An apology to twitter
There’s so many sites out there in the big www, all vying for our attention drawing us in, calling us back. It’s difficult to find the right balance. For a while I concentrated on twitter, but then I realised that I was neglecting my friends on facebook, when I concentrated on facebook it was twitter that I had to skip.
It’s difficult to find the right balance, facebook has my work friends and family, and I’ve met a lot of great people on twitter. Sure, I have a couple of apps that filters my social networks into one stream but the problem there is that twitter takes over, facebook’s threaded comments help the user to sort through the conversations they’re interested in but bring down the noise to signal ratio.
Don’t get me wrong, both of them have some great benefits, but I just haven’t found a way to give them both equal attention.
So, back to my apology, I’m sorry for ignoring you twitter and I promise I’ll be back soon, honestly!
No Raoul Moat Facebook group
It seems that the Prime Minister is moving towards the Big Brother style of government that his predecessors ran. There’s a story on the TV news and the new look BBC News website that say David Cameron has condemned anyone supporting or sympathising with Mr Moat, even going so far as to ask Facebook to remove a group set up for this. I find this concerning.
While I disagree with what Raoul Moat did and I sympathise wholeheartedly with his victims’ families, it’s vital that we remember we live in a democracy and everyone is given the right to freedom of speech. I am a libertarian, I believe wholeheartedly that we mustn’t stop people from being able to voice their opinions. As soon as we start down this path it becomes a slippery slope.
Where does it stop?
The argument I heard was that the Facebook group had some anti-police sentiments.
Where does it stop?
The law that protects LGBTQ people from discrimination can, and is, abused.
Where does it stop?
The BNP, in my opinion, are an abhorrent organisation but I still believe that they should have their say. Gag them and they become martyrs, victims and gain support from this.
Where does it stop?
I truly believe that the Prime Minister should be able to stand up in parliament and speak to the people about his feelings on such an emotive national issue. But I also feel that he should remember that he’s the leader of a democracy that supports free speech, and react approriately.
All change
I’ve been looking at how I blog recently and I’ve realised that 140 Characters has got a bit lost. It was originally meant to be for longer posts that I wanted to tweet. This would mean that it would mostly be opinions, responses and reviews.
But, as I say, I lost my way for a while. My more specialist areas of interest like Android, LGBT issues and the like all got lumped in together. So I’ve started a big tidy up and organised things. All my posts will now go to my main Blog and from there be transferred out to the best place. So if you want to see everything then that’s the place to go. If however you’re more interested in my opinions on Social Media or my longer posts in lieu of tweets and Facebook posts then that’s what will go here.
If you’re interested in my take on Android related subjects then head over to Android Dreams (which also has its own twitter account). Alternatively, if you’d like my update on LGBTQ issues then there’s Rainbow’s End. Finally, my least updated blog is my Profile, its main function is to give me somewhere to point potential employers so it’s only really going to be updated with work-related info. But you never know what people will be interested in!
I hope this all makes sense and, if anyone actually reads any of these posts, I hope you enjoy the new looks!
Ethan
Goddess of love, Goddess of dance.
Yes, here’s my review of Kylie’s new album, Aphrodite. Just in case you didn’t know, I’m a self-confessed Kylie fanboi so this may be a tad biassed!
The over-riding feeling that runs through listening to the album is fun, it just makes me want to throw my arms up in the air and dance down the street.
From the the very opening bars of All the Lovers Kylie makes it absolutely clear what the album is about. Her clear vocals soar from intimately close to the heights and back again.
Following on with Get out of my way, she brings in a toe-tapping beat which blends in perfectly. All the Lovers is obviously just the precursor to this foot-stomping, hand clapping tune.
The beat continues through to the fantastic Put your hands up (If you feel love), another track that makes you wasn’t to wave your arms and stamp your feet.
Closer, although continuing the beat, is a slower tune, building together the best elements of Kylie’s vocals with an electro synth feel and that ever present beat. Which prepares us perfectly for the slower, more thoughtful Everything is beautiful. Concentrating more on the story and harmonies which she’s rightly famous for.
The title track, Aphrodite, returns to the big beats of the earlier half of the album but uses a more spoken word style, which just flows well into the slow daqnce ballad that is Illusion, harmonies, synth and a slow beat give you time to catch your breath.
This breather is ideal to prepare you for the return to a poppy tune, Better than Today. This is very much a nod to Fever (always in my mind an under-rated album).
The dance track returns with Too Much (yes, another Kylie track called Too Much!) The beats just make you want to get back up and dance while the lyrics and tune are catchy – it’s an ideal club tune that I can see remixes galore of on dancefloors across the country.
The first few bars of Cupid Boy may mislead you into thinking that Ms Minogue’s decided to slow down again, but the techno-voice soundbox taking us into the chorus quickly puts paid to that one.
