Im not ok

I follow several people on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram who like myself suffer depression, and this post is dedicated to them.

Depression is an ugly thing that effects way to many people (1 in 7 Australians will suffer depression) depression comes in many forms, but many depressed people (like myself) hide behind a mask, putting on a fake smile.
Depression is not always cured by simply taking anti-depressants and having everyone expect you to see the world like this

Effects of "ignorital" on Lisa Simpson

Instead you should be out there talking to your friends, out there looking for the people in your life who are exhibiting signs of depression and asking them if they are ok

I'm not saying that if you see someone who is depressed that they will immediately jump to tell you how they are when you ask, as the above pic shows, I know personally I always want someone to notice but when they do I wish they hadn't.

But if you truly care for your friends or people you follow on social media you will keep on being there for them, keep on asking them if they are ok, and keep on offering them a shoulder to cry on when they need it. They might not take you up on your offer, but it will reinforce to them that yes there are people there who care for them even when they feel utterly alone

I know that no one reads this blog and I often wonder why I bother writing it at times, I mean after all who wants to know what is important to me?  My aviation blog gets large numbers of people reading it, but my personal blog often seems pointless.  But I will persist in writing it because I have a hope that one day a post like this will have an impact on someone and will stop someone from doing something stupid.

Before you give up, before you think to yourself the world would be better off without me - talk to someone, if you're friends with me on facebook chat with me, if you follow me on twitter DM me, if you only follow me on instagram then add me on twitter and chat with me, I know how you feel, I have depression stemming from a chronic illness, I just want to hide away by myself, I am utterly lonely and am stuck int he loop of shutting myself off by increasing my isolation, but I will always be there to chat with you when you want (during normal AEST hours)  If you cant raise me or want to talk to someone else then please call one of these numbers and chat.

Brisbane/Queensland
96five careline: 07 3831 1965

Australiawide
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
Kids helpline (12-25): 1800 55 1800
Parentline: 1300 30 1300

New Zealand
Depression helpline: 0800 111 757
Lifeline: 0800 543 354
Samaritans: 0800 726 666

Youthline: 0800 376 633

*** Please note this post seems to be dropping most of the pictures when viewed using firefox - I can see them fine in IE & Chrome but not firefox***

Potential twitter hijack threat warning

This afternoon's ARN newsletter has highlighted a potential security threat to twitter which could see accounts hijacked.

A feature in the Twitter API (application programming interface) can be abused by attackers to launch credible social engineering attacks that would give them a high chance of hijacking user accounts, a mobile application developer revealed Wednesday at the Hack in the Box security conference in Amsterdam.
The issue has to do with how Twitter uses the OAuth standard to authorize third-party apps, including desktop or mobile Twitter clients, to interact with user accounts through its API, Nicolas Seriot, a mobile applications developer and project manager at Swissquote Bank in Switzerland, said Thursday.

This is a potentially widespread issue that could effect common apps like tweet deck, twitter for iOS etc  Seriot used this method to build a completely legitimate program which works with Mac OS based mutli-protocol chat client Adium, but believes this security loophole could be used for nefarious purposes which could impact all users of API based twitter apps.

Read more on Seriots development and its potential security risks, at ARN HERE

Twitter launch rival to Instagram

So as mentioned in a blog post last week (When social media networks fight) Instrgram and Twitter have had a falling out which has resulted in Instagram photos shared on twitter now occuring as web links that direct users to Instagram's own websites.

Well Twitter have countered this with the launch of their own photo filtering software which was released in an update now available in the App Store. Below is a screen shot of this new software powered by Aviary.

So the battle has begun between the rival networks for the all important market share that is the "hipster' generation.

In writing this piece I have looked at the offering from Twitter which seems to be a solid market entry, there are 9 choices of filter (including no filter) and the auto enhance wizard is as easy as a touch of a button, the grid view layout of the filters is great, but to really get the full impression of what your pic would look like with the filter in place the easiest way is to swipe through the full screen view.

I will be interested to see how this new offering from twitter is taken up by users however I still see Instagram having a large share of the market, as their offering is established and they currently offer a larger number of filter offerings.

