h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was thinking that an interesting thing to do with the challenges at Create is to hook them in with some ‘how to…’ information – we’ve already had a request for a ‘how to…’ one for designing smileys for example. We’d be aiming to focus on h2g2 skills, of course, but also digital media ones more generally.

So, which h2g2 skills would you like to get better at? Which do you think would be useful to or fun for other people to learn? Are you expert at any of these ideas and wouldn’t mind lending a hand, either in designing a challenge or hanging about and giving advice when people attempt them?

Likewise, off-site skills (after all, you never know what Pastey is planning).

Here is a good place to discuss this, but there is also this planning ahead page if any of you have an idea for a challenge spring fully formed into your minds (or just fancy getting involved/ seeing what we are up to next): A87734226

Or you could always just email Create: [email protected]

Cheers!

Solnushka

OK, so I want to learn how to/ be forced to learn how to resize photos. And I won't unless there's a challenge with photos needing to be a particular size. So. That's my (ok, rather mundane) want.

I'd like a guide to making AV content with my iPhone.

This post has been removed.

Apologies if my above post was construed in any way as provocative or unpleasant.

It was meant entirely in a friendly cheeky way.

That's what I've always loved about this place...

Given that create's about creating things it would be more useful if it taught people skills they could use to create things.

I'd also like to know a guide to taking less awful photographs, just the basics of composition.

I'd quite like that too Z. My photography is terrible.

Oh yes, I think it would help with entry writing as well. If I visit a place and want to write an entry I think I should take a photo whilst I'm there.

But my photography isn't very good, so I do get put off.

Another idea

How do I get lots of followers on twitter..

I didn't even think of this challenge but I just started a how to about architecture. It seems to get a small collection of Entries about this topic.

Not sure if I'm good enough for a how to about photography. I usually just do what seems right.

>>I'd also like to know a guide to taking less awful photographs, just the basics of composition.
>>>My photography is terrible.

Of course it's entirely subjective, but I find the very worse photos are those composed according to the 'rules' of composition. Far better to have a genuinely naive photo, warts and all. It's a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing; yes you need to learn the basics, but you'll only really take a decent photo once you start breaking the rules. IMO.

Particular hates are conspicuous use of 'the rule of 3', 'path leading into the picture' and 'natural framing device'. Please avoid!

Z, I can give you a full reading list on getting Twitter followers

A Twitter thing would be fun. I like playing games with Twitter. Plus,
being skilled at promoting internet-based content providers is clearly something every h2g2er should know. Actually, perhaps that in its many forms we could design a challenge for. 'How to promote [oooh, now what could we promote, innocent look] on the Internet'? Kill two birds with one stone - we something and promote [*cough* h2g2 *cough*] at the same time. Not just Twitter.

For photographs I work on the principle that if I take enough photos, one or two of them might be ok, or at least in focus. It's not the composition so much as the mechanics of it that defeat me though.

Towelcast42 will definitely need all of us to help promote it when the first episode arrives. Especially as it will be a big advert for the site, and something that you should *want* to share.

mini

We shall co-ordinate out efforts then. Splendid.

Incidentally,it occurs that I *cough* forgot *cough* to mention writing skills...

I'd like some help with poetry. The formal iambic pentameter stuff, or perhaps something less ambitious. I am forced to read quite a lot of bad poetry to my son at the moment - children's books are not all joy, but the boy has no discrimination, anything with a rhyme - and so I have decided that I can throw my usual stance of 'you have to be actually good at it to have a go at it' to the winds.

Also, internet research. I realised the other day that I have never tied seriously to research something via the power of the internet alone.This is because when I have more idly tried to do it, it seems to take a long time for not very reliable results. So. Tips? What am I doing wrong, or have I just been spoiled by Heinlein's computer interface in Friday?

>>I'd also like to know a guide to taking less awful photographs, just the basics of composition.

You could try the Edited Guide - it often has helpful advice.

A2315963

Thanks Gnomon, Sol, Dmitri has written a lot of writing stuff from the post.

This Create How Do I?

Is it similar to the existing <./>HowDoI</.> forum? Should we be promoting that on the front page?

I don't the 'How do I?' forum is much used. But it would be good to revive it a little. It's more the CEs responsibility though perhaps, than the GEs.

I see the Create initiative to be a way of making suggestions for informative Entries - is this a correct assumption?

*cough* and we also have this recent Entry 'Primer on Internet Sources' A86878949