For a while, I’ve been looking at ways to integrate all the little bits of writing I do around the web. Usually with RSS, sending Twitter updates to Jaiku and Tumblr to my regular blog and WordPress etc etc.

However, I’ve recently thought that maybe it is best to keep things separated, as far as content goes, and just create the connections with links and have each place maintain itself on it’s own.

I think this works better because instead of creating a mash of content that allows people to get the same information from me via different channels, I can use each channel and cater to it’s strengths whilst building even more content.

The example is that if someone follows me on Twitter and also uses Tumblr, I don’t want them to decide between the two because they don’t care to hear the same stuff from me twice. Instead I can do something completely different, and make the second connection worthwhile for them.

I set up a completely different Twitter account for pulling in feeds from things I write and mark, via Google Reader amd YouTube etc. This is separate from my regular Twitter account that I update for anyone wanted to follow my day-to-day without all the links.

It seems to make more sense to me to keep things in their place. If I wanted to follow your Twitter updates, I would follow you on Twitter; I’m not too interested in seeing those updates on your Tumblr page.

A visual analogy would be instead of creating interconnected vines that grow amongst one another, I’ll create a group of trees, freestanding, that link together with the branches. Is that too sappy? [pun intended]

With the increase of blogs, microblogs like Tumblr and ‘presence’ blogs like Twitter, mediums either meld together – as I’ve attempted to do at crrrg.com by importing Twitter updates as posts – or they are each used differently.

The latter method requires a little definition which, I think, can simply be made by word-count and intent. Leaving things like intended audience out of it, we can draw the line with length. Something like:

This is a basic interpretation, but you can see how different ideas would manifest themselves on each platform.

The benefit I see of doing something like this could be to maintain audience expectation. Coupled with this is the kind of writing you do in each. Personal posts are usually brief, linkblogs and ideas longer while anything technical or in depth requires more attention, more space and more time.

If you use any of these services, this distinction has probably already been made, but I thought it could use a mention since I’ve been thinking of why I’d use wordpress.com and tumblr.com etc if I already have my own blog.

Here are the two reasons:
Tumblr and WordPress have difference audiences and reach. They are aggregated throughout a network = more reach. Plus crrrg.com posts are left to stay in depth and focused because I have other places to express ideas that may not fit in there.

Related: Dumping.

The standard WordPress handling of title tags [what shows up in your browser's title bar and search engines] is not guite right.

Instead of BlogTitle >> PostTitle; you want PostTitle >> BlogTitle. This helps with SEO and looks better.

You could switch wp_title and bloginfo(name), but then you get this annoying >> before your title. So here is the easy solution without resorting to a plugin.

Add the PostTitle after the http://craigchilds.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/tricky-maxinquaye/ http://craigchilds.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/tricky-maxinquaye/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:35:46 +0000 craigchilds http://craigchilds.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/tricky-maxinquaye/ ]]>

Who else takes other people’s lyrics, gets Martina Topley-Bird to sing them, and calls it their own other than Tricky? On a debut no less!

No Tricky LP is outstanding, but they always have a few pearler tracks on them. Maxinquaye’s hits are the tracks that borrow:

Overcome uses lyrics from Massive Attack’s Karmacoma.
Black Steel uses the first verse from PE’s Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos.
Hell Is Around The Corner samples Hayes’Ike’s Rap II which you would have heard first on Portishead’s Glory Days.

Tricky later covered Siouxsie & the Banshees’ Tattoo, The Cure’s Lovecats and XTC’s Dear God.

Who else has done this? Someone else’s lyrics with new a style and music…

What a hassle! WordPress decided a while ago that you can have either summary or full content feeds, but if you used the code the feed’s posts would get cut.

Editing the wp/includes feed files didn’t help and neither did the full-feed plugin. However, I’d suggest using Cronin’s Dual Feeds plugin.

Not only does it fix this little issue across the board [category feeds etc] but it also allows you to make up a secondary feed for summaries and plug your feed into Feedburner.

Good look.

What is this about? WordPress.com isn’t allowing comments to go through based on ‘my’ server maintenance?

Your server is going through a few minutes of routine maintenance. Please don’t touch your browser for a few minutes.
What do I do?

If you were posting a comment or making a post on your blog then do not press BACK on your browser. Wait 5 minutes and press the refresh icon on your browser. Your comment or post will be sent as normal.

If you are browsing a blog here just wait a few moments and hit refresh. The page you were expecting will appear.

I’ve never come across this before. When will it end!?

Surrounded by green and brown and ants, tickles up my neck and down my spine; there is a light wash over my fingers, typing softly, as the breeze almost lifts my umbrella away. The umbrella, found alone on the sidewalk a few nights ago, provides enough shade to resolve my computer’s battle with the glare from the sun. Atop my head, an hour past noon, rays warm my head and tired eyes. I’m getting that sensation of pressure behind my neck, usually a result of calm and lack of sleep, which I enjoy. Sammy has formed the spitting image of a lobster with thin twigs. A ‘rock lobster’, as she sings.

“Africa it up. Then New Caledonia – Pacific it up!” We’re planning a trip, spur of the moment, through a few continents, “Final destination: Eurotrash.”

An interesting program that enables you to run Web2.0 [web apps] from your desktop. It actually just looks like a desktop-shortcut creator, but it does come with a Netjaxer browser you can use to run the programs from instead of [or as well as] your default browser.

I’ve installed and used this application and I can see no purpose for it. All it enables you to do is create shortcuts to your favourite web apps on your desktop, start menu, startup or quick launch. You can also minimise the program into your system tray.

One benefit I could see in using Netjaxer would be to quickly startup a document [like Writely or Gmail] within Netjaxer’s streamline browser without having to go through your default browser – which in my case is Firefox and has been using up a lot of unnecessary memory lately.

Just quickly:

Last night I was watching Late Night with Conan O’brien and I noticed something I thought was interesting. My understanding is Conan’s been to Finland already but here in Australia we get his show aired a few days later so this episode was before he’s his trip [it may have been a fairly old episode anyway].

I don’t know if anyone noticed, however, but during Conan talking about how long the trip will be, from New York to Helsinki, a graphic of Google Earth panning between either city played.

How cheap, I thought.

I’m looking for video of it.

Phu Ly from IfElse.co.uk fronts a great site and has started something interesting. He’s putting up an original theme every day to run on WordPress [the platform I use to make this site happen]. I have actually changed up the site and used his latest one – from Day3 – and mixed it up a bit, but, depending on what he brings out during the next few days, I might have a new look very soon. Nice work!