One Step at a Time

My daughter, Kaylie, taught me a lesson this morning about creating my web presence.

Yep, she's a child prodigy even before she's spoken her first word.

She was with me in my office while I was working. I had her on her lily pad blanket and she was working on running. No, she wasn't actually getting up and running around my office. She was lying on her back, lifting her legs and rolling onto her side. That's it. She's working on the next step of rolling all the way over. It's hard, but she's not letting that slow her down.

So, what does that have to do with creating a web presence?

Most people -- myself included -- won't do anything on the web until we've got the whole thing figured out. We've got to have the perfect website with the perfect layout and design, the perfect content, the perfect e-newsletter, the perfect search engine optimization which places us at the top of any search rankings, etc, etc, etc.

The end result of this, of course, is that we do nothing.

I think Kaylie has the right plan: Just start. Don't have a website? Hire someone to build one. Can't afford a high-end web design company? Hire your nephew. Can't afford him? Spend ten minutes a day using one of the various online tools at your disposal, such as Google's Page Creator.

Oh, and your site doesn't have to start out with every single piece of potentially interesting information under the sun. Try starting by answering the questions: Who are you? What do you do? How can you help me? How can I contact you? Later on you can create a page with the details of your state-of-the-art, factory-certified, award-winning framenjammer processes, one with the list of your press releases, and the calendar of events that you will be attending.

So what if you don't have perfect content? Something is better than nothing. Write anything, because, as my buddy Scott Ginsberg says, writing is the basis of all wealth.

A Web presence can be (and really must be) built over time, step by step. It's a slow process, but a necessary one, because if you (or your company) don't exist on the Web, then you don't exist.

So, what steps are you taking to increase your Web presence?

Google 101, Part 2

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended a presentation put on by Google, Friends of CASA, and the NEW Center about the advantages of several of Google's products for nonprofit organizations. One of the first areas they discussed was the suite of tools called Google Apps.

Google Apps includes Docs, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Calendar, Gmail, Page Creator, and Sites. All of them are useful, but the folks from NEW Center placed a particular emphasis on the first three. They hold particular benefit because they address some of the fundamental issues that many nonprofits face with their IT infrastructure. The list is long:

• Donated (read "old") hardware. "There isn't enough disk space on this computer to load Office 2007!"
  
• Non-standardized hardware and software. "Ralph has a Mac Powerbook. Randi is using an old Windows 95 machine and I've got a Linux computer. What software will run on all of them?"
  
• Lack of professional IT staff. "Charlie is our IT guy. He's here every Tuesday. Or was that every other Wednesday? Was this an emergency?"
  
• Lack of adequate backup procedures. "Uh-oh, the computer crashed with the only copy of the grant application. Now what do we do?"
  
• Un-updated software. "I've got version 2.0 and Sally is using 3.1. Why can't I open the files she's creating?"
  
• Complicated procedures to share work effort with standard desktop software. "Who's got the most recent version of the grant application? What happened to all of the changes I made?"
  
• Frequent turnover of staff and volunteers. "Bob was the only one who knew where we kept all of the original disks for the software and he left a year ago with no forwarding address!"

Google claims that Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations address a lot of these problems. Since the documents are located on Google's servers, you don't have to worry about backing things up. Google also maintains the software (it's always the latest version). As long as the computer can run a modern web browser and has access to the Internet, you can use these programs. They even have a fairly sophisticated sharing mechanism which allows multiple people to access and edit documents at the same time.

Now, to be sure, these applications are not perfect. You don't have access to all of the functionality that modern productivity suites offer. Documents are suited for web display, so if you are writing something which requires specific layout settings, you might have to use MS Word or OpenOffice.org Writer to do the final formatting. You also won't have access to all of the fonts that you would have on your desktop machine.

That all being said, though, just the aspect of being able to maintain your important documents someplace other than the computer on Shirley's desk is probably a good thing.

So, have you tried Google Apps? For what do you use it?

Google 101

I attended an exciting presentation this morning put on by Google, Friends of CASA, and the NEW Center's npServ program. The lecture focused on the many benefits of various Google applications and services for nonprofit organizations. I'll go into some of the details in a later post, but there were two tools that I wanted to mention right away, just in case anyone reading this might have use of them.

