jimcaruso's blog

Are Web Apps and Services Heading to Extinction?

jimcaruso — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:37:11 +0000

Are Web apps and services heading to extinction as common Web functionality becomes embedded in Mobile apps and interfaces - or - within commonly used apps, such as e-mail? Specifically, Web-based apps like Twitter have new competition in Google Buzz, which integrates micro-blogging directly into your e-mail. Another example would be the many Web-based calendar and event services. Many of these independent Web apps have their own interfaces. Can a Google Calendars, iCal, or Outlook calendar disintermediate these Web-based calendar services with the direct access they have to your calendar on mobile devices and your most critical calendar app. Google, Apple, and Microsoft already have expansive and third-party calendars that you can subscribe to without going to any third-party Web site.

Lame to Fame: Whys & Hows for Taking Your Website to the Top

jimcaruso — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:09:09 +0000

As part of our participation in the Drupal community, I've offered a presentation for the annual North American conference in San Francisco, California.

The session is entitled:

"Lame to Fame: Whys & Hows for Taking Your Website to the Top"

With some specific requirements for functionality (semantic Web and social media) and usability (ease of content management and rapid response time), Jim will discuss what is making his business services Website ever more successful. How did a dangerously technical, business guy find the skill sets to run a small business site like the big guys? Why pick Drupal when all your friends run WordPress? What community resources are available and why you should connect? How using Drupal and being a member of the community helps my business. Key issues discussed are hosting, performance, themes, modules, and site-building.MediaFirst is in a Website redesign project using Drupal.

Link to

Link to my DrupalCon SF Session"

Notes From "SEO Best Practices for the Drupal.org Redesign" Webinar

jimcaruso — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:13:17 +0000

Notes From "SEO Best Practices for the Drupal.org Redesign" Webinar

Noted here are SEO recommendations for the drupal.org redesign, as presented by Erik Wagner and Josh Ward of Volacci. The video of their presentation is available at http://blip.tv/file/3006098 and on the Acquia site.

Purpose of SEO Within The Drupal.org Redesign

Part of the Drupal.org redesign is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) effort to raise page rank and direct visitors to the correct content. Successful site visits build the community, increase awareness of Drupal, and facilitate learning about Drupal. Page rank drives d.o results higher on the search results page of search engines, such as Google.com. Properly directing visitors to the correct content makes them happier and more successful during each visit to the Website.

Help With D.O Redesign

Note that members of the Drupal community can help by writing SEO-friendly content, following the guidelines for high search ranking when they write for Drupal.org. Volacci will be filing required changes in the issue queue for Drupal.org, so please feel free to take a look and see if you can help.

By Linking To Drupal.org You Can Raise Drupal's Page Rank

Use links that contain keywords describing Drupal.org on your own sites, blogs, and while micro-blogging or using social media and social networking tools. Links are like votes and give credibility to Websites by the total number to links pointing to that site or page

SEO Key Performance Indicators

KPIs are Bounce Rate and New Visits, referring sites, etc.

Keyword Research and Keywords, such as: Drupal, Content Management, etc. Where is the most potential in terms of search volumen and where we want to be

Page Titles and Title Tags

Tag strings should have fewer than 69 characters and avoid duplicates. Search results are displayed among the search results and therefore need to accurately describe that content. Use the most important keyword for that content first and within the title.

Directory Silo

Use a directory silo strategy on Drupal.org to improve the ability of visitors to find what they need and have a successful visit. Directory silos mean distinctly different sections that include keyword and point visitors to the correct content. A directory silo helps to more clearly define the purpose of each page

Who is the audience, what are the different visitor types and how can we serve each visitor

Header Tags

Make sure each page has header tags and the right ones. There should be a single <h1> tag per page.
The most important search terms should be used in the <h1>. Add a few <h2> and <h3> tags. Note that <h2> tags should be around keywords, not links

Meta Description and Tags

Each page needs a unique Meta Description that is less than 156 characters. This should include keywords for the page and is delivered to search users in the search result. Each page should have a few keywords.

