United we stand …

During today’s tutorial I learnt that:- Flickr is owned by Yahoo, Yahoo’s rival is Google, Google owns Piknik, Piknik is the image editor used by Flickr, Flickr has become a rival of YouTube since introducing video sharing, YouTube is owned by Google, and yet Google still allows Flickr to continue using Piknik …. which is nice, or is it because Google wouldn’t mind also buying Flickr one day?  I learnt loads more than this actually, but I found the Google/Yahoo relationship interesting, as it seems that even rivals can share.

So we’re focusing on ‘collective intelligence’ and I enjoyed learning about how different sites use it, including Flickr, Photobucket, Image Shack, Yahoo Photos, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Reddit and Last.fm.  I thought ‘Google Trends’ was a great way to start researching – easy, interesting, instant, visual, informative.  Google Trends provides a simple graph which compares the usage of sites, it highlights events along the graph like a timeline, and it provides links to news items on these events  – ahhh Google, you’ve done it again! 

On a side note, it’s funny to see how skeptical some people are when something new arrives on the scene – such as Facebook or Twitter – and then to realise that before too long it’s just part of everyday life and people can’t image life without them.

This ‘collective intelligence’ is exciting, and it makes me think of all the cool things you could do with it!  Now all we need are the skills (plus courage, motivation, knowledge, money and a white, fluffy cat) to make it happen and commence world domination!

A buffet of food for thought …

After today’s lecture I have a few more ideas for the next project … probably too many, and this is where I get into trouble! 

All these ideas bounce around in my brain, like those metal balls inside a pinball machine – with lots of noise, lights and frantic banging of buttons, as I try to hang onto all the ideas, instead of just focusing on one and making it worthwhile.

So on this quest to make a speedy (but informed) decision for the next assignment, it’s time to read up on infographics, dataviz, ajax, creative commons, javascript and XML – which should help to determine what can realistically be achieved in 5 weeks!

I was pleased to learn about Creative Commons (CC), and am interested to find out more about how this came about and how long it’s been around.  I used to feel a bit wary of this huge open source world we seem to live in now, but I’ve realised it’s just an extension of what you see and hear in the real world every day.  Twitter puts random thoughts of there, of anyone who wants to get them out there, for anyone who wants to know what’s out there.  The Twistori site is interesting, because it demonstrates how these random thoughts can be narrowed down, and constantly fed out into the world.

All of this kinda blows my mind, and makes me think about the constant shifts that must be happening in the world today, based on the amount of information that is ‘out there in cyberspace’.  Do people live their lives differently since the introduction of online shopping, dating, socialising, job hunting, house hunting, holiday planning?  I know I do, by shopping online to avoid the mall at Christmas, by sharing photos online instead of ordering extra prints for friends, by going straight to Google when I have a question rather than asking someone in person (or remaining clueless).

In many ways all this convenience is unbelievably awesome, and you’d think it’d free up some of our time, but it seems the more we can do the faster the world gets.  On one hand I think Facebook seems like a huge and depressing waste of time, but then I wonder if that’s just what’s needed?  Maybe it’s the virtual world’s way of allowing us to stop and smell the roses … although stopping and smelling the roses in real life, doesn’t leave you with a hunch back and red eyes.

Neeext …

So I’ve been reading through the brief for the next project, and would like to try and do something that relates to my work (it might even allow more precious time to work on it)!  I have several ideas, which is better than not having any ideas, but I’m determined to speed up the process of deciding on ‘the’ idea this time!

So I’ve been reading about data visualisation on Wikipedia, which has also led to reading about statistical graphics, information graphics, information visualisation, scientific visualisation, etc … and as I thought, it seems to be about communicating data visually so others can understand trends, patterns and more.  I find this topic fairly interesting, and think it might be a little like doing a puzzle (probably a really hard one)!

I’m not at all sure of how or where to begin doing something like this, although I’m sure a few handy hints will come forth over the next few weeks, along with plenty of research!

Rationale: Project A, Online Exhibition

For this project I chose to do an online exhibition, as I though it would be a useful subject to research and understand.

I know a number of people in the custom car scene, so I chose to exhibit some of their photography.  I love this collection of photos, as they are taken from the perspective of those who are passionate about custom cars and hot rods, rather than from the perspective of a professional photographer.  I started out searching for images on Flickr, and wrote to the owners of the photos I liked, asking permission to use the images for a school assignment. When I didn’t hear back from any of them after a week, I thought it would be worth asking people I know, and this worked out well because they were interested, encouraging and excited about the project.

Although I struggled to understand html code for the first few weeks, I don’t feel as scared of it now, and have even enjoyed experimenting with the layout and style options using html and css. 

I researched several options to create image galleries and slide shows, including image loop, Smilebox, Slideroll, Picasa, highslide, ZenPhoto and more. Although Picasa was easy to use, I didn’t really want to use a slideshow.  I really liked the image gallery examples on highslide and Zenphoto, but had trouble getting them to work on my site, and didn’t understand what I was doing to make it work. I will definitely work towards understanding how to these tools though, as part of my ongoing learning and development in building web pages.

