Happy Fat Tuesday!

Count the bytes, not the calories!

tips for reducing the size of files you upload to your site.

When posting images on your blog or your website, keep the file size down. The larger the file size, the longer it will take for your site to upload. People will get frustrated and you might lose a customer. This information is brought you on a NTKB*.

On a very basic level, you need to consider TWO things: file size and image resolution. There are others, but for the purpose of this discussion, you will only need to know these.

File Sizes:

(click below for more info…only if your brain has free storage capacity OR you aren’t looking for an excuse to take a nap, otherwise, don’t bother)

• byte (bytes): unit of storage information
  
• kilobyte (KB or kb): 1,000 bytes
• megabyte (MG or mg): 1,000 kilobytes (i.e. 1,205 kb= 1.2 mg – old math…carry the decimal point)

Here are some other useful terms you need to know if you are going to continue working on the web

Images:

• Vector images (lines, flat solid shapes with no dimension)
  

• Half tone images (photographs or anything that depicts form or suggests dimension with use of light and shadows. Those tones, shadows and gradations of color and light will be transformed into dots, also known as pixels)

Resolution

When someone asks you what the resolution is, they are referring to DPI (Dots Per Inch). You can change the resolution of a photograph in Photoshop a few different ways (see graphics below).

Image Formats:

GIF supports vector based graphics, animated icons as well as transparent backgrounds

JPG (or JPEG) typically used for photographs and supports millions of colors. It maintains the integrity of an image during compression or file size reduction.

PNG (pronounced PING) is widely used online and can often give you more clarity and depth of color than a GIF, but does not support animation.

Here are some examples of how you can change the file size of your image in Photoshop CS3:

Changing the Image size in Photoshop

Selecting this method will give you another menu box. Now remember that the resolution refers to the dots per inch. The best resolution for photograph in print ( is 300, while an online photo (depending on the detail can be 150, but generally speaking you will find graphics on the web to be 72 dpi). Always check the resolution and file size of your images before posting on your site.

If you have a photograph or image that is still several megabytes in size, you can reduce the file size by selecting the Save for the Web & Devices option:

By choosing this option you will be given a new menu box with a default setting showing you 2 optimized versions of  of your image. You can also select whether you would like your new version to be saved as a jpg, gif or png file.

I hope these tips have been useful.

* NOTE: KTKB means Need to Know Basis

Blogging 101

Okay, so you came to this post because you are curious about blogging, no? Maybe curiosity got the better of you and now you don’t know what the heck to do. You think you have something to say and simply have to let the world know what it is.

I got so carried away with my own blog, that I wandered away from my original point. Bear with me, I do that  a lot. Don’t even ask my friends, just keep reading, you’ll see for yourself. I eventually do get back to the main point. Aricept helps. No, no, I don’t take it, I just think about it warding off Alzheimers and BOOM – back to reality. So, where was I?  Oh yes, helping you get your own blog started.

Ask yourself some of these questions before taking my next online course here at My F*N Blog, where we teach you the narcissistic art of blogging as well as other useful tools in the techie industry. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, you must be over 25 to read this blog.

Studies have shown that the brain stops growing between the ages of 23 and 25. While there is not necessarily a distinct correlation between the physiological development of the brain and continued learning, it is curious that most of us over 25 don’t know how to say Yu-Gi-Oh, never mind play it.

So, I’ve taken it upon myself to render that technologically speaking, everyone over 25 needs remedial help. That’s where I’m stepping in to mind the gap!

GIMME THE BEEF ALREADY!

Okay, okay, calm down… maybe you should be the one flirting with Aricept for your cranky pants attitude. Consider the following:

1. Where would you start?
2. Do you want your blog to be a journal of your daily life and musings?
3. Do you want your blog to be open to the entire world or more private as a way to communicate with your family and friends?
4. Do you want your blog to be a WIKI about a particular topic? If you don’t know what a WIKI is, then the answer is probably no.
5. Or are you just pretentious enough to want a blog just to speak of at cocktail parties, when you have nothing else to say except… “I wrote about that very thing on my blog yesterday…”It does come in handy when meeting those other pretentious folks who are so shallow to only define you by what you do. If you want to be a hit at those parties, don’t talk about your blog too much, unless you can make them laugh or somehow turn the conversation back to them. I’ll write another blog about the narcissistic art of working a room or any cocktail party. For now, back to the business at hand… the narcissistic art of blogging.

If you think you are ready to move forward, here are some simple steps you will need to take either before or after learning the blogging software you choose. (You know your own style of learning, like hooking up the VCR with or without the manual. How’d that work out for ya?). If you have techie ADD, check out this link….for a primer on what kind of learning style you have. If you don’t have the attention span of a gnat, then please proceed:

1. Pay attention to all those little voices in your head (well, okay, maybe not ALL of them… just the ones like ‘what the heck am I going to write about?’)
2. If you are a kinesthetic and/or visual person, buy a small notebook and carry it with you in your pocket, purse, man-purse, fanny pack or whatever travel bag you tote around. The point is, have it handy. As time goes on, you’ll want to capture those stellar ideas for future posts. Life happens and you want to remember those moments.
3. Start writing (even if you just start writing in Word)
4. Turn off your inner critic (unless of course he/she is your grammar coach). Yes, you will have brilliant ideas, and yes, you will have doubts….but I’m here to tell you to just go for it! Write what is there, even if you write short posts. You will find your inner voice.
5. Write for a week. Give yourself at least 15 minutes each day to write something. You may find yourself writing more and that is okay. The point here is to write regularly to break yourself free from whatever is stopping you from expressing yourself. Again, even if you are only writing in Word, get the material out of your head! (you can make your material private if that is what you wish)

So, if you are just beginning the process, try this out for a week. Report back to me in a week and let me know if anything shook loose.