Welcome to BenWoods.com

Welcome to BenWoods.com, the website for author, columnist and web developer Ben Woods. This site is home to my past and current attempts at combining humor and technology into a worthwhile read. If you have anything to add, or you just want to say hello, please use the contact form or email

Latest News

I'm a robot!

February 02, 2010 - OK, technically speaking, I am a human being. But my friend, co-worker and "Corporate Ties" cover designer, Sean O'Connor, has constructed a robot in my likeness.

  All right, I guess "constructed" isn't the right word, as he hasn't built the robot (at least, not yet), but he has created a fair number of robot friends at the appropriately named site, my robot friends. Most of the mechanical inventions are based on O'Connor's friends, but he occasionally throws in a Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln and so forth.

European countries: stop using IE

January 19, 2010 - When entire countries decide that your browser is a security risk, that's probably not good news for your company. That's the case with Microsoft and Internet Explorer, as French and German governments are recommending their people to use safer alternatives to IE.

Book review: "Creative Firing" by Chester Burger

January 17, 2010 - In the current state of the U.S. economy, it's pretty difficult to avoid being laid off, fired or, for whatever reason, not having a job for a certain period of time. True, sometimes the employee is entirely to blame for his/her predicament, but more often than that, a company is trying to consolidate, move offices or, in general, save money against the bottom line. Many times, those doing the actual firing and layoffs have to make decisions they would prefer to ignore, yet they have no choice.

  Enter Chester Burger's book "Creative Firing: Why Management Firings Happen - and How to Reduce Them." This book runs through the gamut of upper management decisions and how to maintain some control and honor throughout the endeavor. I've read many a business book, and even though this book was published in 1972, nearly every principle still applies.

Literary agent list (updated 10/16/10)

January 16, 2010 - As I attempt to find an agency to pitch my new book, I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the agents I have contacted. At this stage, I've run into issues where companies have listed communication methods, but they don't seem to follow through. I hope that my list will save the time of others who are attempting to find representation.

Check out the NBA lowlights, stay for 'Livin' Large'

January 07, 2010 - During the past couple of days, I've been taking mini-breaks to read Basketbawful, a blog about the worst of the worst in the NBA. If you know me, you're probably wondering why I would be reading this, considering that I follow college basketball exclusively, not the NBA, the NBA development league, European leagues, Upward basketball, etc. If you don't know me, I'm not sure how you ended up on this site, but feel free to look around and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING.

  The site author has a running story called "Livin' Large," which, for all intensive purposes, is a coming-of-age story set a few dorm rooms down from where my college experience began. It's a great story, and I will admit that maybe I think it's so great because it's easy for me to relate. Nevertheless, I'd recommend that you check it out.

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The Developers Book

Literary agent list (updated 10/16/10)

January 16, 2010 - As I attempt to find an agency to pitch my new book, I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the agents I have contacted. At this stage, I've run into issues where companies have listed communication methods, but they don't seem to follow through. I hope that my list will save the time of others who are attempting to find representation.
Corporate Ties

I'm a robot!

February 02, 2010 - OK, technically speaking, I am a human being. But my friend, co-worker and "Corporate Ties" cover designer, Sean O'Connor, has constructed a robot in my likeness.

  All right, I guess "constructed" isn't the right word, as he hasn't built the robot (at least, not yet), but he has created a fair number of robot friends at the appropriately named site, my robot friends. Most of the mechanical inventions are based on O'Connor's friends, but he occasionally throws in a Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln and so forth.

Random Articles

See you later, SiteFinder

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Time to work on your decision

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Watch out for the free movie tickets scam

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Hello book industry ... are you concerned with the environment?

July 28, 2008 - This is probably one of the strangest articles I've ever written, because it pertains to me communicating with a bunch of people and finding out hardly any information. The bad part, however, is the l ...

RSS feed for benwoods.com now available

May 29, 2006 - I finally have an RSS feed for my site available. In the near future, you will notice an RSS button just below the navigation on benwoods.com as well as thedevelopersbook.com for The Developers ...