Top 10 Ways to Market Your Blog in 2008

As the year draws to a close, it is good to take stock of how far you’ve come with your blog. We all like to think about improvements to implement in the New Year. Rather than offering a list of to dos, I prefer to consider ways to be a marketer that highlight your accomplishments all year around. With that in mind, people notice you when you:

1. Write something fresh, unique, and useful in a human voice — this is as true of your business web site as it is of your blog. You ask time and attention of your readers and visitors, make sure they are both well spent on learning about topics and opinions they cannot find anywhere else. As more companies and businesses start considering blogs as tools to begin online conversations, it is important to remember that along with information that readers find valuable, voice plays a large role in stickiness. Make it personal and human — it is on both counts.

2. Become a trusted source of news and informed opinions — there has been a lot of discussion around the definition and meaning of expert. Personally, I prefer to become a trusted advisor, and so should you. The Internet is a great place to find information on every conceivable thing. You can run searches on virtually any topic and find dozens and dozens of entries. This is good, yet it can also overwhelm. When you act as an informed and reliable source, your experience and expertise also come through.

3. Are a good member of the community — highlight the great content that other people create, become active on other blogs and sites with comments, guest posts, interviews and volunteering advice off line. Blogging can be a solitary activity, especially when you aim to create original content. Get out there and help others and you will find more inspiration to bring what you know to the surface.

4. Show that you can be trusted and that you care — every contract that lasts is based upon trust and care. All it needs is a hand shake and a nod. If you think back at the people you most admire and respect, they are probably the ones you never doubted for a moment. Not everything is up for grabs, relationships are complex. Some things are not blog material, don’t think they should be just because you are there when they happen. Ask permission first, and provide a sanctuary where a face to face encounter is off limits. We are human after all, not everything is and should be for public consumption.

5. Put the work in — the best way to succeed is to be in it for the long term. Why would you expect time and attention from others if you haven’t put them in yourself? People often ask me how I landed a guest blogger gig at FastCompany.com, for example. I started developing off line conversations with the magazine readers seven years ago and offered free monthly events with thought leaders, CEOs and prominent businesses to a group that has grown to include more than 500 members.

6. Get the word out — this may seem a bit simplistic, yet I am surprised at how many people overlook the step. Register your blog or site URL with the search engines. Google, Yahoo, and DMOZ.org. Use a description that captures your niche market and topic — the more specific, the better in helping you stand out. If you are judicious and have asked permission first, it is good to spread the news to friends and colleagues. Remember that while it may be promotion that gets the word out, it is solid and useful content that keeps people coming back for more.

7. Listen to your customers — yes, you may think about them as readers, yet the people who happen upon your site are customers. Learn from them by engaging in the conversation when they comment. A good way to do this is user surveys. Cheap, too. Those are perfect opportunities to listen and adapt to your customers needs and wants. Granted, they visit because you already provide what is appealing and interesting to them. Yet the best way to develop relationships is to listen to what others draw from your content.

8. Think creatively — while it’s good to be a reliable and steady source of a consistent type of content, every so often it’s also great to shake things up a little. Using a different perspective, inviting a guest blogger, or recalibrating your brand (and focus) are all signs that you are putting the effort and care in what you offer.

9. Project the right image — make sure your layout, sidebars and links are all aligned with the purpose and meaning you are trying to convey with your content. Design means business, not only colors, lines and photographs. Choose the appropriate illustrations and shots, those that complement and complete your message.

10. Remain grateful and thankful for the connections you make — each comment, each email and message is a gift, take them as such. Never, ever take your customers for granted. Take the time to acknowledge people and find new ways to be of service to them.

Too often, we look to the latest social media tool or viral marketing technique to grow our blogs. In the end, however, nothing matters unless you are hitting the basics. Blogging still comes down to authenticity, consistency, and interaction with your readers. If you are looking to expand your reach in 2008, this should be your first New Year’s resolution.

