There are, of course, many reasons to adopt a topic that you’re passionate about, and champion it whenever you have the opportunity.

The danger comes when you get on your soapbox and it’s clear to everyone around you that you don’t practice what you preach. It’s a lot like standing up on a soapbox with your pants down.

Just sayin.

I worry, therefore, I'm better than you!

Maybe that seems obvious, but here is why I’m voicing my option on the matter: A few short days ago I was conversing with a fellow designer who relayed a conversation he was apart of in which a developer suggested that designers can’t/wont be good project leads because they aren’t the worrying type.

Confused, I asked him to clarify what the developer meant by that statement. He proceeded to explain to me that this developer holds the opinion that designers are too carefree to be trusted with worrying about the level of detail a project lead is responsible to care for.

As a responsible, professional designer, I’m completely offended by that statement (on many levels).

First of all, that kind of blanket statement is generally made by the arrogant and naive – a disgusting combination.

Second, since when is worry a quality to be sought after? Worry is absolutely unproductive! Worry is a negative trait that should be avoided by mature, responsible people. (Which is not to say that mature, responsible people should not have concern for things, on the contrary.)

It’s up to the individual developer and designer to nurture the necessary skills to be a project lead - both of which have predisposed strengths and weaknesses – both of which have proven to be excellent project leads.

Kedron Rhodes: Taming Application UX with a UX Library from Mutually Human Software on Vimeo.

Download @ GitHub

Set these 3 variables to get started:

1. rowHeight
   This is your line-height (most of the time)
2. columnWidth
   This is your column width – it’s BEST to use a number that divides the gridWidth evenly!!
3. gridWidth
   This is the width of the area being gridded

Example

$.simpleGrid({
rowHeight: 20,
columnWidth: 30,
gridWidth: 960
});

What You Get

Once you’ve added the tiny bit of JavaScript to your page, you will get a pink dot in the upper left corner.

Clicking the pink dot will toggle the grid on and off.

DEMO – Try it!

Credits

A GIANT thank you goes to Patrick Bacon
for his coaching and coding input.

Dustin Tinney has been a solid source of inspiration and ideas along the way as well! Major thanks!

Download @ GitHub

Does your app run on my LG Banter? No? Why not?

Gmail does.

Gmail, one of the most advanced internet applications available runs on my horrible little phone. Sure, it doesn’t have all of the features as the iPhone version or desktop version, but it still works.

I had just left a fabulous tech job in Tampa, FL and transplanted myself to the middle of nowhere Nashville, Michigan. AT&T took one look at my new address, and without hesitation let me out of my iPhone contract. For over a year, I used the limited, scaled back, barebones Gmail app that I could access through my phone’s barely functional browser. I didn’t use one app on my now sleeping iPhone that required a network connection.

Gmail is a great example of building a solution that works across hardware and software stacks. It delivers features based on the limitation of the delivery mechanism – and it lives in the cloud – not in an app.

Don’t get me wrong, apps have their place, and they have a LOT to offer. Apps are also narrow and limiting solutions. They have their own set of design constraints.

Instead of designing something to fill space, lets design something that fits the needs of the consumer. Consumers aren’t looking for space to be filled, they looking for solutions.

I’d love to hear your arguments for building an iPhone or Android app as apposed to building a Web app. I’m convinced they both have their place, but what do you think?

Fun reading:
Mobile First – Luke Wroblewski
The Web Is Dead. Long Live the Internet – Wired

The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.

Slick huh?

I’ve seen this before

But wait. This looks a lot like this thing that popped up in the late 70s and early 80s. I think they called it the Internet back then.

Is this really the future of the book, or is this just another delivery device for the Internet?

The IDEO approach represents the general consensus in the publishing industry, as to where the book is headed.

An approach that I personally disagree with.

I think this is where media, in general, is headed. I think that content formats will continue to collide as well as become more interactive.

As publishers race to figure out ways to add value to their products, they continue to look down the technology path – and without fail, it looks a lot like the World Wide Web.

Words have meaning

Don’t get me wrong; I think there is value in pursuing ways to wire up what used to be a traditional book. I say traditional, because I think we’re in the process of coming up with a new vocabulary – or maybe the publishing industry just needs to catch up to the vocabulary the Web has been using for more than a decade?

