Recently Google posted few guidelines on how to conduct A/B and multivariate testing and get more in to search engine issue clearities.
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The Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge is a fantastic source and reference for the things a software engineer should know. It is structured in the following 12 main chapters (direct links to the free html version)…
Can’t afford a round-trip expedition to Germany to experience the 24 Hours of N?rburgring race this weekend? We’ve got you covered, with live video, GPS car tracking and audio streams from all the major teams and press outlets on the ground at the Green Hell.
Do you need quality design resources? Graphic River has them. Tons! And cheap…
New technology seems to arrive at the speed of thought, and it can be difficult for the casual web user to keep up with all of it. If you have ever shied away from a conversation that steered toward anything web-related or have ever shrugged your shoulders when you heard terms like social networking, tweeting, status updates, wikis, blogs, or social media, you are not alone, and this guide should help you get a basic overview of what social media is and how it is used.
A clear definition
The first problem with social media is that it means different things to different people, but it is important for someone trying to understand it to have a clear definition of what it means. Social media, in this context, refers to any site on the web that relies on participatory input and interaction among its visitors. Part or all of the content is created by the users.
Social media has taken over the web in a very short amount of time. Nearly all of the top sites on the web are participatory in essence, excluding the search engines, and nearly all sites have at least some participatory elements (such as comments).
Types of Social Media
While there are many forms social media can take, one can basically divide them into five categories, and each category has several sub-categories with accompanying examples:
1. Collaboration:
- Wikis — Easily editable encyclopedias. Often open to any users, although some are more restrictive.
- Example: Wikipedia
- Open Content — Content licensed for reuse and sharing
- Example: Creative Commons
- Social Bookmarking — Sites that allow users to bookmark, share, and discover websites.
- Examples: Delicious, Google Bookmarks, Stumbleupon
- Social News — Share links to news and comment on stories
- Examples: Digg, Slashdot, Reddit
2. Communication:
- Blogs — Services or software for easy user publishing, comments, and more
- Example: WordPress, Blogger
- Micro-blogging — Very brief blog updates, often shorter than 140 characters
- Examples: Twitter, Identi.ca
- Social networking — General social interaction, sharing, and friendship building.
- Example: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn
3. Multimedia:
- Photo sharing — Publish photos for the world to see, comment, and share
- Examples: Flickr, Smugmug, Picasa
- Video sharing — Publish your own videos online
- Examples: YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion
- Live streaming — Stream live videos
- Examples: Livevideo, Justin.tv, USTREAM
- Audio and Music sharing — Share favorite music streams
- Examples: Last.fm, Like.fm
4. Reviews and Opinions:
- Product Reviews — Rate products for quality and price
- Examples: Epinions
- Questions and Answers — Anyone can ask and answer questions
- Examples: Yahoo Answers
- Employer/Educator reviews — Find out how good an employer, professor, or other authority figure is
- Example: Rate My Professor
- Real Estate — Rate apartments, houses, neighborhoods, and commercial property
- Examples: ApartmentRatings, Neighborhood Scout
5. Entertainment:
- Virtual Worlds — Create avatars and live out virtual lives
- Example: Second Life
- Social Gaming– Play games online with other players
- Examples: Browser-based games like Farmville and MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games like World of Warcraft
Beyond websites and services specifically designed for social media, many personal, non-profit, and commercial websites incorporate social media elements. For example, many shopping sites like Amazon.com and eBay allow users to review products, rate them, and even resell items. Most news sites, even from corporate media, now give readers the ability to comment on articles, audio, and video. Furthermore, many sites incorporate elements from established social media sites. For example, a site may have a Facebook “Like” button or a Twitter sharing button. Some may even allow you to share their content on several different social media sites.
Although social media as a concept is relatively new, the actual implementation of online participatory elements predates the term. Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), for example, date back to the 1970s, and chat rooms have been a part of the Internet from the beginning. With a steady evolution, most interactive features of the Internet (such as email) are now integrated into the web. Because of this, some people use computers and never close their web browsers.
According to web experts at UK dedicated hosting 34SP.com, when the web was created, it was intended to be a participatory tool that anyone could use to create and innovate. Social media is just a step in the direction of realizing that vision of a participatory culture, where a free exchange of ideas and knowledge flourishes.
