Podcast Recommendation: Boagworld
Podcast Recommendation: Boagworld
As many of you know, I have something of a podcast addiction. My iPod contains everything from the video mischief of Mr. Deity to the probing intellectual discussions of In Our Time–which returns from summer hiatus this week. I listen to these while walking about campus, driving around town or when trying to fall asleep at night. Alas some of these podcasts are ill-suited to the fight against insomnia. Instead of lulling me into slumber, they taunt me with ideas that I want to tinker with right away. One such Podcast is Boagworld, “the podcast for those involved in designing, developing and running Web sites.”
As many of you know, I have something of a podcast addiction. My iPod contains everything from the video mischief of Mr. Deity to the probing intellectual discussions of In Our Time—which returns from summer hiatus this week. I listen to these while walking about campus, driving around town or when trying to fall asleep at night. Alas some of these podcasts are ill-suited to the fight against insomnia. Instead of lulling me into slumber, they taunt me with ideas that I want to tinker with right away. One such Podcast is Boagworld, “the podcast for those involved in designing, developing and running Web sites.”
Boagworld is the creation of Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington, co-founders (along with Chris Scott) of Headscape, a Web design firm in the U. K. According to their Web site, “Boagworld.com aims to educate you about the latest web innovations, teach you how to manage the development of your site and show you how to integrate your site into your broader business. Most of all it aims to put you in a position where you are not baffled by the techies who are building your site!”
Why you should listen to Boagworld
Two things struck me the first time I listened to Boagworld. 1) They’re quite entertaining, and 2) They really know what they are talking about. As soon as I heard them referring to such tried and true resources as A List Apart and Case alumnus, Eric Meyer, I knew they were on the right track. A visit to their well-organized, standards-compliant site served to confirm that they practice what they preach.
The podcasts cover a nice cross-section of topics aimed towards designers, developers, marketers and anyone else who is involved in some aspect of an organizations Web presence. As the mission statements says, “This site/podcast exists to help you poor sods who have been lumbered with the job of managing the company’s website. This responsibility is on top of your normal work and has been given to you despite the fact that you know little or nothing about the internet and building websites. It is for you that boagworld.com exists.” (I told you they were entertaining.) Shows are 50-60 minutes in length and typically feature:
- Light hearted banter between Paul and Marcus as they share the week’s Web-related news, tips, advice and recommendations
- Marcus’s Bit, typically focusing on an issue related to Web project/client management or marketing
- Paul’s Corner, covering a design or development subject, and
- Interviews with various experts, such as Patrick McNeil from Design Meltdown and Daniel Burka, the creative director at digg.com and/or book reviews
The order of the above may vary, but each week they cover a wide range of material on everything from css to social media.
Why you should read Boagworld
One of the problems with audio podcasts is keeping track of the names, links, books and other details mentioned throughout the show. This is not a problem with Boagworld as the accompanying Web site and blog includes summaries and/or transcripts of the shows including links to everything mentioned within. Rather than having to listen with pencil and paper at the ready, you can simply relax with the audio then go to the site later to follow-up on their recommendations. Archives are organized by date and subject as well as tagged by keyword, making the information easily accessible even if you can’t remember which episode featured what. The blog allows listeners to leave comments about the shows and the site also features a discussion board for further interaction with the hosts and other Web developers around the world.
Why are you still reading this? Go give it a listen!
At this point in this entry I could prattle on with various details and examples, but as I’m recommending that you listen to Boagworld, perhaps it is time that I let you do just that.
WordPress Theme Releases for 1 / 21
Three Column Themes Blue Lily Blue Lily is a three column theme which is quite simple and attractive, the main background is a striking blue with green color for the header. The navigation menu is right on the top of the page making it easily visible. Content area is big enough and has a gray background. There are […]
Three Column Themes
Blue Lily
Blue Lily is a three column theme which is quite simple and attractive, the main background is a striking blue with green color for the header. The navigation menu is right on the top of the page making it easily visible.
