Directory - Business

Why Executives Shouldnt Blog: Julie Roehm and Wal-Mart

Tue, 29 May 2007 15:26:00 GMT

Ive been following the rather appalling story of former Wal-Mart marketing executive Julie Roehm, who was fired for "having an improper romantic relationship with a subordinate, accepting gifts from suppliers and misusing her company expense account" [ref: Walmart Fires Roehm]

In her own defense, Roehm has now countersued Wal-Mart -- surprise, surprise -- accusing Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr. and other top executives of "accepting sweetheart deals, travel and concert tickets from suppliers and engaging in improper relationships." [ref: Roehm Countersues]

But what would it have looked like if they both blogged? I kind of envision it going like this...

Please continue reading Why Executives Shouldnt Blog: Julie Roehm and Wal-Mart

You could be the Next Internet Millionaire with Joel Comm

Fri, 25 May 2007 15:10:00 GMT

My friend and colleague Joel Comm has been on the cutting edge of Internet marketing for a long time -- and sometimes a bit over the edge! -- but his new idea about an Internet marketing reality show is a great one. Called The Next Internet Millionaire, its modeled after Survivor and The Apprentice, among other reality TV shows.

Hes still accepting audition videos from potential contestants if you think itd be fun. I know Ill have fun: Im a celebrity judge so Im perhaps just a bit biased.

Joel recently answered some of my questions about the program and heres his Q&A.

Please continue reading You could be the Next Internet Millionaire with Joel Comm

Memo to Entrepreneurs: Advertising isnt a strong business model

Wed, 23 May 2007 04:08:00 GMT

I am proud to be a mentor for the Colorado TechStars program, and this evening we had our first mixer, a typical geeky mixup with poor acoustics and a male:female ratio of about 30:1. The mix was young entrepreneurs who won the TechStars competition and are now seed funded through the summer (along with gaining access to an array of very sharp advisors and mentors), the mentors, and other folk in the community who are focused on startups and business development.

A nice group and it was a good opportunity to both visit with some of my Denver-based friends and meet the young turks who are hopefully going to be building the next YouTube or Flickr in our proverbial garage.

Except for one glaring problem...

Please continue reading Memo to Entrepreneurs: Advertising isnt a strong business model

How Newspapers Stay Relevant: Comments!

Sat, 19 May 2007 04:42:00 GMT

Im about as far into the world of blogging as you can get, with over 170 feeds in my news reader (which as of a week ago is now Google Reader, btw) and three active blogs of my own, but I still read the newspaper. I was reading three papers (albeit online) on a daily basis, but recently stopped reading the New York Times as it felt too redundant with the other two: the local Daily Camera and the Wall Street Journal.

I have quite a few other newsfeeds in my RSS reader, including the BBC and Reuters, but those are the two newspapers that I check every day, along with Google News, a smart news aggregator. Why those? Because I believe that its very important to keep up with local, business, and world news.

And yet, arent newspapers becoming irrelevant? Well, surprisingly, no. The local paper, the Daily Camera, has figured out the secret to staying relevant and it offers something that no local Boulder Colorado citizen blogger could offer...

Please continue reading How Newspapers Stay Relevant: Comments!

MBA Homework: how would you lay off your team?

Thu, 17 May 2007 04:24:00 GMT

I received an thought-provoking query from a graduate student at my alma mater, Purdue (where I earned my Masters in Education) that I thought would be interesting to discuss here on my blog and especially to open up for your thoughts:

"The scenario for our assignment is as follows: I am a VP of a major company. Said company gives me a list with 60 names of non-managerial positions (making up about 10% of "my" employees). These people will not have a job in 6 months. We are told June 1st, and thus no more positions as of January 1st.

"I need to write a paper telling exactly what date I would tell my employees, and reasons for why I chose the date."

Theres more to the situation than this simplistic scenario, but its a good jumping off point. Heres how I would handle this situation...

Please continue reading MBA Homework: how would you lay off your team?

The problem with phishing: is that email real?

Wed, 16 May 2007 03:43:00 GMT

Over on my Ask Dave Taylor blog, I have an area where people can ask questions and, if theyre dying for an answer, pay for a "priority answer". In practice, its a $99 payment via PayPal to ensure that Ill respond within 24-48 hours or their money cheerfully refunded.

This afternoon, however, someone ostensibly came to the site, submitted a question, paid the fee and then about twenty minutes later filed an "unauthorized transaction" report with PayPal, which froze the transaction. The notice I received said "Recently, PayPal received a notification from a user regarding unauthorized access to his PayPal account. As a result, one of the payments credited to your PayPal account has been placed in a temporary hold while we investigate the claim."

Problem was, it was almost impossible for me to tell if it was real or a savvy phishing attempt.

Please continue reading The problem with phishing: is that email real?

Of 1Passwd Mac password management and software evolution

Mon, 14 May 2007 16:34:00 GMT

Ive been jealous of my Windows friends running Roboform for a long time, so when I first bumped into 1Passwd and started to use it, I was delighted. A lightweight, secure password storage utility that let me easily switch between Safari and Firefox on my Mac with nary a glitch? Excellent!

In the last few weeks, however, I was a bit dismayed to find out that the developer, Roustem Karimov, had completely changed his license scheme and actually forced me to reregister the software and get a completely different kind of registration key: a JPEG graphic with the reg data embedded in the comments (see right).

Curious what had prompted this change, I sent off some questions to Roustem and received back the following interesting information from him...

Please continue reading Of 1Passwd Mac password management and software evolution

Learn Internet marketing the smart way with StomperNet

Thu, 03 May 2007 22:17:00 GMT

First off, a disclosure: Im a StomperNet faculty member. That means that I produce videos and audio material for our resource library, do one-on-one and group webinar coaching calls and participate actively in the online forums. In addition, we produce four in-person live conferences each year and I speak at them (unless, like last time, I was on a cruise to Mexico!) The main reason Im involved with this group is because Im learning a ton both from the other faculty and the Stompernet members (hundreds of em) and enjoy the convivial atmosphere of the community. Most importantly, every week I gain new insight into how to grow my own online business efficiently.

