WEBSITE REVIEW: Create impressive presentations online

MOST people would find the idea of giving a presentation to a crowd of people quite daunting. Having to project enthusiasm about an idea or piece of work and be able to paint a picture with words and a few bullet points is no easy task.

One bestowed with such a frightful endeavour may recall sleepless nights playing with PowerPoint until the early hours of the morning — overdosing on caffeine and inevitably losing all apparent enthusiasm for what really is a good idea but is now more likely to come across to your audience as a pig’s breakfast. I’m so glad those days are over.

No, we need instant gratification these days. Advertisers, educators and presenters need to bring the bling and appeal to our severely diminished attention spans. This is why it’s so interesting to witness the new wave of online advertising that offers a degree of interactivity and really engage with their audience. Fortunately there is one website that allows us common folk to do just that.

Create professional looking presentations such as these

A screenshot of a TED presentation made using Prezi

Prezi

Prezi is a popular piece of presentation software and storytelling tool that allows creatives to craft colourful presentations upon a virtual canvas. Users can optimise the use of a digital whiteboard rather than using traditional slides. With Prezi one can zoom in and out of this canvas, embed images and videos, move these around, add music and sound effects to a presentation and pan and zoom between all objects. The platform allows free-form brainstorming as well as more structured presentations.

An added bonus is that Prezi does not require a lot of technical know-how to use. It is intended to be intuitive and offers easy-to-follow instructions as you go along. The software was initially developed by someone with a visual mind — Hungarian architect Adam Somlai-Fischer. Initially, Prezi was intended to be an architectural visualisation tool, but now operates under the mantra of “make sharing ideas more interesting”.

I was intrigued to see that Prezi is used by some of the top presenters over at TED. Prezi therefore offers a high level of professionalism but can also be used for school projects, work presentations or for creating birthday montages.

There are some great examples of presentations on the Prezi website which will give you a good idea of what can be created using this powerful software. Users are also able to rate and comment on other Prezis too, which may provide useful feedback for any newcomers. There is now also a Prezi Viewer application for the iPad, which allows one to create touch presentations - making your work or idea even more interactive and engaging.

Prezi Pricing

The free Prezi package allows anyone to create, showcase and share their presentations on the website as well as download them for offline use. One is afforded 100 megabytes of storage space to save presentations within the cloud. The paid-for packages start from $59 (around R400) a year and allow Prezi creatives to keep their presentations private, use their own logos, allow them to create presentations offline and get direct support from Prezi staff.

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MUSIC AND SPOTIFY: To be free or not to be free?

IT amazes me how music stores manage to survive in the information age. We are already able to stream music online from websites and radio stations, watch music videos freely on YouTube (and download these), listen to hit singles by our favourite bands via their websites and share music with others using our cellphones, iPods and iPads. The number of songs that can be stored on an iPod or MP3 player is also so high that buying a CD with between 10 and 20 tracks just seems like a disappointment.

It is also not difficult to download songs illegally online. File-sharing websites such as The Pirate Bay and programs such as LimeWire have been under scrutiny ever since their launch, but are still around and remain popular. It has even been argued that people who download music are far more likely to buy original CDs than those who don’t. Being able to familiarise ourselves with a new band or artist by listening to more than just one promotional track allows us to make a more informed choice whether or not we want to support the group by buying their original work. It also reduces the risk of being disappointed and R100-odd poorer, so the arguments go.

There is no doubt that music corporations painstakingly attempt to protect their copywrite material. Using just a few seconds of a dated song in an online video could result in a hefty fine. What often happens in the case of YouTube videos that use copywrite music is that a stern e-mail is sent to the creator stating that the video will not be pulled but that YouTube has the right to advertise alongside the video. When this happens your YouTube channel begins to look like a corporate website with big, flashy adverts unrelated to your video content.

The games industry has already realised the value of offering dated games for free online. With the proliferation of new titles, it becomes nonsensical to try to sell older games. But game companies and developers still want us playing and appreciating their previous work and familiarising ourselves with their brands. Offering older titles for free may also muster new fans and potential buyers of their newer titles. So why isn’t the same done with regards to music?

