Behind Glass Walls

I wish IE (and others) would support Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). I really do. And here’s why – it’s just so damn cool. Ever since I saw an SVG image for the first time, and later found Inkscape (an SVG vector drawing program), I just don’t get why SVG hasn’t been eagerly taken up. What could be cooler than an image that has all the benefits of vector graphics, is represented in xml, yet can be treated just like an image?

What does this have to do with Enterprise 2.0? Not a whole lot. If SVG was widespread, it would mean we’d see the end of horribly distorted or pixellated images. We wouldn’t have to deal with patent issues or image compression or codec issues – it’s just text! Any old compression format will do fine. An interesting result of this is that SVG is very well suited to mobile devices.

I’m not sure of how easy it is to edit SVG files, but since it describes vector images and is just modifying text, at least you know you won’t lose data as you manipulate it, whereas dealing with bitmap images can often mean loss of information. Not to mention that all it takes to animate SVG images is JavaScript or SMIL. It can do some really neat things, all in a browser. Without any plugins (for the modern browsers, anyway).

SVG seems to be gaining some traction, and it’s about time.

Blogging to me is not something that’s done to simply see how many people you can get commenting or visiting.  Although, it is also much more satisfying when people find your content interesting enough to comment and visit regularly. My view on blogging is that  it needs to be something related to your own interests, and it should be something for yourself. A record of sorts. An online journal, if that comparision hasn’t been done to death. If other find it interesting, all the better, but that is not the main goal. Of course, this is my view, I know there are as many reasons and methods of blogging as there are bloggers.

So, that’s my view, how about what the web has to say about guides to blogging?

Lifehack has a guide for newbies. The main points from here are:

• keeping posts short,
• accommodating skimmers,
• figure out a way to keep up the blogging,
• and promote yourself and your site through links and comments on other blogs or forums

The purpose of a blog could be anything. You could comment on the politico-economic environment, post funny pictures, record productivity and tech tips,  or let your clients know what your company is up to. The possibilities are limited only by server up-time, you time, and the time it takes to think up things to say.

There are some issues with blogging.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation has some tips on how to blog anonymously, if your topic requires it. The main point is to be extremely wary of any identifying information. Even if you don’t mind your identity associated with your blog, there are some things that should never be done. Like publishing your email address, for example.

In future posts I’m going to discuss other forms of blogging – namely how companies are approaching it (embracing it more and more everyday), and the mixture of blogging, Instant Messaging and SMS – yep, Twitter.