DygiScape

Posting from ScribeFire, Firefox Addon

After tinkering with some Firefox Addons, I decided to install the ScribeFire addon.

ScribeFire is an intuitive add-on which empowers bloggers to blog from their Web browser (locally) instead of using an AJAXed editor, resulting in solid performance and streamlined network activity.

Just from the looks of it, having used it less than five minutes … it appears to have everything that an amateur blogger needs in addition to the tools a professional blogger wants to make their online writing easier. It integrated seamlessly with my WordPress installation (2.51), and that alone makes this worth a try for other bloggers.

Haven’t seen any ads or other distractions. This is just one heck of a useful tool that should be in a serious blogger’s arsenal.

SixApart tried to make something like this, BlogIt Facebook Application, but has failed for me and many others. It would be more successful if it was a browser addon. In my experience, I was unable to get BlogThis to work with my blog, even after several attempts.

ScribeFire’s setup was painless, set my blog up in 15 seconds!

Wow, fully integrated Technorati tags!

Technorati Tags: blogging, tools, tips, free, firefox, scribefire

Calacanis Sheds Light on ‘Death by Blogging’ NYT Article

NYT jumped the snark by writing a piece on the stress of professional bloggers, leading the reader to believe blogging in itself leads to premature death. I disagree with this assumption, since blogging can be just much of a freeing and constricting feeling. More »

So Far, So Good

Earlier last week, I informed you that I’d be moving to Arizona. I just wanted to share an update as to things and apologize for the lack of blog entries.

The ride over here wasn’t so bad, I did go through a few rain storms and one patch of snow in Texas at the time. Texas took forever, but eventually I got out of it. Later, we made it to El Paso and instead of resting at a hotel like any sane person would, I continued driving all the way to Tucson, all powered on Rockstar energy drinks.

My sister has some pictures, but the problem is there really wasn’t any interesting pictures, since most of my driving occurred during the night.

Aside from that, all I need to do today is sign my lease, get utilities in my name, and unload all the stuff from my moving truck. I’ll get some help from a few friends whose payment is in the form of pizza or a fine sampling of alcohols.

For the remaining fragment of visitors here who do drop by frequently, thanks for your patience. My stats have shown there’s a number of folks who still checked the blog out despite having stale content. In the meantime until my next blog entry, share some suggestions or topics that you’d like me to pursue. I appreciate it.

~Joe

I Did It For The Lulz

Well, not exactly. I’ll be trekking 2300 miles back to Arizona to join my new employer as well as being generally closer to my family. I’m excited, but very occupied in packing all my possessions. As a side effect, you’ll probably notice some reduced activity here, but I’ll try to give some updates or post some interesting photos.

Some notes on the title:

• “Did it for the –” refers to a famous line sung by Fred Durst in Limp Bizkit’s “Nookie” song.
• Lulz refers to a variance from the plural form of (LOL –>LOLs) as “Lolz” to now, “Lulz.”
• Not really doing it for the lulz.

Daytona 500, Liveblogged.

Today is all about Daytona. The Superbowl of automotive racing. This is the 50th running of the Daytona 500, so it’s an even more special event. I’ll be watching and posting updates.

06:58 PM  - RYAN NEWMAN WINS THE DAYTONA 500! More »

Things to Do

Now that I have completed my last day at AOL, I was thinking of things to do. In the interest of full disclosure, here goes:

• Relax. Anyone who has worked with me for any amount of time knows that I invested a lot of my personal life into work life; and have made sacrifices along the way. Having worked a little over three years for the company, I need to relax and explore my other hobbies.
• Get my Amateur Radio License. I’ve always been interested in amateur radio and now that I picked up a nice transceiver, it’s expected that I know how to properly communicate. I intend on using my knowledge and licensing to become an emergency radio operator. Oh, and I like those snazzy license plates with their FCC call-sign, too.
• Volunteer. Probably one of the things I was meaning to do for a while while I was working at AOL, but I never got a chance to do. I want to share my expertise and skills and help teach some safety and security fundamentals to folks who need to learn it.
• Catch Up in Car Maintenance. I’ve been bad, I haven’t done my timing chain, water pump or motor mounts yet. I also need to do transmission flush and inspect my brakes. I imagine with my newfound time, I can put it to constructive use. I’ve also got two front speakers to install since mine blew out a while ago.
• Blog More. I intend to blog more frequently providing my visitors (old and new) great value from my blog. So, if you have any suggestions on things that you might be interested in, drop me a comment or an e-mail.
• Visit my other Online Communities. Some of my “fanclub” knows me from the Computing message boards on AOL. I’ll see if I can spot some time to helping folks out again. I also was found on Extreme Overclocking a lot, too, so as I build my next rig, I shall be there quite a bit.
• Upload and Organize My Photos. Organizing my photos is always a challenge. I have different categories, tags and descriptions for photos and also the retouching to make them stand out often takes time and some planning so I’m not caught re-organizing the reorganized. Yes, I know that’s redundant. Flickr, here I come!
• Visit the Spy and the NRA museums. Two places I wanted to visit, but I just never found the time. I’m intrigued by national espionage and I also have a passion for firearms. Expect a lot of pictures when this happens.
• Redesign my Web site. Personally, I’m probably the most dynamic person when it comes to Web site aesthetics. What I like one week, I’ll likely toss out the next. I intend to clean it up, add a few little things here and there and make it look good. I can probably spend more than an afternoon tweaking the CSS so it looks just right.
• Exercise. Earlier last year, I attempted to try a high-protein diet and work out. It was good for about a month, but it just wasn’t sustainable. My long work hours often handicapped my ability to make it to the local gym to work out. With more free time, I plan to go more often and become a little healthier.
• Read. AOL was really good about keeping their folks keen to industry related news and topics. They would often host conferences where a guest speaker comes in, shares their presentation and give their book to employees. I have several books I acquired that I can actually read, not just skim through in between projects. Additionally, a friend gave me a gift certificate that was good for Barnes & Noble, so I picked up a few books, too.

That should cover most things, among landing another gig doing what I like to do in Social Media. I’ll try to keep myself busy and productive. I should have Instant Messaging available, so feel free to IM me on AIM at JVManna. Thanks again to everyone who supported me. If you’d like you can subscribe to my blog and you will be e-mailed when I post new entries automatically.

~Joe

Social Media Frustrations: Spam, Spam and More Spam (on Social Networks)

Continuing my mini-series on social media frustrations, I’d like to talk a bit about spam that’s found on social networks. It’s a problem that has perplexed MySpace (which has been a tug o’ war for AOL, too); since they want to make it easy for users and promote engagement. I have a little insight, since at AOL I whacked thousands of spammers at a time and enjoy every bit of it.

More »

Social Media Frustrations: Trackbacks, Comment Spam and Splogs

Anyone who manages their own blog can relate to my frustration with spam in the blogosphere. This is the first topic I’d like to share my thoughts on as a part of my small series on Social Media Frustrations. More »

TSA ‘Evolution of Security’ Blog

In case you haven’t heard, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) now has a blog that is intended to let you share your concerns with them and stay updated to changing events and policy. I heard this earlier this week, but I thought it was a hoax, like Fake Steve Jobs, so I didn’t bother to share. Until… More »

Addicted to Blogging

Meh. I’m only 81% addicted. How addicted are you?
81%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?