My News Feed

So I have said many times about how Facebook can cause me to lose some faith in the future of humanity, especially when it comes to scrolling through my news feed. I was on it just before and realised that it is not always like this and so I decided that for today's post I would go through my news feed as of 9:08 pm and talk about what I find. Of course, I am not going through everything on my news feed (are you crazy?) but I am going through it all until I find it enough. So sit back (or whatever works for you) and do not fall asleep.

Source: http://fbppc.com/news-updates/6-takeaways-from-facebooks-news-feed-update/

Let's start right from the top with a person posting about how people should realise how funny she is. This is followed by those annoying advertisements saying "(Insert Name) and (insert number) other friends like (insert page)". Next it comes to one of my friends commenting on another friend's picture of the Google game thing they had on yesterday. I never actually played it but it looks pretty fun. No idea what it is though. I think they were celebrating some milestone for something but, anyway, moving on. Then we have another friend commenting on a friend's post on the original person's wall about some Anime ending today (my friends would know exactly who I am talking about by now). Then there is a picture from Minute to Win It's Facebook page which I am seriously regretting liking. Yep, I just unliked it. Next is a post from a Pop news site about Rihanna revealing too much about her sex life. This is followed by a hilarious vine as promoted by the Facebook page Best Vines. Then we have someone changing his profile picture for about the umpteenth time this week (seriously) and it looks just like the one he had a few weeks ago. I know, I can not believe I remember either. Then there are a few posts about Hawthorne winning the AFL Grand Final today (congratulations guys) which is followed by a picture which seems to be from some Anime which one of my friends posted today (not the one I mentioned before). Then comes a post about his lack of motivation (this is another person from the anime picture) followed by a picture about how people see school by popular Facebook Page and Application; Report Card. Now there is another Pop News (same Pop News Page [PopCrush]) about Justin Bieber's new tattoo which they have a picture of apparently. Then we come back to another post about the Google game yesterday. This brings us to a post by Big Brother Australia about a meetup at Dreamworld to meet the latest evictee. Then there are some pictures from a girl who went to some kind of concert for someone called Eason Chan. Followed by a post about the upcoming season of Walking Dead and a photo from a different friend who must have gone out and about. Finally we see a post by a Doctor Who Fan page (this one called The Doctor Who Hub) which is followed by another post about the Hawks winning the AFL Grand Final today. Finally on my news feed we have a post by King Kong Live on Stage about the winner of the Grand Final which they apparently supported. There was a cool photo in the Herald Sun with Kong wearing a giant (obviously) hawks shirt with two players doing a "specky" in front of him.

That is all I have time for today, see you tomorrow!

The Wonders of Blogging

Blogging is a wonderful thing and there are many benefits of it that could help you at any age in life. It can help you right now or it may be a good thing for the future. Blogs can come in many different forms but I am not going to go through all that since I already did in my post about Blogs. What I failed to mention in this post is all the wonderful benefits that Blogging can bring. I did some research and have compiled a list, so let's begin!

Image Source: http://buzz.blogger.com/2010/11/welcome-google-apps-users.html

Did you know that writing Blogs and having a positive online influence can help you get a better job? In today's age it has become the norm for employers to do some internet research on a potential employee and having a positive online influence can really help you in this respect. People want to employ people with a strong, and positive, online influence as they can better help their company become like them. A Blog can also earn you enough money to live off. One such success story is of a man called Pat Flynn who wrote a blog about his feelings on architecture. Once he was laid off from his job he began to take his blog more seriously and shortly after was earning $100, 000 per year! Of course, this will not happen to everybody but it does put faith in the fact that you can use your blog to make money, even if this is just some extra money on the side while you maintain your day job. Blogging can also help you become a better writer and one day even a published author or journalist. Since the only way to really improve your writing is to continue writing a Blog is perfect! Plus, you can have people give you feedback from all over the world. This feedback can improve your writing so much that one day you might write a book or even become a journalist. Blogging really can open up many career options as well as helping you out with the one you already have. Blogs are a great way of getting your business out there and known. It really can increase awareness and sales just through a simple blog. Some companies hire a whole group of people just to work on their Blog.

Image Source: http://www.wisesyracuse.wordpress.com

Blogging can also help you gain influence in the world. Think of all those blogs dedicated to movie reviews. They had to start out small at some point and now big Hollywood Blockbusters are using their reviews in advertisements and social media. These blogs show how writing a blog can gain you influence in the world which means people are more likely to trust you and follow what you write. Also, as I said earlier, employers like people who are influential as they can make their business sky rocket. Blogging can also help you build a network with like minded people. Some blogs work along side each other or even with each other and have created strong bonds between people who would never have met otherwise. Also, some blogs can have interviews with people or the like which can mean that with every new post a new person is added to that Blogger's network. Plus, blogging is such an easy thing to do in today's age with sites like Blogger allowing you to log in with your Google Account and just start making posts. It is as simple as that with no computer programming actually needed. As you continue blogging you learn new skills along the way such as inserting links or scheduling posts. Blogs can seem like very daunting things but are actually made by some sites in such a way that most people would be able to easily use it. Blogging can also help you keep up to date with news and information around the world. For instance, if you are writing a technology blog you are keeping up to date with the latest technology and information around the world. Even general blogs can help you keep up to date as when you are searching the internet for writing inspiration you can come across articles and news that may surprise you and influence that post in some way. It can also help your readers keep up to date as well as they can learn about current events while reading their favourite blog. It really is fantastic!

