Spit and polish!

well its finally done!

www.busy-signal.co.uk

 As you can see the twitter API widget now works . Its frustrating that i spent a good 2 hours scouring my code as to why it wasn't working but all it needed was the crossdomain.xml file placing in the root directory and the html file in the same folder as the .swf and .php files.( Thanks to luke mears for this)

The final design changes have also taken place merely by cleaning up my code in all html files and changing the design slightly but its now at a state to which im completely satisfied!

thirdly  my contact form now launches a mail client that the user has installed using this bit of code " action="mailto:benquinney1@googlemail.com" . Ideally i want a CGI script so that it sends straight to my email from the form im still in the process of learning how to do this, but it should be up and running.

Lastly Jquery has proven a struggle so im teaching myself it so that i can make a nice slideshow for my portfolio. Until then im working on a simple css/html based scrollable slideshow which will be online very soon. 

updates and security issues!

So they saying goes "your, your own worst critic" well its prove true because ive changed the design again.

see here....

1. 
   
     The blog feed is no encapsulated in a rounded rectangle all thanks to new CSS techniques.
   "-moz-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 10px;"
2. 
   
   Ive got rid of all the unnecessary brushes i had in the background and created a more clean, simplistic layout in doing so.
3. 
   
   the header has changed slightly to match the layout and give a design feel

Im very proud of how its turned out, however flash is disagreeing with my plans.

Ive crated my own twitter widget see here...

 The three dark blue boxes are supposed to output my three latest tweets, and in flash it has worked perfectly.

However due to security issues in flash, i have to make my widget read twitter via a php file. This is where the problem starts. Every browser throws out this error

"Error #2044: Unhandled ioError:. text=Error #2032: Stream Error. URL: http://busy-signal.co.uk/twitter.php
    at Twitter_fla::MainTimeline/Twitter_fla::frame1() "

Apparently its due to my crossdomain.xml file not being in the root directory but ive fixed this and im still getting errors. For the moment im going to leave it alone as i fear i might throw my laptop in the bin if i proceed!

Lastly im in the process of working on a jquery sideshow for my portfolio, but Jquery is being jQUEER and refuses to work!

update! 09/04/10.

So its been a hard few days with all the assignments going on. However i had had enough of looking at my website and not seeing my blog on it. obviously i needed to convert my blogger to wordpress but my web hosting "heart internet" has made this a harder task than it needs to be. It does support wordpress and mySql databases but makes the process of getting them on there a nightmare. So i decided to use feedburner to display the 15 most recent posts on my website, i also changed the blogger layout to match that of my website if the reader decides to explore my blog further.

Secondly my Facebook and Twitter have been syndicated allowing me to post across two platforms of social networking while only being logged into one! Making for a more fluid and singular online presence.

Lastly my website has undergone its final designchanges to a standard of which i enjoy and it now has a favicon in the top left corner of the address bar!

A very successful day....... in some regions!

/end success

}

Twitter.

Twitter is obviously a social craze, one of which all us IDAT'ers have jumped on board with.
Its easy enough to put a simple twitter widget into your website but im not happy with that.

Ive decided that im going to use my uber flash skillz ( which arent so uber) to make my own widget.

Not an amazing idea, but its going that extra step.

Blood, Sweat and Photoshop.

I wasn't happy at all with the pure beginner standard of my website. Not impressive at all. So once again i set out to redesign the whole site, with a more web 2.0 aesthetic, but while keeping the same colour scheme.

So here it is...Ta daaaaa

.

The sidebar has greatly been improved visually.
The website as a whole has a more pleasing user experience now.
I think headers are too bulky so i got rid of it and designed a new logo to replace a bulky mess.

Im still working on roll-overs, and i have a problem that when i zoom out the background moves away from the content, this being due to the background being a JPEG. Probably a simple solution, one which ill find :).

Design update

So i went ahead and changed the website logo to match the twitter layout. Looks much better and more coherent. Also my header now doesn't use the reapeat-x function in the CSS file. Instead my header is now a singular .PNG file. Much better.

The design falls into place

www.busy-signal.co.uk 2.0!!

Check the new design yo, nothing amazing or even that special but ive got a colour scheme that a like and think works. The header will need more work it doesn't exactly fit, in fact after taking this very screen shot its easy to see that the logo needs an entire rework but still a vast improvement from how busy signal 1.0 looked.

