Has it ever been an awkwardly quiet month or two on YGG? I could have made this a Digg-worthy list post, “100 ways to apologize to your readers for being busy and/or lazy”. But of course, that would have taken an enormous amount of time that I haven’t to spare.

As you can probably see, the site looks a little different. Just a little. I came up with the name Sharp Dressed Man for this 4.5 version of YGG. A tribute to an awesome rock band (see above), and a phrase that represents it’s dirty cleanliness. It’s still a little buggy, hasn’t been carried over for IE users yet, and needs to be applied to the forum. All of which should be completed throughout the day. But it is a long overdue update.

This coming weekend was going to be a huge one for Eric and I. We were keeping hush on our plans, but secrets aren’t nice, so here it is. I came up with the idea of doing a marathon, 48 straight hours, to build an entirely new site on the Drupal platform. None of you may know this, but several years ago I attempted another marathon, 72 straight hours of hockey with the goal of obtaining a Guinness World Record.

The timing of that event was horrible (SARS) and we unfortunately could not complete the event. And so it seems the timing for this event was horrible as well. Having only the past 2 or 3 weeks to really think about it and plan it out, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day for us to make this happen. Eric is making an enormous leap in his life with his move, and my mouth is too full to bite or chew on any more.

So we’ll be making the most of this platform for the next little while, and do all we can to keep all you young go getters interested, amused, entertained, or awake.

Anyways, take a look around the blog, see if you notice the subtle differences in usability and let us know what you think.

I have a few big articles planned before the end of the month and hope you’ll hang in there. Who’d have ever thought an entrepreneur named Travis would ever fall victim to a 9 to 5 lifestyle? Don’t worry, this’ll change very soon and YGG will be back up on it’s high horse.

PS – A huge thanks to our latest advertiser Go BIG Network, and all of our other supporters for keeping us afloat. Cheers!

I noticed a post on the 37signals product blog that wrote about Darius’ COLOURlovers. Their idea was to use the colour palettes on CL to spice up your Basecamp account, if you so happen to use one for project management.

Eric and I have been using Basecamp somewhat faithfully for the past several months, and I’ve used it with my clients for well over a year. But after a while, the default theme palettes can become a bit of an eyesore.

Having dug through a ton of the top palettes on COLOURlovers, I figured I’d share what I think are the most interesting to help you beautify your theme and enjoy using Basecamp.

If you don’t have a Basecamp account, you should give their free plan a try. You can manage one project and access just about all the features for zip, zero, zilch. Whether you work by yourself or with a team, this simple project management app is invaluable.

Note: No affiliate links were used or harmed during the writing of this post. :)

Better Web Forms: Redesigning eBay’s Registration
eBay is an awful looking website in many regards. Digital Web magazine shows how simple details can enormously improve the appearance and usability of their registration page, and make it look much less uglier.

FFFFOUND!
Centripetal Notion shares an extensive collection of photos snatched from a new Del.icio.us for images type site named FFFFOUND. The site is still in private, invite-only mode, so this is a nice sneak peek at the type of imagery it’s collecting.

The proper way to stalk a journalist – video version
John gives some tips via a video as to the proper way to follow, plan and pitch to journalists.

Be A Design Cast 45 : Shaun Inman
YGG became users and advocates for Mint, a web analytics app, a couple weeks back. This is an intriguing audio chat with the creator of Mint, Shaun Inman.

Napkin Notebook: For Your $1,000,000 Ideas
Another simple idea for ideas that I wish I thought of.

…Office paintball takes a lot of work?
A really cool video documentation of a photo shoot and the eventual Photoshopping for an unusual magazine spread.

How to Create a Blog That People Really Digg
Several tips from Copyblogger on how to write Digg worthy copy.

The Secret Strategies Behind Many “Viral� Videos
This has to be the most controversial post on TechCrunch, with even Mike Arrington disagreeing with the guest author’s opinion. The 400+ comments are even more interesting than the post.

Why Are So Many Bloggers Selling Their Blogs?
As you’ve probably seen, plenty of blogs have hit the market in the past several weeks, including our YGG member Adnan’s Blogtrepreneur.com. Yaro tries to break down the reasons as to why there’s such a spike in blog sales.

Introducing the new look GigaOM
Om’s site went under the knife a couple days ago and ditched the cluttered look for a slick, clean approach. I like it much better, but do think it could still use some refinement. What do you think?

5 Ways to Profit from Good Ideas
Lifehack, king of the lists, has put another one of it’s goodies together to help you get the most from your ideas.

Seeding Clouds to Produce Brain Storms
An essential list of tools that can kick your idea generator into gear and expand your creative abilities.

The Idea Factory – How to Enable Your Creativity
Three idea links in a row. This should be a sign as to the significance and necessity of ideas in our society and workplaces. Collis has another NxE classic on his hands here.

Faces in Places
An intriguing blog devoted to capturing photos of objects and the facial expressions they convey.

The Superest
“Who is the superest hero of them all?” Hillarious sketches of what could be the Superest super heroes of all-time.

QuickPost WordPress Plugin
This is a nifty little plugin that makes Tumbling through WordPress a piece of cake.

Glam: The success of the network
Jeff Jarvis analyzes the success of the Glam media network and how it compares to traditional media.

Hummer – Now Everyone Will Know
Come on. Like people buy them for the gas mileage. ; )

Interview with Madball Illustrator Jim Groman
A Q&A session with the mad-minded illustrator behind the iconic Madballs.

Personal Cell Phone Booths: Make It A Law
If only. If only.

Entrepreneurship: What To Do When You’re Scared Sh*tless
Our friend Naomi’s first powerhouse post on Ittybiz to dominate Digg. Well worth the read.

8 Rules to Develop the Habit of Blogging
Bloggers: print this out, frame it, place it above your bed, study.

Being different visually
In some instances, what’s on the outside can be more important than what’s in the inside. Laura shares some excellent examples as to how visual branding can set you apart.

I’ll start this post by saying, many of the following statements may contradict advice I’ve given in the past. Some of you may agree and disagree with the words that follow, all of which are based on something I’ve gained over the past several years. Experience.

You either have it or you don’t. There’s no adequacy in between experienced and inexperienced. The latter of which I’ve advocated on many occasions and still have a small portion of beliefs allocated for.

I, you, and we, will only have the opportunity in our lifespan to embark on 0.1% of the World. There isn’t enough time in the day, money in our pockets, capacity in our brains, or stamina in our bodies to attempt everything, and gain experience while doing so.

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