Page Content

Use the keywords (see blow) on each page within the text content and image "alt text." Use fewer than 100 links per page because that is the maximum followed by Google. Fewer links per page increases the Google search value of each link. Watch redirects so that the "from link name" is in accord with the "to link," which means to properly format URLs. Make sure lots of links on a single page don't look like a link farm, which means you should create separate pages for different types of links with fewer links per page.

Website Robots.txt File

Exclude content that should not be search indexed via the robots.txt file.

Disallow search indexing if the site goes up on the Web before it's ready, again via robots.txt.

Correct any error in your robots.txt file

HTML and CSS (as output by the theme)

Test for valid HTML and CSS output at http://validator.w3.org/
Google ranks your page higher if it validates properly

Images:

Include images with "alt text"

Conversions

When the redesign is complete, A/B testing with Google Web Optimizer can help identify what Call-To-Action wording yields the greatest number of downloads of Drupal. What should be the "Call-To-Action," which is dependent upon the type of visitor and their need. Simple, clear calls-to-action prevent visitors from leaving without taking the desired action, such as finding the right answer, downloading Drupal, identifying the right module, etc.

References

Ref: Book, "Drupal 6 Search Engine Optimization" by Ben Finklea, founder and CEO of Volacci: http://www.volacci.com/drupal-6-search-engine-optimization-book

Ref: Volacci SEO blog: http://www.volacci.com/blog

Ref: Drupal.org Issue Queue

Ref: http://acquia.com/blog/webinar-search-engine-optimization-drupalorg-redesign-0

Ref: Contribute to the Drupal.org redesign: http://groups.drupal.org/drupalorg-redesign-implementers/guide

Ref: "Search Engine Optimization for the Drupal.org Redesign" at BlipTV: http://blip.tv/file/3006098

Keyword List to include in your writing:

Keyword with average monthly search volume, estimated at Google

framework: 6120000

cms: 4090000

open source: 4090000

drupal: 2240000

document management: 1500000

webdesign: 1220000

content management: 823000

content management system: 246000

cms made simple: 201000

webdesigner: 165000

cms php: 135000

content management software: 90500

web content management: 90500

web publishing: 90500

website cms: 90500

document management system: 74000

open source cms: 74000

open source php: 74000

free cms: 60500

simple cms: 60500

content management systems: 49500

open source content management: 49500

web cms: 49500

open source crm: 40500

cms software: 33100

cms system: 33100

open source content management system: 33100

best cms: 27100

drupal joomla: 27100

drupal tutorial: 27100

using drupal: 27100

website content management: 27100

drupal development: 22200

drupal template: 22200

web content management system: 22200

document management systems: 18100

Twitter Influence & Tracking Tools

jimcaruso — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:05:07 +0000

Here is a quick list of Twitter tools, Websites with differing measurements of influence.

For real tracking, I like Filtrbox ( http://www.filtrbox.com/ ). Fitrbox has tool to check your influence, http://www.filtrbox.com/twitter.htm ranking you on a scale of 1-10 (10 is highest). Also, you can access this through their API.

Twitter Influence Trackers:

http://www.twitalyzer.com

http://twitter.grader.com

http://www.filtrbox.com/twitter.htm

http://tweetstats.com

http://twittercounter.com

tweetreach.com

http://twinfluence.com

http://www.buzzom.com

http://twscore.net

http://friendorfollow.com

http://klout.com

Twitter Activity

http://topsy.com

Twitter Statistics

http://tweetstats.com

twitteranalyzer.com <~ Results not valid

TweetEffect.com <~ Results not valid. Did not even come close to showing which tweets yield new followers or unfollowers.

Every Business Person Needs Their Photo On LinkedIn

jimcaruso — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:45:36 +0000

In a recent survey of LinkedIn users, more than 35% did not include a profile photograph, even for many C-level executives.

