Citing Sources

give credit where credit is due

The immortal words of Bill Brady.

There are a few mantras that still rattle in my brain thanks to my professor, Bill Brady, from Vesper George School of Art. He was amazing. He was the kind of guy who would look at something and tell you your type was crooked or the Amberlith had a tear in it. Amberlith and rubylith were films used on mechanicals for creating color separations (before your time and before the advent of the desktop computer and preceding Aldus Pagemaker, but I digress) – need I remind you that this is a resource for dinosaurs?). If you argued the point because you had measured it three times, he pulled out a magnifying glass from his back pocket to prove his point.  What a pain in the a** I thought, but damned if he wasn’t right EVERY single time! He trained all of us to pay attention to those details.

Now, before I go completely into the past and recount every story from the good ol’ days, let’s take a minute to review the proper way to cite sources. I simply must be upfront here by saying that in most cases, my means of giving credit to the source, will be to name the site and provide a link to it… and I’ll be breaking the rules. Or am I just modifying them to fit the medium and make it easier for you? I ask you, is it laziness on my part or on the part of the reader that I make this accommodation and justify this practice? I’m not telling. You figure it out for yourself.

Here are some useful links on citations:

The Chicago Style Manual

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Formatting and Style Guide style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. (from Purdue’s online lab)

APA (American Psychological Association) Formatting is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. (from Purdue’s online lab… that’s the university, not the chicken!)

Remember, the type of document and reference will guide which type of reference to use.  Given the birth of the urban dictionary, texting and yes hip-hop, many of these common rules have gone out the window. We look for shortcuts everywhere! But – OMG and WTF, sometimes the shortcuts are more appropriate in some arenas!

Okay, I see that there has been a recent spike in my stats, so again, I must refer back to a previous entry… my confession. I have not been blogging and have preferred the company of live human beings of late. That will come to a stop as soon as I can remember the act of attrition.

However you do it, please give credit where credit is due and for heaven’s sake… make sure you are able to say you play well with others!

DAM H-1B Visas

Digital Asset Management (DAM) & H-1B Visas

Aha! You thought I was swearing again, didn’t you?! Well, let’s be the judge of that after you finish reading this. Awhile back (December 12, 2009 – The recession and your job), I referenced an editorial in CIO Insight about the talent pool running dry. Get a load of this… according to eWeek, the AFL-CIO is disputing similar claims. Who knew that reading eWeek would stir up a hot-bed of political activity?

H-1B visas essentially allow companies to hire non-immigrant, foreign citizens for specialty jobs in the U.S. According to the US Immigration website on H-1B visas, “The petitions are submitted by employers based on their need for the non-US.-resident employee.” Each year the cap is 65,000 H-1B visas and the government only requires a bachelors degree, yet defines this visa for “specialty jobs”. How many specialty jobs (certainly on the eastern seaboard) merely require a bachelor’s degree.

Here in New England, master’s degrees are a dime a dozen. Can you say Emerson, Harvard or Massachusetts Institute of Technology? Education is not only the pastime here, but is an unspoken requirement of simply breathing here, so we have tons of specialists in every field imaginable. Dare I even mention the thousands of people who have worked for companies that no longer exist.

• Digital/DEC
• Polaroid
• WANG Laboratories

Where did all those techies go that weren’t absorbed by Microsoft when they moved to town, or the thousands of start-ups that didn’t survive the DOTCOM bust and the banking scandal of 2008/2009 that brought down thousands of other businesses. Old  history, I know.

I know, I know, don’t get your panties in a bunch! Most of us have roots from other countries, but why should someone who is living here be refused a job that is given to a “specialist” with an H1B visa at half the rate.

Again, look at the job boards like DICE.com

Within the article in eWeek, AFL-CIO’s dispute and the ensuing commentary by readers both contest the legitimacy of business’ needs for importing specialists and claim that the business owners are merely looking for ways to reduce expenses and raise profits.

It certainly is a compelling argument when one looks at:

• the national deficit
• the staggering number and occupations of those displaced by these companies

• software engineers
• IT professionals
• developers
• coders
• UX/UI designers
• graphic designers
• usability professionals

• the number of open job requisitions
• the number of jobs requiring people to be both software engineers and visual designers
• did I mention the national deficit
• the number of foreclosures
• the number of bankruptcies
  
• the number of bailouts the federal government is sponsoring with your tax dollars (that you can’t pay if you are unemployed)
• the recent move-your-money campaign that Arianna Huffington started
  

Then again, people have had enough of the lack of DAM jobs that reflect livable wages going to American workers. eWeek addresses the relationship between wage reduction and the proliferation of IT jobs going to individuals granted H-1B visas and the number of American IT professionals out of work and able to do the work. They do raise very good points.

What in G-d’s name does any of this have to do with blogging or learning to blog? Everything! I’m here to raise your awareness and give you raison detre (huh…and apparently teach French – something I never learned!) peaved enough to express thyself!

Stand up. Get outraged. Stop being silent. Speak out!

Start your blog right now and express whatever is there for you! 

Send me an email and I’ll help you get started, whatever it is for, just do it!

DAM!!

Digital Asset Management (DAM)

Ha! You thought I was cursing again, didn’t you! Finally, other people with a sense of humor with regard to technology. I loved the article or was it just the acronym? Alright I confess, it was really just the acronym I loved. It spoke to me. Afterall, I did start this blog on the premise that people get frustrated with the gobs and gobs of information written, emailed, tweeted, FBd and texted (is that really a word?). I wanted this to be an expression, a retreat, a haven, a sanctuary if you will for those souls needing respite from the onslaught of technological mumbo jumbo they need to translate into usable everyday English. So my friend, YES, DAM spoke to me!

