First, pretty things to look2002.01.02

First, pretty things to look at. 2advanced.com has won some design awards, and I think they're chock full of yummy goodness. I do, however, believe that for the most part (other than the moving clouds, perhaps) the visual effect would have been just as great with non-Flash pages, and a good deal more accessible. And following the bouncing ball from there, I ran aross Bombay Sapphire which features some nice design-y things and a very fun "design your own martini glass" app.

Second, from pretty pictures to pretty words. Nick Usborne talks about writing in the first person (singular or plural) on a web site - is it appropriate? I happen to think yes, it's more than appropriate, it's a much better way to communicate with your audience. With all the CEOs (the ones who haven't really let the dot-com crash sink in, at least) still babbling about stickiness and loyalty and community, this is one easy lesson so many of them could learn. I started out with I on my web site in '96 and then quickly switched to we and our to try and impress. Business backtalk and doublespeak didn't win me any points with my visitors. I learned pretty quickly to not only use I and my but to also imbue a bit of my personality within the site as well. My visitors appreciated it and I finally got the loyalty and "community" I was looking to foster.

Finally, have some fun. Generate random names to use as avatars, characters in your writing, or just for a laugh. Some fun ones I found this evening include Porn Star Names, Lee's Useless Superhero Generator (which even generates powers for your superhero), Sopranos' Mob Name Generator, Hillbilly Name Generator and Wacky Band Name Generator. Just fluff to unwind with. :)

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