That’s All, Folks!

At least, that’s it in terms of class time.

Glossophobia
I’ve mentioned previously that I would not call myself a technophile. I would also not describe myself as particularly adept at giving presentations. I’d like to think that at least one of these personality characteristics has changed since I’ve taken this class. Unfortunately for me, I don’t think it was giving presentations. On Friday the 13th (fitting that it wasn’t Good Friday) we gave our presentations to the class showing everybody how we put together our blog. Sometimes it’s a blessing having a surname that will always be near the end of an alphabetical list.

I had spent most of the morning familiarising myself with Prezi, a fantastic online resource which has surely done a serious blow against boring presentations. I then realised that I had misread the communication from our lecturer, and we weren’t required to do a presentation with slides and screenshots. But I’m pretty proud of what I achieved here, and it’s definitely digimedia, so you can have a look at it here.

The less said about the presentation, the better. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might have been, but I would’ve loved to have been able to hide behind Prezi.

My future with blogging
I was initially working under the assumption that this blog would live and die along with how long the class ran, but something our lecturer said made me think that I might keep it running. With WordPress, you can have multiple blogs devoted to specific areas. I have been thinking of setting up a blog relating to my attempts to become a librarian. As I’ve said previously, I don’t feel there is any sort of natural distinction between librarianship and technology (I’d actually think that technology is essential to being a librarian) and I feel that these two blogs would work well together. I’d like to be able to talk about technological concepts and developments that are interesting while not necessarily impacting directly on librarianship. But we’ll see.

Search Engine Optimization

Making sense of SEO

Okay, I’ll admit it. I never thought I’d really have to get to grips with ‘search engine optimization’. It sounds so clinical, so ‘tech-y’ and something that was beyond what I was capable of really understanding or even needing to use. But then, I guess that’s why I chose to do the Creating & Publishing Digital Media course.

For those of you who, like myself, only had a vague notion of SEO, I’ll elaborate on the concept. It basically means understanding how search terms work, and how to use them to get better rankings for your own keywords, whether that’s in your personal blog, your basic website or on a more professional level in your career. I had avoided looking at the categories and keywords option in WordPress (mainly because I didn’t really see its value). I downloaded the ‘Foxy SEO tool’ and played around with it for a while (as you do).

The Basics
I had always thought SEO tools were just elaborate ways of categorizing. And they are. But there’s a purpose. The Foxy SEO tool allowed a glimpse in to how they operate, but also offered an opportunity to look at how I conducted my blog. The keyword analysis function gave a list of how many words were used (‘photograph’ being the most commonly used term, perhaps unsurprisingly). Other fascinating insights were offered by the Google Trends function, giving you graphs (and who doesn’t like graphs?) about how and when particular words are searched. There was a danger that my stalker side could go crazy at this point, so I opted to try and stay focused on the task at hand. The other interesting tool was Google AdWords. I never really understood the point behind advertising particular words on a website. It nearly seems like a quaint tool of yesteryear, or one of poorly designed websites you find nowadays. That Google have a whole area dedicated to this function would suggest that I’m wrong. I have a feeling, however, that the people who click on these links do so accidentally. But a click on a link is a click on a link, I suppose.

Wordpot and Wordtracker were two areas that I found less than helpful. I understand that the basics behind all of this SEO is advertising (either obtaining revenue from it, or promoting yourself) but I found that especially with Wordtracker it was attempting to advertise to me rather than a site that was dedicated to SEO improvement. A lot of the links were for SEO improvement sites, but that’s not what I would personally want from a toolbar function. But that’s just me.

Thoughts?
All in all, I found knowing more about SEO very interesting, if not a little disturbing. Disturbing in that there’s a whole aspect of the internet geared towards making money or advertising that people might be completely unaware of, even whilst actively participating in that world. This is also, probably, the future. So remaining unaware of the power of SEO might mean you sitting on a chair in a darkened room while everyone else is at the party. Just a thought.

