Add Google Buzz to your Site!

So as everyone knows Google has released Buzz and by now most everyone has it. The number one question is how do I add it to my site so that people can share my content with their buzz friends. Well, if you are running WordPress it’s pretty easy. Head on over to WordPress.org and search for the plugin called Google Buzz for WordPress. If you are not running WordPress you can just use this link and replace out the variables (designated by <<>>)

http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=<<URL>>&title=<<TITLE>>&srcURL=<<SRC>>&srcTitle=<<SRCTITLE>>

Where
URL = Url of the page you want to share
TITLE = Title of the page that you are sharing
SRC = Source of the page that you are sharing. for instance you may share http://www.kapustabrothers.com/ to buzz but found the link and shared it from aol.com so the SRC would be aol.com.
SRCTITLE = The title of the source.

It’s that simple. A box will pop up you can add some tags and some comments and click post. This will post directly to your buzz feed for all your buzzy friends to see.

Next are the icons. What should you use for an icon? Well you can search the net for them but I found some pretty cool simple ones from http://www.chethstudios.net/

All you have to do is wrap the icon with the link and your all set. I suggest setting a rel and a target too if applicable.


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz


Google Buzz

Update: Here is another icon that I found floating around on the interwebs.

Google Buzz

Enjoy!

Branding Youtube Channels

Company branding is pretty much everything these days and with the onslaught of social media applications taking over as a key marketing tool, company’s must keep in mind how they brand them.  Take for an example YouTube.  Many people use YouTube as a marketing tool which is great way to get in touch with millions of people, but have you seen some of the branding on these channels?  I think this is a key area where company’s are losing out.  Look at the two presidential candidates YouTube Channels (Obama, McCain).  They aren’t that great are they?  Look at one of the most subscribed to channels of all time the Universal Music Group.  Look at that background, that’s so 1997 when I was in 9th grade.

I spent a while yesterday looking for good branding of YouTube Channels and didn’t find many. Below are a list of channels that I thought were awesome and had a clean design.

What do you think about those?  I think they get it when it comes to branding.  When I look at a bad design all I can think of is a cluttered MySpace page or Wal-Mart, but when I see the designs that look amazing and easy on the eye I instinctively think Target or Facebook.  If I was a consumer of a product or your marketing technique, I would definitely want to feel Target-ish and Facebook-ish because I want to be with the in crowd.

So that brings me to this.  I am interested in finding more YouTube page designs and what you the consumer of these channels are looking for?  Do you link simple or complex?  What is the makeup of a good YouTube Channel and what are some good channel designs that you like?

YouTube Adds CC and Subtitling

In a huge step to make the YouTube player more Section 508 Compliant, YouTube now allows you to add closed caption and subtitling on all videos.  CC and Subtitles aren’t just in English but 120 different languages that allow the user to select what they want.  This is Simply amazing.  I am looking forward to do some work with this soon!  Oh yeah…Captions can be turned on and off via a button in the bottom right corner of the video.  Here is an example:

(UPDATE: looks like embedding videos doesn’t capture the CC)

Getting Ready for Google App Engine

Funkatron.com has a really good article on a Google App Engine from a PHP developer’s perspective.  Very well written and love the sense of humor.  I think the best line in the article is

Otherwise, Python is a good fit for me philosophy-wise, because it’s totally the anti-Perl, lacking goofy magic characters and 1000 ways of doing the same thing. I can’t stand languages where “~^s” means “find all numbers that start with the letter ‘s’, add them, multiply them by 75, and then post the result to Twitter”. I’m not freakin’ R2D2 here.

I personaly haven’t tried out Google App Engine but will here in the near future.  I have to freshen up Python skills.  I definatly belive in what funkatron says about learning more than one coding language.

Plus, getting hung up on one language is a sure way to be a boring dude who gets caught up in lame religious language wars.

Social Graphing API

Google has released a Social Graphing API which follows XFN and FOAF links. This is very cool. Here is a short video on how it works.

YouTube Preview Image

With the social networking boom there are many possibilities that open up through this API. Anyone have any ideas on what can be done with this or if anyone is currently using this API?

It would be very cool to put it in Kyle Sholz JsVis ProjectDemo, Tutorial.