Glaze Mixing Combinations and Kiln Firings

I would like to introduce some of my new fall colors here very soon...

But first, here is a bit of background of how I use commercial glazes to mix them to get special color combinations...

Above is the first step: line blending of 5 glazes.

Basically you take a test tile (this one is a 4" square) with my CS texture in my Porcelain Clay.

And you run each glaze vertically down the tile, then horizontally across.

About 2-3 coats of each glaze in each direction.

Fire in kiln to maturing temperature, let cool, then take notes on which combinations have potential for use...

NOTE: Horizontal vs Vertical positioning of tile will give different glaze results due to glaze movement down the tile and interaction with texture. Use this to your advantage!

Here I've got my test tile, my notes, measuring cups, marked for even ratios of glazes (I use water to fill and measure each one), rubber gloves, sharpie marker, and of course: glazes.

Here I've used my Sharpie to mark the cups with the glaze codes I'm mixing, then I make up a code of my own: such as 1A, 1B, 1C, etc and take notes. You can see in the picture above how some glazes just sit in layers.

So you've got to mix them up thoroughly...

Make sure to wipe excess glaze off into it's container, then clean your brush thoroughly.

NOTE: if you constantly wash your glaze brush off in your sink, you are going to clog your sink. So I recommend a cup of water to rinse your brushes in. Then in a day or two after the water has separated from the heavier glaze particles, you can slowly pour off the water, and let the glaze particles dry, then dispose of properly (I've got a friend that uses the dried glaze for a liner glaze, so it doesn't go to waste). These glazes all fire to the same temperature range!!!

So here are all my new glazes waiting to be put onto pendants to see how they interact with my textures and being fired on a vertical surface (see kiln loaded pictures below).

I work in batches. One glaze and a bunch of pendants. And small plastic food container cups (not ever used for food in my studio) to sort the pieces for each glaze.

Above is how I like to work - paint the front of the pieces with multiple coats - work according to shape and size, then flip over and glaze the backs. I then clean out each bead hole and go back to touch it up. So it is important to keep the pieces grouped within their glaze group until they are absolutely ready for the kiln.

This glazing part is where I can zone out for hours...

I think I must've been a painter in a former life, if that actually happens, because I love to paint!

This is my kiln room set up with rolling tables and temporary iPod for glaze kiln loading.

It can take upwards of three hours to load a kiln with all the pieces you see in the black tray to the right of this photo.

Ok - better shot of the black tray with "to be loaded" pieces. And my nichrome wire hooks - three gauges of wire, multiple size hooks all on my rolling table (which according to my Grandma Neal was the old butcher block used in my grandfather's restaurant to wheel out and serve and slice the prime rib at table side). Don't worry though - that was like 35+ years ago... and it sat in her garage or barn in her old farmhouse for most of that time... That was until I got my hands on it... It's a perfect fit between the kiln, wall, and myself when I'm loading the kiln. Then it wheels out when I clear the room for a firing...

This is the bottom layer of my "papa bear" kiln being loaded. See what I mean about the Vertical surface? The pieces are all hung vertically in the kiln, so the glaze runs down the piece and interacts with the textures instead of just sitting on the piece and puddling on the Horizontal flat surface if it were glazed only on one side (like one of my buttons or cabochons).

Bottom shelf bead trees are full, next level of shelves are being loaded...

Bottom shelf ate up a bunch of the larger pieces, and some small ones... Still a lot to go though. The little ones take so much longer to load and they like to jump off hooks often. Temperamental little buggers they can be! Especially when they like to land on the shelf below.

Here is the upper shelves loaded to the max. It takes a VERY steady and patient hand to load a kiln like this. I find that I can only do this in the mornings without any distractions. So everyone in the family knows if they call, and Dave says I'm loading a kiln, they won't hear from me for hours... and no, I won't just quick get the phone... Gotta love that man for fielding calls and doorbell rings like that for me!

