Writer’s Block

It happens to everyone. You know you have to get that blog post written, but you just can’t seem to get started. You need help getting that 1st word on the page.

Check out the Zemanta browser add-on. That’s it, over to the right.

Zemanta gives you an easy way to get images, tags, links, and best of all, ideas. It works whether you register it or not, and it’s free.

I use it here and on every Wordpress site I maintain. When I’m setting up a new site, it feels empty and unfinished until Zemanta is running.

But it’s not just for Wordpress. You can install Zemanta for Gmail and  Yahoo Mail. It works with the Drupal Content Management system – pretty much anywhere you need to create web content.

I could write a longer piece about Zemanta, but the best way to learn about it is to use it just once. To get it, you’ll want to head on over to Zemanta.com and install the browser add-on. Then just go to your blog and create a new post – Zemanta will be right there where you need it, when you need it – from now on.

Spiders On The Web

Sounds bad, doesn’t it? Little robots – we call them ’spiders’ – crawling around the web at nearly the speed of light, looking at and recording just about every single thing you do. Forget privacy. These little software arachnoids will find every mark you make.

You might think you don’t want these little guys sneaking around your site, looking at all your stuff behind your back. But think for a moment: If spiders are so bad, why are companies like Google using them? The reason is simple.

Spiders are our friends. Just like in the real world, spiders play an important part in keeping the web alive. Google uses spiders to find and index new pages on the internet. Without those spiders it would be impossible to do that. Without those spiders, your blog wouldn’t have a chance of appearing in their search results. Without those spiders, the only folks to read what you write would be your family and friends.

And that wouldn’t be so bad, but it certainly wouldn’t be as rewarding as knowing that you’re being read by that bloke in Cornwall, the babe in Sydney and the kid in Singapore. The only way those folks can ever find you is through a search.

And that search begins with the spiders. The spiders find and index your site like it was a rack in a huge department store. When folks are looking for the information you’ve got, they go their favorite search-engine department store. If you want your stuff hanging on the rack, you need to be crawled by the spiders.

The most common way of blocking spiders is by using a file called ‘robots.txt’. If you want to make sure you’re not blocking the spiders you want, check to see if you have a file with that name. You might not have one, and that’s ok. I don’t have one here. If you do find the file, make sure that spiders from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and other search engines are not blocked.

In Wordpress, you can find a control for this in the ‘Privacy Settings’. Just make sure you check the box that allows search engines to access your site. Hope you find this helpful!

Gimmee

I can hear it playing in my head – “Give me just a little more time…” like an old stuck record on a turntable. Some of you aren’t old enough to remember that song, so I’ll embed the YouTube of it at the bottom of this post.

What the heck was I thinking? I’ve been sick for more than 2 years, deathly ill most of last year, almost died last November and have only now gotten to the point where the doctor smiles alot when I go there. And yet, I took on 3 new projects in the past 6 months. Truthfully, ‘took on’ is not quite right. One of those projects is this site, which I started because I can do this stuff in my sleep and wanted to make some money without ripping people off.

By far, the most incredible thing I’ve done is pushing so hard to go forward with gimmee. I’ve been trying to figure out how to get it done for years, and as cliche as it sounds, the technology just wasn’t there until this past year. It’s technical, but basically I just had to wait for the HTML standards that everybody uses to design the internet to catch up to my idea. That happened with the adoption of HTML 5, and I decided I couldn’t wait.

Which is why, dear reader, there have been no posts here in more than a month. Oops.

Who would have thought that this time it would get so involved? I’ve started and run a couple of ‘brick-and-mortar’ businesses and it wasn’t nearly as much work as starting an online business. Hopefully it gets easier sometime before I become a chairman of the board (see below). Over the past couple of months I’ve grown busier and busier until nowadays, I spend nearly all my time working on that one thing.

So I’ve decided that apparently, I am healthy enough to need to start scheduling my posting again. (I used to have a schedule on a prior blog, but when I got so bad off last year all schedules went out the window.)

I’ll be doing blog posts on Friday and Saturday from now on. This blog is supposed to be chock full of tips and tricks on how to be a successful amateur blogger. There’s probably a million guys out there telling you how to make money and get rich with your blog. I won’t be doing that.

