7thgroove http://www.7thgroove.com/blog Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:01:48 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 George Orwell’s rules http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/george-orwells-rules/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/george-orwells-rules/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:01:48 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/george-orwells-rules/ I clipped these from a bookmark I made last week — they’re so good they deserved a post. Orwell‘s six rules for writing are very applicable to copywriting for the web:

  1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.
  2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
  3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
  4. Never use the passive voice when you can use the active
  5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday equivalent.
  6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous!

 

]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/george-orwells-rules/feed/ 0 8 Years, $167 Million and nothing to show for it http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/8-years-167-million-and-nothing-to-show-for-it/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/8-years-167-million-and-nothing-to-show-for-it/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:53:06 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/8-years-167-million-and-nothing-to-show-for-it/ Wow, I’ve seen some government IT failures, but never anything like this:

“He cited VA’s failure to develop a system to schedule patient appointments at its hospitals as a prime example of what the department must avoid. VA has been building the system for eight years at a cost of $167 million, without delivering even a portion of one workable application to clinics or hospitals.” source nextgov.com

Stories like this fuel the shift toward agility.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/words-really-matter/feed/ 0 This is interaction design http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/this-is-interaction-design/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/this-is-interaction-design/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:55:50 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/?p=335 id-explained

View article on wikipedia

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View more documents from miskeeto.

]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/interaction-design-frameworks/feed/ 0 Solve it once http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/solve-it-once/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/solve-it-once/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:23:08 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/solve-it-once/ Another great group problem solving model:

]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/solve-it-once/feed/ 0 Disagree and commit http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/disagree-and-commit/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/disagree-and-commit/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:20:39 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/disagree-and-commit/ I quite liked this model for group decision making:

]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/disagree-and-commit/feed/ 0 Rapid Prototyping Tools http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/rapid-prototyping-tools/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/rapid-prototyping-tools/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:19:50 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/rapid-prototyping-tools/ Rapid Prototyping Tools

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/rapid-prototyping-tools/feed/ 0 Required Reading for IxD http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/required-reading-for-interactive-designers-design-innovation-fast-company/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/required-reading-for-interactive-designers-design-innovation-fast-company/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:36:37 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/required-reading-for-interactive-designers-design-innovation-fast-company/ Required Reading for Interactive Designers | Design & Innovation | Fast Company

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/required-reading-for-interactive-designers-design-innovation-fast-company/feed/ 0 5 Popular CSS Frameworks http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/5-popular-css-frameworks/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/5-popular-css-frameworks/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:08:24 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/5-popular-css-frameworks/ An overview of the 5 most popular CSS Frameworks–showcasing tutorials — you will definitely find this useful and time-saving.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/5-popular-css-frameworks/feed/ 0 50 Best Ever Icon Sets http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/50-best-ever-icon-sets/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/50-best-ever-icon-sets/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:07:14 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/50-best-ever-icon-sets/ If you are looking for that perfect icon for your web site, blog, web app or application, you will find them here.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/50-best-ever-icon-sets/feed/ 0 Illustrator Logo Design Tutorials http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/illustrator-logo-design-tutorials/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/illustrator-logo-design-tutorials/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:05:29 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/illustrator-logo-design-tutorials/ In this collection, you will find 15 hand-picked tutorials from a variety of talented graphic designers and illustrators that discuss the logo creation process using Illustrator.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/illustrator-logo-design-tutorials/feed/ 0 Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn to Find a Job http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/ten-ways-to-use-linkedin-to-find-a-job/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/ten-ways-to-use-linkedin-to-find-a-job/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:04:22 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/ten-ways-to-use-linkedin-to-find-a-job/ LinkedIn has over thirty-five million members in over 140 industries. Most of them are adults, employed, and not looking to post something on your Wall or date you.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/ten-ways-to-use-linkedin-to-find-a-job/feed/ 0 6 Cases of False Advertising http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/6-cases-of-false-advertising/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/6-cases-of-false-advertising/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:21:16 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/6-cases-of-false-advertising/ Sometimes false advertising is easy to spot and sometimes marketers employ a little more finesse to bamboozle you. Here are six examples of shamelessly false advertising campaigns that were blatant lies.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/6-cases-of-false-advertising/feed/ 0 Canadian ISPs throttle the Internet http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/canadian-isps-throttle-the-internet/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/canadian-isps-throttle-the-internet/#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:10:30 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/canadian-isps-throttle-the-internet/ Canada’s major ISPs throttle file-sharing apps, and one thing is clear: Canada’s Internet, like its wireless services, well s*ck. But at least we don’t go to jail for downloading torrents.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/canadian-isps-throttle-the-internet/feed/ 0 Social Media Cheat Sheet http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/social-media-cheat-sheet/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/social-media-cheat-sheet/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:09:46 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/social-media-cheat-sheet/ Step-by-step instructions, with screen shots, for a process to get smart about a new field in a hurry.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/social-media-cheat-sheet/feed/ 0 Tweetbacks Plugin for WordPress http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/tweetbacks-plugin-for-wordpress/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/tweetbacks-plugin-for-wordpress/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:13 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/tweetbacks-plugin-for-wordpress/ The Twittbacks WordPress Plugin that was developed for Smashing Magazine — this plugin imports tweets about your posts as comments.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/tweetbacks-plugin-for-wordpress/feed/ 0 Analytics & Twitter? with Joost de Valk http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/the-analytics-issue-with-twitter-joost-de-valk/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/the-analytics-issue-with-twitter-joost-de-valk/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:43:37 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/the-analytics-issue-with-twitter-joost-de-valk/ This is a very neat approach to a very new problem with web analytics. Specifically Twitter–which is all the rage. I’d like to explore this issue in a broader context with Hugh. But I’m not sure I can do that in 140 characters or less?

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/the-analytics-issue-with-twitter-joost-de-valk/feed/ 0 PHP for Beginners- another CMS? http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:38:55 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/ This is a great little tutorial. Why? is my question. With all the great open source CMS’s out there… why not learn PHP by building plug ins or extensions for systems like Drupal, Joomla or WordPress? That’s more useful.

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]]> http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/php-for-beginners-building-your-first-simple-cms/feed/ 0 12 Useful Web Tools http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/12-useful-web-tools/ http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/12-useful-web-tools/#comments Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:38:35 +0000 kevin http://www.7thgroove.com/blog/2009/12-useful-web-tools/ There’s a ton of free web-based tools to help you accomplish tasks such as color palette selection, creating unique fonts, editing images, and testing typography. This article links you to handy online utilities for web design.

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