CRIBB NOTES

Cupcakes are good

2009-09-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Check out Wesley working on a cupcake that our super awesome neighbors brought over.

top tech blogs

2009-05-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

I did some reaearch on tech blogs recently and ran across this line up of the top tech blogs from a compilation of compete.com and a few other top ten lists.

TechCrunch
GigaOm
Engadget
Gizmodo
VentureBeat
Silicon Valley Insider
Meritalk
ReadWriteWeb
LifeHacker
WSJ
New York Times
CNET
BusinessWeek
ZiffDavis
Wired
CIO
eWeek
NetworkWorld
InformationWeek

tweets 101

2009-05-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

CIO.com ran an article last week on how to write better tweets. Twitter's 140-character message format demands concise, engaging writing, and that's a skill that a lot of people just don't have. Here's practical, expert advice to help you engage your followers and avoid common tweet writing blunders.

Chat features are a big hit for online shoppers

2009-05-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Biz report has an interesting article to support your next chat initative. They report, "Over three-quarters of U.S. shoppers surveyed for BoldChat's research into the effectiveness of live chat technology said the most common reason for initiating the service was when experiencing problems during check-out. Currently, not many online shoppers are using live chat, and not many online retailers are offering it. However, it is more accepted among the younger generations who are more comfortable with communicating via SMS and online chat than voice so retailers seeking the young and technology-savvy as customers are well advised to provide live chat options." You can download the full chat report at Bold Chat's web site.

Can technology provide us with a sixth sense?

2009-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

TED site has a video of Pattie Maes' speech in February that dabbles in the technology around providing us humans with the desired sixth sense. Pattie runs a lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry one of her students. It's a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine "Minority Report" and then some.

Web 2.0 can enhance your Innovation Strategy

2009-04-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

CIO magazine featured a timely article today on, " Four Tips for Getting Good ROI from Web 2.0 Projects." This article features Embarq's use of the Jive platform with in their organization to enhance communication and information to boost their Innovation Strategy. Here are four lessons they've learned on how to make social networking or collaboration software work.

1. Target Your Inefficient Communications
2. Pick a Software Delivery Model
3. Executive Buy-In Is a Must
4. Measuring Your Web 2.0 Success: Time is Money

They key aspect of this type of implementation is aimed using technology to doing things faster and more efficiently. Collaboration among individuals around key projects and task is ever so important. Innovation with in the company can be fostered and embraced in a way that everyone can be heard.

Black Berry User Shortcuts

2009-04-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Anybody that is a crack berry user should gve this article a read. I myself have struggled a bit on utilization of shortcuts for mobile and/or pc's but, this day and age, I need to save all the time I can.

Read the full article on CIO site. "BlackBerry Browser Shortcuts: Killer Keyboard Tips & Tricks."

Netbooks

2009-04-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

The new buzz word in the mobile and tech industry that you may be hearing alot about is the term Netbooks. Netbooks, are laptops that have gained popularity quickly in the the midst of slowing cell phone sales. Many wireless carriers see this as an extension of the wireless products to embrace, further cutting the cords. Would a net book be right for you?

Read the msnbc article on Mobile Carriers new product lines for netbooks.

Sprint TV Marketing

2009-04-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

Sprint is working on a new marketing campaign emphasizing the Now network. We are greatful for the hipper more "Connected" message.

How about a Sprint iphone with 4G?

2009-04-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Apparently the news has finally come out about the terms of AT&T agreements with Apple to be the exclusive carrier. After much speculation it seems that it was only a three year deal. Of course they will try to extend it, but America needs an alternative to the Big Brother iphone package. Come on Sprint, get your boys on the horn and make some calls. I would be first in line for a Sprint iphone with a 4G hook up. Read infoweek full article.

