Ever jump in the pool and realize you couldn't touch the bottom?
I signed up for Ravelry and finally received my invitation in August. Cool. Ravelry is a wonderful place even in beta. However, to take full advantage of the projects and stash functions, I needed a Flickr account. Oh geez, another account, password, and other stuff to remember...but I really liked Ravelry, so I opened a Flickr account and managed to successfully upload photos so that I could then upload them to my Ravelry pages. Great.....that works super. Life is busy, so if stuff isn't broken, I'm not going to worry. Several months pass.
Here I am now. It is after the holidays and 2008 is getting off to a good start. I'm nearing the end of a two-week plus vacation and I'm feeling good and ready to try new things. I am participating in NaSpiMoMo for the month of January to develop my spinning skills and I signed up for the ABC Along to nudge my creativity and find out more about my Canon PowerShot SD 600. (I've had the camera for almost a year now.) The ABC Along has a companion Flickr group, so I got an email from Vicki via Flickr that she added me as a contact. What in the heck is a contact? But Vicki is "hosting" the ABC Along and I asked to be added to the Flickr group so I followed the email trail and *presto* now I'm part of the Flickr group.
Today I got a Flickr notice that a member of the ABC Along Flickr group added me as a contact. Hmm, okay, sounds fine to me, I guess. I better find out what a contact is and see if I should be *contacting* other people. Is a contact the same as a family or friend in Flickr? Or, is it like "friending" someone in Ravelry? So, I read a bit more in Flickr that I can send, that is, email photos to my blog from Flickr or from my mobile phone to Flickr. Flickr and email? There is so much depth to Flickr and to Ravelry. I'll just dog-paddle here for a while while I figure out how to swim in these new pools. Anybody know where there are some waterwings? *g* Should I even be swimming here? Hey, are there sharks? Seriously, I believe there are but probably the same ones I may see in the Internet ocean.
ETA: My post today was meant to bemoan my lack of knowledge of the sites mentioned--certainly not to infer anything negative about any person. I just am just a bit behind the rest of the pack in being proficient with Flickr. Now I know how my mother feels.
I hear you about the depth of Flickr & Ravelry. I'm browsing Ravelry for the first time ever today (on a friend's account), and holy toledo---I can't believe the amount of information out there. It's staggering!
Posted by: Kim | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 10:39 AM
yup. there are sharks everywhere.
Posted by: Carrie | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 11:00 AM
You can control how many of your photos people see by the level you add them on flickr. I have no idea about the friending at Ravelry. It seems to be people trying to look popular by adding anyone, which is an old Live Journal trick. Like any of that matters.
Oh, and I can't swim, so maybe that's why I avoid both of those sites. *L*
Posted by: Cookie | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 12:48 PM
I strongly suspect that the Great White Sharks are cruising U Tube for teens and young adults, not knitting sites.
Flickr does allow you to control what is public and what is not. "Friending" in Ravelry allows one to see what people with similar interests are knitting and queuing - Ravelry isn't giving out personal information - just what the user has put in their profile about blogs (which are already public domain), location (if the user put much there), etc.
Again, I suspect the Great White Sharks are cruising other oceans. I wouldn't put my cell or home address on any site.
Posted by: Dianna | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 01:05 PM
I'm tempted to join the ABC Along but I really need to be on the computer less so I can actually get things done so I'm not sure it would be a good idea.
I'm even thinking of spending less time on Ravelry. Or maybe even no time at all.
Gasp. I can't believe I said that.
Posted by: Kathy W | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 01:10 PM
You know, you can even turn off those notifications from Flickr -- but that's about the extent of my knowledge on that. ; )
Here's how I look at it: You can't know everything and you sure can't keep up with everything! I don't even try!! I know the very basics about both Flickr and Ravelry -- enough to participate -- at the level I want and am comfortable with (more or less). Delving into the depths of either of those things is NOT what I want to spend my time doing. I take pictures and I like to share them: Flickr. I knit and I like to keep track of it: Ravelry.
Oh, one other thing I'll say about the Contacts on Flickr -- because the ABC-Along group is by invitation only (so that there can be some control and a limit), there is a certain amount of "contact" necessary. Also, when you sign on to Flickr, you will see a little preview of recent photos that your contacts have posted.
I have a few photos/sets on Flickr of my nephews that I've marked "private" -- though I can indicate that contacts who are either Friend and/or Family can view them.
Basically, it's stuff like that. I lost track with tech a long time ago and I'm a little bit geek, but not enough to spend hours and hours and hours figuring out this stuff.
Sorry to commandeer your comments. ; )
Have a GREAT WEEKEND!
Posted by: Vicki | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 03:05 PM
I'm there hanging onto the side of the dock next to you. I thought Ravelry would be a great way to get my knitting organized. But I find that the learning curve is a bit steep and takes time from actual knitting. I'll keep pecking away at it. I have a few FO's not published, but that doesn't mean they didn't make great gifts.
Posted by: Angie | Sunday, January 06, 2008 at 05:10 PM
Mirror, mirror on the wall...
I am my mother after all?
I know where you're coming from.
Posted by: Stacey | Sunday, January 06, 2008 at 10:52 PM
I am so behind the curve on this stuff... At some point you just have to decide that you know enough to get by. We only have so much time! I think you're doing a fabulous job on your blog and everything else you appear to have going on in your life!
Posted by: Nora | Monday, January 07, 2008 at 05:48 AM
I'm swimming in the same pool and can barely dog paddle. I still need to figure out how to send Flickr photos to my blog. I have no clue what a Flickr "contact" is. Watch out for the jelly fish.
Posted by: Kim | Monday, January 07, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Ravelry and Flickr do have so many layers. I've barely scratched the surface myself. I figure when I feel I need to know, I'll figure it out. Best wishes for the New Year!
Posted by: Brenda | Monday, January 07, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Ravelry IS mind-boggling.
Posted by: Alarming Female | Wednesday, January 09, 2008 at 12:08 AM