My wife and I were talking the other day about how our words and actions can have an incredible impact on others - whether it be positive or negative. This reminded me how easily our overall demeanor can effect others. A simple smile or an encouraging word can sometimes be all it takes for someone to see the light of day.

We’ve all been there before. Somebody offers you something, it could be anything - an invite to a party, a business proposal, heck even a stick of gum. We usually respond with a “yes”, a “maybe”, some silence, or sometimes a “no, thank you”. Lately I’ve been surprised at how many times I offer something to someone and simply never hear from them again. I realize people don’t have to fall in love with everything I do or offer…but seriously? No response?

A Few Examples

A friend of a friend asked me to help him out with developing a new website for his business. I told him I’d put together a price quote and send him an e-mail. Two weeks went by - no answer. Was my price too high? Did he find someone else? Was he simply not interested anymore? Who knows. I never heard back…

I listed my Dad’s Audi A4 for sale a few weeks ago and received a call from a local girl. She was driving by my office downtown, saw that the car was for sale, gave me a call, and went out for a test drive. She said her dad would be off work in a couple hours and she would pay cash. A few hours went by, no call. I left a voicemail and never heard from her again…

Our Response

I come by instances like these all the time where I get no response so I assume the answer is “no”. It’s not that I’m frustrated with their decision of declining my offer, it’s the method. Sure, we all like to hear a “Yes”, but even a “No”, or better yet, a “No, Thank You” is better than silence. I’m just interested in having closure. If I’m honest with myself, I know I do this too. I either change the subject after a question I don’t want to say no to, or just never answer, hoping they get the gist.

I realize it’s often hard to say “no” but I think we need to get back in the habit of saying “no, thank you” when we simply don’t want something or want to do something. I think people have got into a bad habit of letting the silence say “no” for them and it’s a cop-out.

Of course we can’t always say “yes”, but we do have a choice in how we communicate our response - staying silent isn’t an option.

Saying “No, Thank You” is a courtesy we can’t afford to ignore.

I’m sure you’ve seen some of the sweetness of JQuery and most likely you’ve used Prototype for dynamic web applications like Lightview, Prototip, etc. However, let’s say we want to use the two together, on the same page. Problemo!

The Problem

JQuery uses a “$” as a shortcut for “jQuery” and Prototype uses “$” as well. We can’t have JQuery and Prototype using the same “$” namespace.

The Fix

Thankfully JQuery has a neat little function called jQuery.noConflict( ) which you basically just need to stick at the top of your JQuery file and replace the “$” alias with “jQuery” for each function. Example:

jQuery.noConflict();
// Do something with jQuery
jQuery("div p").hide();
// Do something with another library's $()
$("content").style.display = 'none';

Of course, there are other ways of solving this issue with jQuery.noConflict( ), but the method above was the most simple and straightforward for me.

NOTE: JQuery doesn’t get along with MooTools and YUI very well either, luckily this can also be solved with the jQuery.noConflict( ) trick.

Let me know if you have any questions or run across any other issues while using JQuery and Prototype. I have a feeling the more popular JQuery becomes, the more and more people will run into this issue.

Simple, fast, and totally free.

Search is the gateway to the web and Google has undoubtedly dominated this arena for quite some time. With a current share of 85% of web searches, Google has become the leader in connecting people to the web.

Google Search

Google search is incredible, no doubt about it, and until recently was the only source I used for searching the web. Google can’t index everything, but does a pretty good job connecting results with queries. Notice I said “pretty good”. For the most part, I can find what I’m looking for - but not always. Let’s say, for instance, I want to see what people are saying about our “economic crisis” in real time. Hmm, can’t do it. Google indexes websites, not conversations. Sure, you could argue that Google indexes Blog comments, forums, and other discussions online… But not in real time.

Twitter Search

Say hello to Twitter, or more specifically Twitter Search. Twitter Search allows you to search for what people are talking about right now.

Example

For example, let’s say I just finished watching the latest episode of 24 (my favorite TV show) and want to see what people are saying about it online.

1. Google Option: If I use Google search, I may stumble across a few websites on 24 and might (if I get lucky) find a couple threads with some comments where people are talking about the latest episode. But, it’s a needle in the haystack at best, and most likely buried behind a trail of clicks and dead-ends.
2. Twitter Option: And what about Twitter search? It’s easy - I simply enter “24″ in the search field and click search. Not only do I find what people are saying about 24, but it’s in chronological order. So I have no problem finding the most recent conversations.

Conclusion

Google search has it’s advantages, don’t get me wrong…but Twitter search has uncovered a whole new level of search capabilities. Being able to see what people are talking about in real time is incredibly valuable. And, yes…much more valuable then seeing what people are saying about Jack Bauer. :)

Ok, so what? Should I stop using Google and just use Twitter search? No. They both have their purpose, but the fact of the matter remains - the more Twitter becomes mainstream the more valuable it becomes.

Bonus

Ohh, and if you’re a Firefox user (which you should be) take a look at this for integrating Twitter search with Google search. It’s a simple greesemonkey script that plugs into your Firefox browser adding Twitter search results to the Google search results page.

The Habit

Part of the problem was how we went about developing our ‘habit’. You see, developing a habit doesn’t just happen when you go to the gym three or four times a week. Habits form with continuous repetition. For example, I have a bad habit of biting my nails. I didn’t develop this habit by biting my nails on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I do it everyday. Same goes for the habit of brushing your teeth every morning and evening - people don’t just brush on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. They do it everyday, twice a day! Developing a habit requires continuous repetition. It sounds incredibly simple, and it is.