Mobile Blogging with Google

2009-04-14T21:53:00.000-07:00

Google recently released a less complicated way of linking up your phone with one or more of your Blogger blogs. It put the settings to post to a specific blog through your phone or e-mail next to each blog's title inside of the dashboard using small and simple icons. Posting via SMS or MMS message can be set up in about 30 seconds if you have your phone handy, and you don't even have to leave the dashboard to do it. The same goes for creating a special e-mail address to post to each blog--something which was also, previously hidden away from non-savvy users.
While sending a post to Blogger through your phone is nothing new, Google clearly wants to make the process a easier. However, there is a lack of an official, native Blogger application for mobile phones. WordPress and MovableType have had free mobile applications out for some time now. SMS and e-mail are good but a dedicated application would work better. Those with an iPhone and $3 can have it with this app called BlogPress which also posts to WordPress, TypePad, Live Journal and others.

Demo on how to post from your phone:

How Online Community Transforms Customer Experience

2009-04-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

How about some presentations from our own Sprint community? Tristan put this together a while back.

How Online Community Transforms Customer Experience

View more presentations from buzzaboutwireless.

Product Development - Agile vs. Waterfall

2009-04-08T13:09:00.001-07:00

The debate continues on how different these approaches are...

Product Development

View more presentations from John Gibbon.

New Product Development Strategy

2009-04-08T13:05:00.001-07:00

This presentation seems like they have covered some of the key concepts that I have seen as of late.

New Product Development Strategy

View more presentations from Yodhia Antariksa.

Web 2.0 Product Management

2009-04-08T11:30:00.001-07:00

I am reposting this SlideShare Presentation done last year at Web 2.0 expo by by Dan Olsen. It contains some great information on UI design tenents and role of PM with in Web Projects.

Web 2.0 Product Management by Dan Olsen

View more presentations from Dan Olsen.

Web 2.0 - Social Media Trilogy - Vital Components for an Enterprise Strategy

2009-04-08T10:48:00.001-07:00

Check out this SlideShare presentation done at 2009 Web 2.0 expo in San Francisco:

Web 2.0 - Social Media Trilogy - Vital Components for an Enterprise Strategy

View more presentations from gerardodada.

Launching Web Enhancements - what to check for

2009-04-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

Testing is such an important part of bringing your Web Enhancements to production. It should not be overlooked. This article "15 essential checks before launching your Web site" provides a good high level overview of concepts to think about covering during requirements as well as testing. The article also has some good Web links scattered through out. Smashing magazine is a pretty robust site concentrating on Web development news and all things geeky.

Finding the right job in a 2.0 world

2009-04-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

Wow - the recession has consumed the news and lifes of millions around the world. Here in America things have been better...many people are receiving the front end shaft of the corporate belt tighening that is being done by all companies. I ran across this PCworld article with some good links and ideas around starting to look for new work in this 2.0 world we live in. If you have been downsized, fired, let go, laid off or simply canned; check out the links and use the tools to establish connections. If you are still employeed, you still might want to give it a read because I don't think the downslide is done yet. you never know.

Project Managers

2009-04-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking alot about process, structure and methodology. So many companies have so many names for roles that serve as the basic to rolling out web development projects. The challenge of driving the business analysis, functional requirements, design prototypes, use cases, testing, rollout, and metrics for web projects is challenging. But what about the project manager role? This role takes time and effort as well. Managment of big groups takes real effort dedicated to planning, regular daily touchbase, meeting organization, documenation, status reports, timeline progress, communications, issues lists, process and connections.

So the question is, Can there be a role that effectively play the full role of business analyst and project manager for Small Enhancement projects? Maybe not effectively, but adoption of Agile techniques might help. I was searching for some Agile Project Manager role info and ran across this collection of papers at Dr. Dobbs with some good things to think about. "8 must read papers for Project Managers"

Google tweets?

