2013-05-23T20:15:07-04:00 Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=nickie-ohara Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Nickie O'Hara Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1735492 2012-08-02T19:50:09-04:00 2012-10-02T05:12:06-04:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/
Our medal total is growing and there have been amazing achievements by ALL of the athletes in the Games (let's just ignore the shoddy sportsmanship during the badminton for now), not just the ones who have won medals. Are we forgetting that the athletes that have qualified to represent our country at the Olympics are the best we have, not the only ones we have? It just so happens that sometimes there is another athlete who is better than them.

So when the Huffington Post (amongst other media outlets) tries to create speculation over who is our greatest Olympian ever - Sir Steve Redgrave or Bradley Wiggins - I ask if it really matters? Can we not just celebrate success no matter on what level it is achieved?

Surely if the Opening Ceremony is our benchmark then our greatest Olympians are the next generation of athletes?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1188829 2012-01-06T04:49:08-05:00 2012-03-06T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/ ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Order) has been a big part of our family life for almost 11 years . We tend to muddle along in our own little way, whether that's right or acceptable or what. It's our life and we'll do what suits us. I hate the fact that I sometimes feel as though I've got to excuse my son's behaviour but, in the main, people are understanding.

My son's sleep pattern was a little strange from being born, so we knew that something wasn't quite right. If he'd have been the first child (he was our third) we'd have brushed it off and thought that we were just suffering from the curse of a sleepless baby. From six months on he never slept for more than two hours at a time and then proceeded to stay awake for eight hours. We had to take it in turns staying up with him... Disney films and Tweenies on a loop, eyes on matchsticks. He never slept in his cot but seemed to settle in his pushchair so we took that up to our bedroom on a couple of occasions.

Our GP was really helpful and we tried all sorts of of techniques but it was more than that - you just know as a parent, don't you? He was walking at nine months old, he seemed to have no concentration span but was really quick at picking up things. My Health Visitor was as much use as a chocolate teapot. On many occasions she was patronising and accused me of "not sticking to a routine" and "not being firm". Honestly, with three children under the age of eight you have to have a routine, don't you? And, lets face it - I wasn't exactly new to this parenting lark. We tried him on a small dose of Phenergan once but that had such drastic results (he cried solidly for four hours and then slept for twelve!) that we decided the un-naturalness of it all wasn't worth it for any of us.

The crux of it all was when he went to pre-school. His nursery teacher took me to one side one day and more or less said that she thought my concerns were justified - in her professional opinion she thought he had ADHD traits and this fitted in with everything I'd said, as we'd discussed his behaviour at length on many occasions.

After a referral to and many meetings with a paediatrician he was put onto Ritalin when he was five years old (he was in Yr 1 by this time). He had half a tablet in the morning before school and half a tablet at lunch time. It calmed it down but it calmed him down too much. And his teacher said that she could see the half tablet wearing off - she said his attention span would shorten and that he'd start fiddling with stuff or wandering around. I never liked him on the Ritalin because of what seemed like mood swings. He was spaced out and he wasn't our bouncy little boy any more.

The time this hit home was when his support worker (similar to a Special Educational Needs teacher) came to me and said that she was glad that he was coping better at school but she had noticed that his personality seemed a little repressed. She said that she could usually spot him in a sea of uniforms because he had a 'skip' in his step and that had all stopped since he'd started the Ritalin. That was what I needed. He came off the Ritalin there and then and we made another appointment to see his paediatrician. He agreed that Ritalin doesn't suit every child although it can be fantastic for some kids - usually older though. We agreed to keep regular appointments with him and kept a diet diary.

His triggers are orange juice (funnily enough, a supermarket's own brand was great and well known brand was the worst), fizzy drinks, certain artificial flavourings or colourings in foods and many more. Now, he's a lot better because he can sort of self-manage and we allow a little of everything, in moderation. We can see when he's getting 'hyper' because he rocks from side to side and we can remind him to calm down (he's twelve years old now). He has hardly any sense of fear, which is what scares me so much - he'll try anything and he'll show off to his friends sometimes.

