Social Networking - try it before you slate it

Beth wrote:
So i don’t get the whole thrill of Myspace and Facebook….I guess I don’t personally feel the need to be more interconnected with the world, especially in such a non-personal way. Anyway, a good friend just moved away and keeps begging me to join Facebook so we can “keep in touch more easily”. So these are my questions….
#1 what is the big excitement with Facebook and Myspace anyway?
#2 am i justified in just thinking he is a lazy loser and if he can’t just pick up the phone why bother keeping in touch?

Sigh. No offence, but I think those who just dismiss social networking without at least exploring it are lazy losers…

People think it's not cool, like it's some kind of internet dating saddo thing to do. (PS I think internet dating’s stigma is greatly reduced anyway.) Just not true — there are so many different types of people on there, and so many things you can be on there for other than dating. And it's not just a popularity contest. Don't be a snob about it until you've tried it.

So here are some reasons MySpace and Facebook aren’t totally saddo…

Sharing lots of photos easily (I mean really easily!) without having to pay for hosting or know anything about websites. You can also share videos and blog your thoughts, again without having technical knowledge or signing up to different sites for different things.

Creating a profile for your career, for friends to see or just for fun without having to know anything about HTML — you just need basic internet skills. It's a plus that you will also learn more, and easily, if you so wish.

Fun and time-wasting. Yeah, there are a lot of truly bored people out there. Plus, we all need a break from the grindstone sometimes. At least a bit of networking is more productive than online gambling, gaming or porn…(I have nothing against porn ;-)

Gossip! My mate is pregnant and instead of emailing a few who'd tell another few, and I might hear about it a month later, everyone knows via Facebook and they've got lots of support from friends etc.

Casual contact. How many people can you afford the time and money to call every day/week? On Facebook you can just send a quick chatty heads up (or throw a sheep) to remind them you are thinking of them. I don't feel the need to be inter connected either, but it's nice when you do want it.

Who says it's non-personal? A mate might send me a 'gift' which is part of a private joke, and let me tell you you can get pretty personal on the comments sections or messaging! It's lovely to feel that someone is thinking of you even while you are interacting with work/internet stuff.

Friends Reunited. I've found old schoolmates and friends I don't really keep in touch that much but I like to see what they're up to now and again.

Career. It can be part of your portfolio, and here I include social media like Digg. I've found potential clients via Facebook, writing comps/mags/blogs to submit things to which will help my writing, freelancing and career. It doesn't all have to be fun and games, it really is what you make of it — that's the real beauty.

Connection. Single mothers stuck at home with little adult interaction, those who work from home, people off sick long-term, people on the other side of the world who can't spend hours on the internet updating loved ones. It's an easy way to reach out and feel part of things, plus you get to choose the things.

Social life. My fave bars invite me to events, so I don't need to wade through the non-applicable listings in the local rag. Mates arrange soirees in super-quick time. Someone hot might even get in touch (or at least you can laugh at the losers). If I lose a phone number (or my phone and all of them, as a mate did recently) or email address I can find it fast, or appeal for people to send them to me!


I'm going on (I do ;-). But why ask someone else what the appeal of MySpaz or Facebonk are — why not just check it out for a month or so? You can always abandon it or delete yourself — there are plenty of negatives to go with the positives (bacn, anyone?). Just don't annoy the thousands (probably millions, I don't know) of users of these kind of sites by asking what the point is in that slightly superior way.

famous anyway

Well, I haven't wanted to update for a couple of days because I wanted to leave the post that Drift mag linked to on top ;-). It seems my little brother is not the sole reader of my ramblings! (Aside: how I would love to write for Drift.)

Small clean surfing lunchtimes all week, lovely. Had a nice session at Whoopsadasies (no, not its real name) and one yesterday at Fistral which was rather frustrating. But the water's still warm and God, how I love autumn.

Saved a hedgehog from certain squashing as well, so I think my karma bank is looking good. It needs to, everything else is a bit shabbby…(violins).

big brother is watching me

Um. What part of outdoor-living, ocean-addicted, book-loving, non-tv-watching, slightly misanthropic (mwah) and rather shy did she not get from my website?!

