BIO
http://myspace.com/thestr8sounds
http://pluperfecter.blogspot.com
Music composer. Film maker. Music video director. Digital artist. Social media specialist. Web usability analyst. Pacifist.
http://pluperfecter.blogspot.com
Music composer. Film maker. Music video director. Digital artist. Social media specialist. Web usability analyst. Pacifist.
Free, Bird
I"ve been a big fan of WM (Weirdo Music) Recordings for years now. I especially am fond of Zloty Dawai, Roy "Chicky" Arad, Chenard Walker, Datapanik, Jan Turkenberg, Rene Vis, Gorowski,
Phasing Dancing Stand Sculptures (2009-) - Cory Arcangel
minimalist robots, dancing" (or swaying) would've been my title for this. creepy actually...
Interview with Jason Sigal of the Free Music Archive
Hey Jason, how's it hangin'? I'm having trouble finding Alan Vega & Oneida live show on FMA. Free Music Archive is a really great collection of free mp3s by some of the best bands alive. Thanks for the tunes!
Fluid Integration : a watery film
Having trouble embedding the YouTube player code. Here's a direct link to the film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7BlZ22FGQ
RSS FEED
Becoming Less Transparent On Facebook
Facebook Cleanup Phase 2.
A few days ago, on my Facebook profile (About page), I deleted about 100 Likes that I didn't recall clicking Like on. I was not opposed to the topics, activities, products, or organizations. I just don't support them, or they post content that I'm no longer interested in, or they don't post anything and may be abandoned FB pages.
Tonight, I deleted 100 more, almost all the rest of my Likes. I've dwindled down my Likes list to just a few entities that I really care about and want to get updates on.
Some people want to reveal who they are by clicking on things they like, abstract ideas like Organic Gardening or Philosophy or Astrophysics.
They also display on their About pages all their family members, past employers, places where they've lived, schools they attended, and the music, movies, TV shows, sports, games, books, and events they like. They apparently want to "be known" and be transparent about their interests.
They also display on their About pages all their family members, past employers, places where they've lived, schools they attended, and the music, movies, TV shows, sports, games, books, and events they like. They apparently want to "be known" and be transparent about their interests.
I see no point to this. The entities that preach to you "be transparent" are themselves not transparent, especially about why they want you to be transparent. Those who most vehemently want you to submit to the "privacy is dead" mantra are stalkers, predators, identity thieves, "Big Data" mongers, advertisers, and surveillance agencies.
I reveal my basic data about myself and share my insights, photos of places around town, links to interesting information, and food I'm eating. That's about it. The rest of my life and interests are basically boring or of no relevance to what I want to accomplish on Facebook -- which is to help, amuse, inspire, and educate people.
I am also blocking people who follow my status updates, but I don't know them personally. I suggest you consider doing the same.
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Breakfast Food is Gross
What is the deal with breakfast food? Do people put up with this slop just because it reminds them of happy days as a child? Think about it. The WORST, most unhealthy food on earth is tossed into the "breakfast" category.
By the time you drink a couple of cups of coffee, you've come to your senses. You stare at your empty plate and ask yourself, "What the heck was that garbage I just ate? I wouldn't feed that stuff to a dog!"
Because we are still sleepy, the restaurants think they can pass off this horrible mess as "breakfast", charge a ridiculous amount of money, and we'll go ahead and consume it. Why? Because we've barely emerged from a dream state. We aren't focused yet. The only reason they serve you coffee is so you'll be alert enough to pay the bill.
Sugary donuts. Greasy sausage. Runny, incompletely cooked eggs. Toast slathered with butter. Fattening gravy with bits of sausage floating in it. Pancake batter smothered in butter and syrup. Sickeningly sweet cereal in weird shapes and colors, that you add milk and sugar to, turning it into a mushy monstrosity.
Notice how they have to load up breakfast food with a lot of butter, sugar, and syrup to force, I mean, entice people to eat it?
I almost never eat breakfast or breakfast foods. It's all so slimey. If I eat anything early in the morning, I'll generally have a banana, or a bowl of citrus fruit like lemons, grapefruit and oranges.
It's like the worst kinds of food are reserved for early morning, because you're not awake enough to realize how awful the stuff is. When you do wake up, and can think more clearly about what you're going to put into your stomach, you eat real food for lunch and dinner. LOL
By the time you drink a couple of cups of coffee, you've come to your senses. You stare at your empty plate and ask yourself, "What the heck was that garbage I just ate? I wouldn't feed that stuff to a dog!"
Because we are still sleepy, the restaurants think they can pass off this horrible mess as "breakfast", charge a ridiculous amount of money, and we'll go ahead and consume it. Why? Because we've barely emerged from a dream state. We aren't focused yet. The only reason they serve you coffee is so you'll be alert enough to pay the bill.
Sugary donuts. Greasy sausage. Runny, incompletely cooked eggs. Toast slathered with butter. Fattening gravy with bits of sausage floating in it. Pancake batter smothered in butter and syrup. Sickeningly sweet cereal in weird shapes and colors, that you add milk and sugar to, turning it into a mushy monstrosity.
Notice how they have to load up breakfast food with a lot of butter, sugar, and syrup to force, I mean, entice people to eat it?
