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

September 7, 2007

Blogging nightmare

One of my friends is living a blogger’s worst nightmare. Her blogs disappeared overnight. The person hosting her blogs decided she didn’t like something written in a post, so she not only shut her down, she has denied access so that the blogger can’t get in to copy her posts to a new blog. It’s been called a two-week suspension, so hopefully my friend will have access to her blogs again soon. I’m not naming the host at this time, but you’d better believe that a lot of us will have more to say once this business is finished. Private hosting is fraught with nightmares. What’s happened here clearly illustrates one reason why every blogger should consider hosting their own domain with a reputable provider.

There’s nothing any of us can do right now to help our friend get her blogs back, but we can give her a boost for the new blogs she’s established. Neither has much content yet, but what’s posted is clear, well-written and thought-provoking. Go check out One Clear Dot and Girly Things, and make sure you leave a comment. Let our friend know she hasn’t lost her place in the blogosphere!

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, blog hosting, blog hosting ripoff, Girly Things, One Clear Dot

August 21, 2007

Deal Locker

Up until about a year ago I had never done any shopping online. Scoff at me if you will, but putting my financial info out there always scared me. Friends who are wiser than me in the ways of the internet (um - that would be most of you!) finally convinced me that secure shopping online is just that and I finally gave in. Since I’m somewhat agoraphobic, it didn’t take me long at all to fall in love with the ease and convenience of shopping from home. At first it was just a few purchases from mega-companies whose names I already knew and trusted, but now I actively seek out online shopping opportunities for pretty much everything except my weekly groceries and cleaning supplies. The thing that really changed my attitude was the help I got from my readers when I was shopping for a camera a few months back. You not only gave me good info about various brands, features and models, you also told me where to find the best bargains. I saved almost $150.00 because of reader input about saving with free online coupons for that purchase!

The sharing of information with real people is what I like most about the internet. I’m a born skeptic. I don’t always buy the corporate line and the marketing hype, but if my friends and other satisfied customers tell me something is a bargain, I’m going to check it out. Let’s face it - that’s the way it works in the real world. We love to talk about our shopping experiences. If we find a bargain, we can’t wait to tell our friends. When we have a shipping nightmare or get shoddy merchandise, we talk about that, too. That’s the feature I like most about Deal Locker. Real customers rate the merchants, the products and the coupon codes based on their own experiences. Given a choice among similar brands and prices, I’m going to select the product that made the most real people happy.

My next “big” purchase, probably sometime between now and Christmas, will be a laptop. What I once considered a luxury now seems like a sound investment for my business. Generating my reports from the field would allow me to better organize my work day and would be a real plus with my clients. It’s primarily my technophobia that has kept me from getting a laptop sooner, but I need to get over that in order to stay competitive, so I’ve started cautiously shopping around. As with my camera, I’ll be wanting feedback from my readers and I’ll be looking for laptop coupon codes that will help me get the most bang for the bucks. In addition to Windows and Microsoft Word, I’ll be using report templates (generated in Word) and a drawing program in the field. My closest friend, whose experience I trust, is using a Dell, having had less happy experiences with other laptops. She’s almost convinced me that a Dell is the only way to go, but I would really appreciate feedback from you guys, too, whether negative or positive. I already know that I can get one in my price range using the Dell Coupon codes at Deal Locker. Their customer feedback has rated the coupon deals “Guaranteed to Work,” but what do you think? Is Dell the right computer for generating my reports? Is it the bargain I think it is? Most importantly, is it a computer that a technophobe like me can adapt to? I’m not in a big hurry. I can take my time on this and want to get as much information as I can before I make a final decision. I’d appreciate any feedback you think will help me.