One time he said to me that he hates his ADHD because his head tells him that some things are wrong but his body won't stop doing it. That upset me but it also helped me to understand a little bit more - and it helped the way in which we 'control' him. We also have to use LOTS of praise when he does something good or he's been especially well behaved somewhere but we don't spoil him - that wouldn't have been fair on the other two. I'm dreading the teen years because I've heard and read the experience of parents with hormonal children with ADHD and it's not a fun time! But forewarned is forearmed.

I never wanted to "label" any of my children but I know what a bloody lonely world it is out there for parents with kids on the spectrum. Sometimes you feel like you're screaming into space and that no-one can hear you.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1113582 2011-11-25T19:33:19-05:00 2012-01-25T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/ Klout - which promotes itself as 'the standard for influence' across most social media platforms

[if you just use Facebook/Twitter as a means to communicate with your mates and you don't blog, switch off now - this will probably get boring]

In simple terms, Klout uses a number of (secret) metrics to measure how you use your social media accounts and connections, mixes all these up in their virtual cauldron and concocts a score for you to worry over. The score is ranked up to 100 and anyone with a score over 60 is considered a noteworthy influencer in any number of areas including Technology, Sports, Health, Music and Food with random subsections on any subject matter you can think of.

Now it's worth noting that these results are somewhat screwed from the outset as there are some people more influential than others through circumstance when you consider some of the magic that Klout uses: followers, retweets, conversations... So I may post an update about my new blog post, eight people will reply to that update, 43 will click through to read it and three will retweet it. Justin Bieber, on the other hand, will post an update, 395 people will reply to him (in the hope of a personal message back) and 438 will retweet it (to show that they are listening to what he says) and a couple of thousand of people will click on his link because they trust his endorsement. He obviously has more 'Klout' than me because of his fame. But it doesn't mean that his new update is any more/less important.

I love all social media platforms (except Google Plus! I have yet to get my head around that) and I was interested in the way in which Klout worked within the social media networks. I connected ALL my accounts as instructed.

I was riding high with a Klout score of 72 - a score that was considered lofty among my fellow networkers but it didn't bring me riches... just took me to the top of the BritMums score chart. But then Klout changed their measuring stick and almost everyone's score plummeted overnight!

There was outcry! How DARE a social media measuring organisation give with one hand and take with the other. Were people really LESS influential than they were 24 hours earlier? Klout even held a 'twitter party' of sorts, inviting questions and explanations but the stream appeared to be just a long line of aggrieved account holders with lowered scores, the occasional update from the Klout twitter account and not a lot of answers or even smoothing of ruffled feathers - just some very carefully worded tweets. And you had to wonder if the conversation was being carried out on any other social media platform. After all, how would it have been fair just to choose Twitter exclusively as a weapon of choice? Surely influence and information was required was across a number of social media networks?

But it appeared that the majority of bloggers - my main network and scale - had experienced the same drop (about 10 points) so we were all still as influential in comparison with each other. However, over the next few days I saw my score dropping steadily yet my social media activity remained the same. I still tweeted, updated Facebook, randomly posted something to Google Plus, gave the occasional push to Linked In and I had lots of interaction on Blogger, natch! What was I doing wrong? I was interacting as Klout suggested. I was connected to most social media platforms as Klout suggested. I was promoting other Klout users as Klout suggested.

Oh, hang on a minute. Influence. That's what it's all about! Let's have a quick look at all the 'connections':

• Twitter - yes, I'm a big user. My account is open and anyone can follow me.


• Facebook - yes, I'm a big user. My account is restricted and you can't see anything unless you're a friend so I had my blog 'page' as my connection.


• Google + - no, I hardly use it. My account is open and I have "circle time" but unsure about usage.


• Linked In - no, I hardly use it. My account is static, occasional 'links' added and updates to my status.


• Foursquare - no, I hardly use it. I have a love/hate relationship with Foursquare.


• You Tube - yes, I'm a big user. However, I'm not a vlogger - I like to listen to music (and share it on Twitter/Facebook) and occasionally upload a video or vlog.


• Instagram - no, I never use it. I don't have an iPhone so this is of no relevance (no link on Klout).


• Tumblr - no, I never use it. I don't have a Tumblr account (no link on Klout).