Social Media And You

A New Kind of Media

The advance of technology has meant a strong shift in how we understand and consume media. Previously, media was understood in terms of information being dictated to us. We now have an element of control over how we interact with this media, which was limited previously. This includes areas such as the Guardian’s Comment Is Free function, where people can comment and question aspects of the news on the newspaper’s internet site. The ‘democratisation’ of media is an extremely positive move, yet there are problems which we must be aware are becoming increasingly prevalent. The rise of ‘citizen journalism’ can help enrich one’s understanding of current events, but can also give rise to a huge amount of information with no ‘filter’ option. This applies to areas of social media which we are familiar with, such as Facebook and Twitter.

The Viral Video
It seems like every day we are told that a particular video has gone ‘viral’. Does this mean that the particular video is newsworthy? Often these ‘viral’ videos can hide political persuasions or marketing ideas. A recent example was the Kony video.

There is no question that this video was a powerful documentary whose popularity was due to people on sites such as Facebook and Twitter sharing the video, similar to the ‘word-of-mouth’ stories which spread like wildfire in our youth. What was interesting was how quickly other facts about the story emerged, such as the hidden political agendas behind the group responsible for the original video, including allegations concerning their evangelical Christian doctrine. That a group of hipsters sporting guns in the jungle in Uganda didn’t arise suspicions from the outset was worrying in itself.

Determing What The Product Is
Perhaps that should read ‘Determing Who The Product Is? Facebook is a hugely powerful tool in promoting your ‘product’, whether that is a traditional product that you wish to sell, or whether that product is a personal endevour such as a blog or non-commercial enterprise. When I worked for Waterstone’s, I was in charge of managing the Facebook feed for the shop in the Jervis Shopping Centre. What I found was an easy way to promote discounts and new books in the shop, but extremely difficult to determine who was actually reading and valuing the information.

What is more subtle is the advertising that Facebook enables on your page. Some of it can be particularly perplexing and bemusing, including advertisements that are clearly directed at different genders. Some of them are remarkably apt, however, and are clearly utilising functions such as the ones that you ‘like’ and advertising similar products. People complain about the ‘invasion of privacy’, but it is important to note that if you are using a free service on the internet, the chances are likely that it is you that is the product.

Twitter has not quite reached this point yet. There are no advertisements (yet) and you can quickly ignore or report those people or companies who have clearly signed up to the service purely to advertise a product that is not necessarily relevant to your interests. Although I have tried to resist Twitter for many years, I recently signed up, purely because of the increasing prevalence of some companies advertising jobs in particular feeds that I may be interested in. The future of Twitter is surely to move towards a ‘Facebook model’ where advertisements are used based on the amount of personal information you have provided to the service. A cynic might argue that they have not immediately embraced this model in the hope that you will become hooked first and so will find it more difficult to cancel your account once this becomes central to the service.

A Podcast, Uploaded.

Here’s a link to my Podcast:

http://bryan-whelan.podomatic.com/rss2.xml

Podcasts and WordPress
I have been having difficulty uploading and subscribing on iTunes, as per the instructions in last week’s class. My difficulty here lies in trying to identify the RSS feed for my podcast. My attempt to verify the feed failed, as it specified that what I was trying to verify was a website. It’s back to the drawing board (and by drawing board, I mean the class slides) for me. Hopefully I will be able to upload to iTunes shortly. My podcast is currently sitting in my iTunes podcast section, but I don’t think it’s uploaded in the traditional sense.

On Using Podomatic:

I found Podomatic relatively easy to use, however there does not seem to be an immediacy in viewing your Podcast once you’ve submitted it. I am also finding WordPress a little frustrating at not giving me the option to imbed links into my posts. In addition to this, it would be nice if there was a feature to directly link the Podcast to your WordPress account.

The main problem I’m having, however, is an issue with the finished product. Listening back to my podcast on Podomatic, I noticed that it cut off a tiny section at the very end, which made it sound like I had accidentally deleted that section myself when editing the podcast in Audacity. Listening back over the saved files in Audacity, however, showed that the recording is perfectly edited. I uploaded a second podcast, and the same fault remains. I’ve tried searching through Podomatic for help on this area, but the search function simply brings up other podcasts. I have a feeling it’s something to do with the length of the podcast one is allowed on a free account, but I can’t find any further information on this. I will have to try a more in-depth search.

