A Blog Not Limited

to web design, standards & semantics

Microformats

.net magazine Q&A
06/28/2012
For the June issue of .net magazine, I had the true pleasure of answering several reader's questions. And I really mean true pleasure, because for the first time in months, I got a chance to write without having to research or even pick a topic. Basically, @netmag put out the call on Twitter, picked seven questions from readers, and I answered.
Microformats, schema.org & Freelancing with The Non-Breaking Space Show
03/12/2012
There's a new podcast in town, The Non-Breaking Space Show! Hosted by Christopher Schmitt and Dave McFarland — with the editing and production talent of Chris Enns — the show features interviews with “best and brightest on the web.” Already the show has talked with such great and talented guests as Ethan Marcotte, Paul Irish and Chris Coyier. And the third episode is an interview with me!
Take Your Markup to Eleven
07/18/2011
Geolocation. Multiple background images. Web storage. Gradients. Native media. Transforms and transitions. Canvas. It's an exciting time for the web. So many possibilities of what we, as designers and developers, can do for our sites and clients. But you know what gets me the most excited? HTML. But not just any HTML. Great HTML. Great markup is accessible. Great markup is semantic (and even structured). Great markup is easier to maintain (especially in a team environment). Great markup is portable.…
Microformats vs. Schemas
06/03/2011
Yesterday, the three major search engines announced full support of a new "standard" for semantic, structured markup: Schema.org. Now, as a microformats lover and semantic dork, this was big news for me. Big, exciting news. Of course I should write a blog post … Unfortunately, I'm busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest these days. So, since I already wasted a few hours of time chatting and Twittering (twatting?) with folks yesterday about the topic, I'm going to…
Guest Co-hosting with Web Weekly
05/28/2011
Web Weekly is a podcast from my friend Kevin Dees and his co-host, the ever-snarky, Jonas Flint. And I guess since I tend to go well with snark, Kevin and Jonas have twice asked me to join the podcast as a guest co-host.
Watch Me @ MIX11
05/17/2011
I had the immense pleasure of speaking about microformats at Microsoft's MIX11 conference last month in Vegas. And, amazingly, I'm managing to post a little recap within a month's time! HTML5 Mini-Panel But before I give you the goods on my Microformats & Semantic Markup presentation, I wanted to pimp the HTML5 discussion I had on Channel 9 while at MIX11.
Microformats @ MIX11
04/03/2011
Not so long ago, I made a promise to myself to make sure that I was generating fresh content for this blog. Since, then, I've pretty much failed to live up to that goal because I've been focusing on other efforts. And now I find myself, yet again, with another shameless self promotion post, and my Catholic guilt is kicking in (which is probably why I'm burying the lead on this post). All I can say is that I hope…
Get Control of Microformats @ In Control
12/27/2010
This upcoming February, I'm heading to Orlando, Florida. No. Not for a vacation (although I do expect to have a fantastic time). I'll be speaking about microformats at the In Control Conference, alongside some of my favorite web designers and developers in the industry.
Microformats, HTML5 & Microdata
11/10/2010
As I mentioned a while back, I'm honored to be writing for the new ScriptJunkie. My latest efforts have focused on microformats: Simple Semantics with Microformats, Part 1 introduces microformats and looks at XFN Simple Semantics with Microformats, Part 2 covers hCard Simple Semantics with Microformats, Part 3 details hCalendar Simple Semantics with Microformats, Part 4 focuses on combining microfoformats The last in the series, part 4, also introduces a topic I've never talked or written about (even in my…
Voices That Matter Presentation & Interview
07/20/2010
Last month, I was honored to speak at the Voices That Matter Web Design conference in San Francisco. My "Practical Microformats" presentation went well, although talking about microformats in less than 30 minutes (plus leaving time for questions) was quite a challenge. You can check out my slide deck on Slideshare, if you'd like a taste of what I covered: The deck includes tons of links to resources, as well as some DIY demos you can try to see the…
The Beauty of Semantic Markup, Part 1: Quotes & Citations
07/15/2010
As I mentioned in my introduction, this series is going to take a close look at the fundamentals of semantic markup. In this first installment, I'm focusing on quotes and citations. Before we get started, if you'd like to know more about semantic markup — what it is, why you should develop your sites with it — check out my article, Meaningful Markup: POSH and Beyond. Now, let's get to it!
.net magazine Microformats Tutorial
05/19/2010
As part of my ongoing efforts for global microformats domination, I wrote a microformats tutorial for .net magazine — sold as Practical Web Design in the US. And, in my typically verbose fashion, I wrote too much. Lucky for me (and the readers), it was turned into a two-parter. Part one of the tutorial appears in the June 2010 issue (#202). It provides a simple background on microformats, covering some of the core concepts, and then dives right into how…
