Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with web and online

How do I save the planet with computers and stuff? and get paid!?

Gaeacon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:19:34 -0800

I want to help guide the development of "new" environmentalism... Where should I (educated/trained as an Ecologist) start on a career change into media (online/web development)? better explained... I graduated in June with a Master's in Ecology/Conservation and a certificate called Leaders in Sustainability. I started out in the PhD program, but about half a year in I started thinking a lot about doing something at the interface of environmentalism/activism/science through an online medium. I distracted myself immensely, setting out my grand entrepreneurial vision. I thought I could balance all that....and my very demanding dissertation research abroad.

Well, I couldn't. A couple of years of tortured back and forth, I decided to take the Master's and try to explore the sort of channels I was envisioning. The entrepreneurial vision still exists, although on the back burner a bit. I was faced with the reality that I have a lot to learn, and my ideas need maturation.

I set out to learn more and gain experience. In my last year of grad school, I worked with an environmental non-prof that aimed to engage youth in recreating activism...a lot of interactive, educational pieces at events and festivals. I functioned as an event coordinator/"engineer"/educational programmer....many hats, so to speak. I really enjoyed the broad audience and the "cool" factor of this type of work. The work, however, wasn't paid and would not last forever.

Since graduating, I have worked with The Nature Conservancy. It was a short term position that has been extended by working myself into some new projects....but I am starting to earnestly look forward to what's next. TNC has been a great learning experience - amazing to see conservation on the ground and to be involved behind the scenes with all the different stakeholders. That being said, I still feel my heart gravitating to the entrepreneurial vision I had in grad school.

I know I can't rely on a vision alone, so I need the help of you MeFites to figure out my next steps....

My "vision" rests deeply upon the future of the internet/social networking and the fusing of media with environmentalism/science.

What would be a logical next step to dive into this realm? What kind of jobs can I apply to? I feel like I have been hovering around the conservation world for a bit....and maybe I should be exploring the media side some more.

I am very interested in computers and web development. I don't have much of a "formal" background in computers so I am not even sure which area would be the best (or if I even would have a chance of working anywhere).

What about back-up plan? Should I continue in the conservation world? Perhaps seeking out work with environmental consulting companies?
(OH YEAH, I am in debt and need something that pays at least 30-35k)

Any tips on career change and anything that would help get me closer to my goal would be greatly appreciated. TY

I live in Los Angeles...if that helps

Where to buy tea online, + pu-erh

k. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:24:37 -0800

Tea Filter: what's your favorite online tea store? Bonus question: tell me about pu-erh. Stores I already know about, but haven't necessarily ordered from:
Adagio Teas
Tea Gschwendner (teamerchants.com in the USA)
TeazOnline.com
Upton Tea
Maeda-en (Japanese green tea only)

Which of these is the best, for quality or price? Is there a different one that you prefer?

Bonus: I'm interested in trying pu-erh tea. What does it taste like, in comparison to more familiar kinds of black/green/oolong/white tea? What kind do you suggest I try first?

Before Etsy: What was that DIY trading community from way back when?

junkbox — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:16:20 -0800

Years ago (2002? 2003?), long before Etsy, there was an online community for DIY/crafty blogger types to trade materials and maybe handmade goods as well. What was it called, and what happened to it? I remember the background was a dark red color, and it might have had the word "thread" in the title or maybe not. It was popular with the personal blogging set, which was in its heyday at the time, with everybody trading knitting yarn for beads or jewelry hooks or homemade lip balm. I only made a couple of trades, then wandered away and lost track of the thing entirely. Anybody else remember this? What was it called?

Updating my portfolio website and need help with web navigation, images, hosting and more.

mintchip — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:04:23 -0800

Updating my online portfolio and need help with web navigation, images, hosting and more. I would like to update my online writing portfolio, which is currently a blog hosted by Blogger. Each post is a thumbnail image along with some introductory copy. The thumbnails link to large jpg images
stored on Flikr. I want to spend a minimum of time updating my site, and I need to be able to make updates with ease. I have old versions of Photoshop and Dreamweaver at my disposal. Can you help me with these questions?

1. Navigation: On Blogger, new posts appear in date order rather than being organized by category. I am not happy with this navigation limitation. Is there any way around this without creating a whole new website independent of Blogger? I have been thinking about purchasing a domain name and then using an HTML template, but it would be easier if I didn’t have to do this. If I do need to move to a different site format, what would you recommend for a simple template and/or host?