Top 10 Destinations for Independent Travelers in 2008

BootsnAll.com, the website for independent travelers, announces its Top 10 Destinations for 2008. The writers and editors of this global travel information and resource site have compiled ten great destinations that combine history and culture with value for travelers who prefer to arrange their own trips and challenge themselves in the most fascinating places in the world.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

10 - Buenos Aires — One of the nicest European cities of all is actually in South America. After its currency collapse in 2003, this gorgeous place got embarrassingly cheap for foreigners, but that won’t go on forever, so don’t wait too long. Vegetarians may find beef-obsessed Argentina a bit challenging. It won’t be a deal-breaker, though, as this cosmopolitan city has something for everyone, including a diverse nightlife scene that usually goes until dawn or later. Brush up on your español before you go - it will help you experience the city more completely.

Budapest, Hungary

9 - Budapest — The capital of Hungary is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Unlike some other Eastern European destinations, visiting is still very cheap compared to the West. The old town district of Castle Hill is a highlight of this huge city, and the hearty portions of the paprika-accented food win over most who try it. You can spend days just admiring the classic architecture, but the city is also an excellent place to begin an exploration of the many historic Hungarian villages nearby.

Marrakech. Morocco

8 - Morocco — This moderate Muslim country is easily visible and quickly reachable from the southern coast of Spain, but it feels a world away. Quickly pass through the “border-town” city of Tangier and on to Rabat, Fes, or Marrakech for a pleasant cultural shock on a backpacker’s budget. Choose Fes or Marrakech, and add in a smaller city to escape the constant tourism push, but skip the chaotic capital of Casablanca. For those with a bit more time, trekking the Atlas mountain ranges makes for an unforgettable adventure mixed with a cultural experience that contrasts nicely with Morocco's bustling cities. Even for independent travelers, a tour using a local guide can be a great way to see all the magical parts of Morocco and avoid its often frustrating tourist traps.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

7 - Chiang Mai, Thailand — This walled city in the Himalayan foothills is 700 kilometers north of Bangkok and is known as the gateway to northern Thailand. Over 300 Buddhist temples in all different styles dot the area, with the 13th century Wat Chiang Man being the oldest. An important trading center for many centuries, there's plenty to do during the frequently steamy days. The famous Night Bazaar with its bargain crafts and fashions is the place to spend the cool Chiang Mai evenings. The fact that hotel rooms start around US$5.00 per night, and traditional Thai mini-resorts can be found for not much more, only sweetens the deal. This is a great place for a minor splurge for long term travelers in Southeast Asia.

Imet Gogo, Ethiopia

6 - Ethiopia — Forget what you might have thought about Ethiopia before, this large East African country is not depressing or completely parched. A growing tourist infrastructure is making it easier to discover for adventurous travelers. Having never been colonized, Ethiopia has its own fascinating history and culture, which mix nicely with one of the most impressive networks of well preserved national parks in the world. The Omo Valley in the east provides an unforgettable look at African tribal life today. Hotels in Ethiopia start under US$10.00, but luxury is available if you’ve got the money.

Queenstown, New Zealand

5 - Queenstown, New Zealand — Anyone who has been to New Zealand knows that Queenstown is the tourist mecca of its South Island. During winter the city is filled with snowboarders and skiers; for the rest of the year, the Bungee-jumping and adventure-travel crowd moves in, so the nightlife is good year round. This postcard-perfect mountain city on a lake is also so charming that you’ll want to move there before you even reach the center of town for the first time. You can have a great visit using public transportation, but if you've rented a car or campervan, your possibilities for exploring the area greatly increase. Queenstown is not terribly cheap, but it’s not a budget buster either.

Palermo, Sicily

4 - Sicily — This endlessly scenic island off Italy’s toe has its own ancient culture and even its own language, but in some ways it’s also more intensely Italian (and noticeably cheaper) than the main tourist cities in the north. The plentiful seafood is both exotic and simple, and the abundant vineyards ensure the wine keeps flowing at a very reasonable price. Check on the bustling capital of Palermo or the beach resort/fishing village of Cefalù at any time, except the sweltering and steamy summer. Ancient Greek ruins can be found in many areas and Mt. Etna - Europe's largest active volcano - is easy to explore as well.

