I like the concepts of Git, especially the whole “distributed” concept that is one of its main selling points (even if I didn’t understand 100% of the time what it meant).  But what I’ve really come to love about Git is the fact that it really allows you to do what’s called “branch per feature” when developing code.  There are some other nice features that make working with Git so much better than working with Subversion, even in a more corporate environment.  The downside to Git is the lack of graphical tools for the Windows users.  The most powerful tool for Git is it’s command line.  While tools like TortoiseGit do exist, there is still more power in using the command line.

But if you are interested in Git, I have collected some Git resources here below for you.

Git Website – The Git website.  This contains the latest Git source downloads, a free “getting started” book, and other information about Git.

Git For Windows – This wonderful series from Los Techies, is a must read for any windows developer looking to get started with Git.

Git: Your New Best Friend – This is another nice intro to Git that will walk you through several key Git concepts.

GitHub Guides – These guides range from beginners level to more advanced topics.  There are also a couple of GitHub specific guides here.  If you’re looking to get started with Git, you’ll need a Git repository and you can get one at GitHub.

Git Cheatsheet – A nice Git Cheatsheet

Pro Git Book – This is a complete online book, it is also available for purchase.  If you find value in using the online edition, please support the author and buy the book.

• 5) Not Verifying Websites Before Entering Personal Information: A lot of people do not realize that phishers can make websites look very legit. I myself have fallen for a couple only to be seriously screwed over. Firefox and Internet Explorer now give huge, can’t miss warnings about these websites. Just so everyone is aware, most websites these days are secured and you can check the validity of the secure connection by double clicking on the little lock icon in the status bar section of your web browser

• 4) Writing Passwords Down: It amazes me that in this day and age, even after numerous warnings, and countless lectures people still write their passwords down and then hide them in places that everyone checks first like under the keyboard or mouse pad. Folks, please stop writing your passwords down.

• 3) Giving Passwords Out to Unknown People: You would be surprised how many people still give their passwords out to random people who do nothing more than ask them for it. Even with huge warnings posted with in the chat window or in emails, people still willingly give people they do not know, their passwords.

• 2) Not Changing the Default Settings on Internet Routers: If you were to drive around in any subdivision, you could have your pick of wireless internet routers to use for random internet access. Want to download music, movies, or other questionable content? Simply drive through any major neighborhood and you can connect to a host of access points named “Linksys” and no one would be any wiser to it. Please, when you set up your wireless router, change the SSID and password for the router. Otherwise, you are just asking for trouble.

• 1) Using insecure Passwords: This is probably the biggest one. People like to pick passwords that are easy to remember, but because they are easy to remember, they are also easy to guess, hack, crack, or even just pick out of a hat. A more secure password is just as simple as replacing some letters with numbers. For example, Michael becomes M1c4@3L, or something similar. Also, using a password safe (like KeePass) can really help in this area.

• 5) Future Posts & Enhanced Post Management: Yes, I know these are two separate plugins, but they are written by the same person, Michael Mancur. These two plugins alone help me track my future posts (since I write my Mon., Wed., and Friday posts about 1 week in advance on average) as well as modifying the post management page to make things a little easier to maintain. Great, simple plugins.

• 4) Google Sitemaps: This plugin is almost essential if you want Google to index your website accurately. You simply need to install it, set a couple of options and you are sending sitemaps to Google. Also, since Yahoo! and Microsoft have agreed to use this particular sitemap standard, there is no better time to install this plugin.

• 3) Feedburner Feed Replacement: When it comes to modifying files located on the server, I am of two minds. Part of me likes to do it myself, so that I can learn the inner workings of things. However, there are certain things where my mind tells me to let the computer do it. My RSS feeds is one of those things. Since RSS is one of the new ways to show you how much traffic you are getting, I wanted the most accurate numbers possible. This Feedburner plugin, has one textbox and that is it. Doesn’t get any simpler than that.

• 2) Wordpress Cache: Speed counts when you run a website. The faster your page loads the happier the readers are. Wordpress Cache makes it easy to cache pages on your site for a length of time that you determine. You simply tell it how long to cache a page for and this plugin does the rest.

• 1) OpenID Registration: I have been on an OpenID kick lately. I really like the idea of a single login/password combination. I also think that OpenID has the potential to succeed where Microsoft’s Live ID fails. This plugin allows you to set up OpenID registration on your website so that people can use their OpenID when registering to leave comments. While installing the plugin in the comment form can be a little difficult for a beginner in PHP/HTML, the payoff is worth it. I expect that OpenID is going to make a ton of headway now that AOL and Microsoft have announced support for the platform.