Call Jim for help getting a good photo (770) 642-2080, x218.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Consistent Process Creates Great Results

jimcaruso — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:00:00 +0000

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Consistent Process Creates Great Results

A business’ perceived value is increased by the third party endorsement of key business and technology media outlets (Print, TV, Radio, or Web-based). When a client is quoted in national and trade media, they become the expert. We treat the media as a customer, creating stories that meet the editorial needs of both the media and our client. By creating the right story idea at the right time with the right target, you get great press.

Our clients are newsmakers in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, The Economist, CFO, InformationWeek, eWeek, ComputerWorld, The Red Herring, Wired, CIO, CNN, CNBC, and countless trade and business media outlets (radio, television, print, and web-based).

We work together for your success, meeting your goals of:

Targeting and reaching the audiences that purchase your hardware, software, or services
Generating awareness and interest in your venture, through PR to these target audiences
Crafting the value proposition of your offerings and firm
Writing Press Releases and other materials, that are compelling and in the language of your audience
Blending these efforts with your overall corporate strategy
Attaining your goals to create new customers, grow revenues, and raise valuation

For best results, PR requires sustained effort and periodic contact. We document your messages and positioning. You determine your spokespersons. A Press Kit is prepared that explains why your spokespersons and firm are well qualified to comment to the press. Together, we select media outlets (magazines, radio shows, TV, and web news sites) with a readership (listener/viewer base) that reach your target audience. We write press releases on the subjects of your deals, new product or service offerings, hirings, and office locations. In addition, our unique tactic of writing issue-based press releases positions you as an expert -- sighting your vision of industry changes or reactions to breaking news. These issue-based press releases propose story ideas for reporters/editors or provide them with useful commentary on today’s issue.

Teeing You Up For Press Interview Opportunities

We call reporters, send e-mails, transmit faxes, and when the cost is warranted - use news wires. Our mutual objective is to get you in the story. Sometimes you are quoted straight from the press release. More often, your press release gets your foot in the door, but the reporter wants an interview. At this point, you are responsible to be interesting enough to be quoted. One job is to serve as point of contact for interview scheduling between your spokespersons & reporters. We will coach you on what the reporter wants and give you ideas, but you must execute.

Process Guarantees Delivery Of Results

The best measure of press is seeing your firm’s name in print. Therefore, we concentrate on creating results, not reports. Measuring PR placements (hits) with a clipping service is best – these cover your targeted media outlets and search for the name of your firm and spokespersons. Clipping services start at about $300 per month and are the only real way to get an accurate measure. Web-based search tools (e.g. Dow Jones Interactive) can provide some measures of press coverage in larger publications, but are not effective in measuring trade press.

Forecasting Provides Confidence Of Success

We forecast your PR results by maintaining a list of reporters that expressed interest and the projected future date that your name will show up in print. The forecast looks six months ahead, because of the long editorial lead times of monthly print publications. If you understand the PR process and maintain realistic expectations, you will be very satisfied and well rewarded with great press coverage.

Response time + Stability will establish a new basis of competition - Google Chrome

jimcaruso — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:24:20 +0000

I just posted this comment on Scobleizer's blog, regarding the post named

"Why Google Chrome OS has already won"

Speed and stability can capture users. Tightly coupling the OS and browser will create a new type of competition. Here is my comment:

"Response time + Stability will establish a new basis of competition. Web apps replace desktop/laptop apps. Web devices are an increasing share of online devices. This adds up to Google's OS & Web browser, optimized for Web apps, able to dramatically improve user experience via speed (response time) and stability (far fewer reboots and crashed apps.) One of the apps that is crashing more frequently for heavy Web users is the browser. Stripping the OS down to support browsers and creating a Web-app-oriented browser is a winning strategy."