2009-03-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Everyone's online is talking about Google's next big acquisition, but whether the company will actually make it is far from certain. The services the potential target offers are not quite in line with what Google does -- but then again, Google has never followed a straight linear product development road map. It would be a pricey deal -- even for Google, which is sitting on some US$15 billion in cash. Plus, CEO Eric Schmidt has all but denied that such a transaction is in the works. But...

the speculation, which became rampant on Monday, is over the possibility that Google is about to acquire the very popular microblogging site, Twitter . If you're experiencing deja vu, it may be because an almost-identical scenario unfolded in October 2006, prior to Google's acquisition of YouTube for $1.65 billion. I hear its a good time to buy. I wish I had some extra cash. How much is twitter cost in a recession?

Highest ranking media sites

2009-03-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Media search company Technorati is about to release The Technorati Attention Index, which measures the mainstream media websites with the highest number of blogs linking to them in the past 30 days. Right now it has a blog post with the inaugural list. YouTube takes the top spot with the New York Times, BBC News, CNN.com, and MSN rounding out the top five. Compared to the top non-blog sources on Techmeme’s leaderboard, which is a narrower universe of sites which tech blogs link to, the top five mainstream media sites there are CNET News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and Computerworld.

Here’s the top five from Technorati’s index:
1. YouTube
2. New York Times
3. BBC News
4. CNN.com
5. MSN

The mobile browsers - next generation surfing

2009-02-28T09:34:00.000-08:00

I've been researching and testing mobile browsers a lot these days. The mobile browser and web surfing through your cell phone is becoming more popular, however it has not taken off as fast as we thought. I believe that we will finally have to address and fix the problem in general with bookmarking and surfing before mobile browsers will take off the way home browsers have. It is just simply to hard to type in long url in a mobile browser for specific site access, especially if you don't have a full keyboard and smartphone. In order to make mobile browser the first thing a cell user launches we will need to completely re-think the bookmarking/ favorites way of enabling oneclick access to the best web sites and personalized to an individual level. Sure there are tools out there like delicious etc but it is time for a complete overhaul for the browser interface for saving and managing bookmarks.

Competition among mobile browsers gets stronger and stronger. In addition to the preloaded ones, such as Internet Explorer, Symbian, Safari and the already established Opera Mobile, we also have Bolt, Skyfire and Fennec. The last one, as you may know, is Mozilla’s attempt to enter the market. According to Jay Sullivan, Fennec is just a codename and the final product will be called Firefox. No, it’s not Firefox Mobile just Firefox.

This is not the only thing that will be borrowed from the PC version. As we have already informed you, tabs and add-ons will also be at your disposal on the phone. These can be synchronized with the ones from your computer, along with the stored bookmarks and passwords. What’s new here is that you have the opportunity to use the tabs that you have opened on your computer. This is a pleasant feature, especially if you have to leave your comfy chair, while you’re examining an important web site, the address of which you do not remember.

Web Design skills - What is most important these days?

2009-01-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

Effective Web Designers obviously need to have specific skills in order to excel at their profession and to have the ability to create top notch sites. So, what are the most common and beneficial skills for web design? There is a good article on Webdesignsfromstratch.com that outlines these skills. Read the full article. The article outlines the skills that are most important in today's development for the Web...

1. Writing & editorial
2. Holistic circumspection
3. Graphic design theory
4. Listening & discernment
5. Self-learning
6. SEO
7. Graphic design: original/creative graphics
8. Web page production in HTML/CSS
9. Business sense
10. Typing

