Web

Websites, videos, pointless internet rubbish and online shopping – this section is your one-stop-shop for all things online.

Best of Valentine’s Day Tweets

Be awesome to each other

@definatalie

Blogged: Be awesome to each other http://bit.ly/c3AjNN [definatalie.com]

Inspired by Capote

@ManviDH

love this fab collage RT @thisisglamorous: {valentine’s inspiration: breakfast at tiffany’s}: . . . . http://bit.ly/dCBGCx


Red Velvety Love Potion

@GuyKawasaki

How to make the perfect V-Day martini http://om.ly/fLFj

Read More »

5 Things to Hate About Twitter

Yes, they do exist.

As much as I love it, my deficiencies when it comes to social media are alarming behind for a blogger. At first, I loved Twitter – I’ve written multiple essays featuring the tool and have praised it from the very beginning.

By Shovelling Son

After downloading Tweetdeck, my love soon turned to obsession. I would find myself sitting on Twitter all day long, following links and finding info like it was a game on which my life depended. Luckily, final essays rolled around and I had to kiss my Tweeting habit goodbye for a couple of weeks.

Now, I’m back. Kinda. It’s been a hard road back too – why? Here’s five things I hate (but also secretly love some of them…) about Twitter.

Information Overload

When I first started Tweeting, I had a modest group of followers and those who I followed. It was nice – I made new friends and it was all very…manageable. But, the whole point of Twitter is, of course, to have more than just a handful of people you’re keeping tabs on. So I followed some more. And some more. And now there’s so many people and so many different tweets it does my head in trying to keep up. Make them stop!!!!!

Time Vacuum

There are two types of Twitter users: those who have Twitter on in the background whilst at home or at work, glancing back every so often to see what’s going on. And then there are those who sit in front of their Tweetdeck or other such program and spend their entire day clicking on links and playing the Twitter ‘game’ non-stop in a highly impractical an frustrating way. Before you know it, the entire day has vanished before your eyes and you’ve seen it all happen on Twitter.

I am one of the latter.
Read More »

Web: Visual tweets – much easier on the eye.

I’ve always been a visual person.

I often need to draw things to accurately convey directions or something of the like and fight a constant battle with my subconscious compulsion to talk with my hands.

Therefore, I think Odessa Begay of the Museum of Modern Tweets has hit the nail on the head with her wonderful illustrations of celebrity tweets – suddenly the Twittersphere isn’t so overwhelming!

Thanks to Alltop for the heads up!

Read More »

Web: Mac-O-Lanterns!

I lol’d…

mac o laterns

As if Macs aren’t scary enough as it is! That being said, at least they’re being put to good use.

*shudders*

You can find out how to make these scary little things here.

Kanye Disrespects TechCrunch

web

Totally. Love. New. Internet. Memes.

Kanye Disrespects TechCrunch

Read more here.

News: Would you pay for online and mobile news?

in the news

The death of the newspaper – YAWN

I’m getting rather tired of this conversation, to be quite frank. Maybe this is solely due to the fact that I’ve overloaded myself with three core Media subjects this semester, or simply because I’m completing a media degree, but whatevs. We know it’s going to happen – newspapers, in their print form, WILL die unless an alternative revenue stream is sourced.

Advertising isn’t bringing in the big bucks no more! And besides all that, fewer and fewer of us are purchasing physical newspapers in favour of iPhones, Blackberries, laptops and more – who needs to burden those around us on trains with huge broadsheets just to get a few simple facts??

Despite all this, everyone seems very sad about the elusive ‘death’ to Newspapers as we know them. Yet the problem is, no one seems to want to do anything to help the flailing industry.

According to Mashable, an apparent array of Murdoch haters, News Corp WILL charge for their online and mobile news services.

“Newspapers are finding themselves in tough economic circumstances, so it’s no surprise that News Corp is dead set on monetizing their digital content, with CEO Rupert Murdoch recently saying that his company is planning to “charge for all our news websites.”

In a somewhat surprising move, it turns out the monetization strategy is being applied to mobile consumption of content as well. Murdoch went on the record at a recent conference saying that WSJ readers should expect to pay $2/week for mobile content using the BlackBerry or iPhone WSJ application.