Technorati Tags: computers, coupon codes, coupons, Deal Locker, Dell, laptops

August 10, 2007

Disrupted Horizon

One of the wonderful things about owning a small business is knowing that I have complete control over how things operate. After spending half of a lifetime bending to other peoples ideas and wishes, I’m enjoying holding the reins of power. I decide how my business is structured, what services to offer and how to bring in clients. The hardest part, for me, is relinquishing that power when it comes to areas outside of my own expertise. Success in business demands that I acknowledge my areas of weakness and seek out the best experts to make up for my lack. Disrupted Horizon not only gets the concept, they’ve made it the foundation of their business:

1% of companies know how to know what they don’t know about Business 3.0

95% don’t know what they don’t know

None of us can be experts at every aspect of running a business. The smartest move we can make is put brilliant minds to work for us, whether on our own payroll or in the services that we contract. The way to know how to know what we don’t know is to put ouselves in the hands of people who do know. If you don’t know what’s making that annoying knocking sound in your car, you’re going to take it to an expert mechanic, arent you? Wouldn’t it be foolish to do any less for your business? How effective are the Market Research techniques you learned right out of school? The entire marketing world has been turned upside down since then, so no one can blame you for not keeping up. You’ve been too busy manufaturing widgets to focus on the digital revolution. If you’re like me and only just beginning to get a handle on web 2.0, how are you going to position yourself to take advantage of the next wave? Disrupted Horizon, the Business 3.0 Consultancy offers the solutions that will help you move seamlessly forward. Their expertise can give you the competitive advantage that can carry you to the top of your field. Start by asking them to assist you with a Business 3.0 Health Check. Assessing where you are and where you want to be will allow them to help you map a plan to get you there. As your partners, they can apply what they know best towards helping you reach your goals, so you that you can concentrate on making the best widget the world has ever known. Ask them how.

Technorati Tags: business, business consultants, business growth, Disrupted horizon, marketing

June 24, 2007

What is your domain name worth?

Have you ever wondered what your domain name is worth? That wasn’t something that I was too concerned with when I selected skeeterbess.com for mine. I wanted to have a name that was all mine, but didn’t worry about what the name could do for me or how much value it would have. I’m a little more internet savvy now and realize that, from an SEO perspective, I chose a terrible name. I’m not considering changing it or selling my domain, but if I ever decide to have a new domain with monetization in mind, I’ll try to get creative with words that are rich in SEO possibilities. No one outside of my own circle knows who or what a skeeterbess is. Everyone knows what money is, what tech means, and what to find on a site with photo in the domain name. I just got my domain name appraisal and wasn’t surprised to learn that my choice is only worth $21.00. Not so much, when you consider that the right name can be sold for $5000, and some have even sold for $10,000. If I’d played my cards right, skeet’s stuff could have been a nice little nest egg for me to cash in someday for my retirement fund.

You can find out what your domain is worth at LeapFish.com. Better yet, use their domain name appraisal tool to try out some creative combinations and come up with a high-value name before you purchase your next domain. Domain registration and hosting services are available from the site, so you can claim your name as soon as you think of it, before someone else makes the same creative leap. They’re a full-service domain name resource center, so you can do it all in one spot. Spending a little time at LeapFish could be the key to turning your next domain name into money in the bank.

Technorati Tags: domain name, domain name appraisal, domain name registration

June 11, 2007

3-D Mindmapping - I can do this!

Do you remember Rosie the Robot from the Jetson’s cartoon? I think the program still shows on one of those retro cable channels, so maybe even some of the younger generation knows about her. Anyway, I hear her voice in my head quite frequently. It has nothing to do with paranoid delusions and everything to do with the fact that my life is too crowded with stuff to know, stuff to learn, stuff to do. At least once a day the frustration builds and Rosie makes her announcement: “Information overload! Danger! Danger Too much data! System failure imminent!” You may or may not hear a fantasy voice, but I think most of you know what I mean. We have the world at our fingertips each time we sit down at the computer, but our personal memory capacity can’t keep up with everything we see as relevant. I’ve been especially aware of the problem as I’ve worked on a recent project. I’ve started seeking out articles and blog posts on improving my blogging skills and on optimizing the monetization of my blog. I have so much information that I feel like I’m lost in a sea of confusion. Today a friend sent me a link to an Information Organizer that I think will help me because it sorts and then connects information the same way that I try to see it in my mind. It’s easier for me to show you what I mean than it is to try to explain it, so take a look at an example:

