August 30, 2008

I’m feeling sick

My computer crashed on Friday afternoon. It’s taken me a little more than twenty-four hours to get things back up and running. I was back online briefly earlier today,then crashed again. I was stuck for a while on a DOS page for BIOS ROM chcecksum error - whatever that is. Then I found something called CHKDSK/F running - it deleted some index items, then I finally got a start screen, but one quite different from the norm. I left it open to see what would happen and Windows began re-installing itself. Do you know what that means? Everything I had saved on my computer is gone. I have no documents, no photos, no email, no email addresses, no bookmarks … everything is gone. I can re-intall the templates for my termite inspection reports, but the reports I’ve issued since my last full back-up (about a month ago) are gone. All of my writing is gone - I don’t think I ever backed up my personal stuff. Address lists and mailing labels, all of my BookCrossing labels and bookmarks - gone. Some reference letters I wrote for friends and former co-workers undergoing employment screening - those are gone, too. Looking at my blog in IE is all messed up, too - the text font is different and my left sidebar has dropped off. It looks fine in Firefox, so I know it’s my IE and not my blog that’s wonky, but somehow that doesn’t help much. I feel nauseous and lost and want to bang my head against the wall. If you know of something more productive I should be doing right now, I’d sure like to know what it is. I’m so befuddled I haven’t a clue where to start, except that I know I need to figure out how to reconfig email so I can at least get future mail. It will take forever to rebuild my address book and past experience tells me that some addresses will never appear in my inbox again, so I’ve lost those contacts. Maybe things will look less dismal to me when the sun comes up tomorrow, but right now - yeah, I’m feeling pretty sick.

Technorati Tags: computer crash, computer nightmares

August 24, 2008

The dragon is slain!

Remember this?

It’s been four long days hunched over my keyboard and I think I’ve developed a permanent dowager’s hump. Four days of stressing and staying up each night “just a little longer,” then finally falling asleep at my desk in the wee hours. Four days of downloading and running various AV software programs. Four days of a computer running so slowly that I was unable to do all of the things I usually do online. Today I announce … SUCCESS! The trojan is dead, and all of his nasty little companions with him!

My problems started Wednesday night when my CA Anti-Virus alerted me to an intruder. Only a Trojan virus, one of the more innocuous forms of malware, but this particual Trojan packs a surprise. The Pupur family of Trojan viruses don’t travel alone. When they come to visit they bring siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Several viruses install at once. The reason they’re so pernicious is this: each carries instructions to install the other. Your anti-virus program deletes the first intruder, but before it can get to the companions, they’ve re-installed the one that was already deleted. I was getting pop-up virus alerts every five to thirty seconds as a virus was deleted and then immediately reinstalled. I turned off my alerts in frustration, then went searching for a solution. Here’s the problem with CA: they couldn’t fix it. They were quick to tell me I had a problem, but were not able to get a step ahead of the reinstalls and stop them. After twenty-four or so frustrating hours of research I had enough of a handle on the thing to realize that CA was no longer my friend. What good is an anti-virus program if the only thing it can do is tell you that you’re infected?

I used to have Norton on my computer. It’s the gold standard of anti-virus programs, right? I ditched it in favor of CA a while back because Norton protected me so well that I couldn’t see things I wanted and needed to see - things on my blog like widgets in my sidebars and image maps in my posts. When CA failed me I didn’t want to go back to those problems, so I checked out McAfee. It looked good and came with recommendations from friends, always a plus with me. And if installing and running the program doesn’t delete viruses already present, McAfee offers a Virus Removal Service for only $89.00 - that’s a lot cheaper and a lot more convenient than unhooking your computer, carrying it to a local geek, being totally without service for a few days or a week, then paying a hefty bill. I downloaded the trial scan and set it to work. Over six hours later, McAfee was still scanning and hadn’t yet gone through a quarter of my content. What’s up with that? Meanwhile, a Twitter friend suggested that I try Trend Micro Housecall instead. Feeling like I had nothing to lose, I shut down the ongoing McAfee scan and downloaded the trial version of Trend Micro. It took a little over three hours to scan my computer, then removed all of the malware it found, including my Trojan guests and various adware/spyware intruders that CA had not detected and removed.