Well there you have it, some Wordpress plugins that I use on this website. None of these probably come as a tremendous shock, but they are good plugins that should at least be given some focus. Do you have a Wordpress plugin that you love? Tell me about by leaving a comment or emailing me directly.

[Technorati Tag: List]
[Technorati Tag: Wordpress]

Copyblogger:

• Links You Can’t Live Without

Problogger:

• How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog – The Advice of a 12 Year Old

Open Loops:

• Two Ways to Use Your New Found Morning Hours

Lifehacker:

• GTD with GOOG
• Improve Your Indoor Air Quality

Baron VC:

• Digg’s Dirty Little Secret: The Art of Getting Buried

The Simple Dollar:

• 8 Ways to Replace Common Consumer Products on the Cheap

Web Worker Daily:

• 10 Tips for Organizing Your Email
• 15 Stress Management Tips for the Web Worker

[Technorati Tag: List]

While many will argue that what is said in Killer Flagship Content has been said before by just about every blogger teaching others how to blog, it is nice to have the high points in one fourteen page supplement that new writers can be pointed to for easy reading. Chris puts everything in very simple terms and makes it easy to understand where he is going within the first five pages. The lists, tips, and insight he gives is something that I wish was available to me before I launched this website. Granted, I am not ashamed of anything I have done so far, I just feel that I could have started out better rather than learning 4-6 months later what I should have been doing from the start.

The idea of flagship content, is something that new bloggers need to focus on. There is a lot of "doing what that guy is doing" in the blogosphere these days. Having original content to point new readers to is something that is very important for a new writer to focus on. If you are new to blogging or known someone who is thinking of getting into the market, then you should point them to ChrisG.com where they can subscribe to the RSS feed and get a free copy of Killer Flagship Content. They will definitely want to add ChrisG.com’s RSS feed to their favorite RSS reader since Chris specializes in helping bloggers succeed.

For more information on how to obtain a copy of Killer Flagship Content, please visit ChrisG.com.

[Technorati Tag: Book Review]

Lifehacker:

• Getting Good With Google Reader

Problogger:

• How to Blog With Voice and Increase Community and Readership

• How to Make Your RSS Feeds Pop (Series)

The Simple Dollar:

• Ten Books that Changed My Life #3 – Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Other:

• Thoughts on Music by Steve Jobs

[Technorati Tags: Lists]
[Technorati Tags: Lifehacker]
[Technorati Tags: Problogger]

• The Simple Dollar – I have spent the last 2-3 months working on a plan to get my family’s finances in order. My wife and I have been married for a year now and we are no closer to ridding ourselves of debt than a year ago. The Simple Dollar is a great website with daily tips, tricks, and commentary on getting your personal finances in order. Their recent 31 article series getting your finances in order is a must read for anyone looking to give their finances a kick.

• Daily WTF – If you are a developer or employed in an IT department and you think you have it bad, just check out Daily WTF. The stories contained within will help you to realize that you probably do not have it so bad after all. Or maybe you do and can submit a story that will make the front page.

• Huffington Post – These days politics is not just for geeks and nerds but everyone. More and more people are interested in just exactly is going on in the White House as well as Congress. The Huffington Post is a great website for political news, while it has a slant towards the left all sides are given ground at some point. And the blog is one of the best of its kind.

• Blogging to Fame – I found Blogging to Fame via MyBlogLog (think MySpace but for bloggers) and I have been hooked on it since. The amount of thought that Divya puts into her articles is top notch and worth the read. This is one of my newest favorites.

• CyberNet Technology News – I do not know why I have not heard of CyberNet before just recently, but I wish I had known about it sooner. This website discusses the latest tech happenings while also give users tips and tricks for everyday technology use. Great website for tech enthusiasts.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]

[Technorati Tag: Web]

Lifehacker:

• Lighten Windows Memory Load

Problogger:

• Blogging for Money: A Passive Income?
• How Do You Find Readers For Your Blog?

Blogging to Fame:

• Social Media Isn’t Everything: But Still Win It
• Google’s Billion Dolloar Game Plan

• Become a Del.icio.us Power User – Del.icio.us is a fantastic way to keep track of all those nifty articles you find online. Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking website that allows you to store your bookmarks as well as share them with others. You can add friends and send bookmarks to them and they, in turn, can send bookmarks to you. This Lifehacker post links to some tips on how to get the most out of your Del.icio.us account.