2. Photo storage: My thumbnail images, which Blogger creates, link to Flikr photos. However, the type in these larger images isn't fully readable until the user clicks a second time (after clicking on the thumbnail), to enlarge the image to full size. I’m afraid some readers won’t do this. Is there a good solution to this? Where should I store my photos (if not on Flikr)?

3. Photo size and format: What are standard image sizes? If I abandon the blog format and create a new HTML site, how should I go about creating all of the JPGs I will need (full size, thumbnail)? What is the standard size for full size images and thumbnails and what do you recommend for a naming convention? Would PDF format be preferable? If so, what software should I use to create my PDFs, are there any standards to these, and where can I store them?

4. Should I allow people to download my writing samples, either as JPG or PDFs?

I can handle the output.

2or3whiskeysodas — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:35:24 -0800

Seeking free/cheap print-quality stuff online with which to decorate our new home! I have access to several high-end printers, including an oversize inkjet plotter. We need crap to hang on our walls. What, O Hive Mind, are your favorite online resources for free, cheap, legal, high-resolution drawings/photos/illustrations? Got any good Flickr pools? Illustration blogs? What?

Our tastes include, but are not limited to, the typical design-y, crafty, homemade stuff all the kids seem to be into these days. Honestly, anything's worth considering at this point as long as it's lovely. Thanks!

You've GOT the see this movie!

grumblebee — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:05:06 -0800

Is there an web app via which people can recommend things (movies, music, books, etc.) to me? I feel a bit stupid asking this, because something this obvious must exist, and I should know about it. But I don't.

What I want is this:

A friend of mine goes to (say) recommend.to/grumblebee. He fills out a simple form indicating that he thinks I'd like a book called "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. If he wants, he can write why thinks I'd like it, and he can (optionally) post a link to the book on Amazon.

I can check the page for recommendations, or I can opt to get an email whenever anyone recommends things to me.

IMPORTANT: I would like a low-bar-of-entry. I don't want friends of mine to have to sign up. They just go to the page, fill out the form, press POST, and they're done.

Also, I don't want this to be part of a social-networking site. Not everyone is on Facebook (really!).

I want this, because lovely people are always recommending things to me. They make these recommendations through a bewildering number of channels: email, Facebook, Twitter, IM... Inevitably, I lose track of them and can't find them when I need them.

I'd like to "train" my friends to shoot stuff to recommend.to/grumblebee. If it's something they have to join, many of them will not do it. But if it's a simple form, it shouldn't be a problem.

Basically, it would be like a delicious page for me -- but one created by friends of mine.

How should I build an online testing site?

LakesideOrion — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:28:03 -0800

I'd like to build a Web site that: asks users 50 specific yes/no questions, tallies their answers and then spits out a percentage answer at the end of the quiz. Are there any platforms/services out there (sort of like what Ning provides for social networks) that would help me build a test to share with my co-workers? The purpose my test is to help the test-taker to assess threats. Sample questions might include, 1.) Did the caller sound angry? 2.) Does the caller have a history of making threats? 3.) etc... I would want people to be able to go to this site and take the test over and over again if needed. Bonus points if: 1.) The importance of individual questions can be weighted differently, 2.) The test can be password protected, 3.) The platform let's me point a URL to my test, and 4.) The platform lets me add a logo / design elements to my test. Does such a platform exist? Thanks for your help MeFi!

Photo Contest Set-up Help Needed

SuperErin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:30:40 -0800

PhotoFilter: I need to create a monthly photo contest for my clients to participate in. Help me find the easiest way to do this. I've already seen this question, but it is from 2007, and I know things have changed many times since then. I looked at the two programs suggested, but would prefer something online that I don't have to upload to my website.

I'd like to just set the thing up, give out a link, and have my clients upload photos of their dogs and vote on the best each month. I'd prefer an actual voting mechanism, rather than just writing "vote" in the comments.

I'd prefer free, or at least inexpensive for me, free for my clients to use.

I've googled this, but there's a lot of junk to slog through, so I was hoping to get some Mefite expertise!

Thanks in advance.

Those who can't do... teach online.

grumblebee — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:23:30 -0800

I would like to teach one-on-one computer classes from home (over the Internet). What's the state-of-the-art re: live screen casting? Yes, I know nothing beats being in a room with a real teacher, but I'd like to give this a try. I have 20 years of teaching experience. I teach design and programming topics. I've been waiting for the time when I can say, "You live in California and I live in NYC, but I can still teach you Actionscript programming..."

Years ago, when I first wanted to do this, the tech wasn't ready. I have a feeling it is now. Am I right? Is it finally achievable for me to share my screen in close-to-real time with another Broadband user?

