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| Blogging's Next Wave | | By Gareth Branwyn for Screenager Central |
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It's difficult for even the most dialed-in person to stay on top of all the trends popping up online. Chat rooms used to be where it was at ('til the weirdos moved in). Next it was Instant Messaging (now a daily desktop staple). Then The Sims Online was all the rage (but the relentless posing and shameless flirting can get tiresome). The latest form of instant communication and self-expression is phonecam blogging. Phonewho what!? Hold on, we'll explain. |
Last year, weblogging ("blogging" for short) took off big-time. Blogging is simply the using of special Web publishing software to create easily updated Web pages built in a journal-like, or logbook, style (with the name of the person posting, date, time, etc. attached to each posted item). The blog format is now used on everything from professional news and information sites, to online "personal" journal pages and gossipy free-for-alls (think: slow-moving chat room). Blogs are so popular because they're easy to set up and maintain, and many blog hosting sites are free of charge.
Blogs have always had the ability to include images in posted stories, but the introduction of mobile blogging (from a cell phone or wireless computer) and the recent popularity of cameras built into phones, has given birth to the new phonecam blogging craze. This type of blogging has an immediacy and intimacy not found in other types of do-it-yourself online media. You can combine images and words in a way that's very powerful. When the big blackout of 2003 hit, bloggers in NYC began to publish phonecam blogs of their person-on-the-street experiences. The power may have gone out, but the city's phonecams still had some juice in their batteries!
Once phonecam blog entries are posted, viewers of the blog can add comments to the images and text, making it sort of like a global, interactive scrapbook. Developers are now also working on the ability to attach movies and audio files to blogs, which will make it a truly multimedia form of communication.
If you want to create your own phonecam blog, here's what to do:
- The first thing you need is a cell phone with a phone built into it (or available as an add-on accessory). The choices in these camera phones get more varied by the month, and the cost of services are rapidly dropping. Contact your mobile phone service provider and ask them what phones and rates are available. Also, if you have an existing cell phone, it may be able to accept a camera add-on. Ask your provider about that. Probably the most popular cameras in the phonecam community right now are the Sanyo 5300 and 8100, and one of the popular services (that works with these phones) is the Sprint Free and Clear service with Vision Pack. Starting at $50/month, it offers unlimited picture mailing, Web access, text messaging, and more. Other providers, such as T-Mobile and Verizon, offer their own phonecams and service plans. TextAmerica has a page of up-to-date reviews of camera-equipped phones you might want to check out.
- Once you have a phone, you need a place to load your images and text. There are many sites that will host a weblog for free, but currently, only a few make it easy to upload text and images from a phone or other wireless device. With these services, all you have to do is send the image and text like you would an email message and they are automatically posted to your blog. One of the more popular sites is TextAmerica. It allows anyone to set up a mobile weblog, free of charge. The site also contains how-to information, phonecam reviews, and other useful information. If you'd like to see an example of a phonecam blog done by a teen, check out Daily Chaos: My Life Through the Lens of My Sanyo 5300.
- Last but not least, you'll need some decent camera skills and something to write about and visually document. For camera instruction, search on "photography" on ehow for tons of how-to tips. Obviously, the subject matter is totally up to you, but you'll get more attention and traffic if you do something unique and interesting. There are tons of personal journal sites out there, so many, in fact, that they all seem to blend together. Choose something unique and interesting about your life, your family, your school, etc. to focus on. Do you come from a really big family? That might be interesting to people. Is your town teeny-tiny small? That's different. Are you a twin or a triplet? People might find that fascinating. It's having a peek into an unusual slice of life that will hold the site visitor's attention.
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Phonecam blogging may be the digital flavor of the month, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a taste. The entire webbed world is moving off of your desktop and into phones and other on-the-go gadgets -- and more and more media tools are coming to these gadgets. There are even handhelds now that send and receive video. It won't be long before each of us is a walking Webcaster, our own reality TV show. Why not get in on the ground floor with your own phonecam blog?
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