The first is Google Checkout. This is a credit card processing service similar to PayPal. Right now, Google is running a promotion such that 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations pay no transaction fees. That's right. Every cent that someone donates through the nonprofit's website using Google Checkout goes directly to the NP. This deal runs through January 1, 2009. After that, the fees increase to 2% + $.20 per transaction. Unless you plan on doing more than $100,000 per month in donations, this is cheaper than PayPal.

It might even be cheaper than getting a merchant account from a bank, setting up an online card-processing gateway (such as Authorize.net) and hiring a programmer to set up the whole thing on your website. It's certainly a lot easier.

The second tool is Google Adwords.

I'm not going to go into detail here about how the whole thing works -- suffice for now to say that it is the facility which places those "sponsored links" at the top and right side of search results in Google. Again, I'll cover the details in a later post. The cool thing here is that Google has a program called "Google Grants", which offers what is essentially free advertising to 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations.

As I understand, "free" is a price that most nonprofits can handle.

Both of these services have an application process, so you might want to check them out if you think you might be interested.

So, what might your nonprofit be able to do with these services?

Read Part 2 of this story.

A View into Google Calendar

Those crazy kids at Google have one-upped me. I guess I can't blame them too much. After all, it's what they do.

In this case, though, they've come up with a relatively simple way to embed a Google Calendar into a website (or blog, or whatever). This is similar to a tool that I had built a little less than a year ago. The only real differences are that mine is a little more customizable and theirs is a lot easier to use.

In order to use their service, all you have to do is:

1. Create a calendar using Google Calendar -- you'll need a Google account to do that. Make sure you set the calendar to be publicly readable.
2. Enter some items into the calendar.
3. Go to the settings page for the calendar and scroll down to the section on embedding it in a web page.
4. OR, click on the link to take you to the customization page which allows you to specify colors, sizes, default appearance, even multiple calendars.
5. Whichever step you took, you next just copy the provided HTML code into your web page and you are done.

From that point on, when you change your Google Calendar, the changes will appear on your web page. I've already set up one of these for one of my clients, CNP of Ohio, Ltd. They have a calendar of business networking events that they maintain for their members. Check it out to see what can be done.

So, how could you use an embedded calendar like this?

Jott Updated

In one of my recent e-zine issues, I wrote about the service called "Jott". It's a neat tool which allows you to call up a toll-free number, leave a voice message, and have that message transcribed and sent to anyone on your contact list. It is a great way to send yourself little reminders if you don't have a pen and paper handy. In fact, it makes a great way to make your calls and take notes in the car if you have a BlueTooth headset and voice-activated calling.

I just got an email from them today that they'd updated their site and some of their services. It's worth a quick look. They've made it easier to organize the messages that you've sent and you can even listen to the original audio that you recorded. My favorite new feature, though, is the ability to register your own custom Jott Link.

I know, I know. You're all excited about that, too. And you'll be even more excited if you knew what the heck a "Jott Link" is.

A Jott Link allows you to manipulate other online services using Jott as the go-between. For example, I can call Jott and have it record a meeting in my business calendar on Google Calendar. I've also got it set up to record tasks on my favorite "to do" list service, Remember the Milk.

With this new feature, if you have a home-grown or proprietary web-based system that you use on a regular basis, you (or your Web programmer) can connect that service to Jott. So, for example, you might have your own proprietary contact management system. Using this feature you could set up something which allowed you to call up and record the name and phone number of a new acquaintance.

So, how could you use a free automatic transcription service?

Keeping on Track

Before I went full time on my business, I used to be able to keep track of my clients in my head. I rarely had more than one or two at any time, so keeping track was pretty easy. Afterwards, though, my client list began to grow and I knew that things would begin to fall through the cracks if I didn't come up with a system.

So, I started keeping a list on the whiteboard next to my desk. It was pretty simple -- just a list of the clients and a one-word status message. I kept a more detailed document as a Google Docs spreadsheet. It's been working pretty well, but, as you can see, my business has continued to grow and now I'm starting to run out of room.

