I'm so excited! In two days I'm leaving for Japan to attend the 1st International Mokuhanga Conference in Kyoto and Awaji! As part of my preparation, I've been trying to figure out how I can communicate with you while I'm there. It's complicated, of course. I'm opting not to bring my laptop as it would be too cumbersome, so I'll be using my Verizon Android phone instead. This limits me in a couple of ways. First of all I can't type well with my thumbs, so I won't be able to be my usual verbose self. And secondly, my phone can't communicate with Japan's cell network, so I'll only be able to use it when there's wireless available. Wireless, it turns out, is not nearly as ubiquitous in Japan as it is in the US. So I'm really not sure how often I'll be able to post.
Then there's the question of where to post when I can post. I have a Twitter feed, a Facebook page, and this blog as possibilities, but I don't want to make multiple posts, so I want to use RSS to "broadcast" each post to those various streams. I tried Blogger for Android to see if I could use Woodblock Dreams to do that, but I found it too difficult to use the Blogger software on my phone. Twitter is too concise (140 characters) and Facebook isn't my favorite site. So, I started a Tumblr blog. Tumblr is a sort of hybrid between old-style standalone blogs like this one and social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook. The interface is simple and designed for easy sharing of content from either computers or mobile devices. The social functions are Tumblr's "following" and "reblogging" features, which allow people to follow others and share things they like.All this is a long way of saying I'll be sending live reports from Japan, photos etc. on my Tumblr:
http://anniebissett.tumblr.com/
If you're one of my friends on Facebook or if you follow me on Twitter, the Tumblr feeds should show up there too, but in some of my test posts the results have been inconsistent. If you want to be sure to see the posts, I'd suggest checking directly on the Tumblr site.
When I get back in mid-June I'll do some longer posts here on Woodblock Dreams with all the gory geeky printmaking details. I hope you'll follow along for both!
love,
Annie
6 comments:
Well, I will definitely be following along! Since I'm not going, you'll be my eyes & ears for the conference....have a wonderful time, and safe travels too!
Rick
Safe journey and enjoy!
I will try to follow from tumblr.
I have never used that medium, so this will be a first.
Hugs from Elisabeth
I can vouch for the fact that there is very little wireless around in public spaces in Japan. A lot of people imagine the opposite but it's so not true. However, the Kyoto International Community House (where I think you'll be spending a bit of time) has wireless. At least I think it does. Now I'm starting to doubt my memory. There are cafes where you can access the internet too in case you want to use a computer. But they have Japanese key boards so that's challenging and they're not overly cheap (they charge by the hour). Here's list from Kyoto Visitor's Guide:
http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/useful/useful-internet.htm
Also the Kyoto International Community House has computers that you can rent by the hour.
Have fun Annie and say a big hello to Richard & Kimiko for me!
Hi there Annie...have a very nice trip to Japan and I am sure you´ll enjoy it very much....sending you and your trip many good thoughts...:O)
from Anita
I look forward to finally meeting you, Annie.
I will be there with bells on!
See you in a few days.
Preston Lawing
Annie,
I am taking my laptop so if all else fails you can use mine. See you soon!
Linda
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