I almost never eat breakfast or breakfast foods. It's all so slimey. If I eat anything early in the morning, I'll generally have a banana, or a bowl of citrus fruit like lemons, grapefruit and oranges.
It's like the worst kinds of food are reserved for early morning, because you're not awake enough to realize how awful the stuff is. When you do wake up, and can think more clearly about what you're going to put into your stomach, you eat real food for lunch and dinner. LOL
Facebook Hashtags and How To Use Them
TechCrunch has announced that Facebook confirms it will implement functional #hashtag capabilities.
Hashtags are used to facilitate discoverability of content related to topics, issues, people, places, TV shows, celebrities, politics, locations, conferences, beliefs, companies, events, products, etc. -- whatever users mark with a hashtag.
Facebook claims the hashtag content will be governed by your privacy settings, so a hashtag post will be viewable only by who you enable to view it according to your account's privacy settings.
I hope this means we can finally search our own FB content, if we hashtag it, like #stevenstreightSEO or #str8sounds or #stevenstreightlocalnews.
Max Woolf is not impressed. He claims that the implementation of hashtags on Facebook is stupid. Hashtags on comments won't be searchable, nor will they be included in conversation feeds. Privacy settings will greatly limit the hashtagged content available for public view. Marketers will exploit hashtags. Porn spammers and other ne'er-do-wells will abuse hashtags.
Read his article "Facebook Hashtags are Fundamentally Broken."
Max Woolf is not impressed. He claims that the implementation of hashtags on Facebook is stupid. Hashtags on comments won't be searchable, nor will they be included in conversation feeds. Privacy settings will greatly limit the hashtagged content available for public view. Marketers will exploit hashtags. Porn spammers and other ne'er-do-wells will abuse hashtags.
Read his article "Facebook Hashtags are Fundamentally Broken."
You must learn how to use hashtags correctly and effectively. They must be phrases with no spaces between the words, for example.
The purpose of hashtags is to identify, organize, and find specific conversations. The key to effective use is to determine what the essential keywords are, which is a classic SEO tactic.
The purpose of hashtags is to identify, organize, and find specific conversations. The key to effective use is to determine what the essential keywords are, which is a classic SEO tactic.
You don't want to pick an unpopular hashtag, nor do you want to use a nebulous or inexact keyword for your hashtag. For example, a #marketing hashtag is so vague, you probably won't find it as valuable as #mobilemarketing or #eventmarketing conversations.
Instead of hashtagging an event as #conference you should hashtag it with the name and year of the event. For example #smx or #sxsw2013 or #pubcon2013
Sometimes people are using multiple hashtags to refer to an event, topic, or whatever. So you may have to click on #summercamp2013 and #chillicothemusicfest and #threesisterspark and so forth.
You can use more than one hashtag in a post, but it pays to discover what exact hashtag others are using predominately for a given topic. For example, ABC Television prefers that people use #DWTS as the hashtag for Dancing With the Stars, rather than, or in addition to, hashtagging the individual dancers. Search a hashtag BEFORE you use it.
You may find out that what you wanted to use as the hash tag for a topic is already being used, but for a very different topic.
Using stupid hashtags just muddies the waters. The classic example is Entenmann's using "notguilty" in a hashtag about their cookies, when everybody was using the same tag for the Casey Anthony murder trial verdict. Hashtags are often used by spammers and cyberbullies.
You should become familiar with the black hat SEO and trolling ways of using hashtags for negative purposes. There are #hashtagdirectories that give you standard hashtags in common use for specific topics, events, people, and issues.
READ MORE
http://blog.microsecommerce.com/index.php/uncategorized/5-tips-for-using-hashtags-effectively/
http://minimaxir.com/2013/06/hashtag-hashtag/
http://minimaxir.com/2013/06/hashtag-hashtag/
Notes from an Ascetic's Journal
Living a noble life, with a good conscience, simple needs, deep devotion, abiding thankfulness, and a loving family -- brings you a joy and peace that the super wealthy, celebrities, rulers, and powerful people will never know and can never attain.
When their fortunes are lost, their talent subsides, their beauty fades, their bodies deteriorate, their minds are scrambled, their popularity crumbles, their expertise is outdated, their egos are crushed, their entourage abandons them, their power is usurped -- they are more miserable than you will ever imagine.
They won't have the simple, pure, decent things to fall back on, because they never felt a need for them and never cultivated them in their rush for dominance and fame.
Remember this as you lie in your bed, drifting off to sleep, with a smile on your face and contentment in your heart.
When their fortunes are lost, their talent subsides, their beauty fades, their bodies deteriorate, their minds are scrambled, their popularity crumbles, their expertise is outdated, their egos are crushed, their entourage abandons them, their power is usurped -- they are more miserable than you will ever imagine.
They won't have the simple, pure, decent things to fall back on, because they never felt a need for them and never cultivated them in their rush for dominance and fame.
Remember this as you lie in your bed, drifting off to sleep, with a smile on your face and contentment in your heart.
Amateurish Link Anchors is Smart SEO
SEO specialists are recommending, to avoid "over-optimization", you be a bit amateurish in your link anchor text (the wording of a link).
In most fields, the more professional you are, the better. But in SEO, the spammers and black hat practitioners are spotted by Google due to their slick and sophisticated methodologies.
