Privacy or (The World Wide Web Is not Benevolent)
These are some reasons why I haven't plastered my name all over my blog.
I am very careful about privacy with blogs. Blogs from the beginning when they were first coming out were viewed as a recruiting tool by many companies. I know this because I was a sourcer for a short while seeking people out for recruiters. This is a rather controversial position to be in.
Librarians in human resources positions are rare, but very present. Recruitment research (sourcing) is a unique skill. I got to see many things about finding information on people on the web. Companies do look at what people write on the web. Letting it all hang out is a very bad idea in some cases. A blog is often structured very similarly to a resume.
In some ways, it is more complete because it describes the personality of the writer of the blog. It also often includes content like race, ethnicity, and religion which are not legally acceptable reasons for selecting people in the United States. People don't put this on their resume.
I am not an I disclose person. Darren Rowse who writes Problogger talks about this in his recent book. He acknowledges that he will not talk about his family or private life over the world wide web. This is a very good idea for many people.
It is not just protecting my family which I think is important, but also watching my own identity. Limiting personal information on the world wide web is important. Not putting out credit card information, home addresses, and similar things protects you from identity theft. It also limits recruiter contact if you don't want to be contacted by recruiting agencies. When the recruiter tells you their name is Elvis and won't tell you who they are calling for, it is a good sign to stop being polite.
Also anything which you put on a website is subject to scrutiny or copying. It is very easy to extract information from websites using fairly simple software like websuckers which search out emails, phone numbers, and names. Webmole Targeted Contact Finder 4.1 is an example of this.
There are more advanced tools for extracting information like site rippers which copy a whole site from the internet then break it into pieces where pictures, documents, and various filetypes can be broken down and mapped out. Black Widow Siteripper is a good example of this.
This is one of the reasons spam is so ubiquitous. It is very easy to collect emails by subject on the internet. There is also the constant presence of spyware which is mainly commercial. You may not think of yourself as a valuable commodity, but you are. Your information sells products. I don't like solicitors and I don't like spam. Putting a lot of personal information on blogs invites them in. I have very few spam comments here.
If you leave loose files on the internet, including resumes, excel files, pdfs, and similar things if a searcher knows how to look they will find it. It is important to be tight with some of your information.
The internet is a permanent record in some ways. There are tools like The Wayback Machine which can go fairly far back in the webs history to look at websites. http://www.archive.org/web/web.php
Being a librarian with sourcing experience is fairly controversial. It was interesting while I did it, but not something which I would care to repeat. I find searching for books and buying books more interesting than searching for people. It taught me some interesting if obscure skills that have to do with internet searching.
Also, being a librarian with minor bookstore experience is quite controversial as well. Visiting bookstores and studying the history of publishing is a hobby for me. For example in our library, no librarian where I am currently working is allowed to work with the booksale. There is a retired librarian who works with the friends on the booksale, but she is retired. It is viewed as a conflict of interest between the Friends of the Library and the actual library.
There is a strong underlying ideal of separation between bookstores and libraries that is taught. This is a blog post from Library Juice from a library student. The ideal is freshly imprinted.
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=262 . My views about the relationship between bookstores, libraries, and publishing are sometimes controversial.
There are numerous librarians who have experience with bookstores. Many have started their own stores. But, they usually separate completely from the library before they attempt to start a store. Or, they work part-time in a bookstore after they are retired.
It is very easy to claim that someone is stealing from the library if they are selling books. I am not selling books right now. This is true in almost every library I have been in. Theft is a real problem in public libraries.