And here it is folks - my moment of pure delight - an empty black box!

Then it's up to the kiln and weather to decide the final outcome of the pieces.

Which is why opening up a glaze kiln is often described as "Christmas Day"...

It's like getting a ton of tiny little gifts all at once if all goes well...

The next posts will contain some of the fired results of these test glazes, the names some people have picked, and a chance for your input to name one or more of them (I get to pick which names I like the best, and which ones have a code that will work in my catalog system). If I pick your glaze name, you get $50 to spend via my online shopping cart!

And I'll announce the names of the people that suggested names via Bead Fest Wire (May 2009) and Bead Fest Philly (August 2009) that won $50 gift certificates to the Marsha Neal Studio online shopping cart.

I wanted to have a big to do on here, but have decided I liked the names I got already for the bulk of the glazes from these two shows, and there are a few I'm stumped on and would like extra input from you all...

And time is running out for me because I'm trying to update my 2010 pendant catalog, Marsha Neal Studio website and need names and codes for the new glazes ASAP...

So let's see how this week goes and if I can get the pictures posted of the new glazes!

Check back soon!!!

Glaze Mixing Combinations and Kiln Firings

I would like to introduce some of my new fall colors here very soon...

But first, here is a bit of background of how I use commercial glazes to mix them to get special color combinations...

Above is the first step: line blending of 5 glazes.

Basically you take a test tile (this one is a 4" square) with my CS texture in my Porcelain Clay.

And you run each glaze vertically down the tile, then horizontally across.

About 2-3 coats of each glaze in each direction.

Fire in kiln to maturing temperature, let cool, then take notes on which combinations have potential for use...

NOTE: Horizontal vs Vertical positioning of tile will give different glaze results due to glaze movement down the tile and interaction with texture. Use this to your advantage!

Here I've got my test tile, my notes, measuring cups, marked for even ratios of glazes (I use water to fill and measure each one), rubber gloves, sharpie marker, and of course: glazes.

Here I've used my Sharpie to mark the cups with the glaze codes I'm mixing, then I make up a code of my own: such as 1A, 1B, 1C, etc and take notes. You can see in the picture above how some glazes just sit in layers.

So you've got to mix them up thoroughly...

Make sure to wipe excess glaze off into it's container, then clean your brush thoroughly.

NOTE: if you constantly wash your glaze brush off in your sink, you are going to clog your sink. So I recommend a cup of water to rinse your brushes in. Then in a day or two after the water has separated from the heavier glaze particles, you can slowly pour off the water, and let the glaze particles dry, then dispose of properly (I've got a friend that uses the dried glaze for a liner glaze, so it doesn't go to waste). These glazes all fire to the same temperature range!!!

So here are all my new glazes waiting to be put onto pendants to see how they interact with my textures and being fired on a vertical surface (see kiln loaded pictures below).

I work in batches. One glaze and a bunch of pendants. And small plastic food container cups (not ever used for food in my studio) to sort the pieces for each glaze.

Above is how I like to work - paint the front of the pieces with multiple coats - work according to shape and size, then flip over and glaze the backs. I then clean out each bead hole and go back to touch it up. So it is important to keep the pieces grouped within their glaze group until they are absolutely ready for the kiln.

This glazing part is where I can zone out for hours...

I think I must've been a painter in a former life, if that actually happens, because I love to paint!

This is my kiln room set up with rolling tables and temporary iPod for glaze kiln loading.

It can take upwards of three hours to load a kiln with all the pieces you see in the black tray to the right of this photo.

Ok - better shot of the black tray with "to be loaded" pieces. And my nichrome wire hooks - three gauges of wire, multiple size hooks all on my rolling table (which according to my Grandma Neal was the old butcher block used in my grandfather's restaurant to wheel out and serve and slice the prime rib at table side). Don't worry though - that was like 35+ years ago... and it sat in her garage or barn in her old farmhouse for most of that time... That was until I got my hands on it... It's a perfect fit between the kiln, wall, and myself when I'm loading the kiln. Then it wheels out when I clear the room for a firing...

