Do you have a wireless scanner?  Do you like it?

Anyway, one day, I happened upon a little message board. I was fairly new to really getting into the internet. Social media marketing, social networking … and heck even blogging were fairly new concepts. People who hadn’t used the internet for more than e-mail or chatting (or looking up the news), suddenly discovered this whole new world. I too became enthralled with that new world. It was like a storm that hit strong. Little virtual communities seemed to pop up everywhere after that (or I was more aware of it).

It never ceases to amaze how fast things evolve and change in technology. I recognize that the internet five years from now will not be the same as we know it now.

So with technology moving along faster, does that mean that we (as a society) will evolve faster? What do you think about the future of technology?

I chatted my way from 1998 to 2001.  In that time, the internet grew and new programming languages began to emerge.  Websites started to become a bit more complex and functional.  The idea of connecting with individuals on a global level evolved from chatrooms to forums — better known as message board communities.

Within the last two years social networks emerged.  I’m sure most of you are familiar with Facebook, Myspace and all of the other various social networks.  Everyone I know has a social network now.  The good thing about these networks is that it gives you a chance to find people who are interested in the same thing as you.  The downside is that the debate is still out as to whether the internet should be considered IRL (or In Real Life).

Love ‘em or hate ‘em social networks are here to stay and with the way things usually go in the web world, will transform and evolve into something else.

So what do you do if you have searched through all of the social networks of the world and still feel that you have come up short in finding a community that fits your needs?  Well, you start your own of course!

Here is my comparable list of the finest free options to having your own social network:

1.  Ning.

Ning is a feature-rich social networking platform that is offered for free.  This is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in creating your own social network without having to worry about all of the programming involved.  The administration panel is easy to use and the drag and drop features to create your layout is very user-friendly.  This application comes ready with out-of-the-box templates which are easy to modify to fit your needs.  You can also upload your own header graphics and brand your community.

However, if you want to control the advertising, point to your own domain name or upgrade your bandwidth and diskspace, it will cost you a monthly fee.

2.  KickApps.

KickApps is similar to Ning, however, with KickApps you can customize and create unique widgets that help drive your social network.  KickApps also comes complete with a site styler.  You can use this WYSIWYG editor to create your design and truthfully, it’s never been easier to do so!

3.  CrowdVine.

CrowdVine allows you to create your own basic social network but one without all of the bells and whistles.  You can help design your own, but only get basic tools to do so. The basic package is free but if you want anything additional, you will have to pay for it.

…..

So there it is folks.  My top 3 list of free social network applications.

So the t.v. was listed for $1400. Wow. We don’t have that kind of cash laying around though I suppose he’ll want to dip into our tax refund money to pay for it. I’m okay with that as long as the important stuff gets taken care of first. Truth be told, i’ll be glad when we finally buy an HD tv. Then I wont have to hear about it anymore or receive endless hints in chats, e-mails, dinner conversation, or pauses between commericals. LOL

He has however, decided that he wants to buy a new tv stand to go with it. One that mounts it to the wall without actually ruining the wall.

Do you have a high definition television? How does it look when gaming? I hear the visual experience is much better, especially for current and next gen consoles.

In your opinion, what makes a good blog theme?  What would you be willing to pay for a good blog theme?  How often would you change up your theme?

However, after watching G4 T.V. last Sunday, husb and I came across a game that looked like it could be fun for the whole family! It’s called “Little Big Planet”.

In this game, you can create the main character and make a “sackboy” or a “sackgirl” tailored to how you want it to look! You can add any emotion you want to your little sack person! You can even create your own levels!

It’s a fun game because it is sort of an updated version of a throwback of the old Super Mario. However, this game has absolutely no violence and there is no princess to rescue this time. Your little sack person basically travels along through these levels collecting various items. The laws of physics are applied and so when you think that something should fall or bend a certain way, it does! It also makes good use of the axis controls (meaning you can make your little guy nod, dance, etc.).

If you are looking for a good non-violent video game that has excellent graphics and a great interface and something that the whole family will enjoy, check out “Little Big Planet”!

Her blog: Scribble Scratch Her design site: So Chic Design

First of all, she is one of the only designers that I have seen who offers up cute freebie blog designs. The designs are not only simply delicious to view, they are also FREE. Take it from me, it is so very hard to find a culpable girly-ish blog design without endless hours of Google search.

Second, she has a very good “eye” for color and graphic design. Her own blog “Scribble Scratch”, shows that by the ever-so-cute blog headings coupled with enticing color and appealing design!

This is what makes her…. one of the web designers I admire!

When I am designing my latest blog template, because of good system memory I am able to run such programs as adobe photoshop and a text editor and firefox and my SFTP program all at the same time!

So now, our running joke is that when I mention him on my blog, it will always be about him doing stupid things with the technology-driven items in our house. Like perhaps tonight I told him I would write a story about him trying to plug our iPod into an airport card or our microwave! HA!

Anyway, i’m clearing his name here. He’s really handy and knows way more about networking and cables and computer hardware stuff than I know. So there. Maybe he’ll read this tomorrow and i’ll get some brownie points!

I was in 5th grade at the time when I tried to *hack* into the computer. In doing so, I found all kinds of helpful DOS command lines. However, it was back in the day when a dos command line didn’t get you anywhere as intranet, internet and networking were just being developed. The most you could do was tap into those computer files. I admit that at the 5th grade level I more or less played around with it. I even remember erasing a game disk with a magnet accidentally. Just as curiosity kills the cat, I think I got in trouble for that one. *giggle*