Oban's Penseive

Interesting Links

oban89 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:50:38 +0000

Choosing a Blog Platform

‘Should I use a free Blogger.com blog or get my own hosted blog on my own Domain? Which Blog Platform is best?’
How to use Facebook without Losing Your Job over it « Internet Duct Tape

A good read for those who think Facebook is safer than myspace.
Movers 2.0 – Follow the Web 2.0 traffic trends

web 2.0 traffic using alexa api. good way to see what the next hot thing might be.
The Solution to Social Network Site Fatigue « Internet Duct Tape

It can get overwhelming out there, and I have very few online freinds!
Tim Ferriss’ Four Minute Blog Training – The 9 Rules You Need to Know « Internet Duct Tape

I need to remember his comments on polarizing. I’m always trying to be middle of the road. How boring!
Top 22 Mac OS X Products: Part One – Technology News by InformationWeek

Our Apple expert John C. Welch picks 22 lesser-known applications that can make your Mac experience more productive and more fun.
Web Anonymity 101 – Digital Breadcrumbs « Internet Duct Tape

The subject that has haunted me and kept me from being more out there online – how & when do you stay annonymous.
Delicious Links Builder by InternetDuctTape.com

This list was created using Delicious Links Builder

Apple – Web apps

oban89 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:45:22 +0000

Apple launched a page similar to apple.com/downloads that lists all the “applications” available via online for the iPhone. These are mostly pages that have been reworked and optimized for the phone. The still rely on the internet and so still slow down with bad connectons. Nevertheless, having these all in one place is nice.

[TUAW]

Trackbacks explained (finally)

oban89 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:14:24 +0000

Engel’s blog addresses trackbacks in a simple, easy to understand way.

He starts out by telling us that “For a long time I had no idea what trackbacks were or how to use them. “
I felt the pretty much the same. Actually, I knew what the concept was, but had never got around to actually using them. Well, I start now!

Ouch

oban89 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:47:21 +0000

(Via PostSecret.)<

Better Life Forum – 20 Procrastination Hacks

oban89 — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:06:11 +0000

The better life forum has what seems like a great list of ways to stop procrastinating. I say it looks great, because I haven’t actually gotten around to reading it yet.

One of my favorites from the title:

“Put public pressure on yourself. The power of the deadline is best when combined with public pressure. If your boss, or a group of people, want something in by a certain date or time, you are more likely to bust your butt getting it done. If there isn’t any public pressure on a task, create it — email someone and promise to have it done by a certain time, and ask him or her to check on it at that time just to make sure you do it.”

20 Procrastination Hacks {via Internet Duct Tape}

Anything To Avoid Posting

oban89 — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:38:40 +0000

So, I finally decided to start posting again today, and ended up spending the last 6 hours tinkering with themes. I still can’t find one I really like. I should really blog about why, but I’ve run out of time! I’m seriously considering dumping everything to a private blog so I don’t have to worry about what I say and then selectively exporting posts to a public one (or two, or three). Most likely, though, I’ll just lose interest again!

The New Look of the Web

oban89 — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:25:04 +0000

I’ve been really getting into the “web 2.0″ style lately. I never really got it until I started this blog and doing more random surfing. The new look, when done right, actually has a more current, or cutting edge feel to it.

A good example of this is the interland.com website from a year ago.

With a rebranding and a face lift, the site now has that distinctive web 2.0 look.

Which one do you find more appealing?

Flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

oban89 — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 02:39:39 +0000

I came across this all to common list of grammar mistakes.. I’d bet that everyone has at least one of these that they’re secretly afraid they’ll misuse. I know I have to double check any time I use effect or affect. My worst thought is where and were. I mean, they don’t even sound the same!

I’m always disagreeing with people on the use of i.e. and e.g. I just looked it up and it turns out that I had it right and everyone else was wrong.

clipped from news.zdnet.co.uk

In general, we can slip up in a verbal conversation and get away with it. A colleague may be thinking, “Did she just say ‘irregardless’?”, but the words flow on, and our worst transgressions are carried away and with luck, forgotten.

That’s not the case with written communications. When we commit a grammatical crime in emails, discussion posts, reports, memos, and other professional documents, there’s no going back

#1: Loose for lose

#2: It’s for its (or god forbid, its’)

#3: They’re for their for there

#4: i.e. for e.g.

#5: Effect for affect

#6: You’re for your

#7: Different than for different from

#8 Lay for lie

#9: Then for than

#10: Could of, would of for could have, would have

Content-O-Rama

oban89 — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:25:31 +0000

I have spent way too much tim over the last couple of days obsessing over this blog. I have read and researched and bookmarked and clipped everything I could get my hands on related to the technical and design aspects of blogging. That parts fun to learn, but it distracts from the key, which is content. There is so much information about what makes a “good” blog – one that will be compelling and draw readers – that I pretty much lost sight of the reason I wanted to do this in the first place. So, yes, I’d like to have something that looks nice and is organized well, and maybe even has some sort of cohesive content that people will want to read, but that should be the long game. Right now I’ve got to go back to my original plan; that is to write about anything and everything I feel like for a while. After I’ve gotten over the writers block hurdle and once I’ve figured out what aspects of blogging I enjoy, I can decide on what direction I want to go.

I guess what I’m trying to say is caveat lector¹. For now, this blog is going to resemble my desktop – a bunch of crap that may appear random, incomplete, or undeveloped, but that makes perfect sense to me.

¹Am I the only one who gets discouraged when a rare bit of whit comes to mind to find out that there’s already a wikipedia article on it?

Blogging Just Got Easier with Clip The Web

oban89 — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 09:30:41 +0000

I just stumbled upon this plug-in for Firefox that allows you to quickly clip images, text, video and almost everything else you can think of. There’s a basic editor included so you can post to your blog without having to navigate there through your browser. The convenience does come with some limitations. The clipping is posted in a full width box, even though just the logo was selected for clipping.

Still, this is so easy to use I think it will end up being my main source method of posting interesting things I find when I’m not actually on the hunt for a topic.

clipped from clipmarks.com