How do we differenciate between the two? Everytime I hear the word addict or addiction, I immediately think of some sort of substance abuse. I personally have never been addicted to narcotics or alcohol compared to the average Joe.

...

Evolution of the Blogger – Part 2

So you’ve been a Closet Blogger for months and have reached a point where you pluck the courage to create your own blog.

The question you should ask yourself is ‘why am I creating a blog’. You should create one for the right reasons. Do you want to share your point of view with the rest of the blogging community? Do you want to fill it with those cute ‘copy + paste’ emails that you receive daily? Do you want to create a blog because you think you have a stab of winning that weekly cash prize that’s being going on for months – you’ve seen many people do it and then ‘disappear’ after winning?

Or maybe you’re from Generation X and want to be part of the hype that is blogging, and show the world (or South Africa) that you’ve arrived?

Once you’re clear on this, you type up your first blog. Sometimes one doesn’t go as far as thinking of what to say in that first post. It’s very apparent as I’ve seen loads of ‘my first blog’ [title] where the body reads something along these lines..

Hello world! This is my very first blog, I’m not sure what exactly to put here…but I will be filling it with my thoughts….blah blah blah

A post like this comes across as though the person created a blog for the sake of creating one; to get his name out there. It can also be categorized under “Esteem Needs” under Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

I’ve seen many bloggers who don’t blog after their first post. One shouldn’t get put off by the comments [or lack thereof] that a first posting generates. If you really enjoy blogging, you would continue doing it passionately. Sure, positive feedback makes you feel good and makes you want to continue blogging, but negative feedback should make you determined to carry on.

There are loads of people reading blogs and each one has their own opinion. It may not be the same as yours and if it’s a really strong one, they are bound to leave a comment. This should not get you upset about it. It makes an interesting discussion.

Part 3 to follow…

Evolution of the Blogger - part 1

About a year ago I was introduced to a South African blogging community by a prominent columnist from News24... well not directly. He took time off to travel and put out his blog address so his loyal readers could still follow his ramblings.

...

So we (at MyDL) decided to check for ourselves how fast Safari for Windows really is... and boy, are we impressed! The file size isnt that big to download - a small 8MB.

Within minutes it was set-up and its SUPER FAST. Sites that take just about forever to load on IE took literally seconds to download. Try it for yourself.... News24 is a good example.

You will find the standard features IE7 and Firefox has - like tabbed browsing. It also has built in links for Apple, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! and a News link with various sites linked to it from a drop down box.

Visually, it seems like you are using a Mac... Excellent if you're one of those who constantly complain about Windows but use it anyway.

A must get if you want something faster than Firefox.

Get here

Happy Safari Surfing!

I just read an article which says rude waiters is what really chases diners away.

As you are aware the site is running on beta and we are continuously making changes to improve usability.

We've now created a profile URL for all of you. Each person's profile address will be the MyDL url + alias. In my case it will read www.mydigitallife.co.za/Charmed . You can now add your profile address to your additional blogs or facebook profile, whichever you prefer!

The layout has also changed slightly. Each person who clicks on your name (from the Who's Online list) will see your personal URL. Comes in handy when you mention someone in your post and want to create a hyperlink to their page.

We've also made a noticeable change on the homepage. On the left we used to have a 'Hot of the Wires' link with the latest news stories. We've now given you, MyDLers, a full coverage strip! It now displays 15 latest stories, than previous 7.

Note to Authors: if you want to redeem your DigiRands, please follow these simple steps:
Click on My Blogs.
A block on the right will appear showing you 'DigiRands Earned' and 'Details'.
Click on the 'Monthly' tab, next to the 'Total Redeemed' column.
A box will appear on the left.
Next to Request, select the amount you want to redeem and method (EFT / cheque) and hit Submit!

If you are still having trouble, please drop me an email on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This is just a quick update on the latest changes appearing on your favourite website... MyDL!

Yeigo to replace Mxit?

I...

What is Citizen Journalism?
Its basically you, the citizen, doing what any journalist would get paid to do, with the difference that you're not compelled to censor your work. You report on things that occur within your surroundings; you write as you see it happening. Information supplied has to be reliable and accurate.

Citizen Journalism is a form of user generated content; which is produced mainly by the audience. Examples of these are blogging, podcasting, wikis (Youtube, Wikipedia, Flickr). It is also known as 'conversational media', which allows users to post content online and the commenting of it; which is a key component of Web 2.0.

What is a blog?
In the simplest form, a blog is an online journal. You write about anything and everything and include images, links etc. Its very interactive, allowing readers to post comments. Blogs are mainly textual, however you do get photoblogs, vlogs and podcasts (MySpace, Youtube)

How do I become a Citizen Journalist and get paid for it?
My Digital Life aims to promote citizen journalism and is the first website in South Africa to actually pay you for your work. Author status is given on the discretion of the Editorial Team. You will have to start blogging first in order to prove yourself. Once that has been done, and you are awarded author status, you will earn Digi-Rands - 10c per impression. This means that everytime someone clicks on your story, you earn. The more friends and family you get to read your articles, the more money you make. Simple.

...