teach

Anchor Sitelinks & WordPress Table Of Contents (Part 1)

2009-10-16T17:03:00.001-07:00

With Google now providing convenient anchor links as sitelinks within search results for long structured documents I thought it would be prudent to examine current solutions for WordPress and see which of them is most likely to help you obtain anchor links.Read carefully - there is a competition at the end to get my bonus for Stompernet without buying anything

Google SideWiki SEO

2009-10-16T16:03:00.001-07:00

Danny Sullivan has a comprehensive look at Google's new SideWiki feature to Google toolbar and site reviews.He has also been using it to add some commentary on various sites as you can see from his Google profile.This Google search query shows pages being indexedThey are not blocked in Google's robots.txt currently

Stompernet + Infusionsoft Free â (Features Confirmed)

2009-10-16T15:03:00.001-07:00

I just received quite a shocking email that Stompernet have added Infusionsoft as the 11th tool to their arsenal of internet marketing tools.For me it is a bit of a dilemma, as I have quite a love <> hate opinion about InfusionsoftOn the plus sideI love marketing tools that help magnify your ability to make money from existing leads and Infusionsoft is one of the best tools for tracking and segmenting email marketing campaigns (within affordable limits for most online marketers)

Vimeo Is Not For Commercial Use

2009-10-16T14:03:00.001-07:00

Despite the number of high profile blogs that seem to be allowed to bend the Vimeo terms of service, Vimeo make it reasonably clear multiple times on their website that they are not for commercial use.Their terms of service mentions itThe signup page mentions it clearly... below the fold it is however very easy to miss.

Tony Robbins Didnât Knowâ¦

2009-10-16T13:04:00.001-07:00

Earlier today I was watching a video for Jeff Walker newest product... yeah a new product, not just a relaunch of Product Launch Formula and I was struck by one small factoid within the first of many new (free) instructional videos.Whilst consulting with Tony Robbins (yes THE Tony Robbins) who you would think would have all the fundamentals of online marketing totally mastered, there was a surprising revelation.

Technorati Changes From A Users Perspective

2009-10-16T12:03:00.001-07:00

You didn't think I would leave it at just my expert perspective on the Technorati changes did you?As with my previous post I want to make clear that it is somewhat of a dilemma writing about Technorati, as I provide some infrequent consultation to Blogcatalog in some ways one of their competitors.However as well as providing an expert's overview of Technorati I have always been an avid user, so this is Technorati from a purely user's perspective.

Stompernet Review â Stomper Storm (Part 2)

2009-10-16T10:04:00.001-07:00

In my last post about the Stompernet Stomperstorm Taguchi Testing service, I went over the features extensively and demonstrated how I set up a campaign.This post goes over the results of that short test.

Very Short test Run

I set it up and pulled down the content after 24 hours - the intended landing page changed from being free content to a sales letter, and whilst I thought the "fake blog post" method I was using was legitimate, as soon as the free offer disappeared it was no longer viable, and I much prefer preselling than sending random visitors.

FTC Fake Bait & Disclosure

2009-10-16T09:05:00.001-07:00

IANAL so I am not going to offer anything material to any conversations about the new FTC guidance.But this annoyed me yesterdayClickbank has required for some time (at least 2 years) that affiliates comply with FTC recommendations for WOMM. That could just be looked at as a legal "out" but it is there in writing.There is lots of noise (and some signal) over the last couple of days about the FTC, so affiliates are using it in headlines for email promotions. I opened one and the link was a Clickbank promotion, I opened a second, and it was to a genuine blog post.Here is what the person promoting an affiliate product sent

What Is Quansite?

2009-10-16T08:04:00.001-07:00

This is in many ways one of the most painful blog posts I could write, because it is about a service that is the closest anyone has come in 4 years to the "software as a service platform" I would like to create.The business model is totally different but the front end seems to have many of the features and attention to detail that I would require, and to be honest much of what I want to achieve on the backend & network effect isn't necessary for many business users.If what I want to create is a lion, Quansite is a tiger - different animals, different prey - both killers and could probably co-exist.Quansite is a WordPress based blogging platform for business, but calling it that is really doing it a bit of a disservice.It is the kind of system that will take a huge bite out of the business of high-priced website development shops targeting small business, because so much is done for you.

Quansite Marketing Pro

There are a couple of WordPress themes I know of which can claim drag and drop, but they are not designed for creating sales pages & one-time offers, or "touch of a button" squeeze page creation.

Technorati Changes From An Expert Perspective

2009-10-16T07:05:00.001-07:00

I am always in 2 minds to write anything about Technorati but ultimately the changes to the site today are extremely significant, and I had to balance that against my ability to offer suitable commentary

Since I started advising Blogcatalog a little in private, writing about Technorati, Mybloglog or any other blog directory or search engine in some ways would be like writing about the competition. Celebrating the great things a competitor does would probably be acceptable, whereas writing something negative would be "dissing the competition"
This blog has always had in-depth coverage of blog search, blog social networks and blog related SEO, especially in regards to things like the benefits of semantic markup and tagging. Not writing something would leave a huge whole in my content and a disservice to my audience.

My choice is to write something, but understand that some might look on what I write as being a little biased. In my own mind I am a Technorati fan, so hopefully that will temper my reactions to some features.I need to qualify the title of this post - I have spent countless days over the last 2-3 years studying changes the user interface, plus the internal and external SEO factors of all the large blogging platforms, social networks and search engines. Whilst my email exchanges with Blogcatalog are extremely infrequent, I am constantly monitoring for changes.

How To Get Stompernet STSE2 100% Free No Credit Card

2009-09-14T14:03:00.001-07:00

Viral Tell-A-Friend Thats Safe For Your Granny or CEO

2009-09-14T13:03:00.001-07:00

I have been ranting and raving about insecure viral Tell-A-Friend scripts for over a year, and it seemed like I was just talking to a brick wall.Now in the space of just a week I have been able to highlight a solution based upon one of my own blog posts that uses a slightly ghetto, but K.I.S.S method to achieve extremely effective viral tell-a-friend functionality, and now I want to mention another more sophisticated solution.

Stomper 999 â Stompernet Bonus

2009-09-14T12:04:00.001-07:00

Stomper 999 is a strange launch, at least by modern standards in the Internet Marketing Niche.

Squeeze page for a couple of weeks
A few rumours
A few leaks of info after a seminar
A few leaks on information after an affiliate conference
The shopping cart opened on launch day and THEN they are going to drive home the message with tons more free content

But you can buy nowFor me Brad's new "Mafia Offer" is a nobrainer but lets look at some of what I heardThe new tools package

Full version Market Samurai
WYSIWYG Taguchi testing (Software as a Service / Hosted - up to 100,000 views free)
Shopping cart (some additonal fees apply)
Twitter Storm - custom version of People Browser
SEO Qast - I think this is a desktop video/article syndication tool
Full $97/month version of Traffic Geyser
Article Syndication network of 17000 sites
SMS/Text IM Twitter Email system
PDX system with 800 number webconferencing etc (some additional fees can apply)
Review System - not exactly sure, but a way to get reviews on Google local, with cards being sent to clients to fill out, pop in the mail and the details are added to local

The #Twitter Method?

2009-09-11T18:03:00.001-07:00

You might find this interesting, making money on Twitter without any followers. Any system that doesn’t require you to game Twitter for fake followers gets my vote. (...)

Stompernet 999 Conspiracy Theories & Scam Thread

2009-09-11T17:03:00.001-07:00

Over the last few months there have been a number of changes within Stompernet that have caused lots of heated discussions around the blogosphere, Twitter and a number of forums. Various documents have been passed around, promoted through contact forms including my own, and there was tons of speculation.

The Power Of Blogging Reciprocity

2009-09-11T16:03:00.001-07:00

The relationships you can build in blogging are often more valuable than you can allocate a monetary value.I have just been joking a little with Jack Humphrey on twitter about outranking him for his own product.. yet again, and toying with the idea of making it a double listing. The first thing Jack did when he read my post was promote it to his Twitter followers.

Google Come Between Me & My Loved Ones

2009-09-11T15:03:00.001-07:00

Have Google changed the way they handle Double or Indented Listings, removing them from some SERPs from some datacenters?I love my double or indented listings, but it was not to be.We have been together for a long time, but fate has determined that at least for the present, we must separate.The Google giveth, and The Google taketh away

Technorati State Of The Blogosphere â Rest In Spam

2009-09-11T14:03:00.001-07:00

It looks like the annual Technorati State Of The Blogosphere is going to be lacking a lot of data this year - maybe just Gmail users, but possibly many more. Google thinks Technorati are phishing.Why?

Whitelisting Hogwash & Unique Solution?

2009-09-11T13:03:00.001-07:00

I am sick of seeing all the opt-in pages telling me to add what is often a noreply email address to my contact list, or almost as bad is adding a real address to my contact list for someone I don't really class as a contact.This is how I handle "whitelisting" (example for Gmail)It works for now, and if the spammers work around it, I will just make it a little more specific by using specific information within the headers, or part of the unsubscription notification.

