Have a Blog You Can Be Proud Of

Blogging is by all intents and purposes a worldwide phenomenon. Some may argue that it has replaced the traditional media such as newspapers and television news.
It’s a place where opinion leaders or just the average person with an opinion can go to voice their concerns, issues and passions.

It's a place where communities of people exchange ideas and dreams.

It is for me, a place where I indulge myself in the knowledge of others.

Blogging has become a passion of mine, a home in which I feel safe and secure.

My colleagues in the #8 Wifi class will all agree, that blogging is the way of the future.

Although we are all very diverse; we all have one common goal, to become well known writers. It is a big task but the quality of the content from this class has been amazing.

The secret? We have all found our own personal groove's and styles- and were sticking to it.

Blogging is not a one size fits all format. Its about personalising you're writing, being yourself and forming educated opinons.

There are millions of sites telling you how to be the best, the most wonderful blogger, but at the end of the day it is simple.

Find your passion, write about it, learn about and you will see the results. And if you love what you're writing; thats even better! 

So congrats to all my colleagues, for impressing me (not an easy task) and sharing your knowledge. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e2qW7olMg0

Little Known Ways to trend on Twitter

Our mission should we choose to accept it, create a social media campaign for the newly launched book, the Ika Journal.

It shouldn’t be that difficult right? I mean I just have to spread the word on my facebook, instagram, prezi, blog and twitter.

Easier said than done.

With so much crap on these sites it’s hard to stand out. You have to interest people and once your topic ‘trends’, its like a flame and spreads through the blogesphere like wild fire.

A trending topic is defined as a user created hashtag that gets popular and if the volume is right, it gets featured on Twitter’s list of most discussed topics (Wikipedia, 2012).

There are a few rules and guidelines to trending and its about quantity over quality.

The first thing you must remember is that you cannot trend a topic if YOU tweet more frequently. Believe me I tried this, adding #ikajournal to all of my tweets did nadas.

According to the Twitter info site, hashtags depend to a certain level of frequency to trend and that means you have to make your message meaningful in order for other people to tweet about your topic. 

To help your chances of trending a topic there are a few things that you can do to help it along.

1. Tweet other people

See what the trending topics are at the moment, is there a major event around the corner e.g. a book fair? If there is, postpone your tweetup- during the time of the Ika Journal launch I tweeted to @ParisReview and even got a retweet. 

2. Gather a group of interested people who can support you.

If possible, get an influential person on Twitter. There are a few authors in Auckland with 800+ followers, so getting them interested in #IkaJournal will allow for a wider audience and the likelihood of #IkaJournal trending after their tweet.

3. Run a competition

This is a good strategy if you can pull it off. Its easy to screw up but if you get the basics right, its easy to make it a success. You can either run a quiz, where one nominated person (or many) asks questions and seeks replies with the particular hashtag. If you can’t find people interested, add in some value by giving away a prize e.g. a book voucher. Remember, its not about what you give but how you present it.

So there you have it, some clues on what makes a trending topic on Twitter, and what does not. Although these techniques work, they also make assumptions. For example, you NEED to establish a rapport/ relationships with an author. You also need to network within the writing community in Auckland to research what events are happening.

Twitter trending relies on 2 basic things;

1. An interesting topic

2. People power

Collaboration Poem: A class exercise

While our lecturer Robert was away, we had the delight and the privilege to have IT expert Daniel come in to teach us all he knew about the online world.

Now let me tell you one thing about Daniel, he really eats and breathes the virtual medium. He is self trained, but in a way that is best because he has a wealth of real life knowledge and examples that we can actually relate to. 

His lectuers were like masterclasses. He would teach and then it was up to us to run with it. 

One of our exercises was to create a collaboration poem on a shared wiki space. 
It was easy for me because I know computers, its like an extension of my arm but there were a few people who really struggled. 

However under the direction of our class president Mafi we got there and the outcome is surprisingly good.
The poem has flow and rhythm, amazing considering it has so many diverse styles and voices. 

Here is the poem:

It begins...in the island of Tonga - the promised land,
Awaken the giant within, paddle that waka 

to the great ocean of moana nui a kiwa

Untouched, encounter a world as nature intended  

Un-spoilt by greed, 

Authentic Polynesia, protected beauty and cultural authenticity, 

Tonga ‘jewel in the pacific’ 

Where time begins...

Where time stands still...

Chaos and order play off one another in a deadly game of chess.

Is this Aphrodite's Island? is it the wind that touches my neck? 

Who and whose breath?

Yes, yes it is...the island where the sun's rays sparkle on the shining sea.

The sea is here, the sea is there, the sea is all around.

Tagaloa calls.

Can we see? can we feel? can we hear? Smell.

The waves as they crash upon the rocks. 

Draw that as the spray swirls around your head, around your body, taste  the salt! 

Upon your lips, upon your tongue.

Hurl your hair. Your core.