Why Podcasting?

It is easy to see why podcasting is so popular, and is already a fixture in the world of digital media. Most people in Ireland and other ‘developed’ countries have access to devices which allow playback of podcasts. A good podcast means people actively seek out a blog or other form of media in order to access their content. Good examples of media outlets which produce excellent podcasts include the Guardian and the Irish Times.

What’s surprising is the degree to which many companies don’t fully utilise the benefits of the service. A good example of this would be. Although fully versed in the world of new media (they are particularly strong in promoting the library through Twitter and Facebook) they have yet to fully exploit the benefits of podcasting, despite having a wealth of interesting speakers, topics and exhibitions to promote. A different kind of problem with podcasts can be found in sites such asand. Some of Newstalk’s podcasts are excellent and of a high quality. One of these would be Patrick Geoghegan’s Talking History podcast. Despite this, there are issues even with such a high quality example. This podcast only features the ‘main’ topic discussed, and so misses out on the second half of the show. This may be due to a time-limit available to Newstalk, however. Another issue which should surely be looked at is how most companies do not use advertisements in their podcasts. While this makes the experience far more enjoyable to the listener, surely the producing company could charge premium advertising space for audio which a listener has actively sought? A general problem with Newstalk would be the differences in standards when comparing one podcast to another. While the Talking History podcast is, as said previously, to a very high technical standard, the Future Proof podcast, while a very interesting programme, has a noticeably lower technical standard in terms of sound reproducing on their podcasts.

It might seem that the only way in which to access high quality podcasts is through large commercial media outlets. This is not necessarily the case. The is a very interesting podcast, seemingly initiated by a non-commercial body. Although professional in content, however, there are slight issues with the sound level and the regularity of the publishing of the content.

Overall, however, the amount of time, space and dedication given by many of the most respected media outlets shows the importance of podcasting in the current digital media world.

The Audacity of Audacity

This week I downloaded and used the Audacity program for the first time.

What I wanted to achieve from Audacity:

1. Editing and/or cutting unwanted pieces of sound or ‘silence’. This would have been useful in the recent interviews we conducted in Research Methods II, a different class in the Library and Information School. I have also wanted to edit certain ‘hidden’ songs in my iTunes library. These are songs which have a hidden track attached to the final song on an album, usually preceeded by some ten minutes or so of silence.

2. Getting to grips with editing unwanted sounds or noises that were not intended to be part of the final recording. This could included speech mannerisms such as the dreaded ’em’, which I’ve realised since listening to myself is how I begin most sentences. Unwanted noises could apply to background hums, cars or general noise.

How I got on with Audacity:

In attempting to understand how Audacity allows you to edit your sound recording, I intially started experimenting with the previously mentioned audio files in my iTunes library. After some teething problems, I found the program worked well with cutting the silence, but I am still unable to create two seperate files. Thus, I am either left with just the original song (minus the extra track) or the original song immediately followed by the extra song.

Editing out minor noises was relatively simple, if time-consuming. However, I am still attempting to understand how to ‘smooth-out’ noises, rather than simply just cutting them completely, or ‘silencing’ them, which leaves an unnatural sounding break in the recording.

My Problems with Audacity:

My main problem with Audacity stems from a lack of time to fully understand how it functions, a problem which can only be eased by continuing to experiment with it. I intend to rectify this problem in class today, as well as over the weekend. My other main problem was a seemingly random tendency of Audacity to block access to any and all editing tools at certain times of the editing process. Again, a fuller understanding of the program will probably highlight an error that I am unaware that I am committing.

An explanation.

The theme for my collection of photographs is ‘urban decay’. All the photographs are taken around The Coombe/Blackpitts area of Dublin, one largely forgotten during the economic ‘boom’, and one which has unsurprisingly been hit heavily during the subsequent recession.

