Web Teacher

Google Reader: Oh, the Pain

Note: Here are some excerpts from the post I wrote for BlogHer today about alternatives to Google Reader.

Yesterday Google Announced that Google Reader would be retired on July 1. A howl went up from people like me who have a regular blog reading list and a happy relationship with Google Reader. An effort began to urge Google to reconsider, but mostly people began looking around for alternatives to the popular RSS reader.

Scream by soundfromwayout via Flickr with Google Reader Logo

Before I get into the alternatives, I want to point out the directions for getting all your Google Reader subscriptions transferred into some other RSS reader. Google provides an exporting tool called Google Takeout that promises a file of all your Reader data, which can then be imported into another reader.

Now for alternatives. Some are cloud based, some are mobile apps, some are browser plugins, some sync to all your devices from mobile to web.

RSS Readers that Work In All Devices

A cloud based option, Netvibes goes from browser to mobile device. Here are the directions for migrating from Google Reader to Netvibes.

Feedly is a browser based add-on for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. It’s also an iOS and Android app. Lots or reports are saying to stay away from Feedly because it uses a Google Reader based backend, but Feedly announced that they have another backend ready to go and are prepared for the transition.

Newsblur is a works-everywhere choice. The free version is limited to a mere 64 feeds, but the paid version is only $1 a month. It has a Google Reader import function.

Taptu even works on Nook, as well as the usual app platforms. If you’re a tablet person, this might be your fav.

Mobile Apps that Read RSS Feeds

Google Currents is a very slick mobile app that makes reading some of the slow loading sites like Huffington Post really fast. However, I don’t know if it uses Google as a backend, so I’m not sure what its fate will be going forward.

For iOS and Mac only, Reeder is another app with a transition plan in place, according to a tweet from the developer yesterday.

FlipBoard is available for both iOS and Android. You log in via either Twitter or Facebook, and it sounds pretty image oriented like Google+, but it does read RSS feeds.

Pulse has a lot of rave reviews, including one from Steve Jobs, on its website. It works in iOS and Android.

Browser Only RSS Reader

The Old Reader promises to be like the old Google Reader, but has a tool for importing your subscription data from Google Reader.

The Word on the Street

Okay, not on the street. How about the word from the frantic blog consumers at BlogHer who are trying to find their favorite alternatives to Google Reader? So far there have been several good comments about Netvibes, particularly since it is cloud-based and not device dependent. People liked how NetVibes looks and how easy it is to transition, but had complaint that updates are slow. (Every alternative RSS reader site is dealing with heavy traffic right now and getting things going may take some patience.) Feedly got a couple of good comments among BlogHer adopters.

Useful links: Learn CSS Layout, Little Boxes, Veronica Mars, Google Reader

This terrific new site is a step-by-step tutorial that will get you educated on CSS layout in an easy, visual style: Learn CSS Layout.

No more little boxes filled with software from Adobe Creative Suite. It’s a Creative Cloud or download only world out there, folks.

The Kickstarter project to raise $2million for a Veronica Mars movie was fully funded in less than one day. Completely amazing what the right project can do with Kickstarter. You can still get in on the action.

Yesterday Google announced it is retiring Google Reader, breaking my heart and the hearts of a lot of blog readers like myself who have a regular daily reading list. I’m going to be researching alternative RSS readers today and will have some for you by tomorrow today (see Google Reader: Oh, the Pain).

The Marketing Minute: Help for Untouchability

I’m a big fan of writer and writing practice guru Natalie Goldberg. If I have a writing mentor, Natalie Goldberg is it. In 2008 I went to one of her writing workshops in Taos and took a bunch of photos.

Natalie Goldberg is going to be speaking at our wonderful local bookstore, Bookworks, next week about her new book The True Secret of Writing. I’m always torn when I go to events like this because I want to support my local bookstore and buy the book from them. Yet I’m at a stage in life when I’m trying not to bring home more stuff. Especially since I already have a row of autographed books by Natalie Goldberg on my shelves. And it’s always in the back of my mind that the Kindle edition is less than half the cost of the hardback. Do I really want one more hardback? What if I could get an electronic edition via Bookworks, not from Amazon? I wouldn’t be depriving Bookworks of a sale, and I wouldn’t be dragging home a hardback book.

It turns out that many writers and booksellers have considered this question and have come up with some excellent technological solutions. The latest newsletter coming from Marcia Yudkin, Marketing Expert and Mentor of The Marketing Minute, addressed some of these new ideas. I’m reprinting the newsletter here:

Traditionally after a talk or reading, an author’s fans line up and buy the brilliant one’s books, taking home a token of their long-awaited experience that night. Intangible and invisible, digital-only products like ebooks or downloadable audiobooks have much less appeal in that situation.

To replace inviting stacks of books or CDs at the back of the room, place QR codes on flyers handed out to everyone or on large colorful posters at a display table. Audience members who have smartphones and the right app aim their phone at the code and arrive at a web page where they can buy the digital product.

To provide the delight of being able to walk out with something of the author’s in one’s hands, sell download cards at the event. These credit-card-sized items show a book or album cover and contain a unique download code the buyer redeems later online.

Both ideas work only for a technologically savvy crowd, of course. If you’ve gone digital-only and you speak to folks without the requisite tools and buying habits, you have a problem!