Maybe I need a bigger whiteboard?

This is all an overly long preamble into talking about an online tool that helps to keep track of all of this information. It's called CreativeProOffice.com.

CreativeProOffice is a free service (I'm not sure how they pay for it as there don't seem to be any ads). With it you can track clients, projects, tasks, files, and even submit invoices. It's a remarkably complete service. It's not perfect for me, but I could easily adapt it. So, why am I not converting everything over to using this service?

Well, I'll tell ya. It has to do with the nature of free software. If it were an application that I could download and use on my desktop, I probably would. Even if UpStart Productions (the maker of CPO) decided to stop supporting the application, I would at least have it on my computer and could use it for many years before I might run into problems. Unfortunately, this is an online service. If UpStart decides to stop supporting it, the site could vanish overnight, leaving me without a tool that I might have come to depend upon. I need to think long and hard about whether that is an acceptable risk.

So, would you use such a service to track your clients and projects? What are you using right now?

Cell Phone Tools

I just sent out volume 2, issue 3 of the "Clearing Up the Confusion" e-zine. Here's an excerpt:

OK, I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a cell phone junkie. I use my phone for everything from taking snapshots, to reading email, to keeping track of my "to do" list. Heck, I can even use it as a GPS when I'm out looking for a client's office.

Some of these tools are a part of the phone itself. Others, however, reside out on the Web. That means, whether I'm sitting at the coffee shop, or relaxing on vacation, as long as I have a cell phone connection, I have access to my information.

So, what are some of these services and how well do they work? Here's a quick rundown of some of the ones I've been using...

To read the rest of this article check out the e-zine issue. You might even like to subscribe!

So, what cell phone tools would you recommend?

Show Your Colors with iGoogle Themes

I've written a couple of times now about the custom themes for the iGoogle personal homepage. My favorites include the beach scene (where I swear I saw the Loch Ness Monster at around 3am one night) and the images of different planets.

Now Google has gone one step further to allow those of us with the desire and skill to make our own themes. They've got the instructions available online with everything you need to know to include your favorite sports team, the memories from your last vacation, or even your business' logo at the top of the page. What's more, if you think the theme you designed is really good, you can submit it to Google to be included in the catalog of themes available to the public.

Imagine how cool it would be as a up-and-coming graphic designer to be able to include "Created iGoogle theme used by 1000's of people" to your list of achievements!

So, what images would you use for your personal home page?

Talkin' Trackbacks, Part 4: One More Tool

I mentioned yesterday that I had a better tool to do outgoing trackbacks. It will only work, though, for people who are using Blogger and are using Firefox (and why would you be using any other browser??).

The tool is a script written by Stephen Weber of Singpolyma. It uses the Greasemonkey add-on for Firefox. OK, I'm sure I saw some eyes glazing over out there, so if you would like to try this excellent tool, just do the following:

1. First check to make sure that you are running Firefox. If you are running Internet Explorer, you can't use this tool. See yesterday's post about Haloscan
   
2. Install Greasemonkey. Go to the Firefox add-on site, and click on the "Install Now" link. If it pops up any dialogs, just click "OK" or "Yes" or "Allow" or whatever you need to to make things continue running. At the end of this step you may need to restart Firefox. After you do, come back here for the remainder of the step. Remember this is the Jan 28, 2008 posting in the "Clearing up the Confusion" blog. I'll wait while you do this.
3. OK, still waiting.
4. Huh, he must have gone off to get a sandwich or something. Oh, well, for those of you who returned, now you just need to install the script.
5. Go to Stephen's blog. Be patient. his blog seems to be a bit slow to load.
6. Click on the "Install the new script" link. Again, click on the "OK"/"Yes"/"Allow" buttons.
7. I don't think you have to restart Firefox again, but feel free to do so if it makes you feel better.

Now whenever you go to post a new entry on your blog, you will see a new entry field right under the title of the post. When you want to do a trackback, you just paste the trackback URL into that spot. When you publish the entry, the trackback engine will do its thing without any further intervention from you.

