The phase 1 post is here. If you’re reading this in a feed reader, do visit blogherald.com and take a look at the design upgrade.

As you can tell, the site just got upgraded again. You might want to make sure you don’t see cached stuff right now, by reloading the page (Ctril+R or Ctrl+F5 in Windows, Cmd+R in OS X). If things look weird, you might need to close your web browser, or clear your cache any other way.

Right, so what’s new in this second phase of the Blog Herald design upgrade? read more

This is actually pretty cool, and could be the one killer feature that would make me swap to IntenseDebate. As you probably know, IntenseDebate is a hosted comment manager for your site, just like Disqus.

And now they’ve added plugin support, with a bunch of them available already. Like instant YouTube embedding and Seesmic video commenting support. Check out the launch post, the ReadWriteWeb coverage, Techmeme coverage, and the intro video below:

The WPCandy Network is growing, with the most recent addition of a WordPress design gallery called WPInspiration. At first glance it looks like a typical CSS gallery site, but featuring WordPress powered instead of just CSS based once, but it seems as if the folks behind it will be taking it a step furter:

Unlike a lot of other galleries, each site will feature a short, personal review from Mike or Dan. We’ll note some things about the site, things we don’t like, and ways it might be able to be improved. Reviews won’t go very in-depth but will be more than sticking a URL and a thumbnail in our database. We haven’t gone back and reviewed every site in our database, only the 10 most recent ones.

WPCandy and WPInspiration is run by Michael Castilla, who founded the whole thing, and Dan Pilibin.

It’s amazing where blogging can get you these days, but if blogging about computers or promoting the Great Barrier Reef is too tame, perhaps you’d like to enter a blogging competition that could jump start a new career as a pilot.

In reality, AirAsia’s “So You Wanna Be a Pilot?” blogging competition is really just another way of picking applicants for the first round of its pilot intake in August. Passengers can rest assured that no amount of passionate prose about why bloggers wish to become pilots will excuse them from the many tests required to even begin training. read more

In my daily scavenger hunt for good reads and interesting stories, I came across two stories by Nicholas Carlson. He used to write for Gawker Media’s Valleywag, now defunct in effect and the brand is now a part of the main Gawker site. These days he’s on Silicon Alley Insider, and by the looks of it he’s having a hard time transitioning in the eyes of the readers. read more

Lloyd Budd of A Fool’s Wisdom has asked a very important question in this economy and techno-world we currently live in:

Working on a small project with a friend is a great opportunity to check out tools in other parts of the web development stack. I’ve been interested in trying out some of the software project management services and software.

…Likely the best approach for this project would be to first identify our needs and wants and then work through the available web services to find the closest matches.

Like Lloyd, are you stymied as you look at all the available web services, especially in the fast growing open source market, that will meet your needs. read more

I am a better writer when I exercise, case closed. Maybe that’s why this blog post isn’t very good. ;-)

We’re at the tail end of winter here in New York City and I can honestly say I haven’t moved a muscle in about two months.

Ideas flow when I’m pounding the pavement. Blog posts get expanded upon as the trees whirl by on my bike. And I can write full podcasts as I swim. But when winter hits, and I become a lazy bastard, all exercise bets are off.

We’re constantly bombarded with articles that talk about the benefit of aerobic exercise: improve your sleep, increase your energy, fight anxiety, ward off depression, etc. I haven’t seen the medical study yet (if it exists), but I know for me personally, exercise makes me a better blogger.

I’m a sports guy, not a gym guy. So when the warm weather returns, you’ll find me outside. Because the more I do outside, the better I’ll be when I’m sitting at my computer inside.

I already know you’re suffering from weak fingers and failing eyesight, dear blogger. So let’s hear your thoughts. Do you think there is a correlation between your exercise routine and your blogging effectiveness?

Twitpay, the service which allows you to initiate payments to any user via Twitter, has just come out of beta and is now available for anyone to use.

The concept is as simple as posting a tweet that reads something like “@ev twitpay $1 because Twitter is awesome”. In partnership with Amazon Payments, you can send anything from $0.01 to $50.

Twitpay makes its money by charging a nickel for any transaction over one dollar. When someone chooses to make a payment, Twitpay makes a note on both the sender and recipient account. read more

Traffic information provider StatCounter has launched StatCounter Global Stats, a new online and free research tool for media, analysts, bloggers, researchers and members which will help them monitor Internet market share battles. Just like its traffic tracking tool, StatCounter Global Stats records market share of Search Engines, Browsers and Operating Systems including mobile.

StatCounter Global Stats will monitor issues such as how Google’s browser Chrome is doing against Microsoft Internet Explorer or how the iPhone is succeeding against traditional market leader Nokia in the mobile browser market.

The data is currently updated approximately five times per day. Users, who do not need to be one of StatCounter’s two million members, can sign on for alerts as well as customize and download charts.

Share My Playlists

Share My Playlists made me realize that one of the trends of modern media is the relinquishing of control, perhaps this truly is the “mashup generation”? read more