GuestPost Archives - Page 6 of 12

Travel Productivity Tip: 8 Ways To Save Pages As PDF Files To Read On The Go

When you go out of town you might think you have to give up your blog and website reading until you get back. With the entertaining, helpful or interesting content out there these days, you might not be so eager to do that. I know that I personally like having something to read while I travel, and while I usually stick with books it might be nice to have a few blogs to go through. Just for those shorter trips or waits that wouldn’t give me enough time to really get invested in my book.

Not only is this a pleasant thought for traveling, but just for those waits that are part of daily life. Waiting for a prescription to be filled, or to be called in for a meeting. Even just sitting outside enjoying the sun while your kids play at the playground.

This is a reality these days, thanks to mobile technology like tablets and smartphones. You can take advantage of this by turning website pages into PDF files for reading on the go. This is a great way to increase your blog reading productivity and keep you up-to-date with Internet marketing news.

Here are eight ways to do that.

1. Google Chrome

Digital Inspiration PDF Converter

I have never tried this myself, as I don’t use Google Chrome. But Digital Inspiration created a quick tutorial that shows you how to do it. The gist is that you go to the page of your choice, click CTRL+P, and it will open the printing dialog box. From there you will be able to hit “Save as PDF” and it will create the file on your computer. It will also allow you to select the pages to do this with, which is convenient.

2. Print Friendly

Print Friendly

This is a simple to use tool that lets you put in a URL for what you want to have included in the PDF. From there you can delete portions, change the text size, remove or include images and even email the result to yourself or anyone else.

3. Readability

Readability

This app works by making a clean version that is easy to read of any web page for your mobile device. You can remove clutter and set it up so that it is easier on the eyes, all set to your specifications. Plus, you can save it for reading later.

4. Print What You Like

Print What You Like

Here you are able to cut out large chunks of content so you can put just what you want into a readable file. It is mostly for people to print, but you can save it into a PDF as well. It is great if you want a collection of prints that would otherwise be unrelated to a single web page.

5. Web2PDF

Web2PDF

A super simple program, this is similar to a lot of others. You put in the URL, it creates an editable file which can be saved as PDF. You can then save it to your desktop and email it to yourself. It is a bit more bare bones than the others.

6. PDF Newspaper

PDF Newspaper

One of my favorites, this is an opensource project from FiveFilters. It easily creates large PDF files by cleaning it up for you and making it into something easy to read. It has both a bookmarklet and a WP plugin for efficient use.

7. Aardvark

Aardvark

A quick to use cleanup plugin that works more quickly than perhaps any other similar tool I have found. It works with Firefox and I have never found anything that is higher rated for that purpose.

8. Anthologize

Anthologize

I use this one all the time. It is a standard conversion tool that allows ypou to put in the URL to make a PDF. However, you can select each post you want included, so you can more quickly edit content for the perfect reading experience. You can also add in other blogs to select more posts. It is one of the most popular tools on the web.

Conclusion

When on the go, it is nice to be able to read what you like. If you want something quick and interesting, try turning your blog or web favorites into an easily created ebook. These tools will make PDF files that are perfect for reading out of your home.

Guest Author Jessy is the travel blogger for Luxury-Hotels.com, the ultimate travel tool for picking luxury hotels on your next business trip.

How to Replenish Your Creativity Juice

It is the most feared condition for all those engaged in the creative arts. In the daily grind of life, there comes a point when all ideas seem to have been extinguished, and any momentum seems to have ground to a halt. It’s the condition most commonly known as writer’s block. And despite its name, it doesn’t just strike writers.

Graphic designers create all sorts of material all day for clients—images, logos, and other marketing outputs. It is a job that taps strongly into a person’s ability to be creative with pictures and art. At first, the ideas come easily—at times, there’s too much of them to handle! But imagination has its limits, and after pushing it so hard in order to come up with the perfect output, burnout can set in. This ends up killing the designer’s initial enthusiasm and drive for his work, and results in feelings of frustration and stress.