How much would this cost? How could I make it easy for the other person to set up, etc.?

I own a Mac, but I'd like to teach both Mac and PC people.

PS. I know I could make video tutorials, but that space is glutted. I'd prefer to offer live training in which my student could ask questions, etc.

To podcast or not to podcast?

frosty_hut — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:22:33 -0800

How to persuade a local radio arts and music station that they should podcast? I'm a newbie at a radio station. I host a music channel that's one of a couple of others the station offers online. So it's available on HD and also from their web site.

The host of one of the other online channels, Alexa, offers interviews with artists and local mover-shakers. From what I can tell, the managers would like the channel to take off but it's been slow going.

We recently heard from a listener who said she loved the idea of an arts conversation channel, and was particularly interested in an interview with a certain artist. She knew the interview was in that audio somewhere, but she didn't have time to listen to the channel for hours in order to find it. Meanwhile, there was no information on the main web site regarding what time the interview would be playing on the air (or online), so she became discouraged and didn't want to keep listening.

I thought this looked like a huge red flag. Currently there is no web content at all associated with the interview channel--it's just a clickable link, with no clue to content, times of interviews or music, etc. This is an on online channel, but there's no information about it online. It seems to me that podcasting would help enormously. A list of labeled links with the names of the artists would be easy to produce. And podcasts aren't brain surgery. People expect content on demand, they're familiar with the technology, and it's just a no brainer.

So I typed out a simple email in response to the listener's question, and asked everyone: If the listener can't find the interview, why not make it available as a podcast from the main web site?

Alexa replied with a lengthy defense of why Podcasts Are Bad. People will only stay for a minute if they see a podcast link, whereas she wants to draw people in for one thing, and keep them there for all the other stuff on the channel.

I can see why that's desirable, but I don't think podcasting would prevent that result. If a person who only wants the Hot Young Star interview leaves the site after listening to it, he wasn't going to stick around anyway. And in the meantime, you've still got your regular listeners who benefit from the added, easy to find content. Plus, you've added a hit to your page count. Once people who are searching for that famous person start finding our site, it can only swell page hits, which I know they're keeping track of.

I'm a newbie and a part-timer, and maybe Alexa thinks I'm a wet-behind-the-ears jerk. I still think this is a rational suggestion. Anyway, the fate of my own channel is at stake too. If everything we offer looks good to people, they're more likely to stick around long enough to click on my section of the site.

Any suggestions on how to spin this more effectively?

What online humor sites accept outside submissions?

espertus — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:08:32 -0800

I wrote a short humorous topical piece that I would like to get published online. It was in the right format (a short list) for McSweeney's, but they rejected it. What other well-read online humor sites accept outside submissions? I am not looking for payment, just to get it published.

Credit card number stolen! How do I protect others?

attercoppe — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 09:33:47 -0800

My credit card number was stolen! How do I determine the most likely culprit (or at least how they did it) and try to ensure it doesn't happen again either to me or to someone else? I have a relatively new credit card. It lives in my pocket, I have never handed it to anyone else or given out the number except as described below. I've used it twice at the grocery store, swiped it myself. On 10 January I placed an order through a website, on 12 January they ran my card, and early this morning (14 January) I got a call from the fraud department of my credit card company. Someone had made three small (>$10) purchases with my card. The purchases were dated today, 14 January. (Capital One was right on top of it!) Classic fraud flag, the thief checking the card works with small purchases before using it for something big. I confirmed I did not make those purchases, I won't be liable, that number is cancelled and they're sending a new card. No problem there. The question is, how did someone get my card number? The only answers that make sense to me are (in order of likelihood):

1) The website I ordered through has been hacked;
2) Someone at the company I ordered from stole it;
3) Someone in my building, no more than two apartments away, has been sniffing my as-yet-unsecured wireless router (dumb, I know) and got it.

I rate #3 as pretty unlikely given my neighbors. I'm on the third floor, far from the street and parking lot, and it's cold here - a random wardriver/walker is even more unlikely.

I let the company I ordered from know about this. Of course I was speaking to a lowest-level CS rep, and she seemed pretty sure that couldn't ever happen - "We've never had a problem with that before." Then again, she seemed to think I was implying a #2 scenario, that an employee there was responsible.

Am I reasonable in thinking this was a failure of security either with the company website, or within the company? Should I call back and ask to speak to someone as high up as I can get? How likely is it that their website is compromised, and that they don't know, or haven't told the majority of their employees?

