Net11 Reflections Week Four

Before this week (and year) gets away from me I thought maybe a word or two about last week was in order.

After my comments last week about managing my time online more efficiently, I got smacked by the on coming train that is Christmas. So while I had every intention of getting more uni work done and being productive in general, this wasn't the actual case. In fact, I had less time on the net in general. May I point out though this was not necessarily a bad thing! :)

So while I didn't get a chance to set in place life changing program, I did have plenty of time to think about how exactly I will approach this seemingly mammoth task. And after much thought, I have come up with cunningly simple plan: Before I sit down in front of my Mac, I will state out aloud to myself what it is I want to achieve. I will then also write this down on paper for later reference. In this manner I put accountability on my session and upon myself*. By placing accountability upon my time on the net hope that I will focus on the task at hand and procrastinate less.

Of course I will do this regardless of if the session is for study, work or just surfin' the interwebs!

With the little time that I did have to spend on course work, module two revisited some interesting areas of my past. I enjoyed the technical aspect of relearning some old tools and protocols such as IRC and Usenet, and discovered some great insight into their impacts on the net and contributions to the world. Also to date the discussions and insights from my fellow students has been inspirational, and I really am looking forward now to where the next couple of months are going to take me. Let the learning continue.

*No really this took much thought on my part.

Peerless Is The Oracle

While completing my Usenet/Newsgroup task I came across some geek humor which I thought deserved it's own post :)

The Internet (Usenet) Oracle is ongoing geek humor which originated on Usenet. Essentially one submits a question (serious or not) to the Oracle in order to receive an answer (more than often not serious) from the Oracle. Over time a structure and format developed and metamorphosed into the now common Oracle format.

If you have even just a little bit of geek in you, then I highly recommend exploring this and if possible, seek the wisdom of the Oracle.

And in response, thus spake the Oracle:
} You owe the Oracle one comment.

Module 2 - Chat Task IRC Option

I use some form of realtime, synchronis chat on most days. Whether it is Messenger at work for communication with interstate team members. ICQ, Google Talk to catch up with friends and family or Skype, iChat to keep in-touch with business colleagues and partners. I can pretty much safely say that at some stage or another I have used most forms of chat.

Because of this reason, I chose to go with the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) option to complete part one of this task. Fortunately for me I all ready have an excellent Mac IRC client, Linkinus, installed on my machine so all I needed to do was brush of the cobwebs and away I went.

IRC is a different beast to the more common Instant Message (IM) clients such as MSN and ICQ. For one it's been around since the late 80's and in general IRC takes a bit more to set up than an IM client. Once online though IRC offers a world of opportunity for obtaining and sharing information or just plain socialising.

The main difference between IRC and that of other chat tools is the channel or group aspect of the system. IRC was created not as a one to one chat such as MSN or ICQ and as such it is primarily a mass communication tool where a large groups of people can communicate. As the chat is conducted primarily in a channel, IRC can be useful for sharing knowledge amongst a large range of users working on a project or with a shared interest. In times of emergency or world events, IRC has also been a major contributor to news gathering and reporting.

Most channels which I visited had regular users who you could approach for help or to find out information. An immediate draw back if unfamiliar with this group chat concept is the speed of conversation and background chatter that can occur. If you are new to IRC or online chatting this can be very disconcerting. That said, if needed you can also have private chats within IRC which allow for a more restrained and manageable chat environment.

I find that once you are over the technical obstacles of IRC, it can be a very rewarding method of communicating. For one you don't have to wait until friends are online, you can just log onto a channel and find someone like minded (or not) to chat with. Personally I feel this makes the whole IRC experience more sociable than IM.

Module 2 - Newsgroups Task

Usenet and Newsgroups are not a new idea to me. Created nearly 30 years ago Usenet and Newsgroups could be considered the original Social Networking medium of the internet. For those geeks out there or those just interested (admit it, you have to be a geek to be interested) then check out how it actually works.

Like most people who have explored the internet over the years, I innocently stumbled across Usenet and Newsgroups and found some of it's more nefarious uses. Besides this murky all to common side of what now is Usenet, a lot of people seem not to realise how much has evolved from the Usenet over the last 29 years. Giganews posted this list "Worst. Top 10 List. Ever." ;-) 10 Things Started on Usenet which highlights some interesting contributions to the net from Usenet.

