Due to excessive downtime and API rate limiting by Twitter, I’ve been experimenting a bit with using Fluid to run Twitter in a Site Specific Browser (SSB). While I’d much rather be using Twitterific or Hahlo, this works pretty well, except I had no luck with any Twitter auto-reloading UserScripts I found. So, as usual, I wrote my own.

The script was uploaded to UserScripts.org, you can install it and view source over there: Twitter Reloaded on UserScripts.org

The script does a few things differently from other scripts I found:

• Reloading is postponed if there is any text in the status field
• A visual countdown is inserted into the top of the page
• Twitter pages are reloaded every two minutes, that’s probably still gratuitous, but every minute seemed like overkill.

Dan Benjamin linked to a somewhat bizarre product, Thriving Office. While I can completely understand the thought behind this, the absurdity of it makes me a little sad.

I commented about how it was common to pad an office with “seat meat” for client visits. He then replied:

Is that really common? wow that’s a shame. I’d rather have no business than business based on false pretenses.

It depends on how it’s done. There’s nothing wrong with asking assorted freelancers to come in on a specific day. Especially if their being in the office helps convince a client that you’re big enough to handle an assignment, which then allows you to hire those same freelancers for that project.

Branding is fundamentally about crafting how other people perceive a company.

We dress up for meetings, as a sign of respect but also to give the client confidence in us. Is that superficial? Yes. But split-second instant judgements always are. Split-second judgements often make or break a deal.

An empty desk never says anything good about a business in the same way vacant storefronts or lots are bad things for a neighborhood.

As a business, it’s a whole package thing. We dress up. The office is cleaned. Seats are filled. Fresh flowers are put at the front desk. Nice baked goods and fruit are offered. Fresh coffee is brewed.

In a way, everything is a design problem. How a business communicates it’s own image is vital to it’s long term success.