Essential Blog Commenting Features

There are only a couple of things needed, and really only one of them is essential, but the second is greatly appreciated.  The first and most important being a notification mechanism to updated comments since the last comment.  Meaning, if my comment to your post garners any responses, I want to know about it without having to spend time continually clicking back through your page.  Not only would that waste my time, but it would artificially inflate your stats.  Neither of us wants either of those things.  So please take the time to add a plugin, or some other tool, that enables this capability.  Else, don’t expect too many comenters to leave words on your posts.

The second, and maybe less important but still appreciated feature, is closing out the comments after so many days, be it 15 or 30, it doesn’t matter too much, but it definitely needs to be something reasonalbe.  Receiving a notification a year or so more past the post date isn’t terribly relevant.  Typically these trail off, so it’s not as big an issue, but the more posts to which you comment, the more likely you are to receive unnecessary notifications.  At some point we need to stop talking about old topics.  Thankfully WordPress 2.7 was smart/kind enough to make this option standard, with a default setting of 14 days.  Very handy.

###

Six Degrees Of Temperature Separation

Over lunch on Thursday we were discussing energy efficiencies because of all the Green Building nonsense going on in California right now, and someone asked what temperature we had our thermostats set to in the winter.  I hadn’t really thought much of it, but between the six of us, I was the only one at 62 degrees Fahrenheit, and the rest were either 68 or 71.  Exactly either of those two.  (How strange that there wasn’t more of a range.)  So, I was shortly the topic of conversation as to how I could live in such a frozen environment.  To be fair, though, while my thermostat is set to 62, it rarely gets that cold.  Even with the windows open most of the day, the heater only kicks in around three or four in the morning.  Which wouldn’t be a problem, except the thing is so loud that it wakes me up, and I have to turn it down to 59.  Not a big deal because I’m in bed, but showering at 5:30 in the morning is another story.

Do you live Green at 62, or are you burning fuel in 71?  Higher?

For the record, I’m not setting my limit so low for the sake of the Earth, but because it’s not _that_ cold to me most of the day.  Sure 62 is quite chilly, but I’m usually asleep during that time of the day.  Nestled nicely.

###

Google Labs Adds Gmail Tasks, Requires Chat Enabled

I only need tasks in one of my GoogleApp domains, and that just happened to be the one where I was receiving the error "tasks could not be open" after enabling the feature.  What?  Why?  This is stupid.  Thankfully it didn’t take long to realize the one difference between that domain and the others I manage was the disabled chat feature.  Apparently Tasks uses the same API as Chat for making the in-window window and the pop-out window.  (Who knows what else.)

Of course now I have chat enabled somewhere a client doesn’t want or need it.  Not sure if this issue will resolve itself in the future or if we’re stuck with both features having to be enabled.  In the meanwhile, if you or someone you know are having trouble getting tasks to work in Gmail, hope this helps.

Update: Seems this issue was added to the Google Labs Help Tasks group discussion earlier today, and a fix is in the works.  You really have to enjoy the process.

###

Google Friend Connect or Facebook Connect?

I thought it would be a difficult decision, but when it came time to push the publish button, it was no contest.  Google’s Friend Connect was the social connect tool that best suited my preferences.  Whether or not it suits my needs is a different argument, since I’m still not sure I actually need a social network component.  Generally, I intend for my posts to be read in your feed reader, which is the most efficient way to deal with blagger entries.  Still, on the off chance that anyone does want to congregate around my content, I’ve now made available the option to share within a specific social circle, Friend Connect.

I’m still learning about all the available features and gadgets, but if you look in the second sidebar you’ll see the members gadget.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  All you need to join or sign in is your Google account information.  For most people, it’s probably the same name and password you use with Gmail.  But if you’re one of those paranoids like myself, your Google account name and password is not exactly the same as your Gmail.

###

The Crazy Santa Hat Pub Crawl [Sacramento, CA]

Repost from  www.EastSacPubCrawl.com

December 5th, 2008

– Invite Fun People Only!
– Wear a Crazy Hat (Santa Hat or something in the Holiday Spirit)!
– Bring a Children’s Toy(s) and/or Book(s)to the PINE COVE
– Follow the other 200 crawlers as we walk to 6 bars in East Sac
– DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE
– See the website www.EastSacPubCrawl.com for more details.

Important Details (read below)

Skyy Vodka has arranged drink specials at the first 3 bars (Pine Cove, Limelight and Raven). So get ready for some fun.

This Crawl will begin at 7:00pm SHARP at the Pine Cove
Tavern…located at 29th and E Street. We ask that all of you bring
one NEW UNWRAPPED TOY(s) or Children’s Book(s)to the Pine Cove
Tavern. Your Toys and Books will be donated to the Annual Cancer Kids
Holiday Party at the UC Davis Med Center to help those kids and their
family during the Holidays.

From the Pine Cove – we will be on our way… stopping at a total of
6 bars in the East Sacramento area. We will have maps at the Pine
Cove…or you can view the schedule at www.EastSacPubCrawl.com

Remember to wear a CRAZY SANTA HAT or the holiday spirit and have
fun. If you are looking for a Crazy Hat, visit the Village Hats Shop.
They are located at 123 K Street in Old Sac or Wishing Well at 12th
and S St.

We have heard so many excuses why people won’t wear a hat… and they
all STINK! This one is really easy… glue some mistletoe at a hat,
an elf hat…Everyone always wears a Crazy Hat on this Pub Crawl.

NO DRINKING AND DRIVING. Please – if you decide to do something
dumb…don’t come. Taxis are cheap when you share the cost Yellow
Taxi 444-2222.