(NOTE: Black hat SEO means taking advantage of loopholes and gimmicks to trick Google into thinking a thin content, poor quality, or deceptive/malicious website is relevant to keyword queries and should be ranked high in search engine results pages (SERPs).
In most fields, the more professional you are, the better. But in SEO, the spammers and black hat practitioners are spotted by Google due to their slick and sophisticated methodologies.
(NOTE: Black hat SEO means taking advantage of loopholes and gimmicks to trick Google into thinking a thin content, poor quality, or deceptive/malicious website is relevant to keyword queries and should be ranked high in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Don't let anybody use black hat tricks on your website, because eventually Google catches on, changes their search algorithm, and penalizes or de-indexes websites employing black hat techniques.
Once your website is removed from Google search results, it can take you 6 months to a year to plead with Google to put you back on.)
Now it is recommended that in your wording for links, you should use naked URLs (e.g., www.pluperfecter.blogspot.com), brand anchors (Pluperfecter), brand-keyword hybrid anchors (Pluperfecter web content development and SEO blog), and junk anchors (click here, read more, next page).
The former rules were (1) never use naked URLs as they look clueless and slow down reading, (2) use brand and company anchors for domains only (home pages), (3) use either brands or keywords but not both, and (4) never use junk anchors because they don't convey to human users or search engines the keywords indicative of the information you're going to navigate to and see when you click the link.
It's funny that, in the current SEO landscape, to appear less malicious, you need to appear less competent and consciously violate usability principles.
Another odd thing I came across in my SEO research is that when Google comes out with a new algorithm update, don't respond to it immediately.
Why? Because spammers and black hats typically change what they're doing the minute there's a new update, while legitimate webmasters are more sluggish and less attuned to Google's changes.
Once your website is removed from Google search results, it can take you 6 months to a year to plead with Google to put you back on.)
Now it is recommended that in your wording for links, you should use naked URLs (e.g., www.pluperfecter.blogspot.com), brand anchors (Pluperfecter), brand-keyword hybrid anchors (Pluperfecter web content development and SEO blog), and junk anchors (click here, read more, next page).
The former rules were (1) never use naked URLs as they look clueless and slow down reading, (2) use brand and company anchors for domains only (home pages), (3) use either brands or keywords but not both, and (4) never use junk anchors because they don't convey to human users or search engines the keywords indicative of the information you're going to navigate to and see when you click the link.
It's funny that, in the current SEO landscape, to appear less malicious, you need to appear less competent and consciously violate usability principles.
Another odd thing I came across in my SEO research is that when Google comes out with a new algorithm update, don't respond to it immediately.
Why? Because spammers and black hats typically change what they're doing the minute there's a new update, while legitimate webmasters are more sluggish and less attuned to Google's changes.
READ MORE
Search Engine Journal "Post-Penguin SEO Link Building"
Google's Matt Cutts video on internal links and anchor text
The Internship: Google PR Movie fact check
The Internship -- a comedy loosely based on a false notion of Google internships?
How many movies have you seen that claim to be "based on a true story," or "a dramatization of real events," only to find out that there were so many factual aberrations, that the film's rendition of the story is mostly fantasy, or falsified in important points, and thus gives a warped viewpoint of the reality?
The Internship is one of those movies, apparently. A film about two older guys who want a job in technology "with Google as the backdrop." That means, with a fictionalized, unreal portrayal of Google.
Many reviewers are calling The Internship "a love letter to Google" and "a 2 hour commercial for Google," but there are some odd misrepresentations.
FACT: There is no public Google "help line" you can call.
FACT: Google internships are not given out as prizes for team competition events.
FACT: New AdWords accounts for small businesses do not get processed through written purchase orders.
FACT: Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson do NOT have GooglePlus accounts.
FACT: Google, in fact no corporation or organization, is as wacky, fun, altruistic, and innocent, as this film makes Google out to be. It's easy to chant "Do No Harm" -- but that doesn't mean that you are in fact never doing any harm. Of course, no group of humans will ever be perfect.
The film makers confessed that they weren't trying to portray Google accurately. They admit to not caring about the facts. Then why not call the firm Zillions, give it a fake name and fake characteristics?
The movie revolves around Google internships, but presents a very inaccurate perspective on Google internships, offering a make believe substitute instead. It strongly pushes the good intentions of Google and its Do No Harm mantra, while avoiding any of the negative publicity related to Google's policies.
What is the point of doing such a thing? Didn't the producer have enough imagination to build a story on the truth about Google internships? Was the truth "too mundane," not exciting enough?
Why can't a film maker take the reality and build a story around the actual facts, instead of twisting things around, for the sake of "what I want to imagine it to be"?
My reason for disliking this common ploy is that the movies create a powerfully embedded false sense of a real thing. The fantasy of the film dictates what the masses perceive about the object of the film.
Movie-goers walk away with a fake that they consider the real deal. This can cause trivial or serious problems when people discuss the true story, or the actual entity, and base their opinions on what they remember seeing in the movie.
I'm not saying that every film based on a true story or a real entity has to be a documentary. What I'm saying is be faithful to the facts of the real entity, because your portrayal will be taken by most movie-goers to be the truth. Most of them probably won't fact check the film.
