Which is Better? (Facebook, Myspace, or Google+)

 Myspace

I'm going to start out with the least favorite that has completely changed since it first appeared back then when everyone you knew had it.  Myspace, was once the site to sign up for and to connect with friends or family.  It was the place to customize your page any way you want it finding the best myspace background cover, the place to connect with everyone in the world, and it was one of the biggest social media sites to ever come out before Facebook hit it big.  

I spent my days many times on Myspace when it was a completely different old interface.  It was simple and easy to use at the time.  I was into finding the most creative myspace covers for my main profile page.  I also had to pick my favorite music on there to play as soon as it loads.  Yes, it got annoying to get on someone's page and having your volume up didn't help.  Talk about a heart attack.. Anyway, it was the first time I really truly connect to people from high school and college besides ICQ back in the days.  I used to chat on mIRC, but that was a whole different setting compared to myspace which was mostly consist of writing on their profile wall or sending a private message than basic chat.  Then their chat messenger came out later making it more convenient to instant message.  

Myspace has changed so much over the years with its competition with Facebook.  As Facebook has exceeded beyond Myspace users, everyone began to delete their old profiles as they have moved on to Facebook.  Myspace was later on bought by Justin Timberlake.  The site was then changed for more towards arts and entertainment.  It's all about music on there now and to tell you the truth.. The whole site is horrible to me.  It's a pain in the ass and too much for me with the background and side scrolling to look through profiles.  I don't know if they were trying to be artsy fartsy with it being different, but it didn't impress me.  It had music playing as soon as I got on the site and a music video blown up across the page.

And for those who don't have an awesome internet connection, have fun with all that useless loading with background videos on the interface, music playing as well, and the tons of artists they list that I never heard of really :/... Okay I do know some, but still to the norm they're all "Who???"  I guess myspace works for new artists to get out more to the people, but really I just dislike their site.  I'm glad for one thing, they saved my pictures and music on there.  My blog is gone, but I read up on how they will bring it back.  Better than what Xanga did to their people by erasing everything unless you're a paid customer.. A different story, moving on.

New Interface

Myspace was once a big thing and I'll never know if it'll ever recover from losing its users due to Facebook, but I can honestly say I had good times with that site.  It helped me connect back to people I haven't heard in so long and I'm always thankful for that.

Google+

I can honestly say I do like Google+.  When I first had it, I was really mad that I got a message from someone saying they found all these pictures of me and I had no idea it was all public and couldn't ever be private with profile pictures.  Other than having privacy issues, it's been okay.  It's not as big as Facebook and I hardly find anyone using it.  The one thing I thought was really cool about using Google+ is Google Hangouts.  You can add up to 10 people in video chat conference and show anything off your PC with videos, pictures, drawing, and so on.  With the premium paid plan, you can add 15 into the conference chat.  The site overall is very simple and basic interface.  It had a few changes from the last time I had it before I deleted it. 

Here's an example of Google Hangouts from their YouTube channel:

I've never seen anything like this with other social media sites.  It's really amazing to me and different.  I really haven't used the site enough to really have a ton to say.  The friends I added before, no longer use it, so I strayed from it.  The site does take some getting used to with customizing it.  It took me awhile to find the area to edit your profile and the privacy.

Facebook

Facebook has become the top social media site among billions across the world.  I have always loved Facebook since it first came out.  I joined Facebook back in October 23, 2005.  It was during the time where it was only college students with college email addresses.  I remember how simple it was and the site itself was so bland.  I didn't really think much of it until I found a lot of my classmates through it.  I didn't use it as much in the beginning, but noticed more people joining and the simplicity of it I started to enjoy.  The fact is because I didn't have to sit there and wait for a site to load with all these little widgets, background covers, music, pictures, and etc.  It was just perfect and easy.

Circa 2005:

It was aggravating when they got rid of the old interface after another.  I basically became used to it until Facebook changed it with a cover photo and all.  I really do hate the current interface now.  It's not as organized and compact to me like the old interface.  I just really miss the basics of it and the fact you didn't have everyone basically stalking your posts every time someone made a comment on a picture, or on someone's wall.  One thing I'm glad about Facebook is adding on the chat.  I use the site religiously, plus the mobile app makes it easier on the go.  Everyone I know has Facebook.  I think it would be hard to not use it because it's the way I get together with others in groups with creating events.  It's the way I get a hold of a person without having to call or text.  

Overall, I find Facebook to be the winner out of the others because of its simplicity and its easy way of connecting you to friends and family.  The way I can customize my chat lists of who I want to appear online/offline to, privacy settings easily, and the fact its what most people use nowadays.

