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Thursday, 29 July 2010
From Despair To Where?
A bit of a rant about the state of the music industry, the media generally & the direction that it' seems to be taking.
And i know who is to blame!
An Iron Age hill fort vlog.
Recorded near the top of Mt Caburn, near Lewes, Sussex.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
YouTube Is a Social Network.
Social networking has been in the news once again this week, with the news that Facebook has passed the 500 million users mark. As i mentioned in a blog post the other day, the reporting of this story is not unusual these days.
One thought i did have about this story was, that i wondered what some people will make of the fact that a jeans and t.shirt wearing 26 year old, runs a website, that if it were a country, would be the worlds third largest? I'm sure that's pretty scary stuff in some quarters.
In the light of the Facebook story, the BBC reported on a recent survey, which compared all of the main social networking sites. It was called "The ups and downs of social networks". All of the usual suspects and major players were there. Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Twitter, Bebo, etc etc. Some faring well and others not so.
But, in my opinion at least, there was one major website missing from that survey. YouTube.
For most people, YouTube is perceived as a video sharing website and this it undoubtably is. It has become the number one site for online video viewing. The place where the vast majority of Internet users will go to first if they want to find a silly viral video, a clip from their favourite tv show, or the latest music video by their favourite artist.
But, for many other people, YouTube is also a social networking site. So, why isn't it ever viewed as such?
Maybe, it is because of YouTube's perceived association with the sillier and less serious side of the Internet?
Whatever the reason, for me at least, YouTube was my first foray into what i would now call social networking.
It was on YouTube that i first started to interact with fellow Internet users, from across the world, in a meaningful way.
It was on YouTube that i first "met" other like minded Internet users, of all ages & backgrounds.
It was because of YouTube that i first met, in real life, fellow Internet users and felt confident in doing so.
It was because of YouTube that i have travelled to the USA on two occasions, exclusively to meet and travel with fellow video makers and have a great holiday into the bargain.
It was on YouTube that i first discovered a shared sense of there being an online Community.
Now, that's what i call social networking.
Maybe, i feel this way because YouTube was the first site of this kind that i stumbled onto?
Although i knew of and visited sites like MySpace when i first started to explore the social side of the Internet. It was YouTube that drew me in and made me dig beneath the surface and explore that little bit more than before.
For me, it was the way that i could see, through their videos, the people that i was interacting with. I could see their faces and look into their eyes. Something that you just don't get on many other, so called, social networking sites. Surely, it is far safer if you can actually see who you are intereacting with? Yes, i'm sure that this can be falsified. But, not nearly as easily as on a mainly text based site.
Since i created my YouTube channel in August 2006 and started making videos there, i have made some great friends. Some i have met in real life and this have often led to real and genuine friendships. Some i have yet to meet. Some, i may well never meet. But, i would still consider them to be friends.
I do wonder that if i was now a newcomer to the world of social networking, whether i might feel differently? After all, sites such as Facebook and Twitter, both of which i now use, were not really on the Internet radar back in 2006.
That question, of course, can never be answered.
All i do know, is that i am more than happy that my first experiences in the world of social networking were through YouTube.
I consider YouTube to be as real a social networking site as any of the others mentioned in this blog post.
I just wish that the rest of the world would view it in the same way. Maybe some day they will?
One thought i did have about this story was, that i wondered what some people will make of the fact that a jeans and t.shirt wearing 26 year old, runs a website, that if it were a country, would be the worlds third largest? I'm sure that's pretty scary stuff in some quarters.
In the light of the Facebook story, the BBC reported on a recent survey, which compared all of the main social networking sites. It was called "The ups and downs of social networks". All of the usual suspects and major players were there. Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, Twitter, Bebo, etc etc. Some faring well and others not so.
But, in my opinion at least, there was one major website missing from that survey. YouTube.
For most people, YouTube is perceived as a video sharing website and this it undoubtably is. It has become the number one site for online video viewing. The place where the vast majority of Internet users will go to first if they want to find a silly viral video, a clip from their favourite tv show, or the latest music video by their favourite artist.
