My man Ze...

Over the last year or so I have been following a guy named Ze Frank.  From time to time I like to share some of his random videos.  This time I'd like to share a talk he did at the TED conference 2010. 

Share some of your thoughts...

Online Study

Well there goes another week, fun huh?  The life of this online student is getting pretty busy. Assignments and the like, but as of yesterday my life got a whole lot easier, well at least it got bigger.  I am now studying on a delightful new 21.5" iMac... It is very sweet (happy birthday to me)

So I guess this blog is about my adventures as an online student and to give some sort of (albeit a somewhat random) idea of what it is like to study full time from the comfort of your own dining table.  Furthermore I guess this blog is about making my mark on the digital world (as well as fulfilling the requirements for one of my assignments!)  Someone posted this link on our discussion board this week and I think it is pretty cool.  Have a look and tell me what you think...

Make your mark...

Big thanks to those in Romania...

A feature of the blogging caper is that I can see where people are visiting my site from.  I would just like to say a big thank you to the 5 people in Romania who have visited my site, or to the 1 person who has visited 5 times... thank you :)

Google yourself...

Hello my little weblings!  The life of an online student can be a somewhat hectic one.  This week for instance, well I won't bore you with the details, you'll have to take my word for it.

For a bit of fun this week I thought I would Google myself to see what weird and wonderful things I have been up to around the world.  Normally I am a scientist or something similar in the USA, this week however I was actually me.  Average, everyday, sitting at my table typing to you, me.  No amazing feats apart from setting up my Linkedin account.

So here is what I want you to do.  Google yourself and find the most impressive person doing the most amazing things, that isn't actually you, and share some links so we can all see what you're not doing.

Here is what I'm not up to today...
http://www.myspace.com/wellsb64
http://www.law.uh.edu/faculty/bwells/
http://www.frenchanditalian.pitt.edu/people/faculty/wells.php
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4&SPID=22&DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=3678557&Q_SEASON=2009

Now it's your turn...

Web kindness...

So here we are.  We find ourselves one week into the world of blogging, well done.  In all, quite a positive experience and to my amazement some are actually reading what I have to say!  This is the most mind boggling part I must say.

Some reflections and observations that I have from spending far too much time on social networking sites were, indeed, unexpected.  Mainly the nature of how people interact, and more importantly, how easy it can be for some (definitely not all) to be negative with their interactions with others.

It seems to me, though I fear I may have already known it, that people in cyberland will post comments to a complete stranger in a manner they would never dream of speaking to their face.  Now anyone who knows me, knows that I'm all for passionate debate, but I fear that in the modern digital world we have forgotten the art of doffing ones hat to a passerby, and remarking with a kind gesture how smashing one looks today.

So my little web-lings this is where you come in.  I would like you, as you walk down digital sidewalks, to doff your digital hats to passersby.  I guess you could call it Pay it forward, web 2.0.  This could happen in any number of ways, a comment on someone's blog or sharing the site of someone who, in your opinion, is doing great work.  Be creative, be kind!

I would also like to hear your stories of how someone out there has brightened your day with a little encouragement.  Feel free to share these below.

Now, go out into the world, share some of your kindness with those you meet, re-post, re-tweet and show some web kindness...

Grand Rapids lip syncing

This is a video from the city of Grand Rapids.  They have set a new world record for the longest lip dubbed  video in a single shot.  I love the scale of what they have done and you can almost feel the community spirit lifting.  It is the grandeur, indulgence and near pointlessness that I think I most admire.  All this because someone wrote that their town was dieing...

Baby steps...

So I am slowly figuring out this blogging caper and have found a cheeky little setting that lets everyone comment without having to have a username!  Where it says 'comment as' you can either select anonymous or you can put your name in.  Either way, comment away!

Museum of me...

Day 3 of my digital existence saw me chatting with and listening to my digital Twits.  It was suggested that I check out a link, a link I would also like to share with you.  It is a site created by Intel, that you connect to your Facebook page and it creates a museum of your profile.  It is quite amazing.


Check it out here and let me know what you think...
Museum of me