This is the bottom layer of my "papa bear" kiln being loaded. See what I mean about the Vertical surface? The pieces are all hung vertically in the kiln, so the glaze runs down the piece and interacts with the textures instead of just sitting on the piece and puddling on the Horizontal flat surface if it were glazed only on one side (like one of my buttons or cabochons).

Bottom shelf bead trees are full, next level of shelves are being loaded...

Bottom shelf ate up a bunch of the larger pieces, and some small ones... Still a lot to go though. The little ones take so much longer to load and they like to jump off hooks often. Temperamental little buggers they can be! Especially when they like to land on the shelf below.

Here is the upper shelves loaded to the max. It takes a VERY steady and patient hand to load a kiln like this. I find that I can only do this in the mornings without any distractions. So everyone in the family knows if they call, and Dave says I'm loading a kiln, they won't hear from me for hours... and no, I won't just quick get the phone... Gotta love that man for fielding calls and doorbell rings like that for me!

And here it is folks - my moment of pure delight - an empty black box!

Then it's up to the kiln and weather to decide the final outcome of the pieces.

Which is why opening up a glaze kiln is often described as "Christmas Day"...

It's like getting a ton of tiny little gifts all at once if all goes well...

The next posts will contain some of the fired results of these test glazes, the names some people have picked, and a chance for your input to name one or more of them (I get to pick which names I like the best, and which ones have a code that will work in my catalog system). If I pick your glaze name, you get $50 to spend via my online shopping cart!

And I'll announce the names of the people that suggested names via Bead Fest Wire (May 2009) and Bead Fest Philly (August 2009) that won $50 gift certificates to the Marsha Neal Studio online shopping cart.

I wanted to have a big to do on here, but have decided I liked the names I got already for the bulk of the glazes from these two shows, and there are a few I'm stumped on and would like extra input from you all...

And time is running out for me because I'm trying to update my 2010 pendant catalog, Marsha Neal Studio website and need names and codes for the new glazes ASAP...

So let's see how this week goes and if I can get the pictures posted of the new glazes!

Check back soon!!!

Sample Videos from iPod Nano 5th Generation

iPod Nano 5th Generation Sample Video-1

iPod Nano 5th Generation Sample Video-3

My iPod Nano 5th Generation

Bought the 16GB iPod Nano 5th Generation with the new video features at Machines Mid-Valley (Sept. 23, 2009).

There are not many Silver or Black 16GB Nanos around. At Machines only left about 2 units of Silver.

The price is RM 719 but I got a Discount when I used my rebate of RM 26.

We may download the Manual from --> HERE.

Bird Pendants and Glaze Mixing Finds...

I feel like I'm getting a lot done today...

And all while having allergies and a slight sinus infection which means I'm walking around feeling like my head is in a bubble...

I've glazed pieces...

I've loaded and am firing a kiln...

Taken pictures of the garden, cropped and posted them on my garden blog...

Updated Etsy with some of my Chickadee and Dark Eyed Junco Pendants...

Updated my FaceBook page, which has been "glitchy" today...

Eaten a Bobbie from Capriotti's along with a small bag of Salt and Vinegar Kettle Cooked Chips (oh, am I regretting those chips now - pregnancy indigestion is not fun!)

And now Riley is happy and fed and he is beckoning me to take a nap...

It's a lot of work to digest that thanksgiving meal on a roll...

So here are some images I've taken recently...

The above picture is when I was measuring and mixing 2 glazes to come up with a new glaze color palette for this fall.

I love that stuff like this just happens...

It's like a natural flow in the studio...

When you are in the zone...

My little drawing of a Chickadee (front side)...

on one of my porcelain decal pendants

(new porcelain blank from Bisque Bead Supply!!!)

