RE: your other requests If you've already got a copy of disks that work on your laptop, the region issue has already been addressed. The remaining problem is that the file format of the copy may be compatible with your laptop DVD players (which may accept several different formats), but not with your DVD player.

For example, the copied disks may contain Quicktime or some other format which can be read on a computer, but not a DVD player. Moreover, some older DVD players are not very forgiving with all DVD disk formats (DVD+R or DVD-R).

This isn't my main line of business, but I've had to wrestle some of the issues down to the ground (including conversion of wmv files to DVD) on some projects I've worked on and could probably get something to work for you.

Just below the URL field on the Youtube video page is an Embed field that contains code that you can copy and paste into your blog. It's easy to miss since the Embed field only displays a single line, even though it contains a whole paragraph of code.

To add this code into a blog entry, you should select the HTML tab at the top left of the blog editor and then paste the code.

This same code can be pasted into an appropriate file of the template html, if you have access to it and are comfortable doing so.

Feel free to contact me directly if you need additional help with this.

DRAT, I evidently discovered a limit. I'll go ahead and post the entire reply as an article.

I think we are all still "homesteading" in the online social media frontier, although some have discovered and tapped into richer veins of opportunity than others, and maybe a little faster.

I've been exploring and building out my presence for about six months; it has certainly been worth the effort. I've been learning a lot along the way--almost as much about my self as about others--and I've enjoyed the opportunity to meet folks with similar (or delightfully contrasting) interests that I would otherwise never have encountered--including many that I have or will meet in person.

Briefly (should probably write a full article about this) here is the lay of the land as I've found it:

FACEBOOK is the community center--increasingly more like a Commons--for informally catching up with and updating folks I already know from multiple "lifetimes," including high school alums and extended family to current business colleagues and associates, and increasingly folks I've encountered in other online venues who I'd like to spend a little more time, but maybe not get caught up in extended discussions (that' for email or Starbucks!). This is the place for an informal exchange of information on family, friends, causes, and events.

My BLOG provides a public/private study, where I can leisurely share and archive (<-->

When "bambi" was the first to welcome me on MySpace, even before I had created a complete profile, I never went back. And when my sons told me that they and their friends had long ago abandoned MySpace--that pretty much sealed the deal, and I've settled into a similar configuration of social media environments as you have: FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, BizNik, and a smattering of smaller, "specialized" communities.

Hey, talk about timing. A colleague of mine just came across this. I haven't screened it yet (probably will start this weekend), but it looks like it covers the ground, and it's FREE! (Although it also looks like it's a come-on to a specific software package).

But still maybe worth a look.

Power Mind Mapping Video course: http://www.novamind.com/power-mind-mapping/

Sorry, I had intended to recommend a specific content management system. I've been using Joomla for the past year and have been very happy with it. Besides my own site, I've helped a friend and a non-profit organization get up and running, and they are starting to do their own updates.

Joomla is available through many Web hosting services such as Bluehost, 1and1, and others, often through a quick install control panel like Fantastico. I've handled the installations myself since I like to be able to directly see and control things like updates.

Again, it's a jarring transition at first, since you don't really think page by page.

In brief (and at the risk of oversimplification), there is one page template that essentially creates a layout grid with specific positions where content can be placed, and content is dynamically pulled from a database (created at the time of installation) and presented in designated positions when you click on a menu item.

But if you have already dabbled in css and html, you're halfway to being able to adjust and modify things without building from scratch.

But do explore and think it through carefully, based on what you really need for now and what you can hold off on until you have more time to dabble and discover new stuff through trial and error.

I second the advice on Outlook folders and the use of rules to automatically direct related emails into a single folder to review at a time of your own choosing.

The other thing I've found helpful is to flag emails for followup, a built-in rule on Outlook. So as I view the overall list of emails (I NEVER have the preview window open to prevent getting sucked into reading stuff before I've decided overall priority), I click on the followup flag at the far right for messages I know I will want to spend time on and probably will require some kind of action.

Then, again at a time of my choosing, I open the followup folder and work my way through.

Saves a lot of time and help me focus quickly.

At some point you may want to look into a content management system. The initial plunge is a little disconcerting, but the payoff in ease of updating and extensibility (adding additional functionality) is pretty significant.

The biggest thing is that you leave behind page-by-page coding and can concentrate more on content, and the reuse or presentation of content in a variety of ways.

It's really not a super big leap if your conversant with style sheets, and relieves you of much of the back-end coding, which is typically added through extensions (like plug-ins that are essentially ready to go with minimal configuration).

Anyway, I'm not suggesting you rush into anything, but when you have a chance, take a look. I tried page-by-page coding using FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc., and I'll never go back!

