Dunes Blog

Welcome back!

After several days of testing and working out the bugs, my latest web project, Webinar Central has gone live today.

Webinar Central will become the web’s best destination to find out about the latest free webinars taking place anywhere on the web. It’s the ultimate webinar directory. At Webinar Central, you can view the latest free webinars, submit your own for inclusion and comment on past webinars. We’re harnessing the power of social media to spread the word on the latest educational webinar opportunities.

Key Features of Webinar Central:

• Submit Your Own Webinar
• See Upcoming Webinars for Current Week
• View Month by Month Calender
• Subscribe to RSS Feed of Latest Webinars
• View Webinars by Category
• Comment on Webinars
• Updated Daily
• Ongoing Blog About Webinar Tips and Tricks

Why did I start Webinar Central?

I love to learn and the advent of webinars has revolutionized the way knowledge can be disseminated over the internet. I’ve learned so much from these wonderful tools that I want to make sure that anyone has the knowledge and abilitiy to learn via this medium. There hasn’t really been a central location for all the webinars taking place on the web. There is so much going on, that if you don’t have a way to find out about it, you’ll miss out on valuable learning opportunities. So using some tools that I’ve set up, I’ll be able to monitor for future webinars all across the web and let you know about them here first. Don’t see your webinar in the database? Then you can add it for free by filling out the submission form.

My employer, Livemercial, had infomercial legend Billy Mays come to town a few weeks ago to make this hilarious ‘Office’ Parody for the ERA Convention in Las Vegas.

The video is great and Jim Barnthouse and the team did a great job putting it together. It was a big hit at the convention.

The visit from Billy Mays was great. He spent the day in the office and signed autographs. Then he made an appearance at the first Livemercial Digital Cocktail Hour. It was fantastic.

Check out the Livemercial Billy Mays ‘The Office’ Parody video below:

According to the Times today, the Valparaiso to Chicago shuttle bus has been finalized. They’ve set a launch date of October 6th and they’re calling it the ChicaGo Dash.

Two buses will depart from Valparaiso at Franklin House at 5:45 am and 6:15 am. The fares have been set at $7.50 each way, which isn’t that much more than a train fare from Dune Park or Ogden Dunes. You must reserve your seat in advance, no standing room only like on the South Shore.

Return trips will leave from Michigan and Randolph downtown at 4:35 and 5:20. You’ll be home around 6:15 and 7. Not bad, if you ask me. You’ll still have most of the evening left and be home in time for prime time TV.

The buses sound pretty luxurious. They will have free WiFi internet access, satellite TV, bike racks, bathrooms and plugs for laptops. So, it will be perfect for people who need to get work done during their commute or just want to screw off on the internet.

I think this is a great development for Valparaiso. I hope that it’s popular so that the numbers justify more buses with more flexible schedules. If the numbers are high enough, eventually the ridership will already exist for the planned Valparaiso South Shore extension.

I have no plans personally to use the bus, I don’t work in Chicago and don’t plan to again. Been there done that. But it’s great for the existing commuters and anyone considering moving to the area. Where else can you live so cheaply and still get paid the big Chicago bucks (honestly, that’s a slight misconception, I make more here…)?

I will be at Blogging Indiana this weekend. My company is sending me and several colleagues. We are really looking forward to it.

It should be a fun and enlightening time. Indy is always fun. Haven’t been there in a few years so I’m looking forward to visiting it.

Since I’ll be away from a computer (sadly no laptop), my blogs will be pretty quiet this weekend.

Be sure to check the photoblog, though, for pictures from the conference and Indy.

Northwest Indiana is lucky that it has two well developed daily newspapers. We have the Gary Post-Tribune and Northwest Indiana Times. Both are pretty decent papers, but which one is better if you live in Valparaiso?

The Post-Tribune is and always will be a Lake County paper, it has a long history and is based in Gary. This is also it’s weakness. Honestly, I don’t care what much happens in most of Lake County. The Post is Lake County heavy and I can really live without it.

The Northwest Indiana Times has a different history, it’s an amalgamation of several newspapers from over the years, most notably the Valparaiso Vidette Messenger. While the Times is weighted more towards Porter County news, it provides balanced coverage of Lake County issues.

Both newspapers cost essentially the same price wise. The boilerplate Associated Press content is all the same in both papers; which is the majority of their content anyway. The Post does a little better with International News; the Times keeps burying world news in different parts of the paper. Movie reviews are a dime a dozen. I think the Times has better classified ads. Also, on Sundays, the Post always seems to be missing the bulk of the sale papers that come with the Times.

Their websites must also be judged as well. The Post-Tribune’s website is basically an extension of the Chicago Sun Times (its parent company) website and uses their hideous design and layout. Their search engine usually fails to work correctly and it’s difficult to navigate. The Times, however, has a pretty good website. Sure, it’s full of ads and Adobe Flash which clutters things up, but it’s not hard to find what you’re looking for and is easy to read. It’s also updated throughout the day.

As for the NWI Times website, if you don’t want to get very angry and lose faith in your fellow man, I would avoid reading the comments to pretty much any story. Most of the people who comment say the stupidest things and many lack decent grammar and spelling skills. It’s actually sad. Avoid the comments at all costs no matter how much you’re tempted.

The Times is slightly hostile to outside sources using it’s content. I have several Google Alerts set up for the area and I almost never get links for content from the Times. Most of the links are from the Post. Both sites, however, have RSS feeds, which is promising.

Both sites have joined the blogging revolution. Though it seems like it was kicking and screaming because they’re consultants told them to. The Times blogs are more developed and look like they are updated more often. I can’t stand looking at the Post blogs.

So, in the end, which paper is better if you live in Valpo?

Well, I vote for the Northwest Indiana Times. It covers Valpo way more than the Post does and is overall just a better paper.

As always, to each his own.

Which paper do you guys prefer?