And of course, the back side...

Can't leave off it's tail, poor thing!

This back side always makes the bead ladies giggle with delight...

And yes, all of the larger pendants with these birds have a back side tail...

Smaller ones may not (I usually double side the small ones with one of each bird).

And the Dark Eyed Junco...

We should be seeing them arrive at our feeders sometime in the next month or so...

They arrive just before the cold weather starts to settle in...

And the Chickadee again on a round pendant.

And with that...

I'm off for an afternoon nap before picking up Chloe from school...

I think we are going to have some outdoor activities this afternoon including filling up our bird feeders, collecting seeds, blowing bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and visits from the neighborhood kids (they like to hang out with us for some reason... must be fun or something!)

Bird Pendants and Glaze Mixing Finds...

I feel like I'm getting a lot done today...

And all while having allergies and a slight sinus infection which means I'm walking around feeling like my head is in a bubble...

I've glazed pieces...

I've loaded and am firing a kiln...

Taken pictures of the garden, cropped and posted them on my garden blog...

Updated Etsy with some of my Chickadee and Dark Eyed Junco Pendants...

Updated my FaceBook page, which has been "glitchy" today...

Eaten a Bobbie from Capriotti's along with a small bag of Salt and Vinegar Kettle Cooked Chips (oh, am I regretting those chips now - pregnancy indigestion is not fun!)

And now Riley is happy and fed and he is beckoning me to take a nap...

It's a lot of work to digest that thanksgiving meal on a roll...

So here are some images I've taken recently...

The above picture is when I was measuring and mixing 2 glazes to come up with a new glaze color palette for this fall.

I love that stuff like this just happens...

It's like a natural flow in the studio...

When you are in the zone...

My little drawing of a Chickadee (front side)...

on one of my porcelain decal pendants

(new porcelain blank from Bisque Bead Supply!!!)

And of course, the back side...

Can't leave off it's tail, poor thing!

This back side always makes the bead ladies giggle with delight...

And yes, all of the larger pendants with these birds have a back side tail...

Smaller ones may not (I usually double side the small ones with one of each bird).

And the Dark Eyed Junco...

We should be seeing them arrive at our feeders sometime in the next month or so...

They arrive just before the cold weather starts to settle in...

And the Chickadee again on a round pendant.

And with that...

I'm off for an afternoon nap before picking up Chloe from school...

I think we are going to have some outdoor activities this afternoon including filling up our bird feeders, collecting seeds, blowing bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and visits from the neighborhood kids (they like to hang out with us for some reason... must be fun or something!)

Social Networking & Dunbar's Number

My Facebook friends list has reached close to 140 (give or take 3 pending requests). One of persistent thought I have been having for past few days is the fact that the number of people in my social network is close to Dunbar’s number (148 appx) – my neocortex limit for maintaining stable relationship

Dunbar's number (also known as the Dunbar number or the Monkeysphere) is a value significant in sociology and anthropology. Proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, it measures the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships". Dunbar theorizes that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size ... the limit imposed by neocortical processing capacity is simply on the number of individuals with whom a stable inter-personal relationship can be maintained." You could read more about Dunbar’s number at (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number)

Here is a personal experience I had. In the early days of the Internet in India, a few of us cousins divided by geography but linked through Internet decided to form an online group in Yahoo! It started with 6 members (all first cousins)… we had the usual banter, funny forwards and the usual ‘do you remember _?’ set of updates. Everyone spread the word about this group and more cousins joined along with internet savvy uncles & aunts. All this happened within the first 3-4 months. The growth of the group was phenomenonal and soon there were members I never heard before, family members who were previously non-existent. Soon the member base of the group was around 100.

The original moderator changed, the responsibilities shifted to newer and more active members. More members joined… the 3rd, 4th, 5th cousins, their friends… networking through the group was getting more confusing… negative comments were floating around, embarrassing updates, and a few enterprising cousins were using the platform for business purpose… the group was now un-recognizable and to us, the original members, we were finding the growing new member base cumbersome – and soon decided to move to newer and better platforms of Orkut.