But writer’s block doesn’t have to cripple you. Here are 8 ways to combat it, and get your creative juices flowing again.

Have a break. Focusing too hard on your task when it just isn’t happening can exacerbate the block. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is let it go for a while. Do something mindless. Surf the Net, check Facebook and Twitter, or call a friend to chat. Doing activities that take your mind off work can help to refresh your thoughts, and when you return to the task at hand, you’ll feel more energetic.
Watch TV. It screams “lazy!” to many, but not to the mind. TV is a product of creativity, and is a hotbed of material that can stimulate your thinking. Channel surf, and try to watch different kinds of shows. And watch TV on the TV—don’t rely on the downloaded episodes of your favorite sitcoms on the computer. Widen your scope and look for something new to get interested in—that could be the spark you’re looking for.
Read books. Grab a book (an actual book, mind you!), curl up with a cup of tea or coffee, and dive in. Reading can be a great creative exercise—it keeps your mind active by creating mental pictures of what you’re reading. By seeing how the author expressed his or her thoughts, you can be inspired to come up with your own expressions.
Maintain an active lifestyle. Mentally down? Get up and get out. An active lifestyle can stimulate the flow of blood to the brain, giving your mind a boost. You can go to the gym, jog, play sports, or even do something as simple as taking a walk. The important thing is to get moving. Once you’re pumped up, the creative juices will flow much more strongly.
See some new sights. Looking at the same four walls every day can be a reason why you’re all stopped up. So step away from your desk and change your surroundings. Go somewhere where you can get lost in nature. Travel to another country, or another province. Venture outdoors, rather than staying indoors, and bring your materials with you. Oftentimes, a change of scenery is just what you need to get you out of your rut.
Listen to music. There’s a reason why Baby Mozart sells. Many parents want their kids to be exposed to beautiful music even while in the womb so that they’ll be born smarter. You may not be a baby anymore, but it doesn’t mean that music can’t still work its magic on you. Music is universally acknowledged as one of the best sources of creativity and inspiration. Personally, I work best when I’ve got my headphones in—I find that the melodies of my favorite songs can perk me up. A great way to harness the power of music is to identify the songs that you think best get you in the mood to design, and create an inspirational playlist. If you don’t like to be distracted by lyrics, you can always opt for classical or instrumental music instead. The key is to discover the right mix for you.
Have fun with it. One of the ways in which creative work can feel stifling is by being “work”. It’s different when you’re designing as a hobby—there’s no pressure to be perfect because no one’s watching and you’re not looking for anyone’s approval. Design something for fun when you’re feeling stuck. It can be something as simple as creating a Spiderman cover photo for your Facebook timeline, or redoing the layout for your personal blog. The purpose is to remember the joy of designing again, and at the same time to keep your skills in constant use so they stay sharp even when your mind isn’t. Once you’ve rediscovered your purpose, sitting down to work will be much easier.
Look for an inspiration. Creative bursts happen anytime, anywhere, any way once you find that spark. Don’t be afraid to search for it in unexpected places. Some find inspiration while sitting on an elephant in Thailand. Others find it in dreams. Still others find it in people. You want to live every day being open to the possibility of having a creative burst. You don’t have to force inspiration—it comes to you in the right time. Learn to recognize it, and capitalize on it.

When you’re experiencing writer’s block, always remember that it doesn’t go away on its own—you need to decide to act in order to start moving again. Writer’s block is always rooted in fear and anxiety, and the way to overcome it is by realizing what causes them and dealing with them. As a designer, don’t be afraid to show yourself in your work. Don’t be paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes. You’ll be so surprised by how many great ideas you have, that you’ll forget what writer’s block even means.

Guest author Celina Conner is a Yoga Instructor, an alumna of Marketing Management at Martin College Australia and a mother of a beautiful daughter, Krizia. She has a passion in cooking and formulating vegan recipes. Follow her adventures on her Twitter.

