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Your turn: free-range posts
Found any fun new blogs lately? Started one yourself? Stumbled on (or written) something you think our Passionate Users regulars might find interesting... but that wasn't on-topic enough to put in a comment? Wanted to do a shameless self-promotion trackback that had nothing to do with the post, without appearing shameless? Now's the chance.
This is the first of semi-regular open posts I'm going to try, mainly so that I can sit back on my lazy rear while you do all the work...
I'll go first with a few random things:
1) I've been wanting to talk about Nintendogs even since I got back from Japan, but didn't get around to it. I'm still planning to do something on girls and video games, inspired by Nintendo's marketing of this game in Japan, but yesterday I found a wonderfully (long and detailed) review of the design of the Nintendogs game, that's got some great stuff even if you're not a game designer. (We should all be thinking like game designers) Read it on the Lost Garden blog (which I found via the Greenonions blog).
2) Passionate users regular Matt G has started a new new blog. It's brand new, so there's not much there yet, and I figured he wouldn't say anything himself about it, so I did. Sorry Matt ; )
3) I have a new horse trainer, Darren Wetherill (aka the "horse wizard"), who insists that we get on our horses without a saddle, by jumping up from the ground. Here's a cute video clip of his four-year old daughter trying to jump up on her horse for the first time. This is exactly how I felt a few weeks ago...
So... now it's your turn! Add a comment with links, or send a trackback to whatever you like. All topics are fair game, and don't feel like the link you post has to "contribute something meaningful". And I still reserve the right to delete links arbitrarily, at my whim, just to exercise my Typepad-given powers ; )
Posted by Kathy on June 16, 2005 | Permalink
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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Your turn: free-range posts:
» Welcome Passionate Users!! from The Basement
I'm famous! The genourous and wonderful Kathy Sierra mentioned me in her Free-Range Post today. Thanks Kathy!!! What a rush!
[Read More]
Tracked on Jun 16, 2005 12:56:48 PM
» Ok, I'll Be Selfish from GBGames' Blog
Kathy Sierra, an author from the Head First series of Java books, has made an open post where anyone can comment and trackback, no matter how off-topic or shameless. So, I'm taking advantage of it. B-)
Well, to make it more useful, I'll say that... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 17, 2005 9:25:27 AM
» Shameless plug for Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 from Mostly Muppet Dot Com
Hello readers of the “Creating Passionate Users”blog. I’ve taken the gauntlet of Kathy Sierra’s free-range post and trackbacked that entry. I hope you enjoy my discussion of the ABC show Lost and their viral marketing efforts.... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 17, 2005 1:29:30 PM
» What i did in 2003. from twoday.tuwien.ac.at/Enki
In 2003, when i was 20 years old, i was insanely driven by some ideas that i had regarding the future of networks. Back then i didn't know the best approach to make my ideas become reality, and so i was stumbling along on a weird journey, that led me f... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 18, 2005 10:25:29 AM
» Artificial Life: EvoCell from twoday.tuwien.ac.at/kybernet
Nicholas M. Gotts spekuliert in seinem Beitrag zu "New Constructions in Cellular Automata" [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 18, 2005 10:26:40 AM
» Current mood: Extremely not bad from Murphee K dot com
Friendster, myspace, Linked in, El Jay, ad nauseum. Social networking sites and blogs go hand-in-hand. And there's way too many of them. Blogging, thanks to the elections, is rising exponentially.
I recorded some things over the weekend, but I wo... [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 19, 2005 2:38:15 PM
» Free plug from Orangepalmtree
Headrush is one of my favorite blogs. The writers claim the blog is about creating passionate users; but that doesn't give the site nearly enough credit. It offers far more. They've been good enough to offer up [Read More]
Tracked on Jun 21, 2005 7:22:33 PM
Comments
Hi, I have been loving your site for a while. Your "How to Create a Nonfiction BestSeller" and "Is Your Book Remarkable At Every Scale." really inspired me to finish and improve what I started.
As an engineer I have found the vast majority of people totally lacking in math skills and not caring about it in general. I wrote the first book in a series to teach mothers how to teach their children numbers and counting. The rest of arithmetic will be covered in the subsequent books.
The book is available at http://www.zigguratmath.com/ and the blog is at http://zigguratmath.blogspot.com/
I want to thank you for your ideas and inspiration.
Would you like a free copy of the counting book? Just email me.
Posted by: Stephan F | Jun 16, 2005 11:04:16 AM
I am a fairly new visitor to your site. I find your entries to be helpful and interesting.
I started a blog on marketing a few months ago. It's called Kinetic Ideas. If you want to review it to see what you think, please visit:
http://www.wendy.kinesisinc.com
Kinetic Ideas provides interesting and fun tips, ideas, strategies, and anecdotes related to marketing and promotions to help your business succeed!
Thanks so much, Wendy Maynard
Posted by: Wendy Maynard | Jun 16, 2005 11:14:01 AM
Wish I had something to promote shamelessly here for myself, but I'm getting married in a month and have been otherise occupied.