As for the code itself, using twitters website ive incorporated my latest tweets into the sidebar of all my pages.

The script....

<script>
new TWTR.Widget({
  version: 2,
  type: 'profile',
  rpp: 6,
  interval: 6000,
  width: 250,
  height: 300,
  theme: {
    shell: {
      background: '#1590ce',
      color: '#fafafa'
    },
    tweets: {
      background: '#151a4d',
      color: '#f704ff',
      links: '#1590ce'
    }
  },
  features: {
    scrollbar: true,
    loop: false,
    live: false,
    hashtags: true,
    timestamp: true,
    avatars: true,
    behavior: 'all'
  }
}).render().setUser('busysuk').start();
</script>

Im in the process of converting my blog to Wordpress so that should be on the website very soon. stay tuned....

Busy-signal 2.0

Now that I've been a student of IDAT for almost a year, I can see how my website needs a considerable upgrade in both aesthetics and technology.

I've almost finished a brand new design for my website, which I think will do justice for my creativity, although coding it is proving a bit tough :\. However it incorporates my online presence in one sleek easy to navigate site.

My old site included:

• 
  
  XHTML
• 
  
  CSS
• 
  
  Javascript

My new site will add to this simple coding elements by using:

• 
  
  Facebook and twitter API code
• 
  
  Php tests
• 
  
  jQuery

Using these new elements my site will show my latest Tweet's, Blog posts, and a transitional image slideshow will will show my portfolio using jQuery.

PDP

SO ive got to have personal development plan havent i really, any good student should.

By having one i can...

1. Organise my goals
2. Work towards targets
3. Be more structured
4. Increase productivity

So here it is......

Rhetoric, and the art of persuasion, or the art of getting what you want.

SO being a former english a level student i should know my stuff here shouldnt i, well sort of, but i do know how powerfull the art of persuasion is. Throguh time this "art" has been used in many diffrent cultures and societies to influence the way in which people think. There are so many persuasive lagnuage tools at the disposal of any given writer that listing them would make for a very good wikipedia page, however this is my blog, not wikipedia. However in a video example below i will refernce to a few of these techniques.

Persuasion can be used in form of writing and video, a perfect example is a film called 9/11 loose change.





Loose change basically provides an hours worth of footage and commentary on how 9/11 is a conspiracy theory, plotted by the American government. Now this video has time and time again been proved wrong but many people go on to believe its message, why? Well first the footage is very select, meaning that the creators are only allowing you to see what they want you to see, on top of this the commentary by one of the creators is in such a tone, and provides so many facts that it makes for a very believable take on the events of 9/11. This all being down to the art of persuasion, and at the end of the day that's what the creators are trying to do, change peoples views via a film.



Rhetoric is perhaps an outdated discourse, dating back to ancient Greece. Compiled of logos, pathos and ethos, meaning grammar logic and dialectic, all of which were taught as separate disciplines however we have seen a cultural shift into which all three are taught under one subject (English). However as of the turn of the last century many believe that rhetoric is making a firm comeback and has made way for modern theorists.






HOW IS IT USED?

1. 
   
   Language tools such as the repetition of three, metaphors and similes indent information into the human mind.
   
   
   
2. 
   
   The way in which an argument is structured.
   
   
   
3. Making grammatical sense
   

WHY?

1. 
   
   You use it every day, so much in fact that its subconscious
   
   
   
2. 
   
   When arguing
   
   
   
3. When persuading a point of view
   

WHEN?
Every debate, every speech, every complaint, the list is endless but its such a part of our lives that we don't realise it. The art of persuasion is indeed a powerful one. My most intimate experience with it, was when i was in Gran Canaria and the only English channel i could watch was SKY news. At the time the presidential race was about to reach its climax and in honesty i was gripped by the speeches made by Barrack Obama. History was made and his speech will indeed go down in history, the following extract is my favourite line as i feel its not only persuasive but reaches out to every American that was holding on to the hope of change, and in a few small words he gave the people what they wanted to hear, thus changing their mindset.



" it's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America. " - Barrack Obama November 2008

Manifesto

 SO im going to make my own manifesto, thats right me.

Well i realise i wouldn't be a very good politician party leader, but making a manifesto isn't too hard, is it? Well in the position of power like any party leader is, they have to construct a manifesto that pleases the mindset of the majority and that's hard. However i found out though research that a party doesn't have to carry out any of the manifesto if elected, seriously?! what the hell is going on there! Anyway i had a look at a few current manifesto's i especially liked the monster raving looney parties manifesto    and found that there is a certain structure to compiling one, mostly in the form of a list. So here's mine on the subject of  gentleman's toilet etiquette

1. 
   