Eight Tips For Effectively Utilizing Textures in Web Design

Although in the past, most web designers were happy to rely on patterns, nowadays it appears that textures are just about everywhere. This is because they are capable of adding a level of depth and realism rarely found in patterns. Should you be interested in utilizing the latest textures in your sites however, it’s important to be aware that they do come complete with a few potential pitfalls. Here are a few tips for avoiding such pitfalls and generally getting the most out of using textures on your sites.

Legibility Cannot be Sacrificed

If you’ve experimented with textures at all in the past, you are likely to be aware of just how easy it is to go overboard. And one of the clearest signs that you have gone overboard with your use of texture is if it has become significantly more difficult for text to be read. It does not matter how crisp a particular piece of texture is, if it is leading to users having to strain their eyes just to read what is written on the site, you have gone too far. Like it or not, when people arrive at a site, they are more interested in reading what is written there than admiring your web design skills.

Textures Should Not Be Distracting

Another sign that you have gone seriously overboard is if the textures that you’ve used are distracting. Although you might consider it reasonable for users eyes to be drawn to the background when they first arrive on a site, it’s not reasonable if their eyes are continually drawn back there as they read through a page. The purpose of texture is to compliment a website, it is not supposed to define it. Therefore regardless of how much you like a particular texture, if it’s overly distracting it’s got to go.

Choose Logical Textures

If you spend enough time adding textures to websites, you are eventually going to end up having a few personal favorites. Many web designers become obsessed with wooden patterns whereas others find that the random nature of pebbles can help add a touch of class to just about any design. Unfortunately however, you must not confuse the visitors. If you are designing a website that sells cars, wooden patterns are a poor choice, and pebbles are downright illogical.

Don’t Sacrifice the Overall Look

By the time you start looking for textures, you should have already decided how your site is going to look overall. You should use that intended look to guide you when you are choosing the textures to use. You should never change the overall look of a site just so that you can use a particular texture.

Each Texture Should be Justified

Most web designers are well aware of the trouble that can be caused when you start adding elements for no logical reason. The same logic applies to textures. If you do not have a specific purpose for adding a certain texture, if it does not fulfill a particular role, your site is likely to be better off without it.

Experiment

If you’re not that experienced with using textures in your sites, your best bet is to simply experiment. Although there is certainly a lot of advice online, like most aspects of web design, it’s practice and experimentation that really leads to expertise. Try out new textures regularly and add them to elements that you have never used texture on before.

Save Time With a Personal Collection

When trying to choose the texture for a specific element, it’s very easy to get into the trap of spending hours looking through the millions of options available online. Unfortunately, doing so is not only rather monotonous, it’s also unlikely to be the most productive part of your day. You should therefore cut down your options by building up a collection of great textures on your computer, that you can then pick and choose from at will. When you come across something you love online, simply save it to your computer together with an informative label.

Loading….

Finally, one of the most frustrating aspects of textures is the effect that many of them can have on loading times. It leads to a constant balancing act between designing professional looking sites and designing those that don’t take forever to load. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about loading times when choosing textures. It’s also important to be aware of the different tricks that can help you to get around the problem such as repeat textures and carefully considered compression rates.

Guest Author Patrick runs a fast growing Melbourne based web company YarraWeb. Patrick is a web designer (who would have guessed 😉 ) and enjoys sharing his knowledge in blog posts like this.

A Closer Look at Codecademy

Online programming tutorials like Lifehacker’s tutorial on coding are great places to start if you want to learn the basics of coding for free. The only problem with tutorials is that they often don’t give you much of a chance to learn by doing, and any programmer will tell you that a programming language is best learned through experience.

Up until recently, you could find a few, free interactive education courses to help you learn how to code, but many of these courses weren’t designed with pedagogical best practices in mind. Many of the available open source courses were designed by programmers, for programmers who want to brush up on some of the finer points of coding. Fortunately for those with limited background knowledge of computer science, there’s a relatively new and highly accessible online education program called Codecademy. Codecademy is an interactive series of web-based courses on coding.

