Like so many other Social Media addicts, I managed to get an early Google + invite and have been playing with the environment. It’s kind of hard to get a really good handle on how this will fare, though there are plenty of “gurus” who can tell you why it will succeed, or why it will fail. I chose to cover my bases:

I’ll leave it to more capable folks to make a bold prediction. Instead, I thought I would share some of what I have learned so far.

I really like the UI design of Google +. They appear to have done a fairly good job giving the UI depth. By that, I mean the basics are simple and reasonably intuitive, but you can dig deeper to use more advanced features. Now I did say fairly good job. I have been hearing some confusion from some of the folks I have connected with regarding how circles works. With that in mind I though I would do a couple posts on Google +’s (wow THAT looks weird) Circle feature. In this one, I will stick with the basics.

Circles in The Stream

Everyone now, to the tune of “Islands in the Streams”…

Circles in the Stream
That is What They Are
No one else appears
Now You Can’t Go Wrong

OK, first and foremost circles are about what appears in your stream. When you add people to any one of your circles, their posts begin to appear in your stream. It doesn’t matter which circle you add them to, they appear in your stream. If you are a Twitter pro, think of it as a follow, only you categorize who you are following (more on why later). These names are private, no one sees that you assigned them to the circle Nut Jobs I want to Keep Track Of.

This part of Google + works very much like Twitter. You do not have to be accepted to follow someone like you do on Facebook. Now, there is no guarantee you are seeing all of their posts, but any they choose as public will appear to anyone who checks their profile, or adds them to a circle.

All of your circles appear in the left column. This can be helpful when you want to focus on one of your circles. Let’s say you have way too many folks in circles, and your stream runneth over. You can click on any circle to see just posts from those circle members. For example, clicking Family shows just posts from folks in your Family circle. Of course mine is empty right now:

So, first purpose of Circles is to control how you see the world. This is a lot like a Twitter Follow and List mashup. But there is more.

The Circles of Trust

The next level of circles is about who you trust. If you post everything as Public then Circles have no impact on what you share, essentially you are using Google + like Twitter, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, Google + allows you to further define how to share a post by selecting just the Circles you trust.

If you specify a circle, only folks in that circle see that post in their stream. Or more accurately, it will appear in their stream (no guarantee they won’t miss it).

This is a really cool twist. If I set up my circles properly, I can control who sees my initial post. So, if I have circles for Cincinnati, Instructional Design, Photography, and Really Stupid Puns I could put only those folks who appreciate my really stupid puns in that circle, and when I share one, only share with that circle. You can put folks in as many circles as you want.

Another option is if I am planning a surprise party. I can create a circle for Neil’s Surprise Party with everyone invited, but not Neil. I could post any updates or questions, and folks can feel free to respond with no worries of Neil catching wind on Google +.

Besides sharing to a circle, or a a group of circles, I can choose:

• Your Circles: shares will all of your circles
• Extended Circles: shares with all of your circles as well as anyone in their circles
• Public: shares with anyone who has you in a circle, or looks at posts in your profile

Circles of Distrust

Now keep in mind, Google is about sharing. Just because you share with a circle doesn’t mean they can’t share it with others. The Post is labeled in grey “Limited” as opposed to “Public”, and they are warned if they try to share it, but they are not stopped:

Also, the person who you shared it with can see who else it was shared with simply clicking the Limited text:

Now there are ways to fine tune this, but that is more for another post “Google + Circles: Intermediate”. To give you a taste, I’ll add one going beyond the basics step.

Controlling A Post

After you share a post, you can edit it if you found a typo, delete it, disable comments, or disable reshare. So, if you don’t trust the limited circle to Neil’s Surprise Party to not accidentally share the secret post with him, you can prevent a reshare in Google +.

So that’s the basics. What do you think of Circles? What do you want them to do?

In my reviewing role at The-Gadgeteer.com I received a Blue Yeti to review. I really like this microphone, you can read the review on that site. It is a great USB microphone, and they recently released a new Pro version with more features.

