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Welcome to Econnect Communication’s October 2005 newsletter –
‘Communicating
Electronically’
This theme reflects our current focus on updating our own
website. Go to
www.econnect.com.au and let us know how you think we’re
doing. We’ve almost got it up-to-date after leaving it to lapse
for about 18 months. And that’s our first tip – have a plan to
keep your website up-to-date on at least a monthly basis. We’re
going to aim to check that it’s up to date each fortnight.
We’re also opening Econnect’s newly renovated offices in a
couple of weeks (from 5pm November 11) and you’re invited to
attend (please RSVP to lynne@econnect.com.au). Kurilpa Studio is
the name of the offices, also home to Biotext and ARC 2
architects. If you can’t make the opening, make sure you come
and visit us sometime soon at 14 Horan St West End.
For those of you wondering… Kurilpa is a local Aboriginal name
for West End meaning “the place of the water rats”.
Regards,
Econnect Communication
Jenni Metcalfe, Michelle Riedlinger, Lynne Goodwin, Mary
O’Callaghan
In this issue: Communicating
electronically
Listserv
basics
Bloggers and
feeders
What ARE they
thinking about?!
Surf club
Quotation of the month
Subscribe
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Contact us
Listserv basics
By Brian Loomis
Thanks to Brian from Earthlink for these valuable tips
on subscribing to a Listserv or email list.
1. Use another address
Use a separate email address for list subscriptions e.g. one of
the free email accounts. It can be easier to browse and read if
it’s not mixed in with your work email. To switch, just
unsubscribe, and re-subscribe using the new address.
2. Learn what to post and when
Every list follows the same format, there are separate email
addresses to subscribe and unsubscribe, switch into and out of
digest mode. If you are going away for a while, unsubscribe.
Remember, YOU CREATE YOUR OWN SPAM on a list. Don't be your own
worst enemy.
3. Be courteous to others
Newbies may not be aware of procedures and etiquette. Share it
with them, OFF LIST. Think—do thousands of people need to know
you want to unsubscribe? Unlikely.
4. Respect the list administrator
List administrators and moderators are real people who are often
overworked. They have a list because they are trying to leverage
their time. Respect this. Don't bug them with inappropriate
requests. The list instructions (did you even read them?) tell
you everything you need to know. Take the time to learn how the
list works. Other people have families and busy lives too.
5. Accept responsibility
Learn to use your email application. Write your own rules and
filters to take care of your messages; don't make it someone
else's responsibility to write them for you. Organise your
emails. If you find you are getting too much mail, don't get
mad; write a mail rule to store them in their own folder. If you
never read them, unsubscribe. If you need to read something
later, go to the site and read the archives.
6. Help others out
As time passes, new lists tend to stabilise; as lists grow, more
work is needed. Gain the trust of the list admin by helping to
police the list, starting with yourself. Sustainable behaviour
extends to the internet. Wasted email, effort and time are every
bit as real as wasted tangible resources. Moderate your own
activity and reduce waste by not forwarding jokes and junk into
the list. Hydroelectric power still runs laptops and
workstations; silicone, plastics and metals still go into
computers. Respect other peoples time and they will respect
yours. Share your experiences with others and they will share
theirs.
Bloggers and feeders
By
Mary O'Callaghan
Electronic communication tools that I’m learning more about
right now are weblogs and webfeeds (or RSS feeds).
Don’t think a weblog is just for exposing your personal journal
to the world—you can publish anything you like to a weblog.
And don’t get put off by the geeky name ‘RSS feeds’. An RSS feed
is simply a way for you to get updated automatically without
having to go and check if the content on a site has changed.
Check out Amy Gahran’s excellent weblog, Contentious, at
www.contentious.com.
Gahran is a guru of electronic communication. You’ll find simple
explanations of weblogs, RSS feeds and much more. In fact, her
handout on Weblog Basics for Science Writers, which she
presented at the US National Association of Science Writers (NASW)
Conference on October 22, 2005, is available for download here:
http://contentious.com/handouts/nasw.pdf
And if you’re just curious to know more about how RSS feeds
work, check out Gahran’s article What Are Webfeeds (RSS), and
Why Should You Care? at
http://blog.contentious.com/archives/2003/10/18/what-are-webfeeds-rss-and-why-should-you-care
What ARE they thinking about?!
By Michelle Riedlinger
Want to know what
web-savvy Australians are thinking about? Go straight to
http://www.google.com/press/intl-zeitgeist.html#au
This site gives you the most popular search words put into
Google by Australians each month. For September 2005 the most
popular searches were:
1. paris hilton
2. qantas
3. runescape
4. jessica alba
5. trading post
6. hilary duff
7. ticketek
8. virgin blue
9. real estate
10. britney spears
11. australian idol
12. ipod nano
13. kate moss
14. hurricane katrina
15. charlie and the chocolate factory
Surf club
A favourite website of Mary’s:
Arts & Letters Daily
www.aldaily.com
Do not enter this site if you have an appointment looming—you
are likely to become so absorbed that you’ll miss it! What I
love about it is that I always learn something interesting and
don’t get that despondent ‘what the hell happened to the last 2
hours?’ feeling when I suddenly notice the time. Packed with
fascinating essays, articles, interviews, book reviews, covering
an incredible array of topics, the site is a treasure trove.
Imagine someone is filtering all the information on the internet
and bringing you the best bits only. If you find you’re spending
too much time there, do what I did—I got my neighbour hooked and
now he emails me all the articles that he knows I’d like to
read! My personal filter on a filter.
Quotation of the month
"The
significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level
of thinking that created them". Albert Einstein. |