Oh, the first time you try a trackback with this tool, it will ask you for your del.icio.us ID. If you have one, feel free to enter it. It will give you a one-click link to post your new entry on the social bookmarking site, del.icio.us. Or hit "cancel" and it should stop pestering you about it.

Well, I hope these last few posts have gotten you excited about the possibilities for using trackbacks with your blog. If you do decide to give it a try, let me know what you think and whether it was worth the trouble.

So, have you tried out any of the other add-ons for Firefox?

Talkin' Trackbacks, Part 3: The Tools

So, if you read through parts one and two of this series, you might be getting pretty excited about exploring the world of trackbacks. If you are blogging using WordPress or MovableType, then you are in luck as the trackback facility is already available to you. You might have to go into your blog settings to enable it, but otherwise, you're golden.

But what about the rest of us? Many of us are using Blogger, one of the most popular blogging systems available and it doesn't support trackbacks natively (it has a feature called "backlinks" which is similar, but as I've mentioned before, I haven't noticed too many other people using it and it is only available to other Blogger users). Still, if you look at the bottom of this post, you'll see that I do have a trackback link. How is that possible?

In a word: Haloscan

Haloscan is a service which manages comments and trackbacks for blogs which don't have those features natively. The basic service is free (though it does include advertising), but for only $12, you can get their premium service which is ad-free.

Sign-up is easy. The form doesn't even really request that much information from you. The installation process can be a little daunting if you aren't comfortable editing HTML, but if you follow the instructions for your blogging platform you shouldn't have too much trouble. If all else fails, your friendly neighborhood web developer should have no problem getting things set up for you. In fact, for those of us using Blogger, they have an automatic installation took (just be sure to back up your settings before you try anything like this).

Haloscan give you support for both incoming and outgoing trackbacks. I use it for only the former. The latter is a bit too clunky for me. In order to send the "ping", you have to locate all of the information required (the title, permalink, excerpt, etc) and then fill in a form on the Haloscan site. I much prefer that all of this information be collected for me automatically.

I have a few other minor complaints about Haloscan. First, it is a bit slow. I did a test trackback on one of my older posts and it took almost an hour before it appeared on my site. Update: This seems to be a lot faster now. Perhaps my first test was during a bad time.

Second, the trackback listings aren't incorporated directly into the site. If you click on the trackback link below, it pops up a separate window with the listings (a window over which you have no real control regarding its look and feel). Finally, Haloscan doesn't seem to have any sort of moderation for trackbacks (though it does for comments). This means that anyone can automatically create a link to their site from yours. Of course, you can just delete anything which you don't want included, but if you are someone who likes to have control from the beginning, this might be a show-stopper.

Despite these problems, if this is the only way you have to send and receive a trackback ping, it's a long sight better than nothing. And until Blogger decides to support the trackback protocols natively (chances are somewhere between slim and none), your other choice is nothing.

Tomorrow I'll do a quick piece on a better tool for some of us.

So, are their any blogs you read on a regular basis which support trackback? Which ones?

Talkin' Trackbacks, Part 2: How

OK, so after reading the first post in this series, you might be mildly interested in this whole trackback thing -- especially if you are a blogger who would like to increase his readership. I can hear you thinking, though, "How does this all work? If it's too difficult, I'm not going to do it."

Fair enough. I'll tell you, though, that if you have the wherewithal to actually post in your blog on a regular basis, then doing a trackback should be a breeze.

Warning: Technical Content

Now, some of this is going to be dependent on which blogging software you use, but, in general this is how the procedure works. By the way, if you'd like to see a good example of a "tackback-able" blog, check out Seth Godin's. His was the first one to which I sent a trackback ping (which resulted in the first day that my readership exceeded twenty readers for the day).