I used the mic for a while, and started looking for a pop filter. If you are not familiar with what a pop filter is, it is a screen you put in front of a mic to prevent “pops”. A pop occurs when you are speaking, and essentially blow air into the mic. The pop filter prevents this.

In looking at options, I immediately gravitated to Blue’s own Pop pop filter. However, it is not cheap. The retail price is $79. So I went to Amazon where I received good news and bad news. The good news is that you can get it for under $30 (price fluctuates, I bought it for $27) but the bad news is the reviews were not good.

Most folks liked how the filter worked, but had issues installing it on a Yeti. There are some pretty involved customizations ranging from drilling the Pop’s bracket, to drilling a hole in the Yeti stand.

I was not a fan of any that, but before I moved on I figured I would check with Blue. So I asked @BlueMicrophones on twitter and received a reply that it worked fine, with a picture of it.

So bolstered by this recommendation, and photographic evidence, I purchased the Pop from Amazon. I plan on doing a full review of the filter (with audio samples) for The Gadgeteer, but since that may be a while (I have other things in my queue on that site) I wanted to just focus on fit.

Installing the filter is a breeze. Here is a side view of the filter mounted on the Yeti:

The only issue with this method, is that it does somewhat restrict how far back the mic can tilt. Here it is at maximum tiltage (is that a word?):

I honestly do not see this as being a big issue. I can’t imagine wanting to tilt it any farther. Not sure why this escaped the reviewers on Amazon, though some pictures showing how to install it would have been nice. There is almost no documentation. Now, for pro audio folks, that is probably not necessary, but for rubes (like me) it would help.

It’s not perfect. They obviously thought through the design to prevent damaging your equipment. Here is a close-up of the mounting bracket. Notice the plastic end of the screw and the pad in the bracket.

Unfortunately the pad does not extend all the way to the edge. The rail you mount the filter on the Yeti is curved:

As a result you get some metal-on-metal action on the edge of the bracket. I am not ruling out that the damage was due to over-zealous tightening on my part, but it did leave a mark, well, actually 2 marks:

Not a huge deal, but I would caution restraint in tightening.

There were also comments that the gooseneck did not hold up the filter well. I had absolutely no issue with that. The only thing I can think of there is that they were moving it, causing the screw on the bracket to loosen, and failing to re-tighten the screw. It’s just a matter of physics that when you essentially rotate the connector on the bracket, it can loosen. So use two hands, tighten, and you should have no issues.

I am very happy with the purchase, the filter works great, and I had no issues installing it. If you have a Yeti I can whole-heartedly recommend this accessory.

Links

I had the opportunity last night to present a quick overview of WordPress to the local STC chapter. As promised I am posting this information for the attendees.

For those that like to have the presentation, I exported it as a PDF, and you can download it at the end. To make it easier, I wanted to provide quick links right here in the post:

• WordPress Statistics
• Comparison of hosting on WordPress.com and DIY Hosting
• Discussion Settings for comments
• Managing Comments
• Explanation of User Roles

Thanks again for the opportunity. I hope this session helped you.

WordPress for STC presentation PDF

Recently there has been an uptick in account hijacks on Twitter. This commonly happens when someone logs in with their twitter ID/Password to a site that is a trojan horse. That site then sends out messages through the victim’s account.

Recently, it seems, a Direct Message is the preferred mode of sending out these messages. This adds the annoyance of not only a more direct message, but for many folks (myself included) DMs are the one type of message that goes directly to their phone. So now when someone you follow gets attacked, you run the risk of getting an early morning wake up call. This is a brief post to explain how to fix that.

There are two approaches to fixing this. One is to set up your phone to not alert you of an SMS message during typical sleep time. As an Android phone owner, I use the program Locale to do just this. If you are interested in this application, read my review at The Gadgeteer. In this post I want to focus on a solution available to all Twitter users, regardless of phone.

You probably have not spent a lot of time in your Twitter settings. The solution to this problem is right in the screen you used to set up the SMS alert in the first place.