• Blogger - yes, I'm a big user. I publish a blog post almost every day and comment on other Blogger blogs.


• Wordpress no, I never use it. However, I do have an account on there and comment on other Wordpress blogs.


• Last FM - no, I never use it. I don't have a Last FM account (no link on Klout).


• Flickr - no, I hardly use it. I have a Flickr account but rarely upload images or comment on friend's uploads.

So, as the penny dropped, I decided to conduct The Great Klout Experiment!
(yes, this is the point of this blog post)
(also, why am I bothered?)

I finally 'got' it. Klout was measured on influence so I needed to connect only the social media channels I was influential on, didn't I?

I disconnected all my connections apart from the ones I knew I got the most response on.

• Week 1: I had only Blogger connected


• Klout : I received K+ in X-Factor, Blogging and Television


• Result : My score continued to drop but by a smaller margin

• Week 2 : I had Blogger and Twitter connected


• Klout : I received K+ in X-Factor, Blogging and Parenting


• Result : My score leveled out but still dropped slightly. Hhhmmmm interesting...

• Week 3 : I connected my personal Facebook profile along with Blogger and Twitter


• Klout : I received K+ in Money, Facebook and X-Factor


• Result : My score rose slightly... oohh

(note: K+ is an influential notification from another Klout user)


Then I experienced a massive increase in my Klout score but saw there had been an issue with data collection from Facebook. This had now been fixed so scores were likely to increase. Damn... foiled! But still an increase - from Facebook use. I possibly wouldn't have experienced that increase if I hadn't reconnected my Facebook account.

At the time of writing, I understand that Google Plus is the next Klout 'connection'. Er, hang on! Wasn't there already a connection to be made? Apparently not! Seemingly, "since users started connecting their Google+ too Klout in late September, we have been hard at work building a model for G+ influence."

Oh, well that's OK then... *eye roll*

So, in conclusion, I would like to surmise that the original Klout connections were, in fact, unnecessary and worthless. Everything that you put online is going to be analysed and whilst you provide the information, you're never in charge of the way that information is analysed. So it's all just crap, really, isn't it?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1032699 2011-10-26T10:59:07-04:00 2011-12-26T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/ X-Factor thanks to my tweets and then wanted tips on how to watch TV and tweet effectively (prime position in the lounge, laptop on knee, Tweetdeck on full screen, peer over the top of the laptop - just in case you're interested) I realised that I do actually watch a lot of telly - and tweet about it too. But who doesn't these days? Even those who don't use Twitter comment on Facebook about what they're watching.

But seriously - I started counting up and realised that I watch a LOT of crap. Or is it just that a lot of crap is being made now and is spoon-fed to me during my prime TV watching hours? The TV seems to be on all the time at our house, even as background noise. We have access to god only knows how many channels thanks to our satellite subscription and there's always some schmaltzy Disney/Nickelodeon guff or music video blaring out when I'm not watching my reality/home improvement/cooking/singing/fashion shite. I mean, I'm the sort of person who starts practicing her 'smize' the second the theme tune to America's Next Top Model starts, much in the same way most women clench their fanny muscles as soon as the hear the words 'pelvic floor muscles'

We have an unusual set-up in the house; at any given time there are up to four of us sitting in four different rooms, using four different televisions, accessing four different computers. You can't say we don't multi-task but the house probably has a Ready Brek glow around it because of all the electricity pumping round it. However, it works for us as we all have individual entertainment tastes. I've got Twitter, TV and blogging, my husband has Computer, Amateur Radio, Soaps and Films. Son Number 1 has X-Box, Computer and Films with occasional TV thrown in and Son Number 2 flits between all of us and his own room where he has a TV, X-Box and computer but "it's boring in there" apparently *eye roll*. But it works for us as we all have different viewing tastes even if the National Grid are slightly worried about our general consumption.

