A good friend of mine, James Mowery has started up his own blog, Tech In Demand, which deals with Technology, a sprinkling of Web 2.0 and buzz worthy insight. James was at one time a contributing editor to Mashable.com and was responsible for this post, Online Productivity Toolbox: 30+ Resources to Get Things Done which received quite a number of Diggs. James certainly knows what he’s talking about and I highly encourage you to check out his project. He’s made it into my FeedReader, who’s next?
Kevin Rose startup, Pownce, has completed the roll out of a new update which contains a couple of new features such as on site image and video previews, other profile links and more user customization options.
Users can now view images and videos that are within links, on site. You’ll no longer need to actually click the link in order to preview what it is. As it stands, you can now embed video into your Pownce messages as long as it is from one of these services, YouTube, Google Video, Metacafe, Revver and Vimeo. On site image previews are currently only capable of being viewed from Zooomr but Pownce plans on adding Photobucket and Flickr support in a future update.
Pownce has added a feature that I think many users are going to appreciate. Powncers will now be able to display links to their other online profiles. The list of sites to choose from which you have an account with is tiny compared to that of OnXiAm, but the list does contain quite a few popular services which should suffice for now.
Also released in this update, is an area on your Pownce user page that displays the next 5 Upcoming Events. In the top right-hand corner of your Pownce user page, you will now see a list containing the next 5 events that you created, or that you have been invited to.
Last but not least, Pownce has included a few more user customization options. These are described below:
you can now open links in a new window by default! you can also set your default note view to something other than ‘notes & replies’, and you can select whom you’re note. tired of seeing all replies displayed inline? no worries, you can set it to just ‘notes’. and finally, you can specify whom notes should go to by default (such as your ‘best friends’ or ‘coworkers’ set).
If you use Pownce, be sure to check out the new features and let me know what you think. If you want, you can add me as a friend as well http://pownce.com/Jeffro2pt0/ I don’t use Pownce that much as I get my social kicks from Twitter. On a side note, Pownce tells me that I have 11 more invites to give away. If you were late getting on the bandwagon, but still want to go along for the ride, be sure to let me know in the comments if you want to be invited into the service.
I always envisioned a day where web site designs were considered puzzle pieces. Those days look like they have arrived.
YAML Builder stands for (Yet Another MultiColumn Layout) builder. This online design builder gives users the oppurtunity to create an awesome design without ever having to touch the code. The small control panel gives you the oppurtunity to choose between different Doctype standards, base elements for the site, number of columns the site should have, CSS management, the ability to add elements such as H1, H2 or Paragraph, different column sets and different content boxes.
At the end of the day, you can click on the GET CODE button and YAML generates all of the code you would need in order to place the design onto your site. It also gives you the oppurtunity to fine tune the code, in case you wanted to do something a bit more extravagant.
I’ve been waiting for the day when designing websites would be this easy. I’m happy to say, those days are here. If you happen to create a design using YAML Builder, or another similar service, by all means leave a comment with a link so that we can take a look at the design to see what these builders are capable of.
While browsing Steven Hodsons blog, I noticed an interesting widget on his site that displayed questions he had been asked, followed up with his answers. I thought this was a novel idea and a way for me to communicate directly with my readers.
Qwizzy.com was created by Adam Ostrow, Contributing editor for Mashable.com and Peter Franza, a distinguished computer engineer. Both founders currently reside in Virginia.
Qwizzys founding principle, is that you should question everything. In effect, thats exactly what the service allows you to do. After registering an account, you’ll be able to ask any other member a question. Those members then have an oppurtunity to answer your question and the entire experience gives you the sense of a one-on-one personal communication. An excellent way of sharing knowledge without needing to use email.
After joining the service, I took the opportunity to ask Adam, “What is it like writing and working for Mashable.com?” It didn’t take him long to respond.
Adam Ostrow: answered: “It’s pretty cool. I actually studied journalism in college so it’s nice to be able to write and get paid for it. The one thing that is hard for me is coming up with topic ideas, and occasionally I’ll get assigned one that isn’t so fun for me.”
Qwizzy provides seperate RSS feeds for Questions and Answers. I wouldn’t mind seeing an RSS feed which combines the two. If you have a question that you’ve been wanting to ask me, join Qwizzy and be sure to add me as a fan http://www.qwizzy.com/jeffro2pt0 All questions and answers will be displayed on the Qwizzy flash based widget, which is now displayed on the left sidebar on this blog.