If youre a long-time reader of my blog, you know that while Ive been involved with the Internet for almost thirty years, Ive only been involved in the world of Internet marketing and seminars for about 18 months. During that time Ive experienced both the best and the worst. Ive sat through 90 minute presentations that were 20 minutes of mediocre content and 70 minutes of breathless hype and pitching / selling products that I felt were astonishingly overpriced. On the other hand, Ive also sat through talks of the same length that were 85 minutes of excellent content, well presented, and a few minutes of how you can learn more and engage with them if appropriate.

The fact that I am involved with Stompernet is a strong testament to the overall value of organization, and should assure you that becoming part of our entrepreneurial community, even if just for a few months, will be a major step towards achieving your own business and personal success goals.

The problem has been that Stompernet has been closed to new members for months.

Until today. Today, for the first time in quite a while, you can join me in StomperNet. Even better, were running a $1.00 "sampler" membership, which I explain later in this posting, so you can even dip your toe into the water before you jump in and join us!

Please continue reading Learn Internet marketing the smart way with StomperNet

CWRU Professor seeks unaccredited angel investors

Thu, 03 May 2007 17:09:00 GMT

Have you directly invested in very early stage startup companies in the past? At the time, did you have a net worth of under a million dollars and earn less than $200,000 annually?

If so, Dr. Scott Shane, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University, is looking to interview you for a new book hes working on that aims to debunk many of the myths of angel investors and angel investing.

Heres an email message he sent me describing his project and what he seeks: If youd like to contact him and possibly help with the book, youll also find his email address below too.

Please continue reading CWRU Professor seeks unaccredited angel investors

FreeIQ Launches: Is it eBay for Entrepreneurs?

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:39:00 GMT

Congratulations to my friend Brad Fallon and his team for the launch of something truly new in the world of online marketing, Internet marketing, and entrepreneurship: FreeIQ.com.

In some sense, its like an entrepreneurial channel on popular video site YouTube except, well, its a whole lot more too. Imagine a site you can go where you can find hundreds of informative videos and ebooks on a wide variety of business and entrepreneurial topics.

To be fair, though, some of what youll find in this first iteration is what I would consider the worst snake-oil salesman marketing "opportunity" information, but really, thats no different to the junk that predominates on YouTube, Google Video and other multimedia content sites, is it? One of the fundamental challenges in any business space is winnowing out the quality material from the questionable, whether youre in a Chamber of Commerce party or an Internet Marketing workshop advertised through hype-mad radio spots.

A better comparison is against eBay. eBay isnt an auction site, its a venue for auctions to transpire online. A subtle but very important difference. Further, just as eBay shouldnt be rated by the lame auctions it sometimes hosts and the rip-offs that are interspersed with the legit buyers and sellers, so FreeIQ.com should be recognized as an underlying infrastructure toolkit for the Internet marketing community, not just a nicely organized repository.

Let me explain...

Please continue reading FreeIQ Launches: Is it eBay for Entrepreneurs?

Why do people blog, and how many of us are there?

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 04:12:00 GMT

Recently answered a query from a journalist about blogging and thought that my response would make good fodder for a discussion here too. In a nutshell, she was curious about blogging and seemed not to really get the concept. Her questions were rudimentary, but then again, sometimes its invaluable to ask those basic questions anyway.

Her first question was one of those classic ones: How many bloggers are there?

My answer: "The key to remember with this story is that a blog is just a tool. Theres nothing special about it, no requirements for any particular features or capabilities. Common usage has it be diary-like and allow comments from readers to be included, but theyre not required and theres no group that determines if something is or isnt a blog. This means that its basically impossible to estimate how many blogs or bloggers are out there, unfortunately."

Please continue reading Why do people blog, and how many of us are there?

Finally, an autosave plugin for Movable Type!

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:34:00 GMT

If youre running Movable Type youll want to stop what youre doing right now and fly over to Patrick Bennys Web site where hes just released a new version of his terrific [freeware] AutoSave plugin for Movable Type.

Previous versions worked with Firefox and IE, but this latest version (with a bit of help from my own blog, actually) is now completely compatible with Apples Safari Web browser too. This means that you should be able to get this up and running with just about any Web browser, whether youre running Mac, Windows or even Linux.

Please continue reading Finally, an autosave plugin for Movable Type!

Why Ill never sign up for any Blogger Code of Conduct

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 09:07:00 GMT

Well, the tempest in a teapot of Kathy Sierra versus Chris Locke and the general incivility of the blogosphere has finally bubbled over to the point where industry luminaries like Tim OReilly are proposing a Bloggers Code of Conduct. Agree to the terms and you too can have the swanky graphic shown on the left, or reject it and you get the goofy dynamite cartoon on the right:


Code Enforced	No Code of Conduct

But Im not going to sign up for it, nor would I recommend anyone else in the blogosphere sign up, though I have the utmost respect for Tim. Further, I say that without having actually read the proposed Code. Heres why...

Please continue reading Why Ill never sign up for any Blogger Code of Conduct

Should you enable HTML in your blog comments?

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 01:19:00 GMT

Some colleagues of mine have been engaged in a very interesting discussion thats worth exploring if youre a blogger: should you allow HTML in the comments left by other people? For that matter, should you automatically make URLs clickable?

I believe that the answer is related to where along the continuum of moderation and editorial control you place yourself. If youre a strict control nut and axe any comment thats not favorable or complimentary, well, then youre fine allowing HTML in comments because you are already keeping a close eye on things anyway (youre also missing the point of engaging in an open dialog with your weblog, but thats another issue entirely). If youre a laissez-faire free speech fanatic and allow anything that isnt overly crass spam or pornography, then you are going to have your work cut out for you if you allow people to add HTML.

Before I go further, though, let me explain what I mean by HTML comments.

Please continue reading Should you enable HTML in your blog comments?

Circuit City downgrades employees and guarantees its eventual demise

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:10:00 GMT

Todays Wall Street Journal is reporting [paid sub required] that beleaguered retailer Circuit City (NYSE: CC) is firing almost 3500 employees with the intent of replacing them with less skilled workers. As the WSJ explains:

"Circuit City Stores Inc. announced a new wave of cost-cutting efforts as it battles larger, more efficient retailers amid intense competition for sales of flat-screen TVs and other electronics. The Richmond, Va., retailer said it will replace 3,400 mostly store-level employees with lower-paid workers..."

