Blogging

[David]

I hope this is the right place for this thread,a while ago now well last year sometime I wrote a blog no big thing really except I did not really know what the heck bloggng was .I was told it was just like a diary but online,so I went ahead and posted the thing and wrote another one but for some reason I am getting a fair amount of visitors I know its not a lot in the scheme of things but last night alone there was 87 and 70 odd the night before and I have no idea why or how this would be picked up ? has anyone got experience in this typ of thing.

I also find that for once I am the moderator and find it all a bit overwelming I am wondering why it even interests some people..... I did not think my few words would be of interest to anyone 

I did panic a little the other night as the notifications seem to be coming thick and fast ( a bit like me )

Any pointers would be appreciated TIA

[zappaDPJ]

It's hard to say with any authority without knowing more about the software used and the content. If for example the blog is created using something like WordPress then that might explain the number of visitors. Are they genuine visitors or just spammers? WordPress's Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is fairly decent so that will get your content indexed with search engines such as Google. On the other hand perhaps the content you've put up is of interest to real people and again it's likely to be search engine listings that are bringing in the traffic.

[Simon]

I've never blogged, because I don't really have anything to say that would interest anyone.  Do people reply to it, like a thread on here?  What exactly are your concerns, David? 

[David]

It's hard to say with any authority without knowing more about the software used and the content. If for example the blog is created using something like WordPress then that might explain the number of visitors. Are they genuine visitors or just spammers? WordPress's Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is fairly decent so that will get your content indexed with search engines such as Google. On the other hand perhaps the content you've put up is of interest to real people and again it's likely to be search engine listings that are bringing in the traffic.

Thanks Zap a couple of spammers but the vast majority just saying how cool or thanks or when am I posting again  I do use wordpress  thanks I am just intrigued 

[David]

I've never blogged, because I don't really have anything to say that would interest anyone.  Do people reply to it, like a thread on here?  What exactly are your concerns, David? 

My thoughts as well Simon yes but I dont know why its just my personal take on issues which I normally may put in my diary for instance 
I have had a few who have issues as they want to read it on android but I have stated that technical issues I cant help with Simon also is there an etiquette one follows

I have replied to some but it is odd to see so many ( well it appears a lot for me ) lol

[Simon]

I guess it's harmless as long as there's nothing on it that's more personal than you'd want the world to know about, but if that were the case, you wouldn't have published it.  I suppose there's a risk of some unpleasantness if you get the wrong type of people replying, but I guess that's why you can moderate it, as long as you can 'switch off' from any negative comments.

[David]

Yes I did get one but did reply and agreed with the comment 

[Steve]

I'm not being critical but if you write a blog and it's publicised on the internet you hope it's being read. Otherwise there is no point. I think the fact that you are receiving some positive responses implies to me that you have been a help in some way to someone. Obviously you'll always attract the brain dead as well but it sounds encouraging to me.

[Lona]

If you send me a link to your Blog, David, I'll read it and give you a few tasty comments.

[David]

  Careful what you wish for

[David]

I'm not being critical but if you write a blog and it's publicised on the internet you hope it's being read. Otherwise there is no point. I think the fact that you are receiving some positive responses implies to me that you have been a help in some way to someone. Obviously you'll always attract the brain dead as well but it sounds encouraging to me.

Thanks Steve to be honest I didnt write to help or hurt anyone,I just wrote if that makes sense but yes lots of thank you's 

[Niall]

I made a site for gaming and photography several years ago. I used wordpress as it's simple and you can adapt it a lot. One thing I had to do was sign up for various anti spam/bot things and constantly upgrade the site as wordpress attracts a lot of bots. The odd thing that I found though, just like you're finding, was that after a while people I've never met or spoken to online started registering on my forums and the website/blog. It was all going swimmingly until my database and backup got corrupted at 34SPs end, so I lost everything and it took me days to rebuild it from scratch. When users realised their accounts had gone, they didn't bother coming back. It was all very odd!

