My night photographs

Posted on April 27, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

I do enjoy shooting a camera. It’s my favorite hobby right now. And, since I really don’t even have time for one hobby, it’s really my only hobby.

Lately, most of my camera time happens at night for several of reasons: (1) I have three children, and it’s pretty hard to get away to shoot the camera until everyone is put to bed for the night; (2) I really enjoy the solitude (see No.1); (3) I love the colors and unique look that the long night exposures yield.

Below are some of the fruits of my labors. Most of them were taken recently, but the image of the purplish building was done a while back (in Fertile, Minn.) I’m still learning but hope you enjoy. Click on an image for a larger view…

And one more…

 

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PHOTOS INSIDE – Yay!!!! The Forum is getting its sign back!

Posted on March 28, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

The Forom’s cool building-top sign is going up today. Here are some pics of it on the ground. It’s up top as I write this.

Click on an image for a larger view.

 

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The fastest, easiest directions on how to start a new blog EVER!!!

Posted on March 26, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

To start a blog:

  1. Browse to http://areavoices.com/start;
  2. Fill in the info on that page;
  3. Click on the link in the email you receive from Areavoices to activate your account;
  4. Feel proud that you are now a blogger.

Want a little more detail? Check out this Start your blog PDF.

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Concern about Pinterest terms of service and change in those terms

Posted on March 24, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

I read a Scientific American blog post this morning expressing concern over the terms of use on Pinterest’s site. The article, titled “Pinterest’s Terms of Service, Word by Terrifying Word,” expressed  concern about a particular passage that, in part, gave Pinterest the right to sell (among other things) what you post on their site, and it also expressed concerns with other parts of this section.

Author Kalliopi Monoyios writes, “Now before you get all antsy-pantsy and tell me that I’m a bitter old artist who hates the internet and just ‘doesn’t get it,’ let me be the first (tenth? thousandth?) person to say that Pinterest has great potential. There is value in having your work picked up and promoted by thousands of adoring internet fans. But as a creative, Pinterest’s terms of service don’t mirror the intentions of users who pin out of a desire to support creatives they have ‘discovered.’”

In light of those concerns, it was interesting that I got the email below from Pinterest this morning. Among the updates outlined in the email was the following: “Our original Terms stated that by posting content to Pinterest you grant Pinterest the right for to sell your content. Selling content was never our intention and we removed this from our updated Terms.”

Here’s the full text of the email

Updated Terms of Service

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been working on an update to our Terms. When we first launched Pinterest, we used a standard set of Terms. We think that the updatedTerms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and Privacy Policy are easier to understand and better reflect the direction our company is headed in the future. We’d encourage you to read these changes in their entirety, but we thought there were a few changes worth noting.

  • Our original Terms stated that by posting content to Pinterest you grant Pinterest the right for to sell your content. Selling content was never our intention and we removed this from our updated Terms.
  • We updated our Acceptable Use Policy and we will not allow pins that explicitly encourage self-harm or self-abuse.
  • We released simpler tools for anyone to report alleged copyright or trademark infringements.
  • Finally, we added language that will pave the way for new features such as a Pinterest API and Private Pinboards.

We think these changes are important and we encourage you to review the new documents here. These terms will go into effect for all users on April 6, 2012.

Like everything at Pinterest, these updates are a work in progress that we will continue to improve upon. We’re working hard to make Pinterest the best place for you to find inspiration from people who share your interest. We’ve gotten a lot of help from our community as we’ve crafted these Terms.

Thanks!

Ben & the Pinterest Team

 

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WATCH NOW: Look out piggies! New ‘Angry Birds’ game available for download

Posted on March 22, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

The latest release in the popular (and very addictive) “Angry Birds” game franchise is available for download on mobile devices.

“The new version brings several important changes, most importantly gravity, which will allow players to use nearby planets to perform trick shots on unsuspecting pigs,” according to Mashable.com, a news site dedicated to covering digital culture, social media and technology. (Read the Mashable story.)

Basically “Angry Birds” is a simple trajectory game in which the user tries to destroy egg-stealing pigs by launching birds via slingshot at them and the structure in/on which they’re are housed.

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‘Faces of Our Community’ – Multimedia profile of farmer Brent Rust

Posted on March 18, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

Here’s a look at an old profile I’m particularly proud of. I did the photos, collected the audio and edited it. Hope you enjoy. Here it is…

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Some photographs I took in Duluth, in TR National Park and near Gary, Minn.

Posted on February 4, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

Sure, I’m The Forum’s community content coordinator. But that doesn’t mean that all I think about is blogging (the fact that I’m blogging right now notwithstanding). When I get the time (and, with three kiddos, it’s not frequently) I enjoy playing with my camera. Here are some of my photos. Click on an image to see a full-size version.

Here’s an older entry where I shared a few photos.

Now, be kind to me, I’m not a pro. If you want to see a real photographer, check out Mitch Highman’s blog.

 

 

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I Auto-Tuned my 3-year-old singing “Jesus Loves Me”

Posted on January 19, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

I have my first real smartphone (I’ve had a couple of Palms, but they were never hooked to data so they don’t count). So you know I gots to get me some apps. One of my favorites is “Tune Me.”