From afar the coral is serene, within the coral all is war.

Mataki au ki nga waka, u ana mai ki uta.

The Mothership

Who said we should never judge a book by its cover.

I always judge a book by its cover, and so far- this has served me relatively well. I mean a pink cover with girly swirls and elegant writing implies romance. A dreary, dark, blood red title can usually mean a a thriller. Judging a book by its cover is what we all do as human beings, metaphorically and literally.

But a site called good reads.com is a place where avid readers can now use as a means of book selection. 

To me, this is something of a godsend as I have spent many hours at the library, trawling through aisle after aisle anxiously deciding which book to choose and have wasted precious brain pattern on books that were not my cup of tea.

This site 'Goodreads' is where users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, find their next favorite book and form book clubs with friends (Goodreads, 2012). 

All you have to do to join is sign up (I know, ANOTHER password to remember) and review 20 books you have read. Then the site will recommend books that you may be interested in. 

The output is personalized to your own tastes and so far, I am enjoying the couple of books which I ordered from my library as a result of these recommendations.

Not only am I going to be reading more, but the chances of me reading a book that I will enjoy, is all the more likely because of this site. 

Meme Meme Meme Meme Meme

What is in a meme? A meme as it is today, is like all of these new Internet sensations- it starts off in some geeky pimply 16 year olds bedroom and suddenly it takes the world by storm.

I’m sure you’ve all seen (consciously or unconsciously) or heard of a meme. Meriam Webster defines meme as “an idea, behavior, style or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.”

Although ‘meme’ is only now becoming a popular trend, the idea has been around for a while.  If you have ever told a common knock knock joke or have laughed about ‘ghost chips’- you have been a part of a real world meme. 

A meme is fundamentally the ability to communicate ideas, behaviors and styles through pictures and text.  Over the past few years, popular internet sites like Facebook, Twitter and instagram have allowed for popular memes to go viral despite the differing cultures and backgrounds of an individual.

It seems to be able to reach and resonate with people who have entirely different life experiences, backgrounds and countries.

A picture meme is where you take an image and add text (also known as an image macro)  and then post it on your social media sites.  This has resulted in a plethora of meme’s being shared, liked, Instagrammed and tweeted throughout the internet on a daily basis.

I played around with the idea of a meme and was challenged to create a serious meme and a funny meme in paint. It was quite simple and the results made the picture slightly more interesting.

Memes are a great means of communication as it is now catering to the new breed of internet users, who want short and sharp bits of information. Like the old adage says, a picture tells a thousand words,  memes accentuate and resonate with people from all across the worlds divides. 

Lost in Translation

Google is the ultimate website. I don't know how they did this but somehow they managed to create a huge database of languages so people can go online and translate text from other languages into their own.

I don't want to know how many hours were put into creating the function, Bruno Latour a famous philosopher, philosophized with the concept of Actor's.

It basically looks at anything and eveything then breaks it down into component networks. Take google translate. The networks for this site are immense. You have the different languages, users, dictionary's, domains, computers, connections.... the list is endless.

But alas google translate has come about to make my life and I'm sure many others, much more simpler. So when you are in a restaurant and the menu looks foreign to you, hop onto Google Translate and have it search for the translation.

But it is not as well oiled as it could be, I played around with text too see whether the laguage would hold true through different translations.

I started with:
Don't go chasing waterfalls.
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to.
I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all,
but I think you're moving too fast.

Then I translated it into Belarusian then Azerbaijan, Hindi then Russian and back to English.

And this is what came out:
Falls to follow or not.
If you follow the rivers and lakes.
I know that we will be your way or nothing at all;
But I think you're moving too fast.

So although this function is pretty amazing, its not perfect, but I mean.... nothings perfect right?

Search engine optimization

SEO is becoming a well known tactic for driving targeted online traffic.  Integrating SEO is one of the MOST cost-effective search engine marketing methods a company can use to drive more traffic to its web site and convert more searchers into 
customers (Domain info, 2012).  

Google and other engines place a high amount of importance on the keywords that appear in domain names in determining where a web site shows up in search results.  A geo-targeted domain name is just that – a domain name with a geographic identifier.

Consider Saarah’s blog, a fictional character set in Papakura. Saarah writes local stories and has cultivated a small following and a reputation for political quips and insights.  

But local people may never realise her blog exists or don't even know what is a blog. To grab the attention of potential customers in papakura, Saarah needs to use search engines and promote her presence online, with as many keywords and geographical references as possible.

Establishing a domain name that relates to your business is the first step e.g. saarahspapakura.co.nz or papakurablog.co.nz.

Having good onsite content using your location and subjects will also increase the chances of saarah’s blog appearing in searches including the words “Papakura” and “Judith Collins” – her exact target audience!

Ensuring that business and writers alike use this tool for local internet marketing online will ensure we maximise our online presence and reach as many potential followers as possible.