Caffeinated Gonzo!

This is the first post I have written using the beta version of Windows Live Writer. It will be interesting to see how well this new effort by Microsoft works with my WordPress.com blog.

So far it is evident that Windows Live Writer can work with WordPress categories and upload pictures. I am curious about how it will handle post formatting. I will know as soon as I hit publish. Here goes nothing…

Read here for a nice introductory comparison of wordpress.com vs the and now newly improved Blogger emerging in beta.

I myself recently moved my blog from blogspot.com to wordpress.com.  I choose their free blog hosting service because back when I could justify the expense of paying for hosting it I always enjoyed the feature set of the full WordPress implementation.  Although WordPress.com is by design more limited I decided to explore using the service in a free blog host.

In my opinion, Blogger was the first and for a while the best free blog host out there but I grew tired of it’s idiosyncrasies and decided to make the leap to a new service if and when it became practical. WordPress.com has worked out well in that regard. I doubt very much I will move this blog again but I might try the new improved Blogger for a another blog in the future.

CaffeinatedGonzo will remain where it is. Thanks just the same.  I am trying to avoid URL whiplash.

For those who don’t want to just blog the talk…

They can now talk the blog…

That is bloggers now have the option of creating live Talk Radio - like content for their blogs.

It’s not just podcasting anymore.  A new service allows you to  you could listen live and IM your feedback to the host in real time. 

BlogTalkRadio (now in Beta) is designed for bloggers who want to hold a live telephone conversation with a group of people (up to 5) all on a phone line at one time. 

Personally, I thinks this application will have a limited number of adopters, so I wonder about it’s long time viability but the idea is an interesting one.  It could be fun to watch what people do with the service.

I have been asked by more than one person lately what is the purpose of the tags at the bottom of weblog posts (like this one) and other web pages? Tags are a loose means of organizing content on the web and relating it back to other similar content.

Where does this concept of Tags or "tagging" on the Web come from? Tagging primarily centers around a concept called folksonomy. As described on Wikipedia:

A "folksonomy" is a collaboratively generated, open-ended labeling system that enables Internet users to categorize content such as Web pages, online photographs, and Web links. The freely chosen labels – called tags – help to improve search engine's effectiveness because content is categorized using a familiar, accessible, and shared vocabulary. The labeling process is called tagging. Two widely cited examples of websites using folksonomic tagging are Flickr and Del.icio.us.

Ripped straight from the pages of Wikipedia. Read more of their article on Folksonomy here.

Warning: Before you scroll down to read the rest of this, I highly suggest fortifying yourself with a grande Mocha-whatever before you begin. You will be a better prepared for whatever follows, I swear.

If you are reading this blog on any kind of regular basis I am sure you have come to the conclusion that its content is rather random and its focus is not very narrow, if in fact you could call it focused at all. Caffeinated Gonzo is instead an exercise in scattered inspiration.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am probably the last person on the web to find out, but I learned something new today…The definition of dooced.

To be "dooced" is to lose one’s job due to entries published on a blog.

Which leads me to a question:

I wonder how many people have lost their jobs due to the content of their blog, or more in the news… their myspace or tagworld page?

The term "dooce" was coined by Heather Armstrong on her blog "Dooce."

I have to admit it was the title of the discussion that first grabbed my attention. "How to Get Naked" a presentation from BlogHer 2005 shares some interesting insights into the world of personal blogging.

Panelists include bloggers Jory des Jardins (Pause) and Heather B. Armstrong (dooce), Ronni Bennett (Time Goes By) and Koan Bremner (blog Multidimensional Me and podcasts "VoiceOver" and "CrossOver") ; authors of often very personal "identity blogs"

A Podcast of the event can be found on IT Conversations.

Feeling good generally about Buffalo this week (Thanks Sabres) I put together this rather random and very incomplete sampling of Blogs related Buffalo:

• bfloblog.com
• BuffaloBlogger
• Creative Buffalo
• BuffaloGeek
• BuffaloPundit
• Classic Buffalo
• BuffaloRoots
• Revitalize Buffalo
• All Things Buffalo
• North Buffalo Journal & Review

Enjoy!

To be honest, I would rather walk my dog than blog these days. The weather is finally doing something that approximates Spring in my region. The sun actually shined two days this week. Two days! (Well almost.)

Riley (that's my dog) is so excited about being able to go outside with freezing what is left of his n*ts off, he would let me spend more than five minutes on my computer without sticking his wet little nose on my keyboard and staring at me with those brown puppy eyes of his.

I better find the leash and get the two of us outside before the rain comes out. If I don't do something soon, the dog'll figure out how to log me off my PC himself.

He's giving me that stare again… Either Riley wants to go a walk'n or he thinks I'm a steak.

Best be go'in.