Clipmarks | lguinn's clips

12 US Laws for Bloggers

Mon, 07 May 2007 19:24:19 GMT

clipped by: lguinn
clipper's remarks: Great article re: blogging and legal issues in the US. Looks generally relevant for WW, too. If you blog, you should review it.

Clip Source: www.avivadirectory.com

12 Important U.S. Laws Every Blogger Needs to Know

Whether to Disclose Paid Posts:

Is Deep Linking Legal:

The Legal Use of Images and Thumbnails:

Laws that Protect You From Stolen Content:

Domain Name Trademark Issues:

Handling Private Data About Your Readers:

Who Owns User-Developed Content and Can You Delete It:

The Duty to Monitor Your Blog Comments, and Liability:

Basic Tax Law Issues in Blogging:

Limited Liability Laws and Incorporating:

Spam Laws and Which Unsolicited Emails are Legal:

Are Bloggers Protected from Journalism Shield Laws:

Tags: blog, blogging

Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Rules of Writing Fiction

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 14:22:25 GMT

clipped by: glimbit

Clip Source: www.janeespenson.com

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

-- Kurt Vonnegut

Tags: writing

18 ways to improve your body language

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 23:25:50 GMT

clipped by: bakanootaku
clipper's remarks: Go to the website for more information. 'tis hard to be concise.

Clip Source: www.positivityblog.com

1. Don’t cross your arms or legs –

2. Have eye contact, but don’t stare

3. Don’t be afraid to take up some space

4. Relax your shoulders

5. Nod when they are talking

6. Don’t slouch, sit up straight

7. Lean, but not too much –

8. Smile and laugh

9. Don’t touch your face

10. Keep you head up.

11. Slow down a bit

12. Don’t fidget

13. Use your hands more confidently

14. Lower your drink

15. Realise where you spine ends

16. Don’t stand too close

17. Mirror

18. Keep a good attitude

Tags: body language

Kurt Vonnegut

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 22:53:48 GMT

clipped by: morgainelefaye
clipper's remarks: Eight rules for writing fiction.

Clip Source: www.americanstate.org

Eight rules for writing fiction:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. Now matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them -- in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

Tags: writing, literature, kurt vonnegut, mlf

Top 10 Sites For Web Designers

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:01:19 GMT

clipped by: zamanikarmana

Clip Source: tutorialblog.org

Top 10 Sites for Web Designers

Alistapart - One of the oldest published by Happy Cog, Alistapart always delivers indepth and though provoking articles.

Designers Talk - Web Design and Development forums

Vitamin - By Carsonsystems, Vitamin offers high quality content on web design and web2.0 from some of the biggest names in the business.

Design Meltdown - Covers the trends in web design, usefull blog split into categories for elements, techniques, colors etc.

UX Magazine - The user experience magazine, Well written site covering Strategy, Design, Technology and Information.

Design Feed - An RSS agregator of hundreds of different design-related feeds

Type For You - A Typgraphy blog

Pingmag -Tokyo based magazine about all kinds of Design

Digital Web Magazine - Articles for web professionals

9Rules Design - A community of high quality blogs about design

Smashing Magazine - Daily resources for web designers

Tags: website, resources, internet, domain

The Importance of Having Friends Who Disagree

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 06:14:26 GMT

clipped by: pongba

Clip Source: ravimohan.blogspot.com

Paul Graham says, in one of his essays (emphasis mine) "....Why do you need other people? Can't you just think of new ideas yourself? The empirical answer is: no. Even Einstein needed people to bounce ideas off. Ideas get developed in the process of explaining them to the right kind of person. You need that resistance, just as a carver needs the resistance of the wood.

In my experience, this need for "friendly resistance" extends to far more than creating startups. Every time you have a new idea, you need people you can bounce it off. To get any real benefit out of this process you need people with a complex combination of characteristics.

They should

have firm (but not rigid) opinions on their own
have logical reasons for those beliefs and be able to articulate them clearly
are driven by ideas and not ideology
not attach their egos to their opinions.
be willing to concede a valid argument even if it forces them to possibly re-examine their beliefs
know how to listen

Tags: essay

Ten Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:37:49 GMT

clipped by: missangelyss

Clip Source: webhome.idirect.com

The Ten Habits of Emotionally Intelligent People
Copyright 1999 Steve Hein, The EQ Institute - May be copied for educational uses.

