Something Keeps Burning

Lots of chatter about the usefulness and relevance of FeedBurner since the Google acquisition 1. Chris Baskind formalizes it by updating the reasons not to use Feedburner to cache your feeds.

“FeedBurner is showing its age. While Google has ignored its new baby, technology has been steaming ahead.” – Chris Baskind

Baskind’s analysis is more publisher-oriented than my reader-oriented and parser-oriented issues with the service; Part 1, Part 2.

On the flip side, I give FeedBurner kudos for their focus and going deep on single, specific, simple, offering.

1. Hopefully, conventional wisdom about being acquired by Google will soon/now be equated to completely shutting a service down. AppEngine, if anything, is a thin lifeline to a not-customers of acquired services.

Putting the ‘mium’ in ‘Freemium’

For the past year, Cullect has been live wrapped in a subscription model based this “freemium” model I drew up back in the middle of 2006.

For Cullect, the benefit of this model have been obvious: even with a small number of paying customers – the servers are being paid for from subscription payments. For such a highly niche service with nearly no marketing effort – I’m declaring it a success.

On the Cashboard project I mentioned yesterday, I’m building toward a subscription model even more true to the above diagram. It seems like the right, most interesting, most challenging, and most sustainable, direction.

All the things that I expect to see from the other web apps launching in 2009.

I started building up new project today, one of the 2 initial revenue generating

I started building up new project today, one of the 2 initial revenue generating projects on my 2009 list. While it’s a way from launching, much of the heavy lifting was completed today. Conceptually, I’ve been using a proof-of-concept of this project for a couple years now. Oh, and I spent waaaay to long looking for domain names for it. The Code Name thus far has been ‘Cashboard’ – but since it’s not available, it needs to be changed.

QSPress.rb – Quicksilver to WordPress in Ruby

Remember the Quicksilver to WordPress Applescript I wrote a while back?

Well, I’ve ported it to Ruby.

The QSPress.rb works the same as the Applescript version, with a couple of tweaks – you can now set categories, flag if a post should be a draft, and upload files – all from Quicksilver.

The full instructions are in the script itself. Enjoy.

Download QSPress.rb

Ad Bye

“…Consumers weren’t trying to generate media. They were trying to talk to somebody. So it just seems a bit arrogant. … We hijack their own conversations, their own thoughts and feelings, and try to monetize it.” – Ted McConnell, General Manager-Interactive Marketing and Innovation at Procter & Gamble Co.

Color me surprised that conventional wisdom suggested anything differently.

The services we’re currently using to talk to each other are one small moment from Bell’s experiments with the liquid transmitter.

Its as if when Bell declared, “Mr. Watson — Come here — I want to see you”, Watson was initially preceded by someone wearing fake mustache and promoting Doc Johnson’s Olde Tyme Elixir.

Just a wacky idea to start with.

Recipe: Quinoa Muffins with Craisins

Qunioa muffins are one of my favorite breakfasts – second only to long breakfasts over a selection of raw milk cheeses – they’re dense as dark matter and full of mouthfeel.

And, I’m tired of Googling for this recipe when I’m in the mood to make these for breakfast. So, I’m posting it here, so I’ll always know where to find it.

Yes, the recipe is originally from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

    Dry

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for pan
  • 3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup raisins (Garrick’s Note: I prefer orange-flavored Craisins)
    Wet

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus more for pan
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes. (Garrick’s Note: quinoa shouldn’t be fully cooked, so don’t follow the instructions on their packaging.)
  2. Brush a standard 12-cup muffin pan with oil and dust with flour.
  3. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, Craisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa
  4. Whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla.
  5. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
  6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes – until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cullect Got 3rdPartyFeedback.com-ed

Ed Kohler1 has a new mechanical turk project – 3rdPartyFeedback.com. For $25, Ed will ask 10 people 3 standard questions about your website and send over their responses.

Obviously, I ran Cullect.com through Ed’s gauntlet.

Here are some of my favorites:

“I like the fact that the website design is spare and not flash heavy.”

“I don’t consider anything best current feature for this website.”

“Add some design…”

The full response is over at the Cullect blog.

I think Ed’s onto something with this service – especially at $0.83 / answer.

1. Ed’s the only man I know with a longer project list than my own.