Application subscribers will be charged $2 per week, though subscribers to both print and online will not be charged extra. The charges are expected to be implemented sometime in the next few months, as

Murdoch believes that “news is more valuable than ever.”

- Murdoch’s Latest Money Grab: Charge for Mobile Access to WSJ, September 16th, 2009 | by Jennifer Van Grove

Unsurprisingly, the comments in reply to the post adamantly stated, “I will not pay for my news when I get it for free!” (in a nutshell).

Here lies the problem – the whole reason news has moved online is that it is more accessible on the go, more instant and up-to-date and, above all else, the internet is a free, user generated medium. It was designed to allow for a free exchange of information and ideas. In charging for online content, Murdoch is challenging the medium itself.

With this in mind, would I pay for my news online? You know, if I had to fork out $2 a week to use a news app, I’d probably find a way around it. However, if I were to be charged to access an online newspaper, I’d probably do it. If not, I’d purchase the physical paper itself.  But this model will only work, of course, if collectively, all papers decided to charge for their content. Readers will then have to decide if they value Murdoch paper’s content enough to pay for it?

It depends on readership and demographics -

Readers of The Wall Street Journal (think investors, bankers, fund managers- the financially knowledgeable) may be willing to pay for content, but readers of The Sun are most likely not willing to pay. This is due to the fact that for people involved in finance, the cost of having this information is miniscule compared to the possible gains that may be made by having that information. For the average reader of The Sun, the information provided to them is purely for enjoyment or interest. There are, in most cases, no possible gains directly related to having that information, therefore they are not willing to pay for it.

-  Murdoch Will Lead News Corp. To Its Death. by Michael Moore Jones September 16, 2009

It seems that I’m torn between my love for the online, the free medium with seemingly infinite possiblities, and my love for old-school print media.

I guess the bottom line is, if we want to keep one industry going, we may have to jeopardize another. Maybe the future really will require users to simply pay for more of what they consume online or on our mobiles, regardless of how we wish it weren’t so. But only when all other avenues have been explored.

Cord Comeback.

web

Ok, so we’ve all had fashion faux-pas. In my case, years 7-10 proved to be the most turbulent of times with year 8 being the Year of the Bright Aqua Cordoroy Pants. Yes folks, it’s true. They were brrrright bright aqua bootleg cords and I loved them to bits. If I could find a picture, I would, but this was pre-digital camera.

Sigh. Naturally, facing the harsh reality (that my beloved cords weren’t exactly fashion forward) only a few years later was a considerably difficult task and I reluctantly hid the evidence that I ever wore said pants in a big blue bag in a hard to reach wardrobe compartment, never to be heard from again.

WRONG!

Cords are back, you say Gap? And better than ever in cool new colours? Oh, it almost makes me mourn winter. Almost.

GAP cords

Okay, so maybe my blue cords won’t be making a comeback on my thunder thighs anytime soon, but maybe this redeems my fashion sense even the tiniest bit. *winks*

cords 2

GAP Real Straight Cords – $39.50USD

Dear oh DEER!

There’s nothing I like more than a good ol’ play on words!
Much like the one which appears on this quirky card from Cracked Designs.

youre-a-dear1RRP: $3.50USD, Cracked Designs

And in this old song…

*giggles*

Fancy a cuppa?

Want!

Well, if not, I can probably at least tempt you with this delightful Teapot brooch ($20AUD) from Little Shop Of. Handmade, from Melbourne, and very, very sweet – want. now. please.

teapot-black

New York, I love you.

web

There’s nothing like the beautiful artwork of Michael Arthur depicting New York City in the summertime to brighten up a dreary Melbourne morning.

concert - Michael ArthurPat Benetar and Blondie

hot-train - Michael ArthurHot Train

times-square - Michael Arthur View of Times Square

the-sunbathersSunbaking

the-buskers - Michael ArthurBuskers in Washington Square Park

brooklyn-view - Michael ArthurImages courtesy of The New York Times

Sketchbook: A Summer In The City

September 4th 2009