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DIY Projects

How to Make Chicken Curry in 10 Minutes

I really love chicken curry and I found this video on how to make it within just ten minutes which is amaaaazing.  This will be useful for me because it shows a video as well as instructions on what to do.  I will try this out very soon.  This site not only provides well made videos, but also as I said above, instructions.  Can't beat that.

How to Build an Art Table

I have watched DIY Network for awhile now.  I have an obession with building things and especially when it comes to your home.  I enjoy this channel on tv as much as HGTV.  Anyway, I have always wanted to build an art table on my own and the budget is not tooooo bad.  I used to draw a lot and paint before.  I just think it would be fun to do and a huge accomplishment for myself to try this.  The site provided a video, pictures and instructions that were very thorough.

How to Make a Jewelry Organizer Using a Utensil Holder

One of my hobbies include making jewelry, repairing simple fixes, and selling it.  I love organizers and I always need something like this that looks neat and organized.  This would help me make my jewelry look more professional if I had a setup like this with more than one made.  

Halloween DIY Projects

Sewn Mouth FX Makeup

This looks awesome and realistic.  I have done zombie makeup before with the same items, but this wins.

Bloody Broken Glass Cupcakes

These are homemade cupcakes great for Halloween.  Besides candy, I enjoy baked goods more especially made from scratch.  Plus, it's the perfect look for Halloween.

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Social Media Changing the World

Social media has become one of the biggest and most important part of every day lives for people anymore.  It seems without it, they have no way of connecting to the world.  The way we socialized with others has evolved throughout the years when we all would chat on the "pioneers" of social media with IRC, ICQ, Yahoo chat/messenger, Aol Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, etc.  During the beginning of my high school year in 1999, everyone had ICQ.  It was our way to connect and interact with each other.  Being shy, I always found it easier to chat with others online.  It truly helped me developed friendships among people in school better.  Then as the internet evolved more, the more social sites came out.  Blogs were a big thing with the younger generation at the time I remember.  Music became a big thing as well because of Apple around 2001, it changed the way we bought music and using the online store with iTunes.

Myspace, the first big social site besides Friendster grew.  It was a huge craze among the masses of people that people added anyone it seems.   You found yourselves coming across different people that didn't even go to your school and always had to be cautious of strangers on there.  You were able to connect to anyone from your school who listed it in their information about themselves which made it so easy. Then Facebook becomes available to everyone instead of just college students.  It took over the world literally.

Other social medias were developed such as Twitter, news sites that brought a variety of it all together, YouTube, Skype, StumbleUpon, etc.  Sharing news, statuses, pictures, and posts became so much easier with a click of an icon:

The disadvantages of social media can be a negative impact on our life when it comes to being social in real life. I notice people checking their phones when they're hanging out with others instead of interacting with each other.  I read an article on a study done where people become more selfish through social media.  I can see that being an issue and how people tend to post a lot of things in order to get attention in an instant especially those in need of a self-esteem boost.  According to NY Times, 

"Narcissism clearly leads to more social media use, social media use leads to positive self-views, and people who need a self-esteem boost turn to social media."  

The internet can sometimes be a cesspool for malware, identity theft, psychos, and even bullies.  People are cautious on social sites to not share too much information about themselves.  Anything you post nowadays could affect your job depending on the things you post if it's open to the public.

As soon as social media went mobile, it has taken over our lives to constantly check it such as Facebook.  Going mobile has made it easier to get on the internet wherever we are.  With social media evolving, it has helped all of us to connect and interact people more.  It is a way to keep up or find others who we have lost contact with over the years.  It helps us connect to family and friends especially when we live far apart.  It puts reunions together with families and schools.  It is the simplicity of being able to share photos, your thoughts, and overall your life among people.  Social media has paved its ways over the years and will always affect our lives each day by how we interact.

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Online Photo Editing: Psykopaint, PicMonkey, Sumopaint, BeFunky, and Adobe Photoshop Express Editor

Psykopaint

Pyskopaint's site had a dark look to it, but so unique showing a collage gallery of different paintings, drawings, and so on created by users from the site that you can simply click on to view.  It has a funky modern side to it that I like.  Psykopaint is a lot different from the norm of photo editing sites and more so focused on art with painting and drawing.  My favorite part about it is, it shows a list of all the famous painters style of painting with each stroke of the brush and I find that pretty fascinating.  I played around with it using Seurat which is based off the famous French painter Georges-Pierre Seurat.  He was famous for the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Fun facts, eh? :D):