Happiness is a search that comes up empty! I searched for the Pupar virus and all the companions that accompanied it when it came for a visit. None of them are now present on my computer. Trend Micro sent them packing without the benefit of lovely parting gifts or even travel insurance. I can only hope that they don’t survive the trip to their next unwilling host! I probably don’t have to tell you I’ll be buying the full version of Trend Micro before my thirty day free trial expires. Your experiences may be different, but Trend Micro is what worked for me. I may be a non-geek, but I know a good thing when I find it!

Technorati Tags: anti-virus programs, computer virus, getting rid of trojan virus, trojan virus, virus

August 22, 2008

I’m creating a second empire

I registered a new domain yesterday. I’m really excited about this one because it represents a tangible foundation stone in some major changes that are building in my life. The new domain is a name domain - my real life name. I’ve operated my business under my own name for quite a few years now. I have some new business interests that will also be tied to my personal identity, so it makes sense to have a name website to serve client needs and to publicize my services to potential new clients. It’s also sound business to establish the new website in a way that will be totally unassociated with the skeet empire (you do know I’m an empire, right?) The people I do business with don’t need to see me with a mud mask on my face or know about my affinity for white cotton. Having two separate empires will allow me to keep sharing my personal life and interests here while maintaining a buffer zone between business and personal life over there. Towards that end, I am now shopping for new webhosting that will help me maintain those separate identities.

I won’t be diving in and hooking up to the first host that offers me a good rate this time. The new domain will stay parked until I’m sure I’ve found the right host for my professional website. While I love Blue Host, I’m not sure that Multiple Domain Hosting with a single host is the right way to go. I’m not in a huge hurry. The changes I’m anticipating will transpire with or without the new site up and running. That means I can take my time and make my webhosting decisions without the pressure of a short timeline. I’m studying the options with several differents hosts and doing some other homework. My new website needs to be an enhancement to my professional image. It will form a first impression for many future clients, so I’ve got to make a selection that will help me make that impression as good as it can possiby be. Webhositngrating.com offers unbiased data and reviews of all the best-know hosts, so everything I need to know can be found there. It’s good to have a service like that handy when you’re taking a major step into the future. Whether you’re starting a new blog or building a professional empire, check them out before you commit to your next web host. Reviewing the services that are available before you take the plunge can save you from a world of misgivings later, and wehostingrating is the place to do it.

Technorati Tags: business website, domains, hosting, web hosting

July 5, 2008

Marketing through blogs? What a bright IZEA!

Don’t you hate it when you go shopping and nothing seems to fit just right? Whether we’re looking for clothes, home-improvement supplies or office equipment, we want what we want and we need what we need.

I don’t know about you, but I’m even pickier when it comes to my business. With a small-business budget, I can’t afford to waste resources on equipment that doesn’t meet my specifications or advertising efforts that don’t reach my target market. Regardless of your size, you probably can’t either. That’s why social media marekting is such a great idea. A small operation like mine can run a hand-crafted campaign through PayPerPost or SocialSpark, getting bloggers to create buzz about my service. Parent company Izea can help me set it up so that I reach the people most interested in what I offer. They’re not just for us small-timers, though. With a network of over 170,000 bloggers, PayPerPost and SocialSpark can help you reach the masses, as they’ve recently done for Criss Angel’s Cirque du Soliel showcase and Dirt Devil’s new Accucharge.

Your business probably falls somewhere between my tiny operation and the mega-big-boys. Izea’s marketing tools can help you select the demographics and outreach that will give you the biggest bang for the bucks. If you’re selling this year’s hottest back-to-school tools, thousands of mommy bloggers can enthusiastically promote your product to other parents. Likewise, a stable of savvy tech bloggers know just the right language to appeal to the geeks who will buy your new software. You can even hand-select the blogs where your advertising will appear, or arrange to send out samples so bloggers will be able to relate their first-hand experiences with your product. Blog Sponsorships will keep your name on the front page for every visitor to the blogs you select. These are just a few of the ways you can market your product, service or website through blogs. Follow the link and you’ll find just the right creative marketing concept to suit your needs. Izea’s Solution Sales Team is standing by to help you make sure your social media marketing campaign brings you the exposure you need on a budget you can afford.

