One of the sorta-resolutions I wanted to make in the new year was "less internet, more reading". My hope was that by swapping one for the other, I wouldn't end up with so much wasted time on my hands. No more getting sucked into another YouTube or Wikipedia black hole and suddenly realizing it's an hour past my bedtime and there are still dishes in the sink and I haven't brushed my teeth or done the laundry or taken out the trash. Reading, clearly, is far superior to dicking around on the internet (or watching TV for that matter, but I'm increasingly not a TV person anymore... how this has happened, I don't even know.)
Unfortunately, if I was looking to not get "sucked in" to something, perhaps I shouldn't have picked reading as an alternative option. Because give me a good book and it's the same story all over again, except this time I'm curled up on the couch when I realize it's an hour past my bedtime and there are still dishes in the sink and I haven't brushed my teeth or done the laundry or taken out the trash. *facepalm*
Need to find another another alternative, most likely some kind of crafting (crochet, scrapbooking, embroidery, etc.). Right after I finish this book of course.
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Mar 8, 2014
May 15, 2013
Blog Topic #27 - How Women Use Social Media
Another amendment to the topic title...
Blog Topic #27 – HowWomen I Use Social Media
(Because “women” are not some kind of monolithic hive mind, duh. We are, however, made up of individuals with their own tastes and preferences, and here I am!)
I’d say I’m a bit of a social media junkie, in the sense that the moment some trendy new app or website pops up I get an account and attempt to participate. Whether I actually use it effectively or at all is a different story. Let’s break it down.
Facebook – I have a very love-hate relationship with Facebook. I’m always bitter that I can’t be done with its terrible privacy settings and delete my account, because if I did I’d have no social life. :P I basically use Facebook to keep abreast of everyone’s lives; places they travel to, changing jobs or moving cities, getting engaged/married/babies, etc. Aside from that, I use it to mostly post music videos I really like, or sometimes geeky/feminist articles that catch my eye. My status updates are mostly about hanging out with friends or bitching about the weather. I don’t really get too serious or political on Facebook. That’s what Twitter is for. ;)
Livejournal – My first real foray into social media, I’ve mostly abandoned it in favour of other avenues. But from like 2002 to like 2009 it was my lifeblood. As a blogging platform, it was perfectly suited for me to squee about my favourite TV show and obsessively deconstruct every nuance of plot and character development. And similar fans responded! We became friends in real life! LJ also gave me a venue to try another highly specific form of graphic design: icon design. Not to mention all the fanfic I posted there. Seriously though, where do the kids post fanfic these days??
Pinterest – Honestly I still don’t really ~get~ what Pinterest is for. I only pop over when someone links to a cleaning related lifehack or pretty nail art. Otherwise I’m like “ugh, people, stop posting about food, food is boring”. :P
Twitter – this is my main hub of social media these days. So many other apps and websites revolve around it, it’s easy to make it central to my online presence. I feel a lot more anonymous on Twitter too (less of my real life friends follow me there), so speaking my mind doesn’t feel so fraught. I mostly retweet other people or link to articles I like. I’m a big Instagram fan and everything I create goes straight to Twitter.
Tumblr – I like to describe Tumblr as “Twitter but with pictures”. That might have been how it started out as for me, but it’s grown into this weird, unwieldy vortex of timesuck that I tried to avoid because, well, timesuck. Once I get on there, I start reposting all the awesome stuff I come across and CAN’T STOP. I come for the gifs, but stay for the intersectional screeds of real-talk.
Blog Topic #27 – How
(Because “women” are not some kind of monolithic hive mind, duh. We are, however, made up of individuals with their own tastes and preferences, and here I am!)
I’d say I’m a bit of a social media junkie, in the sense that the moment some trendy new app or website pops up I get an account and attempt to participate. Whether I actually use it effectively or at all is a different story. Let’s break it down.
Facebook – I have a very love-hate relationship with Facebook. I’m always bitter that I can’t be done with its terrible privacy settings and delete my account, because if I did I’d have no social life. :P I basically use Facebook to keep abreast of everyone’s lives; places they travel to, changing jobs or moving cities, getting engaged/married/babies, etc. Aside from that, I use it to mostly post music videos I really like, or sometimes geeky/feminist articles that catch my eye. My status updates are mostly about hanging out with friends or bitching about the weather. I don’t really get too serious or political on Facebook. That’s what Twitter is for. ;)
Livejournal – My first real foray into social media, I’ve mostly abandoned it in favour of other avenues. But from like 2002 to like 2009 it was my lifeblood. As a blogging platform, it was perfectly suited for me to squee about my favourite TV show and obsessively deconstruct every nuance of plot and character development. And similar fans responded! We became friends in real life! LJ also gave me a venue to try another highly specific form of graphic design: icon design. Not to mention all the fanfic I posted there. Seriously though, where do the kids post fanfic these days??
Pinterest – Honestly I still don’t really ~get~ what Pinterest is for. I only pop over when someone links to a cleaning related lifehack or pretty nail art. Otherwise I’m like “ugh, people, stop posting about food, food is boring”. :P
Twitter – this is my main hub of social media these days. So many other apps and websites revolve around it, it’s easy to make it central to my online presence. I feel a lot more anonymous on Twitter too (less of my real life friends follow me there), so speaking my mind doesn’t feel so fraught. I mostly retweet other people or link to articles I like. I’m a big Instagram fan and everything I create goes straight to Twitter.