It seems however that a cherub’s not good enough for our Kylie as she continues the journey with Looking for an Angel. A track that has just the right balance of toe-tapping beats and a catchy singalong chorus. Unfortunately, as it’s in a higher pitch I can see this one being massacred whenever it’s played!
With an intro that sounds like something from Mario Kart I must admit that I was a bit concerned by Can’t Beat the Feeling. But then it started and I smiled. Reminding me of the best bits on Light Years this is another tune that just makes you want to dance and hug the person next to you!
I know I’m biased, but I’m really glad I’ve had the chance to listen to this album on NPR. I’m definitely buying it (although there’s no way I wouldn’t even if I didn’t love it!)
Basically, if you want an album to get ready for a night out to, this is it, if you want an album to make you smile, this is it. And if you just want to remember why you love Kylie, why you have fond memories of Light Years, Fever and X, and you want to find out why she’s still the ultimate pop princess then I’d suggest you get a copy too!
Image taken from Autumn Jones’ Blog
Political voting, or just good taste?
So, Germany’s Lena has won Eurovision this year. It was a catchy, infectious tune in the style of Lily Allen (you know – one of those ‘modern’ pop stars who’s actually had a hit recently). The UK put forward Josh Dubovie and his 80′s style hit “That sounds good to me”. A song that blatantly fell down the back of Pete Waterman’s sofa in 1987 which he dusted off and thought, “that’ll do…”
And yet I looked at my Facebook stream last night and saw loads of complaints about the political voting. And my only questions to those people are: Is Eurovision filled with political & bloc voting? Is this a new thing? The answers are simple – Yes, and No. This is not a reason to stamp our feet every year and scream “it’s not fair!”
If we want to win we have to raise the bar. We have to show Europe the music that we can produce. But, to do that we need to get over the “Eurovision is camp, cheesy, and a bit crap” attitude and take our tongues out of our cheeks. We have to get over the ’2/3 of the world was pink, donchaknow’ attitude, and we have to step down from our self-imposed pedestal. For goodness’ sake – Germany won by perfoming a British style song better than we did.
Personally – I couldn’t care about winning. I watch Eurovision because it’s camp, because it’s cheesy, and because it’s a show that I know will make me smile each year. But what I really can’t stand each year are people whining and whinging that we didn’t get the Douze Points from every country who should just be happy that we take part.
So, suck it up fellow Brits, and if you want us to do better then get interested. Don’t just watch on the night, help us find a song that will win next year.
Me? I’ll be off camping it up to Sha-la-lie!
Eurovision is dead.
Eurovision is dead.
How’s that for a controvertial opening line? ;-P
I don’t mean the contest that I, and many millions of other people across the world will be watching tonight at parties, in living rooms, in pubs and city centre squares, but the high camp nostalgic nonsense that I remember and love is slowly being squeezed out.
I’m not saying that this is musically a bad thing, and real music fans will probably be cheering that entries like the Netherlands, Sylvia Knight and the like aren’t even making it to the final anymore. But a big part of me is dying inside.
Eurovision has expanded at a rate of knots over the past decade or so, more entrants and a wider range of musical backgrounds have joined together to make a new grand prix, and without the history and nostalgia that some of the more long serving countries have, they’ve taken the contest down a new route.
It’s still exciting, it’s still fun, it’s still political (it always was so please don’t say that it’s an eastern European thing), but it’s not as camp, it’s not as kitsch, and it’s not as nostalgic as it once was.
Eurovision is dead. Long live Eurovision!
Facebook – my take on the privacy row
There has been a lot of coverage online recently about the Facebook privacy row, people deleting their accounts in protest, web apps to check how much you’re sharing and lots of people crying doom. I don’t want to be one of those who screams that the sky is falling in, but I must admit that (as an average user) I’m concerned.
Like my real life, my online life is compartmentalised. I use twitter for its real time interaction and the challenge of reducing my verbosity to less than 140 Characters, this blog is for my more in-depth thoughts. I have seperate email addresses for companies that I deal with, and a LinkedIn profile that connects to an online CV. I have a seperate telephone number for job applications so that I can publish that on LinkedIn and my CV. And I have a Facebook account to keep in touch with friends, work colleagues past and present, and selected family members.
Ben Parr wrote this article in which he puts forward a slightly more balanced argument, although there are a couple of things that I disagree with. He uses the “children in Africa” argument for one, which is, in itself, an overdramatisation designed to belittle the concerns of thousands of people. But he also seems to suggest that, because we agreed to share with one another using Facebook back in the distant days of privacy, we should be grateful to them for allowing us to keep connecting.
I disagree. Facebook is a fantastic tool that I have become more and more disenchanted with over the past couple of years. The only reason I still use it is because it’s ubiquitous – I’ve been able to get back in touch with people I thought I’d never see again and keep up to date with work friends after leaving companies.
