Reading Ramble

I haven’t read anything in three years.  

Yeah, that “what I’m reading now” claim in my Amazon widget is a half-truth.  Actually, it’s more like a third- or fourth-truth.  I’m sure Making the Blue Plate Special is a great book.  At least I’ve imagined so for the past three years.  I finally read the first chapter in the waiting room of my obstetrician back in May or June.  And, yes, I gave it the obligatory toss into my bag each of the 35 times I went back during my pregnancy– only I ditched it for the quickie magazine read every time.  I’m a fairly intelligent girl, well-educated, well-versed with the world and sufficiently socially-aware (even though I’ve never actually seen an entire episode of Grey’s Anatomy.)  And yet, I’m willing to admit it…  I haven’t read anything in three years.

That’s not entirely true.  I’ve read other chapters here and there, the occasional article, quite a few websites, not to mention the 6000 times I’ve read Make Way for Ducklings and Harry the Dirty Dog.  But, those don’t count–I guess because I wasn’t reading in the curl up with it, “I love to read,” lose yourself, “I’m really enjoying this” sense.  I suppose I was reading out of wanting to want to read.  But, I just couldn’t muster it up.  It started when I got pregnant with my first child, and Drummer Boy, Squiggle Man and Baby Girl later, I got out of the habit and decided it was ok.

And it was.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about reading again and actually getting excited about it–hence, this reading ramble.  I think nursing Baby Girl has been the catalyst for my renewed reading interest.  With the desire to stay awake during our 2 or 3 or 4am feedings, there are only so many election debate or NLCS replays I can stomach without losing my mind.  Reading seems like a worthy alternative.

I’ve run this cycle several times in my life.  Maybe I got burned out with my current reading interest.  Maybe the pursuit of school studies or bible studies choked out the desire for frivolous words.  Maybe I just found other more important ways to occupy my “free” moments, like my pleasantly time-consuming bundles of joy.  I guess I’ve never really bought into the “make time for Mommy” mantra.  But, then, my family path gave me 35 years to make time for me before my children came along.  Then, I was so totally enamored by them, that Mommy time just seemed like a waste of time.  Regardless, over the years, reading and I have had a fairweather relationship.

As a child, I was an avid reader.  Not a voracious reader, grabbing up anything and everything I could get my hands on.  But, an avid one.  There’s a subtle difference.  I had a few chosen reading mainstays that I devoted myself to over and over again:  Little Women, the Little House on the Prairie series, anything Beverly Cleary (i.e. Beezus and Ramona.)  I immersed myself in those books so often that I can clearly remember walking down the hallway in my 4th grade elementary school wondering where Laura and Mary Ingalls were.  I threw in a love of biographies and several other series that required more than a few reminders from my Mother to turn out the light.  Oddly, I’ve always had a penchant for reading the same books over and over again.

Since I started EyeJunkie I’ve been curious about online reading opportunities.  I’ve explored news sites, public opinion, entertainment, other blogs and those curiosities you find in a largely unedited medium.  (My tiny disclaimer:  Oh be careful little eyes what you see)  I’ve even landed on a few “favorite” blogs that I read regularly, if for no other reason than to keep up with the thoughts of friends I admire.  I have to admit, however, that I really don’t consider it reading.  There’s something about seeing the words backlit and framed by logos and enticements to find your old high school classmates that pulls the “reading for pleasure” right out of the equation.  I love the internet because you can find at least a surface level of information on just about anything, generally for free.  Since I’m an information junkie, that’s quite intriguing.  But, it just screams “I’m temporary.  Speed through this and move on.” Reading on the computer doesn’t offer the same pull to sit down and take time to enjoy that an old-fashioned book does.  (Did I just refer to books as “old-fashioned”?)

There is something special about actually holding the book and turning the pages.  It fulfills my need for some tactile interaction with what I’m reading that can’t be satisfied with a wireless mouse.  Wrangling with the book jacket, slitting the occasional uncut page, bending the paperback spine — these experiences let me know I’m reading a BOOK, not the result of bytes reconfigured at the end of a cable somewhere.  The click of the bookmark button in my browser doesn’t compare to fiddling with my own placeholder while scanning the page–be it the cross-stitched version I made as a child with turtles and a green/white dotted border, my  photo of the boys at Squiggle Man’s birthday party, Maggie’s appointment card for her 8-week check-up, or the receipt from the library letting me know my return date.  

Within the realm of real BOOKS, my favorite vehicle for reading pleasure is the public library!  It sends a little flutter in my heart just thinking about it.  I love libraries in that nerdy sort of horn-rimmed glasses way that shatters any possibility of coolness.  

