Webware 100: It’s That Time Again–Voting Opens

The Webware 100 online awards event is back in session once again for 2008.  Your favorite internet applications will be battling it out for a prime position within the various categories of the Webware 100 awards.  In 2007, over 480,000 people voted for their favorites in categories like browsing, communication, entertainment, media, and publishing.  This year, even more people are likely to cast their votes for favorites in a growing field of internet applications and services.

Although there are several new services and applications being added, the chances of any drastic winners is very unlikely.  The web 2.0 slowdown in innovation is catching up.  It is becoming harder to come up with a revolutionary idea, and while some services like Qik offer something new, it still is somewhat disappointing to already know the most likely winners.

Regardless, you can vote for your favorites right now.  I would suggest voting for a smaller application that could use the media exposure, but that is just me.

Personal Blog Statistics For February 2008

I figured I would take some time to show everyone how my blog has been performing.  This is not to show off or anything of the sort.  I just figured I would post these to keep a personal goal set.  I like having people read my blog, after all.  Overall, things seem to be on the up side.

Anyways, on to the stats!

As might be obvious, I didn’t start blogging again until around the 10th of this month.  Things took off after that.  My best day only happened three days ago.  I believe I am experiencing growth.  However, I can’t properly tell if people are subscribing to my feed.  I get notifications of around eight people coming from Google Reader, but I only ever see two or three subscribers.

Oh well—I think it is a great start.  I just figured I would share all that with you.  I will probably make this a monthly thing.  If you happen to stumble upon this post, why not share your numbers for the month of February?  I think it would be interesting to see how many people visit WordPress.com blogs.

I never really intend on making money with this blog, but I don’t mind having people read, of course.  Having people read it motivates me to keep going with it. That is good enough for me!  That is why I enjoy writing.  I appreciate anyone with an open mind.  It is all about respect!

In the past, I have had a habit of not keeping up with my blogs.  However, I am so glad that people are reading this.  As long as people will read, I will keep it up!

Considering A Purchase of the CSS Upgrade for WordPress.com

So, there have been a few themes that I really have enjoyed using in the past on WordPress.com, but some of them just have a few minor issues that could be solved with one or two lines of CSS code. It annoys me.  As a result, I have been thinking about forking out the $10 $15 for the CSS customization upgrade.  I am sure you will notice a huge difference on the blog if I do.

I Want To Get Published In A Magazine Like Wired, PC World, or PC Mag.

Time for another one of my goals in life that I am determined to accomplish—I really want to get an article published in a magazine. The reasoning behind it is simple really—I have always thought it would be exciting to be the person that writes all those articles which hundreds of thousands of people read. I don’t think that this is an unreachable goal either.

There is just something about the idea of getting something I write published in a traditional medium that intrigues me. When I was younger, I had dreamed that I would be the one in the back of the magazine writing all the product reviews for games and gadgets.

I wouldn’t mind having my own column; however, I would simply be satisfied with having anything I write displayed in a magazine. I consider this as one of my goals in life. I want to get something of mine published in a major print media form.

I’ve been doing a tiny bit of research on how I would accomplish this, but it seems similar to a job application. I would pitch my idea to the correct editor, and basically I would explain why it would be a good article for the magazine and its readers. If the idea is accepted, I would be assigned the job. After that, I would be writing.

Apparently, freelance magazine writers make anywhere from a few cents to several dollars per word.  Nice chunk of change in my opinion.  Although, I am not interested in becoming a freelance magazine writer. Just interesting little factoid to know about.

Anyways, I just wanted to get that out of my system.

Can’t Get Away From Discussing the Apple MacBook

It appears that now the MacBook and MacBook Pro have received upgrades.  This all comes only after several weeks of the MacBook Air launch.  A new 2.4 GHz Penyrn Intel processor is available for the MacBook Black.  The MacBook Black will also come with 2 GB RAM and a 250 GB hard drive.  I think those are worthy upgrades.

Thank god I did not purchase my new MacBook Black around a week ago. I would have been totally pissed. But now I am even more confident in my decision to buy.  However, I am now only questioning if I should be paying $200 more only for the black MacBook. I will be getting an after-market hard drive and memory, and as a result, I am simply paying for the color.  I am simply questioning which I should purchase.

My Favorite Sites To Visit On A Daily Basis

Nowadays, with the advancements in feed technology that delivers content to users, it is becoming more and more common for users to skip visiting websites entirely. Feed readers—like Google Reader—are delivering the goods now. For someone like me, it is essential to be able to view the content without the fat. However, there are still sites I tend to visit on a daily basis. This should give you some insight on what I am looking at on the web on a daily basis.

