idleformat

Thanks again for your comments on this. You've...

2012-04-06T20:44:46.689+01:00

Thanks again for your comments on this. You've made me think seriously about opening up my photos for others to use via Creative Commons - as you've been doing yourself for a while now. As well as providing an incentive for me to tidy up my tagging and descriptions I imagine the resulting closer stake in the site will help to extend my membership for the foreseeable future. To be honest I don't really know what the Getty thing is about but I will be sure to look into that too.

I think a follow-up post on Flickr will soon be due...

Thanks for your views and inspiration.

Wow, thanks man! As somebody who commands the gre...

2012-04-06T20:31:51.672+01:00

Wow, thanks man!

As somebody who commands the greatest admiration and respect from me that comment makes this whole blogging endeavour worth it.

Really appreciate a comment like that.

A fair point indeed. Having said all the above, ...

2012-04-05T22:03:36.366+01:00

A fair point indeed.

Having said all the above, let it not be suggested that I'm just a slavish follower of something I happen to subscribe to. You should be able to export the lot from your profile, metacontent an' all, if you decide to leave.

Opened yourself up for the Getty licensing thing? Not that I've had stuff selected for it, but it does seem like another option for making your stuff live on outside of your profile.

You do the same thing for long enough...eventually...

2012-04-05T21:58:32.325+01:00

You do the same thing for long enough...eventually it comes back into fashion!

Glad you've kept doing this thing anyway mate. The person that originally got me into blogging!

Thanks for your excellent comments. Entirely agree...

2012-04-03T14:27:42.823+01:00

Thanks for your excellent comments. Entirely agree on most points - perhaps I didn't make it completely obvious that I remain a fan of Flickr. I just totally resent losing my own content if I cease subscribing.

While your Flickr content does indeed live on & is generously available for others to use, this is entirely dependent on you continuing to subscribe each year. I don't agree with this. $25 is peanuts admittedly, but at the very least I would suggest Flickr allow all photos licensed for others to use (such as yours) remain available to all should you decide to stop subscribing.

10 reasons why I'm sticking with Flickr...

2012-04-02T22:20:07.552+01:00

10 reasons why I'm sticking with Flickr

1) It does one thing - help you to organise your photos online - and it does that very well. Sometimes that dedicated focus is very useful in a service.

2) It has a clean and simple interface. Admittedly it hasn't changed how it looks much since it launched, but all it needs to be is skin on a lightbox - there's no need for anything else to distract you from the actual photos that are already there.

3) I already use it. Like many others online, I get easily distracted by the latest shiny new thing and it's part of this connected life to be transient in one's relationships. However, Flickr's been good to me over the years and the more content you've got, the more of a pain in the ass it is to move anyway.

4) Some online business models are worth supporting. I wouldn't ever pay to get behind Murdoch's paywall, even though I occasionally read some of his content, and I never pay for music any more because there's so much good free stuff out there that artists choose to give away. However, I also accept that an internet where nothing is ever paid for makes for a long-term challenge in sustainability. I like having a space where ads aren't served at me, even if I have to pay $25 a year to pay for the privilege.

5) Google has enough of my data already. Even if it's not trying to be evil, there's no reason to just let it become an absolute monopoly. The Internet needs diversity, or it'll end up like the desktop ecosphere of the 90's.

6) My content lives on and feeds the gift economy by being available under Creative Commons licences. It's fascinating sometimes to see where it ends up (steampunkwallpaper.com indeed!)

7) I'm in good company. If I slunk away from that space, I'd be leaving the company of millions of highly talented others - my Pro account continues to give me gravitas in that community, even when I'm not communicating with it.

8) So I don't really do much in Groups or interact much with others - would I really be more likely to do so in another space, in the long term.

9) There's an army of third party stuff that has sprung up around integrating with Flickr. Do I really want to have to redo all of that stuff as well?

10) Flickr sets frame a collections of pictures very well. I don't want my photos to look just like another Google Image Search.

Yup, brand new. Totally unworn so far! Cheers for...

2012-04-02T18:11:28.072+01:00

Yup, brand new. Totally unworn so far!

Cheers for the tip re: Crooked Tongues.

Here's hoping PFs become a lot easier to find this side of the Atlantic in the near future. What with all the cool backpacks I keep finding online that are only available in the States it's more than a pretty grim time to be in the UK right now...!

Great choice - I have the exact same pair! They...

2012-04-02T17:04:26.843+01:00

Great choice - I have the exact same pair! They're my second pair of PF Flyers. I bought the first on purely aesthetic grounds - they were grey canvas with tan leather strips across the toe and at the heel and were the comfiest sneakers I've ever worn. I still wear them though they really should be retiring soon. But the ones you've pictured are pretty perfect too - enjoy!
PS. I get mine from Crooked Tongues - they always have new models and great sales on previous seasons.
:) Kellee x

Heheh! I think the training required for that woul...