In hindsight, I realize that somehow the growth of the group and the lack of any system in place to maintain order, led to us move away from the group (or maybe sidelined by the more active members)

However, I have this feeling that with Facebook that the limit of Monkeysphere would not hold true. The reason(s) for the same are:

Not Just a Social Networking Site
First and most important reason is Facebook is ‘not’ just a social networking site… It is a platform, a tool. Social Networking happens to one of the primary services but it has much more to offer, and to interact than just create and maintain social relationship. The apps, games, mash-ups, calendars, etc all in someway help Facebook members to be active and increase their level of interaction and also expand their network. This is unlike the early days of Yahoo! Groups which just had a moderator and event calendar functionality.

SNS and extending the ‘sphere of influence’
Facebook, Twitter and other SNS are not just about social relationships; it is also about ‘broadcast’. It is human nature of extending one’s sphere of influence. Evolutionary psychology studies have shown that people tend to have the behaviour of influencing others in the group or beyond either through their actions or words. Simply put it is all about conquest, and the more people in your network means the more popular you are.

The existing Social networking sites play an important part here too. A quick glance into the status updates of most Facebook members is NOT about what they are doing or thinking at that point of time. Most of updates are about the individual’s ‘status’ upgrade :)…. a generic quotation, story, links to something interesting, update enhancing the role they play, or category you belong to, etc;

Thus, influencing the outer circles (and also inner circles) is another key factor for the increasing number of members in the network. It is this reason why many people accept requests of people they hardly know.

And why people send requests to join someone who is a stranger is mentioned next.

Identification & acceptance into larger (popular) group/network
The core reason for the being of Social Networking Sites is the fact that “man is a social animal.” Even before our evolution into human beings, as primates, we lived in groups. The prime reason for the same is attributed to security and comfort of food gathering.

For many people on the social networking sites after the initial relationship building with people in the intimate and near influence circle; they look out for members within their friends, whom they can relate too. Also they would be looking to join group where most of the ‘action’ happens. These are usually seen in sites like LinkedIN wherein user groups are formed basis interest… and Facebook users joining and commenting on innumerable fan pages that are created.

In case you are popular on Facebook or any other SNS site, you will realize that you get friend request from people completely unknown. The reason for the same I would say is ‘online grooming’

Grooming is the prime way of maintaining relationship in the wild. In the digital world, it is more about whom you follow, and why. Whose update needs to be read and responded too, and invariably you would choose the more popular one… Most of the comments left in my updates are either from people who are in my intimate circle, or guys I hardly know (personally or professionally)… and the later being a classic case of online grooming

While the member base in your online social network would keep increasing. The
Dunbar’s limit will still hold true. Your ‘active’ relationship with members in your group would be limited to the few in your inner circles…. The rest would largely remain as numbers, activated only when necessary

Briefly put, SNS is not just about maintaining social relationship online. It is also about personal advertising.

Maybe your neocortex size may not increase…. But your online social network surely will
"May your network increase :)"

Social Networking & Dunbar's Number

My Facebook friends list has reached close to 140 (give or take 3 pending requests). One of persistent thought I have been having for past few days is the fact that the number of people in my social network is close to Dunbar’s number (148 appx) – my neocortex limit for maintaining stable relationship

Dunbar's number (also known as the Dunbar number or the Monkeysphere) is a value significant in sociology and anthropology. Proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, it measures the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships". Dunbar theorizes that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size ... the limit imposed by neocortical processing capacity is simply on the number of individuals with whom a stable inter-personal relationship can be maintained." You could read more about Dunbar’s number at (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number)

Here is a personal experience I had. In the early days of the Internet in India, a few of us cousins divided by geography but linked through Internet decided to form an online group in Yahoo! It started with 6 members (all first cousins)… we had the usual banter, funny forwards and the usual ‘do you remember _?’ set of updates. Everyone spread the word about this group and more cousins joined along with internet savvy uncles & aunts. All this happened within the first 3-4 months. The growth of the group was phenomenonal and soon there were members I never heard before, family members who were previously non-existent. Soon the member base of the group was around 100.