As such, I humbly recommmend Jonathan Nolen's blog:
http://www.jnolen.net/blog/
Skip the two most recent posts, and you'll get into some really good meat about community-driven technology (wikis, etc.) and how shared, open information can benefit both businesses and their customers. Jonathan's a passionate advocate of the Internet as it should be, an extremely well-versed techophile, and (here's the clincher) a really great writer.
Thanks for your site- I forwarded to everybody in my department your treatise on the dangers of PowerPoint. I truly think you saved lives.
Posted by: Jason | Jun 16, 2005 11:20:03 AM
Thanks for a great site. I created a new blog around my passionate dislike of a single word: http://literally.barelyfitz.com/
Posted by: Patrick Fitzgerald | Jun 16, 2005 11:32:08 AM
OK here's the plug for CafeGeek:
(http://www.cafegeek.com)
I recently started a site called CafeGeek. The goal is to build an online community of cafe and coffee lovers. Coffee drinkers are passionate, and to the best of my knowledge until now there has not been community based site for reviewing cafes.
Soon to come will be competitions, interviews (text and podcast) with featured reviewers and baristi, and a community newsgroup.
cool huh?
Posted by: Rob Barac | Jun 16, 2005 11:55:11 AM
Wow! Shameless self promotion ENCOURAGED?!? All right, here goes:
First, love the site. Long time lurker, first time commenter.
I've recently launched a new business called The Blog Studio (www.theblogstudio.com). We are design oriented blog-mad writers, web designers and marketing dudes (no dudette yet, but I'm working on it).
We're running a launch special, so if you know anyone who wants a business blog that is going to really make a mark, please send 'em our way.
Thanks very, very much.
Posted by: Peter Flaschner | Jun 16, 2005 12:50:14 PM
Simplify Your Life
http://www.advisador.com
Steps along the journey to living a simple life in today's world. No, this doesn't mean we grow our own vegetables or make our own opossum cheese -- it's about simplifying the millions of choices and decisions we have to make every day. Hopefully pointing out some of the more mundane ones and ways to remove them from your brain.
Afterall the brainpower you save, could be your own.
Thanks for allowing me to post. I really love this site...it has helped me tremendously in my quest to build a little business into a bigger one.
Posted by: Mr. Advisador | Jun 16, 2005 1:26:20 PM
The nonprofit I work for, Free the Slaves, is dedicated to eradicating modern slavery around the world--27 million people are slaves today, including some 10,000 slaves in the United States.
We've just set up a blog on our site, and I'd love to hear any feedback on it from your site's visitors.
Posted by: Jacob Patton | Jun 16, 2005 1:33:42 PM
I'd like to promote our blog - newpersuasion. http://www.newpersuasion.typepad.com/ I think the post you might be most interested in is our discussion of the types of stories companies will tell in the future and what resonates. it can be found at http://newpersuasion.typepad.com/new_persuasion/2005/06/i_just_finished.html
I love your blog - it's full of great thoughts. Thanks.
Posted by: nellie lide | Jun 16, 2005 2:10:03 PM
First I would like to say that Head First Design Patterns is incredible and I look forward to reading more Head First books. I just started reading this blog and will become a regular due to the content being so great.
Here is a link to my blog (Discoveries in Software Development and Technology):
http://franklyphil.blogspot.com/
Hope you check it out :)
Posted by: Phil Spitler | Jun 16, 2005 2:37:32 PM
This may work for ya:
http://www.misterorange.com/2005/06/burnout-and-muse.html
The dangers of too much blogging and de-evolving your own blog.
Posted by: Evan Erwin | Jun 16, 2005 2:47:05 PM
Well, here is my blog. I'm an independent musician/composer/coder/generative artist, as are so plentiful in the world today. But I think I'm better than average, at least on the musical end. And I think I write fairly well about what I'm doing and various obstacles that I'm struggling with:
http://acousvnt.blogspot.com/
I hardly get any comments there, but I would love to get more. Hint hint! :)
Also, why not skip the link-surfing and go straight to the hit singles:
http://www.keithhandy.com/tunes.htm
Thanks!
Posted by: Keith Handy | Jun 16, 2005 3:09:18 PM
Thank you for the opportunity! The site that I'm passionate about is http://www.winforme.com. WinForMe.com is a site that helps members enter online sweepstakes quickly and easily. It's a fun site and has helped many of our customers to win.
I've been enjoying your blog's tips on how to instill our customers with the same passion that I have for the site and for the work we do.
Posted by: Sandra | Jun 16, 2005 3:24:34 PM
...no cute video of YOU jumping up onto your horse? I really enjoy your writings and thoughts. Thanks, keep up the great work. jim.
Posted by: Jim Scolman | Jun 16, 2005 3:29:32 PM
Hmmm...My idea to Blog was more of the urge(as is to my observation every other blogger) that you just can't keep locked up. So you unlock it and set it free.
