Tag: social networking

Technology

Online living

Trevor Flanagan - WriterLeave a comment

For a while now I’ve been toying with the idea of mapping out the landscape of the on-line world I live in i.e. if you look at the ever growing technological world around you and the continuing influences on our lives, I seem to have identities or linkages to a plethora of systems across the world. I’d started this mapping exercise to make sense of some of the linkages I had and to ensure that I hadn’t created any infinite data loops whereby I post something in one location which is replicated in form to another, then another and then back to where I started causing the whole process to repeat … though I must admit that part of me (my mischievous side) thought it might be quite fun to see how bad it could get 😉

The following is a map of some of the core systems I use today and whilst it does not cover all of my world (both inside work and around my life) it shows just how these things start to snowball out of control if you let them. It also helped me start to think about ‘how’ I wanted to use the systems I use today, some of which aren’t shown here as it enabled me to see the whole picture in terms of ‘Entry Points’ for data, ‘Data Replication’, ‘Readership’ and ‘Ease of Use’. When I have more time I’ll map this out further and may even shrink it to a handful of services which become key to my ‘Online Living’:

Online Living

As you can see by this view, it would be easy for the technology around us to become so invasive that it does indeed become ‘Our World’ and I have no doubt that with further enhancements over the coming years it will become even more so. In fact if you follow Moores Law we’ll be knee deep in this ‘Stuff’ before you know it 😀

In the meantime, I will head out into the sunshine and escape from this ‘Online Living’ … at least for a little while!!

General Chat

Blogs

Trevor Flanagan - Writer1 Comment

More and more people I know (friends, colleagues and ex-colleagues) are creating Blogs with very interesting views, business ideas or simply thought provoking commentary on life in general. Here are just a few (some are more obvious than others) …

Graham Chastney: http://grahamchastney.com/
Lisa Whittaker: http://lisa-whittaker.com/
Ray Whittaker (2): http://raywhittaker.wordpress.com/
Chris Rodgers: http://ilevelphoto.wordpress.com/
Pete Callis (and John Hazell): http://blog.mailasail.com/fai.tira
Stu Downes: http://www.sdownes.co.uk/

I’ll try to add more here as and when I come across them.

General Chat

Social Networking, Long lost friends and Emigration

Trevor Flanagan - WriterLeave a comment

Over the last year or so I’ve managed to get back in touch with numerous friends, colleagues and relatives I’d lost touch with … Some of which I haven’t seen in nearly 30 years – All of this through the ever expanding social network services the internet provides.

It’s interesting to note how far and wide people have spread yet they’re only a mouse click or phone call away … some as close as across county borders in the UK whilst some are as far away as the US, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Canada. Even now other friends are planning moves away from the UK and I must admit the draw to do likewise is getting stronger. With that said, it’s also interesting to note that a number of people have remained in and around their original hometowns … even I didn’t move away from Loughborough until I was in my thirties!!

For those that emigrate, is it the draw of an exciting new life, employment, sunnier climates, following other family & friends or simply looking for the greener grass? Who’s to say? Everyone has their different ideal lifestyles or work/life requirements which may differ from year to year as situations change. The same can be asked of those who stay in and around their original place of birth. Is it a comfort factor? Is it to remain within a strong localised family group? Is it the location of the most suitable work/employer?

Would I emigrate? Probably … given half the chance, however, there are numerous factors which must be taken into account … Schooling for the kids, Employment, Heart-string strains from moving beyond a short walk or car drive to see family, uncertainty of what awaits and even then … Where to? There’re loads of places I’ve seen on TV/Etc but until you’ve visited a place you can’t really get a good feel for the nuances and even then it is a peripheral view at best. I have travelled to numerous places around the world with my job but emigration is a family decision so wouldn’t want to dictate location/direction without the whole family deciding. You can’t visit everywhere in the world before deciding as you’d be still travelling when it’s your time to pop your clogs. I’m always interested to know why people who have taken the emigration plunge chose their particular location and would welcome further thoughts or insights.

 

© Trevor Flanagan

General Chat

Update (2009)

Trevor Flanagan - WriterLeave a comment

Well, a number of things have changed …

While I’ve been sorting out my next stage of career (which is now settled as I begin with Wipro Technologies on 16th November), I’ve also been trying to align my social network links into some sort of order which 1) align with each other, 2) have active links if available (which are currently being tested) and 3) have been subsidised by additional services such as Flickr, Digg and Google Reader.

I’ve also been altering the look and feel of this site to ensure I’m happy with content and presentation though I don’t think I’m there yet.