I've been using 1and1 for my Web hosting, which has provided more capacity than I really have needed so far, with ample flexibility and some useful partners (e.g., RatePoint--a customer rating and email service that integrates fairly well).

I have installed WordPress from scratch and have found it very flexible and useful.

However, the biggest issue is how much effort and time you want to put into ongoing maintenance and updating. This is where you really have to consider professional support. I'm just nerdy enough to like tinkering with the back-end style sheets and code, but keeping up with software upgrades can sometimes be a little harrowing.

For example, my Wordpress template of choice does not work under the current version of WordPress, so I'm not upgrading right now. And I understand that WordPress.com has discontinued support for a broad swath of templates.

And this is part of the wider issue. As soon as you begin combining third-party extensions, applications, and linkages, you increase your exposure to gaps and complications in upgrade paths. So you really have to determine your real needs and balance them against potential support issues down the line.

Hope that's helpful. It's been fascinating to me to discover and explore all the interconnections--my blog is now available through Biznik, FaceBook and LinkedIn, while I Twitter to update my FaceBook updates and increase the personal presentation of my blog, which also displays selected Flickr photos.

Don't know about being a master, but I've been using mindmapping software for many years and have tried keeping up with what's available.

For a long time, my personal favorite was Inspiration, which a few years back refocused on the education market, but is still very useful in that you can easily switch from a classic mind map presentation to an outline, which sometimes makes it easier to rearrange items and identify categories. It also facilitates a variety of other tree and branch type hierarchies.

Recently I've been intrigued with Personal Brain (http://www.thebrain.com/), which is highly dynamic and allows for very creative inter- and cross-relationships. It's also perhaps the most robust platform which supports very complex mapping and interconnectivity with Outlook to do lists and calendars (if you up for the "pay" version). I just use the freeby, which is plenty for my purposes.

On the Open Source end of the spectrum, the current "standard" is Free mind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page). There are Web-linking capabilities, although the overall interface is a little clunky.

Oops, of course the first question is what you want to do mindmapping. I use it for personal brainstorming, and have on occasion used it for group or team brainstorming and organizing. I tend to stick with text-based nodes, but nearly all the software I mentioned (as well as other Web-based tools like MindMeister) support graphic nodes.

Anyway, that's my brain dump for now. Let me know if you have specific questions or want advice on specific uses.

I've worked with Joomla, a content management system (which apparently is something of the wave of the future), and have friends who handle more complex back-end coding and programming for a very wide range of sites. Give me a holler (or the digital equivalent). It might be interesting to explore some possibilities.

Chris, if you're looking for someone closer to home, I live just north of the U-District and could certainly provide some guidance. Are you hosted on the Wordpress.com site or have you ventured into installing the software on your own Web host (which I've done, but don't necessarily recommend unless you like finicking around with it)?

So let me know. I'd be happy to at least help sort out options and functionality. There are some very creative ways of linking up your blog with other social networking functionalities.

Yup, in my experience working with a Tokyo-based client, YouSendIt is hard to beat. Completely takes the pressure off email accounts and avoids the security hassles of setting up an ftp site.

I got onto LinkedIn several years ago and nothing was happening for me--and then about a year ago a whole flock of former colleagues and friends from different career lifetimes began showing up--and it's become far more useful for me to get back in touch and reconnect. It also has a useful plugin for job hunting--when you go to a job posting, a sidebar pops up indicating who you know that works at the target company or knows folks who do. I've been surprised several times.

I got onto Facebook as the only and best way to keep in touch with my sons, now away at college--and then discovered a surprising collection of other colleagues and friends popping up as well--and a different cut from the folks I found on LinkedIn.

So I check in on both (as well as Biznik, Meet-Up and a new one called Blue Goose) maybe once or so a day. All have helped me "break the ice" on more active networking and worrying less about my ambivalence re: hard core marketing and selling.

I started out using SalesForce, which if your willing to dig around a little, has a free Personal Edition that still allows integration with Outlook, as well as basic contact and account management.

And once Outlook Business Contact Manager 2003 started flaking out on me after I got on VISTA (DANGER!!!!), I upped for the Group version, which is also available at a relatively small per-person fee (I think around $100/year) now instead of a flat minimum fee for up to five. SalesForce now integrates with GoogleAps and has a useful interface to GoogleAds as well, although I can't really vouch for how well this works yet--still exploring.

How about: Business Commons or Business Town Square

not noT nOT NOT "Business mall"

And I think we can all agree that "Business fleamarket," "Business yard sale," "Online business convention/exhibition and showroom" are not so much in the right direction either.

It's fun, it's practical, it's useful, and it's always THERE!