Instead, I’ll be trying to help you out with little pointers about how to blog easier, how to get your links in there correctly, when to switch over to the html editor (instead of the visual) and why. Just little things to make your life easier. I’m not selling anything here – I’m just trying to give away some of my experience. If I help you out, don’t look for a tip jar or a donation button. I knew what this would cost me when I started it.

You could leave me a comment, put a smile on my face. Or if I’m wrong about something you can correct me. The smile will still appear.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy this classic song from The Chairmen Of The Board…

Originally published at Wordout.

Clickstream

First of all, we need to understand what we mean by clicks. It is, simply, everything you click on while you’re on the web. The map of everywhere you’ve ever been. Your history. A record of who you are. Think of them as the words in your daily journal that are automagically written for you every time you log on.

So who owns your diary?

Well, if you’re a Comcast customer, it appears that Comcast thinks that they own your clicks. (As a TimeWarner customer, that doesn’t make me feel too safe.) According to David Cancel of Compete.com, clickstream data from at least 2 million Comcast accounts has been purchased to perform statistical analyses. What they purchase is your entire clickstream. That is, every click you ever make on the web, every action you take, sold for 40 cents to anyone who has half a dollar. But don’t take my word for it. Go here and listen to the audio track of the panel interview in front of a live audience. It’ll take you about 13 minutes to listen to the whole thing. If you don’t have that much time, go here to read some of the highlights transcribed from the audio. That will only take a minute.

How could this happen, you say? Well, it’s like this… advertisers think that if they know everything you do on the web, they can serve you better ads. Better ads means that the ad you see is probably one that you need to see, or want to see because you are “in the market” for something. I’ve had a few sales jobs in the past, and I know that if I am helping a random customer there’s a 20% chance that I will make a sale. But if I have had prior contact with the customer that jumps to about 50%, which gives me an edge and inevitably, more sales and more income.

The Numbers Game

We, as consumers, tend to see all advertising as something intrusive, a ” them versus us” scenario. But that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. A great salesman always knows that the job of selling is nothing more or less than providing people with what they need or want, when they want or need it. Targeted advertising aims to do just that. Personally, I welcome the day when my online ads reflect more of what I am interested in.

We’re all massive consumers, even those old hippie types among us who try to avoid it. We’re always in the market for something. And companies know this. That’s what advertising is all about. In the past, they used a shotgun effect, hoping to reach the largest numbers of readers by sheer volume. I can’t tell you how many times I heard, “It’s a numbers game” when I was learning sales. It’s the concept behind spam. And it does work, to a minor extent. But it’s not very efficient.

They’re right though, it is a numbers game, just not the one they’re playing. If I can get the numbers to favor me then I can do 2 things. I can sell more easily, and I can cut my advertising costs. Look at it this way, if I know you aren’t at all in the market for what I have, why should I waste my efforts on you? And if I know you want or need what I have, shouldn’t I try to tell you about what I’ve got? That’s what targeted advertising is all about. The nature of it increases both profits and customer satisfaction. It’s a win-win situation for us all.

The Failure of Targeted Advertising

So far, the web has seen “targeted” advertising flail and flop on its face. When I put Pat Benatar videos on one of my webpages, all I got for months was Pat Benatar related ads served up. I added one link to a poetry blog and suddenly was inundated with ads for various poetry contests and the like. Neither of these kinds of ads interested me in the least. And I don’t even want to get into the bane of the internet, ads for the opposite sex. Or maybe the same sex, for some people, I dunno. I just get so tired of those.

It’s obvious that targeted advertising has failed miserably thus far. And thus far, the companies doing the advertising have been the ones manipulating all the data which determines what we see. It’s obvious that these companies have no clue how to get it done right. A change is necessary to make it work. A big change.

We, the consumers, should be in control of that information. As a society, we’ve pretty much accepted that we have to see ads to get the rest of the web so cheaply. We make analogies to television and radio, where we’ve been conditioned for generations to accept interruptions in programming from “sponsors”. Most of us, I think, are for the most part, satisfied with that arrangement. We ignore the ones we don’t care about and pay attention to the ones we do. But mostly, we just ignore them.

The Promise of Targeted Advertising

Wouldn’t it be nice if, when you decide to start thinking about buying an engagement ring, or a new oil filter, you could somehow tell the web what you need and then just be served up ads that were about the things you actually needed? There would probably be a requirement to sign up for at least some advertising, perhaps in general categories. But there should also be a way for us to tell the web what we know we need, so we could do a little shopping as we move about our daily business.

