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Social Media | An Organized List

I was semi-amazed recently at the ease with which I took in all those social media/networking/sharing services when I came across a really helpful, organized list in a Widget (of all things) in the Big City Theme by MNKYstudio.

He had organized some of the best websites and applications used for social networking by category in his Widget. I really appreciated his work. I didn’t realize it would only get me started.

I’ve added only a few services (LinkedIn, Scribd, Google+, etc.) in hopes of not overwhelming even myself. This is by no means a complete list of what’s out there. If you want to see the whole thing, there’s quite a conversation going on.

TextExpander

Besides the thought of seeing my words show up as I talk (Dragon Dictate, Siri, etc.), the thrill of watching five letters expand into 55 is pretty cool. Why would this be so cool? Precisely.

In 8th grade I once typed 106 words per minute (no mistakes) – I thought that was pretty fast. (I just typed 115 with 3 mistakes on typingtest.com). So how in the world could those court reporters type 225 words per minute?

Backup: Have a CrashPlan

Businesses need backup. Files need saving. Data needs not getting lost.

Although I valued the services of SugarSync, the initial exposure to Carbonite, the easy familiarity of Dolly Drive, and the design and approach of BackBlaze, I found myself drawn, by recommendation of another friend, to CrashPlan by Code 42.

You know I like Dropbox and I didn’t mention SOS Online Backup or Amazon S3 in the list above, so do your own research, assess your options, and back up your stuff.

New Zealand – 100% Pure

There won’t be many posts for a little while. I am in New Zealand and using my camera more than my computer. In the meantime, if you like, have a look at the beautiful New Zealand 100% Pure website – it’s nearly as inspiring as the beauty in this country!

.com.ph

This is what welcomed me this morning. Cool how Google is ready for wherever you are in the world.

Try it – here is Google.com for Greece, Japan, Spain, Hong Kong (Chinese), Africa (Swahili), Thailand, Israel, Arabic-speaking Nations, and India (Hindi). Phew. The other 125+ can be browsed here, toward the bottom.

Google MapsGL

How cool.

A website can often need or benefit from having a web mapping service such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, or the first on the scene, MapQuest (it’s a fascinating history). Whether for your personal use or via an embed on a site you own or are working on, the inclusion of WebGL technology in Google Maps,

“…enables a richer maps experience with immersive 3D buildings, smoother transitions between imagery, fluid transitions into Streetview and more, directly in your browser and all without a plugin.”

OmniFocus

OmniFocus helps me get things (like websites and other projects) done. It’s a powerful, digital tool for staying on top of just about everything I have to do. It’s my to-do list. On orange juice.

If you have something already that works for you, great. If not, give it a look. It’s personal task management, on Mac- or i- OS.

LittleIpsum

If you are designing websites and use Lorem Ipsum, you “need” LittleIpsum. What a great feeling when repetitive tasks get a great solution. Check them out.

CandyBar

Icons find their way onto small areas of a site, but they can make a big impact. Plus, they’re cool.

CandyBar collects all my icons into one place. I can store, organize, and tag/keyword icons and also share and export them in a few clicks.

The web is made beautiful in a lot of ways, a touch of beauty in an icon is one of them. I didn’t know I’d like icons so much, but I use this app for everything in that field. I always know where they are.

IconBox does allow users to import their CandyBar library should they desire to make the change.

Transmit | FTP Client (Mac)

I saw this little purple truck early on in my days of learning about building websites. Then I saw it again and again…and again! I always wanted to know what it was for. And then the day came – I needed my first FTP client. I guess it was the second-hand enthusiasm that I couldn’t resist.

But I did do my research (and you should, too!). I’m on a Mac, so I had FileZilla (free), Cyberduck (free), Fetch, Forklift (which I liked), Flow and Transmit, all as viable options. I downloaded and tested during trial periods and found that I loved the little purple truck.

Could I use the others? Absolutely. Could I recommend them to you? I think I could even do that. Do I like using Transmit? I do.

Gravity Forms

Web-based Forms can be semi-cumbersome, if not daunting and detailed to make, especially for a new designer.

The WordPress community, of which I am most familiar with – as opposed to Drupal or Joomla – is active with making things like building forms easier.

Contact Form 7 was the first contact form plugin/builder I was introduced to for WordPress. It had a great following and wide use. Previously I had used (and loved) JotForm, the “first web based WYSIWYG form builder” which, like WuFoo, lets developers visually build forms while storing the collected information in the user’s account (don’t forget Google Forms). This “offsite” setup and collection was (and for many still is) great. It was easy to build and embed, but I wanted to store collected responses in our own site’s database visible in the WordPress backend.

