Les Jones

Obama’s biggest blunder - Drupal?

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Slate - Message Error - Why running the White House Web site on Drupal is a political disaster waiting to happen:

As a cautionary tale, the WhiteHouse.gov administrators might look to Recovery.gov, which is devoted to tracking stimulus spending. The site originally used Drupal but soon hired a private contractor—at a reported cost of $18 million—to rework the site. Perhaps the White House site’s administrators have learned from their colleagues’ mistakes.

But I can’t help but think the new software represents the triumph of hope over experience. Drupal looks great in theory: It’s a powerful way to govern a Web site that is born out of the collective efforts of the community. In practice, it tends to be a bit of a mess. Does that sound like any particular form of government to you?

Iranian blogger Hoder has been in solitary confinement for 10 months

Monday, October 26th, 2009 | Blogging, Middle East | Permalink | No Comments |

BoingBoing - Iran: blogger Hossein “Hoder” Derakshan said to have been jailed in solitary for 10 months:

Fershteh Ghazi (@iranbaan) tweets that Hamed Derakhshan, brother of jailed Iranian blogger Hossein “Hoder” Derakshan, just said on @bbcpersian his brother has been held in solitary confinement for 10 months. Hoder was first arrested on November 1, 2008.

Previously:

• Iranian blogger dies in prison
• Hoder on a Nuclear Iran
• News from Iran
• Live-blogging Hossein Derakshan’s BlogNashville Talk

Tags: hoder

Facebook fix

Sunday, October 25th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

If it seems like all your friends stopped posting on Facebook this weekend, it’s Facebook, not you. Here’s the fix from Kathy Tyson:

Repost from JonAnne: 1. Go to FB Home Page. 2. Choose “Live Feed.” 3. Scroll to the bottom & click ” Edit Options.” 4. You will then see your “News Feed Settings.” Change the 250 to 5000, which is Facebook’s friend limit, and your feed will work correctly again.

Worked for me.

Tags: facebook

Those’ll look lovely in the mugshot

Thursday, October 15th, 2009 | Blogging, True Crime | Permalink | No Comments |

The (Columbia, TN) Daily Herald - Online photos lead to arrests in jewel heist

A third suspect has been arrested for her alleged role in a jewelry heist of more than $60,000.

Christina Richardson of Columbia was arrested Tuesday morning after detectives discovered a photograph of her on a MySpace Web page. In the photo she was modeling an earring that had been reported stolen in March, Maury County Sheriff’s Capt. Jimmy Tennyson said.

Hat tip to Michael Silence.

Tags: myspace, videotaping our crime was our best idea ever

Officer Friendly likes this

Thursday, October 15th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Times Online - US investigators use Facebook to track down wanted man Maxi Sopo:

What’s wrong with making friends on Facebook? Nothing — unless you happen to be a fugitive from US justice, living the good life at a Mexican holiday resort after allegedly stealing more than $200,000 (£125,000) through a bank scam in Seattle.

But Maxi Sopo, 26, a native of Cameroon, didn’t think twice before logging on to the popular social networking site and making a ‘friend request’ to a man he had met while out drinking in a Cancun nightclub.

Unfortunately for Sopo, he had no idea that the man in question was a former US Justice Department official.

Bonus! Lamebook, “the funniest and lamest of Facebook.”

Tags: facebook, videotaping our crime was our best idea ever

Wash. TV anchor lands job in Knoxville thanks to Twitter

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Westfield Patch - Drohan Tweets Her Wpay From Westfield to Knoxville:

Drohan had ifor a job with an NBC affiliate in Washington State, which she was offered. While she ended up declining the job, she chose to place it on her Twitter feed, where a sudden new opportunity came along.

“I had put that on my Twitter and the news director in Knoxville, Tenn., is a follower of mine on Twitter,” she said.

Suddenly, Drohan found herself with a direct Tweet from the news director of WATE, the ABC affiliate in Knoxville. He offered her a shot at the morning anchor position, saying he had looked at her demo reel on YouTube and was impressed by what he saw. (It is common for many up-and-coming television journalists to place their demo reels on YouTube.)

Very cool. I used this in a meeting today to illustrate the surprising ways people are connecting via social media in the business world.

Via Michael Silence.

P.S. The consultants we spoke to today recommend changing your Twitter design at least once a quarter. I like that idea. Corporate Web re-designs can be long, drawn-out, and political. Twitter is so simple there’s no reason not to change frequently and keep things fresh.