All the photographs were taken with a Nikon D40x with an AD-S NIKKOR 18-55mm lense, with the exception of the first photograph, which was taken with my Fujifilm FinePix A825. I had used the latter camera when I initially explored the area in order to get a feel for angles and lighting at particular times of the day. I found the best time for taking photographs was early in the morning, as I wanted to avoid, as much as possible, human interaction. My intent was to focus on the harshness of the buildings and imagery, and to reinforce my impression that much of the area was built for functionary reasons rather than aesthetic ideals.

I included the first photograph, taken with the inferior Fujifilm FinePix A825 as I liked the darkness which the photograph gave, with the recent rain giving a reflective sheen from the street. I didn’t manipulate the shadows from the photograph, as I feel they emphasised the overbearing nature of the building on the left of the photograph.

The second photograph is a familiar one in this area. Graffiti ‘tags’ are commonplace, and this one includes the ‘Gonzilla’ tag which was endemic throughout Dublin a couple of years back. This was often accompanied with a crude drawing of a Godzilla-type character, but this door seems to only have tags. The black doors open on to a laneway, bordered to the left by a row of terraced housing and to the right the overbearing building seen in the previous photograph. I utilised a zoom function in order to take the photograph safely and to attempt to only feature the black doors in the shot. Despite this, the photograph required minor cropping when I uploaded the photographs.

The third photograph is a strange building at the junction of Mill Street and Ardee Street. I liked the sharp lines and the soft, dull colours of the building. There is also a slightly surreal feel to the building, especially the makeshift and impractical doorway, as well as the steel roof structure which seemingly defies purpose, but gives the impression of a lookout tower.  This particular building houses an evangelical church, and indeed Mill Street – a particularly bleak street in the area – houses another evangelical church and a mosque. With many businesses on this street closing, one of the few organisations which are occupying the various premises are increasingly religious-based. I increased the aperture for this photograph in order to increase the effect of the dull colours from the building. Again minor cropping was required in this photograph to reduce the visibility of cars to the left of the photograph.

The next shot is of Mill Lane, a strange lane-way which seems to only be used for illegal dumping. Indeed, there is only one door on the lane. The buildings – especially to the left – lend themselves to bizarre angles, and give a kind of retro-futuristic feel. This is contrasted by the dilapidated 18^th Century building at the end of the lane (the last time the area was a vibrant and economically-viable district). I reduced the aperture on the camera as I thought that there was too much light (mainly due to the fact that the photograph was taken early in the morning and was facing east).

The next photograph is of a disused shop front, complete with broken glass and a graffiti stencil. I wanted to highlight the contrast between the old use of the shop front and the more recent resurgence of graffiti or stencilling. Both uses play into a particular understanding of the area, and both highlight the neglect which has long affected the area. As I was hemmed in by early-morning traffic, I had to reduce the focus on the image, while increasing the aperture.

The following photograph is of the street that the previous photograph belongs to: The Coombe. This particular part of The Coombe was earmarked for an apartment complex just before the recession hit. You can identify the old advertisements for this that are still standing in the background. I was able to negotiate a wider capture on this photograph by taking advantage of a break in the traffic. This wider image reflects the further wider view of the area as one of potential development, one that was never realised.

The following photograph is of a door in Fumbally Lane. The building was initially meant to be part of the digital hub area of Dublin, but was vacant for many years following the recession. It has recently been reopened under a cheap rental scheme to house a collective of architects. This image mirrors the previous graffiti image of a doorway, and was intending to highlight the repetitive nature of the graffiti tagging which is common throughout this part of Dublin.

The final shot I’ve included is a photograph of St Patrick’s Cathedral. I wanted to contrast with the ‘decay’ of the other shots. I tried to capture the light of the rising sun on its steeple, but also attempted (by taking it from below at a severe angle) to show the domineering nature of the cathedral on its surrounding environs. I allowed a wide-aperture for this shot to highlight as much light as possible.

Blackpitts

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Photoshop V Pixlr

The Benefits of a Photo-Manipulation Site

It may seem self-evident, but I think there is something to be said for exploring why sites like Photoshop and Pixlr are so important in general nowadays, and especially within the world of blogging and online media.