During the month of August, I asked readers if they would like me to produce a podcast based on the content that has been featured on this site. The results are in:
Should I Produce A Podcast For This Site?
Total Voters: 23
It was close, but it looks like I better put my podcast hat on. So with that in mind, I’d like to present to you my idea for the podcast. I was thinking of calling the podcast, AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE. The podcast would be produced LIVE every Friday Evening at 9PM EST on Talkshoe and would last anywhere from a half hour to 60 minutes. The interviews will be open to discussion on various topics such as what the blog author covers on his or her own blog, blogging in general, their thoughts and opinions on various subjects, tips and tricks for other bloggers, discussion of topics in the news, and anything else that comes to mind. It won’t be a tightly arranged format. I want guests who appear on the show to feel like they are entering a relaxed environment without all of the stress or expectations that may accompany other shows.
If you are a blog author and want to appear on the show, please contact me and tell me which Friday you would be available. As it stands, all slots are empty, but I’d love to fill them up. I’m looking to produce the first show on Friday September 21st, 2007. Who is going to be the first guest on the show?
With that out of the way, it’s time for a new poll question. I’ve been thinking about adding forums to this site, but I’m still not sure if they would be productive or counter productive to the web site. The decision is now in your hands. Vote yes if you would like to see forums attached to this site, or vote no if you could care less.
Twitter has an interesting new page called Twitter Blocks, which allows you to view recent status reports from friends, and the people that follow them.
Twitter Blocks gives users the oppurtunity to take a deeper look at their network of friends. The light blue blocks refer to your own account, the red blocks are your updates while the grey shaded blocks contain updates from friends of friends.
The Twitter Blocks page is sponsored by Motorola, so it’s nice to see that Twitter is finding different ways of making money.
Chris Brogan has published an interesting article where he reviews his use of Twitter and comes up with a few different classifications of Twitter users.
Out of the different classes of Twitter users that Chris presents, I have determined that I am within the Announcers vs. Conversationalists class.
Announcers vs. Conversationalists
This is a current hammer-target for Eric Rice. He’s railed out about people (including me) using Twitter as a promotion engine. I understand this, insofar as some people do nothing but twitter links to their blog posts, their flickr pictures, and whatever else turns them on. (Note: I will Twitter that I posted this article when I’m done writing it).
But conversationalists know to use a mix. They talk with other Twitter users, using the @ function to make sure people see the threaded conversation. They engage with the flow of people twittering around them, building a social sculpture, and engaging in what Jeff Pulver calls amorphic communications. Conversationalists reach into Twitter and move people back and forth.
In the beginning, Twitter was a social networking tool that I believed I could use as a promotional stepping stone for my blog. I added all sorts of people to my friends list because I knew, most people would end up following me simply because I chose to follow them. After using Twitter for a few months now, I have changed my way of thinking. I still use Twitter as a tool to share postings on my blog that I think are good conversation starters, but I also participate in conversations with those I follow. I’m also beginning to follow only those people that I actually have an interest in.
I’m currently being followed by 54 people while I’m actually following 84 people. I wonder just how many of those that are following me actually give a damn as to what I post on Twitter. I am also starting to wonder if I should delete everyone that I am following and start over from scratch. Now that I have a sense as to the correct way of using Twitter as a social tool, I think I should either start over, or I should fine tune my friends list.
Thank you Chris Brogan for the inspirational post. It’s really made me step back and realize how and why I’m using Twitter.
If you enjoy what I write on this blog and you have an account on Twitter, consider adding me http://twitter.com/jeffr0 I need more social-media, social-web, web2.0 people to converse with. Outside of the Internet, no one has a freaking clue about Web 2.0 or any of the cool stuff going on in the Cyberworld.
Yappd, the service that was awarded my first negative review which can be read here, has released a few updates which finally make the service worth using. These updates include uploading photos, public API and TinyURL Support.
Yappd members can now upload photos via their web site. Yappd has also added in support so that you’ll be notified if friends on your watchlist have posted any Yappd messages. If your a developer, and for some reason would like to integrate Yappd into your application or website, you can now visit http://yappd.com/api to tap into their Beta API.