But, for many other people, YouTube is also a social networking site. So, why isn't it ever viewed as such?
Maybe, it is because of YouTube's perceived association with the sillier and less serious side of the Internet?
Whatever the reason, for me at least, YouTube was my first foray into what i would now call social networking.
It was on YouTube that i first started to interact with fellow Internet users, from across the world, in a meaningful way.
It was on YouTube that i first "met" other like minded Internet users, of all ages & backgrounds.
It was because of YouTube that i first met, in real life, fellow Internet users and felt confident in doing so.
It was because of YouTube that i have travelled to the USA on two occasions, exclusively to meet and travel with fellow video makers and have a great holiday into the bargain.
It was on YouTube that i first discovered a shared sense of there being an online Community.
Now, that's what i call social networking.
Maybe, i feel this way because YouTube was the first site of this kind that i stumbled onto?
Although i knew of and visited sites like MySpace when i first started to explore the social side of the Internet. It was YouTube that drew me in and made me dig beneath the surface and explore that little bit more than before.
For me, it was the way that i could see, through their videos, the people that i was interacting with. I could see their faces and look into their eyes. Something that you just don't get on many other, so called, social networking sites. Surely, it is far safer if you can actually see who you are intereacting with? Yes, i'm sure that this can be falsified. But, not nearly as easily as on a mainly text based site.
Since i created my YouTube channel in August 2006 and started making videos there, i have made some great friends. Some i have met in real life and this have often led to real and genuine friendships. Some i have yet to meet. Some, i may well never meet. But, i would still consider them to be friends.
I do wonder that if i was now a newcomer to the world of social networking, whether i might feel differently? After all, sites such as Facebook and Twitter, both of which i now use, were not really on the Internet radar back in 2006.
That question, of course, can never be answered.
All i do know, is that i am more than happy that my first experiences in the world of social networking were through YouTube.
I consider YouTube to be as real a social networking site as any of the others mentioned in this blog post.
I just wish that the rest of the world would view it in the same way. Maybe some day they will?
Life In A Day - Annus Horrilbilis.
This is my sumbimisson to the YouTube - Life In A Day film project. http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday
Will i be a movie star? Somehow, i doubt it.
A beach vlog.
PS: My Mother arrived home safely, unscathed, after having had an enjoyable holiday.
Thursday, 22 July 2010
Vloggers Caravan 2010 - Alcatraz
A visit to 'The Rock".
With appearances by:
Jason - http://www.youtube.com/nbwulf
Gary - http://www.youtube.com/anakin1814
Music:
"Deliberate Thought" by Kevin MacLeod
http://incompetech.com/
and - "Without You" by Gary - anakin1814
I think we're nearly at the end of the Road Trip videos. Phew!
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Now, this really does make me feel old.
Today, is the 41st anniversary of man first walking on the surface of the moon.
Yes, i realise that if you live in different parts of the world, this may well have happened for you on July 20th. This does raise the question as to what time it was on the moon at the time? Do they have time zones up there?
I mentioned in another recent blog post about how this event was one of those that everybody who was alive at the time remembers. It really was one of those momentous occasions when the whole world was watching and which brought the whole world together.
I was 11 years of age at the time and remember the occasion very well.
I have always had an interest in astronomy & space travel. So, this was a big deal for me. I had followed as many of the Apollo missions as my age enabled me to. I can remember those pictures of the earthrise coming back from the Apollo 8 mission and the effect that that had on everybody. It was, after all, the first time that the earth had been viewed, by us ordinary mortals, from space. Those pictures are still as amazing to me as they have always been.
On the morning of July 21st, 1969 i was woken by my father so that we could sit down and watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin make their first steps on the lunar surface. We had, of course, been watching hours earlier as the lunar module had made it's descent down to the moon.
It was around 4am in the UK at the time. So, this was not a normal wake up call and i can't imagine my father letting me sit up and watch tv, at that time of day, for anything other than an occasion such as this.
