Archives: March 2013

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Reinventing the blog, part 1: Dissecting the most innovative and best-designed blogs

The blog is getting mature. Ever since Gawker did its eccentric redesign a few years ago, we've seen a lot of other blog (networks) doing similar things, trying to reinvent how the blog should look like in 2013. After the initial hiccup, Gawker managed to fortify its position and attract new users, showing others that people do like to see different things, things that are imitating the experience of reading electronic magazines on mobile devices. Today, there are many great cases of how a modern blog should feel, and since I'm thinking about doing something similar myself (it's been almost 4 years since I did this!), I decided to dissect a few of the most innovative ones, hoping to get a picture of what works and what not. Here are my picks of the most creative and best designed (mainstream) blogs on the Web, those that are standing out from the crowd and are unique in what they offer to their readers.

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written 16:23 CET on chronolog
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Dear Facebook, please stop trying to control my attention

Not that I'm threatening you or anything, I can assure you I won't be leaving you anytime soon. There is still too much inside you, for me to walk away. But the last few attention seeking features you've implemented are really pissing me off! I fully understand you are trying to get me to interact with others even more, but what you are doing will rather have the opposite affect. You have to find another way to get me involved, or the tab that you live in won't stay open for much longer.

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written 8:06 CET on chronolog
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The Risk board game dice roll probability calculator and battle simulator

I know there are plenty of you out there who love to play the board game Risk. We're hooked on the Lord Of The Rings edition, and I still need to check out the very rare expansion pack one of my friends recently got. As you will see, I'm getting ready for it with all I've got, developing myself a weapon that will help me dominate the game. Something that will turn the odds in my favor without actually cheating. Say hi to my Risk battle simulator, which is able to calculate the chance of winning for specific Risk situations.

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written 17:32 CET on chronolog
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I believe Firefox OS may be on to something

A few days ago, during the Mobile World Congress, Firefox announced its mobile OS, which will be available soon. Teaming up with 18 carriers and 4 announced manufacturers (plus Sony), the release was probably bigger than expected. A few high-profile web services, including AirBnb, Disney, Facebook, SoundCloud and Twitter, also joined the hype by including their apps to the new marketplace. Analysts quickly put down their bets, some supporting the effort, while others denying the possibility of its success. One of the most fascinating things about the new OS is that it's going to be entirely web based, the operating system itself, the apps, everything. Unlocking the power of the web, as they put it. And to be honest, I can buy that.

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written 23:27 CET on chronolog
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