About Me

Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom
HR Apprentice. Ex Media Studies student at Swansea University. This blog is a collection of links, articles, academic reference and random thoughts.

Monday 30 June 2008

The information Revolution

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | The viral video online revolution

"Within 15 months, Youtube.com has become one of the internet's most watched websites, with 25 million hits a day.
More than 40 million original clips and TV segments have been uploaded by visitors."

The website provides free editing and uploading tools. Even the player is built on open source code. Traditional video players have largely been replaced by Flash, because of its flexibility and huge install base.

Social networking websites like MySpace.com have fuelled the viral intensity of web videos.

Marketers and advertisers are not far behind, using these sites to their advantage, but DIY video is a double-edged sword.

One car company recently invited visitors to create their own commercial from the supplied clips and fonts.

The idea quickly caught the attention of environmentalists who created their own advertising campaign.

But despite the setbacks, everyone in the industry says online video 2.0 is here to stay and it is only a matter of time before a new tier of home-based entertainers become household names around the world.


Excerpt taken from

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | The viral video online revolution:

Battling The Online Bullies

Cyber-bullying used to involve sending threatening texts or e-mails, but the class of 2008 are finding social networks to be a fertile, and occasionally dangerous breeding ground, as Ian Hardy found out.

read more | digg story

Thursday 26 June 2008

Wednesday 25 June 2008

The Machine is using us

Spare a few seconds to support the Tibetian people

With just weeks left before the Olympic Games, a major Chinese government crackdown is taking place in Tibet, and a climate of fear grips the region.

This spring, Tibetans began escalating protests against the repressive policies of the Chinese government and its harsh campaign against the Dalai Lama. These demonstrations have been met with brutality. Thousands of Tibetans, including Buddhist monks and nuns, have been detained, interrogated and tortured. More than one hundred have been killed.Of special concern are the untold number of Tibetans who have disappeared since the crackdown began.

Now is the time to sign the petition urging world leaders not to commit to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics!

Click Here to Sign the Petition Your signature will be delivered to world leaders through their embassies and consulates.

Already, we have received almost 20,000 signatures from all around the world. Help us reach our goal of 50,000!

The International Campaign for Tibet is calling for:

* A full accounting of Tibetans currently detained, and due process of law.* Real progress in the Sino-Tibetan dialogue.* Open access for the media in Tibet, as promised in China¹s Olympic bid.

World leaders should carefully weigh these concerns before they commit to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

The Olympic Games is an international sporting event.
The Olympic torch is a symbol of peace.

Neither the torch nor the Games belong to Beijing, but to the citizens of the world, including the Tibetan people. Let¹s send a clear message to the Chinese government to stop the crackdownin Tibet and engage in genuine dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Thank you for your support of the Tibetan people! Please Forward This Message
Click here to forward

A Vision of Students Today

A short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.

read more | digg story

Tuesday 24 June 2008

Dispatches - The Killing Zone

British journalists report on Israeli violence ...

Useless Random Facts

Useless Facts:

"The 3 most valuable brand names on earth are:-
Malboro, Coca-Cola and Budweiser - in that order.

Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of their hands.

The sentence 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' uses every letter in the alphabet.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.


Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a 'Friday the 13th.'

When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop...even your heart.

Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than the rest of the day."

The Secret to a Successful Marriage

The start of a long and happy marriage.

Mad Mad World

Monday 23 June 2008

Sarcasm, Sarcastic Comments, Quotes, Remarks, Dark Sarcasm

"There is nothing more beautiful than sarcasm. That is definitely an overstatement but it should balance the moronic comment which says that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor. Now, whoever made that statement was desperately in need of a rectal broomstick extraction procedure.

Sarcasm usually requires a quick wit, and the ability to extract the minutest points of weakness in a conversation. So it is quite unlikely that it is the lowest form of humor as some would like to call it. Perhaps not being able to enjoy sarcasm is directly related to not having the ability to come up with sarcastic comments, which in turn creates a feeling of inadequacy, which in turn can spawn a Napoleon complex, that can cause someone to logicise that sarcasm is the humor of the stupid."