Back in the sixties and seventies my mother spent almost twenty years collecting and colating genealogical information for her family and my father’s family. It was a labor of love, but kept her very frustrated as she tried to locate information and documents through various county and state agencies throughout the US, and in several foreign countries. The internet has made access to all of that information so much simpler, and now Topicscape’s genealogy information organizer software brings it all together with a visual mapping program that categorizes the interconnected information in an intuitive and eye-pleasing display that makes sense. I can look at the given sample and picture where each bit of data on Mom’s family is in relation to Dad’s family and to my own personal family tree. Mom’s information is still stored in a bulging four-drawer file cabinet. The mindmapping software will allow me to pass it all on to my son through a single visual display.

You know my awkwardness with technology. It’s difficult for me to convert technical descriptions into layman’s terms, even when I’ve grasped the concept. Take a look at Carol’s 3d mindmapping software review, since she not only explains it better than I can, she’s included a visual demo that makes it all elegantly understandable. The technology that makes it all possible may be a little too complex for me, but the application is one I can wrap my mind around and put into use.

Technorati Tags: information management, internet, mind mapping, project management, Topicscape

May 29, 2007

Elistic

I’ve just registered for the new social bookmarking site, Elistic. I’m a bit new to the world of social bookmarks, having reigstered for my first site just few months ago. I’ve used “the big one” the way that many folks use rss feeds, as a way to keep up with new posts on blogs that I like. Other than that, I’ve never seen much use for them, and I think those big guys shot themselves in the foot with their new rating system.

Visitors get to rate the bookmarked entries by awarding bullets (Get it? Bulleted lists!) I’m totally stoked that my own post has gotten a few votes within the first hour of being listed and has five stars, the highest number that can be awarded. I and can see using it to bring traffic to my own site as well as to share sites that I like and to find new ones. Here’s where it really gets interesting, though. After I’ve rated a few sites Elistic’s intelligent software will know a little about my tastes and preferences and will begin to recommend sites to me. I’m always looking for new and challenging puzzle sites, so I’m hoping Elistic will help me find them. It’s all fine and well to enter “puzzle” into a search engine, but that brings up a lot of rubbish that I have to wade through before I find anything worthy of my attention. With the Elistic personalized recommendation engine, I’ll begin to see puzzle sites that people actually like enough to rate, so the sorting is already done for me. A great time-saver that should help me find some very enjoyable sites.

Adding a bookmark is easier with Elistic than with any of the other bookmarking sites I’ve tried. I hate adding more clutter to my toolbar, so thank you, Elistic for not making me do that! After I registered I added Elistic to my IE bookmarks. Adding a new site is as easy as dragging the bookmark to my address bar. Very cool, very user-friendly!

The Google group for discussions is a cumbersome method of communicating with the site admin and other users. I’m hoping that a more user-friendly disscussion board will be incorporated into Elistic soon. It’s a free site and a labor of love for its creator, so it’s understandable that he won’t be spending a lot of money on new software, but there are free message boards that are easy to set up and could give us an easier approach to communicating about the sites and our favorite listings. Message boards build community enthusiasm, too, so adding one to Elistic will increase user loyalty and help build return traffic. Still it’s a great new site and a lot of fun. I’m awarding five bullets to Elistic and I thank them for introducing themselves through this sponsored posting opportunity.