• Consolidate Firefox’s Chrome – Chrome is the name of Firefox’s interface. It is a clean, simple, and easy to use interface. But if you are a power user, it might be taking up precious screen real estate. This article from Lifehacker teaches you how to consolidate the interface to be more streamline. Pay attention to the comments because they give alternate methods for some of the hacks presented in the main article.

• Calculate Your Debt-to-Income Ratio – Around this time last year, my wife and I bought our first house and I wish this Lifehacker article had come in time to help me. One of the first things mortgage companies figure out is an applicant’s debt-to-income ratio, the amount of money coming in to the amount that has to be paid every month. Calculating these figures will also help you figure out a budget to help you eliminate that debt.

• Whip Your Mp3 Library Into Shape (Series) – This article is part one in a multi-part series on getting your mp3 collection up to snuff. This article deals solely with getting a consistent volume on all of your tracks, which means going for that volume slider less. And even though there is currently only one article in this series so far, I am looking forward to future articles on this subject.

• Top Firefox 2 Config Tweaks – Last and certainly not least, probably the best Lifehacker article of 2006 (at least in my opinion), is an article on modifying Firefox 2.0’s configuration to get back some of the missing functionality lost in 2.0 as well as activating hidden features that can only help make your life a little better. This article alone is worth check out Lifehacker for. Great job guys.

So, there you have it. Some of Lifehacker’s more recent greatest hits. There are several more available and these examples do not even begin to scratch the surface of what Lifehacker has to offer readers.

[Technorati Tag: List]
[Technorati Tag: Lifehacker]

• 5) Cingular Only – For at least a year or two after launch, the iPhone will be a Cingular only device. So if you are on T-Mobile or another GSM provider, you are out of luck for a while. While it is normal to make a particular device exclusive, you would think that Apple would want this to be available to as many people as possible.

• 4) All-in-One Device – I realize that this was also in my list of reason to like the iPhone, but it is proven fact that most all-in-one devices usually do not perform even one function well. This is one of those “wait and see” points.

• 3) Touchscreen Typing – Touchscreen typing can lead to a mess of typos. People like to be able to feel button presses when they type. It is a brain thing, but a lot of people really do not like touchscreen typing.

• 2) No 3G – Cell phone companies are working around the clock to bring us 3G (Third Generation) data technology. Allowing us to eventually get speeds similar to our cable/DSL lines over our cellular phones. Cingular just recently launched their 3G network in 160 markets. But sadly, you will not be using the iPhone on that network. The iPhone is an EDGE (2G) device so expect speeds around 15kb/s.

• 1) Price – At $499 ($599 for the 8GB) with a two year Cingular contract, the iPhone is pricey. While smartphones are becoming more realisticlly priced, expect to pay the “Apple tax” on this little beauty. While I think that they might actually be able to have 1 million of these babies sold by 2008, I think that it is going to be close and that is just because of the price.

So I have officially covered both sides of the issue with the iPhone. There are reasons to both love and hate the device. I still hold that the device is slick and I can not wait to play with one.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]

• 5) An all-in-one device that might actually be good at all things. If, there is one that Apple does well is make a device that does exactly what it is meant to do. Now take that expertise and apply it to an all-in-one. Chances are good that Apple will be able to pull off the all-in-one quite well.

• 4) Widescreen Video iPod – Apple has finally released a widescreen iPod device. Combine this with the ability to watch movies and you finally have something that can handle the aspect ratios correctly.

• 3) Easy Synchronization – Utilizing the ease of iTunes syncing into a device such as this is pure genius. You have millions of users already utilizing iTunes to sync contacts, notes, and music. So adding the increased functionality is just icing on the cake.

• 2) Push Mail compatible – When it comes to email on portable devices, RIM’s Blackberry devices have the market pretty much cornered. Now combine the power of the Blackberry email devices with a fully functional email client. Portable email just got real.

• 1) Runs OSX – The problem with most portable devices is that they are run on top of operating systems with the limitation in mind that they are running on a “choked” device. Running a full blown operating system on a portable device, is a great way to ease the development required to write applications as well as give power to the user to actually accomplish something on the device.