Image Source: http://www.wiziq.com/course/3784-current-affairs-questions-and-answers-2012

Blogs are also great ways to connect with the people you admire. For instance you may write a blog post and tag your idol in it or tweet it out to them and the world. Then they may come across it and read it and actually enjoy it. Suddenly, they have found a connection to you and have shared your blog to all the people who follow them. It is great as suddenly you have a link to the people you have always wanted to meet or talk to. In summary, Blogs really are wonderful things and I encourage you to start one yourself. It really is quick and easy.

Blogging is a wonder of our modern world, see you tomorrow.

YouTube Subscriptions Part 4

Wow, it is already Part 4 of this and my YouTube is becoming so much easier to view now as all the videos I can see are the ones I want to be able to. It is so much easier to navigate now and I really think this a good idea to clear up your YouTube and stop wasting time sifting through videos you are never going to watch. I began at the start of Part 1 with 153 Subscriptions and have already cut it back to 112 as of the end of Part 3. I can already tell the difference and can not wait to keep going so let's start! Just remember that every 2 days I post a new part so watch out for them.

Image Source: 

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/youtube-planning-paid-subscription-channels-report-20130507-2j4bc.html

JckSparrow (no error) is a channel also known as The Hillywood Show which makes music video parodies of movies and television shows among other things. It is a great channel and I love watching their music videos and am not unsubscribing any time soon. Jim Chapman is a British YouTuber who talks about different things in his videos but I prefer to watch his Vlogs and am unsubscribing from this one. Jimmy 2 is an American YouTuber who makes Vlogs but I do not watch this and have no idea why I subscribed, goodbye to you too. Jimmy Smith is just another friend that I am unsubscribing from to save some space, he has no videos. Joey Graceffa Games is the gaming channel of a YouTuber I subscribe to who Vlogs. He is my favourite YouTuber but I never watch his gaming channel so I am saying goodbye to that one too. Joey Graceffa is the Vlogger in question who I subscribe to and watch all his videos. Definitely not unsubscribing from him. Jono Mackay is another friend without uploads I am unsubscribing from to save space (wow, that sounds really mean but I do not mean it). Katy Perry VEVO is just a music channel I am unsubscribing from also.

Image Source: http://www.hdwallpapers3d.com/katy-perry/

King Kong is the YouTube channel of the new Musical opening in Melbourne that I am very excited to see. The channel has some great videos and I am definitely not unsubscribing. Lady Gaga VEVO is another one of the music channels I am unsubscribing from. Lamarr Wilson is a Technology YouTuber who makes videos about different technologies in a comedic way and I really enjoy it. I am not unsubscribing. LanguagePerfectLtd is the official YouTube Channel of Language Perfect so of course I am subscribed to that, I am not changing that any time soon. Legally Blonde Oz is the channel for the musical currently performing in Australia. I am going to unsubscribe because I have on idea how I actually managed to subscribe to that channel. LEGO Club TV is the official channel of the LEGO Club which I am going to unsubscribe from as they do not upload very often. Les Miserables Film is the channel for Les Miserables movie which was released at the end of last year and has not uploaded a video since the start of the year so I am unsubscribing. Lhugueny is a channel that makes animated music videos about different films and games. It is very entertaining but I do not watch them anymore so I am going to unsubscribe.

Image Source: 

http://julieverse.com/2012/12/19/is-les-miserables-appropriate-for-children-and-my-thoughts-on-the-new-movie/

Life Burry is a channel that uploads Vlogs which I enjoy watching as she is a character. I am not unsubscribing from her. Luke is yet another Vlog channel but he does not upload very often and so I am unsubscribing. Luke's Arcade is the gaming channel of this Vlogger but I never watch these videos and am also unsubscribing. Maccasmithden is someone I used to like but not anymore since they haven't uploaded in ages and I have not met her for a long time, goodbye to you too! Machinima is a large channel that caters to a wide variety of needs, mostly entertainment news though, but I am unsubscribing as I do not exactly enjoy watching their videos and there are so many that it clogs up my feed. Mainstaypro is a channel that makes short films on a variety of topics and it really is entertaining but their videos do not appear in my feed very often and I do not watch it a lot and so am going to unsubscribe. Marcus Butler TV is a British YouTuber who makes very entertaining videos on a variety of topics and I am not unsubscribing from him. Maxmoefoe is another Australian YouTuber who makes prank calls and mail videos among other things which I do not enjoy as much and so I am unsubscribing. Maxmoefoe two is his second channel which I am also unsubscribing from. I am now back to 95 subscriptions which is great because I am under the 100 subscriptions mark! Hooray! Remember to check back in 2 days for Part 5!

Image Source: http://www.gamefront.com/machinima-layoffs-2012/

May the odds be ever in  your favour, see you tomorrow!