The 30 Day Fitness Challenge

Say hello to the 30 Day Fitness Challenge. An incredibly simple yet effective way to force yourself to exercise.

I can’t tell you how frustrated I was, logging into other email accounts and checking mail in 5+ different places.

Oh, and you can also send mail from outside accounts as well. Sweet huh? Ok, enough talk, here’s how it’s done:

How to add a new account:

1. Login to Gmail
2. Click the “Settings” link in the top right corner of your browser
3. Click the “Accounts” link in your settings area
4. Scroll down until you get to the “Get mail from other accounts:” section
5. Click the “Add another mail account” link



6. Enter the email address for the new mail account in the pop up box and click the “next step” button



7. Fill in the new account’s login credentials: username/password
8. In the “POP Server:” field: Most likely you can just leave what’s already provided in the text field, but you may need to adjust this to match you mail account settings. If you’re still stuck, go here.
9. Select any check boxes that you would consider helpful. I would recommend numbers 2 and 3 for security and organization respectively…but that’s just me.
10. Click the “Add Account” button and assuming everything is set up correctly it should go to the next step. If there are any errors and you’re stuck go here.



11. Fill in the name that will be associated with your new account and click the “Next Step” button.



12. Click the “Send Verification” button to verify your new email account.



13. Go check the email account that your adding, for new email, and look for an email sent from Google containing a verification code. Copy the verification code, paste it in the verification text field, and click the “Verify” button



14. If you would like to send email from your new email account, using Gmail, select the “Yes, I want to be able to send mail as: ” option and click the “Next Step” button.



15. You’re Done! You will be returned to your Gmail settings page and will now be able to use your new email account in Gmail. :)

As a note: Getting mail from a Yahoo account requires you to be a Yahoo! Mail Plus subscriber. Server denied POP3 access for the given username and password. POP access is limited to Yahoo! Mail Plus subscribers. Please contact Yahoo! Mail’s support team for more information.

I also wasn’t able to set up a Hotmail account - I think you need be considered a “Plus User” if you want to enable POP3 settings which requires you to upgrade your account and pay a fee.

If you run into any problems, Google has a support page which is quite helpful, or feel free to leave a comment with a question.

Obviously there’s been an explosion of blogs in the last few years. Technorati indexes 1.5 million posts in real time. And, of course, we all have to find ways to differentiate ourselves and building a fan base isn’t always easy.

But what I really want to talk about is what happens after all of this has been accomplished. First, let me set up a couple scenarios that will hopefully resonate with you.

Scenario One: Let’s say for example, you’re a blogger that’s worked hard to build a sweet looking blog, you’ve mastered the skill of creating sticky content, optimized for SEO, and even have a solid flow of people interacting with and carrying on the conversation. You’re reaching a decent sized audience, have all the ad’s in place, and make a few bucks a day on average. Yea!

Scenario Two: You aren’t one of those money thirsty types, you have a much more noble purpose. You’re all about making an impact on the world - promoting a good cause, spreading ideas that will revolutionize the way we think and live. Society improves, people are blessed, the world is a much happier place, etc, etc.

Granted, scenario two seems much more worthwhile, and I’ll say right now: I’m a big fan. However, the value in both scenarios seems to be a bit lop-sided. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am all about the conversation, the extension and passing of something beyond the scope of the blog itself. And, I admit, their needs to be an instigator, someone to initiate the conversation and provide a foundation. But I long for a medium where there is an exchange of value, directly in proportion with each giver.

Is it forums? I don’t think so. They’re a great place for exchanging valuable information, but I’m talking about value beyond information - the world is absolutely full of information. Is it money? Maybe. Exchange of goods and or services? Maybe. I can’t quite put my finger on what this should look like, but something that satisfies the needs for both the blogger (giver of content, receiver of attention) and the reader (giver of attention, receiver of content) in a way where both can be rewarded and encouraged to continue to provide value.

Who knows, maybe the problem is the medium itself. Blogging was designed to function as a medium and maybe, just maybe, there’s no room for backwash? Something to think about.

I realize this is more of an abstract post, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately. Hopefully I’ve made some sense, but feel free to ask questions or make suggestions. I’m all ears!

No, but seriously. It’s been a great year. My only regret is I didn’t start this whole blogging thing sooner. Thank you all for your wonderful comments/conversation. My contributions would be nothing without you, so Thank You!

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Ok, but nobody want’s to hear about my screw ups…so let’s get to the good stuff:

We all have limited time, and most of us have some difficulty keeping up with the overwhelming amount of information out there on the web. It’s like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant - not easy. Most of the information is useless, some helpful, and only a sliver is actually worthwhile.

Well, I happen to spend a fair amount of time sifting through my 150ish blogs or so in my Google Reader and thought you all might like to see what I think is considered ‘worthwhile’. I call them my Starred Posts.

I only ‘Star’ the posts that I consider to be truly excellent. I would say it’s a 1/250 ratio or so. Out of 250 blog posts I read, 1 is worthwhile. Now, this isn’t to say that 249 of the 250 posts are useless, but this helps me manage the impossible.

I was trying to integrate an RSS feed into this blog in a somewhat intuitive way, but failed miserably. So, unless someone has some brilliant idea of how to custom configure Google Reader’s starred items feed into an HTML page including title links and details, I’ll stick with the default starred items public page.

Basically, if you want to see what I think is a must read, take a look at my starred posts page.