Web designers, geeks and font lovers – here is a font resource to make your heart happy.
Remember the days when webdesigning involved creating images or converting and then embedding fonts in order to have a nice looking website? No more coding or converting – Google has simplified the embedding font process with the Google font directory.
The Google Font Directory lets you browse all the fonts available via the Google Font API. All fonts in the directory are available for use on your website under an open source license and are served by Google servers.
“For a long time, the web has lagged print and even other electronic media in typographic sophistication. To enjoy the visual richness of diverse fonts, webmasters have resorted to workarounds such as baking text into images. Thanks to browser support for web fonts, this is rapidly changing. Web fonts, enabled by the CSS3 @font-face standard, are hosted in the cloud and sent to browsers as needed,” explains Google.
View font details to get the code needed to embed the font on your web site. Use the Google font previewer to see exactly what your font will look like with various styles. Google is helping eliviate the font frustration! Presently there are 18 fonts to choose from available under the open source license.
The web designer past in me starts itching like mad when I see something fun like this! (Big thanks to Jamie for sharing)
p.s. @MelanieRicheson sent me this linky: FABULOUS fonts that can be used for business: FontSquirrel – beautifully displayed and fantastic selection
Date night last weekend, we pull up to 7-11, becuase we are classy folks who have no expendible income right now due to 3 children in childcare. So no fancy date here.
Anywhoo, after walking into 7-11, I noticed the place had been attacked by ZYNGA. Zynga is the maker of Farm ville, Yo Ville and Mafia Wars.
Farm ville exclusive cups, waters, ice cream – silly silly silly – and the same thing with Mafia Wars.this and that. Purchase a Farmville or Mafia Wars promo item and get a code to redeem online.
As silly of a promotion as this seems, at the end of the day – I think Zynga knows what they are doing – and so does 7-11. They are expanding their reach in unconventional ways. Who would of ever thunk, you can raise a farm on Facebook? OR that you can run a mafia on Facebook?
On a HAPPY note… Zynga is said to be worth over $3.3 BILLION dollars *putting pinky near face and laughing Dr. Evil style*. It’s one thing for a company to make money. BUT when the company finds creative ways to raise money and uses it for the greater good of the world, my heart smiles. Continue building your farm people, and that mafia to – just make sure when purchasing virtual products that will benefit a greater causer. Check out Zynga.org for details.
Zynga is committed to transforming the world through virtual social goods. Zynga players have made real change by raising millions for several international nonprofits since Zynga.org launched in October 2009.
Players have purchased virtual social goods within Zynga games that have benefitted earthquake victims, families without clean water, and children in Haiti through school lunch programs. Zynga.org is also building a new school, focusing on education and futures for the children of Mirebalais, Haiti.
Here are some more papparazzi shots from the inside of 7-11. I know the 7-11 clerk totally thought I was either a freak, a secret shopper, or both. And yes, that is totally ice cream AND water with Yo Ville & Farm Ville.
The month of June is dedicated to Internet Safety awareness. Watching what our kids watch and view online is essential. Like our parents did with TV, we must monitor their online viewing.
Here are a few general tips to keeping your kids safe online:
Communicate with your kids about safe uses of the internet and cell phones.
Educate yourself on what your kids do online.
Develop an open communication style with your childeren to allow fluid conversations should they need someone to talk to, or if you identify questionable online behavior.
Know the latest trends in social media. While social media’s new new thing may not be for you, you most likely are not who they are targeting their marketing to.
If you think your kids are too young to talk to, or already are aware of how to be safe online – note the following statistics (credit goes to Netlingo)
95% of parents don’t recognize the lingo kids use to let people know that their parents are watching
89% of sexual solicitations are made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages
20% of children age 10-17 have been solicited sexually online; that’s 1 out of every 5 kids
75% of youth who received an online sexual solicitation did not tell a parent
One third of kids have been contacted by a stranger and half of these were considered inappropriate
81% of parents of online youth say that kids aren’t careful enough when giving out information about themselves online
76% of parents don’t have rules about what their kids can do on the computer
65% of parents believe that kids do things online that they wouldn’t want their parents to know about
4,000,000 children are posting content to the Web everyday
15,000,000 youth use Instant Messaging
9 out of 10 parents will never know that any inappropriate contact has occurred
14% have actually met face to face with a person they have met on the Internet
1 out of 17 kids have been harassed, threatened, or bullied
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of online teens believe that someone their age is most likely to be approached by someone unknown to them online as opposed to offline
When asked how they responded the last time they were contacted online by a complete stranger, just 3% of online teens said they told and adult or authority figure
Most kids will not report inappropriate Internet contact to their parents because they are afraid of losing Internet privileges
61% of 13-17 yr olds have a personal profile on social networking sites
44% of online teens with profiles like Facebook and Myspace have been contacted by a stranger, compared with 16 percent of those without profiles.
