Tag: Writing

  • 📂

    What Is The IndieWeb And Why We Need It

    Facebook, Twitter, Google plus – all places that help you to publish easily – and for free – on the web.

    But guess what, the web is already free – or at least it should be – and many people’s only notion of publishing on the web is through one of these, or other, third party silos. It doesn’t have to be this way.

    And it shouldn’t be this way.

    Where are we now?

    In the beginning there was the web. This completely revolutionised publishing and gave everyone a chance to have their voice heard. 25 years on and that is still the case. Only now we have these monolithic silos that have made publishing even easier, and for free (zero cost).

    The problem with free though, is that it comes at a price. All of these companies that offer you the opportunity to publish and get your thoughts out there, are doing so to serve their real customers – their partners and investors. You see, every piece of information you pass into these silos, whether knowingly or not, is used to help profile you and your friends. This profiling and tracking goes on to help make you more susceptible to targetted advertising – the core business model of most modern-day tech “startups”.

    Imagine a world where everyone’s thoughts and opinions are only published through one of the current “Ministries of Truth”, where the publisher only shows what it wants to show; hiding what it wants to hide as it “currates your timeline”.

    We desperately need many more independent avenues of information and points of view from people, not corporations, if we are ever going to get a chance at a more free on open world online.

    The Indieweb

    The Indieweb is an initiative; a community, with the aim of publishing on ones own website and taking back control over the content that they publish.

    Everyone who has access to the web has the potential – and it’s not as hard as it may seem – to get started publishing with you in control. The Indieweb isn’t about jumping through hoops to publish in a particular way either – the whole point is to do it your way and under your terms.

    You should be able to publish and present your content in exactly the way that you want to. This post is about introducing you to the concept of the Indieweb – to the concept of your being in control of your own writing and publishing.

    To get started on your path to online writing freedom, head over to the Indieweb site now for advice.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 8

    Today is the first day of an exciting week – London for two days followed by Paris for 6 days. I don’t think its hit me yet that I’m going on holiday, but I’m sure it will once we land.I’m looking forward to walking the streets of Paris in the hot sunshine with my good lady and getting lost down some side streets. Last time I went to Paris I went alone, for a concert, so it will be nice this time to share the time.Before all that is London Zoo and Carmen at the ENO. Never been to either so that’ll be an experience.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 7

    Another day of feeling like crap today.Didn’t really get anything done, which annoys me. I just watched a bunch of interviews with Clive Barker, which led me to finally read his short story, Jacqueline Ess: Her last will and testiment. A really great story – part of the Books of Blood volume 2.I then went on to watch a couple of interviews with Steve Jobs. I’ve never been a fan of Apple products, except for the iPod, but he was an inspiring guy.As I did a quick search for Jacqueline Ess to make sure I’d spelt it right, I found out that Lena Headey will be playing the titular character in a film that is currently in the works. 


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 6

    Today was the first day of the monthly street food market in the Jewellery Quarter. I had a tasty meatball sub – The bad boy I think it was called. It was one of them foods on a roll that just had to be eaten with a fork. It was messy. Tasty, but messy.I finished watching the first series of Inside No 9 tonight. Those guys really do push television into dark realms that others just wouldnt dare go. The end scene with the school girl strapped to a chair in her underwear as a near-deformed man is about to pass on the devil that has possessed him for 50 years. Dark, dark places.I’m really looking forward to seeing The Terminator tomorrow night at Star City. The original masterpiece up on the big screen. Its gonna be great. I just hope my cough clears up a bit.Oh and I’ve just bought tickets to see Kacey Musgraves in Birmingham in November. Yay!


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 5

    I’ve not been keeping it up, have I?(phrasing)Try and try again I shall.Tonight I saw the first episode of humans – very good it was. It’s interesting to see exactly what it means to be ‘human’ – to have consciousness. The acting was great – I even tried making a cup of tea like a robot afterwards and it’s actually harder than it seems. It will be interesting to see where the show goes – especially as dark elements have already begun to creep in.Later on I ended up listening to an old episode of Cabin Pressure – Qikiqtarjuaq. It’s been about a year since I first heard this series and had forgotten how good it is. Benedict Cumberbatch is probably best known for playing Sherlock in the BBC series, but one should also check him out in Cabin Pressure. He, along with the rest of the cast, have incredible chemistry in one of the funniest series I’ve ever heard.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 4

    Today’s been a naff day. I’ve felt pretty aweful with this sore throat and cough. Please – send me no flowers.I’m looking forward to later tonight when I’ll get to watch the Game of Thrones series finale for the second time – I’m more looking forward to how my girlfriend reacts to the outcome of certain characters. I have the responsibility of warning her just before any gruesome bits happen – the temptation not to torments me, but I will do my duty.Tomorrow we are taking her mom to Dudley Zoo, which should be nice – hopefully I can kick some of this cough before then. Looking forward to getting some good snappy snaps of the animals. Here’s hoping we have some nice weather.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 3

    So I have failed completely so far in writing an entry each day. I have some poor excuses if that’s any consolation? I broke my computer and spent ages trying to reinstall it; I’ve also got a sore throat and cough……yep I know, I know pretty pathetic.So two months ago I signed up for the London marathon 2016. During my training I pushed myself a bit too hard and strained my ankle. I’ve not been able to train for nearly three weeks. But since buying an ankle support, it seems to be getting better. So this Sunday I’ll head out for a jog and see how it feels.I’ve not been confirmed for the London Marathon – the winners are announced in September/October time.However I will hopefully be doing a couple of half marathons before the end of the year. So that should help me gauge my fitness level.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 2

    I bought a new cage for Moomin on Friday night. I loved the idea of him having a higher one so he could climb up further. The idea of the high platforms seemed cool too. However in practice it wasn’t suitable at all – he kept falling off the platform and knocking the loosley-coupled platform bridges out.So I’ve opted to go for the same one as he had before. Pets at home were very helpful in getting it exchanged as well as letting me have some spare parts.I’m even thinking about connecting the two cages together – as they are the same model – to make Moomin a sort of super-lair. I’ll let you know how that one pans out.


  • 📂

    Keeping it up: Day 1

    So this is my first entry in my ‘keeping it up’ series of continuous writing – two days after the introduction post. How pathetic is that!? So anyways, here is the first of which i will do my best to be many.So I saw Jurassic World yesterday evening. I had seen the trailer and thought to myself how it was going to be terrible and probably best to avoid it all together – I have been known to be one of those people who goes on about how remakes or reboots are a bad idea. However I was pleasently surprised: I actually enjoyed it. It was a good two-hour escape into a world of dinosaurs and thought there were some great little twists in there.For me the whole film came together with the ending. I enjoyed it throughout, but the ending was great fun and improved the film for me as a whole.And it was good to see they didn’t shy away from the violence. With it being a 12A – always a warning sign for me for some films – I thought it would be completely kiddified. But there was a comfortable amount of people being eaten, crushed and thrown into trees for me to feel satisfied. I’m not sadistic – honest.