Public service announcement

// Then again, I'm afraid the internet would be half empty if we followed this rule... :)
via +Kay Kulkarni 

Add icons to your links with CSS3

// A lovingly quick way to add icons next to your links that I just saw in +Lea Verou's (of W3C) site: all you need is a simple line of #CSS3 code.

a[href^="http://twitter.com"]::before { content: url("twitter.png"); }

See it live at http://lea.verou.me/

The Ultimate Browser Detection Fail

// So here's a screenshot from #Google #Nexus , running Google's #Android browser, showing a page on a Google service (Google Groups). We notice two things happening: 

1) Google's page can't identify Google's browser correctly and instead mistake it for #Safari
2) Google engineers can't (or wont?) make a page of relatively simple (in terms of features) web service to run on Safari, one of the two biggest mobile browsers, disregarding the fact that both browsers use the same engine.

I've recently switched from Safari to #Chrome due to better memory usage but these kind of ridiculous "games" really need to stop...

So this is Bill Gate's monitor

// Bill showed off his monitor during his AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit http://redd.it/18bhme 
It is actually a 82" multi-touch display intended for presentations but I suppose it can work as a decent personal monitor as well :) If you have the pockets for it, click here http://bit.ly/YYOfYV

The AMA received a lot interest with almost 29,000 comments. For a summary of Bill's answers, click here http://bit.ly/X6nN0d

CSS Paint times and a Faster Web Experience

// At a perhaps an alarming rate, web sites are becoming more and more like complete applications, see for example the refreshed +The Next Web or +Mashable). This means that looking into initial page loading times is not enough. We need to monitor how the web page reacts at user input. 

+Addy Osmani has been posting a lot about this topic, check out his article DevTools: Visually Re-engineering CSS For Faster Paint Times http://bit.ly/VfpHen

Track WordPress Queries with Debug Bar

// I'm in #WordPress  mode these days (building a site for a client), so here's another handy plugin: Debug Bar gives you helpful information for #debugging  like PHP error/notices, the full list of database queries and more. I needed the database part as you can see in the screenshot. Get it here: http://bit.ly/Z7YAWe 

Secure WordPress with WP-Security

// WP Security Scan is a set of tools for adding some basic #security  on your #WordPress  installation. It includes: 
- A series of tests like if you have the latest version, if you're not telling the world your version of WordPress, .htaccess protection, etc (see screenshot) 
- Information on your PHP/MySQL installation for debugging
- Permissions checks on your files
- Feature to backup your database 
- A password tool to select a hard to brake password

Get WP Security Scan at the WordPress.org plugin directory http://bit.ly/Xx6dPe

For getting .htaccess setup without messing directly with files, see the AskApache plugin http://bit.ly/YQLhFU (will have another post on it at later time). For more on WordPress security see my previous posts http://bit.ly/1262rDZ

Change your scrollbars with jQuery NiceScroll

// For some time changing the look of #scrollbars has been quite tricky but the last couple of years this has become easier. Probably one of the best is a #jQuery  plugin call NiceScroll. Now in version 3 it features:

- simple installation with just a line of code for any div or the whole page 
- support for cursor/mouse wheel/keyboard
- support for all browsers (even IE6) and touch devices
- zoom feature that showcases just a specific div 

Get NiceScroll here http://bit.ly/11zztgv

How to save space in your WordPress site

// Handy #plugin  for #WordPress : WP-Optimize will give you the option to clear revisions, draft posts and spam/pending comments and also optimise your database tables, freeing up value disk space and speeding up all database access.

That said, if you use the Google+ Blog plugin http://bit.ly/yNwPxo by +Daniel Treadwell to import your G+ posts in WordPress, you may want to check the size of your posts table. With just 440 posts there were almost 130.000 rows in my posts table, the likely cause being the Google+ Blog plugin. 

Get WP-Optimize here http://bit.ly/WBF81q

The waiting line game of Mailbox

// #Mailbox , the latest attempt at improving mail #productivity , might work or it might fail. But they've handled their launch strategy in an innovative and smart (in terms of  #marketing ). 

Instead of the classic "give us your e-mail to notify you" and then just launch for the entire world, they adopted a "waiting line" concept: people who signed up first will get the app first. This rewards early adopters but also allows for "bragging rights" as the app shows your number in the "line" and how many people are in front and behind you. 

The result today is people filling the social networks with screenshots like the one below, showing how long the line is and if they are lucky (to be ahead) or unlucky (to have to wait a lot). And of course the tech press has something "exciting" to write about :) 

One could say it's the digital equivalent of #Apple 's lines on product launches. It remains to be seen if other start-ups will copy this idea... :)

Twitter is actually IRC, with less features

// Want proof? Here you go :)  http://tweetchat.com/room/irc
One could say that it's a step backwards from #IRC  because you need a special interface like tweechat to avoid always mentioning the name of the room (hashtag) you are writing in. And of course you can't have a private room. Or really good moderation tools. Or... ;)

What is a Project?

