BrownPenguin.com

Test for hotties

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:47:00 +0000

Blog World & New Media Expo Seeks to Revolutionize the Industry

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Blogging has become a major industry around the world thanks to its many fans who embrace the ease of expressing their ideas on the internet. This has given birth to the Blog World & New Media Expo, which is held yearly at the Las Vegas Convention Center in the United States. It combines two previous major conferences, the Blog World and the New Media Expos, both of which have been greatly successful in the past. In this event, representatives from companies around the world as well as simple blogging enthusiasts can gather for three days of discussion, meeting new people, and announcing their new ideas to the public.

Last year, the Blog World & New Media Expo held its first conference in Las Vegas, and it proved to be a huge success. It was backed by numerous sponsors such as Mashable, Alltop, and even Southwest Airlines. Many speakers presented their ideas at the conference, ranging from Carolyn Abram of Facebook to John Andrews of Walmart. They covered a wide variety of topics about blogging, including tips for new blogging companies and predictions about the future of the industry. The Expo also encouraged everyday listeners to come as well, providing a photo contest in which the winner would win a brand new $240 backpack.

With last year such a success to the blogging world, one can only imagine the excitement for the this year’s expo. It is once again at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and it will take place on October 15-17, 2009. Anyone is invited to join for a day of exciting breakthroughs in blogging as well as a bit of fun in Las Vegas.

Yonkly.com Makes the Move to Microblogging

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:04:00 +0000

While blogging is still popular in the world today, microblogging has become a new fad, taking over the world by storm. Microblogging consists of very short posts to express the thoughts of the poster, often consisting of his or her thoughts right at the moment. This makes it easier for both the reader and the writer, as more can be expressed in fewer words. The most popular example right now is Twitter, but more companies such as Yonkly are beginning to jump on the bandwagon and take advantage of microblogging. These companies provide packages so that others can get started easily on microblogging

Yonkly changes things by offering three services: opensource, standalone, and hosted editions. The opensource is free and great for developers aimed at improving the service and weeding out bugs, as well as those who would like to incorporate their own ideas into the technology. Meanwhile, the standalone edition can be purchased to allow even the simplest web designers to put microblogging services on their websites. This option comes with a control panel for full control and provides a great amount of customization for each individual provider. Yonkly also allows microbloggers to use their already set-up service for a low fee, where they can get blogging right away and place advertisements to generate money.

This new service is sure to help spawn several clones of Twitter, expanding the industry and providing some ever-useful competition in the field. It also exposes the technology to millions of people, allowing for truly unique innovations to be developed in the future. The aim for Yonkly is to provide the opportunity of microblogging to everybody, ranging from a renown news channel to a local church group.

Texas Government Joins the Blogging Bandwagon

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 03:03:00 +0000

As blogging reaches out to more and more people everyday, various groups of unlikely people are tagging along with the rest. The Texas Workforce Commission has recently launched its own blog Texas2Work.com, which is written by its staff to help people in the troubled economy nowadays.

This blog is aimed to provide daily tips to workers on how to find great jobs, as well as numbers on the state of the economy and Texas’s policies on the industry. It also aims to help employers by posting information about the current workforce, including tips on how to select good people to do the job.

This move shows the trend of government agencies slowly forming blogs like many other corporations. These blogs serve many different purposes, such as getting the public involved and increasing support for government operations. Examples of this include the America’s Marines Blog or the Take Pride in America Blog. Other blogs provide support for victims of diseases or misfortune, such as the AIDS.gov blog or the CDC’s blog. Other blogs may garner support for government regulations or suggestions, such as the Energy Savers Blog or Peace Corps Volunteer Blog. The use of blogs is prevalent because they are easy for average users to read and appeal to many people’s lifestyle. This helps educate people about the government’s activities and get them involved in the political scene. This trend may once again impassionate people about the welfare of their country, much like the glory days of the American Revolution.

Blogging Community Extending to Moms

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Blogging has grown since its first appearance on the internet, extending to more and more people as time goes on. Recently, many mothers or pregnant women have found blogging to be a great place to communicate with about their children and express their feelings with one another.

Blogging has proven especially useful to mothers because it provides a great place for them to brag about their children. Life-changing events, such as a child’s first word, often come with the need to tell the world, and blogging has become the perfect outlet for such mothers. A mother may also post a video of her child’s first walking experience or tell a funny story that happened to her child during the day.

One of the most powerful aspects about blogging, however, is the ability for others to leave feedback on posts. This allows mothers in a community to communicate with and support one another. It is reassuring for a mom to know that there are others out there to give her support and feedback through the long and difficult process of raising children. While this feedback is very useful in happy times, it can be even more important during times of trouble. Other moms can also provide valuable advice in times when a mother is uncertain of what to do, based on their own experiences and judgment. This kind of advice is often much more effective than other people’s advice and difficult to find in a book.

