So with three episodes in the can, here are some random thoughts on creating a podcast for a community site:

1. When nothing is going on of note, it's really hard to come up with a topic
   The idea behind the SkinCast is to react to what's happening in the community.  Sometimes though there isn't much happening.  For episode 2, as an example, there were very few new skins that week.  It was a lot of logons and bootskins, but no much that we could get a discussion going about.  The forums were also particularly quiet that week so there wasn't even a topic of controversy to go over.  ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/310642http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/310642Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/310114
   Forum AnnouncementsReturn of the Report ButtonGo to Top of Thread ButtonThe New Karma SystemForum Announcements
   
   In the past, we've been unable to let everyone know when there's a...]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/310114http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/310114Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/309982

   So yesterday I went out to my local Best Buy and picked up a copy of Mario Kart Wii for my Nintendo Wii.  Like all Nintendo consoles, it seems my game library is dominated primarily by Nintendo developed titles (Zelda, Mario, Smash Brothers).  So it just sort of makes sense that I'd go out and get the latest Mario Kart game.

   Now, I have a confession to make.  In all of the previous Nintendo consoles I've owned (NES, N64, GC, GBA, DS) I've never owned a Kart game (was there even one for the NES?).  Sure I've played them from time to time at parties or at a friend's house, but I've never had enough time to really become proficient at the series.

   This also means I don't come to the game with a favorite in the series to compare it to, and can't look at the game and say "Well, the driving physics aren't quite as good as they were on the N64 version, and the item management really needs to go back to the way it was in the DS title..."  So I'm basically as end-user as it gets when it comes to Mario Kart Wii.  So with that in mind, here are my thoughts after a few hours with the game yesterday...

   ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/309982http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/309982Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/308489Now, I'll admit that I'm definitely on the outside looking in of the blogging/web 2.0 community.  While I manage very large sites with a ton of users and reach, I'm still on the periphery.  Why?  Well, I live in Michigan.  Not exactly a state known for it's thriving IT industry.  If you go beyond IT services that support manufacturing companies, you can probably count on one hand the number of companies doing anything significant with online communities or digital media.

   Yes, I'm a bit of a victim of geography here, and even though it's all online now, it's all IM, Twitter, email and blogging, proximity is still important.  So when I see events like Gnomedex coming up, I'm interested because it could be one of the few opportunities I have this year to actually network with other people working in my field.  And in this nebulous profession, professional networking is king. ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/308489http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/308489Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/305827
   I get blogs.  I get podcasts, video casts, live video feeds, live audio feeds, myspace, facebook a...]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/305827http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/305827Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304607Technology, Entertainment, Design.  TED is an annual conference that has been going on since 1984 where visionaries from all over the world come together to present "Ideas worth spreading"  Originally a conference focused just on those three disciplines, it has since expanded to cover many disciplines.

   The annual conference is invitation-only, so for years the only way you would get a piece of what was presented was if you were part of the elite group, or if you knew someone who went and gave you a recap later.  This keeps the conference very controlled, and keeps a feeling of intimacy and adds a bit of weight to what is discussed.  This isn't some massive industry event with press and bloggers crawling all over it.  This is about important people sharing important ideas.

   ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304607http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304607Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304591Today, the US Supreme Court is set to hear a case regarding Washington D.C's 30 year ban on handguns within its borders.  In D.C. you can't even have a handgun on your private property.  This is being touted as potentially a landmark case on the US Second Amendment (the right to bear arms).

   Gun control has been a hot button issue for decades now.  One group practically wants to outlaw them, another wants as many folks to own them as possible.  Every time an election comes up, it's one of those core issues everyone argues over.  That this case is going to the Supreme Court right as the 2008 Presidential Race heats up is interesting coincidence.

   ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304591http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/304591Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303580
   This is just a quick test of the "Insert Code" Plug-in for Windows Live Writer.]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303580http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303580Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303578http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303578http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303578Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303081My ePenis is huge...  I just got this new PC on Tuesday.  Complete with a 24" widescreen monitor and an nVidia GeForce 8800GT video card.]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303081http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303081Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303075Stardock sites are based on a very complex and detailed articles system that has grown over the years.  Basically, imagine one gigantic forum.  Hundreds of categories and subcategories containing thousands upon thousands of posts.  Each site (WinCustomize, JoeUser, TotalGaming) takes a subset of that master list for its own forums.

   We've been working on cleaning up our system the last few months.  Cleaning up data, optimizing the database etc.  This week we've been working on the master forum category list.

   Today, andrew_ printed out the category tree for two sites, WinCustomize and JoeUser....]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303075http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303075Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303046Over the last few years, streaming music has grown in popularity as more and more people get high-speed Internet connections at home.  The convenience of opening up a web browser and hitting "Play" is hard to argue against.  No more sorting through CDs, or a massive MP3 collection.  And as time goes on, the sound quality has improved to the point where there's little discernable difference to the average user.

   The next step beyond just having online radio stations of preset playlists was to let users select exactly what they wanted to listen to, or be able to intelligently suggest similar music based off a small amount of user input.

   At the moment, there are many online radio services from folks like Yahoo, Napster, Last.fm etc.  But this article is about two services that compete on a more direct level:  Pandora and Deezer. ]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303046http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/303046Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03Zoombahttp://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/302026
   What I've Been Playing
   
   Burnout Paradise
   I finally got the Burnout License, and have ro...]]>http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/302026http://zoomba.joeuser.com/article/302026Fri, 16 May 2008 07:37:03 -04002008-05-16T11:37:03