xTrain Online Expert Training

xTrain is an online video based training website with classes about graphic design, web design, online marketing, digital photography and more. There are even free classes available.

I first heard about xTrain from Justine Ezarik. She had done a Viral Videos With xTrain video. One example she gives is getting started with a video blog. Depending on the type of video blog, it may be boring to some! Check out the video.

My favorite is Dr. Brown’s Photoshop Laboratory. Currently, there are three classes for free. Check out the classes to experiment with 3D, black and white, and animation. If you thought going to school was boring, Dr. Brown makes learning more exciting with his wacky hair-do.

What I Like
I like that I can preview a class before registering. People can also leave comments and rate the class. This can be helpful when deciding if you want to take a class. After you’re done, take a quiz and become xTrain certified!

What I Don’t Like
With web design classes available, I’m not sure why the sub-menus don’t look that great with the rest of the site. Larger font size and more to the right of the main menu link (probably because of being centered).

To find out how to get started with xTrain, check out the xTrain tour, starring Justine.

Blog Action Day

Blog Action Day, October 15th, is a day that bloggers participate by writing a post relating to the environment, donating the day’s earnings, and/or promoting Blog Action Day. According to Blog Action Day, 15,000+ 20,000+ blogs are participating. I participated by writing 11 Ways to Save Trees.

I have read some well written posts regarding the environment today. I decided I would share them with you in hopes that you will consider getting involved, not just today, but every day.

• Freelance Switch, Cyan Ta’eed wrote 29 Simple Ways to Become a More Environmentally Friendly Freelancer and wants the readers’ help to donate $500 to charity. Freelance Switch is pledging to donate $1 for every reader who leaves a comment pledging to take on one of the suggestions listed in the post (or your own). I plan to shutdown my computer every night when finished with work.
• ProBlogger, Darren Rowse wrote How Can Bloggers Be Environmentally Responsible? leaving readers with a question to answer: ‘how can we as bloggers be involved in saving the environment?’
• Larissa Meek wrote Blog Action Day: Green Design, listing some very creative ways for reusing recycled items. My favorite is the recycled glass and the grocery bags.
• Essential Keystrokes, Charlene wrote 5 R’s For A Greener World. Read the post to find out ways you can reduce, reuse, recycle, renew and respect.
• Lifehacker, Wendy Boswell wrote Easy Ways to Live Greener. Read the post and then vote for your favorite green hack! I voted for Bring Your Own Mug to Coffee Shops because those disposables can add up with the amount of people who drink coffee!
• Know More Media, Kimberlee Morrison wrote Blog Action Day: What You Can Do at Home and In the Office to Protect the Earth. She lists some of Al Gore’s tips for making your home more environmentally friendly while saving money, too.
• Dumb Little Man, Jay White wrote Items You Never Thought to Recycle. He lists things that can be recycled, leaving off the obvious things like newspapers, magazines, soda cans, etc. It is very easy to mistake recyclable items for garbage.

For more blogs that have participated on this day, browse Google Blog Search and Technorati.

If you’re a reader, please feel free to leave a link to your post for Blog Action Day if it’s not listed above.

11 Ways to Save Trees

People use way too much paper. Most of it comes in the form of junk in the mailbox. Although it’s great to have important information on paper, some things are probably just taking up unnecessary space. Right? Computers are all around us, yet we still use a lot of paper.

I use paper for notes when I could easily just use my computer, since these notes are just going to be tossed anyway. Microsoft OneNote would be a great way to store notes.

Here is a list of 11 ways to save trees:

1. Opt-out from unwanted catalogs, magazines and other junk mail, e.g. credit card offers.
2. Opt-out of paper bills and start paying bills online.
3. If you must print, use both sides of paper. And, print the printer friendly version.
4. Borrow books from the library or friends that will only be read once. Not only will this help trees, but it will save you money. Or try using e-book readers.
5. Reuse notepaper until it is used completely on both sides.
6. Recycle your newspapers.
7. Get involved.
8. Use GreenPrint.
9. Use Webster’s USB New World Dictionary. [Product page] Or, there’s also Merriam-Webster USB Dictionary/Thesaurus.
10. Subscribe to Website Magazine for free and a tree will be planted on your behalf.
11. Or we could just grow Hemp?

Today is Blog Action Day. Are you doing your part to save a tree?

StumbleUpon’s StumbleVideo

I recently started checking out StumbleUpon because of Easton Ellsworth. I really like it. It even helps me come up with ideas for what to write about. I actually stumbled upon StumbleVideo today. What a way to waste more time, right? I am now hooked.

Forget stumbling upon sites, I’d rather stumble upon videos! The first video I watched was actually really cool. Someone was using dice and a cup to stack the dice on top of each other. There are some really talented people out there.

One nice feature of StumbleVideo is when your cursor is idle, everything around the video will darken so you are seeing just the video. Move your cursor and it lights up. Also, I’m not sure if this is a bug or if they even realize it, but it says I’ve stumbled upon 57 videos. I’ve watched only one video. I think it is counting the sites I’ve seen as well. Does anyone know? I’m very new to StumbleUpon!

Anyone waste lots of hours with StumbleUpon or StumbleVideo? I am limiting myself to just a few stumbles a day.

Free Revolution Theme Contest

Ian Fernando at IanFernando.com is hosting a contest. There are two prizes available for anyone to win. Even though I am very happy with the Revolution Theme by Brian Gardner, his Revolution News Theme is really nice. Maybe a little nicer.

Ian Fernando used the Revolution News Theme to give his site a new look. He (and Brian) did an excellent job. I really like the breadcrumbs at the top. I think the home page looks a little too busy for me though. I think if the What’s Popular section was a little more separated from what is underneath (a bordered box or something), it might look a little better. I like how the Categories, Archives and Contest appear right on the same page above the content, without reloading the page. Great job Ian! Overall, I love the new look.

If you would like to enter in this contest and win one of these great WordPress themes, read about the contest on IanFernando.com.