Taryn Hicks: Semi-Regular Thoughts…

Why you should use Disqus

Taryn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:01:46 +0000

As per my previous post (now full of silly comments), I have installed Disqus Comments to this blog. Disqus (pronounced "discuss") is a comment management system for blogging platforms (such as WordPress), which gives you and your visitors greater control over comments. There are two parts to Disqus: Disqus Comments, used by bloggers to add smart comment moderation to their blogs, and Disqus Profile, which enables commenters to track their comments on the web.

Testing Disqus

Taryn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 07:14:11 +0000

This is a test post. I am testing Disqus, which I’ve been meaning to install for a while. Could you help me out by leaving a comment?

Online Safety and the South Australian election speech laws

Taryn — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:49:51 +0000

The South Australian Government recently passed new laws requiring all citizens to post personally identifying information when discussing the State Elections. The information—your full name, and your postcode—will be required whether you post to the AdelaideNow website, your own blog, your Facebook, or your Twitter account. South Australia used to be a pioneer of free speech, [...]

Protecting your information on Facebook

Taryn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:53:28 +0000

This week, security firm Sophos tested Australian Facebook users to see how many people would add an unknown to their friends list. The tests were a repeat of earlier testing in 2007, where they found 43% of people blindly accepted a friend request from a made-up account belonging to a plastic frog. The 2009 tests showed [...]

Remember The Milk rock my socks

Taryn — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:09:10 +0000

Remember The Milk are awesome. I’ve been using Remember The Milk for almost a year now and I’ve found it an invaluable tool for staying on top of all my… stuff. From my half-arsed GTD lists, to information about family gatherings, birthdays, and appointments, you name it, I have it in Remember The Milk. I especially rely [...]

Early thoughts on Google Wave

Taryn — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:02:47 +0000

On September 30, Google sent out 100,000 invites to their new Google Wave service. The service—something of a mix between a wiki, Instant Messaging, email, and a threaded forum—aims to revolutionise the way people talk and collaborate online. I won’t write too much about what Wave is: there are plenty of guides out there for that, [...]

Major Depression and Efexor Withdrawal

Taryn — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:46:41 +0000

Over the past few weeks I have been tapering off of Efexor-XR—an antidepressant—on the advice of my doctor. A number of people on Twitter have suggested that I write an account of the experience, perhaps to help others who discontinue the drug.

I’m cancelling my phone book delivery.

Taryn — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 10:50:11 +0000

Every year a phone book arrives on my doorstep, and every year I throw it out. I don’t need it since the White Pages and the Yellow Pages have been available on the Internet. So every year I recycle it or throw it out or shred it in a fit of annoyance. We asked the delivery [...]

Why Marketing and ICT should work together on social media: a response to mosaic communications

Taryn — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:19:11 +0000

Yesterday my partner pointed out a blog post entitled "Why your IT person shouldn’t manage your social media!" (opens in a new window) by local Adelaide marketer Diane Lee. The entry had been trending on Twitter thanks to Nick Hortovanyi (@hortovanyi) and I was told it was worth a look. It certainly was worth a look—particularly because of how ICT professionals are discussed—but that will not be the focus of this entry. Instead I want to talk about why your marketing professionals and your ICT professionals should work together on your social media strategy.

Facebook don’t respect your privacy

Taryn — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:07:09 +0000

Today Facebook made a change to how Applications interact with your wall. In an attempt to compete with Twitter they gave enabled wall-posting permissions for most applications, notably Twitter and Friendfeed.