Content area is big enough and has a gray background. There are two sidebars which you can use to show off additional information.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Invalid CSS with 1 error
Demo | Release Page | Download
Blue Dream
Blue Dream is a three column theme with a graphical header and rounded navigational menu on the top of the page. The theme comes built in with RSS icons on top of the page to make it easier to subscribe to feeds.
There are two sidebars which can be used to display additional information and advertisements.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Invalid XHTML 1.0 Transitional with 32 errors | Valid CSS
Airborne
Airborne is a three column theme which makes use of clouds in the header and footer sidebar section as a background. The main content area is a bit small which does not allow you to add big images into the content.
There are two sidebars for showing additional content, it also has a footer sidebar where you can add more content allowing you pack all the information like top posts, recent posts etc in a single page.
Note: The release page is in German.
Widget Ready: Yes
Compatibility: There were no issues that I saw with this theme on Firefox 2+, IE6, IE7, Flock.
Validations: Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Valid CSS
CaseLearns: 2008 Spring Semester Classes
Registration is now open for spring classes at CaseLearns. Whether you’re building your first Web site, adding a podcast to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.
Classes take place in Kelvin Smith Library
Registration is now open for spring classes at CaseLearns. Whether you’re building your first Web site, adding a podcast to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.
The classes listed below may be of particular interest to those developing or maintaining Web sites.
If you are new to Web design and want to learn Dreamweaver, I recommend reading I’m not going to teach you XHTML/HTML, but you should learn it anyway and doing the homework assignment before taking your first Dreamweaver class.
All CaseLearns classes are open to current Case faculty, students and staff, emeriti faculty, alumni, and Senior Scholars. Case affiliates may register if openings are available. Class schedules are subject to change. Please visit the CaseLearns Web site for the most current information.
- Audio Recording and Editing
- Feb 13, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 13, 6:00 p.m.
Mar 20, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 9, 3:00 p.m. - Digital Images I: Introduction & Basic Photoshop
- January 16, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 27, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 7, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 5, 3:00 p.m. - Digital Images II: Advanced Photoshop
- Jan 30, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 30, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 3, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 14, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 26, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 17, 3:00 p.m. - Digital Images III: Even MORE Advanced Photoshop
- Feb 20, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 20, 6:00 p.m.
Apr 24, 3:00 p.m. - Dreamweaver CS3: Introduction
- Feb 12, 1:00 p.m.
Feb 12, 4:00 p.m. - Dreamweaver CS3: Intermediate
- Feb 29, 9:00 a.m.
Feb 29, 12:00 p.m.
Mon, Apr 7, 1:00 p.m. - Dreamweaver CS3: Advanced
- Apr 22, 9:00 a.m.
Apr 22, 12:00 p.m. - Dreamweaver CS3: New Features
- Jan 22, 10:00 a.m.
Jan 22, 12:00 p.m.
Mar 17, 1:00 p.m. - Macromedia Flash: Introduction
- Jan 31, 9:00 a.m.
Jan 31, 12:00 p.m. - Photoshop CS3: New Features
- Feb 28, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 28, 5:00 p.m. - Video Workshop I: Introduction to Digital Video
- Jan 17, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 17, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 6, 3:00 p.m.
Feb 24, 1:00 p.m.
Mar 6, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 2, 3:00 p.m. - Video Workshop II: Advanced Digital Video
- Jan 31, 3:00 p.m.
Jan 31, 6:00 p.m.
Feb 27, 3:00 p.m.
Mar 2, 1:00 p.m.
Mar 27, 3:00 p.m.
Apr 23, 3:00 p.m. - Understanding RSS Feeds
- Apr 9, 1:00 p.m.
Apr 9, 3:00 p.m.
Information classification needs more than a James Bond top secret stamp
It doesn’t really matter where you live in the world, the chances are that your country has been hit by some high profile data loss scandal during the course of the last year or so. Everything from retail operations such as TJ Maxx losing the odd 40 million or so customer credit card details to a clever hacker right through to the UK Government literally losing personal and financial data about 25 million people when two discs containing a social security benefits database went missing in the post. The common thread is that there is a need for better information classification, and a…