FTC Guidelines Require That Bloggers Disclose Material Connections

jimcaruso — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:27:56 +0000

Today's FTC Guide requires disclosure by bloggers if they have material connections with a company that they endorse in their blog. From the release:

he revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

LinkedIn + Facebook + Twitter Lead The Social Media Charge For Today's Business (& Business Professional)

jimcaruso — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Businesses and individuals increasingly see the value in online social media for industry connections or introductions and clearly for employment opportunities. Beyond these are company branding, business reputation management, and professional business networking. It is true that online networking can degenerate into the kind of networking event where you show up and everyone else is there to sell you what they have. But most online social networking can be contained to the important kind, not just a virtual room of vulturous vendors. "Old Style" professional connections are not dead, they've just met up with the latest technology tools.

Connect To Audiences Via Social Networks

These tools, such as LinkedIn (very B2B), Facebook (evolving to more B2B from a college-oriented service at it's start), and MySpace (very B2C and younger) let your firm have an online page or presence with it's own fans. These connections are individuals connecting to the business. Some list current and former employees. They are increasingly tied to other feeds, maybe your great press coverage. In any case, a forum where your firm and customer experiences are discussed. Beginning to see the value in monitoring and participating? The better known online social media services enable personal or professional, 1-to-1 connections. These services provide access and information on you and your firm.

Begin Here With This Social Media Starting Point

Here is a minimal plan for a social media presence for you and the company:

Customer-facing employees should be on LinkedIn and Facebook, and participate
The company should have it's own page on LinkedIn and Facebook
Employees should have a photograph on their LinkedIn page - 1/3 do not
Press releases and news should be aggregated on the company Website and probably via online services, such as del.icio.us (also now at Delicious.com), Digg.com, Reddit.com, or StumbleUpon.com
News and events can be posted on Twitter. Direct messages or replies on Twitter should be monitored, so you may respond - engaging with the audience for your firm.

There it is, a straightforward way to implement social media at your company. Remember that these tools represent are an innovation - just like any new tool that you might adopt for the business - so think of Social Media tools as part of the company's continual improvement program. (I'm a fan of W. Edwards Deming, a famous proponent of quality and continual improvement).

Get Started, Use Social Media For Your Business

Call Jim at 770/642-2080, x218 to talk more about social media for business.

Awareness Is The First Step In The Process Of Customer Creation (Sales)

jimcaruso — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:54:35 +0000

"Customer Creation" is the lifeblood and purpose of any business, according to management guru, Peter Drucker. One view of the sales cycle is that Awareness is the first step in the multi-step process of Awareness ~> Knowledge ~> Selling ~> Closing.

Guide Sales Prospects Through The Sales Cycle

This process of creating customers requires identifying prospects and guiding prospects through a well-conceived sales cycle. The process of engaging prospects should lead prospects to awareness of your brand and towards knowledge of your offerings and value proposition. Awareness is that first step in customer creation.

PR Is Selling The Client's Story To The Media

Our process of getting targeted industry press for clients is analogous to a sales process, in that we sell reporters and editors on using your organization's spokesperson, clients, partners, or technology providers to complete a story. In our efforts, we seek to understand the needs of reporters and editors and meet those needs. Reporter's needs vary from breaking news, to background on industry trends, to industry expert views on the changing shape of competition. We provide the service of helping the media do it's job—by delivering spokespersons and interviews that make good stories.

Identify Your Audiences to Focus Resources

Sales efforts begin by identifying the audiences you wish to reach. In PR, the right media and publicity tools are conduits to your target audiences of investors, financial analysts, industry analysts, and prospective or current employees, business partners, prospects, or customers. PR is a direct complement to sales because it leads prospects through these first two steps of Awareness and Knowldge.

Effective Programs Communicate Features, Advantages, & Benefits

Clients see our public relations and marketing efforts clearly complementing their efforts to sell products and services. By understanding the relationship that you have with customers, we frame your value proposition in the very words of your prospects. Your offerings are framed in the authentic context of customer needs.

PR Wins Third-Party Endorsement of the Media

Public relations enhances awareness by endowing your firm with the third-party endorsement of the media. Your venture's spokespersons reveal or address industry issues and trends—their quote makes them the expert. Our business experience covers business and technology, which allows us to better help the media by supplying newsworthy comment or story ideas that focus on you, your partners, and customers.