I think the utility of the content may lend itself to taking on a different form (like the WWW or App), but I also think that we’ll come up with a different name for that type of content. Maybe we’ll call it an App, or a Site, or something altogether different. Book, however, has to much cultural significance to be used as the catch-all term for something we read.

In the print world we have journals, magazines, textbooks, reference books, trade books, etc. We have those terms and definitions because “book” isn’t sufficient. Just like book and ebook isn’t sufficient to talk about digital versions of things we read, watch and listen to. We’ve got to come up with something better.

The publishing industry needs to realize that new technologies (like the WWW and physical devices like the iPad) have paved the way for new types of content – not new types of books. Parchment paper wasn’t a new version of the stone tablet – it was something all together different.

Books weren’t the beginning, and they surely are not the “end all” of ways to read.

I think the time has come when innovative thinkers and problem solvers need to abandon the notion they can “save” the book, and champion this new space in which content collides; the World Wide Web.

I’ve enjoyed the attention that beauty has received in the interface design community over the past few years. There has been a push to raise the level of elegance, which makes for a much more enjoyable user experience.

One note of caution though: Beautiful doesn’t mean usable.

In the pursuit of making things beautiful, some interface designers sacrifice usability for ascetics. At first glance, the interface looks smooth, slick and inviting – and before we know it, the user has moved onto something different because they can’t figure out where to go or what to choose.

The tension between utility and esthetics is healthy. As visual communicators and interface/interaction designers, it’s important to keep that tension alive and in focus – our users will reward us for it.

With the November elections just weeks away, I thought it would be fun to revisit a project and compare it with how the Web is influencing the election cycle now.

In the last presidential election cycle (2007 – 2008) I worked for a successful internet company who delivered the Web solutions for Governor Huckabee’s campaign. I handled the user experience and interface design work for the site while working with some top notch developers that delivered the site functionality.

One of the major talking points at the time was how social media was shaping the way political candidates ran their campaign. This was the first major election cycle that we even considered the term “social media” as a measurable factor. This time around, social media is ubiquitous.

What’s different

Specific calls to action
In 07/08 the primary goal was to post a link to YouTube, Facebook & MySpace, with the intention of offering content specific to those channels.

2010, the primary goal is to get your site visitor to like, thumbs-up or fan your content, thus leveraging the visitor’s circle of influence in the social space.

Less options
In 07/08 the social media landscaped looked a lot like the Wild West (maybe it still does?). This lead tech experts to offer a plethora of ways a visitor could “share” the content with their preferred social network.

2010, site developers have honed in on offering ways to share (fan, retweet, etc.) on Facebook and Twitter, and put less focus on the shotgun sharing approach.

Surprises

One major surprise, to me personally, is the widening gap between executing technology and executing a well defined content strategy.

In 07/08 there were less channels to publish content through, which allowed weak content strategies a bit of grace – it was less noticeable.

Here in 2010, the lack of a solid content strategy is compounded by the weight and diversity of the publishing channels. It’s much easier to execute the technology than it is to execute a well thought out and insightful content/messaging strategy. As a result, I see a widening gap between the tech solutions and the content solutions.

It will be interesting to see if the content and tech gap decreases in the 2012 elections. One can hope!

For Fun

• TechPresident – Compete Weekly Traffic
• Flickr – CNN/YouTube Debate
• Behance Portfolio – Mike Huckabee for President

The focus on making things easier in User Interface Design (UID) is acute and sometimes blinding. Acute in the fact that it’s our job to take an application and make it easy to use, and blinding in that we sometimes make it too easy for users to overlook a necessary function of the project.

A critical element in UID is controlling the pace and flow of the interface. In some cases that means lining things up for the user to get from point A to point B on the easiest path. In other cases it means slowing the user down, so they are forced to engage with the interface in a manner that requires a bit more thought.

When to complicate it a bit:

• When you’re changing a predicted path and you need the user to take notice.
• When you’re asking for something with a specific format.
• When you’re requesting the user to adjust their trajectory.

Most of the time easy is ideal, but good UID is mindful of the pace and what should affect it.

