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  • Google+

    Google+ Google+ Google+!

    This was what everyone’s mind was screaming about a month ago. The fact that the site had gained 20 million users after just three weeks of operation (and that was the ‘invite-only’ phase) clearly speaks of its popularity. So what is G+? What is it that made everyone go crazy about this site when there are clearly other related websites?

    Google+ is a social-networking site by Google. Many people had named it ‘The Facebook Killer!’ Needless to say, this name served to increase its demand even more. Facebook, the social networking giant, had everyone hooked (which it still has, no doubt). Yet, all of a sudden this new site appeared which was said to throw that giant out of the market. Everybody, especially those who like to keep abreast of new technologies, became intrigued by this curious new site and wanted to know more about its special features and services. This intrigue was compounded by difficulty in registering, which afforded users a sense of exclusivity. At first the members could simply invite the people they wished but the high demand from users compelled the administrators to block the invitations.

    Well, blocking the invites only increased its already high demand. If people are said told they are not allowed to open a locked box, they will try everything in their power to get that box open. A similar situation emerged with G+. Everyone wanted to join and everyone wanted to see what it was all about. Hence the 20 million users in three weeks, a feat that no other site has been able to achieve. Moreover, Facebook was, for some long term users, becoming old and boring so a new social networking site seemed just the perfect thing. It was quite interesting to see people’s Facebook status and tweets (mine included) exclaiming ‘I want a G+ account!’

    So how does it differ from Facebook and other social networking sites? The concept of ‘circles’ in G+ is quite similar to lists in Facebook and Twitter; one simply creates a circle or uses the default ones to add people. Then you can just share it with the circle you like. Each time before sharing a post, the user selects the circle they intend to share it with; that makes it easier to limit the availability to the ones we want. Then, there are sparks. These are similar to the interest pages; there are different fields to choose from such as fashion, movies, recipe, novels, dogs and Harry Potter (these are the ones I have added).  News related to these topics can then be displayed with just one click. The site is also easily accessible.  One can be using Gmail or Google search or any other Google app and then check G+ from the same page. So, even if you are searching for your college assignment on Google, you can simply click the top right notifications tab to access G+. And, of course, there is the great tracking capacity of G+; I was shocked when it pinpointed my exact location on the first attempt.

    Well, even though it hasn’t exactly ‘killed’ Facebook as first expected, G+ is certainly attracting a lot of users in its beginning phase. What you have read are just my personal opinions as a G+ user. I have only touched on a few basic elements as I haven’t explored the site deeply. So there are still so many features left to be discovered. But, don’t blame me; Twitter, Facebook, mails, chats and now G+ really is a lot to handle at the same time!

     

  • How to date someone in 2011

    –Ryaan O’ Connell
    https://thoughtcatalog.com/author/ryanoconnell/ 

    It’s hard to tell if dating was ever easy, if people ever courted and loved each other differently than they do now. After all, how am I to ever really know? I was only born once in one generation. That being said, I have to believe that things were better back then. I look at the photographs of my mother from the ’70s and she just looks’¦happier. I swear, it’s because she didn’t have the internet, didn’t have something around 24/7 to make her feel anxious and weird.

    When we were flirting with people in middle school under the bleachers, we had no idea how much things were going to change, did we? We had no concept of Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter. We just liked three-way-calling and Xanga. Ah, the simple pleasures. Perhaps if we had known, we would’ve been like, ‘Can I just go back into my mom’s vagina and come back out when the internet has been blown up and/or people start getting less weird?’

    We have so many rules now, so many games we have to play, that it’s easy to just get exhausted before we even begin. At 24, I thought I would be driving around in some boy’s car and going to the movies and showing up at his front doorstep when I wanted to hang. The internet would be there but it wouldn’t be such an invasive third party. Unfortunately, that’s not what ended up happening with my generation. Now, it often feels like I’m dating the internet more than an actual boy. It doesn’t help that I’m a blogger either obviously. It’s my job to be up the internet’s ass 24/7.

    So here’s how people date in 2011. You meet someone on the internet or maybe in real life. It doesn’t really matter because a big chunk of your correspondence is going to take place online anyway. Either before your first date or after, you’re going to experience the internet equivalent of a handjob, which is G-chatting. G-chatting with your crush will be fast and furious. You’ll message each other at work and send videos back and forth. ‘OMG, have you heard this song yet? You gotta!’ Emoticons will be used and virtual boners will occur. All of this tension will lead up to an IRL date, in which all of those virtual erections will result into an actual boner.

    Or maybe not. Maybe the lead up has taken too long and seeing each other in real life now feels strange and unnatural. The very thing that built the flirtation up is also the one to tear it down. This is why if I really like someone, I try to minimize our internet contact and texting because I don’t want us to get stuck in a flirty online K-hole. I make the transition quickly to let the other person know that I want this to feel real, that I want to be with them and touch them and build actual memories or whatever. Otherwise, it will just get lost.