The original moderator changed, the responsibilities shifted to newer and more active members. More members joined… the 3rd, 4th, 5th cousins, their friends… networking through the group was getting more confusing… negative comments were floating around, embarrassing updates, and a few enterprising cousins were using the platform for business purpose… the group was now un-recognizable and to us, the original members, we were finding the growing new member base cumbersome – and soon decided to move to newer and better platforms of Orkut.

In hindsight, I realize that somehow the growth of the group and the lack of any system in place to maintain order, led to us move away from the group (or maybe sidelined by the more active members)

However, I have this feeling that with Facebook that the limit of Monkeysphere would not hold true. The reason(s) for the same are:

Not Just a Social Networking Site
First and most important reason is Facebook is ‘not’ just a social networking site… It is a platform, a tool. Social Networking happens to one of the primary services but it has much more to offer, and to interact than just create and maintain social relationship. The apps, games, mash-ups, calendars, etc all in someway help Facebook members to be active and increase their level of interaction and also expand their network. This is unlike the early days of Yahoo! Groups which just had a moderator and event calendar functionality.

SNS and extending the ‘sphere of influence’
Facebook, Twitter and other SNS are not just about social relationships; it is also about ‘broadcast’. It is human nature of extending one’s sphere of influence. Evolutionary psychology studies have shown that people tend to have the behaviour of influencing others in the group or beyond either through their actions or words. Simply put it is all about conquest, and the more people in your network means the more popular you are.

The existing Social networking sites play an important part here too. A quick glance into the status updates of most Facebook members is NOT about what they are doing or thinking at that point of time. Most of updates are about the individual’s ‘status’ upgrade :)…. a generic quotation, story, links to something interesting, update enhancing the role they play, or category you belong to, etc;

Thus, influencing the outer circles (and also inner circles) is another key factor for the increasing number of members in the network. It is this reason why many people accept requests of people they hardly know.

And why people send requests to join someone who is a stranger is mentioned next.

Identification & acceptance into larger (popular) group/network
The core reason for the being of Social Networking Sites is the fact that “man is a social animal.” Even before our evolution into human beings, as primates, we lived in groups. The prime reason for the same is attributed to security and comfort of food gathering.

For many people on the social networking sites after the initial relationship building with people in the intimate and near influence circle; they look out for members within their friends, whom they can relate too. Also they would be looking to join group where most of the ‘action’ happens. These are usually seen in sites like LinkedIN wherein user groups are formed basis interest… and Facebook users joining and commenting on innumerable fan pages that are created.

In case you are popular on Facebook or any other SNS site, you will realize that you get friend request from people completely unknown. The reason for the same I would say is ‘online grooming’

Grooming is the prime way of maintaining relationship in the wild. In the digital world, it is more about whom you follow, and why. Whose update needs to be read and responded too, and invariably you would choose the more popular one… Most of the comments left in my updates are either from people who are in my intimate circle, or guys I hardly know (personally or professionally)… and the later being a classic case of online grooming

While the member base in your online social network would keep increasing. The
Dunbar’s limit will still hold true. Your ‘active’ relationship with members in your group would be limited to the few in your inner circles…. The rest would largely remain as numbers, activated only when necessary

Briefly put, SNS is not just about maintaining social relationship online. It is also about personal advertising.