In completing this task I had a play around with a few options including Google Groups and a stand alone reader for my trusty MacBook.

To begin with I shot over to Google and their implementation of Newsgroups; Google Groups where as a Gmail and Google Reader user, I all ready had an active account. Google Groups is home to vast range of topics and interests some of which correspond to Usenet while some which are exclusive to Google Groups. Content is made up of some 3011712 groups available through the service. Very similar in actual content using Google Groups itself was also relatively easy as the interface shares similar layouts and features with other Google services.

Next I decided to download a stand alone reader with my first stop to find some software. After a little searching I re-downloaded a demo version of my previous reader Unison. Installing Unison was a snap, the hardest part was actually finding a server which a) was free and b) was still active. Thanks to Newzbot.com I successfully got online and trawled through some Newsgroups across a couple of servers. Again accessing the content was easy thanks to the beautiful interface of Unison.

Through the course of these two tasks I began to remember why I moved on from this corner of the online world last time. While there is a lot of useful information and discussion on Usenet, it is far outweighed by spam, or links to porn. Newsgroups for binaries dominate the landscape while even the heavily filtered Google service wasn't immune to these activites.

Usenet was probably once a very useful means of communication, yet today I find it is full of spam and host to the underbelly of the net. Yes there are still valid conversations and sharing of knowledge going on within this world, but I find they are far outweighed by the rest. Although I hope it doesn't come to this.

Module 2 - Lists Task

While I am a regular user of announcement type email lists (common subscribe to a newsletter type deal), discussion mail lists are something of which I have never been big fan or user of.

Mail lists have been around for ever and have played a large role in providing a simple means and opportunity for discussion and knowledge dissemination. While this is true, I can't really say they are my cup of tea. I think in all the years that I have been using the internet, I have been compelled to only subscribe to one or so discussion lists.

Putting my personal biases aside I went out and completed a little research, seeking out the hidden world of mailing lists. The results, to put it simply, have amazed me with what is available on the net. With my first stopping point Yahoo Groups, I found a massive range of topics covering all walks of life. If you want to find out some random and obscure information say about the world of Bollywood, then this is a great starting point.

So why is it so many people find mail lists relevant still? Not everyone has broadband, if your access to the internet is limited then being on an email list as digest may have great benefit to you. The ability to read the email offline would allow you to catch up with news and information at your convenience, rather than trawling through posts in a forum to find what you need would be very appealing.

On the flip forums or discussion boards such as VBulletin, SMF or PHPBB, offer a richer and fuller user experience which can require more resources and time online. From my personal experience, I find the communities created through these types of forums an attraction. Now coupled with RSS feeds available on most popular forum software, you can keep track of conversations or find support (now my general reason for using forums) quickly and easily.

Interestingly enough after this task I now have a better understanding of where discussion mailing lists sit in the wide web world. And while I'm not going to be rushing out to sign up to find out about Mermaids; I now understand how both forms of communication fit in the general scheme of all things net. And although I don't think either is particularly any better than the other for communicating information in general, each offers the user a different experience in communication depending on their end need or available resources.

As a final piece I found this great little piece by a blogger Alexander Gomes on just this subject. While Alexander's bent is pro forum, some interesting alternative points are raised through the comments. Enjoy.

Net11 Reflections Week Three

Forgive for father for it has been a week since I last blogged. Actually I can't believe it was a week but here's the proof.

Week three really got away from me, it must be this thing called Christmas taking up all my time, definitely not my poor time management. I do feel a bit deflated after so many grand plans for the last week went astray: get ahead, plan out my assignment and contribute comments to fellow students blogs. Unfortunately the realities of life and a smallish helping of procrastination brought me tumbling down.

Not to worry though, some time away from the internet machine gave me some space to think, and asses how I utilise my time online. The results I must say are far from pleasing and they have brought me to an interesting conclusion: I waste time on the interwebs. Oh surprise!

Over the last few days particularly, I have found that I am getting online and just procrastinating, surfing from site to site with no specific task in mind. Of course this is not always a bad thing and some mindless surfing is always fun and occasionally useful, but I need to focus and utilise my time online effectively.

So, after a little Googling and reading some of the millions of self help 10-ways-to-be-more-productive-and-manage-your-time websites, I have come up with my challenge for this week; to be more purposeful when online. So now when I sit down in front of the internet I will have a plan of attack, a goal to achieve for the session.