[Lona]

I would love to do a blog on social networking sites and the trouble they can cause to young people I would ban the lot including facebook and twitter.  They are just wasting a lot of young lifes and ruining the act of proper converstion. It;s just an excuse for morons to type insults to descent human beings.

[David]

We think alike Lona I started one on this very topic today after watching my own children couldn't agree more

[Niall]

Spoken like someone that's read shock factor tabloid stories blanket accusing everyone that uses social media in the spirit intended, and not usef it themselves. You get scum everywhere not just online.

[Lona]

Spoken like someone that's read shock factor tabloid stories blanket accusing everyone that uses social media in the spirit intended, and not usef it themselves. You get scum everywhere not just online.

Untrue, Niall. I have factual accounts from relatives kids who have been bullied on social networks. One particular Mum went to the school to complain about what was happening to her daughter and got no satisfaction.  You just have to look on twitter to see all the twits behaving like idiots towards other twits.  Social network sites have a place, I suppose, but it should be monitored just like forums.

[Steve]

Social networks can be a nightmare for teenagers,they're very vulnerable,they feel pressured to conform, they express their most intimate details to complete strangers. Yes I have been directly aware of online bullying in this format and we the parents have had to sort out the subsequent mess. Obviously bullies see online chat of any form as easy prey, they don't even have to be brave enough to physically confront their victims.

[David]

Spoken like someone that's read shock factor tabloid stories blanket accusing everyone that uses social media in the spirit intended, and not usef it themselves. You get scum everywhere not just online.

You jumped the gun a little there Niall I was only going to ask myself what are they there for for instance why collect a million friends who you dont know, and the silly way my children talk to each other when they are in the same room using facebook
I dont know about scum I have not seen that side of it but I have seen posts where people post things like "just having my dinner" or buying a new TV and personally cannot see the point of it .I did try it myself and found it bizarre that people I dont know want to be my friend !!
My blog is a light hearted look at social network sites not a Newnight special 

[David]

Social networks can be a nightmare for teenagers,they're very vulnerable,they feel pressured to conform, they express their most intimate details to complete strangers. Yes I have been directly aware of online bullying in this format and we the parents have had to sort out the subsequent mess. Obviously bullies see online chat of any form as easy prey, they don't even have to be brave enough to physically confront their victims.

My daughter did suffer from one bully but like in the real world the answer was simple she just deleted them although I admit to stepping in with a firm but polite post which stopped the youngster in her tracks but my children are monitored closely on there ......by me

[Lona]

The pressure put upon kids today to follow the pack instead of being an individual amazes me.  If you are not on Facebook, Twitter or Skype you are an outcast. The other factor that governs the pack is to see how many friends you can collect over the rest of your mates.

I call them all Lemmings. Where have all the folk gone who stand up for what they believe in rather than just be one of the crowd.

[Niall]

The point I was making which I thought was clear as day, as I actually said it is that you cannot blanket label everyone with the same negative comment.

That's like me calling you a racist because I know a woman that lives in a house like yours that's racist. You cannot ever apply reasoning like that to anything.

I use Facebook all the time and have some work colleagues and a lot of friends. I do not add people I don't know, with the exception of guitar luthiers who oddly seem to have their pages set up as friends rather than businesses, but that's probably to avoid facebooks business rules.

Anyone that's ever said anything out of order on Facebook is no longer on my lists and are blocked. That was 1 person I used to be in school with. So that's 1 person I 5 years. Yes indeed we're all bullies us social media users.

[Lona]

You're getting all hot under the collar for nothing, Niall.  I too have a facebook account which is private only to me.  I use it to enable my son to upload his photos as he lives abroad.

The point I was trying to make is what it is doing to young kids. There should be far more controls. If this forum did not have admins, folks could come on here and demean folk, use foul language and post filthy pictures at will.  Do you not agree that Facebook and Twitter have become the monsters of the internet and some control should be administered.?