Looking back at those old black & white tv clips of the footage, it really does seem a world away from today. But, those tv pictures were true space age technology to us back then and were viewed with a real sense of wonder.
At it happens, i don't really remember that much about actually watching the footage at the time. More about the occasion itself. The details have probably been lost in the mists of time. Well, it was 41 years ago.
Those 41 years have really flown by and i often wonder where they have gone. So, yes, this anniversary really does make me feel old. But, i wouldn't have missed watching it for the world.
My only regret is that, despite my boyhood ambitions, i never got to appear in a photo like this.
Oh well. I guess you can't have everything in life?
Yes, i realise that if you live in different parts of the world, this may well have happened for you on July 20th. This does raise the question as to what time it was on the moon at the time? Do they have time zones up there?
I mentioned in another recent blog post about how this event was one of those that everybody who was alive at the time remembers. It really was one of those momentous occasions when the whole world was watching and which brought the whole world together.
I was 11 years of age at the time and remember the occasion very well.
I have always had an interest in astronomy & space travel. So, this was a big deal for me. I had followed as many of the Apollo missions as my age enabled me to. I can remember those pictures of the earthrise coming back from the Apollo 8 mission and the effect that that had on everybody. It was, after all, the first time that the earth had been viewed, by us ordinary mortals, from space. Those pictures are still as amazing to me as they have always been.
On the morning of July 21st, 1969 i was woken by my father so that we could sit down and watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin make their first steps on the lunar surface. We had, of course, been watching hours earlier as the lunar module had made it's descent down to the moon.
It was around 4am in the UK at the time. So, this was not a normal wake up call and i can't imagine my father letting me sit up and watch tv, at that time of day, for anything other than an occasion such as this.
Looking back at those old black & white tv clips of the footage, it really does seem a world away from today. But, those tv pictures were true space age technology to us back then and were viewed with a real sense of wonder.
At it happens, i don't really remember that much about actually watching the footage at the time. More about the occasion itself. The details have probably been lost in the mists of time. Well, it was 41 years ago.
Those 41 years have really flown by and i often wonder where they have gone. So, yes, this anniversary really does make me feel old. But, i wouldn't have missed watching it for the world.
My only regret is that, despite my boyhood ambitions, i never got to appear in a photo like this.
Oh well. I guess you can't have everything in life?
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Renting A Cherry Tree.
(Can i first just say that this blog post is not an advert and i have not been paid to talk about this. It is just a blog from a satisfied customer)
For those of you who may follow me on some other social networking sites. You may have noticed me mentioning the fact that i've been out picking cherries from my cherry tree.
Now, i do not own this tree, i merely rent it.
Renting a tree?, i hear you ask, how on earth does that work? Well, i'm glad you asked, because i'm going to tell you.
Up until a couple of years ago, i had never heard of anyone renting a fruit tree and apart from the scheme that i'm involved with, i still haven't.
It's all very simple really. I pay a yearly rental fee for a particular cherry tree. For that fee i get to pick and keep, all of the fruit from that tree. It is in effect, my tree. I even have a certificate, with my name on it, telling me exactly which tree is mine. As long as i pay my rental fee every year, the tree remains mine.
And that is it.
The farmer does all the work and looks after the tree for me. He even sends me regular emailed newsletters, telling me about the state of the trees, the likely optimum picking dates and how good the crop is likely to be. All i do is pay my money and then turn up and pick the cherries. I can then do with those cherries what i wish. I could even sell them if i wanted to.
As you can see from this photo, the trees can carry a lot of fruit.
Whilst i don't know if this scheme is unique and i certainly hope it isn't. I think that this is a really good idea.
Here in the UK, we have seen a number of farmers "grubbing out" their fruit trees, because they are not really financially viable any more. This has certainly been the case with apple orchards, where many have disappeared over the past few years. Fruit farming, in the UK, seems to have taken a big hit recently.