Petra, Jordan

3 - Jordan — The Middle East can sound scary and that helps keep Jordan from being overwhelmed with tourists, but this safe and welcoming country where most people speak some English - eco-tourism is quickly catching on - offers a fascinating look at the region with surprisingly few headaches. Don't linger in the modern capital of Amman. Instead, spend a couple of days in the ancient city of Petra and another couple checking out the stunning desertscapes of Wadi Rum. Spring and fall are the best times to visit, but brave visitors are welcome all year round. As long as things remain stable in Jordan, it's bound to start getting crowded in years to come.

Placencia, Belize

2 - Belize - This tiny English-speaking Central American country feels frozen in time, but in a very good way. Paved roads are a rarity on the popular tourist islands where most visitors go. Belize has world-class scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing, sailing, sea-kayaking, cave-tubing and jungle expeditions, mixed with fascinating Maya culture. It's one of the cheapest Caribbean resort destinations now, but don't wait too long. Developers and even celebrities have caught on (Leonardo DiCaprio is building an eco-resort on a private island in Belize and Francis Ford Coppola already owns a couple of places), so it won't be this way forever.

Kathmandu, Nepal

1 - Nepal — Most famous for being home to half of Mount Everest, there is a lot more to do in this ultra-photogenic country than follow a Sherpa into the sky. Trekking adventures for all skill levels are available throughout Nepal, and crowds still tend to be minimal for now. Check out some Bengal tigers, elephants and Indian rhinos during a guided jungle tour in the Royal Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The capital of Kathmandu - which dates back to the 8th Century AD - is filled with temples, but also has a sturdy tourist infrastructure. Hotels for under US$10.00 per night are easy to find, but so are international business-class hotels for those with deeper pockets.

Top 10 Books - 2008

Below are summaries for each selected title, in alphabetical order.

Design Charrettes for Sustainable Communities
by Patrick M. Condon
Island Press, 192 pages

The design charrette has gained popularity and notoriety among many communities as a powerful tool for public participation in recent years, and this book provides a step-by-step manual to harness this power. Drawing on Condon’s years of experience shaping and honing the charrette process, this book is a straightforward guide that lays out the essential steps and best practices for running a productive design charrette. His advice is equally applicable to public officials, developers and the general public – offering an insider’s view into the somewhat complicated process of pushing plans forward with both transparency and an ear to the public voice.

Buy this book

Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America
by Dowell Myers
Russell Sage Foundation Publications, 356 pages

A detailed examination of the probable future impact of two of the nation’s biggest demographic groups. Myers uses extensive demographic data to explain the likely effect of the aging and soon-retiring Baby Boomer population on the economy and nationwide workforce, and argues that the coming void can be filled by the nation’s rapidly growing immigrant population. His book provides a framework for preparing this population to compensate for the Baby Boom’s departure from the workforce – a strategy that will rely on expanded education and better integration of immigrants into the job market and tax system, as well as their inclusion among the ranks of American homeowners.

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Last Harvest: How a Cornfield Became New Daleville
by Witold Rybczynski
Scribner, 320 pages

An in-depth account of a neotraditional housing subdivision in exurban Pennsylvania that follows the project from idea to first resident. Last Harvest documents the entire development process and all the bumps and bruises experienced along the way, providing a frank and detailed profile of what it’s like to build a project that breaks from the status quo and that attempts to stay afloat in a cooling market.

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Smart Growth in a Changing World
by Jonathan Barnett, F. Kaid Benfield, Paul Farmer, Shelley Poticha, Robert Yaro and Armando Carbonell
University of Chicago Press, 148 pages

This book features a collection of works by noted experts in smart growth, and examines how standard American consumption and wasteful land use are steadily compounding threats to our environment, health and way of life. The book features case studies from throughout the country and provides a look at the national policies that either encourage or limit smart growth development patterns. And as the U.S. population is expected to climb to more than 400 million within the next 30 years, the authors argue that updating American land use habits will be critical to sustain the country’s growth and maintain its global competitiveness.

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Sustainable Design: Ecology, Architecture, and Planning
by Daniel E. Williams, David W. Orr and Donald Watson
Wiley, 304 pages

This introductory book offers an architectural perspective on the increasing trend towards environmentally friendly development. Williams, a noted architect and planner, looks at the applicability of sustainable design at all scales – from the region to the community to the building. He also delves into the differences between a design that is simply green and a design that is sustainable, emphasizing the importance of a systems-approach based on ecology. The major outcome of this book is a well-reasoned argument for a drastic renovation of the way design is taught, considered and performed.