I am sure that many people will find a lot of reasons to hate the new iPhone. Next week, we will look at some of those. I think, based on what I saw today during the keynote, the iPhone is a pretty slick device. I would be lying if I said I did not want one. However, it being out of my price range (sans winning the lottery), I will settle for just playing with the one my friend plans on ordering.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]

• Delicious Vibes – I love De.licio.us. When it comes to bookmarking sites for later research, reading, and/or reference there is nothing better. However, the default Delicious look is pretty blah and not really appealing at all. This Greasemonkey script gives Del.icio.us a more Netvibe-ish look. Which really cleans up the interface nicely.

• Netvibes Tweaks – Netvibes is my new homepage. All my hot RSS feeds, news items, and stuff I need to stay up on is on there. Without it I would not be so “in the know” and would miss out on important news. The default Netvibes look is nice, very soothing, and pleasing to the eye. What this little script does is just makes things a little easier to look at. It rounds the tabs and makes “read” items easier to see and will bold new items a little more than default. All in all, a great script for any Netvibes fan.

• Mirrored by DuggMirror – I Digg a lot throughout the day. One thing that many people who are newcomers to Digg notice real fast is that a lot of webservers can not handle the traffic load Digg can send their way. Thank God for the folks at DuggMirror. DuggMirror will mirror a site before it goes down due to the “Digg-Effect” allowing folks to be able to see it. This Greasemonkey script adds a DuggMirror link next to each story so that you can click on the link instead of searching the comments for the DuggMirror link that someone usually provides.

• Gmail Revisited – Gmail, Google’s web mail service, is probably hands down the best web mail service out there right now. That however does not mean that it is the prettiest (Yahoo! Web Mail Beat wins that prize). What the Gmail: Revisited Greasemonkey script does is change the fonts and some of the colors to make Gmail just a little more pleasing to the eye. It does not drastically change the interface but they changes make it easier to read the screen.

• MySpace Custom Style Remover – Myspace can be a major headache sometimes. If you can actually get the site to respond to your requests, you will usually find yourself staring at a custom styled user page that you can not read any of the text on. Probably the best Greasemonkey script in existence right now is the MySpace Custom Style Remover. What this script does is remove the custom styles on a page and brings the pages back to the MySpace default, which while ugly is easier to read then some of the styles people put on their pages.

So there you have it. Some of my favorite Greasemonkey scripts. Do you have a favorite? Leave a comment and let me know about it.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Firefox]
[Technorati Tag: Greasemonkey]

• I will find at least 2 ways to improve the quality of content on this website. I will write better and sometimes longer posts, as well as work on self editing my posts.

• I will write 1 new song a week. This will get me back into my songwriting groove that I put off in early 2006 to focus on my marriage and new family. This process will involve a 10 minute free write every morning when I wake up and carrying around my songwriting notebook.

• I will go to the gym at least 2 days a week every week this year. I will lose the remaining 19 pounds to bring be to an even 200 pounds.

• I will get organized both in my home and work. I will read Getting Things Done and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as well as work at applying the concepts and ideals from both of those books.

• I will get out of debt.

I encourage everyone of my readers to strive to do better in 2007. We are all capable of better and I believe that writing down your goals will help you succeed at them. Here is to meeting our goals this year.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Personal]
[Technorati Tag: Resolutions]

• Netvibes
• Digg
• Gmail and
• Pandora

There are a few others on the list so be sure to check it out.

[Technorati Tag: TechCrunch]
[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Web 2.0]

• 5) Almost, Not Yet – I had to include this website launching in this list did I not? May 24th, I posted the first post to Almost, Not Yet (www.mkoby.com) and thus began what will hopefully be a successful writing career. At almost 200 posts later, I am going strong with no desire to stop.

• 4) Power of Information Begins Airing – My good friend Derek has long wanted to have a technology based radio show and as long as I have known Derek he has wanted me to be his co-host. Well, in October of 2006, Derek and I met at his house to record the first episode of The Power of Information. The radio show airs on KCAA 1050AM in the state of California.

• 3) Sister Gets Engaged – On December 9th, 2006 Laura’s boyfriend of around 3 years, proposed while they were visiting friends in Austin. She said “Yes” of course and has begun what will probably be a wonderful engagement. Congratulations Laura!

• 2) Purchased First House – Right before April and I got married, we closed on our first house. Back in February of 2006 we closed, moved into, and settled into our what would be our first home. A quaint little 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with nothing but the future ahead of us.