This is a phenomenally stupid move for the company, I must say. Think about it...

Please continue reading Circuit City downgrades employees and guarantees its eventual demise

Stompale Spurs! Rob G Reppin My Block Remix

Thu, 31 May 2007 04:40:16 GMT

It seems every year, someone remixes a popular rap song to include the Spurs and their quest for the championship. Well, although the Spurs collective effort tonight resulted in a Western Conference Finals Championship, they still have to face either a tough Detroit Pistons team or a young and eager Cleveland Cavaliers team to get its 4th ring in 8 years. Anyway, this year’s song is Reppin’ My Block by Rob G…and the remix is actually done by the original artist instead of some guy in his makeshift garage studio.

Reppin My Block — Spurs remix by Rob G. (Right click, Save Target As to download)

Spurs Collective Effort Too Much For The Jazz

Wed, 30 May 2007 20:50:28 GMT

The ugliest productive player. Chris Birck/Getty Images

The Spurs have benefitted from the big play of its big man from Argentina, Fabricio Oberto. In this series against the Jazz, he’s averaging 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and is shooting 72.0% from the field…and Coach Popovich thinks “he’s the ugliest productive player I’ve ever been around”. I couldn’t agree more. But if the Spurs want to win tonight, Manu the “X-Factor” Ginobili will have to come through with another big game performance.

The Jazz will make every attempt to quell its frustrations after dropping its first home game in the playoffs to the Spurs since…awhile. Apparently the injured foot of Deron Williams has left him questionable for tonight’s matchup. But NBA fans have quickly discovered what Jazz fans knew all along: this guy is no sloutch, and he can play some basketball. And Derek Fisher is back in New York as his daughter has yet another surgery on her eye. Speaking of x-factors…emotion runs through that man’s veins to his advantage. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Fish, but we still want to beat your team.

GO SPURS!!!

First Look at Microsoft’s Milan Surface Computer

Wed, 30 May 2007 06:15:19 GMT

Early this morning, I read a post by Jon Fortt at the Business 2.0 Blog, The Utility Belt, about Microsoft’s surface computer originally codenamed “Milan”. The Microsoft Surface as it is now referred to is meant to give certain businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, and other retailers an interactive marketing tool. Although the concept is really cool, Jon poses some excellent concerns with regard to practicality and maintenance of the Microsoft Surface.

The surface computer features some key attributes:

Direct interaction. Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
Multi-touch. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.
Multi-user. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.

In the following video, Pete Thompson, general manager of Microsoft Surface Computing, demonstrates how the Microsoft Surface is useful for viewing photos and how the computer might be functional in a retail setting…using a T-Mobile store as an example.

For more information on Microsoft’s latest technology, check out this article on PRNewswire. The story also includes more information regarding which retailers are already slated to use the Microsoft Surface.

Father’s Day Wishlist: Golfing In Myrtle Beach

Tue, 29 May 2007 18:39:57 GMT

Aberdeen Country Club. Slear Shotz/Brandon Advertising.

Nevermind that my golf game needs a little fine tuning or that sometimes I pose for golfing photos. Myrtle Beach has always been on my list of places to visit…with my golf clubs. The Myrtle Beach golf community features 5 of the best courses in South Carolina according to Golf Digest.

CoastalGolfaway.com offers the best in coastal Myrtle Beach golf vacation packages, tee times and accommodations. And they’ve been doing it since 1986. CoastalGolfaway makes it easy to select a customized package (in all price ranges) from the more than 110 golf courses in the 60-mile stretch of coast between Calabash, NC and Georgetown, SC known as the Grand Strand. Myrtle Beach is the largest city in the area…and right in the middle.

Coastalgolfaway.com has access to a handful of courses and accomodations along the Grand Strand.

CoastalGolfaway also arranges specials based on various themes and locations. These specials include accomodations, green fees, carts, and meals at extremely reasonable prices. Visit the site and see for yourself.

This is a Sponsored Post.

You Comment, I Follow. So What Are You Waiting For?

Tue, 29 May 2007 07:07:46 GMT

Many of you have seen this logo floating around various blogs lately. It was created by Randa Clay. She’s a designer and marketing consultant, and she created the logo to show her participation in the dofollow movement. Like Randa, and a handful of other bloggers, I’ve decided to remove the rel=”nofollow” attribute from my comments…with a tiny catch.

I looked into a few WordPress plugins that removes the nofollow. I chose the Share The Link Love plugin by Andrew Timberlake. Once a commenter has commented at least 10 times (this is configurable), the nofollow attribute is removed. For all newer commenters, the nofollow remains. The point is to reward regular commenters. Comment history is based on your email address and not domain or URL, so it allows a commenter to take advantage of link marketing tactics. I would just turn it off altogether, but I hesitated a bit as it is…and I’m hoping the “goal” of 10 will incent readers to comment.

Other NoFollow WordPress Plugins
The dofollow plugin is straight to the point: you just activate it and it works. Nofollows are removed from comments and trackbacks…period.

The Case-By-Case nofollow plugin offers a little more control. It allows you to select which comments DO NOT get the nofollow attribute. In other words, the plugin turns nofollow off throughout the entire blog; however, when you come across a comment that you do not think deserves to be followed, simply add ‘/dontfollow’ to the link in the comment. The intent was to eliminate following spamments from getting link love. That’s why I use Akismet.

Don’t use WordPress? Well Saman over at Samanathon.com chose to remove nofollow from his blog as well. He also included some links for removing nofollow from Movable Type, Typepad, and Blogger users.

Speaking of Spam
Many WordPress bloggers have been updating to Version 2.2. During the upgrade process, spammers may use this vulnerability as an opportunity to squeeze a few spamments in to your blog. Lorelle VanFossen shows us how to recheck your comment list for comment spam after a successful WordPress update.