Web Teacher has already devoted some attention to Codecademy in a previous post. If you’re interested in learning more about this coding education program before you sign up, here’s the scoop on the JavaScript track.

Codecademy begins with the very basics of coding in JavaScript, and it uses scaffolding techniques to ease learners into some of the most complex coding tasks. The education program’s user interface is simple and well-designed. There are instructions on the left side of the screen, and there’s a terminal in the middle of the screen where you practice coding according to lesson instructions. At the end of each lesson, you’re given a “test” that requires you to complete coding tasks based on what you’ve learned. As the lessons progress in terms of difficulty, it’s best to take notes. Some users have mentioned that the courses go by a little quickly. So, make sure you give yourself some processing time between lessons and refer back to your notes when you’re tested on difficult concepts.

Staying motivated while taking any sort of online course can be a challenge for many learners. Luckily, Codecademy does provide some incentive for users to stick with its education program. Users of the program are given trophies and points as they complete lessons, and these trophies and points are prominently displayed on their profiles. If a few of your friends are also learning how to code, it can be fun to compare how many trophies and points you each have and try to compete to finish lessons first.

Codecademy undeniably makes learning how to code in JavaScript easier. However, it should be noted that learning to code is intrinsically difficult for many beginning programmers. If you’re self-motivated and dedicated to completing all of Codecademy’s lessons, however, you’ll be a JavaScript guru in no time.

About the guest author: A freelance writer and blogger hailing from the great state of Texas, Melissa Miller specializes in writing about the education field. If you’re considering pursuing an associate degree online, Melissa’s many posts on the subject can help light the way. Email her at melissamiller831@gmail.com with any feedback.

4 Tools to Add a Pinterest “Pin it” Button Anywhere

Pinterest is more than a social networking site, it is a new addiction. Just as Facebook and Twitter have become a daily part of the average citizens life, so to has Pinterest become a pinnacle of the day to day actions of many women in particular. Making social media the official drug of the modern day, and growing in use by the moment.

But do you feel like your recent Pinning just isn’t enough? Do you wish you could expand it to other pages and sites? Especially since so many are either not compatible with the Pin It button or actually blog direct repinning now?

If this has become your greatest online desire, then you are in luck. There are four different tools that will help you to expand your current Pinterest arsenal.

Pinvolve

Originally, there was no need for this tool unless you were a frequent double sharer, and so needed to be able to work more quickly and efficiently. But now, Facebook has blocked users from repinning directly from their site. Which is weird, given the fact that you have a logon option using your Facebook account.

The reason that they did this is unclear. It might be that grown slowed a bit for awhile, and they decided to start putting some distance between the two. Or maybe because Pinterest has more appeal for women than men, and so cleaves their user base in half.

Which is where Pinvolve comes in. It allows you to create a link between the two, so you can pin images found directly on Facebook like you used to. It works as a Facebook app, so you just add it to your Timeline. It lets both you and your friends use it, for your own content. Which might be a little annoying, as you have to put it on your profile first.

But the general usefulness makes it less aggravating, and it is worth adding.

Pin It Button

This is a general Pin It button that has been slightly extended as a Chrome plugin. It works by increasing the number of websites that allow you to pin images. Think of it as an update to the original, which isn’t compatible with many sites on the web thanks to their style of older coding, and the relative newness of Pinterest as a site.

You can also see the “pin count” for each website you visit, similar to those that show how many times you have been tweeted or shared on Facebook. So when you combine it with other tools, such as Pin Search, you have a really comprehensive toolbox that allows you to get the most out of Pinterest.

Pinterest Button Extension for WordPress

What could be better than a Pinterest button for the blogging powerhouse WordPress? Not much. You can finally add a Pin It button to your WP blog, thanks to his excellent extension by WooCommerce. It is easy to use, and great as it will specifically configure to your blog when you integrate it into your general widgets.

Of course, there is one downside. In order to use it, you have to have the WooCommerce extension, which can be downloaded through their official WP plugin profile. But it isn’t a huge inconvenience, and it is the best WP Pinterest button I have found.