Tags: twitter

Facebook zingers today

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Trudy Claiborne - ” ‘Sharing everything is ‘socialist’, sharing 10% is ‘religious’, and sharing a few percent or less is, well, just sharing.’ ”

Rich Hailey - “When the gov’t runs health care like they run schools, will substitute doctors show movies instead of treat patients?”

Barack Obama’s Teleprompter - “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of the International Olympic Committee…”

Tags: facebook

Facebook friends stats

Friday, October 2nd, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

You can find me and friend me at http://www.facebook.com/lesjones.

Tags: facebook

Social media madness

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 | Blogging, Funny Ha-Ha | Permalink | No Comments |

Hat tip to Cloud Ave.

Bonus!

Tags: twitter

One thing I’ve learned about Facebook today

Thursday, August 27th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 3 Comments |

From comments on what Uncle learned about Facebook, I learned you can hide alerts from certain apps. So tonight I turned off alerts from Mafia Wars, Farmtown and the zoo thing.

Just mouse over the update from your friend. When the “Hide” drop-down appears choose the application.

Tags: facebook

Alleged libeller outed by alleged skank

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009 | Blogging, Funny Ha-Ha | Permalink | No Comments |

Robert X. Cringely - Skanks for nothing: Google must identify ‘anonymous’ blogger.

Yesterday a U.S. federal judge ruled that Google must turn over the name of an anonymous blogger who took a severe disliking to aging supermodel Liskula Cohen. The ripples emanating from the ruling could potentially wash over every member of the blogosphere (including those who delight in anonymously depositing nasty comments on blogs — you know who you are).

The backstory: In August 2008, some soon-to-not-be-anonymous blogger (STNBAB) created a Google blog called “Skanks in NYC” (no longer available, but archived at Mahalo). The sole topic of this short-lived blog: Liskula Cohen, a zygomatically gifted Canuck who has graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, and other magazines probably not in the bathrooms of most InfoWorld readers.

Among other things, the STNBAB called Cohen “a psychotic, lying, whoring, still going to clubs at her age, skank.” He (she?) also called Cohen “an old hag.” I bet that’s the one that really stung.

Ya know, I can’t help but think that “skank” is going to follow Liskula Cohen around for the rest of her life, all because she sicced her attorney on somebody’s little blog. That’s a little thing I like to call justice.

Bonus! - Cracked’s “How to Slander Online Now That Google Won’t Protect You”:

Guideline #2: The public has an interest in knowing these facts.
The “truth” defense doesn’t always work though. Often courts will demand that there be a “public interest” in you disseminating whatever facts you’re trying to spread. For example, if Trevor Moore of Greenden, Ohio was a threat to young boys and farm animals, which he is, then I could claim my column was a justifiable method of informing the people and livestock of Greenden, Ohio about the threat living in their midst, and also driving around in a blue Toyota Tercel in their midst.

Tags: allegedly

Jakob Nielsen’s advice on writing Twitter posts for a business

Monday, August 24th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Good stuff.

When to Tweet
My last design decision was when to post the message to the Twitter timeline. My preferred tweeting time is 9:01 a.m. because it encompasses working hours from California to the U.K. and thus reaches a majority of our customers. (It’s best to post a minute after the hour so you’ll be listed on top of anybody who naively sets their software to release postings at exactly 9:00.)

In this case, however, German readers and others in continental Europe were particularly important, because we’re going to Berlin for the first time. Thus, I pulled the posting time forward to 7:51 a.m. Pacific time, which is 4:51 p.m. in Germany and will still reach Californians who check Twitter during breakfast.

One of the big downsides of stream-based communication compared to email newsletters is the highly ephemeral nature of the postings: Once they scroll off the first screen, they’re essentially 6 feet under.

A look at clickthrough statistics for links posted to Twitter vs. those circulated in email newsletters shows a drastically steeper decay function: lots of clicks the first few minutes, and then almost none. In contrast, email continues to generate clicks for days as people work their way through their inboxes.

Clickthrough decay: Twitter time passes 10 times faster than email time.

This makes it hard to reach an international customer base on Twitter, and makes it important to tweak the posting time relative to each topic’s main target. (It’s also one of the many reasons I continue to believe that email is a more powerful medium.)

Tags: twitter

Try Googling your own blog

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 1 Comment |

Tags: google

Scott Kelby: don’t let WordPress resize your photos

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 | Blogging, Photos | Permalink | No Comments |

Scott Kelby discovers that WordPress’s automated preview generator is noticeably less sharp than what he gets from Adobe Photoshop. WordPress also strips out the EXIF data in the preview. I use it anyway for the convenience, but YMMV.

Tags: wordpress

“At least somebody can stand the son of a bitch”*

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Rustmeister is getting married.