Stomper 999 â Why Now Andy?

2009-09-11T12:03:00.001-07:00

The reasons I am promoting Stompernet 999 cover a multitude of deep themes within my own blogging, not just SEO and other forms of optimization, but also my future startup, any product I produce in the future, and my desire to help people the best way I can.Somewhere down the list I am also going to mention money but when you do the math, and then look at the way my bonus is structured, I will effectively be creating the closest thing to a J.O.B. I have experienced for the last 8 years.

You Canât Segment RSSâ¦ Sorry

2009-09-11T11:03:00.001-07:00

Well actually you can as you could with the now defunct Feedmagic service that I evangelised 3 years ago as something that would be killed off by Google and the growing popularity of RSS sharing with Google Reader.Google Reader still:-

Doesn't support simple HTTP authentication so you can use RSS for private stuff
Doesn't provide a mechanism so content producers can restrict sharing stuff

This is important... if you want to provide premium content from a membership site in a form that is most accessible for your subscribers.It is even important for anyone using stock photos with a contract/license limited to a certain number of views for which you are personally liable. If you allow people to share blog posts that contain stock photos, it is a significant financial risk... but I am not a lawyer.But segmentation? Not unless every subscriber had a unique feed... Feed Magic had it

Unique Sales Funnel Tricks That Will Blow You Away

2009-09-11T10:03:00.001-07:00

The other day I was slacking off on Twitter and clicked a link through to a JV promotion that I had seen in a number of emails, but hadn't really taken much interest in. I hadn't heard of the guy doing the promotion, and to be quite honest the topic didn't seem to be the best match for this blog, though it does fit with the overall "Make Money Online" and "Work From Home" niches very well.I am not sure what drove me to sign up as a JV partner with Dan, though the following factors almost certainly played a factor.

Supreme confidence in the value of his product just oozes out of the videos he produces (there are lots of them)
Lots of professional landing pages - it is obvious he has spent a lot of time working on them
A great JV Opportunity but to be honest I would highlight this anyway... you will see why in a moment

Unobtrusive Marketing

I have spent a fair amount of time since I signed up with Dan chatting with him on Skype - his commitment to his JV partners is exceptional, but I am sure that has also lead to significant improvements in his sales funnel as affiliates give him direct feedback.We have all seen various improvements to sales funnels over time, and a lot of what Dan is doing will seem very familiar. The overall design of the landing pages, the opt-in etc, but Dan has added a few of his own twists that take things to a new level.What is special is that the things Dan has added are smart and unobtrusive, but still catch the eye and achieve the desired effect - many of them he has coded himself.It is a rare thing for me to see something and immediately reach for Skype and ask "Where did you get that script from?"

Stomper 999 â Sompernet Bonus

2009-09-11T09:03:00.001-07:00

Stomper 999 is a strange launch, at least by modern standards in the Internet Marketing Niche.

Squeeze page for a couple of weeks
A few rumours
A few leaks of info after a seminar
A few leaks on information after an affiliate conference
The shopping cart opened on launch day and THEN they are going to drive home the message with tons more free content

But you can buy nowFor me Brad's new "Mafia Offer" is a nobrainer but lets look at some of what I heardThe new tools package

Full version Market Samurai
WYSIWYG Taguchi testing (Software as a Service / Hosted - up to 100,000 views free)
Shopping cart (some additonal fees apply)
Twitter Storm - custom version of People Browser
SEO Qast - I think this is a desktop video/article syndication tool
Full $97/month version of Traffic Geyser
Article Syndication network of 17000 sites
SMS/Text IM Twitter Email system
PDX system with 800 number webconferencing etc (some additional fees can apply)
Review System - not exactly sure, but a way to get reviews on Google local, with cards being sent to clients to fill out, pop in the mail and the details are added to local

Think Write Retire

2009-09-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

Just go to this link, buy the book, all proceeds go towards heart surgery for kids, which my friend Dr Mani has been running for years as a non-profit foundation.(you can also get some ideas on how to launch a book and become a bestseller)

Keyword Elite 2.0 â Bonus Wars & Clickbank Transgressions

2009-09-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

Unless you have your head buried in a sand dune, you will know that Keyword Elite 2.0 has just launched.It looks pretty good, Brad normally creates some decent software, and in some ways it might also be better than current market champion Market Samurai (you can still pick up Market Samurai through the 30 Day Challenge for less than half the price of Keyword Elite through a special deal, which includes a 40 day trial)I have been having fun observing the ducking and diving among those promoting KE 2.0 and I thought I would add some commentary.

Crazyâ¦ But I Havenât Been Drinking

2009-09-01T12:06:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Tom McCarthy on a trip over to Florida for a Strategic Profits event - he is an inspirational thought leader, and without doubt the most animated speaker I have ever seen on stage. He captivates his audience, and for Strategic Profits also performed the role of MC.The package that Tom has finally put together, with Strategic Profits coordinating his first online product launch is phenomenal value at just $497 and whilst a little tangential to what I typically write about, would certainly be appropriate for almost any business owner looking to regain control of their lives and maximise performance.But instead of giving you my link, I am going to do something else.

Crazyâ¦ But I Haven't Been Drinking

2009-07-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

WordPress Comment SEO Solutions

2009-07-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

Changing the way WordPress and other content management systems handle comments for SEO, members areas, aggregated conversations & more.
I am sure some of this post is going to blow people's brains, though this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Twitter Security Hypocrisy

2009-07-15T16:06:00.001-07:00

Twitter get Gmail and Google Apps hacked, but expose their customers to a similar danger

I Hate Rhubarb Not Broccoli & Undeniable Proof

2009-07-15T14:06:00.001-07:00

As an affiliate, and future product publisher, proof (that is unequivocal) is something in which I place a great amount of emphasis.

It allows me to recommend a product or service with reduced risk of damaging my own reputation
I want to be sure my readers will be delivered the product or service promised, thus giving them the potential to achieve any results claimed
Reputation is important - often proof also acts as a significant guarantee that customers will be treated well (within the boundaries of what the product or service encompasses)
Reliable data - if I can dig holes in claims made in promotional material, so can my readers
Real testimonials - you can pay huge fines for astroturfing
Proof in advance during product launches by providing real substantial results in advance is a powerful concept.
Proof increases conversions

Lets look at a few good and bad examples

Conversion Rate Optimization For Freebies

2009-07-10T18:06:00.001-07:00

Today I have been making some significant changes to my free IM Remarkable Offer that I thought would be worth discussing, though the reason I am making the changes is based upon limited data.

I am not a copywriter, or a graphic designer

IM Remarkable Free Bonus
No Purchase Required
<<< Click Here >>>

IM Remarkable Offer Page "before"

I spent most of my time concentrating on the product - despite being just a free bonus for signing up to someone else's promotion, I wanted it to have both value and longevity.

Whilst in the legal paperwork I placed emphasis on the "casual" nature of selection, I spent significant time on each niche rooting out great offers, uncovering a few pitfalls etc.
Even some of the Clickbank offers I highlighted had a gravity as low as "0" nada, ziltch, but had great landing pages, credibility, sometimes even celebrity branding to help conversion rates.

Keyword Research Nitrous Oxide

2009-07-09T15:06:00.001-07:00

If you asked Howie Schwartz what are the key skills that make his business a success, at least one of the answers would be âoutsourcingâ and another would be automation with effective tools.

Whilst he employs 80 people, he also has a team of 200+ website creation, content development, link building and social media specialists to call upon (native English speakers).

If you can avoid doing all the work yourself, either with automation or outsourcing it is more scalable.

Keyword Titan

Just over a week ago, Todd Hogan the founder of Keyword Titan approached me to see if I would be interested in taking a look at their new Keyword research automation tools.

Trust me, I have spent thousands on various keyword research tools in the past, some of them even still get updated by the authors despite changes in the way data can be pulled from the search engines, many of the services are still in business and even booming, and in many ways I am quite happy with what I already have available.

That being said, time is one of my most valuable commodities (though I tend to not use the resource to it's full potential)

Another problem is grouping

It is fairly easy to group keywords if you are generating them from various root keywords.

{specialty} {profession} {location}

Annulment Attorney in Los Angeles

It is far harder, or at least more time consuming on researched keyword lists.

Keyword Titan Ultimate Challenge

I was already starting to prepare a monetization list to offer as an opt-in bonus, as a companion to Howie's 36 Niche report. I knew he was covering keyword research in his training, along with monetization, but I wanted to help accelerate the success of anyone taking part in his competition, and continuing that into the future.

If you help people achieve results, good things happen.

Bonus Delivery For Opt-Ins

2009-07-09T03:05:00.001-07:00

This is a slightly taboo subject because with many product launches there is a launch competition not only for sales, but also for pre-launch opt-ins. If you are offering an incentive for people to just opt-in, there is a high possibility that that lead might be worth less than a lead that has viewed some launch material, and decided that they are interested in the product enough to hand over an email address. Something else to avoid is any mention that you might benefit financially from just an opt-in - the problem there is disclosure, and as more and more launches include a pre-launch opt-in competition with prizes, especially in the internet marketing niche, affiliate program managers are going to specifically have to allow, and encourage disclosure.

