Around the world in a few minutes

IT is quite ironic to note that even though there is an onslaught of various media channels, still there are many people who choose to remain blissfully ignorant of what is happening in the world. One can only assume they are simply uninterested. It’s also possible that they just don’t have the patience to sit through an hour-long bulletin on a news channel or pore over the daily newspaper at length.

Regardless of the reasons, the fact of the matter is that they choose to remain ignorant. If nothing else, they can go online and learn more about the current global issues. and this is where globalissues.com comes in, provided that you have the time as well as the inclination to know more about current affairs.

To make things simple, here is a brief description — Global Issues basically aims at informing you about the major events in the world in the form of 550 articles that have been written by the webmaster. Along with these articles, there are about 7,000 external links to websites which feature similar content.

Global Issues is a pretty straightforward, no-nonsense website. If you still find the home page a bit intimidating (after all, there’s only so much of issues like poverty and environment that one can digest at a time), you can simply point and click at the site map to get an overview of all that is there and what you may find appealing in all of this.

There’s quite a lot to choose from. The basic categories on the website include a diverse set of themes from trade, economy, geopolitics, environment and health. At first glance, these themes seem to be quite less in number; however, there are several sub-divisions within these themes and articles.

For instance, when it comes to environmental issues, the topics which are covered here include biodiversity, climate change, genetically engineered food, human population, natural disasters, conservation of nature and animals. Geopolitics, on the other hand, covers arms control, arms trade, conflicts in the African continent, Middle East, foreign policy and military expansion.

It goes without saying that no website, which focuses on global issues, can afford to ignore the so-called war on terror. Global Issues is no different. It extensively covers the war on terror with specific sections dedicated both to Iraq and Iran.

One major advantage here is the content which is pretty comprehensive as well as concise, so rest assured you will not have to bear irrelevant material. The disadvantage is that it is purely a text-based website. You have to have a really avid interest in the issues covered here to actually read through all the articles. Of course, you can always avail a printer-friendly version of every article and put your printer to constructive use.

In a nutshell, it would be rather useful to keep up with the world through this website if not anything else. And if you happen to be a student of current affairs, the website will be useful if you want to catch up both with past and present issues through one outlet. At the end of the day, it’s all about being informed.

To keep up with what’s happening around the globe, log onto www.globalissues.org

Of all things fishy

THE recent hoax message about a supposed mobile phone virus spread like wildfire throughout the city. Without checking and verifying, people feverishly forwarded the message to their friends and relatives, warning them against receiving any phone calls which have four digits.

Of course, there were many variations of this rumour. But at the end of the day, what matters is that they all proved false as cellphone companies along with the PTCL issued strong rebuttals against them.

One point that this incident glaringly illustrated was that people are prone to believing almost anything and everything they are told without question. Why else would they have forwarded the aforementioned message without even inquiring whether mobile phones can technically cause such damage to humans? Unfortunately, this mindset isn’t going to go away anytime soon. This is probably the reason why websites like Snopes exist.

Snopes is basically a website which counters all those forwarded emails that are circulated around the internet, by researching their claims thoroughly and publishing their findings and conclusions. Most people reading this will definitely have heard of Snopes at some point of their lives but, sadly, there are a very few who actually make a good use of it.

The way Snopes works is very simple. You log onto the website and use the search engine to hunt down a particular rumour that you’ve heard or received in a forwarded message. If the particular forwarded email is listed in the Snopes database, it will promptly turn up and you can read through the research findings.

The “findings” are presented in a specific format. Firstly, the status of whatever is written in the forwarded email is clarified — whether it is true, false or uncertain. Then, a detailed explanation is given as to why the website reached this conclusion. Variations of the same email are discussed in detail as well.

Let’s take an example. Say, an email tells you that AOL will pay five dollars to a charity cause. You log onto Snopes and enter “AOL charity”. The search results will take you to a webpage dedicated to this hoax. You will find the status of this rumour as “false”. Variations of this hoax email include “Microsoft paying $5” or maybe a difference in the charities that these companies are supposed to contribute to.

Of course, Snopes is not all about refuting forwarded emails. There are appeals for donations and signing petitions for causes which are genuine, but are ignored because they are deemed as a hoax. Snopes has proved that some of these appeals are quite authentic and, hence, it wouldn’t do any harm to sign the petition to contribute for a cause.