[Simon]

TBH, there can be bullying in all walks of life - in the school playground, in the work place, and yes, on social networks.  In my opinion, it would be very difficult to moderate such a large medium as Facebook or Twitter.  In the case of teenagers or adolescents, it's up to the individuals concerned to report any incidences to their parents, and / or for the parents to monitor what's going on.  Anyone getting bullied can simply 'defriend', on Facebook, if I understand it correctly, but not sure about Twitter.

[David]

Yes Simon you can delete on Twitter too TBH that one baffles me but that isnt hard to do where I am concerned as you know so well 

[cavillas]

Children have always bullied one another in one way or another, these days things are worse because we are such a commercial and acquisitive society.  Everything is about Brands and one-upmanship and this spreads down from businesses to parents to children.  Because children are still learning social skills and interaction it becomes confusing when faced with Social Networking sites because there is no face to face contact and so easy to hide behind words that evaporate into the ether.  Without the direct contact children can't really see or understand the effects of their words on others whereas with actions they can see a direct correlation.

As for following the pack, this has been going on since time immemorial, just look at Teddy boys, Mods and rockers etc etc.  Parental guidance, love and direction is the best way for our children to become better adults as well as direct face to face contact.  Facebook has its use but should not take the place of real life, which unfortunately it seems to be doing far too often.

I have a Facebook account and find it beneficial to keep in touch with my friends (real) and family without constant recourse to phones (when they are not there), letters or visiting, it is just another way of communication not a way of life.

There is no problem with using Social networking but it must be used less rather than more especially in the case of children learning social skills and conversation.

OOOeerr my head hurts now, time for a lie down I think. 

[Lona]

TBH, there can be bullying in all walks of life - in the school playground, in the work place, and yes, on social networks.  In my opinion, it would be very difficult to moderate such a large medium as Facebook or Twitter.  In the case of teenagers or adolescents, it's up to the individuals concerned to report any incidences to their parents, and / or for the parents to monitor what's going on.  Anyone getting bullied can simply 'defriend', on Facebook, if I understand it correctly, but not sure about Twitter.

Defriending works fine, Simon, but sometimes it's too late when your daughter has been slandered all over facebook.  I know bullying has gone on for years in playgrounds but to me is has escalated out of control and mostly down to social networking.

I can tell you of a case where one teenager opened an account in another teenagers name then posted porn and other filthy items using the bogus account using the innocent person's name.  There are other problems of addiction. Some teenagers can't even go anywhere without checking into facebook every day and if they can't manage it they get withdrawal symptoms.  The idea of Facebook was good but it has definitely turned into a Monster.

I had a sixteen year old visit me the other week with her Mum and the first thing she asked was to use my pc. She sat on Facebook and Skype all day and there was no attempt to make verbal conversation with any of my other guests. During dinner she consulted her iphone constantly. Our younger generation have turned into robots.  It reminds me of the movie "Total Recall"

[David]

Some good points there Alf ,love the last one 

[pctech]

I don't think under 18s should have access to the Internet via any device, simples. 

The 'net really isn't the place for kids.

[Simon]

I don't think under 18s should have access to the Internet via any device, simples. 

The 'net really isn't the place for kids.

God help us!  How do you expect them to learn about computing and the internet at school, then?  It's as essential a knowledge as reading and writing typing, these days! 

[Niall]

The whole mods n rockers thing baffled me when I was a kid. Bearing in mind I was born in 73, it was still around in a lesser extent. I was a 'mod' for a bit but then I switched to 'rocker' because I liked the music more

There is always pressure when you're a kid, the key factor is parenting to teach you what's important in life. My dad always taught me to ignore bullies and the peer pressure sort, never let a man hit a woman and never start a fight but always finish one. I was bullied twice in school, but it was so pathetic I let them do their worst. After a while it got annoying so I battered the pair of them when they made the mistake of punching me.