Climbing The Heights Of Mount Google

2009-06-27T13:05:00.001-07:00

Link Building is a fundamental skill for SEO practitioners, but many go about it in ways that could hurt their long term ranking benefit. Just over a year ago I wrote my first and only guest post, as an entry into Marketing Pilgrim's annual competition. At the time when I published the article, I joked that "I had been robbed", you wouldn't believe the number of comments suggesting a way to get my revenge, file DMCA, report to Google or recover my "stolen" article.

Climbing The Heights Of Mount Google

When you set out to climb a mountain, or rank for a competitive keyword term, some methods are effective. This is a simplistic look at climbing the heights of Mount Google.

Human Pyramid

A human pyramid might be suitable for those low hanging fruit, but this method is unlikely to help you scale great heights. Not only is it hard to gain great height, but the weak construction is easily eroded by competitors. Photo credit: >S@TS<

Google Screws Up My WordPress Ping List

2009-06-24T15:05:00.001-07:00

This post is likely to cause a little controversy, but it is my honest opinion that bloggers have been led astray for long enough regarding how many services you really should send a ping notification to. My Advice Ignore all the other ping lists published - they are frequently irrelevant and could potentially highlight you as a spammer.

Update: FIXED -Bitly Blocked By OpenDNS

2009-06-23T16:05:00.001-07:00

I just went to follow a link on Twitter and discovered it was blocked by OpenDNS

Bitly Blocked By OpenDNS â FAIL

2009-06-23T15:05:00.001-07:00

I just went to follow a link on Twitter and discovered it was blocked by OpenDNS

Feedburner Adds Friendfeed â Subscriber Data For Socialstreaming and Lifestreaming

2009-06-18T07:05:00.001-07:00

Chris Cree spotted today that Friendfeed subscribers are now counted towards Feedburner stats. It can make quite a striking difference with Feedburner if you have a few followers there. But even this doesn't really account for the shifting sands in online attention. The latter half of this post was originally published Mar 21, 2008 @ 20:38 Since then Twitter has for many people emerged as the primary way they read RSS feeds, combined with various forms of lifestreaming. The first time I see tweets and blog posts often is also on services such as Blogcatalog's dashboard or even Mybloglog (though that can sometimes lag a little on updates these days)

Current Calculation Problems

Blogcatalog & Mybloglog numbers are just as relevant as Friendfeed
Twitter numbers are probably more relevant than any Lifestreaming service
Facebook subscribers are still not counted
Aweber & Feedblitz, along with Feedburners own RSS to Email service are included, but they are the only ones I know about. Where is the Getresponse support Simon? Infusionsoft should really offer something as well, though they don't offer RSS to email - I am not sure about Mailchimp

The onus really is on the developers of these other platforms to report numbers to Feedburner, but I have no idea how that can be managed with Facebook and Twitter.

Rich Schefren + Dan Thies = Live Training Heaven

2009-06-18T03:05:00.001-07:00

Both Rich Schefren & Dan Thies are holding live training events today that you don't want to miss.

Rich Schefren GPS 2.0 Live

Last year Rich Schefren did something unprecedented - what was scheduled to be a 24hr marathon live training broadcast on Ustream ended up being extended by a couple of hours. Here is a screenshot of what Rich looked like 24hrs into the session - he was still calm and collected, solving the constraints viewers had in their business, even though his servers were being hammered and people were finding it difficult leaving comments on his blog (with 4 dedicated servers) [caption id="attachment_1915" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Rich Schefren Live"][/caption] From what I have heard you will be able to listen in without signing up to the VIP list, but then you won't receive a reminder just before the broadcast starts, and you won't be eligible for any of the prizes. Prizes? Yeah Rich is giving away a boatload of prizes, worth subjectively tens of thousands of dollars including private consultation (which I don't think he really offers these days) Rich Schefren Live - 12pm EST (midday) Thursday 18th June 2009 - scheduled to last 4 hours, though knowing Rich he might keep it running longer if there are people online.

GPS 1.0 Review

I purchased the original GPS 1.0 course - if your business isn't going in the direction you want it, you feel you are controlled by your business, or if you have hurdles you feel you need to overcome, GPS is a unique product that will help you. Rich is an outstanding teacher. What didn't I like?

Disqus â Why 95% Of Bloggers Should Switch

2009-06-16T08:05:00.001-07:00

When Disqus first launched, I was a little critical because I like to maintain control of comments, give commenters the benefit of Dofollow links, and ultimately retain control of their user generated content. I now feel that 95% of bloggers should switch to using Disqus, though I have some reservations. These are some of the reasons why:-

PageRank Sculpting Isn't Dead But Comments Can Kill Your PageRank

2009-06-16T05:04:00.001-07:00

This post was originally titled "Is PageRank Sculpting Dead & Can Comments Kill Your PageRank" Following a confirmation post from Google's Matt Cutts today, it seems PageRank Sculpting as practiced by many SEOs is effectively dead, and comments, even using links with nofollow CAN have a negative effect on the amount of PageRank that can be passed on to your internal pages.

PageRank Update â Twitter Profiles â Tosh

2009-06-11T06:05:00.001-07:00

Today we are going to face an avalanche of Technology bloggers who can't help blogging about every intricate detail of Twitter in one way or another claiming that Google has devalued Twitter profiles in the search engine results pages (SERPs) or reduced the PageRank of profiles. Whilst this is theoretically possible, it is also unlikely. To understand why the change has happened

You have to understand SEO, external and internal linking, and have an advanced knowledge of how PageRank works. This gives me another chance to drop a very blatant affiliate link to Stomping The Search Engines 2 which is probably the best value (just a measly $1) high quality SEO training online. (http://andybeard.eu/Recommends/SEO-Training.html)
You need to study Twitter Linking structure over a period of time - snapshot SEO is for cowboys - even what I am writing here isn't going to be highly accurate, because I don't have access to analytics, server logs etc, and telling a script to analyse every page of Twitter just isn't viable

I am not writing this just for another opportunity to pimp an affiliate link, but I am sick of poor SEO information out there among bloggers. I have suggested SEOs need to clean up old information, but to be honest, this is about as fundamental as it gets I do have a fair understanding of SEO and linking structures, and I do monitor changes, not just the pretty toolbar PageRank Google updates every 3 months or so, or the ranking of my Twitter profile in the SERPs. Here are a few of my more recent tweets on the topic:-

Smartphone War â Google Buying Links & Ignore HTC Cloaking?

2009-06-11T05:09:00.001-07:00

I know that is a shocking and controversial headline, but there are a number of serious points to be made. Firstly I like linking to people who link to me, whether on the post they first wrote, or on the syndicated copy that now appears on SEOmoz, even when the name referenced is "Andy Beal". Google is going to have a hard time deciding which is duplicate content, and will probably pick the SEOmoz article because it is the domain with the most authority. If you syndicate articles or blog posts, make sure they link back to the original version, whichever you consider original. I am not going to help Google, as I have linked to both.

Android vs Blackberry Smartphones

I probably know as much about smartphones as Matt Cutts does about... poodles (he is a cat lover) I have a SIMM card with a 7 mbps connection, but purely as a backup or for when I am travelling around Poland and am somewhere I can't get good wifi. The SIMM works in one of my wife's cast off mobile phones in an emergency. As detailed in the linked posts, Google gave away lots of Android mobile phones to developers. That is something I am very familiar with - I used to work in the games industry and among other things handled relationships with all the PC Manufacturers. AMD, Intel, Creative Labs, Nvidia, Matrox, etc etc. Even though NDAs have now expired (I think the longest was Intel's at 5 years) I am not going to go into specific details but here are the challenges.

Developers had to create custom code to support specific features - this could take days, weeks even months.
The testing teams would have to text code in a matrix, combining various processors with graphics and sound cards
The support teams would have to create documentation for each possible platform and potential conflicts

In those days we were working with multiple standards, processors had lots of proprietary 3D functions, graphics cards not only had different features, but also different graphics libraries to access them, 3DFX, OpenGL and DirectX, and even sound cards had different features and sound libraries. Some might look on it as a lot of back scratching, but it was a symbiotic relationship - it probably still is. Developers had early access to hardware, sometimes months, even a whole year in advance. Different terms were subject to negotiation, status etc. In exchange there were lots of cross-marketing possibilities, certainly linking happened, but also branding on boxes, adverts, possible lucrative OEM deals etc. Whilst this might seem to favor the larger development studios, and it did in some ways, ultimately small development studios, if they got on board could certainly gain a "leg up" from the hardware guys, and this is something I was very active to encourage. Thus Google giving away a few hundred, even a few 1000 mobile phones is barely a grain of sand compared to what is given out behind the scenes.

Google I/O Was Press

From what I can see, there were tons of press representitives at Google I/O, they received tons of coverage from notable tech blogs. Press have always received free samples of hardware, or at least most have, though many publications have rules about keeping the "gear", auction it off for charity, give it away as prizes etc. In doing so that can help them remain impartial because they are not keeping the item.