About the Author
Tavis J. Hampton is a librarian and writer with a decade of experience in information technology, web hosting, and Linux system administration. His freelance services include writing, editing, tech training, and information architecture.
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Writing for the web often requires a great deal of self publishing, especially if you run your own blog or news/feature website. Because of this, there is a good chance that at some point, you will be required to find images, resize them, and add them to your articles.
Nothing can fully replace having your own photographer at your side, but there are many photographers who use the web as their digital portfolios and allow writers and website owners to use their images royalty-free. Just because an image is on the web does not mean it’s a free image and you have the right to use it, and if you start making money off your blog while illegally using copyrighted images, you could be in for a world of hurt.
There are several types of royalty-free photo sites out there. Some have their own licenses, and others use copyleft licenses like Creative Commons or GNU Free Documentation License. Still others allow the users to specify the terms such as notification and crediting. The following are several sites you can use to find free images for your writing.
Where to Find Free Images?
stock.xchng – One of the most well-established free stock photo sites, stock.xchng showcases an amazingly large number of photographers. Licenses include the standard restrictions, which do not require attribution, as well as an attribution, permission, and/or notification requirement. All of the images are high-quality, and all are free of charge.
Flickr – Since Flickr itself is a photo sharing site, there are plenty photos with “all rights reserved” that are off-limits to you unless you gain the photographer’s permission. With the “advanced search” feature, however, you can locate usable photos by scrolling to the bottom of the page and checking: “Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content”. If you need to use the images for commercial promotion, also be sure to check “Find to use commercially”.
A word of caution: Flickr uses the Creative Commons feature trusting that the person who uploads it will honor its terms. Unfortunately, some are prone to later change the license or upload images that they do not have permission to license in the first place. Therefore, always use your best judgment.
Wikimedia Commons – Created by the same non-profit organization that runs Wikipedia, this free image site has a plethora of usable photos and art. Because of stricter requirements for submission, Wikimedia Commons photos are all reusable under Creative Commons. Most require attribution, so be sure to credit your sources.
OpenClipArt – Although clipart may be the last type of image you want to include in your writing, OpenClipArt has some quality vector SVG artwork that may cause you to reconsider. All of the images on this site are released to the Public Domain and do not require attribution.
Google Advanced Search – Rather than an image hosting site, Google image search is a meta search tool that you can use to find reusable images. Simply click on “Advanced Search” and for “Usage rights” select “free to use or share”. Most of the images will come from Flickr, but it may also find additional ones, and best of all, it relies on Google’s speedy search interface.
everystockphoto – Another meta search tool, everystockphoto searches many of the sites mentioned above, such as Flickr and stock.xchng. Each entries clearly defines the license type, resolution, image source, and more.
morgueFile – An interesting concept, morgueFile is designed specifically for creative people looking for free images to use. The site license does not require attribution, and the collection of photos is quite impressive and high quality.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog – The Library of Congress has tons of digital images, and it would make this article unduly long to list all of the categories. If you are looking for art, historical photos, or things you might not be able to find elsewhere, LOC probably has it. Most of the old photos and art are in the public domain, but be sure to check the restrictions for each collection you use.
Now you have no excuse not to include beautiful free photos and art in your writing. Like you, a writer who shares your creations with the world, there are plenty of photographers and artists who do the same. Enjoy their work, and be sure to give them credit when they request it.
About the Author
Tavis J. Hampton is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience in writing, information services, and Linux system administration, relying on only quality web hosts like server hosting company 34SP.com.
You may also want to read: Where To Find Free Images For Your Blog
Photo credits to Miguel Ugalde
Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive
As a subscribe reader of Blogsessive, this is my gift to you: a guide to corporate blogging (but not only) that will help you in your blogging adventures! Download now, for FREE!
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©2008-2010 Copyright by Blogsessive – Blogging Tips. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact us, so that we can take legal action immediately.
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Each of the past two years, Mark McClusky has outlined a strategy to maximize your value in your NCAA men¿s basketball tournament pool. Here¿s the update for this year¿s tourney.
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