For your own information and to see what kind of hoax emails are circulated, you can check out the section on the top 25 urban legends and read up on their details. You will be surprised to see the type of emails that make the rounds — yes, even the ones that would cause many people to raise their eyebrows are somehow believed and forwarded. Moreover, you can even subscribe to the website to receive an email informing you of the updates of the website — in other words, find out what’s the new hoax on the block is.

If you’re really into this stuff, you can even register at the Snopes community and talk it out with other members — rant about the latest hoax or voice your frustration at having received yet another forwarded email in your inbox.

Hopefully, by now, the name Snopes has registered itself in your mind, so that the next time you receive a forwarded email, you can check its authenticity over here. Remember, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

Get the scoop on all forwarded emails at www.snopes.com

Being self-sufficient is not bad

There is no dearth of people who go running to others whenever they face any slightest problem. These problems can vary from personal and social to economic and cultural. Of course, no one is denying the need for advice along with the way it helps in resolving these problems quickly and efficiently. But the point remains that there are certain things which one can do on his/her own.

‘Do it Yourself’ is a website made for all those who would occasionally like to take things in their own hands. As the title of the website suggests, it is all about doing things yourself. Now the question arises, what things exactly? And how do you do them?

The website is basically about home improvement. All aspects are covered here in various sections ranging from decoration, painting, plumbing and woodworking to crafts, recreation, real estate and personal finance. The latter two sections should ensure that even though this website is all about home improvement, it isn’t strictly a feminine domain (no pun intended).

If one goes into each of the sections in detail, it is easy to discover that they all are extremely comprehensive and have taken care of all minor details. For instance, in the section on “Interior Home Improvement” you can find out all about constructing your house, getting a contractor, ventilating your rooms properly, repairing your doors, different types of flooring and kitchen décor. The section aims to put the installation of new things as well as renovation easy for you.

The section on personal finance has some useful information on how to avoid identity theft and debit card fraud, while household and cleaning section has tips on everything from preparing yourself for natural disasters and pest control to avoiding clutter in your closet.

One of the great pros of this website is that it is very thorough. No matter what problem you face and in which category (interior design, exterior design etc.), you are sure to find at least some solution here. The website has taken care to cover all aspects of the home improvement for the benefit.

Secondly, the how-to articles on this website have been organised to reflect a lot of hard work. This is because all articles have been written in well-defined steps or bullet points. Only some are a bit long and without any bullet points, but a bulk of them follow a format which ensures that you get your answer written in a concise form. Also, if you are in a hurry, this format comes useful. You don’t have to read through pages of text to find the answer hidden in the last paragraph.

One little disadvantage here is that you must know precisely what you are looking for. For instance, if you log onto this website hunting for some gardening information, can easily get lost and over-whelmed. This is because the section on gardening is divided into several topics, and each of the topics is subdivided into minute topics. It is very easy to forget all about gardening and start reading something entirely different, which doesn’t matter if you have loads of time, but would be disastrous if you just came online for a while. On the other hand, if you want to know some tips on how to improve flower garden, you will instantly get the information by logging onto the gardening section.

So in a nutshell, it is about knowing exactly what your problem is, and logging onto this website so that you can get a solution easiest and fastest. Plus, there’s nothing like doing things yourself to derive the greatest amount of satisfaction at a job well-done.

Find out more about how you can handle your own work at www.doityourself.com/

Pointers Galore

When it comes to journalism, there are always two kinds of professionals. There are those who go through the formal degree program for this subject at any university and learn the technicalities of journalism and the tricks of the trade in the classroom, along with some practical experience in the form of internships.

The second kind is of those who do not study journalism formally, but simply pursue a degree in their subject of choice and then enter in the field, as a journalist. They rely totally on, on-the-job training to learn how to go about in this field.

Whichever category you happen to fall in, there is one website which will make sure that you are well-equipped for journalism, whether you are learning it in a university or training for it in an organisation. And that website is Poynter.

The Poynter Institute is basically an institute for training professional journalists as well as those aspiring to be journalists. It regularly holds seminars and courses as a part of the training process. The details of which are given on the website for the benefit of those of you who have the time and finances to attend. It is however, heartening to note that there is quite a lot of material on the website which can be perused, and the website has not chosen to dedicate itself purely to disseminate information and testimonials about its workshops, conferences and seminars.