For large chunks of time I will plan out what I wish to do and how long I have to do it before I even take to the computer. If I have a 30 minute window online, I will do some quick research or blog a thought rather than poke a friend or check my email every 15 minutes. Of course I won't stop my social shenanigans online, I will now also plan out my time socialising rather than flitting over to Facebook on a random whim every five minutes to see my friends status updates. And if I go of on a tangent, clicking through to site after site, I plan to share some of the gold (or not so gold) sites I may come across (it's not really time wasting then is it?). Consider yourselves warned :)

So now my dirty little secret is out, how do you manage your time online and protect yourself from the procrastination traps of the web?

Net11 Week Two Reflections

It seems that I have successfully navigated week two of Net11 without having any adverse reactions or blowouts. It feels fantastic to be getting stuck into topics which I find both interesting and worthwhile. It's interesting to note that while I am familiar with the material we are studying, I am still taking a lot away and feel I am gaining a greater understanding of the core aspects of the internet and its underlying structure.

To me this is the reason why I have restarted university study; to build on the knowledge that I all ready have, and to a lesser degree, validate what I have previously been doing in life, the experiences and knowledge it has given me.

I am also finding the discussions in the forums are invigorating with so many informed points of view. Coupled with the simple fact that people are not afraid to share their thoughts and ideas, this is making the time I spend on there so worthwhile. It really is a refreshing change to my last unit where people were not interested in any type of online discussion or debate :/

OK so now I can turn my attention to week three, and to get me through I have set myself a few little goals including:

1. getting ahead on my module 2 tasks,
2. determining which concepts I will begin writing on

and the big one for me

3. comment on more fellow students blogs.

I know they seem a little big once they are verbalised, but I think they are achievable for week three. So do you have any of your own learning goals for week three?

Module 2 - Email Tasks

Over the years I have used many different email clients and services. Recently though, I made a step towards going all digital and moved my my primary personal email to Google's Gmail service. Gmail offers lots of nice little touches and I love it. Just wanted to share that before I launched into the tasks :)


1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?
You can get a lot of information from a seemingly simple email. To begin with there is the email address itself, is it a company or educational address or is it a free Hotmail account or similar. Next you can choose to display the email headers (it's where the technical stuff sits), from here you can get all sorts of information including delivery paths, formats etc. The only time I really do all this is if I am unsure of an email. As a rule of thumb, checking the from address and if there is a reply to address generally tells me all I need to know on a day to day basis.


2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?
The dreaded 'cc', oh how I hate to be the recipient of an email where I am 'cc' into the chain of communication. It's interesting to note that in the previous concept regarding "The mobility of electronic digital data" that the comment is made where as people begin to understand the mobility of data, they include more people than is necessary in their communication. Too many times I receive emails which have little or no relevance to me or someone has hit reply all when they should have just hit reply as there was no need for everyone to be included in their private conversation. For me those three functions should be used as such (and this is how I endeavour to use them):

• a) cc - As a courtesy where that person has been involved in previous discussions or there is a requirement for the recipient to be across the information.
• b) bcc - Used when email yourself a copy of a sent email or forwarding details to a third party to make second party aware. e.g. recieved an expression of interest to tour a DJ, as I was not the correct person for this I replied and advised the inital party I would forward their details on to the correct person who I had bcc'd into my response (I rarely use bcc).
• c) reply all - Only needed to be used if ALL recipients need to be across the rely to the original email. Use this sparingly.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?
In a previous life as a publisher and designer for a Hobart based street press, I was continually on the receiving end of files and documents which required propriety software to open them (even if our spec sheets dictated exactly the required formats, grrrrrr). Often to meet deadlines, time was spent racing around searching out applications which could read these documents or at the very least extract the relevant data. At times it felt all we were going to be able to do was try and feel the data in side the document, hmmm, yes, drive me mad did it young Jedi.

Of course now things area lot better, there are still some compatibility issues, but mostly they are due to people just saving in the wrong format or using some obscure format which died out years ago (or should have). Nowadays I find the best way to ensure an attachment can be opened is to ask if the receiver has the required software to open the file you intend to send. Failing that I will send the file as a PDF document. For me PDF has become the default "accessible document format" and due to inbuilt functionality, free reader downloads and it's ability to retain formatting of a document it's much more appealing than sending a RTF document. And now with the advent of editable PDF files, this format is even more powerful than ever.


