blogging tips — Page 8

Contemplating Copyrights and Privacy on the Internet

March 2, 2012 at 11:52 am by Claudia

It’s the third grey skies day in a row here. Time for the sun, Mother Nature.

So I’ll post a photo of the kitchen on a sunny day, just to remind myself that sunny days do exist.

Ah, yes! That’s what sunny looks like.

I’ve been reading a lot lately about Pinterest and copyright issues. It’s all over the Internet. I was vaguely aware of the discussion but then my friend Z posted about it the other day. She referenced an article (which you can read by clicking on Z’s post) that I find very troubling. Today, I received this post from Amy (I subscribe via email) that had even more links to posts about Pinterest/copyright problems.

I’m not a lawyer. Frankly, the minute I start to read legalese my eyes glaze over. But there are serious issues about pinning other’s images, repinning without linking back to the original source and, to the best of my knowledge, Pinterest’s policy; which basically says they are not liable for any copyright infringement, but we (the pinners) are.

If you pin, I urge you to read the links. I’m not on Pinterest all that much. I have a few pinboards and I see that my photos are being pinned regularly. As to latter, so far I’m flattered. As to the former, I’m going to go back and make sure every image I have pinned is linked back to the original source. If I can’t link it, I’m deleting it. Everyone deserves credit for their work and unfortunately, I see many, many photos on Pinterest that are not linked to the originator.

Who knows? I may even delete my account eventually.

I watched a story on the NBC Nightly News yesterday that discussed Google’s new Privacy Policy, which has also sparked a bit of controversy. That policy went into effect on March 1st. I’ve done what I can to edit my privacy settings but since I use Google for this blog, there’s only so much I can do. I certainly can’t opt out.

I’m not lying awake worrying about any of this, but I do think we have to be careful in this Internet world. Writing a blog automatically puts us in the public eye. As I’ve said before, I’m not comfortable with the push to use Google+. So I don’t want to edit my photos on Google+, which is where we will find many of Picnik’s editing capabilities on April 20th.

Another reason for me to consider a move to WordPress. And I am. I’d like to own the content of this blog. It seems only right that this space that I have carefully crafted over the course of 4 years should be my property.

I must confess, sometimes the Internet seems a bit like the Wild West. And I guess it is. It’s all relatively new, therefore, new issues are popping up every day. All the more reason to exercise a bit of caution and use common sense – we are public in a way that seemed unthinkable a few short years ago.

If you have thoughts about this, please share them. I’d love to learn more about these issues and your insights will be greatly appreciated, as always.

Don’t forget that I’m having a giveaway for the series of 3 Prime Suspect mysteries. Just scroll down one post to my book review and leave a comment. I promise you, there are no other hoops to jump through. I never do that.

Blogging Tips: Making a Banner in Picnik

February 25, 2012 at 12:46 pm by Claudia

Picnik is no more, but making banners in PicMonkey works much the same way. Ribbet is virtually the same as Picnik.

I had a request from Jennifer for a tutorial on making a banner using Picnik. Since Google has decided to close our beloved Picnik in April, many bloggers are creating banners using the collage tool and stockpiling them for the future. Good idea!

I will base this tutorial on the way in which I’ve created mine. If you, dear readers, have additional tips, please share them with us in the comments section. Sorry for the somewhat blurry photos – they are screenshots and this is as sharp as I could make them.

The first thing to do is to go to Picnik, upload and edit the photos you want to use in your banner. In my case, I chose 4 photos that were vertical, rather than horizontal (or landscape) size, because that’s the shape I wanted in my collage. You can use whatever size you want. Crop your photos and do whatever color editing you want at this point because once you upload them into the collage, you won’t be able to edit them individually any more. I edit the photos, save them on my desktop and leave the last edited photo on Picnik as I go to Library.

Click on the Library tab and then click on Start (on the left.) You’ll see these options. Click on Make a Collage.

This screen will appear. On the left you will see various shapes and configurations for your collage/banner. Choose your option. I chose the series of 4 photos at the bottom of the second column.

And this is what came up on the screen. In the lower left hand corner of the screen is the Picnik Basket. You can see that the last photo I edited before moving on to Collage is there. Drag it to one of the 4 openings. When you do this, you can use your mouse to zero in on the area of the photo you want in the frame.

Then upload your next photo by clicking on Upload a Photo.

At this point, I’ve added 2 photos to my collage. I did this in a hurry, so I didn’t do as much playing around with each photo in its frame as I would do normally.

Okay. All four photos have been added. Now I want to play with the color of the border. I don’t want a black border, so I’m going to go over to the left and play around in this area:

By clicking on the color box, another box will appear with all sorts of color options. I chose white. By playing with the slide on Spacing and Proportions, I can control just how wide the border is and the eventual size of the banner. I want something rectangular that won’t take up too much space at the top of my blog. I don’t want my banner as tall as the photos are in the above screenshot, so I will play with all of this until I come up with:

When you’ve come up with something that you like, go to the upper right hand corner and click Done. You will be taken back to the Edit. At this point you can click save and leave Picnik, or do as I did and add a frame to your collage.

Explore all the options. I used the Drop Shadowframe. If you click on Drop Shadow, you can control the color and depth of the shadow in the box that comes up at the left.

