A clean slate. That’s roughly how “tabula rasa” translates into English, but Tabula Rosa is something different entirely. It is a WordPress theme developed by Leo Newball.

As its name implies, this theme takes on a very minimalist approach, but its reasonably simple-looking appearance is deceptive. That’s because it comes with several hidden features that are working behind the scenes.

For instance, while the main column with your main content will scroll as usual, the left sidebar and the header image remain fixed. This makes for a very elegant user experience, as does the “hovering” dropdown menus in the sidebar.

If you’re looking for a WordPress theme that puts a good focus on the basics while still giving some graceful highlights, Tabula Rosa might be for you. The download link is available on Leo Newball’s site, which happens to be running on that theme as well.

The world wide web is a treasure trove of information, giving you the opportunity to learn all sorts of new things each and every day. This week’s roundup encompasses that philosophy.

Darren Barefoot starts us off with the origin of the TIL acronym, which stands for “today I learned.” Through his journeys on Reddit, he has learned many things. For instance, Teddy Roosevelt was the one who introduced the forward pass in American football, Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre wrote the theme music to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and “snuck” is a relatively recent Americanism.

Raul Pacheco didn’t encounter all too many Asian people until he moved to Vancouver. Now, he’s more than ready to embrace Vancouver Asian Heritage Month. We also have to remember that the term “Asian” encompasses more than just Chinese and Japanese people! The month celebrates cultures from Mongolia, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Brunei, Indonesia, and more!

Sharon Hurley Hall has arrived and she’s ready to celebrate the revenge of the concise writer. She’s always taken the approach that if something can be said in fewer words without losing any meaning that it should be expressed in fewer words, but her critics and contemporaries haven’t always agreed. Keep it short and to the point… and that’s exactly the philosophy taken with most web writing!

Michael Martine reminds us of a very simple but poignant fact: free isn’t always free. This is particularly interesting when it comes to free blogging services. Tumblr can take you down at any time, WordPress.com can run ads on your site without your permission, and Blogger restricts your ability to expand it. So much for free, eh?

Catherine runs a blog called Her Bad Mother, so it only makes sense that she has a comment or two for Mother’s Day. So, what does she want for her special day? “All this and a bag of chips.” She agrees with most mothers that all they want is a day off, though she’s a fan of Mother’s Day brunches too. And flowers. And cards.

Last week, Waves Coffee House took out an advertisement in the local newspaper, offering customers the opportunity to try out an almond milk latte for free. There were no strings attached to this freebie, aside from the expiry date and the need for the customer to clip the coupon and bring it into a local location.

Presumably, the idea behind this promotion was to get people to try the new product: a latte made with almond milk, offering a non-dairy alternative to a soy latte. The idea was also to draw some customers away from competing coffee houses like Blenz and Bean Around the World. The question is, though, whether this promotion was an effective new of marketing dollars.

You have to realize that, in order to run such a marketing campaign, Waves had to first pay for the advertisement in the newspaper. It then had to absorb the cost involved with giving away the free product, including the cup, lid, espresso, almond milk, other ingredients, cashier’s time, and the barista’s time. This is in addition to the potential lost income from customers who may have otherwise paid for a drink during the promotional period.

Yes, this is absolutely one way to get new and existing customers through the door to try a new product. However, it is debatable whether the same amount of marketing muscle and budget could have been used differently to achieve the same goals. One location that I tried, as a side note, tried to suggestive sell me on biscotti and other snacks to accompany the free beverage. That’s one way to recoup some of the costs of this campaign.

Part of running a successful website as a business is looking for all the right opportunities. It seems simple enough to put up ad banners on the main page, but it’s also about monetizing the areas that may otherwise be forgotten or neglected. And you need to do this while still providing a positive user experience.

To that end, you might want to explore the Search Integrate WordPress plugin. In short, it allows you to get monetized search on your site without having to deal with any messy code. The search results page is oftentimes poorly monetized, so this plugin allows you to deliver sponsored results, along with the main content.

Further still, the plugin also acts as “a tool to learn about your users with detailed search analytics.” By getting a better understanding of what your audience wants to find, you gain a better ability to cater to these preferences. These can reveal some great content opportunities!

Search Integrate is available as a free download through the official site. If you want to see the plugin in action, go that site and use the search tool. Support and FAQs are on the site too.

Most businesses seem to understand the importance of having a presence on the web. Many of them understand why they should have a website and why it is important to have their basic contact information on that site. They might also engage in Facebook, Twitter, Google Local, Yelp, Urbanspon, and any number of other networks.

However, far too many restauranteurs don’t seem to understand how many web-savvy users decide to use the Internet. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to offer PDF versions of the menu through the site. This way, potential diners can download the menu for later viewing.

That said, it is equally important to have a non-PDF version of the menu available on the website. Some computers and browsers can sometimes have trouble opening PDF files hosted on the web. Further still, more and more people are surfing the web on their smartphones and tablets; viewing PDF files on these devices is far from ideal.

Yes, it may take a few more minutes of your time, but it is important to have a “regular” (non-PDF) version of the menu on every restaurant website. This can also help potential diners with copying and pasting the text as needed.

Just because Cisco Systems has decided to close its Flip Video division doesn’t mean that the products offered by that division are no longer any good. Cisco has promised that it will continue to support the Flip camcorder, even if it doesn’t manufacture any more or develop any new versions. It also means that, as a consumer, you might be able to score a pretty good deal on existing stock.

Such is the case with the Flip UltraHD pocket camcorder. This is exactly the camcorder that you’ve come to know, offering great 720p HD video resolution and a full 120 minutes (two hours) of storage capacity. As is signature with the Flip line, there is a built-in USB connector, easy-to-understand interface, and included FlipShare video editing and sharing software.

The greatest thing about the Flip line of pocket camcorders is their utter simplicity. Simply turn it on, point in the direction you want to shoot, and hit the big red button. Even technophobes can record life’s precious moments, both personal and professional. If you need a cheap and effective way to get your business on YouTube, a Flip camcorder can be a great investment.

Over on Amazon, they have the 120-minute Flip UltraHD on sale for $129. That’s a $100 savings over the regular price of $229.99! If you would rather spend less money, the 60-minute model is otherwise identical and is currently selling for $99.99, which is $60 off the regular price of $159.99.