So, here are the steps:

1. Read a blog post on a blog where you have an interest, whether it be "new marketing" or "knitting sweaters for weasels".
2. Discover that you have something important to say on the subject. This is actually a pretty important step. Remember that the response you are crafting will be a post on your own blog (What? You don't have a blog? What are you waiting for?). Also, many authors moderate their trackbacks, so if they don't think what you are saying is worthy of a reverse link, they don't have to include you.
3. Find the "trackback URL" for the original post. Usually, when you click on a trackback link for a post, there will be a short message that looks something like: Trackback URL for this entry: http://haloscan.com/tb/kaymbre/375279646963837696 -- remember where this is.
4. Write your post -- Of course, using your normal amazing powers of prose.
5. Paste in the trackback URL. This is the one area where you might have to do a little research, but there should be an entry field for this information. You are in especially good shape if you use one of the blogging packages which supports trackbacks natively, such as MovableType or WordPress (What? You use Blogger, like I do? Tune in tomorrow for how we can take part in the fun!).
6. Publish your post. Yep, click on the "submit" or "Publish" or "Make it so" button -- whichever gets things going for your blog.
7. Let the trackback facility do its thing. What happens next is your blogging software sends out a "ping" to the blogging software for the original post -- sort of a computerized "hello". It sends along some other information, like who you are, the title of your post, the URL for your post, and a short excerpt of your literary masterpiece. The system on the other end takes that information and either puts it on the trackback page or queues it up for approval by the original blogger.

And that's pretty much how it works. Essentially, it's just a couple of extra steps for you (copy trackback URL, paste trackback URL) and you've got a great new way to carry on a conversation and make more people aware of your blog.

What's that I hear? You're all excited about using trackbacks, but your blogging software doesn't support them? Tune in tomorrow (and the next day, probably) to find out what else you can do.

So, what do you think, would you be willing to try trackbacks?

Talkin' Trackbacks, Part 1: What and Why

One of the exciting aspects of blogging is the ability to interact with your readers. There's something about the rich interplay of ideas and opinions which really fuels the creative process -- even when they tell you that you're being stupid. Also, let's face it, someone commenting on your post means that they probably read it, and we all like to know that we're communicating with somebody.

Most readers interact with the blogger through the comment feature. They click on the "comment" link, enter their well-thought-out response and go on their merry way. This is great as far as it goes, but, if you look to the bottom of this post, right next to the "comments" link, there's a link to a better way.

It's called a trackback.

What?

I've written about this before, but the trackback facility is a wonderful way, as my hero Scott Ginsberg would say, for bloggers to share "link love". The basic idea is similar to making comments, but instead of the reader leaving her message with me, she would write her commentary as a post in her own blog. Then the trackback facility would create a link between the two posts. Instant "link love!"

OK, Why?

Why would I, as a blogger, allow someone to link to my blog posts like this? Isn't the trackbacker basically trying to steal my readers?

Well, no, not really.

In fact, in order to make the "conversation" make sense, the trackbacker almost has to create a link back to my post. So, while she might increase her readership through gaining exposure to my readership, the reverse is also true, so I might get a slight bump in mine.

Amazing. We both win!

You can even make the argument that people are going to be more thoughtful and thought-provoking in their own blogs than they would in the regular comments section on a post. In fact, some bloggers, like Seth Godin, don't even allow comments on their blogs. They only have trackbacks.

Depending on the level of experience you've had with blogging in general, and the facility of trackbacking in particular, you might be intrigued, confused, or simply bored. I'm not sure I can do much with the latter, but we'll be taking a closer look at the details of trackbacks over the next couple of days in hopes of satisfying the former.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at how this whole trackback thing works.

So, what's your experience been with the trackback facility?

Remember The Milk Add-On

I just wrote about "Remember the Milk" in my e-zine this past week. It's a great tool to keep track of all of the tasks you might have to do in your everyday life. A number of folks who follow David Allen's "Getting things DONE" teachings apparently swear by it.

Today I found out about a nifty new add-on for RTM if you are also a Gmail user and your browser is Firefox. This tool displays your RTM task list right alongside your email in the browser window. No longer do you have to switch windows in order to add new items to your task list. Everything is right there.

I've already installed it. I'll have to let you know if it radically transforms my life or anything.

So, what tools do you use for your task lists?

New Google Themes

I've been meaning to mention this for the past few weeks, but kept getting distracted. Many probably already knew that iGoogle, the personalized Google homepage, has had themes for a while now. They recently added a whole new bunch of selections to the list.

