Playing Nice in Web 2.0

Read this post if you like sharing and getting credit for it.

I just love Web 2.0 -- it means more free goodies for all. Creativity and inspiration become infectious, and I find myself downloading more megabytes of photos, vector images, Photoshop brushes, textures, and tools than I will ever have time to find a use for. Part of this culture was made possible by the nonprofit organization Creative Commons, which has been around since 2001 and helps artists/creators choose an appropriate copyright notice for their work.

Web 2.0 sites like Flickr, however, allow everyone to share this work with the public.

As both a creator and a user of content created by others, I was very excited to find that two of my own images from Flickr had been re-purposed on the web. Check out how they were used!

An entry dated May 5, 2009 in SaunaScape features my "Weigh" image from last August.

A May 27, 2009 entry in Everybody’s Invited! features my "Fondue Fun" image from Laura's 19th birthday.

As a final note, I was able to discover these images because the authors of these blogs so kindly mentioned my Flickr user name, whoaitsaimz, under the photos. Which brings up an important point about the sharing culture: provide credit where credit is due. It makes the experience fun, fair, and everyone will be more likely to continue sharing in the future.

The Best Social Bookmarking Widget for Blogger

This post is for Blogger users who like custom templates and widgets.

Sometimes, it's hard to be a Blogger user, especially when you see cool features in Wordpress that you can't have, like "related posts" widgets and nifty social bookmarking icons that link up automatically to your post.

Recently, I found this code from cheth Studios, and I installed it to my very own blog.

Instead of the "Add This" widget which I used to use (also recommended, easier to install and smaller but uses javascript instead), you can now see all the functioning social icons below each of my posts. So go ahead and e-mail, tweet, bookmark, and share to your heart's desire. It can't get any easier.

Thanks, Cheth!

Music Fans: You Need to Sit Back and Listen

This post is for everyone who listens to internet radio and likes free stuff.

Regardless of your music taste, and whether you've settled into your iTunes, your ForumW, your LimeWire, Pandora, or some other way of consuming music, you have to try out last.fm.

According to their website, "last.fm is a music service that learns what you love" ... and I instantly loved it back. This kind of love doesn't take a lot of effort; it's service is based not only on what you tell it now, but on your past. Meaning that for people who have been listening to music for any more than 5 days out of their lives will appreciate the seamless transition to its online/offline user experience. Borderline creepy-stalker-lover, Last.fm seems to know you as soon as you press the little "import" button on its GUI, updating your profile information to reflect your listening history. It's a good thing real relationships don't have that kind of unforgiving insight.

They also offer personalized music recommendations, some free mp3 downloads, stations based on a specific artist, all kinds of web 2.0 widgets for your blog/website/network, and automatically corrected misspellings of artist and track names. A website that can correct you, the music guru, when you're wrong???! It's creepy but it works. The question is, do you really want a service that works that well... wuahaha...

The Veronicas' Last Stop, in Philly

This post is for Veronicas fans, people who appreciate live music, and those who get a kick out of half-naked band members' pranks... I've said too much.

My Friday night / belated birthday celebration was at the TLA (Theater of the Living Arts) on South Street in Philadelphia. Australian twin sisters Jess and Lisa Origliasso of rock/pop group The Veronicas put on a great show, the last of their Revenge Is Sweeter tour in the US.

Carney & TheArt made a special appearance during 'Heavily Broken' - a quiet and beautiful song turned... well, just watch. I chose this version for the sound quality (you can hear the girls over the fans, unlike some of the other videos).

Enjoy the whole playlist here. Lyrics for 'Heavily Broken' below:

Everyday I sit here waiting
Everyday just seems so long
And now I've had enough of all the hating
Do we even care, it's so unfair
Any day it'll all be over
Everyday there's nothing new
And now I just try to find some hope
To try and hold onto
But it starts again
It'll never end

I'm heavily broken
And I don't know what to do
Can't you see that I'm choking
And I can't even move
When there's nothing left to say
What can you do
I'm heavily broken
And there's nothing I can do

Almost giving up on trying
Almost heading for a fall
And now my mind is screaming out
I've gotta keep on fighting
But then again
It doesn't end

I'm heavily broken
And I don't know what to do
Can't you see that I'm choking
And I can't even move
When there's nothing left to say
What can you do?
I'm heavily broken
And there's nothing I can do
And there's nothing I can do

Feels like I'm drowning
I'm screaming for air
(Screaming for air)
Louder I'm crying
And you don't even care

I'm heavily broken
And I don't know what to do
Can't you see that I'm choking
And I can't even move
(What can I do)
When there's nothing left to say
What can you do
I'm heavily broken

I'm heavily broken
And I don't know what to do
Can't you see that I'm choking
And I can't even move
When there's nothing left to say
What can you do
I'm heavily broken [x3]