Quoting Thoreau on this blog might be a bit odd, yet the quote sums up my feeling for the plugin. When I read about Tweetable on Mashable, I thought sarcastically “hurray, another Twitter plugin.” After setting it up, being swayed by their referral, I really enjoyed it’s presence. The plugin places a quick Twitter interface in the admin panel, allowing the admin (or authors) to interact on the blogs Twitter account.

“Simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau. A quote stuck in my head after starting to read On Writing Well, by William Zinsser.

To me, it comes as a blessing. As I have been trying to force myself to concentrate on my blog, I’m excited that I now have access to Twitter without the need of another tab or application.

Along with the embedded Twitter application, the plugin publishes my posts to Twitter and places a TweetMEME icon on my posts. Two tasks which had been handled through other plugins.

While not a selling point, the posts are tagged with the application you name during setup. Which is why in the image above you see “from Michael Lipson,” named after my blog.  Just a little extra personality for the 140 character social network.

I received Gmail access to Google Buzz yesterday and had a chance to poke around with it away from a mobile platform. There’s a lot that needs to be worked out, however my opinion has changed quite a bit since playing around on the phone.

Naturally, my first impression was filled with concerns about privacy with the location tagging. From a mobile standpoint, I still feel quite the same. The difference with the Gmail based interface is that it doesn’t seem so invasive on that front. Overall, it actually functions really well (considering the hiccups with Wave) and feels more private then Twitter and smoother then Facebook.

Jason Calacanis posted a note on his blog claiming this was the end of Facebook. After receiving the Gmail access, I’d have to agree that in the long run it could be a direct competitor due to Facebook’s recent downward spiral. Naturally, Gmail has a great customer base to enter the market, but I think it has a lot more to deal with the presentation. Presentation and simplicity was the highlight to Facebook’s original success, however as the social site grew they moved in the opposite direction.

In previous posts, I’ve talked thoroughly about the simplicity of designs and ease of use being a strong point to the success of websites. Facebook had been an example, however even before the most recent redesign the networking site had fallen away from “networking” and became more of an entertainment site. With the addition of applications and games, Facebook was able to attract a whole new audience at the cost of detouring others with constant Farmville updates from peers. I remember wanting to quit Facebook over the first “best friends” invitation, because it resembled MySpace’s sparkling hearts.

Google Buzz has none of the added pizazz which attracts the easily excited. Rather, Buzz allows for peer to peer communication through a clean interface. Since there are no bells and whistles, at least distracting ones, Buzz becomes a feed from those you’re following. Almost a more business like approach to network, which is fitting because it is nested in a powerful email client almost always used for business.

Still, there are several things Buzz needs to improve to gain a faster share of the market. First, there needs to be a way to collapse or skip comments on individual and individual buzz. Second, there needs to be mobile implementation beyond browser interface that doesn’t urge location tagging. Third, and final, better arrangement of the Google Profile page. It’s just hideous.

When the announcement came through, I passed on the basic information to a friend who said “ugh, Google, stop it.” While I’m not cynical, thinking Google is out for the world, I thought to myself “what added features could Buzz really bring?” While I don’t have access through Gmail, I do have access through my Google profile and my G1. Naturally, the first step was to browse the Orlando area looking for local updates to see what people were saying. The first updates I read involved being distracted in a lecture, some friendly trash talk between friends and someone making a reference to privacy.

As powerful as Buzz seems, I think the last point is the strongest concern many will have. Google Buzz requires your Gmail credentials, most often linked to your Google profile. For a lot of people this will be discouraging, however I’d imagine managing the privacy settings on Buzz will only be more difficult for those who use Gmail as their email client (not just service). Further more, with location based updates there’s almost the immediate concern as to who is looking to see where you are.

While the intentions are certainly good, the follow through seems a bit weak. Other location based social applications, like Gowalla and Foursquare are task centric. You’re checking into a location, not binding an update your updates to a location. If Buzz was more centered around being a social network feed, it might have been a bigger hit with me out of the box.

Further note: visiting http://buzz.google.com/ from my G1 shows only considerations about Android 2.0. More on that later, though.

Epic. Win. Not that I have a problem with Adobe AIR, hell, I love it.  I started using Seesmic on Adobe AIR before and it quickly became my favorite Twitter Desktop application.  Other then looking a lot prettier, it seems to run a lot smoother then the AIR application.   The application it’s self just released as Beta, but looks like it could be released tomorrow.

The first thing I noticed was that the Facebook interface hasn’t been added yet, however I seldom used it so I’m not all that disappointed.  After that, adjusting to the minor tweaks in the navigation was a breeze.  If nothing else, I felt it was a strong improvement past the aesthetic changes.

On the left side, there are tabs for” User lists”, “Searches”, “Accounts” and “All.”  Instead of cluttering all your accounts and searches together, Seesmic for Windows allows you to separate each group from each other.  Ideally, this improvement will allow you to split everything and follow specific queries rather than have everything pulling at once draining your API usage.

I haven’t got far into the settings yet, however it seems the options are about the same.  I need to further set it up, but I’m extremely impressed for a Beta in such an early release.

I for one hit that API limit taking screenshots and playing around, so here are some pictures:

WhatsUpAndroid, while relatively new, is a great Android site. Rather than a hot news source, a lot of the articles are opinion pieces with some flare. The “Android PR Girl” comes from “Android Personal Relationships” and not “Public Relations” as one might think.

One that’s really emphasized on the site is Android as a solution, rather than a brand or product.   I really think as this site grows it will have a lot of potential.