Not advertising on blogs yet? What are you waiting for? Put together a small trial campaign to see what advertising on blogs can do for you. You’re gonna like what you find!

Technorati Tags: advertising, blog advertising, internet marketing, IZEA, marketing, PayPerPost, social media marketing, SocialSpark

July 1, 2008

Web hosting comparisons

How did you select your web hosting service? Did you spend hours or maybe even several days, going from site to site to evaluate different services? Perhaps you converted your findings to a spread sheet so you could look at services side-by-side. Setting up a new site can be pretty stressful, but finding out everything you need to know about selecting a web host doesn’t have to be. Web Hosting Geeks is a web hosting review and rating resource that provides all of the information you’ll need to compare the top services. In addition to providing their own reviews of each site, consumer reviews are also featured - real feedback from people who have used the services. You know which features are most important to you. Maybe you’re only interested in services that offer free domain names or multiple-domain hosting. Whether you’re most concerned with speed, uptime, price or e-commerce features, you can compare them all on one site and find the web hosting service that best suits your need. Why waste your valuable time trying to find all of the information on separate websites when you can find it all in one place? Check out Web Hosting Geeks, one-stop shopping for web hosting services.

Technorati Tags: Web Hosting Geeks, web hosting reviews, web hosting services

June 13, 2008

Need a cheap web host?

I got lucky when I was selecting a web hosting service. I asked a friend who she was using and went with her host. I was fairly new to blogging and had previously used a free platform. I didn’t know what quesitons to ask or what features to look for. Fortunately, my friend’s provider turned out to be a reliable service with good pricing, but it could have turned out quite badly for me. The wiser thing to do if you’re looking for web hositing is to consult web hosting tutorials first so you can make informed decisions. You’re in luck, because the link will take you to a place that knows everything you need to know about cheap web hosting. Yes, I said cheap. Many providers can set you up for premium service at low prices. Cost is not a reliable measure of the quality of web hosting services. Do your homework. Read the tutorial essays first. Most people don’t start out as ignorant as I was, but most people also don’t know everything they need to know. Ask friends about their experiences with the providers you put on your short list. Browse around the website - you’ll think of new questions as you go and can find many answers there. I got lucky, but I don’t recommend my selection method to anyone!

Technorati Tags: cheap web hosting, web hosting, web hosting tutorials

June 4, 2008

Is this your niche?

There’s so much going on online these days that it can be hard to keep up with things we want to know, things we need to know and things that are just downright fun to know. I don’t allow myself to spend all day everyday online, but even if I did I’d still be behind. That’s my excuse for being late with this little tidbit and I’m sticking to it! There’s a reason I’m telling you this even though I’m late, though, so pay attention!

You know about the Webby Awards, right? For the uninformed, the Webby Awards are the “Oscars of the Internet,” according to the New York Times. They’ve been honoring the best and the brightest web content for twelve years and will be holding their annual gala in New York City next week on June 10th, where they’ll announce this year’s winners. Sad to say, I haven’t been notified that it’s imperative that I be there, so I’m guessing I was passed over this year. With almost 10,000 entires you’d think that my blog would have been submitted for at least one category. Not that I’ve have expected to win, mind you, but a nomination would have been nice. I’d love to be seated at the same table with Todd Davis during the ceremony. You know him, right? He’s the lifelock CEO who put his social Security Number on the side of a truck, online and on TV to prove how well Lifelock can protect you in the event of identity theft. Yeah, that guy. Their website is a nominee for the Webby Award for Best Service of 2008. He’s proud of the recognition, and well he should be. So many websites are all about service that the nomination represents a solid endorsement of the level of customer care available to Lifelock’s online customers.

So, why am I telling you this even though nominations are closed and it’s too late for you to vote? Because I happen to know that some of my readers work in web-related services and that at least one of you has a background in security. Is it possible that you might be looking to make an upward move? Lifelock is hiring! This could be the golden opportunity that you’ve been waiting for. They have openings in several areas of expertise:

Marketing & Sales
Finance & Accounting
PR & Community Relations
Security & Compliance
Product & Strategy
Member Services
Human Resources
Information Technology

If you’re well-qualified in one of those areas, this is something you really need to check out. You’ll find more information about each position and an online application on their website so you can get started. Tell them skeet sent you. You know - the one who won’t be sitting next to Todd Davis at the Webby Awards waiting to be named “Best Website About Stuff.”

