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July 2006 Archive

Apply ad links directly to your forehead

posted by DL Byron on July 31, 2006

Worse than those, apply directly to your forehead (wash, rinses repeat 3 times) ads are those damn, obnoxious link ads by linksyngergy showing up on various websites, including macdailynews. Not only are they cluttering crap, but also are firing on irrelevant keywords. Let’s hope that either they go away soon or someone figures out how to block them directly in the browser. Specifically, these are the ads that hover on what appears to be link, but it’s not, it’s an ad and from Kontera. Tricking consumers, like with pop up windows, is never good, evil even.

As much criticism as I have for Google’s terribly executed web apps, they do have contextual text ads down.

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In Living Color with Zeldman

posted by DL Byron on July 31, 2006

The first thing I noticed about Zeldman’s just-released rev to Designing with Standards, is the beautiful, full-color screenshots. Not only is the book the guide to standards-based design and very well written, but it looks fucking great. Based on that, my next book is going to be full-color or nothing!

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Mayor McCheese Head Girl

posted by DL Byron on July 29, 2006

mchead Just when I’m getting burned out on the blogosphere, I’ll arrive serendipitously at a blog like Dustin Crops Boy, who is posting all about a Mayor McCheese obsession. Not only is there something curiously attractive about a girl in a cami, cargo shorts, and anthropomorphic hamburger with cheese on her head, but it’s also about what Annie Marie Cox said in a recent interview with the NYTimes.

I probably started, like, five blogs as a joke, as a whim. You know, like, a blog about purses. Or a blog about lipstick. ‘Cause it’s so easy. Like, why not go in and start a blog, and then it’ll die and never be heard from again?

Exactly, so why not? Start those blogs about whatever you want and enjoy it. It can be about happy feet, Swim, Bike, Run, or being a bike hugger.

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Like Steve Jobs and Dr. Dre combined

posted by DL Byron on July 28, 2006

Here it from the man himself, Eric Rice, on how success is being found on Second Life. He’s featured on ZDNet today. Nice.

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Love the Hugga

posted by DL Byron on July 28, 2006

Of all the blogging I’ve done, personal, business, clients, dogs, and more, I’ve never had readers demand schwag or respond so positively. When we launched Bike Hugger we did it for the cyclist enthusiast … it’s our passion. We had long-term plans for shirts and the like and are now rush ordering them to meet demand.

Our readers love the hugga and that’s been the most rewarding and we appreciate it.

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Alaska packs you in and packs it away

posted by DL Byron on July 26, 2006

The next time I hear a “will anyone give up their seats” in the Alaska waiting area of an busy airport, I”m going to yell out, “tripling your profits isn’t enough?” It’s just really quite unbelievable how the airlines have degraded service, by maximizing the exisiting capacity at the expense of traveler’s comfort and then make it sound like, “you’d do them a favor,” and get a small bag of nuts. It probably wouldn’t matter as much, if I was traveling more than ever before, but when profits triple, at my expense, how about adding more room in the aisles and stop overbooking flights.

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Bring on the clouds

posted by DL Byron on July 25, 2006

You’d think that a city where it rains most of the time, we’d welcome the sun and lots of it. Well, not when it’s Africa hot! After that heat, I’d be happy with 3 days of clouds and 3 days of rain.

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Working in my underwear

posted by DL Byron on July 24, 2006

After 3 days straight of way too hot, I’m resolved to a balmy office and continued heat. Houses here in Seattle don’t come with air conditioning. We shouldn’t need it. Any doubts about global warming? Not for me.

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Street Marketing Mom

posted by DL Byron on July 19, 2006

My mom emailed me about street marketing Publish & Prosper

Went to Barnes & Noble and found your book in the business management section lined up like all the other books on the second to last shelf, so I promptly rearranged the shelf and put it face out at eye level.

Nice! Thanks mom!

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Webvisions 2006 Panel

posted by DL Byron on July 18, 2006

I’ll be traveling to P-town, stump-town, the town with all the bridges and homeless teens tomorrow morning for a panel at Webvisions about practical business blogging, a book signing, and general hand shaking, mingling, hall talking, and more.

Webvisions is one of the best events of the year. I wish I had more time, but will be coming right on back to Seattle to get some work done and, of course, ride my bike.

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John Wayne is Santa Ana

posted by DL Byron on July 17, 2006

Yes it is. The signs all says, John Wayne , until you hear that you’re flying to Santa Ana and that confuses everyone. It’s not JWA, but SNA.

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Web Design World Seattle

posted by DL Byron on July 10, 2006

I’ll be speaking at Web Design World Seattle tomorrow all about posting with passion, business blogging, and telling tales from corporate america’s best blogs. I’ll have books with me happy to sign, and just say hello. Also, if you’re there, get your free Clip-n-Seal samples.

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Blogging your passion with the Bizniks

posted by DL Byron on July 10, 2006

My interview with Biznik, a business networking group that doesn’t suck, has been posted. The interview is in advance of my lecture about small business blogging on 7/31. It’ll be a great event and it’s only 25.00! Biznik is a def blogging success story and we’ll talk about that during the event.

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Tour de France Blogging

posted by DL Byron on July 09, 2006

I’m guest blogging for the next few days on the Tour de France blog. Frank, my partner in Bike Hugger, is off to attend a funeral. It’s the cycling time of year, with the Tour, lots of local racing and events, and I’ll be posting all about it. And Frank, I wish you and your family well.

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Too much sexy on Vox

posted by DL Byron on July 06, 2006

I do dig Vox, it’s cool for social blogging and posting more random topics, but the UI is quickly approaching “whackness” and in danger of suffering from all the whizzy-whiz bangy that plagues Web 2.0. “Form, function, less is more,” even “getting real” all sums up my complaints when there’s so much to do on that cluttered UI. I can explore, compose, edit, join, invite, organize, design and well, geezus, I just want to post about Matt being Mac Book Man.

When I’m in that Vox interface, I imagine it was designed from a meeting room whiteboard that has a bunch of feature stickies plastered all over it and the meetings were like, “we could do this and this and that and wow this.” I’m sure there are thoughtful hard working designers toiling away on Vox and maybe their hopes for minimalism were sucked into the vortex of marketing and VC deliverables. Not sure, but I do hope in later revs to see way less on that screen.

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There are fish in that terrarium!

posted by DL Byron on July 06, 2006

Today’s Instant Message Convo …
-b- says: (1:37:37 PM)
did you know that there are fish in that 2 liter bottle with grass on the top of it
Pam says: (1:38:03 PM)
yes. that’s angelas terrarium
Pam says: (1:38:09 PM)
she showed it to you when she brought it home
-b- says: (1:38:18 PM)
yes, but I did not see fish in it
Pam says: (1:38:34 PM)
that’s what makes it a terrarium

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Baby Mie

posted by DL Byron on July 06, 2006

The cutest baby ever has been born to Mie and Dav.

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