So, you want to start a blog? The only problem is the fact that you’re in college. With exams to study for, extra curriculars taking up your time, and way too many parties eating up your social schedule, it can be hard to justify starting a blog for no reason other than a slight curiosity. However, this college lifestyle that you think is keeping you from blogging is actually one of the main things that will make you a great blogger. College students have the potential to make some of the best kinds of bloggers. From constant access to the freedom of youth, to the ability to speak your mind and understand the world around you, there is good reason to think twice before discounting a blogging career while in college. Read on for what makes college students such excellent bloggers:

1. Constant access to youth.

Youth is always the heartbeat of culture. When you’re a blogger, you most definitely want to keep your finger on what young people think is interesting and worth their time. As a college student, you have access to youth at all times and you are constantly part of a culture that sets the standards for others.

2. In touch with the latest trends.

Because college students are around young people day in and day out, knowledge of the latest trends is almost inevitable. Even if it isn’t your cup of tea, you will have first-hand experience with every trendy pop song, internet expression, and new comedy. Unlike bloggers out of college, you will never have to go digging to find out more about new trends. They will be right at your fingertips.

3. Not afraid to make mistakes.

College students have the opportunity to live in a bubble, especially those who live on campus. Not quite yet on your own, but totally free do live how you like, college students are able to push ahead, fall, and get right back up. With the support of a college network, parents, and close friends, it’s much easier to be goofy or try new things. This is where original ideas pop up.

4. Experienced writers.

College students are constantly writing. Whether it’s a term paper or a short story for an English class, students are continuing to develop their skills as writers during college. Bloggers without a knack for the written word definitely have a more difficult time than bloggers to whom writing comes effortlessly.

5. Have a passion.

College students are a mixed breed. But, what many of them do have in common is the fact that they are all gathered around the purpose of following their interests. College is a time to grow and learn. You may enter thinking you want to do one thing with your life, but finish with a completely different plan. Either way, college students either have or are working on finding a passion. This makes for a blogger with plenty to share with the world.

6. Know how to research.

College students are required to do some heavy research. This definitely comes in handy as a blogger, because, if you want to make an argument online, you better be prepared to back it up. Knowing how to distinguish a reputable source from a flaky one and understanding how to synthesize research information is a huge asset to any blogger.

7. Know how to cite sources.

Along with knowing how to research, college students are constantly practicing citing their sources. As a rule on the web, it’s important to cite and link to any information you include in your posts. Understanding what needs to be cited and how to do it, both in academia and on the web, makes for a much more successful blogger.

Katheryn Rivas knows that sometimes online education can have a bed rep, so she aims to educate her readers exclusively on legitimate, www.onlineuniversities.com. But she still thoroughly enjoys writing about traditional education trends as well as health and fitness.  She encourages your comments.

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You are out of school and ready to take on the world. While this is the time for freedom, make sure you don’t do anything to spoil the party. Watch out for these five traps for college students.

Please check the following  Five thing to avoid while in college :-

• Drugs – We are not saying that you are an addict, just that you are susceptible, any one is. Unless you keep a keen eye out and say a BIG no right at the first go. They may look like friendly advances or even friendly challenges, but could be a start of a deadly …

• Borrowing or lending money – Everyone comes from a different financial background and they need to live with it, including you yourself. We know these are new friends and you would like to help the needy, but watch out. Lending or borrowing money tends to become a habit and before …

• Bunking – Bunking college or school may seem to be the ultimate adventure. But watch out, you may do it like an adventure in the beginning and later it may completely alienate you from the class room. It will affect your studies, deplete your friends and leave you ..

• Show off gadgets or money or dresses – We know this is the first time you are out of the uniform and ready to take on the world with your ammunition of great dresses, super accessories and talked about gadgets. Pause, while dressing up well and being up to date is great, don’t let it become ..

• Inferiority – What gadget or bag they carried or the dress they wore will not make their future five years hence. The purpose of going to college is to study, to groom yourself and people interaction – make sure this is achieved. No need to feel deprived looking at …

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Police in Thailand have arrested a university student who is said to have admitted hacking into the Prime Minister’s Twitter account and posting messages accusing her of incompetence.

22-year-old Aekawit Thongdeeworakul, a fourth year architecture student at Chulalongkorn University, could face up to two years in prison if found guilty of illegally accessing computer systems without authorisation.

Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, had her Twitter account hacked last weekend – and her followers saw a stream of messages criticising her leadership.

The hacker’s final tweet read:

"If she can't even protect her own Twitter account, how can she protect the country?"

In bizarre scenes, Thongdeeworakul appeared before reporters at a hastily convened news conference in Bangkok, alongside ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap.

The minister told members of the press that the alleged hacker believed his actions were innocent “as he didn’t realise it would be a big deal.”

According to the ICT minister, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra had her Gmail account hacked on September 30th by unknown people, and her password was disseminated across the computer underground.

From the sound of things, Ms Shinawatra was not following my advice onhow to stop your Gmail account being hacked.

Thongdeeworakul is said to have subsequently used the information to gain access to the prime minister’s Twitter account. The IP address used to access the account ultimately lead investigators back to Thongdeeworakul.

The architecture student remained silent at the press conference, shrouded by a baseball cap and dark sunglasses.

