http://www.pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=67610&Itemid=9
http://www.semgorilla.com/
http://www.randyzlobec.com/
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Keeping it straight
A problem I quickly encountered was that I was accumulating information far faster than I could digest it. I began bookmarking webpages and saving documents as fast as I could, but soon my bookmark list was to the bottom of my screen and my desktop was covered with docs and PDFs. The sheer volume of things to read actually discouraged me from reading any of it, as if it was the junk pile in my garage. Once I started shoving links and documents into folders like so many virtual broom closets, I realized it was time to get organized. I was already losing the battle to keep my regular documents in good order, so I started with my file organization first. Plenty of good stuff out there, but I settled on Directory Opus 9 for Windows which is not free, but offered all the features I was looking for and a 60-day trial. I will post some more thoughts about it after I have used it for a bit.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Email is good, mmmkay?
One of the mightiest of all Search Engine Gurus is Bruce Clay, who wrote this timeless piece about the wonderful virtues of emailing folks back in 2006.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Craigslist Postings
Posted my first batch of Craigslist ads. Bit of a learning process, there, and the user-driven nature of Craigslist means that, while helpful information is available, it is not particularly easy to locate.
First thing you should know is that all Craigslist ads are policed by other users. If someone believes your ad violates any of Craigslist's rules, that person "flags" the ad and, once a certain amount of "flags" is reached (that number apparently varies from region to region and is not made publicly available), the post is automatically removed. You are informed via email that your post was removed, but are not given any details as to the reason. This may sound harsh, but it is likely that Craigslist themselves doesn't even know why your ad received so many flags, they simply know that the ad caused X number of other users to think it was a violation. You are directed to the forums, where you can post the text of your ad and get the community's opinion as to what your violations were.
Should you choose to visit these forums, you will find pages filled with people ranting and raving about the injustice perpetrated upon them. I observed one fellow post dozens of defenses of his ad, accusing the people in the forums of destroying his business and whatnot. His anger was misplaced and his efforts a waste. While one of the denizens of the forum might be one of the users who flagged his ad, it is unlikely. His efforts would have been more productive simply reposting the original ads.
The chief reason for removal is apparently having your ad being designated as spam. The definition of spam is fairly broad, and could conceivably be applied to every ad on Craigslist. Alot of it is pure chance. I have had one ad flagged and removed in a couple hours, reposted it and never had another flag on it. I suspect there are a number of busybodies who exercise the flag power to compensate for their impotence in other arenas. Getting tagged by these busybodies is largely a matter of bad luck via your ad popping up on their radar when it might have slipped through another minute later.
My first few ads were taken down in fairly short order in about half the cities I posted in. I had used identical language and posted in close proximity to one another. After scanning the forums I deduced that multiple identical ads were a sure way to raise the ire of the busybodies. So I began staggering the ads and varying the language slightly. I would post one every 12-24 hours instead of a bunch within minutes of each other. Lo and behold, my deletions all but disappeared. It still happens every now and again, but nothing like the 50-75% rate I was experiencing at first.
First thing you should know is that all Craigslist ads are policed by other users. If someone believes your ad violates any of Craigslist's rules, that person "flags" the ad and, once a certain amount of "flags" is reached (that number apparently varies from region to region and is not made publicly available), the post is automatically removed. You are informed via email that your post was removed, but are not given any details as to the reason. This may sound harsh, but it is likely that Craigslist themselves doesn't even know why your ad received so many flags, they simply know that the ad caused X number of other users to think it was a violation. You are directed to the forums, where you can post the text of your ad and get the community's opinion as to what your violations were.
Should you choose to visit these forums, you will find pages filled with people ranting and raving about the injustice perpetrated upon them. I observed one fellow post dozens of defenses of his ad, accusing the people in the forums of destroying his business and whatnot. His anger was misplaced and his efforts a waste. While one of the denizens of the forum might be one of the users who flagged his ad, it is unlikely. His efforts would have been more productive simply reposting the original ads.
The chief reason for removal is apparently having your ad being designated as spam. The definition of spam is fairly broad, and could conceivably be applied to every ad on Craigslist. Alot of it is pure chance. I have had one ad flagged and removed in a couple hours, reposted it and never had another flag on it. I suspect there are a number of busybodies who exercise the flag power to compensate for their impotence in other arenas. Getting tagged by these busybodies is largely a matter of bad luck via your ad popping up on their radar when it might have slipped through another minute later.
My first few ads were taken down in fairly short order in about half the cities I posted in. I had used identical language and posted in close proximity to one another. After scanning the forums I deduced that multiple identical ads were a sure way to raise the ire of the busybodies. So I began staggering the ads and varying the language slightly. I would post one every 12-24 hours instead of a bunch within minutes of each other. Lo and behold, my deletions all but disappeared. It still happens every now and again, but nothing like the 50-75% rate I was experiencing at first.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Google Analytics
So the first major step I took is to get Google Analytics added my company's site. Google Analytics adds a tiny tracking application to your site that captures visitor data such as where they are geographically, what led them to your site (direct traffic, search engine) and what type of behavior they exhibited while at your site. All of this data is available in a number of attractive reports.
Further Reading:
Google Analytics (Paperback) by by Mary E. Tyler and Jerri Ledford
Further Reading:
Google Analytics (Paperback) by by Mary E. Tyler and Jerri Ledford
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