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Tuesday Jul 08, 2008
Pick me! Pick me!
When I was about 10 or 11 all I ever hoped for was a Blue Peter badge. They were the holy grail of children's television and I wanted one more than anything. Every time the show ran a competition I was positive that my painting, poem or photograph would be deemed worthy of a badge. I used to scream at Anthea Turner and Tim Vincent to "Say my name", but they never did.
I had to wait until I was 12 until I received a letter that contained what I'd always wanted. I'd entered a Blue Peter poster competition for the London Underground and had drawn a Beefeater with a tube sign in the background. It wasn't anything special but I thought I might as well send it in; they'd probably reward me for my persistency if not for my artistic talents.
Twelve years on and my hopes are slightly more demanding; a house, a car, a £10 million pound lottery win. Who knows, maybe if I scream loud enough I'll get these send in the post as well.
In TheSite.org's latest survey we want to know your hopes and fears. Let us know and you'll get your own prize, a £5 Amazon gift voucher.
Posted by Chris Denholm ( 10:38 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Tuesday Jul 01, 2008
How much booze do you really drink?
After seeing a recent Government alcohol campaign on TV the other day, I wondered whether the scales for measuring alcohol units were actually very clear at all. We may order 'a pint' or a 'double whisky and Coke', but in actual fact the strength of drink and measure you receive can greatly affect the number of units you drink.
It all becomes a little confusing, so I took to the streets and soberly asked your opinion for our latest Vox Pops video...
It also makes me wonder if we should all adapt our language and start asking at our local for, "Two and a half units of bitter, please."
Posted by Chris ( 4:45 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Jun 27, 2008
Culinary kings
If you're anything like me in the kitchen (utterly useless) a few cooking lessons wouldn't go amiss. It's not that I'm ignorant about ingredients or that I don't know any good recipes, it's because I'm the most impatient person ever when it comes to eating. If a tasty meal comes to mind I want it immediately. When I want chips I'll zap them in the microwave and then blast them in the oven at full heat. They normally come out burnt as hell but I've found that ketchup masks the charcoal taste very effectively. It drives my housemate crazy! He's constantly turning on the extractor fan and spraying air freshener so the neighbours don't think we're on fire.
Last year TheSite.org met Lloyd and Daryl, two up-and-coming chefs who had been working on Jamie Oliver's Fifteen apprenticeship scheme. The scheme, for 18-24 year-olds, takes budding chefs and trains them up to a professional standard. Most of the apprentices were unemployed or out of education before joining the programme and now have a bright future in the restaurant industry.
It's been five years since the scheme started and Fifteen have recently started accepting applications for this year's apprentices. If you want to apply you can fill in an online application form here. The deadline is July 15.
Posted by Chris Denholm ( 9:18 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Jun 20, 2008
School prom... anything to write home about?
I love reading news about the UK from other places (well, tbh I'm a news junkie so I like reading news regardless).
But this is a story about the increase in UK teenagers having proms from the US-based Wall Street Journal. The story suggests that we've "seen the events in movies like American Pie and television shows such as The O.C., and they want the chance to dress up and rent limousines".
Back when I left school, we had a sixth-form ball at the local hotel. We dressed up in black-tie---well, some people did---and convinced the bar-staff we were all eighteen.
So, are proms anything new, or have we just changed the name and made them more commercial?
PS. The story also suggests that Britain is a "land of school uniforms, rigorous exams and ivy-covered school halls".
Posted by Olly ( 8:40 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Wednesday May 14, 2008
Were we right to publish it?
Every so often, we have to take difficult decisions about what we publish; and what we choose not to. We've always taken a stance that our site users make their own mind up about the information that we publish; which is why we try never to preach about drugs, crime or safe sex. That stance means that we rarely hold back on providing information and true stories providing they are based on fact and honestly-held opinion.
But sometimes that is not enough, and we've had a engaging debate as to whether to publish an article we commissioned on prostitution. According to the Home Office, nearly one in 20 men aged 16-43 have paid for sex in the last five years; and in London that figure nearly doubles. There are about 80,000 individuals involved in prostitution in the UK, roughly the same number as those who work in the social housing sector. And although soliciting, brothels and kerb-crawling are all illegal; the actual act of paying or accepting payment for sex isn't.