From: "Sarah " <@endemoluk.com>
Date: 18 October 2007 12:42:04 BDT
To:
Subject: Big Brother
Hi,
I am working on Big Brother 9 and we are due to start our audition tour later this month. I discovered your website and wondered if Big Brother is something you might be interested in? [carries on for a while]
Best wishes
Sarah
Endemol UK

Blog Action Day

This is my new USB pen drive (in wristband form) coming out of its packaging. It's the small blue thing in the middle of the second pic. How much packaging needed???? I've recycled all of it but the plastic, but seriously - not necessary.

long long right

Had a great surf at Fistral, three foot or so, pretty clean. One long left and one stuuuuupidly long right - very happy. Wish didn't have to get out to go back to work!! Not seen waves of any size since I broke my schnozz, good to get back into it. Long sleep and back out there tomorrow. Sorry Ali, wedding makeup lesson is off…

Radio Star

Anyone who knows me knows I hate, hate, hate talking on the phone, and that I'm quite shy. I used to be unable to walk into a shop to buy something because then I'd have to speak to the person on the till... I've made some leaps since then but I'll always avoid the spotlight. So having to do a phone interview on BBC Radio talking about surfing wasn't high on my list of must-dos this week, but I'm kind of stoked I stepped up to the challenge. I think I did okay. I don't know really, because I can't bear to listen to it again. However, some sliver of pride made me AudioHijack it, and if you want a good laugh, have a listen. (Also, I didn't want to be outdone by little sister in the exposure stakes - see the float. Ahem. I think I was outdone. I've never seen such exposure!)

(There's no video, just audio - this is just the only way we could figure out how to compress the audio without faffing!)

I think I need a surf lesson

One of the shots from the Surf's Up Surf School calendar, Nude Dudes. What a fucking brilliant idea.

long long lunch breaks

Saw one guy at Fistral this evening who eptomised good surfing for me - everything done with casual intent. No wasted movements, perfect timing, grace and reading the wave and going with it, not trying to force anything. That's really good surfing. Nothing flashy, though that's great to watch as well. Just flow, and confidence. I was too far away, but I bet he was hot. ;-)

Had myself a 2-1/2 hour lunchbreak. Should have pushed myself into more size, but bay was nice, clean, sunny, peaky even and I had lots of 2ft rides, so leave the challenge for another day, I'm happy. I'm fit enough to have a go sometime this weekend. Whoopsadasies tomorrow…

Surf on the way

Furk. I hope I can cope with the first decent waves I've seen since I got a kicking in France last summer!!

marshmallows and folded felt

or, water, clouds and light at sunset

A way, always there is one.

My little brother doesn't allow comments on his (password protected) blog. Spoilsport. However, insults must find a way, and like water finds a way, it is always downhill…

My Little Sister - Burlesque Dancer

I'm very proud.

popeth ya iawn

Yes, a much better surf! It was just a bad session…

I seem to always know when an outside set is coming. I get a feeling, before anyone else. It always makes me think of Layne Beachley; I'm not sure why. I must have read something about her reading of the ocean, and it should be good the length of time she's been surfing. I think I read it pretty well. Sometimes I'm too far out for said outside set. In bigger waves, that's a good thing, because the outside sets so often seem to close out, and hard, because they're not hitting the banks the same as the regular sized waves.

Got up about 7.30am (despite disturbed night) quite nervous it'd be big, but it was the same as last night really, 2 maybe 3ft on sets. Clean as a whistle though, lovely. More cloud cover but some light peeping through. There were about 6 on north already, more scattered at south so I kept Golf Terrace as my reference point and had a smaller peak to myself for half an hour. Then in they crept…but by then it was MY peak thank you very much and it didn't get all that crowded anyway.

One wave I was just going along and thought, if I go for speed will it just bog. Then I realised I can trust this board, I really can, and went for it and it flies. It's so fucking responsive it's ridiculous.

So I got lots of waves, one or two to make me smile and say yes, that's it! I think I was tired and stressed more than I thought yesterday…Arms hurt now, tired again, think I'll have a nap while the house is quiet. I can surf, and I got loads and surfed them as well as I could. My fitness is an issue, definitely. I'm too tempted to take ones that are perfect when I've only just had one and am in no state to paddle for another! It'll come in time. As the nights get darker I'l swim instead of surf, plus trampet and yoga and good healthy food.

The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Odd style but quite readable once I got used to it. I know there's supposed to be all this subtext etc. but really all I want is a good story and that side of it was okay. Kind of an odd one. Crap ending, all over the place. What's with the frame story? How did most of this get past an editor? And I hate pages of italics, it's unreadable. 5/10.

2ft clean; nothing

Driving off for a camping and surfing weekend, drive shaft broke, all day spent waiting for tow trucks etc. Joy.

Ben said surf had picked up so I swapped the 6'4" for the S4 and went down about 6. Surfed until dark and caught…jack shit. Absolutely nothing. Just one of those sessions. I wasn't settled or calm or relaxed at all, and the more I missed the more I got upset. Quite quickly I sort of said well, it's one of those sessions, so fuck it, I'll enjoy the autumn light (so amazing in Cornwall and Wales) and see if I get one, and if not, not. But I never get NONE these days! Most sessions I'm one a set at least.

