02.27.06
Posted in General at 11:38 pm by Paloma Cruz
Communications Overtones has their interpretation of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Blogs.”
- Develop content based on principles and values.
- Have a vision or purpose statement.
- Prioritize.
- Think win-win.
- Seek first to understand…then to be understood.
- Synergize.
- Renew yourself.
OK, I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve done none of these. I especially have problems with the last one:
You don’t have much to offer if all you do is sit in front of a computer. We all need to renew in the areas of physical health, social networks, spiritual renewal and mental improvement. When you do this you have something new and interesting to bring to the conversation.
All I’ve been doing lately is working, which leaves little conversation for my blogs.
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02.26.06
Posted in News at 11:21 pm by Paloma Cruz
Work More, Do Less With Tech
– reported by Wired
Most U.S. workers say they feel rushed on the job, but they are getting less accomplished than a decade ago, according to newly released research.
Workers completed two-thirds of their work in an average day last year, down from about three-quarters in a 1994 study, according to research conducted for Day-Timers, an East Texas, Pennsylvania-based maker of organizational products.
The biggest culprit is the technology that was supposed to make work quicker and easier, experts say.
[snip]
Unlike a decade ago, U.S. workers are bombarded with e-mail, computer messages, cell phone calls, voicemails and the like, research showed.
The average time spent on a computer at work was almost 16 hours a week last year, compared with 9.5 hours a decade ago, according to the Day-Timer research released this week.
Workers typically get 46 e-mails a day, nearly half of which are unsolicited, it said.
Sixty percent of workers say they always or frequently feel rushed, but those who feel extremely or very productive dropped to 51 percent from 83 percent in 1994, the research showed.
Put another way, in 1994, 82 percent said they accomplished at least half their daily planned work but that number fell to 50 percent last year. A decade ago, 40 percent of workers called themselves very or extremely successful, but that number fell to just 28 percent.
[snip]
Even if productivity increases, it’s constantly outpaced by those expectations, said Don Grimme of GHR Training Solutions, a workplace training company based in Coral Springs, Florida.
[snip]
Finally, there’s a trend among companies to measure job performance like never before, said Challenger. “There’s a sense that no matter how much I do, it’s never enough,” he said.
This explains a lot. I always feel like I’m not getting enough done. People expect an immediate response to emails. The expectations on performance are incredibly out of sync with reality.
I can’t get enough done. I just can’t get enough done.
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02.24.06
Posted in News at 9:27 pm by Paloma Cruz
MySpace rises as new online star
Just over 2 years old, it already has 2 1/2 times the traffic of Google
– reported by MSNBC
The Internet has a rising star whose name isn’t Google. Just over 2 years old, MySpace now has 2 1/2 times the traffic of Google Inc., and it quickly eclipsed Friendster as the top social-networking site where users build larger and larger circles of friends.
[snip]
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02.23.06
Posted in General at 2:18 am by Paloma Cruz
Teen bloggers at risk of cyberstalking
– found at Science Blog
A study of 68 randomly selected weblogs produced by teenagers aged 13 to 17 finds that teen bloggers often willingly reveal their actual names, age and offline locations, putting them at risk for cyberstalking and cyberbullying.
David Huffaker, a Northwestern University researcher working in the technology and social behavior program with Northwestern Professor Justine Cassell, will present his study findings within the context of other studies of teenage Internet behavior at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in St. Louis Sunday, Feb. 19.
In “Teen Blogs Exposed: The Private Lives of Teens Made Public,” Huffaker finds that half of all teenage bloggers link to other bloggers, and often include a “friends list.” Sixty-seven percent of teen bloggers provide a comment section in order to get feedback from readers of their blogs.
[snip]
Seventy percent of the teens disclosed at least their first name, 67 percent revealed their age, and 61 percent provided their contact information either in the form of e-mail (44 percent), instant messenger name (44 percent) or a link to a personal home page (30 percent). Fifty-nine percent of those who provided contact information disclosed the city or state in which they reside.
[snip]
On the positive side, blogs give teens an opportunity to share their stories and feelings. “They provide a venue in which they can reflect upon their experiences,” says Huffaker. “The ability to create a community online also bodes well for future social development.”
[snip]
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Posted in General at 1:51 am by Paloma Cruz
BlogWrite for CEOs has a great list of resources for Blogging 101, Podcasting 101 and RSS 101.
All I can say is Wow! Wish it were mine.
