Kyle Thomas

The Website of Kyle Thomas (KyleWith)

Does Video Work

Recently I started doing a weekly video, I’m going to try and cover many things. Personal and topical but will try and make sure it is entertaining. When I first started with the idea of making a video I thought it would be nothing but good from then on. As I have now made a couple video the pros and cons have made themselves clear and I think it would be useful for anyone who is considering doing a video blog along with their text posts. Lets start with the Pros.

Pros:

  1. Your different. We all bring something different to the table, and I think this what people want to see. We can have similar perspectives on something but we can bring a different way of explain or showing. Which makes it more interesting and not just the same thing people have seen over and over.
  2. Video can appeal to more people. Lets face it when I see a big long blog post I sometime cheat and skip through it and only getting some of the content with in but with video I don’t have to work. We can just click play and either watch it or just listen to it.
  3. Show rather than tell. For those of you that do tutorials, video is a wonderful featured because it is so much easier to show those who want to learn something new than writing it all out. Screencasting is a wonderful feature that most computers come with these days which makes it very possible to show your viewers exactly what you are talking about.
  4. Personality. We bring more personality to the table when were doing our videos. For me I become a lot more sarcastic when I make a video apposed to when I’m writing a post.

Cons:

  1. Although video involves less work for the viewer, it involves more work for the creator. If you make a semi-professional videos you need a script, and a setup along with preparing yourself. You need to be in the right mood, be organized and look presentable so that the audience doesn’t get the wrong message.
  2. If you write a blog often you know it takes time to prepare what you going to write and it is time consuming but making a video is even more so. When your filming your video chances are your not going to be able to do it in one take, I know myself I have probably three of four takes of each segment of the video. Once you finally have completed the filming you need to edit which because of the many different takes will not only take a lot of time for that but importing it will take its toll. Once you have it imported you are able to begin editing which can add up the time as you think of new and different effect and features you can add in to make it better.
  3. As much as you try and make you video appeal to everyone your just not going to be able to. Some people just don’t like video, they would rather read something because they be able to take it in easier than just watching someone quickly go on about the subject. Video can also turn some people off not just because they don’t want to watch it but because they can’t, there is still a high percentage of people who use dial-up that are not able to stream video.

These are some of the pros and cons about video on you blog. If you have you own pros and cons please post them up in the comments section and I will add them to the post with a link back to your blog.

The Name, The Meaning

So I call myself The Bushman and this site is also called it. I’m now conflicted, as I do not spend much time out in the “Bush” but yet online. Why did I pick the name? Back in October I had taken the month off work and gone down to live with some friends in Northern BC. There house is out in the country, half hour from any town. We would go hunting, getting firewood, drive our trucks, haul water. You know stuff that needed to be done to sustain living in the middle no where. So when I decided that I wanted to switch to a blog/domain that showed more of who I am The Bushman fit, somewhat. but now I’m presented with this dilemma! I don’t do near as much outdoorsy stuff as I use to, whether that is because of work or the cold weather it doesn’t matter. The name doesn’t really fit. In the summer I probably will go back to my old ways of camping and living out of my camper but that doesn’t mean I’m going to blog about it. When I choose the name Bushman I had the brilliant idea of writing a weekly post on Bushcraft, well you call all see how well that turned out. Instead I write blogging and the latest tech app or gadget.

Currently I love blogging and Internet tech things, such as WordPress, gadgets/apps, and social media so all my topical posts will have something to do with those kind of things. What I need do or figure out is how (because I’m not changing my Domain again. Hassle is way to much for me right now) to associate The Bushman with tech, blogging, Internet, social media, etc. so that I can build on this site. I have to find the write angle, and work it.

Back to me for a second I thought I would mention my thoughts on how I feel torn in two worlds. I hate to stereotype because I don’t know everything and I really shouldn’t and can’t judge, but this is my opinion. I do like the “Blue Collar” way of life, a laboring job, big truck, mudding and greasy from working on it. Listening to my Country Music wearing plaid proudly living out in the country but then there is the other side of me. The side that is is formally dressed, black leather shoes, Navy jacket, shirt tucked in and hair combed. Having the love of computers and tech news, working online hours at end blogging and researching the next post with calmer acoustic music on in the background. In all a formal business and tech savvy person.

I know people from both ends of this spectrum and I know there opinions about the other end. Its almost a disgust as they ask “why would you want to be like that”. I’m afraid to see what would happen when these people collided. Knowing and seeing all this makes me feel socially unaccepted, it drives me nuts because I can’t figure it out. When I bring up something about the opposite end of the spectrum I’m looked at as if I’m stupid!

“Why would you wanna be like one of em nerds, bet they don’t know how ta fix a car to saver er life. Let go to Timmies”

“Ah, they’re such rednecks, I mean look at that broken down gas guzzler. Horrible. Lets go to Starbucks”

Oh so get this I applied to go to school in a town built on the trades to do a Business Program, ironic….

I’m The Bushman.

Social Networking Anyone?

I love Social Networking, not only that I love how they can all be intertwined. I recently wanted to find a way to only have to update my Facebook status or Twitter status but have them both show up the same. What do I do? I Google it, what else. I found a Facebook application called… Twitter that not only showed the status updates of the people I followed but pulled my status from Twitter and made it also my Facebook status. Greatest thing Ever! To top it all off I also have a Twitter plugin here in Firefox that allows me update my status directly from my address bar with out even being on the site itself. So now everything is updated from there. Awesome!