In the end I settled on using a code generator – Creating Online – to obtain the html code required for an image gallery which is set up like a table. Once I had the code, I was able to change it to suit, and this really helped me to understand how to create and do more with html. The specific things I learnt during this process include creating tables, creating thumbnails and links from images stored on Flickr and photobucket, resizing thumbnails and networking with other sites to reduce the need to store images on my computer.

I created backgrounds for the pages but decided on a simple black background, as I wanted the images and photographer profiles to stand on their own, without additional graphics or backgrounds to distract from them. The font for the heading on each page was chosen for it’s reminiscence to the era of the cars in the exhibition.  As this wasn’t a standard font, I created these headings as images, and then used a standard font for the rest of the text in the pages.

Although I considered using a slideshow to exhibit the work of each photographer, I thought this didn’t give the viewer enough control, as they may not want to view all of the images. It was satisfying to learn how an image gallery can be created using a table within the html code, and it allows the viewer to glance at the images of each artist, and view the images that interest them more closely. The sixty photographs used in the exhibition have been linked to external sites, and the thumbnails were also created from links to these external sites.  I like the idea that fewer images need to be stored on a computer, and I’m sure this would appeal to a lot of people, as they could have a website built for them but manage the galleries from their image sharing pages.

I wasn’t sure how to go about submitting the assignment, but wanted to package my six html files, one css file and six image files, and make it accessible from a single URL.  I heard about webs in class, which was very easy to use and worked straight away, allowing you to upload your html pages and any associated CSS and image files.

I did struggle with this assignment, and found myself going in circles, which was frustrating as I was worried about running short of time.  Although I’d like to have used one of the image galleries from highslide or Zenphoto, I’m glad that I’ve been able to work with html, as it has increased my confidence in building web pages.

My project can be viewed online through this link – CustomCollection.

The calm before the storm…?

Everything is a-okay … isn’t it?

I tried out a few more image galleries, including ZenPhoto, Highslide, Lightbox, GreyBox, Trip Tracker, Photoslider and so many more!  They looked really neat and were mostly easy to follow, although I wasn’t quite sure what to do when it came to the FTP thing (I think that’s File Transfer Protocol).  So I kept looking and found a site which helps you create code for different things.  I like this idea because I feel it helps me understand more about the code itself.

I started out making backgrounds and focusing on how it would look, but then I had to take it all back to basics again, so I could clear my head and focus on the code.  So I feel like I’ve made some progress, although I’m not sure I have much to show for it just yet, after going in circles for a bit. 

Oh yeah, and I knew the assignment was due this week … but then I realised ‘Ohhhh, the assignment is due this week!’ 

Alrighty, back to it then!

Caution: Under the influence of cold and flu medication

So I’ve been struck down with the flu this week, and it seems I can barely type a word correctly … sure it all looks fine on the outside, but behind the scenes I’m backspacing my life away here!

I’m a bit of a square bear, so missing the lecture and the tutorial kinda freaks me out.  I’m sure I’ve missed something really important …. like was today the day they handed out glowing balls of light that bring clarity?  It worries me, did I miss that?  I need a glowing ball of clarity!

So I’m just waiting for the recorded lecture to load up, and will follow that up with the quiz … hopefully you can get the glowing balls of calrity online too!  I’m sure it can be done, I’ve been suprised several times over the last few weeks, so I don’t see why not.

So I’m not sure I have a handle on this project yet, particularly in relation to setting up an image gallery, but perhaps something will click soon. I’ve tried a few different tools – smilebox, slideroll, image loop and a few more – but I think I was on the wrong track with those.  I read through a number of websites on creating an image gallery, but I must be missing something, because I can’t get the image galleries I like to work.  I guess the assumed knowledge for these sites is higher than mine currently stands? 

So now I’m trying Google’s Picasa, which works, but isn’t really what I had in mind.  It’s easy to embed into the html, but displays like a slideshow, with controls for viewer to pause, go back/forward and play.  Many of the other slideshow creators didn’t have the controls, so I do like that Picasa’s has them but would prefer to set up a display of thumbnails instead.  The thumbnails allow the viewer to glance at the images and just view the ones that interest them, where as the slideshow forces them to look at all the images …. that being said, perhaps that’s not such a bad thing?

I was wondering if the Adobe Creative Suite (3 or 4) have any software that would help?  I looked into it and believe Adobe Flex would help, but it’s not included in the Creative Suites.

I found a few websites that look really helpful, tried some of the styles suggested/offered, but it all became quite complicated (for me anyway).

Perhaps something will click soon, especially once I get my glowing ball of clarity.

What’s the question again?

So what is semantic mark up?  That is the question with the big question mark at the end.  I don’t know just yet, or maybe I do know, but I just don’t know it.  Please hold the line while I ask Google (aka: The Oracle).