Technorati Tags: employment, Lifelock, Webby Awards

January 16, 2008

Skeet porn

How did you find my blog? Most of my daily traffic comes from regular readers who carry my link on their blogrolls. Some of it come from their readers, who use those same blogrolls to find out who their favorite bloggers are linking to. New readers also find me through message boards where I post and through social networking sites where my readers have been kind enough to post my links. A percentage of my traffic also routinely comes from search engines. That’s the traffic I want to talk about today.

I check the stats for my blog at least once a day, sometimes more. Usually I’m most interested in seeing which posts are getting the most traffic and where that traffic comes from. I can use that information to produce more content that will please my readers. Lately I’ve been getting a lot of search engine traffic to my posts about hidden object games. I also get consistent hits for every post and photo I’ve ever published that is tagged “Hawaii.” I’ve posted a few recipes that appear to be pretty popular - my “grilled cheese and bacon” posts get traffic from search engines months after they were published. The searchers who find me using those terms get the results they’re looking for. So do the readers who land on a one-time reference to life insurance quotes or dog tags. There’s one other term that’s always brought me a lot of traffic, though most of it is unintentional. I blogged about the phenomenon over a year ago when, as a new blogger, I was just becoming aware of search engine traffic. That post remains popular and still brings me traffic on a regular basis. I’d like to think that’s because of my storytelling skill (it is a good story,) but that’s probably not the reason. Skeet most popularly refers to anything related to the sport of skeet shooting, but the hip-hop culture has revived an old meaning that is less well-known to anyone over the age of twenty or so. It is that meaning that brings me the most traffic for the word skeet. Unlike most of those searchers, though, I still contend that Skeet is not a dirty word.

According toThe Free Dictionary, skeet has a number of definitions that aren’t obnoxious.

The term skeet may refer to:
• A clay target.
• Skeet shooting or Clay pigeon shooting, a sport using such targets
• The Olympic Skeet event.
• Skeet surfing: A fictional sport featured in the 1984 movie Top Secret!, written and directed by the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.
• Possibly because of their physical resemblance to the clay target and that they fill the sky when deployed; the EFP warheads of the BLU-108 sub-munition, found in for example the CBU-97, are also called Skeets.
• Slang for coitus interruptus. The ejaculatory term for ‘pulling out’ the penis and ’shooting’ semen derives from the act of skeet shooting, pull and shoot.
• Term used in Newfoundland English to describe a low class, disruptive person.
• Term used in Manx English or Anglo Manx to describe news or gossip.
• Slang for cocaine, also may be known as skeeter.
• Skeet Ulrich, an American actor
• A sport involving inner tubes, rocks, beer and a stump; often played along the banks of The Yellow Breeches Creek in Pennsylvania.
• An awesome blogger

Okay, I made up that last one.

Skeet will always, first and foremost, be a name to me, because that’s how I first knew it and because it’s become a part of my own identity. I’d like to think that people who find my blog “by mistake” through search engines find it because they’re into the sport of skeet shooting or because they’re fans of Skeet Ulrich or Skeeter Davis or any of the other popular holders of the various versions of the name. Alas, I know that it’s just not so. That knowledge was reaffirmed today when I followed a search link from my Statcounter to Windows Live Search and got a bit of a shock.

I’ll admit that it’s quite gratifying to find that my blog is number 5 in relevancy for “skeet.” But take a look at the classification that follows the heading for the entry. Pornography? My blog is designated as porn? Disturbing, to say the least. I decided to do a little research on the subject. I entered the term “skeet porn” into the same search engine:

Woot! Now I hold the number one and number two positions. The relevancey of this search actually makes sense. There have been times when I’ve used the word “porn” in a post, usually as a statement to readers concerning links I will kill if they show up in my comments. For the record, skeet’s stuff is not a porn site. I don’t publish porn or allow pornograpy sites to take advantage of free links via my do-follow comment policy. However, now that I know that my blog can be found by people searching for porn sites I thought maybe my research should be extended. Please note that this is not a scientific survey and that your results may vary. Your results probably will vary, because serach engines are lively animals and the results they produce are impacted by each bit of information published on the web and by each search conducted.