Ironically, people have told me I look violent due to my lack of hair and the fact I'm stocky. It's ironic because pretty much everyone I know have had more fights or trouble, or caused trouble than me in the last few years than I have in the last 20. 1995 was the last time I had to defend myself. It's quite annoying knowing that people judge you by how you look so don't even bother getting to know you.

Pretty basic, but it's got the foundations of a nicer person (he says bragging )

[Simon]

I haven't ever been in a 'proper' fight.  Sure, one or two scraps at school, as I'm sure we all did, but since then, I just avoid those types of potential situation, and I don't tend to hang around with people that are likely to get involved in trouble either.  I guess I'm lucky to live in a smallish rural town that's relatively quiet on that front.  We have no nightclubs, and although we used to have 'town' pubs where the odd scuffle broke out on a Friday night in the queue for the kebab van, most of those are now gone, and we just have foody type pubs and wine bars left, where you don't tend to have to duck the flying bar stools, and beer is served in a vase.

[pctech]

God help us!  How do you expect them to learn about computing and the internet at school, then?  It's as essential a knowledge as reading and writing typing, these days! 

Internal networks Simon.

[Simon]

But that doesn't educate them to look after themselves on the open network.  How could it be enforced, anyway? 

[David]

I still find blogging an experience and recieved one comment asking if I would consent to an interview !!! scary  the spam issue is the only thing which bothers me but am I too reliant upon Webroot which is supposed to cover spamming

I am still wondering why and how my little ramblings seem to be getting the traffice though ,I have 88 comments to moderate despite clearing most of them 

God help us!  How do you expect them to learn about computing and the internet at school, then?  It's as essential a knowledge as reading and writing typing, these days! 

Both my children do thier homework on pc and with My Maths they have to but do use google for French lessons ect 

Internal networks Simon.

Must learn how to do this I have 4 pcs in my home and none on network hmmm

[Simon]

The point is, under 18s will find ways around any restrictions put upon them regarding the Internet.  They only have to find a wifi connection, and they're online with their phones, as one example.  In my opinion, it's better to allow them unrestricted access, but educate them as to what is and isn't acceptable for them to use the web for. I know that's idealistic, but I feel the opposite view is unrealistic.

[David]

But that doesn't educate them to look after themselves on the open network.  How could it be enforced, anyway? 

I just use the analogy that the web is the same as the outside world,you would not share secrets with strangers nor personal information so when in doubt ask me which they do so maybe I'm lucky or they are smarter than me I like to think they are honest

Matty spends his free time looking at anything to do with Chelsea and football boots where as Joanne gets bored with the net and prefers her guitar and her music the only thing I so is monitor them randomly but its all down to educating them and making them aware of things and that thing called trust......

[David]

The point is, under 18s will find ways around any restrictions put upon them regarding the Internet.  They only have to find a wifi connection, and they're online with their phones, as one example.  In my opinion, it's better to allow them unrestricted access, but educate them as to what is and isn't acceptable for them to use the web for. I know that's idealist, but I feel the opposite view is unrealistic.

This is exactly how I did it I think the allure is made greater if there is some form restrictions and where FB is concerned I let them spend hours on there and it sort of just bored them silly which I think in my case was a good thing they just cant be bothered with it any longer

[Steve]

The key is parental supervision, the internet whether we like it or not is part of our lives, they need like with any other facet of life ie riding a bike to be educated, guided and limited in their exposure. As experience is gained the 'reigns' are relaxed. It's very easy being a parent to let them disappear to their rooms and surf the net etc, this however is not parenting, it is dare I say a form of neglect.

[David]

Totally agree with that statement Steve .I would suspect some parents see the web as a baby sitter and something to keep them quiet but as you say its down to us as parents to supervise what is going on and (in my case) all we had was some toys and a TV with 3 or even 2 channels but the web for good or otherwise is the future and like everything it is the way something is used rather than the use of it

If that makes sense 

[Niall]

The point is, under 18s will find ways around any restrictions put upon them regarding the Internet.  They only have to find a wifi connection, and they're online with their phones, as one example.  In my opinion, it's better to allow them unrestricted access, but educate them as to what is and isn't acceptable for them to use the web for. I know that's idealistic, but I feel the opposite view is unrealistic.

