Just recently while scrolling through the blog of David Mihm (another Portland based web designer) I decided to look at his source code. David was using some AJAX code that I had never seen before and it seemed that he got it from the Google API. Now the Google API is a kind of repository of knowledge for programmers and web designers alike. Much of it has to do with how to create better applications and making the web much more interactive. Yay for Google.

What intrigued me about David’s use of the Google API was that he was pulling feed sources from other sites and services with his Google supplied AJAX code. Well in true web designer fashion I stole his code and learned how to manipulate it (eventually going through the API process with Google myself and getting my own feed code) and add it to my own site. In the end I pointed the AJAX code towards my RSS feed and there you have it, a ‘Recent Blog Posts’ in the footer section on becomeunleashed.com right next to my Twitter feed.

This handy little AJAX snippet not only will entice my viewers/potential-clients to read my blog, but it also (inadvertently) might cause them to click on the Google AdSense adds or the affiliate programs that I have set up. The only down-side that I can see is that the AJAX code does not validate with the W3. I like to keep all of my sites W3 friendly, however, I’m willing to give a little on this one.

So the benefit of code stealing is learning quickly, however you really should go through the process of finding how to do it yourself. Here’s to you David Mihm!

Tags: Portland Web Design