What does it mean that I'm no. 16 on this list (per datestamp)? It seems like heady company for shucks ol' me. What is the profile of a BlogHog user? Is there a bias in the data? Does it reward recentness (all my youthful vigor vs. jaded just-you-wait-kid-ism)? Why do I never RTFM?
For what it's worth, here's how you can Add RFB as a favorite in BlogHog.
categories: memewatch metablog
12:20:29 PM 
say what []
When Megan Morrone of the Screen Savers leaves a "stay tuned" note in her LiveJournal hinting at plans to change blog tools, the comments section lights up with posts praising Movable Type (including a "hard to install" "not rocket science" side argument), LiveJournal (but not many) and Radio. I didn't see mention of Blogger or Blogger Pro. Are they like the Backstreet Boys of blogging now?
This is unscientific blah blah blah.
categories: memewatch metablog
11:34:49 AM say what []
Here are some of the sites or links I may mention or display on today's show (hmm, megan hosting, cool ... no listing for me... hmm) ... or not:
- Still Blogging After All These Years with generic design
- Blogger
- Blogger Pro)
- Still Blogging After All These Years with new design
- Radio
- CSS-based template for Radio
- Movable Type
- MemeList
- LiveJournal
- bodega
- Leoville
- Leo's blog
categories: fireweaver metablog
11:18:34 AM say what []
Krzysztof Kowalczyk (I love his motto: "Blog or you'll be blogged.") suggests that a focused, balanced blog (or k-log, or blog category, or RSS feed, etc.) could be used as a dynamic resume, one that will be much more impressive in retrospect than a dry recitation of skills in a tradition flat resume:
Keep a log of all the stuff you're learning and doing. e.g. if today you wrote a 5k lines perl script that spiders the web and extracts interesting info, you would add to your log a dated entry:
Finished 5k line Perl script to spider the web. Used LWP::Simple module
...
Of course you should start now, the day you're out of work is probably a few years late.Think I'll set up a resume category today.
11:01:10 AM say what []
RFB accessible in China as of this date stamp:
Starting testing... Stage one testing complete. Stage two testing complete.Testing complete for http://blogs.salon.com/0001111/. Result: Reported as accessible in China
Is your site accessible in China?
categories: salonika memewatch metablog x-pollen
10:21:08 AM say what []
The Raven talks about the impression he gets from a long blogroll:
I don't know about you, but when I visit a blog that has 395 navigation links running down the side I get a funny feeling. Is this clown trying to tell me, "Look at all my friends!" Or am I supposed to check the list and see if I know anyone. Either way, the eyes tend to glaze over and you say to yourself, "Yeah yeah yeah, a bunch of links. Bully for you, pal." In my case, I'm trying to keep the list short ... real short. In my grouchy world, this is called "utility value," and in today's hypernet bitstream it's called, "Guess he doesn't have any friends."Raven goes on to explain his categories.
This got me thinking that logging (journaling, blogging, k-logging) has solved the problem of "how do I keep my website fresh?" by making it trivially easy to refresh the content. That's great for the right-brain—I'm stereotyping here—free-associative, creative part of the brain.
I like the guilt-free lack of structure, being the chaotic type myself, and left-handed and kinda red-headed to boot.
But I think we also, as users, want to see organized links. There's a reason why some people like drilling down into the Yahoo!/directory model of information indexing. I know others will say, "That's so 1999. Just Google it." But that I believe has more to do with the speaker's personality and personal preferences.
Here in Radio, I should probably be learning more about OPML so I could build a hierarchical or otherwise relational set of links that might be output as a blogroll but also browsable in other ways.
What I'd really like to see is a tool that tentatively organizes all the links I embed in this blog, stored in some way so that i can reorganize, overrule filing choices, etc. Ideally it would even suggest reorganizations eventually.
Because, face it, you can't design the perfect filing system in advance, unless you are replicating a perfectly worked-out process, and even then I'd doubt it. You need to start with some system, but as long as you can split big files and eliminate or merge small ones, you're golden. I know I've covered this ground before, but it's probably one of my central knowledge management insights, along with the idea of just-in-time organizing.
For example, I had trouble selecting the quotation above on Raven's page. IEMac5.1/OSX kept wanting to select from his links panel instead of in the blog copy where I was clicking.
(I wonder if the CSS div for the side panel comes before the one for the main entry in the markup? I didn't look, but if so, then it makes the page much harder to read for Lynx users. Checking in Lynx is a useful little canary-in-a-coalmine proxy for having every assistive browser on hand.)
The ad hoc, just-in-time approach is for me to e-mail Sosnoski, or tap his comments board, or see if he reads this. Then I've reported a potential bug and he can deal with it then if he wants, log it for later if need be, or decide it's not worth worrying about.
Not every project has a project manager with a KM database in tow. Sometimes we're just one person trying to manage one complicated third millennial life. I'm starting to learn that keeping the house clean works that way too. There's no way to avoid the big dusting/vacuuming/bathroom/whatever cleaning days sometimes. Because I have the ability to ignore things so that they become part of the unnoticed background distraction of my life until I'm working in a corner surrounded by piles of books, receipts, post-its, computer equipment, CDs, cassette tapes, and bills, I'm only now finally learning that when you see something that needs putting away or cleaning, you just do it.
categories: salonika knowhow metablog
9:36:27 AM say what []
I almost feel like I have to click on you, just in the hopes you can outscore 'pornographers picks.'
My reply: Thanks, although I hope I can attract readers based on my content, too! I see I lost ground to the pornoblog over the weekend. Well, when you're number four you try harder! I'm not antiporn, btw. I recommended the reverse cowgirl's blog recently, and I'm fully aware that porn has been the killer app for every medium since cave painting. (Hmm, I typed "cave panting" there first time through. Cave pantsing?)
Speaking of which. I hear that Google displays current search terms in real time in their office lobby. I assume they have a cussword filter on that?
Free associating, I'm starting to notice Google searches for "Dreamweaver MX serial number hack" in my referrer log. (I directed that link to Matt Brown's Dreamweaver Blog, per his request.) I guess if it's not pr0n it's warez
Maybe I should this blog's name to Radio Free Live Nude Warez. I should ask JOHO if that will get me onto Daypop's top 40. Noticed Ken had a piece on the return of aliens post 9/11 in the Sunday Chron. Good stuff. Apparently he has a book coming out about aliens. He sure uses this blog medium well. The (paid) newspaper item was good, but his blog is better, and it makes me want to read his book(s).
Do journalists make better bloggers than the average Joe or Josie? (Deliberate Bill Safire imitation—please don't hit me.)
Back to that mail:
p.s. - Exians have anything to do with BOB?
I am not now, nor have I ever been, a subgenius, an illuminatus, or a follower of eris; nor an extropian...
What is the line from Repo Man? Something like this:
Harry Dean Stanton character: You're not a communist, are you?
Otto: No way!
HDSc: I don't allow no communists in my car... No Christians, neither...
categories: salonika memewatch metablog x-pollen
9:08:09 AM say what []
The Julie/Julia Project makes my mouth water.
(Probably won't blog too much today. Prepping for my TV appearance this afternoon—it's hard to concentrate on much else till it's done.)
categories: salonika
8:32:52 AM say what []