1. Log in to your Twitter Account on the web.
2. Click Settings
3. Click Devices (click to enlarge screen)
   

This screen is where you set up a device to receive SMS alerts. The Device updates drop-down list allows you to set it to:

• No – No updates sent to this device.
• Yes – Every update in your twittstream goes to this device.
• Direct Messages – All direct messages go to this device.

The feature I want to discuss is the ability to essentially snooze your updates. You can do this from the Device Settings screen by:

1. Check mark Turn off updates during these hours
2. Select a start time and an end time

Now you will no longer receive SMS alerts during this time frame. A simple fix to an annoying problem.

A good friend of mine is involved in a construction project. I don’t have all the details, but he is looking to create a time-lapse record of the demo at a site followed by the construction of a new building. He estimates that the project will last 12-18 months.

Here is what he is looking for:

• A setup he can set and forget about until the project is done. He doesn’t want to have to worry about someone forgetting to  take a picture.
• Needs to be reasonably secure. He says there is a telephone pole and tree on site that could serve as a mount.
• Open to contracting with someone who does this, or purchasing the equipment needed, depending on the cost.

Questions that will need answered by him, or any experts out there:

1. What is a good resolution for this project? I’m thinking 1920 x 1080 would be on the high end since the eventual output would be a video, and that is HD level image. So anything beyond 2 Megapixel seems a waste.
2. Power supplies. I don’t know how often you will need to recharge, but I doubt we have a source that will last 12-18 months.
3. How many shots a day would be ideal? Or is it shots a week?
4. If the telephone pole is best choice, how do you go about getting permission?
5. What are some good software tools for this?

So, if you have any guidance, please share. If you do this kind of work, contact me and I will put you two in touch.

I strategically chose the name of my business as blue collar design because I wanted to communicate that my focus was design that worked, not just some pie in the sky design for design’s sake. Initially I started this as a side business, wanting to do some web design. That urge has long passed, but the name has served me well in my primary line of business which is instructional design and delivery. Now the tag line is “Instructional Design and Delivery that works”.

Now I want to make clear upfront, I am not a graphic designer, but I am a fan. I make the distinction as this: I think I can tell good vs. bad, I just can’t tell you why, or how to fix it. Recently, I was reminded of my original meaning behind the name when when someone I follow tweeted a web site that is way over the top. I had also come by a recent article in defense of flair, so this post discusses striking the balance.

Over Design

The site that really got my attention was for Evangel Cathedral. Wait, don’t click yet. Be sure to mute or turn down your sound. It is a Visual and Acoustic assault on the casual browser. I cannot think of a better example of the adage “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.”

First off, we get the ever-pointless splash screen. Good idea, get between your audience and the message. Then we get a loud and obnoxious soundtrack. Seriously, if you are not a band, I don’t want to hear music.

Now for some folks, they will stop at “got my attention” and confidently declare mission accomplished. However, I approach web sites as sources of information. If you can stomach it, approach the site like someone looking for information. How long does it take you to find out their service times? Where are they located? They are, imho, a particularly bad example of a very common mistake. It’s form drowning out content.

Restaurants can be bad about that as well. A Cincinnati restaurant called Nada has this in spades. I go to the site, then I have to get past a splash screen, then I get loud obnoxious music. They add, however, another peeve. Menus as downloadable PDFs. So, curious of the menu? Here we go:

1. Enter web address for Nada.
2. Pick Nada from the splash screen.
3. Desperately look for the audio controls to turn off the music.
4. Click on Menus
5. Download the PDF.
6. Read PDF (IF you already have the reader installed, most do, but not all).

Honestly, unless I am really motivated, I stop around step 2 or 3.

Yes, I am not a web designer. I am a consumer of web pages. I actually think that makes me more qualified to judge the usability of a design.

Under Design

However, I do not want to make you think I am a Luddite. I am not pining for the days where we all used Lynx to cruise the nascent web in text only. I just would like to see designers put thought into making their design support the communication of information, not crowd it out. It is always important to remember that you do need to add some flair. A little flash and sizzle is good. Here is a great article from A List Apart called In Defense of Eye Candy.