Microformats Book Specification

The book specification is an extension of the hProduct draft schema for Microformats. It should should be subject to, and likewise inherit, the guiding specifications for hProduct schema as it continues to solidify.

Table of Contents

• ISBN-10/ISBN-13/EAN.UCC-13
• Title
• Subtitle
• Contributor name(s) and role(s)
• Publisher/Imprint/Brand Name
• Price
• Product Form (Format/Binding/Packaging)
• Publication Date
• BISAC Subject
• Language
• Series Name and Number Within Series
• Edition Number
• Edition Type and Edition Description
• ONIX Audience Code
• Age Range of Target
• Territorial rights
• Weight and Dimensions
• Page Count, Running Time, Extent
• Textual Description
• Summary or Synopsis
• Cover Thumbnail
• Working Example

<p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-10">1585425885</span></p>
<p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-13">978-1585425884</span></p>

<p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></p>

<p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: <span class="subtitle">The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></span></p>

<p>Author: <a class="vcard contributor author url"><span class="fn">Piero</span> <span class="n">Ferrucci</span></a></p>

<p>Publisher: <span class="vcard publisher"><span class="fn org">Tarcher</span></span></p>

<p>Price: <span class="price msrp">$13.95</span></p>

<p>[<span class="product-form">Paperback</span>]</p>

<p>Publication Date: <span class="pub-date">October 4, 2007</span></p>

<p>Subject: <span class="subject PHI015000">Philosophy / Mind & Body</span></p>

<p>Language: <span class="lang eng">English</span></p>

<p>Series: <span class="series">The Way of The Buddhist Series</span> Book Number <span class="series-number">7</span></p>

<p>Edition Number: <span class="edition-number">3</span></p>

<p>Edition Type: <span class="edition-type lte">Large Print</span></p>

<p>Primary Audience: <span class="audience general">General</span></p>

<p>Age range: <span class="age">18+</span></p>

<p>Territorial rights: <span class="rights world">Whole World</span></p>

<p>Size: <span class="dimensions"><span class="width">6</span> x <span class="length">8</span> x <span class="depth">0.9</span> in.</span> <span class="dimensions">152 x 203 x 22 mm.</span></p>
<p>Weight: <span class="weight us">1.09 lb</span> | <span class="weight metric">494 gms</span></p>

<p>Page Count: <span class="page-count">368</span></div>
<p>Run Time: <span class="run-time">01:05:05</span></p>

<div class="description">	
	<p>Piero Ferrucci warns against the dangers of "global cooling." As the pace of living grows faster and the impact of new technologies more insistent, communications become hurried and impersonal. The drive for profit overrides the heart. Warmth and genuine presence fade.</p>
 
	<p>The Power of Kindness is a stirring examination of a simple but profound concept. Piero Ferrucci, one of the world's most respected transpersonal psychologists, explores the many surprising facets of kindness and argues that it is this trait that will not only lead to our own individual happiness and the happiness of those around us, but will guide us in a world that has become cold, anxious, difficult, and frightening.</p>
 
	<p>In eighteen interlocking chapters, Dr. Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism-and toward love. Writing with a rare combination of sensitivity and intellectual depth, Dr. Ferrucci shows that, ultimately, kindness is not a luxury in our world but rather a necessity for us all.</p>
</div>

<p class="summary">Citing a global phenomenon of impersonal human relations and materialism, a respected transpersonal psychologist argues that individual happiness can occur only through acts of kindness, in a resource that explores eighteen expressions of kindness while demonstrating how kind people are the most likely to survive and thrive in a hostile world. By the author of What We May Be. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.</p>

<img src="../images/978-1585425884.jpg" alt="The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life" class="cover thumb" />

