Friday, June 8th, 2007
Paul sent me an email this morning about the Math Function he added to his Wiki. Here is an entry that shows the result.
Paul did some lengthy and frustrating research trying to get this thing straight. He says, “It is called mimetex, and if you have a shared server, it may be the only way you can use a TeX markup to show your math formulas. Your server needs to be able to run a CGI script, and you need to create a cgi-bin/ director in the root of your webpage. All the installation directions are located here. There is also a wordpress plugin, which is really cool. You can find the user’s manual here.”
Well, thank you Paul. See, I told you he was a good researcher.
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Sunday, May 20th, 2007
I found something pretty interesting this morning while reading my latest issue of “Revenue Magazine.” I really don’t have too much to say about it, besides that it’s an interesting idea.
Like.com has launched a new type of search…a search based on images. Well, they call it “Visual Search.” Basically, their techology recognizes image features and allows you to drill down on those features to find exactly what you are looking for. Probably good for those of us who sometimes can’t put things into words.
I gave it a try on a pair of sneakers on their homepage. I refined my search on a design on the side of the sneakers. The results were mixed…I was offered various textures and designs, but nothing exactly like the design I was looking for. I suppose they have some work to do, but I offer them the best of luck.
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Tuesday, October 24th, 2006
I just came across this excellent blog post and thought it would be a good idea to share with fellow website owners and “Webmasters.” You know, I still get laughed at when I use that term? I guess people don’t get the fact that I didn’t make it up.
Anyway, the post is called “How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultimate Guide.” Give it a browse and see if you can’t get some more traffic to your site!
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Saturday, October 7th, 2006
I woke up this morning and looked at my thumb. Strangest thing…it was green. Oh well, I didn’t have much choice but to go outside and do some gardening.
I have had a project on the back burner for a while. The people who owned this house before us decided to plant some Bearded Iris right next to a Peach Tree. This isn’t the best spot for Iris to grow, because it gets mixed in with the grass and gets mowed over a lot (Who me?). So I decided to dig them up for transplant.
I had no idea how deep the bulbs were. Funny thing…I just assumed they were bulbs. I started scratching away the dirt on top of the Iris closest to the Peach Tree. I kept hitting these weird “roots” very close to the surface. I thought they were the Peach Tree roots. Whatever…I went in a grabbed a shovel and started digging all around the Iris patch. Guess what I found?
Up came the weirdest looking root-like beasts. I shook off all the dirt and went inside to do a little research on the internet about what the heck I was looking at. I found this good site that tells all about how to plant Iris. Then I found another good site that focused on how to divide Iris. Apparently, you are supposed to do this every few years so they maintain their beautiful bloom. I pulled all the tangled roots apart and cut where I was supposed to. These “roots” are actually called “rhizomes.” The weirdness of them still makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
After dividing all of the rhizomes, I had about 30 or so individual plants. I really hadn’t thought about where to put them. I decided that a little more green in the front garden would be a nice touch. I have a strange feeling that this front garden is going to be nuts come Spring. These Iris should be kept towards the rear of the garden because they get quite tall.
It’s pretty simple to replant these Iris. Basically, just follow the few rules that can be found here. I dug shallow holes spread evenly throughout the rear of the garden, one at a time. I wrapped the roots around my finger, because some of them are over 18 inches long. Then, I just placed them in the holes, near the surface and covered them up.
Of course, again, I sprayed deer repellant all over them so I wouldn’t witness a family of deer running down the road with my Iris hanging out of their mouths. We’ll see what happens in the Spring!
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Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
This post may seem a little fragmented towards the beginning, but keep reading. It will all come together…trust me.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone about the internet and about half way through, you noticed them mentioning websites and services they just assumed you knew about? I have. It’s a real personality trait for these people. I am not talking about industry people talking about industry things to other industry people. Obviously those people know what they are talking about, even if we don’t. I am talking about those types who blow the smallest little service out of proportion and think the world should know what the heck is going on. I remember I was talking to someone (artist) once about art. He needed some help with designing a website. He says, “There is a HUGE buzz about me on the internet!” I’m like, “Who are you again?” I think he was insinuating that we all hang out in art chat rooms or something.
