bloggers, bloggers, everywhere

Northern Voice was fun. So many iBooks and cameras, it was crazy. You can a fraction of the kazillion photos that were taken on flickr here, here and here.

Here's a photo of me and Monique. Yes, the guy behind us is wearing a hat with moose antlers.

It seemed like there were a lot of bloggers there who blogged about and/or worked with blogging and technology, instead of bloggers like me, who blog about things other than blogs. But that was fine - I like all that techy-geeky stuff, and besides, lots of crafters craft about craft.

I learned a bit more about wikis and how to use them in education; how to use blog software to run a whole site, not just your blog (hmm, tempting...); digital photography tips; as well as some more general stuff about blogging, web 2.0, and theories about how we communicate and relate to each other and how technology may influence that. Interesting stuff.

One of the sessions I missed on Friday was about people's favourites little online tools. Here are a few I like:

• Paparazzi lets you take screenshots of a site (like the picture here).
  
• Text Expander will automatically "type" pre-set chunks of text when you type in code words. Useful if you're always including certain pieces of information in emails, like maybe your shipping address.
  
• VoodooPad is kind of like a wiki, kind of like a notepad. I like that you can make and save quick little sketches in it.

And now for a few blogger-meets-crafter links!

• Sew your obsolete floppy disks into notepads or CD covers, or - if you have lots left over - a bag.
  
• Decorate your laptop with decals or using laser etching - this Magritte Mac Powerbook is fantastic!
  
• Make a laptop sleeve out of foam and duct tape, your old pants, or even an old boombox which can also play music from your laptop!