Working Example

<div class="product hproduct book">
  <img src="../images/978-1585425884.jpg" alt="The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life" class="cover thumb" />
  <p>Title: <span class="title">The Power of Kindness: <span class="subtitle">The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life</span></span> [<span class="product-form">Paperback</span>]</p>
  <p>Author: <a class="vcard contributor author url"><span class="fn">Piero</span> <span class="n">Ferrucci</span></a></p>
  <p>List Price:<span class="price msrp">$16.99</span></p>
  <p class="summary">Citing a global phenomenon of impersonal human relations and materialism, a respected transpersonal psychologist argues that individual happiness can occur only through acts of kindness, in a resource that explores eighteen expressions of kindness while demonstrating how kind people are the most likely to survive and thrive in a hostile world. By the author of What We May Be. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.</p>
  <div class="description">	
    <p>Piero Ferrucci warns against the dangers of "global cooling." As the pace of living grows faster and the impact of new technologies more insistent, communications become hurried and impersonal. The drive for profit overrides the heart. Warmth and genuine presence fade.</p>
    <p>The Power of Kindness is a stirring examination of a simple but profound concept. Piero Ferrucci, one of the world's most respected transpersonal psychologists, explores the many surprising facets of kindness and argues that it is this trait that will not only lead to our own individual happiness and the happiness of those around us, but will guide us in a world that has become cold, anxious, difficult, and frightening.</p>
    <p>In eighteen interlocking chapters, Dr. Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism-and toward love. Writing with a rare combination of sensitivity and intellectual depth, Dr. Ferrucci shows that, ultimately, kindness is not a luxury in our world but rather a necessity for us all.</p>
  </div>
  <p>Publisher: <span class="vcard publisher"><span class="fn org">Tarcher</span></span></p>
  <p>Price: <span class="price msrp">$13.95</span></p>
  <p>Publication Date: <span class="pub-date">October 4, 2007</span></p>
  <p>Subject: <span class="subject PHI015000">Philosophy: Mind and Body</span></p>
  <p>Language: <span class="lang eng">English</span></p>
  <p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-10">1585425885</span></p>
  <p>ISBN-13: <span class="isbn isbn-13">978-1585425884</span></p>
  <p>Series: <span class="series">The Way of The Buddhist Series</span> Book Number <span class="series-number">7</span></p>
  <p>Edition Number: <span class="edition-number">3</span></p>
  <p>Edition Type: <span class="edition-type lte">Large Print</span></p>
  <p>Primary Audience: <span class="audience general">General</span></p>
  <p>Age range: <span class="age">18+</span></p>
  <p>Territorial rights: <span class="rights world">Whole World</span></p>
  <p>Size: <span class="dimensions"><span class="width">6</span> x <span class="length">8</span> x <span class="depth">0.9</span> in.</span> <span class="dimensions">152 x 203 x 22 mm.</span></p>
  <p>Weight: <span class="weight us">1.09 lb</span> | <span class="weight metric">494 gms</span></p>
  <p>Page Count: <span class="page-count">304</span></p>
</div>

What struck me most about his presentation was his ability to talk about Web design and user experience in a narrative. The narrative involved the relationship a user has with a site, and how the site aught to seduce the user – which is not the point I’m trying to make though.

The real beauty, in my opinion, about his story was that he was able to tap into the wealth of knowledge, experience and insight that he’s gained over the years, and package it in such a non-technical presentation.

That kind of knowledge only comes with a deep understanding of your craft. It surfaces in the subtleties of conversation, in the details of your work, and in the quality you’re able to deliver.

His talk fueled the desire to continue to own my craft. To know it inside and out.

Further Reading

• Andy Budd: Blogography
• Andy Budd: Founder at Clearleft
• An Event Apart
• An Event Apart: San Francisco 2009

Update
Andy’s talk on Seductive Design

Andy Budd – Seductive Design from Build on Vimeo.

Andy Budd speaking on Seductive Design at Build — http://buildconference.com.

Click here to view the iTunes source.

If you missed the holiday giveaway, then click here.

Context was there before the chicken or the egg

There is an inherent set of influences on context that must be considered, and those are the ones that the user brings to the experience. The user establishes, albeit hard to accurately measure, the initial context in which your site/app/content is interpreted through. They have a unique background, geographical region, life experience, and world view that shapes the way they move about your work.

Understanding, thoroughly, your own message goes a long way in effectively bridging the initial gap that inherently exists, but that’s not enough. We must also be sensitive to the cultural, social, and individual influence, each user brings to the experience. ¹

Context starts before your content is loaded

One of the major assumptions we tend to make about context is the media device our content is going to be rendered on. Understanding the device aught to drastically influence the way we design the user experience.