High EQ people:

1. Label their feelings, rather than labeling people or situations.	"I feel impatient." vs "This is ridiculous." "I feel hurt and bitter". vs. "You are an insensitive jerk." "I feel afraid." vs. "You are driving like a idiot."
2. Distinguish between thoughts and feelings.	Thoughts: I feel like...& I feel as if.... & I feel that Feelings: I feel: (feeling word)
3. Take responsibility for their feelings.	"I feel jealous." vs. "You are making me jealous."
4. Use their feelings to help them make decisions.	"How will I feel if I do this?" "How will I feel if I don't"
5. Show respect for other people's feelings.	They ask "How will you feel if I do this?" "How will you feel if I don't."
6. Feel energized, not angry.	They use what others call "anger" to help them feel energized to take productive action.
7. Validate other people's feelings.	They show empathy, understanding, and acceptance of other people's feelings.
8. Practice getting a positive value from their negative emotions.	They ask themselves: "How do I feel?" and "What would help me feel better?" They ask others "How do you feel?" and "What would help you feel better?"
9. Don't advise, command, control, criticize, judge or lecture to others.	They realize it doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end of such behavior, so they avoid it.
10. Avoid people who invalidate them, or don't respect their feelings.	As much as possible, they choose to associate only with other people with high EQ.

Tags: eq, emotional intelligence

PC Seasonal Greetings

Tue, 26 Dec 2006 22:43:41 GMT

clipped by: lguinn
clipper's remarks: Happy whatever, written entertainingly

Clip Source: dissident.typepad.com

Please accept with no obligation, implicit or implied my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . .

Tags: holidays

20 Must Read HOWTOs and Guides for Linux

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 13:21:30 GMT

clipped by: Djiezes

Clip Source: www.foogazi.com

20 Must Read HOWTOs and Guides for Linux

Introduction to Linux
This is a great overview of Linux, a definite must read for Linux newbies.

Advanced Bash Scripting
Understand and learn how to write bash scripts for the command line.

Linux Administration Made Easy
A very detailed document on Linux administration.

Linux Complete Backup and Recovery
Anyone who has a Linux desktop or server must know how to backup and restore their system at any moments notice. This is an important guide if you absolutely do not want to lose any crucial data.

Linux Gamers
Learn the inner workings of how games work on Linux along with how to resolve common problems.

Linux Security
Understand the general concepts of security on a Linux system, complete with examples and applications to use.

Linux System Administrator’s Guide
Learn the aspects of the Linux System Administrator.

Networking Overview
A great overview of the networking capabilities of the Linux operating system.

XWindow User
Learn how to configure and use the XWindows system in Linux.

Clip Source: www.foogazi.com

Best Application Site:
http://www.freshmeat.netFreshmeat is the webs largest index of Unix/Linux related software. There are a ton of Linux application sites out there, but nothing as well established as Freshmeat. There are also a good deal of articles on software applications and book reviews that I enjoy reading from time to time. If your looking for a software application for your Linux desktop, server, or router, chances are it is listed on Freshmeat.

Best Development Site:
http://www.sourceforge.net

Best Document Site:
http://www.tldp.org

Best Help Site:
http://www.linuxquestions.org

http://www.distrowatch.com

Tags: linux, nix, howto, help, guide, computers, introduction, list, links, best of, best, resource

Adding Value to Information

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 01:36:34 GMT

clipped by: lguinn
clipper's remarks: 10 ways to add more meaning and value to information; worthwhile reading for educators and anyone who writes

Clip Source: blogs.salon.com

Dave Snowden's famous comment about knowledge is that "we know more than we can say, and we can say more than we can write down". In his case it has taken him four years to write the book on complex adaptive systems that he teaches in a three day course, and in neither the book nor the course could he hope to explain more than a fraction of all that he has learned on the subject.

Those of us who manage written information therefore have a great challenge. How can we make what is written down more meaningful, more valuable? How can we make it "make more sense"? Here are ten principal ways to do so (the links in this chart are to illustrations or further discussions of each tool or skill):

Adding Meaning & Value to Information -- Final Presentation

Tags: knowledge, writing, knowledge management

Second Life University?