Paid Links

The paid links saga of 2007 didn't really clear anything up and effectively swept issues under the table, with the untouchables remaining untouchable. Michael Gray is forced to nofollow advertiser links. Payola or Blogola, whatever you wish to call it still exists, and is practiced by Google.

Affect on Search Results?

When Matt Cutts defends Google's actions because Google doesn't need links, that isn't quite the whole truth. It is quite true that Google doesn't need to rank for "search engine" in Google Here in Poland, a search for "Android" which used to be a very generic term, the first 4 results point to sites about Google's Android operating system. But Google doesn't rank for Mobile Phone, and ~~even their partner, HTC who made both the G1 and G2 handsets only rank 3rd for smartphone~~, using US Geolocation and personalized search off (not that I search for this topic... ever), ~~with Blackberry in 2nd~~. Actually that was yesterday, looks like HTC now rank 2nd, and Blackberry has been pushed down the results. Here are the current results for various terms:-

Best Of Breed Firefox Collection For SEO, Bloggers & Internet Marketers

2009-06-10T20:05:00.001-07:00

Today Firefox / Mozilla launched the ability to create public collections that other people can subscribe to so I though it about time I publish a list of most of the plugins I currently use that are specific to what my readers are interested in. Some of them are fairly common, others a little geeky and for specific uses. These are however the plugins I use or have remained installed on Firefox for an extended period of time, and many might prove useful. Pick up the collection here:- Blogger SEO & Internet Marketing Tools

Rackspace Cloud (Mosso) Link To Us Payola

2009-06-10T02:05:00.001-07:00

I am actually a fan of your new Cloud Servers service. There are some huge benefits in using your service that as both a marketing geek and affiliate I can highlight and potentially drive you a lot of business. However today you have just introduced a payola scheme that will make every one of my clean affiliate links look like a paid link, thus I am going to have to nofollow every single link I give you, forever. You want me to use badges like this, and in exchange will give me "Goodies" of an unspecified nature. Powered by Rackspace Cloud Hosting The links are visible, nothing is hidden, but all the same it is effectively a paid linking scheme. Here is what they said in an email sent to customers

Our New "Link-To-Us" Program We're also launching a new "Link-To-Us" program today. In essence, customers who post new links or change their old Mosso links on their websites to our new http://www.rackspacecloud.com site will receive special goodies. The more sites you post a link on, the more great stuff you will get. How cool is that? Please check out all the links here: http://www.rackspacecloud.com/links Thanks so much for being a part of the Rackspace family, and please keep the feedback coming so that we can continue to build the most complete and easy-to-use cloud platform on the web.

The sad thing is this would all be unnecessary if you just made some minor changes to your affiliate program.

Is PageRank Sculpting Dead & Can Comments Kill Your PageRank?

2009-06-04T21:05:00.001-07:00

Has Google in one quick swipe removed all benefit of Dynamic Linking (old school term) or PageRank sculpting (when it became "trendy"), and potentially caused massive penalties for sites nofollowing links for user generated content and comments?

I have left a few comments on various blog posts over the last few days, especially on SEOmoz and Twitter, but though it important to solidify some thoughts here, and potentially add a little more perspective.

Includes video from Google's Matt Cutts with full transcript

Smartphone War - Google Buying Links & Ignore HTC Cloaking?

2009-06-02T08:05:00.001-07:00

Android vs Blackberry Smartphones

Developers had to create custom code to support specific features - this could take days, weeks even months.
The testing teams would have to text code in a matrix, combining various processors with graphics and sound cards
The support teams would have to create documentation for each possible platform and potential conflicts

Google I/O Was Press

Paid Links

Affect on Search Results?

When Matt Cutts defends Google's actions because Google doesn't need links, that isn't quite the whole trust. It is quite true that Google doesn't need to rank for "search engine" in Google Here in Poland, a search for "Android" which used to be a very generic term, the first 4 results point to sites about Google's Android operating system. But Google doesn't rank for Mobile Phone, and ~~even their partner, HTC who made both the G1 and G2 handsets only rank 3rd for smartphone~~, using US Geolocation and personalized search off (not that I search for this topic... ever), ~~with Blackberry in 2nd~~. Actually that was yesterday, looks like HTC now rank 2nd, and Blackberry has been pushed down the results. Here are the current results for various terms:-

Are Blogger | Blogspot Blogs SEO Friendly?

2009-05-31T13:08:00.001-07:00

Just because Blogger / Blogspot is owned by Google doesn't make it SEO Friendly For years I have been reading absurd suggestions that Google's Blogger / Blogspot service is SEO friendly. At one time this was semi-true, and it is even possible with the current incarnation. However if you use the service "as intended", without expert knowledge, you might find yourself up a creek without a paddle. I am writing this on a Sunday, thus I am going to avoid vulgarities, cussing, and even an attention grabbing headline. The Google engineers at Blogger deserve that and more. Blogspot currently stinks for SEO.

Overnight Success

2009-05-31T12:08:00.001-07:00

Whilst exploring historical backlinks on my old blogspot blog, I came across a comment I left that I decided needed to be recorded here...

PageRank Update - Twitter Profiles - Tosh

2009-05-28T07:08:00.001-07:00

You have to understand SEO, external and internal linking, and have an advanced knowledge of how PageRank works. This gives me another change to drop a very blatant affiliate link to Stomping The Search Engines 2 which is probably the best value (just a measly $1) high quality SEO training online. (https://stompernet.infusionsoft.com/go/S2SL/SN347)
You need to study Twitter Linking structure over a period of time - snapshot SEO is for cowboys - even what I am writing here isn't going to be highly accurate, because I don't have access to analytics, server logs etc, and telling a script to analyse every page of Twitter just isn't viable

SEO Blogs Need A Serious Spring Clean

2009-05-27T12:10:00.001-07:00

Stompernet are in the middle of a relaunch of their SEO Training product as an online course you can get access to immediately for $1 - when I first looked at the course it was a 2 DVD set last October. Here is a blatant affiliate link - https://stompernet.infusionsoft.com/go/S2SL/SN347 I listen to the "undercurrent" in SEO circles, and Stompernet is often criticized, though typically just by inferrence. This post is to address some of the things I see repeatedly online, especially among SEO bloggers, and hopefully it will offer some additional benefit to bloggers in other niches.

Brain Solis and Techcrunch Blatantly Wrong About The Consequences Of Sponsored Reviews With Google

2009-05-26T05:08:00.001-07:00

Google does not penalize for paid or sponsored reviews but can penalize for paid or sponsored links that pass PageRank - Brian Solis & Techcrunch are blatantly wrong. As Techcrunch now has 2 million readers, many of them corporate, you would think they would be a little more careful publishing statements that are false, misleading or could seriously damage not just a single company, but a whole growing business sector, even if they clearly hate it. Opinion is one thing - stating facts that are wrong is in a totally different territory Here is an excerpt for the recent fluff piece for Brian Solis on Techcrunch

Seems simple enough, except two things are going to prevent this from effectively promoting the sponsoring brand over time â" 1) disclosures read like warning signs; 2) Google is downgrading any blog or site that actively publishes paid content.

Sarah Lacey's recent piece was fluff as well Google has no stated problem with paid or sponsored reviews - with Google it has always been about machine readable disclosure of paid links i.e. use some way to block the links from counting such as rel="nofollow", javascript, block with redirect + robots.txt etc I stated that Brian's article was a fluff piece, because it is very easy to research, but here are a few choice articles.

503 Service Unavailable Status Code Can Kill Your Search Traffic

2009-05-25T12:08:00.001-07:00

This is a post I am sure the "Andy Beard Haters Club" will gloat over, but as I haven't been able to find a resource anywhere on the effect extended use of 503 Service Unavailable can potentially have on a site, and in particular the effect on search traffic, I thought I should write about it. [caption id="attachment_1794" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Using 503 Server Unavailable For Extended Periods Can Kill Your Search Traffic"][/caption] This isn't your typical scenario - 503 errors are frequently sent when a server becomes overloaded, or there are some backend problems. A search of the Google Webmaster Help forums doesn't bring up a huge amount of cases, and mostly it is enquiring about what someone should do when they want to do some maintenance on a live server, probably for a short time. In my case I didn't plan to be in "Maintenance Mode" for an extended period. Here is the complete timeline:

First Link Priority - Is Stompernet Wrong?

2009-05-23T18:08:00.001-07:00

Don't just take the word of your favorite SEO blogger, learn to test ranking factors yourself. When discussion took place about first link priority last year, there was certainly some disagreement, and also mention of a few "exceptions" to the rules. My brain is wired to think of exceptions as things which can occur less frequently, or work-arounds that can be used to negate an otherwise common effect.

