Ghost of Christmas future ...

A friend of mine who's a computer programming wiz went to a convention a year or so back when they discussed what the future will look like.

The answer: Screens. Screens everywhere, with slots where we can plug personal memory cards (or cubes) in to access our data, which would come with us everywhere, attached to our car keys.

We're not quite there, yet, but we're getting close.

Microsoft is rolling out its new "Surface" deal, which is a fancy way of saying "tabletop computer screen."

What is "Surface"? It's a big-screen keyboardless, mouseless computer that enables select devices to sync up just by laying them on the tabletop. Infinitely cool.

This is an earlier video demonstrating how it works:



Notice the social aspect of this sort of technology. Two or three, or even more people can be involved simultaneously.

It's pricy now ... so they won't be in your living room anytime in the next few months. And, who knows? "Surface" may, indeed, fail for whatever reason.

But if it ain't "Surface," it'll be something just like it. This is what it's going to look like in the very near future.

I bring this up to remind ourselves: This is what we're going to be up against. This sort of integrated media experience is going to make it harder and harder for us to attract and maintain the attention of the consumer.

Are we really doing everything we can, as individuals and as an industry, to prepare for this sort of thing?

Game-changing impact aside, check out the videos, they're pretty cool:

• Microsoft Surface

How they view us ...

Recently ... as in, within the week ... ESPN.com launched a new football blog named Hashmarks featuring former DMN writer Matt Mosely.

Why this means anything to us is with ESPN being the Worldwide Leader, "Hashmarks" has drawn some serious fire from within the sports blogging community.

In one of the less vitriolic (or at least mocking) efforts, the sports blog The Big Lead takes some time to offer up some constructive observations about the new, corporate kid on the block.

I thought some of his points can be happily applied to us, here, too.

Among the highlights:

• Maintaining a blog is a marathon, not a sprint, but this dude’s out of the gate heavy on the production. He’s posting in volume, that’s for sure, but let’s see how long it lasts …

• It definitely looks like ESPN has taken the cuffs off the guy, which is a good thing. He actually referenced the Brady Quinn photos, and we haven’t seen them referenced anywhere else on the .com (it would have been nice to get credit for posting them first, but hey, such is life) …

• Though we’re still relatively new to this genre, it appears as if the best way to become part of the blogging community is to link to other bloggers. It’s kind of like we’re all on this immensely gay basketball team, going around giving each other high-fives and pats on the back. We’ll be curious to see if this Mosley fellow is standing off in the corner of the gym, too cool (or wealthy) to join in with the rest of kids …

Remember, you're viewed as the establishment by a ton of the local bloggers out there. Show 'em some love, show 'em you're just like they are, and they'll respond.

• Hashmarks (ESPN)
• Deadspin: Hashmarks' Comedic Value Is Superb! (a slightly less diplomatic critique)

Best/Worst Practices ...

I was throwing together a list of best and worst practices for some community bloggers we'll be inviting aboard (it's gonna get crowded in these parts), and I thought it was actually something everybody should probably see.

They're not cast in stone (well, MOST of 'em aren't, anyway), but I think they're a good start, regardless.

Best practices when writing blogs:

• Create lively, informative entries covering your area of expertise.

• Brevity truly is the soul of wit. While there's no hard and fast rule against epic-length posts, studies show they aren't read well, and you're probably doing yourself and your reader a favor by making your points cleanly and efficiently.

• Frequency will trump length everytime.

• Keep the tone conversational. Consider these e-mails to friends and family.

• Lists and sub-heads are a good way to break up huge blocks of text.

• Provide links to articles within the area of interest.

Poor practices when writing blogs:

• Brazen self-promotion, especially in terms of business interests: Not only is it against the spirit of what we're trying to do here, you'll lose major credibility ... and we would lose credibility, as well ... and we can't have that.

• Plagiarism: Make sure the words are your own. If you reference another site or blogger, that's fine, but quote no more than a paragraph or so, then provide a link back to the original source. Remember, in this age, it's harder to get away with it than it ever has been before.

• Making changes once a post has been published: When a mistake occurs, contact an editor. We'll add paragraphs updating the information and, where necessary, excise the incorrect information. But any changes you make should be, and must be, clearly noted somewhere in the entry. We'll work with you on these situations, but don't take matters into your own hands.


Some of these are pretty obvious ... some maybe not so much. Just stuff to bear in mind as we forage ahead.

Online photo editor I like

In an effort to help those who don't have Photoshop or a similar editing program on your computer, I spent some time field-testing some of the online photo editors that are available.

There are plenty to choose from, but the one I liked best was Picnik.

It combines an easy cropping and sizing interface with an option for sliding JPG quality ... a very good thing if our hope is to keep image sizes down. (And it is.)

Additional tips on sizing photos are available here, and I'll be adding more as we go.

(One caveat: Register with picnik if you like ... I've generally just used "Try It Now!" and then hit "sign out" when I want to work another photo.)

How To ... Create a Blog Entry

This entry covers the very, very basics of blogging. If you're looking for more intermediate to advanced techniques, check the list of "How-Tos" to the left here.

For those just blogging for the first time: Welcome.

You'll need a few things, which you probably already got from me:

• A URL to go to

• A username and login

• Something to blog about

You'll have to acquire the third item on your own, but I probably e-mailed the first two to you already. If not, contact me. (And never, EVER share your URL and login info with anybody. Only bad things can happen if that occurs.)

Step by step:

1.) Input the URL into your Web browser. You will eventually see something like this:



2.) Input the requested information. It might take a little while, but you should eventually see this (click to enlarge):


(Click to enlarge)

The important parts are these (click to enlarge):



First thing to do is check the name of the blog. Make sure you're on the right page. If you're not, use the pull-down menu (top circle) to navigate to the correct blog.

Then, click "New Entry" (left circle) and we'll move on ...

3.) The screen should look like this (my own markings added in red and, as always, click to enlarge):


(Click to enlarge)

The three areas you'll have to worry about are the Title (headline), Entry Body and Save Button. For our purposes, ignore "Extended Entry" and "Excerpt."

Type a headline in the Title box ... place your entry in the "Entry Body" box and then click "Save."

(Best Practice Tip: It's a good idea to compose your entry in another application. MS Word's a good choice — but first follow these steps to eliminate the automatic "curly" quote and apostrophe function.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure NOT to change the "Post Status" box from "Unpublished" to "Published." We'll do that.

4.) Send us an e-mail and let us know the entry is ready. You can also IM us. Ask me for a list of our logins. (UPDATE: Since this was posted, we've changed the workflow chart. You should contact the editor tasked with editing your blog after you're done. Check with your editor to see if that's them or someone else.)

And that's it! You're a blogger. If you're feeling adventurous now, try some of the more fancy stuff (photos, hotlinks, etc.) via the tutorials on the upper-left.

If you feel like I left anything out, let me know that, too. I can always update this thing.

Tips to fellow bloggers are welcome in the comments section, as well.

Thanks!