Research Sources

To begin my research and find sources for my paper, I decided it was necessary that I first become familiar with online fiction before I began hunting for research about it. After all, how can I research a topic I have not even explored? Dr. Gabor directed me to Mark Amerika, a popular online fiction writer whose stories are written specifically for the internet only. What I found interesting was that these stories are not simply a word document that comes up on your screen for you to stare at blankly much like the page in a book. These stories are interactive and include graphics, links, different plots, and each reader has a different experience based on the links and paths they choose. As part of my research and beginning to find sources, I found this interaction with Mark Amerika's site very helpful because it taught me a little about what I would be researching. I also found a site buzzle which was full of online fiction for me to explore. Finally, I am having a bit of trouble finding really and reviews, criticism, or praise of online fiction. While I have found plenty of sites that support these authors, I have searched high and low for any sort of opinion and have yet to find any. If anyone can steer my in the right direction, that would be greatly appreciated! :)

Possible Topics

1. How is print fiction being affected by the growing populatiry of online fiction and do devices such as the kindle have an affect on this?

2. How do we ensure that community based sites such as wikipedia do not override credible, academic sites as a place for information?

3. Is online, community based journalism taking the place of traditional print journalism? If so, how can we ensure that the online based information is credible?

Steady as a Preacher, Free as a Weed

"American Honey" by Lady Antebellum is my current obsession. Trendy (blah), but oh so catchy, it is on repeat in my car.

Part 3: The Verdict.

Overall, I am pretty smitten with Posterous. While I have not completely taken to using it as my everyday blog (I do have two other blogs as well as a Facebook page and a life outside cyber space) I do see myself transitioning over to this site as my main writing space. This site can definitely be defined as a writing space because it gives its users a blank slate (aka an email, how much more blank can you get?) to write, sing, illustrate, embed, say, not say, whatever they want. It allows for free reign while posting and gives the opportunity to do so from the comfort of your own email server. Like I said, no crazy user names, codes, websites, or hoops to jump through and remember. Your own email address will do just fine. My criteria for the site as a writing space were simple, yet firm. Accessibility and Easiness. I don't want to mess with a site that takes me a week to figure out (*cough* Google Buzz *cough*) or that I can only access through the site itself while on a computer that only uses javascript or whatever those weird programs are called that websites make you download in order to use the site in the first place. None of that exists in the world of Posterous and for that, I am eternally grateful. My writing is uninhibited and untouched by the many distractions of cyber world, and posting through email can be compared to the simplicity of putting pen to paper.

Enough said.

A+

Part 2: Easy? Piece of cake

For those who hear the word "blog" and are unfamiliar with the term, things like web cams, linking back and forth, technical lingo, and the words "really hard" come to mind (true facts backed up by my asking around my own house). Posterous proves all of these blogging assumptions to be absolutely FALSE. While I have blogged before and experienced these tricky posting hurdles that have steered me away from many sites, Posterous makes posting things other than words so easy, I almost forgot it was a writing space. For example, today I came across this hilarious video on youtube and wanted to show numerous people who I knew would get a good laugh. Instead of 1) waiting until I saw each and every one of these people in order to show them or 2) texting/calling each of them prompting them to go watch, I simply copied and pasted the link into an email, and clicked send. Then, to my joyful surprise, Posterous embedded the youtube video for me in a posting and the video appeared right on my page. With other blogging sites, this embedding stuff is not so easy. With Posterous, the simple "Copy and Paste" trick is all one needs.

Not only is embedding pictures easy, embedding pictures is even easier. The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite songs "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum and one particular lyric really struck me. Long story short, I immediately wanted this lyric shared with the world and I wanted to find a picture that I thought would match the words. Less than 2 minutes, one google image search, and and email later, and my song lyric and picture were posted, simply by copy and pasting the photo into and email along with the lyrics in the subject line. The great thing about Posterous is the subject line of your email acts as the title of your post. Easy enough right?

