This is crazy. I’m not talking about managed sites here. BlueHost decided on their own to implement auto-updating of WordPress for all their shared hosting accounts using WordPress. And not just minor/security releases. I just discovered four sites I manage were updated to WordPress 4.3 without my knowledge or approval. I had good reasons for […]
General
Most articles in this category address general Web and Internet issues. Some of them are rants and ramblings that may have less to do with the Web and the Internet and more to do with life lessons and business lessons.
Side Effects of Rebuilding Web Sites to be Responsive and Mobile-Friendly
What drives many to rebuild their existing Web sites to be responsive and mobile-friendly are justifiable concerns about user experience and search engine placement. After all, the need to make Web pages look and act right on small mobile devices has only intensified as more and more people spend proportionately more of their Internet time on those devices. And then there’s Google, who, on April 21, 2015, started boosting the ranking of mobile-friendly pages on mobile search results. Yet it is a side effect of this rebuild process that may turn out to be the best reason of all to undertake it. In this article I share the insightful and unsolicited comments of a client with whom I am rebuilding his Web site to be responsive and mobile-friendly.
Traffic Does Not Equal Audience
Making coffee this morning with one of the network news shows on in the background, I caught the tail end of an interview with Michael Wolff. Wolff, the provocative essayist, author, and columnist, was promoting his latest book, "Television Is the New Television". Something he said reminded me of Pamela Anderson.
Everything can be gamed
Everything can be gamed. Broadcast emails can use merge codes to make you think you’re the only recipient. Views and likes and mentions can be bought. Introductory offers can hide the small print so many layers down that you forget to even look for it. But these games — and the traps within them — might say more about the game creators than about those who accept the invitation to play.
Lessons Web Developers Won’t Learn in School
When I was interviewed recently for a blog article about “lessons Web developers won’t learn in school”, I knew without blinking what I’d say. If you’re a client of a Web developer, you might find what I had to say ostensibly arrogant. If you’re a fellow Web developer, you might be emboldened to let your cynical side run free. I hope neither is the case.
Yet Another Facebook Survey
If you’re not already “surveyed-out”, we’d appreciate your taking this short survey about Facebook. Yep, ANOTHER Facebook Survey: just what you need, right? I’m not going to go on and on about how THIS survey is better than any other you’ve ever taken. But I will tell you that you’ll be entering a drawing for a $25 Amazon Gift Card simply by submitting the survey (and including your email address, which is otherwise optional). And if that’s not enough incentive, has it occurred to you that by taking this Facebook survey, you might just be contributing to making the Web a better place? Yeah, I didn’t think so. So there’s still the chance of winning the gift card.
Before you gripe and whine
If you are a business person prone to griping and whining about the social media learning curve, let me try to cure you. Meet my (91 year-old) mother-in-law.
Disambiguating Call To Action
I’ve been working with a number of clients recently on Web-site CTAs (Calls To Action).
In an effort to reduce ambiguity and confusion and to suggest a common vocabulary for planning and talking about CTA implementations, here are my working definitions of the components that comprise a Call To Action.
How To Get 1,000 Twitter Followers In 24 Hours: Follow 1,016 People On Twitter
I’m kidding with this title, but it’s no joke. This does appear to be the strategy many follow to get Twitter followers. Call me curmudgeonly. But please explain it to me like I’m a six year-old: How does one follow 1,000 people on Twitter (not to mention 99,953)?
Mistaking Me For Someone Who Cares
We all know that guy, the guy who tweets 48 times a day and appears never to have had an unexpressed thought. The guy who makes you think, “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaking me for someone who cares.” It’s easy to let the fear of becoming that guy discourage us from blogging and posting to social networks. Don’t. You’re probably not that guy. And if you start becoming that guy, people who care about you will let you know.