Prior Knowledge & Non-disclosure

Over the last few years a significant part of what I have written about on this blog has been about SEO - I try to be original, cutting-edge, providing a different perspective. I don't attend conferences, so what I wrote about isn't something I have overheard at the bar, told in confidence, heard from a speaker on stage or anything else. Recommending SEO products or courses is a little like tightrope walking - I don't join any program that suggests either in the sales materials or legalese that it might be proprietary - I know tons of people treat proprietary knowledge casually - rip off other marketers etc. I don't If information comes out in public that is from a notable source, and it has significant ramifications - thats worth blogging about, especially if I can offer perspective. There are people I trust as sources, or whose opinion I value, even when they challenge my own view of the SEO world, and one of those is Halfdeck who occasionally blogs at SEO 4 Fun - last blog post a year ago. Better to catch Halfdeck on Twitter. So I take stuff like this seriously...

Launch Tree Bonus From Stompernet

2009-05-22T08:07:00.001-07:00

Am I am crazy? This is why you should buy Launch Tree from someone else. Read on to find out why, and decide for yourself.

How To Create $12 Visitor Value (Not CPM)

2009-05-22T07:07:00.001-07:00

I have written a pitch for your Product Launch Formula dollars It is a little special, as I am doing stuff with WordPress noone else is currently doing

Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

2009-05-22T06:07:00.001-07:00

For old-time affiliate marketers this post might stir up some unpleasant memories, or unearth some golden nuggets. It is primarily intended for people less familiar with affiliate marketing, who might otherwise feel it is all plain sailing if you can get a few sales.

Twitter Viral Hell With Launch Tree

2009-05-22T05:08:00.001-07:00

The security risks for your customers running viral tell-a-friend scripts and widgets. This post is a year overdue - I have held back the material and refrained from pointing the finger for that period of time, but there is something I have noticed:- If you don't kick up a big stink, possibly including names, any advice just gets swept under the carpet.

A Geeky Look & Some Simple Solutions To Achieving First Link Priority & Referential Integrity With WordPress (Or Why WordPress SEO Themes Aren't)

2009-05-22T04:07:00.001-07:00

Think buying a custom premium WordPress SEO theme will give you perfect SEO? Think again... I don't think there is one "premium" WordPress Theme that doesn't claim to be perfect for SEO "out-of-the-box", so I thought I would bash some theme developer heads around and maybe knock some sense into them. They might achieve 50:50 of what could be expected of a true SEO theme (though I haven't seen the latest Semiologic Pro out in the wild), and potentially with the aid of 3rd party plugins currently available, they could reach 80:20. However most claim they don't need 3rd party plugins to achieve their eminence in WordPress SEO That doesn't leave WordPress SEO plugins off the hook, there isn't one plugin that gets beyond 60:40 or with some tweeking possibly 70:30, depending on what factors you feel are important, or are aware of. Awareness is certainly one of the problems...

Product Launch Tree Of Rich Schefren

2009-05-22T03:08:00.001-07:00

Get inside information on how the sales process works with Strategic Profits and other top online businesses. I found it enlightening. Most of my readers know I am a fan and customer of Rich Schefren and the Strategic Profits team, and I have even had the opportunity to be a "fly on the wall" inside one of his exclusive customer mastermind sessions. Just imagine... Rich Schefren, MaryEllen Tribby (of Early To Rise), plus 6 or was it 7 of their most ardent customers, plus me. Serious people who were willing to pay a little more for direct feedback that could make significant improvements to their businesses or in some cases personal lives with more free time. I always realized that Strategic Profits used quite a sophisticated upsell process, but to be honest even I was shocked at the attention to detail they go to, and how well it works.

Clickbank Automatic Bonus Delivery Systems

2009-05-22T02:08:00.001-07:00

Clickbank Bonus Domination head-to-head with CB List Automator - 2 bonus delivery systems you have to consider. I now own 2 scripts from 2 different authors to handle automatic delivery of Clickbank bonuses - this is something I hope to be able to handle in a radically different manner in the future, but for now, this is something I want to be able to automate with something off-the-shelf. I paid for both of them If you have seen marketing "gurus" suggesting that you send them an email to get a bonus, or submit a support ticket, then they obviously haven't got their processes 100% sorted out. Historically bonus automation was only possible by parsing sales tickets or somehow scraping data from the Clickbank interface. These days Clickbank have an API which can push data to an end point, though I believe it can only handle a single end point, thus you may end up using lots of Clickbank accounts for different things.

Opt-in Accelerator Warning - Security Risk - Read This First!

2009-05-22T01:08:00.001-07:00

Optin Accelerator is a massive security risk for your customers - rather than fix the security problems, the new version just adds fluff without addressing core issues. Anyone can make a mistake, release a product without considering all the possible ramifications, but to release Opt-in Accelerator again without major changes is irresponsible.

The Irresponsible Viral Tell-A-Friend Trio

So far there have been 3 such scripts I have written about, and there is a 4th "coming soon"

My first coverage of Opt-in Accelerator
Then there was Viral Optin Generator which may well have been a private label or resale rights product
Viral Inviter is launching soon - last I saw of this script installed "out in the wild" it was a security risk
There is another one I know about, TrafficXplode 2.0 which also features the same security risks

HowTo: WordPress Multivariate Split-testing With Google Website Optimizer

2009-05-22T00:09:00.001-07:00

WordPress Sales & Affiliate Themes

I spent the better part of a week and a few hundred dollars ($300-$400) on various WordPress sales letter and affiliate themes - I came to the conclusion that they weren't something I would use.

Some I would class as pretty but lacking substance (polite version of crap)
Every single theme was designed around the concept that you run a single theme on your blog at a time
They all suffered from what I regard as a horrible plague - theme option pages - if you need to set up lots of options after you have uploaded a theme, you have lost a sale, unless I can also import and export settings.
The worst aspect of theme options pages is using them for the content that might appear on a page, because it is a nightmare to set up split testing, and when editing, you really want all the words on the page in front of you.

So I set about creating a solution for myself...

Why Tweetmeme Sucks For Marketers

2009-05-21T23:42:00.001-07:00

The emergence of Tweetmeme during the period I wasn't blogging was interesting - I spent a fair amount of time reading content on sites, and even clicked the tweet buttons occasionally.

This post has now been updated with an official response from Tweetmeme - the features have now been added to the development timeline.

The Tweetmeme site is a useful content source, but this article is mainly about the Tweetmeme buttons. Adding something to your blog, especially something that can encourage viral behavior and add social proof is highly beneficial, and doing it correctly, without asking for passwords offers huge advantages. Twitter is also a medium that is marketing content tollerant, as long as the people following you are marketers, unlike Digg, Reddit, and to a lesser extent Stumbleupon. Thus I have spent some time delving into the code and API for Tweetmeme and the existing WordPress plugin. It has just been updated, thus if you download the Tweetmeme plugin, it will be the latest version.

Important New Features

Cleaned up cookie use a little, but it would be better if they set a cookie based on an action, rather than a display. The original RFC for cookies states that browser support for cookies should be a minimum of:-
- 300 cookies in total
- 20 cookies per domain
- 4095 bytes per cookie
To be perfectly honest, I don't want all those cookies, whether they are 1st party or 3rd party.
Ability to brand the retweets with @andybeard etc, though you still get "via @tweetmeme" at the end
The button is removed from excerpts using a filter on get_the_excerpt() - more on that to follow

However essential features of Tweetmeme and Tweetmeme Button are missing if it is going to be used by serious marketers.

Why Tweetmeme Sucks For Marketers

2009-05-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

The emergence of Tweetmeme during the period I wasn't blogging was interesting - I spent a fair amount of time reading content on sites, and even clicked the tweet buttons occasionally. The Tweetmeme site is a useful content source, but this article is mainly about the Tweetmeme buttons. Adding something to your blog, especially something that can encourage viral behavior and add social proof is highly beneficial, and doing it correctly, without asking for passwords offers huge advantages. Twitter is also a medium that is marketing content tollerant, as long as the people following you are marketers, unlike Digg, Reddit, and to a lesser extent Stumbleupon. Thus I have spent some time delving into the code and API for Tweetmeme and the existing WordPress plugin. It has just been updated, thus if you download the Tweetmeme plugin, it will be the latest version.

Important New Features

Cleaned up cookie use a little, but it would be better if they set a cookie based on an action, rather than a display. The original RFC for cookies states that browser support for cookies should be a minimum of:-
- 300 cookies in total
- 20 cookies per domain
- 4095 bytes per cookie
To be perfectly honest, I don't want all those cookies, whether they are 1st party or 3rd party.
Ability to brand the retweets with @andybeard etc, though you still get "via @tweetmeme" at the end
The button is removed from excerpts using a filter on get_the_excerpt() - more on that to follow

However essential features of Tweetmeme and Tweetmeme Button are missing if it is going to be used by serious marketers.

Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

2009-05-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

Twitter Viral Hell With Launch Tree

2009-05-07T13:07:00.001-07:00

How To Create $12 Visitor Value (Not CPM)

2009-04-30T18:06:00.001-07:00

No tag for this post. Related posts No related posts.

Product Launch Tree Of Rich Schefren

2009-04-30T17:06:00.001-07:00

Get inside information on how the sales process works with Strategic Profits and other top online businesses.

