"Apparently what I'm hoping is that you will fix all my problems by the end of this conversation"

Because she's super-insightful and our outlooks are usually pretty aligned, I called my sister a little while ago so she could weigh in on something that was starting to make my head hurt a little. Something most people would never raise an eyebrow over. But neurosis runs deep over in these parts.

Sis is the one I usually call under such circumstances because she's able to give me quite immediate sisterly advice that tends to be dead-on. Thereby rendering it unnecessary for me to make any more decisions today. (Which,

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Second attempt at using the Sqarespace iPhone app

So although I've clearly ignored my own "only post good photos" rule, I thought I'd try this again before I move on to other work this morning. (I learn by doing; lucky you.)

In spite of indications to the contrary, I have not gone all MLM Sales Chick. Promise. However? This Shaklee Mental Acuity Plus is the first product that has ever made me hopeful never to have another Adderall-induced side-effect again. Just sayin. Actually a pretty big deal around these parts.

Now, let me tell you something new I just noticed on the Squarespace iPhone app: The "sync" button. Completely missed it yesterday. doh. (Those supplements I was just pimpin had clearly worn off, eh?) And not only had I missed it, I'd been a little disappointed not to have seen my draft blog post on my computer screen. So yay... Sync=good.

Update on Wednesday, 4 November, 2009 at 7:26 AM by Melody

A couple more things I noticed about the way My New Favorite iPhone App works. This follow-up is not being written via the app, so you know:

• After syncing, I peeked at the post on my computer. I'd misspelled a word. Wanting to try the "purist route," I fixed the error on my iPhone. When I did this, I had a brand new draft, seemingly duplicate except for the newly-spelled word. Not a horrid annoyance - it's called the delete button, people.
• Unfortunately, on my revised post, there was no photo, and the tags and categories I'd set earlier were no longer in evidence. Which means I had to choose: reset categories and tags, and add the photo again? Or fix the typo on my computer. I chose the path of least resistence. I'm confident these details will be nailed out in the next version.

Clearly, alert readers who are familiar with both Squarespace and the iPhone will be right if they're thinking: this app isn't necessarily intended for long-winded ramblings, missy. Shoot a photo, write a few words - bam. There's your mobile blog post. Easy as pie. Which is true. But as a learning tool, I have to try a variety of angles. So that's what I've learned this morning.

(And for you non Squarespace, non iPhone users who made it to the end and who have no idea what I'm going on about this time? My website hosting platform of choice just released a product that lets me blog from my phone. And I, and a lot of other people, are seriously excited about it. I promise I will blog about other things again, very soon. Really.)

Happy Wednesday, all. Hope your day is magnificent!

Upon finding out that the Squarespace iPhone app is finally ready

SuuuuuWeet! I wonder how long it would have taken me to discover that the long-awaited Squarespace app for the iPhone was here, if I hadn't gone to their site to look up something for a client? But upon noticing the new mention, immediately forgot why I was there. Good thing I take great notes; I still don't remember...

Immediately I went to the app store to search for it, read the glowing reviews, downloaded my copy, registered this site, then scrolled through to see how it looked. Well, beautiful, of course! AND super-intuitive.

Right about then, friend's kitties demanded they would have some dinner, so while headed to the kitchen I Dialed one of the 3 friends who will actually care that much, so I could tell her. She didn't answer. What a letdown! Same for the second one. (He has called me back, though, and will likely have it within the hour.)

Having fed the kitties, I decided to go out and shoot a photo specifically for this post, and nearly got there too late, as the light was almost gone. Heh... That's what the Photoshop app is for, no?

Then I took a completely tech-free call from my honey, and NOW I have returned to my office to see how my first blog post on this thing works out.

Happy, happy me...

Update on Tuesday, 3 November, 2009 at 7:00 PM by Melody

Notes written on my computer for ease of typing, now that I've posted my first Squarespace iPhone-app enabled blog entry. Lessons learned after my first attempt. Next time:

• Write short posts. (Of course we all knew that, anyway; I just thought it would be fun to see if a full-length piece would work here. Check!)
• Use interesting photos. (I'm so, so tempted to remove this one; there's no real merit in this shot. It's awful, in fact. But we'll just go with authenticity and be done with it. It's not like I can't do this again, soon! I chose this spot because I've been fascinated by the surprise of this "country feel" I get every time I pass that bit of barbed wire, right here in town... So there you are...)
• Be patient and pay attention. (I didn't necessarily do the smoothest job my first attempt. I'd posted the blog piece before I realize the photo didn't upload, so I went back in. Then it took my 3rd attempt before I remembered to add categories. Which are fabulously easy to add, by the way!)
• No thumbnail option for photos, as best I can tell. Which is another reason you want to make sure you actually shoot a nice photo.

And this thing is free. FREE! Can you imagine? I've paid for far less satisfying apps than this one. Squarespace can most certainly expect people to pay for this, if they should ever consider offering it for a charge. Perhaps they elected to offer it for free since their service is not free. Which is great, of course - I certainly don't mind having it for free. Just saying it's one of the finer apps I've downloaded thus-far. And I do like my apps...

Way to go, Squarespace! One more reason to love your service...