Journal
January Randomness
9 January 2006 › 12 comments
You know those times when you want to write about something, but you’re just not really sure how to classify it? Today is one of those days. I want to round up and point out a few links, so this seems like a good way to do it.
Celebrity Status?
First up, there’s an interesting site that I’ve been seeing in my referral logs. It’s called Blogebrity, and from what I understand it treats blog writers as pseudo-celebrities, and even has what they call The List, categorizing people in to various classes: A, B and C. I’m happy to say I made the cut for C-list.
Personally though, because of the low barrier of entry, I wouldn’t place anything on the A-list that is hosted on services like Blogger. Blogebrity seems to place more emphasis on the clout of the writer instead, rather than distinctiveness of design.
To their credit, they do have some of the big-name web design people on there such as Dan Cederholm, Paul Scrivens, and Jeffrey Zeldman. However, conspicuously absent are people such as John Oxton, Veerle Pieters and the guys over at Particletree. Anyway, it’s a novel idea and approach to blogging.
De-Lurking Week
According to the aforementioned Veerle Pieters, this is De-Lurking Week. She classifies a lurker as: “The term is used for people that read blogs or join chat rooms or newsgroups and don’t participate in commenting.” She brings up a good point, that people passively intake information, but rarely give feedback. I can be guilty of this myself, so I made a point to comment on her blog. I suggest you do so here, especially if you haven’t before, so I can meet you.
Cool Innovations
Kevin Hale over at Particletree has posted an article on using Flash as an under-layer. If you’ve ever wondered how to have a slick animated Flash background, based on user input from the HTML foreground, this tutorial is for you. Coupled with improved handling of PHP and XML by Flash 8, I think this could have some huge implications, possibly as big as Ajax, but we’ll see.
I’m looking into Flash a bit more lately, and recently wrote a book review of Flash 8 Essentials. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up on web standards or CSS. Quite the contrary in fact, as I’m experimenting with new ways of controlling Flash with CSS. Most recently, I added a new way to view my portfolio, via a Full-screen Gallery. View the source, and see how lean the code can be.
Not too long ago, I wrote an article on controlling image sizing with Ems, and it seems that Ryan Werth has took my advice to heart. He has completely redesigned his site using Ems, even down to the article and portfolio images. It’s a pretty good proof of concept, so go check it out. The only thing I’m not incredibly fond of is his use of JavaScript pop-up windows for exit links.
Dream-host, Really
Digg Effect: 20,000+ hits / 24 hours
The above chart was generated by Mint and depicts my visitor traffic for the past week. Last Thursday, I wrote a little article that landed on the front page of Digg.com. I’m not sure about their exact numbers, but Digg surely gets a several thousand hits an hour, many of which were passed along to my site.
Throughout this barrage of page views, I am happy to say that my server remained steadfast. It did not cost me a dime extra, because Dreamhost now offers 1 Terabyte of bandwidth per month, even on the basic hosting package I have. For $7.95 per month, that’s an unbeatable deal. Add to that unlimited domains and MySQL databases, and you’ve got a web developer’s dream!
All puns aside, I have never been with a hosting company that I appreciate so much. Every time they offer promotional deals, they give the same benefits to all their existing customers free of charge. Their tech support is prompt and friendly, and have accomodated me even at their own expense.
They also have a great referral program. If you sign up with the promo-code SONSPRING, you save $50 off any plan. This helps support my site’s costs.
Discussion + Dissension
Comments closed after 2 weeks.
#1 Jonathan
Nathan,
Great post. I have been wondering for a while how DreamHost (also my provider of choice) would hold up to ‘the Digg effect.’ It’s nice to know that they handle the traffic increase admirably.
#2 Daniel VanMilligan
I guess I’ll start de-lurking. Hey, Nathan, Dan from Godbit. I check your site via RSS feed everyday. I really enjoy your posts keep them up.
Not really into Flash myself, but definitely passionate about web standards.
I’m looking to get more web design /development experience if you have any suggestions, I would be more than grateful.