I really love seeing the texture and strokes when I painted across the page.  It felt like I was really using acrylic or oil painting.  Painting alone gives me a sense of peace and relaxation.  I just really loved using this site.  It also had customization to each style of painting:

If you were to save your work on Pyskopaint, you just can't do it without having to sign-up (Laaaame, just kidding), yet I ended up doing that through Facebook -_-.  It's kind of cool with how they setup using the site with tokens without having to pay.  The more you spread the news about their site and the more you use this site overall, the more tokens you get.  Then you can publish it and notice the community this site provides with different artists:

Oh and you can also pick your resolution of your art:

PicMonkey

PicMonkey's site as soon as it loaded, looked really nice.  It has much more to offer with effects, the interface of the site with the menus is well organized showing a sample of what the effect will be.  It provides simple touch-up tools like teeth whitening, weight-loss, clone, etc.  It has the basic edit tools with cropping, rotate, exposure, etc.  Simple and easy photo editing within a one click of your mouse.  The only problem with it is, you have to be a "Royale" member for full effects.  It shows all these lovely effects, but then notice the next effect next to it shows a crown.  You have to pay $4.99 a month, or $33 a year (that works out to $2.75 a month for minimum pay). 

In the picture below, once you play around on the site you will notice you can't apply all effects and touch-ups without upgrading.  Anything with a crown on the picture will not apply for free.

They have pretty nifty tools like make-up and then effects for Halloween...ahem..zombie effects!  Too bad you only have a limit of effects to use without upgrading.  There is no desktop app for it, the only thing I could find is downloading it as a browser extension for Chrome.  I like the site, it does what it needs for basic plus unique effects.  And of course, it's all simplified for anyone to try.

Sumopaint

Sumopaint, I believe is the closest thing to a real photo editing site.  It's more like Adobe Photoshop or Gimp, but not as advanced unless you upgrade I assume with the more tools you get.  Even if the free account doesn't have all the advance tools, it is simplified for all users to understand more easily in my opinion.  Sort of like a "lite" version of photoshopping made easy for anyone.  Sumopaint is all web-based and there is no desktop program to download until you upgrade to Pro Plus membership. Here's a painting I did on there which was all simple and easy using the tools:

I believe Sumopaint will a bit difficult to start out on if you have never ever used a photoshop tool that is as advance as this, but if you mess around with it, you'll get the hang of it.  There is membership prices included and from the look of it, you'll get even more tools included

Here's the interface with the tools and as you notice you can get a mobile app with iPad only (WTH..I hope that changes.) You can install the browser extension of Sumopaint on Chrome.  It really provides all the basic needs you want to tweak your pictures or for creating art.

BeFunky

 Befunky is the same as PicMonkey to me, but the interface isn't as flashy to me as PicMonkey.  That's okay though because BeFunky provides just as much effects and touch-up tools for free without having to upgrade.  I have used BeFunky for awhile as a mobile app and have always been happy with it.  I prefer it more than PicMonkey just because it's all free just for the photo effects and that's all that matters to me really.  If one is willing to upgrade, here are the other two offers:

I really liked the effects that I used on the pictures.  It doesn't look cheap and I just overall love them.  It's just as easy like PicMonkey, you can tweak the effects of its opacity, more sparkle, more bubbles, highlights, shadows, etc.  I prefer BeFunky over PicMonkey just because it offers more for free and their tools are pretty nice.

Photoshop Express Editor Online

Photoshop Express Editor Online is completely different from the desktop version and mobile as well.  It just gives the basic needs of editing a photo.  It just seems plain and really basic to me.  It didn't stand out as much as the others did, but it does what it needs to do overall in a simplify way.  I do enjoy the mobile app because it provides more effects and even a lot more if you pay for the app.

You can add little graphics that kind of reminds of clip art pictures in Microsoft Office haha.  I added a few graphics to my dog.  Even if it looks goofy, you can change the opacity to make it look sort of realistic.

When it comes to quick photo editing that features touch-ups and tools, I would overall pick BeFunky.  When it comes to quick advance photoshopping, I'd pick Sumopaint because out of all the others it provides the "photoshop" esque.  For more of an artistic approach that is the closest thing to real painting, I would pic PsykoPaint which I found pretty awesome.  I know I'll continue to use PsykoPaint for making art online.

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Killer 5K

My brother and the Tug Valley Road Runners are putting on another 5K! I put this flyer together, but I take no credit for the awesome drawing done by my brother's friend.

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Image Hosting: Which Site Does it Best? Flickr, Imageshack, Photobucket, and Dropbox

I'm here to blog about my experience with four image hosting sites and what I feel benefits me greatly in the end when it comes to the ease of uploading images and posting them.