Join Me At Voices That Matter & Save $150
05/14/2010
While it is debatable whether I have a voice that matters, I'm over–the–moon excited to be speaking at New Riders' Voices That Matter: Web Design Conference from June 28–29 in San Francisco at the Mission Bay Conference Center. The conference brings together respected industry authors and thought-leaders like Robert Hoekman, Jr., Dan Cederholm, Steve Krug, and Tantek Çelik. I'll be speaking about microformats (of course). It will be a new format for me: 30 minutes to cover the essentials of…
Save 35% On Microformats Made Simple
05/05/2010
If you haven't bought Microformats Made Simple yet (or maybe you want another copy), now is the time to do it! Purchase Microformats Made Simple from Peachpit.com, enter discount code MICROFORMATS and you will save 35% off the cover price of my book. In fact, this discount code gives you 35% off your entire Peachpit order and free domestic US shipping!
Microformats Profile URIs Updated
04/21/2010
If you've read my Getting Semantic With Microformats blog series or my book, Microformats Made Simple, you should be familiar with profile URIs for microformats and hopefully you are using them. Recently, the microformats community completed updates to the profile URIs for all microformats, including most drafts. So now is the time for you to update your references!
Microformats Made Simple: It's a Keeper!
02/17/2010
It's time again for me to pimp my book, Microformats Made Simple. In case you don't know, Microformats Made Simple is 291 pages of easy–to–read explanations of and easy–to–understand markup examples for 20 microformats. It covers benefits, challenges and new developments. It focuses on semantic markup (POSH for you geeky types). But best of all, it includes my amusing, yet still pathetic, attempts at humor. It is, simply put, awesome. And you must buy it. Now. But I realize that…
For Your Microformats Pleasure
01/27/2010
I recently (and I use that term loosely) gave two presentations on microformats. And, just because I love you, I wanted to share the slide deck from each.
The Last Useful Tweets (#29)
01/26/2010
Yes, you read that title right. This is the last post in my Useful Tweets series. I seriously doubt you are disappointed by this news, as these posts are my least read. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised is no one is reading this now. The series started as an attempt for me to take advantage of my "micro-blogging" on Twitter and generate content for this blog without having to do too much. But I'm getting increasingly less prolific on…
Microformats Workshop Summit
01/08/2010
I'm honored and excited to be giving a three-hour microformats workshop next Friday, and I hope you can join me! Microformats Workshop Summit Friday, January 15, 2010 9:00 am – 12 noon, CT Individual ticket: $250.00 Meeting room: $700.00
All I Want for Christmas
12/23/2009
It has been just over two months since my book Microformats Made Simple went on sale, and I am now calling on the folks who have purchased or received a gratis copy. I need Amazon reviews! I'm not going to beg and plead for good words about my book. I'm not going to tell you what to say. I just want to know what you think. Whether it is good, bad or indifferent, please add your two cents to the…
Useful Tweets 28
11/10/2009
It has been months and months, and I'm finally returning to this series. Fortunately and not surprisingly, my tweeting was significantly less while writing the book, especially tweets with "useful" links. So you haven't really missed out on much … not that you would anyways. I promise I won't make you wait so long next time, but this won't be returning to a weekly series. Maybe bi-monthly; likely monthly. It all depends on my Twitter behavior. But if you need…
Webuquerque: Introduction to Microformats
10/21/2009
Earlier this month, Webuquerque hosted Introduction to Microformats, presented by Emily Lewis (that's me!). We were back at Uptown Sports Bar & Grill, and had a decent turnout of about 21 people. If you weren't among that elite group (or maybe you just need a refresher) here's a recap, the slide deck, video and photos.
So, I Wrote a Book: Microformats Made Simple
10/19/2009
Seven months ago, I posted the first article in this series, announcing that I had gotten a book deal. I was thrilled and excited for the new adventure. During the months of writing and editing, the thrill and excitement faded; replaced by stress, frustration and a growing realization that writing a book just isn't something that I would ever do again. Now, about a month out from completing the book, my emotions have shifted yet again. The stress is slowly…
So I'm Writing A Book, Part 4: The Editorial Process & Design
09/30/2009
As I write this very sentence, I am writing without stress. Without looming deadlines. Without anything more to do with the book. Yep. I'm done! Which means it is time to finish up this book writing series. In the first three articles, I explained everything from how I got the opportunity to the proposal to the contract to the actual writing. Now it is time to dive into the editorial process. I'll also give you a sneak peak of the…