Think about it. Now, instead of ignoring those ads or complaining about them, they’ve become something more. They’ve become a resource for you, the consumer, to exploit. Sure, they’ll still be advertising, with all the general BS that goes with that. But if the companies already know that you’re looking for something, they may feel a little less like trying to grab your attention and more inclined to provide some real shopping value. Something that makes it easier for you to take care of yourself. That’s what you want, and it’s also what they want.

The problem is, just like we’ve been conditioned to take a few ads with our daily dose of whatever, the companies have been conditioned to think that they need to control this process. It will be hard to get them to let go of that. Right now, as we have seen, they are fine with selling our information amongst themselves. With millions of dollars trading hands monthly in these sales, it’s easy to see why. But the potential payoff of letting consumers control their own advertising must be in the hundreds of millions, if not billions.

Isn’t Win-Win a No-Brainer?

Essentially what I’m talking about here is a complete shift in the way commerce is done. So far, it has been such that the consumer is seen as being exploited by the companies. With self-targeted advertising, the consumer has more control, and the ads are more effective. More effective ads mean less investment in wasted advertising, and higher sales ratios from the advertising that is produced. Companies, by allowing consumers to take the role of exploiter, will boost sales while cutting costs. It is, for sure, a no-brainer.

What do you think? Would you want more control over your online advertising? Do you think it could be done? And what about them selling our clickstreams? Is that right? Whose information is that, anyway? I’m curious to hear what you think about this. As for me…well, I want win-win all around.

Get Off

Scrub your tweetdeck. Blind your eyes to Seesmic.

See all those followers over there to the right? Go. Visit them like it’s Sunday afternoon. Read their blogs, look at their photos. Leave some real, well reasoned comments. Show them you care about what they’re doing.

Strike up a conversation with some of them who really do share some of your core interests. Even if you disagree. Especially if you disagree. A well presented argument can be the beginning of a horrendous friendship. (That’s a good thing.) Those folks following you aren’t stupid. Let them know you know that.

Go to their places and hang out awhile. Let them see you how you are, when you’re not on your home turf. Let them get to know the real you. If all they ever see is your avatar on twitter, trust me – that’s all you’ll ever be. A little square block on the screen… how much does that mean to you?

Originally published @ Wordout.

It’s About Time

Writers have many reasons for what we do. We write, whoever we are, to inform, to entertain, to make others think, to cleanse our soul… the reasons are like the stars in the sky, uncountable. Regardless of the reasons, though, the challenge to succeed is always the same. A poet may want to open your emotions. A journalist may want to give you a certain knowledge. Commentary is written to make us ponder. Jokes are presented to make us laugh. In each form, the success of the work has its own challenges.

Blogging may have a unique challenge. With most other forms, the reader has accepted the conditions of reading and has ceased other activity in favor of the current reading. Each form has its requirement of time, and the reader allocates this time up front. Whether it’s a book, a story, a poem, a news article, even the comics, focus time is awarded up front, before beginning to read.

For most blogs, it doesn’t work this way. Blog readers seem to use a different way of allocating time. Scanning headlines in various readers, they may give the title less than a second of attention. If they are attracted within that initial glimpse, they may spend 10 seconds reading the 1st paragraph or two before deciding whether to actually read the rest of the piece.

Perhaps of all readers, blog readers are more acutely aware of the value of their attention. They know how valuable their time is to themselves. There might be hundreds of titles on a given day to choose from, and they know they will not choose them all. They also know that just because Joe Blogger wrote a killer piece yesterday doesn’t mean he will do another today, or ever. But they will probably at least look at his headlines.

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The Challenge Of Blogging

So the first challenge of blogging is getting the reader’s attention, and then keeping that reader interested. How important is it that thousands of people visit your site but not one stays longer than 10 seconds? There is no value in that for the reader or the blogger. I would rather have lower numbers of visitors who spend enough time to read something.

When I look at my Google and Feedburner stats the most important number I’m looking at is the time spent on site. Right now that averages out to a little under 4 minutes, and I think that’s pretty good. Most of the things I publish take about that long to read, or less. That tells me that people are reading this stuff. That tells me I’m not wasting my time.