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Sustainable Urbanism: Urban Design With Nature
by Douglas Farr
Wiley, 256 pages

A broadly-focused and solutions-based look at environmentally sustainable urban design. This heavily illustrated guide calls on planners, architects and designers to reframe their work to do the double-duty of creating great places while reducing the human impact on the environment. Case studies and essays written by Farr and others give a real-world context to the ideas and methods espoused in this ambitious argument on behalf of a new type urban design and development that is interrelated with nature.

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The Best-Laid Plans: How Government Planning Harms Your Quality of Life, Your Pocketbook, and Your Future
by Randal O'Toole
Cato Institute, 416 pages

In example after example, O’Toole shows government planning at its worst. His detailed argument is that this poor track record proves government planning should not be trusted to manage the future of our communities. This book will bolster the outlook of like-minded libertarians and other hands-off types, but is also a good read for pro-planning planners. It presents the contrarian’s view that many planners may encounter in their careers, plainly illustrating the mindframe of "the other side". And though the book provides a lot of examples and unfortunate failures, few alternatives and solutions are provided.

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The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Placemaking
by Jay Walljasper
New Society Publishers, 173 pages

The power to create great places doesn’t just belong in the hands of a few designers and planners, according to this mobilizing book from Jay Walljasper. He shows how citizens can get involved and push for the traits that can bring that "there" factor to any place or neighborhood. By using real-world examples and introducing individuals who have gone beyond the bureaucracy to create positive change, this book shows that placemaking really can be a power of the people.

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The Option of Urbanism: Investing in a New American Dream
by Christopher B. Leinberger
Island Press, 224 pages

The new American Dream presented in this quick and easy read is one similar to the American Dream of the past: a slower-paced and neighborhood-centric lifestyle. Leinberger call this walkable urbanism, and he uses history and economic analysis to show how market preference is shifting back towards this development pattern and away from the drivable suburbanism that monopolized the last 60 years.

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Visualizing Density
by Julie Campoli and Alex S. MacLean
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 152 pages

This vivid and visual book is one of the essential guides to understanding the concept of density. It provides aerial photos and street pattern maps for the entire range of housing density in America – from 0.2 units per acre in Beverly Hills to nearly 300 units per acre in New York City. In this book version of the 2007 Planetizen Top Website "Visualizing Density", Campoli presents accurate descriptions of density and land use patterns in the United States, and offers the stepping stones to planning and designing for a society of greater density. MacLean’s beautiful and varied aerial photography gives an impressive view of hundreds of parts of the country and, at the same time, a disturbing look at the wasteful development pattern that has persevered in the U.S. for decades.

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Other Noteworthy Titles

Boomburbs: The Rise of America's Accidental Cities
by Robert E. Lang and Jennifer B. LeFurgy
Brookings Institution Press, 212 pages

This interesting book provides an overview of the “accidental cities” that have formed as suburbs suddenly experience huge population growth. The authors examine how these cities are trying to form themselves into coherent units from the multitude of disparate parts that had not intended on uniting. In examining this new type of city, Boomburbs brings the conclusion that these overgrown suburbs are on track to become the new dominant metropolitan form in the United States.

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Regenerating Older Suburbs
by Richard B. Peiser
Urban Land Institute, 217 pages

A solutions-based examination of aging suburbs that uses case studies to outline the history and future of these significant and popular areas. By looking at 10 different inner-ring suburbs, this book presents the gamut of developmental stages. Each community’s attempts to revitalize itself offers examples of successful strategies that have help bring about or attract broad redevelopment projects.

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Site Analysis: A Contextual Approach to Sustainable Land Planning and Site Design (2nd Edition)
by James A. LaGro Jr.
Wiley, 384 pages

A step-by-step guide that presents detailed instructions on how to perform a careful and comprehensive analysis of development sites. This second edition book features more than 100 illustrations, maps and site plans of actual projects, giving readers a look at the end-result of good site analysis. By clearly documenting each of the phases of site planning and design, this book is a useful reference for all planners and developers.