To that effect, the best thing about Poynter is that all information is categorised very thoroughly. So if you’re a television journalist, you have your own section to browse and you need not to worry about having to go through the stuff on photo journalism or writing and editing.

The sections are very precise as well as informative. The Career Centre for instance, is one section where you can basically get all information about the aspects of job in journalism. Of course, it is possible that some of the information here may not apply to newspaper and other media organisations in Pakistan, which have their own system. But nonetheless, it wouldn’t hurt to find out how things work in general and what problems can surface in journalism jobs.

The “TV/Radio” section is all about broadcast journalism. Here, you can read up on the experiences of broadcast journalists, who have travelled to war zones to do their reporting and access tip sheets on how effectively to report from an audio visual medium.

The section on ethics should probably be read by every journalist who wishes to be socially responsible while performing his/her duties. Here, you can find out which questions to ask when facing a confusing situation, how to handle personal prejudices when reporting, and how to deal with the line between fact and fiction. There are loads of articles here which make really an enlightening read on media ethics. The issue of online ethics is also discussed in detail.

The high point of Poynter (no pun intended) is that it has made the layout in such a way that one can easily read articles off the webpages. The teal and white colour scheme and the variation of fonts highlight is a fact that a great deal of thought goes into website designing, something which ultimately benefits all those who want to peruse material online, rather than print outs.

So whether you are suffering from a writer’s block, can’t think of how to approach a sensitive topic or aren’t sure whether taking a specific angle of a story is appropriate, Poynter is the place to reach out to for help and solve all the illusions.

Visit http://www.poynter.org to learn more about the tricks and tips of journalism.

The smart (website) reviewer

Mention the phrase search engine or web directory and the first word that springs to mind is either Yahoo! or Google.

The more astute Internet users may mutter “Ask Jeeves.” The fact remains that when a person wants to go through any web directory of links pertaining to various categories he only select those websites which are used over and over again.

There are, however, a myriad websites around the Internet which feature web directories. And although these directories have much the same categories as those of the high-profile websites like; Yahoo, it doesn’t make them any less in either quality or functionality. One of the high points of these lesser-known websites is their one feature which can make you a pro in writing website reviews.

One such website is Illumirate. The unusual name is derived from the word illumination which is the reason behind the tag line of the website which reads, “Lighting your way through the web.”

So what makes this website different? At the outset, it may seem like a waste of time to go through it but considering the number of links in each category is far less than what a person would find in more popular websites. But if you notice carefully, you’ll find a review beneath each website. Where does this review come from? The answer is ‘link editor’.

Yes, link editing is one of the major means through which the website keeps itself updated and inundated with new and improved links to websites. Illumirate editors are no different. They keep a watch out for interesting websites and the minute they find one which fits the bill, they write a small review, keeping in view the extensive guidelines of the Illumirate. The name and description along with the URL of the website is submitted for a review by the senior editors, and if it is approved, the website is put up in the appropriate category.

The categories, however, are also decided by editors. When they stumble upon a good website, they have to ensure that they know which category it would be suitable for. For that, they have to be well-versed in all the different categories which are on Illumirate.

All those internet users who have some extra time on their hands and would like to share their wealth of links with others can avail this feature of the website, by using the on-site form to apply for the position of an Illumirate editor. All that is needed is a sample website review so that your expression and language skills can be evaluated.

Of course, not everyone is interested in becoming a link editor. If you are one of those who aren’t interested in sharing websites, maybe you just want some extra publicity for your own website. And it wouldn’t hurt to have it featured in Illumirate’s directory. So while you are here, you can access the link submission form. There are some extensive guidelines which you must follow to ensure that your website is accepted and put up. You also must know the relevant category in which your website is to be featured.

And finally, all those who access this website mainly to surf and find new websites can browse all the different categories to hunt down quality websites. There are also some pretty interesting categories ranging from education and social issues to travel and security.

Visit www.illumirate.com to learn more about reviewing.

Tracking the blog roll

With blogs having gained so much popularity in cyberspace, it is quite possible for an average internet user to visit at least a couple of blogs daily. However, the fact remains that people do not always update their blog on a regular basis. So if your internet connection is down and you manage to open a blog after a good half an hour only to discover that it hasn’t been updated since the last time you were here, things can seem pretty irritating.