They've got a few more with cute little characters going about their daily lives, similar to the Japanese tea house theme from the original batch. There are a family of raccoons in one, a tiger cub in another, and a giant monster in yet a third. One of my favorites shows images of different planets.

What makes these themes especially cool is that they change in various ways. The beach scene goes from dawn to dusk and eventually to full night. The planets change from day to day (the sun on Sunday, the moon on Monday, etc). Of course the cartoon characters do different things throughout the day. One of the more subtle ones, the bus stop, actually changes depending on the weather in your area.

Does any of this make me more productive? Nope, probably not. It does, however, amuse me and brighten my day, so I guess it does server a productive purpose.

So, which of the new themes catches your fancy?

Fun Phone Tricks

I've had my LG enV "smart" phone for almost a year now. I have to say that it has been an awesome tool to have at my side. It's my alarm clock, my GPS, my web browser and my night-time reading. I've used it to take photos and notes and even to record an interview.

Heck, I even use it to make and receive phone calls!

Last weekend I discovered another neat trick. This one involves searching using Google.

Lisa and I were out doing some shopping to get some things for decorating the house for Christmas. I was looking for replacement bulbs for the lighted deer sculptures that we usually put out under the tree in front of the house. They were very specific bulbs. I needed clear, 3.5 volt bulbs.

After failing to find them at the hardware store, I was dreading the thought of driving from place to place in search of these little widgets. Then I realized that I could search for the specific stores I was considering using the built-in web browser on the phone and just jot down the phone numbers.

A few seconds later, I was searching Google for my first target. Up it came, with no problem, including the phone number. Then I noticed something. The phone number was a link. "I wonder what it's linked to?" I thought to myself.

I "clicked" on the link and suddenly the phone began to dial. Gotta say that I was quite pleased. It was such a little thing, but it made the whole process just that much easier.

I don't know if this works with all cell phones, but you might want to check this out. It's a heck of a lot easier than carrying a phone book with you wherever you go.

So, what was the last gadget that surprised you with its usefulness?

Working the Systems

I've been re-reading "The E-Myth" by Michael Gerber. In it he maintains that there are three different personalities within each of us, the Technician, the Manager, and the Entrepreneur. All of them are necessary to building a successful small business. The problem is, most of us who start businesses are primarily Technicians.

I'm afraid I fall into that class.

I do enjoy just doing the work, but that isn't sufficient. To be successful, I need to not only work in my business, but also work on it, too.

Lately I've been working on developing my inner Manager. This is the part of me that builds systems to make sure that the work gets done. It's been a slow start, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I started using "Remember the Milk" on a daily basis to keep track of my tasks. I've been using Google Docs to record my networking and sales progress. Of course, I've had a system of folders to sort and categorize my email for some time.

I think one sign that I'm starting to get the hang of this is that I'm starting to combine the systems. Now my email gets categorized and turned into tasks on my RTM "to do" list. My business card processing technique gets fed into my networking and sales tracking.

Oh, I still have a ways to go, but it's a start to a more organized me. The good thing is, the more I have things systematized, the more I can later delegate to someone else. According to Gerber, that's the first step to owning a business and not just owning a job.

Now I just have to get busy developing my inner Entrepreneur!

So, what systems have you developed that have made your life easier?

Long Distance Radio

While I am still on vacation today, I did manage to get some work done. I made a few calls, did some programming and even cleared out an email or two.

And I recorded a podcast.

OK, to be accurate, I was interviewed as a part of someone else's podcast, but let's not quibble over semantics.

Debby Peters (yes, she is a relation) of CNP of Ohio, Ltd interviewed me as a guest on her biweekly podcast, Networking on the Chin. We used a pretty cool, free service called Talkshoe. It does everything for you except actually speak. It provides a central phone number where people can call in. It posts the description of the episode. It does the recording and streams it during the show and then provides it as a download afterward.

People can even choose whether they want to connect by phone or through the Web interface. All in all it's a pretty slick setup.

So, if you are considering immortalizing your words of wisdom, you might want to check them out.