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Top 100 Tools for Learning Spring 2008

The list is compiled from the contributions of 155 learning professionals (from both education and workplace learning) who shared their Top 10 Tools for Learning both for their own personal learning/ productivity and for creating learning solutions for others

More detail

Top 10 Startups Worth Watching in 2008

Credit crunch? Recession risk? You'd never know it, judging by the frenzy of startup activity. In fact, it's a pretty good time to start a company. Generous payouts from Web 1.0 IPOs and more-recent acquisitions have given rise to a new generation of angel investors and venture capitalists. Plus, getting acquired by Google is an attractive and plausible exit strategy for many entrepreneurs. Those factors have combined to make a startup market almost as frothy as the dot-com bubble.

We say almost, because the spending is a bit less lavish than before, and because -- unlike 1999 -- many of the new crop of startups have real promise. Here are 10 pre-IPO, pre-acquisition companies worth watching in 2008.

23andMe

There's a lot you could buy with $1,000, but for that price 23andMe offers something never before sold to the masses: your DNA. Are you predisposed to prostate cancer? Glaucoma? Heart disease? 23andMe, profiled recently in Wired, can tell you. The implications could rock the medical world -- and the ethical one. As the science of genomics continues to improve, 23andMe should be able to provide ever-better information. In 2008, it will also provide social networking between customers who share traits ranging from ethnic origins to disease profiles.

• Founders: Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki
  
• Funding: $12 million, from Genentech, Google and New Enterprise Associates
  
• Employees: 30
  

37Signals

There's a reason nobody ever uses the phrase, "It's as simple as computer programming." But Chicago's 37Signals has made life simpler for programmers and small businesses alike with products such as Basecamp (project management software) and an increasingly popular open source web framework called Ruby on Rails. The company ditches the philosophy of "more features, more better" in favor of simplicity and accessibility: Focus only on the most important features and make things easier to use. The company itself embodies its keep-it-simple philosophy: Fewer than 10 staffers, working from humble offices, create programs quickly and nimbly adapt them based on user feedback. 37Signals released version 2.0 of Ruby on Rails in December, which should give many programmers a happy new year.

• Founders: Jason Fried, Ernest Kim, Carlos Segura
  
• Funding: Undisclosed sum from Bezos Expeditions
  
• Employees: 8
  

AdMob

When AdMob launched in 2005, its prospects did not look bright. As a startup mobile-advertising network, it would have to compete with Google, and how feasible is that? But AdMob has defied the odds. While Google is just four months into testing a mobile version of its advertising network, AdMob has already served 12 billion ad impressions to mobile users. As more consumers buy web-enabled mobile phones, the prospects for mobile advertising can only improve.

• Founder: Omar Hamoui
  
• Funding: Undisclosed Series A from Sequoia Capital; $15 million Series B from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital
  
• Employees: 65
  

BitTorrent

As a peer-to-peer, or P2P, download protocol, BitTorrent was perfect for illegal file sharing. But in late 2007, the parent company of that protocol -- also called BitTorrent -- unveiled a potentially disruptive new use for its P2P technology: a platform that software providers and media companies can use to help customers download high-resolution files faster (and legally). By reducing distribution hurdles, BitTorrent will make online video and software sales increasingly viable in 2008 and will challenge the notion that the idiot box is the primary way to get your CSI fix.

• Founders: Bram Cohen and Ashwin Navin
  
• Funding: $28.75 million from Accel Partners and DCM (formerly Doll Capital Management)
  
• Employees: 60
  

Dash

Today, GPS is a one-way street, with a satellite beaming instructions to your device. You turn left because a chip inside your GPS device calculated that would the best route. In 2008, Dash will chart a new course with Dash Express, a GPS that learns from its users. If a Dash owner is moving 5 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone, Dash servers will realize he's in traffic and warn other Dash drivers to choose faster routes. Sure beats calling 5-1-1.

