web lab

(coefficient of stiffness) C = square root of C / P (density) ~ 768mph

posterous trouble

I had a new experience with posterous today. we all know posterous is dead simple to use so how did i make it difficult?

well I tried to add a new joint admin via their posterous phone app easy? should be. but there is a catch. user doesn't have a posterous account. user doesnt have their email password. user doesn't have access to a PC. 

I had access to a PC but not the new users phone. I tried to talk this problem through over the phone, but in the end I had to get the phone brought to me. 

The lesson I learned was that really simple apps can leave you a little disconnected if you are not already fully connected.

In the end the gmail on the android came to the rescue. Got the user an account, confirmed by mail the admin invite to other posterous blog sorted. a bit messy but really not possible for a newbie. Complicated coz the user was a subscriber to the blog before being an admin, but my admin access sorted that. 

note to self: simple apps could do with complex sub sub menus to navigate the problems. 


celebrate your vision #cbb

celebrity television
car crash decision
don’t watch, don’t listen
don’t press red, diss ‘em
celebrate your vision
your move, youtube
you vote, you lose
switch off : you choose
red banner BREAKING NEWS
24 hours a day, 7 minute loop
flat screen, wide screen, i scream
4:3 to 16:9, HD DVB
Dolby 5.1, its not for me
this TV age is now closing down
don’t forget to unplug your set

bhg2007

podcasting is not iTunes

As an old fogey podcaster I demand a few simple things that big &
small podcast outfits miss often.

1. Provide an RSS feed of your podcast
Many podcasters tend to provide an iTunes feed only. This used not be
a problem the major problem it now is to the experts as there was a
way to to make iTunes tell you what the RSS feed address behind an
iTunes feed was by pinging the iTunes feed. Apple blocked this method
in Feb 2011.
Podcasters of the world, an RSS/XML feed is required by non iTunes
readers. A real feed is required by iTunes in the firsts place so make
it available to everyone please. Often I have to resort to major
detective work just to find your real feeds.


2. Provide valid and well formed RSS
Too often I find feeds that are not valid and not well formed. This is
such a basic. Hand crafted or machine rolled, your RSS must be valid
and well formed against the namespace. If not valid or well formed
less forgiving readers will just not read you and more forgiving
readers will misread you.

Validate your own feed regularly http://feedvalidator.org/ fix errors.


3. M4A only feeds.
While it is a podcasters right to choose the media codec for the
podcast, M4A will not play with a lot of web based players, consider
alternate MP3 feeds if you are so fixed on having an M4A audio
podcast.


4. Are we there yet?
Podcasters, consider making your feed PUSH enabled. It take minutes to
burn a feed and make it PubSubHubbub aware. This speeds up the
delivery of your media and reduces wasteful checking on your server
for updates.


We haven't come a long way since the hay day of podcasting in 2004.
The basics then are still the basics now. I am seeing slippage from
provision of the basics by many a broadcaster & podcaster. Please
strive to be the best, and remember the RSS. Really Saying Something!

As I finish writing this piece, twitter alerts me that 2 more podcasts
I track are out or in studio. Whatever your schedule, whatever the
frequency of your episodes keep up the good work, you may not often
get praise from the audience but praise is had won, I will praise the
available RSS valid & well formed feeds you provide.

Thanks for hearing me.