Speaking Opportunities Reach Target Audiences Effectively

Speaking opportunities leverage the valuable time of your most articulate spokespersons across large, targeted audiences. We manage opportunities by identifying desirable opportunities and securing your slot.

Marketing Programs & Materials Educate Prospects

Marketing programs, such as trade shows, conferences, direct mail, lead generation, Web sites, collaterals, and others, reach out to capture the interest of your target audiences — imparting knowledge about your firm's offerings and value proposition.

Client Top Ten Requested Traits

jimcaruso — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:58:37 +0000

These traits have won us praise over many years:

1. Communicate well with me

2. Be competent and experienced, in technology and business

3. Establish good relationships and be a teammate of my staff

4. Demonstrate leadership

5. Be innovative and creative

6. Understand and address my real needs

7. Know and leverage the available resources for best results

8. Complete work on time and within budget

9. Be responsive

10. Do high quality work

Social Media Merging Online Reputation, Personal & Business

jimcaruso — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:09:23 +0000

The online craze that is social media or social networking is creating a greater overlap between an individual's personal and business reputations.

For most of us, this phenomenon is most evident from Facebook. Facebook is now the largest of the social media networks, closely followed by MySpace. MySpace, however, is a younger demographic or heavily entertainment (notably music) oriented. LinkedIn is what many of us believe is the professional's online social network of choice. Yet, my rough guess says this is only true if you were born after about 1976, or so. If you were born earlier than 1976, odds are that the vast majority of your online connections are on Facebook.

The effect is that Facebook is only going to get bigger, having already secured the mindshare of the professionals and managers of the future. ...and, although the LinkedIn crowd are not Luddites - in fact they are online in high percentages - this group can't grow at the rate of professionals on Facebook.

This matters because the social connections and activities we do, while younger, are becoming documented on communities, such as Facebook.

As one looks at the entirety of social media offerings - and see the interconnections made by the OpenSocial standards - one can see how photographs, vacations planned, sports, and many personal events are documented and commented upon within Facebook or posted across all of your social networks via interlocking feeds.

For business professionals this requires two actions: the first is to embrace, not fear social media; and the second is two actively participate.

As a dear friend once said, "a friend is someone who knows you and likes you anyway." What this really means is that people respond to authenticity - to the real you. Fearing social media deprives you of the opportunity and pleasure of knowing and working with people who appreciate you. This works for your employer, too. Customers seek the same authenticity in dealing with suppliers (vendors). Companies, like yours are comprised of real people - so be real.

Active participation is a key because you can't be authentic, if invisible. You can't get your secretary (personal assistant), mom, or child to be the authentic you online. Moreover, as social media adoption continues to take off, you as a professional, manager, or executive fall further behind in "getting it." You don't need to compete for the most connections, but you should seek out your real life friends and connect with them online.

In another blog post, I'll cover what I believe constitutes a minimal professional (and business) presence for today's social media.

SoCon 2009, Twitter hash #SoCon09

jimcaruso — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Attended SoCon '09 at Kennesaw State University on 7 February 2009; also the dinner the night before. Enjoyed the break-out sessions, on “Social Media For Social Change” hosted by Tessa Horehled ( http://atlantanstogether.org/) on “Online Etiquette: How To Balance Your Personal and Professional Image Online” hosted by Amber Rhea.

Tweetup in Alpharetta

jimcaruso — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Attended the TweetUp in Alpharetta at the 5 Seasons Brew Pub on 5 February 2009. Heard interesting customer service and sales prospecting examples that involved Twitter.com, especially from the guys at Ipswich.