Flickr

Pinterest has been accused by many sites as promoting (if indirectly) the pilfering of copyrighted images without proper credit. Which has led to many refusing to participate in pinning, putting up blocks similar to those used by Facebook to keep from content being pinned on their site.

However, Flickr is one of the first to get around this by allowing pinning that also includes direct attribution with every taken image. This includes an active link and a mention of the photographer or artist name.

For the first time, people on Flickr can participate and even gain a certain amount of followers through this method. It is a great tool.

Conclusion

Pinterest is an excellent website with a lot of potential. As the popularity of image sharing spreads, the tools for better utilizing the resource will increase. Until then, these four options give you a way to expand your pinboards across the web.

Guest Author Tom Chu is the SEO manager at PsPrint, Chicago commercial printing company specializing in business card and poster printing among other popular services. Find him in Google+

Changes in teaching and learning computer science in the last 20 years

From the moment computers were invented, they have not stopped evolving. The constant demand in the market for upgrades in equipment and programming has required those in the computer science field to constantly update their skills as well. Over the last twenty years, the evolution of computers in general is astronomic. Computers have grown by leaps and bounds from where they first began, and the capabilities that we have at our fingertips are far beyond what they were twenty years ago. The average person can do so much more using technology than they could previously. Those with an education in computer science and programming knowledge are the ones who are making this growth possible for the rest of us.

The changes in the necessary courses one would take for a degree and career in computer science are so great; it almost makes more sense to ask how they have NOT changed. Teaching the youth of today with the knowledge we currently have will make it possible for them to become the programmers of tomorrow. The possibilities are endless as to where technology will take us and where we will be twenty years from now.

Here are just a few of the areas of study in the computer science field and some of the changes they have seen.

Computer graphics

Computer graphics is a sub-division of computer science focusing on the way images appear on your computer screen, using image processing, and two and three dimensional graphics. One only has to remember their first computer and its graphics and compare it to the newer versions of today to understand the incredible growth this field has seen. As the capabilities of computers evolve and the programming becomes more complex, the nature of the graphics and their programming evolves as well. Better screens and color allow for sharper images and the development of new programming is putting a constant demand on a higher level of graphics. This is a field of study that will be constantly evolving, and the coursework will be as well.

Computer programming

Those with an education in computer programming are the ones creating the software and programs and debugging systems when they go down. As the computer world expands and the need for more complex software develops, so does the need for programmers with the skills to make those programs a reality. Programming is considered an area with endless possibilities, with the freedom to create literally anything, all one needs is the understanding of the “language” and a bit of creativity, mixed with a great deal of skill of course, and anything is possible. Twenty years ago, the lessons in this field were more driven towards providing the necessary skills for basic programming, now they have evolved to include much more complicated sequences and knowledge to help multiple servers and programs communicate and work as one, among other things.

Computer-human interaction

When you consider that computers for the most part are designed to aid humans in everyday tasks and to provide an outlet for design and communication between them, it seems that this field of study may prove to be one of the most necessary and important ones. The courses and labs that teach and provide research opportunities of specific interactive programs and technologies are responsible for most of the newer developments within the field. These courses receive government funding in order to allow students to constantly be fine tuning programs, making them more functional for the everyday user. Twenty years ago, this research was happening, but it was not necessarily at the level it is today and the programs that exist and what they are capable of are growing by the day. There is a constant need to keep up with these developments, and therefore the courses responsible for this work are constantly receiving new challenges and thus teaching new skills.

Computation Complexity theory

Computation complexity theory is the study of what computers can and cannot do, and knowing how to fix them when they stop functioning properly. Twenty years ago, knowing how to diagnose problems based on simple numbers and algorithms may have been sufficient; however, with the growth of computer capacity and storage space, and the use of multiple servers, problem diagnosis and the solutions to these problems have grown increasingly difficult. It is necessary for courses to update solutions and methods for diagnosis constantly. As the systems themselves become more complex and difficult to program, the knowledge required to do such programming also becomes much more complicated and involved.