Another One Bites The Dust

Sun, 27 May 2007 20:16:39 GMT

Ok, that was a little harsh. Last night, my one of my best friends got married. Chris and Carolina had a beautiful wedding. It was held at the beautiful St. Mary’s Church in downtown San Antonio.

“You know how to get to the Krazy Kat Ballroom?”

Chris and I had been great friends throughout high school; however, our life’s journeys had taken different roads. But we’ve always managed to keep in touch, although probably not as often as we wanted. In a sincere and heartfelt letter, Chris asked me to be one of his groomsmen. I accepted without hesitation.

The rehearsal dinner was a blast. I got to see guys from high school that I hadn’t seen in ages. I was happy to make a great first impression on some of my friends’ wives and fiancees as well. (Sorry, Amy).

The wedding itself went flawlessly. No one fainted or threw up or anything YouTube-worthy. It was perfect by all wedding standards…it was exactly how Chris and Carolina wanted it to be. Carolina was beautiful; her procession was beautifully harmonized by an orchestra. Chris…well, you already saw his shoes. And the priest, Father Houlihan, was an Irish guy that kept us entertained throughout the entire process. During the homily, Fr. Houlihan reiterated the importance of family and friends in our lives…and went on to declare that without family and friends, he’d probably be a raging exotic. So…um…that’s cool. Point made.

Never let em see you sweat. It’s over. Let’s drink.

My friend, Bryan, was the best man. If there’s one thing about Bryan, it’s that he always comes through…when you really, really, really need him to. I mean really. This was obviously one of those times. And although he wrote his toast down on a bev nap about an hour before the speech, he delivered one of the best toasts I’ve heard in any wedding. He started off with an update on the Spurs game (which we lost), he made us laugh, he made us cry, and then I got a stomach ache. But that was probably the result of eating too much candy from the candy bar. Kudos, Bryan!

Contrary to the traditional toast with champagne, we toasted in shot glasses with tequila. It was definitely different…and memorable since I walked away with a shot glass.

At the end of the evening, Chris and Carolina left us via horse and carriage to mariachis…and a bunch of drunken gritos and cheers.

Best of luck to Chris and Carolina! As the bride’s maid said, no other two people deserve each other more. Thank you for including me in your family. And I look forward to sharing in your life’s experiences. I love you guys!

Sopranos Ohs

Sat, 26 May 2007 00:15:25 GMT

The other night while watching the Spurs whoop up on the Jazz, my friends and I found ourselves reacting to some of the unbelievable moves by Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with an “OHHHH!” And, yes, we did it when Amare stuffed that oop down the Spurs’ throat. Anyway, my friend Brian started doing it like Paulie from the Sopranos…and that led to a case of the giggles and an over used joke. OHHH! The power of alcohol. Anyway, I found this video someone threw together with a collage of OHHs! and AYYYs! from The Sopranos.

Rev It Up, Florida Style

Fri, 25 May 2007 18:30:19 GMT

Florida Agriculture is a $87 billion industry providing food to the entire globe. Fresh From Florida markets Florida Agriculture all over the world, showing the importance and impact of Florida’s Farmers. In this 30-second PSA, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services promotes Rev It Up with Fresh from Florida! as its catch phrase to promote Florida Agriculture. If nothing else, watch this video because the Commissioner’s name is Charles Bronson.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Fridays Finds — 05/25/2007

Fri, 25 May 2007 16:16:55 GMT

In today’s edition of Friday’s Finds, I’m going to show my Top Commenters some link love. I appreciate their offerings…even if it is to make fun of my golf picture. I’m always looking for feedback as well, so bring it on! Thanks to everyone that contributes to the crude, yet refined community that is Derrich.com. Now without further ado.

Danielle…that’s Ms. Danielle to you…entertains the idea that perhaps one day, the algorithm set in place to determine a site’s value would go away completely. Instead, this appraisal would be determined by user-generated data. As Google’s data minefield expands, so does the likelihood of this theory.
Many bloggers know Wendy Piersall as the Internet’s premiere eMom offering suggestions to build a “powerful blog” while maintaining a balance with your everyday life. The first lady of the blogosphere offers a behind the scenes look at her life outside of blogging.
She’s sweet, she’s innocent, and she’s not to be effed with on the road. Kelly Cho has a small case of road rage and she’s trying to get it under control. While I can relate to her distaste for “clueless” drivers, I’m no road mercenary like Kelly.
Matt (Internet Business) at InternetBusinessDaily.net is a 22-year-old entrepreneur dedicated to making money on the Internet. Yesterday, he shared some interesting news about the .cm domain name scandal.
Webtools is an great resource for…well, for webtools. That covers an array of categories from blogging to mobile to Internet browsers. They’ve posted an article about using fingerprint recognition on mobile phones…an added security feature in today’s growing e-commerce society.
Ever hear of Graco? No. Not the infant products. The leader in fluid handling systems and components! Well, “Warren Buffet” at the RetireRichBlog.com breaks down the stock giving investors several good reasons to buy Graco (NYSE: GGG). I hate the charts, but he definitely makes some good points.
Shaine Mata is one of the coordinators of PodCamp San Antonio, which was very well organized. Shaine shares with us a quick sketch biography of Shaine Mata.

Stop by their blogs and don’t forget to leave a comment or two. Contribute to their community as you have with mine. Have a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend!

PayPerPost or ReviewMe? or Neither?

Thu, 24 May 2007 21:05:12 GMT

Last night, I mentioned that PayPerPost is introducing PPP Direct to directly compete with ReviewMe as a paid review service. I’ve had a chance to think a little more about the effects this will have on bloggers’ opportunities to write reviews…specifically with price in mind.

The PPP Direct service will definitely give ReviewMe a run for its money…especially with the reduced commission PPP takes. It’s only a matter of time. Top earners on PPP earn about the same as ReviewMe earners (from what I’ve seen…after commissions are taken), and all they have to do is browse the opportunities that are made available to them based on parameters set by the advertisers (Alexa, Google PR, out-of-5 rating). No need for advertisers to come find them. I’ve made more money blogging this month from review opportunities, aka Sponsored Posts, than I have ever…and because of this system.