Spotify - the free music website

Spotify is one of many websites that allow users to listen to and share music freely online. Their ultimate goal is "to have all the music in the world available instantly to everyone".

Spotify is one of many websites that allow users to listen to and share music­ freely online. It hosts more than 13 million songs and it is free to share everything you listen to on Spotify through social media sites and services such as Facebook, Twitter and even YouTube. The Spotify application is available for PC, Mac, cellphones and even home audio systems. “Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it,” it says on the Spotify website.

Spotify openly admits that its goal is “to have all the music in the world available instantly to everyone”. It also admits, however, that it takes time to arrange licensing agreements with record labels, which indicates that its goal is a legit one. Unfortunately, this does mean that Spotify is not yet available in every country, including South Africa. It’s no surprise that the countries where it is available are the most liberal when it comes to freedom of information and the Internet, such as Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

What is great about websites such as Spotify is that they promote the consumer policy of “try before you buy”. Users are able to purchase songs or albums off the website, which can then be downloaded in MP3 format.

But one might ask, if it is entirely free, in theory, to listen to and share just about any song on the Internet, then what difference does it make whether the same songs are downloaded? We may wish to load up our iPod before a jog or create a music CD for our car — whatever 21st-century convenience tickles our fancy.

It seems a bit bizarre that we (or at least people in some countries) are able to consume the music of our choice to our hearts content all for free, but the minute we want to listen offline at our own convenience we have to pay for it — even if they are songs or albums that are no longer stocked in music stores.

Maybe they want us spending that time listening on their websites so they can build up a record of what we like and send promotions our way.

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HACKERSPACES: What might the public library evolve into?

GOOGLE has announced that it will be digitising a further 250 000 books from the British Library. This is in line with Google’s mission statement to “make all of the knowledge contained within the world’s books searchable online” as part of its Google Books service. Google has already scanned around 13 million books worldwide through partnerships with over 40 libraries. This recent endeavour is predicted to take the company three years to complete.

As part of this new agreement, the texts, pamphlets and periodicals that will be scanned were published between 1700 and 1870 and are out of copywrite. The digitised material will all be freely available online through Google Books as well as the British Library­’s 19th Century Books app compatible with tablet PCs such as the iPad. Readers will be able to view, copy, and share all the digitised texts for non-commercial use.

In an article published on the Guardian­ website, president of the Royal Historical Society, Professor Colin­ Jones, says: “There is no doubt that the digitisation of this unique material­ will greatly benefit the research process. Academics are increasingly using new technologies at their disposal to search for innovative ways of investigating historical material to enable us to probe new questions and find alternative patterns of investigation. Digitisation gives us the freedom to not only do this quickly and remotely, but also enhances the quality and depth of the original.”

There will always be arguments, perhaps moments of reminiscence, over the value of reading a hard-copy book made of paper versus reading an e-book using a digital device. But what will this move towards digitising published books mean for the public library­? Can anyone honestly say that they have made regular visits to their local library since their university, or even school days?

The existence of public libraries today has largely depended on community support and attendance. According to Wikipedia, the formula to get funding was simple: demonstrate the need for a public library, provide the building site, annually provide 10% of the cost of the library’s construction to support its operation, and provide free service to all. It can be argued that the need for public libraries is fast dwindling due to the ever-growing presence of the Internet. So what might replace the public library?

Hackerspaces, hackerspaces and more hackerspaces!

What has emerged, at least in the United States and Europe, are smaller scale centers for learning, funded and operated by groups of people with collective interests. Hackerspaces, Fabrication Laboratories (Fab Labs) and TechShops have been sprouting up in just about every state in the U.S. according to a blog called makezine.com

"There are hundreds of hackerspaces that have appeared, almost overnight, around the world. From my re-collection over the past decade, the ones in Europe were really appealing. Many makers were travelling around the world, and eventually word spread. Now, just about every state in the U.S. has one, and most large cities have hackerspaces.” — http://blog.makezine.com

The concept of a hackerspace sounds really appealing and seems like a productive and worthwhile civic building for any city to fund. Hackerspaces are membership-based operations that generally consist of tools, workshops, computer networks and people with common interests. Members share rent for the building(s) utilised as well as resources and information that they have accumulated.

