Successful Blog

Adding a WIDEbar — a 2-column widebar — to a Blogger Beta Blog

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Blogger Beta Gets Cool

Blogger Logo

Blogger Beta is finally tying up its loose ends, presenting templates with style, and offering bloggers new functions. Hackers are having fun with making changes too.

Great Find:
Adding a wider-sidebar to your blog
Permalink: http://stubborn-fanatic.blogspot.com/2006/11/wider-sidebar-widebar-sidebar.html

Target Audience: Google Blogger and Blogspot blogggers
Content: Documenting Fanaticism is a real find for Blogspot bloggers. From the moment that you land on the home page, you’ll notice that the familiarity of the template only serves to show you the skills of the blogger who has made it into something more in so many ways that haven’t been seen before. Tabs across the top announce and organize the blog into well-defined site locations:

  • Home
  • beta hacks/talk
  • Book Reviews
  • contents
  • projects
  • quotes
  • software
  • Disclaimer

The blog itself welcomes readers with the following statement:

Welcome to the new layout of my blog. I am very happy to announce that with this new layout, my blog is now fully compatible with internet explorer as well. If you like this layout, learn how to implement it here.

The “here” it speaks of is the Great Find I’m sending you to. Click the title below to get there.

Adding a wider-sidebar to your blog

Blogger Beta has taken hold.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
Blogspot Help
Blog Design Checklist

Great Find: SlideShare

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PowerPoint Without the Hassle

Thank you to Ann Michael who sent me the tip on this new little beauty. The Boston Globe called it YouTube for PowerPoint. Take a look here.

Great Find: SlideShare
Permalink: http://slideshare.net/
Target Audience: Anyone who gives presentations
Content: What do you get when you cross the sociability of YouTube with the slide function of PowerPoint and then mix in a large dose of individuality? They’re calling it SlideShare, and it’s pretty exciting. You can build and upload your own slide shows OR you can go there to watch shows that other folks made.

SlideShare lets you upload PowerPoint or Open Office presentation files. Then you can share them through a online interface much like YouTube. The joy is that now PowerPoint documents can be stored on the Internet. No sending, copying, or moving them to a new machine. You can even embed them in your blog. People are already finding creative ways to make use of this new mashup. Here’s what they say at their main site.

How people are using SlideShare?

  • Teachers are uploading their own slideshows and also asking students to upload their assignments to SlideShare so that parents can see their work.
  • Conference organizers are uploading presentations from their conferences.
  • People are uploading photo slideshows to memorialize a wedding or other special event.

If you are bored, check out the humour on SlideShare. There’s tons of it there!

It’s so easy; it seems everyone is using it. I’ve embedded on here.

There are many beautiful ones at the site that the type more effectively. I chose this because it shows how things still look when not perfectly designed. (I’m sure you’ll use type more effectively.)

To learn more about SlideShare and to see many more shows go the main site or visit their blog.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
Great Find: Library Thing
Great Find: Gotoit Media Portal for Videophiles
Great Find: Notebook UP

7.5 Cat’s BIG IDEA

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Where to from Here?

Cat Morley

And now that I’m getting to the point of retirement, I’m getting away from the actual work of design and am now spending most of my time on pro bono work. Hence NO!SPEC, Creative Latitude and Proscodi. And one more on the way … Cat Morely said.

But her life hardly seems to be slowing, in fact it seems to be gearing up. Before we left her or looked too far down the road, I wanted to know what Cat sees now.

Cat, what do you think most designers get wrong?

Depends what you are talking about. Wrong about choosing freelance over
inhouse before they have enough skills? Not enough education and experience before striking out on their own? Working on spec? Being gullible? Not being professional? I guess I answered your question …

What could Successful Blog do to support designers more?

Successful Blog has its own style. It caters to a range of professions
with diverse interests. If you were to attract designers, in my opinion
you’d have to teach them something they do not know. Something they
need to know. Something you know. Writing. A large number of designers
are crap at grammar and sentence structure. I’m one.

In order for this to work, you’ll need to first get their attention,
then get them to understand that they need to keep paying attention.

Cat, What is your BIG IDEA? When people think of Cat Morley, what’s the first thing you want them to think of?

