Green Sites

In the spirit of environmentalism, check out these two sites that help save world resources while providing useful functionality:

Blackle: Google's Blackle is a way to use the famous and all-useful Google search box - and save energy at the same time. The traditional white Google background that emits light and energy on monitors across the world is now black, hence the name "Blackle." This dramatically cuts the amount of energy used when doing Google searches. Also nifty: a counter at the bottom of the page lets you know how many Watt hours of energy has been saved by Blackle users.

The Freecycle Network: This grassroots organization networks local communities across the US in an effort to reduce waste. Members join their local Freecycle community to give and get pretty much any tangible item they need - for free. Think craigslist, but nothing costs a dime. Freecycle is volunteer-run and completely free to use.

Google's Evolving Search Algorithm

I ran across this interesting article on changes to the Google algorithm this morning: Google Changing the Way it Ranks Sites

It talks about how Google may start to place less importance on linkjuice and emphasize things like geographical relevance for determining page rank. The author says this makes sense in order to strengthen Google's search algorithm in today's changing web 2.0 community. Users have a bevvy of options for sharing sites they love including video and audio - methods that aren't necessarily confined to traditional text linking. The author indicates that major players in the evolving way links are shared are social networking portals like Facebook and MySpace: an area where most links are currently hardly recognized by Google's algorithm at all.

What does this mean for SEO? In the long run, it could mean less focus on gaining inbound links for your site, and more focus on relevant content and geographical popularity or relevance.

Personally, this makes sense. Tailoring search results to the specific needs and location of the user is bound to return more relevant results. That, and paid link directories are currently making way too much money from us poor SEO folks.

Rounded Corners in CSS

Here are some links for quick help creating rounded corners in CSS:

Adam Kalsey
Spiffy Box
RoundedCornr

HTML Snippets

To center align a div: div{margin:0 auto;}

To layer a div over another div: div bottomlayer {z-index: 1;}, div toplayer {z-index: 2;}

Happy Halloween

Pumpkins stolen from Underwire:

Pimp your browser

Okay, so I am addicted to Mozilla Firefox add-ons. I admit it - I love these suckers! They make working on the web so much more efficient on a daily basis. Here is how I've pimped out my own browser, to maximize my own geekiness:

RoboForm: Stores all your passwords, usernames, and form information in one spot, so you don't have to remember it all yourself. A master password protects all your information so you can log into your accounts online with one click.

Gmail Notifier: Puts a little envelope graphic in the bottom right hand corner of your browser that alerts you whenever you receive new Gmail - so you don't have to check it yourself.

Del.icio.us: Tag sites to your del.icio.us account and access your bookmarked sites from your browser with one click.

Livejournal: Have a Livejournal? Keep track of comments, friends' posts and more right on the bottom of your browser with this handy add-on.

Google Notebook Extension: Add a mini notebook to your browser with this extension. Take notes, store links, or clip and save content from sites as you browse.

A good tip is to avoid add-ons and extensions that actually detract from browsing efficiency by creating distractions and clutter.

Purpose

Hi, My name is Zara and I'm an amateur web developer, copywriter, and designer. There's so much to learn that I felt I needed a "digital age dump" - a place to dump articles and tidbits I find interesting or useful about the evolving web world. Perhaps it will become a bit useful to others as well.