Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:49:58 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/ ezNetPublisher en-us http://www.ithinkmedia.com/images/logo.gif http://www.ithinkmedia.com/ admin@ithinkmedia.com http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=52 OK, if you've ever watched a copyrighted video on YouTube then you should be concerned and you should read this article. Learn how our legal system is selling out the little guy. Again, One Clueless Person Destroys the Privacy Of Millions CNET Article Truemors: Google Ordered to Divulge YouTube Users Viewing Habits Viacom brands -- BET, BET J, MTV Networks, ATOMFILMS Addicting Games, CMT, Comedy Central, Gametrailers, Harmonix, MTV, MTV2, MTVN INTERNATIONAL, MTVU, Neopets, Nickelodean - Nick JR., Nick at Nite, Noggin, ParentsConnectA, Quizilla, Rhapsody, Shockwave, Spike TV, THE N, TV Land, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VIirtual Worlds, XFIRE, Paramount Pictures Corp, Dreamworks Studio, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies As a citizen of the information age you have to stay informed and use your "consumer" power to let these companies know they will figure out how they can do business in the 21st century or they won't have customers!!!! Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:49:58 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=51 A BarCamp is a user generated conference — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. iThinkMedia.com is in the early planning stages for a Zikula BarCamp to be held in Woodland Park, Colorado on Sept 20 & 21. Everyone is invited from end-users to module developers! And the quality of the conference depends on the number of people who attend so tell your friends and colleagues. The more interest generated will determine where we have the event and I look forward to meeting my fellow Zikulers for a great time exchanging information and resources. About Zikula - the Zikula application framework can have your site up and running within minutes. Demo Zikula Woodland Park, Colorado (18 miles West of Colorado Springs, 45 minutes South of Denver Colorado) Contact me for more information and to get involved. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:52:45 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=50 I can't say I always read a site's terms of use but when you are sharing your unique copyrighted work then you should! For example, I like the music group Black Eyed Peas - I joined their fan site and this was one point when I read the terms of use. But after reading them I decided I wouldn't write anything or upload any of my content to the site since it would give them, "grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free right and license to use, reproduce, display, perform, adapt, modify, distribute, have distributed and promote such content in any form, in all media now known or hereinafter created, anywhere in the world, and for any purpose. Furthermore, you thereby waive any so-called moral rights or other similar rights in your User Content." Okay, so I understand they need to protect the copyright of their materials - but do they have to hijack their users content too! Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:30:53 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49 Here are a few links that made me click on Twitter today: Married Marketers TV Twitter the Ultimate Time Waster or Great Tool - Great article that includes responses from people using Twitter - a must read for newbies. On Air Publicity - Great site that gives you some helpful hints on online PR. The Euphemism Generator - Great, fun site recommended by Guy Kawasaki. A Mother's Journey - Featured photography by Renee C. Byer. Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:10:54 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=48 Promised a pic of Gabe he's such a cute puppy - only a year old and loves to herd goats! Video of herding goats coming soon, note goats aren't mine. ;) Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:44:17 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=47 With the recent death of Tim Russert I've thought about my heart health! I've found a great link where you can get an assessment of your current situation - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3003499 through the American Heart Association. One thing I started doing is walking and hiking on a daily basis - I adopted Gabe, the dog, border collie/German shepherd mix, on Friday and he gives me one more reason to get out in the fresh air. Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:41:21 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46 This sucks -- I wrote a great article - leave it to Freaky Friday for it to disappear! Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:38:44 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=45 If you are interested in reviewing the latest news from Apple I found a couple sites that streamed and blogged the session live. Check it out here: UStream Audio Feed Engadget Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:43:17 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=44 Posting some great link resources in the directory and marinating on article ideas! :) Be sure to visit the link directory to get the latest information! Link Directory Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:22:29 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=43 Are you tired of paying for Match or eHarmony? Do you think free means it doesn't have quality people? You'd be wrong - there are free dating sites that have quality people with easy to use interfaces. The only challenge you might face is verifying the truthfulness of the person behind the profile. But really the other sites don't do much verifying either - the only thing is the name on the profile matches the name of the credit card. Not much verification but it is something. The first free site I would recommend is OkCupid.com - it has a mix of social networking, compatibility testing and dating. Users can contact anyone on the system regardless of whether you are well matched or not - something eHarmony.com and Chemistry.com doesn't let you do. CasualKiss has a large international base and offers free membership. It has unique, rich features and social networking applications. Although if you're over 40 then CasualKiss may not be for you since it is largely for the 25 and under crowd. PlentyofFish.com or POF, is the first site to the free dating model. Marcus Friend started the site and still runs the site by himself. Although his user base out numbers most of the pay-per-use websites in North America. The site includes forums, compatibility questionnaires, and the very popular "who's seen me button". Definitely a site for all ages -- check it out. ConnectingSingles.com a FREE site geared towards US-based users. Some of the features include forums, email, local event listings and chat. Last but not least, is the BookofMatches.com or BoM as the site prefers to be called. It offers a low-tech site full of dating options, such as forums, friends lists, and live chat. Some of Book of Matches' free dating features keep the larger user base growing constantly, such as scrap booking and blog tagging. You might be wondering how these sites make money - advertising, advertising, advertising! :) Thu, 29 May 2008 19:03:53 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=42 Another influencer of my early internet education was Howard Rheingold (see article) and I found a talk he gave at TED so I've including it for others to enjoy. Howard Rheingold: Way-new collaboration Howard Rheingold talks about the coming world of collaboration, participatory media and collective action -- and how Wikipedia is really an outgrowth of our natural human instinct to work as a group. As he points out, humans have been banding together to work collectively since our days of hunting mastodons. Recommended Book Tue, 20 May 2008 02:33:06 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=41 As I talked about in my earlier post, "Tracing my Digital History", someone who influenced me in my early online education was Nicholas Negroponte. I recently ran across this video on YouTube and wanted to share it, enjoy. Nicholas Negroponte: From 1984, 4 predictions about the future (3 of them correct) Nicholas Negroponte is former Director of the MIT Media Lab, and founder of the non-profit, One Laptop Per Child, dedicated to making the famed $100 laptop a reality. In this talk, he outlines some of the challenges of getting a $100 laptop produced, and explains why he stepped down as Media Lab director to focus on it full-time, "for the rest of my life." (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:21) Buy His Book Tue, 20 May 2008 02:19:48 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=39 We all have either played with a Wii or have heard of all the cool games! Today they even released an exercise 'package' called WiiFit. They're even using the Wii at retirement homes for their social activities - you have a built in tennis court, bowling alley so why not! It is a wonderful social group gaming experience, the Wii has opened up gaming to a new market segment, senior citizens. Beyond the gaming aspect of the Wii I thought this would be interesting for some of my readers, turning your infrared light pens and Wii Remote into a low-cost multi-point interactive white board! Johnny Chung Lee at Carnegie Mellon University shows you how to use the infrared (IR) light pens and the Wii Remote to create a very low-cost multi-point interactive whiteboard and multi-point tablet displays. You can download the software from his site: http://johnnylee.net Note, I haven't created the whiteboard yet but hopefully will experiment soon, but in the meantime take a look at his video and if you give it a try let me know. Tue, 20 May 2008 02:01:59 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=40 If you're a freelancer these links might be of interest: FreelanceSwitch Hourly Rate Calculator http://freelanceswitch.com/rates/ 101 Essential Freelancing Resources http://freelanceswitch.com/general/101-essential-freelancing-resources/ Creating Passive Income http://notbythehour.com/ Tue, 20 May 2008 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=38 I have to start by telling you I wrote a long article telling you about Darren - but I lost it! Don't you hate it when that happens! But I'm going to attempt to write up this article again, but it isn't going to be as long. Its late, I'm tired, and my allergies are acting up! (I'm going to believe I'm not going to get sick! Do you think that will help? :)) Okay, back on topic. Darren does not hype himself, he's not trying to sell you anything before he gives you the story or information. We've all seen the sites where they try to sell you the white paper that is guaranteed to make you money - all for 69.95! Then there are the sites that want you to join their network to get access to the 'experts' who know it all! I'm sure they make money doing it this way but they are selling you information that is freely available online. I should also say, I don't know Darren, I've never met him but I've read his site, I've listened to what he has to say and he is definitely the read deal - he's making money and he takes the time to tell you how's he done it without asking you to give him a buck to learn about it. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying for quality information and making a living using technology is a good thing! But there is a difference between the 'car salesman' type message versus the 'expert guide' method. Darren uses the 'expert guide' method - the same one I use in my business and life. :) So visit his site, read all the archives, learn, implement, and make some money! Visit the site ProBlogger.com Read an Interview Guy Kawasaki Did With Darren for Sun http://www.sun.com/solutions/smb/guest.jsp?blog=darrenrowse Buy His Book: ProBlogger ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income See His Latest Video Blog: 5 Emerging Trends in Blogging Tue, 20 May 2008 01:35:29 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=37 One of the online trends is not only social networking but also local resources, especially directories. I've wanted to produce this site over the past couple years and now its done. It will be growing and the site will add a classifieds section and calendar - so if you're from Colorado or Teller County or if you're just visiting then maybe you'll find the site useful. http://tellercountydirectory.com/ Mon, 19 May 2008 15:57:37 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=35 In this case its only 4 degrees but who's counting. Did you see the Tom Cruise interview on Oprah? I missed it but thanks to my fellow tweets on Twitter I caught a few clips, one especially caught my attention because of a cute pair of ladybug shoes for Suri Cruise. You might be asking why I would care about little girl shoes, it just so happens I met Katja, the owner of Skimbaco an online boutique in Colorado on Twitter! She helped select those cute little Ladybugs and when they made a short appearance on Oprah’s interview with Tom Cruise it was exciting. You never know who you will meet online and I'm so happy to share the good news! In addition, my favorite niece is having a baby! And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she's having a girl so I can buy the new baby cute shoes like these Ladybugs! So with this good news, Katja is celebrating by running a contest that you should definitely enter! Contest Details Win a pair of Monkey-Toe Ladybug Shoes like Suri Cruise's (as seen on Oprah) or a $30 gift certificate from Skimbaco! Just visit www.skimbaco.com, and comment to this post, one winner will be chosen using Random.org. Drawing to be held May 15th! Open to U.S. residents only. P.S. Chelsea (my favorite niece - go comment to get into the contest and spread the word to all your pregnant friends) ;) - love ya! Wed, 07 May 2008 11:04:46 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=33 A sphere of influence is nothing new, you've got your network of friends where you share the latest/greatest in things like the best coffee, the best place for dessert, places to go for sushi, the list goes on and on. But in the information age sphere of influence have gotten bigger, they've been automated and now marketers want to pay you for it. The question is what is your opinion worth when its bought? In my mind, not much! This is why in traditional media the advertising department is separate from the editorial department. They don't mix well - sorta of like oil and water. This post was sparked by an article I read here: http://strumpette.com/archives/671-How-to-Game-Social-Networks.html The article notes, that credit card companies are not allowed sell data to map personal buying habits. But with the 'streams' of personalities "freely" available online, published by the author there is no reason or barrier in place for social scientist to take those streams and mapping you or me. And as the article states, once mapped then influenced, manipulated and taken advantage of - hmmmm, that gives me something to think about. I've thought what's the harm, I'm an open book but having someone map me, predict my every move - that is a bit creepy. And makes me think we're all creatures of habit so it isn't difficult to do but I don't have to like it. So what does this mean? Do we abandon social networking? Do we protect our data streams? I don't have the answers but I have lots of questions. Interesting Links How to Game Social Networks by Brian Connolly Describing and predicting behavior: The Big Five Big Five Personality Traits The Five-Factor Model: Emergence of a Taxonomic Model for Personality Psychology Big Five Personality Traits from UrbanMinistry.org Mon, 05 May 2008 00:15:43 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=32 CoachDeb on Twitter asked if anyone could offer some support to Yvonne on her new header and I love to offer my suggestions but in this case it just seemed easier to do it with images since I'm a visual person. The first one isn't so