Social networking – contacts or content?

The rise and rise of Twitter (a micro-blogging tool) has brought into sharp focus a division or shift in the social networking or web 2.0 landscape.

If web 2.0 can be categorised as online conversation, whether that be through the written word, images, video or a mix of the three, do we join these conversations based on who they’re with or what they’re about?

Contacts or content?

The difference is most notable when comparing a service such as Facebook and something like Twitter. Facebook replicates real world friendship and contact groups, whether professional or personal. Although some people gather ‘friends’ as those they’re life depended on it, the convention seems to be that I need to know you before I allow you to be my ‘friend’.

Conversely with Twitter, the friendship aspect is taken away. I can become a ‘follower’ of someone’s Twitter feed (the list of short comments or ‘tweets’ that are made and posted online). Becoming a follower of their feed does not make me their friend. It means that what they are saying is interesting and I would like to know what they have to say. It may be that I know this person in the real world and know that they are interesting, but there is much more opportunity to take the ‘contact’ aspect out of Twitter and keep your relations based on your interest in the conversation.

Satellite communications advice

Just a quick post before I head off to do some more expedition blogging via satellite…

Applied Satellite Technologies have supported Digital Explorer over the past few years with satellite communications equipment, advice and support. They are absolutely fantastic. No query is too complex and no project too strange. I cannot recommend them strongly enough if you ever need any satellite communications for your project or expedition.

Thanks in particular to Simon Thompson as well as the technical team who deal with all my problems without making me feel like an absolute muppet.

Geoblogging – advice wanted!!

Just putting the finishing touches to a guide for travellers and those going on expeditions and overseas projects on using blogs and other digital media tools to bring their journeys to new audiences online.

Decided to base it around the Blogger platform, this being the simplest, although would love to spend some time including more information on Wordpress (think this will be in a few months’ time).

Just wondering if there are any bits of advice out there, that you wished you’d had before making your first blog or any things that you would really like to know how to do.

Full acknowledgement for any great tips.

Thank you and happy travels.

Test from Nokia

Another test this time using my mobile.

New remote posting via email test

I am just testing a new plugin that should make it easy to post via email. All very exciting and should open up a whole new realm of remote blogging.

Audio post by Digital Explorer

An audio message has been left by Digital Explorer! Listen here:

NEW Geo-blogging for gappers

Digital Explorer has developed a new course specifically designed for Gap year students on overseas projects and expeditions.

The course focuses on the use of free services such as blogger, youtube (or schooltube and teachertube), flickr and google maps, but takes these further and looks at how these can be used more effectively for creating a professional record of a gap expedition or project that can then be used for a variety of purposes, as well as looking at the use of technology in remote locations.

The course is ideal if you are looking to:

• Create a multimedia record of your Gap Year
• Involve family, friends and sponsors in your project or expedition
• Have an online project or expedition CV for future funders
• Use your Gap Year as an educational opportunity and share it with pupils and teachers at your former school

The course runs for a half-day on Wednesday 28 January 2009 and costs £55 (incl VAT) and can be booked with the Royal Geographical Society.

New School Environment Project video

It was very exciting to run a pilot School Grounds Project at Eastbury Comprehensive School. We used many of the same techniques that we have employed on overseas expeditions – digital media, blogging, geo-tools (Google Earth and Google Maps) – to investigate the School Grounds and then take action to make a difference to the school environment.

This pilot wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Google UK and especially Kate Hammond and Liz Ericson. Also many thanks go to the pupils and staff at Eastbury Comprehensive School, who were amazing, enthusiastic and talented. Special thanks to Tracy Knight and Ruth Owen for their help and support.

This amazing film was made by the wonderful Jonny Madderson of Just So Films. Thank you for all your hard work.

Continuing thanks to Mark Thackara at Olympus for the great pupil-proof TOUGH digital cameras, that we used for photography and video during the pilot.

As always thank you to Marjan who makes sure that everything just happens, somehow, though still not quite sure how.

Live from Antarctica

For two weeks, renowned polar explorer, Robert Swan will be relying solely on renewable energy as part of the E-Base Goes Live project. The team are now in place posting daily video and images. Next week they will be conducting a series of live video chats with pupils globally.

As part of the website designed and built by the Digital Explorer team, I have put up a project suitable for 11-18 year olds on the site.

Enjoy!

Very proud of the team

Really proud of the team – John, Ciara and Marjan for making sure the IAE expedition blog for 2041 looks so amazing, has great functionality and went live so soon after the 2041 main site.

I just love this site, but then that’s me. It’s exciting to see how far Wordpress as a platform can be taken (this is the inner geek in me).