HowTo: WordPress Multivariate Split-testing With Google Website Optimizer

2009-04-30T16:05:00.001-07:00

Tags: affiliate marketing, google website optimizer, gwo, landing pages, multivariate testing, split testing, thematic, wordpress, wordpress plugins, wordpress themes Related posts Where did I get that Wordpress theme? (0) Top Posts By Category Plugin (0) Sphinn Greatest Hits - Could The #1 Be Some Useful Content? (8) How to Show Top Commenters Only On Your Index Page (16) How to make [...]

Eperks On Mahalo

2009-04-30T15:05:00.001-07:00

Here is a little olive branch for the guys at ePerks, an unbiased resource that could be used to present 2 sides of the current Vlad vs ePerks legal kerfuffle.

I am not going to portray Mahalo as some kind of "sacred ground", and I have been a little negative about Mahalo in the past, but it does offer ePerks the opportunity to submit links, hopefully not from anonymous sources, of people happy with their service.

Mahalo I am sure will validate links, and if they seem to be from an anonymous shill blog on WordPress.com, my hope is that they will

WordPress.com Bugged XML Sitemaps

2009-04-30T14:05:00.001-07:00

WordPress.com has added XML sitemaps so I thought I would take a glance at their implementation. My immediate though was to take a look at Lorelle's sitemap.xml

Homepage daily priority
Every other page updated on a weekly basis?

That seems like a good way to tell the spiders to index your site less often than they currently do. With Lorelle you would certainly want spiders checking the home page hourly as she is sometimes the source of breaking news.

Blogging Insurance & Quoting the Associated Press

2009-04-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

Could social news aggregators such as Digg, Techmeme & Technorati be sued for copyright infringement because the frequently used lead for a story often encompasses the core story? Larger concerns will no doubt have their own team of lawyers, but do bloggers need Blogging Insurance? The idea of specific insurance policies for bloggers, as a form of liability insurance to cover defamation cases has been around for some time. It seems even Jason Calacanis at one time was thinking of entering the market

Opt-in Accelerator Warning - Security Risk - Read This First!

2009-04-30T12:06:00.001-07:00

Optin Accelerator is a massive security risk for your customers - rather than fix the security problems, the new version just adds fluff without addressing core issues.

Anyone can make a mistake, release a product without considering all the possible ramifications, but to release Opt-in Accelerator again without major changes is irresponsible.

The Irresponsible Viral Tell-A-Friend Trio

So far there have been 3 such scripts I have written about, and there is a 4th "coming soon"

My first coverage of Opt-in Accelerator
Then there was Viral Optin Generator which may well have been a private label or resale rights product
Viral Inviter is

Fake Alex Goad & Craig Beckta

2009-04-30T11:06:00.001-07:00

Fake Steve Jobs is an internet phenomenen and now we have fake Jerry Yang which I am sure will be a huge success, and add valuable perspective to the internet tech news scene. John Cow was a revelation, a wonderful parody of the (in)famous John Chow, and the legend continues with new owners of the parody site maybe providing better quality content than the original, and in a heated competition with Garry Conn. I have known who the new "John Cow" is almost from the start, it was fairly easy for someone on a fair number of email lists to work out, and that is why they have managed to leverage so many great prizes.

How To Build Profitable Minisites

2009-04-30T10:06:00.001-07:00

I tend to leave newbie internet marketing tutorials to experts, but often I say that a little tongue in cheek - the people writing the newbie tutorials are often writing them because they couldn't do advanced stuff. (the "Advanced Whitehat SEO Debate?" ) In the case of Minisite Secrets Exposed, Michael Rasmussen does a great job of covering all the basics, and there are some quite advanced tip in there as well. This is a great alternative for bloggers who are struggling making any real money online.

Click Here To Get FREE Private Access to
This $197 Value, Life Changing Product!

Paydirt: Blogcatalog Interviewed on Technorati Blog Advertising

2009-04-30T09:06:00.001-07:00

Technorati have now officially announced their new blog advertising platform surprisingly called Technorati Media. It is a significant step, though not as many seem to think unusual. Afterall, Google started as a search engine, then monetized search, and finally introduced their own publisher program Adsense. Lots of discussion related to the often reappearing Microsoft Yahoo deal mention that display advertising is highly lucrative, and Technorati are in a prime position to serve advertising to a very specific demographic of publishers - bloggers. Technorati know exacty what bloggers are talking about on a day to day basis, so in aggregate they can offer publishers targeted display advertising, at least in theory. Also it is important to understand that instead of selling the vast amount of data they have, they are using it to provide an added value service. From the official announcement:-

Paid Content - A Dying Business Model?

2009-04-29T20:04:00.001-07:00

Michael Arrington in his boycott of Associated Press seemed to suggest that paid content is a dying business model. I must admit I am not a huge fan of linking to articles from Associated Press, simply because it is extremely difficult to determine the original source when these stories "go over the wire". A great example of the reasons why is when I reported about the appropriated story last year from the Museum of Hoaxes - that was Associated Free Press to blame, a different organization. Readers might also remember my run-in with The Guardian where I was a major source for an article, but didn't receive a link. The author and editor of The Guardian explained their viewpoint in the comments, but it still wrankles a little. That being said, there is a huge amount of PROFIT being made online in the form of online membership sites which is a paid content business model. Highly successful examples include:-

Tracking Swine Flu on Twitter

2009-04-29T06:43:00.003-07:00

Twitter has been criticized for being unreliable and misinforming when it comes to the swine flu. The truth is that it depends on who you follow. On any subject and topic you will find people on Twitter spreading both reliable and unreliable information. People do this in the real world too - they spread rumors, theories and sometimes people even share things that they know are not true. That's just how people are. Try a Twitter search for swine flu and you will find retweets of swine flu news, confusion about whether it is safe to eat pork (it is safe), jokes, people saying they are afraid and even conspiracy theories.

Most people try and share the truth with one another and most people are doing that on Twitter. A lot of people are also theorizing and worrying and they are expressing their thoughts on Twitter. There's not anything wrong with that. It's just human nature.

If you want reliable information then you need to follow reliable news sources. The most reliable is likely CDC's Emergency twitter, located at @CDCemergency. There's also @health, @Pandemicflu, @birdflu, @SwineFlu2009, @WHOnews and @swine_flu. The @breakingnews has been covering the swine flu frequently as well. There are also numerous local news twitters that people can follow. Visit the website of your local tv news website and it likely has a Twitter. You can also try searching for it using the Find People tool.

You can also find a growing list of swine flu resources here on HealthNewsBlog.com.