bad, but can be improved with a few tricks and I've illustrated them in my version of the header below. I'll write more about specifics later -- just wanted to get it up for review. If Yvonne likes it then I'll be happy to send her the image file -- Original Header Header for YvonneLyon.com Available for Hire If you would like a consultation on your site or a new header design contact me! I'd love to work with you to help you put your best face forward online! :) Fri, 02 May 2008 22:45:16 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=31 Short video of it snowing from my bedroom window on May 1, 2008 Fri, 02 May 2008 19:23:48 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=29 A Bit of Background This post is about what I've seen as the web has taken turns and grown in popularity. It is important to take time to reflect on where you've been so you can decide where you want to go. And have to admit I haven't done that very often over the past decade, I've been too busy building my business and living in the moment, not a bad thing I have to say, but it is time to reflect. There are a couple reasons for this, the first is I'm getting older, the second is my mom had cancer, she is a survivor - but times like those make you stop and take note of where you are and where you are going! Finally, networking with a new generation of technology geeks and entrepreneurs has given me insight. And they face the same challenges we discussed so I thought I should start speaking up and sharing my experiences so they don't have to make the same mistakes we made over the years. So my mission is to remember the past to understand how I can enrich the lives of others who are new to the field. So looking to the past is really my point in moving forward. And I can't believe I've been digital for over a decade! Hmm, that's a good tagline, Digital for over a Decade - could make a good title to a book! So the working title of this is, "Digital for Over a Decade: An Online Journey in the Age of Information". Must Read Books The first place to start is the people who've influenced me and I've got to start with books. I love books and these are classics everyone in this field should have on their shelf. And there are probably others but these stand out in my mind at the moment, I'll add more if I think of them and please make any recommendations, they can be added to my link database! The first one is Nicholas Negroponte's, Being Digital. The second is Howard Rheingold's book "The Vitual Community" (published online, note, Howard is an early pioneer of this digital world we're participating in -- definitely someone to 'still' learn from!) Update: New video from Howard included below, you can also check out his 'vlog' i.e., video blog. The next book I recommend is Philip Greenspun's book titled, "Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing" (published online, he's the father of the idea of dynamically generated websites, definitely a book for everyone, not just geeks). And last but not least in my list is Tom Peter's book on "The Brand You50" (not available online but I'll provide a link to Amazon so if you buy it I get a small commission as an affiliate). I like all these books for different reasons but should be a good start for someone who wants to move into this space without being bombarded with all the acronyms, hype, and the latest craziness. My First Published Site Next I have to share my first web page with everyone, published in late 1995 and I started "counting" visitors, which was a popular thing to do back then on November 11, 1995. This was almost a year after Mosaic/Netscape came out with their browser. The site is brought to you by Archive.org, thanks! If they wouldn't have archived this stuff then I couldn't take this journey. So I'm going to finish up this post for now, I hope you've learned something new. This is the beginning of my story - there is more to come so check back! Buy the Books Related Videos Great Video of a party at the WELL, an early group of pioneers in the social networking space. I love what he says at the end = he didn't consider themselves to be important. I can relate to that concept - so watch the video and tell me what you think. Nicholas Negroponte: From 1984, 4 predictions about the future (3 of them correct) Nicholas Negroponte is former Director of the MIT Media Lab, and founder of the non-profit, One Laptop Per Child, dedicated to making the famed $100 laptop a reality. In this talk, he outlines some of the challenges of getting a $100 laptop produced, and explains why he stepped down as Media Lab director to focus on it full-time, "for the rest of my life." (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA. Duration: 18:21) Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:43:39 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28 You might be a geek if you'd rather tweet on twitter than have a conversation with someone across the room. You might be a geek if you tweet that you've fallen and bumped your head instead of telling someone in the next room. You might be a geek if you take pictures of your food to share with your friends online! You might be a geek if your friends call you to fix their computer and you can. You might be a geek if you sleep with your laptop or PDA/Phone next to you in bed. You might be a geek if you know that PHP and tweet are not drugs. You might be a geek if you