We’re all familiar with blogs (hint: this is one). We’re also all reasonably familiar with what’s popularly termed micro-blogging, a la Twitter. But what happens when you want to write something that’s kind of in the middle?
I’m making a simple attempt to fill the gap with what I’m appropriately calling mini-blogging: short blog posts with all of their content “above the fold” (ie, no “(more)” link). This is one right here, and you can certainly expect to see more in the near future.
It’s time to conduct a little real-world experiment.
We’ve all (maybe?) heard the stories: brilliant young developer writes an iPhone app, puts it up for sale on the App Store, becomes a millionaire overnight. Now I’m not delusional enough to think that that could happen to me — I’m not brilliant enough, nor do I have the time/money to dedicate to marketing (the part they probably left out) — but the prospects are certainly alluring, and I think it’s time to put it to the test. (more…)
“Now what will become of 2009. I fear that 2008 went far too well for 2009 to possibly be good.” (Odes to ’08 and ’09)
It really is unfortunate when my predictions turn out to be accurate. 
I’m going to be honest with you: contrary to popular belief, 2009 was not the best year of my life. In fact, if I can be quite frank — which I can, it’s my blog 
— it was downright crappy. Proverbially speaking, the shit hit the fan, and it was pretty messy; you really can’t expect much out of a year that begins with a massive month-long fight with your best friend. And then business kinda’ failed. And then grades kinda’ tanked, too, and I’m currently taking a (forced) year off from Brown. To summarize, 2009 was the ultimate personification of Murphy’s Law. (more…)
This past Wednesday, I was given the opportunity to go to California to deliver an investment pitch for my company, Jerk.com. The only problem was that I had two exams on Tuesday that ended around 5:00pm, and tickets to see the Boston Pops at Mohegan Sun with my family Thursday evening (we had planned it as kind of a big Christmas celebratory “thing”). Some would say the plans were irreconcilable. But not I.
No, I embarked on a journey that many would say was insane: California and back, in under 30 hours. This is my story. (more…)
This is one that really annoys me. You’re sitting in your comfy chair, reading an article, written in beautiful, flowing prose, on your favorite blog or website. All of a sudden, you’re jarred out of your blissful unawareness that you’re not actually reading printed matter in an age long since expired by a glaring blue abomination: Click here.
Yes, it’s true that — for the most part — a piece of online content’s usability is primarily the responsibility of the software powering the website. In most cases, a well-designed piece of software will take much of the accessibility burden off of the content author, freeing her to focus only on producing the substance of the next great American novel. Ironically, the problem arises when content producers think about the computer too much. (more…)
