Following on from my previous post (rant) I tried out an new place the other day; Squidoo.
Not quite sure what the name is meant to say but the interface for folks like me wanting to publish content on the net was so much friendlier and straightforward compared to the awful Hub pages from the other day. In fact the whole feel of the site was far more my style (Be afraid, be very afraid!)
That said writing a new piece took me an inordinate amount of time as their layout was so different despite also being a web 2.0 framework site as well. Most annoying was that the interface seemed to dump any text I had input if I changed the layout at all. That may have been me not understanding their rules I guess, but even so...
Anyway I think that's decided. I'll certainly use Squidoo more often than Hub for future releases of whatever gems of wisdom I have go written down. Go check it out here, and as I said previously, if you have the time please leave me some feedback on the work. At least I recognise there is a great difference to being happy with what you have written and the work being actually Good! Only honest criticism will tell you that!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Two steps forward One back
So I had some advice to set up a couple of other types of site and have them link to my web site at www.backupcamerasystems.net and vice versa. Apparently that increases the traffic to them all so like a good chap I wrote up a couple of articles and set them up on first Scribd then on Hub pages. With a link or two in each to the main site.
So far so good you might think. I'm said to be a fair writer when I put my mind to it and I did my best to make the articles actually have real informational value rather than just be blatant traffic movers. But evidently Hub pages at least didn't agree.
From what I can tell my article there was so good it shot up the rankings very quickly. They score it from 1-100 with a score of 70+ being very good. Mine went in at 68.... This got some stuffed shirt to review it and slap a temporary ban on it as (Get this!) I had one too many link in it to my site where I can (as it is MINE) list products actual cost. That's something I can't really do on a third party site for legal reasons.
The article in question is over 1500 words long. MUCH longer than the average first submission, and i put in one link per 500 word section with pictures or their REQUIRED ad modules splitting it into three bite sized chunks. I thought one per average article was reasonable, guess I was wrong.
What burns me is that I can think of at least three or four Hubs my wife looked at the previous day that were blaten near word perfect rip offs of a fith one. And the crack editorial crew at Hubpages hasn't flagged them at all!
Sheesh I think I'll post something there so off the previous topic as to REALLY confuse the so called editors there. The must think they've pidgeonholed me and are patting themselves on the back for being so eagle eyed... Gah!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Its all about Communication
I get so frustrated sometimes that folks who are supposedly "Teachers" seem to leave out critical points in the lesson in an attempt to make their presentations and Videos as "Slick" as possible.
I was watching one today and the lass doing it was virtually whispering all the way through forcing me to crank the volume up to the max on the speakers (Mistake #1) I am sure the training vid could have been re-edited with more gain on it before taking it to the masses eh!
Next she shot through her bullet points as if they were real bullets spitting the info out almost faster than I could follow it, never a good move when your trying to communicate.
But the peice de resistance had to be when she demo'd setting up something on a web site (which was the purpose of the Vid). She took me through the log on OK then got to the point where we were to paste in our pre prepared text and...
..at that late stage mentioned the site really wanted us to add in some Pictures to illustrate our subject matter, and she had a really great site where they could be found!
Well point one if we were supposed to add pics to our original document , why for gods sake not mention it when we were asked to prepare the text in the first place! But the crowning glory of this textbook example of what NOT to do was the "Free Photo" site which rather than being free allowed you to accumulate your pics then ask you to "register" to down load them Read, get spam for ever on that email addy you use! Well I have "disposable" emails for just that purpose but after filling out the tedious little form I found it had dumped all my selections that I had made in accordance with the "Training" ...... (Steams quietly in the corner)
When I started this post I was fresh from the battle and was going to wax eloquent on all the other shortcomings of the Video lesson, but happily real life intervened and I had to get away from the PC. Suffice to say I shall learn the lesson of today's exercise.
Communicate the whole task clearly and in order first, without skipping stages just because there second nature to you!
As I have started a couple of web projects (with another two in formation stage) this is actually quite a good thing to learn. Hopefully I can do better in communicating on my current subject to my readers/audience as |I review car accessories - specifically Backing up camera systems for the site I started work on a few days ago.
I was watching one today and the lass doing it was virtually whispering all the way through forcing me to crank the volume up to the max on the speakers (Mistake #1) I am sure the training vid could have been re-edited with more gain on it before taking it to the masses eh!
Next she shot through her bullet points as if they were real bullets spitting the info out almost faster than I could follow it, never a good move when your trying to communicate.
But the peice de resistance had to be when she demo'd setting up something on a web site (which was the purpose of the Vid). She took me through the log on OK then got to the point where we were to paste in our pre prepared text and...
..at that late stage mentioned the site really wanted us to add in some Pictures to illustrate our subject matter, and she had a really great site where they could be found!
Well point one if we were supposed to add pics to our original document , why for gods sake not mention it when we were asked to prepare the text in the first place! But the crowning glory of this textbook example of what NOT to do was the "Free Photo" site which rather than being free allowed you to accumulate your pics then ask you to "register" to down load them Read, get spam for ever on that email addy you use! Well I have "disposable" emails for just that purpose but after filling out the tedious little form I found it had dumped all my selections that I had made in accordance with the "Training" ...... (Steams quietly in the corner)
When I started this post I was fresh from the battle and was going to wax eloquent on all the other shortcomings of the Video lesson, but happily real life intervened and I had to get away from the PC. Suffice to say I shall learn the lesson of today's exercise.
Communicate the whole task clearly and in order first, without skipping stages just because there second nature to you!