     No man should ever stand in the urinal next to an existing man 
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Conversation is not allowed as this makes for uncomfortable moments
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Wash hands before and after package handling
   
   
   
4. 
   
    The splash zone should be considered before choosing a urinal
   
   
   
5. 
   
   If freshen up chants are started only join in if you know at least one person singing
   
   
   
6. 
   
   The subject of endowment should never be brought up under any circumstance
   
   
   
7. 
   
   Urinal camping is disallowed, this is when a man seeks to stand behind a currently in use urninal so that he may use it next, instead a que should form
   
   
   
8. If a female is brought into the sanctuary of the men's toilet they will be shot at the first dawn.
   

Who needs an autobiography when youve got HYPERLINKS!

SO  wasnt too sure how to go about this task, or even what to write. So i kept it simple i wrote some basic information about myself that was key in my life and hyperlinked to websites that related to the word. Not only does what ive wrote give the reader information but the hyperlink is relevant to what ive wrote, and provdied me with some very interesting information about my life. Enjoy!

My name is Ben Paul Quinney. I was born at Marston green hospital on the 7th of April 1990.

I lived in Birmingham until the age of 14 before moving near to coventry.



Before coming to university i took a gap year in which i mostly worked and partied.
I spent 2 weeks in orlando florida, 2 weeks in ibiza , 2 weeks in gran canaria and 1 weekend at creamfields festival.



My main intrest in life is music, i live for it. Mostly house but also the really dirty stuff like dubstep and DnB.

I am also a huge Aston villa fan!



I have one brother named George who is about to turn 12 years old and parents of which i wont mention their ages but that's my family.



My claim to fame is being in the website be at tv, on several videos i can be seen dancing around from various events ive been to.



I currently attend plymouth university and love it!

Social : The Media's most powerfull weapon. Part 2

A flock of birds, a heard of cattle, a group of humans. All operate ona  network, and im not talknig about tmobile or orange, no what i mean is that living oragnisms operate on a network of information, this is especially evident in mass media that we as humans are exposed to.

Social : The Media's most powerfull weapon. Part 1

Social media can be said to have three components;

1. 
   
   Concept (art, information, or meme).
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Media (physical, electronic, or verbal).
   
   
   
3. Social interface (intimate direct, community engagement, social viral, electronic broadcast or syndication, or other physical media such as print). (WIKIPEDIA)
   

SO im not going to be boring and explain what media is as its easy to identify, however when you dive deep into how media interacts and influences our lives, that's when it become interesting.....


 We have become a nation that relies on technology, from contacting friends to writing this very blog. As time moves on there is more things we can do with our impressive library of gadgets. We are so reliant on technology that the loss of information on a computer or no internet access can be devastating to work or die hard facebook users. Its a sad thought to know we are probably the laziest humans through the progress of time, but do we care? of course not were only interested in telling our friends on certain social media platforms that we've got a hot new date for tonight, as interesting as that is, and it is, its perhaps useless information that is being shared amongst everyone at an alarming speed.



COMMUNICATION is perhaps the best reference for this. Have a look at my time line...



Letters > Telegrams > Telephone > Text messaging > Email > Instant chat > Statusing ( Facebook/twitter) 

 Over time the medium in which to communicate has vastly changed and with it the amount of information that can be sent via these methods. From it taking days for a letter of love to reach a loved one to now being able to send multiple declarations of love within second, although that's probably going to land you in some sort of trouble.



SO as mass communication has evolved so has the way in which media uses it.

I found this graphic very interesting. Instantly you cane see the vast amount of companies depicted and the various methods in which they operate. Take a look at the outer blue circles, i bet anyone reading this uses at least 5 of them, i know i do. With that in mind, think about how we all gain our information, how we all take what's said to us or put in front of us and most of the time take it on-board as reality and truth.



Newspapers are the best example of this, we pick it up, read it and believe every word, i mean why would it be published if it wasn't real? Of course were not that stupid and do take newspaper articles with a pinch of salt. There is a website called The Onion.
It is a database of joke news articles, but most believable, which plays on the fact how we as society believe most of what we see distributed in the form of mass communication. 



Touching on the subject of mass communication we know that the internet is now the most dominant force among the tools available to any given media company.
Due to the internet being an information highway of the world we can literally find out anything.We can buy anything, look at anything, read anything etc. It is indeed incredible the amount of information that is stored in one single source, and its available at the click of a button. However we don't usually examine where any given piece of information has come from. The fact that any person on earth can now go on to the internet and publish anything they want is alarming and amazing at the same time, of course the media is well versed in this field. Any user can spend no more than 5 minutes innocently browsing the net before they come across adverts, pop ups and articles advertising products and displaying certain news bulletins, information that perhaps would have taken days to each years ago. The power of advertising is phenomenal. It influences how we spend our money, our time and our lives.

“There is no such thing as society”

“There is no such thing as society”
Margaret Thatcher
Interview for Woman's Own (Sep 23 1987)



SO "The social" is a very intrsting and thought provoking subject. We started to explore all the diffrent social/media formats and investigate the diffrent networks we as humans operate on. 



Definition:  The term Social refers to a characteristic of living organisms (humans in particular, though biologists also apply the term to populations of other animals). It always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary. (WIKIPEDIA)



In my opinion this refrence to the term social is one i would agree with. For me it perfectly sums up what we mean when we use the words social. 



I took this term a step further and subtly listened out for when myself and friends used the term.
The main use seemed to be when describing a person....
" He's quite sociable" , " She's not very sociable with us"

For me its clear that when used in this context, "social" is referring to the friendship network and to how there is a general consensus that being sociable means doing stuff together. I also saw an interesting example on wikipedia..



"Another common meaning of a "social" in English-speaking countries such as Britain, New Zealand, Canada and Australia is that of a leisure-time gathering with food and drink, organised by an institution, association, or company. A distinguishing feature is that it is deliberately organised at a venue at a predetermined time. Thus one might say, "are you going to the social?", meaning a social event by some organisation."(WIKIPEDIA)






In relation to the quote referenced at the top by a former Prime minister we have to look a bit deeper. First of all i do in no way shape or form agree with this quote, why? Ill explain...



First of all, when looking at quotes you have to realise your only looking at a certain part of the entirety, of what was said. So i had a look at the statement in its entirety.

"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation."
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher, talking to Women's Own magazine, October 31 1987



So what i gain from this quote now, that she is referring to the social relationship between the government and the people. It could be argued that there is no social between the government and the people as its them doing and enforcing and the people ( us ) abiding. However i think that the government works on the basis of what the majority want to see happen in their country, therefore creating a social relationship. 



Secondly to say the fraction quoted at the beginning of the post, is in my opinion complete crap!



SO what do i think?

• 
  
  Society provides a means of communication "Tracks of communication" - Mentioned in my previous post.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Society is the foundation in which any given person grows up in.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Society differs from country to country, town to town.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Society is compiled of all the living organisms that live inside of it.
  
  
  
•  Society is the realm in which to be "social" in
  

Now without getting to philosophical, i believe that society itself is simply a reason for living, maybe even the meaning of life? Think about that.......

I am a map, a map i am.

SO in our first sessions, points had been made about online identity. Some very thought provoking questions were put forward..

• 
  
  Who shapes the knowledge that we know?
  
  
  
• 
  
  Is our identity really our own?
  
  
  
• How do we connect in the social? and so on..
  
• How much do we know about ourselves? and so on..
  

This made me question my own identity, predominately being in the form of a facebook profile.
SO In this mind map, i thought about where i gain my ideas and information from and soon realised that nothing i knew, made, believed, and liked was anything of my own, a sort of depressing fact, however still very interesting. At the centre of this map i have a cloud representing myself, but drawing to it i have several lines, which i like to call the train tracks of communication. Via these " Tracks" i interact with other people in which information is shared and ideas are born. Of course this works on a two way process thus there is an arrow showing the flow of information can be directed both ways accordingly. This track system works across the board especially with education, as we are taught by other people with a constant feed of knowledge.



SO with that in mind, you can see that such topics as education are fed by other peoples knowledge, which leaves me to believe that as we move forward and as time goes on most ideas will have no originality and be purely sculpted from existing ones, however the "tracks" of of communication that provide peoples identity will be something new, e.g. people have different movie tastes, and the information that a certain film provides to any given person can be taken differently.


It was also interesting to see that people had took very different approaches with this task, no self map was designed the same, which arguably gave each person an identity, right down to the colours used on each map.

 

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