I keep looking at Dreamhost, but I haven’t left 1and1.com yet because I got a 3 year promotional offer for free that hasn’t ended yet. So, I just pay for the domain name yearly. Though once it runs out no better offer than Dreamhost.
#3 Nathan Smith
Daniel: Hey, I didn’t think you were lurking, considering we’ve talked before. I was on 1and1’s 3-year Pro Preview for about a year, but eventually got tired of the bottle-neck of having only 1 MySQL database available, so I just moved to Dreamhost even though I still had free hosting time left at 1and1. It was good for being free, but I can’t see paying for that quality of service. In my opinion, the preview should convince me to want to stay, not scare me off.
#4 Robert Spangler
Hey Nathan, I figured I’d say hello, I’ve been “lurking” around here for the past few days and have really fallen in love with your work here and the collection of stuff on Godbit :).
I’m finishing up my Digital Media degree at Full Sail and I really feel like I share the same passion of glorifying God through the use of technology, and it’s so awesome to see another Christian brother pursuing the same thing.
#5 Nathan Smith
Robert: Wow, that’s pretty cool. Full Sail was always an aspiration for me, that I never actually pursued. I was convinced by my parents not to be a starving artist. So, what did I do? Went to seminary of course! Before jumping on the web standards bandwagon, I used to spend countless (read: useless) hours making video game levels. This is one of my old maps, screenshots 26-33.
#6 Lance Willett
Nathan, congrats on getting Dugg! That is awesome.
I have used Dreamhost for almost 2 years now, and they are truly a great hosting company. Like you said: great bandwidth, nice features, and prompt service.
Keep up the good writing on this site. I’ve enjoyed it, and even learned a few things!
#7 chris rhee
I noticed one of my sites on the Blogebrity list as well. I’ve been writing on the web since the late 90’s on various sites of mine—writing HTML out by hand, before newspro and greymatter were all the rage… And I get on the list with my newest blog, that was started in 2005 and only exists because of my girlfriend. Everybody hates Chris.
#8 Nathan Smith
Chris: Hate is a strong word. I wouldn’t say that everyone hates you. Then again, I can’t exactly say that I like you either. Annie is really cool though!
#9 Andrew Ingram
it is amusing that another massassian is in the b-list though Nathan :p
#10 James Higginbotham
I echo the Dreamhost comment – I’ve been using them for 2 years and they are terrific! I’ve done everything from self-hosting using co-location of my own servers to free services from my cable modem service. They have a nice setup, make things easy to install and use, and have just enough flexibility to allow a Linux super-geek like myself do things the traditional way (ssh, cvs, mysql, multiple domains, Ruby on Rails, etc). My blog currently runs on their service and was installed with a single entry form.
#11 Jeremy Mace
Your article has convicted me of my lurkyness (is that a sin or just a made-up word?). Thanks for all of the great articles and great design. Just wanted to throw a couple of comments and questions:
Celebrity and blogs – it seems to me that some of the A-list bloggers tend to be elitists and I feel lost sometimes – I am have been a designer for quite a while, but have only recently seen the light about CSS and web standards. Who do you reccomend or what books do you suggest for me to jump into all of this?
De-lurking – I am currently repenting.
Cool stuff and Flash – I have used Flash for sometime and know its uses – I am currently working on an Interactive Map and would love some great sample sites to check out – I have over 70 buildings to illustrate and then put the Flash file together. Lots of work to do – I think the thing to keep in mind is knowing which tool to use and why you are using it.
Dream-host – I use 1and1, but I don’t have the same needs you guys do – though I do have some questions about designing a dynamic gallery using MySQL – I only have experience with ASP and it is quite bothersome!! You guys do some really great stuff with PHP and MySQL, but I don’t know where to start.
Sorry for the long post, but seeing how I am a recovering lurker, you guys will forgive me!
#12 Nathan Smith
Jeremy: For some starter books on CSS and web standards, check these out:
» Bulletproof Web Design - Cederholm
» Web Standards Solutions - Cederholm
» CSS, the Definitive Guide - Meyer
» Professional CSS - Schmitt, et al
» Designing With Web Standards - Zeldman