I don’t know if it is the discipline of sharing, the thrill of leafing where others in my community have leafed, or simply the lack of funds, but I love library books.  The faint musty smell of volumes squeezed in between movable wire brackets.  The library stamp on page 43 (at least that’s where my library stamps it.)  The smudged page that makes you wonder uneasily, “what is that?”  The corner crease marking some other reader’s stopping point.  The faint pencil correction of a publisher’s rare spelling error.  The serendipity of the new book shelf.  The realization that mine aren’t the first hands to turn these pages.  I love it all.  

In the days of signing circulation cards, you could judge your reading choice by those who checked out a book before you.  You could even remind yourself of whether you had read a particular book before.  The advent of politically correct privacy issues caused a switch to anonymous library card numbers on circulation cards in our library.  Now, the computer system eliminates any evidence of the one who read it last.  But, still I wonder and share a comradery with the patrons who got to this one first.

I have a long, loving history with public libraries.  

I remember Summer Reading Programs at the Tombigbee Regional Library where you could set a reading goal for the summer and earn rewards by completing it.  I knew right where the Mary Poppins books were, under J T for P.L. Travers and the Pippi Longstocking books, under J L for Astrid Lindgren.  I could find all the available biographies about Abraham Lincoln or Martha Washington, and I enjoyed the fun of the program’s occasional puppet show.  Later, I was privileged to be among the first to see many of the new books purchased by that library.  I worked in the office during my high school senior year creating their card catalog cards–author, title and subject cards filed in the main card catalog and a shelf list card filed in the library’s administrative master catalog.  Those cards are a forgotten library moment in this age of online cataloging.

I remember choosing The Bell Jar from the West Point High School Library because it’s cover was the most brilliant purple and the name was interesting.  I had no idea the book was a semi-autobiographical account of Sylvia Plath’s troubled mental state, nor of the author’s controversial feminist stance and experiences with questionable psychotherapy techniques.

In college, I worked at the university library branch in the School of Architecture.  It inspired me to pursue that degree for several years until I determined my talents were better focused in two dimensions.  There, I read countless issues of Architectural Digest and gained an introduction to Le Corbusier, the Ecole des Beaux Arts, and Faye Jones.

My on-again, off-again relationship with the Starkville Public Library has mirrored the stages of my adult life, and my choice of reading obsessions has mirrored the stages of my mind.  I even worked there one summer and made giant animal footprints to go on the Children’s Room ceiling for their Summer Reading Program.  So, with a renewed desire for reading just because, we got reacquainted again last Friday.  

My choices:

3 movies for my boys — The Great Muppet Caper, Bob the Builder We Can Build It, Flo the Lyin’ Fly

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell by Lilian Jackson Braun — a new installment (new to me, at least) in a familiar mystery series

OutFoxed by Rita Mae Brown — I think I may have started this one before

Murder in the Museum by Simon Brett — haven’t read this author, but it looked interesting

When I brought my selections home, I got to tell Little Drummer Boy that Mommy had borrowed some new movies for Friday Movie Night.  After I explained the concept of borrowing and that although we would have to take them back to the library, we could borrow more, he was pumped up for Miss Piggie and the whole concept. 

“Will I be able to go to the library?”

Yep, I birthed that boy!

Day Job: Determining Website Navigation

In my day job, I advise website development clients extensively about site content navigation.  The way a website’s information is organized and labeled is crucial in ensuring it’s success.  I’ve observed two main perspective shifts that can help clients achieve a more effective linking structure.

1.  Shift:  Internal perspective to User perspective
Many clients organize their content based on how their company or sales process is organized.  But, because web visitors don’t necessarily understand how a client’s organization works, a linking structure based on that perspective can make finding information difficult.  A good content structure starts with stepping into the user’s perspective.

2.  Shift:  Linear approach to Scavenging approach 
In short, good navigation much relinquish control over the user’s experience.  Unlike a user’s experience of a brochure which has a limited flow of options, websites have a multitude of paths for experiencing the information.  Through the realities of search engines, this includes the possibility of users entering the experience from virtually any page on the site.  Content structure must accommodate the scavenging nature of  online users who click from point to point based on their need for information, which may have little or no relation to how a client would logically organize content.

These shifts can put clients in the right mindset to establish a working navigation structure that will serve the needs of a variety of users.  My article for eHow on determining navigational structure offers more helpful hints.  Click and comment!