Sarcasm, Sarcastic Comments, Quotes, Remarks, Dark Sarcasm

Cannot find Weapons of Mass Destruction

For those seeking weapons if mass destruction this weblink may help you

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Sunday 22 June 2008

Photographer Documents Secret Satellites — All 189 of Them

His shots of 189 secret spy satellites are the subject of a new exhibit -- despite the fact that, officially speaking, the satellites don't exist. The Other Night Sky, on display at the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum through September 14, is only a small selection from the 1,500 astrophotographs Paglen has taken thus far.

read more | digg story

Saturday 21 June 2008

The Olympic Torch relay reaches Tibet


The latest leg of the controversial The Olympic torch relay passed through the Tibetan provincial capital of Lhasa.

Reports suggest that only a small group of vetted spectators were allowed to watch the flame as it was carried allong the 11km (seven mile) route.

Foreign journalists have been barred from Lhasa but a small group of reporters representing about 30 international news organisations were allowed into the city in to cover the torch relay although they were closely monitored by Chinese officials.

The flame was carried through the streets of Lhasa beginning at Norbulingka, the former summer palace of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader now living in exile in India.The closing ceremony took place at iconic hilltop Potala Palace, the traditional seat of Tibetan rulers.

Palma Trily, vice-governor of the Beijing-backed Tibetan government said ahead of the ceremony "We have sufficient confidence and capability to turn tomorrow's Lhasa torch relay into a big success," (Associated Press)

The deafening silence of the Tibetan people suggests that this was a success for the Chinese authorities, a PR exercise which has no credibility and an insult to the people of Tibet

Harnessing the power of 'clouds'

The cloud is the latest buzzword doing the rounds in the tech world. This article outlines how Cloud computing can change the way we access our digital content.

read more | digg story

Thursday 19 June 2008

YouTube goes live to take on TV


YouTube, the popular video sharing website, is set to challenge established TV broadcasters by offering its own live channels. The plans would enable YouTube's millions of users to chat from their bedrooms, perform music or report on a breaking news story to a worldwide audience in real time. A birthday party or wedding could be broadcast live to family and friends who are unable to attend. The truly committed could start a 24-hour 'lifecast' of their daily activities reminiscent of television's Big Brother.Read More| Technology | The Observer

Thursday 12 June 2008

Dont Panic - the panic cry that warns that you should Panic!!!

Long queues appeared at forecourts yesterday ahead of a planned strike by hundreds of tanker drivers. This is probably as a result of recent stories in the news in which the same message was repeated over and overDon't Panic Buy!!!!The very words don't panic alert you that there is something happening which people may panic over. If this is the case then you may think maybe you should just stock up just in case panic sets in. Its not that you are panic buying just stocking up a little extra in case well thats what you tell yourself anyway. This then starts a whole chain reaction of stock running out because of the people who did not panic and sparks a 2nd wave of panic buying until the situation snowballs and everyone is panicking. What started out as something which may have caused a bit of inconveince to a few petrol stations because of industrial action by tanker drivers is likely to become a huge crisis and I blame the media for telling us not to PANIC BUY! I am however not going to panic buy but might just stock up on petrol to make sure!!!!!!

read more | digg story

Armed police in school gun alert

ARMED police officers were called to a school yesterday after pupils spotted a man carrying a rifle. Quick thinking pupils reported the incident and police were alerted. A firearm was recovered and there were three arrests. My children attend the school and both said that whilst they were made aware of the situation they felt there was no immediate danger and I am grateful that staff at the school responded so quickly. As a parent I have always taken the stance that schools should not become prisons with high fence security and surveillance cameras but I have to admit that this incident did frighten me and I am starting to see the reasoning behind such security measures. I am sure this was only a one off incident but it does bring it home to me that gun crime exists and it may be happening right on your front door

read more | digg story

Armed police in school gun alert - icWales

Armed police in school gun alert - icWales

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Blogging - The Twilight Zone

Blogging....what's it for, why do we do it?

Its a sort of twilight zone really.