As I have started a couple of web projects (with another two in formation stage) this is actually quite a good thing to learn. Hopefully I can do better in communicating on my current subject to my readers/audience as |I review car accessories - specifically Backing up camera systems for the site I started work on a few days ago.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Power of a Brand Name
It occurred to me today as I looked out of my office window that the UPS delivery truck pulling up outside was the exact image of the ones I was used to in the UK.
How did they do that? And perhaps more importantly -WHY? I mean why go to the expense of shipping or having made up the same vehicle on either side of the pond? The only explanation I could see was company Branding.
I remember when old Bernie turned up in his crumpled brown uniform (and occasionally crumpled brown van!) To collect our odd couriered packages when I was at Wilkinsons Tea & Coffee merchants. Sorry Bernie but it amused me that UPS had gone to all that effort to keep its image intact here and in the UK and then obviously couldn't spend the cash keeping the vans pristine over there....
No this is not gonna be another plug for my current crusade on Parking Sensors. This Blog is personal and eclectic! (Go look that up if ya need to!) Still you have to see the irony. Same vehicles - same dents!
How did they do that? And perhaps more importantly -WHY? I mean why go to the expense of shipping or having made up the same vehicle on either side of the pond? The only explanation I could see was company Branding.
I remember when old Bernie turned up in his crumpled brown uniform (and occasionally crumpled brown van!) To collect our odd couriered packages when I was at Wilkinsons Tea & Coffee merchants. Sorry Bernie but it amused me that UPS had gone to all that effort to keep its image intact here and in the UK and then obviously couldn't spend the cash keeping the vans pristine over there....
No this is not gonna be another plug for my current crusade on Parking Sensors. This Blog is personal and eclectic! (Go look that up if ya need to!) Still you have to see the irony. Same vehicles - same dents!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Crap on a cracker
My new born fansite www.backupcamerasystem.net is already on the first page of google (no 8) for its three constituent keywords IF
(ah say! IF!!)
they are searched in that order...
While this is exciting and all, its not the point of this post. No I was wondering if this is HOW those spam emails we all seem to get work. You know the ones proclaiming to get you on the first page of google or you money back etc etc.
I have never fallen prey to those emails myself (though I can think of one or two that have) But I can see now with a bit of luck and effort some shyster could get your name on a contract and get you to agree to pay them provided your site ranked on google#1 even briefly.
Now I hope that www.backupcamerasystem.net becomes in time a serious internet resource for those that have a need for its topic. I have a long way to go but for now I must say I am feeling quite "chuffed" as we say in england!
Oh well gloat breaks over BACK to work Gillie!
(ah say! IF!!)
they are searched in that order...
While this is exciting and all, its not the point of this post. No I was wondering if this is HOW those spam emails we all seem to get work. You know the ones proclaiming to get you on the first page of google or you money back etc etc.
I have never fallen prey to those emails myself (though I can think of one or two that have) But I can see now with a bit of luck and effort some shyster could get your name on a contract and get you to agree to pay them provided your site ranked on google#1 even briefly.
Now I hope that www.backupcamerasystem.net becomes in time a serious internet resource for those that have a need for its topic. I have a long way to go but for now I must say I am feeling quite "chuffed" as we say in england!
Oh well gloat breaks over BACK to work Gillie!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Ok lets put the serious stuff someplace!
So in addition to this more light hearted (& general purpose!) Blog I got asked a few questions, and given a few more suggestions how to set up a better page for my current interest in motoring accessories and in specific. Parking sensors & stuff.
Interestingly it brings me back to a place I thought I was gonna avoid. Word press.
You may recall I had a pretty bad experiance (as did mu wife) with Wordpress DIRECT (Note the slight difference) and had vowed to avoid them like the plague hereafter. So in a delicious irony of the internet a friend pointed out that Wordpress and WPdirect were Not the same thing. WPD apparently is a spin off group that takes all the geekyness out of setting up the FREE wordpress blogging template in return for you shooting them a few bucks.
A quick trip to Wordpress.ORG and I was happily reassured and downloading the current version of their set up file. And while I can't agree with their claim of a "Five minute install" I can happily report it didn't take me any more than 15 minutes - most of that being getting my web host to activate a feature I had not yet enabled.
So I have set up a new site for reviews of stuff at www.backupcamerasytem.net which I invite any passerby to take a look at. There I'll be freer to add my own code and stuff that Blogger here is not so good at.
Interestingly it brings me back to a place I thought I was gonna avoid. Word press.
You may recall I had a pretty bad experiance (as did mu wife) with Wordpress DIRECT (Note the slight difference) and had vowed to avoid them like the plague hereafter. So in a delicious irony of the internet a friend pointed out that Wordpress and WPdirect were Not the same thing. WPD apparently is a spin off group that takes all the geekyness out of setting up the FREE wordpress blogging template in return for you shooting them a few bucks.
A quick trip to Wordpress.ORG and I was happily reassured and downloading the current version of their set up file. And while I can't agree with their claim of a "Five minute install" I can happily report it didn't take me any more than 15 minutes - most of that being getting my web host to activate a feature I had not yet enabled.
So I have set up a new site for reviews of stuff at www.backupcamerasytem.net which I invite any passerby to take a look at. There I'll be freer to add my own code and stuff that Blogger here is not so good at.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Finally I can get on with my interests!
Now my web site can at least be edited (see previous post) I can go on and take a look at whats available here in the US for the hard working "White Van man" Do they even use that term here?
I dunno but some of you will recognize it I know!
Gonna head over to google reader now and see what the latest news feed are. When I have something and can check it out I'll let Y'all know (did I say that right?)
I dunno but some of you will recognize it I know!
Gonna head over to google reader now and see what the latest news feed are. When I have something and can check it out I'll let Y'all know (did I say that right?)
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