The IT industry has been experiencing an enormous paradigm shift toward tapping into the power of its user base. Open-source, community-driven projects--once a nearly inconceivable idea--has become a reality and has been met with astounding success.The most prominent of the open-source browsers available (at least for the time being) is Mozilla Firefox. Firefox, like many other contemporary browsers, allows its users to develop and share their own tools that can augment the browser's built-in features and behaviors. These "add-ons" are free and can save you countless hours and headaches.If you haven't had a chance to explore what's out there, here's a list of Firefox add-ons you should at least be aware of. (Do you have any favorite add-ons pertaining to the marketing industry that you don't see here? Please share them in the comments!) Rank Checker - Free tool for checking search engine rankings.Pencil - Free tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping.WASP - Provides Web analysts and implementation specialists an understanding of what analytics tags are being used on a page.Read it Later - Keep a running list of pages to come back to and read when you have time.Screengrab! - Simple screen captures allowing entire-page captures below the fold.Firebug - Essential features for anyone working in the interactive space, not just developers.Web Developer - Helpful features for, well, Web developers.To see a list of this year's official Mozilla contest for best new add-ons, click here.
Google's announcement of its Chrome browser heralds the return of the venerable thin client concept, this time using system OS-level memory management and streamlined browser performance to usher in a new era of next-gen Web applications.But there's a twist. Chrome couples application development with Google's ethnographic resources, meaning the lines between marketing messaging and interface design will become near-invisible. Services (flickr, myspace, etc) will blend in as quietly branded bits of functionality that will only become more pervasive and robust as "invisible" browsers like Chrome grow in ubiquity.And with growing numbers of users increasingly creating original content online, the idea of an OS-level, walled garden with Google as its gatekeeper has cultural implications as well.Here's a short browser rundown:
How would you rate your company on creating consumer feedback loops? Yes, customer feedback can be scary and, sometimes, the truth hurts. But, in the end, listening to customers and putting their feedback into product development pays off with loyalty. A satisfied customer base will lead to new customers. Follow this link to an article by Pete Blackshaw in AdAge.com, where he talks about resistance to consumer feedback and why we should promote it.
Contrary to what you might expect, merely doing a job every day does not necessarilly qualify as real practice. Improved skills come from focused practice and continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond one's competence. If work overload prevents this during the work day, make sure to set aside time in your week to avoid skill stagnation.
In this article Jeff Atwood likens the pursuit of programming skills to learning the martial arts, termed "code kata."
"I may drive to work every day, but I'm far from a professional driver. Similarly, programming every day may not be enough to make you a professional programmer. So what can turn someone into a professional driver or programmer? What do you do to practice?"