It seems like only the top ReviewMe bloggers are reaping the benefits of their service when there are plenty of potentially good bloggers out there (with the required ratings) that get overlooked because they only have 2 stars…since that’s what we start off with. No wonder we’re all stuck at the bottom of the list. I finally made it to the top of page 2, but that’s beside the point. At least with PayPerPost opportunities (not PPP Direct), you can at least create a reputation for yourself with several reviews. Now on a relatively even playing field, everyone has a chance to make or break themselves. I’m kinda playing devil’s advocate on this one. I realize that a blogger directory is a great tool to have.

Now with the introduction of PPP Direct, I’m concerned that this will cause advertisers to “get in bed” with certain bloggers. Sure I wouldn’t mind if I were one of those, but what about the beginner bloggers that are excellent writers? Life isn’t fair, I know. But, why not set the bar where everyone can hurdle it…and allow them to raise or lower it as they progress/regress? Hopefully PPP Direct will recognize up and coming bloggers…and established bloggers doing reviews for the first time…for their efforts and talents. And hopefully it doesn’t favor bloggers, while ignoring others who are capable and qualified.

The Battle Isn’t Won, It’s Only Begun
The evil man that he is, John Chow opens a new can of worms. His discussion about PayPerPost falling short of ReviewMe started a wave of “facts” and opinions to be examined. We can all speculate at this point, but who really knows how the introduction of PPP Direct will affect its Sponsored Post format….or ReviewMe pricing…and moreso how it will affect pricing as a whole.

Even Ted Murphy of PayPerPost had something to say on John’s blog…

First off anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis has to realize John is biased towards ReviewMe, which is fine I have no problem with that. However, it is hard to argue with the numbers.

Would you rather keep $200 on a $400 advertiser spend or keep $360 on the same spend. That is a no brainer. I would much rather have the maximum amount possible.

So let’s put your theory to the test. You say that the money comes from advertisers finding you through the ReviewMe marketplace, not the other way around. Let’s assume you are 100% correct (which I don’t believe you are, you already had a following before ReviewMe).

Now let’s say you remove the optional ReviewMe badge at the top your blog and replace it with a PPP Direct badge. You will still be listed in the ReviewMe marketplace, and the transactions they generate won’t be lost. However, the transactions YOU generate now come with an HUGE increase in the money you put in your pocket. You get the best of both worlds.

I do agree with the need for a directory of participating bloggers. We will be releasing a blogger directory in the near future. We want to work out any issues before pushing this on a large scale to our advertisers.

O.K. So, let’s get this all straight:

Our marketplace charges only 35% while Review charges a 100% markup (not 50%, they take 50% of the charge which is not the same). Ontop of that PPP Direct transactions happen a 10% markup. The Directory is just around the corner. PPP Direct is far more elegant than any other solution out there. What did I miss?

For more information go here:
http://blog.payperpost.com/2007/05/part-one-of-birdo-release.html

For a video go here:
http://blog.payperpost.com/2007/05/payperpost-direct-overview.html

Andy Beard breaks it down for us over at his blog. Read Exclusive - Pay Per Post Direct Changes The Paid Review Landscape Great post!

Just Do It!…Yourself
There are many bloggers that believe in skipping the middleman and offering direct advertising on their blog. That’s a great idea…if you have the time. I blog on a part-time basis, so for me a service like PayPerPost or ReviewMe is ideal. However, if direct advertising is something you’re interested in, Maki over DoshDosh.com has a series of direct advertising strategies that you should read with alot of great suggestions.

Stroke A Pose

Thu, 24 May 2007 19:17:39 GMT

I’m a banker. It’s golfing season. Need I say more? At each tournament I play in, you’re pretty much guaranteed to encounter the photo lady roaming around the course ready to snap your picture at a moment’s notice. I’ve added smiley faces to my compadres and clients in the interest of privacy. Only one word describes my pose: dainty.

Go ahead. Take a shot. I’m a big boy. I guess I’m ready to play Danielle one on one. She probably doesn’t stand like that when she’s playing golf.

Samsung SCH-U740: A New Twist In Mobile Technology

Thu, 24 May 2007 17:27:39 GMT

A few weeks ago, I decided that it was time to replace my Nokia 6682, which has been good to me in a year and a half. Obviously…because it took me that long to replace it. I normally have a new mobile phone every 6-9 months. The one I really wanted, the Sony Ericsson K790, is just too expensive for now. I’ve been in love with it since I saw it in Casino Royale. With the anticipation of the iPhone…and my impatience…I decided to go with the Samsung SCH-U740.

As a lurker on HowardForums.com, I’m usually aware of the latest and greatest. But I seem to have missed the Samsung despite its charm and neat looks…my attention still on the K790. It must be fascinating because I’ve never looked twice at a flip phone since my Motorola StarTac. I’m a candy bar guy. But this was neither…not really. It was definitely a new “twist” in mobile phone functionality.

The first time I saw the phone, I was browsing around ShackkDiesel’s mobile blog. He had announced that Verizon released the U740 on its website. I checked it out immediately. Ends up it was released on other sites (WireFly, LetsTalk, etc) in gold. Ewww. It was destiny that I’d waited so long. Only Verizon had it available in black…that day…for about $50 more.

Samsung SCH-U740 vs BlackBerry 8700c — picture taken with Nokia 6682

The first thing that came to mind was the QWERTY keyboard, and that it might be too small for my big hands. I read many reviews that compared the Samsung U740 to the LG Envy, which a friend of mine used to have…and another guy compared his to a BlackBerry. While the keyboard looked crowded, I didn’t flinch. Not n xpert txt msgr like me. AYKM! (Sorry…it happens sometimes.)

Now that I’ve been using for awhile, I really like it. As far as pictures, its very much like my Nokia 6682. With good light and reasonable distance, the pictures were relatively good quality for a camera phone. Close-ups get blurry (see above photo), and colors disappear in the dark…even with the flash. The U740 includes five different resolutions (1280×960, 640×480, 320×240, 160×120, and a Picture ID setting) and three quality settings (Fine, Normal, Economy). Unfortuntely, the 4x zoom doesn’t work in the 1280×960 setting.