So when we interviewed an escort who described how much money she got paid, how safe and in control she feels and how her biggest problem is clients with smelly breath; there was a collective expression of concern. The reality is that this is highly atypical of the sex industry; and the majority of prostitutes are there because of a dependence on income to pay for drugs, or increasingly through being trafficked or tricked into coming to the UK. Many prostitutes are victims of violence and rape whilst working, and again according to the Home Office, 75% were forced into prostitution before they turned 18, and 95% are involved to support theirs, or their partner's, drug problem.
The last thing we wanted to do was publish a story that glamorised the sex-industry, or glossed over the horrific experiences that leads people into prostitution. ITV came in for plenty of criticism over the Billie Piper fronted Belle Du Jour, and that was labelled as entertainment. But we're not about entertainment - we're here to provide information.
But conversely there are claims (and research) that more and more female students are turning to the sex industry to help fund their way through university. We're here to reflect the realities of being aged between 16-24 in the UK. The drug trade is equally full of horrific and brutal statistics---albeit the majority not in this country---and yet we publish information on drugs because we know that many young people in the UK use them.
So we have published the story. Because ultimately we're not here to tell people how to live their lives.
I'd be interested to know if you think that was the right decision.
Olly
Posted by Olly ( 11:49 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[4]
Friday May 09, 2008
Poke that!
I love social networking websites because I get to find out about cool events that would otherwise fall outside of my radar. I hate them because I occasionally get weird messages from people I met randomly three years ago that quite frankly fall under the category of spam. Just this week I got a long rambling message from someone which included the sentence:
COULD YOU POSSIBLY TO TELL ME WHAT ARE YOU DONG THESE DAYS? WHICH FILM YOU HAVE SEEN AT LAST,WHICH BOOK INFLUENCED YOU RECENTLY?, ARE YOU HAPPY (IN THE PIC I CAN SEEE YOU GOT SLIGHLY WEIGH ,BUT YOU LOOK REALLY GREAT).
Got slightly weigh? Thanks for that, but what's with the SHOUTING?
For your chance to tell us what you love and hate about social networking sites, click poke that to complete our latest survey.
Imagine if people's behaviour on social networking websites was mirrored in the real world. Here's a video from the BBC's Wall which gives a scarily accurate picture of why some people's actions online are pretty ridiculous, not to mention downright offensive, at times.
Posted by Helen ( 2:38 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Wednesday Apr 23, 2008
What's in your ears?
I’ve found a video of what we get up to in TheSite.org office:
Lip Dub - Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger from amandalynferri on Vimeo.
(Ok, it’s not quite like that, but boy I’d love it to be. I totally love the fact these people made that video).
But we do have something sort of similar. On Friday afternoons, we tend to gather for a short presentation on a particular subject before having a little relaxation time where people can chat socially and reflect on what they achieved over the week. It’s a good opportunity to get to see your colleagues in different light to the usual name that appears in your inbox demanding something be done by yesterday.
One of the highlights of this downtime is that we get to play music in the office. Generally our office is quite quiet: although the techie people appear to like opera which occasionally they have playing in the background, so it does tend to make the place feel a bit like a hotel lobby. But on Friday afternoon we get to play music. And that means we need someone to choose the music.
This week, big Jim V asked if I’d like to do the honours. What then should I inflict my colleagues with? A quick look at my Last.fm account suggests that most of what I listen to is, erm, of the chilled variety: Jack Johnson, Tom McRae, Air etc (which is what I tended to listen to when I was working at my previous job). All very nice but not exactly the sort of music you want to kickstart your weekend.
(Oh and the Sugababes is my guilty pleasure and I’m not going to apologise for that).
At the moment I’m particularly loving the new Guillemots album (their gig @ Somerset House was my favourite of last year). I also really liked the new Portishead single when they played it on Jools Holland. And a couple of weeks back I saw this guy play and thought he was brilliant. All of them great, but again not the riveting anthems you want before we head to the pub or wherever.
So, anyone got any great ideas for music we should play in TheSite.org office this Friday? Current favourites, old classics or undiscovered treasures of MySpace?
Otherwise I’ll be inflicting my nineties indie favs: stand up Sleeper, Wannadies and classic Charlatans.
Olly
Posted by Olly ( 9:48 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[4]
Friday Apr 18, 2008
Being a newbie...
Starting in a new job is always a daunting experience. It's like the first day at a new school, except there generally the other people are all new at the same time and you aren't replacing someone who had their way of doing things that people understood and were used to.