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02.21.06
Posted in General at 2:35 am by Paloma Cruz
Some things to help your blog & your business:
‘Must Have’ Sidebar Features
- Site Search
- Archives
- Blogroll
- Recent Comments
- Blog Categories
- Most Popular Posts
- Contact Info
- Short About Section
- Your Other Projects/Blogs
- RSS Buttons
Improving the readability of large numbers of comments
- Highlight your (own) comments
- Provide visual cues
- Show what’s new
- Split things up
- Newest first
- Distinguish Trackbacks
- Rate comments
- Nested comments
- Editable comments
- Categorise comments
Hit the Jackpot! How to Find Money-making Domains
In this article, I’ll explain the tools and techniques domain pros use to determine — or at least reasonably guesstimate — how much, and what type, of traffic a domain receives. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to predict approximately how much money a given domain will make, and thus gain a better understanding of the domain’s true value. We’ll discuss three methods for evaluating the traffic a domain receives:
* Trackers/Direct Methods
* Predictors/Indirect Methods
* Traffic Source
The educated buyer always comes out ahead, so read on to unlock the mysteries of domain traffic and learn how to determine scientifically if a domain is really worth buying.
6 Killer Tips for More Web Design Clients
- Hone those Social Skills
- Blow your own Trumpet (No one Else Plays your Tune)
- Get Into Bed With Someone
- Conduct Effective Advertising
- Visualise your Success
- Persistence will Win the Day
Diversify Your Investments by Starting a Side Business (found via LifeHacker)
Intro from LifeHacker:
Ambitious software developer Brad Isaac makes a convincing argument why you should start a side business you run on weekends and nights for some extra cash, experience and security.
Isaac says a side business (different from a small business, mind you) is a smart use of your free time, diversifies your income stream, gets you an education and gives you a sense of security and self-esteem working for the man does not. With a successful side business, your attitude at the 9-5 will change for the better.
Sharpening Your Focus: Seven Ways to Keep ‘the Customer’ Front & Center
- Play “follow the leader”: good leadership drives customer focus.
- Remind employees of their mission within the organization.
- Shine a spotlight on employees.
- Recognize outstanding service.
- Realize that smart organizations learn from their mistakes.
- Consider using a focus group.
- Keep customers informed of improvements.
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02.20.06
Posted in General at 6:36 am by Paloma Cruz
According to Godbit Project’s “Youth, Vitality, and Content“:
Having a website is great, but nothing beats a fresh website. In fact, if the content on your church’s website gets outdated, you might as well kiss it goodbye. That’s how important it is.
[snip]
Here are three practical ideas for setting up a Web site management system, as proposed by the post:
- Designate someone as the website caretaker.
- Meet regularly with your website caretaker.
- Use a Content Management System.
Need help finding a content management system?
There are literally hundreds of CMSs out there, so I won’t explore them in depth in this article. However, here are a few better-known CMSs designed to live on your website:
These CMSs are designed to live on a particular computer in your office:
These CMSs are services that you subscribe to:
Check out Andy Knight’s awesome article With All Thy Getting, Get a Site You Can Update.
This blog is a great source of info on how to get your organization online, and do a good job of it. Definitely worth keeping on your favorites list.
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Posted in General at 2:18 am by Paloma Cruz
The Godbit Project is a site I have bookmarked, not because I create sites for religious organizations, but because they so often have great posts about technology and programming.
“Accessibility: Section 504, 508, ADA, WCAG, And You” is one of the posts that provide valuable information that could get overlooked if it’s not pointed out.
Many people have a little “508” link on their blogs to show that their personal journal conforms to the Rehabilitation Act of 1998, Section 508. This always makes me chuckle a little bit and wonder, “is this person a federally funded program?” This little tidbit inspired me to start writing this article. The recent news that Target is being sued by the National Federation for the Blind inspired me to finish it.
How exactly does the government legislation apply to Web sites you are creating?
The post covers topics including:
- Why You Should Care
- A Look At The Law: Rehabilitation Act of 1998 – Section 504, Section 508
- It’s Not About Not Being Sued!
- Enter The WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
It’s definitely worth a read.
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02.19.06
Posted in News at 4:26 pm by Paloma Cruz
Study: Internet Users Go Online for Fun
Some people go online just for the sake of it: A new study finds that on any given day, nearly a third of U.S. Internet users log on just for fun or to pass the time.
Compared with other online tasks, recreational surfing ranks behind only e-mail and search and it’s about even with getting news online, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
[snip]
The 30 percent of Internet users who went online for fun on a given day represents an increase from 21 percent a year earlier.
[snip]
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Posted in General at 12:23 am by Paloma Cruz
Houston will soon have a citywide WiFi network. Dwight Silverman talks about it in his blog.
City posts RFP for municipal WiFi network
The City of Houston today made public its formal Request for Proposals for a planned citywide WiFi network.
You can download the RFP in either Word or PDF format. You can also post a comment about the document.
Under this RFP, the network would be financed privately, similar to the way Philadelphia is working with Earthlink, or what Google is doing in San Francisco. The city would provide the mounting structures for WiFi radios, such as light poles.
Nice to know that Houston is finally catching up to the rest of the country.
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