So how do you make things easier? What is needed here is a service that will inform you immediately whenever one of the blogs on your list of favorites was updated so you don’t waste time opening each one daily only to discover that it hasn’t been updated. Many websites have taken an initiative like this but Blogarithm takes the cake.

The greatest thing about Blogarithm is its simplicity. You visit the home page and without any self-praising messages, you will find a simple form which will ask you to enter your email address and URL of the blog you want to subscribe to. This is basically all that you need to create an account with the website. As you discover more and more interesting blogs that you want to keep updated on, you can simply log in here and add URLs to your blog roll.

So how does Blogarithm work? It’s simple: by sending a daily email into your inbox which has the list of all the blogs and URLs which have been updated in the past 24 hours. All you then need to do is click on those blog links from your email, only to access them in another window. The email also has a few lines from the new post on the blogs concerned, so you get a fair idea of the kinds of updates made by the blogger.

On the website itself, you can manage your account in many different ways. Apart from adding blog URLs that you want to subscribe to, you can delete the links to blogs which are no longer functioning. If you won’t be able to check your email for a long time and don’t want your inbox to be flooded, you can suspend email from this website by entering the date till you want the email to be suspended, after which it will be automatically restored.

There are other options as well, which you can avail. You can choose whether to receive the daily email in text or HTML format. You can change the email address at which you receive emails. And if your list of blogs is too long, you can create categories and file your blog links under each, for instance, personal blogs, political blogs or metroblogs. Plus, if you have a long list of blog links to subscribe to, you can simply use the import option and add them all in one go. There is an extensive help section as well if you get stuck anywhere.

Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can use some of the stickers and banners that are here to promote this website. So basically, this is a website with many utilities. It helps you sort out your blog links and while doing that, it saves time while you are online and keeps your blog roll organised.

Visit blogarithm.com to get a daily dose of your favourite blogs.

Fooling Around

It was quite late in the afternoon - a time when many people indulge in a siesta after a long and tiring day. This particular household was no different. Everyone there was asleep as well with the exception of Sana Haq, the youngest member of the household. It was not surprising then, that when the phone rang, she went to pick it up.

'Hello?'

'Look, this is an emergency,' said an unfamiliar voice, slightly hysterical. 'Your father's administrator has been taken seriously ill. He is having problems in breathing. You must send your father right away to his clinic.'

Sana felt quite panicky. 'But my father is asleep,' she said. 'And if this really is an emergency, just take him to the hospital.'

The person on the other end hung up. Not quite sure what to do, Sana ran to her father's room and woke him up. Her father was also quite surprised. He picked up the phone and called his administrator on his cell phone. The administrator apparently was asleep and had no idea about what was going on. After a hurried exchange of words which left both Sana and her father in no doubt that he was really all right, the phone was hung up.

Now it was left to Sana to explain who had made the call and what exactly had happened. The entire family was quite baffled at what they thought was a very bizarre incident.

'It wasn't until very late at night, that we realized that it was 1st April that day, and someone had played a prank on us. It was quite disgusting. Imagine what might have happened had dad rushed to his hospital,' said Sana, narrating the incident that had occurred a couple of years ago.

One can easily surmise that this isn't the problem of just one family or one individual alone. Come the last week of March and it is highly likely that quite a few people will become their most vigilant selves, authenticating even the most trivial information they receive to ensure that they are not the victims of what is universally known as April Fool's Day.

April Fool - Quite Ancient!

It is quite surprising to note that unlike the events of Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, which have become rampant mainly because of all the mass media hype they generate, the phenomenon of April Fool has been around for a longer time in this country.

'I remember when I was in sixth grade, girls of my class used to discuss ideas for pranks to play on the 1st of April,' reminisced Maria Hussain. Maria is now in her fourth year of medical school. Judging by this, one can imagine that this idea has been around for, at least, the past decade.

Is Harmless Fun Really Harmless?

Even though 1st April pranks have been around for a long time, this doesn't essentially mean that people have gotten any more mature when it comes to playing pranks. The phrase 'harmless fun' is lost on most people as they indulge in bizarre and sometimes, quite dangerous tricks and jokes. Calling up people to give them unnerving news about their relatives, telling a classmate she has flunked a quiz or making people panic by telling them that their house has been a victim of arson are only some of these 'jokes' that in reality are not even slightly funny.

