2013 Special: The Internet. Birthplace Of Creativity.

All the projects in the list below have already been mentioned by fellow bloggers. Since my doings here on RocketINK aren’t time-sensitive in any way and I did not link to some of the following projects when they hatched, I figured it would be nice to give those people and their projects a dedicated post.

My friends and friends friends make awesome things on the Internet. So here’s a very special linklist:¹

Gabe Weatherhead - The Collaborator

Gabe had a run this year. He released CriticMarkup which is a benefit for everyone who writes in Markdown and needs to collaborate.

In addition, Gabe amped up his podcasting game with two friends and aside from having a superb new podcast with Technical Difficulties, he now owns the throne for the most beautiful show notes.

Shawn Blanc - A Sweet Tooth For Apps

The Sweet Setup does exactly what it says in the title:

We recommend the best apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Shawn filled a niche in the vast land of reviews that exist for apps in the Internet and build a site which is dedicated to feature the best of the best. The recommendations are on point and in-depth.

What I like best about The Sweet Setup is that it’s build to be an evergreen. If in trouble or in doubt when trying to choose one of the 1 million plus apps, you better check his site before making rash decisions.

Besides the new website Shawn’s also released the multimedia Delight is in the Details which is all about creative people and their route from zero to a finished product. Check it out.

Brett Terpstra – The Scripting Hydra

Where to start with Brett? He released new add-ons and scripts almost on a weekly basis. Just check out his projects page to get a vague idea of what you can expect when you decide to follow his blog. If you download one of Brett’s projects it’s like taking of one head of a Hydra, you’ll find yourself downloading two more… it’s an endless cycle.

The thing that made every Markdown user happy this year was Brett’s Marked 2 which offers a versatile Markdown toolkit that no writer should pass on.

As if this weren’t enough, there are smaller - but not less usefull - releases for the Markdown community like GrabLinks, Bullseye and ∞ (Brett is probably uploading more useful goodies while I’m typing this).

Justin Lancy – The Travelling Gadgeteer

I came across Justin’s Code Library at Veritrope several years ago. It was the best resource for AppleScripts I’ve met so far. It’s still one of my favorite places to learn AppleScript, find inspiration or missing pieces to a puzzle.

The good news is that he’s transitioning the code library to a new home soon: keep Inspired Tools on your radar for 2014.

Justin’s also a gadget nerd and you can find his recommendations on Traveler Tech – Tools for Modern-Day Explorers soon.

Federico Viticci – The iOS Evangelist²

Federico needs no introduction. He started out in 2009 and now he’s a pillar of the iOS community. He published his first book “Writing On The iPad: Text Automation with Editorial” this year, helped promoting his girlfriends excellent icon set (Essence – Icons & Coffee) and now has a podcast I regularly enjoy to listen to with The Prompt.

Go Federico, go!

David Sparks – Building An iBooks Empire

David continued his Field Guides series in 2013 and the latest addition is the MacSparky Email Field Guide. Just head over to his side and I bet you’ll find something useful for yourself or someone you know.

Side note: The list isn’t in any specific order, but I had to put David all the way down here because I’m a “beleidigte Leberwurst” since he didn’t mention RocketINK in his second MacPower Users Keyboard Maestro podcast. PS: This stanza has to be read like this: ◕‿↼.