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Digital Media NewsSetting rather than Resetting Default StylingBy Thierry Koblentz from Carsonified » Design. Published on Mar 10, 2010. By Thierry KoblentzEditors Note: In his first article for Think Vitamin Thierry Koblentz discusses the issue of “resetting” your CSS. “base.css” versus “reset.css” For a long time, the very first line in my styles sheets was: * {padding:0;margin:0;} This simple rule was very convenient as it leveled margin and padding values of all elements across browsers. This “hard reset” was short [...] Not Yet Time To Burn the BoatsBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Mar 09, 2010. TechCrunch has an interview with Marc Andreessen in which the Internet boy wonder advises media companies to “burn the boats,” an analogy to the instructions Cortés supposedly gave his army upon landing in Mexico nearly 500 years ago in order to insure that the soldiers pressed on. Print newspapers and magazines will never get [to new [...]Three lessons from the Chipotle iPhone app - How centralization, a defined use case, and a uniform menu shaped Chipotle's iPhone appBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Mac Slocum) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Mar 08, 2010. The iPhone app from Chipotle, the restaurant chain best known for its burritos, is an interesting mix of simple design, e-commerce functionality and location tools. Digging into the app's development reveals three aspects that could prove useful for businesses and programmers pursuing their own mobile paths.Johnston on Journalism’s FutureBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Mar 04, 2010. We don’t get a lot of e-mail from Pulitzer Prize winners, so we were pleased and intrigued when David Cay Johnston sent a lengthy response to our recent comments on the shortcomings of American journalism schools. Johnston is a reporter’s reporter in the classic mold of “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.” In his career, [...]Research Dramatizes Changing PracticesBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Mar 02, 2010. Three new studies document the changing way in which journalists practice their craft, for better and for worse: New research by the Society for New Communications Research and Middleberg Communications finds that seven in 10 of journalists are using social networking sites for research and reporting, a 28% increase over the previous year. Twitter use was [...]Four short links: 2 March 2010 - Visualising Tweeted Data, Voting Licenses, Space-Time Mining, and Processing for the iPhoneBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Nat Torkington) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Mar 02, 2010. SatScan -- Free software that analyzes spatial, temporal and space-time data using the spatial, temporal, or space-time scan statistics. It is designed for any of the following interrelated purposes: Perform geographical surveillance of disease, to detect spatial or space-time disease clusters, and to see if they are statistically significant; Test whether a disease is randomly distributed over space, over time or over space and time; Evaluate the statistical significance of disease cluster alarms; Perform repeated time-periodic disease surveillance for early detection of disease outbreaks.Forrst: Where Designers Who Code meet Developers Who DesignBy Chrissie Brodigan from Carsonified » Design. Published on Mar 02, 2010. By Chrissie BrodiganEditors Note: Forrst is still in beta and as such you will need an account to view the links referenced below. Kyle, the creator of Forrst, has kindly offered 250 Think Vitamin readers an advanced invite. All you have to do is email kyle@forrst.com with subject “I’d love an invite!”. A few weeks ago Carsonified’s Mike [...] Low-Hanging UX Fruit, How a Well-Designed “Thank You” Inspires Community UptakeBy Chrissie Brodigan from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 25, 2010. By Chrissie BrodiganA few weeks ago, I wrote up a case study around the perplexing case of designing user experiences for lead generation pages. I’m going to cover the results of our test shortly, but in the meantime I wanted to share part of the conversion funnel that has forever changed the way I’m going to design [...] Interview: Young Journalist Makes Online TransitionBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 24, 2010. Melissa Massello is the 31-year-old “Stealfinder in Chief” at Shoestringmag.com, an online magazine for people who want to live a frugal but socially responsible and healthy life. She manages a loose federation of freelance contributors, many of whom barter their services, while writing more than 5,000 words each week and also handling the business affairs [...]Long Tail iTunes Book Apps Are More ExpensiveBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Ben Lorica) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Feb 22, 2010. In an earlier post, I examined the average price of the Top 100 PAID apps and noted that the relationship between price and popularity was somewhat dependent on the category. But in the Book category, I concluded that the Top 10 PAID apps were on average cheaper than those ranked 91-100. But what if we examine all Book apps, will the long tail apps be pricier?Plagiarism’s Murky New RulesBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 19, 2010. This week’s sorry tale of a New York Times reporter being forced to resign for plagiarizing content from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other sources, apparently over a long period of time, raises questions about how traditional practices can survive the pressures of the online age. Zachery Kouwe (right) walked the plank after editors at [...]Tags Vs CategoriesBy Keir Whitaker from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 19, 2010. By Keir WhitakerWe’ve all done it, written a post and then spent the following few minutes adding tags and assigning it to multiple categories. It’s all