What price should I sell text links from my website?

jrholt — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:47:02 -0800

What price should I sell text links from my website? I have a small 1-year-old website with growing traffic (currently around 4500 a month). Somebody has approached me to buy text links from the site. It would be 7 text links total and clustered in a small paragraph of no more than 25 words on the homepage. How do I figure out the market price for these links?

Here is an example:

Check out our Bon Jovi tour schedule, Metallica tickets, Beyonce tickets, Jay-Z tickets, Rolling Stones tickets, Radiohead tickets and Cher tickets.

Additional facts about my website: Alex ranking of 389,000; Pagerank 4.

Fees for giving "ask the expert" advice

cherie72 — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:30:37 -0800

How much would an online expert expect to be paid? I'm looking to set up an "Ask the Expert" service for my company web site. Some have told me that many experts do it for free, just for the exposure. I'm lobbying to offer a fee or honorarium for answering questions (perhaps five per month). I would filter them and forward them to the right expert, and they would have to respond within 24 hours.

I'm finding lots of sites (finance, health, exercise) that let you email a question and get expert advice, and there are a lot of them with pretty impressive experts. But how can I find the standard fee given to these folks or get a range of fees for reference? We're not even sure if we can afford such a panel of experts, and we certainly don't want to insult anyone by offering them too little.

Resources for Aspiring Online News Producer?

davidmsc — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:42:58 -0800

Resources for learning more about being the "web producer" (aka online content manager, etc) for a small-market TV news outlet? I'm on the verge of landing a gig as the "online content manager" at one of our local TV stations (network affiliate); they are trying to make a big push onto the web, and my passion for current events, love of my community, and 8+ years as a blogger (familiar with CMS, social media, minor techie skills, etc) seems to have convinced them that I am the right guy. For me, this is a Dream Job. Seriously.

The position seems to be part-time content blogger, part-time "in the field" gathering material/stories, and part-time business & analytics (who visits, why, stickiness, etc).

But with no formal journalism education/experience, I want to learn as much as possible as fast as possible. I follow some of the major blogs that discuss the intersection of news & new media, such as Lost Remote and Media Bistro/TV Newser, but I would really appreciate any other sources and links. Thanks, gang!

smart online sex forums: lizard brains can wait outside

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:18:55 -0800

Is there a Metafilter about sex? I'm looking for an online forum where people discuss sex intelligently. All I can find are sites that are filled with juvenile comments and hookup sites. I know that there are specialized sites for people with various fetishes, but I'm looking for something more general. An open-minded community where people can discuss their experiences, fears, turn-ons, kinks, etc. It's fine if there are sub-sections for hookups and "I'd hit that"s, as long as there are more grown up sections, too.

I'm asking about this, because I was brought up not to discuss sex. It's always felt very freeing to me to be able to completely open up, but I don't have many real-life friends that would be into that. And it's freeing for me to hear from other people, even if their sexual orientation is totally different from mine. The web seems perfect for this sort of discussion, but I'm can't seem to find an intelligent site.

mylizardbrain@gmail.com

Ways to market a website

blueplasticfish — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:38:12 -0800

What are some good ways to market a website? Recently I have helped launch another website onto the World Wide Web. I won't name the site here (to avoid spam accusations), but the site enables people to make Ken Burns-like slideshows with custom music and background themes.

Our target, though not limited to this, is women between the ages of 20-40 who like to share photos of their family online. The goal was to make creating a slideshow an easy, drag-and-drop experience, and to create a clean and cinematic slideshow. We felt a lot of the slideshows available on the web were either boring, hard for the non-tech savvy to create, or filled with too much distracting clutter.

We've gotten on local TV and have had a positive response thus far, but we are struggling to figure out some cost-affective (read cheap) ways to market the site on the web. We are on Facebook and AdWords, but we are looking for other creative ideas to market our site.

We realize that there are a million photo/slideshow sharing sites out there, but really think that our differentiation contains value.

I'm looking for ideas outside of SEO, ad driven, blogs, etc., and more for something that will resonate with our target audience. Perhaps something more grassroots.