“A hackerspace or hackspace … is a location where people with common interests, usually in computers, technology, science or digital or electronic art can meet, socialise and/or collaborate. A hackerspace can be viewed as an open community incorporating … machine­ shops, workshops and/or studios­ where hackers can come together to share resources and knowledge. Many hackerspaces participate in the use and development of free software and alternative media and can be found in infoshops or social centres.” — http://blog.makezine.com

Fab Labs and TechShops

The Fab Labs that have emerged are similar to hackerspaces. They can be thought of as small-scale workshops that create products that are generally limited to mass production.

TechShops, on the other hand, are commercial ventures that provide all the tools and equipment needed to make almost anything. They are also funded by membership but go further by offering classes and workshops and provide members with access to a library of tools and equipment, instruction, as well as a community of creative people.

The author of makezine.com Phillip Torrone, explains that TechShops are designed for everyone, regardless of their skill level. TechShops are “perfect for inventors, makers, hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers­, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up, but don’t have the tools, space or skills.”

So in considering the role that the public library can or should have in the future­, it may be useful for members on the city council to consider the value that hackerspaces, TechShops and Fab Labs have to offer in educating future and current generations. Perhaps public­ ­libraries could provide this space to fill the void as more and more books go digital.

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GOOGLE: A critical look at Google behind the screen

A wise man once said: "We should always be cautious of that which is powerful." No doubt Google has become an extremely powerful entity in our modern lives. It can be argued that it is fast becoming the gatekeeper of all of the world’s information — the new Great Library of Alexandria. Yet to be cautious of this requires reason to be so, and what better place to start than to understand how Google works.

HOW GOOGLE WORKS

Google can basically be separated into three parts – search, database and interface. To take account of all the new information and web pages that appear on the web on a daily basis, Google sends out digital robots (also called bots, spiders or crawlers). These bits of software crawl the Internet and scan new content and web pages. They assess what words, and more specifically, what keywords, are used on each page and send these to a database.

The physical part of the Internet can basically be thought of as huge, underground databases. Envision underground computers with powerful processors and lots of storage space. All the information gathered by the Google bots is brought back to these databases where it is stored. Importantly, information is only gathered from the web pages which Google sends out bots for. This excludes web pages that are not indexed by Google, are hidden from Google or require a password or some kind of authority to access.

And then we have the interface. This is essentially the Google search bar, which we are all familiar with and often take completely for granted. When we type in keywords or search phrases into the Google search bar, the Google bots search the database and bring up web pages that contain a high number of those keywords.

HOW GOOGLE BEGAN AND GREW

Google began with a small group of engineers in 1999, who became overnight billionaires after Google went public in 2004. The company now employs the keenest minds from around the world and is still growing. At one point Google devised a mathematical equation which was advertised on large billboards worldwide. Solving the equation and typing the result into the Google search bar took one to the Google jobs page.

It has to be said that Google employees with cushy jobs have it good. At the corporate Google Headquarters (Googleplex) in California, employees are allowed 20% of their working time to pursue whatever they are passionate about. There are also several stress-relieving facilities available such as gyms to volley ball courts. Employees may even get a professional massage during their lunch breaks.

The Google goldmine is in advertising. Generally the first three web pages that appear as a result of a search are sponsored links. These are usually highlighted in some way. The links that appear along the right-hand column are also sponsored links. Companies bid against one another for these spots, which has proven to be an effective and profitable system.

GOOGLE’S GOALS

Google's initial aim was to create the world’s best search engine. Its stated goal now is to host all of the world’s information. Google Search has literally expanded into space, with offerings such as Google Books, Google Maps and Google Mars just to name a few. However, there is also the phenomenon of Internet users constantly pouring in new content. The goal on Google’s part here is to organise all this information.

The Internet is now flooded with large amounts of opinion pieces as more and more people throw in their two cents. But how can a search engine be objective and rank opinion? At one point in time, a search for “the holocaust” fetched articles with titles such as “Did the Holocaust really happen?” A search for “the truth behind 9/11 ” fetched a host of conspiracy theories arguing that 9/11 was a governmental orchestrated undertaking.