Posted in Twitter

Permalink | Recent Headlines | Plurk | Twitter | WWFeeds.com

Swine Flu Q & A

2009-04-29T06:43:00.001-07:00

Maggie Koerth-Baker is a guest blogger on Boing Boing. A freelance science and health journalist, Maggie lives in Minneapolis, brain dumps on Twitter, and writes quite often for mental_floss magazine. First off, I want to thank everybody who has contacted me on this. You've all had some great questions. I'm happy to report that I've been able to find answers for most of them. Hopefully, this information is useful--or, at least, educational for y'all. Second, real quick, I want to clarify that, despite my fascination with viruses, I am not on their side. My heart goes out to the people in Mexico who have lost loved ones to this illness. I also sympathize with people here in the U.S. who are experiencing varying degrees of fear over this thing. I would much rather be talking about the science of viruses as a complete non-sequitur with no news hook at all. But, as the situation stands, I find that information (and, yes, a bit of humor) is the best way to tackle fear. Now, without further ado, let's get on to the questions... 1. Various Inquiries About Cytokine Storm and Whether It's Going to Kill Us All The name "cytokine storm" basically describes an over-reaction of a healthy immune system, that causes the body to attack itself. It can be triggered by many things, including viruses, although it's not common for human influenza A virus strains to cause it. Researchers suspect the cytokine storm effect played a roll in the 1918 flu pandemic, and may account for why that flu killed so many young adults, when normally, flu kills people with weak or underdeveloped immune systems: The very young, the old, the sick. Based on the ages of many of the people dying in Mexico, there's been a lot of concern that the H1N1 swine flu virus is also killing via a cytokine storm effect, with the implication that this flu virus will be as deadly as the 1918 version. But, according to Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it doesn't look like H1N1 swine flu is causing cytokine storms in its victims. The most pressing concern with swine H1N1 is not its ability to cause more severe disease, it is its ability to infect large numbers of humans because we don't possess any immunity to this particular novel virus strain. With respect to Mexico, I don't know...nor does anyone as far as I can tell...how many mild disease cases can be attributed to swine H1N1. I suspect there are a lot, in which case the number of deaths (as a percentage of total number of infected people) would be comparable to what we see with seasonal flu. I have no doubt that people have died of respiratory disease in Mexico, but I think we need much more information about how many total cases there are before we can say how virulent the virus is. In other words, unless information gathering later tells us otherwise, you probably don't need to worry about cytokine storm with this flu virus. 2. Concerning Those Little Surgical Masks...And Other Forms of Prevention Surgical masks can aid prevention, but only to a point. Viruses can pass through standard surgical masks. You're better off using a specialty mask with the designation N-95 or N-99. Those are available online or at pharmacies. But even that's not perfect. The virus can live for up to 2 hours outside the human body and it's likely to be on any surface an infected person might touch after sneezing, or sneeze on directly. Desks, doorknobs, computers...lots of things. Hand-washing and keeping your hands away from your eyes and face (and, if you have the flu, staying away from everybody else) are still the best ways to prevent transmission. And, about antiviral medications like tamiflu. Those drugs could, theoretically, work as a preventative measure. But, according to Christine Layton, a public health policy analyst with the North Carolina-based non-profit research institute RTI International, that would be a REALLY bad idea. She says: Influenza (like other viruses) can become resistant to antiviral medication. When this occurs, antiviral medications are no longer effective. The best way to prevent the development of resistant viruses (or bacteria) is to use antiviral (or antibiotic) medications only when infected with a virus which will respond to the medication." Another great way to keep from getting swine flu: Don't got to Mexico. The State Department has said that all unessential travel to the area should be avoided. Do what they say, here. Even if it ends up costing you some money on airline tickets, the risk of picking something up---and, perhaps worse, spreading it to family, friends, and everyone you share an airplane with---just isn't worth it. You don't want to be responsible for that. 3. What About the Symptoms and Which are Deadly? You know how everything seems to start off feeling like the flu? This, too. In fact, the cases in the US have been, essentially, no different from a seasonal bout of flu, like those many of us have already had this year. You get a fever. Your nose runs. You feel like a truck hit you. Then you sleep for a couple of days, eat some saltines, drink some pickle juice*, and you're good. Obviously, though, this scenario is going down differently south of the border. Some of you wanted to know what, exactly, the flu was doing to kill those people. I'm not having much luck tracking down specifics to these cases, but most likely, the H1N1 swine flu kills people in Mexico the same ways seasonal flu kills 36,000-odd Americans every year. Flu can interact with chronic illnesses (such as asthma or heart disease) to make the symptoms of those chronic diseases worse--sometimes fatally worse. A flu infection can also lead to pneumonia, which inflames the lining of the lungs and fills them up with fluid--making it difficult to breathe, and sometimes causing death. Dehydration from diarrhea, and brain damage from sustained very high fevers, can also kill flu victims. Even if you do have flu symptoms, the chances of you having swine flu are pretty low, unless you've recently been to Mexico or spend a lot of time around someone who has. In that case, you should call your doctor, rather than going to the hospital or to her office. The best way to keep swine flu from spreading is to keep it away from the public. And, finally, remember that it's allergy season. I've got a runny nose right now, but if there's no fever and you've still got the energy to go about your regular life, it's probably not the flu at all. *Or is that just my family? 4. Will There Be a Vaccine? Apparently, yes. But not anytime soon. Christine Layton tells me that there are companies working on a vaccine for H1N1 swine flu, but the lag time on vaccine production is pretty gnarly. We're talking 3-to-6 months before anything can get out the door, and that's with development and production being fast-tracked. Because flu viruses tend to pretty quick on the mutation draw, the "wild" virus will likely be different from the one the vaccine is modeled on by the time it comes out. That doesn't mean a vaccine won't work, though. Flu vaccines often work on a "close enough" principal. Basically, if the virus the vaccine is based on is similar enough to the wild virus, the vaccine can still help your body mount a defense. It may not prevent illness altogether, but the illness you get might be more mild that what you'd have come down with otherwise. That said, there's also a distinct possibility that, by the time a vaccine is out, H1N1 swine flu won't be a problem anymore. 5. The $64,000 Question Many people emailed to ask why a virus that appears to be killing people in Mexico is producing illness that barely warrants a trip to the doctor here. Baby, if I could answer that, my pay grade would be a LOT higher. This is really the big, central mystery right now. And while there is no shortage of speculation, the fact is that (as of this writing) nobody has any frackin' clue. There is, however, a World Health Organization science briefing scheduled for tomorrow. Maybe we'll get some preliminary answers then. But I wouldn't bet on it. 6. "I Have Taken The Amino Acid Sequence of H1N1 Swine Flu and Turned It Into a Piece of Ambient Music. Does This Interest You?" Yes, Stephan Zielinski. Yes, it does. You can listen to Stephan's appropriately haunting, sad and beautiful composition on his Web site. Finally, a quote to bear in mind, from Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, as reported by the (hopefully) immortal Canadian Press medical journalist Helen Branswell: "Anybody who thinks they know what this virus is going to do weeks, months or years from now really doesn't have a clue what they're talking about." It's possible to take this quote several ways. I choose to look at it hopefully. Let's take worst-case-scenarios--and the people promoting them--with a grain of salt for now....

Pacifism in Online Gaming: WoW Player Ditches His Sword

2009-04-29T06:02:00.001-07:00

WOW Insider has an interview with Noor, a World of Warcraft player who is progressing through the game without resorting to killing. It can’t be much fun playing this way and his chances of reaching level 80 are slim but kudos for trying. Back in November 2007, columnist John Himes took a look at a [...]

CenterNetworks - Drupal to WordPress

2009-04-29T05:02:00.001-07:00

CenterNetworks, a great blog for those interested in social networking, Web 2.0, and social media has switched from Drupal to WordPress, and while they had a few problems in their transition, for all intents and purposes it was a success. They are working on releasing details of the conversion soon, but I wanted to cover [...]

Seattle PostGlobe Springs From Seattle PIâs Ashes

2009-04-29T04:02:00.001-07:00

I love this story, it is so incredibly “publishing 2.0″ and “blogosphere spirit” to me. A bunch of laid off journalists from Seattle Post-Intelligencer, a now online-online publication, have started a non-profit online news site called Seattle PostGlobe. This from the Seattle Times story: Seattlepostglobe.org has little money â" about $3,000, with another $3,000 pledged. “We’re [...]

WordPress Download Monitor Review

2009-04-29T03:02:00.001-07:00

When you build a website â" what is your goal?Â Most of us want to get visitors and provide a product that our readers and visitors will enjoy.Â One of the ways you can add some value to your website is to offer downloads.Â These downloads an be pretty much anything you want them to

Movable Type Monday: Comment Authors, Stock Quotes, Github, and More

2009-04-29T02:02:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday, folks! We have some new Movable Type plugins to tell you about, plus some documentation to help you operate your MT blog better. Comment Author Context — This plugin, from Six Apart employee Brad Choate, allows you to use the various author-related template tags to output information about a commenter. This can be especially [...]

Telcos may soon be in the business of selling keywords

2009-04-29T01:02:00.001-07:00

I had a revelation today as I met with Ray Tsuchiyama, the marketing director for Tegit Communications (these are the guys behind the famous T9 predictive text recognition in almost all the phones in the world). I was expecting a regular press interview for their new T9 Nav technology but I was surprised to hear [...]

Announcing Wordpress Plugin Competition 2009 (3.0)

2009-04-29T00:02:00.001-07:00

It is that time of the year again. We will be holding another WordPress Plugin Competition. The Plugin Competitions held in the past years have generated a tremendous amount of interest in WordPress and our entrants have come up with fantastic plugins such as WP Comment Remix, Manageable,Â Who Sees Ads and of course OneClick

The Hidden Gem Of WordPress

2009-04-28T23:02:00.001-07:00

The other day, I was thinking about how easy it is to make a mess on the web. For example, purchasing a domain that you attach an email address to that is used for a year only to end up wanting to use a different domain. This means you have to go to every site

Yahoo! shuts down GeoCities, pushes paid Web Hosting Service

2009-04-28T22:25:00.001-07:00

I remember my first blog website. It was on Geocities. Sad to hear that Yahoo! is pulling the plug. But it is more of the nostalgia that adds to my sentiment. It is finally time to lay GeoCities to rest. Yahoo! does not mention an exact date, but there are always references to the latter [...]

Blogging and WordPress Links for 4/23/09

2009-04-28T22:02:00.001-07:00

How To Blog Anonymously And Maintain Control Of Your Personal Privacy.: Robin Good puts together a nice writeup on how and why to blog anonymously. If you do not have Robin on your reading list, he should be. I like his general writing style and his visual clues. 10 Exceptional WordPress hacks from Smashing Magazine.: Smashing

WordPress MU 2.7.1 Is Finally Out

2009-04-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

It has taken its sweet time, but WordPress MU version 2.7.1 finally sees the light of day. WordPress MU is the multi-user version of WordPress, the one that powers Edublogs, WordPress.com, and other hosted blog solutions that looks like WordPress but offers free hosting. Andrea on WPMU Tutorials’ got a nice overview of the release, [...]

Upcoming Interview with Jane Wells WordPress Designer

2009-04-28T20:02:00.001-07:00

I have some terrific news â" Jane Wells has been gracious enough to agree to an interview with me about some WordPress related topics. We are going to discuss bug hunts, WordPress 2.8 and what it is like to work on interface and experience design for WordPress. It is possible that if you have ever attended a

WPWeekly - Matt Mullenweg Interview

2009-04-28T19:02:00.001-07:00

The most recent episode of the WPWeekly podcast is one giant interview with Matt Mullenweg covering a wide range of questions and topics such as… What is the process one must go through in order to patch a bug, complete a ticket and get it into the core of WordPress? Can you give use your stance on [...]