You thoughts and ideas are much appreciated :)

CodeFilter:

kjl291 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:09:41 -0800

CodeFilter: I am looking for online classes mainly in the area of web programming (PHP, MySQL, AJAX, etc.). I need to brush up on my self taught skills. I am looking for something on the level of an actual coures, with assignments, deadlines, etc. (I don't necessarily like those things, but find I learn much better that way than self-paced from a book). Free or paid service is fine - I am mainly concerned with quality. I sort of like the courses and organization offered by eclasses.org, but I have no idea if they are good and credible? Any recommendations would be very much appreciated

Building the timeline

dw — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:17:25 -0800

I need a way for users to edit a timeline online. It doesn't have to be elaborate; it just has to allow a user to add an event to a history timeline. I'm too swamped to build my own solution. We're running IIS with classic ASP. Ideas for getting this pulled off? The idea is that there's some timeline:

1968 - MLK assassinated
1972 - Watergate

A user can then add in another event:

1968 - MLK assassinated
1969 - Apollo 11
1972 - Watergate

The timeline in question is for the 40-year history of my institution.

The main option I'm looking at is an online document editor, like Writeboard or Google Docs. The problem is that these users who know the timeline we're trying to construct aren't necessarily savvy enough to use either one.

Another option would be to throw up a wiki, but the wiki of choice here is OpenWiki, which from an editing standpoint drives me nuts.

The last option is to throw some sort of editor on top of the Simile XML. This one worries me since I'd be looking at doing direct file editing on the server.

So... is there an online timeline editor I've missed? Anyone else pulled off something similar? Any other ideas?

Less internets please

dersins — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:45:42 -0800

How can I make myself spend less time dicking around on-line? I spend too much time dicking around online, on reading community sites, news sites, blogs, etc. It interferes with my desire to do things that aren't dicking around online. (Writing, reading, outdoor activities, etc.)

What are some strategies which you have successfully employed (or heard of others employing) that enabled you to limit the amount of time you waste dicking around on the internet.

Responses like "Dude, just spend less time dicking around on the internet" which do not suggest specific approaches are not helpful.

Easy way to sell documents on the web?

jayder — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 13:48:36 -0800

Is there any easy way to sell downloadable electronic documents (PDF format) on the web? I'd prefer that it be closely integrated into the interface of an existing website that I maintain. I'm looking for a system where someone chooses a document they want to buy, pays through a third-party site (and the third party then passes the money on to me), and the document is instantly made available to the customer. I know about sites like Lulu.com, etc., but I would prefer that this be done on my website.

Flickr for Clothes, y'all! Good idea?

Firas — Sat, 12 May 2007 23:36:14 -0800

Wardrobe software. Has nobody done this? Wouldn't a social webapp for clothing be fiercely awesome? I'm not the target user really (I assume a hypothetical userbase would skew heavily towards the other gender) but even to the extent that I see it being personally useful, it does seem awesome.

Think something like: being able to list everything, add pictures, define combinations, take pictures of yourself in those combinations, get people to suggest combinations for you, etc. Basically a heavy emphasis on organization and communication instead of just spreadsheet-style itemization.

I know that 'social shopping' is an exploding niche and that people have done this with eg. perfumes (basenotes), but I'm concerned that this may be a solution looking for a problem.

Whatcha think?

Please recommend excellent absorbing web-based games

MetaMonkey — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:23:15 -0800

Please recommend excellent absorbing web-based games I'm looking for the sort of game you can fire up in a browser and play mindlessly for 5 minutes or however long, which I use as a way to clear my head after thinking about complicated things.

Simple, enduring games that are a pleasure to absorb yourself in, through good physics/design/concept. Not too frantic, or requiring too much verbal or logical thought (strategy = good, puzzle = bad).

Examples:

chain reaction games [example]
missile command/defend the castle [example]
2d scrolling fun [example]
shooting/sniping games

Also welcomed are suggestions for good online games blogs/hubs other than Jayisgames.

Hard science for lil' shavers

maryh — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 01:38:21 -0800

I want to give my 4 year old a decent grounding in science, but I'm prety dim, myself. Where do I start? I'd like to make the world a bigger place for my kid. We've been exploring the environment around here and it's been a lot of fun for the both of us, but now I'm looking for good math and science resources, online or on the printed page.
Anyone?

Help my far-flung friends and I share and discovery new music with each other.

MaverickX — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:54:12 -0800

Help my far-flung friends and I share and discovery new music with each other. So we're very into discovering new music via old school mix-tapes (CDs nowadays).

What we've been doing:
Each person is assigned a month.
On your month, you burn copies of your favorite mix CD
You manually send each person on the mailing list a copy.
Repeat

Unfortunately, this method doesn't work as well as it used to, seeing as our group of friends is now up to 20 people and we're dispersed across about 5 different states.

Any one have any ideas on how we can improve this process? I would think there would have to be some online (Web 2.0?) app out there that can help this process.

Oh, and everyone on the list does have access to CD burners, but not are not exactly techno-savvy (so FTP is not really a good option).