I believe that films based on true stories or real entities swerve from the facts due to the arrogance of the producer. Ego gets in the way. A power trip ensues. The producer gets some kind of weird thrill imposing his vision and disregarding the truth.
The motivation of the film's producer often is declared: "I told the story in my own special way because I wanted to put my personal stamp on it." They apparently want to tell their own story, and just use the true story or the real entity as a convenient springboard to go off in all kinds of wild, fanciful directions. To me, that's not cool.
Will The Internship be a funny movie? Probably. Will it be enjoyable to watch. Undoubtedly. Will it get people interested in pursuing a career in technology? Hopefully. Will it implant some errors about what Google is really like in the minds of viewers? Unfortunately.
Bottom line: A good PR tool for Google, that pointlessly deviates from the truth about Google internships. A better idea for a movie might have been the zany antics of brogrammers that occur at Google's Summer of Code (SOC) program.
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Peoria All America City video 2013
While I appreciate the effort, I'm not impressed with the All-America City 2013 video for Peoria. In fact, I don't think it shows Peoria as a unique community. I think the historical value of Peoria is completely disregarded.
According to the All America City Award website of the National Civic League, the focus is supposed to be changing a community in a positive way.
QUOTE
Once described by pollster George Gallup as a “Nobel Prize” for civic accomplishment, the awards have been given to more than 600 communities since its inception in 1949. Some have won it as many as five and six times. Not just cities, but neighborhoods, towns, counties and metropolitan regions can apply for the prestigious award.
To qualify for AAC, participants fill out applications listing three examples of successful community change. Applicants are enocuraged to use the National Civic League’s “Civic Index,” a widely used tool for assessing community strengths and weaknesses. In their applications, they describe their capacities for civic engagement, collaboration; inclusiveness and innovation.
According to the All America City Award website of the National Civic League, the focus is supposed to be changing a community in a positive way.
QUOTE
Once described by pollster George Gallup as a “Nobel Prize” for civic accomplishment, the awards have been given to more than 600 communities since its inception in 1949. Some have won it as many as five and six times. Not just cities, but neighborhoods, towns, counties and metropolitan regions can apply for the prestigious award.
To qualify for AAC, participants fill out applications listing three examples of successful community change. Applicants are enocuraged to use the National Civic League’s “Civic Index,” a widely used tool for assessing community strengths and weaknesses. In their applications, they describe their capacities for civic engagement, collaboration; inclusiveness and innovation.
END QUOTE
A Rod Stewart song "Forever Young" with several groups of people marching toward the camera, and the same people are shown repeatedly? It seems more appropriate for a commercial about people who quit cigarettes and are now marching in freedom from addiction.
Why not use a Dan Fogelberg song? That would be the real Peoria.
Why not show Preston Jackson and his new Richard Pryor statue?
Video begins with "Peoria, IL. Founded in 1680" -- but there is no photo or drawing of old Peoria. No historical artifacts, buildings, or scenes are shown. A quick sequence of the evolution of Peoria, from Henri de Tonti days to now, would have fit the theme of "Forever Young."
Not much of Peoria is shown in this video. Any sites that are shown are obscured by close-ups of people marching toward the camera. This video is not "Peoria", you could put any city's name on this video.
People are important, but this video looks generic. A city is its landmarks, colleges, industry, family-owned restaurants, third generation retail shops, historic buildings, scenic views, unique monuments -- not just some marching people lip-synching a Rod Stewart song.
Only long time Peoria residents will be able to recognize what businesses and facilities are being shown, because the camera focuses on the people walking down a corridor or a sidewalk near the facility. A focus on the name of the facility, the sign on the building itself, then sweeping over to some people, might have been a better approach.
I would have liked to also see: Peoria Public Library North Branch, Castle Patio Inn, Naturally Yours Grocery, Relics, Re-, Cyds, Lariat Steakhouse, the Shoppes at Grand Prairie, the Hoffbrau, etc.
At least Platteville, Wisconsin has "we have a lot of manure" as a claim to fame for the 2013 award.
A Rod Stewart song "Forever Young" with several groups of people marching toward the camera, and the same people are shown repeatedly? It seems more appropriate for a commercial about people who quit cigarettes and are now marching in freedom from addiction.
Why not use a Dan Fogelberg song? That would be the real Peoria.
Why not show Preston Jackson and his new Richard Pryor statue?
Video begins with "Peoria, IL. Founded in 1680" -- but there is no photo or drawing of old Peoria. No historical artifacts, buildings, or scenes are shown. A quick sequence of the evolution of Peoria, from Henri de Tonti days to now, would have fit the theme of "Forever Young."
Not much of Peoria is shown in this video. Any sites that are shown are obscured by close-ups of people marching toward the camera. This video is not "Peoria", you could put any city's name on this video.
People are important, but this video looks generic. A city is its landmarks, colleges, industry, family-owned restaurants, third generation retail shops, historic buildings, scenic views, unique monuments -- not just some marching people lip-synching a Rod Stewart song.
Only long time Peoria residents will be able to recognize what businesses and facilities are being shown, because the camera focuses on the people walking down a corridor or a sidewalk near the facility. A focus on the name of the facility, the sign on the building itself, then sweeping over to some people, might have been a better approach.
