Did I already mention how much I love Processing? Because I really, really love Processing.

Here’s my latest project, which was created using this tutorial. Watch the objects for a bit and you’ll notice that their speed remains constant. If this project were created in Flash using Actionscript, everything would slow down over time and eventually move like sludge.

I’ve long been interested in the use of code to create art. The idea that code could build images that are beautiful or visually striking fascinates me. That’s why Recordnet.com/Fireworks remains the project I’ve most enjoyed working on in my year of so as a Web content producer. It’s pretty, and the idea for it came in part from an art project: Plug-in Media’s “Pyro(technics) to the People.”

But I’ve also realized Recordnet.com/Fireworks has a glitch stemming from the fact that it was created in Flash using Actionscript 3.0. It’s intense – both graphically and in code (300 lines or so) – and as a result the display can quickly slow down. The user needs to repeatedly re-load the page in his or her browser to get the full effect.

Honestly, though, the glitch didn’t bother me that much. I’m still very proud of that project. At the same time, however, I thought it’d be great to find a language or programming system that will allow me to make Recordnet.com/Fireworks faster this July 4.

Social media can get pretty complicated. I have a relatively small social media presence – the links/icons in the sidebar at left, plus Flickr – but at times I’ve forgotten how each of my pages or sites are connected.

Take, for example, the video blog below, which I uploaded to Youtube yesterday and intended to post here today. A few hours after the video was on Youtube I received a message from my sister on Facebook saying she had watched it. I had forgotten that I had a feed from Youtube to Facebook, and it probably cost ianhillmedia.com a few pageviews.

It’s something I’ll keep in mind in the future. Perhaps I need to create a flowchart mapping out the connections between my social media pages.

Over the past few months I’ve been intrigued by the growing popularity of the free blogging platform tumblr. In some ways – OK, many ways – it resembles Blogger.com; tumblr and Blogger both bring together blogging and social networking in a site that is incredibly easy to personalize and use. They allow users to modify and create their own page themes while also following their friends and keeping up with their blog posts.

Blogger and tumblr differ, however, in their presentation and how they are being used. Unlike Blogger, where the text is the star, Tumblr focuses on visuals and design. Many tumblr templates feature dominant, chunky fonts on simple yet eye-pleasing backgrounds – like American Apparel ads without the nudity.

Tumblr users seem to have picked up on this idea and are focusing on visuals on the site. Take, for example, former 209Viber and local musician Dan Faughnder’s tumblr page, which has a large image in every post.