I feel like I literally live online, now if only I could work here as well. I would just move on in…….(Mr. I think you have gone crazy). So now not only do I spend pretty much every waking moment online (which most people would think is a waste of time, but I actually am doing something productive) doing productive things like research, blogging, etc. but now when I get bored I have Digg and Stumbleupon to amuse me for hours. Plus it is a great way to find those random interesting sites that you would have never found other wise.

You must be thinking “wow Bushman, that’s a lot of Social Networking and whats the point”. Yes and No, to someone who doesn’t do it, it is a lot. To someone who is also internet savvy this is not, there are still so many out there that I have yet to find. If you know any interesting one let me know. Now to the point! Pure Amusement, no I’m kidding. I have a dream, stupid maybe but still a dream, I would love to someday work online. Work online so I don’t have to always be in one spot. I would love to just drive around with satellite internet hooked up in my truck (that can be done) but anyways that’s another post. If I want to fulfill that dream I think it is wise to start building a reputation even if I don’t actually get there for another 10 years. I will always be online somewhere. Now I don’t know how this will affect me or not, but I don’t really use my real name. I’m sure some of my readers who I don’t know personally know it. I mean I did just post my stink’in Facebook Profile above. I just hope by building up The Bushman it will benefit me as a real person years down the line when I attempt to actual work online whether it is for my self or for someone else.

One last thing that I can not forget, but have already mentioned. The one thing I would not be able to live with out online. FireFox, greatest browser ever! I have several plugins which make life so much easier online. 1. Scribefire, which allows me to write blog posts directly from Firefox. So if I need to be looking through another site that has to do with the post I can actually be there. Instead of switching back and forth and losing my train of thought (which I can do easily). 2. WordPress Helper, this plugin and Scribefire are similar but different and I can’t use them at the same time. Helper is a little tab in the bottom right of the browser as well and gets me to my site, new post, new page, dashboard, etc quickly so I don’t have to go throw the process of logging on blah blah blah. Neat thing about it as well is it tells me if the site I’m on is powered by WordPress or not. Cool 3. Digg and Stumbleupon I have already talked about but they are in my tool bar. If I “Digg” the site I click digg it. Nough Said! If I want to Stumble, I just click stumble. I can also set what I want to stumble for and if I like it or not. Nough Said!

To sum everything up we have FriendFeed which is like a RSS Feed for every social networking site I’m at. This would be the best place to Follow me, it shows it all. It is also on my homepage.

If you would like to recommend a site please do so.

I’m The Bushman.

The Reunion of Friends

This evening, well 4:30, I got together with 2 old friends. 2 years ago we all went out separate ways. Not that we necessarily wanted to but it just happen. It was fun to catch up and to find out how each of us was different than we were. The conversation was…. hm-mm…. enjoying.  We got onto some weird topics that should not be repeated in public but it was all good fun. We had such a good time we didn’t realize it was 10pm and they were closing.

I wish we could all stay in touch better and I guess I only have myself to blame for that one. Ironically enough, okay no I choose to do this but anyways, I applied for school in a town about an hour away from the some friends that moved from Yellowknife. I have been down to see one of my friend who I had supper with and her husband twice now and it was good to see another part of Canada other that Yellowknife’s 14kms of city. So when I finally came to the realization that I need to get some further education whether it a trade or class I started looking in there area. I am quiet happy that I did find a school in that area because not only are my good friends only an hour away but I also know another couple in the town, which will make it a smoother transaction.

You must understand I get very stressed about meeting new people at school or other places I don’t have control over the situation. By that I mean, when I’m working or for my own businesses (selling or beneficial to me) I’m not nervous or stress I just jump right in. The conversation comes to me like second natural because I control it. I control the talking, when to leave, what exactly I can say, who I talk to, and when. Where as school is the opposite to me, I don’t have a choice who I’m going to meet, when I’m going to talk or what I’m going to talk about so I get stressed about it. I do know that I will be alright and I will settle in quickly and become very very comfortable with the atmosphere. Even become sarcastic which only happens when I feel comfortable in the surrounding area.

I’m The Bushman. I’ll be Back.

5 Years 150 Million Strong

That little website that every uses to stalk the people the what to know better turned 5 today. That’s right Facebook is 5, and I know you have it, almost everyone does. Well okay not everyone I can name at least one person forced them self to delete account not once but twice.
So what does a social networking site have to celebrate on its 5th Birthday. Well for starters how about surpassing MySpace’s 130 Million user to become the world leading Networking site with 150 Million+ users. Mark and the guys over at Facebook have made it oh so simple for use to use Facebook with several integrated apps as well as an app for the iPhone and Blackberry. But don’t think they will stop there, Mark Zuckerberg founder of Facebook wrote on his blog today:

“As we celebrate Facebook’s 5th birthday, we continue to work hard to
evolve Facebook and make it as simple as possible to communicate with
and understand the people and entities that matter to you.”

Ironicly enough Facebook turns 5 the same year The Macintosh (Mac) turns 25. Maybe it is the work of a greater power which likes simple, efficent and easy to use things as well as multiples of 5?

But anyways, Happy Birthday Facebook. May you always be superior over the fugly mess that is MySpace and Nexopia.