all good for Google juice, right? Well maybe not. In this 2 minute video from the excellent Google Webmaster Help channel on YouTube Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team, explains that [...] Sitemaps – The Good, the Bad and the UglyBy Rob Mills from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 16, 2010. By Rob MillsSitemaps are like Marmite (Ed: yeast extract spread that divides opinion, very popular in the UK). You either love them or hate them. OK maybe you don’t ‘love’ them but they do seem to create an obvious divide between those that use them and those that don’t. I rarely use them but they are part [...] Publishers Find a Tenuous BalanceBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 12, 2010. During fourth-quarter earnings calls, several newspaper executives tried to put a positive spin on their financial situation, noting that the rate of decline in advertising revenues has slowed. That’s true, says Martin Langeveld, but it’s still a dismal situation overall. Langeveld totes up the numbers from the five publishers who have reported earnings so far [...]Super simple Twitter avatarsBy Keir Whitaker from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 12, 2010. By Keir WhitakerIf you use Twitter avatars in your web site or app then you need to check out tweetimag.es. It’s a great free service courtesy of Joe Stump that allows you to reference any Twitter users avatar with a uniform URL. Why is this important? If you have ever viewed the URL of your own avatar you [...] The Most Efficient iPhone DevelopersBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Ben Lorica) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Feb 11, 2010. Last week marked the first time the U.S. iTunes store had over 150,000 apps available. Close to 31,000 different developers (or "sellers") were responsible for those apps, with many offering one to five apps, while a few offered over a hundred different apps. Which developers consistently produce top-selling apps? I examined the percentage of apps produced by a developer that became best-sellers.Cookie cutter web sitesBy kat Neville from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 10, 2010. By kat NevilleThe other day, someone lamented, “I can’t tell the difference from this site and the hundred of others I’ve seen. These days, more and more websites look the same.” We’re all learning better practices in web design, and that’s a good thing. But designing a website isn’t a simple recipe, and while it’s important to [...] In Case You Haven’t Seen It…By paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 10, 2010. Following up on today’s earlier post about the changing job environment… More on SlideShareJ-Schools Get an F in FinanceBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 09, 2010. Yesterday I visited with a journalism class at a major university. This institution’s journalism program is considered one of the finest in the country and its faculty boasts notable veterans of the newspaper and broadcast field. I spoke to a small class for about 90 minutes, devoting the first hour of that time to a [...]Future of Web Design London 2010 is goBy Keir Whitaker from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 09, 2010. By Keir WhitakerWe are delighted to announce that Future of Web Design will be returning to London for the 4th year running. Taking place from May 17th – 19th 2010 in the heart of London it will be packed full of great talks, workshops and networking opportunities. Grab the early bird discounts There are a number of early-bird offers [...] Designing for donationsBy Jaan Orvet & Andreas Carlsson from Carsonified » Design. Published on Feb 08, 2010. By Jaan Orvet & Andreas CarlssonDonating money to a charity should be as quick and easy online as it is to stuff a few coins in a collection pot on the high street. It should also be apparent what the money will be used for. With these two things in mind, it is surprising how often charities miss the mark when [...] One hundred eighty degrees of freedom: signs of how open platforms are spreadingBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Andy Oram) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Feb 05, 2010. Visualize open networks--and remember how far we've already come from the days before flat-rate long distance phone calls (much less app stores for cell phones).What Facebook's HipHop means for developers and businesses - O'Reilly PHP author Kevin Tatroe puts Facebook's PHP project in contextBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Mac Slocum) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Feb 04, 2010. Facebook claims to have reduced CPU usage by 50 percent with its HipHop for PHP project, and now it's releasing the code as open source. O'Reilly author and PHP expert Kevin Tatroe digs into HipHop's applications beyond Facebook.Spreadsheet JournalismBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Feb 03, 2010. Alan Mutter is stirring things up again with a spreadsheet that journalists can use to value their work. His thinking: Stop debasing yourself by working for peanuts. Figure out what your time is worth and charge accordingly. With his characteristic eye for detail, Mutter figures such factors as the self-employment tax and capital expenses in his [...]Four short links: 1 February 2010 - Android Charting, Trojan Cameras, Web-based IDE, Projected UIsBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Nat Torkington) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Feb 01, 2010. Bespin -- sexy HTML5 "code-in-the-cloud" IDE from Mozilla Labs. If the future is truly in locked-down hack-free devices whose only interface to the world is through the web browser, these sorts of IDEs are going to become critical for finding and raising the next generation of hackers. This and more in today's Four Short Links.Web developers can rule the iPadBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Simon St. Laurent) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 30, 