This example shows that little by little, the blogging phenomenon on the Internet is showing its many uses and ability to join people together in ways that were not possible before.

Blogging a Way to Express Feelings About Madagascar Crisis

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:58:00 +0000

The Malagasy Political Crisis has been raging on in Madagascar for about six months now, and Marc Ravalomanana does not show signs of stepping down. This has been a time of incredible stress and fear for all of Madagascar’s citizens, especially when protests have turned violent. At least 130 people have been killed, and many more have been seriously injured.

When it has become dangerous to even walk outside of a house, many people have turned to blogging to express their feelings and organize protests. The relative anonymity of the Internet has shielded many cyber-protestors from harm, as long as they do not publish personal information such as where they live. This method of exercising free speech is much safer for these dissidents and other people alike, as opponents will be less likely to retribute forcefully and keeps conflicts to fighting with words. It also removes the fear against speaking out, as there is not an army of threatening police to stand in front of when making a statement.

This use of blogging in the Madagascar Crisis also reflects one its use of such technology in the United States as a place for debate and free speech. It is typical for one person to post a blog entry expressing his views and for others to comment and provide their opinions on the issue as well. This system is also useful for news media companies, as they can look at such blogs to gauge the public’s true opinion on such issues.

Ad Council Calls for Fair Blogging Practices

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:57:00 +0000

The FTC, along with the National Advertising Review Council, has been investigating two blogging websites that have been promoting certain products and giving reviews that may be inaccurate. These companies, Herbal Groups Inc and Urban Nutrition, have been shown to pay writers to post fake reviews of products that they did not actually own. This practice violates the FTC’s Guides and Endorsements and Testimonials, where they lay down ethical boundaries on providing accurate testimonials for their customers.

These testimonials were designed to appear convincing to the customers by posting contact information of its writers so even skeptic readers of the blog can call the reviewer and ask questions. While it is common for companies to hire writers for their blogs, it is not common for the writers to be paid to write inaccurate testimonials for the purpose of cheating their customers.

The FTC is still trying to decide whether it is the fault of the writers, the blog-creator, or both. This incident also raises the issue that much of the information on the internet may be inaccurate, as anybody can write a blog. The reader has no way of knowing whether the writer is a professional American journal writer or a 12-year-old child sitting in his basement at 1am in the morning. (I am the first, for those who are curious…) Given how easily the false blog succeeded on the internet, it may not be the last time that such a blog misleads its readers, particularly for the purpose of making money.

A Possible Danger to Blogging?

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:53:00 +0000

It has become the modern equivalent of keeping a diary in the old days. Popular among young adults and teenagers, "blogging" refers to the writing of short entries on a webpage that is posted online for others to read. These blogs may simply be about a person’s day-to-day life, or they could contain daily tips on various things. These blogs are a great tool for personal speech, but many people do not know the dangers of posting their thoughts on the internet.

One common pitfall for many new (and even experienced) blog-writers is to give away personal information on the internet. There have been countless stories of identity theft or even tragic murder, all because the victim posted private information for the world to see. We are not talking about posting social security numbers or the like; even publishing the author’s real name, birth date, or phone number makes it easy for others to obtain the rest of your information. It is not uncommon for an innocent blog-writer to brag about a valuable possession of his, and unwittingly sign the article with his real name. A thief could then easily search the name and find the writer’s address, where he could break in and steal the item.

Another common issue with blog-writers is that they have to be careful not to let their tempers get out of control. Many new writers feel a bit too comfortable behind the anonymity of the Internet and accidentally offend certain people in their posts. The angered persons may then "flame" the writer by posting rude comments in reply, or even resort to hacking the blog in order to find out private information about the author. If there is anything the horrific news stories have told us, it is that unknown people on the internet who have your personal information are usually dangerous.

It is always important to remember that there are more readers of a blog than one may think. The amount of comments written does not always provide an accurate representation, as most people simply read articles without commenting. When writing an article that is open to the public, it helps to imagine every person in the world reading your article.

Despite the dangers just described, blogging is still a safe and effective way to express one’s feelings about a topic. The Internet is a wild place, however, and new bloggers should be careful not to put themselves and even perhaps their families in danger. The first and most important rule is to never, ever put personal information on the internet. Lying about such information may be necessary at times, but it is a necessary precaution to protect against stalkers. Another rule is that if you would not say it on TV or newspapers, then don’t say it on the internet. Some groups may be more sensitive to certain words than others expect, so it never hurts to change that curse word into something milder in tone. As long as these important rules are obeyed and the writer is careful in his choice of words, then blogging can be used as an effective way to communicate your thoughts to others on the internet.