Top 100 social networking sites

2008-11-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

This list was posted by http://www.dulcenegosyante.com/ in 2008

Rank Social Networking Sites
1 http://360.yahoo.com/ (1/7)
2 http://www.orkut.com/ (2/9)
3 http://spaces.live.com/ (4/ 8)
4 http://www.myspace.com/ (6/ 8)
5 http://www.facebook.com/ (7/ 8)
6 http://www.hi5.com/ (8/6)
7 http://www.friendster.com/ (14/7)
8 http://www.fotolog.com/ (15/7)
9 http://www.livejournal.com/ (60/8)
10 http://www.xanga.com/ (99/7)
11 http://www.bebo.com/ (104/7)
12 http://www.multiply.com/ (108/6)
13 http://www.linkedin.com/ (205/7)
14 http://www.stumbleupon.com/ (298/8)
15 http://www.gaiaonline.com/ (300/6)
16 http://www.last.fm/ (304/7)
17 http://www.piczo.com/ (351/6)
18 http://my.opera.com/community (495/8)
19 http://www.buzznet.com/ (593/6)
20 http://www.imvu.com/ (607/6)
21 http://www.twitter.com/ (639/8)
22 http://www.squidoo.com/ (728/7)
23 http://www.mybloglog.com/ (769/7)
24 http://www.wayn.com/ (816/5)
25 http://www.slashdot.org/ (1,094/9)
26 http://www.blackplanet.com/ (1,136/5)
27 http://www.ning.com/ (1,286/7)
28 http://www.myyearbook.com/ (1,403/5)
29 http://www.meetup.com/ (1,664/8)
30 http://www.classmates.com/ (1,692/7)
31 http://www.unyk.com/ (1,865/4)
32 http://www.vox.com/ (1,897/7)
33 http://www.faceparty.com/ (2,058/5)
34 http://www.yuwie.com/ (2,124/5)
35 http://www.yelp.com/ (2,177/6)
36 http://www.hubpages.com/ (2,632/6)
37 http://www.secondlife.com/ (2,771/8)
38 http://www.nexopia.com/ (3,378/4)
39 http://www.mobango.com/ (4,085/4)
40 http://www.43things.com/ (4,204/7)
41 http://www.tribe.net/ (4,211/6)
42 http://www.fanpop.com/ (4,839/5)
43 http://www.reunion.com/ (4,968/5)
44 http://www.greatestjournal.com/ (5,150/5)
45 http://www.care2.com/ (5,176/6)
46 http://www.migente.com/ (5,272/5)
47 http://uk.tribe.net/ (5,635/1)
48 http://community.adlandpro.com/ (6,207/1)
49 http://www.broadcaster.com/ (6,246/5)
50 http://www.ecademy.com/ (6,710/7)
51 http://www.couchsurfing.com/ (7,058/6)
52 http://www.downelink.com/ (7,490/5)
53 http://www.mog.com/ (10,312/6)
54 http://www.gazzag.com/ (10,458/1)
55 http://www.ryze.com/ (13,792/6)
56 http://www.gather.com/ (14,294/6)
57 http://www.zaadz.com/ (15,909/5)
58 http://www.librarything.com/ (17,191/7)
59 http://www.xuqa.com/ (18,810/5)
60 http://www.directmatches.com/ (19,811/3)
61 http://www.profileheaven.com/ (20,430/5)
62 http://www.dogster.com/ (22,382/6)
63 http://www.eons.com/ (23,951/7)
64 http://start.aimpages.com/ (26,586/6)
65 http://www.passado.com/ (29,966/5)
66 http://www.ruckus.com/ (31,343/6)
67 http://www.travbuddy.com/ (31,852/5)
68 http://www.student.com/ (32,949/5)
69 http://www.sosyalan.com/ (39,410/3)
70 http://www.graduates.com/ (56,012/5)
71 http://www.tagworld.com/ (56,274/6)
72 http://www.takingitglobal.org/ (58,663/6)
73 http://www.blurty.com/ (72,692/5)
74 http://www.bizpreneur.com/ (88,278/3)
75 http://www.deadjournal.com/ (106,356/6)
76 http://www.mygamma.com/ (108,786/1)
77 http://www.trade-pals.com/ (119,086/4)
78 http://www.musicforte.com/ (123,719/6)
79 http://www.consumating.com/ (124,922/7)
80 http://www.meetin.org/ (132,335/4)
81 http://www.wallop.com/ (150,190/6)
82 http://www.mugshot.org/ (181,098/7)
83 http://www.dandelife.com/ (188,889/6)
84 http://www.dodgeball.com/ (189,116/6)
85 http://www.groovenet.ph/ (204,372/3)
86 http://www.itsjustcoffee.com/ (242,134/4)
87 http://www.oyaye.com/ (243,763/3)
88 http://www.socialgrid.com/ (285,886/5)
89 http://www.tripconnect.com/ (327,071/6)
90 http://www.decayenne.com/ (349,546/4)
91 http://www.listography.com/ (436,905/4)
92 http://www.flingr.com/ (458,075/4)
93 http://www.kontakan.com/ (641,254/3)
94 http://www.katropa.com/ (932,484/4)
95 http://www.intellectconnect.com/ (940,414/3)
96 http://www.bizfriendz.com/ (975,651/3)
97 http://www.sitespaces.net/ (1,040,719/3)
98 http://www.refer-online.com/ (1,433,365/3)
99 http://www.yapperz.com/ (1,741,210/3)
100 http://www.babbello.com/ (1,994,389/4)

