Tech Rant -- Instaspam

Today's rant is over the sudden proliferation of spam comments on Instagram.
They look like this:

Two of my images are currently being targeted. 

Being the Instacop that I am, I investigate the perps:

Looks like the above isn't doing so well on the "hundreds [of] followers & likes".

My first action is blocking the account: 

Next I go to the image with the comments and report each one as spam.

Here's how:

Click down on the comment and slide left, you will then see this:

The grey   ! octagon   is the reporting button. 

Tapping on it will give you some options:

You can be a good Instacop on your friends' images as well.
Left swiping will give you the Report option (but not the Trash).

Let's clean up Instagram and eliminate the Instaspam!

Tech: Instagram ALL WRONG

What has IGers' knickers all in a knot?
Algorithm-based feeds, that's what!
Instagram announced the change on their blog last week.

Me, I want to see my IG friends' posts chronological, not how Instagram (owned by Facebook) "thinks" I should see them. 

Nope. Not updating.

Some recent reviews:

There's a Change.org petition to sign if you feel the same.

Since it's doubtful that the petition will stop the march of change, here's an alternate mind-set to consider from

 The Abundant Artist.

Quote of the Day meets Noteography

We are social creatures to the inmost centre of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong.

          Karl Popper, 1902 - 1994

Three things:

Quotes of the day come from qotd.org

Fancy formatted text for your social media from the Notegraphy app.

My Notegraphy album is here.

You're welcome.

A Little House Cleaning 1) Blogger plus Disqus plus Google+ 2) The Referrer Bots

CREATED/ LINKS/

We interrupt our usual Tuesday programming to bring you this public service announcement:
Google+ and Disqus don't play nice! 

I found this out the hard way. It wasn't until this morning, after a day of locked comments, that I found this on the
Google+ Comments FAQ page:
"What happens to my existing comments when I enable Google+ Comments?
If you use Blogger’s commenting platform, existing Blogger comments will stay on your blog, and you’ll continue to have the option to delete or mark them as spam. If you use a third-party commenting system, your comments might not be retained when you enable Google+ Comments." [my italics]

Gee, thanks for letting me know when I originally checked the box, G+. Yeah, I really want to lose all my comments for the last year.

I know you'd much rather see our 70's Pick-me-up girl, Vix,
vs reading my rants about things.
She'll bloom in full color on Thursday, I promise!

My other words of warning concern unusual spikes in your page views due to referrer shenanigans. Have you noticed that a random post has become wildly popular? It's flattering, yes, until you look at your stats and see that the views come from some strange sounding URL that you've never heard of. DON"T CLICK ON IT -- no matter how tempting! Sometimes these URLs will link to porn sites (eep!) or worse, contain malware which can infect who knows what in your blog or system.

My latest tormentor is r-e-f-e-r-e-r (dot) com. They have invaded ALL my blogs.
Here are some screenshots from my On the EDGE blog, where the spikes are very obvious:

note: this blog was started 1/7/13, Blogger starts the stats from the date I first started blogging

I did a Google search yesterday and from an Etsy discussion, found this link for an informative Zioli post. In a short video, Matt Cutts from Google explains what exactly is going on. The most important take-away from all this is: DON'T CLICK on anything suspicious!

+Arash Mazinani +Heather Fonseca and I will be discussing Google+ in a Google Hangout next Sunday at 10am PDT.
Are any of you Google+ mavens out there? Maybe you'd like to join us?

My Captcha Crusade -- Stop the Captchas Today!

CREATED/PURLOINED/PURCHASED/LINK

Dear Blogger users,
Please stop it with the Captchas. They are driving me MAD!

This does not seem to be a Wordpress issue. Those of you on WP can go relax and feel very smug.
It's YOU, my fellow Blogger bloggers. You torture me. You are ruining my already terrible eyes. There are other ways to stop the bots. No, don't tell me you don't know what a captcha is! Yagottabekiddinme. It's this:

I'm fine with the "normal" word on the right. It's the twisty illegible one on the left that's the problem.

Oh no.

I just thought of something.



Am I a bot?

Is that why I can't read them and have to hit the twirly arrow a bunch of times to reload the words I can't decipher?

Oh dear.

Let us ignore that concept and continue on.

