Confabulation, Left Brain, Right Brain

I’ve been talking to more and more people about what apps are good for the Android platform. These are the 10 I use the most. They’re in no particular order other than the first one is probably my favorite. If I didn’t post your favorite app, drop it in the comments.

I have heard on more than one occasion, as a reason to not use drupal as a cms, that all drupal sites look like… well… drupal sites. I am not exactly clear on what is meant by this. I have pressed the issue a few times, asking for examples of drupalish characteristics, to little avail. Which leads to my little experiment.

I have been using Drupal for projects here and there for 5 years. Really, once I found Drupal I haven't looked back… much. At the time I was using Mambo, and there was no easy way (or, at least I didn’t know how) to override modules to make completely table-less layouts. This coupling of markup and functionality drove me to look elsewhere. I love Wordpress, and would recommend it for anyone wanting to set up a blog. However, if you are need a customizable platform for handling different kinds of content, I found it lacking in a handful of places.

On multiple occasions the topic of “Where to start” with web design has come up. There are many blogs out there covering the topic of web design/ frontend development, here is a good start to creating the ultimate web design bookshelf.

I just attended a Social Media Club Meeting where David Hinds gave a lecture titled "How to Grow Vibrant Virtual Communities". Hinds has definitely spent some time thinking about social behavior on the web and some of the things he said really got me thinking.   I'm not sure how often he presents, but if you get an opportunity to hear what he has to say on the subject, I would recommend giving him your ear (especially if you are new to the subject). Just be sure to think critically.

1. Write a blog post called “How to be #1 on google”
2. Count your money

I like the concept of productivity as much as the next guy (assuming the next guy isn’t David Allen). That said, I have recently returned from the torpor of spending large quantities of free time reading about productivity instead of actually getting things done.

Let’s talk about the fold. I have previously lobbied rather firmly that the fold does not exist on the web, but as of recent I am starting to come around… somewhat. There is a fold, but most people are doing it wrong.

Here is the long and short of it:

1. There is no reasoning with mullet enthusiasts.
2. Both have fishy origins
3. One is an ape drape one is monkey see monkey do.
4. Both seem like a compromise between style and business (see also: business in the front… party in the back), but are really just absurd.
5. At first glance, both concepts seem dated. Under closer evaluation you realize neither was ever a good idea.

Do not make this Achy-Breaky Big Mistakie!

I just stumbled upon some notes I took at FOWA, so this post is less than timely. Better late than never. There was copious amounts of wisdom to gather from this long weekend event, but there was one underlying theme that seemed to be woven into most, if not all, of the presentations. In the spirit of gross generalizations here is a synopsis of the most important theme to have been picked up at FOWA MIAMI 2008.