Now, if you are talking to someone and they mention that they just purchased the best little treasure on EBay and you don’t know what that means, you really need to see a specialist. Well, maybe they do…they really should do their shopping on WebClassifieds.US. I wonder how the execs over at EBay feel knowing that WebClassifieds.US is creeping up on them. (hehe)
Let me break in here for a second – I want to mention one of my favorite things about the internet…and that is creativity. What if the internet was never created? Can you imagine some of the world’s most creative people sitting at cubicles selling buttons instead of devising and creating fascinating solutions to problems and wonderful websites that you never even thought you needed. I mean it. There are things today that just boggle my mind. They do things that I never thought could be done or ever thought should be done. It’s like this amazing extra slice of the world was born and finally gave habitat to all those people who never truly had a home. Now that is deep folks. In just a few years, (relatively speaking) the internet has woven its way into so many people’s lives…and many people don’t even know it. I for one, make a living off it. Ten years ago, I would’ve laughed at that idea. Me, at a computer? Pleeeeaase…I was too busy taking engines out of cars.
Ok, here it is. The point of this chatter is all about two up-and-comers that you may hear about in conversation. After reading this post, you will know a little about them. I really get excited when a team gets together to bring us another nifty tool.
The first website is StumbleUpon.com. I literally stumbled upon this one. I was in Paul’s office yesterday and he was checking his blog’s stats. He was like, “Whoa, 65 visitor from StumbleUpon since this morning!” My ears perked up. I thought that if he got 65 new visitors, I could get at least 32.5. I went back to my desk to investigate.
Apparently, StumbleUpon.com works like this: Someone visits their website and signs up for an account. Then, they download their toolbar (which works with other toolbars, not instead of). When set up, they can push the “Stumble!” button on their new toolbar and their browser shows a random website. Not all that new of an idea. What is pretty cool is that you can rate any site out there and give it a review with the toolbar. Also, there is a networking element to it as well. You can recruit “friends” and join “networks.” Kind of like MySpace. The big benefit of the whole thing is that, once a site is reviewed by someone and StumbleUpon discovers the site, StumbleUpon drives traffic to that site like mad. People everywhere are now pushing that “Stumble!” button visiting random websites. This isn’t targeted traffic, but traffic nonetheless. You figure out what to do with it.
The second website is FeedBurner.com. If you have a website that has a RSS or any other type of data feed, you can sign up to push your feed to FeedBurner. Once they have it, you use their feed service instead of your own. They make it really easy for people (who are looking for site content) to grab your content and use it on their own websites. Take a look at the right column of this blog. This is good for you because again, this drives traffic to your website. Once again, it is up to you to find something to do with this traffic. If you have no model, you might not want all of these visitors because it may just increase your web hosting bill. The cool feature of FeedBurner is that they offer stats on who is using your feed.
Having the personality I was born with, I get excited, yet frustrated when I come across these types of great sites running with awesome ideas. I wonder why I’m not on their team…but then I get sucked back down to earth and am reminded that I have my hands full with my own boiling cluster of websites.
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Saturday, September 23rd, 2006
I just read a great article stating that in March of 2005…at that point in time…there were 40,000 – 50,000 new blogs created PER DAY. Ok, that’s a lot of blogs. Granted, most of these blogs are set up, posted to a few times and then fall into the abyss. This whole revelation got me thinking about what we are supposed to be writing in these things.
As you may have noticed, I like to write. I really enjoy the fact that I can have an experience, share that experience and maybe, just maybe, someone out there will get a kick out of something I wrote. People look at blogs for so many reasons, but I think I like it most when I bring back a memory of something someone experienced along the way. My Block Island post is a good example. With as much fun as I am having, there is still that nagging feeling like I am doing something wrong. I think that someone is going to read my posts and see that I am not following the “Proper” format or, I don’t know, screwing something up. I’m not the most experienced blogger out there. Some blogs I have read have archives back to 2000. I spoke with Paul the other day about this and he said that what I am doing is fine and that I should just write what comes to mind. I seem to remember, though, him mentioning a while ago, something about “Blog Etiquette,” which is something like “Netiquette.” (Who makes up these words?) I trusted him, but verified through a search. He was right and here is what I found:
“It seems like every human on the planet now has a blog. As with any other public display, there is an etiquette to having a blog that is appreciated.