Remember folks – just because you can access someone else’s email, Facebook or Twitter account without the owner’s persmission doesn’t ever mean it’s an acceptable thing to do. In fact, it’s breaking the law and could lead to you getting in a lot of trouble.

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Summer is coming to an end and that means students across the country are prepping for the trek back to school.

Pencils, notebooks, and binders are the basic necessities for any pupil, but students shouldn’t forget to gear-up with this year’s latest tech as well. From note-taking apps and noise-canceling headphones to soda-powered alarm clocks and digital textbooks, we’ve compiled a wide-ranging list of high-tech school supplies for students to help them ease the stress of a busy schedule, study for exams, write papers, take notes in class, and much more. The items in this guide are meant to be practical, affordable, and fun.

Whether you’re in college, high school, middle school or simply a caring parent, these tech accessories will help any student achieve high-marks in class–and unwind when the cramming is over.

Have a look below links :-

• Noise-Cancelling Headphones
• Spotify
• iRobot Mini Scooba 230
• GadgetTrak
• Netflix
• Dropbox
• iPhone Case/Charger
• Single-Serve Coffee Maker
• Note-Taking iPad Apps
• PowerShot Digital Camera
• Water Powered Alarm Clock
• Laptop Lock
• Solar Polar Backpack
• Laptop Case
• Kno iPad App
• USB Flash Drive
• Speakers
• Motion-Activated Closet Light
• Netbook
• Snoozerr Recordings
• Cooling Pad
• Kindle eReader
• Webcam

Source :- http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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Undergraduate men who often mention or post photos of alcohol have more Facebook friends than those who don’t, according to a study that will soon be published in the American Journal of Men’s Health.

The study combed through the public profiles of 225 male undergraduate students at one university for references to alcohol, including photos that contained an alcoholic drink — not just a cup — and specific textual references. It found that 85.53% of the profiles contained at least one reference to alcohol. On average, they contained 8.5.

Men older than 21 made about 4.5 times as many references to alcohol on their profiles than younger men did. And the number of references a man posted significantly correlated with the number of Facebook friends.

How students reference drinking on Facebook is of interest to those who want to prevent collegiate alcohol abuse. The study cites research published in 2002 that shows the strongest influence of alcohol consumption rates among college students is perceived peer use (which often exceeds actual peer use). Another suggests that media may exceed traditional peer influences for forming peer social norms.

“Our hypothesis is that because alcohol in college students is a predictor of social acceptance, there could be a similar correlation in the social networking world with alcohol references…[posting alcoholic references] might be a mechanism for peer acceptance,” says Katie Egan, who led the research as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin in 2009.

Source :- http://mashable.com

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Social media has several effects on academic work— some more positive than others. But what is social networking’s overall impact on college students’ performance?

According to data gathered from several sources by OnlineEducation.net, Facebook and Twitter are used to great benefit — sometimes. Students welcome online engagement and resources; around 75% of student respondents said they’d like to do some online collaboration for class, in fact.

Also, social media may have a positive impact on students’ sense of themselves in the community. Social media-using students were twice as likely as other students to feel well-liked by their peers and to participate in extracurricular activities. And 20% more of Facebook-using students (as compared to students who didn’t use Facebook) said they felt connected to their school and community.

However, negative effects abound. Students who use Facebook and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to 20% lower grades than those of their more focused peers. Facebook-using students also made less money during school from part-time work, putting in around five hours per week as opposed to 16 hours per week for a typical, unplugged counterpart.

Not only do grades and finances suffer, but students might actually end up feeling more depressed or lonely. Almost half of students believe they are sadder than their friends on Facebook, and 25% of college students have shown signs of severe depression in their status updates at one time or another.

In a word, the results are inconclusive. But with around 96% of all college students on Facebook, only the most dedicated academics would consider giving up social media for a slightly better GPA.

In the comments, we’d like to know what impact social media had or has on your academic work. And if your college career pre-dates social media, how do you think college is better or worse because of Facebook?

Source -: http://mashable.com

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Bangalore University students now get speedier access to their degree certificates before their convocation thanks to the new online portal opened by university officials.

The initiative launched in partnership with MeritTrac Services, atesting and examination Services Company, allows Bangalore University students, who have completed their degree in 2010, to download their certificates online.

Bangalore University vice chancellor N Prabhu Dev said “During the first phase, only students who have completed their degree in 2010 will be eligible to apply for the convocation certificate. In the second phase, all students, including previous and forthcoming years, will be able to access this service,”

Students can go to www.bub.ernet.in and feed their BU registration number, and provide personal details (address, contact information, etc). Students can download the certificate- by paying a small fee of Rs 317-within two hours if they provide the required documents. The original certificate will be sent through post to their address within a month. The e-convocation certificates will be valid only until the main annual convocation after which students will have to get the original certificates.

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Notemonk displays notes and syllabus from textbooks subscribed by the NCERT.

Prashanth Ellina, a software professional based in Bangalore, has unveiled a new site “Notemonk.com” that offers free downloads of all the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks (Class I to Class XII)

Notemonk not only offers notes and syllabus for school students, but also enables registered members to ask questions and interact on specific topics. Since each chapter is organized hierarchically, the discussion forums are topic-specific.

According to Prashanth the idea is to enable a Class 12 student in West Bengal to answers queries in Physics from a Class 10 student in Orissa. Some students have also uploaded notes that they have taken down from their classes.