There’s my first Drop Shadow. I, however, like two Drop Shadow frames, so I’m going to click Drop Shadow one more time.

Now I have two. I like to have some white space to use when adding text. If you want to add text, my advice is to save the collage as is to your computer first. That way you have the original in case you want to go back and change the text at some point. So, save the collage to your desktop. It will most likely save it as PicnikCollage.jpeg. Note the dimensions below. If these are too big for your banner space, go back into Edit mode and resize your banner.

Then go back into Picnik, upload your collage and add text.

I’m playing with the font. (What else is new? I’m font-crazy.)

And here’s what I came up with. Now I’ll save it again. This time I’ll save it as PicnikCollage1.jpeg. Adding another character will save it as a new collage. Therefore, your original collage will remain intact on your desktop.

Some of you might want to add your text via another photo editor – Photoshop, Photoscape or something else. If that’s the case, you can ignore this last step and upload your collage/banner to the other editor and add your text there.

I went to Pixlr and added text – they have a lot more font options available:

I hope this is useful for you. Now is the time, if there ever was one, to make a lot of banners for the future.

I still can’t believe Picnik is closing. I’m in mourning.

‘Seasoned’ Bloggers, Monetization & Comments

February 22, 2012 at 12:34 pm by Claudia

Sunrise. I’ve learned you have to quickly get the camera or all the gorgeous colors will fade in the blink of an eye.

The same goes for pretty cloud formations.

Everything changes, minute by minute, second by second. A camera gives you the chance to capture a moment in time before it’s gone forever. It’s a reminder to live in the moment. Something so simple but so hard to do, don’t you agree?

Thank you for all your wonderful comments on my most recent posts. Well, thank you for your comments on every post. But lately, there have been some wonderful, thought provoking ideas shared on this old blog and I’m extremely grateful for them. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts, your experiences, your views. Sometimes, all it takes is reading about another point of view to turn my perceptions around in a different direction. I may not always agree with you, you may not always agree with me, but the dialogue is the important thing. I love the conversation. I’ll go even further: I thrive on it. So thanks and thanks again, my friends.

Monetizing with BlogHer

Every once in a while I get an email asking about BlogHer ads and the process of applying for them. You have to go to this link and fill out an application. It’s not enough to register on BlogHer’s site.

As far as the approval process, I’ve heard about some bloggers waiting for up to two years for approval, some are approved in a few days and others, like me, wait for about a month and a half. BlogHer has a finite number of blogs that are part of the Advertising Network. I imagine, though I don’t know this for sure, if they are full up, you might not hear anything for a long while. If there are openings, things might move more quickly. I do know that BlogHer chooses all kinds of blogs; big, small and in-between.

If you are interested, I urge you to apply. But prepare yourself for a wait. I think BlogHer is fantastic and their customer service is the best. They have been nothing but supportive and there for me when I’ve had a question. And they really do a great job of highlighting our posts and our blogs.

BlogHer Conference Disappointment

Do you know that BlogHer has their conference in NYC this year? Since I live so close to the city, it would be wonderful to take part in it. But I can’t really afford the registration fee. So when they issued a call for volunteers I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to attend the conference, help out wherever needed, and save money on the fees. I applied. To my disappointment, I got an email yesterday saying I wasn’t chosen. There were a lot of applicants. I’m bummed.

I also submitted an idea for a panel discussion. I thought there should be a panel about bloggers who are 45+ years of age. There’s a whole lot of us out there. We are consumers. We have life experience. We know a lot. And I think we’re sometimes a tad marginalized in the blogging world, just like in the real world. 30-something bloggers and mommy bloggers are everywhere. And I say, good for them! But we’re here, too. And we have much to contribute. It would be nice to take part in something that spotlights us – our challenges, our blogging audience. I often look at photos from these conferences and see a sea of young faces. Here and there, I might see a ‘seasoned’ blogger, but for the most part, I don’t. Maybe it depends on whose taking the pictures.

Anyway. I heard back from BlogHer. They passed.

Who knows? There may already be a panel scheduled to discuss this topic. Maybe there has been a panel about just this thing at previous conferences. Most likely, my presentation wasn’t strong enough. That’s my fault.

Do you remember being younger and looking at people who were in their forties or fifties, thinking they must be dull and old? I do. I now realize what my parents and elders felt when they were my age. I may be in my fifties, but I’m smart, savvy and still very hip, if I do say so myself. I have a lot to contribute. I’ve learned a lot in my lifetime. In fact, I’m full of ideas and am more vital than ever.

Take heed, world. We’re out there and we’re creative, smart and strong.

And now for a little Etsy advertising:

This is the latest scarf. The yarn is made of silk and bamboo. I think these are perfect for the warmer months because they are so soft and silky to the touch and they aren’t made out of wool. I wear these scarves with a T-shirt and jeans all year round. I’ve already decided to make another one in this color for me. Update: Sold.

Love to you all on this Wednesday morning.

Contemplating Copyrights and Privacy on the Internet

Blogging Tips: Making a Banner in Picnik

‘Seasoned’ Bloggers, Monetization & Comments

claudiahillsparks

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives