Category: Social Media

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Instagram…meh.

The big news in Android land was the release of Instagram.  If you live under a rock, it is a social picture sharing site, originally release for iPhones.  Since iPhones are amazingly limited on the apps you can have, Instagram became very popular.  I tried it out for a few days an found the whole thing lacking.  You take a pic, add a filter post it to your social media sites like Facebook or Twitter.

The program is very limited on the filters one can add and man I just did not see much of a difference.  Next, your picture has to be a perfect square.  You can resize it, but it stays a proportional square.  You can follow people and be followed, geotag your photos and like what others have posted.

Prior to the release, I found and used for months, picplz.  You can do all that Instagram does, every little bit.  Plus your pictures are not limited on their shape and while the filters are few, teach is very distinctive.

The only thing Instagram has going for it is it’s wide acceptance.  Unfortunately, as with Beta and VHS, it is not always quality that wins out but what the masses choose to use.

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Google + No More

I decided to ditch Google +.  I felt it was more than I wanted to keep up with and I really did not keep up with it very much.  I think I gave it a fair shot, labeling my friends, getting followed by strangers and putting all my other Google services at risk since I did not feel the need to use my real name.  I like the fact that it is there and pushing FB to make improvements, but there is no real benefit to me using it.  Maybe when Google finally achieves complete world domination and forces everyone to get a Google ID, I’ll relent.  But until then I’ll keep it simple posting to my three blogs and FB.  :^)
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Facebook Vs Google +

I have been on Facebook for a while now, but Google just released their version of the social network called Google +.  There are a tone of reviews going into great detail about the similarities and differences.  This is not that detailed.  I really like the look, feel, ease of use, etc. of G+.  If is smooth, fast and well integrated to my Chrome browser (which has started getting sluggish compared to the new Firefox, but that is another post.).  The two biggest drawbacks are lack of users and the idiot policy of no pseudonyms.  I personally don’t like having my full name roaming the net.  I just don’t.  I know there are all kinds of security features, but I have yet to see something a human could invent that another human could not take apart. Besides, as similar as Online Me is to Real Me, they are not the same person and I like to have a little distance between us.  This may well be what keeps G+ from ever becoming a real player against FB.

Facebook is a mess.  Full of ads, security breaches and selling your info.  The only things it has going for it are what G+ lacks.  Sadly, that may be enough.  People don’t like change and will only accept it if the change is better than the current state.  I hope Google can learn quickly, but some of their other projects have shown that even with all the resources they have, sometimes they are slow to respond or too big to care.

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For the rest of us

I’m a DIY (do it yourselfer) and I always thought it would make a funny show to have what really happens on a project.  If you watch this old house, they always have the right tool at the right time and exactly the materials they need.  I had a leaky toilet that turned into a year and a half bathroom remodel.  Of course, they have an army of peons to make sure all that stuff is researched and they can take the scene a few time to get it right.  But for the rest of us, we have to muddle through to the answer.

That was what got me to thinking about a blog.  A place I could post my journey from start to finish on various projects.  From redoing a room or building a shelf to trying to get my various tech gadgets to do what I want them to do.  I’m not an expert or exceptionally gifted at anything, but I’m pretty good at a lot of things.  I chose “the generalist” since that seem to fit.  Also, trying a search for “common man” in the blogosphere.  99% of the hits are right wing political.  When did the GOP become the party of the “common man”?

Anywho, that’s what this is about.  Me trying to make sense of my world and finding an answer or two from others who are a little less than exceptional.