Benefits of Changing the Way You Get News
One sure way to make your life easier is to learn how to receive news via an RSS reader. Dump the e-mail newsletter route, unsubscribe yourself and where there is an RSS option from the news sources that you get, switch to getting your news that way. Why? There are plenty of advantages to getting your news via RSS feeds. Here are some…
a) Avoid unnecessary bandwidth taxation so that you get to watch more videos
b) Maintain a cleaner inbox environment. It is good Feng Shui; “A cluttered room , a cluttered destiny.”
c) If you don’t have to sift through your email to delete things, you save valuable time! Tick-tock-tick-tock. Go out and meet the love of your life!
Here’s just two but if I think of anything else of if you think of anything else, feel free to add to this post in the comments section. Alrighty, Friday afternoon means, Friday mood. Have fun!
Fantastic Seesmic
A few months back, I went to a Seesmic party at the invitation of Johann Romefort (Had an amazing time meeting the Seesmic community). Johann is CTO and the technical brainiac behind Seesmic. Today is Johann’s birthday and everybody should go to his site and say “Bon Anniversaire Monsieur Cheveaux Bouclé!” God knows I am absolutely smitten with his cuteness but fortunately for you this post is not about my infatuation with his lovely locks.
If you don’t already know about Seesmic, this is my rather late attempt at giving French entrepreneur Loic Le Meur’s latest project some good ol’ promo. A micro-blogging web application, Seesmic enables you to have conversations with other users on the platform. It uses Flash video so you’ll need to have a webcam and an acceptably stable broadband connection to get in on the fun. I could dissect and describe all day about how it works, but it’s better if you tried it for yourself so do jump in and have conversations with people. It’s kind of like a video Twitter, except there isn’t a 140 second restriction on the length of the video.
I guess my point is, if Deepak Chopra, George Lucas, Cate Blanchett, Harrison Ford, and Steven Spielberg are on Seesmic, why aren’t you?
P/S: On a separate note, I just noticed Loic very quickly responded to Brian Solis’ PR Secrets post on Techcrunch calling it bullshit. Woa way to go Loic for the honesty! Read them both, the Techcrunch article first and then Loic Le Meur’s post second, then let me know your thoughts.
Scott Karp: Why Traditional Advertising Formats Fail On The Web
Thought I’d share this entry on Why Traditional Advertising Formats Fail on the Web by Scott Karp, the CEO of Publish 2, Inc. Makes sense.
Green Is In: A Corny Bottle
A few months ago I stumbled upon a bottle of water that interestingly claimed that its bottle was compostable. This bottle looks and feels exactly like your regular petroleum-based plastic bottle with one major difference; it is made from corn starch and is completely biodegradable. I scraped, scrunched and crushed the bottle and it feels just like a regular plastic bottle. It wasn’t until I had a discussion about bottled water over dinner at Ubon a few weeks ago about how unethical serving Fijian water is that it got me thinking about the cornstarch bottle. If you are interested, you can check it out at http://www.belu.org/ and you can buy this at some Waitrose branches as well as Whole Foods at High Street Kensington (if you’re in London that is).
Communicating Design by Dan Brown
About two weeks ago, my colleague Lisa handed me a book to read as a guide while I was preparing a user test plan. Thought I’d share that it is a good read for those whose job description include documenting and communicating design. It is great if you’re looking to have a solid foundation on IA principles and introductory techniques on the preparation of wireframes, site maps, and user journeys but might be leaning on the conceptual if you’re looking for time-effective solutions. Nevertheless, still very useful to have on your shelf.
Documentation: Prince2 Templates
If your job requires professional project management documentation done, you will find these document templates from Prince2.com a very useful set to start with and a lifesaver in times of frantic chaos. I realize sharing this means I’m opening up more opportunities for newbs to take away more job choices from me (and competition to thrive), but it is such a delightful thing to know that I’ve reached a point in my profession that I am able to share these without needing to worry about its implications. Download, enjoy, and let me know how you like them.
IPG: Women’s Leadership Network
A few weeks ago, I attended a webcast forum organized by the Women’s Leadership Network (WLN), an IPG-wide organization that promotes the advancement, retention and recruitment of women within the IPG network. The forum was hosted out of
I thought the forum was inspiring and empowering for ambitious women who might have otherwise felt trapped under a glass ceiling, but the dynamic could also be read as feminist in tone if viewed from a different angle. I however recognized the well intent of a women’s professional networking group and took what I wanted from that discussion to apply in context to my professional and personal development.
If you’re interested, you can watch the webcast and let me know what you think.
Who?
JACQUELINE MIAO
Web Strategist
PRINCE2 Project Manager
Location: London, U.K.-
