THE PENDING DRAFT

There are decentralized alternatives to any of the services and platforms above. Self-hosted, open source solutions. But hardly anybody uses them. They will forever rot in the forgotten world of nerd tools on SourceForge, BitBucket or GitHub. A few idealists may try to give them a chance and probably will give up sooner or later, realizing that it’s all about global adoption.

But does this really mean that a more open, decentralized approach to a social web and all these tools we use will always be doomed to fail? I don’t think so. It’s up to us. We have the chance to make a big impact on the future of the web.

I just recently played around a bit with app.net, and i loved the decentralized idea behind tent.io when i read about it. But many of those tools are too complicated and too geeky for normal users to use today.

Bastian Allgeier did a very good job in not only pointing out problems we have today but also a solution which might not be a reality in a few weeks or months, but could definitely be possible. I would love to see something like this becoming a reality. And i’m sure it will, in some form or another!

The Future Of The Web — A Draft – TNG – The Nitty Gritty.

For the most part, I dislike WordPress shortcodes. I think they are unintuitive, difficult to use for the average user, and go against much of what the core functionality of WordPress aims to offer.
But the challenge is that there’s not yet a suitable alternative.

Tom McFarlin with some interesting thoughts on Shortcodes. Be sure to also read the discussion in the comments.

I completely agree that shortcodes – even if they work in some cases – always feel to hacky for me especially if normal users should be able to handle the content at the end.

My current “solution” is to be as helpful for the enduser as possible. That means including custom TinyMCE Buttons in the editor to add shortcodes, trying to show a placeholder image instead of just the shortcode text where possible. Generally speaking: If i have to explain to a client what a shortcode is, it’s not the optimal solution.

And most importantly: Always write a custom plugin for shortcode! There’s no reason to implement a shortcode in a theme.

A Case Against WordPress Shortcodes – Tom McFarlin.

"The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

I can’t tell you how much i agree with this little piece of advice. As easy as it sounds, it can get very hard to achieve, especially if you work from home. Go read it, and don’t forget to put your glass down!

via View document | Onword.

So, with little data supporting our belief and more cost required to perform the work, we had set ourselves up for a recurring conversation with clients. “We know this will help you, you’ll just have to trust us with a bigger part of your budget.” You could say that just about everything we do has to be taken on some measure of faith.

Many of us believe responsive is the way to go. So do i, but believing is not very supportive to convince a client or anyone else to spend money on something. Luckily Electric Pulp made a little three weeks test on a lively e-commerce site and backed our “believes” with some real data.

You like apples? | Electric Pulp..

One common misconception of the modern freelance designer — especially in the world of the web — is the idea of some kid sitting in their pyjamas, playing in Photoshop and bending over for clients. Forget about that. This is a business. The best business in the world. We, as designers, are shaping the world for each other and for our children. We get to leave something amazing in the world. Strap on a suit. Or at least fill those pyjamas with confidence.

Very good and inspiring read by Daniel Eden about some (unfortunately) very familiar misconceptions of freelance designers or design in general. It’s in our hands to change it for the better. Thank’s Daniel. (Proudly written in my pyjamas)

You’re Good. Get Better. / Daniel Eden.

This guide is for anyone interested in making the best possible WordPress themes. Each public theme on WordPress.com is tested against these guidelines to ensure the highest quality. This includes security, plugin compatibility, and support for a wide variety of user-generated content.

The Theme Team at Automattic released this handy Theme Guide for WordPress.com-Themes which every theme is tested against before it gets released. I would love to see something like this grow into a complete best practices guide for themes, both for WordPress.com as well as WordPress.org

Theme Guide | Developer Resources.

To provide a leading browser on Android and iOS, this year Opera will make a gradual transition to the WebKit engine, as well as Chromium, for most of its upcoming versions of browsers for smartphones and computers.

Opera will switch to WebKit.

Opera gears up at 300 million users.

Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.

Andy Warhol

If there’s a market for premium channels like HBO, why wouldn’t there be a market for premium social networks like App.net?

The majority of users will always prefer the free option, so don’t expect a mass exodus from Twitter or Facebook for paid options like App.net. There will always be a contingent whose main concern is privacy or stability, however. As the only service intentionally catering to those users, App.net has a chance to become a heavyweight in its niche.

App.net is going to provide a new File API to developers. I agree with Jordan Koschei that there’s room for a premium social network. I for my part just signed up for my first year, and you should, too.

App.net is Building Out – The Industry.