I can honestly hold my hand up and say that I've weaned myself of soaps for a number of reasons (Kev has taken over my addiction though - he has a virtual "Do Not Disturb" sign on his study door during the hours of 7pm to 9pm on weekdays) although I will tune in if there's a good story line coming up - yes, I'm one of those that boost the ratings figures now. I'm even thinking of tuning into Hollyoaks this week just to see if the murderer gets caught or not... I had a real issue with the "no washing machines" in Albert Square, the fact that about four generations of each family seems to live in their house at any given time and that "Going Up West" was a bit of an adventure. I am the same with the Rovers Return in Corrie and its Tardis tendencies (wouldn't the toilets lead into Ken and Deirdre's kitchen and how come the kitchen doesn't protrude into Rosamund Street?)

However, I seem to be firmly stuck on the "using members of the public, focus on the negative, turn their life around" type of programme at the moment and I make no excuses for it. It seems to give me a license to comment for I have turned into The Expert of All Reality TV Shows and social media gives me a platform to voice my opinions (as long as I'm using the right hashtag).

Take Monday and Tuesday of this week, for example. I came home from work, had tea with the family and then watched the end of *Deal or No Deal and all of Come Dine With Me before taking the dog for a walk. I then tuned into Masterchef Australia (much better than the British version), catching up on my emails afterwards. I watched the first episode of the new series of Young Apprentice, including Lord Alan of Sugar in most of my tweets (erm, Al... I'm still waiting for a reply to some of my suggestion, by the way) using the hashtag #youngapprentice (original, huh?) but had a programme clash dilemma so had to record The Hotel Inspector and watch the end of Dancing With The Stars (#dwts - but it's a bit useless seeing as though we are about a week or so behind) on the +1 channel because I wanted to watch Mummifying Alan (no hashtag - out of respect, maybe? I hadn't thought about that, to be honest) which fascinated me. See, even that fits into my "using members of the public" theory.

Then we have got Glee (#glee, natch) - although we are on a break from that at the moment as we're only a couple of days behind the USA so if they don't show it for any reason, we don't get it either. It's a bit annoying only three episodes in but hey ho. But why does this fit into my "using members of the public" stipulations? Well, four of the new cast members were chosen from a show called The Glee Project so I need to know how they have been written in and out again obviously! My America fix ends with X-Factor USA (#xfactorusa) where the singers eliminated from bootcamp put our own X-Factor finalists to shame. I still prefer Drunk Paula though - she was funny.

My weekends are filled with Strictly Come Dancing (#scd or #strictly - I never know which one to use) and, of course, X-Factor (#xfactor) - my tweets sometimes appear ranty and filled with hatred but it's just my equivalent of shouting at the telly, except this time I have an audience who sometimes agree with me and sometimes they don't.

You may have noticed that there is no mention of Big Brother in there (#bbuk). To be perfectly honest, I've been dipping in and out of the show but there's nothing or no-one to hold my attention. I wrote about this on the Huffington Post when the new series started with the Celebrity version and I still feel the same about it. Channel 5 had the opportunity to take a tired format and revitalise it - ignoring the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" because it obviously was broken or Channel 4 wouldn't have decided to end it. Ch5 could easily have retired the programme for a couple of years, let the wannabes bugger off to audition for Signed by Katie or Models, Misfits & Mayhem or applied to have a party filmed for A Great British Party (yes, I've watched all of those this week too and we're only on Wednesday!) and bring it back with housemates who are worth watching and not all under the age of 30, slim, fame-hungry and looking for their 15 minutes months-worth of fame that they believe they are entitled to thanks to the amount of programmes that are being made like this.

I think I need to read some more as I mentioned the other day. Or find some great dramas or thrillers to watch. Or, to quote a great TV show from my childhood, go out and do something less boring instead. Or try and encourage more people to join the #TeamTrashTelly cult that seems to have started.


*I was on annual leave last week and will admit to using #dondlive and occasionally tweeting @The_Banker whilst watching the Deal or No Deal live shows . I'm guessing that using the word "Twanker" on the last live episode on Sunday was one of those "lets see if we can get it past the regulators" type of dares. Also, I was convinced that there was something awry with Noel's beard but we couldn't work it out. Anyway, back to the recorded editions this week and he had let his side beard grow rather than just have a goatie. See, I notice everything - not just stare blankly at the flickering box in the corner.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.986104 2011-09-28T18:07:17-04:00 2011-11-28T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/
Blogging is becoming much more of a social concept. I wrote an article for a magazine aimed at new Parent Bloggers, although the advice is the same for everyone. One observation I made was that blogs used to sit in their little corner of the internet, waiting to be discovered or they were read when you happened to mention to a friend that you wrote a blog. Very often, personal blogs were considered a dirty little secret.