Kathy talks about wonderful thing, and I've taken a bit of liking to her book and will be hanging around here more often.
OK so my blog http://tarrysingh.blogspot.com is more about what I think (and strongly believe) what the world has been and what it will be because of what it has been. I am massively enjoying writing my poems again (it has been a while since I did that.). But more importantly I've found the direction and now it's time to march. The poems will/may reflect some of that thought. But you can also read and just enjoy reading them.
Peace and keep churning fellas
Tarry
Posted by: Tarry | Jun 16, 2005 3:47:02 PM
Thanks for all the great articles. My girlfriend is writing a small home-grown technical manual for a niche software product she uses (and is passionate about), and when I recommended your site to her, she printed out about 40 pages worth of articles to pore over. I will be referring to this site often if I ever get my own software dreams going, but for now you still provide valuable lessons that apply to life in general. Great work!
So, My shameless plug:
My relatively new blog is Human Advancement. It's about how the human race can advance in the areas of Life, Intelligence, Technology, and Freedom. I've had Creating Passionate Users on my blogroll from day one because of the things you guys have to say about learning and about motivating the people around us - both vital to Advancement as I see it.
An article your readers might enjoy is my "ABC's Of Customer Service" at http://www.humanadvancement.net/blog/index.php?itemid=33
--Kyle Bennett
Posted by: Kyle Bennett | Jun 16, 2005 5:33:04 PM
If you have nothing better to do (and who has?), please check out my highly opinionated and occasionally enlightening "PeaceLove's Musings" blog, which I have subtitled "Random musings on the Sacred Geometry of the Web, Technology and Pop Culture, Psychedelia, Global Transformation, and the End of Everything."
http://www.peacelovesmusings.blogspot.com/
I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
Posted by: PeaceLove | Jun 16, 2005 5:33:35 PM
Now you've got passionate users - so what's your problem? You're enormously busy. You need to know more and have no time.
www.siftstar.com
Business, science, culture, art, and sports - sifted for entrepreneurs.
Posted by: Jeremy Heigh | Jun 16, 2005 6:21:41 PM
I'd like to point out a blog that connects to The Mental Fitness Center.
Stretched your mind lately ?
If not, go to the blog and the site that links to my name. My wife's writings will challenge you, entertain you and hopefully, help you get better.
Thanks for a great blog and this chance to yell out our name.
Posted by: Mike | Jun 16, 2005 7:42:12 PM
Kathy,
No shameless plug here, just some kudos to Head First Gang. I'm a new visitor to the site after picking up a copy of Head First Design Patterns (should y'all be called the "New GoF"?). I have throughly enjoyed your book so far even though I'm a C/C++ developer! I'm almost want to get a copy of Head First Java;-) Your whole method of empowering the learner has moved me to totally rethink the beginning C++ class I teach at a small university! It's got me pumped really!
Also after reading some posts on your blog, you've given some encouragement for a handful of Christian educational games that I've been scribbling down on paper the past few years:-)
When are you going to do a Head First book on C++ and Design Patterns in C++??
Keep up the good work!
P.S. Yes, I'm from da South for those noticing the "y
'all" in there.
Posted by: Jay Atkinson | Jun 16, 2005 8:07:44 PM
All About Users (http://allaboutusers.blogspot.com/), is a blog about user experience and interaction, something that I am passionate about. Some of the entries are about software but I do write about everyday stuff as well. Thanks for the opportunity Kathy.
Posted by: Percy | Jun 16, 2005 8:41:02 PM
Hey Kathy,
I'm in Japan and recently I've started a site/blog giving away cool little things from Japan. It's called Free Stuff From Japan, and it's not a pyramid scheme just a simple draw (spam-free I promise).
http://www.FreeStuffFromJapan.com
I am glad to have this chance to do a shameless plug because I have been having difficulty getting word out further than 2 degrees (i.e. friends, and friends of friends) so if anyone else thinks it is worthy or cool please link to us. Comments and feedback are also welcome.
I hope you enter Kathy, thanks for an excellent blog.
Posted by: Ian Cheung | Jun 16, 2005 11:02:06 PM
Bill Clinton reads my blog http://www.adrianopalermo.com/blog
Posted by: Adriano | Jun 16, 2005 11:06:03 PM
Kathy, I've been reading your weblog for a few months now, and I try to incorporate as much of what you advocate as I can in both my workplace and on the web sites I curate.
At least in a small way, reading Creating Passionate Users helped our site to be Yahoo's Pick of the Day last Friday: http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/potd/ (Botany Photo of the Day).
Many thanks!
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin | Jun 16, 2005 11:51:23 PM
Kathy,
You said we should all be thinking like game designers and, what do you know, I am a game designer. ;-) I keep a blog on the subject at my personal website: http://www.ronkes.nl/blog/
I also blog about running a shareware business, so from time to time there are articles about my approach to creating passionate users, too. :-)
Posted by: Joost Ronkes Agerbeek | Jun 17, 2005 3:00:42 AM
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