While I love Firefox, I’ve lately been using Safari (for PC) and finding it to be a guilty pleasure. For one, it sure seems to load pages much faster. It also displays text in a way that is very pleasing to the eye (ie. websites just look and read better). However, there is one simple difference that I’m really starting to take advantage of and it can really save time: default feed rendering. 
Default Feed Rendering, you say?
It likely won’t show up on anyone’s top 10 list of killer features for ANY browser. However, I’m finding the simple and useful way that Safari handles feeds to be very satisfying. I’m talking about how your browser displays an RSS or ATOM feed when you load it directly in your browser (as opposed to a seperate feed reader). An example of how this can save you time is by visiting the Smaller Indiana homepage. If you wanted to get a quick overview of the most recent activity on the site without spending a lot of time clicking around, just click the blue RSS button on the far-right side of the browser’s URL box. This will give you a dropdown list of all available feeds to view. If you click on “Forum - Smaller Indiana” you’ll see a nicely formated view of recent forum posts with some very nice filtering features.
As you can see in the above animated graphic, you’ll see a cleanly formated listing of recent posts. You’ll also get a very handy set of tools on the right to search and filter the feed dynamically. One of my favorite tools is the ability to reduce the amount of information displayed in the feed. For example, sliding the “Article Length” slider over to the left (as the animation demonstrates) will give you an email inbox-like view of the forum posts. This is an excellent and fast way to see what’s new on any website.
While feed readers are very effective at allowing you to subscribe and consume many different websites. This integrated feed display in Safari allows you to quickly and easily cut right to the latest content on any website or blog at supports feeds. Both Internet Explorer and FireFox also provide default views of feeds. However, neither are as robust as Safari (oddly, IE comes closest).
A flurry of activity has surrounded our tiny idea to hold a big conference for Indiana bloggers. With the support of title sponsor IU School of Informatics and local blog software company Compendium Blogware, we are excited to announce registration is now open for Blog Indiana 2008!
Blog Indiana 2008 will take place August 16th - 17th and feature topical sessions lead by some very talented local bloggers. So far, we’ve confirmed Chris Baggott, Douglas Karr, Bil Browning, Jim Shella, Jerame Davis, and Tom Britt (and we are hoping to announce several more in the coming weeks!).
Sessions will include topics such as blogging for beginners, using blogs in your business, monetizing your blog, political blogging and more advanced topics. There will also be panel discussions and group discussion topics voted on by attendees during the months leading up to the conference (look for this form coming soon!).
One of our goals with this conference was to bring bloggers together from across the state for an unforgettable experience with a low price tag. At $49 total for both days, I think we’ve done that.
Check out the official site: conference.blogindiana.com
More on this later, but I’ve decided to move my blog from wpstar.com to NoahCoffey.com and refocus my blogging and some online efforts around my name. This is mostly a temporary style until I have time to fully develop the theme of the site.
No, no, I’m not getting a divorce! My marriage couldn’t be better. And, in fact, as I’m writing this now, it would probably be a good idea for me to share with my wife exactly what I’m doing. The last thing I need is for her to stumble upon me writing or researching Indianapolis divorce lawyers!
This post is the first in a multi-part “interactive case study” on domain flipping. By interactive I mean I’m seeking your advice on what steps to take and will give updates as this project continues. I have very recently acquired the domain name IndyDivorce.com. There is no website attached to it. However, I feel like it could be rather valuable for a local law firm.
Now, don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t endorse divorce. However, the opportunity came along to snap up a domain name with the potential for high appeal to a select market. This is where this project begins.
I basically have 3 options:
- Find an interested party to directly purchase the domain.
- Turn it into a simple directory website listing local divorce lawyers in Indiana (and perhaps some articles on alternatives to divorce!) and eventually charge local lawyers a fee for an upgraded listing.
- Do what YOU tell me to do.
What do you think? The point really is to “flip” this domain like you flip a house. I want to buy low, fix ‘er up, and then sell for a decent profit while still delivering a great value to the final customer.
