Green Computers

I got a green MBA from the Bainbridge Graduate Institute. While in school I participated in a project to write a business plan for creating green, low power computers. It looks like HP has green computers now.

Forget Killer Bees - What about Killer Cell Phones

This was an extremely disturbing article about the potential connection between cell phones and the decline of bees. Check it out at http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2449968.ece.
Any thoughts?

What the heck is Web 2.0?

You may be wondering what Web 2.0 is and how it differs from Web 1.0. Recently I took a class on Web 2.0 to learn more about its capabilities. In the past, when the web was referred to as an "information superhighway," it was describing Web 1.0. The web used to be a place where you went to get information. "Professionals" provided the data that went on the web. Now, everything has changed. Web 2.0 applications are sites where you, a common person, can get information but you can also leave information. There are often social networks associated with Web 2.0 applications. For example, there are numerous photo sharing websites that are currently Web 1.0. Snapfish, my favorite, is one such website. Sure, you can make some really cool projects - we made photo "memory" books for our moms for Mother's day but the site isn't particularly interactive. I can share my photos but the people I send the photos to cannot comment on them.

Enter a totally different way of doing things, Flickr. Flickr is also a photo sharing website. The difference is that Flickr is interactive. People can comment on your photos and they can look at all the photos that you have uploaded. People can also search the entire site to find particular photos. Flickr has groups (public or private) where photos can be pooled and discussed on discussion boards.

There are many other examples of Web 2.0 including RSS, wikis, blogs, virtual communities, podcasting / Vcasting, internet social networking, and video sharing. Web 2.0 is about collaboration. So if you want to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, get collaborating!

This is a test to

This is a test to see if mobile blogging works.

Who Am I?

I realize that I am straying from my original idea about what this blog was going to be about. I thought this was going to be more about my struggle with stuff and creating stuff (often in the form of art). I have found it to be more of a journey. It is simultaneously providing me with a creative outlet (so I am not making physical stuff!) and helping me to learn about blogging / Web 2.0.

Today I read a blog that made me laugh at myself. The blog is called The Onda and the post was about CB radio fanatics. The article was talking about how CB radio users used to do heroic things to get their CB radios working and then spent all their time talking about how they got their CB radios working. My blog, at the infant stage where it is now, is much the same. I am trying to simultaneously share my thoughts and learn how to blog. So I spend part of my time blogging about blogging. Silly, isn't it? I will have to keep that in mind as I continue to post.

Goal Setting

I have been acting sort of funny about this blogging business. I have a blog, but I don't tell anyone about it. I want people to read it, but I don't tell anyone about it. I want people to comment, but they don't know I want them to! What is my problem??? Today I typed "get people to read my blog" into Google and stumbled onto a website which at first glance didn't seem like it would help. The website is called "43 Things" and it linked me to other people who had the same goal. There were few, but good comments including a) make your blog interesting, b) link to other blogs, c) comment on other blogs and provide a link to your blog, d) use your blog address as your signature to really get your blog out there and e) make sure your blog has a purpose / target and stay on it.

After I read this I started poking around the "43 Things" site. Turns out it is a really cool site where you can post your goals, get help with them and report progress. It reminds me a lot of a favorite book of mine called, "Write it Down, Make it Happen", by Henriette Anne Klauser. The book simply states that if you write something down, you are able to move it from your imagination to doing it. Getting things down on paper (I think she actually says to write long hand but I may be imagining that), helps to get your brain in gear and start solving the puzzle of what you want to make happen. "43 Things" goes one step further in that it offers the possibility for others to collaborate on helping you think of things you may not have thought of on your own. If you have reached a goal that someone else is trying to reach, there is a way to share your story about how you did it. I definitely intend to spend some time there.

All of this to say that I need to create my own goals around blogging. So below you can find...my blogging goals. I would very much appreciate any comments you would like to share. It is lonely here in the blog-o-sphere when I feel like I am by myself. Am I?

My Blogging Goals:

1. Get people to read my blog (I need to investigate how I can tell if anyone has read it!)
2. Get at least 5 people to comment on each blog posting (this would be evident)
3. Get linked from other blogs (my goal is to get linked from 10 blogs in next 90 days)
4. Post comments on other people's blogs (my goal is to post 5 comments per week)

I look forward to your comments.