4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?
I love email filters, if an email application doesn't have filters then I don't want to know about it :) As I previously mentioned I use Gmail as my primary email and Gmail provides me with a pretty darn good filter/labeling system. I try to work on a bastardised version of David Allen's GTD theory of an empty inbox, as such I try to pretty much filter everything that comes in and label it in the process. This pretty much leaves my Gmail inbox empty or very close to empty.

Work wise I use Outlook and have a number of rules set up (I am the Outlook rule king at work). My primary rules are based around distribution lists, which once run, leave only emails directly addressed to me in my inbox. This of course allows me to focus on the things which most likely need my direct attention. I found this method while trawling the interwebs after I first learned about GTD. Trust me, coming from a company where sending emails is near a sport, this approach has saved my inbox and my sanity.


5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?
My folder organisation is based on my filters. As Gmail's filters label email as they come in. I have everything pretty much catagorised and sorted as it hits my inbox. I can then either check all mail chronologically or each seperate category as I wish. This then leaves a failrly empty inbox where I can address those random occasional emails quickly and efficently.

On a work level. Again my folders are determined based on my rules, where each rule has it's own folder where mail is automatically filtered to. The difference is here that my inbox will retain all email directly addressed to me as this theoretically is mail which needs my immediate attention.

As you can see points 4 and 5 work hand in hand for me. Generally both these approaches allow me to keep on top of my inbox and manage my email effectively rather than email managing me. Geeky I know.

Edit: I have been searching for a week since I made this post, looking for the original site which introduced me to Dave Allen and GTD and in particular, the method that I manage my email. Now finally success: Jeff Sandquist is a Microsoft evangelist and it was his two excellent posts on managing email which put me on this path.


Thought for the day
It really is interesting revisiting things that you use on a day to day basis and looking at them in a different light. Looking at things reflectively always opens up new avenues of information or understanding so this process or re-looking at email is actually quite interesting and has allowed me to rethink one or two ways that I deal with email. Ultimately I think this will help me further refine my approach to handling and communicating via email.

Data about data about data

I'm still getting the hang of this "blog everything" approach so please bear with me.

I am sure you have come across the concept of Metadata prior to Net11 just as I have, still it's something which I felt I needed to throw into my blog for future reference. Besides the concept of data about data about data is kind of trés geek :)

Module 1 - Internet Tools Task

As this tasks concept points out the keystone foundation to the internet is the system of identifying a location and routing data between two fixed end points. With out the ability to do this the internet as we now know it would simply not exist.

Previously I have used Traceroute and other internet tools when building websites and determining which hosting company to go with. I suppose this makes me relatively familiar with the tool and the information that it provides. Never less, I thought a little background research to broaden my understanding of the underlying concept would not hurt.

To complete this particular task I had to complete a Traceroute inquiry via either network-tools.com or centralops.net: I choose to do both to see what, if any, differences would present between the two tools. And besides, it's not like it takes hours to complete a Traceroute inquiry.

The Results
Results from Network-Tools took around 260ms with the last three hops timing out once the packets hit the Curtin network.

Results from Centralops came it at 253ms with the last three hops again timing out once they hit the Curtin network.

Neither of the actual results surprised me as both tools are located offshore. What did surprise me was that both times the last three hops timed out. I hav read that this could be due to packet loss or the network protecting itself as a Traceroute is similar to port sniffing.

Incidentally, the IP address for curtin.edu.au is 134.7.179.53

Ping
For those mildly interested, like nearly every other word within the world of IT, Ping is actually an acronym for Packet Internet Groper (sounds dodgy eh). Ping is used to see if an address on the internet is active an accepting data and it's latency, when pinging curtin.edu.au from the online tools the following was yielded.

The Results
Results from both online sources were approximately the same as the Traceroute results coming in at 260.2ms and 253ms respectivly. This was to be expected as data is still being sent via the same route as in the Traceroute. The major difference here is that a Ping is not recording all hops or resolving domain names. This would explain why Ping results will appear on the page quicker.

From My Local Machine
In further exploration for this task I have done as suggested and utilised the software WhatRoute, directly downloaded to my local machine. I also have used OS X's bundled application, Network Utility, to complete this final piece.

The Results
Results were as expected with response times nearly half that of the online tools, 104ms with traceroute (although both my attempts seem to have completely died when reaching the Curtin network) and 110ms when pinging.

