Secret Mikons Business

Mikons have just added comment functionality to individual Mikons that you create. If you happen to see a Mikon that you think comment worthy then why not share your thoughts with the creator. They even get a nice email letting them know that someone has made a comment on their mikon, nice.

Mikons that I wrote about some time ago now is a site that allows you to create and share what they call “mikons”. Mikons for everyone else could be called avatars or a logo. Indeed you could use their “mikon machine” to produce a personalised logo just for you or your blog or anything really. Read all about Mikons either on my post dedicated to the site or take a visit, register and start creating, sharing and now commenting on your own mikons!

This is another piece at mikons that will make for a more enjoyable user experience. The development team are working hard to give users a solid platform. Not a gigantic leap for them but a step and I really believe in mikons as being a unique site offering something that people really want. I have created a number of logos on the site and I think that is a powerful direction they could go. One of them is this blog’s mascot the beloved Rooster! Well I like him.

Spsst… Hey you, yes you… There is something very exciting about to happen at mikons.com. Sorry but I am not allowed to say anything yet. But it is big, yup really big! As soon as I can I will let you know. Hopefully you will hear it here first. It is even better than being able to comment. I hate it when I have to keep secrets, but then again I could just drop a hint… no no no, damn it. More soon!

What would make your mikons better?

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Top 10 Search Terms, this is Weird!

It never ceases to amaze me the the ways in which people end up on my blog. Yesterday amazed me the most.

I am not sure how Google search terms match up to where it sends people but could someone tell me just how this search string got them here:

“fatal crash scenes + humans”

In fact here are the Top Ten searches that got people to Rooster’s Rail in the Last 7 Days (no particular order; some are near the top due to the “weirdness factor”!):

1. Fatal crash scenes + humans [just plain strange, weirdest yet, sicko no doubt…]
2. Trillian 4 [one of the top searches that get people here, I am quick with the new Trillian Astra News!]
3. Make your own logo [I did this post on Mikons and seems it is something people want to be able to do or need]
4. Different types of roosters [beats me… must be the “Roosters” in the title, I have never talked about roosters though, promise… never]
5. David Gray – let it be me mp3 [David Gray is also a music artist, he gives me the shits, I am sure he is a nice guy but the main reason that there are 60 million results for the name… I have no intention of going through them all.]
6. Create nasty signature [this is another strange one…???]
7. Bit rate for podcast [I have blogged a fair bit about bit rates and podcasting so this is here because it makes sense and I glad that it might help others]
8. Strange PICTURE of FROGS [I get this all the time from way back when I made a post about strange frog happenings – our house was raided by baby frogs, this is the legacy, also posted a picture on Flickr and here of one of them]
9. Dry ice hand injury video [I made a post about violent videos, their impact and if we really should use them as entertainment, this is what these search terms are about, it has been one of my most read stories]
10. Duck pc vacuum cleaner [I guess this is a brand? Otherwise people are really bored out there! Again weird]

So there it is the Top 10 search terms, in that order because I decided it; but in my opinion they are either the best or worst reason that people ended up on my Blog.

I am glad you made it however you got here, accept maybe the person looking for crash scenes with dead bodies… that is a little disturbing to say the least.

Great New Features for Mikons

Some time back I reviewed a site called Mikons. At the time I did not know how popular this story would be. If my memory recalls correctly it remains the top post on this blog for hits. I touted the site as a great place to make your own logo or avatar, which I would still maintain. I am in the process of “colourising” my own logo which I am hoping to use in some way shape or form, I also added extra text and formatting. (don’t worry Mark I am getting to it!). But that is the serious side to the site for me and that is but a small part.

As I said then this really is a service that people are looking for and are excited about. Since that post I have spoken with the owner of the site, Mark Smith and I can tell you that there is more install for this great site in the way of features and function in the near future. Which leads me to this post. Mikons have launched some great features that are worthy of mention.

For a start the site has had a bit of an overhaul as far as layout. The new layout looks good and is functional. This to me is not the big feature that is now available. Now you have the option to “Visit the Mikon’s Store”. The link is on the right hand side of the web site. I would suggest to Mark that even knowing the site I do not think this is as prominent as it could be. When I originally set eyes on this new layout and looked for the link I found it hard to find, I was looking for it in the top menu. You do have to be logged in to take advantage of the shop!