* This is the traditional LesJones.com congratulations for pending nuptials.

“Marriage is an important part of getting ahead. Lets people know you’re not a homo. Married guy … seems more stable. People see the ring, they think ‘at least somebody can stand the son of a bitch.’ Ladies see the ring, they know immediately you must have some cash and your cock must work.”
– Det. Capt. George Ellerby (Alec Baldwin), The Departed

I now understand the genius that is Tad Kochschwinger

Friday, July 17th, 2009 | Blogging, Funny Ha-Ha | Permalink | No Comments |

After posting this I actually read Tad Kochschwinger’s Twitter feed. Now I think he’s a genius of Twittery obnoxiousness:

• Bad start to the day. The Segway caught a flat on the way to Starbucks.
• People don’t just love me because I’m a social media rock star. They love me because I inspire them to be more like me.
• Does anyone know how to get Maximuscle protein shake out of the upholstery of a Tesla Roadster?
• I bought myself a World’s Best Dad T-shirt. The twins are too young to understand what it means but I’m sure they’d want me to have it.
• The people who say I’m arrogant and shallow don’t see me when I’m at home with my wife. Did I mention that she’s a former swimsuit model?

Tags: twitter

Twitter background design

Thursday, July 16th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Good stuff.

Are you on The Twitter? Are you TweetingTooHard.com?

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 2 Comments |

Teh funny. Behold the  “twisdom” on The Twitter.

Kochschwinger’s mother-in-law died and his audience was moved. It was win-win for everyone except the dead lady!

Tags: fish barrel gun some assembly required, twitter

Getcher Facebook vanity URL

Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 2 Comments |

I kept meaning to blog this, but starting today Facebook is offering short, vanity URLs to replace your long, ugly URL. I went from facebook.com/profile.php?id=1185399475 to facebook.com/lesjones.

Get the new URL for your account at facebook.com/username. The only requirement is that you must have created the account prior to May 31, 2009. Otherwise you’ll need to wait until June 28. More info here.

If you admin a page you can register a vanity URL for the page if it was active before May 31, 2009 and if the page has more than 1000 fans. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until June 28. More info here.

Mashable.com is covering the Facebook name rush.

Tags: facebook

Another hoax exposed

Saturday, June 13th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

This is one is just sad. I hate that she manipulated other people’s emotions, but instead of being angry at her I just feel like she’s pathetic.

Via Ann Althouse.

You first

Thursday, June 11th, 2009 | Blogging, Tech | Permalink | No Comments |

WordPress 2.8 is out. Announcement and full feature list. There are more features and it’s supposed to be faster. I’ll probably wait a bit to let some of the inevitable new release bugs get worked out.

I just upgraded to 2.7.1 a few weeks ago when I moved to a new server. It turns out that wasn’t a wasted effort. Beginning with 2.7 you can upgrade to new versions automatically without re-installing.

Automatic updates over the Internet are one of the best changes in tech in the last 10 years for productivity and security. Good stuff.

P.S. Here’s a cool WordPress widgets/Google hack: Add Custom Search to any site in two minutes. I’ve added it to my sidebar to see if I like it (and it actually took less than two minutes). Looks like I need to play around with the formatting for long titles.

Tags: google, wordpress

Word of the Day: Sixing

Monday, June 8th, 2009 | Blogging, Word of the Day | Permalink | No Comments |

Michael Silence:

Let’s meld a new style for blogging/Twttering/texting/Facebooking using just six words. We’ll call is “sixing.” And it’ll be based on the timeless journalistic writing style of the five Ws and an H: who, what, when, where, why and how.

Take this story for example: President Barack Obama promised Monday to deliver more than 600,000 jobs through his $787 billion stimulus plan this summer, with federal agencies pumping billions into public works projects, schools and summer youth programs.

Here’s what we would six: Obama, 600kjobs, summer, U.S., stimulus and $787billion.

Previous WOTD - Spork, Splayd, Spife, and Knork

lesjones.com email working again

Saturday, June 6th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | 4 Comments |

Based on a test email and the domain record it looks like the email is back in business. Test emails to the lesjones.com domain welcome.

lesjones.com email soon to be unhorked

Thursday, June 4th, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Email to the domain is hosed due to DNS issues. I think I’ve got the solution in hand. It should be back online soon.

In the meantime use my first name dot my last name at Google’s email service.

And we’re back

Monday, June 1st, 2009 | Blogging | Permalink | No Comments |

Site moved, WordPress upgraded, all posts and comments present and accounted for. Regular blogging resumes Tuesday night.