In addition to how easy it is to post on your own Posterous site, Posterous makes your life even easier by allowing you to repost your postings to your Facebook, Twitteer, Myspace, etc with one click. When you sign up with Posterous, the site simply asks you if you are a part of any of these other sites. By clicking yes, and logging in to those accounts, you have successfully set up autopost and allowed Posterous to repost your Posterous postings onto your Facebook, Twitter, etc without having to do any extra work. This allows for your site to be seen by even more viewers, even those who are not a part of the Posterous community. Allowing tons of people to read more of my thoughts and hear what I have to say? Yes please.

These shots show my Posterous postings on my Twitter and my Facebook.

 

Finally, the easiest part about Posterous, is figuring out how to use it. My biggest pet peeve with any site is the FAQs page (Frequently Asked Questions). These pages are typically harder to navigate than the site itself and I usually end up never revisiting because I get too frustrated. However, the clean and tailored look of Posterous does not end just with the main site. The FAQs page is so easy to use it is ridiculous. The questions are huge and bolded and are the kind of questions I was actually asking myself, not just questions the site people assumed I would ask. THEN, right after the question was a step by step answer along with an image to show what would really happen when one did what the steps explained. Amazing. Whoever designed this site deserves a raise.

Overall, I give Posterous a HUGE

A+

for easiness and user friendlieness. :)

I'm diggin it..so far. Part 1: Email

After trying out the numerous features included in Posterous, I have concluded that this website is more of a writing space. The site allows freedom to post whatever is on your mind with the simple send of an email, making this a space for regular activity as long as you have email access. To me, this is key to a writing space, allowing users to access it and let out thoughts whenever necessary, which brings me to my first criteria for the site: ACCESSIBILITY.

Posterous is used only through email. By this I mean, no log in name to remember, no tricky html codes, fonts, or any sort of tricks to posting. The skills to composing an email are all one would need. With that being said, having a cell phone or any sort of mobile device that can access email can also be used to post on Posterous without tracking down a computer. Once your email is sent, Posterous promptly replies with an email much like this:

posterous

Hello Courtney,

Your email has been posted!

Welcome to Posterous! We think e-mailing is such a natural way to share information, there can be no better way to publish something on the internet. So go for it, send us something else! We'll add it to the blog you have already created.

Your new post

Do you want to edit or remove this post?
Click here to edit or remove

and POOF, you've posted on Posterous. 

One thing I did find a bit frustrating about the email service was that my phone, (unlike what I originally thought) is not compatible because, while it does have email, it is not a "smartphone" or one that is directly connected to my Yahoo account therefore I could not post from my phone. However, I was still intrigued with the email feature because I could post from anywhere I could find a computer without logging into my personal Posterous account leaving it exposed to anyone who might have walked by. To the naked eye, it looked as though I was just typing an email. Similarly, to those who are less tech savvy, adding attachments such as pictures or audio files is much easier in an email. In a blog, these things can get tricky especially when one has to add links or embed videos. Typically, email servers are set up easily enough for the average joe to figure out, making Posterous extremely accessible.

Therefore, I give the Email feature of Posterous an:

A-

5 things I should probably do before I decide to formally review Posterous.com :)

1. Post more than just one picture alongside a sentence.
2. Ensure that my posterous account is successfully linked to my Facebook and Twitter to allow maximum exposure
3. Try and post using my phone email instead of the computer
4. Attempt to find at least ONE other person I know in the world that has one of these accounts and communicate with them via Posterous
5. Be sure I understand whether this is a writing TOOL or a writing SPACE

:)

posterous, buzz, delicious, oh my!

While I once considered myself an internet guru, English 105 and Dr. Gabor's list of "writing spaces" we should try out certainly gave me a ran for my money. After clicking on every tab she offered and giving up on quite a few, I decided that the website posterous.com was for me. While it is similar to a blog, it is much easier to manage in terms of accessibility. I enjoyed playing around with the sight because it was a challenge for me to fully grasp while it still has aspects that I enjoy, such as being able to write freely. With that said, as far as I can see so far, I do consider this site a writing space. It gives users a chance to email in their thoughts, stories, pictures, quotes, lyrics, etc. at any given moment and share them with the cyber world. Any site that I don't need to be at a computer for and can email from my phone is right up my alley. Never did I think the internet would get more user friendly and of course, I was wrong.