The key takeout to me from this is that location is everything when it comes to speed on the internet. Obviously the closer you are to your destination the quicker it will be to get there. Though the one caveat that I throw in is; you have no actual control on just how your data will be routed. Take my last image for example. My ISP Exetel routes all data through Sydney before shooting me off to Perth and Curtin's network. Is this something that has an effect?

I'm not entirely sure but logic says that going to Perth via Sydney isn't the shortest route and it allows more opportunity for error.

Module 1 - File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Task

So to get the obvious out of the way first, CAPITALIZATION MATTERS! Right, now we have done that, let us continue.

To complete this task I was required to login to the Curtin FTP server using the anonymous login. After successfully doing this I was to then check the directory structure and find the readme.txt. From this file I would find the statement in my posts first sentence, this would fill in the blank from the sentence:

"according to the readme file, '_______ MATTERS'".

I thought the word was going to be SIZE, who would of thunk it eh? ;)

FTP or File Transfer Protocol is my main method of transferring data to and from my websites. I use FTP at least once a week with my personal websites uploading files or downloading backups to my local drive. I also use FTP for renaming files and directories and changing permissions if needed. To do this on a Mac I use the absolutely fantastic Yummy FTP from Yummy Software, it's so simple!

I also currently utilise FTP as a distribution method to obtain files from various different websites and business. As a working DJ I have been in the lucky situation to receive promo records from music labels, over the years I have seen this change to the point now where most labels no longer send records or even CD's; they simply point you to their FTP server and you download all the digital files. Much quicker and cost effective. Who said the record labels weren't utilising new distribution methods.

Of course now their are even more advanced methods of transferring electronic media, but that is a subject for another time.

Module 1 - Telnet Task B

So as the Star Wars fan that I am, I was quite excited to telnet into towel.blinkenlighs.nl. Of course after after reading my fellow students blogs I was ready for what was in store, and let me say, once in I wasn't disappointed.

For the uninitiated; telnetting into towel.blinkenlights.nl gives you an ASCII art animation of Star Wars Episode 4 A New Hope. Thats right baby, welcome to geekville!

ASCII art is is made from ASCII and is one of those terribly geek things to do. Originally created in the
late 60's it took off in the 70's and 80's allowing people to create images and share them when bandwidth was limited and printers couldn't create the photo realistic prints we can today.

While bandwidth today is cheap and expansive and printers can run of high quality photos, I don't think something such as ASCII art will ever completely leave us, apparently it's been around in one form or another since the birth of the typewriter. For me ASCII art is an important part of computing and the internets history, and while no longer part of the mainstream (was it ever) we still use common forms of ASCII art day in, day out.

In fact one form which you may well be familiar with is the simple emoticon :-) This simple form of ASCII art was first created in 1982 and is still helping us communicate feelings and moods.

I suggest having a further look at ASCII art and if you get inspired then have a go at creating some of your own either by hand or if you wish, you can auto generate it.

Module 1 - Telnet Task A

This task required me to utilise Telnet to access the Deakin University library and complete a search.

Before jumping in head first, the first thing I did was to Google a little more information on Telnet and Telnet applications on the Mac. I came across a couple of good sites in particular I found this excellent and simple guide on wikiHow.com. The site also contained some further How To's on checking email with Telnet and the like, but I digress.

After my research, I decided in the end to go down the route of using Mac OS X's built in Telnet client; the Terminal application. Terminal is an application which I am familiar and comfortable with so using it for this task was rather simple.

Logging in to the Deakin library and completing the search was very straight forward. I found that the information presented through Telnet was sparse yet effective, giving me all the details to find the books in the actual library. On further exploration I found that there were a number of features which further helped enhance the search.

While this particular search method was effective and extremely quick, it was frustrating to not have a visual reference or even advanced search options that we take for granted with graphical interfaces. Telnet also lacked any feature for me to check out or borrow a book as many modern web based library interfaces now do. It is from this perspective I found the experience seriously lacking, as I was unable to self serve as I have grown used to on the internet.

This task has given me further understanding of some of the underlying technologies of the internet and their evolution. It was interesting to find that the Telnet protocol was developed in 1969 and while in limited use today, it still has some practical uses as a troubleshooting tool for remote servers and as another resource to search for information.

What The Hell Is Wetware?