Wordpress or Blogger?

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:51:00 +0000

When it comes to blogging, there are many different websites that can be used to host such blogs. Two of the biggest platforms are Wordpress.com and Blogger.com, both of which host millions of users world-wide. Both these websites are similar in the features that they provide their users, but there are slight differences that may make one website more favorable over the other.

Before looking at the differences, however, it should be noted that both these websites have many features in common. Both have quick and easy signup processes, in which you can select a pre-made template and start blogging in no time. They also allow other users to comment on blog posts, providing feedback for your thoughts or simply to say hello. These websites also allow for various widgets to be added, which can increase the functionality of the blog, such as polls, calendars, slideshows, videos, etc.

Blogger is a service owned by the search engine giant Google and is noted for its great compatibility with other Google services. For example, the Google Toolbar contains a "blog this" button that allows users to post links directly to their blog, and the blogs have native support for Picasa photo albums. Blogger also allows you to edit templates, providing a higher level of customization. Third-party themes can also be installed, allowing you to give your blog the true look you want. Third-party tracker scripts can also be inserted to view your blog’s amount of visitors. Google’s best contribution, however, is the native use of adsense in their blogs. This is one of the best ways to make money by placing ads on a blog for viewers to click on.

Wordpress, on the other hand, provides numerous other features that attract other visitors. First, it can import blogs from other websites such as LiveJournal, making the switch between different blog hosts much easier. It also has the ability to create static pages and attach contact forms to a page with a single tag. Another great feature is the ability to password-protect specific posts, preventing unwanted people from reading your personal thoughts. Wordpress also has a more robust team-blogging system. While Blogger only allows for administrators and non-administrators, Wordpress allows for permissions such as Editor, Author, or Contributor. For example, a contributor may be able to post their thoughts but not delete other people’s posts, while the administrator is the only one with true control over the blog.

When these two websites are compared side-by-side, they may seem very similar to the new blogger. However, many experienced bloggers have strong feelings over which service is better, whether it be blogger for the increased customization or wordpress for the increased amount of features. Blogger is currently performing better than Wordpress, as it is #8 in Alexa Rank and Wordpress is only #19. However, this could all change in a year or two as the competition for the best blogging service continues. Only time will be able to tell which of the blogging service giants will survive.

New Types of Blogging

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:41:00 +0000

Most people think of the normal blog post as a few paragraphs describing one’s thoughts and feelings or perhaps simply what one did that day. However, new technology has allowed for other means of blogging, which are quickly becoming as popular as the standard text blog.

One of the most popular methods of blogging is audio podcasting, in which the words are spoken instead of written. The recording of the script is saved as a sound file and can be listened to on a computer or mp3 player, making it better for devices that do not have screens. It is popular among ipods, where one can simply insert two earphones, download a podcast off the itunes store, and listen to your favorite talk show host’s thoughts of the recent news. It is also a great help to those who are visually impaired, as it removes the burden of reading blogs and simply requires them to listen to a speaker narrate the words of the blog.

Expanding on the concept of podcasting is the phenomenon of vlogging, where a person talks to a video camera about their day or the thoughts on their mind. This has become very easy and popular due to the rise of youtube, a video-hosting and sharing site. This is often more effective than standard blogging because it allows the viewer to see the person who is speaking, giving a more direct connection between the blogger and the viewer. Body language, facial expressions, and even demonstrations can contribute to the viewer’s experience. For example, if a person is talking about his grandmother, he or she can quickly hold up a picture of the grandmother in front of the video camera, allowing viewers to see what the grandmother looks like. It is also easier for many people to simply watch and listen to a person rather than reading paragraphs of information.

Another common type of blogging is through photos, in which a picture is displayed every day and a small caption describes the picture. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words, as one good picture can easily give the audience the mood and thoughts of the author. This technique, called "photoblogging," is often used by artistic or would-be photographers who like to capture their worlds in terms of pictures. It is also appealing to some people because it requires significantly less typing and reading; one look at the picture of the day tells all.

These various ways of blogging are only examples in an ever-expanding Internet. Many people have been known to use sketches, music, art, and various other media to express their feelings to audiences worldwide. The exponentially growing technology in the world today provides new ways to record the thoughts of bloggers, while the evolving web design of blogging sites on the Internet provide better implementation of this technology. Just like how many books have been replaced in the modern world with movies, many blogs are being replaced with other means such as audio podcasting, photoblogging, or vlogging.