What’s up with this?

You may have noticed some changes to DrThompsen.com lately. Not only have I changed the look of the site, but I’ve also been adding a few “monetizing” elements. I don’t want to overcommercialize things, but I did want to experiment with a few of the methods other bloggers use to help pay their hosting costs. I don’t expect to get rich from this; in fact, I’d be surprised if I make more than a few pennies. But I want to get a better understanding of the monetizing trend in blogging, and the best way to do that is to just dive in and give it a try. So far, I’ve added Google AdSense and PayPerPost, two of the better known monetizing programs.


Testing WordPress 2.2

I’ve been trying out some new WordPress themes, which customize the look of this blog. So if you notice that the site looks different from one minute to the next, it’s just me adjusting the presentation options.

On top of this, I updated the WordPress software today on my server (to version 2.2). I like the new version, which has the “widget” feature built-in. But there appear to be some issues with some of my plugins, which I am attampting to resolve.

Overall, WordPress continues to impress me as one of the best blogging engines available today.

Getting chummy with Chumby

Chumby is the name of a small device that displays “web widgets.” It connects wirelessly to the internet to display a rotation of user-selected content. It’s still in the testing stages, but supposedly will be on sale this summer, and will cost less than $200. But you can create your own “Virtual Chumby” now by establishing an account on www.chumby.com

Here’s the Virtual Chumby I created just a few minutes ago…

There may be some aspects of Chumby that could be useful in my sabbatical project (to create a prototype “textbook in an iPod”). The touchscreen interface and Flash playback is promising, although at the moment it doesn’t appear able to support streaming video.

Corzine says “buckle up”

In case you have yet to see it, below is the public service announcement recorded by New Jersey governor Jon Corzine in which he encourages people to wear seat belts.

Corzine wasn’t wearing seat belts when he had a near fatal accident on the way to the Don Imus apology session with the Rutger’s women’s basketball team. I’m wondering if the authorities will bring any charges against Corzine. Not only was he not wearing seatbelts, but one would think that he must have also disabled the seatbelt warning beep that I believe is required now on all passenger vehicles.

The price of gas…

…keeps going up and up. But is it enough to affect my travel plans this summer? Maybe. Here in Southeastern Pennsylvania, the price of gas is well over $3 a gallon, and it doesn’t look like it’s coming down soon. So maybe I should stay home, blog more, and travel less.Below is a video about how gas prices may be affecting travel plans this Memorial Day weekend. Essentially, people are saying they still plan to drive, even though it will cost more. Makes me glad I own a Prius.

By the way, the video player above is from TheNewsRoom, a service that provides ad-supported content for web sites. When you click on the video, you’ll see a short ad before you see the story. This is the first time I’ve done anything on this blog (or any blog I’ve written) where I have incorporated “monetized” content. I’ve been exploring some of my options to help pay for the hosting costs associated with drthompsen.com and the other web sites I own, and I’ve finally decided to take the bait and see if I can earn a few pennies. I don’t think I’ll get rich from it, but if I can at least cover part of my hosting costs, I guess it will be worth it.

BuzzDash: Make your own web poll

I recently discovered BuzzDash, a “Web 2.0” web application for creating web polls. Below is an example of a simple poll I created about my recent RECAP session on podcasting lectures. Go ahead and “vote” by clicking on one of the choices, and watch the results update instantly.

Note that you may need to set your browser to accept cookies in order to vote. If you register for an account on BuzzDash, you may add comments to your response. Plus you would then be able to create your own instant polls. These tiny “BuzzBites” are housed on the BuzzDash server, and you can link to them from your web site or blog, e-mail them to friends, or house them as publicly-available polls at BuzzDash.