Photo by veesees on Flickr

“Wow! I now know how to solve the issue with my site!” Is exactly what I like to hear as an instructor…knowing that someone is connecting with the information that I am sharing.  So, I was thrilled when I heard that exclaimed from the back of the room in one of my sessions.

I had the privilege of teaching four sessions at the BlogHer ’09 conference this year. I was slated for three: HTML for bloggers, PHP for bloggers, and Apache and was asked to conduct a fourth when the original presenter of the htaccess session had an emergency come up and couldn’t make the session.

Each year the BlogHer conferences get better and better and each year they are getting geekier and geekier…hmmm, I wonder if there is a correlation. As a true geek, I would have to say “of course”. I have been on the BlogHer Tech Committee since 2006 and I am happy to see the progression of geekiness at the BlogHer events.

This year, all of the technical sessions were called “Geek Labs” and were focused on providing quick hands-on tutorials on many topics surrounding blogging and were for those bloggers who wanted to get their hands a little dirty and find out what’s under the hood.

This being a blogging conference, I was concerned that no one would show up to my sessions but to my surprise, I had full rooms for the HTML and PHP sessions and a goodly crowd at the other two more technical sessions. It really continues to show a real need and strong desire of many of the attendees to understand more about technology and learn the skills they need to help them succeed as they adopt the tools that will make them more efficient in their efforts.

Watch Wren from Wrenassaince & Jill from scarymommy.com share their Geek Lab experiences in these short videos.

Also, check out the recaps from Virgina Debolt & Liz Henry, who taught some of the other Geek Lab sessions.

Thank you to all who attended the Geek Labs this year and I hope to see you all again next year at the BlogHer ‘10 conference in New York City.  If you have any suggestions on Geek sessions for BlogHer ’10, please let me know and I will be sure to pass them on to the BlogHer team.

At the company I am currently freelancing for, I called the help desk to configure my computer settings, which was easily and quickly, done with no misunderstandings to speak of. The woman I spoke to over the phone was obviously an Indian, living and working in India. She understood my thick American accent and I understood hers; my family is from the country, after all. It struck me how normal it now is to speak to Indians quite frequently to help resolve a wide range of tech issues. When my phone call was complete and my Internet connection was up and running, I also realized how India’s strong presence and involvement in IT (Internet technology) should not be surprising; throughout history, the country has made significant contributions to the advancement of human civilization. Its people have moved all around the world to settle, work, and flourish in almost anything they choose to do. India’s “Technology Renaissance” period, which has been growing since the mid 1990s, is just the most recent phenomenon to become globally recognized. Like anyone else who is interested, I can’t help wondering what the future holds for Mother India and the people within her borders, and beyond.

Outsourcing has almost singlehandedly revolutionized India’s economy, and cities like Bangalore in Southern India are now synonymous with this subcontracting process. My parents knew Bangalore as a popular honeymoon destination. Now, the city’s residents are surrounded by historical remnants and the burgeoning IT industry. Even though Western sentiment is generally against outsourcing jobs to India, we all should agree that the Indian economy has flourished considerably because of the influx of tech jobs that have become available to the people there. The companies who choose to cut costs by outsourcing are the ones who are “to blame” for depriving their fellow citizens of employment.

Now that Bill Gates has given his encouragement and advice concerning the future of India’s tech industry to the country’s business and government leaders, the India’s “Technology Renaissance” will continue to grow for years to come. I personally don’t mind that when I call for tech support, I speak to someone from India or anywhere else. As long the issues are resolved and I can understand what he or she is saying on the other end, I am content…for now.

Today, I conducted an HTML for Bloggers workshop at BlogHer ’09 conference. The workshop was designed to help bloggers understand the basics of HTML to help them gain more control over how their content displays on a page.

We covered some of the most common HTML tags, commands, and attributes that would be useful to bloggers.

You can view & download the presentation & resources for further learning below.  To download, click on the menu icon at the bottom left corner of the slideshare screen and select the “Download Presentation” option.

Honestly, I don’t know where I stand in the epic Mac or PC battle that rages among users around the world. I am frustrated with my current PC laptop, which I have had for almost five years now. I know that my machine is nearing its untimely end, which hurts because I just set up a wireless network for my home earlier this year. Before that, I was taking my laptop to a local café chain to take advantage of the free connection I received there. Now when I think about it, the service wasn’t free, because I had to buy something in order to stay there and remain connected.

When I got connected at home, the trouble began. I noticed that my Internet connection would get slower and slower, and then these horrendous pop-ups and explicit web sites starting popping up. I knew that viruses had over-run my system, and I quickly took it to get it “cleaned,” for a fee.  Before this, I downloaded free anti-virus software that came highly recommended, but it either did nothing or contributed to my system crashing. I will never download anything like it again—I bought the Norton ™ Internet Security software and have been satisfied ever since.  It may hurt financially at first, but in the long run, it’s worth it.

Now my power cord is frayed and its looking like I am will have to replace it. These occasional but annoying drawbacks make me wonder if paying over $1000 for a MacBook Pro is worth it in the long run. They are lightweight and apparently quite durable, which is good for me because I can be accident prone at times. I don’t know how it happened, but my current Dell laptop has a slightly long yet subtle crack near the keyboard. I also keep hearing that Macs are much more virus-resistant than their PC counterparts, which leaves me wondering if it is worth shelling out all that money up front for the former is a more sensible investment.

I guess I know the answer my questions, but I am not planning to run out and buy a Mac anytime soon. I think I am going to slug it out until next spring or early summer before I decide to purchase a new laptop. I’m off to my local electronics megastore to buy a new power cord for my old PC. This is not the time for big financial splurges, even though I’ve been known to indulge in the past. I am just praying that my machine will keep for another year. In the meantime, I am backing up all my files and praying that the inevitable won’t become a reality anytime soon.  

It isn’t news that the Internet is both an incredibly informative and extremely chaotic virtual space. Like millions of others, it is highly unusual for me to go one day without checking email or doing a Google search. I am dependent on the World Wide Web; I would like to think that if I was in a remote location for an extended period of time where Internet access is limited, I would be satisfied with going online once a week, at least.  The thought of such sparse contact might frighten most, but I would welcome it, if I didn’t have anything urgent to take care of. 

Why do I bring up the possibility of the lack of access to the Internet? When I heard the news about cyber attacks originating from North Korea, I started to think seriously about what I would do if I could no longer go online without being besieged by maliciously created viruses. The isolated and angry dictatorship seems to be doing its best to launch attacks on South Korea and its allies in any way they can. Could a “cyber war” be in our imminent future? While no lives might be lost in this situation, such an event would definitely damage people’s abilities to communicate and acquire knowledge on any topic in a speedy (yet concise) manner.  

How should we prepare ourselves for the devastating possibilities of a global “cyber war?”  The first suggestion that comes to mind is to keep hard copies of all important documents, images, emails, and any necessary contact information you may need at any time. The other suggestion is to keep posted on the news, without becoming pre-occupied or too nostalgic about the past. Both of these steps are very important when preparing for the worst.

Still, I don’t think that we should become too paranoid and scared about a possible situation. It is hard achieve some sort of balance, but it can be done—at least I hope so.