Oddly, one of the most coveted positions in the library, is the acquisitions position. It is the position which interacts the most with publishers and bookstores. It is a great thing to visit bookstores if you are a librarian; just not to work there.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Thoughts About Why I Am Blogging (Inspiration and Motivation)
Thoughts On Why I Am Blogging
There are many reasons for blogging. Some of them are not monetary and are very personal in nature. People have wanted to know more about me. Why do I put inane things in my blog? People have forgotten a large part of the history of blogging is about creating online journals. The most prominent of these sites is http://www.livejournal.com/ . It does not have bells and whistles and tons of widgets. People are writing a public journal. Ellen Datlow one of my favorite editors of fantasy has an excellent example of this. http://ellen-datlow.livejournal.com/
This blog is partially a public journal of what I am doing focused on my job and activities around books. It will include some inane tedious material because that happens to be what I am doing that particular day. Not everything being written is for you in a way. You can look at it and say why is he saying that? That has nothing to do with entertaining me. It is often about self-motivation to do things.
The little things matter to me. The coffee in the morning, the small poem, the nattering inane everyday things which run through my life. Maybe, I can make them more interesting to you by adding thoughts or reminiscences.
This is the essence of what many blogs are about. Poetic moments in a stormy life. This is one of the reasons at the top of the blog, I am a member of The Society of Midnight Wanderers which is a collection of blogs focused on writing, much of it poetic writing. I put in my poetry, partially because it is work related. I do read the poems I write here at work sometimes.
When I tell people I am going to write a review of Groundswell, Winning In A World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff at the laundromat, it does not mean I might write a review this afternoon. It means I have made a public affirmation that I will do something specific. The same thing happens when I say I am going to be attending the New York Anime Festival. I feel a certain responsibility to my readers to do that specific activity.
This blog has helped me focus on getting things done. I am a person that likes to do what I say I am going to do. For example, I just finished reading Linnea Sinclair's Shades of Dark. I will eventually review it, but not today.
Attitude and motivation are important to me. It is one of the reasons why I read Attitude the Ultimate Power. http://mondaymorningpower.blogspot.com/
Many, many bloggers use their blog as a source of inspiration and motivation. For example, I recently read Stephanie's Confessions of A Bookaholic. This is an excellent example of a post like this. http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/09/sunday-salon-out-of-kilter.html . It is a mix of books and thoughts all jumbled together. I wish her well.
Feel free to interject in what I am saying or make comments. There is nothing that is unexpected about a professional using a blog for this purpose.
There are many reasons for blogging. Some of them are not monetary and are very personal in nature. People have wanted to know more about me. Why do I put inane things in my blog? People have forgotten a large part of the history of blogging is about creating online journals. The most prominent of these sites is http://www.livejournal.com/ . It does not have bells and whistles and tons of widgets. People are writing a public journal. Ellen Datlow one of my favorite editors of fantasy has an excellent example of this. http://ellen-datlow.livejournal.com/
This blog is partially a public journal of what I am doing focused on my job and activities around books. It will include some inane tedious material because that happens to be what I am doing that particular day. Not everything being written is for you in a way. You can look at it and say why is he saying that? That has nothing to do with entertaining me. It is often about self-motivation to do things.
The little things matter to me. The coffee in the morning, the small poem, the nattering inane everyday things which run through my life. Maybe, I can make them more interesting to you by adding thoughts or reminiscences.
This is the essence of what many blogs are about. Poetic moments in a stormy life. This is one of the reasons at the top of the blog, I am a member of The Society of Midnight Wanderers which is a collection of blogs focused on writing, much of it poetic writing. I put in my poetry, partially because it is work related. I do read the poems I write here at work sometimes.
When I tell people I am going to write a review of Groundswell, Winning In A World Transformed by Social Technologies by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff at the laundromat, it does not mean I might write a review this afternoon. It means I have made a public affirmation that I will do something specific. The same thing happens when I say I am going to be attending the New York Anime Festival. I feel a certain responsibility to my readers to do that specific activity.
This blog has helped me focus on getting things done. I am a person that likes to do what I say I am going to do. For example, I just finished reading Linnea Sinclair's Shades of Dark. I will eventually review it, but not today.
Attitude and motivation are important to me. It is one of the reasons why I read Attitude the Ultimate Power. http://mondaymorningpower.blogspot.com/
Many, many bloggers use their blog as a source of inspiration and motivation. For example, I recently read Stephanie's Confessions of A Bookaholic. This is an excellent example of a post like this. http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/09/sunday-salon-out-of-kilter.html . It is a mix of books and thoughts all jumbled together. I wish her well.