I used three search terms: skeet, skeet porn and skeet pornography

I entered each of those search terms into three different search engines.

The results of my experiment appear below. After each term you will see the page my link appears on and the postions of links to this blog within the first five pages of search. I did not scroll past page five on any of the search engines, so results with higher numbers don’t appear.

Windows Live Search:
skeet - page 1 postition 5
skeet porn - page 1 postions 1 and 2
skeet pornography - No results

Yahoo!
skeet - page 3 postion 25
skeet porn - page 3 postions 22 and 25
skeet pornography - No results

Google
skeet - page 1 position 9
skeet porn - page 5 position 50
skeet pornography - page 5 position 42

What does all of this mean. Perhaps nothing. Perhaps something quite relevant to any blogger wanting to increase their traffic by understanding where it comes from. If you are looking for any use of the word “porn” on my blog, the search engines will help you. If you are looking for actual porn you’re up the creek because you won’t find it here. By show of hands, how many of you have ever gone to a search engine for the specific purpose of finding actual porn or even the word porn on my blog? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Entering skeet coupled with either porn or pornography in a search engine and finding my blog is a fluke. People who use those word combinations are not looking for skeet’s stuff. They are searching for … well, porn that features skeet, and we’re not talking about the beloved author of this blog.

How is that relevant to you as a blogger? It’s a bit of information that you can use to increase your search traffic. Everyone gets hits from searchers who were looking for something quite different from what they found. It’s the fluke factor. Search engines aren’t mind readers. They can only return results based on the data entered, not on the intent of the person doing the search. Take a look at your own stats for search engine traffic. What terms routinely send you traffic but have no real relevance to your content? How can you use that information to draw more traffic? Do you even want to attract that traffic? If we’re speaking only in terms of traffic it doesn’t really matter to me how people found me. What matters is that they did. So, yes - it matters to me that people find my blog when they are searching for porn. What I want more than casual, one-time visitors, though, is for people to come to my blog, find what they’re looking for, stay a while and come back again regularly. I’m pretty sure none of the porn creeps are doing that. The hidden object game searchers do. Quite a few of them have become my regular readers. So have some people looking for stories and photos about day-to-day life in Hawaii and even a few who first found me because they wanted to know how to make the perfect grilled cheese and bacon sandwich. Those are the readers I want. Those are the readers who find relevance in what I post. They are all part of a group that I need to optimize my keywords for. I’ll admit that numbers are not as important to me as some people think they should be, but that I’m not above using the fluke factor to increase them. This post will undoubtedly jiggle the fluke factor and result in an increase of readers who find me while searching for skeet porn. The better search engine optimization tactic, though, is to produce quality content on topics that appeal to the readers I already have so that I can increase my readership organically with more readers just like them. By using relevant keywords in relelvant content I can optimize opportunities for new readers to find me through legitimate searches. That’s much more satisfying than a bucketload of 1-second visitors who don’t want what I have to offer.

Technorati Tags: porn, pornography, SEO, search engine optimization, search engine traffic, skeet

December 17, 2007

Web hosting solutions

Finding the right Web Hosting Services is the first step in establishing your website, whether you’re creating a personal blog or a professional site. Your web host provides the online storage space for your site’s content and makes it available for viewing online. The most important factors you’ll probably want to consider when selecting a host are server reliablility (ie: rarely has downtime) and the adequate space to meet your needs. Web Hosting Services from Network Solutions offers several packages at affordable prices:

Prices start at $9.96 per month when you purchase an annual service for standard web hosting, $13.30 per month for the more robust advanced web hosting and just $29.13 per month for your high-traffic or professional site. Domain name (web site address) is free for the first year with annual purchase and all plans come with a thirty day money-back guarantee. Additional features include:

