Cool Tool: SiteMeter - Free statistics tracker

Site Meter is a really awesome free counter and statistics tracker you can use on your website or blog to monitor your traffic and get more details about your visitors.

It's a free "who, what, why, when and (from) where" tool to help you monitor who's visiting your stuff, where they came from, and what they like best. This info can give you some good insight into what kind of posts your visitors value the most based on time spent on a page or the information they're looking for, and how many pages they view in a visit. It can also give you some great technical information on the most popular Operating System, Browser, Screen Resolution and much more to help you make sure your interface design works for the folks that typically visit your website or blog.

Site Meter's comprehensive real time website tracking and counter tools give you instant access to vital information and data about your sites audience. With our detailed reporting you'll have a clear picture of who is visiting your site, how they found you, where they came from, what interests them and much more.

They've got two types of account packages. The Basic plan (free) gives you lots of data and statistics about your visitors, and it takes just seconds to sign-up and then get things working -- and you can't beat that price! The Premium plan (which starts at $6.95) offers additional stats, reporting, historical data, ad-free stats pages, and the ability to export your data.

I've been using it for just over a year, and it's great. Why not sign up with Site Meter now and give it a try?

Here are some example stats...

latent|design - blog.TamaroDesign.com
Feb 25 2009 21: 38: 55PM GMT: -5:00


Browser Share

Operating System

Monitor Resolution

Continent

Wow, I Got Smashed!

Yes, we can...
Here's one from the "Stick to it, you can do it" Category... Way back in March of this year Smashing Mag started featuring stunning desktop wallpaper created by amazing artists and designers working on the web. I was hooked on Smashing since they rolled in the Fall of '06, and they really crank-out great articles, resources, how-to's, fonts, tools and all sorts of stuff that really does "make your life easier" if you work on the web (or if you geek-out just for fun, huh?).

In March I was so inspired by the amazing artwork that I took on a personal challenge to try and see if I could get Smashed too at some point — and I set out to try and make some decent desktop wallpapers whenever I had time. Finally, in November I submitted a wallpaper just to see if my stuff would rank, but that set wasn't chosen (the calendar was too difficult to see). No biggie I figured, and I churned-out another set for December just for chuckles, submitted them and went about my boring routine just as I always do and thought nothing of it...

Feelin' Pretty Good Now
I returned from a rare, and invigorating brief traveling jaunt and checked my email and deleted my typical SPAM messages (sorry: it's actually large enough, I don't need a mortgage or a mail-order bride, and I don't need an expensive watch, etc.) and then did my typical web surfing and feed reading. Then, I remembered I had submitted my wallpaper, and went to see if the fine folks at Smashing had posted for December with my fingers crossed and there I was, SLAM I got Smashed and it was a great feeling. Nice.

One Ant and One Giant Rubber Tree
Here's what made the grade, and I called it "Violet Night" because it sorta sounded good and seemed to make sense at the time. I dressed it up in some fancy phrases to make it seem like I actually had a concept when in fact I was really just messing around with Photoshop.

I think I can, I think I can!
I think I'll try to do something again next month since it's really kinda fun and I like rubbing pixels with some of the best on the web — makes me feel like I am somebody, really. Maybe I'll actually get some traffic and a few ad clicks on this stupid blog after all these years. That's another long-winded long-term goal, but I've stopped holding my breath waiting for a check from Google.

Check out all the fantastic stuff they've got at Smashing Magazine, and add them to your feeds — heck, why not try and submit your stuff? It's good for you and 100% natural without all the weird side effects, fast talk and fine print...
:-D

Substance with style -or- substance and style?

Medium + message
Here's a quick and rambling post on the topic of style and substance. I just read a somewhat nasty comment on a blog that I frequent and it got me thinking about style. The flagrant comment focussed solely on the writers style, and in my opinion, missed much of the points the writer was trying to present.