Comment on the blog of Louis Gray "Does Anybody Care About Non-Blog Commenting Anymore?"

jimcaruso — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 06:00:00 +0000

blog.louisgray.com/2008/11/does-anybody-care-about-non-blog.html#comment-4150324

My comment: Great observation, since I've started using socialmedian and similar sites. Owning the content and comments is a big issue for any writer or publisher.<br />

Reply from Louis Gray Louis Gray 11 months ago in reply to Jim Caruso 1 person liked this.<br />

Owning the content and comments is a big issue for many authors, but not every author. What you're seeing is a metamorphosis between the old way of having siloed content and the new way of knowing the data can flow anywhere. The tricky part is knowing where it's going and determining whether to participate.<br />

Trackback: http://disqus.com/forums/louisgray/louisgraycom_does_anybody_care_about_non_blog_commenting_anymore/trackback/

Comment on "I’m Sorry Robert, But It’s Time For A Friendfeed Intervention"

jimcaruso — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This question of how best to use one's time is the core issue with social media ... especially as authoritative sources change with technology and innovation.

Original comment by Michael Arrington:

"I’m Sorry Robert, But It’s Time For A Friendfeed Intervention"

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/22/im-sorry-robert-but-its-time-for-a-...

Response by Robert Scoble:

"Did I harm my blog by FriendFeeding this year?"

http://scobleizer.com/2008/12/22/did-i-harm-my-blog-by-friendfeeding-thi...

I like NewsTrust.net

jimcaruso — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0000

I just have to say how much I like NewsTrust.net. It presents many of the best news stories along with in-depth ratings by serious readers.

Mashups via OpenSocial

jimcaruso — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Umm ... I know I'm not alone on this, but mashups via Open Social are very cool. Trying to use Google apps and hoping that's a good place to create some mashups for business. I'm also in an beta mashup-app-building tool.

OpenSocial Rapidly Interconnecting Collaborative Social Networks

jimcaruso — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0000

What's amazing about OpenSocial is how it accelerates the pace of interconnection, previously rampant mostly within single, rapidly growing social networking communities. OpenSocial ties these fast growing communities together for a quantum leap in value and connection (to people, groups, organizations, philanthropic causes, etc.) Blogging, tagging, media (video and picture) sharing, and online personal or professional communities have become interconnected. Browser technology, such as from Flock, add to the usefulness of these ever-more useful tools. They are also ever-more intrusive and everyone should recognize (and maybe restrict) the personal information sharing, which can be automatically enabled within some of these online services and applications.

Bridge Inspection Needs An Update

jimcaruso — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 04:00:00 +0000

When we build infrastructure, we rarely consider the life-cycle cost. In addition, visual inspection of bridges can not do the whole job of evaluating the safety of infrastructure, such as bridges, parking decks, etc. Structural monitoring is a recent method that uses the latest in sensor technology, wireless data, and the Internet to give a 24 x 7 stream of structural data - including through seasonal fluctuations (temperature). A new client, LifeSpan Technologies (http://lifespantechnologies.com) developed a patented sensor and has direct experience with Departments of Transportation (DOT), major corporations, etc. This is a federal issue and will take national action, possibly by congress to mandate an improvement to the current, visual-only method of assessing the nation's infrastructure. [note: we have done work for LifeSpan Technologies on this subject.]
-----
URL: http://www.lifespantechnologies.com/

Economist Is Wrong To Dis Apple iPhone

jimcaruso — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 04:00:00 +0000

The Economist magazine, which usually is very perceptive about global business, takes a divergent path by offering a hollow analysis of the Apple iPhone in its article "Apple pipped: The iPhone may already be outdated" [From Economist.com dated Apr 13th 2007. I sum up their argument as based solely on the data bandwidth of the phone, in the short term slower GSM (Cingular's EDGE) versus the Helio Ocean (VE-DO). It is noteworthy that The Economist spends their last four paragraphs discussing WiMAX, which is far from an option- much less a market winner, for many years. Although various MVNO (Multiple Virtual Network Operator) wireless providers may capture future market share, it seems unlikely that Earthlink (the service provider of the Helio has an upper hand. The Economist seems to forget that music resides on home computers and laptops, synchronized to a mobile device, such as an iPod or mobile phone. They seem to forget that mobile telephone use is still dominated (and may continue to be dominated) by low-bandwidth services, such a voice calls and Instant Messaging (IM) or Short Messaging Service (SMS). I am a big fan of rapid response time and a subscriber to the Economist, but this article is off the mark. It is almost as if the authors don't understand how people use mobile phones - and I mean even the "young trendsetters who appreciate ease of use and cutting-edge design." I am certain that I would enjoy an Apple iPhone, but I am pleased with both my mobile telephone, a Nokia N80, and wireless carrier, T-Mobile, despite the lower GSM bandwidth. Find the article at:
-----
URL: http://www.economist.com/daily/columns/techview/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9022169

