It has been a while since I have started a new site. So, to take advantage of this relative down time I’m experiencing I’d thought I’d introduce my new blog: 7ypo.com. This new site, pronounced ty-po-dot-com, started as a joke. I remember playing a game as a kid where we took turns giving names to random, useless phrases. Somehow, this game got lodged in my subconscious and I’ve unwillingly been playing it ever since. Whenever I come across something that is odd enough to attract my attention I spend countless seconds trying to think up a name for it. Well now it’s time to pass this mind virus on to the rest of the world.

At 7ypo.com there will be a random definition of a word that isn’t yet created (but should be) posted everyday. All you have to do is give it a name. Do this by signing up for our comment system and leaving your suggested name as a comment to each post. You can then vote on other peoples’ terms with handy little arrows beside each comment. The term with the most votes automagically floats to the top. After a week’s time, the term with the most votes is declared the winner. The thread is then closed and a new word is born. Sound simple enough? Then check out the site. You just may like it.

link - 7ypo.com

I have fallen in love with Twitter, the latest social networking craze. I use it practically all day to keep in touch with my contacts and meet new and interesting people. I also enjoy using it as a micro-blogging platform to say things that would feel out of place to say here on Zerosign. So, in an attempt to bridge my two biggest online profiles, I have added a Twitter badge to Zerosign. Some of you may have noticed the seemingly random thoughts that appear on the very top of this page now. That is my latest Twitter post being displayed for a more encompassing social experience. However my Twitter badge has been tweaked, ever so slightly, to make the use of it a little more seamless.

The functionality of the standard Twitter badge is to display all of your most recent Twitter updates. However, most of my updates are @replies meant to be seen by only a few people at most. Others would have no idea what

“@Utch I see what you did there”

means, nor would they care unless you happened to be @Utch or knew him. So in an attempt to remove all @replies from the Twitter feed shown on Zerosign, I tweaked the Twitter badge JS code and created my own. So, if you would also like to display your latest tweets on your site but, like me, don’t want your @replies to be shown feel free to follow the instructions below.

1) Copy and paste the following code wherever you want to display your Twitter badge:

<br /> <div id="twitter_div"> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/USERNAME" class="twitter-title">Twitter Updates:</a></p> <ul id="twitter_update_list"></ul> </div> <p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://zerosign.net/twitter.js"></script><br /> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/USERNAME.json?callback=twitterCallback2&count=10"></script>

2) Replace “USERNAME” in the code above with your own Twitter user name.

3) Follow @leadingzero on Twitter. (Not essential, but highly recommended)

Disclaimer: Install this code at your own risk. This code is not guaranteed in any way shape or form and I hold no personal responsibility for any effects it has on your site, desired or otherwise. blah, blah, blah…

This video does a great job of explaining the main uses of Twitter. I’ve been a Twitter fan for a few months now and it is amazing how connected it makes you feel with others in your circle or across the globe. Watch this video, make a Twitter account, then follow me!

I’ve stumbled upon popurls.com in the past for some reason I never really appreciated it. Today however, after somehow finding my way there again, I’m hooked. For those that don’t know, the site is quite simple. They list the rss feeds of dozens of popular news and media sites all on one page so you don’t have to go to several different sites or even use a feedreader. Now I know most avid blog readers probably live and die by their feedreader of choice, but for me, popurls.com has drastically improved my online experience. My bloglines account is so bloated I hardly ever log in for fear of waisting the entire day. I tried to limit my self to the few feeds that I NEED to follow by using Google.com/ig but I could never get it to feel the way I wanted (plus lots of the widgets are simply too buggy). Today though, after finding popurls I realized it automatically had all the feeds I need and more. After I spent some time cleaning up and organizing the feeds to my own tastes I immediately set it as my home page.

I honestly don’t know how I have lived without it for so long. What are your favorite ways to navigate the internets? Feedreaders? Aggregate sites? Text based browsers? Comments are open.