ReadWriteWeb Launches Startup Channel

2009-04-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

ReadWriteWeb isn’t just hiring, they’re expanding too. The most recent “channel”, as they call their overhead sections, is ReadWriteStart, focusing on startups and sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark. Our sponsor for this Channel is Microsoft BizSpark. They pay the bills, but they have no say in what we write. Fair enough. Read the launch post and check it [...]

UK take-out portal offering free food to bloggers

2009-04-28T17:02:00.001-07:00

The only proviso seems to be that you review the new web site of UK fast food information portal Just-Eat.co.uk. Most bloggers won’t turn down free stuff, so Just-Eat’s latest promotion could go down pretty well. They’re offering a Â£15 meal for those who sign up to the service and then blog or write about their [...]

Three Steps That Guarantee Every Word of Your Copy Gets Read

2009-04-28T16:02:00.001-07:00

Get someone to read every word? Isn’t that impossible these days? It’s not impossible if you put your mind to it. Really. If you want to get visitors to stop what theyâre doing, give you their undivided attention and take the immediate action you desire, then grab the closest pen you can find and start taking notes [...]

KeepMeOut.com: Solve Your Internet Addiction Problem

2009-04-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

As the Internet becomes almost ubiquitous, more and more people are starting to have addiction problems. Some are addicted to YouTube, others to FaceBook, others to Twitter and so on.

KeepMeOut.com: Solve Your Internet Addiction Problem

Quick Podcast Interview on Blogging

2009-04-28T14:03:00.001-07:00

If you’ve got 15 minutes to spare today (and want to hear a couple of Aussies talking blogging) check out this quick podcast of an interview that I did this week with Clayton Bjelan on the morning show local Melbourne radio station - Light FM. In it I talk a little about my story of going [...]

Post from: Blog Tips at ProBlogger.

Quick Podcast Interview on Blogging

5 Essential SEO WordPress Plugins

2009-04-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

Guest post by Harsh One of the biggest advantages of WordPress over blogspot is the power to add functions and modify the settings for better search engine optimization. Search engine optimization in simple words means making your blog/website search engine friendly. This will help your posts to rank high in search engine. Wordpress is already SEO optimized [...]

Read more about Blogging, Guest Posts, SEO, Tips, WordPress

What Lies Beneath Social Media?

2009-04-28T12:03:00.001-07:00

As a Performancing reader, you probably blog. You probably have social networking profiles, too, with several friends and groups. Most likely, you are on Twitter, and you exchange short messages with friends and contacts. What are these web apps anyway? They're social media, right? But what's underneath social media?

I'd say we have social networks as the foundation of social media. By a social "network" I don't mean Facebook, LinkedIn or MySpace. Those are actually just the mediums that facilitate social networking. Social networks are actual people who know each other, and who talk to each other. In the olden days, people networked by writing letters, posting on bulletin boards, and calling on the telephone. People even met face to face (imagine that!). Later on, we had online services, email, IRC, forums, and the like. Of course, email is a staple, and has become a de facto standard in communicating online.

This is a realization I just had quite recently. Maybe as someone whose job involves social media, I get engrossed in using these online applications everyday that I don't realize the foundations that are more important. I only see skin-deep. I usually become so focused on using the application rather than connecting with the other people who use the app. I'm no longer socially networking. But I'm just using the social networking app.

This is important, as I've also looked into social media apps I've used before, but have changed and evolved through the years. Take for instance ICQ. It was the first ever IM client and network I used, back in the '90s. Now it's evolved into some sort of social networking, blogging and online dating site. This makes me wonder what of Twitter? What of WordPress? What Facebook and MySpace? Five years down the road, we would probably see a different social media landscape.

But still the social networks would remain the same. People you know would still be people you know. Friends should still be friends (unless, of course, they are only friends by convenience, meaning you are friends because of shared social media apps). By then, perhaps the most basic social mediums would be those that survive the test of time. Like the good old telephone call. Or postcards. Or email.

And maybe one day, we would all get to meet face to face. How's that for social media?

teach

Anchor Sitelinks & WordPress Table Of Contents (Part 1)

Google SideWiki SEO

Stompernet + Infusionsoft Free â (Features Confirmed)

Vimeo Is Not For Commercial Use

Tony Robbins Didnât Knowâ¦

Technorati Changes From A Users Perspective

Stompernet Review â Stomper Storm (Part 2)

Very Short test Run

FTC Fake Bait & Disclosure

What Is Quansite?

Quansite Marketing Pro

Technorati Changes From An Expert Perspective

How To Get Stompernet STSE2 100% Free No Credit Card

Viral Tell-A-Friend Thats Safe For Your Granny or CEO

Stomper 999 â Stompernet Bonus

The #Twitter Method?

Stompernet 999 Conspiracy Theories & Scam Thread

The Power Of Blogging Reciprocity

Google Come Between Me & My Loved Ones

Technorati State Of The Blogosphere â Rest In Spam

Whitelisting Hogwash & Unique Solution?

Stomper 999 â Why Now Andy?

You Canât Segment RSSâ¦ Sorry

Unique Sales Funnel Tricks That Will Blow You Away

Unobtrusive Marketing

Stomper 999 â Sompernet Bonus

Think Write Retire

Keyword Elite 2.0 â Bonus Wars & Clickbank Transgressions

Crazyâ¦ But I Havenât Been Drinking

Crazyâ¦ But I Haven't Been Drinking

WordPress Comment SEO Solutions

Twitter Security Hypocrisy

I Hate Rhubarb Not Broccoli & Undeniable Proof

Conversion Rate Optimization For Freebies

IM Remarkable Free Bonus No Purchase Required <<< Click Here >>>

IM Remarkable Offer Page "before"

Keyword Research Nitrous Oxide

Keyword Titan

Keyword Titan Ultimate Challenge

Bonus Delivery For Opt-Ins

Climbing The Heights Of Mount Google

Climbing The Heights Of Mount Google

When you set out to climb a mountain, or rank for a competitive keyword term, some methods are effective. This is a simplistic look at climbing the heights of Mount Google.

Human Pyramid

Google Screws Up My WordPress Ping List

Update: FIXED -Bitly Blocked By OpenDNS

Bitly Blocked By OpenDNS â FAIL

Feedburner Adds Friendfeed â Subscriber Data For Socialstreaming and Lifestreaming

Current Calculation Problems

Rich Schefren + Dan Thies = Live Training Heaven

Rich Schefren GPS 2.0 Live

GPS 1.0 Review

Disqus â Why 95% Of Bloggers Should Switch

PageRank Sculpting Isn't Dead But Comments Can Kill Your PageRank

PageRank Update â Twitter Profiles â Tosh

Smartphone War â Google Buying Links & Ignore HTC Cloaking?

Android vs Blackberry Smartphones

Google I/O Was Press

Paid Links

Affect on Search Results?

Best Of Breed Firefox Collection For SEO, Bloggers & Internet Marketers

Rackspace Cloud (Mosso) Link To Us Payola

Is PageRank Sculpting Dead & Can Comments Kill Your PageRank?

Smartphone War - Google Buying Links & Ignore HTC Cloaking?

Android vs Blackberry Smartphones

Google I/O Was Press

Paid Links

Affect on Search Results?

Are Blogger | Blogspot Blogs SEO Friendly?

Overnight Success

PageRank Update - Twitter Profiles - Tosh

SEO Blogs Need A Serious Spring Clean

Brain Solis and Techcrunch Blatantly Wrong About The Consequences Of Sponsored Reviews With Google

503 Service Unavailable Status Code Can Kill Your Search Traffic

First Link Priority - Is Stompernet Wrong?

Prior Knowledge & Non-disclosure

Launch Tree Bonus From Stompernet

How To Create $12 Visitor Value (Not CPM)

Affiliate Product Launches I Refuse To Promote

Stompernet + Infusionsoft Free â (Features Confirmed)

Tony Robbins Didnât Knowâ¦

Stompernet Review â Stomper Storm (Part 2)

Stomper 999 â Stompernet Bonus

Technorati State Of The Blogosphere â Rest In Spam

Stomper 999 â Why Now Andy?

You Canât Segment RSSâ¦ Sorry

Stomper 999 â Sompernet Bonus

Keyword Elite 2.0 â Bonus Wars & Clickbank Transgressions

Crazyâ¦ But I Havenât Been Drinking

Crazyâ¦ But I Haven't Been Drinking

IM Remarkable Free Bonus
No Purchase Required
<<< Click Here >>>

Bitly Blocked By OpenDNS â FAIL

Feedburner Adds Friendfeed â Subscriber Data For Socialstreaming and Lifestreaming

Disqus â Why 95% Of Bloggers Should Switch

PageRank Update â Twitter Profiles â Tosh

Smartphone War â Google Buying Links & Ignore HTC Cloaking?

Seattle PostGlobe Springs From Seattle PIâs Ashes