Dumping wisdom on design and the web
When you’re creating a website, the most important thing to consider from a design standpoint is who your target market is. Without this in mind, you could be creating a website that might not be functional for those that you’re intending to have come to your website, especially if those people are of an older generation. [Read more…]
Originally posted on February 20, 2020 @ 2:23 pm
Most people admit that they could use a little extra money for their lives. Whether they’re trying to pay off credit card debt, student loans, or even just have a little extra money for life’s pleasures, having an extra job on the side can make a big difference in your bank account. The key is finding something that’s flexible enough with your own schedule that it doesn’t overtake your current job and family life. [Read more…]
Originally posted on March 25, 2020 @ 8:52 pm
MySpace has long been the dominant social networking tool with a huge numbers of users, endless news stories surrounding it’s use as well as mis-use, and almost becoming a buzz word itself. Those days are eroding as MySpace loses it’s news coverage, and begins to become more of an annoyance then a benefit. Users are beginning to see enough reasons to move their online persona’s to other sites and Facebook has been working extremely hard and is poised to cut the head off the MySpace monster, and here are 10 reasons why:
Originally posted on June 11, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
Yesterday I was taking the usual 15 minute drive back home from the office, taking time to relax, listening to Zero7 and taking in some of the great views of the river front as I drove over it when seemingly from out of nowhere came a rust speckled older model ford swerving wildly around me. A quick glance that direction brought me to realize very quickly that this man had a fire to get to and I was prohibiting that by not moving at the pace that he wanted. After a quick finger gesture he gave me a look that the devil himself would be proud of and sped up again quickly disappearing into the mess of vehicles ahead of me.
As I thought about his actions a little bit I began to take a look at the constant rush that people are in as we lives our lives at a 160 kilometers per hour. Although I would venture to bet that most of the Web community is not this way, I think typical users take this same behavior from everyday life online. A prime example of this might be the almost constant need for the MySpace generation to constantly see who might have dropped them a message or what event might have been planned in the 2 minutes since they last checked their profiles. On for a quick second to check, then off again.
I would venture to guess that most of the “typical” users don’t often deviate from their everyday routines. Most I would bet have a routine similar to this:
Most of us (Web folks) have many other methods of finding new and cool information on a day to day basis. Tools like Digg, Techcrunch and Slashdot are largely unrealized by the average user population because most of the information presented on those sites doesn’t pertain or interest them. Even something as simple as WebMD doesn’t hold the attention of the average user as they are going to get on, research their condition or ailment, print that information and move on.
Is there a way to eat up more of the average user’s time online? Let’s face it; the group that I am considering average users is a considerably larger group then the tech savvy or Web group of users. That larger base equals more dollars, so why don’t we try harder to bring them in? This lends directly back to the lack of time that we all have in our lives.
As technical people most of us have hours in front of or near the computer. Time we get to spend working, playing and learning on the internet. Most people are not afforded this convenience, and once work is done many go home to children, spouses, workouts, television and any number of other things that take up their time.
It can be said that until the Web makes its way even further into the fabric of things like television and appliances to where the average Joe is more exposed to it we may not gain that user base. As media center PC’s and home automation become more prevalent people will be forced to become more reliant on technology and become better users of it. It’s at this point I think people will slow down a bit to look around. If not maybe the technology will relieve the time stress that we put on our lives.
Being that this is my first post on Wisdump and most of you are going to notice a different writing style then that of Scrivs, Ryan, and Lee I figured some sort of introduction would be appropriate.
My name is Kyle P. Johnson a writer and developer from the Omaha area. I have been working in the Web industry for nearly 7 years on a number of different projects and with a number of different companies. I have been writing on my personal blog for about 3 years before Lee gave me the opportunity to write for him and Wisdump.
I hope that you all can appreciate my writing and writing style, and although I am definitely not Scrivs hopefully my writing will strike a chord with the reader base that has decided to stick it out.
Originally posted on May 26, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
In case you didn’t already know, Microsoft today announced a table top computer that interacts with whatever is touching it. Zunes, Cameras, Credit Cards, Drinks, hands, feet, whatever. The new product titled Microsoft Surface was formally announced by Microsoft at midnight, however there was news leaked of the impending release several hours earlier. Within minutes of the story hitting Digg, Apple fans were swarming it and starting the age old fight of Apple vs. Microsoft.
First off, before I say anything more about the product or the main subject of this post, kudos to Microsoft for innovating something for themselves. Yes I implied that they knock off a lot of ideas, and usually from Apple. I don’t think anyone can say this would be one of those ideas. In any event go check out the video spots that show how it works. I will be like a kid in a candy store the first time I get to interact with this product! I am a little interested in how it picks up and works with the devices laid on it, but that’s another post.
Now back to Apple for a second. This is where where the release of this product gets somewhat aggravating. As I found the news story on Digg, I totally ignored the 800+ comments and went straight for the Microsoft site to check out the technology and was totally and utterly in awe. I immediately wondered what this would cost and when it might become available. For this I headed to the Digg comments section only to find the typical Microsoft vs. Apple war that happens at the launch of every product of each company. It’s not even the constant bickering that aggravated me but more a few Apple voices that poked fun at Microsoft saying the name is lame, and that Apple already has this in development, or Apple would be releasing this next month and beat Microsoft to the punch, and so on.
Apple fan, get over it! If there is one thing that drives me nuts about rabid fans of either side, it is their inability to recognize something that is cool technology that “their” company didn’t create. It almost sounds like a couple of 8 year old kids saying they won’t touch one another because the other has cooties. It’s technology, we use how many brands of how many different products on a day to day basis, so why is Apple vs. Microsoft the big issue that it is today?
Surface is a cool technology weather you want to admit it or not, Microsoft happened to create it and market it first. One comment I read stated that if Apple would have created the “ISurface”, it would have been Apple fans going into rabid MacWorld Expo type of frezies, much like when the IPhone was announced. If Apple created it, it would still be a cool technology and maybe even more so with the things that they have put out lately, but that’s just not the way it happened.
Now since I will undoubtedly get slammed as a Microsoft fan let me say that admittedly I am. Although I am indifferent I like to take shots at the couple of guys I work with just because I know that most Apple fans are in fact very loyal to the brand. At the end of the day though I don’t own any Apple products, but I would never say I won’t. In fact the IPhone is a very cool concept. I was on the bandwagon to buy the AppleTV until I found it had no DVR capabilities. My wife is wanting an IPod which we will probably purchase in a month or two, so I am by no means a snob about my technology companies and I guess I don’t see why others are either. Cool technology is cool technology no matter who makes it, just like a cool car is a cool car regardless of if it’s made by Honda, Ford, or Buick.
The basic fact is it doesn’t matter who makes it. What matters if it accomplishes what it is supposed to do. Forget all the technical issues of this or that, because the fact of the matter is that everything has it’s issues. When you look at the raw technology that is exposed, that is where you should be making your judgment. Not your bias towards one company or the other.
Originally posted on May 30, 2007 @ 11:19 am