Technorati Tags: blogging, bookmarks, social bookmarking sites, payperpost

May 3, 2007

Cool AccuWeather.com widget

Take a scroll a little ways down my page and look at my new toy in the right sidebar. I just installed a weather widget from AccuWeather .com. You’re always asking me what the weather is like in Hawaii. Now you can see it every time you come for a visit, whether I’m standing by to tell you or not. Right at this moment it’s 73 degrees F with light winds out of the East at 6 miles per hour. There’s even weather radar function. It’s got an enlarge button; wait a second and I’ll tell you what it does. Ah, nice. It takes you to a map that is large enough to tell that there are light rains in my neighborhood right now. (Yep, it’s raining right now.) Click on “weather forecast” or “weather maps” and you’ll be taken to their site where where you can get more detailed reports along with all the latest weather news. Look around while you’re there. You’ll find some community features on their site and free web, blog and nature features. (If you’re a weather geek like my dad was you’ll especially enjoy the vidoes of severe weather, too.)

I got to select the color and dimensions for my weather widget. That’s because AccuWeather .com netWeather v3.0 is customizable so you can select feature that feel just right for you. I like the sidebar placement, but if you want a larger widget placed at the bottom of your page you’ll even have a video viewer and some other advanced functions. Did I mention that it’s free?

Shall we discuss my technophobia again? No need this time! I installed it in about two minutes using three easy steps. I put in my location and language preference, selected a theme that goes with my blog and and copied and pasted the code that was generated. That’s it! Easy enough even for me! My Spanish-speaking friends? Gotcha covered because you can select either English or Spanish. Very cool. I’ll let you quit reading now so you can go get your own free weather widget.

Technorati Tags: technology, local weather, weather widget, widgets

April 30, 2007

Be angry! Be very angry!

First, if you are reading this early on Tuesday morning, May 1st, turn on your TV and watch Good Morning America. They’re doing a feature about cyberstalking. You may think you know how bad it can get, but maybe you don’t. Everyone knows about what happened to Kathy Sierra recently, but I wonder if most know how pervasive cyberstalking is. I’ve known for a while that one of my blogging friends has been harrassed and threatened by a stalker for years. I only found out this evening that her stalker is someone whose blog I visited a few weeks ago. His first few posts that day were full of racist filth, and he named specific people as targets of his bile and hatred. I closed his page in disgust and thougth that was the last I needed to ever hear or know about him. Now I know that he not only has targeted the one friend I was aware was being stalked, but also several other bloggers I’m associated with. He has caused some to quit blogging completely. He has threatened and stalked families of bloggers who appear on his radar. And he is not alone. This type of behavior seems to be becoming more prevalent, perhaps because many law enforcement agencies don’t consider it “real.”

Are we supposed to wait until someone carries out their threats to maim, rape and kill? What will it take for public officials and law enforcement agencies to put these bullying slimeballs out of business? The question is not rhetorical. I don’t know the answers, but I’m open to whatever ideas you may want to throw out there. How can we, as bloggers (and as women - most targets are women) combat this threat? We can talk about it. We can get the word out and raise awareness, but awareness without action is impotent. We are under attack and I think the time has come to go on the offensive.

Go. Read Kat’s post. Follow the link to her Washington Post interview. See what is going on in our blogosphere. Get angry. Join me in dialog and let’s talk about what we can do to put a stop to this meance.

Technorati Tags: blogs, bloggin, cyberstalking, cyber bullies, Kathy Sierra, stalkers, bullies

April 20, 2007

Shop ’til you drop!

I still haven’t gotten my new shopping blog online. I think I’ve solved all of the template problems and now I’m tackling the problem of making it an attractive and compelling site to visit. I’ve visited a lot of other sites to see what seems to work and what doesn’t. Just Loving Life is an example of a shopping blog that works well. Very nice mix of new and innovative products and services with personal stories and off-topic posts to keep reader interest high. There are even some recipes from time to time, something that always brings me back for more. Now I find myself with an ethical dilemma. Would it be very wrong of me to stalk this one and follow it as a model? Immitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I’m sure the author would appreciate that!

Technorati Tags: blogs, shopping blogs, payperpost