A “BLOG” is short for Web-Log or Bulletin-Log. The Wikipedia gives it a pretty good description as a personal website with links. Blogs are published with an expectation or at least a hope it will be read and while the structure allows exclusive access to the author, the links give it the power to be disseminated throughout the Web.
This course is the first opportunity I have had to use a Blog and I’m still coming to terms with its potential. I have seen a variety of Blogs with varying quality and impact on the Web. Some have terrific writing quality but no graphics or links and others appear to be a demonstration of the authors’ artistic ability using graphics in every format possible. I cannot be too definitive about the formats used because I don’t claim to understand them all. However, a program called “Flickr” is being used extensively for photo management and probably “Java” as well.
Having the tools and motivation to publish a personal Website is a powerful thing if there is a story to tell and everyone has a story they want to tell and a Blog lets it happen. Creating and using my Blog has been exciting from the first day I published. With this in mind I was encouraged to “form relationships” on my Blog that would connect me with the community that had similar ideas using links and “key words” in the content.
The content has been devoted to the tasks of school and therefore my main interest is completing the tasks and maybe interacting with the other students who have posted their own Blogs. However, the reason I have chosen the name “Age-Smarter” is to remind me that one of the reasons I have taken this course is to find out if there are any features that the internet can offer to help the elderly (i.e. 75+) or whether there are some enhancements that will help create or maintain their social interaction in an environment where face to face communication isn’t necessary and removes physical barriers imposed by immobility.
Many of the Blogs I have seen have been personal diaries or travel logs, technical information, commentaries on social and Web development issues. Even businesses have published Blogs offering a critique of my Blog and how to improve it. I might visit that site again later.
I have checked out a site that has compiled the best 100 Blogs in
The real value of a Blog is the access to a global population without the immediate need for technical know-how on creating and posting a Webpage using html or Webpage editors. It’s the reverse of Webpage creation in that the content can be posted on a very simple Blog and the enhancements and links can be added later.
Copyright and Trademarks: - http://www.google.com/blogger_dmca.html
The concept of a site for personal and original content should be an important factor when publishing on a Blog. There are many opportunities to use images, and work that should be attributed and or not posted without permission. An author who creates a Blog, while hoping it will be a shared experience should expect some acknowledgement that they own the content and it would not be copied indiscriminately by others.
Censorship: - http://www.blogger.com/content.g
Types of censorship include, obscene and/or types of pornographic language or images. These are perhaps the obvious types of content that censorship used to address. However, in most cases the “content policy” of “blogger” can only place safeguards such as an interstitial (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_webpage ), which is a page between the offending pages, warning of the contents so it doesn’t take the reader unaware.
Other types of censorship that are addressed by blogger cover a multitude of other items such as religion, age, gender, disability etc. The level of tolerance accepted by blogger is decided by the law and a threat to report any “illegal” material. Some countries will impose political censorship which block content with key words.
Spam and viruses are not permitted, obviously.
Entering a global electronic environment will mean interaction with people of different countries, religion, morals and standards of communication. Perhaps to make the Blog work in this environment the system has to rely on the “Blog Community” to be socially responsible and impose self censorship.
Evolution:
“Myspace” is a communication room between users; it can create a Blog and has email and chat-room facilities. It has been promoted as a “place” to locate friends and relatives who have lost touch.
“Facebook” is a variation on blogs that enables social interaction within and across networks. My wife uses facebook to post photos and talk to friends within her network which includes people in the local geographical region and overseas.
Each development of a blog demonstrates a significant feature/ utility that differentiates it from other formats. Myspace appears to be an integration of several communication features included in a blog and Facebook is a communication site that allows the uploading of an unlimited number of photos. The user friendly techniques to operate these programs is a key feature of their popularity and can get the user “up and running” in a matter of minutes. Enhancements can then be added once the user is comfortable with the program.
These methods of communication have become an accepted way to communicate using the internet and I can only presume that this generation will continue to adopt future software as it is developed. Therefore, examining how features can meet all generations from young to old will eventually be an expectation of this generation in the near future rather than an optional extra now.
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