blogging
April 09, 2004
yes, yes, I know...
truly pathetic… I come back and say I'm going to be posting again and then two months go by… like the kids say: I am a l8m3r… actually, I'm not even sure if the kids do say that… nevertheless, instead of any big pronouncements I am simply going to start posting again. I've updated the reading page and posted some new links to the mini-blog, now I just need to create some actual content… so without further ado… (charles goes to write)
February 04, 2004
Ahem
Consider this entry a clearing of my throat. It seems I have been rather quiet over the last few months… rather silly of me to build a nice little home like this and then never use it. I am reformed, starting today. I've updated my books page a bit and i'll post a few things shortly regarding some good things I've been reading and seeing and hearing as of late. Looking back over my most recent entries (which aren't recent at all anymore) I can't help noticing that my views on movies seem more prescient than my political soapbox rambling. The whole movement of Howard Dean from front-runner to “a small chance” saddens me. Like most people that dislike (to put it very mildly) GWB, I'll be voting for whatever other option I have, but I can't help thinking that we're missing a chance at having someone a bit more genuine in office by losing Dean. I don't even feel like getting into the media's complicity in making the “yell” into a big deal… it just goes to show that in this age of instant analysis, spin and twenty-four hour news that the media will create stories out of anything and then ride them to death. Blah. In any case, even with Edward's strong showing in South Carolina, the nomination at this point certainly seems like Kerry's to lose, and he's a seasoned enough politician to make that unlikely.
So now I'm off to edit the sidebar “mini-blog” which is so woefully out-of-date that it surpasses being embarrassing. More soon!
August 28, 2003
State of the Weblog
Your attention is directed to this little article by Tom Coates, which does an excellent job of delivering a short “state of the weblog world” sort of address. I found this bit particularly interesting:
A future weblogging culture should be able to find counterpoints to arguments, to identify experts quickly and easily, and it should help good commentary bubble up effectively from new or low-trafficked sites. Mechanisms that help us know who to read, who to trust and who to ignore should be permeating the entire community invisibly and pervasively.
Aggregators may help one track and read a greater number of sites in an efficient manner, but as to helping good commentary bubble to the surface… well, that's a bit harder. As the number of voices increases, the possibility of a new or low-traffic site bubbling up seems tougher and tougher… in reality it's up to readers and weblog authors to push those voices forward and help them be heard in an increasingly crowded space. Don't get me wrong, more and more voices = a good thing, but one must fight the impulse to reaffirm a status quo that is affirmed enough already, and instead search the field for new fruit to reap.
August 11, 2003
New Site Design
As you've hopefully noticed at this point, we're sporting a brand new design and site layout as of just a few hours ago. Some things may be a bit wacky for the next day or so as things get tested and tweaked and such, but any kinks should be resolved fairly quickly. More details about the new layout can be found on our About page, but suffice it to say that the new design is the result of combining my all too abundant opinions with the seriously amazing web design prowess of Mr. Andy Arikawa (of The Daily Flight fame). Let us know what you think!
July 16, 2003
experience the beauty that is...
Sporting a brand new 3.whatever design version, the massively beautiful etherfarm is back. This is one of those sites that I was talking about a few days ago, so well done that envy must be suppressed. If there were a degree program to learn all the design and coding skills found there, I would be signing myself up. As it is, I'll just spend another hour tweaking my CSS I guess.
July 14, 2003
idea: write more stuff
It's easy to get caught up in constantly tweaking little design things on this site, like “should .side be 9, 10 or 11px?” Kind of drives one a bit batty after awhile. Content is king after all, but some people's weblog design is so heartbreakingly good that I feel at a loss. No matter, I can always take a page from Mr. Hammersley's book and start offering free iPods for design services.
Design is a personal thing. Part of me would gladly give an iPod to someone with real skills to redesign my site, but all the people that have sites with designs I admire seem to be rather gainfully employed… and then I think, blogs are rather personal after all, and it's a bit like hiring someone to decide your haircut or buy your clothes… still, dressing is easier than designing something beautiful.
July 12, 2003
a different sort of web standard
Scott Rosenberg's Matters of Public Record is an interesting take on the process of publishing, editing and tweaking on-the-fly that is common in some parts of the blogosphere and the Internet in general:
“There's a fascinating dispute in the blogosphere right now that is worth talking about beyond the emotions of the personalities involved, because it touches on a substantive issue: What is the public record of the Web and of blogs?”
Rosenberg's article deals chiefly with the question of when one can or should post a specifically noted update or correction rather than just changing the content of the file with no mention of the edit. Aside from simple spelling or grammar corrections, I personally find it troubling to have something that has previously been published (even if only a short time ago), later undergo substantive editing without any reference to the fact that it has been changed. This issue suggests to me that the world of web publishing, including blogging, needs to adopt its own set of journalistic standards. These standards would take into account the nature of the web and define appropriate practices accordingly. These standards should be clearly defined and bloggers and other content producers should be able to publicly commit to adhering to them.
June 11, 2003
permalink missive
Tom Coates @ plasticbag.org has a thoughtful new entry on the history and importance of permalinks. Having set up a blog just a few months ago I remember being confused by the concept for a bit, then having an “aha” moment. His point regarding cluttering up the screen hit home. I have been a bit unsatisfied with all the stuff in my “Posted” line… the trick being to communicate the infomation and functionality of Category, Permalinks, Comments & Trackbacks in a clear way…. but also in a simple and elegant way… which I don't think I am even close to achieving here, yet.