Tumblr – I like to describe Tumblr as “Twitter but with pictures”. That might have been how it started out as for me, but it’s grown into this weird, unwieldy vortex of timesuck that I tried to avoid because, well, timesuck. Once I get on there, I start reposting all the awesome stuff I come across and CAN’T STOP. I come for the gifs, but stay for the intersectional screeds of real-talk.
Dec 18, 2012
People Are People
Similar to how I give props to certain iPhone apps that I like, I thought it would be nice to do the same for people on Twitter. You know, like a Five Friday Friends to Follow, but all I’ve got is three people LOL.
@Shakestweetz – Melissa McEwan: The premier lady of righteous progressive awesome, she runs the blog Shakesville as well, which is my favourite community for feminist sanity.
@cleolinda – Cleolinda Jones: The premier lady of pop culture geekery. I’ve been following her LJ for years so it was only natural to follow her over to Twitter as well.
@antoniaZ – Antonia Zerbisias: she calls herself an ecofeminist and I think the term is a good fit; my favourite columnist for the Toronto Star, she brings the leftist awesome with a Canadian twist.
@Shakestweetz – Melissa McEwan: The premier lady of righteous progressive awesome, she runs the blog Shakesville as well, which is my favourite community for feminist sanity.
@cleolinda – Cleolinda Jones: The premier lady of pop culture geekery. I’ve been following her LJ for years so it was only natural to follow her over to Twitter as well.
@antoniaZ – Antonia Zerbisias: she calls herself an ecofeminist and I think the term is a good fit; my favourite columnist for the Toronto Star, she brings the leftist awesome with a Canadian twist.
May 10, 2011
Viva La Revolución!
As of this month, I am now the proud owner of the iPhone 4. It's a nifty piece of technology to say the least, very dynamic and powerful. But as I troll through articles upon articles recommending the best apps to download, I'm struck by the fact that a lot of them work best if you're in the US. Aww, us Canucks, we just can't get a break. ;) So I thought I'd give a rundown of some of my current favourite apps, apps that do their thing and do their thing well even for a Canadian like me. Bounus feature: all of the following apps are FREE!
Wunderlist - Yes yes, go ahead and say it in an enthusiastic German accent. ;) One of the things I've been planning to do with my iPhone is turn it into the replacement for my pen and paper day-planner, and with this app dovetailing with the default calendar app, I'm able to list all the things I need to eventually do or look into or buy. It's a very pretty looking app too, which is a big thing for me. ;)
Miner Speed - Game app! Another free one and granted there's not much to it, but I still find it addictive. It's basically Bewjeweled with a few tweaks, swap the jewels to make them disappear, get yourself a high score. You get coins depending on how well you score and you can use these coins to buy (very expensive) power-ups. I find myself playing incessantly so that I can save up the cash to get as many power-ups as possible.
SoundHound - I actually have both this app and Shazaam, which had never let me down when I used it on another person's iPhone. But I've had a couple instances recently where Shazaam was at a loss and SoundHound pulled through, therefore it's the one getting my seal of approval. Hear a song you like and want to know about it? Turn on SoundHound and it'll identify it for you! Better yet, heard a song you liked? Just hum and SoundHound will figure that one out too!
Gas Price Canada - Fairly timely, don't you think? Want to know whether you should fill up your tank now or tomorrow? Pick your city and this app will tell you how the price of gas will change from today to tomorrow. Absolutely brilliant. I just wish I had checked this app before I left work yesterday. *facepalm*
Apps that disappointed me - Redlaser (doesn't always work and when it does, prices are only in $US), Angry Birds (okay, so I couldn't pass the second level, I might be a bit biased), Springpad (decent but not as pretty as Wunderlist).
Apps I might try - Epicurious, Weather Channel, and BlogTO.
Wunderlist - Yes yes, go ahead and say it in an enthusiastic German accent. ;) One of the things I've been planning to do with my iPhone is turn it into the replacement for my pen and paper day-planner, and with this app dovetailing with the default calendar app, I'm able to list all the things I need to eventually do or look into or buy. It's a very pretty looking app too, which is a big thing for me. ;) Miner Speed - Game app! Another free one and granted there's not much to it, but I still find it addictive. It's basically Bewjeweled with a few tweaks, swap the jewels to make them disappear, get yourself a high score. You get coins depending on how well you score and you can use these coins to buy (very expensive) power-ups. I find myself playing incessantly so that I can save up the cash to get as many power-ups as possible. SoundHound - I actually have both this app and Shazaam, which had never let me down when I used it on another person's iPhone. But I've had a couple instances recently where Shazaam was at a loss and SoundHound pulled through, therefore it's the one getting my seal of approval. Hear a song you like and want to know about it? Turn on SoundHound and it'll identify it for you! Better yet, heard a song you liked? Just hum and SoundHound will figure that one out too! Gas Price Canada - Fairly timely, don't you think? Want to know whether you should fill up your tank now or tomorrow? Pick your city and this app will tell you how the price of gas will change from today to tomorrow. Absolutely brilliant. I just wish I had checked this app before I left work yesterday. *facepalm*Apps that disappointed me - Redlaser (doesn't always work and when it does, prices are only in $US), Angry Birds (okay, so I couldn't pass the second level, I might be a bit biased), Springpad (decent but not as pretty as Wunderlist).
Apps I might try - Epicurious, Weather Channel, and BlogTO.
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