It’s All About Me!
08/26/2009
Some of the things I've been working on have gotten a bit of attention outside of my blog, so I figured a shameless self-promotion post was in order. Because, it really is all about me.
So I’m Writing A Book, Part 3: The Questionnaire, The Templates & Getting Started
07/01/2009
I can't believe it is July already. Which means I've been writing my book for three months now. That's even more astounding to me than how quickly those past three months have flown by. July 1 also means that I have under two months to finish said book. While I would've figured that would have me even more stressed than I've been, I'm actually just relieved. It is almost over. I can do anything for seven weeks. You may be…
Useful Tweets 26
06/23/2009
With my busy writing schedule Useful Tweets has gone from a weekly series to bi-monthly to whenever I can fucking find the time. Not to mention, I've noticed I've been much less noisyprolific on Twitter these days. But I'm keeping this series going, in hopes things get back to normal after my final manuscript is submitted in late August. So, here are links from the past three weeks' tweets that referenced web design/development resources, interesting products, things that made me…
Useful Tweets 25
06/03/2009
I'm still ridiculously busy, so Useful Tweets is continuing on a bi-monthly schedule. Don't like waiting? Follow me on Twitter. For you more patient readers, here are links from the past two weeks' tweets that referenced web design/development resources, interesting products, things that made me laugh and other stuff I deem "useful" according to my own definitions.
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 8: Value Class Pattern
06/02/2009
Update: 2009-10-20 Tantek Çelik requested that I add inline examples of the value-class pattern markup in this article, so people working on applications to parse uses of the pattern can reference this article as a live example. I finally obliged, and you will see those inline examples below, each of which is indicated as an update. No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. It's another installment of my Getting Semantic With Microformats series (with a special thanks to Ben Ward for…
Useful Tweets 24
05/18/2009
Links from the past two weeks' tweets that referenced web design/development resources, interesting products, things that made me laugh and other stuff I (loosely) deem "useful." Follow me on Twitter for more immediate linky goodness.
Introduction to Microformats Recap
05/08/2009
As part of my whirlwind of presentations, I recently spoke to the University of New Mexico's Information Architects group about microformats. The presentation was a huge success (at least from my perspective). There were about 20 attendees, and it was the first time I felt comfortable in a public-speaking situation.
Useful Tweets 23
05/06/2009
With my busy schedule, it seems that the Useful Tweets weekly series has become bi-monthly. I've accepted this. I hope you can too. So, without any further delay, here are links from the past two weeks of tweets that I (loosely) deem useful.
The Next Level
04/23/2009
Ever since I started this blog and became active on Twitter, my professional life has taken some dramatic (at least to me) turns. Before, I just had a job. A rather unsatisfying job. And while I still have that same (soul-sucking) job, I'm much more satisfied in my professional life. Why? Because I actually have a career now. Just looking for the presentation details? Feel free to skip right to them.
So, I'm Writing a Book, Part 2: The Topic, The Proposal, The P&L and The Contract
04/17/2009
When I announced I was writing a book, I mentioned that I intended to write a little series about the process. For the most part, this series is for me: I have a tendency to forget details and suffer from a "can't see the forest for trees" syndrome. I'm hoping by documenting what happens as I write this book, it will help me remember and appreciate. But I also like to think that anything I learn during the writing of…
So, I’m Writing a Book
03/04/2009
Yeah, you read that right. I'm writing a book (holy shit)! Crazy! But so very awesome. And exactly the sort of thing I hoped would happen during the course of my career as a web professional.
Useful Tweets 16
02/23/2009
I was super busy with work last week and, as such, was relatively quiet on Twitter. Still managed to post a handful of links that referenced web design/development resources, interesting products, things that made me laugh and other stuff I (loosely) deem "useful." Don't want to wait for this linky goodness? Follow me on Twitter.
Useful Tweets 15
02/17/2009
Links from last week's tweets that referenced web design/development resources, interesting products, things that made me laugh and other stuff I (loosely) deem "useful." Follow me on Twitter for more immediate linky goodness.
Microformats, hAccessibility & Moving Forward
01/26/2009