71% have reported receiving messages from someone they do not know
45% have been asked for personal info from people they do not know
48% of 16-17 yr olds report that their parents know “very little” or “nothing” about their online activities
MySpace deletes 25,000 profiles weekly of users who don’t meet the site’s 14-year-old minimum age requirement
From 2007-2009 MySpace has deleted 90,000 accounts because they were created by registered sex offenders
Google TV is a new experience made for television that combines the TV you know and love with the freedom and power of the Internet. Watch an overview video below, sign up for updates, and learn more about how to develop for Google TV.
Coming soon to a telly near you -- GOOGLE TV! Google TV will enable your television, thru a internet-ready television or an appliance type device to watch anything on the web -- on your TV. Better yet, Google Chrome will be built-in letting you surf the web -- all while watching the latest and greatest from the web.
Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.
Do you know how stinking cool this is? We currently use our PS3 as a media server. We can surf and watch videos -- but it isn’t user friendly and the average joe would not know how to use our setup.
While this is possibly a knock-off of Tivo -- Google will prevail. And even if they don’t -- it will surely knock down the price of Tivo.
How Much Will a Google TV Device Cost?
Google TV is rumored to cost around the $200 price-point. Considering how much we blow each month on our cable bill -- I’m looking forward to purchasing a Google TV device and saying ADIOS to the cable company.
When Will Google TV Launch?
An official launch date hasn’t been announced -- but it’s looking like Google TV will be here in time for the holiday shopping season. (Adding to my Christmas list — hey it’s never to early to start that!)
Leave it to Google and it’s brillance to launch the next new new thing.
Talking about money is tacky right? Apparently not so much anymore.
Meet Blippy -- think of it as social purchasing. What you purchase you share with your friends. Say wha? Yep, you link up your credit cards and bank statements -- setup with Twitter and Facebook and HELLO OVERSHARE ALERT -- the world now knows what you spent, what you bought and where at..
Okay, I love new stuff -- but this I just I don’t get. I know you can set perimeters as to what you share, but what I purchase, how much I spent and money to me is still a taboo subject. Call me old-fashion.
Even though this isn’t for me, this will probebly blow up soon. People love to share and brag. Maybe Visa or Mastercard is behind this encouraging people to go into more debt so they look good to their friends?
What is Blippy good for? 2 things come to mind.
1. If you need an accountability partner for your spending
2. If you have an overprotective spouse who wants to know what you spend where.
Neither apply to me, so I’m going to have to say -- no thanks.
Well the days of instant messaging being cool, are apparently no longer. With Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms, the once communication vessel for talking to your friends while you should be at school or at work is no longer the popular thing to do.
Paul Armstrong, director of social media with the PR agency Kindred, believes that the rise of the likes of Facebook and Twitter – which allow users to do much more than just send messages – simply had more to offer.
“With instant messaging you have to stay at your computer,” he says. “With social networking, you can use your phone’s web browser or SMS.
“Rather than shifting away from instant messaging, people are using the functions of instant messaging on different platforms.”
Grasshopper -- the virtual phone company (focusing on small business / entrepreneurs), who released the Entreprenuer video I posted last week, has a new viral video hit.
New Dork
Entrepreneur State of Mind
Parodying Jay-Z and Alicia Keys: Empire State of Mind, New Dork, Entrepreneur State of Mind pokes fun at the internets and showcases famous entreprenuers.
Brilliantly Stupid + Viral = SUCCESS
Brilliantly stupid -- the perfect combo to make you smile and forward to a friend. Which means VIRAL success for Grasshopper! This video shows how a company who does hit it virally can make a name for themselves.
Mattel said the use of names will add a “new dimension” to Scrabble
The rules of word game Scrabble are being changed for the first time in its history to allow the use of proper nouns, games company Mattel has said.
Place names, people’s names and company names or brands will now count.
Mattel, which brings out a new version of the game containing amended rules in July, hopes the change will encourage younger people to play.
Until now a few proper nouns had been allowed which were determined by a word list based on the Collins dictionary.
In Scrabble, players try to gain the highest points by making words with individual letter tiles on a grid board.
Each letter tile has a points value between one and 10, based on the letter’s frequency in standard English.
Various coloured squares on the board can double or triple a player’s points.
