I sat and thought the other day about the presentation for our last class on Monday. The main question I asked myself was: How did this class change my way of using and browsing the web, collecting information and making use of my time searching for topics of my interest online.

I often got confused and overwhelmed by the amount of information. Most of the time I would stumble on great articles that had wonderful abstracts and weren’t free. I did not know that many professionals are online giving out their information generously and enjoying discussions with complete strangers  on relevant topics accross the globe.

I put together all I had learned in the smallest paragraph possible for this blog:

The Tip of My Learning Iceberg:

a. Learned how to do effective search, without getting overwhelmed or lost.

b. Understood the importance of looking for and using Information Trapping techniques, News aggregators, email allerts and RSS feeds to get information from sources I want and control the amount I receive. Also, how to archive my information for future reference.

c. Got to know some like minded people on blogs, which changed my whole idea about blogging.

d. Got introduced to twitter, wordpress, delicious, igoogle, google chrome, and many other useful sites.

e. Understood the importance of online learning and COPs and understood how it can be used for personal education.

f. Got to read a great book on GTD.

g. Got to know some great people in class and online and got a closer and deeper glimps of who they are and what they do in life, which- without going online-I may have never known.

Hey fellow fundamental-ists!

Please visit Iruni on wordpress and let me know

a. if it works/opens

b. if it helps

c. if whatever!

Thanks

I was reading articles about Web Standards , when I came across a guy called Dustin Brewer and his insights about this topic.

I do believe that in order to manage anything one would need standards. That wouldn’t mean, ofcourse that these standards will always remain the same. Especially in a world of ever changing technology.

Before I had taken scripting or reading about web design I had no idea that browsers could react so differently. I knew of course that I would get different views and colors because of browser sizes, and monitor differences, but didn’t know why some web sites just didn’t work in certain environments.

I think this blog was a good reference for me, to understand why things are being done in certain ways, when we could do them in other ways too.

And that is to create the most consistent looking and operating website on the web that is easy to maintain, read, access, and even keep clients satisfied in the long run because their websites will function correctly in different browsers.

In designing for print media, you don’t really have to worry about channel changes, if it is for a certain magazine or certain medium it will be defined based on the given media specs and all one has  to do is to create the best and most relevant design possible for that defined channel. And you are done with the format. 

I had never thought how my web site design could effect a client if I was not preparing it for different browser types, and could even effect my career as a web designer- but again, of course, I’m just a beginner.

According to wikipedia: “Cuil (pronounced [kuːl], “cool“) is a search engine that organizes web pages by content and displays relatively long entries along with thumbnail pictures for many results. It claims to have a larger index than any other search engine, with about 120 billion web pages. It went live on July 28, 2008.” It is managed by the former google employers Anna Patterson, Russell Power and Louis Monier.

“Cuil’s goal is to solve the two great problems of search: how to index the whole Internet—not just part of it—and how to analyze and sort out its pages so you get relevant results”.

This search engine is still slow and critiqued for it’s speed and usability and also irrelevance of suggestions and focus on size rather on topic, but what it’s promise is very encouraging. It will find pages based on your selected keywords, analyzes the content, and suggests new words and searches. Your research history will be kept private.

I think this new search engine would probably end up being a great one once it’s problems are dealt with. Usually any new addition has it’s ups and downs.

I am trying to figure this out..anybody else tried this?

OK since we chatted about linkedin in class, here is some information about what is going on with that site now.

I personally have found it very useful. I have referred people and been reffered by them through linkedin.

If you guys are on there, shoot me an email. I would be more than happy to add all of you.

I read the best seller book “Getting Things Done”. I found it to be a wonderful tool especially for those who have multiple responsibilities. The author not only talks about steps to take to organize your daily life, but also recommends office supplies and items that can classify and organize your physical space. my notes right now have too much content to add at this point.

 I will summarize and review some of the interesting points about this book and add here soon.