Flickr

Flickr has an amazing photo community to interact with on the site.  The privacy options along with the copyright for photos are great.  It has 1TB of storage just for a FREE account! This includes ads, but that's one hell of a deal to have that much space for pictures.  I noticed Flickr no longer will let me edit a photo, I see no option for me to edit the photo in Aviary.  The site itself isn't as user-friendly after they changed it, but I do like the interface of the site.  It's more of a hassle for long-term users from reading on the forums.

 Depending on your copyrights with your photos, you either can't copy image location or get an html code unless I completely missed it. I just viewed the page source of the site to get the image just like I did with my photo below which loaded quickly.  Here's a picture of me and my sister at the Louisville Science Center:

I do like the the new look of Flickr despite how I feel about it now:

Photobucket

Photobucket is just as good as Flickr with a lot of customizations as well as uploading large images.  Photobucket is quicker and easier to manage when it comes to uploading photos than all the

others to me. While it was the fastest to upload pictures, Flickr was the slowest for me.  The site is pretty good about editing photos and adding effects. Here's a picture of my dog, Skyler:

Photobucket's appearance has changed over the years to now a more simplified look. I remember before you could change the background of your background, but I can't find that option anymore:

Imageshack

Imageshack has always been a site I used for quick uploads of hosting a picture without signing up for it.  Imageshack has a limit on image size which is 5MB.  The storage with Imageshack is 5GB, has no ADS. I noticed I couldn't find a slideshow feature where all the other sites include it.  I really wasn't into using the site or even want to use it for image hosting just because it just doesn't stand out to me.

Picture I took of my baby nephew, uploaded from Imageshack:

Dropbox

Dropbox is in a way like Evernote to me.  It gives you the ability to synchronize files from your pc onto the cloud, so that wherever you are it will always be there.  It's great for backing up stuff with pictures, files, and so on. The interface itself is fairly simple.  It provides only 2GB of storage on there and seems expensive compared to the others with upgrading.  Dropbox is a bit tricky though if you were to post images on a website and so on.  You have to make sure to make a public folder and drag the files into it in order to post on your blog etc.  I had to click in the public folder, right click, and "Copy public link."  You can basically share anything from your pc and mobile wherever you are easily on websites, to other pcs with this site. It even gives you some bonus space from this email I got:

Here's the look of the website which is fairly simple:

Here is a picture uploaded from Dropbox.  A picture I took at the lake fishing:

Basically, as I said I would pick Photobucket because I feel more comfortable with it and all it provides.  If Flickr wouldn't have changed it's site and interface, I would have picked the site plus with the 1TB space is amazing.  Each site did well with uploading and posting on the blog.  All the image hosting sites provide a desktop program as well which can be very useful in the end.

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Google: Changing the World

When Google first came out to the public, it was just a simple looking website.  Growing up throughout high school, my computer class always used Hotmail and Yahoo as our main sources.  Yahoo's interface was more welcoming than Google Beta at the time.  It was a plain blank background with just the Google logo compared to Yahoo with news, weather, sports updates, and so on.  I never would have thought Google would become the huge success it is now.  I also never would have thought it would become one of the main essentials in my life to use every day from checking email, finding directions, and basically keeping us connected to everything in the world.

Now that Google has taken over the world, it is worth billions of dollars today.  It has overall changed the world from the simplicity of its site to becoming the biggest search engine in the world that provides so much more than any other site.  It has more than one million servers across the world to make its search engine accurate!  Google has its own OS and continues to expand not only through mobile phones, but with personal computers.  After hearing how well of a search engine Google was, I began using it more often.  Google search became more reliable in its searches compared to Yahoo, MSN, Ask Jeeves (www.ask.com), and Excite.  The search engine became as simple once a few keystrokes are made, it loads the results in seconds.  It expanded itself to images, videos, blogs, news in real time, and much more.

After using the search engine for some time, I remember when Gmail first came out as a beta.  Everyone was wanting an invite and I was able to get one from a friend.  I was wondering what I was getting into for something that was just simply email.  I realized more with Gmail how much I enjoyed it more than Hotmail, how well it kept spam out of my inbox, and the space it provided for it.  I loved when I first tried it out, I felt like I was chatting with friends through the email, and it would group the messages together into one big email.  Then they included the web based chat and video, GoogleTalk which is now Google+ Hangouts.  You could call anywhere in the US and Canada which was pretty amazing at the time for people who didn't have a long-distance plan.  All of that now is included on mobile phones and computers.

