Yet another week of great finds on the web. We’ve got everything from “Beer Golf” to musical instruction to changing the world. They don’t have to be accomplished in that order, though that might be just the recipe we need at this point to enact social change and fight Global Warming! Enjoy…
DIY Health Insurance - one of my favorite recent posts on WWD covered tips on where do go to get your own Health Insurance for those freelancers/small businsses out there.
Music Pic - Murder Mystery - I’m addicted to their song Love Astronaut. For me these guys are all the rage.
Beer Golf - mini golf and beer. Need I say more?
Photoshop Tutorial - Software Box - tutorial for creating a fake software box within photoshop that could be used if you are selling software programs or web scripts from a site but don’t have an actual physical box that you can photograph.
YUI Theatre - Javascript with Douglas Crockford - a must watch for the newbie or seasoned Javascript developers out there.
Natural Docs - For the coders out there looking for documentation generators - Natural Docs is an open-source, extensible, multi-language documentation generator.
Many Eyes - IBM lab’s creates a data visualization sharing utility. In Alpha phase.
Halite Studios: Piano Hero - I generally try to avoid video games. It’s not because I don’t like them, but because I get too easily addicted to an activity I view as an unproductive use of my time. But Piano Hero is a free tool, about to launch, which mimics SPS2’s hit Guitar Hero, but actually teaches you how to play piano with no more than a midi keyboard! Can’t wait for the release!
The How and the Tao of Oldtime Banjo - David Roth of Fortune Magazine stated that “Nothing says you’re dropping out of society like learning the banjo.” This is for two reasons, in my opinion. The banjo is incredibly difficult to become proficient at and requires lots of “downtime”. The second is because the instrument is relatively unused in popular music, and thus “unpopular” by mainstream standards. But this instrument has amazing potential… I’m imagining a banjo-based hip-hop riff right now. This free ebook will get you started.
The How and the Tao of Folk Guitar - Companion book to the banjo ebook. Guitars are easier to come by and less intimidating than banjo for musical beginners. I mean, we can’t spend all our time online, right?
WorldChanging.com - I recently read a great essay called The Networked Individual by one of my favorite media philosophers, Douglass Rushkoff. Shortly afterwards, I stumbled on WorldChanging.com, which exemplifies his vision of a modern-day renaissance which can flourish by simply networking those who are working for change. The premise of the WorldChanging network is that the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it’s here. We only need to put the pieces together. How refreshing!
59 Smartest Orgs Online - I actually saw this list of the best non-profits several weeks ago, but only discovered WorldChanging on a WBAI, a community-oriented New York City radio station. WorldChanging is up there in the list, among other excellent organizations.
Change This: Popular Manifestos - This is an amazing collection of free ebooks by cyber celebs like Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin, and Hugh MacLeod, among others.
iJigg - Haven’t had a chance to explore this site too much, but this is essentially a YouTube app for DIY homegrown music. It has great potential.
iStopMotion - This is the art or film student’s dream come true. Video has never been a great medium for stop motion animation. But now, if you have an Apple laptop with iSight, you can make stop action videos for a song.
WordPress 2.1 Ella Released - My favorite CMS, WordPress 2.1 was released this week. This was a major release for Matt and the WordPress development team.
Forbes.com The Web Celeb 25 - Forbes.com has come up with their list of The Web Celeb 25 which is a list of the biggest, brightest and most influential people on the Internet. From bloggers to podcasters to YouTube stars, these are the people who are creating the digital world.
Valleywag Picks The Seven Best YouTubers - Nick Douglas posts his seven favorite YouTubers (and no, Lonelygirl isn’t one) up on the blog, Valleywag. If you been looking for some great content on YouTube, this is great resource to see why YouTube is so entertaining to millions of people!
Lijit - Lijit allows users to create a personal network search which you can place on your blog and allow visitors to search your entite network of blogs, social networks and web 2.0 sites including digg, flickr, reddit, myspace, linkedin, and youtube.