In a previous post, Adding the Human Element in Screencasts, I argued that adding a human element in a screencast (by human element, I mean someone you can actually see talking) increases the appeal of the video significantly. So I tested this out by adding a picture-in-picture (PIP) effect for two WordPress screencasts. (By the way, the WordPress screencasts I create are mainly to test … more »

As 2008 ended, I neglected to write a year-end wrap-up post because it seemed so trendy and cliché at the time, but now that 2009 has started, my muse has been prodding me to write it. A lot of good things happened in 2008. We bought a house in Eagle Mountain, moving from an apartment to a two-story home that fits our little family of … more »

If you’re starting a corporate blog, you’d be well off with a little mommy blogger training to break you in. After living with a mommy blogger, you’ll more naturally embrace transparency, skip any attempts at censorship, and become accustomed to the occasional distorted portrayal of what you say and do. These are all principles I’ve honestly learned to love from Jane. Jane is the mommy … more »

Jane has wanted to implement something like Dooce’s Daily Chuck, where a new picture appears every day somewhere on the blog but not in the feed. The picture is usually just that — a picture, without much else. It works well to draw people to your site each day, knowing that you have something new. For the past two weeks I’ve been trying to figure … more »

This post is part of Jane’s Blog Carnival. The theme this week is the movie Some Kind of Wonderful, a classic 80s high-school movie that my wife quotes from daily. In one scene, the main character, Keith, intentionally sets off a fire alarm to land in detention, hoping to sit near his daydream love, Amanda Jones. It turns out Amanda — unbeknownst to Keith — … more »