Gmail overall, has changed so much over the years providing more space.  I remember it was 2GB of space in the beginning and it is now 15GB.  Gmail has become my primary e-mail after using Hotmail for years.  It gives you the options to change themes and colors.  It has its own tab for add-ons, sort of like a browser with extensions.  You can create labels for specific emails.  You can filter or block out specific emails going straight to trash.  Your emails are grouped up in three different categories: Primary, Social, and Promotions.  All of which makes browsing emails a lot easier and more organized.

Another product of Google that I found made a difference in the world is Google Maps.   It gives the ability to see all over the world to viewing streets of different locations within seconds including directions.  By doing this, it can use your current location with GPS or just typing in the area.  Another benefit of using the maps is Google Earth, it lets you view the world in 3D up close.  I can't forget though the most awkward and funny street views you encounter with Google Maps!

There are still tons and tons of Google products that I adore.  One of my favorite hobbies is to star gaze.  Growing up, I would go up to the airport or sit on top of my roof to see the stars.  I wanted to learn more about astronomy.  Besides Google Maps, there is Google Sky Map.  I have this app on my Nexus tablet and my smartphone.  With GPS activated, you can stand outside and it will show the stars right above you with each one labeled.  Finding the Big Dipper to the Little Dipper is just that simple.

The future of Google keeps growing more and more.  One of their future products that has been made is Google Glass. The beauty and slick design of simplicity with these glasses brings the world to you hands-free right across your eye with the use of your voice.  

As the site mentions:
"It’s surprisingly simple.

Say “take a picture” to take a picture.

Record what you see. Hands-free.

Even share what you see. Live.

Directions right in front of you.

Speak to send a message.

Ask whatever’s on your mind.

Translate your voice.

Answers without having to ask.

Strong and light.

Evolutionary design."

I cannot wait for it to come out, but I know it will be pricey.  I truly hope it works as it sounds being amazing, it's like something out of a movie.

Despite Google having to be worth billions of dollars, they are one company who really support many nonprofits to place a global impact for people just by making a difference for the better.  Below you will see Google Giving: 

It shows there's good in the company when they are willing to make a difference in people's lives.  I believe that's so important to do a random act of kindness as well as with charities and just to help other people by showing them that somebody, somewhere cares.  We live in a world where love is a constant need.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring: all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

Leo Buscaglia

Overall, I see Google being around for a very long time and creating so much more in the future  I can honestly say Google has changed my life and has amazed me compared to the first time I ever tried the internet in 1998.  It has helped me connect to my family across the world especially in the Philippines through Google Hangout, Gmail, and even my smartphone that runs Android OS.  I believe Google will always be a household name across the world and continue changing lives on how we interconnect.

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Three Free Software PC Products

I'm here to blog about free software that everyone can use and bring a lot of benefits in the end for them.  It's always nice to find something free and especially if it does pretty awesome things for you without having to pay a ton. 

1. Spotify

This software program I really love especially if I don't have the money to buy music.  You can look up any type of song and it will play the whole entire song or album for you!  It's all for free, but the only thing is you can't download the music from it for free without paying.  You can only play the music on your pc or mobile.  While I'm sitting at my pc, I play tons of music as I'm browsing the web.  Compared to iTunes, you only get to hear a sample of the song or among other sites that play 20-30 seconds of it.  The only way it stays free to play music is you have to put up with the advertisements.

Another nice feature on Spotify, is connecting your Facebook with the program.  You can see and share your music among your friends who have it too.

Here you can see what your friends are listening to live on Facebook to the right side of the ticker/newsfeed.

2. Floola

Floola is a free music software that works like iTunes.  It organizes your music for your automatically.  The only reason I like this program and use it for the most part, is the ability to take the music off my iPod.  For example, if I ended up deleting the music from my PC and still have it on my iPod, I can take it right off of it downloading back on to my PC.  Unlike with iTunes, I can't do that.  It will always remain on my iPod where Apple doesn't allow it to be downloaded back on to your PC.  I can understand Apple with the problem of sharing music freely among others, but people make mistakes of accidentally losing their music such as my PC crashing. 

3. Tango

Tango is actually a video chat mobile app, but can now be used on the pc.  It's different though because it's new to pc and the interface of one of the skins you start out with is a mobile phone interface.

It keeps up with all your contacts as well when you sign-in on it from your phone which is convenient if you don't have your phone on you. You only sign-in using your cell phone number and name.

The other interface is just a regular plain window and can be widen to full screen.  The calls come in like a regular phone. Maybe eventually it will have games like they do on the mobile app to play with other people while video chatting.

Hope some will enjoy these programs as much as I have.

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