How to Determine a Website’s Navigation Structure

Day Job: Choosing a Website Host

In talking with clients in my day job about website development, I’ve found that many don’t know where to begin to find a website host.  It can be difficult to know how to even evaluate hosting companies.  However, you want your relationship with your host to be long-term and hassle-free.  Here’s my eHow article with some tips for making the best choice!

How to Choose a Website Host

Eight Weeks

Today marks the eight week anniversary of my very first post at EyeJunkie.com.  Congratulations to me! The whole premise of my site has been that the act of “paying attention” is an investment of my time, my thoughts, and my self — commodities that have precious little to spare with the growing “loves” of my life.  I want to make sure that I get the highest return for my investment.  So, my indoctrination into the Citizen Media corp has me thinking about Blogging and my part in it.  After evaluating my experience over the last two months, I have settled on a few personal “rules”for blogging.

EyeJunkie proves its value if it helps me:

Think.
I don’t want to blog to get people to read.  It’s more honest, more transparent, more successful when I write from what I think, not from what I think others want to read — no matter how disjointed my thoughts might seem in the tag and category lists.

Earn.
Not money, but readers.  I don’t want to blog to make money.  I don’t object to generating a little extra income if that happens, but I don’t want EyeJunkie to become about meeting a financial need.  That would compromise what I can write.  See “Think.”  I want to earn readers the old fashioned way — by meaningful communication.  I recognize that time is a scarce commodity for most people just like it is for me.  I want the time fellow bloggers and readers choose to spend on EyeJunkie to be worth it.

Enjoy.
Not that writing always has to be fun.  Sometimes things just need to be said, but the process of composing or even the theme might be troublesome.  But, I don’t want EyeJunkie to become an obligation — post every day, get my blog rating up, get more diggs, etc.  Creativity won’t thrive as an obligation.

Say.
Having something to say is a good thing.  It means I’ve formed an opinion.  I’m engaged in what I experience.  By saying it, I have the opportunity to influence — even if it’s just one person.  But, isn’t person to person influence the most powerful?  Mass communication influences, to be sure, but usually on a more surface and temporary level.  The influence of one individual to another individual can be more life-reaching.

Understand.
Blogging helps me clarify my own thoughts.  I gain a better understanding of myself and my own opinions when I strive to translate what’s in my mind in such a way that another reader will understand it.

Create.
EyeJunkie allows me an outlet for expressing creativity.  In a hectic period of change, my life needs a reminder to create and a vehicle to encourage the expression of that creativity.  Although I want to maintain the freedom to write and post whatever I think without any arbitrary constraints, I also sometimes need that little bit of boundary so that creativity can really flourish.  Posting categories I’ve established for myself like ABCs and CultureSpeak or WordPictures and EyeCandy give me just enough of a requirement to force my creative hand.

Believe.
I have determined to use my blog as an outlet for sharing thoughts about my faith in Jesus.  My goal is not to “preach,” but to share my own efforts to open up the Scripture in my own life — to give it meaning for me beyond tradition or legalism.  I’ve found that writing the posts and articulating the Bible applications has actually boosted my faith, and increased my hope. 

See.
Participation in the global Citizen Media corp offers unique opportunities to “know” people and perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise encounter.  Granted, I may only “know” someone from their avatar and a 300 character description.  But, insights, experiences, photos, and even links shared are a window into another’s real life — even if it’s a life lived on the other side of the world.

Shut Down.
An unexpected byproduct of my blogging experience so far is that it has, at times, encouraged me to shut down the computer and close the desk.  For all the great friendships that are available in the cyber scene, none should distract me from the glorious gifts I have in my own home — and the blessings of my other face to face relationships.  When I write about mommy experiences in Gift Tags or use my own family examples in Verse Views, I am reminded how precious time is with them.  As rewarding as blogging is, the fact remains.  Profile to profile experiences are really fueled by face to face experiences.  So, sometimes the computer just begs to be shut down.

I’m glad I started this adventure, and I hope you find some inspiration in it as well.

“Citizen Media”

Cultural Context:  The term used to describe media content or forms produced by private citizens who are not professional journalists.  One of those forms of content is the weblog.  A Global Voices Citizen Media Summit was recently held in Budapest, Hungary highlighting issues related to citizen blogging.  Global Voices is a non-profit advocacy group that seeks to highlight significant conversations arising from existing worldwide citizen media, facilitate new citizen media outlets and foster global freedom of expression.

My first exposure to the term was reading an article last week about the Summit that wrapped up in Budapest on June 28.  I’d never heard it phrased that way (although, I’m a little behind — it even has a Wikipedia entry!) and I was shocked to realize that I am actually a member of the Citizen Media trend that has been growing across the globe.  Who knew?

