The Web On Crack

image courtesy of google images

Judge Greg Mathis is a popular tv judge.  His cases are usually  humorous, but do not stray far from justice.  Just by watching the show you quickly learn that he is an advocate for women and has compassion for felons re-entering society.  Judge Mathis gives back to his community and makes no secret of his efforts to combat crime and low high school graduate rates in Detroit.  Judge Mathis is a philanthropist who uses his past to propel and motivate him to become the man he is today.

Judge Mathis uses face book,  twitter, Instagram, smg. Perhaps many more.

https://twitter.com/iamjudgemathis

http://smgtalk.com/2010/10/judge-mathis/

https://www.facebook.com/judgegregmathis

instagram.com/judgegregmathis

His main website is www.askjudgemathis.com

I am still not sure if I completely understand the full concept of Web 2.0, but I think it means something like “the web on crack”  where you have the basic web uses and then you have users who utilize every corner of the web to express or further their cause.  Judge Mathis has over 72K followers on Twitter.  It appears that he reaches a lot of people.  He reaches his target audience because social media makes him accessible to people who might not normally utilize the web.  People like ex-cons, people fighting drug addiction, victims of abuse, high school drop outs or victims of the street.  He does not have to reach the people, because he makes it possible for people to reach him.

Lync'd Together

I began installing office 365 in early 2014 on end users machine.  With the big rush to replace all Windows XP machines and a little incident with office 2010, we moved forward with the new office integration full speed ahead.  I prepared myself to cover the basics with users so that the change would not seem so drastic…..I’m rambling.  Point being I was installing one after the other I never had the chance to fully explore all Lync had to offer.  In fact the Lync part of 365 had not been activated on most of our machines until this year. 

 My experience with Lync was great and I feel like there are still capabilities that I have not touched on yet. The web conferencing was instant.  I did not have to wait but a few seconds for all parties to join in. Everyone could see the people who were apart of the meeting.  My absolute favorite part was the screen sharing.  The other parties have to accept the invitation to view your screen, as you see in the screen shots below. I have been a part of many Web Ex meetings, I prefer Lync especially if everyone types instead of calling in.  During Web Ex, I lose the screen view, I can’t hear the host most times and I often forget to mute.

I Love Email, But Be Careful

Other than text and instant messaging, email is my preferred method of communication. I am not a social person because face the face I often come off as cold and straight to the point.  I may seem that way through email as well, but email can leave alot up to interpretation where first impressions are do or die.  Have you ever found yourself reading an email more than once, just to make sure you understand correctly?  If so, than you see what I mean.

I spend alot of time setting up first time clients for email.  I always leave them with a few tips and some I send a don't do list because I know how much damage an email can do (from experience).

• An email is not just an email.  Its can be a stamp of communication or a very sharp knife. Do not send anything in an email that you cannot say in person in front of a group because there is always a chance someone else will read it.
• An email is a record.  They can be saved eternally or retrieved after deletion.  Follow rule number one and you will be good to go.
• Use a professional email.  It really is a calling card.  You don't have this issue within a network or domain.  You would be surprised at how many people submit resumes, business cards, business correspondence with crazy looking email addresses.  My very own son proudly displayed his email on a response letter with his first name plus deez-nuts@yahoo.com.  Really!
• Do not write or respond in all caps. Honestly I though this was a joke when I first heard about it, but trust me this is some serious stuff.  People associate this with yelling as they would in person as a disrespectful action.  Once you may be forgiven for an oversight, but do it again and oh boy you could be paying for that mistake for months even years.  Don't do it.
• Do not hit reply all.  This can also be an embarrassing costly mistake.  What you would say to one person on the mail list, you may not say to the others and God forbid if you were talking about or making fun of someone.  Bad business.

I always have fun helping people create their signatures.  Just keep in mind it is a signature and speaks volumes about who you are and what you stand for.  Some times I can go a little overboard, but thankfully I have a forgiving director who politely tells me to take it off.  See below for my latest creation.

See below for Aunt Charlotte's email

Floating on the Cloud and love/hating every minute of it.

When I first heard about the cloud, I was intrigued but a little nervous.  I did and still do have my concerns about security.  I take some solace in knowing that my data stored in the cloud is just as vulnerable as every other web based activity I use the internet for.  I guess its about choosing the greater of two evils; the internet itself or everything the internet has to offer. We are a society of NOW!  The cloud is keeping up with the demand. Follow the link below for my detailed opinion of the cloud.  All About The Cloud

Blogs and Wiki'

The Pen Meets Technology

A blog is an electronic journal posted to an web based format.  A blog can be anything the author desires from  political, religious, social, hobby minded etc.  It is a way for an individual or group to express their opinions on a wide range of topics while giving their audience a chance to way in.  A blog can be a unique expression or a confrontational debate.  It is limitless for an author who has a voice to share with the web world. The authors post are displayed in chronological order in a magazine like format that can be updated frequently; daily, hourly, minute by minute as an subject or interest occurs. A blog can  contains links, adds or affiliations that can often generate traffic and income.

Wiki What, Wiki Who?

A wiki is a web site that lets any visitor become a participant. They are free to create or edit the website.  All you need is a internet connection, a computer and a gift for gab or a need to express that you are knowledgeable in a certain area (Rather you are or not) A wiki reminds me of open source software as far as it being a collaboration, except with open source the contributors have years of developed skills, when the wiki contributors just have to roll out of bed.  Wiki's have a lot of critics because they are easily edited (see screen shot A shown below)and the edits are hard to trace.  Wikis allow you to post anonymously where only the Ip address is shown or by user name that the author creates (see screen shot B shown below)  A con for using wiki is that online researchers confuse wikis with fact and that can sometimes prove to be confusing; dangerous at worst.

A

B

A wiki, in my opinion is more like a work of art that is beautifully done and allows for simplistic collaboration without fact. Wikis are great at face value, that's it.  I completely support any site or gathering place of self that encourages individual or group expression and collaboration, but that is where my support ends.  Wikis are nothing more than official looking blog post and should be referred to as such.  Its available in scores of languages and is referred to as an encyclopedia on its home page.  Unless the definition of encyclopedia has changed since I have flipped through the hard cover in search for facts that could be cited.  Since there is no stopping Wikis, I think there should be a warning on the home page for unsuspecting readers so they will at least been warned by the owner.

Wiki's are a good starting place, but a terrible ending and should never be considered your only source of information.

After reviewing other resources about Wikis, my opinion has not changed.  Wikis are like a bad habit. You know you shouldn't, but you can't help yourself.  If you use Wiki information as your only source, you will spend the rest of your time regretting it.