    And boy, do relationships get lost when they exist online. You spend three weeks texting and G-chatting and video chatting constantly with someone and then it just stops. The person falls off of the earth or maybe you do because things have just become too belabored. You wonder what the point of all this correspondence is and decide to sign offline for good.

    All of these forms of communication have made us have no responsibility or ties to anyone. We can come in and out of someone’s life as we please because we’re not actively involved in it. We don’t see them in their apartment cooking dinner or socializing with friends or reading a book. We just see their name pop up on Facebook chat. We owe them nothing. Furthermore, they owe us nothing. In the back of our minds, we know all of this. After all, it takes two to tango. But we find ourselves in these weird dating situations all of the time. We want something ‘real’ so we go somewhere ‘fake’ to get it.

    The internet has also done wonderful things for romance. That goes without saying. What I’m talking about here though is how social media has effected how people relate to each other. The more we know about someone via their internet presence, the less of a chance we seem to build a connection with them in real life. And I wish I could offer some kind of solution to all of this, but I don’t really have one. I will say this though. Use the internet to meet people and start relationships. But also know when to get off of it, know when to tell someone ‘BYE!’ on Gmail and meet them in a park. Don’t get stuck in the 2011 dating K-hole.

  • So you think you can blog

    — Anil Ghimire
    www.aakarpost.com

    Do you wish that you could have a successful blog but you think that you are too young to start your own? If you have heard about blogs before and you are wishing to have your own blog, then you should start at once. Or even more, it is possible that you are already a blogger but you are missing something in your blog.

    If you are familiar with term ‘blog’ then you must have an idea that a blog is a type of website which is maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as pictures and videos. Here are my some ideas on blogs that I’ve learned during my blogging career.

    Requirement
    If you are planning to start your own blog, then you must have some basic idea of using the computer and Internet. A blog is like maintaining your personal dairy online. If you have basic idea of navigating the Internet, then you can start your blog within five minutes. It would be great if you’ve internet access at your place, so that any time you can post your thoughts and ideas on your blog.

    No Money Needed
    Most people have a misconception that you need money to start blogging. But if you are really passionate about blogging, then you can set up your blog within minutes. There are dozens of sites such as Blogger, WordPress, Tumbler, and Posterous which offers blogging space for free. You just need to sign up to use those free blogging services with your email id. But if you are thinking to have your own domain, then it costs you some bucks. Otherwise, use a free service to create your blog.

    Define your Blog
    Your blog can be personal or professional. But you need to decide what type of content you are going to post in your blog since there are different types of audiences for different kinds of blogs. You may blog about technology, you may blog about literature, and you may blog about politics, or sports or videos or photos or anything else. The choice is yours; you can even cover many topics in your single blog. If you are going to cover many different fields in your single blog, then don’t forget to give particular tags and categories.

    Be Regular
    I’ve seen many blogs that are dying after 2-3 posts. But if you think you can blog and you are a blogger then post regularly – at least post one blog in a week. Generally, bloggers give up their blog when, they feel no-one is reading them. There are various ways to attract a readership but to start just try to become consistent with your blogging. No matter what type of blogger you are, regularity is a must.

    Add value
    There are millions of blogs in this world and billions of words being posted every day. Thus it’s important to write those things which people will value. Write what you know, be thought-provoking, provide worthwhile information and a fresh perspective.

    Be Polite
    It can be easy for people to use the anonymity of a screen and keyboard as an excuse to be prickly and come off as offensive. It’s important not to fall into that trap, especially when disagreeing with others’ opinions. You need to be polite, and do not use slang words or hate words on your blog. If you are tossing up whether to post something or not, then spend a minute trying to figure out what is bothering you and fix it. If it can’t be fixed, maybe it shouldn’t be posted. Most people think, it’s my personal blog and I can write whatever I want, but it’s not the case. You need to be polite and you need to be responsible for whatever you write on your blog. Respect for the privacy of your audience is also important.

    Give Credit
    If you’re referencing other material, then give clear citations and links. Please note that, do not copy and paste it into your blog without giving a proper link back to the source.

    Getting and Engaging an Audience
    This is the most difficult task for bloggers. You are writing blogs but no one is reading you or let’s say you are not reaching out to anyone. Then after some days, it will lead you to frustration, a lack of motivation and probably your blog may die. So, I suggest you comment on your fellow blogger’s blog. Don’t just write yourself, read others as well. When you leave comment on other blogs, then there is a chance that someone will read your blog. And if your blog is interesting and updated regularly, then those other bloggers might read you regularly.

    You can also email your blog link to your friends. If they found it interesting they will share it with their networks as well. But sending an email to your friends may seem a bit old fashioned. These days, you can just share your blog on social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter. When you post your blog link on Facebook, there is maximum chance that your friends will read your blog. If your friends find it interesting, then he/she will for sure share your blog. But many of the new bloggers make the mistake of publishing a blog as a ‘Note’ on Facebook and keep complaining, that no one is reading his/her blog.