• 1) April and I Marry – Yep, on April 8th, 2006 my beautiful wife and I tied the knot at a small little church in the small little Texas town of Simonton. A beautiful ceremony that was the perfect way to begin a new life together. April’s daughter (my step-daughter) was the flower girl and I had by boys (friends) next to me the whole time. I was told people cried at the ceremony.

And there you have it folks, the top five events in my life from 2006. I am not sure if this is the start of a tradition here, but only time will tell. Since I do not plan on going anywhere, I hope to have five even better things for 2007.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: 2006]

• 50 Beautiful CSS-Based Web-Designs in 2006 – 2006 was rich on creative, beautiful and unusual design concepts. We ’ve seen a lot of whitespace, many examples of readable and usable text-design, badges, stars, rounded corners, shapes, gradients, mirror and 3D-effects – just name it. Let’s take a close look at some of the most beautiful designs we’ve seen in 2006.

• Google Says Use Digg for Link Building – Oh no, is this going to lead to a new influx of SEO driven Digg spam? “One example of this new way of generating links is to submit a handcrafted article to a service such as http://digg.com.”

• The best movie mistakes of all time – They’ve got the list updated for this week, month and for all time. Enjoy!!!! I like #18 in Top Gun. “At the end, a victorious Maverick is hoisted on the shoulders of the guys. As he goes up, he isn’t wearing sunglasses. His head goes out of the shot, and when he comes down, he’s wearing a pair.”

• Leopard to include native GTK support in Quartz – According to a new post on O’Reilly.net, it appears that the next version of Apple’s OS X ‘Leopard’ will include native GTK support. It goal is to: “run Gtk+ applications without X11 on Mac OS X”. Sounds like good news for developers!

• A Reminder: Linux != Windows – If you’ve been pointed at this page, then the chances are you’re a relatively new Linux user who’s having some problems making the switch from Windows to Linux. This causes many problems for many people, hence this article was written. Many individual issues arise from this single problem, so the page is broken down into multiple problem areas…

That is just a small sample of some stuff that I dugg over the last few days. If you have an account over on Digg.com, you are more than welcome to add me as a friend. My profile is at http://www.digg.com/users/mkoby. If you add me as a friend on Digg, please be sure to leave a comment on this post with your Digg username so that I can be sure to add you as well.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Digg]

• 5) Under the Hood – There was nothing more traumatic to Batman then the loss of the second Robin, Jason Todd. The loss of Jason is something Batman considers to be his biggest failure, and has a consistent reminder of that failure in the form of a glass case displaying the Robin costume of Jason Todd. All of that comes to a head in Under the Hood. In this story Jason Todd has returned from the dead, I will not spoil the surprise as to how this happened since it is in the final part of Volume 2. The reason that this is such an important story is it means that Batman has to face his failure head on. However, I believe that leaving Jason Todd dead would have been a better move.

• 4) KnightFall – Back in the mid-ninties, DC was on a mission to kill or severely disable several of its top heros. None is no more memorable than the Death of Superman storyline. But like I said before, Batman and Superman are probably equal in popularity so if they did something drastic to Superman, you can expect it to happen to Batman. So it came to pass that DC came up with a new villain for Batman named Bane. Bane was a hardened criminal that had been used for experiments for a new drug called Venom. This drug gave Bane superhuman strength. Bane set is sights on Batman and formulated a plan to bring him done. This ended with Batman having his back broken. A new Batman emerged, if only for a temporary time, and eventually defeated Bane. The KnightFall/KnightsEnd trilogy is a must for any Batman fan. Available in a three part paperback edition.

• 3) Hush – Jeph Loeb has written some of the best Batman stories ever to grace a comic book’s page. While many will argue that Hush is not one of those, I disagree. While it is definitely not Mr. Loeb’s best work it is good work none the less. In Hush we learn more about Bruce’s mysterious past. More importantly we learn about his friend Thomas Elliott. After a near fatal fall as Batman, Bruce calls on Tommy, who is a world renown surgeon, to fix his injuries. After Mr. Elliott returns to Bruce’s life a lot of Batman’s enemies start targeting him in weird ways and not always directly at Batman. The mystery of Hush is never fully solved by the time everything is wrapped up but you are left to wonder, is Thomas Elliott really Hush? This story is available in a two part paperback edition or the hardcover Aboslute Edition.

