managed to create my very first blog.Although I have been using the internet for around 2 years, blogging is something I have never done, so from an absolute blogging rookie, here are my top 5 tips for creating a blog.
- RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!!!
If, like me, you have never experienced blogging previously, read and read and read. Find out everything there is to know about blogging. Take a look at other blogs for ideas on inspiration and creativity, even search for blogging tutorials.
- FIND A SITE THAT SUITS YOU.
There are many blogging sites out there, the trick is to find one that suits your needs, some are more difficult to operate than others. Try each site out, practice makes perfect. Fiddle and tweak, explore the available features until you feel confident and comfortable with your chosen site.
- CREATE YOUR OWN STYLE
Set your blog up to show your own creative style, look at other blogs to gain ideas on how you can edit your own space, being creative will increase the hits you may have on your blog. Eg: use your own graphics to add to your headers, change fonts and font colours, change background colours and later down the track, you may even change the background to an image.
- DECIDE ON THE CONTENT OF YOUR BLOG
Make a decision on what you want your blog to focus on and stay on topic.The heading of your post should let people know what is in the post. If you veer off topic, create a new post with a new heading relating to that particular topic. Keep your posts interesting, you can add images relating to each post to act as a visual attraction, add concise keywords which will make it easier for people to search out your blog.
- POST REGULARLY
A blog is considered to be a virtual or online diary, so posting regularly will keep people interested in what you might be blogging about next. It is important to remember however, that anybody can gain access to your blog, unless you set it so that only people known to you can view it. Even if you set your blog as private, it is still possible for others to gain access to it, people such as family members, teachers, prospective employers etc. So just think about what it is you are writing before you actually publish a post...... would your mother be horrified if she were to stumble across your blog? Keep this in mind and you will never need to be worried about anything coming back to hurt you in the future.
These are my top 5 tips for new bloggers, hopefully, this has helped you in some way. Soooooo what are you waiting for?????? GET BLOGGING PEOPLE!!!!!! :)
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