Feel free to interject in what I am saying or make comments. There is nothing that is unexpected about a professional using a blog for this purpose.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Twitter A Form of Microblogging.
Twitter A Form of Microblogging.
I have been using Twitter for several months. I find it easy to use and quite enjoyable to do. It is a form of microblogging where you post very short 140 word long posts to groups of users. The fun is in the types of posts which you can find and read. The posts are on an incredibly variety of subjects. They also can include links to various websites.
Because the posts are very short it does not take long to do them. You can do one or two posts a day very easily with only a few minutes spent on each post. Because the posts are short, you can even post serially during a day. For example, when Fantagraphics books was at New York Comic Con, they posted a 140 word twitter post every hour. It was entertaining reading their brief updates.
Also, twitter can be used with text messaging devices and on laptops. This means you can receive twitter posts from the most unlikely places. People are often twittering at protests recording short messages about what is happening blow by blow. The Republican party has even picked it up as a tool to protest Nancy Pelosi.
http://www.236.com/news/2008/08/13/faq_house_republicans_twitter_8279.php
I find it kind of amusing. It is a very creative tool if used appropriately. I am currently using it to promote my blog. I am part of a group which discusses twitter on blogcatalog, a social networking site. People are constantly trying to think up new ways to use it.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/twitter
Some of the main ways which I use it are:
1) Write short form poetry-- twitterkus. (haiku)
2) Quotes by famous people.
3) Announce which book I am currently reading.
4) Place links to my blog posts.
5) Place links to what I think are entertaining websites.
6) Place links to free ebooks.
7) Make simple statements about what I am currently doing.
8) Announce where I am going. I made a post about New York Anime Festival.
My twitter address is http://twitter.com/bookcalendar
There are a lot of very interesting people using twitter. I initially searched for people who were interested in publishing, books, and comic books and followed them. Then they began to follow my statements slowly. I really don't know the people. I am doing this to generate interest in my blog more than anything else.
There are a lot of different groups on Twitter. I am especially interested in publishing oriented people who use twitter. Some of the publishers following me on twitter are UMinnPress, GemstonePublishing, Little Brown, Orbit Books, Bantam Spectra, Echelon Press, Living Waters, Ambrosia Publishing, Septagon Studios, Island Press, oupblog (oxford university press blog), Cisco Press, Impetus Press, Publishing Talk, biffhumble/ Red Flag Publishing, Permuted Press, BeTheMedia, and Peachpit.
I am always looking for more people to join me in my endeavors...
I have been using Twitter for several months. I find it easy to use and quite enjoyable to do. It is a form of microblogging where you post very short 140 word long posts to groups of users. The fun is in the types of posts which you can find and read. The posts are on an incredibly variety of subjects. They also can include links to various websites.
Because the posts are very short it does not take long to do them. You can do one or two posts a day very easily with only a few minutes spent on each post. Because the posts are short, you can even post serially during a day. For example, when Fantagraphics books was at New York Comic Con, they posted a 140 word twitter post every hour. It was entertaining reading their brief updates.
Also, twitter can be used with text messaging devices and on laptops. This means you can receive twitter posts from the most unlikely places. People are often twittering at protests recording short messages about what is happening blow by blow. The Republican party has even picked it up as a tool to protest Nancy Pelosi.
http://www.236.com/news/2008/08/13/faq_house_republicans_twitter_8279.php
I find it kind of amusing. It is a very creative tool if used appropriately. I am currently using it to promote my blog. I am part of a group which discusses twitter on blogcatalog, a social networking site. People are constantly trying to think up new ways to use it.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/twitter
Some of the main ways which I use it are:
1) Write short form poetry-- twitterkus. (haiku)
2) Quotes by famous people.
3) Announce which book I am currently reading.
4) Place links to my blog posts.
5) Place links to what I think are entertaining websites.