One small frustration I have is with the battery. Samsung rates talk time at 3.5 hours and standby time of 8.3 days. In my experience, the talk time is fairly accurate. But because I use the phone often, I usually have to charge it everyday. This is where I get frustrated. Both my BlackBerry and Nokia charged from one bar to full power in about an hour or so. In that time, the Samsung goes from one bar to three [out of 4] in that time. It definitely requires an overnight feeding.

I’m still playing with all the features of the phone. For a more thorough read, check out the c|net Samsung U740 review. It includes an informative video review as well.

PayPerPost To Introduce PPP Direct

Thu, 24 May 2007 02:46:55 GMT

PayPerPost (PPP) is down tonight performing maintenance on its site. PPP users were notified of the downtime earlier today due to a “monster update”. Well, the blog marketing site will introduce PPP Direct, which will compete with the likes of ReviewMe.

We’ve had a number of people ask whether it’s possible for advertisers to directly approach posties to get them to write special blog posts. PPP Direct makes that happen. In a nutshell, you simply specify the amount you want to be paid for these Direct opportunities and stick a badge on your blog. When an advertiser finds your blog and decides they’d like you to write something they just click on the badge, sign up to PPP and make you an offer.

In addition to the new PPP Direct service, other updates include bans and benches where advertisers and publishers can be more selective with one another. Post reservations will be another addition…allowing “posties” (PPP users) to take an opportunity and lock it in for 6 hours before getting added back to the list of opportunities. And finally, Technorati rankings will no longer be used in qualifying a blogger for an opportunity. Due to the recent changes at Technorati, PayPerPost has decided to use only Google PageRank and Alexa ranking as provisions.

Technorati Refreshed

Wed, 23 May 2007 18:14:29 GMT

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.

Regain Control With Lulu.com Online Publishing

Wed, 23 May 2007 15:50:36 GMT

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.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Gangs Of The Safari

Wed, 23 May 2007 09:09:58 GMT

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

Optimize Your SEO Scorecard

Tue, 22 May 2007 22:47:56 GMT

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.

PodCamp San Antonio — Just About Perfect

Tue, 22 May 2007 17:00:15 GMT

“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.

Introducing The Smile Credit Card

Tue, 22 May 2007 16:57:56 GMT

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.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Stock Watch — 05/21/2007

Mon, 21 May 2007 22:24:06 GMT

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.

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

Mississippi Braves Manager Meltdown

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:12:51 GMT

Mississippi Braves Manager Phillip Wellman went nuts…bonkers…crazy. Period. Definitely not a “well man”. (Sorry…it was there. I took it.) Well, yesterday he was handed down a 3-game suspension by the Atlanta Braves organization for his antics. And while his actions are totally uncalled for, this video is hilarious! What a moron.

Share this video on your blog. MASH IT!

Embed Relevant Videos & Make Money With TheNewsRoom.com

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 18:15:17 GMT

The News Room provides access to hundreds of thousands of fully licensed news stories that can be published, or ‘mashed’, on your site from major content providers such as Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Press (AFP). If you are a website publisher or blogger who wants to earn money by embedding quality news on your site, simply join TheNewsRoom and start mashing.

Mash For Cash & Prizes
When you use the mash button to embed a news story or a news feed (with advertising) onto your website or blog you begin earning revenue. This is a win win for bloggers who value high quality content to enhance or support their opinion and who blog for profit. In addition to Mashing for Cash, registrants of TNR can earn prizes from digital cameras to a new car as part of our loyalty program.

It was easy to find and embed relevant, timely news. There were many video and content choices in a number of categories (as seen above). I was originally going to use a clip about the San Antonio Spurs, but I thought maybe this clip about Paris Hilton would be more useful and relavant to my readers.

Viral Payment Plan
Earn a share of the advertising revenue each time mashed news is viewed on your site. TheNewsRoom has an innovative, viral payment model that can earn you up to $4 per thousand impressions (CPM). You’ll also earn money when someone mashes content from your site and it is viewed on theirs. This is well above current industry standards that are typically around $0.15 CPM. Take advantage by mashing and encouraging your friends to mash from your site!

	*CPM When Viewed on Your* Site**	*CPM When Viewed On Referred* Site**
Video Feed	$4.00	$1.00
Video Story	$3.00	$0.50
Text Story	$1.00	$0.50
Image	$1.00	$0.50

Looks easy enough. I think I’ll give it a whirl myself.

Blog Money - May 2007

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 06:02:26 GMT

May brought new money making opportunities for Derrich.com. After a few flat months of blogging revenue, I decided to take advantage of more resources available to bloggers. In April 2007, I earned $74.90 primarily from Google AdSense.

Last month, I suspected that adding Kontera had taken attention way from my Google AdSense ads. When I looked into it further, it was due to fewer impressions. Repositioning my ads also resulted in reduced use of AdSense ads. For May, AdSense took a back seat to paid reviews…and Kontera was eliminated altogether about a third of the way through. I’ll explain later…first the numbers.

Google AdSense:	$29.48
Kontera:	$3.57
AuctionAds:	$12.43
Text Link Ads:	$20.95
ReviewMe:	$25.00
PayPerPost:	$268.50
AuctionAds:	$1.22
Amazon Associates:	$0.65
Advertising on brohans.com:	($4.00)
TOTAL:	$345.37

PayPerPost Is Awesome
I’ve already posted some of my thoughts about PayPerPost (PPP). A week ago, PPP launched PPP Direct to compete with ReviewMe. I welcomed it with open arms primarily because I hadn’t gotten any opportunities with ReviewMe. Review opportunities with PPP have ups and downs, but I’ve come to expect that at this point. Obviously. It was my biggest money maker this month. Part of the PPP TOS requires that all other ads networks are turned off so to speak. And although I attempted to turn off my Kontera links with the <span> tag, it still popped up on my paid reviews when using FireFox. So, rather than take the time to figure out why this might be the case, I turned them off altogether. Not sure whether or not it’ll stay that way. Many of you have remarked at the change saying that you like it. I like what you like.

