I built an easy way to post chickens.
To post a chicken, or series of chickens, the user just clicks on the appropriate content icon:
Note that the content icons are designed to be accessible both on a touch device and with a pointer.
The user is then asked exactly how many chickens ...
June 23, 2013
I've been thinking this morning about content types and granular access permissions (which, it turns out, is ground the IndieWeb community has already tread).
Activity Streams is a data syndication format with very granular content types, which is awesome - unless those content types dictate the kinds of content you actually ...
June 23, 2013
It shouldn't be surprising. I've been on the web and posting on the Internet since 1994, but posting in the usual way scatters my data all over the place. Short status updates end up on Twitter; longer, more personal ones on Facebook; checkins on Foursquare; photos on Flickr; audio on ...
June 20, 2013
Earlier today, I noted that I didn't get why people would use markdown to blog on their own sites.
That post was syndicated to the social networks I'm active on, and I got lots of very passionate replies across all of them. HTML is too heavy, and the existing rich text ...
June 20, 2013
myDNA
Log into any website with just your DNA. Running your finger along the specially designed reader is enough to locate you in our database. Because your authentication information, payment details, address and identity are now stored with your genetic traits, ancestry, relatives and location, we can provide highly personalized services ...
June 20, 2013
Markdown is useful: an easy-to-use notation system that allows you to mark up your text in a safe, fast way.
Because you're never letting your users write raw code, there aren't any worries about them posting malware or exploit attempts, or accidentally writing bad markup. At the same time, simple lines ...
June 19, 2013
I'm not a designer. I wish I was, but my background is in computer science and writing; the first project I ever released was a hypertext magazine with a logo drawn in MS Paint.
Design isn't, of course, just about the aesthetics of a product; it's about how the product serves ...
June 15, 2013
There's been a lot of news stories lately about how technology companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo! may or may not be giving your data to the #NSA as part of a project called #PRISM. They deny it, news outlets confirm it and it's hard to tell what's real ...
June 8, 2013
This was a sad day. Unsurprising, but sad.
The web connects people from different contexts, backgrounds and geographies, with different skills and ideas. Learning happens when different contexts collide. I'm not a technological determinist, but I think the web is a tool that we can use to make a more tolerant, ...
June 7, 2013
I come from a culture of skepticism, in the best possible way. I was brought up to, and later sought out friends and acquaintances who would also, question and test the things around me. Leaders? Question them. Institutions? Question them. Traditions? Question them. And then, from what you've learned and ...
June 6, 2013
I've been loving coding with MongoDB since I picked it up; I know there are worries, and I come into it with two eyes open, but so far it's been far more useful for my needs than MySQL.
Part of the reason for this is that applications I work on tend ...
June 5, 2013
I've been self-publishing my photos and status updates for less than a week, but I already wouldn't do it another way. Idno lets me post easily from my phone or laptop, and the updates show up on the sites I'm connected to. Right now, that means Twitter and Facebook, but ...
June 4, 2013
#doctorwho ...
June 1, 2013
I'm an Ani DiFranco fan. That's my style of music: literate, powerful polemic set to angular acoustic guitar. I must have seen her play live eleven or twelve times now. Dar Williams, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Thea Gilmore, Jess Klein: all my cup of tea. I saw the Proclaimers at ...
June 1, 2013