Finding Creative Commons Licensed Media…

Finding Creative Commons works on the web can be a tasking well eh… task. Not anymore with CC Search – scanning over 9 popular media providers aiming to find the exact CC Licensed media you’re looking for.
Search CC licensed content including works licensed works  for commercial use and other media to be modified or built upon. CC Search runs searches into Blip.TV, Flickr, Fotopedia, Google, Jamendo, Open Clip Art Library, SpinXpress, and Wikimedia Commons. Meaning there is now shortfall of video, audio, or images for you.
Visit the website itself and see for yourself what licensed works are available for your next project. Not sure? Check it out for yourself.
CC Search [Creative Commons via MakeUseOf]

Email Values–Clarity…

 

Clarity is key in communicating, particularly in a time when what you want to say can be limited to 140 characters or less.

But one place I find this miscommunication has no excuse is the common every day email. You know those emails you read once, repeat read, and after several attempt’s you’re still completely clueless as to what the sender is trying to say? Annoying right?

Well if you recognise a terrible email, this doesn’t mean  you’re guilt free of sending them.

In order to be understood, particularly online, you need clarity, and even though email is a particularly quick form of communication, this does not give you rights to be quick with what you say. Its simple, when you write your email; read  it, spellcheck it, and re read it so you don’t end walking away post clicking send looking the fool.

Here are a few ideas to start you off..

When you’re composing your email, be up front and clear with what you are trying to say. The reader shouldn’t have to get out a dictionary or thesaurus to understand what you are trying to say, don’t muddle your email with unnecessary language. It does nothing but frustrate everyone.

Remember, clarity is  better than cleverness, you may fancy yourself a masterful wordsmith like a Mr Stephen Fry in my previous post but like he states, what is the English language if it is not enjoyed.

Don't let your words get in the way of your message

Next time you're composing an email, give some attention to clarity. Can you understand what the email is about by the subject line? Are you burying your message? If not, good for you! If you're not a saint (I'm not), re-evaluate your email miscommunications.

More posts on the subject of Email will follow.

Don’t Mind Your Language, in the words of Stephen Fry… Literally

A fantastic animated typography voiced by the one, the only, Stephen Fry…

Learning the rules of any language is important, even more so if that language holds great impact on your career, such as journalism. Without a proper grasp of the English language for example it can be pretty difficult to communicate effectively.

But, if you find yourself hung up on perfecting the English language you may find yourself impeding your own creativity and development of said language in general.

Matt Rogers has taken a piece of audio recorded by the one, and only Stephen Fry, where he argues that the enjoyment of language is more important than pedantic accuracy. Without this freedom nothing new may be created, and the development of language is hindered.

Personally I can never see myself accepting the place of “text” language into my vernacular but I would like to say I’m trying. We should all still aim to write well and communicate clearly, but the point of this video and Stephen Fry’s full essay is to prove that we should choose our battles of language wisely. and not get hung up every minute detail.

Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language [Matthew Rogers on Vimeo]

and for Stephen Fry's' full essay on the topic, go here…

Don't Mind Your Language

How to Prevent Yourself from Being Drunk and on Facebook…

Finding an image that’s both appropriate and amusing to coincide with this post is difficult if not impossible, so I decided to leave it at that. If you care to type Drunk and on Facebook into Google, you’ll understand.

If you’ve found that you get drunk and use technology for inappropriate things, like messaging your ex, insulting your employer, insulting anyone, or even just posting something really, really embarrassing, then it’s just too bad I post this after the weekend.

The Social Media Sobriety Test comes from a security company known as Web root, and  its a plugin for Firefox with the tagline “Nothing good happens online after 1 a.m.”

It’s simple, download the plugin, customize the setting for a bunch of sites, not just Facebook, but everything MySpace from Tumblr too, Gmail and Hotmail also.

Set the hours you think you’ll more than likely be intoxicated and within reach of your computer and if you sign into any of the set sites, you’ll be tested to gain access.