Apple TV Is Well Executed

jimcaruso — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 21:10:04 +0000

Yes, I bought an Apple TV the day it was announced. It's installed and operational. The packaging is consistent with Apple's nice design, set-up is simple, menu and navigation straight-forward, and viewing/listening is a great experience. Watching 320x240 formatted video on a large-screen, HDTV set is surprisingly satisfying. There is a lot of syncing to do, via ethernet cable and/or Airport wirless connection. In fact, I just ordered an Airport extreme for wireless access to the AppleTV, but I wired via ethernet for the moment. I can sync any of the video, audio, or photo content stored within the Apple applications iTunes and iPhoto. The default is not to sync it all, so I changed the setting to all in the preferences. So far, I've tried out music, music video, television show, and movie content. After all the content is synced, I'll blog again.

USC/Annenberg Study Confirms Value of Layout to Memory and Reading Speed of Articles

jimcaruso — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0000

"Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design" is a story in the Online Journalism Review of the Annenberg Center for Communications at USC.

Featured finding #1: Rewrite + reformat = remember Writing (or rewriting) a story to meet an ideal format (may require reformatting) improved the reader's reading speed and retention of the information.

Featured finding #2: Precise and relevant editing = successful design

Featured finding #3: Photos edited for relevance = photos viewed An interesting aspect of this last finding is that male viewers focused on the private anatomy in an image of an animal. In other words, men stare at the crotch.

The article has a graphical presentation with fine examples that makes all these points clear.
-----
URL: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/070312ruel/

Attrition.org Data Loss Archive and Database (DLDOS) Should Scare Anyone

jimcaruso — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0000

Breaches of personal privacy and infomation loss are well documented and archived at Attrition.org Data Loss Archive and Database (DLDOS) at http://attrition.org/dataloss/. I mentioned this in a recent post, but it deserves its own.
-----
URL: http://attrition.org/dataloss/

Performance Implications of Whole Disk Encryption

jimcaruso — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0000

Recently, the Inforwarrior list sent me a notice of Seagate announcing a hard disk that offers full-time, whole disk encryption. For the right need, this seems a solid product that will perform better than software encryption. Here (2nd URL) is another article on that device.

I've always been concerned with rapid response time, so the current rush to encryption may cause it to be overused, with negative performance implications for most users.

This (3rd URL) article is solid in covering encryption and notes well the performance hit.
So much personal information has been carelessly lost and stored on laptops against company or government policy that it is beyond my comprehension that managements, regulators, and lawmakers have not taken effective action.

Then I find an article entitled "Laptop Encryption: Compliance without sacrificing performance, now that’s magic!" that is without merit.

This wasn't supposed to be about breaches of personal privacy and information loss, but here is the one, Attrition.org Data Loss Archive and Database (DLDOS) at http://attrition.org/dataloss/
-----
URL: http://news.com.com/Seagate+ships+hard+drives+with+encryption/2100-1029_3-61 66180.html
-----
URL: http://www.crn.com/it-channel/196513300
-----
URL: http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid5_gci1173496,00.html
-----
URL: http://attrition.org/dataloss/

Dodgeball.com MoSoSo Mobile Social Software

jimcaruso — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Dodgeball.com is in the Mobile Social Software (MoSoSo) space. This seems useful and easy to use. It is within Google's stable of applications, so it recognized my Google account and asked permission to use that account and log me right in. There certainly need to be clean ways to mix mobile voice telephony with the Web. This mix, of mobile phone, Web, and community can bypass existing niche players. One comment is that this application, unlike many attempts at user-generated content, rewards users (with utility) for creating online content. In this case a listing of personal venues with comments solicited from all users. Nice.
-----
URL: http://www.dodgeball.com

