Today Yahoo opened up it’s new open framework to 3rd party developers. There seems like there could be some great possibilities to building application and distributing content through Yahoo platform. This video is a good introduction.
Archive for October, 2008
I have been using Twitter a little more recently and I have seen some fun Twitter mashups. I plan to use the Twitter API to send status messages of user activity from some of the web site I work on, and if you are considering creating a Twitter mashup using Ruby on Rails, you will want to check out Twitter4r. It is a Ruby library for the Twitter REST API that really simplifies creating a Twitter app in Rails.
Here are some fun applications that use the Twitter API:
Foamee: This is one of the originals created by Simplebits. If a friend does you a favor you can let them know you owe them a beer or coffee.
Twootball: This is a new app that combines Twitter and a love for the NFL. Tweet while you are watching an NFL game and include the name of a team in your message and it will show up on Twootball.
GoodBad.me: This is a new app created for the Rails Rumble competition. Follow @goodbadme, then if you do something good or bad include #goodme or #badme in your tweet.
Twitter Grader: Put in your Twitter username, and Grader will give you a score based on the power of your Twitter profile.
TwitterVision: This is another oldie but goodie. This is a mashup of Twitter and Google maps so you can see where in the world people are posting their tweets.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on Facebook Connect and OpenId recently. Facebook Connect has created a lot of buzz. I couldn’t always see the business reason for stand alone web sites to put a priority on building Facebook apps, but Facebook connect seems like the perfect solution for web sites that want to take advantage of Facebook’s social graph. Facebook connect allows users to sign into another site with their Facebook account, invite their friends from Facebook, and publish their activity back to their Facebook feed. Today I read this great summary of the current state of Facebook Connect and OpenId from TechCrunch: Facebook Connect and OpenID Relationship Status: “It’s Complicated”. I’m sure I’ll be doing more development that involves Facebook Connect or OpenID in the near future.
I noticed this large iPod ad running on ESPN.com today. The animated 990 x 265 is larger than any normal ads I usually see running on ESPN. Knowing a little about what ads on the front of ESPN go for, Apple must be paying a lot for that special sized ad.
The iPhone Blog suggests that Apple may be targeting growth in sales among sports fans.
After releasing the new iPhone “game changer” commercial during the baseball playoffs, it looks like Apple is focusing on expanding the iPhone/iPod Touch product line by reaching sports fans. Good idea? I don’t know maybe Apple is thinking they can turn sports fans into Apple fanboys..
Either way, that thing was BIG. Dare I say life-size. There was no way anyone going on to ESPN.com could miss it (unless you have ad blockers). Effective? Yes. Annoying to scroll down to read the news? You betcha.
They also bring up the point about how it is annoying to have to scroll down almost a whole page to get to the news because of the large size of the ad. I guess when you have a loyal audience you can expect them to put up with some pain, but how much will users put up with before it becomes too much?
Today we went on a family apple picking trip to South Glastonbury, Connecticut. We tried a new apple orchard this year, the Belltown Hill Orchard. It was a really nice place. There was a country store that sold all types of apple products, maple syrups, and other farm fresh produce. We picked up a large bucket and took a tractor ride to the area of the orchard to pick Fuji apples. We ended up picking about 40 lbs. We had apples and popcorn for dinner.
Barkhamsted Resevior, Connecticut
Peoples State Forest, Connecticut
One of the best things about living in Connecticut is the fall foliage season. Here are a few of my favorite photos from this year:
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts
Green River Covered Bridge in Vermont
Green River Vermont
Nepaug Resevoir, Burlington, Connecticut
Franklin Land Trust in Massachusetts