So now, the question is how to get the reader’s attention and keep it, in less than 10 seconds. As any successful writer will tell you, there’s no real formula for it. But there are some components that are a necessity.

Write well and write often.
Don’t be too afraid to fail or succeed.
Be happy. Go Lucky.

That’s what my great-grandfather used to say.

Originally published @ Wordout.

Expletive Abbreviated

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So that’s the short tour on RSS. If I setup your blog, you’ll find a plugin called FeedFlare in your Wordpress admin area. That plugin works with the Feedburner service, which is a recommended manager for all your feeds. It’s easy enough to set up, and definitely something you’ll want to be doing.

If I didn’t setup your blog, search for Feedflare in the Add Plugins section of your admin area. You’ll be glad you did.

Thanks for stopping by!

Originally published @ Wordout.

Link Drillers

Snap Shots is of a class of scripts called Link Drillers. They have the ability to drill into the link to reveal more information about the link. There are a couple of main reasons why you might want to do this, depending on your perspective (whether you’re currently an author or a reader).

As a reader, you might drill into the link to see if there’s anything else you want to do with it. Maybe you want to click it, maybe not. Maybe you want to do something entirely different with it. You might never know unless you can get at whatever it is that’s inside that link.

As an author, you want to provide the most engaging content possible. You want your reader to keep reading your stuff, whether you’re already on the so-called A-list or not. You know that you have to be distinctive, with a voice that’s not only all your own, but entertaining to your readership. They gotta wanna come back. Today, I will focus only on the author’s perspective.

The Author’s Perspective

As a tool for the author, Snap Shots is superb. There are 5 basic ways an author might use it.

1.Instant Reference/Clarification – The author can provide a quick definition for unknown words or concepts without the reader ever leaving the page. You can see an example of this use in the 1st paragraph above, with the word “scripts”. Or, the author might rather choose to clarify his choice of words, so that the reader is more certain of the contextual meaning, as shown in this screenshot.

In this instance, the author used a word that, in context, could have been exactly what you see or could have been a typo (rapidly). The Snap Shot clearly shows the author’s intent.

2.Punctuation – The author can “punctuate” his writing with images that evoke emotional responses in the reader, expanding artistic styling capabilities. Satire, irony, and other forms of nuanced speech can be illustrated with instant imagery.

Images become a tool for the author, much like a punctuation mark or a comma, enhancing the ability to convey emotional intent with perfect clarity.

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3.Allusion – The author can now use working video and audio, allowing literary tools such as “allusion” to be developed further. By showing the allusion to those not familiar with it, a greater and more rounded appreciation of the topic is won by more people.

The author can pinpoint the source of his allusion, introducing some readers to new sources of understanding and providing a moment of nostalgia for the informed.
Allusion becomes real.

4.Presentation – The author can provide an instant image, video or audio as a reference, or example of a topic.

This post was all about this video, so here it is without even leaving the page.

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5.Enticement – The author can “tease”, to entice the reader to actually click the link.

Here the author is teasing the reader. Notice the mainly black website inside the Snapshot. Look at the words the author wrote, teasing readers that they “really ought to click that Foreigner link”.

And The Band Plays On

We’ve seen how a judicious use of Snap Shots can add value to the content in our sites. We can instantly clarify our meaning or provide a source of reference. We can stir emotions, we can take our readers back in time to a place they have, or perhaps, have never been. And we can get personal, play around a little and generally just have fun with our readers like old friends.

Is this manipulating our readers? Sure it is, much in the same way that Hemingway manipulated his readers by naming a book “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. With just 5 words, he told us the story, and made us want the details even more. Did we get offended by that? No. To the contrary, it became required reading.

Using link drillers can add another dimension to our writing, and help us to create our own, easily recognizable voice. In this constantly evolving world of internet publishing, technology is finally beginning to enable the artist in all of us. Some of us will embrace it, some will “leave well enough alone”. If we ignore the advances we see available to us, we run the risk of being left behind. Once that happens, to partially quote John Donne:

Judiciously used, link drillers like SnapShots are great. But overusing them, or using them in places where they simply are not needed will drive visitors from your site like a wailing banshee. Remember: Link drillers are like exclamation marks, or that silly internet phrase, “LOL”. Too many and they mean nothing. Too much, and we lose our credibility.

I am Jon, and… is that the starting bell I hear?

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this post has been edited for content and style. LOL?