Why don't we make commenting easier for your readers. You like comments, right?
I use Disqus here on SpyGirl, for a variety of reasons. You don't have to get all fancy like that. I write FIVE other blogs [intermittently] and I've had no problems with spammers. They get caught in the Blogger security net. This is true! I had one post on my sketch blog under attack 2-3 times a day for a good 2 months last summer. Not one of those spammy comments got published.

Here's what you do:
In your Blogger dashboard, go to Settings (the wrench).
Then go to Posts and Comments:

[here are my current settings for all my blogs]

 

First, don't let "Anonymous Users" comment -- choose something else
Next, Comment Moderation -- you choose -- a good way to filter people if you so desire
Word verification = Captcha PLEASE "JUST SAY NO"

Be sure to "Save Settings" (orange bar, upper right).
Your readers with thank you!
You might even get more comments!

Visible Monday, here I come...

Tech Tip: Using Google Images Search with Pinterest

"Curator : one who has the care and superintendence of something; especially : one in charge of a museum, zoo, or other place of exhibit" [Mirriam Webster online] Curators in a museum or gallery setting are always concerned with the provenance (history) of the pieces in an exhibition.
I would like to propose this same level of care when using social curation sites, such as Pinterest. It may take some extra time, but I think it is only fair to the photographers, craftspeople, bloggers, etc that created the original content.

How? Use Google Images!

note: you need to see that little camera icon at right edge of search box
if you don't see one, your browser is too old, this tip won't work

First, check to see what URL the image jumps to
(all Pinterest images are supposed to link back to their origin -- unless they were uploaded directly from the Pinner's computer)

Clicking on the image above was a dead link:

So, if the link is bad, it's time to do some detective work.
There is a reason I'm called SpyGirl!

Click down on the image you like and drag it to the Google Image search box.

Here's what came up in my Image Search:

Click through until you find the image.
(Sometimes this goes only to the top level of a blog -- disheartening because you'll have to scroll a lot*).

Copy the URL

It is now time to Repin and curate responsibly!

After hitting Repin:

Choose your Pinboard + hit "Pin It"

An image of your Pinning source will appear, choose "See it now"

Hit the Edit button:

Paste in the correct URL that you found during your Google Image search in the Link section

Hit Save Pin.
You are now a trustworthy curator! Yay!

If you're feeling especially anal, return to the source of your Pin, and add a comment, pasting in the same URL:

I got this, because it's a link:

So I removed the "http://" and replaced the dots in the URL

*If that's "too much" for you, at least have the correct URL on your own Pin.
*If you "don't have time" for all of this, may I suggest "Liking" the Pin instead of Repinning it?

I'd like to credit the catladies at GOMI for teaching me this trick.

Here's a humorous piece about the new usage of the term "Curate" written by ALEX WILLIAMS for the NY Times on 10/2/09

Remove Captcha in Blogger for New Interface (2012)

I helped a friend start her blog a while back and one of the first things I had her do was turn off Captcha.
I DESPISE Captcha. What is it?
This:

I wrote a post on this last year (my most popular!) but Blogger has updated their interface, so the visuals on that post are obsolete (updates - the bane of the digital instructor).

Here's how you do it now...

1) Go to your Blogger Dashboard
(upper right of this page, or hit Design when on your own page, then go to Step 2)

2) From menu on the left, choose Settings

3) Choose Posts and Comments

4) In Show word verification, Choose No

While you're there, make any other adjustments that seem worth it.

5) Be sure to hit Save Settings, on upper right!

My eyes thank you in advance...

Generating QR Codes

QR codes are those square pixelly things that are popping up everywhere.
They are usually black and white:

Here is an explanation that I lifted from the site I use to generate my codes:
"A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a mobile phone readable barcode that's been big in Japan forever, broke into Europe a while back, and is now getting traction in USA. In its simplest sense think "print based hypertext link" - simply encode a URL into the QR Code and then point a mobile phone (or other camera-enabled mobile) at it. If the device has had QR Code decoding software installed on it, it will fire up its browser and go straight to that URL."

If you go to the above site, you will find it super easy to generate your own code for any URL
Here is a screen shot of the home page:

I've chosen "Website URL" on the left*,  entered my URL, and my code appears in seconds
Hit download and your done!
*Look at all the choices you have on that list! Food for thought!

You can even get all fancy and mix a color to replace the black.
(I usually do this in photoshop instead).