6) Place links to free ebooks.
7) Make simple statements about what I am currently doing.
8) Announce where I am going. I made a post about New York Anime Festival.
My twitter address is http://twitter.com/bookcalendar
There are a lot of very interesting people using twitter. I initially searched for people who were interested in publishing, books, and comic books and followed them. Then they began to follow my statements slowly. I really don't know the people. I am doing this to generate interest in my blog more than anything else.
There are a lot of different groups on Twitter. I am especially interested in publishing oriented people who use twitter. Some of the publishers following me on twitter are UMinnPress, GemstonePublishing, Little Brown, Orbit Books, Bantam Spectra, Echelon Press, Living Waters, Ambrosia Publishing, Septagon Studios, Island Press, oupblog (oxford university press blog), Cisco Press, Impetus Press, Publishing Talk, biffhumble/ Red Flag Publishing, Permuted Press, BeTheMedia, and Peachpit.
I am always looking for more people to join me in my endeavors...
Problogger Secrets of Blogging Your Way To A Six Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
Problogger Secrets of Blogging Your Way To A Six Figure Income by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett
This book is refreshing. The writing is honest, clear, and straightforward. Chris Garrett has a background in computer programming and writes a blog at http://www.chrisg.com/ and Darren Rowse has a blog at http://www.problogger.net/ . These blogs are two of the most popular blogs on the internet about blogging. I like that they immediately tell you that blogging is not a get rich quick scheme, it takes years of diligence to make your blog both profitable and widely read.
They tell you the truth about quite a few things. I wish I had read this book earlier. Post every day with original thoughts and content. Track your blog and see who is visiting and where they are coming from. Include original content and write original thoughts.
One of the most important reminders I got from this book is do not rely on a single source of traffic for your blog. The traffic can be very ephemeral. If a blog uses traffic generators like Digg or Stumbleupon, these sources of traffic do not guarantee that the blog is getting regular visitors every single day. It is the regular visitors who come back over and over again that matter. For a while, I was using Entrecard, I sometimes got a hundred to two hundred visitors a day. When I stopped using Entrecard, my visitor count dropped to about 40 people per day. Of these ten of them were from Entrecard.
The best way to generate traffic is to talk to the people who are visiting, go visit them, and comment on their blogs. Don't just comment. Say "Please comment on my blog." or "What do you think?" So, "How do you like what I am saying?"
In the beginning of the book, the authors remind you that there are many reasons for blogging including hobbies, practicing writing, improving your computer skills, and other things. Think about whether it is worth it to advertise and make money. Sometimes advertising conflicts with your other goals.
There are a lot of subjects covered in this book. Some of them caught me by surprise. You can learn to sell your blog, create a monetary value for your blog, about the social media popularity contest, and many other subjects.
The main focus is how to make money in the long term from blogging. Chris Garrett describes other methods of making money from blogging; consulting, being a guest blog poster, writing for other blogs, designing blog templates, not just advertising. Darren Rowse has a job board on his site, http://www.problogger.net/ for those seeking employment working on blogs.
The voice of this book is one of honesty. Darren Rowse comes across as the conservative preacher he once was. There is a lot of integrity in this book. The authors want you to create a unique and unique content. People are looking for something worthwhile to read which is remarkable, educational, and informative.
Problogging is surprisingly easy to read. I read it in afternoon. The book is 229 pages long. Punctuated throughout the book are black and white photographs, many of them of different blogging sites. This book is a popular book by a pair of popular authors that have direct experience on what they are writing about.
Good Morning To You All
Good Morning
I was over at Indiegamer and I found a wonderful political game, Whack the Vote. It expresses my deeper thoughts on both candidates. They still need to add Palin and Biden though. A little lighthearted fun.
http://www.whackthevote.com/
I was over at Indiegamer and I found a wonderful political game, Whack the Vote. It expresses my deeper thoughts on both candidates. They still need to add Palin and Biden though. A little lighthearted fun.
http://www.whackthevote.com/
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