// Things don't have to be overly complex (as in the #Dilbert comic below) An answer by David Allen of Get Things Done ( #GTD ):

Any outcome that’s going to require more than one action item, in some sequence of events in order to be able to get to that outcome, that’s a project. And boy, there are a lot of people that just miss that.

Invariably I see that most people’s “project lists” are very, very incomplete. One of the more subtle ones that comes to mind is: What issues are on your mind right now, or situations or circumstances? Not necessarily negative things, but oftentimes there’s kind of a health thing, there’s kind of a family thing, there’s a relationship thing, there’s a—who knows?

There’s all kinds of subtle stuff that show up out there that are either problems or opportunities and they don’t march up to the door with a pretty pink bow and say, “Hi, I am now a project!” Get those clarified in a way that you know what done looks like (the project outcome), and what doing looks like (the next action).

More from David Allen at www.davidco.com
and of course more Dilbert at www.dilbert.com

Finally, an awesome UX tutorial

// Answering the question "What are the best resources for learning bleeding-edge web, UI and UX design?" on Quora, Colm Tuite, UI/Visual Designer & Developer, decided to write one of this own. The result was an extensive post / #tutorial  with 10 steps to a decent (if not great) start in learning about #UX. To sum up: 

1. Discover the problem
2. Get to know your users
3. Learn to #wireframe properly
4. Communicate effectively
5. Guide your users
6. Encourage your users
7. Reward your users
8. Learn the basic fundamentals (HTML, CSS, JS, Ruby, Python etc.)
9. Learn visual #design
10. Study. Study. Study.

Read the full article here http://b.qr.ae/XNmOQH

Colours, Emotions, Brands

// This kind of chart has been going around the net for a while, but a reminder is always good :)

If you're looking for more #marketing -oriented #color   #infographics  see also How do colors affect purchases?
http://bit.ly/VG6O70

(Chart by The Logo Company http://bit.ly/VG6wwT)

Cross-network social media engagement analysis

// Did that sound complex enough? :) Statistics and trying to do comparisons can often be misleading as just seeing the numbers below can prove. The numbers are from a test +Wil Wheaton did: he asked people on #Facebook  and #Google + to following a list to his blog as a test on how much traffic he gets from either #network . Here they are:  

Facebook followers: 95K
Google+ followers: 1.4M
 
Traffic from Facebook:  ~13,428
Traffic from G+: ~11,261

Interactions on Facebook: 1118 likes and 345 comments
Interactions on G+: 647 +1s (same as likes) and 247 comments

On first look, FB looks like an amazing way to get engagement given that there were more interactions with just tiny fraction of followers. I think a crucial explanation for these numbers is that every like and comment on Facebook generates a story in the feeds of the friends of the user who made the like or comment.

This allows a much bigger spread of anything that get a good amount of likes/comments (as recently proven by the recent "help me get laid for 1 million likes" story http://cnet.co/YMy5pc). Meanwhile, the main way for something to spread on G+ is shares and the trending list (although usually in order to get on the trending list you need a lot of shares).  

Where as a percentage of the 1.4mil of G+ followers might see Wil's post just once if they have him on a circle which shows 100% of posts in the main stream (and if they read everything on their stream), on Facebook, it's not just a percentage of the followers who see a post in their feeds. It is also the friends of everyone who liked and commented on it through the "X commented on Will Wheaton's post" stories. 

An additional insight: a small page I manage on FB has just over 1100 likes. The overal potential audience though (friends of fans) is over 400k. I suppose some similar numbers apply in Will's case. His 95K followers can translate to an audience of millions. I wont do the math because I am probably going to end up with wrong assumptions again. 

The fact is, people interact differently with content and also discover differently  content on either network. So the whole situation is a bit like, well, apples and oranges :) 
_(Photo by Michael Fawcett http://bit.ly/12k6EE1)_
cc +Robert Scoble as he has written a lot about the differences between FB and G+ and their content discovery models. 

Hack your life!

// #Hacking  is not a bad word, mmm'okay? :) Here is a small intro on hacking your daily routines to improve your #productivity  and enjoy more of what's really important in #life! :) 

The interface is (part of) your brand

// When it's pointed out it is kind of obvious but you might not consider it otherwise. Interface elements are indeed part of your brand. If you're not convinced take this quiz: can you recognise the origin of the buttons on the image below? 

Answers on the original article by +Marc Hemeon : http://bit.ly/11cxFK9 Marc has more guidance on designing your buttons. 
(via +Nassos K.)