• Founders: Brian Smartt, Mike Tzamaloukas, Steve Wollenberg
  
• Funding: $45 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Skymoon Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, ZenShin Capital Partners, Artis Capital, Gold Hill Capital, and several individuals
  
• Employees: 85
  

Fon

You pay for internet access at home, so why must you pay for it again at the coffee shop, the airport and the hotel? That frustration spawned Spanish Wi-Fi startup Fon. It's a simple idea: Give and you shall receive. "Foneros" first agree to share their home wireless connections with other Fon customers using a special router, which splits the signal into public and private streams. In exchange, they get the privilege of using any of the network's wireless signals anywhere in the world for free. Fon has inked important deals with TimeWarner Cable in the United States, BT in Britain and Neuf in France, and its network has expanded to an impressive 600,000 registered users worldwide. Free global internet for the price you already pay at home? Sign us up!

• Founder: Martin Varsavsky
  
• Funding: Approx. $35 million from Skype, Google, Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Excite, Digital Garage and BT
  
• Employees: Approximately 90 worldwide
  

LinkedIn

LinkedIn, a career-oriented social networking site, found 16 million users, yet until recently has been eclipsed by much larger, livelier competitors. Now, a much-needed upgrade has the 4-year-old startup looking pretty good after all. A new developer platform aims to bring LinkedIn networks to the web at large, starting with Business Week's website, which will show your connections to any companies mentioned in news articles you're reading. LinkedIn still emphasizes utility over frivolity, and that's just the way we like it. Instead of virtual hugs and stripper name generators, expect the site to add "modules" that gather news and events from your industry. The dull-but-useful strategy seems to be working: LinkedIn projects revenues of nearly $100 million in 2008 -- not too shabby compared to much larger Facebook's estimated $150 million for 2007.

• Founders: Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Valliant
  
• Funding: $27.5 million from Sequoia Capital, Greylock, the European Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, and numerous individual angel investors
  
• Employees: 200
  

Powerset

It's gotten hard to imagine a world where Google doesn't dominate internet search, but some believe that if anyone can dethrone the king, it's Powerset. The San Francisco company is developing an alternative "natural language" search technology, which takes into account the actual meaning and context of words in a sentence. Of course, it's not the first time someone has tried to make computers think more like human beings, and HAL 9000 is still MIA. And despite an impressive demo at the TechCrunch 40 conference in September, Powerset's management has struggled recently, losing one founder (Steve Newcomb) while another (Barney Pell) stepped down from the CEO position. Even if Powerset's search engine doesn't make it to market in 2008, Silicon Valley will be closely watching to company for any signs of progress -- or lack thereof.

• Founders: Steve Newcomb, Barney Pell and Lorenzo Thione
  
• Funding: $12.5 million from Foundation Capital, The Founder's Fund and several angel investors
  
• Employees: 60
  

Slide

In the battle of Facebook vs. the OpenSocial gang, there's one assured winner, and it's not even technically in the fight. Slide, the largest provider of third-party applications (aka "widgets") to websites and social networks, stands to win no matter which network comes out on top. (Slide's chief widget-making rival, RockYou, is also well in the mix.) Slide's success is only pegged to the social networking trend, which shows no signs of flagging in 2008.

• Founder: Max Levchin
  
• Funding: Initial funding from Max Levchin; a rumored $20 million from BlueRun Ventures, The Founder's Fund, Khosla Ventures, Mayfield Fund
  
• Employees: 60
  

Spock

Google can search the web by keyword, but Spock gets more directly at a single question: What does the web know about you? By crawling the web for personal information and combining that with social network data, Spock creates a hub for information about actual people. Enter your name in Spock's pared-down interface and find out what the internet knows about you, or search by a keyword to find, say, ornithologists or sommeliers. Spock generates its profiles automatically, but individuals can "claim" theirs and correct any misinformation. In fact, you might want to check yours right now....

• Founders: Jaideep Singh and Jay Bhatti
  
• Funding: $8 million from Clearstone Venture Partners and Opus Capital
  
• Employees: 25
  

Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels

Let us save you from hotel hell

Check out TripAdvisor's 2008 top 10 Dirtiest Hotels, chosen by our members as beyond scummy, and prepare to be utterly disgusted.

Dirtiest Hotels - U.S.

• Hotel Carter, New York, NY
• Ramada Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, NY (Hotel now closed)
• Nashville - Days Inn Vanderbilt / Music Row, Nashville, TN
• Red Carpet Inn, Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Regency Inn & Suites, New York, NY
• St. Augustine Beachfront Resort, Saint Augustine, FL
• Travel Inn Civic/Medical Center, Miami, FL
• Eden Roc Motel, Wildwood, NJ
• Days Inn Lancaster, Lancaster, PA
• Pacific Sands Motel, Santa Monica, CA

Dirtiest Hotels - U.K.