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:15:31 GMT

clipped by: lguinn

Clip Source: www.nmc.org

The NMC Campus is a virtual laboratory available to NMC member institutions and their faculty. Located in the virtual world of Second Life, it has been carefully constructed to provide researchers and students dozens of prebuilt settings for experiments in social interaction in 3-D space (more about NMC Campus...).

This wiki site provides documentation and other helpful information for campus visitors. As a wiki, we hope our users will help us create some of the content.

Tags: second life, online training

The Philosophy of Sex

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:42:40 GMT

clipped by: coconutshell
clipper's remarks: A few of these have already been clipped...no pun intended.

Clip Source: moronland.net

The Philosophy of Sex

"I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy."
--Tom Clancy

"You know "that look" women get when they want sex? Me neither."
--Steve Martin

"Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
--Woody Allen

"Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night."
--Rodney Dangerfield

"Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other e eight are unimportant."
--George Burns

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships."
--Sharon Stone

"My girlfriend always laughs during sex ---no matter what she's reading."
--Steve Jobs (Founder, Apple Computers)

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch."
--Jack Nicholson

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."
--Barbara Bush (Former US First Lady -- and you didn't think Barbara had a sense of humor)

"Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place."
--Billy Crystal

"According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other women. They say that women are too judgmental, where, of course, men are just grateful."
--Robert De Niro

"There's a new medical crisis. Doctors are reporting that many men are having allergic reactions to latex condoms. They say they cause severe swelling. So what's the problem?"
--Dustin Hoffman

"There's very little advice in men's magazines, because men think, I know what I'm doing. Just show me somebody naked."
--Jerry Seinfeld

"Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house."
--Rod Stewart

"See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time."
--Robin Williams

Tags: humour, battle of the sexes, funny, sex, men, women

Writing Good Text for the Web

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:11:21 GMT

clipped by: lguinn
clipper's remarks: Old article but still good. Summary: KISS, don't use hyperbole

Clip Source: www.useit.com

How Users Read on the Web

Tags: web design

Is a Community of Practice organized as a network -- or a group?

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 02:02:35 GMT

clipped by: lguinn

Clip Source: www.elearnspace.org

Groups vs. Networks

Stephen nails it perfectly: "Groups require unity, networks require diversity. Groups require coherence, networks require autonomy. Groups require privacy or segregation, networks require openness. Groups require focus of voice, networks require interaction. The group I am with right now is very intent on being a group. That doesn't interest me. I have no wish to lose my identity and my freedom, my empowerment. Because a group is subject to this very objection - backlash, groupthink, the works. But a network is not."
I have struggled with this theme in my own writing for the last several years. I like the individuality that a blog affords - my writing, my thoughts, my space. I don't mind collaborating with others...but only if I don't lose my voice and identity in the process. Our education system is based on groups...but it should be based on networks. Groups don't scale, and the urge to focus and move a group forward in one direction results in marginalizing certain voices in order to pursue the "common good". I'm not comfortable with that. A network (as I've been saying with connectivism) imbues individual nodes with personal voices...and finds it's value in aggregating, not overwriting (marginalizing) nodes not in line with the thinking of the majority.

Tags: collaboration, team

Are Crowds Really Wise? Yes -- in the business world

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:03:51 GMT

clipped by: lguinn
clipper's remarks: I don't buy all of the "wisdom of crowds" stuff that I see on the 'net. Seems that it's become just a catchphrase. But here is some thought, based on the actual book, about what can work in a business context.
Interesting, if idealistic.

Clip Source: blogs.salon.com

Recently I reported some corporate backlash against James Surowiecki's ideas in The Wisdom of Crowds and its message that, if organizations were smart, they could dump a lot of expensive senior executive and consultant/expert baggage and get better decisions by putting critical questions collectively to employees, customers and appropriately 'qualified' elements of the 'general public'.

The objections point out that 'crowds' are not great at doing everything. But that's exactly Surowiecki's point: The very things that crowds are good at are precisely those things that executives, consultants and experts pride themselves on doing.

Tags: business