With such an influx of good and bad information, it’s fair to say that Google employees have their work cut out for them. To keep things democratic, Google has started giving preference to web pages that update more frequently and are more interactive in terms of user participation and commentary. The relevance of any piece of information on the web is also largely determined by how many external web pages link or point to that information.

ISSUES OF PRIVACY

The fact that Google stores user information is not something it tries to cover up. It openly states that this information is used to help improve Google services. However, even if Google doesn’t misuse this information, there is very little preventing others from doing so. Information regarding user behaviour, such as your search habits and history for example, can and have been sold to third-party advertisers arming their spam cannons.

Whether we consider Google as a profit driven company acting under a façade or not, the question begged for, really, is whether Google (and ergo the Internet in general) will ultimately become a public enterprise or a public enterprise.

A further point of concern is the idea of Google having a monopoly over all of the world’s information. While anyone is free to create a search engine, your chances of competing with Google and being taken seriously are less than slim.

As difficult as it may be, laws of media diversity will have to find a firmer place online if we are to prevent a situation of having one world view or ideology at the expense of critical thought.

Why Google is called Google
The name “Google” originated from a misspelling of “googol”, which refers to 10100 (the number represented by a one followed by 100 zeros). Having found its way into everyday language, the verb “google” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2006, and means “to use the Google search engine to obtain information on the Internet.” — http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

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COUCHSURFING: New experiences for travelers await

WHEN the travel bug bites it can be contagious, I’ve heard people say. The thought of traveling to a foreign country can be daunting for some. However, many would agree that once you force yourself out of your comfort zone, discover new places, meet new people and have new experiences, the feeling is often one of great achievement as well as a newly acquired zest for life. I’ve heard the same thing said by people in their 50s and 60s.

A well-traveled Canadian once said to me, “Galen, there are two things in this world that you should never pass up: learning something new and traveling experiences.” How right he was. The two seem to go hand in hand.

Websites and services such as Skype and Facebook have made traveling to faraway countries far less daunting than times past. These allow us to stay connected to family and friends wherever we may be in the world.

The cost of travel, however, is a reasonable argument for us not traversing across more of our planet. They haven’t yet invented a commercial airplane that can fly on air or cheap biofuel — at least not one that we’re allowed to use yet. There’s also the cost of accommodation to consider, which seems to be higher according to higher levels of comfort.
Enter CouchSurfing.

What is CouchSurfing?

CouchSurfing is simple. People volunteer to host a traveler from another country for an agreed-upon amount of time and travelers get free accommodation and the chance to meet and engage with local life. Couchsurfing.org has become an international, non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries worldwide. Millions have used CouchSurfing for cultural exchanges and to help them along their travels.

The response from travelers and locals alike has been hugely positive and there is a library of positive testimonials and experiences on the CouchSurfing website. It continues to show massive growth since its inception in 2004, with over three million successful couch-surfing or hosting experiences recorded to date.

“Our mission as an organisation is to create inspiring experiences: cross-cultural encounters that are fun, engaging, and illuminating. CouchSurfing’s initial focus was on hosting and ‘surfing’ [staying with a local as a guest in their home]. We have a vision of a world where everyone can explore and create meaningful connections with the people and places they encounter. Each CouchSurfing experience shared by our members brings us closer to that vision.” — www.couchsurfing.org

How does CouchSurfing work?

Couchsurfing.org offers step-by-step instructions for getting started as a either a surfer or a CouchSurfing host. It basically uses profiles, by which each member is required to create and share as much information about themselves as possible. Many CouchSurfers tend to meet one another and offer to act as references. Reviews or comments are encouraged, which helps hosts and surfers shortlist their choices.

The service is free to use by both parties. However, upon signing up I discovered that they do ask for an initial donation of $3,24. It states that this is used to send you a postcard to verify your address. Apart from this there don’t seem to be any costs. They have even banned any commercial activity on the website and anyone who charges a CouchSurfer to stay is removed from the directory.