So it's with some relief that I've got to the end of my first week at TheSite.org, covering for Hannah whilst she is away on maternity leave, surprisingly confident about what I'm supposed to be doing. That's in no small way the excellent (and extensive) hand-over notes that Hannah left---I do now feel a bit guilty about what I left for the person replacing me at my previous job---and the excellent team who I'm working with.
Life at TheSite.org never stands still, so on my third day I was inducting our newest member of staff, Chris Chapman, who is joining us to create lots more audio and video content. Multimedia is very much my background as well; so (literally) watch out for more of that coming your way soon – be it on your computer, your iPod or whatever other way you like to get video in front of your eyes and sound in your ears.
Being maternity cover is an interesting role. You aren't simply there to hold the fort - TheSite.org needs constant developing so a year of just twiddling thumbs and answering emails isn't good enough. But you're also aware you are sat in someone else's seat, and eventually they'll want it back. You can't totally go in a different direction to what they were doing, as they won't be very impressed when they return. So, other than chucking out some old magazines, updating the voicemail and introducing a constant supply of Haribo to the desk; I'm not planning on too much revolution in the office.
I can't wait to meet loads of TheSite.org users; be it on the boards, via email or in person if you get involved through our many volunteering opportunities. Without liking to sound like an old crusty, I do remember TheSite.org back in the late 90s when I was at uni and doing a digital media degree (this is when I had to explain to most relatives what the internet was). I am genuinely excited that after years of being aware of how great TheSite.org is; I'm now in a position where I get to influence what it does.
Feel free to send your feedback, comments, suggestions or even random crap that you think will make me laugh.
Olly
Posted by Olly ( 2:38 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[3]
Wednesday Apr 09, 2008
Driving test
When I took my first driving test I had everything planned. My cassette ‘Drive with Jules’ was completed and would be played relentlessly in my first car, a rusty little Fiat Panda. Filled with songs mixed off the radio and cheesy tunes, I was ready to pose with my sunroof down and my windows open. I was mentally prepared to pass and get out there into the real world where I didn’t have to rely on lifts from parents or friends. The thought of failing didn’t enter my head (and I did that twice), but nevertheless I was terrified. Well Joe is in the same boat, optimistic, but scared sh*tless. Check out his next diary entry to hear about the run-up to booking his test. Good luck Joe!
Posted by Julia ( 1:43 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Apr 04, 2008
Minging loos
Once I actually gave my bag (with everything in it including wallet and keys etc) to a complete stranger on a static train because I was worried it would get ruined if I took it into the nasty train toilet. Very stupid I know, but a sure sign that they really are gross. Luckily the person was kind and honest, so I got my bag back when I returned to my seat. The latest rant in our real life section is all about train toilets and captures the horrors vividly. 
Posted by Helen ( 2:24 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Thursday Apr 03, 2008
The Dominatrix
I'm sad to say that our Digital Interactive Services Director Dom Waghorn will be waving goodbye to TheSite.org at the end of this week. You may be wondering - what's the big deal? People come and go from jobs all the time. This change is a big deal though as Dom has pretty much become part of the furniture at TheSite towers having notched up a grand total of 9.5 years 'service'! So if you count backwards then you'll soon realise that Dom was involved in TheSite.org when the internet was a creaky and let's face it, pretty ugly, domain. This means that he's seen a lot of changes and helped shape the website to create the brilliant resource we've come to know and love.
Anyway, that's enough from me. I asked some TheSite.org users who have been kicking around for a fair while to share their thoughts on his departure. Here's what they had to say:
Aladdin
"Thank you very much for a splending job for all these years! It seems you were at the helm when the internet had barely been invented. Moderating a forum cannot be an easy job at the best of times, specially one catered to helping young people.
All the best for the future!"
Man of Kent
"What can I say about Dom?
Those of us who have been on the boards for years now have missed his witty inputs over the past couple of years as he's moved to other jobs in YouthNet. That doesn't mean that we won't be disappointed to hear that he's finally completed the tunnel and is on his way out of "thesite towers".
