WritersDigest.com writing prompts

Have a look at this amusing list of prompts that just gets you thinking about weird, random writing ideas.

Read more at www.writersdigest.com/w...

World Trade Center, September 13, 2001

I found this on del.icio.us, some photography from the 9/11 aftermath.

Read more at www.zombietime.com/wtc_...

Why is the president ignoring our laws?

Lou Dobbs impresses again in his CNN editorial indictment of the president for not following the rule of law. The last few lines of the article particularly resonate:

As Abraham Lincoln said, if bad laws exist they should "be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example they should be religiously observed." President Lincoln devoutly believed that rule of law assured that ours would continue to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

And that should be the first demand of every American today.

By the way, what ever happened to CNN being a mouthpiece for the government? At least they've got people writing stuff like this. People just need to act on it. Read more at www.cnn.com/2006/US/07/...

Some Writers Digest gems

I started reading a web site called Writers Digest , and here are a couple articles I read on my first visit.

The first is a slightly obvious prose primer, but it's always good to see if there's something "obvious" that we don't already know.

The second talks about villainous personalities and how to align them with actual disorders to make for a good story. I happen to think this discussion feels a bit cookie-cutter, but it's a good start for thinking about the topic and connecting it to real problems.

Google shares its suspicions on click fraud

About a week ago I was having a brief and rather nerdy conversation with a friend who was saying that Google will soon fail because they don't have a product to offer, and because of that the click fraud problem will overwhelm consumers' trust.

I don't think Google will go under because of this, but he's right in identifying morality, trust, and confidence as the main items Google peddles. It sounds very much like accounting firms which drive significant value from their seal of approval that they place on verified and reviewed financial statements. Google maintains a similar but more globally visible portfolio of trust.

For this reason, Google must keep a finger on the pulse of how they're viewed worldwide. This article below specifies a situation where Google had to take care of important business.

Read more at www.mercurynews.com/mld...

I could use a humanoid

A human helper robot would probably help out, but I have no idea how it would get involved in my current life. I guess I would make it my slave. Do we all crave slaves? I think it sounds like a good idea to enslave computers if we could do it. Google is basically like a computer search servant. For now though, dream about this robot.

Read more at www.engadget.com/2006/0...

Text Link Ads idea

One of the topics I'm interested in as a web content developer is the progression of Internet advertising technology. Indeed it fuels much of the internet from Google to your local blog writer.

To be part of the Internet world you've got to be in touch with what's going on with blogs, popularity sites like Digg, del.icio.us, Technorati, and the like. A site that I read from time to time - CyberWyre - discusses such Internet traffic issues.

At this site they talk about a new advertising structure called Text Link Ads which highlights words in the content of a web page and links ads that pop up directly over those words. I'd like to hear what people think about that method, and if you could see yourself returning to sites that vie for your attention in that way. You can see it in action and more explanation at the article: www.cwire.org/2006/05/0...