The first thing to remember is that this is going to be public knowledge – not just today, but for the rest of your life. There are enough scanners and archivers and printers out there that even if you take down words after one day, those words can be part of your permanent record. Things that you feel are really nifty to say at age 16 can be incredibly damaging to your professional career when you’re 22 and looking for a job.
This isn’t a matter of censorship – it’s a matter of giving mature thought to each thing you publish. You are publishing to a world audience. The world will, in fact, judge you, and not always fairly. It’s a fact of life that we all have to accept. Be prepared for the consequences – and accept the responsibility – for each thing you choose to publish.
This leads into a second point. Always be accurate. Lies have a way of always being discovered. A blog’s reputation – and indeed a person’s reputation – is built on how well it can be trusted. If one lie is found in past blogs, it can destroy all the work you’ve put into blogs since then. We can find numerous examples of this happening in other media situations.
Use a spell checker on your content. Yes, the web is casual – but if people have trouble reading your content, they won’t come back even if it’s interesting. The easier you can make your content for people to read, the more readers you will have. Every person has a different tolerance for spelling problems. You might not mind certain errors, but laugh out loud when you see others. You need to consider that some might consider your own errors in the same manner.
Finally, be yourself. Speak with your own voice. Write about how you feel about the issues. There are plenty of “straight news sites” out there. There is only one you, coming from your own background and history. Share your insight and feelings on the topics you love. That will draw in people who appreciate that view and who want to hear more.”
I think that was very well written and verifies what Paul said. We all want original and insightful content for people to enjoy. There seems to be some limitations on what I can write about though. I have to admit, I don’t know if I like having to think so hard about everything I put here. What if I am in a bad mood on a certain day and my way of venting is to write hard and fast and what if I don’t necessarily want to cross my Ts and dot all my Is? Is that going to follow me around my whole life? Oh man, if it does, someone might actually find out that I am…HUMAN and not some blog writing robot. Boy, I wonder what my future employer will have to say when they find that out. But wait…what if someone actually judges me? What will happen then? Perhaps the very non-judgemental world we live in will spin out of orbit.
My advice: go ahead and write about what you want to write about and stop worrying about all the rules stiff people make up for us. Just be prepared to be called on it someday. Have a good comeback line. The most entertaining stuff out there is non-rehearsed and you know we all love a good scandal. I’m not sure Einstein cared too much about what his neighbor though of him.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me give you my opinion. I think this is the best blog out there. I think it should win awards and be praised on the evening news. After doing an extensive search, I have not found any others in the world that compare. With that said, I am now giving the opportunity for all you, YES all of you, to steal what I write about. You may have noticed some new buttons hanging out in the right column all about RSS and feeds and news and all that. Those are for you. Just click the one that relates best to you and go have a ball. You really have to like my golden nuggets of wisdom though, or else…well, that’s just silly.
I am sure this post had a point somewhere. I know I had one when I started. Oh well, I guess this is what happens when I am given too many toys to play with. Till next time…
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Thursday, September 14th, 2006
This post may ruffle some feathers. I will try to keep it short.
I had a conversation with a friend this morning about SEO. I started thinking. Now, you may not know, but one of my favorite pastimes is managing my websites (of which I mentioned in an earlier post). There are many parts to managing these sites…customer service, updates and upgrades, new features and very importantly, SEO.
Basically, SEO is adjusting of website code and content so it consistently appears on the early pages of search results for strong search terms. The key words here are consistently, early and strong search terms. I could go on for hours, but I won’t. Bob has a great post here about the ins and the outs of this topic.
Anyway, much focus has been put on Google PageRank over the years. I read a lot about this on forum after forum and watch as people cheer or sulk every time Google adjusts their algorithm. The minute they see their website’s PageRank bounce around during a Google update, they freak out and start tearing things apart and asking for all sorts of advice. Granted, a lot of people making these posts are brand new to this stuff and haven’t realized yet that Google PageRank is just not that important. That’s right…it’s just not that important. I know this for a fact. My years of experience have taught me a few things. What is important is your rankings in the search results, which are based on…well, read Bob’s post above. If you are into ecommerce, these rankings affect your income.
So, here is a question: With your own website, have you seen a relationship between your website’s rankings and your Google PageRank?
This really has nothing to do with this morning’s conversation. We actually were talking about conversion. That is, getting people to sign up, spend money or do the thing you want them to do after they arrive at your website. We’ll talk about this later.
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