What Google knows about spam

This ten-minute keynote about “What Google Knows About Spam ” delivered by Matt Cutts covers a number of key issues about spam and how to avoid web spam on your site.

 

iGoogle Artist themes

Yesterday I noticed that the Google logo has combined with a Jeff Koons image. Investigating this further lead me to a gallery of iGoogle Artist themes.

Looking further I discovered photographers (Stanley Wong), cartoonists (Micheal Leunig), new media artists (John Maeda) and entertainers (the Wiggles!) and more.

Oh no she thinks to herself now I have to decide which one I want to use … perhaps …

I have just realised that I am assuming everyone knows what iGoogle is. If you are unsure info about creating a very handy start page with iGoogle is here

 

Flickr has Video

Flickr now has video. If you are a pro member, you can now share videos. See where it was announced here and they have an interesting definition of video as being a long photo

On another note its mid term break so I will not be around for a week or so

 

The Powerhouse is on Flickr Commons

The Powerhouse Museum has joined the Commons on Flickr. Drawing on images from the Tyrrell Collection the museum have put a couple of hundred early photographs online. These are significant examples of early Australian photography so its great to see them out in the open. The Powerhouse on Flickr managed to sidetrack me wonderfully for an hour or so! I could not resist this early image of Darling Harbour in Sydney. It’s interesting to see the landscape yet to be dressed in some of much loved national icons.

Thanks to Fresh and Newer for the news and doing the work which you can read about here

 

ArtCloud

ArtCloud is a free service which aims to bring the benefits of online social networking to artists. You can put your folio online, explore and discover art and artists that interest you, share what you find with friends, add art events to your personal calendar and you can also create interest groups to share information and work.

It is free, browser based and the site is easy to use. You can release your work at what level copyright you choose and provides access to Creative Commons license.

 

Sketchcast

Sketchcast is a service that enables you to record a drawing with or without audio and then embed the movie on your blog or website.

Sketchcast is a type of drawing tool which allows you to communicate ideas as you would if you were sharing it on the back of an envelope, which is browser based, easy to use and free.

You have to register an account, log in to the site and click the “Create” link on the top menu and you are away.

 

Checkser

The idea behind Checkser is to develop and share checklists - the sort of checklist you use on projects to make sure you were not missing any vital steps somewhere along the line.

This wiki-like service for checklists is a free service developed by Braindevils

For studio based designers, artists crafts people creating and organizing a body of work to the exhibition stage always involves remembering numerous small but important tasks. This service looked handy as you could develop and use a standard check list to make sure jobs got done.

 

Web 2.0 for artists and studio designer makers

The university comes alive again as students return to campus and our teaching block starts today.

The links ahead are for a presentation to my students on Web2.0 which I am giving this morning

The term Web2.0 is disliked and disputed but was coined by Dale Dougherty of O’Reilly Media.
In his now famous article What Is Web 2.0 Tim O’Reilly mapped out the key aspects of Web2.0 technologies and after much debate he refined his ideas in Web 2.0 Compact Definition: Trying Again

A Definition of Web2.0 in Wikapedia Web2.0 has also been referred to as “participatory Web” and the “Semantic Web”.

The term refers to a set of second-generation Web-based services which include social networking sites, blogs, social bookmarking and wikis.

Jared Spool in Web 2.0: The Power Behind the Hype points out that

Web 2.0 isn’t a ‘thing’, but a collection of approaches, which are all converging on the development world at a rapid pace. These approaches, including APIs, RSS, Folksonomies, and Social Networking, suddenly give application developers a new way to approach hard problems with surprisingly effective results.

These services emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users.

Often organised and categorized by tag based folksonomies.

Creating and distributing Web content is based on a model/philosophy which is characterised by open communication and decentralization of authority.

In Now It’s Your Turn Time magazine suggests that

… individuals are changing the nature of the information age, that the creators and consumers of user-generated content are transforming art and politics and commerce, that they are the engaged citizens of a new digital democracy.

Also see Nicholas Carr’s critical piece The amorality of Web 2.0

Richard MacManus and Joshua Porter have teased out the implications for web designers in Web 2.0 for Designers. They say that Web2.0 is:

a vision of the Web in which information is broken up into “microcontent” units that can be distributed over dozens of domains. The Web of documents has morphed into a Web of data. We are no longer just looking to the same old sources for information. Now we’re looking to a new set of tools to aggregate and remix microcontent in new and useful ways.
These tools, the interfaces of Web 2.0, will become the frontier of design innovation.

Class discussion pointing to visual artists and designer makers who are using blogs.

• Craft Monkeys Check out the print shop area
• Design Sponge check out the shop
• tsk tsk
• Danny Gregory’s site Every Day Matters
• Loobylu
• Drawn artists who blog
• Strobist David Hobby has focused on a blog about photographic lighting.
• Indie Fixx

For finding other blogs check out Google blog search

Other discussion examples

• Flickr and here is a success story from flickr
• YouTube This is a good news story for anyone interested in using web2.0 technologies to promote their work BBC signs YouTube gadget reviewer Susi Weaser, posted regular 2 minute technology reviews to you tube and it won her a position with the BBC
• Technorati
• Etsy Take a look at this video about Etsy

Resources for artists

• DeviantArt is an artist community many students already know of or use. If you have not already investigated it do so, as they have a free and premium account options. Both allows you to view and submit artwork.
• Renderosity is a community for digital artists. There are loads of resources on the site but you can also display and sell digital art.
• Artmajeur.com You can sell art directly through their online gallery for free. A free account gives you access to an artists gallery, your own mailing list, upload up to 1000 images, visitor stats, guest book, search engine indexing and a lot more.
• ArtistPortfolio.net is an online portfolio and directory for artists. The service includes free art directory listings, free webspace, free email accounts and online portfolio creation
• The Untapped Source Online gallery interested in emerging artists. They sell high quality prints of artists work and split the proceeds.
• The Vision Grove combines social software tools to aid networking and promotion of your work. However you are only allowed 5 images
• AbsoluteArts.com Is a database for artists worldwide. They offer free and premium plans for building an online portfolio. The Free plan allows 4 images but since the site is also a rich resource site I have listed it here.

I would like everyone to read Seth Godin’s Small is the New Big

 

Vimeo

Vimeo is a video sharing site allows only user-created video. This means you cannot publish material you have not produced yourself such as TV Sows, music videos etc. Because of its higher bit rate, resolution and supports high definition video many artists use the site.

You can set your account at different privacy settings which allows publish and share with just friends and family or for full public consumption.

Vimeo allows you to embed your videos on web pages, and it allows your audience to comment on your video. You can also use Vimeo as long-term video storage.

 

Communicating a key idea

Communicating ideas about technology often results in confusion. It is often difficult to make the topic interesting yet it is a topic that people need to understand. DataPortability - Connect, Control, Share, Remix from Smashcut Media is an example of communicating a key idea well.

The topic - data portability is likely to make someones eyes glaze over. SmashCut Media decided apply their skills to explaining why data portability is useful to everyone. This video explains it clearly and even if you are not a geek you quickly understand why the development of this technology is interesting and relevant to your life online.

The first section of DataPortability - Connect, Control, Share, Remix from Smashcut Media, points out many of the frustrating issues around social networks on the web and then tells us that they are working on it … but the issue is explained very clearly!

Found with thanks via Commoncraft