 |
August 21, 2006
What's MySpace?
One of the more popular websites today is called MySpace (www.myspace.com). Many of my friends have told me that they have heard of MySpace, but they are not really sure what it is and asked if I would write an article about it. So here goes...
MySpace belongs to a class of websites know as social networking. These types of sites began to appear around 1995 but have gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. Classmates.com is another popular social networking website that you may have heard about or seen ads for. Put simply, MySpace is a free website where you can keep in touch with friends as well as meet new people. MySpace gives you the option to say why you are on the website,and offer Dating, Serious Relationship, Friends and Networking as options. Your can add as little or as much detail as you like about yourself, and keep that information private from others. People can request to be "friends" and you can always permit, deny or block any user. If you, or someone else, posts something inappropirate, then you can be deleted from the website. Big deal right? Wrong. This website has gained tremendous popularity and now, according to Wikipedia, gets more page views than Google!
So let's dive a little deeper and see what else you can do on MySpace. Of course, they allow you to post photos, videos and even your own blog (remember my article on blogs a few weeks ago?). You can swap messages with fellow friends, visit their forums and discuss any number of topics, view upcoming events in your area, track videos (movies and documentaries), bands, comedians and even view and post classified ads.
Because of it's popularity, many businesses have also joined the fray. Anyone can create a profile, and aspiring tycoons are capitalizing on MySpace's popularity by adding their profile to the site. Write a book and trying to snag readers? Get yourself on the website and add as many friends as possible to get the word out. In a band? Put your profile on MySpace Music where you can post songs, upcoming shows and do your best to garner a following. The same is true for aspiring comedians and film makers.
And what would MySpace be if you couldn't personalize it? You can put the "My" in MySpace by customizing the colors, photos, blogs, etc, that you post on the site. A word of caution: do not put too much personal information on the site. For instance, your name should be your first name or a nick name. Identity thieves are ready to pounce on the neophyte that posts all their personal information. As long as you use common sense, you should be fine. It's a free service, so logon today and give it a try.
August 08, 2006
Sharing Photos
Email is a great tool for sending and receiving photos. With a digital camera, all you do is download the photos to your machine and you can send out dozens of photos to your entire family within minutes. Now that’s convenience! The problem is, it can be daunting if you don’t know what you are doing. Chances are a friend has sent you an oversized photo that you cannot view all at once. You have to scroll up and down, left and right to see what they have sent. This can be annoying and is easily corrected. Below are some techniques that will hopefully make it easier for you. Naturally, this will depend on what kind of machine you have, Apple or PC.
Apple
Let’s start with a Macintosh, as they make it a snap to accomplish this task. First connect your digital camera and download the photos using iPhoto. iPhoto will automatically detect your camera and ask you if you want to import the photos. Once you have downloaded all photos to your machine, select which photos you want to email by holding down the Command key (it kind of looks like a daisy) and click each photo that you want to send. You should see a blue border around each photo you select. When you are done, click on the “Share” menu at the top of the screen, and select “Email.” You will get a dialog box asking you what size image you want to send. Select “Medium” from the dropdown menu and click compose. Apple’s mail program will automatically launch with the photos attached. Add text and email addresses and click send. If you want to change the size again, there is a small drop down list in the lower right corner labeled “Image Size.” Select an option from here and the image will be automatically resized. Note that it will only let you select a smaller image in the email program. If you want to send a larger version, go back to iPhoto and try it again.
PC
This can also be a snap on a PC if you have the right software. I really like Picasa. It’s free and easy to use. If you don’t already have it, go to Picasa. Of course, instructions for Picasa may vary depending on your email program, but you can go to Picasa’s Support page for more instructions on emailing photos. First start Picasa. Click on the “Tools” Menu and select “Options…” Click on the “E-mail” Tab and Under “Output Options” slide the pointer to 640 pixels and click on “OK.” Now you are ready to email photos. Select which photos you want to send by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and clicking the photos you want to send with your mouse. You should see a blue border around each photo you select. Next click the “Email” button at the bottom of the screen. This will automatically launch your email program and attach your selected images.
The Web
Of course, you may want to create and store virtual photo albums. There are many online services that do this for free, but my favorite is Flickr.. It, too, is free and allows you to create albums and upload photos--even specify who can view them. Get started by going to Flickr.com
Sending someone a photo is easy. Sending them at a viewable, convenient size is even better. Take a moment to learn the above tricks and everyone in your address book will thank you.
