Blog Machine (Photo credit: digitalrob70)
It’s time for a new WordPress theme, and I need your help.
Maybe just some pointers will do.
This old theme has served me well for three years. It was free – and worth the price. But I’m taking my blogging a little more seriously now, and want an upgrade.
So I’m asking for your thoughts and advice, both general and specific. Continue reading
When HootSuite went down yesterday, I have to admit I was TO’ed. “What? My precious, witty, added value/value added tweets – lost in cyberspace for all time! THOSE BASTARDS!”
Really, I should have been grateful for the free service they provide. For the hundreds of new Twitter folks I’ve connected with, with HootSuite’s help. For the 99.99% of the time that they’re up and running and helping me expand my horizons. (You old-time telecom folks will notice that’s four, not five 9s of reliability.)
And it makes me think: How many free services would I be sunk without? Admittedly, not as many as some folks, but still… here’s a short list.
Yahoo mail
Gmail
Google Analytics
Google Alerts
Google Reader
Google Docs
WordPress.com
Dozens of WordPress plugins from generous folks around the world
Free WordPress themes from generous folks around the world
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
HootSuite
Linkedin
Social Mention (OK, I wouln’t be sunk, exactly)
Klout (OK, it’s actually a curse)
LaunchPadINW
BaseCamp
CyberDuck
Who.Unfollowed.Me
bit.ly
A hundred free resources from HubSpot
* * *
That’s just off the top of my head. Amazing value there, isn’t it?
There are so many great services available at no cost beyond a computer and a connection. We all take them for granted, yet they help us get in business, compete, learn and just have a good time.
Which free services are you grateful for – and why? And even more important, do we show enough gratitude for the hard work of so many people in the digital community?