Photo Stealer Exposed

This weekend, I learned about @syahrilaz (account deleted), an Instagrammer who stole photos from others that he posted as his own.

fake_proof

One of the photos that he purportedly stole is this one.

The guy supposedly was going to meet up with a bunch of real, big-time IGers. The guy’s supposedly from Egypt. This all reminds me of the play, Six Degrees of Separation. To say more would spoil it, but it is an awesome film with Will Smith and Stockard Channing.

Why do people steal photos that aren’t theirs?

Why It’s Tough to Write a Novel

By fits and starts I’ve been trying to write a novel ever since I read Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther. It’s a small book with an emo story of young love.

My first attempt involved a clever ending where the protagonist kills his antagonist right in front of the cops, but due to the nature of the murder, gets away with it scott free.

My second attempt involved a magical realism attempt to portray life in San Francisco during the 90s.

I am now on my 3rd attempt.

The problem I’ve run into is that the world is changing quickly. Also, my passion for an idea soon fades away. I lose the inspiration that made it possible to write in the first place.

It’s tough to write a novel because I need my emotions to fuel it. To keep these emotions (jealousy, love, hate, pity) going, I need to have little reminders of them. This is where notebooks and photos are really helpful. They spark and re-ignite the dead fire of what was supposed to be chapter 3. They also provide a lose structure.

I am hoping that this final attempt will produce “the novel.”

Instagram’s Video Needs Sound Filters

When I view video on Instagram I do it with the sound off.

The main reason? The sound is simply awful. It’s too loud, the microphone needs a wind muffler, and the videos all have a serious case of mono.

Having good sound is a big production. This is why really good sound people can cost $250 to $500 per hour, and believe me, it’s worth it.

If you want to record sound really well, this is the sort of equipment you’ll need:

Audacity – a free open source sound recorder.

You’ll also need a mic with a wind muffler and to immerse people in the experience, get two microphones and be sure that the recorder can handle stereo.

This is just my 2 cents, and there’s an opportunity here for someone that could design a microphone and an app that could do just as well as pro equipment.