mediajunk

I've created this entry using Performancing - a Firefox plugin that lets you create blog entries via a WYSIWYG editor that runs in your browser.

Since I'm creating this post directly in the browser, I don't have to login to my Movable Type account via the web, so I don't have to wait for it to load.

Another advantage is that the editor has all of the basic formatting capabilities you'd expect - bold, italics, quote, bullet points, insert image, etc. On the downside, however, I've just noticed that the HTML "b" and "i" tags are used rather than "strong" and "em", so I've had to switch to HTML mode and change these manually.

Hopefully these issues will be resolved in the future or -- better yet -- maybe we'll be able to add custom XHTML tags to the editor.

While there are other ways to get a WYSIWYG editor for Movable Type, they involve adding a plugin to MT itself. For example, MTEnhancedEntryEditing uses TinyMCE's nifty feature set - but I've found this problematic when using IE (and so have others). It works fine in Firefox however.

If you are an MT user and decide to use Performancing, take note of the following:

• You will be asked for the URL of your MT publishing API. This is not your mt.cgi URL; it is your mt-xmlrpc.cgi file (this is in the same directory as your mt.cgi file).
• You will be asked for your API username and password. The username is your regular MT username but the password is not necessarily your MT password.
  
• To check -- or reset -- your MT API password, log in to your MT account, go to >System Overview > Authors > Your Name, scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the "API Password" field.

Anyway, after writing all that, I still don't know if my Performancing plugin is working! I guess it's time to press the "Publish" button and find out...

Update (5 minutes later): Hmmm... I'm not so sure about Performancing after all. It added a "Powered by Performancing" tag and link to the bottom of my post (which I have just deleted). Is that link going to appear in every post I make with Performancing? That's spam!

I understand that the makers would like something back but, hey, I think a blog post evangelising the plugin (my original intention) and a link back to their site is enough.

Secondly, my paragraphs have become pseudo-paragraphs -- created using double BR tags, not P tags. This looks ugly in source code, but it looks even uglier in my Textile-2 enabled Movable Type interface.

Sorry Performancing, after an exciting start, you now get the thumbs down. Someone's bound to make a better blogging plugin soon.

Ever used your laptop on the train? You're trying to finish a project; you get sucked in and time flies, when -- aaaaargh -- the battery dies, and you haven't saved your work!

Even if you're not so nerdy, I'm sure you've had a mobile phone conversation that went like this:

"Hi. Listen, this is really important ... no, hold on, this is really important, I have to be really quick because my battery's about to ... hello?! He ... awww shit!"

Both these scenarios could be a thing of the past if the promise of wireless electricity becomes a reality. According to the BBC:

US researchers have outlined a relatively simple system that could deliver power to devices such as laptop computers or MP3 players without wires. The concept exploits century-old physics and could work over distances of many metres, the researchers said.

Sounds great, until you read the next paragraph:

Although the team has not built and tested a system, computer models and mathematics suggest it will work.

Computer models and maths, eh? Why am I unconvinced?

This reminds me of another electricity-related promise made in 1999: Broadband internet delivered through power lines.

I couldn't wait; luckily I didn't. The internet via electricy dream failed, despite its promoters' insistence that "the technology was fundamentally sound".

I attended the eSymposium organised by Tourism Ireland today.

One of the speakers was Steve Hafner, CEO of Kayak, a meta-search engine for flights.

Already popular in the U.S., travel meta-search engines aren't so well-known this side of the Atlantic. Hafner seemed to suggest that this was due partly to the general internet innovation lag between the U.S. and Europe, and partly because Europe's complex network of airlines (and, presumably, its cultural and language heterogeneity).

In any case, Kayak is launching its European equivalent any day now, we were told.

The big question for me is: will Ryanair be one of the airlines searched? Another site that claims to be a European meta-search engine for flights is Opopo. However, since it doesn't include Ryanair flights, it is unlikely to become popular with those searching for bargains (i.e. most of us).

I've seen the phrase "Website Redux" bandied about a lot lately and had presumed it meant "my website has just had a makeover"

Looking the term up, just to be certain, I discovered that Redux actually means "brought back".

So, it's definitely appropriate as a title for this entry. See, if you look at the archives up to this point, you'll notice a flurry of posting activity for a couple of years which gradually dwindles too - well, not quite a halt, but a post every few months, instead of every other day.

Why? You'll find part of the explanation in the new about section, but the short answer is that my business took off, and my time became a scarce resource. While I always saw blogging as a promotional activity, I got caught in the classic start-up dilemma: too much time spent doing the work, not enough time spent marketing my services.

Sorry, I should say our services. By the end of 2005, I realised I was going to need to either hire one or more employees, or find some damn good freelancers.

I placed a couple of job advertisements, but the CVs I received weren't up to scratch. Basically, the community of designers in Ireland is small, and the best people are already hired.

Tackling the problem the other way - headhunting designers from other countries - was more time-consuming but, ultimately, more rewarding. I was able to find individuals who had design skills and philosophies compatible with or complimentary to my own, and who were willing to learn the "Mediajunk way". After many months searching and building relationships, I am delighted that I now have several excellent designers supplying their services.

I have finally freed up some of my time again to concentrate on managing projects, managing clients, promoting the business, etc. I still like getting my hands dirty with XHTML, CSS and PHP code, Photoshop, Apache, whatever ... but now my role is to clear the path for my talented associates, and to nudge projects in the right direction, when nudging is needed.

The upshot? I've finally managed to get both Mediajunk.com and the Mediajunk weblog redesigned. I now want to use those redesigns as a springboard to get back to posting some - hopefully interesting - articles.

One more thing: I've decided that, starging with this entry, the Mediajunk blog will no longer be simply about reporting what's happening in the Web Design/SEO world. I'll continue that, but I'll also be telling you what's going on at Mediajunk / Heraghty Internet - techniques that we're using, tips and tricks, etc.

Finally, I've turned comments back on - but you'll need to be registered with Typekey.