Work In Progress, blogging since 2009, has surpassed 200 followers! Thank you all — friends, family, readers — each and every one, from 1 to 200. And counting . . .
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Category Archives: Blogging
Global Travel Contest, Clarification
“My Destination,” a travel industry Web site, is the sponsor of the travel blogging competition referenced in my Jan. 29 repost from the blog, “Bucket List Publications.”
As information goes viral around the Internet, it’s easy to be confused about the original source of the information. You can go straight to the source for more information about the contest here: http://www.mydestination.com/bbb#.UQcaxW8702w
The home page for My Destination is here. Travel is a huge worldwide industry.
Good luck to all in the contest. — John
Global Travel Contest!
Contests are all the rage in the blogosphere. WordPress positively encourages contests! And now (drumroll please . . .) the grand prize for possibly the most sensational competition of all goes to a contest offered by My Destination. It’s a contest designed especially for bloggers (of whom there are millions worldwide). Video bloggers will especially love it. I predict the contest will also attract a zillion entries (give or take a billion, but who’s counting?) from people who simply love to travel. The ingenious part is, you can even base your entry on your own home town, humble though it may be. As a public service, I’m reblogging the story here. If nothing else this contest is going to generate a wealth of free publicity for travel destinations, many that you’ve never heard of or thought about. Enjoy the fun. — John
Om Malek and Matt Mullenweg
Philosophy of the Web 101. I think everyone who’s interested in where the Web is and where it’s going, or in the evolution of social media, and the rise of mobile media, will want to hear this 20-minute conversation between Om Malek and Matt Mullenweg. Is the age of the laptop coming to an end? Here comes the touch-screen future. What comes after that? We’ll think about it next year. — John
Steve McCurry On Photography And Blogging
You too, could be a blogger. Or even a photographer. It’s interesting to me that in the age of video, words and photography remain irreplaceable. I wouldn’t want any photographer to miss Steve McCurry’s work. His advice to budding photographers is also good for budding writers. To paraphrase: Find a particular place or subject, and dig deep into it. In a way that’s like my motto, “Write what you know.” — John
Steve McCurry, a professional photographer and author of several photography books, shares his reasons for why he blogs on WordPress.com. His iconic photo, Afghan Girl, graced the cover of National Geographic and was named one of the 100 Best Pictures of the magazine. McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, National Press Photographers Award, and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest, to name a few.
You are a world-famous photographer. Why do you blog?
Steve: Who would even dream 20 years ago that we would even have the internet? Clearly the internet is changing the landscape of publishing, news, and entertainment. There are countless channels on television, infinite content on the internet, and stimuli literally everywhere we turn. . . . There is so much competition. My blog is just my way of…
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Eight views from Slovenia
Aside
Can someone please tell me why I have eight views from Slovenia today? And two from Zimbabwe?
Too Easily Distracted
Status
My unfinished review of J.K. Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy” is weighing heavy on my mind. Also, I’ve been wanting to post a remembrance of Sen. George McGovern, who passed over to a more peaceful place on Sunday, at the age of 90. And I have another “power in a box” review waiting to be written, about the new Kindle Fire. Nevertheless, I’m distracted by the sound of distant thunder. Hurricane Sandy is heading north with potential to rearrange the Eastern Seaboard. The hurricane is the blip on the radar that I cannot ignore. — John
Related articles
- Hybrid Of Sandy, Winter Storm Threatens East Coast (wbur.org)
- Billion Dollar Storm Threatens East Coast Next Week (planetsave.com)
- Hurricane Sandy Poses Growing Threat To East Coast (huffingtonpost.com)
- Hurricane #Sandy is being called a #snoreastercane if and when it hits the East Coast (vielmetti.typepad.com)
Power In A Box: Cannon Power Shot SX160
CANNON POWER SHOT SX 160 — WHENEVER I’M BUYING NEW TECHNOLOGY, I ALWAYS WONDER: “DOES EVERYTHING I NEED COME IN THE BOX?” IN THIS CASE ‘YES,’ ALTHOUGH A PROTECTIVE CARRYING CASE WOULD BE A NICE ADDITION.
You want to know what an obsolete bachelor’s degree feels like? Long time ago, as part of my journalism major at University of Maryland, I took a class on news photography. Although 135 mm film and Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras were state of the art in the 1960s, the journalism class provided us with older Yashika Mat cameras.
Today, I unboxed the very latest Canon digital camera. It can make an amateur photographer like me feel like a pro! Photography has come a long, long, way since I took that class.
“Freshly Pressed” Insider’s Report
Being “Freshly Pressed” is the best thing that can happen to a blogger, short of going viral. (But it doesn’t put you in a class with Adrianna Huffington or Matt Drudge.) Human beings thrive on recognition and affirmation.
Freshly Pressed focused my attention. It prompted some overdue housekeeping around the blog, clean-up and improvements that are hopefully invisible to the reader.
It also reminded me of the largeness of the digital world. One little blog is like a star in a galaxy, or sand on a beach. Though insignificant in the grand scheme of things, one blog can shine light in the darkness, or — like a grain of sand — irritate the complacent and powerful.
Blogging Worldwide
Readership of my blogs has always been mostly in America, with a few readers from other parts of the world, especially Europe. Lately, readership has gone international. Since WordPress started tracking hits with a nifty worldwide map, I’ve noticed a significant increase in readers from all corners of the globe, with the possible exception of Africa.
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 