Over the years, another change that has taken place in the way 1st April is celebrated is that people have apparently decided that the whole month of March should be dedicated to it. Those who have loads of time at their disposal, not to mention a whole lot of their parents' hard-earned money, send out hoax SMSes to everyone in their list of contacts. These hoax news items are then made the subject of feverish discussion right up to 1st April, which is when the 'joke aspect' is revealed.

Confused? Take the following example. Your friend sends you an SMS that she is getting married in 30 days and that she needs your help for the wedding preparations. You sit down with her to make the guest list and decide the menu. At the end of the month, the month that incidentally happens to be March, you find out that it was a joke. Would you regard this as funny or would you term this as downright cruel and insensitive? It's not that hard a guess.

No Time for It!

But quite surprisingly, there are many young people who have now simply chosen to dismiss this day as nothing more than a waste of time. According to these people, they have other better things to do and they only indulge in humour in their own time and not because of any specific day. And, it's heartening to note this sudden change of trend, as revealed by some students.

'April Fool? What are you talking about?' exclaimed Nadia Fayyaz, student of a prestigious business institute. 'We simply don't have time to even think about it. We have our hourlies on 1st April and that's all that the first of April means to us these days.'

The views of Andaleeb Salim, an engineering student, are also somewhat similar. 'This is our third year. We have to take practical courses and form our project groups. I, along with my entire class, am so caught up in these academic activities that we can't even think of any pranks or jokes to play on anyone else.'

At the end of the day then, it does seem that where there are a group of people who will not even consider the nature of their pranks before playing them on others, there are loads of other young people who have decided that it is a sheer waste of time.

What matters is the way you actually think about April Fool's Day. Once you decide that on 1st of April, everything is legal, every joke will seem perfectly harmless, even though it may be dangerous to the nth degree. Of course, no one is saying that you should give up humour altogether. But the fact of life is that humour should not be at the cost of anyone else. And if it is, then maybe it's time to rethink whether all of Us really want this kind of humour to be part of our lives.

Is there a History?

It is quite interesting to note that April Fool's Day has NO history at all. Apparently, no one is ready to trust any historical account after it transpired that one of those accounts themselves was an April Fool's joke.

However, the most popular theory on the Internet regarding how this day came about goes something like this: Before 1582 (in some places the date is 1564), the New Year was celebrated from 25th March for eight days, concluding on the 1st of April and these were all the celebrations dedicated to this day. When the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, the New Year celebrations were shifted to 1st of January.

That was the time when there was no concept of mass media and news traveled slowly. So until this change of calendar became widely known, some people continued to celebrate the New Year on 1st April. Those who did not agree with the new calendar also continued with the old one. These people were labelled as fools by those who followed the new calendar. Over time, this evolved to 1st April being a day when people play practical jokes on others.

Beware of an Urban Legend

1st April has been a subject of many hoax emails. The bad news is that very few people realise that they're not authentic in the first place. One such email regarding the origins of 1st April, which has been widely forwarded, has now been widely refuted as well. The summary of that email is as follows:

The Christian forces wanted to capture Spain, but were unable to do so. To emerge victorious over the strong Muslim rule, they worked hard to indulge them in various vices like alcohol and cigarettes. Finally, when the morals of Muslims had degenerated, they attacked them and captured Spain, ending the Muslim rule. The last city that they occupied was Grenada and that was on the 1st of April. So from that day onwards, they celebrate the day as April Fool's Day - to symbolise that they made a fool out of Muslims to drive them out of Spain.

This story has been aptly termed as an urban legend and refuted by many on the following grounds:

a) As mentioned before, it was after 1582 or 1564 that the concept of April Fool came about. On the other hand, a historical fact is that that Muslim rule in Spain officially ended on 12th January 1492. There is a huge difference in dates, as you can see.

b) Smoking wasn't around at the time when Muslims ruled Spain. In fact, the first cultivation of tobacco by Spain was in 1550, again way after 1492 which was when Grenada fell.

c) There are many authentic and diverse explanations for the downfall of Muslims in Spain. These can be found in many books and articles, and the sources one can trust over a forwarded email.

Of course, the above three points were just the tip of the iceberg of a matter that has been discussed quite at length. Many different Muslim history buffs have collected facts and figures to convince other Internet and email users not to forward this email. Rather they should let the authentic facts be known to whoever forwarded this email in the first place. You can read more about this urban legend at http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/hoax/april-fool.html