Digg This Button for Google Toolbar

I couldn't find a "Digg This" button for Google Toolbar so I made one.

Get the 'Digg This' Button for Google Toolbar

Thanks to Shabda Raaj for the reddit button that got me thinking about creating my own.
Link to Shabda's other buttons: http://shabda.raaj.googlepages.com/custombuttons-googletoolbar

I am a big fan of customizing my web browser. My Firefox set up is as follows:

• Bookmarks toolbar - To keep my frequently used bookmarks available as buttons at all times.
• Delicious toolbar - Big fan of this site. Once I started using delicious for bookmarking I've never looked back.
• Google Toolbar - Can't live with out this guy. I'm a big fan of using the highlight button with the search bar to do on the fly searches. I use the classic toolbar layout because I like to have my buttons right next to my search window. I also turn off the text and only use icons. No need for text when you know what all the buttons do.

What are your custom browser settings?
Recommend your MUST-HAVE toolbar in the comments!

Why you need Social Media: 101

Below is an excellent (albiet crude) slide deck on use of social media. This can be a great primer for those who are not yet sold on the idea and a good refresher to those of us who are working on social media all the time.

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Obama's Little Helper

Too cute not to share.



Do you think this video is a function of people's love for Obama specifically? Or, does every President get cute song/animation mash-ups made of them?

(HT: Nancy Scola at techPresident )

Bill Gates: "Release the Mosquitoes!"

From the TED conference:

Sno-Bama

Five years ago I moved to the DC area from Chicago. Every year I am baffled by the reaction of the DC Metro region to the fall of snow. Thankfully I now have a President who feels my pain:

NPR: Jan. 28, 2009 : Obama Chuckles At D.C. 'Snow Day'


Granted Chicago is better equipped to manage snow covered roads but I don't really think it is necessary to close public school when there are one to two inches of snow on the ground.

I'm proud to report I called Obama's response the day before: 7:49 AM Jan 27th FTW!

Catch Up on Previous Episodes of: The Presidental Inaguration

Hulu is counting down the seconds until Bush is out of office (see below).



But while you wait you can check out all of the inaugural speeches dating back to Ike! (Also on Hulu).

The fact that this kind of civic content is being put out there in a popular medium really speaks to the fantastic level of interest people have in their government. It's like Craig "Craigslist" Newmark said at the Google Wiki White House event last week we are living in a revolutionary time.

Widgets Help Fight Crime!!!

The internet is changing the way people live their lives. Our behaviors are modifying as we adopt new online tools to get our work done and socialize with friends. Savvy organizations are recognizing these changes and are using the internet to keep up.

A great example of an organization which recognizes and is responding to these changes is the FBI.

One of the FBI's best known features is their Ten Most Wanted list. This list has the names and pictures the ten people most wanted by U.S. law enforcement officials. The objective of the list is to publicize these people in the hope that citizens might recognize someone on the list and tip the feds to the whereabouts of the fugitive.

Before the internet became as prevalent as it is today the Most Wanted list could be seen at the post office. This was a good strategy because many people would go to the post office and would see the notice. But people aren't using the post office as much as they used to. Where people used to send letters they now write emails. (According to the US Postal Service financial review from 2004 "E-commerce and e-mail are replacing personal correspondence and hard copy commercial transactions that formerly traveled as First-Class single-piece Mail".)


The Federal Bureau of Investigation has responded to the changing times by launching a "Ten Most Wanted" widget.
The widget (seen to the left) offers the Most Wanted list as well as feeds for FBI news and stories. According to the FBI press release touting the launch the widget "includes easy to use share buttons so you can add it effortlessly to almost any website, including Facebook, MySpace, and other social media networking sites."



Alex Iskold writes on his blog ReadWriteWeb about using widgets to promote your brand, drive traffic and accomplish other product goals. In Washington digital media goals are often unrelated to sales. It's great to see FBI connecting with citizens via widgets so you can help them FIGHT CRIME!