This is Will at 2 years old (I think). He's 3 now. Cute, ain't he?

It Auto-Tunes anything that you sing into it so that it sounds like T-Pain music — all electronicy and whatnot. Actually it doesn’t really “Auto-Tune” your voice because Auto-Tune is a particular brand of audio pitch processor, but this sounds like it.

Here’s a clip of my 3-year-old singing “Jesus Loves Me” as processed by “Tune Me.” It’s adorable … and kinda hip (sorta like Will, himself): Will – Jesus Loves Me

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A little shameless self-promotion: Here’s some of what you (or your organization) can gain by being on Areavoices

Posted on January 14, 2012 by J. Shane Mercer

A little truth in advertising disclaimer thingy: I’m sort of the Areavoices blog guy at The Forum (the daily newspaper in Fargo for those of you unfamiliar with us) so part of what I do is try to encourage and nurture that community. As far as I’m concerned, the more bloggers, the better. So, with the fine print out of the way, here are some thoughts on what you or your organization can gain from blogging on Areavoices. I’ll try to keep this quick.

  • Before we get to the benefits, here’s a little info on what Areavoices is? Areavocies is a blog platform (with some social media functions) where individuals and groups can write about the  topics, causes, events, etc. that interest them.  Areavoices is part of the Forum Communications Company, a communications network in the upper Midwest comprised of more than 30 newspapers as well as broadcast outlets (and some other stuff).
  • Benefit #1 – Areavoices blogs can be featured on FCC websites: Any of

    Here's where featured blogs appear on The Forum's website when a new post is created.

    the numerous properties can feature those Areavoices blogs that they think would be interesting to their audiences. That includes some pretty big media players in the upper Midwest (like The Forum, The Grand Forks Herald, The Duluth News-Tribune, WDAY-TV) as well as numerous smaller media outlets. If a FCC website features you blog, each time you create a new post, a link to it will appear on the website homepage.

  • Benefit #2 – You could make it into print: At The Forum, we regularly use blog content

    This is a piece used in print that was taken from the Concordia College blog on Areavoices.

    from Areavoices in the printed paper. Could be your stuff. In fact, there are some blogs that we run on a regular basis. When we do print something from the blogs, we also include the web address of the blog with the printed piece.

  • Benefit #3 – Links from the homepage: Along with having your blog featured in the “Areavoices” section of our homepage, we also sometimes take interesting Areavoices posts and feature them more prominently on our website — sometimes even in our scrolling “featured content” section at the top of the page. That can mean a lot more traffic.
  • Benefit #4 – Promotion on Twitter: If you mention @areavoices when you Tweet about a blog post, we often reTweet those to our followers.
  • Benefit #5 – Local help: If you’re having trouble with your blog or if you’re just feeling a bit anxious about how to get started, you can call my desk number at 70-451-5734, email me or email tech support. You can also Tweet to or email Tracy Briggs, the company-wide Areavoices person.
  • Benefit #6 – Tracy’s list: Tracy Briggs regularly sends out a digest of new and/or interesting blogs on Areavoices. This digest goes to the entire FCC company, and she’s always on the lookout for stuff to include on that email. Once you’ve set up a blog and done a little work on it, let me or Tracy know and you’ve got a good chance of making the mail-out.

By now, you probably can’t wait to start your blog. You can get going here. Or you can email me with questions.

 

 

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Looking for quick ways to get exposure for your blog?

Posted on December 6, 2011 by J. Shane Mercer

For those who don't know me, here's a picture of me and my family.

Hey all. I’m Shane Mercer, the community content coordinator for The Forum newspaper in Fargo. That means I’m sorta the Areavoices blog guy around here. I try to keep an eye on the blogs to see if there’s stuff there that we might want to feature on our website or run in the paper.

So I’ve sorta got the inside track on how this whole blogging game works. Here are a few tips on how to get some more exposure for your blog:

  • Tweet – If you’re a Twitter user, feel free to mention @areavoices in your Tweets. I often reTweet links to our Areavoices bloggers’ posts.
  • Strong, descriptive headlines – Don’t tell anyone this little secret, but I don’t read every single blog. It’s true. Often, I’m just looking at a list of icons and blog post headlines. So make those few words count by telling me what the post is about or somehow grabbing my attention. Before I’ll feature it on our website, it has to grab my attention enough for me to read it. Plus, a good headline is likely to grab other readers’ attention as well.
  • Facebook – “Like” us on the Areavoices Facebook page and post a note about your blog there. (Once you’ve posted it, you’ll probably need to email me so I can “unhide” it.)
  • Pitch it! – I don’t mind a sales pitch. It’s fine to email me (smercer@forumcomm.com) and say something like, “Hey, Shane. I just blogged about five ways to grow tasty tomatoes, and I thought you might be interested.” I may feature it, or I may not, but it sure improves the odds that I will if I know about it.

Hope that helps. You can always email me if you have blog-related question or if you want to start a new blog. Happy to help.

Have a great day!

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