Our friend (not yet) Andy Moore over at KM World wrote up a nifty article on Digital Asset Management (DAM - I love that I can say that) introduces some new products for the DAM world.

What is happening to me? Now, I’m getting KM World in the mail and taking it with me to read while I pay homage to Caffeina at Starbucks. I was flaunting it, just daring people to see what I was reading as if it were a trashy novel.

I wondered what those people were thinking. Afterall, I wasn’t dressed like a geek… or was I? The activist in me took great pleasure in pushing the envelope – hoping this middle aged (a lie) cool artist (true) would confuse these poor folks.

A techno geek can take on all shapes and sizes. We don’t all look alike and wear glasses (even when we need to). Some of us can actually be quite stylish… why just check out what my friend Emmi is doing to help the techno geek’s image at A Man’s World.

If I have done nothing but teach you a new trick or a new buzz phrase you can use to impress your friends, then I’ve done my job.

Now go use what you just have learned and impress your friends!

More Widgets

Check out Yourminis.com for more widgets. It’s a good resource. You can add a widget to your site and tap into your favorite music while you work at your computer. However, the music widget is not usable on this particular WordPress template.

I did discover that AOL has a free radio blog. In my spare time, I was also reading David Bach’s book  Start Late, Finish Rich and loved what he coined as “the latte factor”. He takes the reader through an exercise to look at where he/she spends money that can actually be saved. In some instances, like if you are a Starbucks fan, you can save a small fortune. (click here to use his handy/dandy latte factor calculator).

So, given that we are in a recession and I need to buy new software, I heeded his advice. As much as I love Rhapsody, I dropped the service to cut down on my latte factor. I’m not cutting out the lattes yet, but cutting out the other extras! So, now, not only am I saving 14.99/month, but I’m venturing out of my normal musical pathway and discovering new interests like Ruth Brown and Koko Taylor singin’ the blues.

Cloud Computing

Rather have your head or your data in the clouds?

It’s all the buzz. What’s that you ask? Storing your data in the clouds.

Who knew I would ever find myself reading CIO Insight or Baseline, never mind have it delivered to my mailbox! Yes, that’s right, my snail mail! I still crave ink on paper and having to wash my hands after reading a newspaper or magazine because the ink seeped into my pores. I still want to feel that head rush from the repetitive sneezing that comes from my allergy to the chemicals they use to make those magazines that are oh so glossy. Yes, bring it on!

Without even knowing there was a subscription in my name, I happily opened the December issue of Baseline. What drew me in was the cover story on developing social media strategies that support corporate goals. Much to my surprise, the first article I read was on the technological trends for 2010 in business management. Whoa Nelly! Hold me back! Am I gettin’ my game back on?

Hang on – now remember this blog is for you folks who aren’t techno-geeks. There is so much debate over cloud computing. Why? Companies are looking at smarter, faster and let’s face it – cheaper ways to run their businesses. Does this mean that everything will be automated or roboticized? What about jobs for people? And what about when the stuff doesn’t work? Who do you talk to? And what the heck am I talking about anyway?

Some of you already are partaking in cloud computing without even knowing it. Do you use Gmail or Yahoo as your email provider? Well, on a very basic level, those are examples within the REALM of cloud computing. You are not storing the data on your computer or server and you are using a software service.

However, there is another aspect to what is in the clouds, which is SaaS. As a former Saab owner, the mere letters caught my attention.  SaaS stands for Software as a Service. This is where the industry is going. You thought you were losing ground, well, time to catch up.

All in good time precious, all in good time! We’ll eat this elephant one byte at a time!

That’s where I’ll end this post. Now go talk to Caffeina.

Domain Forwarding

Forwarding your own domain to the WordPress blog you’ve created does work. However, there are some important things to note:

If you add the widget for blog subscriptions, those who sign up will receive a confirmation email with the address of the blog. However, if you have not “upgraded” through WordPress, it will not have your domain name, but will read:

You requested to subscribe to the following website and receive updates by email:

XXXX Blog URL: http://xxxxblog.wordpress.com

Adding Widgets

PLEASE NOTE:

Adding any widget will replace the default template and you will have to add those components you want to keep.

Gravatars

What is a Gravatar and do I have to display it?

A Gravatar in simple terms is a picture you would like displayed (or not) along with your name or nom de plume each time you post or reply to any blog post. To learn more about Gravatars, click here.

Not sure if I should post mine, but did anyway.  And yes, f*n grumbling while doing so.

Blogrolls

First of all, let’s look at what a Blogroll is!

It is not a dessert with chocolate and marshmallows that Nana made when you were little! Don’t you dare look up the recipe that Mom just found that Cousin Joan wrote for you when you were 10!

A Blogroll is a list of blog links or links to other sites that you like or want to reference for other people.  (I’m not going to admit how long it took to find the answer to that. I will tell you that I found that in WordPress for Dummies an excellent resource.)

Adding Polls to Suck People In

Well, that’s what it’s really all about isn’t it. We want people to read our posts. We want them to buy our products. We want them to want us – okay, maybe that’s going TOO far.

At the risk of sounding a little off color here, the magic of PollDaddy helps you to create polls to add to your blog or site for FREE.

On behalf of all those for whom writing code sends them into a coma, thanks to all those wicked smarty pants over at PollDaddy for the work you have done to make this product available.

It’s so easy and affordable! Did I mention its FREE?!

(if you need a little help in figuring out how to load it on your page after creating it, click here.)