6 rules for using free services

With the withdrawal of the free version of Ning being announced on their blog, I’ve witnessed some interesting responses. One colleague was rather dismayed as he was just about to use Ning for a new social community he was setting up. This simply emphasised to me the differences people have towards the philosophies underpinning current technology and innovation. For me it’s not about a service being withdrawn and then going into panic mode, but perhaps we do need something like this to remind us of modern working practices.

Here’s some comments:

1. A service can be withdrawn anytime. It seems obvious, but many become lulled into a false sense of security.
2. Treat such events as opportunities. When this happens it allows you to examine what you are doing, how you are working, and revise your practices. Update and improve your practice. After using Ning for a few years perhaps it’s time for a change.
3. Always be on the lookout for alternatives. New and better services are springing up all the time. Keep experimenting.
4. Always have a backup plan. If a particular service is vital to your activities, back up the data you hold with that service using another similar service. E.g. back up your social bookmarking by using Diigo and Delicious, store copies of your blog posts elsewhere.
5. Don’t be too precious about you stuff. Consider if it really matters if some things are lost. I recently cleared out the garage and found a right load of rubbish I’d been clinging on to; research from nigh-on 20 years ago, I’m not actually going to miss it now it’s gone into recycling.
6. Keep moving, things change (it’s the only sure thing), just deal with it.

It also emphasised to me the importance of the PLN. After starting a discussion about the loss of the free Ning service, there was a flurry of alternative solutions offered.

Radio package making / podcasting

I’ve found a rich seam of informative short videos from BBC Blast that can help students in secondary and higher education with media work.

This is the first of these videos, only a couple of minutes long and presented by a professional radio producer giving some tips about radio (sound) production and interviewing. The advice applies to podcasting as well. [Always think beyond the box.]

more about "Radio package part 3- howto", posted with vodpod

Internet safety – OnGuard Online

I’ve posted previously about Internet Safety and the work of CEOP in Britain. Today I came across the OnGaurdOnline.gov The information is US centric, but there is much generic advice that is also useful for the UK. There’s a list of useful topic titles, including email scams, identity theft, malware, P2P security, phishing, etc. In addition there are some useful online question based games to get you thinking about the issues on a number of areas.

However, the item I’d like to draw particular attention to is the Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online pdf document that helps adults (parents or carers) to talk to children about their internet use. This really is packed full of useful information; the main point being openly talk to your children, explain things, listen to them, and tell them your values for on- and off-line behaviour. Quoting from the site with regard to this publication:

OnGuard Online encourages you to use this guide with your kids, in your school, at your PTA meeting, or anywhere else parents might gather. Feel free to order as many free copies as you’d like, put your own sticker on it, reprint sections in a newsletter or on a website, download a button or link to it, or even reprint it with your own logo. These materials are in the public domain.

The power of blogs for the author

Seth Godin & Tome Peters provide powerful and succinct points for the usefulness of blogs for their authors. I thought this video needed more watches.