Pros and Cons of using WhatsApp (Web2)

Web 2 is a development of the World Wide Web. It is a user-centred design where it's possible to share knowledge and information, it is interactive and collaborative and it is usually associated with web applications that help in two way communication. It focuses on user collaboration, user sharing and social networking.

Everyone is more than likely to have used some form of web2. If it's through blogging like I am now, or through being part of a social networking site like Twitter or Instagram. Even Wikipedia is a form of web2.
 
What are the key characteristics of a web2 website?

1. It has a way to search information-search bar/engine.
2. It includes links.
3. It gives you the right to publish and upload images, videos and tag friends ect.

I use many forms of web2 through social media interaction. Aspects of web 2 that I am most involved with is Facebook including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. These are the ones I use on a daily basis and as sad as it sounds I can't imagine being without them!

WhatsApp is a messenger service for smartphones. The App uses 3G or WIFI to contact friends and family. I love using WhatsApp I find it so easy and reliable. I have the App on my Iphone and use it daily.


Bad Websites! Are websites reliable?

How can you tell if a website is a good or bad website?

 

Are websites reliable?

These are question's I always ask myself.... How do I know if I can trust information on a particular website? Is the information factual?

EasyWhoIs

I recently found a web source that let's me check the reliability of a website. If I have a website that I need to reference from I go on EasyWhoIs which then allows me to see the user domain of the website, author, date that the website was created  and also the creator of the website and his/her records of online creations and so on ....

 

WOT

WOT stands for web of trust. This is another source that shows if websites are trustworthy. WOT rates other websites through red being not trustworthy, yellow to be cautious and green to be trustworthy.  It is a way to make sure my browsing is safe. This is simple and easy to use. It can put up a block on my computer when I click on bad websites. So this is very handy for people who are not sure about computers and who are not sure on what sources and websites to trust.

 

 

Social Media is taking over!

Social Media is taking over the world!

Twitter,Instagram,Facebook,Snapchat,Tumblr..........

 

Facebook

Facebook is a social media website where people can become friends. It is a useful site and beneficial to people who haven't heard off relatives and need to interact with them or track down old friends from school for example. Facebook is becoming one of the largest social media sites. There are 500 million users who are currently on Facebook. And over 250 million people use Facebook on their mobile devices.

Pros to Facebook

• Facebook helps people gain social skills and to build friendships.
• It is useful to advertise businesses, create group pages and also for educational purposes e.g. helps promote different books, magazines, community day trips, volunteer work.
•  It is a fast growing network where people can like and share each others posts and pictures.

Cons to Facebook

• Unless a person changes his/hers privacy settings then anyone across the world can access your personal information, all your images are there for the world to see and people might try to con you or pretend to be you by using your information.
• Even though Facebook is for older teens+ some of the younger children can lie about their age and access Facebook. This is then dangerous because they can add strangers and talk to older people.
• People don't tend to interact in person any more they are only communicating through these social sites.

Many people can access important things online e.g. Nhs advise service, read the news, pay bills, shopping. People can now gain so much knowledge and understanding of the world through social media sites. Schools are now involved with so much technology. Social Media is apart of everyday life for most teenagers. But there has been an increase in bullying through Social Media websites, this is not acceptable. 

 

Is Social Media doing more harm than good?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Post on My Blog on the Go!

I can now post on my blog on the go!

I recently downloaded the Blogger App on my IPhone. I find it so useful and it's actually easier than the Blogger website itself.

All I had to do was go into my App Store and type on my phone Blogger in the App search area. I found the Blogger icon and clicked download. After it had completed downloading I singed in using the same user and password as I do when using the Blogger website on the computer.


4 simple icons appear where I can look at my posts, write a new post, view my blog or settings. The camera icon in the top right hand corner is where I can upload images to my blog from my phone. I had to first agree and change my restriction on my settings to allow the Blogger App to access my images on my phone.

I prefer to use this app on my phone as I find It quicker and easier. I do not have to go on safari or internet explorer and type in Blogger.com to then finally get on to my blog.  It's similar to the Facebook App that I have on my phone. When I'm out and about I can quickly post on my blog.  It's great!

Animation Video

GoAnimate is a website where I created an animation video.

 

 

I could choose my own characters and design a background setting for example in a house or out the garden. I could then pick out of the toolbar what I wanted the character to do e.g. clean a room, eat some chocolate.
I found it funny when you could pick a certain voice for your character, there were many different accents to choose from. When I wrote in the speech bubble the animated character would talk in the accent that I chose and spoke what I had just written.  

I had to sign up to get my 14 day free trial. One of the websites faults is that I could only use it for 14 days then I would have to sign up to a payment plan with the website to then create more animation videos. There were different types of packages to go for,  starting from $39 dollars a month which is quite expensive !  There were guides and videos to help me if I didn't understand how to create my video.

Photo Editing with FotoFlexer

Connected to the ShabbyBlogs website there is a page for tutorials. On that page I had seen a video clip about a photo editing site called FotoFlexer.

This is how I was able to create my header for my blog. I was able to choose a header design that I liked from the ShabbyBlogs website. I clicked download to save the header design to my computer. I then went onto the FotoFlexer website and straight away I found it easy to use.
 I did not have to login or create an account to use this application. Under the title 'get started' was the icon 'upload photo'. Then there were options on where to upload the photo's from for example Facebook, my computer, twitter and many more. I decided to choose the header design that I had earlier saved to my computer from the ShabbyBlogs website.

You then can see many different icons and also the image you have uploaded. In the design I had chosen for my header there was a place to put a picture. I then clicked on the icon 'layers' and I added the image that I wanted to the header design that was already there. I saw it fitting to add a photograph of myself as it was for my blog.

Once I reshaped and cropped the image to fit the header design I then wanted to add a text. There was a 'Text' icon to add a text to the design. I decided to call my blog 'Lauren's Babbles' so after I wrote the text I placed it where I wanted it on the design , chose colours and the style of writing I preferred. I then clicked transparent for the text to blend in with the design I chose. After I was happy I clicked the icon 'select all' and the layers I had uploaded e.g. my header design, photograph of myself and the text were all selected and highlighted. I then clicked the icon 'merge' and all the layers merged into one photo. I found this to be a very clever and excellent way to be creative. I then saved the photo and added it to my blog through editing my header and selecting 'add image'.

FotoFlexer is a great, creative and fun way to edit or merge images. I think this website would be ideal for teenagers and young people. Especially for people who have chosen media studies for one of their subjects in school. I'm very happy with the image I have created and I think you should give it a try! There is no fees to pay or no login requirements. There is a login button if you wished to sign up.

Creative Backgrounds for blogs

I wanted a nice background for my blog, I did not like any of the template versions that blogger provided so... I went searching on Google for backgrounds. I came across a site called ShabbyBlogs. Which had different links at the top of the website page. I clicked on the link 'designs' and there were many different, unique background styles for my blog. Once I had found a background that I liked I clicked on the label 'get the code'. A set of instructions appeared on the screen and told me a step by step guide on how to install the background on to my blog. I highly recommend using http://shabbyblogs.com/ if you want a unique background that suits you. They have many choices of colours and also have a 'tutorial' link that takes you to different video clips that will help you apply backgrounds and headers to your blog. The video clips I find can be easier than reading a set of instructions and might benefit a more visual person.