YouTube

This site really requires no introduction. YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the web right now. It practically requires a visit to make use of it. Most video sharing sites incorporate content/media feeds to get videos delivered, but you just won’t get the overall feel without visiting the site. I have visited YouTube on a daily basis for almost two years now, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.

Wired

Something about the Wired site design just makes me want to visit it. I just love it. That is why the new design for Tech In Demand is being modeled from the Wired design. When you have a site design that just makes you want to visit the site, you know you have something special. Great job Wired, and I am sure I will be visiting. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the site has some killer content too—actually, I was just kidding as the content is flat-out amazing!

Facebook

Alright, I have been slacking lately on Facebook, but I always tend to visit the increasingly popular social networking site. It really is the best place to network with friends. After all, who needs MySpace? Until something even more impressive comes along, I will consider Facebook as one of my favorite social networks; that, or until the company does something incredibly stupid.

Hulu

Hulu is a recent discovery for me, but I love going to the site and investigating all the television shows that I have never seen before. Doogie Howser, M.D. would be my latest discovery. I think of Hulu as the professional broadcast version of YouTube. The site’s design could be more efficient, but it is sufficient for now. It all just works.

Stickam

Probably my most hated but most used site, Stickam allows multiple users to interact via video and audio at the same time. It is a first of its kind, but unfortunately, it is becoming quite poor in functionality and stability. I am sure another company will step up to overtake the commanding position that Stickam has, and that can’t happen soon enough. Unfortunately—until that day comes—I am stuck with Stickam.

Wikipedia

Not only is Wikipedia one of my favorite sites to visit on a daily basis, it is my favorite site of all sites ever invented. The site is literally priceless. If you have never visited a Wikipedia entry, then there is something wrong with you. It is just an amazing resource for research and information. I just can’t express in words how much I appreciate its existence.

Honorable Mentions:

• Flickr
• Delicious
• Creative Cow
• Bubbl.us
• Vimeo

I am sure there are more, but this was just a list of the sites I could think about off the top of my head. All these sites really offer benefits to for their visitors. Those types of sites are obviously the ones that are going to get the most page views. Regardless, I am sure I will think of more. I will update this list later on if I think of anything.

I am always interested in learning about new websites. So, why don’t you tell me what are your favorite sites to visit on a daily basis?

YouTube Experiment—Three or More Videos Uploaded Per Day For 30 Days

Once I get my MacBook Pro—yes, I know I keep mentioning a MacBook Pro—I am going to attempt to post three or more videos every day for the next 30 days. Call it an experiment of some sort. With my new laptop, I should be able to easily upload videos via Quick Capture. I’m attempting to do this for a few reasons, but mostly it is just because I want to see if I can pull it off.

The reasoning behind all this? I have seen people who have uploaded at least five 5 – 10 minute videos per day, everyday, for a very long time now. I think they are insane. With all the freedom I have, I can’t even find the time to make one video within the past several months. I know that most of the people I watch actually have typical day jobs. I just can’t imagine doing something like that. I have to at least attempt it.

The quick capture feature will—hopefully—be a go for the MacBook’s iSight camera. If not, I may have to adjust the rules and goals slightly. I did see other users successfully using Quick Capture though, so I am confident that things will go smoothly with that regard. I have set up a few rules and goals for me to follow as well.

The Rules

1. I must aim to post at least three videos every day in a 30 day time period.
2. If I fail to reach three videos during any day, I must make up the required amount within three days.
3. If at any point I end up behind more than six videos, I fail the experiment.
4. Videos must be at least one minute in length to count. Preferably longer than that, but the point is to actually provide videos with some purpose.

The Goals

• Have 100 new videos uploaded within 30 days.
• Have at least 5 of these videos generate video responses.
• Have an average of 50 views per video.
• Have an average of at least 5 comments per video.
• Have at least three videos reach over 1,000 views.
• Have at least two videos reach over 5,000 views.
• Have at least one video reach over 10,000 views.

Questions To Be Answered

1. Can I pull it off?
2. Will I gain more subscribers than I did previously with posting videos on an irregular basis?
3. Will I lose any subscribers?
4. Will view counts be reasonable?
5. Will people comment?
6. What will be the general consensus by others of what I am doing?
7. Will this affect my work? (If so—how and why?)
8. Will this be considered as work or fun to me?