2012-03-30T14:46:12.865+01:00

Heheh! I think the training required for that would require a rematch in about 2020 - by which time 100m on one of your bikes would probably finish me off for good ;)

Great to have you guys there though & hope to see you next year.

excellent write up of a race, and more importantly...

2012-03-30T11:47:56.029+01:00

excellent write up of a race, and more importantly the after effects.

I think you and Tim should set a rematch for 2013 best of 3 over 500m to make it really interesting..

plent of time to train :-)

Thanks Rowan - hope you find something you like!

2012-03-16T16:40:48.293Z

Thanks Rowan - hope you find something you like!

Great post. I've been too busy to do much musi...

2012-03-16T13:54:07.585Z

Great post. I've been too busy to do much music exploration lately, so will check these out.

Yes, everything went very strange and eerie for a ...

2012-01-25T10:06:50.912Z

Yes, everything went very strange and eerie for a while. Then after a few minutes the sun had disappeared.

That really is an insane sunset - very, very cool!...

2012-01-23T22:18:54.818Z

That really is an insane sunset - very, very cool!

Hi, thanks for your comment. Sadly, I no longer h...

2012-01-09T11:53:58.774Z

Hi, thanks for your comment.

Sadly, I no longer have the image and wouldn't remember what book it came from. However, I have located a - rather small - version of it online here (7th photo down): http://www.econ.uiuc.edu/~koenker/arkhiv.html

Good luck with the booklet - if you remember, please let me know when it is published. Regards.

Hi Do you still have the copy of the image of Ben ...

2012-01-09T00:04:48.429Z

Hi
Do you still have the copy of the image of Ben Tillett you mention on your blog page? If you could send me an e-copy I'd be interested in seeing it as I'm currently writing a booklet on Tillett's life.
PS I was involved in helping with research on the mural at Stapleton Road station.

Thanks Kellee - bit of iPhone post-production invo...

2011-12-17T20:04:46.789Z

Thanks Kellee - bit of iPhone post-production involved there.

Apologies for taking so long in publishing your comment - I always used to get an email telling me a comment needed moderating but that doesn't seem to happen any more & you can tell by the number of recent posts that I'm not a regular on Blogger.

Sorry 'bout that!

Love the cranes photo, beautiful colours/silhouett...

2011-12-08T12:27:19.768Z

Love the cranes photo, beautiful colours/silhouette-age.

K x

Sorry for the delay in publishing your comment mat...

2011-11-01T18:53:45.279Z

Sorry for the delay in publishing your comment mate - usually get sent an email but it didn't happen in this instance...

I have an idea or two for a guest post - I'll hit you with it when I see you (hopefully very soon).

That's great news mate - thrilled to hear it! ...

2011-09-25T12:01:52.618+01:00

That's great news mate - thrilled to hear it!

Now, about that guest post...

So you are keen on getting audience! I've come...

2011-02-25T17:56:33.896Z

So you are keen on getting audience! I've come to the realisation that the only way to get more people to know that I blog is to engage more in places where there are other communities of interest.

Facebook's useful as a pocket address book, but it doesn't really do depth in the same way that blogging can. Personally, I've always enjoyed what you write. Given that there's close to 2 billion people online these days, I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of others that will be just as interested as me. It's just a case of letting them know about you.

Saying that, marketing was why authors used to need publishers and musicians record companies. But it doesn't quite work like that these days and 'building community' round a blog is kind of different from marketing a book anyway.

Good point! Perhaps it's worth carrying on fo...

2011-02-25T15:10:49.955Z

Good point!

Perhaps it's worth carrying on for the time being... just in case something interesting happens!

Just wished more people I knew blogged. I think the continuing domination and ease-of-use of Facebook will put paid to that though...

Would you be interested to read the thoughts of yo...

2011-02-25T12:21:25.592Z

Would you be interested to read the thoughts of your grandfather/great-grandfather? Would it tell you something about yourself and where you come from, but also teach you something about the times that he lived through? Would it be able answer questions about why things were as they were in your family?

Imagine a URL that would span the build-up to the Second World War, what your family thought about it all as they lived through it and its aftermath, the interactions between friends and family about key moments in it. We're leaving behind moments from the first Digital Revolution for whoever in the future wants to learn about these dramatic times.

I think they'd be very interested to read it!

Having thought about it, what makes me think my ch...

2011-02-25T09:51:09.474Z

Having thought about it, what makes me think my children or grandchildren will be interested in this?!

A fair point, and I sometimes think the same way t...

2011-02-25T08:21:09.564Z

A fair point, and I sometimes think the same way too. Tried to write a little more in it when last in Japan, but got too distracted. It's funny, diary writing was always such a solitary activity and I find it hard to get that sense of isolation these days.

The trade-off of not being able to release so many secret thoughts onto the pages is having a far more dynamic document that is accessible to more than just some distant, as-yet-unborn grandchild.

Ironic really, that in these times of 'there is no privacy any more, get over it', one can actually be more private (but keeping certain thoughts locked in a cranium rather than releasing them anywhere). Not that there's anything too dodgy in there anyway!