E-mail with Symantec Brightmail® spam and virus protection
New! Blogs (on Unix® server platform)
Secure web hosting with 99.9% uptime
100 domain pointers
Your choice of a Unix or Windows server platform
Scripting functionality (PHP or ASP/.net)
Database functionality (MySQL or MSSQL/Access)
Online Web site builder tools with customizable website templates Learn More
Web site traffic reports
24/7 Real-Person Customer Service™

Do you need professional design help with your business website? They’ve got you covered there, too, with service priced at just $11.95 per month plus a set-up fee. For hassle-free operation of your commercial site, PerformanceClicks™ from Network Solutions will allow you to create and manage your pay per click advertising from as low as $125/month plus $99 one time set-up fee. Whatever your hosting needs, Web Hosting Services from Network Solutions can customize a package that works for you. Check out their site for the details, or call 1-800-361-5712 for one-on-one assistance from a real person.

Technorati Tags: web hosting, website design, website services

November 15, 2007

Worried about Google PR drop? Don’t be!

So the Big G shafted everyone yet again. Last night blogs that carry any advertising other than their own AdSense took a major PR hit. Big name blogs with many thousands of readers as well as us everyday people who make a few bucks from our blogs from time to time. (EDIT: Blogs that have NEVER carried ANY advertising got slapped, too. Traffic, stats and SERPS are meaningless to Big G.) I’m here to tell you folks, it doesn’t matter. At least not to me, and probably not to you if you see which way the wind is blowing. By using their new criteria for ranking blogs (whatever that might be) the Big G has shafted, not the bloggers, but themselves. PR used to the the sterling yardstick that measured a site’s worth. That obviously is not true anymore. Page Rank is now for sale, and you can only get it by using the Big G to buy your way into the rankings. It’s page rank (PR) that has lost value, not the sites they’re ranking. As an example, my PR went from a 4 to a 2 a few weeks ago. Yet the true measures of my blog’s popularity indicate that I have more readers and more links, am getting more page views and am attracting more search engine traffic. This is a measureable trend that is seen across the blogosphere. The only conclusion is that PR has become an artificial meaurement that is without value.

Those of us who have chosen to monetize our blogs need a way to show that our blogs have value. PR was the most reliable measure in the past. So what are we going to do now? Find another way. A way that shows the actual value of our blogs so that advertisers can know whether or not we offer them the right vehicle for promoting their product. The geniuses at IZEA (the new umbrella corporation that includes PayPerPost) already had something along those lines in the works. They’ve sped up their timetable and will have IZEA RealRank™ available to posties (those of us who post for PPP) within days. That’s not all, though. Recognizing that the need is not limited just to posties and PPP advertisers, they’ll be releasing it to the public at large. CEO Ted Murphy has explained the significance of this move in a post on the IZEA blog:

I we (sic) believe we have a solution and that solution is RealRank. RealRank data is gathered from the IZEA Toolkit “ITK” (formerly PPP Tools). It is a piece of javascript that many of you already have and those outside of PPP will be able to get from a separate site without joining PPP or SocialSpark. ITK gathers REAL traffic information, much like your analytics platform and ranks users based on their standing within the network. The formula is relatively simple.
70% weighted towards visitors per day
20% weighted towards amount of ACTIVE inbound links per day
10% weighted towards pageviews per day

Read Ted’s post.

RealRank is based, not on the whim of a mega-giant, self-promoting seller of advertising, but on … well … your real rank! You will not be required to join IZEA, Social Spark or PayPerPost in order to use it. You don’t have to monetize your blog in order to use the tools. Posties will not have artificially inflated rankings and non-posties will not be penalized. IZEA is even making it abvailable to their competitors, other pay-to-blog companies. The more data collected, the more valid the ranking, so this is a sound move by IZEA and will benefit everyone in the long run.

What kind of impact will the current actions by Big G have on their own system in the long run? You be the judge:

Investors are not stupid people. Big G stock has dropped dramatically in the last twenty-four hours. Why would you want to leave your money in the hands of people stupid enough to shoot themselves in the foot? They’ve devalued their own worth and they’re being devalued in turn by those whose money they were using. That persistent buzz you’ve been hearing today? That’s the sound of thousands of users un-installing the Big G tools and toolbars. Too bad, so sad.

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Technorati Tags: blogging tools, google, google page rank, IZEA, page rank, PayPerPost