I would have liked to also see: Peoria Public Library North Branch, Castle Patio Inn, Naturally Yours Grocery, Relics, Re-, Cyds, Lariat Steakhouse, the Shoppes at Grand Prairie, the Hoffbrau, etc.
People marching and clapping seems to be a common theme in All America City competition videos. "We love our city. Vote for us." is a pretty unimaginative theme though. Lower Naugatuck Valley.
Yet another marching video for the All America City competition. Fayetteville, NC (2011).
Granite City, IL won All America City award in 1959.
Guide to Music Genres
Guide to Music Genres :
How Each Would Do "I Saw a Flower" Song
ROCK -- Hey man, what's that thing growin in your yard? I think it's a flower, cuz I stared at it real hard. Flower! I saw a flower! Every hour. The same old flower.
PUNK -- Anarchy in the gardens today. I saw a flower. And I threw it away. Government shall not hold sway. Abolish the Fed and IRS, I say. Police state, it cannot stay. Defiance is the only way. I saw a flower and I threw it, I threw it, I threw it away!
FOLK -- Rich man on the hill, popping narcotic pills, what gives you a thrill? No stopping you until. We protect our ecosystem. Listen children, children listen. I saw a flower. It smelled so nice. I saw a flower. I smelled it twice.
POP -- I was walking home today, with a heart to throw away, when I saw a pretty flower, braving a rain shower. Oh flower you're so pretty, like I hope to be when I'm fifty. Oh aren't you so cute and sweet? Hope no one tramples you under their feet.
RAP -- I wuz hangin with my homies and smokin blunts when dude knocked on da door and made us jump (we thought it was the poh-leece) an he say "dog, you got a mutha-fin' flower on yo lawn and it ain't no weed either.
OPERA -- I saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw a floooooooooooowwwwwwwweeeeeeeer, I sawwwwwwwww aaaaaaaaaa flooooooooowwwwwweeeeerrrrrrrrrr.
COUNTRY -- Well I got drunk and broke my guitar, then my lady threw up on my pickup truck, so I grabbed my rifle and headed downtown to the honky tonk, and whadya know? I saw a flower and got drunk and drove my pickup truck around.
EMO -- I can't stand the pain. My heart will never feel the same. I think I'm going to go insane. On my soul is a black stain. I feel my life go down the drain. I have nothing in my brain. Don't blame me because I'm sour. I refuse to shave or shower. Hang me from the tallest tower: I saw a sad and dying flower.
METAL -- AAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHUUUUUHHHHH !!@#$%*@*#!!*#$*@#%@#*#$ IYYYYYYYY GRRRRRRRROOWWW SSSSAAWWWW AAARRRRRRGGGGGHGZHXXX FUUUULLL OWWWWW WWWWERRRRRRRRR #@amp;$@!!&**@*#$#*@!
PRAISE & WORSHIP -- God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower.
ROCK -- Hey man, what's that thing growin in your yard? I think it's a flower, cuz I stared at it real hard. Flower! I saw a flower! Every hour. The same old flower.
PUNK -- Anarchy in the gardens today. I saw a flower. And I threw it away. Government shall not hold sway. Abolish the Fed and IRS, I say. Police state, it cannot stay. Defiance is the only way. I saw a flower and I threw it, I threw it, I threw it away!
FOLK -- Rich man on the hill, popping narcotic pills, what gives you a thrill? No stopping you until. We protect our ecosystem. Listen children, children listen. I saw a flower. It smelled so nice. I saw a flower. I smelled it twice.
POP -- I was walking home today, with a heart to throw away, when I saw a pretty flower, braving a rain shower. Oh flower you're so pretty, like I hope to be when I'm fifty. Oh aren't you so cute and sweet? Hope no one tramples you under their feet.
RAP -- I wuz hangin with my homies and smokin blunts when dude knocked on da door and made us jump (we thought it was the poh-leece) an he say "dog, you got a mutha-fin' flower on yo lawn and it ain't no weed either.
OPERA -- I saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw a floooooooooooowwwwwwwweeeeeeeer, I sawwwwwwwww aaaaaaaaaa flooooooooowwwwwweeeeerrrrrrrrrr.
COUNTRY -- Well I got drunk and broke my guitar, then my lady threw up on my pickup truck, so I grabbed my rifle and headed downtown to the honky tonk, and whadya know? I saw a flower and got drunk and drove my pickup truck around.
EMO -- I can't stand the pain. My heart will never feel the same. I think I'm going to go insane. On my soul is a black stain. I feel my life go down the drain. I have nothing in my brain. Don't blame me because I'm sour. I refuse to shave or shower. Hang me from the tallest tower: I saw a sad and dying flower.
METAL -- AAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHUUUUUHHHHH !!@#$%*@*#!!*#$*@#%@#*#$ IYYYYYYYY GRRRRRRRROOWWW SSSSAAWWWW AAARRRRRRGGGGGHGZHXXX FUUUULLL OWWWWW WWWWERRRRRRRRR #@amp;$@!!&**@*#$#*@!
PRAISE & WORSHIP -- God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. God is beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. Beautiful in power. I saw a flower. I saw a flower. I saw a flower.
Is The Total Transformation a scam?
Is The Total Transformation a scam?
Are their behavioral techniques effective for parents of ODD (oppositional defiant disorder) children?
