I will be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about finding my way around the net and getting what I need from it. I jealously watch my kids click themselves into a net coma while getting, what appear to be, very complex objectives completed. Whenever Im watching movies that have anything at all do to with the net and I see fingers flashing and screen info whizzing by(no loading hangups in movie land I guess) I want to pull my hair out in frustration. How the heck do they get what they need so fast and how do they find it in the first place?
While cruising the superhighway I marvel at other peoples blogs and how interesting and eye catching they have designed their pages...mine is a cemetary by comparison...not much happening. It took me the better part of a weekend to figure out how to put the visitor counter on my page....and Im somewhat concerned whether its counting right...I think I have it programmed to count every time "I" visit the blog...that would explain the "high" count.....hmmm? As for putting ads...little cartoony characters...pics running up and down and around it...gimme a break....I feel like I need a Phd in Cut and Pasting HTML or an MBA in Link Clicking and RS Feedback...something anyhow that Im obviously sorely missing.
I entered the book store last month hoping to find some sort of help in my rise from net ignorane and lo and behold I found the "Bible" for all us poor souls ignorant about "all things blogger" and left scratching our heads while everyone else are making blog sites that win awards that keep the crowds coming back time and again....I found "Blogging for Idiots"...my Phd was just around the corner...I nearly sustained some serious paper cuts in my frenzy to devour the pages and experience that little "light bulb moment" that means I 'got it" at last...if only.
First thing and only thing I have learned to do was put a pic in my post....spiced up my post a little for sure...eye catching and colorful....lets the reader know fairly quickly what they are most likely going to be reading about...so pics are good...pics are interesting...pics are apparently owned by other people and cant just be used however you want...something I didnt read in the book(better check again...might have skimmed that part in my haste to enduce a blood draining paper cut)....unfortunately...my blunder caught the eye of one pic owner whose pic I filched while learning all about google images and how to find one for my post(oops...that was something I learned to do too...google a pic) and came here to let me know just how irritated he/she was and how inconsiderate I was for daring to do such a thing. Im still wondering how he/she knew how to find me...something else I need to learn...sigh! Anyhow...I was rightly kicked in my backside for "stealing" something that wasnt mine by rights and for that I sincerely apologize for my ignorance and for my theft...but its left me thinking very deeply about the net and what it is exactly.
For myself Ive always viewed it as a library at my fingertips...a smorgasboard of information just waiting to be clicked on and assimilated to my hearts content...the only limit being my need to sleep and do various other activities that are part and parcel of daily life...like work and pay bills. Other than that...its all free...the only thing I figured that wasnt free was anything that required a credit card number to acquire(ok copyright laws I knew about...but reading something doesnt infringe on that....and I dont make a habit of downloading things from the net anyhow...dont believe me...ask my kids...they had to show me how to download...it wasnt a pretty hour spent...I gave up after several colorful words were whispered through clenched teeth...and it wasnt by me)...yes...I know...how simple can one get? Live and learn...and occasionally get burned by your ignorance(Im pretty sure I can hear some giggles out there...dont be so quick to laugh...you all werent born with a Net gene in your DNA mix you know...we all have to learn eventually).
So my forays onto the net have been interesting...enlightening...and educational and Ive made lots of friends that help make life bearable...but Ive also stepped on some toes along the way and left at least one person fairly miffed at my audacity to take what wasnt mine...so I need to tread lightly and learn the rules as well as all the tricks...I would kindly request that someone direct me to a "rules and regulations concerning the net and its content"...if there is such a site...Im sure there is...there is a site on just about anything you can imagine...and somethings you cant...its a big wide world out there on the information superhighway...but no matter how far from home(your blog/site) you might travel...you can always find your way back...and apparently leave a fairly obvious trail while your at it so others can find you too...man! I gotta figure out how thats done...anyone?
p.s. Im rather hesitant to put a pic on my post now...feel somewhat like a "Three Strikes and Your Out" felon.....one more filched pic and Im locked up and the password thrown away...sheesh...guilt sure has a way of making sleep a restless affair indeed.
6 comments:
Gee - I have used a few photos from the web that I have just copied and pasted - you mean I can get in trouble for that? Ouch! I had no clue either.
As far as adding little fun things to your blog - I never got a book or anything. I just experiment and most of the time, it's actually pretty easy to do. Just a little playing around is usually all that's required.
Great post, CoolRed!
Sorry to hear that some stingy scrooge insulted and scolded you for daring to admire and display his/her lovely art.
I fear the same treatment from the fractal artists from whom I download images. In the beginning, I wrote to all of them asking permission to use their images, but only one person wrote back with his blessings! So now I just do it.
Thanks ladies for the comments...I also truly did not know you actually cant just cut and paste...now I know.
I shall experiment as well and see what mayhem I can create on my blog...nothing ventured nothing gained...eh?
no pics on this post.. hmm...
well see, it really shouldn't matter since information is free, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. as long as you're not parading the photos as your own, you're fine. if you wanna be sneaky about it, save the photo you find online, open a free photobucket.com account, post it there, and link to that. no trail back, lol.
Live and learn! It's usually all about giving credit when it comes to photos unless otherwise stated.
Been a while (and I see you still didn't get around to find out how to edit the link behind my picture...), but let me address a few things now:
"Sorry to hear that some stingy scrooge insulted and scolded you for daring to admire and display his/her lovely art."
Using an image as illustration for your own work by just copying & pasting without giving any credit (and just linking to the original-size image itself) can hardly be seen as a proper way of admiration, I think.
(Besides, I don't think there was any insult on my behalf. If anyone felt insulted, sorry.)
"it really shouldn't matter since information is free,"
While this may apply to information as such, it certainly doesn't apply to each and every piece of text, images, music, movies, etc. Not that I'd support the "witch hunt" of sorts by the music and movie industry against file sharers (and their over-restrictive licencing/copy protection efforts, basically incriminating all honest users), but there are reasons not every creative work is free, such as people making their living from selling them... and even if they don't (like myself), they might just want proper credits and manners such as at least asking first...
"so don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Well, if you get a huge invoice from a professional artist/photographer/agency for using their work without permission some day, you got an expensive way of finding out otherwise...
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