Show 74: Marcus 2.0
Published on: April 11, 2007 by Paul Boag
First of all let me apologize for the somewhat sparse show notes this week. Things are particularly manic at the moment and so I don’t have the time. If somebody fancies doing a better job then email me with a better version and I'll upload them here.
News and events
Google My Maps
Google deliver a body blow to the various Google Map mashups that help you plot your own points by releasing My Maps onto the world. Now if you want to build your own Google map you can do so simply by clicking on the My Maps link on the Google Maps homepage. You can then save the maps, email them or link to them from your site. However if you want to directly embed a map into your site then you will still need a third party service. Personally I recommend Map Builder.
What it takes to be a great web designer
I was relieved to discover this week that I don’t need to talented be a great web designer. An article on boxesandarrows points out that skills such as working quickly and attention to detail are just as important.
Setting up a web design business
Rich Quick (author of the Web Design Book), has posted an excellent article on how to go about setting up a web design business. Although not very detailed and specific to the UK it does provide an excellent starting point for anybody considering going freelance.
Machine Tagging
Machine tagging seems to be what all the cool kids are doing these days. Jeremy Keith talks about some of the ways he and Rich Rutter are using machine tags to enhance their websites. He is also kind enough to explain what the hell machine tags are!
Client corner: Generating goodwill
I have just got my new copy of Steve Krug’s book “Don’t make me think”. This updated version has loads of extra content including a chapter dedicated to creating brand goodwill using your website. In this week’s client corner we look at what Steve covers in this chapter and exactly how you can improve or damage peoples perception of your brand via your website.
Ask an expert: Server side frameworks
On this week’s ask an expert section, I ask Jonathan Snook about how frameworks can speed up the development process of server side applications. He talks about what frameworks are, their benefits and drawbacks and which framework is best.
Agony Uncle: Is scrolling bad?
I spotted an interesting post by Ronald on the boagworld forum asking whether scrolling is bad or not. In this week’s segment I attempt to expose some of the myths surrounding scrolling, why historically it has been perceived as an issue and what rules of thumb to use when working with scrolling.
Review: Adding RSS to your website
Its not uncommon to want to add an RSS feed onto your website. You might want to include your twitter posts on your blog or news stories on your corporate website. Whatever the reason it can be a pain to set up. One option to avoid this hassle is to use a service like Feed Digest. Not only does Feed Digest allow you to post RSS content to your site, it also allows you to work with multiple feeds, edit the format of the output and filter the content from the various feeds.
Again let me apologize for the lack of detail in the show notes this week. However, for those of you who cannot listen to the show you might want to view the script that I work from (PDF: 82kb).
Comments
Comments are for the discussion of this post. If you have other questions / comments then post them to the forum or send me an email
Post by Pete4Shapes on April 11, 2007 6:05 PM
Post by Paul Boag on April 12, 2007 8:05 AM
Post by prisca on April 12, 2007 1:01 PM
Post by Remy Sharp on April 12, 2007 1:45 PM
Post by Peter Cooper on April 12, 2007 4:13 PM
Post by prisca on April 12, 2007 4:20 PM
Post by Paul Boag on April 12, 2007 4:31 PM
Post by Swathes on April 14, 2007 8:57 AM
Post by Barry McGee on April 14, 2007 9:35 PM