Fake News Presents A Hazard To Reputations Of Clients & News Sources

jimcaruso — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 04:00:00 +0000

PR allows the spokesperson to take a position on industry issues or announce news. The mixing of editorial with advertising may damage the reputation of firms that promote themselves or their position with "fake news." Ultimately, undermining the value of news sources - making readers or viewers question the validity of news - is bad for advertisers, spokespersons, and the media outlets that use fake news. So far, these questions have arisen only over video news releases.

Direct risks to the stations are: (1) T"he rules were prompted by payola scandals of the past, in which broadcasters accepted money from companies to hype their products without labeling the effort as advertising." and "If the FCC decides they have violated the rules, punishment could include fines or license revocation."

Nokia N80 Is A Great Mobile Phone

jimcaruso — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 04:00:00 +0000

I decided on my next mobile telephone, the Nokia N80 (http://www.nokia.com). It's a quad-band GSM phone with the full array of the top features that i wanted. First, it is a phone, not a computer shunk to the size of a handheld and using a computer user interface. Nokia's Symbian 60 series OS is designed for mobile phones and therefore nice to use. It has a great screen resolution and all the functionality that I view as useful. It has a radio and music player that I was surprised to find so useful and with good sound quality. The main functionalities I need are: the ability to synchronize to my laptop's contact list and appointment calendar. I also needed (or wanted) occasional Web browsing, occasional e-mail, and a decent camera (3 megapixel). These all worked well, although I needed to download a third-party plugin for Apple iSync from Nova Media MDS GmbH (http://www.novamedia.de) for 9.99 Euros. I has many 3rd party apps for the Symbian OS, jumps on the local Wireless LAN (WLAN). There are some nice accessories I may get, such as wireless keyboard and Bluetooth headset, but for the moment the nice wired earpieces and microphone are what I need. This has excellent voice quality and signal strength. I prefer to order from my carrier (T-Mobile) or directly from Nokia, but I waited as long as I could stand and ordered a European unit. I considered the N73 (more camera, less business). The N80, unlike the N73, has document viewers, which I can used (although rarely). I think I'm way ahead of the obsolescence curve (the UPnP functionality is a example of why). I highly recommend this phone.

Suzanne Vega Performs Virtual Concert Within Second Life

jimcaruso — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 04:00:00 +0000

MMO's (Multi-Player Online) Game [or MMORPG ( Role Playing Games)] offer people to present themselves through an online environment via an avatar. I am fascinated by how businesses may eventually use this technology. It is clear that there is Real Money Trade (RMT) in online gaming, but not clear what transition will give us all the ability to do business through our avatar. In the mean time, it was nice to hear of this first live concert via avatar. Suzanne Vega (http://www.suzannevega.com) did this through The Infinite Mind (http://www.theinfinitemind.com) within the online gaming environment of Second Life (http://secondlife.com). There is a video clip of the concert at You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44vp4zeDUs). Wired covered this at http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71593-0.html?tw=rss.index.
-----
URL: http://www.suzannevega.com
-----
URL: http://www.theinfinitemind.com
-----
URL: http://secondlife.com
-----
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44vp4zeDUs
-----
URL: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/internet/0,71593-0.html?tw=rss.index

Favorite InfoSec Maillists

jimcaruso — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 04:00:00 +0000

Okay, since I blogged the top software, I need to mention my favorite 2 mail lists: Infowarrior mailing list https://attrition.org/mailman/listinfo/infowarrior via http://www.infowarrior.org/ and ISN: InfoSec News http://attrition.org/security/lists.html Many thanks to the organizers - and many contributors.
-----
URL: https://attrition.org/mailman/listinfo/infowarrior
-----
URL: http://www.infowarrior.org/
-----
URL: http://attrition.org/security/lists.html