Fanfiction

Continuing on with the theme of writing I just want to point out fan fiction to you. Fan fiction is a story (often about well-known people like celebrities, books, movies or television shows) that is written by fans [just in case you did not get that from the prefix]. Some of them are really well-written and very descriptive. They can often give you an insight into someone else's interpretation of a book and may even shed light on something subtle you may have missed. Sometimes it even continues the story the way fans want it to. The best part about it is that these people who write it are doing it for free and so are writing what they are passionate about. It really is amazing.

Image Source: http://www.insomniverse.net/csifanfiction.html

Sometimes when I'm bored I might just Google Hunger Games fan fiction or something similar and thousands of results pop up. There are whole sites like http://www.fanfiction.net/ which are full of millions (literally millions) of stories written by fans. Sometimes they can continue a story you may have really loved. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are really bad. Fan fiction is just one of many ways for people to get their writing out there and some of it is publishing quality. The best part about it, as I already said, is that these people are writing it purely because they want to and are passionate about it. It really brings out the true creativity of a person because it isn't a chore and they can stop whenever they want because it is their writing, their rules and what they want. Some people do not like writing blogs and so turn to the casual writing of fan fiction.

Image Source: 

http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/random/articles/200526/title/harry-potter-hunger-games-fanfiction-d

In the world of fan fiction anything goes. There are no publishers or editors telling you to change anything. It is purely what you want when you want it. It also allows people to express themselves in writing and enjoy writing stories about their favourite book characters. Stories like this would never otherwise be published because it would be copyright on the original author of the source series. Some fan fictions out-shine their original counterparts and can even create a mix of two different series others would not think of. A great example of this is "The Potter Games" (as pictured above) which is a mix of Harry Potter and  The Hunger Games. There is actually a site called The Potter Games (I'm not sure if it is the same thing as pictured above) where you read a paragraph and at the bottom there are choices you make and each choice continues on to a different story line so it is like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books. That is one of the advantages of the online world, you can easily do this just by creating a hyperlink to a new page. It is also one of the reasons I love fan fiction. If you have not ever read any fan fiction then I really recommend you should because they are fantastic!

Image Source: http://www.outpost-daria.com/fan_fiction.html

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!

Reality Television

Reality Television, what is there to say? There is so much variety out there and, as always, there are many hits and many misses. Sometimes you see a reality television show and it's just like "Wow! This show is going somewhere" and everyone raves about it and it has a long run and retains its popularity. Then there are those shows that are good but viewers quickly lose interest because it gets repetitive. You also have those shows that just make you wish you could wipe your memory. These are the shows that are often quickly shifted off from a major channel to a minor one. Then there are the shows that are just 'there' and you don't really have an opinion of them but you wouldn't sit there and watch it every night.

The hits, the shows we just love to watch. They hook us in and we just find ourselves connecting with the people on the show. Or we just discover a love of heckling we never knew existed. Shows like this tend to stick around for a long time because viewers just love to come back for more. Survivor is a great example of this and millions of people tune in each year to watch all the challenges and the people and all the alliances and backstabbing and starvation. It is just one of those shows you can watch season after season without feeling it is getting repetitive. The Amazing Race is another example of this. All the challenges the pairs have to complete are always different and there are all the amazing landscapes and places that they visit and it really must do a lot for tourism.

There are also many shows that are good but get repetitive and the audience soon loses interest after a few seasons. These are the shows where at the start everyone loves it but a few seasons in the producers do everything they can to make the show seem new and more appealing because some shows you've seen once and that's all you need. A good example of this would probably be Masterchef Australia (the most successful Masterchef Franchise worldwide) which started off strongly and the producers were happy and then the viewers started tuning out and they brought out Junior Masterchef and Celebrity Masterchef. It just shows that good shows are those that don't become repetitive.

You then have those shows that people love to hate. Those shows that are built up to more than they could ever be. They start off on the main networks before being shunted off to a minor one when the ratings don't get to the level hoped. Excess Baggage from the Nine Network was an example of a show that was built up to be something it wasn't. It only took a few weeks before they moved it over to Go! where it spent its dying days with low ratings. Despite the 'famous' celebrities (I used quotation marks for a reason) taking part there wasn't anything really appealing about the show and if people wanted to see other people sweat-it-out to lose weight they would just watch The Biggest Loser.

Finally you have some shows that you just have to ask "Why?" They are the shows that you don't really have an opinion on but are just there. It's sort of like Federation Square. You don't really have an opinion on it but you can see why people don't like it. Celebrity Splash is a great example of this. I can't actually believe I am watching it right now. The worst part is I neither dislike it nor do I like it. It's just sort of there and something to watch. I'm just annoyed because it pushed Revenge back to 9:30 meaning I have to tape it because I have to go to bed at 10pm on school nights (so what, at least I get enough sleep). So Celebrity Splash, I can't see it coming back for a second season (if it ever finishes its first).

With Reality Television there are hits and misses and those somewhere in between. If they made The Hunger Games into a reality TV show I'd watch it (as long as I wasn't in it) and that would be a hit (with The Hunger Games fandom at least).

May the odds be ever in your favour, see you tomorrow!