Be mindful that the user may not have much of a choice in the technology your content is delivered on. If you’re building an application that helps farmers regulate or monitor their water use, then you have to consider that many rural areas don’t have broadband, and may not have internet access apart from their cell phones. If you’re working with a non-profit that provides resources for those with disabilities, you must consider screen readers, brail machines, and large font displays. On that note, if you’re working with anyone in the education and government sectors you need to pay attention to 508 accessibility laws. ²

Context has history

When we present content it’s important to understand where the user has been. In some cases, this can have an immediate affect on the types of content we deliver. For example, if someone enters your site via Google, and they land on part 3 of a 3 part series on “The Political Climate on Social Networks” it would be extremely beneficial to the user to be made aware of that, as well as direct them to what they’ve missed.

Understanding their history can also be used to help float useful and meaningful content to the surface of your site as the user moves about. For example, if you know your user has been shopping for children’s books for the past few clicks, it may be helpful to surface a book to a featured section of the site that just won an award in children’s literature.

Context a future

Understanding where a user is headed is crucial to delivering a meaningful user experience. If you know a user is going to end up in a registration process, or a checkout process, or some sort of “next step”, we can affectively guide them in that direction, and inform them along the way. ³

Context matters

Understanding context helps us close the loop in a users experience. Being mindful of this helps build trust and loyalty, as well as differentiates a quality experience from an average one.

1. It should go without saying that your message needs to be culturally, socially, and individually relevant based on your target audience. The more specific you can be, the more gracefully you can communicate.

2. I’ve worked in university and government life for over 10 years, dealing exclusively with the Web, and I’m convinced we all need to pay attention to 508, whether we’re mandated by Congress or not. IMHO.

3. I recently bought a pair of boots from the “world’s leading provider of apparel and accessories for the country/western lifestyle” and was annoyed that nowhere in the purchasing process was I made aware of how to take care of these boots. Even after they showed up at my door there was still no care instructions.

Then I moved back to my hometown, Nashville. Nashville, Michigan. One thing we don’t have here in Nashville is broadband. Ok, so they have broadband in town, but not on the outskirts.

Now that I’m officially back in rural America, and connecting to the Internet with my cell phone, I acutely feel the legitimacy of having a mobile version.

It’s more than just stripping down the graphics, JavaScript, and CSS. It’s about delivering a feature set and content that is relevant to a mobile device.

Gmail is a great example. The full browser version of gmail would never load on my cell phone. The mobile version, however, is perfect for my cell. It utilizes my phone’s number pad for the keyboard shortcuts. I can quickly delete, archive, and send email. It’s simple, light and re-factored into an ideal mobile web application.

I’m currently working on a massive undertaking at work and trying to get my head around the relevant aspects of this project as it pertains to the mobile world. Without the lack of broadband I would have never considered such an undertaking.

Don’t get me wrong though, connecting to the WWW via my cell phone still sucks. It just sucks less when it’s designed and built for a mobile device.

Download and enjoy!

If you know much about me, you probably know I’m a Google fan. I’ve been using their apps for a few years now, and they are virtually integrated into my entire day. So why not have a blog that feels like the majority of my online experience? Unlike Gmail, this is still beta though. I’ll be tweaking things here and there… maybe even broadening support for IE users. Ugh.

So here are my favorite Google apps:

• Gmail – I use it for ALL of my email accounts. One interface to rule them all.
• Calendar – I have several calendars. I share calendars with my wife, integrate them with my contacts, and push them to my iPhone.
• Tasks – Love the Gmail and Calendar integration.
• Voice – I use this a LOT. SMS the easy way, and I love the transcribe feature.
• Reader – I burn through roughly 10,000 posts a month, star, share, and email all the time.
• Contacts – had a rough spot with Contacts early on when my iPhone nuked them all… but they’ve since been restored and I can’t imagine living without it! CRM, my size.
• Talk – I plug it in with Adium. Beautiful.
• Maps – I have several custom maps I use to scout areas for photography and such.

Less trafficed Google projects:

• Blogger – my first blog. Love the service.
• Docs – Because I hate MS Office… I’m a designer – I’m allowed to hate it.
• Alerts – Catches what Reader doesn’t.
• News – I dig the service, and really enjoy this interface for it.