I don’t want all the web sites to look like Google, iGoogle or Yahoo. I like interesting design. Just make the design ft the purpose of your site. Good examples, imo, are photographer Michael Wilson’s site and David Sheldon Productions site. The navigation is quirky, but the purpose is to showcase their work and they do it well. The same design aesthetic for a restaurant would suck out loud. Just to be clear, I am a fan of Wilson and Sheldon’s works, and actually am fortunate enough to know David, so I am not pretending to be objective there.

So what are your thoughts? Are there sites you especially like/dislike?

So I have been exploring the world of Twitter since last fall. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of what I have learned about Twitter. This is my attempt to explain how twitter is similar and dissimilar to services out there already.

First the basics, Twitter is a communication tool that has the following characteristics:

1. Allows you to create updates (tweets) of up to 140 characters.
2. If you don’t protect your updates, anyone can view these posts.
3. If you follow someone, you see their posts in your twitter stream.
4. If someone follows you, they see your posts in their twitter stream.
5. If you block someone, they will not see your updates in their Twitter stream, but they can still see your updates if they look for them, if your updates are not protected (see #2).

Twitter is Like Blogging

In fact, the first description I heard of Twitter is that it is micro-blogging.

• You post your message for all the world to see (unless you protect your updates).
• Folks can comment on your posts.

Twitter is Not Like Blogging

• Each post is limited to 140 characters.
• No text formatting.
• No embedded graphics (though you can add links).
• Comments on your tweet do not stay with your original tweet. So you can’t easily see folks reaction to an update like you would by looking at the comments section of a blog post.

Twitter is Like IM

I have also heard Twitter compared to Instant Messaging.

• It’s instantaneous. Unless the Fail Whale makes an appearance, as soon as you send a tweet, it can be viewed.
• It’s conversational. You can carry on conversations with other Twitters out there.
• It’s ephemeral. Tweets can be easily forgotten days, hours, or even minutes after they are sent. They compete with all the other tweets for attention.

Twitter is Not Like IM

• It’s not threaded. Techy-speak for pointing out that you can’t easily see the context of an individual tweet. Some clients provide an in Reply to link when some replies to a tweet, but not all clients support them, or display them.
• It lasts forever. Sure, folks may forget about the tweet in minutes, but they are searchable. Any tweet you have ever sent can be looked up. Some services even seem to keep tweets you deleted from your Twitter account.

Twitter is Like Facebook

Recently, Facebook has even made changes so that their service is more like Twitter. Which, incidentally,  I think was a poor choice. I like both services for their unique attributes, and do not think a Twitbook of Faceter would be a better solution.

• You can connect to folks you know, or wish to know, by following them.
• You can post updates to let friends and colleagues know what you are up to.
• When folks follow you, you can see who they are.

Twitter is Not Like Facebook

• Unless you protect your updates, anyone can see your updates without your express permission.
• Unless you protect your updates, anyone can see your updates even if you block them.
• You can be stalked if folks view your tweets without following you, they just won’t automatically see them.
• There are no annoying innovative applications to add to your Twitter page.

So that’s my 2 cents. I would love to hear others comments on Twitter, good and bad. Feel free to comment. Unfortunately due to extensive comment spam, you will have to wait for me to approve. I will be happy to approve comments pointing out what a moron I am, if it has some good info, but not so much comments linking to cheap Viagra.

Recent incidents (both involving myself and family) have reminded me of the importance of a good backup strategy. External hard drives are a great tools to backup or transfer files. I have owned a My Book and My Passport for quite a while.

Doing a little research on the external drives I was surprised to see that the Passport line had undergone a change since my purchase with multiple versions (and as always, larger sizes).

All Passports feature:

• A compact design (contains a 2.5″ drive).
• USB Powered (no need for extra power supply)
• USB 2.0
• Sync and Encryption software (except the Studio version).

The Passport comes in the following configurations (see breakdown at Western Digital web site):

• Essentials: The no-frills version.
• For Mac: Formatted for Mac.
• Elite: Adds Backup software, Remote Access, Capacity Gauge, and Soft-touch finish.
• Studio:Adds Firewire, Capacity Gauge, and formatted for the Mac. Loses the sync and encryption software.

