Archive for May, 2007

Technorati Refreshed

During my daily visit to Tecnorati, I discovered a new look. So, I headed over to the Technorati blog hoping to discover the meaning behind this. Low and behold…David Sifry unveiled a new version of Technorati today with various improvements including search functionality and usability. Obviously, the look of the site has undergone the most dramatic change.

We just launched a major refresh to www.technorati.com. Some of the changes are subtle, some are big, and they all build on a bunch of improvements we’ve been making to the site since January. We’ve been spending a lot of time listening to you, and incorporating an enormous amount of feedback into this refresh - dozens of changes to both our look and feel and to our backend systems to make Technorati more useful to you.

The blogsearch-only page has been streamlined.

Only one “bug” I noticed as I visited Technorati through my WordPress Dashboard was that Ms. Danielle’s icon is used for about 75% of the blogs that are linking to Derrich.com. I shouldn’t complain but I thought I’d point that out.

Sifry promises more updates and innovations throughout the rest of the year. Good. They’ll need it to effectively compete against Google Blogsearch.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Regain Control With Lulu.com Online Publishing

Lulu.com is an online self-publishing website that allows users to create, publish and sell their content with no upfront fee. Users may publish various types of content:

• Paperback Books
• Hardcover Books
• Photo Books & E-books
• Calendars
• Brochures, Artwork, and Images
• Dissertations
• Yearbooks
• CDs & DVDs
• Music & File Downloads

Publishing with Lulu.com is easy and free. Its print-on-demand marketplace allows users to determine the price they wish to charge for their content, and shows users how to sell to over 1 million members worldwide. Print-on-demand also eliminates excess inventory.

Lulu.com allows you to own the copyright and to set the retail price. You collect 80% of the profit. Unlike traditional publishers who hold and review your manuscripts for months and collect the bulk of your profits, Lulu.com allows you to control your content and publish within minutes. With regard to quantity, you may print in bulk to sell worldwide, print promotional copies, or simply print a single copy for yourself.

In the PRICE & FINISH STEP, you can publish your new project in both print and downloadable content.

Lulu.com provides you with professional quality publishing. Helpful resources include Live Help from Mon-Fri 12am-9pm EST and Online Workshops through Lulu U. View the Lulu.com publishing demo today. Or visit their blog: Adventures In On-Demand Publishing.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Gangs Of The Safari

A trio of Cape Buffalo stumble upon some hungry lions. The lions attack one of the trio, but encounter a croc that thinks it deserves a taste. Apparently the buffalo don’t leave their own behind. The video is a little long, but check it out to the end.

A Brawl In The Safari - Videos at Derrich.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

Optimize Your SEO Scorecard

When I have questions about SEO, I always consult the WebConfs.com SEO Toolset. I recently found the List of Best and Worst Practices for Designing a High Traffic Website. It includes a checklist of the factors that affect your rankings with search engines. A score is assigned to each factor ranging from -3 to +3. Here are some of the factors I try to focus on. And there are others I should probably take into consideration that I didn’t before.

Keywords

	Keyword in <title tag> (+3)
	Keyword in URL (+3)
	Keyword in anchor text (+3)
	Keyword in headings — <H1> and <H2>, etc (+3)
	Keyword in meta tags (+1)
	Keyword proximity (+1)
	Keyword mistypes and typos (0)
	Keyword dilution (-2)
	Keyword stuffing (-3)

One keyword factor that I am very aware of but do not take advantage of are <alt> tags, which are worth +2 on the WebConfs scorecard.

Links

	Anchor text of inbound links (+3)
	Origin of inbound links (+3)
	Links from similar sites (+3)
	Number of backlinks, or inbound links (+3)
	Anchor text of internal links (+2)
	Many outgoing links (-1)
	Cross-linking (-3)

Ever since I first read about the importance of anchor text and saw it in action at JohnChow.com, I’ve paid closer attention to how I phrase links. I’ve also curbed my use of outbound links. I used to go nuts…and still do sometimes. Bloggers that write alot of reviews should particularly pay attention to this one.

Meta Tags

	<Description> Meta Tag (+1)
	<Keywords> Meta Tag (+1)
	<Refresh> Meta Tag (-1)

I had no idea meta tags were so invaluable…on a relative basis, of course. Ok, so “invaluable” is a bad choice of words. I still find them important. And every little bit helps, right?

Content

	Unique content (+3)
	Frequent updates (+3)
	Keyword formatting and font size (+2)
	Poor coding or design (-2)
	Illegal content (-3)
	Duplicate content (-3)

Once again proves that content is king…and answers questions about frequency of posts. The last two are a bit confusing. I’m aware of copyrighting and plagiarism, but when content is recycled among blogs…does that count too? I’m sure that’s hard to gauge for spiders.

Domains and Age

	Keyword-rich URLs and filenames (+3)
	Sitemap (+2)
	Site age (+2)
	Top-level domain (+1)
	Hyphens in URLs (+1)

Lucky for me (and the rest of us narcissists) — my domain is my name. And if you’re using WordPress, but not using a date and name-based permalink, maybe you should reconsider.

