A nice little nod from ma.gnolia

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 29, 2008
in Social media, Web 2.0 and Web design
. 1 Comment

ma.gnolia logoOn 15 February 2006, Jeffery Zeldman and the thought-forward folks at Happy Cog helped to launched ma.gnolia, a then-new social bookmarking tool.

Me being the all-important web prof that spreads the occasional DWWS love to my students immediately fell in love with its utter simplicity. Coupled with finding similar sites like digg and del.icio.us far too yucky for their time, I signed up for my own ma.gnolia account five days later.

And just five days ago, I received a warm note from Larry Halff, ma.gnolia’s founder, that I shall now appear as a Featured Linker on the site.

Dino Baskovic, one of the newest Featured Linkers on ma.gnoliaSmall honor? Perhaps in the grand scheme but to me it’s huge. All for sharing with you those bookmarks I feel are worth a damn on the site, this blog, Facebook, FriendFeed and I suppose Twitter.

There’s even a nice little blog post about me and my newest esteemed colleagues in the newest “Featured” ranks.

Hey, it may not pay, but it’s a living. And thanks again, Larry!

Banner ads still work?

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 14, 2008
in Web design
. 2 Comments

They must. And I hate Old Spice…

http://www.oldspice.com/doubleimpact/?banneractuallyworked

Also makes for the funniest URI parameter query, ever. Though Norelco did have a jump on this sorta advertising last year, really, as did Cavemen. Where’s the originality?

And eyes off that horse, ladies.

Facebook is hiring web designers

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on July 8, 2008
in Social media and Web design
. 2 Comments

As I rest up from the last couple months of an unplanned, uh, sabbatical shall we say, I’ve had a few former students reach out to me in need of work.

The global economy is what it is. But there’s hope from at least one source. Facebook is hiring!

Facebook is hiring web designers

So apply already. Good luck, and many, many return emails, thank yous and blog posts forthcoming, promise.

Web design links that matter

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 24, 2008
in Lawrence Tech and Web design
. 10 Comments

High FidelitySince I began teaching “Web Site Design” at Lawrence Tech, I’ve researched a bazillion (or so) web design sites.

Web sites about web sites, if you will. Thousands abound, though most are crap. You’d be shocked at how many these so-called “sources” still carry a torch for Dynamic HTML, ignore open web standards in favor of vendor-locked drivel or give honest SEO pros a bad name.

Never mind the foolish attempts to monetize social media. Tsk, tsk.

Having tossed those bad apples, I’ve sampled the good ones with my students. Some of the better sites have come and gone—forgotten classics such as Webmonkey (long abandoned by Lycos) and Builder.com (which redirects to a distant cousin Down Under). Charity Kahn, if you’re out there: we miss your “Stupid Web Tricks.”

Anyway, I was asked the following a few weeks ago by Tim M., one of my students:

“Could you share with us your most favorite web design sites?”

Sure, I thought. I’ve been meaning to publish a complete list of my personal favorites to share with my class. This will be simple. It wasn’t.

Continue reading ‘Web design links that matter’

Human torch denied bank loan

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 23, 2008
in Social media and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

The Legend of Ron BurgundyAnybody who has ever worked with me or had me for class knows that the legend of Ron Burgundy lives on in my comps.

For years, I’ve used the hed “Human torch denied bank loan” for everything from wireframing to copywriting. It makes for quick filler between <h1> tags, takes less time to type than “The quick brown fox…” and is far less vague a prototyping construct than “Lorem ipsum.”

That, and it simply amuses me (though, a depressing chunk of my students still think I speak Latin). So it gave me great rapture to hack CNN’s t-shirt thingamabobber and try to mod my own swag. Alas, like the Torch, I too was denied. After a full day of blogospheric snickering, the CNN.com team finally read the chapter on URL crackz, and their accidental viral campaign is no longer.

Idiots.

Continue reading ‘Human torch denied bank loan’

Kevin Kelch

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 10, 2008
in Communication and Lawrence Tech
. 5 Comments

When you visit Prof. Kevin Kelch’s profile on RateMyProfessors.com, you’ll find a dozen comments left by his former students, including:

I took Presentation Media and Adv. Tech & Prof. with Kelch. I loved both classes and did great in them. He isn’t that strict if you do what is expected of you. Actually, he is one of my favorite professors.

He’s a great teacher, I wish he taught more classes I needed. I’d take him every chance I could! He’s fair, to the point and smart.

I thought Professor Kelch was friendly and I got a lot out of his class. He is very clear on his requirements for papers and presentations.

Very clear on what he wants and a very liberal marker!