Is having someone hound you to practice "tough love" worth $327 (plus shipping) to you?
Are people being bullied into signing up for a lot of programs that are difficult to cancel?
Do reviews by affiliates have any credibility? (No.)
Do anonymous customer reviews have any credibility? (No.)
When you Google "Total Transformation scam" and all you see are people claiming that it is NOT a scam, is that a good sign? (No.)
Amazon product page for The Total Transformation has a lot of authentic sounding negative reviews and some phony sounding positive reviews.
QUOTE
If you watched the infomercail and thought "wow, I agree with what they're saying, maybe this is a good program" then you've already heard 75% of what you're going to get on the CD/DVD set.
Most of the hours and hours of guidance is just an extended version of the infomercial, a lot of times it's the exact same script as the infomercail. It's like they're trying to convince you that their method works and you should buy into it.
Yeah, I got thst part, can we just move on? Unfortunately no, you can't move on. You must listen to hours of them droning on and on about and Lehman and his program and how good it is and testimonials and why you should do this and why it works. I
t's very frustrating to listen to all that when you accept the premise and want to move on to the HOW of the program. I lost patience really quickly trying to weed through all the hard sell rhetoric to find the actual steps of the program.
- N. Coy
END QUOTE
If you want to avoid being a chump, a victim of a con artist, you must get good at sensing the authenticity of user reviews. After reading a lot of reviews for a lot of different products, you'll develop a specialized awareness. You'll be able to detect fake reviews from real customer assessments.
One way to distinguish a disguised ad from a legitimate user evaluation is this: a real customer will use their real name, link to their other reviews and/or their own blog, and will be mixed -- partly positive and partly negative.
Really bad products can get totally negative reviews, but reviews of great products by actual customers will typically mention a few imperfections or drawbacks. A mediocre product can annoy people to the point where they are completely hostile, while a super fantastic product will always have a few aspects that are disappointing.
Does your teenager "suffer from" ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder)?
Don't get chumped out by expensive book/CD/DVD packages.
READ MORE
Waffles At Noon "The Total Transformation: Sifting Through the Fake Reviews"
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Email is NOT Broken, It's User Error article at The Peorian
Have you noticed all the tech articles that rant about how email is "broken"?
I've never been able to understand all the whining and complaining about how bad email is. It's called "a relic of a bygone Internet era." Crammed email inboxes are blamed as sources of great stress and frustration.
People dream about "Inbox Zero" (all emails are replied to or deleted). They moan about "not being able to control who sends you email" and "not knowing how to prioritize email messages for response."
Email is not broken at all, in fact it is still potentially the most targeted communication channel -- as long as you don't sign up for spammy newsletters -- or put your primary email address on registration forms at dubious websites -- or display a harvestable email address on your website.
Your email inbox is what you make it to be. If you strictly control your email address, you won't have much trouble with spam and irrelevant messages clogging your inbox.
People dream about "Inbox Zero" (all emails are replied to or deleted). They moan about "not being able to control who sends you email" and "not knowing how to prioritize email messages for response."
Email is not broken at all, in fact it is still potentially the most targeted communication channel -- as long as you don't sign up for spammy newsletters -- or put your primary email address on registration forms at dubious websites -- or display a harvestable email address on your website.
Your email inbox is what you make it to be. If you strictly control your email address, you won't have much trouble with spam and irrelevant messages clogging your inbox.
READ MORE
"Email is NOT Broken, It's User Error" -- my latest article at The Peorian online magazine, with 11 tips on how to improve your email experience and avoid spam.
Sharing Large Video Files on RapidShare
I had a large (500 MB) video file to share with a client today. It was too big to host on my free accounts at Dropbox or MediaFire, so I used RapidShare to host the file. But RapidShare has no intuitive way to share a file with the public.
(I found out later that all file folders are set to Private as default, as of January 2013, to provide greater user security and privacy -- but locking down a file is a bit excessive, don't you think? I mean, it negates the "Share" of RapidShare! Maybe they should call it RapidUpload instead....)
I had to get the client to start an account at RapidShare, then we added each other as contacts. But I still was unable to share the video with him.
I had to get the client to start an account at RapidShare, then we added each other as contacts. But I still was unable to share the video with him.
My folder was set to Private and I could find no way to set it to Public. We were on the phone trying to figure this out. The client contact is a computer programmer and, in spite of our combined expertise, we kept failing at the task.
In my extreme frustration and desperation, I Googled the problem with the query being "share RapidShare file download."
I found a forum called Fan Edit which contained the instruction to create a new subfolder and then set the download privileges for your contacts on that new subfolder.
So I created a new subfolder called New Videos, dragged and dropped the video file into the New Videos subfolder, and right clicked on it to set the Privileges. When the Privileges panel appeared, I saw my contact's name, and I clicked on buttons to the right of his name to enable him to see the contents of this folder and to download the data in this folder.
He was then able to start downloading the video file.
It was convoluted and time-consuming, but we finally solved the problem.
I am now looking for an alternative to RapidShare for sharing large files.
In my extreme frustration and desperation, I Googled the problem with the query being "share RapidShare file download."
I found a forum called Fan Edit which contained the instruction to create a new subfolder and then set the download privileges for your contacts on that new subfolder.
