Your Website Was Build in Flash Sympathy Card

I love getting a request for an analysis; it's time to hit the internets and help someone out and let them know how to increase exposure and, potentially, improve design to get more reaction and visibility (seriously - I'm not even charging for analysis right now, check site for details).

But every once in a while I punch in or click that URL and my heart moves from thrilled to a flopping drop into the pit of my stomach the second my eyes convey to my brain that yes, it is a loading bar before my eyes.

"But no! Wait!" I shout and hope wells up even though I know I shouldn't indulge in that wellspring that so often fails in these situations, "Maybe it's just the part of the site; I mean, it happened so fast."

And I right click. And right click. And right click, to find and find again that I am only repeatedly greeted with the same grey gaze, a grim, unfeeling menu that begins with prompts to "Zoom In" and ends with "About Adobe Flash Player 10...." And it is done.


Melodrama aside, a website developed entirely in Flash will still suck the life out of any SEO campaign. There is some evidence that search engines are starting to parse some information, but even in a best case scenario where all content is read, it's still only one page of content.

Writing up what I am sure will become my stock "Flash Analysis," I wondered if there was an existing sympathy card that could properly convey my feelings - not that I would ever send said card as that would be unprofessional.

There was not, so I created one. Enjoy. And educate yourself about Flash and SEO before beginning any website endeavor.


Ironically, this card is an embedded Flash object.
Here's the link if it fails to load.

Monday Motivation: Getting Out of Bed

I'm not a morning person. I'm generally up and working by 7am, but only reluctantly. Coffee helps, but only mildly. The most productive portion of my day is 11am - 3pm. I'm just not that morning guy.

But I get up. We all do. The working world seems to operate that way.

And there is a great deal of intrinsic drive to me getting up every morning: so much time and so little to do. Wait. Strike that. Reverse it. Little projects, big projects, contacts and sales. Making sure I've left something good in place of a day passed.

But even with all the mental push you can muster, with all the good intentions you scrape together, I know some of you are still thinking "but I just don't want to get up!" And physically, early in the morning, your body just doesn't want to rise to the occasion. So what to do?

Little commitment, big payoff.

Here's a little exercise that I do on a regular basis:

1. Turn and sit on the edge of the bed, feet on the floor. (Yes, you can do this in the dark with your eyes closed.)
2. Begin rotating your shoulders forward, as though you were rowing but without the arms involved.
3. Take a deep breath. Hold it for a few seconds. Slowly exhale. Then two more like that.
4. Now reverse direction of the shoulder roll and take 3 deep breaths.
5. Instant jump in alertness.

Why it works:

The rotation of the shoulders gets your body morning, even if on a minor level. The specific motion helps to open up the lungs. The deep breathing - paired with your opening lungs - delivers more oxygen to your brain, naturally making you feel more alert and awake. Even the grumbliest of morning grumps will feel more awake after this brief moment.

[NOTE: For those of you who - like me - spend most of the day in front of the computer which lends itself to non-optimal seating positions that may naturally shallow breathing: this exercise is a great pick-me-up to re-seat and re-invigorate yourself a couple times a day.]

So now you're out of bed. Go smile in the mirror and get off to a great week!

Funniest Craigslist Post This Week

I am considering making this a regular feature, not because I post so much about Craigslist, but because I can easily find the fodder for a regular post. Here's your mental candy:

I need someone who has great talent and passion for what they do but has very low self-esteem and is willing to work for $15 an hour - after I ask you to go against everything you've learned in school and beat you down so that you're a broken shell of a designer, I may pay you up to $20 at that time.

This is going to be a HUGE business - one day I hope to be handling at least 10 local small-business websites we'll rip the design off of from templatemonster and you're definitely going to want to get in on the ground floor of this deal!

Either a joke or wonderfully candid. At least it doesn't read "perfect for a student" which means "crap pay."

FYI: Most CL gigs out there are pushing $20-$30/hr for work. No. If you want to catch a decent web developer, you should offer at least $50/hr. This might get you in contact with someone who takes the time to tell you they'll consider the job for $75/hr, though they usually charge more. As for the flurry of emails you'll get drooling over the offering, make sure you request a link to their website's portfolio page. No show, no go.

Expect a post about designers and hourly rate next week. We need some chatting on that.

Friday YouTube: BBC, Reading Rainbow, Cincinnati Cheetah

BBC Embarrassing Revelation

Making the rounds one chuckle at at time.




LeVar on Geordi on Reading Rainbow

You read that right. I was reading fellow Cincinnatian and geek Kelly's blog post about how Reading Rainbow has been on for 26 years and the last original show had been aired. And then I remembered this episode:




Cincinnati Cheetah: World Record!

This has nothing to do with Cincinnati cougars. That's a whole other blog.

Thursday Tech Fetish: Military Tweel, Palm Pixi

I know my past two Thursdays have fallen by the wayside, so it's time to step it up and get cracking. I'm also working on a Palm Pre Homebrew Review post that'll be out tomorrow or for Saturday Gravy. But on to the tech!

A Military Tweel



As soon as I saw this post on a new, airless military tire, I *gasp*ed and said "OMG: Tweel!"

