WebKit Problems, Part 2

[Note: The issue I was dealing with has been obsolete since expandable posts became an integral part of Blogger. For more information, read this post.]

You have a blog on Blogger. You modified your template(s) for expandable posts. You start in "Edit HTML" mode and then switch to the "Compose" tab; when you go back, the and tags disappear. You type them back in. When you post your entry, it works just fine in IE, Firefox, Opera, and the like. Unless your browser is based on WebKit: that means, for example, Chrome, Safari, or Konqueror. (WebKit is a superset of Konqueror's KHTML developed by Apple for Safari.) Then the entry you just posted is expanded on your blog's homepage. Which, of course, you don't want. It's as if those <span> tags never existed for WebKit browsers.

(If this post is expanded on the front page, then you won't see this line.) [Note: this no longer applies. Read the post linked at the top.]

The result: You see this text on the blog's front page! If you're using a non-WebKit browser, you won't see it till you click the link to the rest of this post (or any of its other permalinks on the front page). But if you're on the front page and you see this text, you're using a WebKit browser for sure.

But is the glitch in WebKit, or in Blogger? In any case, it shouldn't be happening.

Is this happening to your Blogger blog? Go to http://webkit.org and tell them.

St. PUID: @Adambuckled Wins The #stpuid Thread!

I like to think of myself as a spreader of memes (it's in my official bio blurb). But I don't really know if I've actually publicly mutated one into something truly wild and crazy. @StephenAmbrose and @Adambuckled did. And they did it to #stpuid.

Yesterday, @chrispirillo posted this on Twitter:

@abacusfinch and others thought the whole idea was #stpuid in itself (also see what @BacTalan thinks). However, a whole bunch of other tweeps decided to try to give him his wish, including @Outsanity, @QKnuckles, @theqwertyblog, @steezytrina, @BuzzEdition, @Garyx24, @FredGITXM, @primatage, @geeseloverr123, @AwesomeJay, @maryland157, @absolutelytrue, @ItStartsWithUs, @katalee02, and of course @dennis_jernberg, who is also blogging about this (case in point: this entry you're reading right now, and also this one).

Then @StephenAntoine started running away with the subject. He started tweeting about things like Secure Transport Protocol User ID and St. Pucchi, Inc. designs.

But the one who won this whole #stpuid thing? @Adambuckled, who tweeted this:

I should have figured something really weird would come out of this. *grins*

The attempt to trend #stpuid died down last night, and the hashtag isn't getting much use today. But there's a lot of tweeps out there who just love #stpuid ideas. #stpuid may rise again, and even reach the top of the Twitter top ten trends list. Who knows? It's worth another try...

Retweet This Blog Post!

You've probably noticed something to the right of the text of each entry: a "retweet" button which allows those with Twitter accounts to post the title and link to the entry. And it's on not just this blog, but my project and opinion blogs as well. TweetMeme provides the service.

Most people I know find Twitter useless, but I'm one of those select few who get a lot of use out of it. I myself retweet articles and posts quite often. For those like me, I've provided the button.

Turns out that Blogger does not provide an easy way to put the button in — no Google Gadgets exist for this. I found out about this on Twitter. @cheth posted a link to his tutorial, and in it he links to TweetMeme's instructions. Instead, I Googled up "add retweet button to Blogger" and found the instructions I actually used, on this page in @virtuosoblogger's blog. I followed the instructions and inserted the code into my blogs' templates.

So that's how I managed to add that retweet button you see to the right. Who knows? I might add another such service if I deem it useful enough...

Facebook Buys FriendFeed: A More Objective Look (with more links, too)

Two days ago, Facebook bought FriendFeed. I was far from the only one who was shocked; but I posted a harsh criticism in the opening to my first post on this subject. Then I followed it up with a whole bunch of relevant links. Having had two days to cool off, I'm now more able to look at it objectively. And, of course, the news is getting even more interesting.

Some of us FriendFeed users branched out to new services: in my case, these are Posterous, Streamy, and Amplifeeder (link is to the FriendFeed version rather than the ASP.NET version). There are those who believe that FriendFeed is already a dead letter. I am not one of them; I've already announced on FriendFeed that I'm sticking around for the long haul. But then, it just happens that I've got accounts with both FriendFeed and Facebook.

Most of us FriendFeed users are sticking with the service. It's not dead. Yet. The fate of Yahoo 360 (i.e., oblivion) may still be in its future, but for now it's still going strong, and both Facebook the FriendFeed founders intend to keep it going at least for the time being. Significantly, it's still being updated with new features.

Now for some of today's relevant articles (add your own in the comments):

News:
Ars Technica: Stream resistance is futile: Facebook assimilates FriendFeed
New York Daily News: So Facebook just bought FriendFeed... What is FriendFeed?
Entertainment Weekly: Facebook buys FriendFeed: Why this is a good thing
PC World: FriendFeed Buy Helps Facebook Compete With Google and Twitter
PC World: Facebook Buys FriendFeed: What Does It Mean?