Guest Author George Gallagher is a writer who contributes to a handful of websites on the topic of education. He also helps students navigate the world of student loans by giving them advice on which banks and loan types are apporpriate for them after they exhaust their government aid options.

Craft a Proper About Page (+ SEO Tips)

There is nothing quite as annoying as crafting an About Me page for a blog or website. You would think that it would be easy describing yourself and your company or site. After all, you know all about both, right? So why then do so many end up being a two sentence rundown in the most boring tone ever?

Seriously, how often have you seen this:

“My name is Bob Bobberton and I run an SEO trick blog. I have worked in the industry for twelve years and have been employed at Every SEO Company Ever Inc.”

Informative? Sure, but is it interesting? Not in the slightest. I nearly fell asleep just typing that. The most amusing thing that can be said about it is that the man’s name is apparently “Bob Bobberton”.

What you need is something with a bit more jazz to keep the reader’s interest.

Creating Your About Page

Start by thinking what it is you want to say. Do a little brainstorming exercise and include items like who you are, what you do, what you like, how you feel about what you do, and the most exciting or interesting way you could explain it.

If you have other people on your staff, consider doing the same for them or letting them draft their own. If you want to include everyone in a single about page without naming names, then do all of the above but with a group focus in mind.

Next, come up with a few ways that this can be handled creatively. Some popular options are:

Slideshows -Plenty of about pages are using a slideshow to give a look into the daily work of the site.
Videos – If you have the budget and the know-how, making an interesting video can make an excellent change of pace for your about page.
Cartoons/Illustrations – One of the best about pages I have seen recently had a comic that gave all the information about the graphic designer and illustrator who made it. This is always a great way to go. If you can’t draw, you can often hire amateur artists from sites like DeviantArt.
Humor – One of my personal favorites is going the funny-route. I recently saw a blog that described each contributor with a sarcastic byline at the end of their articles, which was placed on the about page with contact info. One was described as “somewhere between a cruel taskmaster and a robot who has learned to love”. Little touches like that can make a lot of difference.

What To Include

This is the easy part. Your about page should always have the basic information that you would expect, but presented in an interesting way. Which means you should cover:

Who you are.
What you do.
Why you do it well.
Your passion for what you do.
Your contact information.
Social networking and media.

Tips For Handling SEO

Next you have to worry about SEO. Your about page should always keep this in mind, as it is an important part of generating traffic. Since you are laying out who you are, it will be crucial that a search engine can properly utilize this information.

Here are a few tips to help you out:

Be descriptive. Keywords are not just randomly related terms you throw willy-nilly into the mix. You have to take some time to fit them in properly, and if you are descriptive it will be done that much easier. Keywords will then naturally stand out.
Be specific. One of the worse things you can do for SEO in any circumstance is be vague. Your descriptions should have a good amount of detail and tell the reader exactly what you do, how you do it, why you do it and where you do it.
Be flexible. You should be willing to revise your about me pages regularly, to utilize different keywords and information that might be better equipped to drive focus to your site.
Be aware of conversion. There are a couple of tools out there that can be helpful in this regard. But one I have personally found most beneficial is the Wordstream Conversion Optimizer.
Be personable. There seems to be this misunderstanding when it comes to SEO and how you should approach the tone. Because it is a rather dry topic, people think the content should be equally as dry. Keeping some spice and personality is a great step to standing out, even in simple search engine descriptions.

Conclusion

An About Me page is important, even if you don’t think so. It is the cherry on the selling point, a way to express who you are as a site or company and hook in the customer.

It takes creativity and focus to do this. So pay attention to what you’re putting out there, and let your About Me page work for you. After all, if it isn’t making a difference then you probably aren’t doing it right.

Guest Author Jessy is the social media blogger for Quantum SEO Labs, the full-service Internet marketing company. We blog about SEO, blogging and online marketing. Follow us on Twitter!

Image Credits: 1, 2.