So, this renting scheme seems like a really clever and inventive way of preventing this happening. It helps to preserve the fruit trees for future generations and it also helps to keep the farms in business.
I'd love to see it extended to other farms and farmers. But, also to other types of fruit. Apples for example. I would certainly be very interested in renting an eating apple tree as well. So, if anybody, local, knows of one, please let me know.
Another added attractions of the renting scheme, is the family aspect of it all.
As i said before, the tree effectively becomes yours and this has an effect on the way that you and your family start to feel aboutt that tree. For example, when you are picking the fruit, you make sure that you don't harm the tree in the process. After all, this might harm the crop for next year.
When i went to pick my first batch of cherries this year, with my son as it happens. There were family groups there, making a day out of the whole picking process. They had brought along a picnic and were sitting down, next to their tree, eating their lunch. What a nice way for a family to spend a day together.
I went back today, to pick the remaining fruit and this time i went with my father-in-law. As i said, it becomes a family affair.
So, all in all, i am one very satisfied customer and i can recommend this scheme and any others like it. It's a great way of keeping the fruit trees in the orchards and the fruit farmers in business. And you can have some family days out, picking your own fruit, in the great British countryside into the bargain.
Now all i need to do is figure out what i'm going to do with all of these cherries?
For those of you who may follow me on some other social networking sites. You may have noticed me mentioning the fact that i've been out picking cherries from my cherry tree.
Now, i do not own this tree, i merely rent it.
Renting a tree?, i hear you ask, how on earth does that work? Well, i'm glad you asked, because i'm going to tell you.
Up until a couple of years ago, i had never heard of anyone renting a fruit tree and apart from the scheme that i'm involved with, i still haven't.
It's all very simple really. I pay a yearly rental fee for a particular cherry tree. For that fee i get to pick and keep, all of the fruit from that tree. It is in effect, my tree. I even have a certificate, with my name on it, telling me exactly which tree is mine. As long as i pay my rental fee every year, the tree remains mine.
And that is it.
The farmer does all the work and looks after the tree for me. He even sends me regular emailed newsletters, telling me about the state of the trees, the likely optimum picking dates and how good the crop is likely to be. All i do is pay my money and then turn up and pick the cherries. I can then do with those cherries what i wish. I could even sell them if i wanted to.
As you can see from this photo, the trees can carry a lot of fruit.
Whilst i don't know if this scheme is unique and i certainly hope it isn't. I think that this is a really good idea.
Here in the UK, we have seen a number of farmers "grubbing out" their fruit trees, because they are not really financially viable any more. This has certainly been the case with apple orchards, where many have disappeared over the past few years. Fruit farming, in the UK, seems to have taken a big hit recently.
So, this renting scheme seems like a really clever and inventive way of preventing this happening. It helps to preserve the fruit trees for future generations and it also helps to keep the farms in business.
I'd love to see it extended to other farms and farmers. But, also to other types of fruit. Apples for example. I would certainly be very interested in renting an eating apple tree as well. So, if anybody, local, knows of one, please let me know.
Another added attractions of the renting scheme, is the family aspect of it all.
As i said before, the tree effectively becomes yours and this has an effect on the way that you and your family start to feel aboutt that tree. For example, when you are picking the fruit, you make sure that you don't harm the tree in the process. After all, this might harm the crop for next year.
When i went to pick my first batch of cherries this year, with my son as it happens. There were family groups there, making a day out of the whole picking process. They had brought along a picnic and were sitting down, next to their tree, eating their lunch. What a nice way for a family to spend a day together.
I went back today, to pick the remaining fruit and this time i went with my father-in-law. As i said, it becomes a family affair.
So, all in all, i am one very satisfied customer and i can recommend this scheme and any others like it. It's a great way of keeping the fruit trees in the orchards and the fruit farmers in business. And you can have some family days out, picking your own fruit, in the great British countryside into the bargain.
Now all i need to do is figure out what i'm going to do with all of these cherries?
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