TextLinkAds Are Awesome
My sales through TextLinkAds (TLA) continue to increase. I already know that I’ll make at least the same amount for June as all advertisers have maintained their ads on my blog. Now the trick is to sell some more. And that’s what I like about TLA. They do alot of this for you. I noticed the increase in TLA sales after I implemented a suggestion made by Maki over at DoshDosh.com. Although he’s not a huge TLA fan, he suggested that you use every opportunity to bring awareness to the service by placing TLA banners after each post. Some bloggers have opted to eliminate the middleman and sell text links on their own. And that’s a great idea…if you have the time. Teli Adlam at Optiniche.com found a great WordPress plugin to do just that. The WP Text Ads plugin by Alex Choo. The plugin makes the prospect of doing it yourself look much easier. I may look into it, but for now me and TLA are gonna stay tight.

MyBlogLog & AdSense Continue to Disagree
Seriously. Are we ever going to get to the bottom of this charade? Since I posted about the discrepancy between MyBlogLog and AdSense in March, I’ve become used to the reporting differences. Luckily, they haven’t been that far off. Late last week, I added a 728×90 Leaderboard beneath my banner at about 9:45pm. According to my MBL stats, it had 18 clicks after about 3 hours. The next day, AdSense reported 1 click. One.

Unfortunately, the trend continues in the few days the leaderboard has been up. Read Loren Baker’s assessment of the click tracking discrepancy at SearchEngineJournal.com.

Google Street View Sightings

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:44:27 GMT

Stan Schroeder over at Mashable.com has sifted through a variety of images using Google Maps. They call it StreetSpotting. Who knows? It could be just as popular as spotting naked people on Google Earth. Here are a few of my favorites.

#13. The Void. Link

#9. The guy with no head. Link

#2. Crime in progress. Link

Visit Mashable for the Top 15 Google Street View Sightings.

Google Street View In Action
Barry Schwartz over at CartoonBarry.com shows us Google Street View in action in the following video.

Improve Your Quality Of Life In Asheville

Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:52:55 GMT

The Biltmore Estate

Nestled in the Blue Ridge and Great Smokey mountains at the confluence of the Swannanoa River and the French Broad River is Asheville, NC. Natural beauty, a friendly atmosphere, and quality of living are only a few of its charms. Asheville attracts residents both young and retired. The Men’s Journal named it one of the 50 best places to live in the “Singles Scene” category (April 2006). And Asheville ranked 7th in Kiplinger’s “50 Smart Cities” list. (May 8, 2006).

Because Asheville is a world-renowned vacation destination as well as one of the most popular retirement destinations, it is a great time to invest in an Asheville home. Perhaps one of the most well-known Asheville homes is the Biltmore Estate. At 175,000 square feet, it is the largest privately-owned home in the United States.

Enjoy whitewater rafting, mountain biking, and hiking in the highest peaks in the Eastern U.S.

So, while homes like the Biltmore are great to visit, considering a home of your own in Asheville may be a great investment. Asheville Homes website allows you to search MLS Listings with an easy to use Google Map interface. Be sure to explore what Asheville has to offer.

This is a Sponsored Post.

Take A Ride On The Vomitron

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:24:40 GMT

I can’t stand roller coasters. However, whether I’ve been lured on or forced on…I’ve ridden my fair share. This thing, dubbed The Vomitron, swings you with a force rated between 4-5 G’s. The guy on the left — an exact imitation of me on a roller coaster — is screaming for the operator to stop the ride. Well, he eventually gets his wish and the ride earns its name.

The Vomitron - Watch more funny videos

Friday’s Finds — 06/01/2007

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:19:02 GMT

It seems that the month of May was a SEO and blogging focus for me. Not necessarily as reflected by my posts (GO SPURS!!!), but just my personal exploration to optimize SEO, improve monetization, and increase traffic…somewhat heightened by my participation in PodCamp San Antonio. So, I thought I’d include some posts that touch on this subject, and hope that you’ll benefit from them as I have.

Earlier this week, I wrote about adding the Share The Link Love plugin as part of the “U Comment, I Follow” Movement. Aaron Brazell at Technosailor.com posted a list of plugins that will help make your blog sticky.
While Ed Lau struggles with finding his chunk of the blogosphere, 16-year-old Yuvi at YuviSense.net takes uber tech blog, Engagdet, dismantles it, and then carefully reassembles it. What better way to understand and analyze Engagdet’s traffic than an in-depth analysis. He succeeds in finding Engagdet’s chunk.
Lucia at BigBucksBlogger.com spends some of her time helping fellow posties over at PayPerPost (PPP) with a variety of issues that come up. Using ad sources such as Kontera ContentLink with PPP is against the TOS. But some bloggers found that using the <span> tag wasn’t enough. So Lucia shows you how to remove Kontera by modifying templates.
Daniel Scocco over at DailyBlogTips.com presented his list of Top 25 Blogs About Blogging. He considered “blogs that have a high percentage of blogging-related content. Topics might range from blogging tips to monetization, from news to building communities or business blogs”…and used Google PageRank, Alexa, Bloglines Subscribers, and Technorati Authority to score the candidates. I was surprised by some of the results.
Marco Richter at FitForFreedom.com adds to his series of ultimate lists with the ultimate RSS Subscriptions List — full of posts on how to increase your subscribership.

If you have any links to suggest, please feel free to include them in your comments. Thanks and TGIF!!!

Stock Watch — 05/31/2007

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:05:26 GMT

As I sit back and watch Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q) and Star Gas Partners (NYSE: SGU) surpass my “greed meter” at 21.06% and 22.76% returns, respectively, I can’t help but notice the few stocks that remain flat. With the first day of summer approaching (June 21st), we may take advantage of some last minute spring cleaning. For now, each of these stocks looks good enough to hold on to through the 2nd quarter. The chart below shows gains as of today’s close versus those of the last Stock Watch report.