Now when testing this I was sober and I failed it, but typing the alphabet backwards can be as difficult as saying it backwards.

Judging from the never-ending supply of Internet drunken hilarity,  or even just websites such as Texts from Last Night I would dub a plugin like this a necessity for anyone who blacks out their online antics.

Unfortunately this plugin is only available for Firefox at the moment, and isn’t available on mobile devices, so if you are drunk and online without this plugin, have some common sense.

NB: Links are highlighted Orange

“If it Won’t Fit on a Post-It, it Won’t Fit in Your day.”

 

“Because my day is a limited size, I figure it makes sense to limit the size of my to-do list.”

Post-its can be used to do some pretty amazing things, like above but many of us forget the every day use of a post-it, a simple small way to help you simplify and prioritise what needs to be done.

Its a simple practice really, when you get up in the morning, take up a post it and work out what’s the most important thing you need to do that day. Yes we all have never ending lists, but prioritise and work it around your schedule if you can.

Separate the post into four squares leaving the top left for the “Big task” of the day and then use the other three for things you would like to accomplish, whether they be unimportant or of lesser priority.

But never, Never, add to the post it note, that is today’s list, if it isn’t urgent to add, just do it tomorrow. If for every task you complete you add two more you will be get nothing done and in every sense of the word be going backwards.

The idea is counterintuitive, you get more done by making your to-do list shorter.

This isn't necessarily a replacement for the endless to-do list many of us have, but it's the little sheet that helps us tackle the major stuff we have to get done day-to-day.

You might find this works for you, I’m going to see how successful it is for me, and if I fail I might just get creative like in the photo above.

This idea is brought to you by Mark Forster, For more information: Click Here

Write a Book in a Month – NaNoWriMo…

 

 

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and it falls upon us this November, meaning this post is two days late but also an interesting test on anyone that thinks they can meet a deadline.

The Goal? Writing one 50,000 word novel from scratch in a months time. Possible? Well plenty of people have done it before.

It’s not about quality, it’s not about writing that publishable novel, it’s more about throwing everything out the window and focusing on a single output. Complete abandon.

Why do it? The reasons are endless! Its a chance to take part in something so uniquely crazy it almost seems impossible. If for nothing else, bragging right over that writer who took 10 years to produce a book, when you took 30 days.

How do you participate? Just sign up online, its that simple, but to be added to the official list of winners your minimum 50,00 word novel must be online by midnight November 30th.

“Why 50,000 words? And how do you define "novel"?

• Novel-Writing Guidelines

Our experiences over the past nine years show that 50,000 is a difficult but doable goal, even for people with full-time jobs and children. The length makes it a short novel. We don't use the word "novella" because it doesn't seem to impress people the way "novel" does.

We define a novel as "a lengthy work of fiction." Beyond that, we let you decide whether what you're writing falls under the heading of "novel." In short: If you believe you're writing a novel, we believe you're writing a novel too.”

For the entire list of rules, just head over to the NaNoWriMo Website and start writing, right now, who knows, your novel could be the next Lord of the Rings, or it could amount to nothing. Either way, you wrote a novel if you reach the end of it.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/

This is your chance to get in on 30 days and nights of literary abandon!

What if you Wrote One Page a Day?

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Tony Morrison

One Page Per Day is exactly what the website states it as. "It's a very simple web typewriter that presents you with a single blank page each day. You are free from the tyranny of the infinite page."

It is simplistic but genius and allows anyone who finds themselves struggling to write, the chance to do so without the never ending word document or open pad.

How does it work? Simply log in using your Google account or twitter and type your one page a day, whether it is to get you into the practice of writing, you're starting your new book, or simply, you want to finally commit yourself to that blog you've always tried to keep up to date.

And One Page Per Day will remind you to fill up that one page, pushing you to finish what it is you have started.

Distraction Free Writing can be found here: OnePagePerDay