Blogs:
Mark Krynsky: My Thoughts on the Current State of FriendFeed
Om Malik at GigaOm: Why Facebook Wants FriendFeed
Franklin Pettit: The Rise and Fall of FriendFeed
Louis Gray: Hi Facebook, It's Me, FriendFeed. This Relationship? It's Complicated.
Know The Network: It's Not About FriendFeed, It's About Friends — A Requiem
Alexander van Elsas: My 2 cts on Facebook buying FriendFeed
Jesse Stay: Facebook to FriendFeed: You Complete Me

My Links:
Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, Posterous (note: yet another blog!), deviantART (currently neglected), Flickr, Picasa, Google Reader (note: nothing shared yet),
I may make these permanent links in the "My Sites" section of the sidebar.

I am not going to mention Facebook Lite, or the new Facebook messaging API intended to take on MySpace Mail as well as webmail, or whatever. These aren't relevant to this post.

But Facebook Lite aside, what will Facebook actually do to FriendFeed? Right now, we can only wait and see...

Reading: Infected, by Scott Sigler

Something has gotten inside you. It entered through your eyes and has lodged itself into your brain. It torments your every waking moment and turns all your dreams into nightmares. It grows and grows, feeding on your mind like the ichneumon wasp larva feeds on its caterpillar host. And now it's squirming...

You've been infected — by Infected.

Horror writer Scott Sigler is a pioneering author of podcast novels. Infected was the first of his novels to make it into print.

The movie-friendly high concept: The Andromeda Strain meets Alien. Sure enough, there's a deal to make a movie out of it. Sigler says the script is already in the works.

Some kind of pathogen is turning ordinary people into blood-crazed mass murderers. While the CIA (agent on the case: hardened veteran Dew Phillips) and the Centers for Disease Control (point woman: epidemiologist Margaret Montoya) are hot on the case, one host in particular, former football star, finds that he's been infected by who knows what. Then the triangles appear. Which turn out to be a group of parasitic organisms, of extraterrestrial origin as it turns out. And then the voices begin. And the parasites have plans...

No, I'm not revealing any spoilers.

Big Social Media News of the Day: Facebook Assimilates FriendFeed

Damn. Just a few days after I followed Robert Scoble from Twitter to FriendFeed, here comes Facebook to take it over. Maybe it's a good thing I have an account on both networks. However, I'm far from alone in feeling betrayed by FriendFeed's eagerness in selling out to the Borg.

So here's what I've found on the Net searching Google and TechMeme:

News:
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed (TechCrunch)
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed (Mashable)
Facebook Acquires Start-Up FriendFeed (Wall Street Journal)
Facebook Acquires FriendFeed in Play for Relevance (Fast Company)
The Facebook/FriendFeed Deal Signed Upder The Cover Of Night (TechCrunch)
Users Shocked by Facebook Acquisition (Mashable)
First Interview After Acquisition With FriendFeed and Facebook (TechCrunch)
FriendFeed Co-Founder: Facebook Acquisition Talks Began in 2007 (Mashable)
FriendFeed Office Deserted: Whole Team Already At Facebook (Mashable)
3 Key Reason Facebook Bought FriendFeed (Mashable)
Facebook Takes FriendFeed To Take On Twitter (TechCrunch)
Facebook Flips The Switch On Real-Time Search, Goes After Twitter Where It Really Hurts (TechCrunch)
Facebook in challenge to Google (BBC News)

Press Releases:
Facebook: Facebook Agrees To Acquire Sharing Service FriendFeed
FriendFeed: FriendFeed Accepts Facebook Friend Request

Blogs:
TechGeist: Facebook Acquires FriendFeed? Ya, It's No Joke
SocializeMobilize: What Does Facebook's Latest Acquisition Mean for FriendFeed, Facebook & Social Media Enthusiasts?
CNET News: The Social: Facebook Buys FriendFeed: Is this a big deal?
Robert Scoble: Oh, FriendFeed is now Facebooks's "official" R&D department! (Says Facebook's real target is Google, not Twitter.)
Ouriel Aharon: 10 random thoughts on FriendFeed acquisition by Facebook
Shawn Farner: Stabbed in the back by FriendFeed
Soap Box Included: So Much For My FriendFeed Book!
Steve Rubel: FriendFeed Should Be Facebook Labs
Michelle's Blog: Why Facebook's Acquisition of FriendFeed Is Culturally Significant
And, of course, a lot more blog entries than I can list, including this one.

It's not often that I join a social network service only to find it snatched out from under me just a few days later. It took a couple years from the time I discovered Yahoo 360° for Yahoo to shut it down. But here you go. I wasn't using Facebook much anyway, mainly to keep track of some relatives and a few friends and such. I guess I'll have to find at least one replacement for FriendFeed, like some others there are. Oh well...