I really didn't think that anyone would actually visit my blog let alone read the content and yesterday somebody commented on a story a posted!!! This is a rarity in my little world, someone actually took the time to read what I had written. Blogging is a strange concept to which I have yet to find my own little niche. Its personal and yet impersonal, a brief glimpse into the minds of some or random,irrelevant babblings (in my case). I blog therefore i am but what does it actually mean?

The Oxford English dictionary defines it as:

(weblog)- frequently updated web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary.


The site Blogger gives many variations on how a blog may be defined -

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.


And that is where is the problem starts for me. How do visitors know you exist? What do they expect when they hit your page? Its all a big mystery to me.....but it cheers the little cockles of my heart when you know that you have reached out to at least one or two readers who have actually taken the time to read what you have written and let you know by posting their own thoughts or observations. I am making it my new year resolution to post my own comments or thoughts on blogs that interest me. I may too be the one to cheer up the writers days and spread a little happiness as I go. To all my fellow bloggers, interaction is the future, so put down your garlic bread and cakes of cheese and embrace the world of conversation.

Sunday 8 June 2008

Israel’s Barrier to Peace


The horrors of "life" and death under Israeli Occupation are revealed in this poignant article. The former Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times and author of the bestseller “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” examines the way Israel’s security wall has ripped a mortal gash in the lives of Palestinians living in its shadow, and argues that there can be no hope for peace in the Middle East as long as America continues to aid Israel in its dehumanizing practices.

read more | digg story

Swansea Jacks v's Cardiff Bluebirds

A video inciting violence against Swansea City fans has reportedly been circulated on the internet. The five-minute film was posted on the YouTube site and uses footage of Nazi rallies and extremist marches as well as featuring a pretence of Hitler himself leading Swansea fans into battle read more

Swansea City FC and Cardiff City FC face to face in the same league for the first time in six years. Lets hope the Jack army do not rise to the warcry of the Bluebirds, but there is such bitter rivalry that the inevitable violence will eventually break out and the season will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Saturday 7 June 2008

Andrew Keen on New Media - Media, News - The Independent

Andrew Keen on New Media - Media, News - The Independent
Interesting article by andrew Keen on the growth of new media with particular reference to Wiki and how it is being embraced around the world

Wednesday 4 June 2008

ICANN Watch - Questions that everyone should be asking

To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet.

ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.read more on the ICANN website

ICANN Watch say however

ICANN says that it is private, non-profit, consensus-based, California corporation charged with technical coordination of the Internet. Some others, including some of the people behind this web site, worry that ICANN has a somewhat manipulable idea of what constitutes a consensus, or that ICANN's close relationship with the U.S. Department of Commerce might make it a "state actor" under U.S. law-- a formally private body that has the same legal obligations to provide due process and non-discrimination as a government agency. read more on ICANN Watch website

This is worrying for the future of a free and open internet. Censorship of the internet is already a highly controversial topic and more people need to be made aware of the role of ICANN and the close relationship it shares with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Tuesday 3 June 2008

Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed.....but not if you live in New Orleans

Ready.gov - Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed. This website is dedicated to informing American citizens on how best plan for an emergency and includes a section on hurricanes. One section asks

Want to reach your state or local government to see how you can prepare for events that happen in your area?

New Orleans does not appear to be included in the drop down list of states....Is that an oversight on behalf of Homeland Security or yet another snub by a government who clearly did not care in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - The Official Blog !!!!

I have seen it all now! The official blog of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the mind boggles.


Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - The Official Blog - Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Sunday 1 June 2008

Press Complaints Commission Received Record Number Of Complaints |Sky News|Media

Press Complaints Commission Received Record Number Of Complaints |Sky News|Media

Media watchdog the Press Complaints Commission received a record number of complaints last year.

Many of the complaints dealt with the issue of privacy.

The increase in complaints is thought to be attributed to more awareness of the PCC and the ease of complaining online, rather than a drop in standards.

The council said it discreetly settled 100 complaints and helped prevent intrusions in more cases with pre-publication advice.

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