Brad Williams Blog

Get Organized with the WordPress Todo List Plugin

By StrangeWork.com: Have you ever come across a topic you wanted to blog about, but didn’t have time to write at that moment? So you put it off and come back to it later, right? Of course, but what happens if you forget about the original topic you wanted to post about? I’ve had this problem a few times, so decided to find a plugin to help me out. Enter the WordPress Todo List Plugin.

The Todo list plugin is a great way to help organize topics you want to write about. With it’s simple interface you can easily add and manage your own Todo list. The plugin also displays on your dashboard to help keep your Todo list fresh on your mind.

For easy access I created a bookmark directly to the add new item page for quick additions on the fly.

I highly recommend this plugin for anyone wanting to get more organized with blog topics.

Know how I know this country is gay?

By StrangeWork.com: Know how I know this country is gay? It’s 2007 and we still can’t vote online! Actually it’s 2007 and we can’t even register to vote online! What is wrong with this country?

We spend millions upon millions of dollars for voting machines that are untrustworthy, rather than invest that money in technology that would allow anyone to vote from the privacy of their own home. Sure there are security risks involved, but there are security risks involved with banking and shopping online too. If we start investing in the technology today it would be ready in the next few years.

Want to get more young adults to vote? Let them vote for the next president on MySpace. Guaranteed to double voter turnout.

Live Streaming Colts vs. Patriots Tailgating Today!

I’ll be live streaming Indianapolis Colts tailgating today starting around 1pm ET for the Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots game!

We are streaming via uStream.tv. I’ve embedded the video and chat for easy viewing:

Google OpenSocial Launches Today, Hallelujah!

By StrangeWork.com: Google has announced a new project they are launching today called OpenSocial. OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs for building custom applications across multiple social networks. The three core functions and information will consist of:

Profile Information (user data)
Friends Information (social graph)
Activities (things that happen, News Feed type stuff)

At launch the participating social networks include Orkut, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Ning, Hi5, Plaxo, Friendster, Viadeo and Oracle. Obviously missing from this list is Facebook, Myspace, and Bebo. We can only hope that with the success OpenSocial is likely to see these networks will join in.

This is great news for us developers out there having trouble keeping up with the speed at which sites are releasing open APIs to interact with. Another huge benefit of a single site to manage all custom applications is OpenSocial does not have its own markup language. Developers can use normal javascript, html, and embedded flash elements.

Expect a more detailed write-up once I’ve had a chance to create some applications using OpenSocial.

You can access OpenSocial later today at:
http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial

I have nothing to say

I’ve been extremely busy lately and haven’t had a chance to write any new posts. Here are a couple tidbits to feed your Brad hunger.

Jeff just launched a new forum on his site so go get registered and start posting!

I just launched permalinks on SnapFoo:
http://snapfoo.com/brad/2007/10/27/zombie-brain-dip/

and RSS feeds:
http://snapfoo.com/rss

That’s all for now! Expect more posts as soon as things calm down a bit.

Easily Increase Site Traffic Using StumbleUpon.com

By StrangeWork.com: Looking for an easy way to boost site traffic? Look no further than StumbleUpon.com. StumbleUpon is a browsing tool for sharing and discovering great websites based on keywords that you find interesting.

Simply install the toolbar and click Stumble to view high-quality pages matched to your personal preferences. StumbleUpon also gives you the ability to rate websites you like or dislike. By giving a site you enjoy a thumbs up, you enter that site into the StumbleUpon directory. This allows others users who are stumbling under the same keywords as your site the chance of viewing the page you stumbled.

The amazing part is it actually works! On Wednesday my post 10 Reasons why I’m buying a 2nd Generation Zune over any Apple iPod hit StumbleUpon. Since then I have received over 2,000 unique hits to that post from StumbleUpon users. Amazing!

StumbleUpon recently made some updates to its toolbar that shows website ratings next to search results in popular search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Windows Live.

StumbleUpon.com is an amazing resource for web developers and a great way to find interesting sites.

SnapFoo.com Updates

By StrangeWork.com: I wanted to post a quick update about SnapFoo.com. We have begun sending out invites to a small group of friends.

We have also launched the official SnapFoo Blog to help keep everyone informed of our progress.

If all goes as planned (and it probably won’t) we hope to start blasting out invites in the coming weeks so get on the list!

SnapFoo.com was recently discussed on the Alternageek Podcast so be sure to check that out!

Here’s a sneak peak of the new slogan for SnapFoo which will be splattered all over merchandise when we launch!

Mad Monster Party on DVD, and you’re all invited!

By StrangeWork.com: The Laughing Squid crew posted the trailer for Mad Monster Party tonight. It just so happens I picked up a copy of the DVD at the local super market the other day. How can you not love this?

Nice little pick-up for $9.99, and yes that’s Boris Karloff as the voice of Baron Boris von Frankenstein! Mad Monster Party is from Rankin/Bass who also created the classics Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman! Good memories.

Make sure to get your scary movie collection up to par before Halloween hits!

Travelocity refuses to reimburse for unsafe/filthy hotel

By StrangeWork.com: After a recent trip to Charlotte, NC I can say that I will NEVER use Travelocity again. We made reservations to stay at the Ramada Inn next to the airport in Charlotte through Travelocity. The hotel had many flaws including moldiness, broken doors, stains everywhere, disgusting old sheets/blankets, and was located in an unsafe area of town. We asked for another room which had even more problems. After 5 minutes in our second room we decided to leave for another hotel.

After our trip my girlfriend contacted Travelocity for a refund, which they refused to give. Travelocity’s cancellation policy states:

“Once you have checked into a hotel you cannot cancel or receive credit for unused nights if you check out early”

So if you check in to a hotel and enter your room to find a rabid dog snacking on a fresh carcass it’s too late for Travelocity to issue you a refund on your reservation. That’s quality customer satisfaction with a smile isn’t it? That is why I have cancelled my Travelocity account and will NEVER use them again. End rant.

Is the future of Web 2.0 mobile?

By StrangeWork.com: Mitch Wagner of Information Week posted an overview from John Battelle of Federated Media, Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media, and Eric Faurot, senior VP at CMP of the Web 2.0 Summit yesterday. In this overview they ask an important question: Where is Web 2.0 Going?

The answer? Mobile!

There’s a huge opportunity to turn the kind of data the phone has into services

I couldn’t agree more! Mobile phones are so widely used, but how many cell phone users browse the internet?

According to Telephia.com, among the 237 million wireless subscribers in the U.S., 70 percent use their phones to text message, more than 32 million accessed the Internet on their phones last month, and 41 percent use their phones to send picture messages.

32 million and that’s just in the US! Mobile internet usage is growing at a steady rate yet is still widely underused in the Web 2.0 world. Expect the gap between mobile and Web 2.0 to close over the next few years as more and more services are launched targeting the mobile user.

Looking for a new startup idea? Think mobile!

Get Organized with the WordPress Todo List Plugin

Know how I know this country is gay?

Live Streaming Colts vs. Patriots Tailgating Today!

Google OpenSocial Launches Today, Hallelujah!

I have nothing to say

Easily Increase Site Traffic Using StumbleUpon.com

SnapFoo.com Updates

Mad Monster Party on DVD, and you’re all invited!

Travelocity refuses to reimburse for unsafe/filthy hotel

Is the future of Web 2.0 mobile?

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