Winning on twitter AvGeek/Hobbit style

So as a lot of you will know I am heavily into social media, and so are Air New Zealand, so anyway Air New Zealand ran a competition last friday on twitter to win a model of their #AirNZHobbit liveried Boeing 777-319ER ZK-OKP.

So seizing the opportunity I shot back the following tweet, and actually won one of the models.

The model arrived here this morning and my picture of it prompted a lot of comment on both twitter and Facebook

As seen on twitter & Facebook

The model is 1/200 scale and made by PacMin who from what I can see on their website do display models for corporations (such as Air New Zealand)
Interestingly enough on a side note on their desktop model page PacMin use a Kuban 733 which could be ZK-TLB as seen on MRC Aviation HERE

Air New Zealand have got their own livery on the box and all

Top & side view of the box

End view of the box

The following 3 pics are up close details of the Hobbit livery as seen on the model & the real thing including the first showing of the Black tail and white koru soon to be rolled out fleet wide.
The model is solid resin, and sits on a molded base and is true to life with correct graphics including the registration under the wing.

 Here is a view of the completed model

ZK-OKP in Hobbit livery fits in quite nicely with my collection of Air New Zealand aircraft in Lord of the Rings livery B744s ZK-NBV & ZK-SUJ, B763 ZK-NCG, sadly A320 ZK-OJA is missing

Air New Zealand Hobbit/LoTR fleet

And finally ZK-OKP in its final position next to a couple of Qantas B744s

I cant thank Air New Zealand enough for running this competition and sending this amazing model to me - I am one very happy AvGeek.

When social media networks fight

We the users seem to be the losers in the latest 'social media war' between three of the heavy weights of the social media revolution.\

Instagram who was recently purchased by Facebook have announced that they no longer support twitter cards which allowed Twitter users to view Instagram photos in the tweet.  Users are now required to click the link and view the photo on an Instagram website.

The move escalates a rivalry in the fast-growing social networking sector, where the biggest players have sought to wall off access to content from rival services and to their ranks of users.
"They're both competing for slices of the same pie, the pie being users' attention," said Ray Valdes, an analyst with research firm Gartner.   

I for one think this is a petty squabble, but I really dont expect much better from these companies who are more interested in their market share and profits than the experience of their users.

Read more about the blocking of Instagram content and the growing rift between the big social media companies in this Reuters article via stuff.co.nz

Social networing overload?

Social Media and Networking seems to be the fastest growing sector on the internet these days.  So when is enough enough, and when does it become too much or overload?

I personally have 2 blogs on Blogger, 1 on Tumblr, 2 clients websites based on Word Press.  I maintain my own and a clients Twitter and Foursquare account as well as their Facebook page and my own Facebook account.  I have photo sharing accounts with Photobucket, Picasa and Instagram.
  I also use Google+, Orkut to connect with my Brazilian friends, LinkedIn to connect with business people, and also hold down a You Tube account.  I message through Skype and also have a Messenger account even if I haven't used it in ages.
  In the past I have also had accounts with Myspace and Bebo but these have been closed as they began to get less and less relevant.

So by my calculations I personally use 20 different social networking sites or accounts.  So is that overkill?  Is that normal? And while we're on it I use 5 different web browsers, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari and when Im forced to by companies who are so far behind the times its not funny IE.

I may not be classed as part of the younger generation any more, but working in IT does necessitate the need to keep up with the times and the trends.  I have also found it great to meet so many people through twitter who even though I have never met, I have great conversations with even if they are limited to 140 characters.

I have also found twitter to be a great medium to keep up with people I have met on forums and websites, as well as keeping up to date with happenings on said websites, and other businesses that have kept up with the times and communicate with their customers and clients through this medium.

Another force in the industry has been the advance of smart phone and tablet technology and as an owner of two very modern smart devices from a well known and well capitalised company I have found these great platforms to interact with the world using these social networking tools, (Including checking in every time I go to the mall)

So I believe to stay up to the play with the modern world and the ever changing needs of a more mobile more connected society it is imperative to operate all these different accounts on these different networks, to not only keep myself abreast of developments and changes, but to keep up to date with the ways of the world and Gen Y.

I am interested to here your thoughts on all the different social networks out there, do you use a lot, some, 1 or 2?  Do you think Im over doing it having 20 different accounts? (remembering at least 4 are for clients)  Let me know what you think.