What's a Tweel you ask? It's a combination of tire and wheel that I heard about over a year ago on Discovery or something. The original (that you can see at the above link) is a wonderful "why didn't anyone think of that sooner; is there a tire lobby in Washington?" invention.

A tire without air does not get popped. Simple as that. The good news is that if the military is testing it, then it's probably getting the funding it would need to bring itself to the masses. And that means no more highway berm tire changin'.


Pixi!



If you've been reading my posts for a while, you might note my affinity for my lovely phone, the Palm Pre. And now the Pre has a little brother, the Pixi! Awww...how cute. Just enjoy the wonder for a minute.

Looks like 1/2" shorter screen and no wifi are the only changes to this adorable little candybar lovely. Yum. Good show Palm.

Wednesday Twitter: Leavitt Leaves It, AIM 2-Ways, and Anthem BCBS?

Leavitt Leaves It

I'm surprised every week at the flurry of news having to do with how sports and Twitter are intermingling (and often fighting). This week has South Florida's Jim Leavitt quitting Twitter:

Leavitt has decided to quit in part because he found out a few of his players were tweeting on the way to and even in the locker room before Saturday's game against Wofford. Carlton Mitchell was updating his Twitter feed during the rain delay before kickoff.

"It just seems like something they probably shouldn't do," Leavitt told the Times. "I'm not going to use Twitter anymore. ... If I'm going to ask my players not to probably do it during that time, I'm just going to stop. My twittering days are over. .. .That's it for me, and hopefully it is at certain times for other players. We'll see."

Again, we're dealing with the advance warning, the threat that someone might let someone slip. And as I've said before, restrictions like that are in place because not every Twitter user is the brightest bulb in the bunch. Honestly, I'm mildly surprised that there hasn't been a college or professional sports team that's made the news because of a firing based on dumping extra-secret information at a very wrong time.

While it may be unfortunate for fans and a little extreme in my view, Leavitt is at least walking the walk well before he talks the talk to his team.


AIM on the 2-Way, and I Don't Mean Cincinnati Chili and Noodles

I can't say that this is huge news, but as someone who has been a Trillian addict for years now, I'm a little detached from what each IM client has been doing individually. Here's the skinny: in July, AIM upgraded their service to include Twitter and Facebook feeds. The rub? You could only read the feed, not update through the interface. Why anyone would release a service at half o'clock is beyond me. But they did go ahead and implement that pesky extra stuff everyone was asking for a week or two ago. And now you can update Twitter and Facebook through AIM.

As I may have already mentioned: just get Trillian.


BCBS FAIL

To avoid confusion, please allow me to begin by stating that the annotative context of the article lies here:

Currently, Anthem is piloting a program in which it uses Twitter to identify members who may have questions or concerns about their health benefits. Twitter allows Anthem to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, real time conversation, and respond to each tweet about Anthem. Members can follow Anthem on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AnthemHealth.

Okay, that's a notable item. Additionally, they have a Facebook fan page to implement discussions and a YouTube channel to ...channel their expertise and advice.

The Twitter and Facebook pieces make me somewhat nervous when talking about health care. I'm guessing that ABCBS has some generally knowledgeable folks in charge of owning their conversation online (though you may question that after the next paragraph), but there are a bevvy of folks on both Twitter and Facebook that do not understand either how to use the services or how visible their personal use can be. And then one angry woman does an @AnthemHealth Tweet about why they won't pick up the cost of [enter embarrassing personal surgery here] and wonders why her tweet is on a dozen schadenfreude websites and people have stopped following her.

Oh, don't change that channel! We've got one more level!

Because this if from Reuters we can assume it is a published news release - verbatim - from Anthem ("SOURCE Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin"). And that's where the connotative nature of this article reveals itself.

Not just for teens anymore - social networking and media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are being used by adults to interact with their friends, families and to gain information.

I know. It's like listening to your mother karaoke "Baby Got Back." The most recent research on Twitter showed teens are much more a minority user than previously assumed. But even at that level of media ignorance, language assuming Twitter as EVAR a huge teen/tween phenomenon pushes past a n00b label to "You do not now - nor have you ever - understood what this is about. Please stop embarrassing yourself, leave, and self-educate."

Wait. More?

Anthem is also launching a brand channel on YouTube (www.youtube.com/AnthemHealthConnects) to create a vital and viral community around health and wellness.

Oh, and your uncle dials up "I Will Survive." Just because you have a YouTube channel does not mean that you are doing anything viral. Yes, YouTube videos can go viral, but it is generally because it is something nasty, sick, painful, heroic, incredibly annoying, or unbelievable. I'm guessing Anthem's professional and informational outlook would prevent them from anything that had the potential of going viral.

My biggest hope about this article is that it was not written with the advice or input of the team that is heading up this social media expansion, and that the author just doesn't get it (not that that says much for their collaborative organization). If not, then Anthem might want to brace for a very serious Epic Fail.

Guitar Hero: Beatles?

As many of us giddily await tomorrow's release of Rock Band: Beatles, here's an appropriate parody of what Guitar Hero might do...



(h/t to Allen, a friend, who worked on the real project)