Now that more people are using the internet to socialise, blogging has become more acceptable as a way to communicate with the world. New blogs are never going to have the same status as some of the more established blogs out there, but they are creating her own merry band of followers, all of whom are already looking forward to new entries (including me). Some of those readers will have stumbled across the blog though searches on Google, some will have seen self-promotional Tweets and some will be following a brand new "fan" page on Facebook. We may have some mutual readers but our online communities are different.

In the same respect, my crossover is completely different to yours too. I have created a wonderful community for networking and support, but there are other blogs out there too. To have the same people reading the same blogs becomes incredibly insular, doesn't it?]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.986031 2011-09-28T17:38:50-04:00 2011-11-28T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/
Sofalising is the new way to pass the "quiet" couple of spare hours between finishing what has to be done during the day (work, chores, study) and bedtime. More and more I find myself with one eye on the television screen and the other on the laptop screen. Almost everything I watch has a hashtag (#glee #bbcqt #brits #bbuk) on Twitter to accompany it, which helps to group the tweets and Twitterers talking about the same thing. Those not on Twitter update their Facebook status to comment on something happening right that minute on the small screen. Each tweet or status update is followed by a flurry of comments - but not for too long for fear of missing the next funny or shocking moment.

Part of this new trend for sofalising means that less people are recording shows because they enjoy the Twitter chat that accompanies it but the flip side is that all the Twitter and Facebook chat contains *spoilers. Does the chat enhance the experience because you find out what other people think in real time?

There was a time that I used to spend 59 minutes (calls that lasted under one hour were free) each night on the phone to my sister or my friend discussing what was happening in the world but now it's much more immediate and interesting using my social network. Also, if I get bored with one conversation, I can move seamlessly onto the next, usually without anyone feeling offended - in fact, they probably don't even notice.

I wonder if all this sofalising is healthy because of the scope of our extended networks or if we are becoming introverted and less adept at real-live conversations? Do we converse more with our online peers than our real-life family and friends because it is easier to find people with the same interests? Answers on a tweet.


*you can filter hashtags out on some third party twitter applications.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.985995 2011-09-28T17:26:38-04:00 2011-11-28T05:12:01-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/ Mash Up: Yes, Twitter updates are limited to 140 characters but using phrases such as "kthnxbai" (the new "talk to the hand") makes you look like you've leant on the keyboard with your elbow. It's almost as annoying as using "Tw" as a prefix to create a twitter related activity. There's a knack to articulating yourself in 140 characters - this is not it.

Funny Girl: More of a female trait (in fact, I can't think of a single guy that does it), the habit of writing "lol" after every tweet does not make me think you are funny. This practice gravitates over to Facebook too and I see it a lot in groups where the demographic is quite a bit younger than me. Or maybe I just have higher standards.

Sealed With A Kiss: Another female idiosyncrasy, although I have seen a few men starting to do it now, but does every tweet have to be signed off with a kiss? x

Trendsetter: Does writing the same hashtag 10 times over in one tweet really help to get it trending? And another bugbear of mine is someone asking, "Why is xxx trending?" It's probably because people keep asking "Why is xxx trending?"

Crowded House: Yes, Twitter is a great place to jump into conversations but it can create the situation where there are too many names in the twitter conversation to add any actual conversation.

Spamalot: Because of the amount I tweet I must be a spammers dream and use obvious keywords. Recently I don't seem able tweet anything without bot accounts picking it up and offering me the link of a lifetime. Block. Report. Move on. But what is the point? Do people still fall for these amazing offers? Are these the same people who give out their bank details to people from Nigeria?

Attack of the Clones: It annoys me so it must annoy you. Promotional tweets from multi-twitter accounts and linked Facebook accounts? They fill my (and your) timeline with repeat information which is beneficial to no-one.

