It surely has been a fascinating experience watching the Web, and the online world in general, infiltrate society in different forms. From the first time I saw a URL advertised on television (1996, I believe, for Subway Sandwiches); read about Web sites in books (”Mary went downstairs to Google for an answer to her lonely heart”); and more recently, references to Twitter on shows such as CSI, I have been in awe of how the Web has become a part of the fabric of our lives.

Sitting here last night watching an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun from 1999, I was tickled beyond pink to hear the character of Dick Solomon quip “I was going to order it off the Internet until I realized there was no such thing as Amazon Dot Crap.” It got me thinking that tracking such references to the Web and Internet in popular culture could be a really fun and revealing adventure.

Got a favorite reference about the online world from a film, book, lyric or other relevant media? Share below!

Yesterday, Jason asked for community feedback directly related to what you want for typography in CSS3. In his blog post, Jason outlines both the process the working group is using to manage type on the Web, as well as offering up some opinions as to how things might be best managed.

The critical issue is that Jason, and those of us working on CSS3, desperately need input, especially from designers but of course to anyone working the Web, in order to ensure next-generation options are in step with what makes the most sense.

Jason asks about a few specific properties as well as other feedback. It’s a very good read, a very important article, and a very positive commentary about how we’re working for openness within the group.

I had come here once in 2001, first trip post 9/11 with the man whom I love most. Michael and I had an awesome room overlooking the river. We took one day to just drink and talk and watch the comings and goings of the many boats and other river vessels sailing through.

The Mississippi river is something everybody should see. It’s an iconographic river, it has been an essential piece of my beautiful country’s history.

This river is called Mighty for a reason. It’s a working river, and all through America’s history and present, has maintained its mighty status always. Nurturing, destructive, muddy and oily, I love it despite its flaws and I hope you will too.

Rivers, lakes, oceans, brooks. I’m mostly a desert dweller these days but I will never lose my appreciation for the earth’s amazing power and flow. I should be sleeping, but I watch this river, and somehow, it empowers me.

Here’s the blurb:

Losing tens of thousands of dollars is something we all want to avoid. Yet in today’s confusing world of Web development, it’s a daily occurrence. The problem, as many CIOs learn from being burned, can be solved by gaining a better understanding of what to look for in a Web design and development company, how to ask for it and how to ensure that what you pay for is really what you need.

And the lovely link to the article on CIO.

Enjoy!

The Word “Follower”

“I will follow you will follow me” - Phil Collins

I also realize that I am now either a very persuasive cult leader or am being stalked by close to 1,890 people.

To the point, I’m mostly bewildered by the “Follower” concept. Since Twitter has been around, the term “follower” has been applied to thousands upon thousands of people who simply read other people’s Twitter streams.

The word “follower” however, bears a bit more weight and consideration. The simple Twitter interface tells us who is “follower” to our Twitters. You can compare this with who you are “following” and a finely tuned interface will tell you who follows you, leaving all of us confused as to whether leading or following bears more persuasion.

I’ll beg the question

If you are a leader, are you a follower also?

This evening the discussion is about our online nickname stories. We all have them! My very first online handle/nick was “guitargirl” on the “Q-Link (Quantum Link)” service, offered to Commodore 64 users (some Apples, too, and later Amigas).

I had an external 300 baud Hayes modem. It was the size of a large tissue box.

Over the years I’ve had a bunch of other “Handles and Nicks” - from BBS silliness on to whatever forms of “molly” I could grab.

So what about your handles, and your nicks? Good stories always welcome,

xoM

Admit it.

Unless you live in a rural area, never travel, see few people, and even then . . . many humans have signs of OCD.

Some years ago at SXSW a fantastic group of friends had lunch at P.F. Chang’s and talked about our unique Obsessive Compulsive Disorders.

It was such a funny and enlightening conversation, I’d like to jump-start it here.