Being able to upload photographs and images allows you to ensure your website or blog has a ‘professional’ feel. It is the aesthetic of a blog which the person who is viewing your site is immediately confronted with. I recall from class a statistic which suggested that a user decides whether to stay or leave a website or blog within the first three seconds of logging on. Of course, the content is essential: but you need the person to stay on the site for longer than three seconds in order for them to actually read what you’re writing. The look and feel is essential to this.

The advance of digital photography has meant a complete shift in how we understand photography, both in terms of what they mean to us and also in how we take photographs initially as well as how we store them and view them later. Taking photographs has become less and less specialist, which can only be a good thing. There are negatives, however: with less reliance on expensive equipment and knowledge of the technical aspects of photograph there can be a corresponding drop in the quality of the finished product. And that’s where programmes such as Photoshop and Pixlr are so helpful. If the look of your blog is so important, and you feel a photograph is key to this, then a badly taken photograph can be disastrous. You could use another photograph, or, if you feel a particular photograph really captures the ‘essence’ of what you’re trying to say, you can use these programmes to take out that annoying ‘red eye’, blot out the guy ‘photo-bombing’ your otherwise perfectly captured shot. It can be difficult, but it’s more than worth it: it’s essential.

My Personal Experience

After the problems experienced last week with photoshop (which was probably due both to my ineptitude as well as the whole class accessing the site at the same time) I have recently discovered what I view as a much easier program to navigate: Pixlr. The interface seems more intuitive to me and I’ve had a bit of fun distorting images, as well as using their specific website for effects.

The original image (to the left) has been taken with a very basic digital camera. The image to the right has been altered by Pixlr to give the impression of having been taken by an old camera, possibly with some issues regarding proper colour processing.

Man holds dog in original colours

The Joys of Gimp

I’m still trying to get used to Gimp, which seems great but has a lot more features for such a program than I’m used to. I’ve also only just managed to get an advanced camera, so the photos I’m uploading here are from a basic digital camera.

I’ve applied a fairly basic image distortion until I understand Gimp better. It should be easy enough to figure out which one has been distorted and which is the original.

        

The specifics of Gimp

Overall, I found Gimp quite confusing. I didn’t particularly like the interface, which I found worked against what I would expect to find in an open-source program, which would be immediately attractive to a first-time user. I found it messy and difficult to navigate, and a lot of the functions were hidden (or at least not immediately visible). Once I had managed to navigate my way around the interface, I did find some of the functions easy to manipulate. These options allowed my photographs to be more finally tuned (especially utilising the ‘crop’ function) as well as highlighting any blemishes. I found this particularly useful when considering the different manner in which images would appear on a website (as opposed to on your computer). Despite all this, the program that comes with my computer (iPhoto) managed most of the functions to an acceptable level, and definitely had a more user-friendly feel. I would love to find some sort of program that navigates the middle-ground between the two, and will spend some time trying to find such a program in time for my class next week.

First Assignment

Preparations are underway for our first assignment. This is already problematic mainly due to not having a particularly advanced digital camera. I took what our lecturer said and investigated the capacities of my point-and-click camera but found it was sadly lacking in the capabilities required for the assignment. Thankfully I managed to source what I think will be an adequate camera, although I will have to check its capabilities in class on Friday.

I already have some ideas for the project, but I will have to practice with the camera first to see whether it will be able to do what I want it to do. Some of the photographs I’ve been taking over the years with my point-and-click camera have turned out quite well, so hopefully this particular camera will help better them.

I found some websites helpful in trying to figure out a ‘theme’ to pursue in my assignment. First was a blog set up by my friend (so I’m biased) but I liked that it was clearly to be enjoyed by people who did not have a professional interest in photography. I also liked her links to interesting and different aspects of photography in general. Another blog I found interesting was one about daily life in New York City. This helped focus my interest in taking a snapshot of a city, although I chose to focus more on architecture than people.

In the end, however, I decided that I would try and capture the urban area that I live in at the moment, primarily because I will probably be moving out soon, and it was an area which has already interested me. From living in many different areas of Dublin, I feel that this area has a truly unique identity, and one definitely worthy of a photography assignment.