Attempting to Organize

As graduation approaches, I have decided to really embrace the pending adulthood/real world of which I am about to enter. For me this means getting organized.

Disorganization in the past has caused me a lot of grief. I am always wasting time trying to find something. To top that off, I have a terrible memory which means that half the time I don't really know what I'm looking for. This ultimately leads to procrastination and many nights of last minute cramming. It's all very hectic and it's time I did something about it.

First Attempts
I attempted to read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Four Hour Work Week, Getting Things Done, and other similar books on how I can be a more productive person. Sadly, I have very little time or patience for reading books and as a result have only read maybe half of each book.

Web 2.0 as the Solution
Having failed to become more organized and productive through reading books, I have turned to online tools for help. In reading various blogs and reviews and actually taking it for a test drive, I found EVERNOTE to be exactly what I needed.


What is Evernote?
Evernote is a program that allows users to capture, collect, and organize information. This information can be captured from the web, using a camera, a scanner, and more.

Here is a brief introduction of the program:


Why I Like It
I see all kinds of information I want to remember and Evernote allows me to capture it virtually anywhere. It is flexible and customizable which means it can be tailored to your needs. So far I have been very pleased.

Additional Information
I am still new at the software but there are plenty of seasoned Evernote users out there that can help you use the tool more effectively.

• Evernote blog
• 7 Ways to Use Evernote
• Clever Uses for Evernote

Now that you know about it, try it out! You can use it online or on your desktop. It is compatible for both MACs and PCs! If you need more convincing...

Here is a short pitch by the CEO of Evernote Corporation:

Online Class 7: Zines

Assignment:
Develop an e-zine article.

Initial Thoughts:
Whats the difference between zines and blogs anyway? Apparently quite a bit.

• While both can be about a variety of subjects, e-zines typically have an editor who filters out content.
  
• As the Zoning in on Zines article explains, e-zines originated out of fanzines which are

  homemade publications that usually have a staff of one and are produced as entertainment and not for profit. They generally don’t have regular publishing schedules, and they’re usually traded or sold through the mail.

• A trend in online publications is for major print magazines to post online. Off the top of my head some examples are: ELLE, The Economist, Wired, and all the other Conde Nast Publications, some of which are purely digital (epicurious).

My E-Zine Article
There are several different topics that I am considering for my e-zine article.

• FOOD. Being a major foodie. I would love to create an article for Epicurious. Maybe a recipe or cooking experience. Since I am new to cooking I have plenty of disaster tales to write about. Another take on this topic would to review my favorite restaurants in Arizona. The Phoenix New Times features a zine/blog that I love called Chow Bella that would be perfect for a restaurant review piece.
• Occupational Safety and Health. I know it seems totally random and super boring but I work for a consulting company specializing in occupational safety and health. I am the marketing strategist for the company responsible for establishing the company brand. For the Zine project I could write an occupational safety and health article much like the ones featured on on EHS Today and OH&S.
  
• Fashion. I have recently developed an interest in fashion. While I don't feel like I'm super fashionable I think I can bring a unique perspective to the fashion world.
  
• Others. I am also considering doing an article on fun random facts, China business, cheap travel, personal finance, and personal development.
  

Final Note:
Having read the article Writing for a Web Audience, I have tried to incorporate the techniques in constructing this blog post. Did you notice a difference?

Do citizen journalists provide a more diverse source of media?

My boyfriend is a political junkie and reads a lot of political blogs. He claims that the only major media program he watches for news is the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He thinks that all the other major networks clutter their news with unsupported and biased analysis. He wants the facts and he wants to make the interpretation himself.

I can see why he's frustrated. But his solution is turning to online blogs because he feels that bloggers, while giving their opinion gives a more unbiased fact based analysis because they are not profit driven. I would like to agree but fundamentally I just don't think he is correct.

First of all, many blogs are profit driven, though its a smaller bottom line. But I find it hard to distinguish writing that is experience based in comparison to readership driven. Who's to say bloggers don't write what they think readers want to hear?

Second, I feel that as a blog reader you tend to read things that reflect your way of thinking. In this way, you aren't accessing a more diverse source for your news. So then are you benefiting from relying on blogs for information?

Finally, I think my boyfriend believes that the blogs he reads are so much better than network news because he reads blogs that reflects his opinions and views on life. I wonder if he would think as highly of a blog source if it provided opinions contradictory to his.

I guess the only factor that makes blogs more "real/true" is the fact that there is so much competition out there bloggers have to provide good, fact based analysis or else they won't get much readership.

Online Class 6: I'm in LOVE with the Internet

Once upon a time, I hated the internet. I know its blasphemous to say so, especially for a blogger but when I was younger I didn't really see much value in it and I especially hated having to type.

But now, I can't imagine my life without it. The internet has changed me as a person. To the extent that I consider it one of the most influential forces in my life. Pretty soon it'll be nature versus nurture versus the internet as the competing forces that shape each and every one of us. The following is a list of how the internet has made me who I am today...for better or for worse.