The benefit for those who offer to host travelers is often simply meeting and sharing experiences with interesting people. “Hosts have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world without leaving home. We also give more people the chance to become travelers, because surfing lowers the financial cost of exploration.”

If an enticing CouchSurfing profile isn’t enough to get you picked, users can also contact their local ambassadors, several of which have become CouchSurfing members. Couchsurfing.org offers an index of ambassadors worldwide. It also encourages users to become active members by meeting as many CouchSurfers as possible and building up contacts and references.

Is CouchSurfing safe?

CouchSurfing appeals to those rare human traits we all possess but so seldom exercise: self-education and trust. It’s fair to say that CouchSurfing should be used at your own discretion, and it is up to anyone who participates in CouchSurfing to help protect themselves and each other by educating themselves and sharing information about other people’s interests and perspectives. You can see who other members’ friends are and how they know them, and you have the ability to correspond with them as much as you want before you meet them. As an extra precaution, CouchSurfing.org offers a safety page for more information about the different types of information systems that help you make educated decisions while using CouchSurfing.

• Visit www.couchsurfing.org if you would like to join this global phenomenon or if you would like to host a traveler from another country.

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KICKSTARTER: Obtaining project funding via social media

DO you ever get tired of being served coffee that is too piping hot to drink? Or leaving a cup of Joe to cool only to find that it’s gone Luke warm by the time you drink it? Well, soon unsatisfactory coffee drinking will be a thing of the past with the release of Coffee Joulies on the American market this week.

The idea of creating stainless steel heat-retaining coffee beans that keep your hot beverage at the right temperature for longer was brewed up by two young design engineers both named Dave. Like many budding entrepreneurs, Dave and Dave needed a way to fund the manufacturing of their product and turned to the Internet and social­ media to achieve this.

Kickstarter.com is one of many websites that allows people to post ideas freely and appeal to the online public to pledge small amounts of money towards their project. Creatives are given a set amount of time to raise the funds they need and offer certain rewards to people, depending on the amounts they pledge.

The Coffee Joulies project, for example, was looking for $9 500 (roughly R66 500) to fund the manufacturing and distribution of their product. Amounts that could be pledged ranged from $40 to $500 or more. Returns on investment included being sent free samples of the product once made, getting a unique Joulies mug with “I backed Joulies on Kickstarter” printed on it, or even being sent a Coffee Shop Pack for entrepreneurs who want to sell Joulies themselves.

The Coffee Joulies example is one of many that illustrates the power of the web and social media to kick-start business ideas into existence. The two-man team managed to raise $306 944 (about R2 148 000) and has over 4 800 backers. Project creators also keep 100% ownership and control over their work.

Kickstarter homepage

Kickstarter.com is one of many websites that allows people to post business ideas freely online and appeal to the online public to pledge small amounts of money towards their project (image: www.kickstarter.com).

The only criterion for Kickstarters is that projects must reach their funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. This is done to protect all parties involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.

Other successful projects include documentary film ideas, iPhone add-ons or accessories, a magnetic vertical garden kit and video game development. Many of these have far exceeded the amounts needed and are over 100% funded. Pledging continues until their initial time frames end. I was also pleased to see a few South African projects on Kickstarter that have surpassed their funding goals.

The creative market for ideas

Websites such as Kickstarter bring to mind other online platforms that also operate within the creative market for ideas. Idea Bounty is one example whereby large corporates post a brief for something they want — such as ideas­ for an advert. Users or creatives are then invited to submit their ideas for that brief. A sizeable bounty is offered­ by the client beforehand which is bestowed upon the person who submits the best idea.

While platforms such Idea Bounty sound all good and dandy, it just goes to show the value of a good, creative idea. This particular website has been known to offer bounties as high as $10 000 (about R70 000), but it’s a no- brainer that the returns on implementing such ideas most likely far exceed what was paid for them.

This comparison makes one feel far more approving of entrepreneurial, self-starting marketing platforms such as Kickstarter. The look and feel and user-friendliness of the website also make it that much more inviting. But you don’t have to take my word for it. If you have a great idea or want to launch a book or make a film and need funding, Kickstarter would be a very good place to start.

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