An article about a document produced by Global Voices’ Rising Voices initiative called An Introduction to Citizen Media highlights the phenomenon:

“Everyday citizens across the world are increasingly using blogs, podcasts, online video, and digital photography to engage in an unmediated conversation which transcends borders, cultures, and differing languages.”

This phenomena of media has been greatly spurred by technology and the growth of the internet.  The unique perspectives and grass roots access to newsworthy situations or disaster-ridden areas provided by Citizen Media have found their place even in professional media outlets in the form of IReports, UReports, etc.

I’ll admit.  I once thought of blogging as a waste of time, or self-absorption or even arrogance  — until I decided to try it.  Now, through my own short experience in the Citizen Media corp, I have seen for myself the various perspectives of those I never would have had the opportunity to read or share my writings with.  Even a simple, uneventful account of the daily life of another broadens my world in a way that CNN never could.

Today marks the eight-week anniversary of my first post on EyeJunkie.com.  As I’ve been thinking about and evaluating my experience so far, I have prepared another post that contains some of my own personal “rules” for blogging.  But, knowing the chorus of global voices that are joining me, the pursuit is somehow larger than it was before.

Day Job: SEO

The infamous Search Engine Optimization — a continual elusive pursuit for some!  Here’s my eHow article with tips for preliminary do-it-yourself SEO.  Click and comment!

How to Add SEO Techniques to Your Website

Advertising Curiosity

Because I work at an advertising agency, I’m always interested in advertising/design issues, opportunities and curiosities that present themselves in media.  As I was looking at the LA Times website this morning, one such curiosity made its presence known: boxes labeled throughout the site as “Google Advertising.”  I assume these links are part of the ever elusive Google AdWords program. 

The task of understanding and managing campaigns with Google AdWords  is daunting in my limited experience.  However, I see Google ads EVERYWHERE.  They are literally all over the internet in both business and personal websites. The lure of getting paid puts Google ads on lots of blog sites just like this one.

Probably the most curious aspect of Google advertising is how the content specific ads are selected.  I’m sure there is some complicated algorithm that governs the selections, explaining why it completely eludes me.  But, as I noticed some of the actual ad postings in my wandering through latimes.com, I have to wonder…

Is Google the great tally sheet for bottom-lining a web page’s content?

Is Google the great filtering system where dust-laden extra words are trapped, allowing only the essential to heat and cool the visitor?

Is Google the great pot in which content is boiled down to it’s essence?

Scary.

I have to hope and believe that my carefully turned phrases are more than the sum of their content network impressions.  At least, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.  Regardless, I saw some interesting (and maybe telling) content matched ads at LAT:

• On the Entertainment page –
  Plastic surgery, stomach fat and anti-aging abound.  Hmmm…
  The most interesting were “Plastic Surgery in Mexico” (is that advisable?) and “10 Rules for Stomach Fat” (fatloss4idiots.com, no less).
  Just a note — That one for fatloss4idiots.com is everywhere.  Apparently no matter what news stories you’re interested in, you can always benefit from dropping 9 lbs every 11 days.
   
• With an article about Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open – 
  The most notable was “Tortured Philly Fan Shirt.”  In case that golf thing doesn’t work out. The website says it all: drunkenbleachers.com
   
• On the World page – 
  Again with the ads about plastic surgery, tummy tucks and the infamous “10 Rules for Stomach Fat.”  Is the whole world really looking for a nip and a tuck?
   
• On the Environment page – 
  “Forensic Science School” offers “plenty of good deals on a variety of products.”  I don’t even want to know.  Also, right behind the opportunity to “Run your car on water,” you can get another “10 Rules for Stomach Fat.”  I guess that’s for literally reducing your carbon footprint.
   
• With an article about Leiberman endorsing McCain – 
  We have “Fortunes from the Web,” “TV ads Win Elections,” and my favorites, “Work at Home and Love It” and “Retire Early.”  So, just what is Google trying to say about McCain’s chances?

Interesting Articles from “Thinkers”

I recently joined a posting group on BlogCatalog called My Life Thinking.  It offers posts from all kinds of different perspectives.  Check out this post on the moderator’s blog with links to some of the current favorites.  I posted my Human Writes article to the discussion.

Also, check out the moderator’s post on the “Gaza Holocaust” and the website link.  I need to look and think through the site a little.  I’m not very familiar with the Palestinian perspective. But, it’s powerful, and I know God is grieved by this situation.
Disclaimer:  The Gaza site has some very disturbing images.  Squeamish beware.