DO IT Words With Friends! I’ll pay another $2.99 to have this new edition! Wondering if all the cheat sites are updating their generators as well…..
Insider Info: A certain someone who fathered my children had lunch with a few of the Words with Friends developers. At this time, there is no Android app in development – but there will be a Words with Friends for the iPad.
You are apart of my every day. Some days, more so than email! While for the most part I LOVE YOU, there area few things I wish you would change. I think of you as a virtual friend, and after reading this from Seth Godin, I thought I’d egg you on and demand the best from you:
Real world friends are hard to find and hard to change.
But virtual friends?
If your online friends aren’t egging you on…
If your online friends don’t spread the word about the work you’re doing…
If your online friends aren’t respectfully challenging your deeply held beliefs…
If your online friends don’t demand the best from you…
While typically I use Tweetie or Hootsuite – some improvements to the Twitter.com interface would not frustrate me when I come to visit.
So Twitter, here are my recommended updates:
Show Me How Many People Mention Me Since My Last Login
On my right nav in Twitter – show me how many people have mentioned me since my last login. This will help so that I make sure to respond to all those who mention me.
Mass Deleting of Direct Messages
Okay, so yes I know that if I had just started deleting these when I receive a direct message – this problem wouldn’t exist. But it does, so help me fix it. There is not a way thru your interface to delete direct messages in bulk. This annoys me.
On a happy note – I did find a work around by using a Firefox Bookmarklet called DM Wacker. This will delete your Twitter direct messages in bulk.
Listing All My Friends to Send a Direct Message
I only see a short list of those I follow (and that follow me back) listed on the direct message screen. While yes, I know I can type d <twitter handle> in the prompt, I have a HUGE fear of sending something private to the world.
Tweet Archive by Dates
There really isn’t an effective way to search tweets by a particular date. Often I’ll read a tweet and then remember it days later. Trying to fish for it is a joke. By organizing tweets in a way to search archival posts, you would greatly simplify the process of searching and eliminate my frustrations of "now where is that link."
Notification at Login
Each time I login, if there was mention of new direct messages or mentions at the top – it would allow another way to keep on top of the latest from people who are tweeting you directly.
While I know Twitter emails you your direct messages – my emails always seem to land in spam.
So Twitter, I still love you. I say these things with a caring heart. You are doing a great job so far, but there is more to improve on.
Your Virtual Friend,
Digital Mom
P.S. What updates to Twitter would you like to see improved?
Working for a publisher, we are keenly aware of the changes to the industry. Content is king and finding ways to repurpose beyond the standard book is the future.
What is the new frontier of publishing? Digital. Here are a few avenues revolutionizing the industry:
Video + Book = Vook
California-based start-up Vook, integrates text, video and social networking to deliver a new entertainment experience.
Vooks are available both online and as a mobile app. The book-video hybrid features feature short video clips, produced exclusively for each title within the digital text. The videos are designed to enhance the story, advance the plot in fiction titles and add depth to practical information offered by non-fiction publications, offering visual how-to’s such as cooking demonstrations. The online Vook Reader allows readers to interact with each other via inbuilt social media functions.
Retail locations can use this to print backstock or current inventory. This eliminates inventory costs and needed retail space.
Book Fairs
My 6 year olds school had a book fair which travels from school to school. While I know the retail benefit of having an actual physical product -- but can see people purchasing just to see this machine in action. Books could be customized on-site with the child’s name which would totally win the kids and parents over.
Yearbooks
MOMMY FAIL. I admit. Last year time flew by and I didn’t get my daughter’s money in for her yearbook. Therefore my child will not have a yearbook from her Kindergarten year. After seeing this and knowing the condition of the yearbooks I have from when I was a child -- I would so pay a premium to even have a soft cover version of the yearbook. I can see a huge market for back-dated yearbooks being offered and published via on-demand printing.
Ecommerce
Essentially you could run a whole ecommerce store with this machine. By offering niche products -- OR by offering self-publishing you would virtually need no warehouse and have little to no inventory.
eReaders and iPad
We’ve seen a shift in reading with the Kindle and other e-readers. With the April 3rd release of the Apple iPad the possiblities with book content is infinite. New applications will be created to extend the iPad even further that the iPhone.
Interesting facts:
Did you know in February 2010, users downloaded one e-book for every four mobile games? This is up from one for every six games just 6 months prior.
Electronic books are now the largest content category at the App Store.
The business of publishing isn’t just that anymore -- it’s technology based. I can feel that shift already happening and I couldn’t be more excited than to work with a publisher who gets it. Out with the old. In with the new.