Symbol	Last Trade*	Shares	Price Paid	Gain (thru 05/21)	Gain (thru 05/31)
AGII	$33.13	100	$33.12	2.36%	0.03%
COH	$51.36	100	$51.40	-5.49%	-0.08%
DEO	$85.39	100	$78.37	7.23%	8.96%
DOW	$45.38	100	$40.02	14.74%	13.39%
FMS	$49.09	100	$50.01	-1.74%	-1.84%
GPX	$10.66	100	$9.38	8.21%	13.65%
KCI	$50.18	100	$46.90	4.84%	6.99%
MOT	$18.19	100	$18.16	4.07%	0.17%
Q	$10.29	100	$8.50	17.76%	21.06%
SGU	$4.80	100	$3.91	20.20%	22.76%
SIFY	$8.55	100	$8.41	0.36%	1.66%
SIX	$6.19	100	$5.97	2.01%	3.09%
YHOO	$28.70	100	$26.87	9.23%	6.81%

*Price as of market close on 05/31/2007. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

A Qwest For Success
Nevermind that Qwest Communications is up 21.06%, it still has room to go higher. Today it announced that it was one of five telecoms to win a piece of a government contract worth up to $20 billion just weeks after it was one of only 3 telecoms awarded the largest such contract for $48 billion. If the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has faith in this company to deliver its services effectively, then so should you. The company continues to improve the strength of its balance sheet, and it is now making money on the bottom line…for the fifth straight quarter to be exact. Some analysts also believe Qwest is a very strong candidate to be acquired.

Fresenius Remains Strong and Healthy
Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) reported its 1st quarter 2007 financial results earlier this month. Keep in mind that the operations of Renal Care Group are included in the Company’s consolidated statements of income and cash flows from April 1, 2006. However, Net Income increased by $160 million, or 38%, and North American revenue increased by 37% to $1,637 million, $1,483 million of which came from Dialysis Services. The company had planned a May 15th announcement of a 1:3 stock split…and it was approved. In addition, Fresenius shareholders unanimously approved a 15% increase in dividends, the 14th consecutive increase. At this point, you may consider waiting until the split occurs to get into this one. The split should take place sometime during the 3rd quarter.

A Special Place for Hybrids

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:24:19 GMT

A little over a month ago, I decided to sell my beloved Nissan Maxima and explore my inner hippie. I loved that Maxima. Attractive, reliable…though not so easy on the pocketbook. It requires premium gasoline and the gas tank has about a 21-gallon capacity. And I drive a ton, so I was fueling up often. So, I bought a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Makes sense…well, a little despite the increased car payment. Just doing my part to be a good stewart. Anyway, before I move further away from the point of the story and offer a full-blown review of my new car…it seems there are more benefits to owning a hybrid than just MPGs.

It appears that some stores across the U.S. are rewarding hybrid drivers with choice parking spaces. According to this article in the Houston Chronicle…better known as “the Chron”…stores such as Ikea, Office Depot, and Home Depot are offering the beloved spaces for their enviro-friendly patrons.

Courtesy of Curbed Los Angeles

Keep your space. Better yet, how about converting it to a “pregnant parking” or “elderly without a HC tag parking”? The idea is noble. Thanks, but no thanks. Besides…I need the exercise.

Date	$ Per Share	Value
Jan 12, 2007	$171.51	$992 million
March 14, 2008	$30.00	$166 million

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Stompale Spurs! Rob G Reppin My Block Remix

Spurs Collective Effort Too Much For The Jazz

First Look at Microsoft’s Milan Surface Computer

Father’s Day Wishlist: Golfing In Myrtle Beach

You Comment, I Follow. So What Are You Waiting For?

Another One Bites The Dust

Sopranos Ohs

Rev It Up, Florida Style

Fridays Finds — 05/25/2007

PayPerPost or ReviewMe? or Neither?

Stroke A Pose

Samsung SCH-U740: A New Twist In Mobile Technology

PayPerPost To Introduce PPP Direct

Technorati Refreshed

Regain Control With Lulu.com Online Publishing

Gangs Of The Safari

Optimize Your SEO Scorecard

PodCamp San Antonio — Just About Perfect

Introducing The Smile Credit Card

Stock Watch — 05/21/2007

Mississippi Braves Manager Meltdown

Embed Relevant Videos & Make Money With TheNewsRoom.com

Blog Money - May 2007

Google Street View Sightings

Improve Your Quality Of Life In Asheville

Take A Ride On The Vomitron

Friday’s Finds — 06/01/2007

Stock Watch — 05/31/2007

A Special Place for Hybrids

A Special Place for Hybrids

Congratulations, Manu!

Congratulations, Manu!

Toshiba 37AV500U — An Impressive 37″ LCD HDTV

Toshiba 37AV500U — An Impressive 37″ LCD HDTV

New Video Feature

New Video Feature

Be Kind. Review Within 24 Hours!

Be Kind. Review Within 24 Hours!

That Just Happened — A-Rod Attacked By Hawk At Fenway Park

That Just Happened — A-Rod Attacked By Hawk At Fenway Park

In Memoriam: Nathan Alden Robinson Remembered On The Office

In Memoriam: Nathan Alden Robinson Remembered On The Office

Bear Stearns Takes It In The Vault After Conference Call

Bear Stearns Takes It In The Vault After Conference Call

Now This Is Happening — New York Buys Eli A New Carr, Gets A New Gov

Now This Is Happening — New York Buys Eli A New Carr, Gets A New Gov

San Antonio Is Crazy About Cornhole

San Antonio Is Crazy About Cornhole

Brett Favre Emotional Press Conference

Brett Favre Emotional Press Conference

That Just Happened — Los Patrick Swayze Has The Cancer

That Just Happened — Los Patrick Swayze Has The Cancer

Kevin Borseth vs. Ed Harris

Kevin Borseth vs. Ed Harris

7 Ways To Spend Money From Uncle Sam

7 Ways To Spend Money From Uncle Sam

Kevin Borseth Is Forty! He’s a Man!

Kevin Borseth Is Forty! He’s a Man!

Custom Car Builder, Boyd Coddington, Dead At 63

Custom Car Builder, Boyd Coddington, Dead At 63

Greg Oden Does Some Unpaid Endorsing

Greg Oden Does Some Unpaid Endorsing

Odette Yustman Gets Wet

Odette Yustman Gets Wet