Maybe your neocortex size may not increase…. But your online social network surely will
"May your network increase :)"

Social Networking & Dunbar's Number

My Facebook friends list has reached close to 140 (give or take 3 pending requests). One of persistent thought I have been having for past few days is the fact that the number of people in my social network is close to Dunbar’s number (148 appx) – my neocortex limit for maintaining stable relationship

Dunbar's number (also known as the Dunbar number or the Monkeysphere) is a value significant in sociology and anthropology. Proposed by British anthropologist Robin Dunbar, it measures the "cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships". Dunbar theorizes that "this limit is a direct function of relative neocortex size, and that this in turn limits group size ... the limit imposed by neocortical processing capacity is simply on the number of individuals with whom a stable inter-personal relationship can be maintained." You could read more about Dunbar’s number at (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number)

Here is a personal experience I had. In the early days of the Internet in India, a few of us cousins divided by geography but linked through Internet decided to form an online group in Yahoo! It started with 6 members (all first cousins)… we had the usual banter, funny forwards and the usual ‘do you remember _?’ set of updates. Everyone spread the word about this group and more cousins joined along with internet savvy uncles & aunts. All this happened within the first 3-4 months. The growth of the group was phenomenonal and soon there were members I never heard before, family members who were previously non-existent. Soon the member base of the group was around 100.

The original moderator changed, the responsibilities shifted to newer and more active members. More members joined… the 3rd, 4th, 5th cousins, their friends… networking through the group was getting more confusing… negative comments were floating around, embarrassing updates, and a few enterprising cousins were using the platform for business purpose… the group was now un-recognizable and to us, the original members, we were finding the growing new member base cumbersome – and soon decided to move to newer and better platforms of Orkut.

In hindsight, I realize that somehow the growth of the group and the lack of any system in place to maintain order, led to us move away from the group (or maybe sidelined by the more active members)

However, I have this feeling that with Facebook that the limit of Monkeysphere would not hold true. The reason(s) for the same are:

Not Just a Social Networking Site
First and most important reason is Facebook is ‘not’ just a social networking site… It is a platform, a tool. Social Networking happens to one of the primary services but it has much more to offer, and to interact than just create and maintain social relationship. The apps, games, mash-ups, calendars, etc all in someway help Facebook members to be active and increase their level of interaction and also expand their network. This is unlike the early days of Yahoo! Groups which just had a moderator and event calendar functionality.

SNS and extending the ‘sphere of influence’
Facebook, Twitter and other SNS are not just about social relationships; it is also about ‘broadcast’. It is human nature of extending one’s sphere of influence. Evolutionary psychology studies have shown that people tend to have the behaviour of influencing others in the group or beyond either through their actions or words. Simply put it is all about conquest, and the more people in your network means the more popular you are.

The existing Social networking sites play an important part here too. A quick glance into the status updates of most Facebook members is NOT about what they are doing or thinking at that point of time. Most of updates are about the individual’s ‘status’ upgrade :)…. a generic quotation, story, links to something interesting, update enhancing the role they play, or category you belong to, etc;

Thus, influencing the outer circles (and also inner circles) is another key factor for the increasing number of members in the network. It is this reason why many people accept requests of people they hardly know.

And why people send requests to join someone who is a stranger is mentioned next.

Identification & acceptance into larger (popular) group/network
The core reason for the being of Social Networking Sites is the fact that “man is a social animal.” Even before our evolution into human beings, as primates, we lived in groups. The prime reason for the same is attributed to security and comfort of food gathering.

For many people on the social networking sites after the initial relationship building with people in the intimate and near influence circle; they look out for members within their friends, whom they can relate too. Also they would be looking to join group where most of the ‘action’ happens. These are usually seen in sites like LinkedIN wherein user groups are formed basis interest… and Facebook users joining and commenting on innumerable fan pages that are created.

