Stamp Column Archives

Glassine Surfer August 2003

Collecting Kashmir is a notable philatelic website, and one that deserves our compliments to the webmaster. Enjoy the site. Make yourself comfortable. Bookmark it, and tell your friends. ("word of mouth" again)

Collecting Kashmir
http://www.kashmirstamps.ca

Jim's scanned his whole US stamp album and put it online. He learned as he went, tweaking and refining along the way. As of this writing, there were 603 pages and thousands of stamp images online and organized just like a stamp album.

It's a massive and somewhat unique website, nicely handled. The album's laid out chronologically into six volumes, with each divided among the various issues. Each issue page leads to large scan of the album page, and enlargements of each stamp pops up with a click. (Hint: if you have a pop-up killer, turn it off while visiting Jim.)

On the front page Jim answers the question, "Why am I doing this?" by saying that the site is his exhibit, and it's an inspirational one at that too. Above all else, it's really a treat, and perhaps you'll be like me, and start turning the pages of Jim's album just to see the stamps. For after all, that's why we collect, isn't it. Just for the stamps.

Jim's Stamp Album
http://album.dweeb.org

The Lakeshore Stamp Club up in Montreal, Quebec, invites you to drop in to their website to get acquainted. Lakeshore is an active group and hosted the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada's annual royal exhibition in 2001. If you're looking to make a connection with our northern neighbors the club might be a good place to start. The site is available in English and en français, and both versions contain all the club organization specifics, along with local show dates.

Lakeshore Stamp Club
http://www.geocities.com/lakeshorestampclub/

Meanwhile, the American Society for Philatelic Pages and Panels (ASPPP) website continues to grow with some good introductory material about this speciality, as well as with some more detailed topics for the connoisseur. Along with a thorough look at the the who's, what's, when's, why's, and how's of the ASPPP, this is the best source on the Web.

American Society for Philatelic Pages and Panels (ASPPP)
http://www.asppp.org/

The United Arab Emirates Post Portal is a curious bird, but one you may find interesting, if not for its quirky setup, then for its cursory information about the UAE postal system. The Emirates are known philatelically for sand dunes, but are seven semi-independent oil principalities on the Persian Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman.

United Arab Emirates
http://www.emiratespost.com/

Webmasters may want to check the site's webpage source code for some amusement.

Web Watch

Generally, I find that nominations are based on talent, and awards based on popularity, so it's good to see that when the Webby Awards were announced that all the nominees were given suitable Web space.

The Webbies are year-long evaluations and ratings by panels of Web pros that wind up with both Webbies and People's Voice Awards being handed out among the nominees. This is the seventh year that these prizes have been bestowed.

In news, Google and the BBC won, and in sports it was Espn.com. Google got its share of techy kudoses, along with NASA, amazon.com, PayPal, and eBay, but niche sites also got their share of heavy metal trophies.

Take a look at the Webbies for inspiration. It's a good place to see what the movers and shakers are up to without worrying about running into predatory practices.

Webby Awards
http://www.webbyawards.com/main/webby_awards/nominees.html

"WWW" is supposed to mean the "World Wide Web," but we know that it's really the Wild, Wild West" out there. Surfing can be like a walk down the middle of Dodge City at high noon. There are viruses in the saloon window, spam behind the wagon, hijacking software disguised as a stumblebum, and scumware waiting around the corner. So, before you go out today load up, strap 'em on, and pull your Stetson down.