Click the link and you will be prompted to log in, once logged in you will have the option to buy T-Shirts and Stickers in various configurations, shipped to your door. Still only offered in the black and White variety, but stay tuned on that front. I say no more than that. But the interface to make your purchase is very slick and easy. Although I did think that the description of the presentation for the print being square or contour needed a bit more explanation – I actually thought that an image would be great here, nothing like a visual to help out. So in just a few minutes, following the steps you can order your mikon or logo or whatever you wish it to be called to be plastered on a T-Shirt to wear around town.

I encountered a bit of a problem at this point. For this review I was wanting to check the ordering and security. But the Shopping cart did not like the fact that I was an Australian and I did not have a U.S. post code or “zip”. So it would not let me continue. It is Okay I put in a bogus zip for me – New York for test purposes! So I can tell you that the checkout is over a secure SSL encrypted web page. Good. Fill in your details and I am assuming that is all there is to it. Phew! The process is nice and uses an Ajax interface which is smooth, although the prompts “fade away” a bit quickly. It would be good to have the checkout link near the “buy” button as well. Minor gripes though.

The same process applies to order stickers that come in two sizes. Black and White affair. The ones that Mark has sent me are excellent quality as well. They look like they would stick to just about anything. The ute will be get the treatment when I next get the motivation to wash it! Which I could send into Mikon Sightings! Yep not only can you order stuff, you can take a picture of any Mikon you see in the wild and send it in to the crew at Mikons and they will post it on the site! Nice feature and fun!

However, it would appear that at this time overseas ordering is not available. I will discover when it will be and let readers know.

So get into the Mikons scene visit the site, sign-up and start making your own to wear or plaster the walls with stickers and have fun being an individual. I still maintain that this is a great site with a load of potential and future. I think it is great that the web2.0 concept is begining to go beyond the web and make an impact where you least expect it – your wardrobe!

Make Your Own Logo With Mikons

I have been really frustrated lately due to the fact that Sebastian and I have struggled to either find or create a logo for Global Geek Podcast. I have even considered buying a logo but it would not be an original and it would not be exactly what we wanted. Not to mention expensive for what you get. Then I found a great site called Mikons.

Mikons is another site based on a Web2.0 philosophy. That is users come together with a common purpose, to meet, interact, share and in this case create. With what is dubbed on the site as the “Mikon Machine” you can create your own logo’s, emoticons, or visual “tags” that are unique to you; the creator. The Mikon machine is in fact a Shockwave flash application that allows you to create vector graphics on a WYSIWYG interface. I actually do not know of any other website that offers such a service as this.

The editor also offers pre-designed pictures that you can put into your own design. Once you have created an account you can then save your design, edit it later, export them and share them with other people. If you want you to keep them all private you can do that too. The “machine” has absolutely heaps of options, such as copying images, resizing, resizing to scale, fill, custom shapes, group, hide, bring to front and many, many more. My only criticism would be that there are not enough fronts to choose from, there are only three at this point in time. I hope that there will be more in the future.

Having said that I actually exported my created Mikon, put it into Paint Shop Pro and add some of my own text and saved it in a different format. I also added colour to the logo that I have done for the Global Geek Podcast, and it looks awsome. But you will have to stay tuned for that one. The logo or Mikon that you see at the start of this post is as it was when I finished it on the site. A nice feature that is built in is the fact that all your original work is copyrighted for you being part of the site under a Creative Commons Licence. Nice touch.

There are some exciting things that you could use your Mikon for are endless in my opinion. I am thinking of things like an avitar, logo, mood message for your blog. Lots of things.

So please check out Mikons.com it is a very cool site and it is fun as well. I could not do it the justice that it deserves here so please check it out, in beta as usual with everything on the net these days so it can only get better. People have created some great mikons that you can download and use yourself if you are not too creative.

Note: This site is untested with “Site Advisor” that great Firefox extension that tells you if a site is nasty. That is that it is a grey site. But I did give it the thorough going over, there are no pop-ups or nasty code to worry about, I am sure that it will get the green light eventually. I have registered for the site and it comes highly recommended.