We hope to see you there…feel free to e-mail us with comments,
questions or complaints.

Stay Crazy,
Robin Little, Brian Wallace, David Leporiere and Chuck Arana
The East Sac Crazy Hat Pub Crawl Committee

That Party Is Over

It’s been a good two weeks, having my brother home and all.  Logged a lot of family time and ate a month’s worth of home cooking in a very short amount of time.  (Dad and Mom make sure little brother gets many of his favorite meals.  We probably all gained a little weight, but it’s well worth it.)  Included two separate turkey dinners and a Tacos de Lengua feast last Saturday.  Which is to say, a lot of faces at the dinner table to show love.  I appreciate all them making time.  I’m thankful for that.  Much thanks to the parents, too!

Now, after my brother’s two week vacation, I need to rest.  You can bet we were busy late nearly every night visiting the local spots.  (Sorry, no pictures.  My camera never came out of its bag.)  I wasn’t on vacation so I had the joy of waking early to make my way to work.  I’m going to have a nap then see about paying my fine with the County library.  Seems I lost track of something.

###

Tweeting With The Stars

It isn’t as exciting as it sounds, but @britneyspears and @THE_REAL_SHAQ have made their respective ways to the twitter stream.  Shaq seems to be doing his own tweeting, while Britney occasionally chimes-in between those tweets entered by her PR team.  Which is to say that Shaq seems to be enjoying the Twitterverse , while Team Britney is working a piece of her marketing campaign .  Shaq is more entertaining.

My bigger interest with their twitter presence is who they choose to follow.  Is it just fans?  Is there any interest in the tech world?  Are there other folks from their industries jumping on the twitter wagon?  (Managers, Agents, PR Firms, etc.) Are they following and reading my tweets?  Should I let Shaq know I’m a Kings fan and still upset about the 2002 Western Conference Finals?

Currently @britneyspears has a follow/following of 1,555/9,010 and @THE_REAL_SHAQ is showing 270/10,108.  (Should note that Britney appeared about a month and a half earlier, yet she trails in followers.)  And while these are relatively impressive numbers, they are nowhere near the likes of @ijustine 1,562/27,066, @Scobleizer 20,978/39,808, or @JasonCalacanis 48,114/40,983. (I was surprised to see his numbers.  Where did he find an additional 7,000+ people to follow?)  All their numbers are ridiculous when I consider my own 171/182 ratio.  I can barely keep up with reading them, let alone find time to reply.

Perhaps more Hollywood celebrities will pop into the world of Tweeting.  It’ll be interesting to see the potential number of followers they’ll bring with them.  Can TwitterLand survive another growth spurt or are we looking at a bunch more fail whales in 2009 as the service tries to go mainstream?

###

A Week's Worth Of 50-Word Posts

It’s tough when you know you’re not going to allow for the necessary word count to fully explain a thought or idea, but it’s a fun challenge to say as much as possible, as clearly as possible, in a limited space.  The most attractive piece being the lack of pressure to completely fill the empty space.  Being tied to a maximum amount of words, created a more inviting environment for jotting quick thoughts.  I guess that’s the intent of micro blogging, except you only have a 140 characters, which isn’t quite enough to get 50 words.

A couple of the posts were worse off than the rest (There were only four or five, right?).  My Book Meme post not only left off Leah Culver’s Book Meme post , but should have instructed the reader to post the sentence in his own blog; a result of my shrinking the instructions to leave room for my own comment at the bottom of the post.  There just wasn’t space to say all I wanted.  Anyhow, a Book Meme search is pretty neat.

The second suffering post was that of my Google’s no good at social media post, and shouldn’t bother with acquiring Twitter.  Clearly, a point of view that requires a bit of elaboration supporting the claim.  Which is to say, that it’s work to write a full entry for such a topic.  I’ve put it on my follow-up list, and it involves things like Orkut, Lively, and PicasaWeb.  We’ll get there, don’t worry.

I enjoyed it.  It was an interesting exercise.  I had a handful of short posts I meant to write, but never got around to (as usual).  I’ll now be less concerned with my word counts, be they more or fewer.

###

A Week’s Worth Of 50-Word Posts

It’s tough when you know you’re not going to allow for the necessary word count to fully explain a thought or idea, but it’s a fun challenge to say as much as possible, as clearly as possible, in a limited space.  The most attractive piece being the lack of pressure to completely fill the empty space.  Being tied to a maximum amount of words, created a more inviting environment for jotting quick thoughts.  I guess that’s the intent of micro blogging, except you only have a 140 characters, which isn’t quite enough to get 50 words.

A couple of the posts were worse off than the rest (There were only four or five, right?).  My Book Meme post not only left off Leah Culver’s Book Meme post , but should have instructed the reader to post the sentence in his own blog; a result of my shrinking the instructions to leave room for my own comment at the bottom of the post.  There just wasn’t space to say all I wanted.  Anyhow, a Book Meme search is pretty neat.

The second suffering post was that of my Google’s no good at social media post, and shouldn’t bother with acquiring Twitter.  Clearly, a point of view that requires a bit of elaboration supporting the claim.  Which is to say, that it’s work to write a full entry for such a topic.  I’ve put it on my follow-up list, and it involves things like Orkut, Lively, and PicasaWeb.  We’ll get there, don’t worry.

I enjoyed it.  It was an interesting exercise.  I had a handful of short posts I meant to write, but never got around to (as usual).  I’ll now be less concerned with my word counts, be they more or fewer.

###