the road to hell

the road to hell

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Google Reader & Search History

Monday, July 14th, 2008

I have personal proof that your search history, when logged in to Google, is applied to other Google properties.
I’ve been using Google Reader as my RSS aggregator. The blogs I have subscribed in Reader fall into three categories: Search/Marketing, Bicycling, and maybe one or two blogs belonging to friends that are a mix of both [...]

Google Analytics Merits My Tinfoil Hat!

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

Google is now providing ‘trend data’ to web site owners. Neato, eh?
If you read their FAQ, data is shared via the opt-in feature of Google Analytics, which various people have pointed out is hidden in the GA interface.
You can opt-out of the Google Analytics sharing, but you can’t opt your site out of the Trends [...]

Harsh Reality

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

On the Internet, ‘being a good guy’ will not drive performance in and of itself.
Being a good guy who leverages good guy qualities, such as friends who like him and will link to him and people who will write positive reviews on user-generated review sites helps a lot more than just complaining that a site [...]

Another Fine Rant… Pre-empted

Tuesday, April 1st, 2008

I’ve been planning a rant about the baby-industrial complex, which I have concluded to be EVEN MORE EVIL than the marriage-industrial complex. However, it seems a new book’s been released that may even include something like research on the whole topic, not just my general rantiness.
Amazon sez:
Pamela Paul (Pornified: How Pornography Is Damaging Our Lives, [...]

Obsolescence & Landfills

Monday, March 31st, 2008

Back in my misspent youth, I worked for a major provider of health insurance and clinic/hospital care. One year, early in the Intarweb era, we offered a program in which instead of sending out the provider directory to all the renewing members in our government groups, we sent them a one-page business reply card that [...]

Sanitized Advertising Not For Your Protection

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

Some time back, when the big lawsuits were filed and won against Big Tobacco, ads about how bad smoking really is were supposed to get worse - messier, scarier, truer.
Years later, we now know that this didn’t happen. Whether it’s just squeamishness by creators of PSAs, influence by tobacco companies, or squeamishness by broadcasting companies, [...]

Intergalactic!

Monday, March 17th, 2008

One of the most challenging things about optimizing a web site for a small business owner is controlling their expectations and tempering their ambitions. For many, a web site is more than just a way to reach their core audience - it’s a blurring of their understanding of who their core audience really is.
Because it’s [...]

Strategy

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008

Building a web site is not a ‘marketing strategy.’
A web site is a marketing tactic or a marketing tool.

The Premature Death of the Cover Letter

Friday, February 22nd, 2008

I have maintained for several years, and can probably find industry study to support me, that the rise of online job sites has driven both an increase in applications to positions, and a decrease in cover letters written to support said applications.
Some might say: “Oooh, increased pool to choose from!” They’re generally wrong, simply in [...]