Knowing me, I will probably be yapping about something related to technology most of the time. It might be a few weeks before I start this experiment, but I will keep everyone updated!

jQuery–Write Less, Do More

The jQuery JavaScript library is quite an impressive set of tools to play around with. While some people flat out hate Ajax on websites, I tend to enjoy it when used in a meaningful manner. For example, making a ton of content available within a tabbed interface would be proper usage. I also have begun appreciating carousels that appear on websites which feature content. I am currently trying my best to learn the library through and through.

The jQuery library allows those who have had very little experience with JavaScript the opportunity to jump right in and make cool things. It is impressive because it allows you to access all the functions with the minimum amount of code.

Say, for example, that you want to hide any URL link—stuff between <a href=”blah.com”>whatever</a> elements—that is clicked. The following code can accomplish all of that:

$(“a”).click( function () { $(this).hide(); }

All this basically says is find all <a> elements on the page, and when clicked, hide them. It can’t get much more simple than that. I think most people can imagine the varying results if “click” was replaced with “load” or “hover.” More and more sites are starting to use jQuery, and even content management systems like Drupal are fully integrating it.  It truly is a good thing.

The jQuery library has huge potential, and I am glad to see more sites adopting it as a part of their design process. Again, the key is to use it only when necessary. If your site’s focus is on text content, have jQuery compliment it and not a distract from it.  It can be a powerful combination.

Checking Out Some Tech Toys At Best Buy

Ah, the store I hate oh so much because of annoying customer service representatives is where I was last night.  I managed to listen in on an employee who spent around 20 minutes explaining the differences between a Mac and Windows operating system while I was playing on a Macbook.  He completely made most of that crap up, but if I was an average Joe, I would have fell for it.

I especially loved the part where he said that “the MacBook crashes just as much as the PC.”  I will be the judge of that.  I am the king of crashing computers.  Trust me when I say it is not something I am proud of.  I just manage to find ways to break stuff.

I don’t intend on installing a bunch of crap on my MacBook, but for the first time around, I will probably install a crap-load of applications to test them out at first, and then I will reinstall Mac OS X 10.5.  It will be for business purposes only.  I did notice, unfortunately, that the MacBook Black will easily get beyond dirty with a few touches.  To put it simply, it will blend to my room perfectly.

Rock Band

I saw some people playing Rock Band on the Xbox 360.  My sister’s husband has that.  I’m going to check it out one day.  I think I will like playing the drums.  I watched a few YouTube videos of other people playing, and I think some of those levels are insanely difficult.  Oh well, it looks like good fun.

Verizon Voyager

It was only a dummy model, but I now know what a Verizon Voyager looks like.  It is smaller than I imagined, but I really like how it can flip open with access to a full QWERTY keyboard.  When the Verizon Wireless contract is up, that might be my phone when I re-sign with the company.  We shall see.

iPod

My sister had an iPod Nano, but exchanged it for an iPod Classic.  I think the iPod Nano is much more interesting to look at, but I would be afraid of losing such a small device.  I wish I had thought of purchasing a MacBook last month.  I could have received a free iPod with my purchase at the Apple Store.  Oh well.

Nintendo DS Lite

I saw the Nintendo DS Lite again a few times.  I don’t really know if I want one, but I just think it would be cool to play around with.  I really enjoy the Brain Age games on it.  I also think that once I get my laptop, my PSP will be 100% absolutely useless to me.  I only purchased one game with the PSP, and I hated it.  What a waste of money it was.

CompUSA

Oh, and CompUSA is still open!  It has nine days left before the store closes.  I wish I had taken a picture with my camera phone; it was just amazing—and somewhat depressing—to see the store in that state.  They had 20% off of the MacBook Black.  I, unfortunately, did not have enough credit to charge for it though.

Sleep!

Anyways, it is now nearly 9 AM.  How many hours of sleep might you ask?  Zero!  It is time to change that.

Making Progress On Tech In Demand Restoration

If you want to read the story on what happened to my blog, you can check that out on Performancing.  What is done is done, and while my previous hosting company might have been the scum of the earth, I will prevail.

My task is to move around 120 – 140 articles over to a new site.  The interesting thing is I am probably going to end up doing it all by hand.  I would love to think it was just as simple as a copy and paste job, but it will not be that easy.  I will also have to carry over all the images as well.  I could, possibly, drop all the images, but I am not sure if I want to do that.

The bad thing is that I have hundreds of people that are trying to get to my content through Google, and all they end up seeing is an error page.  It just ticks me off that those people have to see that.  I don’t want to waste their time.  I have to fix that soon.  It will all be done by the end of this week.

Life goes on.