• 2) War Games – Ever wonder what Batman does when he is not flying over rooftops? No, he is not running around pretending to be a clumsy playboy billionaire. War Games gives insight into this side of Batman. When the recently fired Robin (Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler) takes it upon herself to implement one of Batman’s plans all Hades breaks loose. What ensues is the biggest gang war Gotham has ever seen and not everyone is making it out alive. Available in a three part paperback editions this story makes some major changes to the Batman family.

• 1) Face to Face – After the events of Infinite Crisis all the DC books did a jump to one year later. The first Batman story of this post-Infinite Crisis world is by far the best Batman story in probably the last 10 years. Batman returns to Gotham to find that someone is killing the most deadliest of criminals and all evidence points to Two-Face who has not been seen since Harvey Dent had surgery to repair his face. Batman and Robin work to solve the mystery and utilize new methods that they worked on during the year abroad. The series ends with a major (but good) change to the Batman and Robin relationship. Available in paperback in a single volume.

[Technorati Tag: List]
[Technorati Tag: Comic Books]
[Technorati Tag: Batman]

• 5) Bruce Springsteen – As a child my dad listened to a lot of “The Boss” and as I grew older and became a musician and a songwriter, I began to understand why my dad listened to him. Bruce Springsteen is good at what he does and can rightfully claim his place among the Bob Dylans of the world. His use of imagery and metaphors is hard to rival in today’s quick verse-chorus-verse pop world. I go through phases on listening to Springsteen and his music. How much I listen to him depends greatly on the political climate of the time and how vocal he has decided to make himself in that climate. When he did tours in support of John Kerry during Kerry’s presidential campaign, I listened to very little Springsteen.
• 4) Kevin Max – When I was a young Christian, DC Talk was a “band” that I looked up to. To me they were on the forefront of what I believed Christian musicians should be doing. And while my views on how Christian musicians should present themselves my view of DC Talk has yet to waiver. This goes for its members as well. While I do not think that Tait (Michael Tait’s post-DC Talk project) is up to snuff, Kevin Max and TobyMac can at times go beyond anything they have done in DC Talk. Kevin Max is less faith-spoken in his music, but that does not mean it is any less good. Kevin has a noticeable different approach to songwriting then his previous bandmates. Kevin for all other purposes is a poet and a very good one at that. His latest album The Imposter is is best post-DC Talk album yet. I can not seem to stop listening to it over and over again.
• 3) Plankeye – I have so much music that I can not possibly listen to it all within a weeks time so I will occasionally listen to stuff I have not listened to in years to remind myself why I listened to it in the first place. Plankeye is a band I saw live very early on in my appreciation of alternative Christian music. Seeing them live really increased my love for them as a band but nothing the band members have done since has lived up to what Plankeye did. The post-punk early to mid nineties rock sound is still fresh to my ears because of the melodies sung over it. If you were to listen to this band now, you would probably think “nothing special here” but to me it takes me back to some simpler times.
• 2) Relient K – When it comes to melodies and interesting lyrics, Relient K has them in spades. Sure these guys are Christian pop-punk, but they do it in a way that is neither offensive or arrogant and to me that is very important. Their latest effort MmHmm is an improvement over their previous efforts and shows that the band is growing stronger with each album. If you like solid lyrics with great melodies, these guys are the place to look.
• 1) Ben Folds – I think that the reason that Ben Folds made it to the top this week is because of the song “There is Always Someone Cooler Than You” from the new album entitled Supersunnyspeedgraphic The LP. The album is collection of tunes from Mr. Folds’ internet only released EPs. The song “There is Always Someone Cooler Than You” is a great look at some of the people in today’s society that place too much emphasis on the clothes people wear or how people act. I love songs like this and I especially like it when Ben Folds does them. Just like the song “Rockin’ the Suberbs” he makes his sarcastic remarks in such a way that the people he’s “attacking” completely miss the fact that he is, in some small way, insulting them. I love it.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Music]