• Nanford Guest House, Oxford, England
• Manor Court Hotel, London, England
• Britannia Hotel Stockport, Stockport, England
• Europa Gatwick, Crawley, England
• Whiteleaf Hotel, London, England
• Park Hotel, London, England
• County Hotel, Carlisle, England
• Britannia Hotel Birmingham, Birmingham, England
• Eden Plaza Hotel, London, England
• Britannia Country House Hotel, Manchester, England

Spread the dirt! Send the 2008 Dirtiest Hotels to a friend.

Top 10 things to know about Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5

The list below is not in order of importance, instead it is in the order I suggest you explore this new release.

1. VS2008 and Fx 3.5 will officially launch together in February but will be available to developers by the end of November 2007. The same type of Visual Studio SKUs/Editions available with VS2005 will also be available with VS2008 including a brand new one: VS2008 Shell. VS 2008 is a great Vista client, has better aesthetics and a bunch of new usability features including enhancements for multithreaded debugging.

2. Fx 3.5 continues with the additive approach that we introduced with Fx 3.0 while still not introducing a new CLR. As a reminder, Fx 3.0 simply added to Fx 2.0 without changing or removing anything in the existing assemblies (it added WPF, WCF, WF and CardSpace). So, Fx 3.5 simply adds some assemblies to the existing set of DLLs that Fx 2.0/3.0 comprises of. This means that simply installing the framework should not affect your existing solutions. Note however that Fx 3.5 depends on Fx 2.0 SP1 and Fx 3.0 SP1, which will ship at the same time.

3. VS2008 has a new simple yet powerful feature: multitargeting. The ability to create projects targeting different .NET Framework versions (2.0, 3.0 and 3.5). This means that even though VS2008 can be installed side by side with VS2005, you do not need VS2005 any longer since VS2008 offers a superset of the functionality.

4. There are many new C# 3.0 and VB9 language features (inc. automatic properties, relaxed delegates, object initialisers, type inference, anonymous types, extension methods, lambdas and partial methods). The compilers emit backward compatible IL, which is to be expected since there is no new version of the CLR. In plain terms this means that all the new language features can be used with existing v2.0 projects (due to the multitargeting feature mentioned above)! VB developers also get enhanced intellisense amongst other IDE features.

5. The headline feature of this release is LINQ (Language Integrated Query). LINQ depends largely on the language features that were introduced and also on bits of the Fx 3.5 (4 assemblies to be precise). LINQ is a new declarative paradigm for querying data sources in a consistent manner, regardless of what the data source is: in memory objects, XML, SQL, DataSet or anything else (because LINQ has been architected to be fully extensible). The future looks even brighter with efforts such as PLINQ.

6. For the web developer, ASP.NET AJAX ships out of the box with improvements and ASP.NET 3.5 includes 3 new controls. There are also enhancements in the IDE that can be used in ASP.NET 2.0 projects too, such as support for JavaScript intellisense and debugging, a new CSS engine and an HTML designer that supports Nested Master Pages.

7. For the client developer, new features include WPF project templates out of the box, a new WPF designer with integrated support for interop between WinForms and WPF. FireFox support for ClickOnce and XBAP deployments. Now, you can take advantage of ASP.NET provider services and also embed UAC manifests for application running on Windows Vista.

8. For the office developer, there is full support for 2007 Office customisations as well as Office 2003 templates. Support include outlook form regions, ribbon customisation, custom task panes, actions pane, Word content control databinding and interop with VBA.

9. For the server developer, WCF and WF templates now ship out of the box and play better together. WCF now supports a SOAP-less HTTP programming model as well as syndication and JSON serialization. There is a good collection of links for these here.

10. For the mobile developer, there are tons of new features including support for Compact LINQ and Compact WCF and many other NETCF features. At the IDE level we get Unit Testing for devices amongst other goodies from the VSD team.

11. Bonus item: It is only via VS2008 that you will be able to debug your code down into the .NET Framework methods.

# posted by The Moth @ 12:54