So there you have it. My tribute to the apps I love and live by. Thanks Google.

Flickr has had the “Blog This” feature for quite some time. It’s a handy feature that allows you to post to your blog from a photo. They have taken that same thought and applied it to Twitter. All you need to do is connect your Flickr account to your Twitter account.

1. Log into Flickr and head to your account page.
2. Click the tab “Extending Flickr”
3. Add or edit “Your blogs”
4. Choose Twitter from the “Add a blog” helper
5. Authenticate your Twitter account – head over to your Twitter settings on Twitter.com and make sure you approve Flickr in your “Connections” tab

You are all set to start tweeting your Flickr photos! To do this, just jump over to the photo you want to send out. Above the photo you’ll see all the things you can do with that particular photo.

Click on the “Blog This” button and choose your Twitter account. Flickr will then grab the short URL for you and put it in a Twitter post.

Nice and easy!

Most of the time your Web content is being referenced visually via an active link or something in print – but that’s not always the case. Sometimes we need to communicate a piece of content through spoken word. This transition is considerably harder to make for most users, unless they are in front of the computer when they hear the information you’re trying to direct them to – even then it’s not nearly as foolproof as something they can read or click.

I became acutely aware of how awkward this transition can be several weeks ago when I heard a radio personality point the listeners to a piece of relevant content by saying over the airwaves: “Visit the site and search for xyz.” I instantly felt my anxiety level go up! It was content that was interested in finding, but the idea of being left to a site search left me feeling hopeless. Why would I trust your site search to give me relevant content? How do I know what to search for? Will the search results give me the most up to date article on the subject matter? The list goes on!

There are better ways of directing people to your content than sending them to your URL and telling them to search.

The 2 standards offer much more direction and give the user considerably more hope.

The oldest of the two methods are giving out your URL and suggesting the user search for a specific keyword. This eliminates most of the anxiety for the user when it comes to searching your site, for one reason: it’s assumed that you have done what it takes to make sure that the keyword is associated with the content and will return the content you’re verbally sending them to. If you haven’t done that, then you should assume your users are now frustrated.

The second, and what I recommend, is to give the url to your site followed by a slash then the keyword. eg. www.ailema.com/localhost This method keeps the user in ONE process – typing in the location bar. Users don’t have to figure out where your search is, whether or not the results are going to be accurate, etc.

Yes, I know my preferred method requires some technical attention on the administrator side – but doesn’t all affective UI?

Several weeks ago I noticed tweets with links that used the Flic.kr as the URL base. My first thought was that there was a Flickr service at Flic.kr that would shorten my Flickr url or better yet, allow me to post a photo to both Twitter and Flickr at the same time. That’s not what you find at Flic.kr but a few short weeks later ¹ the problem has been solved.

The Twitter to Flickr thing has been worked out. Great. But what about a short URL from a Flickr photo to Twitter? That’s where flic.kr comes in. Not quite seamless, but accessible enough for those willing to invest in the integrity of the internet (more on that in a minute).

Want a short URL for your Flickr photo without using a 3rd part service? Here is how!

Flickr publishes a short URL for every photo via the tag. View the source of the page you want to send people to and look for

<link rev="canonical" type="text/html" href="http://flic.kr/p/6uYrJN" >

Grab the value of the href and you’re good to go!

OK, I can hear the non-technical people hating on the idea of viewing the page source. Like I said, it isn’t seamless. This is where you can give Flickr a pat on the back for using the tag though. Go to: RevCanonical and paste in the URL of the photo you want a short url for and it will look up the link for you!

The whole process is still NOT seamless, but it’s only a matter of time before Flickr or a 3rd party makes it so. Until then, hardcore Flickr users can take advantage of these methods – while making the internet a safer place!

Further Reading and Resources

• RevCanonical
• Chris Shiflett – Save the Internet with rev=”canonical”
• Unweary – The Security Implications of URL Shortening Services
• Joshua Schachter’s post on url shorteners
• Flickr URL shortening information
• Twitter your Flickr

Footnotes

¹ Flickr has done well to adapt to Twitter shaking things up. Twitpic may have the lead, but it lacks the depth and appeal that Flickr does long term – IMO.

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