Hmmm, that’s curious?  Google suggested I consult Wikipedia about semantic markup, and Wikipedia tells me it’s the ‘separation of presentation and content’ …. ahhhh, got it!

The compact flourescent light bulb represents my thought processes more accurately than the old style light bulb

So what is non-semantic markup?  Before asking the world wide web, I’ll take a guess …. I think it’s when the content and the presentation of the content are marked up in one document.  Perhaps this is through the use of a WYSIWYG application, or when you use html to emphasise something (eg. with an em tag).  Now let us see what the world wide web has to say about that?

Oooh, ooh!  Wikipedia just told me about a new acronym – WYSIWYM (what you see is what you mean)!  A WYSIWYM editor is used to write content in a structure way and marks up content according to it’s meaning and significance within the document – instead of designing for it’s appearance alone.  I’m not sure if this is ‘non-semantic markup’ or if I have just become distracted along the way, but it’s interesting.  I can’t help wondering what this would look like though, because when all is said and done, we still want things to look ‘purdy’!  Wikipedia states there are voices that say there is a push to WYSIWYM rather than WYSIWYG …. I don’t know have an opinion on that just yet, but wanted to point out that Wikipedia was hearing voices.

So back to non-semantic mark up … what is that?  After a little more research, I’ve learnt that all the colours, fonts, backgrounds, alignment, margins, borders and sizes were once marked up in html (ye olde times).  The introduction of CSS allows html to be simpler (phew)!

I think I’ve gone off on a tangent again, or have I?  As I’m not entirely sure what non semantic mark up is, I don’t know if I’m on the track or not, because I don’t hear a voice saying “warmer… cooler …. cold, cold …. freeezing, hot, hot,hot” …. but I think I’ll hear voices in the classroom soon, and hoping it will all become clear. 

So next question … what does ‘cascading’ in Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) refer to?  Another guess (because it’s fun to guess) … perhaps it means you can apply the style sheet to a number of pages.  Wikipedia tells me it’s something to do with using the style sheet with the highest priority to display content.  That’s nice I guess, and I do appreciate the new acronym (which will make me feel all smug when it’s mentioned one of these days), but I think a yarn with the class might clear things up.

Fingers crossed!

I thought it was time to vamp up the blog with some video, although I’m not sure if this works until I hit the publish button and check it out!

I tried to copy and paste the YouTube link in a few different places without success, and then found the ‘Upload/Insert’ section at the top of the ‘Add New Post’ page – which has to work!

I hope you enjoy the clip.

p.s. I’m also going through my previous posts and adding links where I can …

API, deceptive little minx

Her full name is Application Programming Interface, but she prefers to be called API, which means she has the same nickname as an insurance company.  API doesn’t sound very exciting, until you realise she can do some pretty cool stuff!

At first I thought API would be way too cool and clever to be friends with me, but then I heard about how sharing she is, bringing other programs together – very inspiring!  API sounds like the perfect party planner – making the mashup possible, attending the party, encouraging good party conversation (eg. live updates shared on Twitter and Facebook) and never bragging about her work. 

API is also a successful agent, ensuring other applications such as YouTube, Flickr and Photobucket, can make appearances on sites like Facebook and MySpace. 

I don’t know much about you API, but I hope we can be friends!

WYSIWYG …. or is it?

I’ve seen this acronym a few times over the years, and it’s usually quickly followed by an explaination, which always makes me giggle.

But on a not so giggly note;  I feel like things might start to get a little messy in my head soon, with all these acronyms, extensible ‘stuff’ and nesting.  I think it’s going to be a case of WYSIAWLOFO, which is short for – what you see is a whole lot of freaking out (how catchy is that)!?  And nesting?  I thought you did that when you were ready to have a baby, but I guess it also applies to the creation of web page babies (and now I’m worried the web page birthing process might be painful)!

So I’m told HTML is a language (of the Hyper Text Mark Up variety) that is human and machine readable, although I think it only comes naturally to certain kinds of humanoids (the really cool and clever ones, of course).  I think I might need to force feed this stuff to my brain, perhaps through a drip, before it will actually be absorbed.  Maybe I could crush it up, put in a shot glass and throw it back?  My initial response to HTML is the same response I have to brussell sprouts “Bleergh!” and after a few extensible minutes of uncomfortable silence …. “Okaaay, it’s good for me, so I’ll try it!”

I’ve built a website before, but I admit I cheated on HTML with a WYSIWYG application!  It felt wrong and dirty, but the instant gratification made it seem worth it at the time.  I know how foolish I was now, but I now realise I need to make a committment to HTML, so we can have a relationship with depth and meaning.  I’m also going to make an effort to get along with HTML’s friend and personal stylist CSS, because CSS always makes HTML feel better about himself (and let’s face it, HTML just looks hotter when he’s styled)!

I was going to spend some time with HTML tonight actually …. but I have something on, so I’ll have to make a date later this week.  I don’t want HTML getting too eager just yet anyway, we have to take it slow, and I still have a lot to learn before I really understand him.