Finally completed reading the Module One intro and I cam across the the term 'wetware'. This isn't a term that I have come across before so I thought it would be good to record, and of course share.

I feel the use of the word presents an interesting point in this context as it acknowledges that the internet is not just made up of hardware and software: it also requires squishy, irrational humans to exist. Seems kinf of obvious I know, but at times I think people forget that the internet in all it's glory, still requires me and you to function.

Really, What Is The Internet To You?

So I just had a thought, yes an actual thought, about the internet and what it means to me.

Over on Webct I became involved in a discussion about Virtual Personalities, through the discussion one fellow students made the comment "The Internet, for me, is just a tool for making my social circle bigger and nearer."

Now that got me thinking, how do I really see the internet, what is it that attracts me and what do I use it for? For me the internet is not about the social aspect, it's nice but I don't really use it that much. For me the internet is about the information it provides me at the stroke of a key. Everyday I use it to find new ways of doing something, enhance the skills I all ready have or just discover random information.

Yet I know the internet is even more than that again and I am still only scraping the surface. So what is the internet to you? Community, learning mechanism, a place for shopping, a marketing tool or a tool for change?

Net11 Week One Reflections

So after a week of finishing off my previous OUA unit and some procrastination over the weekend, I have finally made a second post on my new Net11 Learning Log.

So far I am finding Net11 both stimulating and daunting at the same time. Tonight I spent a couple of hours catching up on all the posts on the units Webct page, and I must say there are so many interesting and varied people completing this unit with me. Truly I can not wait to learn more about my fellow students and myself as we all learn more about the internet and discuss it's implications on society and communication.

All ready there have been some amazing and insightful comments made, discussions begun and concepts thrown out there, so much so I have had some new ideas thrust at me which have simply blown me away. One such idea came from fellow student Rhys Moult who posted this link to the Connected Student. If you haven't watched this video yet then do yourself a favour, as this is just the most amazing learning concept I have come across.

Tutor Peter Fletcher also made a comment early on which I am also striving to take to heart. As I can't link to the post I am quoting Peter below:

"Blog everything. All your research notes. All your reflections. Links to interesting resources. The lot. I did that here during my honours year. I used tags as a way of finding stuff months later. It's mint and way better than rummaging through piles of paper. I too hadn't blogged before Net11. Now it's central to my information management. Love it. Someone call Bloggers Anonymous."

Some pretty amazing concepts here, or maybe they're not that amazing and I am just behind the times. What do think?

5 Tips For Beginner Bloggers

As a relatively savvy internet user I actually have very little experience with whole blogging thing. That is to say, I am completely comfortable with the concept of blogging and am aware of the various platforms, terminology and such, I just have never really got into the whole blogging thing.

So to help me along and as the start of my Net11 Learning Log, I have listed my 5 tips for a beginner blogger. Actually it's a requirement of the Learning Log, but we won't tell anyone that now will we!

1. Do your homework. A quick search on Google for Blog will return 2,580,000,000 results, that's Billions folks, so there is more than enough information on blogs out there. Of course with so much information in the blogosphere, it can be really daunting when you are just starting out. To help save some time, and your sanity, here are two resources I have found handy, Problogger.net: Blogging Tips For Beginners and Technorati.com: Blogging Basics.

2. Set a regular time to write your blog. While it's all good to write your blog when the moment hits you, it pays to also set aside a dedicated time to write your blog. Whether this is once a week or once a day it doesn't matter, just make a regular time to capture your thoughts and ideas and commit them to 010101's.

3. Learn to link. If you have been on the internet longer than five minutes then you will know that the clicky things which take you places are called hypertext or links. By learning how to link from your blog you not only get to share your fantastic finds and further educate your readers, you are also showing respect to the people who have inspired you or have written something which resonates with you.

4. Blog about what is meaningful to you. It's much more interesting to read a blog from a person who is passionate about what they are writing, than someone who is "finding a niche" to stand out from the crowd. Remember you are a niche, there is only one of you in the world and your unique way of expressing yourself is fantastic

5. Follow other blogs and comment regularly. This is an idea which I have only just picked up from my Net11 tutor Peter Fletcher, yet it is such a simple and powerful thing to do and will make your blogging that more meaningful again. As Peter has pointed out, blogging is about communication and finding new ideas and ways of thinking. So go forth, follow and comment.

So there you have it, my five tips for starting down the path to your own blog. Feel free to share yours in the comments.