The Passport comes in sizes up to 500 MB. To compare the models, I will embed the Amazon links for the 320 MB versions. It’s strange that colors can mean big price swings. For example a Bronze Elite is far cheaper at the time of this posting:

MacHeist is an interesting program that allows you to buy a bundle of Mac programs for a ridiculously low price. I participated in a previous one that let me get a nice screen capture program for the Mac and a bunch of other applications. Currently they are running the third incarnation of the program which includes 12+ applications. If you want to learn more about it in their words follow that link.

For $39 you currently get 12 applications. If enough bundles are sold, two more applications unlock. In addition, if you don’t mind tweeting an announcement, they will include 2 more applications. Finally, if you refer folks you get an application for the first referral that cashes in and another for the second. All told, you can end up with 18 applications for the one purchase. At the risk of sounding like Billy Mays, I will add “one more” thing, they send 25% of the $39 to one of 10 charities you choose, or you can just have them divide it equally between the ten.

So take a look at MacHeist (that’s my referral link) and see if there is enough value in that bundle for you. They even let you donate license to others if you already have the application.

I am new to this Social Media space. For those that have no clue what I am talking about, it means many things to many people but most would agree that sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are part of it.

LinkedIn

For me it started with LinkedIn. This is a site dedicated to professional networking. You post your resume and professional information, and link to people you know. I was very conservative with my links. I approached folks I knew, and gladly accepted invites from folks that I had worked with. My big debate was who was a professional contact. Do I link to my Pastor? My Brother-in-law. I accepted it as gospel, that LinkedIn was a way to digitize your existing network.

Then it happened. I received an invite from someone I did not recall working with. I cautiously replied with a nicely-worded “Do I know you?” and received a reply that no, we had not met, but she was trying to connect with folks that were technical writers and instructional designers as she has occasion to contract out those roles. Well, my first thought was, that’s not right, but it was immediately supplanted by the echo of “contract out those roles”. You see, I am an independent Tech Writer, and I needed to expand my network. This was a no-brainer.

What’s the Point

Well, the point is, the way I have used LinkedIn has evolved over time. I have learned to accept the different uses folks have put it to. This was spurred by two things today.

The first was a conversation with an insurance salesman who “cold-called” me on LinkedIn. Frankly it pissed me off. It was my first LinkedIn spam and I felt it had crossed a boundary. As we exchanged e-mail messages, my attitude changed. I still don’t like the technique, and it is a 100% sure way to never earn my business, but who am I to tell him how to use this valuable tool. It would have been easier for me to click delete and move on. That will be my process in the future. I hold no ill-will towards this guy, though his method is totally ineffective with me, I am sure he has had some success. And it really wasn’t that invasive.

The second was a quick Twitter exchange between two folks a follow. It was between @chrisbrogan and @techherding. Chris Brogan is a well known social media pundit. He is passionate about connecting, so he obviously has a very loose definition of who he will link to in LinkedIn. He has a free e-book espousing his opinion that he linked to in the conversation (I must reveal, I have not had time to read it). @techherding (Dick) takes a more reserved approach. He disagrees with Chris, and said as much, calling Chris’ approach more of a network of prospects. They have very different perspectives, and I think they are both right. LinkedIn is what you make of it. For Chris it is an invaluable tool to connect, for Dick it is a network of people he trusts. We can choose how we want to connect. I don’t think anyone looking at Chris’ 500+ connections would think he could personally vouch for them. And I would never take a link to mean an endorsement.

Frankly I am way closer to Dick on this. I only have a few “prospects”, put I think that adds value to LinkedIn for me. As Dick pointed out, Chris’s approach is the way to anarchy, but I am learning to embrace that a little more now. Only time will tell if that will serve me well or not.

Final Points:

• I love the fact that folks like Chris & Dick never refer to themselves as “Gurus”, adding further evidence to my position that if you call yourself a Guru you are almost certainly not one.
• I covet Dick’s self-ascribed title of “Social Media Theorist”.
• Chris Brogan displays how to say what I just said quicker and better on his site.