In case you are popular on Facebook or any other SNS site, you will realize that you get friend request from people completely unknown. The reason for the same I would say is ‘online grooming’

Grooming is the prime way of maintaining relationship in the wild. In the digital world, it is more about whom you follow, and why. Whose update needs to be read and responded too, and invariably you would choose the more popular one… Most of the comments left in my updates are either from people who are in my intimate circle, or guys I hardly know (personally or professionally)… and the later being a classic case of online grooming

While the member base in your online social network would keep increasing. The
Dunbar’s limit will still hold true. Your ‘active’ relationship with members in your group would be limited to the few in your inner circles…. The rest would largely remain as numbers, activated only when necessary

Briefly put, SNS is not just about maintaining social relationship online. It is also about personal advertising.

Maybe your neocortex size may not increase…. But your online social network surely will
"May your network increase :)"

FaceBook 75 Fans Winner

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I wanted to quick post to show you guys what I gave away this morning to a lucky winner that is a "fan" of Marsha Neal Studio on FaceBook.

For every 75 fans, I'll be giving away a grouping of something random (will include something I make) that I pick out of my beading supplies.

See the side bar to the right if you want to become a fan for the next drawing...

This set of Porcelain Shards with my Dark Celadon Glaze,

Fairy Ribbon and Vintaj wire and ear wires was my choice for the first drawing.

I thought that giving away some shards would give someone a little something extra...

Like incentive to enter my September Blog Challenge:

"What did you make with my shard pieces?"

And here is how this morning's drawing went down...

This was supposed to be Thursday evening,

But things just went down a different path until now...

And you've got to go with the flow sometimes...

Um... Chloe... When you are finished raiding Daddy's cereal,

Can you please help me pick a winner?

I was considering putting a marshmallow from the cereal into the "hat" to get her to participate. But luckily after she and dad were done eating, she went right to it...

Thank you for just picking one... Well done!!!

And we have a winner - the #1 commenter on my 75 fans drawing post

Via the Face Book Marsha Neal Studio page...

FaceBook 75 Fans Winner

Happy Saturday Everyone!

I wanted to quick post to show you guys what I gave away this morning to a lucky winner that is a "fan" of Marsha Neal Studio on FaceBook.

For every 75 fans, I'll be giving away a grouping of something random (will include something I make) that I pick out of my beading supplies.

See the side bar to the right if you want to become a fan for the next drawing...

This set of Porcelain Shards with my Dark Celadon Glaze,

Fairy Ribbon and Vintaj wire and ear wires was my choice for the first drawing.

I thought that giving away some shards would give someone a little something extra...

Like incentive to enter my September Blog Challenge:

"What did you make with my shard pieces?"

And here is how this morning's drawing went down...

This was supposed to be Thursday evening,

But things just went down a different path until now...

And you've got to go with the flow sometimes...

Um... Chloe... When you are finished raiding Daddy's cereal,

Can you please help me pick a winner?

I was considering putting a marshmallow from the cereal into the "hat" to get her to participate. But luckily after she and dad were done eating, she went right to it...

Thank you for just picking one... Well done!!!

And we have a winner - the #1 commenter on my 75 fans drawing post

Via the Face Book Marsha Neal Studio page...

Cool Clay Friend - Jenny Davies-Reazor

Ok, so I am really enjoying having SO many cool friends in my life...

And I wanted to give a shout out to my friend Jenny...

Often referred to as my "Clay Sister" (between the two of us - it's an understanding)...

You can find out more about her through her blog:

Jenny Davies-Reazor Blog

We had lunch today - very yummy Indian Food buffet

And I must admit...

Every time we hang out together, it's like we feed off of each other's energy...

It's so cool!

I think it is one of those relationships where we both bring a lot of different stuff to the table and also have a lot of common interests...

And yet, quite different...

Anyway - today at lunch we talked about some of the new pendant pieces that she is working on and I CAN'T WAIT to see them all glazed and fired up!

I'm sure they will be magnificent...

She has some craft shows coming up this weekend and a few after that too...

So if you are looking for some interesting stuff to see, try to get to one of her shows and check out her tiles, shrines and new pendants!