This is one grouchy man, but I cannot think of anyone more suited to teach the class. Kelch allows plenty of time to get assignments done. He is very anal in terms of grading, but tells you exactly what he wants to see. In fact the entire class period is dedicated to him repeating what he expects in each assignment…over and over.

Very true. Prof. Kelch’s many students through the years knew he would expect nothing but their absolute best in class. In fact, he insisted on it.

Prof. Kevin KelchHe was my colleague in our Technical and Professional Communication program at Lawrence Tech. I was fortunate enough to call him “Kevin.” We’d debate varied topics such as writing styles for the web, our favorite Adobe products and the occasional misfit student. When he labored to form the Media Communications program at LTU, he valued my humble opinion during its foundation, even going so far as to recommend I teach a course or two. And unlike many of my own professors from my days toting a backpack, Kevin’s door was always open to our students.

He was passionate about rhetoric, fiercely dedicated to his craft, well respected and mildly feared.

He will be sorely missed.

Continue reading ‘Kevin Kelch’

Wii the people

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 8, 2008
in Social media and Web design
. 2 Comments

Wii the peopleLike so many of us stumbling social media types, I like to publish my online status updates. In my head, I think you’re riveted by blow-by-blow minutiae such as “Dino likes hot coffee” or “Dino dreams about delicious bacon” or even last week’s shocking revelation that “Dino is all out of Powdered Toast.”

I’m still not sure why I bother to actively update my status, let alone multiple ones on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and (for nearly a decade) AOL Instant Messenger. Perhaps sadly enough, I tie these and many more together using FriendFeed. Voyeurism in reverse? Or am I just doing my job playing cyber-alchemist?

Given the bites above, maybe I just need a more balanced breakfast. But if you insist on a steady diet of Dino, then who am I to refuse? I’m a ham and I know it. What I didn’t know, nor ever expected, was your fascination with my recent purchase of a Nintendo Wii:

Continue reading ‘Wii the people’

Sucka Free SEO

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 2, 2008
in Web design
. 0 Comments

On the next 106 & Park: will.i.am, Lil Wayne, Wu-Tang, web standards…

He calls himself m0serious, a.k.a. the Poetic Prophet, the SEO Rapper—though he rhymes about more than search. I honestly thought this would be a mildly amusing web spoof, but it’s actually quite good. I even showed this to my class earlier this evening, and they gave it their props.

If you’ve gotten this far and still aren’t sure whether to click play, then read on (thank you, Tasty Blog Snack):

Continue reading ‘Sucka Free SEO’

S-C-A-N-D-A-L

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on April 1, 2008
in Communication and Social media
. 0 Comments

ScrabulousThis is the last in an accidental series of posts related to web and social media coverage of the ongoing Detroit mayoral scandal. The whole thing has been a mild distraction to my regularly scheduled blog outings, and a major one for the entire region. Like most of Metro Detroit, I’d like to move on.

Since we last left off, Kwame Kilpatrick accepted my ‘friend’ invite on Facebook. I debated whether to challenge our embattled mayor to a friendly game of Scrabulous, but thought it best to leave well enough alone. He hasn’t changed his status update since my last post, so, uh, I suppose he remains resolute.

He’s been good enough—again, assuming it’s really Kilpatrick—to allow commentary from all sides in on his “wall”. Among the more eloquent posts since formal charges were filed:

Continue reading ‘S-C-A-N-D-A-L’

Mr. Webb: What the web thinks of your client

Published
by
Prof. Dino Baskovic
on March 26, 2008
in Communication and Social media
. 2 Comments

As promised, I trolled through the web to get a sense of how the latest Detroit mayoral scandal is playing out in social media circles, trying my best to remain unbiased. Yet as I crunched the numbers, I came across the following head scratcher from Dan Webb, attorney for Kwame Kilpatrick:

…I told the mayor we’re not going to try this case in the press. I’ve never done that during my career. I truly believe the system works. The system works best when jurors are allowed to come into a courtroom without being blitzed with publicity for months ahead of time. I assume and hope the prosecutor will feel the same way. Therefore I’m responding today and maybe for the next day or so to these charges and then you’re not gonna hear from me again because I don’t intend to get up and try this case in the press. I also asked the mayor—I basically instructed him I guess as his lawyer—that he should do the same thing. This case should be tried in a courtroom in front of a jury and should not be tried in the press and therefore I’ve asked him not to respond specifically on a day-to-day basis to questions from the press about the case because we’ll do our speaking in court.

Mr. Webb’s statement was undoubtedly followed by knee-slapping guffaws of roaring laughter from every newsroom, PR agency and blogging outpost in town. Simply examining the past five days of online conversation alone…

Continue reading ‘Mr. Webb: What the web thinks of your client’