The boys out there were a little offputting. I paddled wide of the middle peak to have some space (north was totally stupid) but still, too many boys who think snaking you and going deeper is okay. I'm not ever intimidated by that shit - so you're better than I am? Not by fucking much you're not, and I'm still entitled to waves. But of course, if they see you're not catching any, they think they can go for ones you're obviously in the spot and going for. Not blaming them like at C------, but boy it's annoying to have them all over you (ha, I wish eh). Also my fitness precludes me from paddling around like a grom to go for every hump. Also yes, it does annoy me to look like a kook who's just bought a shithot board to look good. I can surf! Honest!

The water was amazing, silk and clean and just the right temperature. I'll get up early tomorrow to try to avoid the hassle and just get the focus right, chill with it…

I Hate Longboards and Hasslers

[warning: HUGE rant and lots of CAPS]

I went surfing with Laura and Josh (but lost them didn't see them once) Abs (who didn't like the crowd and size) and Kirsty (who I lost after a bit). We went C------ to try to avoid the crowds. I think it was a little less crowded than Fistral but FUCK ME the vibe was horrible.

The most beautiful evening and an absolutely stunning sunset. Gorgeous, perfect for me (unfit as I am) three foot waves, lefts and rights, plenty of peaks, quite clean. Love love love C------ walls.

HATE HATE HATE longboarder wave hogs and rude surfers. The problem with C------ is that it's no quiet spot like when I first came down with the boys - every fucker's onto it, and the real nub of it is that they're all competent surfers up to rippers. Now, I don't go in either corner ever, because it's a given you have to hassle if you want to sit on the best peak. BUT I do NOT expect to be snaked, run over, bailed in front of (fucking logs) and watch people be assholes to each other. I heard about aggro and I saw it myself. Boys, get a fucking LIFE.

By the time I got out, three okay waves under my belt (courtesy of the best board there ever was, nothing to do with me) I was proper angry. Longboarders were just taking every wave they could from the outside, meaning the rest had to pick off the leftovers, and they were hassling like mad. I ended up having to surf like I don't like (paddling for a wave in the hope someone will miss it, thus putting them off, or ditto by sitting too close to them etc.) just to get a few shitty ones. You don't need to go for every sodding wave boys!!

I have surfed D-bah with TWICE the amount of people all of a better standard than me and caught more waves, because people know how to surf a crowd and still be polite and actually ENJOY their surfing, not just be cocks and end up missing out on essential elements of surfing — waves shared, traded, watched, learned from, sunsets etc. I bet half those boys didn't even notice the sun throwing a blaze behind the dunes and headland.

COCKS.

This weekend don't call me, I'll be out of signal range looking for a FUN place to surf.


'Breaking out'

Also, it's banned books week:
To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be either fools or slaves. - Claude-Adrien Helvetius, 1715 - 1771

Some of my favourites (like Deenie), were banned. Silly idea.

late evening

Surfed yesterday with the girls, which chilled me out even though I only got one wave really. Surf wasn't great and it's getting dark really quickly. As the photos show, today it's picked up but it's quite messy. I'll be happy to go in after work. Surf on the way for the weekend but I've family stuff I'm glad to be doing.

We have a new housemate, Ben, another Saffa surfer. Still a houseful of surfers, good!

another morning

morning

I Hate Swell Boards

Nice small lunchtime surf. You know, I think I might just be super unfit not actually ill. Mind you, I always think that until I have a bad day/week.

Rob, David and Joe and me on North peak; they were on swellys but I can't paddle the damn things — I really can't. There should be girly swell boards made, not quite so bastarding wide. They are my whole armspan, leaving only my wrists and hands over the side. I swapped with Joe for a bit but caught nothing.

Anyway it wasn't as clean as yesterday evening and it was a tad smaller, but I caught four or so that were okay. Do love the S4! And it was great to get out of the office and have some fun in the sun. Some days I feel like I was born to just surf.

dominican republic??

Got to leave at 5 last night, good one. I was so fucking tired, but it was clean 2ft so I had to!

My new suit is AMAZING warm, really fits well. Didn't get cramp or feel cold at all. Should get at least another month out of it!

The board is also amazing, I love it. The waves were so small, but as soon as I was up it was off, it's just so much faster than the other one. It loves to turn. You pull it towards you with the leash and it skips up then sideways ready to be grabbed - not like a thruster does, so that must be the 4 fins.

Surfed loads of lefts on the middle peak. Stayed away from north with the logs and shredders, way too many people. Had a few pretty good ones as well. I can surf okay, but Christ my fitness…I'd take a wave, paddle back (it takes about 2 minutes) then be unable to take a wave for another minutes. Usually on a small swell I'd get 2 waves in a set. Oh dear. Wish inhalers were waterproof. Got really tired after an hour - used to surf for three in much bigger waves.

There's a possibility that I could be sent to the Dominican Republic as writer for a SurfGirl trip!!! I have to research it. It'll be the youngsters, which is okay but not ideal. But I would not complain. Oh no.

My Dad is ill, so prayers and the best wave go to him :-(