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Sidereel is One Week Old and the numbers are rather interesting.

As of Friday, April 27, 2007:

• Today: 67,732
• One Week: 188,273 (we’re only one week old)
• Three Month Average: 948,499

Not bad for a week. But the great part is that these are statistics provided by Alexa, which doesn’t even count Firefox, which represents 49% of Sidereel traffic. Check out the blog.

On a related note, Page Rank Tool is in the midst of an update. Normally it returns a consistent rank value for any given URL, unless of course, they are in the midst of an upgrade. Then you get some pretty interesting before and after rankings, as the system updates. Check it out.

On Web 2.0

Last night I got into a pretty extensive conversation with Cid about the great misnomer “Web 2.0“. The gist of the conversation was this:

The problem with the term “Web 2.0″ is that it implies the development of some new, unforeseen technology, when in actuality the developments we’ve seen in the web industry were smack-dab in the center of projected growth from inception.

The topic came up in response to direction given by a client to make something look “Web 2.0″. Now, I wouldn’t go as far to say that there aren’t particular design trends that are associated with the term “Web 2.0″, but from a designer perspective, asking for something to look “Web 2.0″ is a little like asking for something to look like a website. Thankfully, this was an aside comment for creative direction, but it illustrated a good point. Of course, if you want a Web 2.0 “how to”, this is a great place to start (always best to start with a chuckle).

If I wouldn’t go so far as to say there is a “Web 2.0″ look, I would grant that there are very dominant trends in UI and information architecture. The trend is direct, simple, clear. Not a bad set of guidelines by any means.

PB Wiki

del.icio.us

blogger

bligets

The Web Design Survey

Lastly, but not fatally, A List Apart is conducting it’s annual web design survey.

Surprising little is known about those of us who do websites. Take a minute and take the survey. Who are we? Where do we live? And how many robots do we own? (that last one is for me. add it in the comment section when you take the survey, just for kicks)

It just won’t go away

No turning back now. Grab your goggles, you’ve seen it before. You’ll see it again. You’ll see it when you really wish you wouldn’t. The worn, torn, vintage look just won’t go away. And, we kind of like it ~mostly

While working on designs for a client as an example, I thought I’d to put together some simple steps to help you achieve the scraping, scratching and trashing you desire, using only native Photoshop tools.

Your essential tool set

Basically, you only need 3 tools and a little elbow grease to accomplish what you desire.

First up:

the burn tool.

The burn tool will give you those wonderful oxidized edges that will give your design the appropriate aging.

Next up:

the eraser tool

It’s that simple. With a little care and the right brush, you can tear, rip and tatter your edges.

The only thing left is to add a little texture to give your design some substance. Texture should be used with discretion. It’s not necessary to give everything texture. A little bit goes a long way. Photoshop with a few built in filters you can use out of the box, Aristic Filters and Pattern Overlays.

With the right layering and patterns, you can achieve very unique looking textures, without much work at all. If that’s not doing it for you, try laying down colors using different paint brushes and then apply the Artistic Filters. You don’t need to worry too much about color or what you lay down to start. It can all be fixed with filters.

The key to mastering these techniques is experimentation. It’s always best to start small and work your way up. I prefer setting my opacity for both the burn tool and the eraser at around 9-13% to start. This will give you the subtle changes you need to get the most natural weathering.

If you’re still looking for better filters and less work, check out Mister Retro. They’ve developed some ver convincing machine washed filters that will do the trick. Just a note, Machine Wash Filters are not yet compatible with CS3 for Mac. The upgrade is due out this fall.

Happy trashing!

Some exciting projects in the works and I can use your input. Hailing from San Francisco, Craig’s List central, I can use some feedback for my latest project. My latest project, duck duck Penguin is a comprehensive Jobs Board, specifically geared towards designers and developers. Yep, it’s true. I know there are a plethora (to say the least) of design / development job boards around, but I think they can do better.

I’m curious to know what you think.

What would you like to see as a designer or developer?

What would you like to see as a client, looking for a great designer or developer?

Leave a comment. Let me know what I can do to make this the best job site around, for designers, developers, and yeah, penguins.

Sidereel goes to Public Beta

The other exciting news this week is the long awaited launch of Sidereel, into Public Beta. It’s in rough beta form, but it’s working great and looking great. Cheers Lauren, for designing a super cute interface. Please let us know what you think.