Reprinted with permission from Marcia Yudkin’s free newsletter The Marketing Minute. Subscribe at www.yudkin.com/markmin.htm.

My fingers are crossed in hopes that Bookworks has implemented some of these high tech solutions to buying a book from a local bookseller.

Alyson Hannigan’s Online Stalker Gets Three Year Posting Ban

When a New Hampshire man posted online comments about actress Alyson Hannigan, including threats to kill her and her family, she took the matter to court. The result was a three year restraining order banning him from posting anything online about her or her family and from making any effort to meet her.

The stalker, John Hobbs, apparently agreed to the terms the judge set down. There were no fines, no jail time, just a warning in the form of a restraining order.

Hannigan, known for her roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Pie and How I Met Your Mother, is married to her former Buffy co-star Alexis Denisof. They have two children.

According to this report in The Mary Sue, there had been a temporary restraining order against the man earlier in the year.

Earlier this year, E! News reported Hannigan got a temporary restraining order against a New Hampshire man after he threatened not only her, but her family, online. They write the man “has possessed a pistol permit since 2000 and was recently discharged from a mental hospital.”

Hannigan is married to former Buffy co-star Alexis Denisof and the couple have two girls together. The individual in question posted threats of violence and death on Facebook more than once with one directly mentioning Denisof. In her original filing, Hannigan reported local police visiting the man who “fully acknowledged his interest” in the actress. They say he agree to visit a mental-health clinic but still said he would be traveling to California to find her.

Question: Are Restraining Orders the Answer

The case involving Alyson Hannigan is just one in a long string of similar cases. Sometimes when the identity of the person doing the harassing is revealed, all anyone gets is a public apology. At least in this case, there is a rule of law to provide more clout.

But my question is this: are restraining orders enough in this type of situation? A restraining order is just a piece of paper. It provides no physical restraint. Should there be more? Should there be fines, jail sentences, required mental health counseling? Should stalkers be put on probation and required to wear ankle bracelets so that police can track their location at all times?

At the very least, couldn’t people who threaten others online be deprived of Internet service and a data plan on their cell phone?

We live in a very public world, a very small world. Privacy for anyone, not just celebrities, is more and more an issue. We know women get threatened online just for speaking at conferences or being bloggers. You don’t have to be a well-known celebrity to be threatened in our current online culture of haters, trolls, and crazies. Are legislators and the legal system in step with the current culture, or do we need some changes – fast?

Note: Originally published on BlogHer.

How do we talk about women in tech?

Did you see this post about The Finkbeiner Test? It’s a test similar to the Bechdel Test that is applied to movies and TV shows. The Finkbeiner Test, however, relates to the way media writes about women in STEM fields.

Here are the basic guidelines of the Finkbeiner Test:

To pass the Finkbeiner test, the story cannot mention

The fact that she’s a woman

Her husband’s job

Her child care arrangements

How she nurtures her underlings

How she was taken aback by the competitiveness in her field

How she’s such a role model for other women

How she’s the “first woman to…”

Here’s another trick. Take the things that are said about a female subject and flip them around as if they were said about a male. If they sound ridiculous, then chances are good they have no business in the story.

I read about the test yesterday, and then I saw Sheryl Sandberg on 60 Minutes last night. Part way through the interview, her husband appeared at her side. And, sure enough, there were some shots of him at work and some discussion of how HIS accomplishments had been important in HER career. It was couched in terms of how his support and encouragement were important for her, and how important it is for a woman to choose a life mate who will support her career. Nevertheless, it means 60 Minutes failed the test.

Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In, came out today. I just downloaded it. I can’t wait to read it. I’ve read so many comments and reviews of it already, I’m burning to see what I think myself about her plans to improve the work situation for women. When she’s speaking for herself and not interpreted through the lens of an interviewer or reviewer, I hope to find my own meaning there.

If I write my own review of Lean In, I’ll have to see how hard it is for me to do while passing the Finkbeiner Test.

Here are a few of my previous writings about women in tech. How am I doing in terms of the Finkbeiner Test?

Useful links: being human, Marissa Mayer, women’s history, Jared Smith on ARIA, captioning

Hello, I’m a human being is from Elliot Jay Stocks. May I repeat: we need an internet etiquette training movement.

While we are on the topic of how to use language to disagree and/or present your own point of view in a respectful yet effective manner, read this post by Lauren Bacon: On Marissa Mayer’s Disavowal of Feminism. It’s a great example of how to make a point without being a jerk about it.

Did you know this year’s Women’s History Month theme honors women in STEM? Yay, women in STEM.

Here’s a great post about how to use WebVTT and captioning on the web with the HTML5 video element.

Jared Smith made his slides from his ARIA Gone Wild talk available on Slideshare. Good stuff.

[slideshare id=16977024&doc=ariagonewild-130306091622-phpapp02]

Learning to ask – UPDATED

Amanda Palmer’s TED Talk about learning to ask contains good advice for just about any kind of artist who wants to connect with a community with a sense of give and take. I think this includes code artists. Maybe all of us introverted geekie folks leaning over our computers all day could learn a little something from the touchie feelie types?

[ted id=1682]

After posting this I saw a tweet from Chris Coyier at CSS Tricks. He wanted to screen cast a complete web design makeover. He asked for $3500 in help on Kickstarter. Look what happened. Learn to ask.