Here's the recording I did today:



Or you can download the audio to listen later (9.4M)

So, have you ever recorded a podcast? What tools did you use?

Looking at Things from All Sides

I've been working on the Community Housing Network project over the past few days. Among other things, we're completely revamping the look of the site. My graphic designer came up with a beautiful new look and now I just have to make it work within the Drupal framework (Drupal is the content management system which CHN uses on their site).

This stuff is actually pretty fun for me. I treat it as any other puzzle and just have a good time coming up with tricks and techniques to make things work the way I want them to. There is one tiny little challenge, though, that really gets under my skin.

I have to own about nine different computers to adequately test everything.

After I've done all my work, I have to test the system on a variety of different operating systems and browsers. What looks perfect under Firefox running on Linux (my main desktop machine) will likely look slightly different from a Windows box running Internet Explorer 7. It in turn will look different from a Mac running the Safari browser.

It's a small thing, but to really have a professional site, you need to take this into account.

Fortunately for me, someone else must have been having these same problems, because theres a site now which will test your pages under all combinations of browsers under these three operation systems. It's called Browser Shots and it's a tool any good designer should have in their arsenal.

At least until you can afford to own nine different computers!

So, how well does your site stand up to different platforms and browsers?

Karate Video: Bo Form

I've been meaning to post this for some time now, but haven't had a chance to do the little bit of editing required to get it ready for public consumption. Back on August 18th I had yet another of my monthly tests for my third degree black belt. This time we were allowed to present a demonstration of our own choosing. Since I've been training in traditional weapon styles for a few years now, my choice was an easy one.

Lisa shot the video and I used the Microsoft Movie Maker software to create the titles and prepare it for upload to YouTube. I hope you enjoy it!



So, have you uploaded any videos to YouTube?

Writing a Name for Yourself

I finally got around to submitting some articles on EzineArticles.com.

For those who are unfamiliar with the service, it provides a repository where authors can upload articles which can then be used by anyone to provide content to ezines, print publications, and even websites. While the authors don't get paid for their work, they do get to claim two benefits from the association. First, by being published by others, they become known as experts. Second, part of the publishing agreement includes printing the author bio, which, in addition to the basic author description, can also include links back to the author's website.

The process is pretty straightforward. First, of course, I had to register for an account. This is the same process I've had to go through on dozens of other sites. There is no charge to join as an author, so this didn't slow me down much at all.

Once I had registered, I went to submit my first article. I've written numerous articles in the past, both for my ezine and for other publications. They needed to be retooled for a general audience, but that wasn't too difficult. I filled out the appropriate fields, and with a click it was off to the EzineArticles editorial staff.

Should you decide to investigate the possibilities, here are some things to consider that will make your adventure a little easier than mine:

1. Read the editorial FAQ. This will speed up the submission process tremendously, It's well-written and clear, so you have no excuse not to obey their rules.
2. Before you start submitting, first fill out your profile, including uploading a photo, if you so desire.
3. Write up your author bio. If you already have one ready before you start your first article, the submission process goes a lot faster.
4. Check out the list of categories and subcategories so that you have a good idea where your article belongs. Be sure to read their requirements regarding where things should be categorized. You may disagree with them, but irritating the editorial staff (who will be the ones giving the final yea or nay) probably isn't your best course of action.
5. Read over the article three or more times and do the preview with the spell-checker on. If you have to, read it out loud to make sure the words are saying what you think they are. No one will want to read your masterpiece if it is full of typos and grammatical mistakes.
6. Find a good keyword generator. One of the fields you must fill out for submission is a list of keywords to help people find your articles.
   

As of this writing, I've now submitted six articles, mostly about networking. So far two of them have been approved (it takes about a week or so for each article). Right now I'm a "Basic" member. After you've had ten articles approved, they consider you for Platinum status. From what I understand, that means that your articles pass muster and they give you a higher priority when it comes to approving your pieces.

I just checked and the two articles which have been approved have been viewed 4 or 5 times each. I'll let you know if anyone actually decides to publish my work.

So, do you have articles on EzinArticles.com or one of its competitors?