Use the Web better 18-10-2009
Dear friend,
Whether you are a web-designer, developer or a user who just wants things to work, there are always ways to use/make the web better. This week I have a few nice tips for the pro and the novice alike, I hope you like them. You may be a user, a designer, a developer or a manager/client; together we build the web and it is our voice, our voting with our feet and our effort that makes it what it is. Please note that I am now publishing my musings through my own blog, and no longer through the various social networks. (http://www.defcon0.com) My fiction is offered on a right of first refusal basis to http://www.con.ca although I do post announcements on my blog.
Happy web-building!
This issue:
- The SNAFU on-line; think before you post.
- Work smarter, not harder: M. Suijkerbuijk has something for everyone.
- Get your images out of the way: The underappreciated anchor element at work.
- Free goodies: Free stuff I think you may like.
The SNAFU on-line
Sometimes it is best to say nothing at all. When a company, through ineptitude mainly, delivered a product which, in ways I won’t bother you with, would tarnish my reputation in no small degree I was miffed. Well, let’s be honest here; I was angry. I wrote a scathing letter, ridiculing them and defending my good name. I wanted to publish the letter on-line and expose them for the frauds they are. A few days of contemplation later, though, I regained my good sense and decided to have the product quietly binned instead and do nothing more at all. What you put on-line, stays on-line. Then I wrote this article, I hope you’ll enjoy reading it at least as much as I enjoyed writing it:
http://www.defcon0.com/the-snafu-on-line/
Work smarter, not harder
Recently I had the pleasure of listening to M. Suijkerbuijk speak. He knows how to use the Web to your benefit, twice. If you get a chance to see him live, do so. Meanwhile he also twitters his tips regularly.
http://twitter.com/mhsuijkerbuijk
Get your images out of the way
The Web is not print. The Web is way more powerful and flexible. If you know how to wield this power you can gain yards on your competition. Users may not know, or be able to put in words, what they like, but they tell you by coming back and converting. One thing users like, whether
they know it or not, is to be able to get to the information they seek without being waylaid or distracted. This article explores uses of the anchor element and CSS formatting which seem hack-ish but are, in fact, completely legal. It demonstrates how to move images out of the way without losing them.
http://www.defcon0.com/get-your-images-out-of-the-way/
Free goodies
Summer is over. Keep some summer feeling bottled up to see you through the winter with these two great musical freebies:
New Model Army: Free single download. To promote their new album “Today is a good day” acclaimed Bradford rockers New Model Army offer a free download of the title track.
http://www.nmadownloads.co.uk/
New York Alcoholic Anxiety Attack: Free everything. If you like rock, and you like free stuff, this is your new favourite band. Some bands try to make it big through Youtube and the like. Other bands think outside of the box. NYAAA seeks sponsors, through micro-payments, to send you their album for free. Shipping and Handling? On them. All you need to do is E-mail them your land address at: mikdavisnyaaa@googlemail.com
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