Well, as is often the case with me, options sparked my exploration. I eventually settled on/with Gravity Forms and have been happy ever since.

ColorSchemer Studio

In real life, architects and designers use color guides for selecting, matching and sampling the right color. The ones I’m thinking of are portable, numerically referenced and named – it’s a color-on-paper “fan deck” and they are so stinkin’ cool. Pantone has a fan deck with 2,100 colors. Many paint companies have collections of their own, too – you’ve probably seen them.

ColorSchemer Studio is a web and graphic designer’s equivalent. It’s digital, portable, and I can even edit and save color names for each project. I use it all the time, it’s value is second-to-none in the design process, and that’s why I have it listed here with this recommendation.

“I/We need a website” you might say? If we’re working together, my question to you would be, “What’s your favorite color?”

Pull out the crayons and colored pencils – it’s time to color.

w3schools

Dear w3schools.com,

Thank you for teaching me and letting me learn “How it all works.” Thank you for available and organized information, and results in Google’s search. Thank you for step-by-step tutorials during my introduction and exposure to HTML and CSS. I’m where I am because of your help.

“Success brings interest.” I felt a lot of success learning what I needed to know with you guys.

Thanks.

Espresso

I happen to use Espresso as my HTML/CSS/PHP/etc. editor. Syntax coloring and autocomplete are invaluable features both for work and for learning. Visual CSS Editing and “X-Ray” on live previews contributed to Espresso 2’s 10/10 review on AppStorm.net.

HTML, etc. can be edited in many ways. In truth, I can only help get you started in your research as price, features, and interface all play into choosing a web editing tool. So if Espresso isn’t your cup of web-editing-tea, here’s a few other flavors I will point out on the menu (in no particular order):

TextWrangler
Komodo Edit
Notepad++ (Windows).
BBEdit (quite professional)
Coda (by the same makers of Transmit) featuring “One-Window Web Development”
TextMate
Sublime Text (for code, markup and prose)
Dreamweaver (“industry-leading web authoring and editing software” – it does more than editing, so it might be over your head for simpler sites)

WYSIWYG editors like iWeb or RapidWeaver are on the “code-free” menu, but can be helpful and tasty in the right situation. Dreamweaver is on all the menus, but can be a little overwhelming for the complete beginner.

Lynda.com

Lynda.com introduced me to a whole new world of learning software via video tutorials, available 24-hrs online.

Once I saw it, I felt like I could learn anything because they had a video tutorial for just about every application I was hoping to learn.

And the way in which I could learn made such a difference; all my senses (learning styles) engaged. I essentially had the ideal situation for learning a new “instrument”, through professionally prepared lessons, at my own pace, at any time.

Tutorials you might consider, should you be in a situation similar as I regarding websites, Content Management Systems (CMS), etc. might include topics like WordPress, HTML5, CSS3, and Web Design Fundamentals.

1Password

As part of a website or presence online comes the need for password management. It has been my experience that we sometimes find ourselves in need of a piece of paper to write down a new password or are always clicking “Forgot my password” and then forgetting the new one we just set.

I use and recommend 1Password, available for both Windows and Mac (again, I am not affiliated – just a happy customer).

Dropbox

I’ve grown to love this word.

“…a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere…any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, phones and even the Dropbox website. Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others…” – Dropbox

I think you will, too.

MailChimp

There are few things I love more than ice cream. MailChimp may be one of them.

ManageWP.com

For those working with and/or supporting multiple WordPress sites, I have found ManageWP to be a helpful service.

From their site:

All your sites under one dashboard! ManageWP helps you manage all your WordPress sites from one dashboard, keeping them updated and secure.

I don’t get anything for telling you about them, I just like them and appreciate what they’ve permitted me to do and accomplish a little more easily as I support and manage multiple WordPress websites.

Plugins for WordPress

Here are some WordPress plugins I recommend and use (alphabetical):

Namecheap.com

I use and recommend Namecheap (I’m not affiliated), both from my past two years with them as a domain registrar and more recently with web hosting. Thanks for good prices, great service and support, and coupons.

Namecheap has been a credible alternative for some of the other more well-known registrars out there to date and I use them for everything in this field, as much as I can.

UPDATE: If you have an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), the Namecheap app offers a management system for the domains that you manage at Namecheap: search, register, renew, view transfers and even change DNS, all on the go.

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