It's a good idea to test your code for readability. Important tip - have good contrast between code and background.
Size matters for older phones - a 5/8 x 5/8" one was too small for my iPhone 3G, but a 3/4 x 3/4" was fine.

here's a patterned one that I put on the last page of my
"In Ten Minutes" sketchbook

Happy QR coding!

[4/28/21] Here's another site: www.websiteplanet

IFB Project #26: The Best of 2011

Can you believe that it's almost 2012? 
I had a good time scrolling down the archives reliving the past year. I joined IFB in April and fell down the fashion blogger rabbit hole with glee. I do this for the joy of it -- I "should" be concentrating on my art work, but it isn't half as compelling. Who knows? Maybe the fashion blogger portraits (see last link) will become my next art exhibition.
I have enjoyed becoming part of the fashion blogger community and learning the merits of Twitter (@annembray), Tumbler, Instagram (annembray) et al. AND making everyone's acquaintance. You are a great community!

Here are my favorite SpyGirl posts from 2011.

SpyGirl started as a fake journal project in April 2010. I wanted to start sketching my outfits and came upon the SpyGirl template by accident (or fate). This journal spread is my favorite for 2011 because it jogs my memory about a design concept I'd like to put into production and sell.

Favorite SpyGirl Sketch:
4-22 happy Earth Day

My favorite outfit post is about what I wore for a Nada Surf gig I attended with my boyfriend. We had backstage passes  and everything!

Favorite outfit post:
In 10 Minutes: 6-5 

"Style Reports" are my street style photos. This Williamsburg post was the result of planting myself at Pies - n - Thighs for hours, waiting for my boyfriend to arrive from an LAX flight into Newark (flight issues). A fashionable start to a most excellent vacation with him.

Favorite Style Report (street style):
Summer in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

I'm calling posts about museum visits and other cultural activities "Style Guides" I was killing time in Portland and stumbled upon this wonderful exhibition. Took copious notes and photos.

Favorite Style Guide:
Portland - Laurie Herrick at the Museum of Contemporary Craft

I'm especially proud of my Hair Care post for the Friend Friday group, hosted by Katy at ModlyChic. If you had told me three years ago that I would have short hair today, I wouldn't have believed you.

Favorite FBFF (friend friday) post:
Hair Care - the long and the short of it

The second IFB Project was to write a haiku. I chose my red coat that I designed in 1987.

Favorite IFB Project:
haiku to my red coat

For one of my day jobs, I teach digital design. I make all my own handouts in lieu of a text book. Thanks to Kimi @ allthefussandmore I learned how to turn off the oh-so-annoying Blogger Captcha. I then made her instructions visual. This is one of my most popular posts.

Best (and only) tech tip:
How to Turn off Captcha in Blogger 

Here is a taste of a series to come in 2012 -- "Fashion Icons"

Post that I'm most excited about:
amb on 7-21

Before this recap project came up, I was already starting to use Chris Guillebeau's (author of The Art of Non-Conformity) process to evaluate my year. I recommend that you check out his Annual Review post here. He gives some great suggestions.

To a better and brighter 2012!

5-31: Links à la Mode: Tech

SpyGirl made the geek list on Independent Fashion Bloggers
here is the post:

 

Bloggers Heart Technology

Edited by Kristin Swenson of BonBon Rose Girls
I think we can all agree that technology has become vital to the daily existence of bloggers. Who among us goes a week without playing around with coding, tinkering with our blog design, tweeting, downloading the newest photo apps etc.? Many of us who started out somewhat technology illiterate are now wearing our chic geek badges proudly. Thankfully, forums like IFB exist to nurture and encourage our self education when it comes to tech issues!
So, I hope you’ll take a moment to enjoy these featured posts. I daresay you’ll walk away with a valuable new nugget of tech related knowledge. Today’s link roundup really has a little something for everyone, no matter where your inner geek’s interests may lie!

LINKS À LA MODE: TECH – MAY 31st

• a la Modest: Server of Satan
• BonBon Rose Girls: 3 Download Worthy Apps
• IFB: Chat Today: How to Promote Your Blog
• Julieta Campos: Of Twitter Usernames and Pop Stars
• Miss Viki: The Tiny Difference: CSS Subpixel Font Rendering
• Spy Girl: How to Turn Off Captcha in Blogger
• Styling You: Six Things You Need to Know About Commenting on Blog Posts