So I created a new subfolder called New Videos, dragged and dropped the video file into the New Videos subfolder, and right clicked on it to set the Privileges. When the Privileges panel appeared, I saw my contact's name, and I clicked on buttons to the right of his name to enable him to see the contents of this folder and to download the data in this folder.
He was then able to start downloading the video file.
It was convoluted and time-consuming, but we finally solved the problem.
I am now looking for an alternative to RapidShare for sharing large files.
The way hosting companies can do this for free is to set a time limit on how long a file remains on their servers. Your recipient has, for example, 7 days to download the file, then it gets deleted.
Bad Usability of Google Play Music Manager
This new Google product SUCKS. This is a BUR: Basic Usability Review, which means a quick attempt to get things done. A full blown usability analysis would be more comprehensive, time-consuming, and patient.
Users typically are in a hurry, multi-tasking, and unwilling to spend a lot of time trying to figure out an interface. We don't want to have to learn whole new interfaces that violate our expectations and the norms established at the most popular software products and websites.
Checking the internet forums, I'm not the only one complaining about the glitches and dysfunctionalities of Google Play Music Manager. It's a really bad idea to release a product without doing usability testing, but nobody does this anymore.
I'm reviewing the free "standard" version. Why would you upgrade to a paid version when the free version is full of problems?
Almost nothing about Google Play Music Manager is intuitive, i.e., compliant with software norms that users expect. Novelty in interface is a very bad thing, especially when there is no guidance from link labels, tool tips or help files.
Configuring the Google Play Music Manager. One problem right off the bat is I don't want my entire iTunes file uploaded to it, nor do I want all the mp3s on my hard drive uploaded to it, nor do I want to automatically add songs I upload to a file. I want my Google Play playlist to be very selective.
When prompted to upload music "Select music to add to your Music Library", you get the options: *iTunes Player *Windows Media Player *My music folder *Other folders. I chose Other Folders. I then went to my folder "MP3 Conversions" which contains my own Str8 Sounds music composed in Sony ACID. I then selected only one specific album "Age of Dissent."
The songs got uploaded, but with the default titles, which I always change. Also. there are 192 kbps, 256 kbps, and 356 kbps versions of songs, to accommodate various music hosting sites.
But in Google Play Music Manager, there is no indication of these variations. I want to keep only the 356 kbps mp3s and delete the others, but I can't tell which is which. I'll have to delete the whole library and start over again, selecting only specific songs, if that's possible.
Usability problems abound. It's not easy to see how to delete a song, edit the title of a song, edit the title of an album, etc. If you spend an hour fussing with this and checking out forums and help files, you might make some headway.
I had to Google "delete songs google play music manager" because the Google Play Help file did not list this topic. There is a "menu icon" that appears after the title of a song. You click that and get options like "delete". However, there are no tool tips that pop up when you hover on a tool icon, so you're groping around in the dark. The "menu icon" doesn't look like it would activate a menu drop down list.
It gets worse. Trying to do basically anything in the Google Play Music Manager is a major hassle.
I edited the information on a song. I changed the title, added the genre, composer name, etc. But there is no Save or Finished Editing button. So I clicked on Enter, which closed the Edit panel, but took me out of the album I was in.
So I see a big bright orange Upload Music button. When I click it, I get Download Music Manager message. I already did this. I go to the bottom browser tray and click on the Google Play Music Manager icon. I upload another album. The task progress bar indicates all songs are uploaded. I go to My Library. The songs are not appearing.
I'm done for today. I've already wasted too much time on this mess.
Time Tech "Google Play Music All Access Review"
Str8 Sounds "Age of Dissent" on Google Play
https://play.google.com/music/listen?hl=en#/al/STR8+SOUNDS/Age+of+Dissent
https://play.google.com/music/listen?hl=en#/al/STR8+SOUNDS/Age+of+Dissent
SEO Resources
Here's a list of information on search engine optimization (SEO).
Online Resources
Google Webmaster Tools
Google SEO Starter Guide [PDF]
Google Webmaster Central blog
Google's Inside Search blog
Matt Cutts (Distinguished Engineer at Google, in charge of web spam) blog
Search Engine Land
Search Engine Journal
Search Engine Roundtable
SEOMoz blog
Brad Geddes / Certified Knowledge blog
Traffick: the Business of Search blog
Webmaster Radio FM [podcasts]
SEO Book blog
Google Blogoscoped
Search Engine Watch
State of Search
SEO Chat [forums]
Local SEO Guide
Stone Temple blog
Recommended SEO Books
The Art of SEO – by Stephen Spencer, et al
Search Engine Optimization Secrets – by Danny Dover
Marketing in the Age of Google – by Vanessa Fox
Get to the Top on Google – by David Viney
Landing Page Optimization – by Tim Ash
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Google Search Results Without URLs?
This has to be one of the worst developments I've ever seen regarding search engines.
If Google actually makes this change of removing the URLs of listings, you won't be able to spot a malicious, spammy, or poor quality domain, and you'll waste a lot of time visiting websites that repulse you, but somehow got a high SERP ranking.
Many people, and especially web savvy professionals, look at the URL (web address, starting with http://www. ) to decide if a webpage or website is worth visiting.