I am all over the web, part of it is fueling my vast interests and part of it is getting an idea of what the newest trends are and seeing how I can better adapt.  Over time I’ve really developed a sense of what works and what doesn’t work, not just for me, but for various audiences as well. Needless to say, I’ve also developed a series of pet peeves in the design/dev world and that’s what I plan on getting at in this article.

1. Disabling right click.

I completely understand wanting to keep the credit for your hard work, however at the same time it seems a bit pointless to me.  As a rule of thumb, if someone wants to steal it, they will.  Disabling “right-click” disables other features which I (among others) frequently use, i.e. “open link in new tab” keeping the YOUR website open to browse.  If someone wants your content, they can just view source code or use one of many plug-ins for Firefox.

2. Embedded music.

No. There is no reason, other than to be a nuisance. IF you are going to have music on your site, don’t make it auto start and make it is clear as to how to stop the music.  The only sites which should natively host audio are music related sites.  For most of us, the answer should be “no” and “don’t do it.”

3. Long footers.

This is a gamble.  I’m not going to say all long footers don’t work, however I’ve seen numerous that just don’t serve the site justice. Typically, and this is just me, I’d think the proper use of a footer would be for navigation and contact information.

If you’re using your footer to promote sites that don’t belong to you, let me suggest creating a single page with descriptions.  When I see a long list of links in a footer I ask myself “why didn’t the owner put them in a more visible place?”

4 Random advertisement.

Unless you’re getting a hefty amount, find a company you actually support to fill that banner position.  If you can’t find a company you support to advertise on your site, find one that’s related to your content. The benefit of keeping quality companies and related products on your site is that your customers are more likely to visit your advertisers sites, thus granting you more profit. But to those trying to squeeze every dime out of your site, it’s probably a good idea to just put the extra effort in and support quality.

5. Content linked advertisement.

By this I mean those little ads that pop up when you over above a word in an article. I have never (intentionally) clicked one of these ads, nor would I plan to because they are a hassle when they interrupt my reading.  Sure they probably pay nice, with all the accidental clicks and such, but I just don’t really see a point.

Now that I’m done whining, let me refocus and write something now that my mind is clear.

Typically when I work with someone I am able to decipher the best solution with them, however when I start to build my own sites I get caught up in the details and often find myself over thinking the simplest of tasks.  As mentioned a couple days back, I’m starting to rebuild Lipson.me, however I have too many ideas about what I should do to deliver the best possible site.  Funny thing is, it’s my arrogance getting in the way.

When I work with a client, I try to avoid questions revolving around their desires.  While it is ultimately their call, when I design a site I focus on what their audience would want.  Typically, I start with a minimalistic approach and build on the basics. Unfortunately, when I sat down to do my own site, I got caught up in how many features I can add to make it as appealing as possible showing off all my talents in one place.

So let’s start fresh…

What is the purpose/goal of the site?

(While self explanatory and obvious, It’s important that I know exactly what I am building. Therefore I don’t later get bombarded with changes.  Surprisingly, most requests come to me as “I need a website” or “I want an ecommerce store.”)

A *brief* portfolio of my business, a second introduction to myself and my work.   Primarily, it needs to be a work related site, instead of my personal (and often opinionated) blog.

Who am I building the site for?

(Often this is phrased “Who is your target audience?” Frequently, I get “anyone who will visit” or “anyone who wants to buy a DVD.”  A good idea, as it is often necessary, is to know how they plan on marketing the site as it could change the base of their audience.)

My target audience is going to be a mix of clients who already have a general understanding of who I am and what I do.  More specifically those who are referred to me through friends and family, as well those lucky few who receive my elevator pitch.

What do I want to express to my audience?

(To me, this is different than asking the purpose of the site.  This is typically where I probe them for mission statements, goals and background information.  This is where I get the best understanding of what I am doing and it allows me to get a better idea of my client.)

Aside from asserting what I do, I want to give the visitors a greater understanding of why I love what I do. Instead of show casing my previous work, I want to bring my audience into my current projects.  Instead of being afraid of showing them my works in progress, I actually want to highlight what I’m working on.

What direction do I want the site to go in the future?

(I ask this because it’s important to know the future of the business.  I think a lot of people jump in without focusing on the long run.. Knowing where the owner hopes to be in the future not only gives me perspective, it also almost guarantees future business.)

In the future, I want the site to host my source code as well as select articles I publish on my blog.  I do not want it to be a repository for my writing, but rather keep articles I write that pertain to my work and could be great resources for my clients.

What is my favorite font?

(Necessity.)

I have too many, top two Arial and Eras lite.

Social Networking, what will you use?

(As everyone knows, Social Networking is a hotspot for free marketing, so this might seem like a naive question to ask.. but it helps to know what the client is comfortable with, and what you can integrate into the site. Especially if it’s a blog or ecommerce site.)

Primarily, I’ll use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for networking.  I want to integrate my latest Tweet into the header and include links to my various profiles as my contact information.  I don’t however plan to use social networks to distribute information posted on Lipson.me, as I plan to keep it a static page.

While these questions are tailored to my portfolio site, they are a few of the questions I initially ask a client when I start to work with them.  I’ve found that the best practice is to get information about their market and business model before starting any business talk.  However, it sometimes can take a bit of coaching to get useful answers, as I often get “I want a site like Amazon” or the ever classic “Let’s remake Facebook and get rich.”  When I can understand the target audience and set realistic goals with the client, I feel a lot more confident in my work and a greater sense of pride in the long run.