Is It Too Late To Change Domains?
I’ve seen this question answered by Blogspot users a number of times. Sometimes readers will ask why they don’t choose to do it once a suitable domain becomes available. Paula Mooney provides a number of excellent pros and cons when it comes to changing domains. Be sure to check it out. Very interesting. My thoughts on Paula’s predicament? Do it, Paula. You have a great blog with excellent visibility…and we’ve seen blogs improve in a matter of a few months (i.e. Jane May Blogs). Paula has been blogging since December 2005. Drop her a comment and let her know what your thoughts are.

Popularity: 3% [?]

PodCamp San Antonio — Just About Perfect

“Just About Perfect” may be far from the truth. But I only say that because PodCamp San Antonio was only my first such experience, but I definitely benefitted from being there. San Antonio is often described as a big city with a small-town attitude. Well, the same can be said of the PodCamp: a small and intimate group with a wealth of information to contribute. I came in empty-handed, and left trying to remember what I couldn’t fit on my business cards. Luckily, a more-seasoned veteran, Gary Leland (aka. P. Dilly), shared a similar observation of PodCamp San Antonio:

Normally when I travel to these events I choose to skip many of the actual seminars. Rather than sitting and listening, I prefer networking and meeting with people. This setting allowed me the best of both worlds. I listened to more speakers than I have at any other event.

Aside from learning more in 6 hours of interacting with other bloggers than reading hundreds of blogs in the last 6 weeks, I made a few new friends…and resuscitated a couple of old friendships. Two of my old high school classmates were in attendance as well. Richard Galvan provided the audio/video support for the unconference, and Joseph Palumbo and I caught up as he enlightened me on how to implement my new project.

UnUnConference…ish
When I first arrived, the PodCamp seemed to take on the form of a conference. One stage in front, an audience, and some keynote speakers. But the last few hours were much more effective…more like an unconference should be. Smaller groups formed to discuss a variety of topics. Others congregated in the corners or out on the patio for more fortuitous discussions. Carol Turner streamed a few of the presentations. The German Cowboy shared his experiences with podcasting. And Chris Doelle (that’s “daily”, in case you’re wondering) took care of the social responsibilities.

Upcoming PodCamps
You can see a list of upcoming PodCamps by visiting the PodCamp Community Wiki. The next PodCamp San Antonio is scheduled for May 17, 2008. Special thanks to the organizers of PodCamp San Antonio for organizing such a great event.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Introducing The Smile Credit Card

smile is part of The Co-operative Group, the UK’s largest consumer co-operative.

Smile’s credit card was voted ‘best credit card’ four years in a row at the Guardian Consumer Finance Awards 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Smile, the Internet Bank, is offering two credit cards…noth with different benefits. You can choose between two cards: the classic card with cashback on every penny or the low rate gold card.

With a smile classic credit card you’ll get 0.5% cashback on every penny you spend. You’ll pay just 13.9% APR typical/variable if you have a smile current account. The gold card boasts a fantastic rate of 9.9% APR typical/variable with a smile current account.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

Stock Watch — 05/21/2007

The list of stocks to watch that I recommended last week are all up nicely. As you can tell from the chart below, a couple of other stocks have done well since I first mentioned them including Qwest Communications International (NYSE: Q) and Star Gas Partners (NYSE: SGU). Star Gas Partners is encroaching on my “greed meter” with a 20.20% return since March 7. Also mentioned March 7, Sify Ltd. (NASDAQ: SIFY) has remained somewhat flat since, but is still one of those stocks I like alot. So, let’s keep it around. It’s only been a couple of months anyhow.

Symbol	Last Trade*	Shares	Price Paid	Gain	Dividend (Y or N)? Yield (%)
AGII	$33.90	100	$33.12	2.36%	N
COH	$48.58	100	$51.40	-5.49%	N
DEO	$84.04	100	$78.37	7.23%	Y (2.30%)
DOW	$45.92	100	$40.02	14.74%	Y (3.60%)
FMS	$49.14	100	$50.01	-1.74%	N
GPX	$10.15	100	$9.38	8.21%	N
KCI	$49.17	100	$46.90	4.84%	N
MOT	$18.90	100	$18.16	4.07%	Y (1.10%)
Q	$10.01	100	$8.50	17.76%	N
SGU	$4.70	100	$3.91	20.20%	N
SIFY	$8.44	100	$8.41	0.36%	N
SIX	$6.09	100	$5.97	2.01%	N
YHOO	$29.35	100	$26.87	9.23%	N

*Price as of market close on 05/21/2007. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Educate Yourself
I can’t stress enough the importance of doing due diligence when taking investing advice. Even if it’s from a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), or some other licensed professional (with remarkable investing acumen like me ), doing your own research will help you understand how the company works. Who does the company sell to and why? How do they sell? How do they produce and what materials/resources do they use? You’ll gain a new understanding of its processes. Beyond that, you should get familiar with numbers like margins, returns on assets, and how to evaluate a company’s capital structure.

On the education note, I read a post over at DividendMoney.com last week. Tyler McKinna used an interesting approach to help ensure you make money in stocks. In addition to due diligence, #5 on the list discusses using stop loss orders. Check it out if you have a sec.

Popularity: 4% [?]

BlogRoll

• Milk Was A Bad Choice
• CrackBerry.com
• Stock Trading 101
• For The Love Of Sports
• Project Spurs
• Busted Coverage
• WallStreetFighter

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