Scott, the driving force, and my close cohort here at TechMiso, challenged me to write up a ‘hidden gems’ article covering my past efforts here on the site. I’ll be first to admit — my blogging is [far] off Scott’s lead lap. Even more so in recent months with pressing business and changes in family schedules.

I did however take a moment to dig up a few Miso nuggets here to (re)share for those who may have missed them -or- if you might have recently hopped on the TechMiso train.

Apple’s somber message at Macworld 2009-

TechMiso took a look through this year’s Macworld video footage and wondered if it was a sign of Apple’s continued skid off their stellar earnings. In the article “Macworld 2009 – Apple’s Subliminal Message“, we questioned whether Apple was having a rough time without Steve Jobs’ ingenuity and if their losses were being compounded by a bad economy. We also touched on how reserved this year’s Macworld presentations were — maybe painting a not-so rosy picture for Apple…

The cost of cheap DOD security clearances-

There’s a cost behind hiring cleared DOD IT specialists to fill sensitive defense positions. A cost naturally inflated by security clearances. We brought this to light in our TechMiso article titled, “Flaw In Defense Contracting Of Information Technology Staff“. We pointed to the potential for quick savings if a defense contractor hired not-so-qualified staff, but hired those who already held a clearance. Rather than bring on qualified staff and later pay to clear them. As an alternative to this poor practice, we suggested security clearances be granted at all times from inside the government; keeping the clearance process in-house so to speak. Defense contractors would in turn be hired strictly for their skill sets, and not because of their paperwork…

New York Times weighs down on their reporters-

Worried about their reputation more than the fairness in their reporters’ private lives, it appeared to us that New York Times slammed its staff with a nasty gag order back in mid-January 2009. We pointed out in “New York Times Issues Facebook Gag Order – Ethical Dilemma With Social Networking” that NYT Assistant Managing Editor, Craig Whitney, brought the hammer down on his editorial staff by telling them how not to maintain their personal Facebook profiles. And that they include no personal data that could be misconstrued as improper or have potential to reflect negatively on NYT. We looked at Craig’s guidance as more of a social crackdown. We questioned the benefits of such policy…

Really Simple Syndication, or better known as, RSS-

If you’re not using RSS, you should be. TechMiso laid it out back in February with “RSS – Your World Consolidated” that RSS is a web tool to be reckoned with. RSS gives you control of the flow for new information streaming second-by-second off web. Subscribe to hundreds or thousands of feeds with freedom to organize and access them in your own personal way. (We also slammed TechCrunch for having you believe that there’s some odd impending death looming for RSS — and that Twitter will step in as replace replacement.) RSS is still tops in getting your fix of web content. RSS affords quick single-point access to truckloads of web news…

Just when you think you ‘own’ your ‘own’ content-

Think again. Facebook cranked out new [but not unusual] ground rules for their users’ content in mid February 2009 and we covered their weighty move with some quick, but pointed TechMiso commentary in “Control Of Your Online Content – Think Again“. Facebook, like other online social networks, in some small-print way, own everything you upload to their servers. Their claims to ownership of your data aren’t limited to just your pics of last weekend’s frat party or your favorite stray cat, but every text message or private email you type across their network becomes, theirs…

Budget your blog content-

Are your ideas for blog stories bleeding into each other. Are your planned blogging articles rampant and overflowing? Or do you just not have enough ideas for content? Well late last February we ran commentary on something called an ‘editorial budget.’ “Editorial-style ‘Story Budget’ For Blogging” uncovered a nifty blogging workflow tool used commonly in news reporting organizations for concise control over programming editorial content. A little more than what the average blogger may need, but that’s exactly why we dumbed the idea down in this piece…

Why smartphones rock your world-

We pegged smartphones as the ‘only’ cell phone to have in this modern day society. In our early March 2009 article, “Smartphones Enrich Your Life“, we posited the idea that if you’re still living life with a simple handset [that does little more than text messaging and a limited amount of cellphone-formatted web browsing], then it is surely your time for an upgrade to a smartphone. Grab this Miso article and get a handle on why smartphones are the only cell phone option…

Add this light sprinkle of 7 gems to the 25 gems published earlier by Scott and you’re ready for an all-time delicious bowl of TechMiso. Enjoy!