Top Photo Sharing Sites - End of 2008

2008-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

So much has changed with the web and mainstream adoption of sites and tools for the everyday online user. A ton of people are taking advantage of photo sharing and video sharing sites to host and share their pictures and vids. The whole problem with hosting a large amount of space on a personal blog or site to share your memories has quickly shifted away to free solutions that are easy to use and are gaining wide spread adoption.

Here is my year end list of best of sites:

Top Photosharing web sites end of 2008

Webshots

Share your pictures through photo messages, online photo albums, custom prints and gifts.

Snappages

Fully flash built interface with 3D slideshows and an image editor.

Fotki

Free unlimited photo hosting for blogs, 9 cent prints, and photo contests.

Shutterfly

Free unlimited storage, 12 cent prints, as well as calendars and photo books.

PBase

One of the oldest and most trusted of these sites, PBase is not free, but has a really nice gallery and excellent community.

Flickr

Arguably the most popular and widely used photo sharing site these days, a free and unlimited Pro option with geotagging and 15 cent prints. was originally conceived in 2002 as a video game-screenshot sharing web site, but it quickly blossomed into a full-fledged photo sharing site with a bustling community. The now Yahoo-owned site offers free accounts with limitations placed on photo uploads and other features, while the $25/year Pro account promises unlimited uploads, storage, and sets. Flickr, like many of the others, also recently added video sharing to their repertoire.

Smugmug

Unlimited photos, unlimited storage, but no free account if you want to share with others. mugMug is a premium photo sharing web site with an emphasis on professional photography. That's not to say that the site's not also perfect for the weekend photographer, as its attractive and user-friendly interface is tempting for any level of photog. The biggest hurdle for new SmugMug users is that the site has no free account (though there is a 14-day free trial), and the minimum price for an account is $40/year. However, SmugMug users—many of whom are former Flickr die-hards (there's even an import tool called Smugglr)—seem very pleased with their choice

Exposure Manager

Nice site with a focus on branding and sales. Unlimited storage and uploads, with an FTP option.

PrintRoom

Geared toward serious shooters and pros, PrintRoom lets you create a web storefront for your photos.

PhotoBucket

This one has been catching on, and offers 1GB storage on their free account, and 5GB on their pro with unmetered bandwidth. Once upon a time, Photobucket was a favorite among internet users looking to quickly host an image and share it online at sites like eBay and MySpace or on blogs and message boards. While that's still true, Photobucket has added several features to keep users coming back to the site for managing photo albums and videos

Picasa

Web Albums are the online counterpart to Google's popular, Windows- and Linux-only desktop photo organization software, Picasa. Despite its late entry to the photo sharing game in mid-2006, Picasa Web Album's seamless integration with Picasa and Google accounts quickly gained the service a large following. A free account with Picasa Web Albums gives you 1GB of free storage space, and you can buy extra storage that's shared with your Gmail account for anywhere between $20/year for 10GB to $500/year for 400GB.

Facebook

This one is mainly a community site but so many people are using this now and the picture and video sharing is extremely easy to use to it also gets a 2008 year end nod for photo sharing.