Wednesday Website of the Week: ChanceToGive.org

(In keeping with the spirit of the holidays we're dedicating our weekly WWW to great sites/causes for the month of December.)

During this time of year, we often think about the great organizations who are helping others and causes across the country. But it can be a little overwhelming to research just which groups are worthy of your donation, and/or how to ensure the most benefit comes from your kindness.

ChanceToGive.org , does just that. It organizes multiple non-profit organizations by area of interest (animals, environment, etc.), gives you a brief synopsis of what each group does simply by mousing over the name. Then you can select which groups you would like to help. This means you can quickly and easily make a donation of say $40, but split it between four groups that interest you the most. All from one site, with one donation. Heck, you don't even have to go their site if you have an iPhone: Yes, there's an app for that.

Wednesday Website of the Week: kiva.org

(In keeping with the spirit of the holidays we're dedicating our weekly WWW to great sites/causes for the month of December.)

Did you ever need to borrow 25 bucks? Now imagine that borrowing that money meant life or death for your business, or maybe even your way of life. Kiva.org is a microloan organization, that bundles small loans from multiple individuals into slightly larger loans for entrepreneurs in developing nations. This is a loan though, not a handout, so once the loan is repaid (generally 9-12 months) the money you contributed goes back into your kiva account where you can withdraw it, or fund another small business.

We've started a tradition of giving a kiva gift certificate to a family member at the holidays so they can participate and help others while enjoying everything we're thankful for.

Wednesday Website of the Week: GirlsinTech.net

Across the tech landscape, women are under-represented, including here at TDL (we're working on it.. stay tuned). One site does a great job of highlighting women in all kinds of roles, from CEO-ing tech firms, to the nitty-gritty of programming. GirlsinTech.net  The site also sponsors the Catalyst Conference: intended to "catalyze the career development of women working in tech."

Find out more about the women in tech at all levels at GirlsinTech.net. 

Wednesday Website of the Week: greyscalegorilla.com

Some sites out there are so good, you want to keep them to yourself, especially when they can give you an edge in your professional life. For those who work with Photoshop, Aperture, After Effects, or Motion for a living, greyscalegorilla.com is one of those sites. The site, founded Chicago motion designer / photographer Nick Campbell mixes tutorials and tips with demo reels and some great contests, designed to get pros to add to their reels while sharing their craft with other designers and photographers. And of course we're suckers for the extensive use of video, along with practical and inspiring projects.

Even if you just have a passing interest in these types of apps, be sure to check out greyscalegorilla.com

Wednesday Website of the Week: textfiles.com

It's hard to believe, but there was a time before YouTube, and even before Wikipedia. It was a time in which knowledge, humor, and news online was delivered in a much simpler (if hard on the eyes) way: via textfiles. If you've always used a Mac, you might not have had that .tvt extension emblazoned on your retinas the same way our PC brethren did, but you would've still run into textfiles plenty of times. Textfiles.com is a wonderful repository of BBS postings, software manuals, and just about anything else ever sent as a textfile. This one, for example, teaches you "How To Hook an Apple IIgs up to a Linux Machine via a Dedicated Serial Line." Those were the days!

From the main index, you can also fins a whole subheading of Apple II documents. (Also worth noting you can turn off the period-accurate green on black display for black text on white, from the bottom of the screen.) It was a time when each connection to the local BBS or bulletin board system, could hold unknown treasures. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and you never knew if the needle would be any good once you found it. It was also a great way to happily stumble upon something unintended, compared to the pinpoint accuracy of today's search engines. I can't help but wonder if we've lost something along the way.