Last week, Andy Clarke posted a design solution for the hAccessibility issue in microformats. It's an interesting workaround, combining the current standard for marking up dates in microformats with the broadly-accepted use of skip links. But Wait, What Is hAccessibility? Before I get too far into this article, though, I should probably explain hAccessibility. As I've mentioned previously, hAccessibility was coined by The Web Standards Project to describe an accessibility issue related to the use of the abbr design pattern…
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 7: Themes & Issues
11/20/2008
According to what I planned when I introduced this series, we are at the end of this thrilling and exciting journey into the world of microformats. And after spending all this time reviewing specific implementations of microformats on A Blog Not Limited, I didn't want to just end the series without some sort of conclusion. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'm not ready to conclude this series. There are still more microformats that…
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 6: hResume
11/10/2008
I began this series a little over two months ago. I wanted to share my love of microformats and detail how I've implemented them, in hopes of encouraging more people to embrace them. So far, I've covered a lot: Rel-based microformats in Part 1 XFN in Part 2 hCard in Part 3 hCalendar in Part 4 hAtom in Part 5 And now, as I conclude this series, it is time to talk about the hResume microformat which is used to…
Oomph Microformats Toolkit
10/24/2008
I'm taking a short (I promise) break from my Getting Semantic With Microformats series because I need it, and I wanted to spend some time playing with and reviewing the Oomph microformats toolkit from MIX Online that I discovered this week. This way, you (my beloved four readers) still get some microformat goodness, and I get a much-needed break from the intense research and writing I've been doing. Let's get started, shall we?
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 5: hAtom
10/15/2008
Over the course of this series, I've discussed the various microformats I've implemented on A Blog Not Limited: rel-based, XFN, hCard and hCalendar. Now, it's time to talk about the hAtom microformat, which adds semantics and structure to web content that could be syndicated, such as blog posts or news articles.
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 4: hCalendar
10/01/2008
Here we are again, delving into the exciting (for me, at least) world of microformats. Based on what I planned at the outset, this article is about mid-way through the series. So far, I've discussed three implementations of microformats on A Blog Not Limited: Specifying link-based relationships using the rel attribute in Part 1 Giving a "human face" to links using the XFN microformat in Part 2 Describing people, companies and places with the hCard microformat in Part 3 Not…
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 3: hCard
09/22/2008
I began this series by detailing the microformats for link-based relationships using the rel attribute in Part 1. I then followed up in Part 2 with a discussion about extending the rel attribute with XFN values to connote social relationships on the web. Both XFN and the rel-based microformats are relatively simple, requiring only the addition of the rel attribute to links (<a>) and the proper value(s) to provide semantic context. Now it is time to take this microformats discussion…
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 2: XFN
09/17/2008
In Part 1 of this series, I explained various implementations of the rel microformat on A Blog Not Limited. While explaining rel-me, I briefly touched on the XFN microformat. It's now time to spend some more time on this very cool microformat, which was one of the first.
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Part 1: rel
09/09/2008
As I mentioned in the introduction to this series, I'm a freak for microformats. I love the semantics, the structure, the simplicity and the potential. I decided I must share this love with the world (or at least my four readers) by detailing how I've used various microformats on A Blog Not Limited. This first installment of the series focuses on microformats for link-based relationships using the rel attribute. Let's get started, shall we?
Getting Semantic With Microformats, Introduction
09/05/2008
I'm an organizer with a sometimes frustrating need to pay attention to the smallest details. It shows itself in my home: my DVD collection of over 500 is organized alphabetically, as is what's left of my CD collection. I spend hours in iTunes assigning genres (because the defaults just aren't good enough for me) and creating playlists for over 10k songs. My books are organized by genre. My dresser drawers and closets are pristine. It is just me. This personality…

The Coolest Person I Know

Emily Lewis

Yeah, that would be me: .

I'm a freelance web designer of the standardista variety, which means I get excited about things like valid POSH, microformats and accessibility. I ply my trade from my one-person design studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 USA.

A Blog Not Limited is my personal blog where I pontificate about web design, web standards, semantics and whatever else strikes my fancy. Head on over to Emily Lewis Design if you'd like to see my work or, even better, hire me.

More

I Tweet, Therefore I Am

Follow @emilylewis on Twitter!