Mine? Pillowcase openings must point to the left; I can’t leave an empty cardboard toilet paper roll on whatever that thing is (the roll?) that we put it on. I have to either replace it or leave it empty.

Other than that I’ve only a few inconsistent quirks.

How about you?

Just(in)e case you haven’t seen it, I’m re-sharing it here and hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

BTW, who did this bit of brilliance? Where was it filmed?

Comments are open, I want to know.

Enjoy:

Design Coding

Your site design is the first thing people see
it should be reflective of you and the industry
easy to look at with a nice navigation
when you can’t find what you want it causes frustration

a clear Call to action to increase the temptation
use appealing graphics they create motivation
if you have animation
use with moderation
cause search engines can’t index the information

display the logos of all your associations
highlight your contact info that’s an obligation
create a clean design you can use some decoration
but to try to prevent any client hesitation

every page that they click should provide and explanation
should be easy to understand like having a conversation
when you design the style go ahead and use your imagination

but make sure you use correct color combinations
do some investigation, look at other organizations
but don’t duplicate or you might face a litigation
design done, congratulations but it’s time to start construction

follow these instructions when you move into production
your photoshop functions then slice that design
do your layout with divs make sure that it’s aligned
please don’t use tables even though they work fine
when it come to indexing they give searches a hard time

make it easy for the spiders to crawl what you provide
remove font type, font color and font size
no background colors, keep your coding real neat

tag your look and feel on a separate style sheet
better results with xml and css
now you making progress, a lil closer to success
describe your doctype so the browser can relate
make sure you do it great or it won’t validate

check in all browsers, I do it directly
gotta make sure that it renders correctly
some use IE, some others use Flock
some use AOL, I use Firefox

title everything including links and images
don’t use italics, use emphasis
don’t use bold, please use strong
if you use bold that’s old and wrong

when you use CSS, you page will load quicker
client satisfied like they eating on a snicker
they stuck on your page like you made it with a sticker
and then they convert now that’s the real kicker
make you a lil richer, your site a lil slicker

design and code right man I hope you get the picture
what I’m telling you is true man it should be a scripture
if it’s built right you’ll be the pick of the litter
everyone will want to follow you like twitter
competition will get bitter and you’ll shine like glitter

if you trying to grow your company will get bigger
design and code right man can you get with it

After a long illness, John’s passing has left his family with medical debt. I can’t express the amount of personal rage I have against my wealthy and powerful nation’s inability to provide quality healthcare to its citizens. It is one of my gravest fears that I will leave the same legacy of debt on my loved ones who should be left able to care and comfort one another rather than see their life savings and resources lost during such a difficult time.

This in mind, I was extremely encouraged and moved to hear that a fund to assist with the Slatin family’s needs at this time has been set up. It works like this: Any company or individual who wants an accessibility site review is asked to donate $500.00 to the fund. In return, that company or individual will receive a review performed by top accessibility experts including such impressive names as Wendy Chisholm, James Craig, Marla Erwin, Derek Featherstone, Bruce Lawson, Gez Lemon, Ian Lloyd, Ann McMeekin - the list is literally a who’s who of the finest accessibility practitioners in the world. These experts donate their time to review your site, and in turn, the fund receives the money, which goes directly to the Slatin family to offset their medical debt.

Personally, I will miss John for so many reasons. It’s hard to imagine that he’s even gone, he was one of the most supportive mentors in the last few years of my own professional life. It brings comfort to know that the community has come together in such a positive and productive way to honor him, and his family, for the richness he brought to all he did and everyone he knew.

For more information on the project, please visit The John Slatin Fund Accessibility Project Home Page. There is also a Facebook Page where you can find more information as well as community support.

Who feels it?

Here in the Sonoran Desert we’re in full spring. Citrus trees have blossomed and the scent is exquisite.

Sweet and intoxicating to breathe.

The wind is changing now, coming from the north. It still is cool, belying the desperate hot summer that surely will descend. Another spring soon turns to summer.

Feel it now, this, change in the wind.