Seriously, for a Charlton (ha!) supporting colonial, he was alright I suppose." 
go_away
One of my favourite Dom moments came from that satirical article published by the register:
Quote:
|
The editor of the site, Dominic Waghorn - obviously a pseudonym for some drug-crazed Nazi - attempted to justify his site thus: "We try to provide information and advice. We don't tell people how to live their lives or what is right or wrong." Ridiculous. How would people know what to do if we didn't tell them? It'd be bloody anarchy. |
I'm trying not to write from a perspective as if I was writing an obituary, but Dom put so much into TheSite.org and I'm sure hundreds of people (including myself) benefitted in the many ways that TheSite has to offer. I was 17 when I joined, I'm still rattling about at 24, which says a lot about the community that was created, and the effort put in from the people above, much of which came from the Dominatrix!
Posted by Helen ( 10:14 AM ) Link to this post | Comments[3]
Tuesday Feb 05, 2008
Mobile history
A recent thread in the Volunteering and Activism forum on our discussion boards about recycling old mobile phones for charity reminded me of how many I’ve owned since my first Motorola model in the year 2000. It’s actually a scary number and unfortunately due to loss, theft and breakage I haven’t been able to rec
ycle every mobile I’ve had over eight years.
All this has got me thinking. If you’re a serial mobile owner like me, you’re bound to feel a sense of nostalgia when you think back to your old phones and what you were doing with your life when you owned them. This is 21st Century nostalgia for sure. A mobile phone history of just eight years already spans enormous technological changes, but each phone has a human story too. My first phone was a birthday present from my parents and I remember being embarrassed because it was already an outdated Motorola brick compared to my college friend’s new Vodafone models. My third phone was a Nokia 3210 brought as a Christmas present from my first serious boyfriend. I remember him telling me that phones weren’t going to get much better than that model!
Mobile phone history is already something that’s been picked up on in the Net & Tech forum on TheSite.org and it’s really interesting to see which brands and models have fared better than others. I bet you can see a few of your own in there.
Posted by Helen ( 1:48 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Jan 25, 2008
Post Pals
I've talked about my sporadic charity giving in a past blog and here's an example of something that's really touched me this week. Although not in any way life threatening, I've had a very small taste of what it's like to be bed bound and that was only for three months when I had a bad bout of glandular fever at the age of 16. The sense of boredom is immense and I remember at the time that one of the main things that got me through those months was to have contact from my friends and family through post, phone calls, and visits.
That's why Vik's latest diary entry had such an effect on me because not only are the children that she's helping though the organisation Post Pals seriously ill, many of them have been bed bound for years and friends have long gone. The realisation of how easy it is to send a card or a small gift to one of those children and reading about how much it's meant to the lives of the children who now have something to wake up for, made me go all weepy inside.
I'm off to the shops today to buy some stickers and a card for a child and hopefully it's something I will do regularly, I can even email one of the children featured on the website. With the growing popularity of emailing and social networking websites, if you've got time to forward a funny joke to friends or to poke and prod someone or send them a message, you've got time to put a massive smile on a little one's face. I'm definitely getting softer as I get older but I guess that's not such a bad thing
Posted by Julia ( 12:21 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Dec 21, 2007
The dating diary
As this time of year is notorious for mistletoe, parties and romantic gestures (we hope), it seems especially apt that we introduce our newest diarist, Tatti. We all like to know about what’s going on in people’s love lives, but not many people are keen to spill the beans. That’s where Tatti is different because she’s happy to let you in on what’s going on in her love life and the lessons she learns along the way. We’ve kicked her new diary off with two entries: Sex outside of the city and Playing Games.
Posted by Julia ( 4:41 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]
Friday Nov 23, 2007
Tickets to ride, videos to watch and fears of the unknown...
** Feedback **
The information I received from TheSite was fantastic, it's made me realise I have a problem but more importantly that I have a problem that can be fixed.
basically responses from the site put things in perspective. something the individual cant do ..and thats why we come to you for help.
I just like to say thank you to all those who put together my answer it is truly appreciated, so Thank you.
** New Audio & Video Section on TheSite.org **
New home-grown videos include:
GUM clinic virtual tour
What will you miss about uni?
Does uni prepare you for working life?
Young entrepreneur
** New Christmas e-cards **
Get sending!
http://www.thesite.org.uk/Ecard/ChooseCard.jsp?type=1122
** New content on TheSite.org **
Does uni prepare you for working life?
What will you miss about uni?
Time to quit?
Fear of the unknown
Bad reference or bad luck
Ticket to ride
Posted by Jim ( 5:02 PM ) Link to this post | Comments[0]