First thing I WANT them to think?

Hmmm…. tall, slim, young, brilliant?

[deep sigh] not the truth, just wishful thinking.

The truth is I’m passionate about the industry of design. I’m demanding of myself much more than I am of others. I am very good at organising but I’m not perfect. I have a quick, fiery hot temper. I no longer shy from it as I’ve lived with it for way too long and know it’s not going away. No more than I am. I’m loyal to my friends and not adverse to attempting to see the point of view of those who I’ve disagreed with hotly. I’m not one to say I have “no time for fools” as I’ve been a fool myself once too often. Live and learn, then live some more.

I tried to talk Cat into convincing one of her clients that she needed to call me in on one of her jobs. But once she explained the economics, we both decided it was wishful thinking.

Wishes are good things and one day I will meet her.

That Cat Morley is just too interesting to time run out without finding an afternoon to spend together talking about life and other stuff.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related Articles
Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Morley, World Designer
7.2 Interview: Cat Morley Becomes a Blogger
7.3: Cat, the Toothpaste, the Queen and Everyone

Great Find: Programmer Meet Designer

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Sharing Skill Sets

This morning Cat Morley started my email day with a lovely link that I have to share with you. If lack of a skill or two is holding you back from getting something done. You simply have to check this one out.

Great Find: Programmer Meet Designer

Permalink: http://programmermeetdesigner.com/index.php

Audience/Topic: Programmers, Designers, Writers, Entrepreneurs

Content: Programmer Meet Designer (PMD) was started because the folks behind it understand that no one person has the complete set of skills needed to do all of the things that it takes to run a business online.

PMD helps programmers and designers partner up to make websites and web applications that look and work great. It also lets entrepreneurs and writers find people to work with.

The search engine asks for my job role, the job role I’m looking for, whether the job is paid or unpaid, and the approximate length of the work.

As you might guess by the title, there are more listings for programmers and designers. However, the site has opened itself to writers and entrepreneurs. I found listings for them, but not nearly as many. To check out Programmer Meet Designer, click the logo below.

Programmer Meet Designer

It never hurts to take a look at what’s out there.

Thanks again, Cat, for sharing your resources.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
VOX: As Fun as Grandmas and Grandpas!
Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Morley, World Designer
Great Find: Film Loop
Great Find: Wufoo — Form-making Tool

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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7.4: Cat’s Advice and Her Favs

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Whew! Cat’s a Busy Designer!

Cat Morley

I’m not going to list all of the places we’ve been with Cat. From OZ to design for the Queen is enough said. Tonight questions are a little closer to home.

Cat, What do you do when you’re not sharing your great links and ideas at Successful Blog?

I still have clients in the wings (the last ones before taking off into
unemployment), I keep Designers who Blog running. I’m project manager for NO!SPEC which means I deal with design orgs when spec competitions come up, I send out letters of protest and galvanize people to send out letters, etc. As project manager for Creative Latitude I confer with my team before we update, deal with new authors, come up with angles, etc. As the president of Proscodi I put together committees to deal with each element of setting up a design org, I meet other heads of design orgs, go to meetings, etc.

What advice do you have for new bloggers and young designers?

Bloggers – it always takes more time than you planned so be sure to write about something you love. And be prepared to walk away if it’s taking up too much of your life.

Designers – there is not enough room here for all the advice I’d give to a young designer, so the top priority would have to be:

    – Get a degree. The best one you can afford. And then some.
    – Learn about business, accounting, dealing with clients,
    communicating, public speaking, hiring, etc.
    – Learn to write. The majority of the designers I know have appalling
    grammar. Myself included.
    – Latch onto a mentor.
    – Never stop learning.
    – Get a life. Preferably your own.

What design work online do you point to as well done?

Illustrator: (Von created the icons for Creative Latitude) –
http://www.vonglitschka.com/
Web designer: (Nigel designed the Creative Latitude website) –
http://www.commonsensedesign.net/
Blog designer: http://www.pearsonified.com/

One more part to go. Cat tells her BIG IDEA.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
Interview 7.1: Meet Cat Morley, World Designer
7.2 Interview: Cat Morley Becomes a Blogger
7.3: Cat, the Toothpaste, the Queen and Everyone