collect web site domains. You might be a geek if you would prefer to spend a Saturday night watching your 52" LCD HDTV rather than going out with your buddies. You might be a geek if you have worked with people you've never met or that are in times zones with over a 3 hour difference. You might be a geek if you've never met your clients face-to-face. You might be a geek if you've ever had a conference call in your pajamas or from bed on your laptop. You might be a geek if you have a cell phone or PDA, no land line, and can't understand why everyone else doesn't do the same thing. You might be a geek if you have a photo stream of pictures of your life on Flickr. You might be a geek if you know where all the wi-fi hot spots are in your home town and most airports and/or know where to find a list of them online. You might be a geek if you can work from any where in the world as long as you have an internet connection. Here's Your Sign Happy Geeking! :) Remember it is a lifestyle, not a job! Put It On Your Site Here's the link to the image - http://www.ithinkmedia.com/images/geek_sign.jpg Sun, 27 Apr 2008 01:17:54 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=27 The week has passed but millions of students and educators nationwide examined their carbon footprints during National Environmental Education Week, April 13-19. National Environmental Education Week (EE Week) launched with over 1600 partner organizations, and millions of teachers, students and others in step. This year, EE Week provides an opportunity for young people to learn about carbon footprints -- both how they are created and what can be done to shrink them. The National Environmental Education Week Web site, http://www.eeweek.org, provides resources including a robust curricula library offering dozens of grade-appropriate, standards-based lessons on energy, carbon and climate change, as well as including a new, easy-to-use nature center map to help teachers and parents find local environmental education activities, and a one-of-a-kind carbon footprint calculator, built by Zerofootprint, that helps students examine how their daily choices affect the health of the climate.This site provides information for everyone -- take a look. For details and more information about EE Week, becoming a partner, or participating in a local event, please visit http://www.eeweek.org. Related Links The National Environmental Education Foundation: http://www.neefusa.org Canon U.S.A., Inc: http://www.usa.canon.com/pressroom Fri, 25 Apr 2008 23:04:42 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26 I've thought the same thing over the past few years since this term has become popular. Okay, yes, sites using new usable technologies like AJAX and new designs would be called a web 2.0 site. But then when I read something from Tim O'Reilly it really clicked. The first wave of the internet was using the 'publishing' model without communication between the audience and publisher. So basically the same old model without interaction. But web 2.0 turns this model on its ear, it is about communication, about collaboration, about sharing. A model very foreign to most traditional businesses. I guess what was difficult for me before I read this article, to me the web/internet has always been a two way street, its always been about collaboration, but I didn't articulate it very well and its my assumptions that get me in trouble as always. So its simple, the web is about open media, open communication, bringing the walls down and breaking down the hierarchy of traditional media. Now lets get innovating and mashing up technology to make our lives, businesses, and educational system more productive. If you want to follow the trend read Mashable.com - a great site that offers insight and reviews of the latest web 2.0 apps and technologies. Characteristics of a Web 2.0 Site Open API Rich Internet Applications: using new technologies like AJAX, Javascript, XML Independent Data (i.e., ability to share with others) Mashups Examples HousingMaps Twitter LuLu.com FreshBooks YouTube.com Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:34:52 -0700 http://www.ithinkmedia.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=25 I learned about LuLu when it first came online but didn't explore it too much but thought I should give it another look. The site is already five years old, with users in 80 countries and very well publicized ranking in the top 2500 websites worldwide with almost 1.2 million registered users they've sure grown quickly over the years. LuLu is not a publisher but eliminates the traditional barriers to entering the publishing, allowing them (authors, educators, videographers, musicians, businesses, etc) to bring their work directly to the audience, effectively cutting out the middle man. The platform provides you with the tools to format your digital content, they also have a built in marketplace for distribution because as most know it really is about the marketing! LuLu gives content creators 80% of the revenue, a much larger slice of the pie than traditional publishers. For example, most authors get a fraction of the pie, i.e., about a buck a book! So you've got to sell alot of books to make serious money so there are only a small percentage of authors that can live on their royalties. Take a look and happy publishing: LuLu.com Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:11:03 -0700