I don’t mind companies sharing the data I choose to hand over or using it to target me with more useful ads (it’s better than friggin’ pop-ups!). But I dislike being somewhat bullied into sharing information with the whole world automatically, where a simple API search can be set up to trawl groups for telephone numbers and more.
Facebook have announced that new privacy settings are coming soon (maybe even today) but I’m wondering – how long will it be until they ‘enhance’ them again, and how much longer are we just going to sit back and accept it?
So, Facebook, here’s your chance to improve your relations with your products (I’m well aware I’m just data, your product, not your customer), don’t worry – I’m not planning to delete my account, it’s too useful, but I can guarantee you that I will amend my data to be inaccurate and, by logical extension, useless to you and your customers.
The world is watching. Show them you know this is more than just another “Facebook changed the way my page looks, Oh noes!” whinge, please?
Eurovision 2010 – my first impressions
OK, I’ve resisted the temptation to watch this year’s Eurovision entries on YouTube. (It seems to get more and more difficult for me each year!) But I’ve been listening to the Album on repeat.
Why? Because, despite what the detractors may say it is still a song contest – and so I’m trying to follow the pure music route, and then watch the show to see the different parts pull together. And of course, rip the participants to shreds on twitter (in a completely tongue-in-cheek style ;-P).
So, what are my impressions from the music this year? Well, it seems that the eighties revival has hit the contest full square in the chest, but along side that high-camp bounciness there seems to be a heck of a lot of quite sad laments & ballads. And I also get the feeling that the eastern bloc have given up on any pretense of trying to woo western votes and instead taken aim at those countries they share musical history with.
It’s going to be a great, fun show. But please everyone, don’t think Josh has a chance. Sure he’s got the eighties retro sound (the only sound Pete Watermen can produce I think) but it’s not strong enough to get us as high as Jade managed last year. So, when we don’t win this year, don’t blame political voting, blame a poor song.
Public servants on public transport? Oh the humanity!
So, MPs are unhappy with the new expenses system?
A couple of quotes appear in this story that I’d like to respond to. Firstly, to the minister who feels they’re being treated like benefits claimants. No you’re not, you’re being treated like an employee who has abused a system that was put in place to help you do your job. You’re now having to justify your expenses – just like everyone else in the country. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and – thanks to the way your profession have dealt with things in the past – you’re having to learn this the hard way.
And to the minister who was complaining that she can’t get a taxi before 11pm, of course you can. But, again like the rest of us, you’re going to have to pay for it yourself. If however you choose to opt for public transport then I suggest you put pressure on your party to improve safety. And if you’re in the Labour Party then you know who to blame. You’ve had 13 years to address this. Now you know how the rest of us feel, except you don’t have the same level of impotence to prevent tragedy that we have.
The new expenses process is a fantastic step forward. Ministers are now experiencing similar difficulties that their constituents have faced for years. No longer molly coddled, maybe now we can see real improvements to public transport, public safety, and the “it’s my right” attitude that has permeated the Houses of Parliament for too long.
Bless their little cotton socks.
(Hat tip to Old Holborn for the linky poos!)
Election 2010 – A New Dawn?
And so it ends.
Gordon Brown has resigned as Prime Minister and also as leader of the Labour Party. David Cameron has reached an agreement with Nick Clegg, which both leaders are (as I type this) discussing with their parties. It’s a new dawn, one where the Liberal Democrats hold the balance of power.
I should be happy, but I’m not. I’m concerned.
How much has Nick Clegg agreed to compromise on? How much of the party’s soul has been given up so that a couple of Lib Dem MPs get a chance to step onto the world stage?
I don’t know, and neither does anyone else yet – but we will tomorrow. And I hope for all our sakes that Nick has fought hard. I’ve seen lots of blogs and tweets decrying the Lib Dems insistence on PR, people who say that it’s the economy that should be the priority, that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq should be a priority, that taxation, public services, education, or the environment should be the priority. Yes, this is YOUR priority, and is the reason that, last week, you were given the chance to have your say and vote for the people that represented your beliefs. The Liberal Democrats have fought for as long as I can remember on a platform of fairness for all, be that fairness in the electoral sense – where everyone’s vote counts, or fairness in equality – where everyone is given the same chance, or (more recently) political fairness – where your elected representatives are reminded that they are just that – your representatives, not your masters.
So – if the Liberal Democratic party are fighting for a more liberal, more democratic society then they are doing their job. If however they’ve sold out and decided to support the Conservatives wholeheartedly then I think they’d best be careful – there are a lot of people out there who voted for them (some of us even voted knowing that our vote would be worthless) and their principles. So Nick and the rest of the parliamentary Lib Dems, think carefully before you sign on the dotted line.
Your supporters are watching, and if you sell us down the river then enjoy your taste of government, because I for one won’t be backing you any more and I have a feeling there are lots of others who agree.