Yappd claims they are focusing on the capabilities of their platform by allowing member’s of other microblogging websites, to have their other “messages” posted as Yapps automatically. Another item on their to do list includes, expanding their mobile carrier support for picture messaging and international support.
With these updates in mind, I may have to go back to the Yappd site and give it another try.
The idea behind LocateTV is simple – to let you find TV shows available where you live in the world, be they on broadcast TV, online or on recorded media (DVD, HD-DVD etc). In addition we provide tools to assist you, so that your readers can find where they can watch the TV content that you are talking about.
If I had to review this site in one sentence or less, I’d say it was your TV Guide on roids. LocateTV is a search engine that provides you with up to date results on when a particular actor, TV show or movie will appear on TV, DVD or WebTV. For instance, I used the search terms “Back To The Future“. The first result lets me know that Back To The Future, was a movie released in 1985. The result page gives you a brief description of the movie letting you know which actors appeared as well as the movie credits.
Below all of the information related to the movie itself are three tabs. One for Upcoming TV showings, another for DVD and another for WebTV. WebTV… Does anyone still use WebTV? At any rate, at the time of this writing, BTTF will be showing three seperate times on Sunday September 2nd on Cinemax. Each showing includes an embed link which allows you to embed the show time information into your blog or any other form that allows embeddable html. Let’s give it a shot.
I don’t think you’ll be able to place this in a blogs sidebar because of the size of this thing but, it’s a cool way to be able to tell your visitors when the next showing of your favorite show will be on.
Clicking on the DVD tab shows retailers who are currently selling the specific DVD or a DVD set containing the movie in question. Some of the retailers I’ve seen include Amazon, Deep Discount.com, Movies Unlimited and Barnes&Noble.com. LocateTV earns a small percentage of the DVD sale if you purchase the DVD through the LocateTV site. While I browsed around, I didn’t notice any ADs, so this could be the way they plan on monetizing the service.
One of the features I almost forgot to mention, is the ability to personalize your search results. In the top right corner of the LocateTV website, there is a button that you can press that gives you the ability to choose which country you live in (At the moment there are only three countries supported) type in your address, and then select your programming provider. In my case, it was Time Warner Cable. I recommend going through this process before you begin searching the site so the results are as accurate as possible.
While performing a search for Deadliest Catch, my favorite reality based TV show, I came across a 2007 entry that did not contain a synopsis. This struck me as odd but it gave me the oppurtunity to send LocateTV a feature request. I requested that users be able to submit a synopsis of a particular show for review by the LocateTV staff members or, that they configure the synopsis part of the search results as a wiki that can be edited only by registered members.
If your blogging about a particular television show that you watched or you have seen something worth recommending, chances are, other folks would also like to see it. You owe it to yourself and others to use the embed feature of LocateTV to tell others when the show will be appearing next. LocateTV is trying to solve a huge problem:
The problem we are continuously striving to solve is that legitimate TV content is available from an ever changing list of different places depending upon where you live – be that different TV channels, different online sources, or on different recorded media. The big challenge for us is to collate this information together, so that people from different geographic locations can find the same content. We are launching with coverage of the UK and US. We aim to broaden this coverage over time.
It’s my opinion that these guys are doing a good job thus far. They are actively fixing glitches in their search system as their change log points out and now, I don’t have to remember which channel the program was on, nor do I have to remember dates or times. I can do a quick search on LocateTV and then publish that information.
LocateTV is still in private beta. They have let me know that, they are aiming to have a public beta within the next few weeks, then they will go public. LocateTV was kind enough to provide me with three invitations to their service that I could give away to you, the readers. So if your interested in giving this service a test spin and think you can add some valuable feedback to the LocateTV team, let me know in the comments section and I’ll set you up with an invite. Be sure to use a real email address when leaving a comment since thats the address the invite will be sent to.
I was wondering why my whos amung us widget was screwing up, and now I know why. Whos Amung Us has rolled out some updates to their web based widget which shows you how many users are concurrently browsing your site, in real-time. The most notable changes are within the WhosAmungUs website itself. Now, all widgets that are produced by the team are accessible on one page.
One of the biggest changes is a brand new widget called MAPS or Maps.amung.us This widget shows you who has visited your site based on the location of their IP address. Think Frappr in real-time. Be sure to check out http://whos.amung.us/ to grab your widgets and to check out their new widget, visit http://maps.amung.us/
Thoughts and Insanity From Jeff 