Form, function? Whatever...
When I think of form vs. function issue (or is it function vs. form?), I tend to lean towards function as being the more important of the two for me. This is because so many things don't hold up to the test of time these days, and it bothers me when things just don't work or function well and do the very thing they are meant to do in the first place. If something looks great and is aesthetically pleasing and all that stuff but doesn't work, what's the point? I like dependable products and I don't mind fixing them when they fail to deliver because of normal use. When I'm constantly fixing things to just get 'em to work, it bothers me. It's about efficiency. It's about design.

Form = Style, delivery, medium

Function = Substance, purpose, message

So what's the 'dilly'?
Obviously, it's really nice when something functions well and has a great design in terms of it's look and feel, or aesthetic. I love the phrase, "we can deliver it with quality, on time, or on budget: but you can only pick two of the three." Like many people, I need to pay attention to the cost when buying things, but oftentimes I don't mind having to spend more for a better product. I like it when things last. I don't care for cheap products and many times I wait to buy an item when I can afford to pay for the superior product because it's more likely to do what it's designed to do and be dependable, and also stand the test of time with proper use.

Benefit of doubt
Folks are busy. It seems people are less willing to give others the "benefit of the doubt" these days. We live in a "heated" era where every word is often scrutinized and the point is frequently overlooked. This is an example of style over substance. The scrutiny is focused on the style rather than the substance – it's when you can't get past the delivery to see the underlying substance. Presentation and delivery (form) is important.

The concepts and ideas are what draw me to certain blogs, twitter tweets, and other web stuff on a regular basis. The writer's "voice" is much like adding some salt & pepper to a well made dish – it adds flavor. A writer's style helps distinguish the work from others. It can be playful and fun. It can draw the reader in to deeper aspects of the message. It makes things more memorable as well.

Mix it up
I like when a writer uses a colloquial or "tongue in cheek" style. It's even better when a command of language is demonstrated as well, and the two are mixed together, much like a good ballet. It's a sprinkling of style among the substance. I'm even willing to overlook a few typos and errors here and there... I try not to let the style get in the way of the purpose.

Maybe I'm getting older (or seasoned), but I prefer to take things in stride. I try to enjoy the ride, even when it's a bumpy one. I keep it "slow and steady" with the hope of going farther. I'd rather be a little forgiving than not. Go ahead, mix it in...

Posted by email from ptamaro's posterous

Seven Things you probably didn't know...

Well, here goes nothing...

Lots of bloggers post their "Seven Things you probably didn't know about me" and other cool memes and lists, so I took a few minutes (about 27 minutes actually) and thought of a few of my own. After thinking of a few things about me, I realized that my life is a little more exciting than I originally thought it was, so I figured I'd share these little-known facts about me with all of you folks out there.

1) My avatar actually looks like me and I made it myself when I was supposed to be working (for a previous employer) but decided to do something "productive" instead.

2) I have two size 11 feet, but I can squeeze into a size 10-1/2 if I'm in a bind.

3) I used to read voraciously. I've read letters "B" through "S", and "U" through "Z" of Webster's Dictionary and much of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Yes, I have.

4) I have worn contact lenses for more than 30 years, rarely clean them or even take them out and I've only had a problem once.

5) I'm not great with math but I really love to count things, and I used to be a fantastic spellar.

6) There is a very high probability that I will be late for work tomorrow even though I value punctuality.

Hmmn. I could only think of six things about me, sorry.

UPDATE: Monday, January 7, 2008 - 7:13 AM
7) Ok, here is one more which makes seven: Elmo is my favorite Sesame Street character.

UPDATE: Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - 7:31 AM
* Bonus Item: I just thought of another one... I can read upside-down and backwards! ;-)

Cool Tool: Ping-O-Matic!

Got a blog? Want to let the community know when you've updated it? Problem solved in just a few clicks and you're done in seconds if you use Ping-O-Matic!

Just drop your blog title, URL, and RSS feed into their form, check the services you want to ping and off it goes. What are they up to and why is it free?

"Why go to all the trouble of setting up a free system that sends out over a hundred thousand pings a day? To play with all the data of course!"

Cool, huh? It's fast and FREE, so give it a try.