• Typing has made me a terrible speller. I also have terrible handwriting. Imagine reading my grocery list. :-(
  
• Ever since Hulu, I have no use for a TV anymore. Why be entertained on the network's schedule when I can watch 5 episodes of Bones in one sitting at 4 am in the morning?
• I also don't buy workout tapes, books, music, or movies anymore. Not that I did in the first place but I have so much access to content I don't even know where to start.
• I have learned how to do many things online including but not limited to: making a kitty liter facial scrub, making a messenger bag out of trash bags, and how to speak Spanish.
  
• The idea of working from home and telecommuting isn't so foreign and mysterious like it once was. Currently, I work for a firm based in Trinidad but I live in the United States. I Skype with my boss and use OfficeLive to coordinate work. I've only been to the actual office twice! Now that I know I can work in a virtual office I'm thinking of moving all of my work online. Before, I thought working 9 to 5 in a cubicle was the norm but having worked in a dynamic environment, I would much rather work from home on project based work. The internet in essence has changed my outlook on career options post college.
  
• I study marketing and I've realized that because of the internet there is a whole new component to marketing that is very fascinating. I definitely have a lot more to learn about SEO and online marketing.
• The internet has also forced me to go outside of my bubble. I recently went to a Meetup event where I learned to knit with a bunch of girls I have never met before! They were really nice and I learned something new! I definitely wouldn't found a group like that without the internet.
• Google maps has reinforced my inability to navigate. If the internet was to go down I would be lost both metaphorically and literally.
• The most important way the internet has changed my life is that it has allowed me to access a variety of information in a condensed format (wikipedia, rss feeds, about.com). I feel empowered by the internet. I feel as if I can do anything and if I don't know how I can just Google it and find out.

Basically it comes to the fact that I LOVE the INTERNET. I would totally marry it.

Searching for Something?

Do remember the time before Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista? How did we find anything on the web? Search engines have certainly made the Internet the way it is today, and without it the world wide web just wouldn't have been functional. Today there are all sorts of search engines, some that even search ethically! Below is a list of some of the most innovative ones.

GOOSHING
GOOSHING is a shopping site that allows you to search for items from ethical companies at the cheapest price. According to the website's about page, GOOSHING is brought to you by

The Ethical Company Organisation, who first published The Good Shopping Guide – which has become the world’s leading ethical shopping reference authority.

Multicolr Search Lab
The Multicolr Search Lab allows users to find various pictures of the same color. For example if I was looking for a pink picture I would click on the exact shade that I wanted and the search engine would display various pictures with pink as the dominate color:


Ecocho
According to the Ecocho website,

Ecocho is a new search engine trying to make a difference for climate change. For every 1000 searches users make on Ecocho they counter balance or "offset" a ton of greenhouse gases. They do this by sponsoring two trees via advertising on the site.

Basically Ecocho has partnered with Yahoo to provide users with an easy to use search engine. But the cool part is that while you search you can also help save the planet!

Searchme
Searchme allows users to conduct visual searches.

In the above picture I searched for Yoga and searchme automatically displayed the search results in a mini screenshot form. I think this search tool is especially useful for visual learners.

It's about time I posted a picture.

So I was looking back on my blog posts and realized that I have done what I absolutely hate about other blogs. I have created a blog full of text and hardly any pictures! I am a true believer that a picture is worth a thousand words and to think that I have not supplemented my posts with pictures is quite shameful. So, to make up for my neglect, here is a series of funny/interesting pictures! Enjoy!

Happy Clams
Source: Sticky Comics

Camouflage by Liu Bolin
Source: DesignBoom


Rat Shoe
Source: InventorSpot


KEWB Multi-Functional Living Room Set
Source: Web Urbanist


Lastly a cool video:
Reverse Graffiti : Ossario: Alexandre Orion
Source: Ossario.net

Online Class 5: Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalists play a critical role in truth and knowledge sharing. It seems that many people now a days are skeptical of the truth in conventional journalism and have turned to citizen journalists for the most up to date and "real" information. Though this information is highly biased, at least readers have the ability to survey a wide variety of opinions on a certain subject and come to a conclusion for themselves. I feel that in traditional media we are spoon fed a certain politically correct version of the truth and expected to accept that as reality. Citizen journalists offer us more freedom in how we view the world. I believe this has motivated a lot of people to turn to citizen journalism for their news.

Citizen journalism has also changed the way we make decisions. Just look at how Engadget and
Gizmodo impacts the technology industry. A positive review on these sites can really help a product boost credibility. Or how about the 2008 presidential election? Many of my peers completely ignored traditional media coverage. They turned to Daily Kos, the Huffington Post, and FiveThirtyEight for information and analysis. I think the appeal is in the equality between writer and reader. Because there is so much interaction the reader has some influence in content.

Citizen journalism has also provided us with the most up to date information on things we may not otherwise have access to. This is news in real time. In the most recent Israeli/Palestine conflict citizen journalists on the ground were able to provide a unique perspective on what was going on. One such blog is Life Must Go On in Gaza and Sderot. This blog is written by an Israeli man and a Palestinian man living on opposite sides of the divide. What they share daily simply cannot be reproduced by traditional media. They provide a certain type of insight that we all crave but cannot get by traditional means. Thus, we turn to these citizen journalists.

I think its amazing how much impact everyday people can have on the world now and its all thanks to the Internet!