2010. Arise, web developers! Our time has come to dominate! A lot of tech commentators seem disappointed that the iPad feels more like an evolutionary step than a revolutionary step. For one group of technologists, though, the iPad is an opportunity for revolution, to take center stage in creating experiences users will want, and even want to buy. The iPad is all about consuming content, but most of the conversation about that content has seen it in traditional silos...Making dough or spam? The perplexing case of designing lead generation pagesBy Chrissie Brodigan from Carsonified » Design. Published on Jan 29, 2010. By Chrissie BrodiganI spend a lot of time working on large-scale site designs, redesigns, and app designs, so it’s kind of fun when the pressure is on to develop a single lead generation page. For the purposes of this post, let’s define a lead generation as a single page that is: Usually discoverable when a user clicks on an [...] Check Mate: Apple's iPad and Google's Next MoveBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Mark Sigal) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 28, 2010. There is an axiom that the biggest game-changers often result from ideas that, at first blush, seem easy to dismiss. So it goes with yesterday's launch of the iPad, Apple's entry into what they call the 'third category' of device -- the middle ground that exists between smartphone and laptop. Why is the iPad (seemingly) so easy to dismiss? Well, for one, it is an evolutionary device when conventional wisdom suggests that it needs to be a revolutionary device to find a wedge into a new market. In this instance, conventional wisdom is just plain off base.Newsday Paywall Nets Just 35 SubsBy paulgillin from Newspaper Death Watch. Published on Jan 28, 2010. Publishers who cheered The New York Times decision last week to build up a wall in front of its content should be considerably less cheery about the news emanating from Newsday. The Long Island daily has admitted that it has signed up just 35 paying subscribers since it put most of its content behind a [...]The iPad and publishers: A survey of early reactionBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Mac Slocum) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 27, 2010. Publishers have been salivating over Apple's tablet for months. Some have gone as far to label it the industry's salvation. The jury's out on that conclusion, but the iPad's arrival has certainly inspired discussion. We're using this post to capture early analysis and sort out the real publishing opportunities the iPad could create.Organizing Your ImagesBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Gene McCullagh) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 25, 2010. In this age of digital media it is even more critical that we keep track of our digital assets. Lightroom has many features to help you organize your images. The best website I can recommend to you to delve deeply into industry standard organization practice is dpBestFlow.org from the American Society of Media Photographers and funded by the Library of Congress. The site is full of suggestions and videos. Get ready to spend some time there! There are many websites and books devoted to this topic. You should do a little research before embarking on this adventure. The best website I can recommend to you to delve deeply into industry standard organization practice is dpBestFlow.org from the American Society of Media Photographers and funded by the Library of Congress. The site is full of suggestions and videos. Get ready to spend some time there!Four short links: 21 January 2010 - Wireless Hacks, Real Time Web, 3D Christmas, Mac SyncBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Nat Torkington) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 21, 2010. Brain Dump of Real Time Web and WebSocket -- long primer on the different technology for real-time web apps. Conclusion is that there's no silver bullet yet, so more development work is needed. This and more in today's Four Short Links.Four short links: 19 January 2010 - Stack Overflow Data, Open Source GSM, Nostalgia, and OpennessBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Nat Torkington) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 19, 2010. Should We Encourage Self-Promotion and Lies? (Tom Coates) -- And while encouraging people to spot the talented and the creative, we should also be considering how we shame those people who self-promote without creating. The financial collapse has taught us that rhetorical bubbles divorced from reality are a danger to us all. We're already approaching this point - our industry has become venal, insular and dominated by marketing. We have come to value the wrong things. And if we want a continued vigorous, creative, free, open and equal environment, that's something we have to fix. It's not something to aspire to. This and more in today's Four Short Links.Four short links: 8 January 2010 - Healthcare Data, GNU Econometrics Library, Visualizing Changes, View Source Under AttackBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (Nat Torkington) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 08, 2010. View Source is Good? Discuss (Alex Russell) -- fantastic post, mandatory reading. View-source was necessary (but not sufficient) to make HTML the dominant application platform of our times. I also hold that it is under attack -- not least of all from within -- and that losing view-source poses a significant danger to the overall health of the web. This and more in today's Four Short Links.Millions of Plastic Guitars Can't Be WrongBy webmaster@oreillynet.com (David Battino) from O'Reilly Digital Media Center. Published on Jan 07, 2010. If you make a process easy enough, you can change the world. In 1995, two MIT graduates set out to make music-making easy. Now millions of people play their product, and the inventors are releasing the developer tools for free.
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Digital Media News