jimdew-blog

Sort of Like Facebook

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:32:47 +0100

Not everyone has an account with the newer interactive Web services such as Facebook and Google+. One reason for this site is to allow me to put the same kind of information here that I put in those other places. It's a little extra work, but I don't post that much to begin with.

A Little Bit Of Linux

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 17:05:47 +0100

I've been busy lately bringing up Linix (Ubuntu dist) on some old computers that were becoming nearly worthless under the increased demands of modern software. It's an amazing transformation: my tired old systems seem almost snappy. It was fairly easy to do, after a couple of false starts. The Linux world isn't perfect - there are some odd quirks here and there, but it was definitely worth the effort. If you've got an old system that is nearly worthless, give it a try. It's easy and free!

A Long Time Coming...

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:35:59 +0100

With most of the big Internet players like Facebook and Google (and countless smaller ones) offering an Internet "home", I've been busy looking at the various options. I've concluded that the only way to have a true digital home that does everything I want is to use my own Web site. I've let this place go dormant while I was busy playing with all the new cloud toys, but now I've decided to revive this site as my central presence on the Web. Thanks for bearing with me.

Dieting Soon

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:02:42 +0100

I plan on shrinking the content of this site - better to do a few things well than a lot of things poorly! When I started creating Web sites, it was important to create links - lots of links, such as on my Tools or Resources page. But times change, and with search capabilities ever more powerful, there's just not as much need to link to things. If I reference a site such as BeFunky.com, I don't need to link to it - any modern browser can find it without a hiccup. So I'm shedding content soon. This will not only save me time, it will also eliminate some distracting clutter. Stay tuned!

Changes Coming Soon

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:41:31 +0100

I plan to change how my various postings are organized. I plan to stop dumping absolutely everything into my Shared Google Reader. Instead, I will limit Shared Google Reader to longer form things I read. This means my output will consist of long form re-posting (Shared Google Reader), short form re-postings (tumblr.com), and two different original Wordpress postings. I think this will make life easier on my readers.

Future Writing

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:52:13 +0100

I'm doing an informal inventory of my past writings and - holy cow - I sure have cranked out a lot of words. The problem is that most of those words haven't been read. I see several possibilities for the future.

Concentrate on making everything more uniform and attractive.
Get everything organized with a focus on reusing material
Generate new material

I am inclined to focus on 2 and 3, while trying to place referring material in places that lead to wider readership.

Not A Publishing Problem

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 10:10:08 +0100

I've been thinking of managing my Web presence as a publishing problem. Now I'm not so sure. Oh, there are problems all right, but now I think about it differently. One problem is mine alone: how I manage the updates to this site and the related sites. The other problem is more serious: I've made my Web presence needlessly difficult to navigate. Specifically, I've forced readers to click through multiple pages in order to access my stuff. That is a big "no no". To remedy that, I'm restructuring my homepage to allow fast access to all the content. Things may be a little rough around the edges while I do this, but it should be worth it in the end.

The Publishing Problem, Continued

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 13:30:52 +0100

If I publish what I want, there is no getting around the need for multiple Web sites and multiple platforms. But this can easily lead to chaos. My Web presence is, in fact, a mess. It's tempting to rush in and fix it, but I've tried that before and only got a bigger mess to show for it. No, what I need is an architecture, not just for content containers, but also for process. Maybe that's a tall order, but stay tuned.

Rethinking the Publishing Problem

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 11:20:04 +0100

If you've been reading my stuff for any time at all, you know that I've tried a variety of publishing options. I've had my Wordpress blog (Thinking Things Through) for some time, but I've also flirted with Tumblr and Google Reader. Now I see that Google Reader had added some wonderful enhancements which are tempting. The main appeal is that I can post more with much less effort, especially since most of my commentary is short, if I comment at all. Google Reader is how I "read" the Web and doing everything from one place has real advantages.

This, and a few other factors, are forcing me to rethink my Web presence. One of the things I've concluded is that I need an anchor point, and Yola (where you are reading this) seems to cover all the bases. I expect to be here for a while!

Otherwise, my publishing is mostly about sharing things I've encountered - usually on the Web. Google Reader looks to be the best sharing tool out there, so I'm expecting to use it more and use other tools less. This site, my anchor, will always point to the right source. Stay tuned!

Blogging Again

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:06:14 +0100

Whoo boy! The InterWebs keep throwing out nifty toys and I keep trying them. Keeping track of my blogging activity must be a pain for anyone silly enough to try (that would be you). But now I'm going to try to clean up my act. My primary personal publishing will be done here, but I will continue to publish in other places, while linking from here. This should be home and I will try to make it one ... hopefully without being distracted by the next goodie to rumble across the InterWebs. Wish me luck!