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Traditional Media Organizations For The Big PictureJune 19

 

Old Dogs New Tricks

In this new media revolution that has been fueled by technology the old rules and old players are dying.  The survivors of big media have been forced into new revenue models and it seems that all the rules they knew have changed. 

Print media organizations position changed with the advent of television.   Print media seemed to have a rebirth in electronic form in the early days of the web. 

Video was certainly present in the early days of the web but was not the player it is today.  Video has gotten so much easier as bandwidths as a whole have increased and video codecs and technologies have evolved. 

Print organizations now can easily do video for the web and provide rich web content.   The survival of the fittest media conglomerates evolves adapting, adopting, enveloping, and embracing the real time web. 

The old dogs have learned new tricks that the rest of the web has quickly shown them.  Some of the old dogs are more adept at learning than others. 

The value of the traditional media is the big

Wordpress Tip: Function is_user_logged_inJanuary 24

A PHP function is available in Wordpress called is_user_logged_in that is very useful if you want to know if a user is logged in.  Why on earth would you want to know this?  Have you ever thought about adding custom content to your blog that only you can see or only logged in (registered users) can see?

If so this function is for you.  I recently updated my blog’s theme and realized that it has some space that could be used for secondary navigation.  The area in red seemed to me like a great place for additional links.

This is where the function is_user_logged_in can help me out.   In this case the area highlighted in red has its own div tag.  It currently looks like this:

<div id=”nav-space”></div>

Inside the div tag I place the following 2 lines.

<?php if (is_user_logged_in()){ ?>
<?php } ?>

Writing From Shower ThoughtsJanuary 22

Do you ever have an idea for a blog post but then it spirals out of control and you end up with more ideas, less ideas, or nowhere at all?

I began this morning with a “shower thought.”  I will define a shower thought as; the half asleep thoughts or fuzzy brainstorming that just seems to flow just after you wake up that sometimes occur while taking a shower.

Your brain and body still half asleep combine to form what seem like good ideas.  Before I knew it I had an idea for a blog post.

Later when trying to write from concept (maybe nothing more than a title) you end up with a post, 3, or nothing writable at all.  Some shower thoughts end up nowhere.

This morning I had a shower thought and had a title for what I thought could be a single blog post.   In this case a rough outline revealed up to 3 possible posts not just 1.

I have heard others say they keep paper and pen with them at all times night or day to record a fleeting idea.  Inspiration may strike like lightening at the strangest times.

When I write based upon a “shower thought” I usually start with a rough outline or notes.  Then I just start writing the post and see how far it goes.  You never know where

Embed FriendFeed Real-Time on Your BlogJanuary 22

Did you know you could embed your Real-Time FriendFeed view on your blog? I didn’t but this has been available for some time. The following is my real-time FriendFeed view.

This will become a integrated part of my FriendFeed page.

Here’s how to do it. This is done by embedding an iFrame. I am still not sure an iFrame is functionality but it is cool.

To embed your Real-Time goto http://friendfeed.com/YourUsername/friends/realtime where your username is your username. Then Click the button. Try it out.

5 Ways to Make 2009 The Year Of The BlogJanuary 15

History will decide the fate of 2009.  Happy New Year!  A new year means a new start and new opportunities.  I am looking forward to a great year both personally and professionally.

Take advantage of the new year by updating your blog.  Make a new years resolution to blog more often.

I tried blogging several times but never got the hang of it.  2008 was the year for me after trying 3 or 4 times at blogging.

You can make 2009 the year for you.  Blogging can be time consuming.  If you failed at blogging in 2008 it’s ok because it’s 2009.  After failing at it several times I have realized several things the new blogger should think about.  So here are 5 pointers for the “new blogger” or the “try again blogger.”

1. Personal Look and Feel. – Your blog is yours and yours alone.  Choose a theme, layout, and look that suits your taste.  Change it as often you like.  Do not listen to anyone telling you what it should look like.  Do not listen to those that preach a consistent look.  That really is not important.