This is true. I remember many many years ago when I wasn't even interested in irc, I was in a night class and they had very severe restrictions on things you could access. I made it my mission to figure out how to tunnel out of the network. That was quite fun, and I wrote a program on how to calculate how much carpet you needed to fit a room

[Simon]

Some people will try anything to get laid. 

[Niall]

 

[Simon]

Carpet?  Laid?  I'm wasted here...

[pctech]

Yeah I got it.

[Niall]

It was hard not to get. It was a screaming at the bad joke smiley Now please go answer my FTTC thread. I'll have to check on my phone at 7:30 for the answer as I won't have an internet connection when I wake up

[Simon]

[David]

Get a grip Simon

[Glenn]

No need to pile on the pressure David.

[Simon]

[mervl]

I don't think under 18s should have access to the Internet via any device, simples. ...
The 'net really isn't the place for kids.

Only problem is that childishness doesn't end at 18 years old . . . 

[Niall]

Only problem is that childishness doesn't end at 18 years old . . . 

That's true enough. On the forums I used to admin a few years ago, the main problems were often the idiots that were in college/uni that firmly believed they were better than other people and were more intelligent as they were in college/uni, and often talked down to people in the most obnoxious way. In fact there was one person that used to do that on these forums that has long since vanished. A proper up themselves tool, if ever I've seen one It's amazing to see people suddenly think they're more knowledgeable than others just because they're in higher education and can quote a paragraph of text given to them as a part of a lesson plan they've been a part of

[David]

You make a valid point Niall,I had a very basic education mainly due to being bullied on a daily basis at school the last straw was being hit by a school bully with a hammer just over my right eye,but the physical attacks at least once a week were bearable but the insults and verbal abuse had a long lasting effect   and to be honest some of the teachers back then were just as bad,slippers and canes l left in the end and didn't really return,but the ridicule or the results of it all remain with me,no web but there seemed no escape.I am just pleased it would not happen today

[Simon]

Sorry to hear that, David. 

[David]

Long time ago now Simon but Nialls point is very valid and refreshing to see someone who is clearly educated balance things up and all credit to him but bullying especially in the formative years tends to not only damage to some degree the victims lives it can motivate as well.I love words and since those far off days made it my mission to learn one word a month it used to be weekly but I lapsed 

Things like this do tend to ensure confidence is very low,even on here where I dont feel inferior if I do a double posting for instance I will be embarrassed enough to just shut up for a while but this is the only forum I feel confident enough to post to be honest and its all down to the friendliness of the members here as Niall pointed out this place is not interlect led ( if that makes sense) its more of a homely or down the pub for a few hours with your friends there is little or no competition to be top dog

[Simon]

Well, when we take the piss out of a double post, you know here it's with friendly intentions. 

[David]

Always Simon   

Now about that underlay ?

[pctech]

I too was badly bullied at school mostly due to my spinal condition as my spinal column protrudes from my back (hunchback is perhaps the only one I can post on here)

One person even kneed me in the chest because I picked up a stool in the science lab his mate wanted to sit on despite there being several other identical ones being available.

I did hit him back which the teacher saw but it was only with the force of a tap as I was struggling for breath.

I was threatened with suspension over that, I asked the Deputy Head what she would have done and she dodged the question by just repeating that I shouldn't have done it.

It was sports day so they called him over the PA and he legged it over the back fence and went to his Uncle, they suspended him for doing that but I had to go on report for a week which meant each teacher had to write whether I'd behaved myself in their lesson.

[Niall]

Ha I'd forgotten about those cards. I was on report once when myself and a friend told the CDT teacher we were doing a media course and vice versa. Sods checked up didn't they, while we were under asda bridge eating jammie dodgers and drinking milk

[pctech]

It was a book when I had to carry it round.