Today is safer internet day (SID), celebrated annually on the 2^nd day of the 2^nd week of the 2^nd month of each year all around the world.  SID, run by Insafe, cofounded by the European Union runs campaigns in 27 European countries as well as many other countries worldwide. The mission of Insafe is to:

“empower citizens to use the internet…, positively, safely and effectively… in particular children and youths… Insafe partners monitor and address emerging trends, while seeking to reinforce the image of the web as a place to learn. They endeavour to raise awareness about reporting harmful or illegal content and services. Insafe also aims to raise Internet safety-awareness standards and support the development of information literacy for all.”

(More information can be found at the Insafe website)

They often aim to educate families by use of multimedia for example this video from Google, aimed not only promoting safer internet day, but also at showing parents how to lock safe search to make searching the internet safer for all members of the family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZNbHGrGJu8Q#!

There are also many videos, games, activity books, and supervised chat rooms aimed at teaching younger people about internet safety and allowing them to voice their opinions

     It is understandable that a business would want to know how many people are directed to their website and in turn how many of these people make purchases, either now or sometime in the future, I mean how else are they meant to know if their website is doing its job. They can also measure the amount of bounces their website i.e. the amount of people that visit their website but immediately leave without looking around using that interesting method of reading metrics. Intriguingly though it is not just possible for businesses to use metrics in order to spot trends,  measure their customer count, the number of product views or page bounces they accumulate but it is also possible for the everyday person to measure the amount of page views, followers and ‘friends’ we have online. I mean who isn’t interested in knowing how many people their words and ideas are exposed to.  

      Facebook and Twitter are obvious examples they clearly display how many friends or followers you have. After a harsh relook at my friends list on Facebook about 3 months ago I deleted over 200 ‘friends’ that bored me with their stories of grossly exaggerated drunken shenanigans and constantly changing profile pictures, whittling the list down to a mere 304 of my closest friends and family… ok so maybe a few too many to have enough time for but still much more manageable.

     Other examples are Facebook ‘likes’ and groups as well as re-tweets on twitter all of which allow individuals show their appreciation for a topic with minimal effort but still racking up numbers useful for advertisers who wish to target people conveniently arranging themselves into different interest groups.

Podcasts are they really the future?

     The word Podcast itself derived from a mix apples innovation the ‘ipod’ and the word ‘broadcast’. Podcasts or ‘webcasts’ are digital media files that are released episodically like a radio/ tv show. Podcasting isn’t dissimilar to video software like ‘Sky Plus’ which lets you watch what you want when you want by recording and storing video to a hard drive. The main difference being that podcasting can either be video or audio content and is currently widely available free of charge.

      People create podcasts as they are a relatively cheap way to communicate with an audience. BBC Radio 1 make extensive use of podcasting, allowing listeners to download highlights of radio shows and listen to them on their computer or mp3 player whenever they wish, this is not only convenient for listeners but also allows Radio 1 to increase their audience.

      Podcasting has scope to reach a multitude of different users from all walks of life. Looking at the BBCs Podcast Library there are a range of programs available for many different users with podcasts available from comedies to sports programs and even kids TV making the reach of podcasts diverse and accessible for nearly anyone. Itunes makes it possible for users to download podcasts and subscribe to shows of their choice.

      Consumers not only use podcasts as they are often free, but the majority use them for their convenience in regards to their portable nature, and ease of accessibility.

     Sandi Thom a Scottish singer-songwriter managed to use a series of webcasts in order to launch her career in 2006 with her debut song ‘I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)’. Whilst this promotional technique caused controversy due to it’s unconventional nature, it further propelled her career that wouldn’t have been possible without the medium of podcasting.

Zunia - image

      …Aka user generated content, which is material created by individuals in order to share their own personal opinions, experiences and ideas.  These materials have a wide range of applications, one of the most well-known of which is YouTube. YouTube is a video- sharing website used by hundreds of millions of internet users worldwide in order to share and watch anything from family videos to music videos or even personal responses to events.

     Other forms of user generated content include question-answer databases for example formspring where users ask each other questions in order to get to know each other build friendships. Forums, blogging, podcasting are further methods of producing user generated content. Social networking on sites such as Facebook, twitter, MySpace and Bebo however is one of the most popular forms of participating in the creation of user generated content. Social Networking allows users to stay in contact with friends whilst meeting new people, allowing individuals to share thoughts, videos and pictures.

Wordpress – user generated media diagram

    Lily Allen is a great example of how User Generated content can be used to promote oneself. In 2005 she created a MySpace page and published some of her songs propelling her into the public eye and kick starting her professional music career where she was signed in 2006 after racking up tens of thousands of views on her videos.

    A blog is a group of posts either made on a particular topic or written by the same author based on the writer’s thoughts and opinions.

     So what makes a good blog? Technorati’s founder Dan Sifry thinks that a blog consisting of regular, topical posts filled with useful information and opinions is a good place to start, but what else is needed? For serious, more professional blogs it’s obviously crucial to be correct and display any research and statistical data, as well as for the author to back up any points they have raised with reliable evidence.

    However for the majority of blogs it’s often more important for the author to focus on interesting, often humorous content to engage and entertain readers. Is it important for readers to have a genuine interest in a topic, or is it possible for an enigmatic author to engage readers in a discussion about anything? I personally think it’s important for the writer to consider their audience and create a relationship between themselves and each individual member in order to make sure they will come back for more whatever they’re discussing whether it’s global warming, their favourite movies or the latest craze in pet fashion.

bakeitinacake:

donut-filled cupcake with buttercream.

… i need to learn to cook! =P

bakeitinacake:

Almond Joy candy bar into a vanilla cupcake!Here’s the recipe.

…why does food always look so good at this time in the morning

bakeitinacake:

Choco-pie Wall Street! A chocolate cupcake with a chocolate pudding pie baked in the center of it, topped off with cream cheese buttercream and, of course, a gold coin.

…yummmmm =]

justtashathen:

yay =]

(Source: aim-and-ignited, via just-tasha)