Written in the stars: I don't believe in horoscopes and I don't look up my own. What make me think I want to read your horoscope, especially one that is truncated so I have to click a link to see the rest? Have a quick look in your Twitter -- Settings -- Applications and see what shite you're allowing in your Twitter stream.

Blog posts telling you how to tweet: 'Nuff said *wink*]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.950210 2011-09-06T09:45:23-04:00 2011-11-06T05:12:02-05:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/
This is where endorsement issues can arise.

A 19-year old Councillor in Staffordshire has been suspended after retweeting a post about genital mutilation for teenage mothers. Mr Taylor says he retweeted the post to raise awareness whilst opposition Councillors believe that the retweet endorsed the practice. Without reading tweets either side of this action, the intent remains a grey area and, in a busy twitter timeline, previous and subsequent tweets can be lost.

Can the same be said for the recent interest in an social media blogging tool called Triberr? The idea behind Triberr is that a group of bloggers form a supportive "tribe" and tweet out each others blog posts to help with promotion. On the surface that activity sounds like a really good idea but some Triberr members have their tweets set to automatically tweet their tribemates content. Does the auto-tweet mean that they support the content? And if using a manual mode do you need an additional social media tool to help with promotion?

On a personal level, I would much prefer someone to read my blog post and decide whether it should be shared on social media platforms on its own merits. And even if the content is disagreeable then the luxury of freedom of speech allows comment to that effect.

If you see someone retweeting something, do you presume that they support the information in that tweet?


News source: BBC News]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.935748 2011-08-24T18:59:22-04:00 2011-10-24T05:12:01-04:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/ On this day in..." notifications to the right hand side of the screen (web version)?

My 2009 and 2010 examples were strangely related and sort of interesting so I almost put as my Facebook status, "On this day in 2009 I was submitting another OU assignment" because we do that, don't we? We update our social networks with random observations but why repeat something from a couple of years ago? Who is going to be interested AGAIN?

Also, I saw that there is a Twitter account that is retweeting every single tweet from Twitter, in chronological order, from the beginning of "twime" (sorry...). At the time of publication @wetreet was up to July 2006 and it's a whole different world.

It really was micro-blogging back then with hardly any @replies. You used to be able to see everyone in the Twitter timeline and that's where a lot of my original followees came from. Yes, it was quieter back then but it was also a lot less interactive. It would be very strange to go back to that now although I do miss being able to see tweets from anyone and everyone.

Again, I thought about tweeting out about the @wetreet account but what happens when @wetreet gets round to retweeting that exact tweet from today. Will the account self-combust?

Are we in danger of creating a social media Möbius Band?

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.931900 2011-08-19T19:00:00-04:00 2011-10-19T05:12:02-04:00

Nickie O'Hara http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nickie-ohara/
Our never-exhausted barrel of reality TV stars seems to be the ideal choice of housemate. Add to this a couple of token Americans in need of a bit of a profile boost or feeling the need to ride the coat-tails of a famous ex-spouse or sibling, a couple of hyperactive teenagers, a bit of eye candy and someone connected to the world of politics and a couple of seemingly random choices and you have completed the guest list pro forma.

Do we want to see this mix of celebrities or would it be more interesting to throw a couple of members of the public in there - and I don't mean in a "I need to be famous" Chantelle type of way. I mean people that are really going to question motives and mix it up a little. I want someone to rock up to Kerry Katona and ask why she thinks leaving her children for three weeks is going to strengthen their family dynamics or to tell John and Edward Grimes to chill out for a bit. I want someone to tell Darryn Lyons to back off with trying to find some dirt to dish on the afore-mentioned Jedward and I want someone to 'high-five' Sally Bercow for just doing her own thing, regardless. Somehow I'm not sure that anyone in the house will do any of that.

The lack of live feed is disappointing - we have to trust what Channel 5 upload to their website. I'm not sure that Orwell meant for his concept to be interpreted in this way. Rather than Big Brother watching and controlling the contestants they are controlling the viewers. How do we know that we aren't seeing scenes "set up for our entertainment"? But I will be watching for the duration, just in case something happens although I imagine watching paint dry or grass grow could be more educational. ]]>