    It’s true that you can tag your friends on Facebook ‘notes’ but seriously it will not help to grow your blog. Thus, my suggestion is that, just post links to your blog on your Facebook. Simultaneously, you can use twitter to promote your blog as well. Tweet your blog on Twitter, if people found your tweet interesting, they will recommend your blog to others.

    Just don’t post on Facebook or on Twitter, but you need to engage with your audience as well. If someone asks you something on Twitter or Facebook or even on your blog, then try to reply him/her. If you really want to promote your blog and you are passionate about blogging, then you must join Twitter and Facebook, if you are not already using these sites.

  • Internet Activism. Really?

    2011: Blogs, protest groups, online petitions, e-campaigns and e-activism are all the rage.

    One of the earliest successful examples of internet activism was the class struggle in the early nineties by the indigenous EZLN Zapatista movement in Mexico. For an indigenous group, comprised of mainly of farmers from a low socio-economic status, internet communication in the nineties, let alone internet activism, was a foreign concept.  But, by aligning with social movements across the world, the Zapatistas became the symbol of a collective identity rooted in opposition to privatized and individualised capitalist endeavours.  The outstanding response that this rebellion generated was outstanding can be attributed both to the gravity of the issue and the manner in which it was communicated.

    Though the face of the internet has greatly changed, the role of the internet in activism then and now is to circulate information and provide a space for the participation of a global audience. From piracy culture to terrorism, the internet has seen an aggressive evolution in virtual vices too. However, with its infinite expansion in cyberspace, the internet has shrunk the world into one robust information village. Bryan Appleyard once said that ”unlimited and uncensorable flows of information would spread democracy and undermine tyranny’. Since media has always been a key element to activism, the internet, as the biggest medium for communication today, is transcending the boundaries of traditional means of activism.

    On the other hand, has internet just changed the face of media and not the cause and enthusiasm of the activists? Does internet just put together an army of people set to make a change or does it create a comfort zone where people join in because one: it is free, two: it is hip and three: everyone else is into it? Perhaps it adds a little colour and a little risk to your personal life or, simply it could be something just to add to your profile. Has crowd-sourcing enforced shallow and mostly random opinions on topics that require serious thought? Has the internet induced a bigger participation space at the expense of authentic activism? Even if it has, isn’t that what was expected of internet activism in the first place?

    Social networking is getting all the more global. Technology has changed the essence of our social being and interaction with the booming rise of Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites. Accessing people is as easy as accessing information. A number of activist organizations thrive on networking online- many a times simply through Facebook.

    A protest is just ‘creating an event’ away and a petition is just ‘creating a page away’. But, the question is whether it is delivering.

    Early June this year, Nepal Unites, a group on Facebook organized a peaceful protest in Kathmandu against the delay of the constitution writing. In a month and a half, the group and its cause had generated over 6500 ‘likes’. The group that constituted many known faces of Kathmandu city gathered in front of the Constituent Assembly with placards and the flag of Nepal. However, Nepal Unites has been criticized for being elitist in nature and looking through rose-tinted glasses at the number of people ‘Attending’ events as opposed to the number of people who actually turn up. Late July, Come on Youth, Stand Up put up a protest against the political deadlock as did The Red Revolution in early August in Basantapur, Kathmandu. It was Facebook that drew them together.

    Unfortunately for them and us, the protests did not always manifest with the same enthusiastic gusto as portrayed online in the lead up to the event. They drew much attention, often save that of those whom the protests were directed at. It seems political activism (and sometimes the not political too) in Kathmandu is perhaps in need of deep thinking before gathering in a rush. The internet- an easy tool at our disposal is encouraging the latter as much as it is repressing the former.

    The Saffron Revolution of 2007 in Burma collected 440,000 members on Facebook. The wall was then so crowded with useless and sometimes pointless posts that it became too easy to miss out a key point, message or an important event. Most of the members were assuredly, not committed or even serious activists. The group then, to retain its ingenuity of cause, moved the ‘serious’ activists to the website. The activism there has become more organized and effective. Also Facebook and MySpace have an application, most of us are aware, known as Causes created by Project Agape to use the networking towards philanthropic causes. The application has been known to raise a lot of support if not a lot of funds for different causes. The arrest of James Karl Buck by the Egyptian police was revealed by the American student himself through twitter. Last year, we voted Anuradha Koirala to be awarded the CNN Hero of the Year. People were encouraged to vote for her by her supporters through Facebook.

    If internet were tangible- it would be made of rubber since it is so user-dependent. The point here is that web activism is not a failure, not at all. In fact, it is the biggest platform for dynamic activism to ever take place- only, the focus seems to have drifted from the cause that beats inside it to the limbs that pull it off. There are countless websites and forums for democracy, environmental, women, animals and homosexuality activism etc. that maintain blogs, debates and information exchange today. Digital activism should now synergize its abilities of speed, reach and cost towards improved efficiency and ethics.