OK, so I’ve found a theme that I think I can work with, and ordered a polished up logo from PurpleLily. I need to think carefully about my content, categories, tags, etc before it gets as far as going live, but it’s been chosen, and I look forward to understanding what the underlying Genesis theme is capable of.
StudioPress: Executive Child Theme
February 17, 2010 1 Comment
Inspirational Students
February 17, 2010 1 Comment
Last week was the start of Semester 2 (yes, I know, just as many of you headed onto half-term breaks), and despite the fact that the week was packed, I found the week an inspiring one. Lectures seemed to go off well, I had 3, yes THREE, students come up to me after Creating and Consuming lectures to say that they were looking forward to the module/feeling inspired to think (do you know how RARE that is, usually you only ever hear the complaints, usually too late to do anything about it!).
Dreams and Nightmares
In Dreams and Nightmares, I suggested that the students set up a WordPress blog to write their thoughts about their lectures, seminars, and presentations they observed from others. Due to Validation requirements, I couldn’t set this as a compulsory exercise, so I wasn’t sure if anyone would take me up on the idea, but Phil did, and you can see what is already turning into a very impressive exercise here.
Media Studies Dissertation
In talking to Helen, one of my FYP/Dissertation students, it became clear that she loves experimenting with making YouTube videos, and also wanted to conduct research into the values evident in Sainsbury’s advertising, and whether these resonated with viewers. This therefore seemed a great point at which to USE YouTube to help her conduct her research, so please do help her if you can.
WavePad Sound Editor
February 16, 2010 1 Comment
In my search for the right tools, I wanted to find a simple sound editing tool. For months I have been wanting to convert a radio interview that I had done (and had coverage from the entire event, but wanted to just use my section). I had tried Audacity (recommended by JISC), but it produced a 10+MB file, which was too big even for self-hosted WordPress, so I was pleased to find WavePad. The result can be found on this page, or go straight to the MP3.
WavePad Info:
“WavePad is a full featured professional audio editor for Windows. Create and edit music, voice and other audio recordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy, and paste parts of recordings and, if required, add effects like echo, amplification, and noise reduction and more. WavePad is a freeware WAV / MP3 editor but it also supports a number of other file formats including VOX, GSM, RA, AU, AIF, FLAC, and OGG and many more in the Master’s Edition. Recording and editing Mp3 and WAV files are freeware features.”
The Guardian: PDA Media
February 16, 2010 Leave a Comment
As BBC News staff were told to consider social media content as a news source (as critically as any other source), it seemed a good time to check out ‘PDA: The Digital Content Blog‘, produced by the Guardian.
BETT 2010
February 15, 2010 Leave a Comment
They said the snow didn’t stop the flow… well, it stopped me getting there, so was interested to see an overview of what was actually there. Does look like it could be worthwhile!
The Virtual Revolution: 2
February 9, 2010 Leave a Comment
The voice of the Iranian people, heard via social networking.
“Twenty years on from the invention of the World Wide Web, Dr Aleks Krotoski looks at how it is reshaping almost every aspect of our lives. Joined by some of the Web’s biggest names – including the founders of Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and the web’s inventor – she explores how far the Web has lived up to its early promise.
Here, Aleks charts how the Web is forging a new brand of politics, both in democracies and authoritarian regimes.
With contributions from Al Gore, Martha Lane Fox, Stephen Fry and Bill Gates, Aleks explores how interactive, unmediated sites like Twitter and YouTube have encouraged direct action and politicised young people in unprecedented numbers.
Yet, at the same time, the Web’s openness enables hardline states to spy and censor, and extremists to threaten with networks of hate and crippling cyber attacks.”
Available online until late 27th February.
New WordPress Theme
February 8, 2010 2 Comments
I’m currently looking for a more “Web 2.0″ WordPress theme, and experimenting with a few different ones, so apologies if the design keeps changing! I also want to get my logo professionally done, with the fingerprint formed of various social media logos – any offers?! I paid $25 for the current theme I have, and am not averse to that idea, once I find the design that smacks me in the face!
I liked this design as it seems clean and fresh, but now Vigilance looks a little 1990s, and I want something a bit smoother, a bit more Web 2.0, smoother edges. The general turn seems to be towards grey/black designs, and that may happen, but I like having some colour, preferably more than just colour, so I’m also on the lookout for a new design for my logo – I have a pretty strong idea what I want, but can’t execute it!
I quite like this Black Power 1.6 theme, especially as Twitter is the tool I use the most. It looks clean, fairly Web 2.0, the colour strip across the top takes away from the grey, and the Twitter-bird adds a fun touch, whilst also showing my latest tweet (lots of others complained it didn’t work for them, but this went straight in), and there are options to add space for advertising (not that I want to entirely go down that route, but hey, we all have to make a living!).
Anista was the first theme that caught my eye, especially with the option to have a scrollbar with lots of portfolio items on it, but that doesn’t appear to be fully working… the red is definitely me though!
Magazeen is offered by Smashing Magazine, and seems nice and fresh… not entirely sure about the way the material bounces across the middle, and the columns don’t seem to fit right…
Expect this debate to go on for a wee while. I am also debating the Studio Press themes, as recommended by @documentally, who uses Revolution Pro for his Our Man Inside.
The New Facebook
February 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
I knew it was coming, and that many people had it, and was judging by the fact that Facebook has been playing up for the last 24 hours that it must be en route soon. The page wouldn’t refresh, soI reopened, and there it was… with this lovely explanation of what has changed!
Improving Google Ranking
February 8, 2010 Leave a Comment
“Among SEO professionals, there isn’t always consensus on precisely which and to what degree site factors contribute or detract from rankings on Google because the factors actually vary by industry. There are indeed, a number of contentious issues: markup and content quality, use of title tags, site organization and even arguments that Google Analytics data factors in to site rankings. Not likely (yet), but certainly up for debate among SEO professionals.
However, there are some Google ranking factors that most professionals agree affect site positioning on Google SERPs. However, these are opinions, find out for yourself how these apply to projects you’re working on.
Recommended Steps to Improve Google Ranking
1. Use keywords in HTML title tags. Probably the most significant factor for a site regardless of the competitive landscape, the title tag must be consistent with content in the page for best results. The more keywords in your title, the less effective this factor, be judicious.”
Read full story by Frederick Townes (March 2009)
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