While we're on the subject of design… any feedback on my current site design (or lack thereof) would be greatly appreciated…
June 07, 2003
RSS feeds and their care
This bit from plasticbag.org inspired me to update my RSS 1.0 feed and add a RSS 2.0 feed, both with full entries… I had been meaning to change them for some time, but I kept putting it off because my site is so new, and basically no one is reading it… I guess I was worried that people wouldn't click through and see the whole site if they could just read everything in an aggregator… but then I realized that my own behavior when using NetNewsWire doesn't mirror that worry… I usually open the whole site when I see a couple interesting new entries… especially when it's an attractively designed site like plasticbag.org.
Credit goes out to Unix Gal for the code I am now using for my new full entry feeds.
May 28, 2003
"image rotator" from hiveware
I just wanted to credit the source of the php I am using to generate the rotating image at the top of my right column. I found this piece of software over at Hiveware and I like it very much. Check it out, and while your at it, see Mr. Benjamin's blog at Hivelogic… it's quite nice!
May 22, 2003
button in cheek
Please see this entry at dollarshort.org…mucho clever. Blogging community self-deprecation is a good and noble thing.
I have been restraining myself on these buttons, only having two at the moment :) … but I'll add a couple more…. I think you just can't have more than five or six…. that should be a rule. Some relevant links:
Steal these buttons, minimalverbosity, buttonmaker
May 12, 2003
I will do better, really.
my blogging has gotten sporadic… this signals a lack of discipline on my part, because I sure as hell should have something to say every single day, dammit! starting now… I promise content of quality served up daily daily daily…. and no, this little missive doesn't count because writing about needing to write more doesn't count… or only counts in the most pathetic way… so more later, baby, more later.
April 09, 2003
it's the content, stupid!
I'm going to have to make little paper notes about all the things I want to write about in this blog… I have been somewhat preoccupied with getting a preliminary setup/design that I like… when of course, the raw content is the most important thing… so many things running through my head these days… networks, “smart mobs,” blogging, civil liberties, privacy… it's overwhelming… and in about eight hours I'm off to the Midwest to try to make some money for my home economy… in any case… I finally put my MT key in and clicked off the other publicity pings… so maybe one or two people might look here…
I am open to any constructive criticism regarding either the design or content here… suggestions are more than welcome… so spout off!
April 08, 2003
Testing moblog functionality...
I spent the last 36 hours in Portland… untethered from the internet… even my Palm to Nokia setup was giving me trouble… now I have that working again and I am trying 'Kablog' to see if it's possible to post to my blog from this Tungsten.
(added a few minutes later from the desktop) the preceding text is as far as I got with Kablog… unfortunatlely it seems to have a word limit for entries, or maybe it is shareware crippled until you pay the fee… I can't tell for sure because the Kablog webpage is down… one of the nicer 404 pages I have seen though :) … in any case, it's a cool little program… it just needs a longer word limit (assuming this isn't shareware crippling) and it needs to let you choose a category… pretty cool though… moblogging…
April 01, 2003
POLLEN!
the pollen count must be at an all time high in the Bay Area right now, I have been choking for four days… never have I had so many problems with hay fever before… including this nagging cough (which seems weird for allergies)… anyway, suffice it to say, it sucks.
the site customizing is coming along… I know it doesn't look like much, but at least I am learning something… I am training to be a customizer rather than a designer… I still wouldn't mind hiring a real professional designer with Movable Type experience… but it seems like unemployment hasn't hit those people yet… either that or I have simply set my sights to high as far as the level of talent/skill I want…
I notice that Nick Denton is hiring… $2000 for a whole site… hell, I might pay that for the right person… and I'm a web nobody… maybe that means I have to pay more? anyway… I'm pretty sure no one is looking this way yet… cause the config isn't quite done and I haven't advertised yet… but soon…
March 31, 2003
picture pages, picture pages...
Yes, I know, I am posting a lot of silly little “pretty” pictures… its not filler, honest! I am trying to tweak everything to look nice, and add a bit of experimental content at the same time… I would love to have a little rotating show of fairly large-sized thumbnails, but I'm not that talented yet… I think the way the little moblog images are handled at dollarshort is very nice… I'll have to brainstorm some ideas… suggestions are welcome…
March 28, 2003
finding your voice...
it's interesting that blogging is now popular enough to have inspired tips and advice type guides like this excellent one at NSLog. I am obviously pretty new at this and guides like this are exceedingly helpful.
I also must say, as someone that appreciates fine design, even a newbie like myself can appreciate the elegance of the MovableType software. A finely made tool is truly a joy to use (and I barely know 5% of its capabilities).
Regarding blog tone, it's interesting, especially if you are a somewhat private person, to attempt to write in your own natural voice and at the same time strike the right balance in terms of the personal and public… to write naturally but also be somewhat self-sensoring regarding just how intimate a tone to adopt. This is where keeping your audience in mind is important. This is seemingly easy for me at the moment because being brand new I am fairly sure I have no audience. :)
March 24, 2003
puttering along
slowly, slowly I am endeavoring to learn how to customize this site… this is slightly frustrating, as I should really be more concerned with content then “looks,” but aesthetics are important to me… when I look at something like Antipixel it almost makes me cry it's so well done… ah well, I'll experiment some more today and see what happens…
March 22, 2003
here I am...
welcome to my new weblog... the first thing you'll notice is that this looks pretty basic and fairly boring at the moment... I'm working on that, but I am learning as I go... I am neither a designer nor a web expert and my efforts to hire people with real talent have been unsuccessful thus far... so it goes...