• 5) Performancing Metrics – One of the things that I find most important about writing, is it helps to write about stuff that people are interested in. While there are a some good tools out there that will help you see where people are surfing on your website, Metrics from Performancing is the easiest to understand. While some might argue that Google Analytics is better, I find that it is much more complicated than Metrics. For someone new who does not need the extras of Google’s Analytics, Metrics from Performancing is the way to go.
• 4) Creative Commons – One of the most important things about the content on your website is that, it is very much in the public domain. It is very easy for people to copy it on to their own site without having to ask your permission. The Creative Commons, have come up with some licenses that you can use for free to license the content on your website. This makes it easy for people to understand exactly what rights they have for your content. And while the Creative Commons license is not a replacement for copyright, it is a great extension of the copyright laws and regulations.
• 3) FeedBurner – When dealing with blogs, it is especially important to focus some of your attention on your RSS feed. RSS is how people keep track of what you are posting without having to come back to the site. By utilizing RSS feeds on your website people can easily see what you are writing about and make a clear decision to come to your site to read a complete article. FeedBurner helps you keep track of how many people are subscribed to your RSS feed as well as what items they are clicking on to come to your site to read. When you know what people are reading, you know what you should write about more, and eventually pull more people to your page. FeedBurner offers two levels of service, a free version that allows you to see the number of subscribers as well a few features to a paid version that costs $4.99 a month that allows you to see what people are clicking, offer email subscriptions to your feed, and other features to help you promote and get the most out of your RSS feed.
• 2) ProBlogger – One of the main reasons that people have begun blogging is because they see it as a nice way to make some potential extra cash. While, I subscribe to the theory that you need content before you can think about making money, the potential to make money through blogging definitely exists. When I added Adsense to my pages here, I wanted to make sure I got the optimal effect from them so I went scouring the internet for tips and tricks on this exact topic. I found ProBlogger’s Adsense Tips For Bloggers article series and was hooked. ProBlogger covers a variety of ways to make money with your blog and are definitely worth your time to read over.
• 1) Copyblogger – Blogging is all about content. The more content you have, the more chance of people coming to your page to read it. The more content also means a higher chance of repeat visitors. Copyblogger is a great help in getting you going with a focus on content. With tips on everything from titles to marketing posts you can not go wrong with having this website in your RSS reader. The tips given on this site are golden as well as proven to work. Since I have found this site, I have read every new article posted. I do not implement everything I read on Copyblogger, but I do implement several things and take everything discussed to heart. This is a top grade website.

Do you have a website that your read that is blogging related? Please let us know about it by leaving a comment.

[Technorati Tag: List]
[Technorati Tag: Blogging]

• 5) English Dictionary – I can admit that I am not the world’s best speller. In fact, I’m sure you can find several spelling mistakes in various posts on my website. While I do make every attempt to find the mistakes before I post, it is almost a certainty that some will still make it through. In combination with my spell checker, I use this module when spell check can not find the word I want. A good help for anyone who writes.

• 4) Del.icio.us – This is a Netvibes created module that you can find on their “Add Content” link in the top left corner of your Netvibes homepage. I use this module when I am trying to find a site I have bookmarked. It gives you your del.icio.us tag cloud and your most recent bookmarks. Clicking on a tag, gives you the bookmarks for that tag.

• 3) Netflix – I have to give a thumbs up to the person(s) behind this module. This is probably hands down one of the coolest user submitted modules for Netvibes. Utilizing the RSS feeds that Netflix gives each of their users, this module tells you what is next in your queue, your shipped DVDs, and even your recommendations. It also tells you what the new releases are as well as the top movies. Awesome module!

• 2) Digg – This as well as our number 1 module is a Netvibes created module that you can find on their “Add Content” link in the top left corner of your Netvibes homepage. I like the news, the more news I read throughout the day, the more in touch I feel with what is going on in the world. I do not care if it is tech news, world news, business news, or even funny news, I like it all. The Digg module from Netvibes lets you pick from any of Digg’s main topics or you can just get everything. You can also select the total number of “diggs” an article must have before it will show up in the module, further ensuring that you only see what you care about.

• 1) Gmail – This is a Netvibes created module that you can find on their “Add Content” link in the top left corner of your Netvibes homepage. When it comes to life on the internet, one of the main means of communicating is email. Email is the tie that binds everyone on the internet so without it, we are pretty much out of the loop. My Gmail account is my main email address so having uninterrupted access to it is important to me getting things done. That is why Netvibes’ own Gmail module is number one on my list. Without it, I would have to actually go log in to my Gmail account to know if new mail as arrived. The module takes you straight to the message you clicked on without asking for credentials and you get all the necessary things, like the reply box and other Gmail goodies.

I know there are many more Netvibes modules out there. Do you have a favorite? If so, then tell us about it in the comments.

[Technorati Tag: Lists]
[Technorati Tag: Web]
[Technorati Tag: Netvibes]