10.31.08
Posted in Info at 11:03 am by Jono
On the web, content is undoubtedly the most important asset. I recently started rereading a great book by content guru Gerry McGovern called Killer Web Content. The book really is essential reading for anyone who’s serious about writing punchy and effective web copy. After all, content is what delivers services and sells products.
The main premise is simple: more killer, less filler. It’s about providing visitors to your site with the right information at the right time. The book also contains some great tips for writing compelling copy and headlines.
I am by no means the grammar police :), but I thought I’d share some of my favourite writing tips from my own experience.
Get descriptive with verbs, not adjectives. All too often, copy is loaded with mounds of superfluous adjectives – this can be cumbersome.
Less is more. Keep sentences and paragraphs short and simple. Editing your own copy is one of the most difficult tasks a copywriter faces. However, cutting down on unnecessary words will keep it tight and easy to read.
Make it scan-able. These days, most people are time-starved and information hungry. Present your information in such a way that a reader can easily ascertain what the page is about, and whether it’s what they’re after.
Generally it is best to avoid using metaphorical language as these figures of speech are easily misunderstood by non-first language speakers and frequently do not translate accurately.
Similarly, when considering non mother-tongue speakers, it’s often best to write in the active voice. This keeps sentence structure straightforward.
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10.08.08
Posted in Info at 6:28 am by Christine
Ever heard of drunk dialling? It’s what happens when you go out late at night, start reminiscing and do things that you’re not really suppossed to, or necessarily want to do. Things that you would regret the next day. For example sending a text message to an ex telling them how much you still love them, or even worse, calling up an ex and doing same. That’s happened to most of us somewhere or another over the years - mostly whilst at University, but some don’t quite outgrow that…This is for you.
“Sometimes I send messages I shouldn’t send,” Gmail engineer Jon Perlow wrote Monday in a website posting announcing the optional new feature.
Google have now developed a verification software to ‘test your frame of mind’ for what could be called ‘Drunk Mailing’. It’s the texting / calling version in email. Its called “Mail Goggles“. You can set the time for activation (after hours or weekends etc). It requires that five simple math problems be answered correctly in less than a minute in order to send a Gmail.
“It will check that you’re really sure you want to send that late night Friday email,” Perlow wrote.
Don’t you just love Google’s innovation? 
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08.28.08
Posted in Info at 6:20 am by Jono
“Wow!”
That’s pretty much all I can say about this fantastic new Firefox add-on. Ubiquity is just incredible. I really don’t mean to gush, but this is a seriously cool user interface.
New from the Mozilla Labs, essentially what Ubiquity does is allow for the use of dynamic commands in Firefox to complete common web tasks quickly and easily. What this means is that you can create mash-ups on the fly, map things, tweet, quote text and reviews, email sections of text… pretty much anything you can think of.
At the moment, it seems to function very well as a command-line browser. The added benefit is when text is already selected in the browser, the commands will act on that text. Still, the most exciting application is it’s capability to extract items from web pages and to compile them in whatever you’re creating.
Ubiquity seeks to solve the problem of a “disconnected web” – so now, for example, rather than just adding links to emails – users can make their own mash-ups by inserting pictures, maps, reviews or anything else that may be relevant.
It does this by connecting the web with natural language.
Naturally, much of this amazing functionality would not have been possible previously due to closed APIs. Today, micro-formats allow data to be mashed up and visualised in any way you want. Although much of this is still experimental – it’s easy to see the huge potential.
The example that is given on the introductory video uses a list of addresses for apartments in San Francisco from CraigsList. The addresses are highlighted and the command is given in Ubiquity to “map these”. Immediately, the addresses are plotted onto Google Maps – so you are able to visualise where each is.
Other cool applications include being able to do translations and look-ups anywhere on the web.
Of course, users are encouraged to participate, author commands and share through the wiki. This is the first Alpha 0.1 version – and I can not wait to see how it’s improved and grows in the future.
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