Let's hope this test is abandoned and never implemented. Otherwise, the Age of Blind Web Navigation is upon us.
http://searchengineland.com/google-testing-search-results-without-urls-158127
Here's what search results without URLs looks like:
SEO and Social Media Presentation
Learn how SEO and social media can work together to achieve your business goals. Find out the secrets of Google-compliant search engine optimization. Discover how to leverage the core values of social media: sharing and caring -- to gain a strong competitive advantage.
If you're a beginner with little understanding of computers and online marketing -- or you're the head of IT at your company -- you'll learn all the basics and new things you've never heard before.
Watch me do a quick SEO (search engine optimization) diagnosis on the websites of large, prestigious companies, showing you the SEO errors they need to fix, and how to fix them.
Take back to your company a wide array of practical, down to earth tactics that can boost your search engine rankings, drive qualified traffic to your website, and interact on social media to establish your industry leadership and become top of mind choice.
No droning on and on in vague generalities.
Easy to understand explanations, step by step tips, and specific examples.
No droning on and on in vague generalities.
Easy to understand explanations, step by step tips, and specific examples.
Co-presented with Randy McDaniels, President, McDaniels Interactive (Pekin, IL).
Mark your calendars now.
Peoria Public Library, North Branch.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 6 PM to 7:30 PM.
SEO Joke
So this SEO expert walks into a bar, nightclub, tavern, saloon, dive, speakeasy, pub, lounge, honky tonk, roadhouse and orders a beer, brew, lager, ale, stout, cold one, drink, alcohol, liquor, liquid refreshment, intoxicating beverage and notices, spots, sees, looks at, identifies, recognizes, gazes at, surveys, pays attention to, picks up on his radar, stares at, observes a really beautiful woman, lady, gal, chick, female, girl, dame, lass, broad, widow, sweet young thing, opposite sex, floozy, temptress, sister, bimbo, ma'am, flirt, skirt, blonde, vixen, vamp, diva, princess, matron, hot mama, fox, babe.
That was a joke, quip, gag, laugh riot, wisecrack, tomfoolery, jeer, chuckle generator, humorous saying, funny remark, josh, kidding around, tease, jape, spoof, jest, spree, silliness, gambol, verbal frolic, goofy statement, LOL.
Unreadable Website Text: Light Gray on White Backgrounds
Do NOT use light gray text on a white background, even though almost every web designer is doing this.
It is horrible, this trend of faint text that is almost impossible to read. If you want people to be able to read your text, make it solid black, or at least a dark color on a light background. Light colors on light backgrounds are unreadable. They make you look like an amateur.
It is horrible, this trend of faint text that is almost impossible to read. If you want people to be able to read your text, make it solid black, or at least a dark color on a light background. Light colors on light backgrounds are unreadable. They make you look like an amateur.
http://www.advmediaproductions.com/blog/grey-text-and-a-white-background-what-happened-to-readability-of-type/
What are they teaching in the web design schools and seminars these days?
What on earth is the point of making your text so "subdued" or "subtle" that it appears to be erased, vanishing, illegible?
What are they teaching in the web design schools and seminars these days?
What on earth is the point of making your text so "subdued" or "subtle" that it appears to be erased, vanishing, illegible?
http://www.goodexperience.com/tib/archives/2005/05/things_that_nee.html
I know one excuse. Some designers hate words. They want their pretty unimaginative pictures and fancy boring design elements to get all the attention. The text is just a nuisance to them. They don't like to read. They like to look at colors and illustrations and photos.
Here's the worst example I've ever seen....
http://www.globalsiteplans.com/internet-marketing-services/search-engine-optimization-seo/
I know one excuse. Some designers hate words. They want their pretty unimaginative pictures and fancy boring design elements to get all the attention. The text is just a nuisance to them. They don't like to read. They like to look at colors and illustrations and photos.
Here's the worst example I've ever seen....
http://www.globalsiteplans.com/internet-marketing-services/search-engine-optimization-seo/
UNICEF Doesn't Understand Social Media Interactions
I've been managing social media marketing for clients for many years now, having started my own blog in 2005. I've seen just about every type of bizarre social activity you can think of, but this one shocked even me.
This statement by UNICEF is rude, ignorant, and disrespectful:
"Like us on Facebook and we will vaccinate zero children against polio. We have nothing against likes, but vaccine costs money. Please buy polio vaccines at unicef.se. It will only cost you 4 € but will save the lives of 12 children."
Here's why I consider this to be a terrible use of social media:
(1) It's wrong to imply that liking a Facebook non-profit page does nothing financially for the organization. I am a trustee of a non-profit, and our grant writer has stated that likes, shares, and comments on Facebook help the organization to acquire grant funding. Social media interactions indicate that the non-profit is reaching out to the community and the community is responding and engaging with the organization.
(2) Getting more likes, shares and comments on Facebook will increase a Facebook page's Edgerank, which means Facebook will distribute that organization's status updates to more people. Thus, clicking Like helps the organization reach more people with their messages and appeals.
(3) It has been proven that a person who engages with a website in any way is more likely to buy something or donate money, than someone who does not, and is just a lurker. Clicking on Like is one step toward more participation and should not be disparaged.
(4) Many people support a non-profit by other means than donating money. Some people are barely surviving financially, but have time to volunteer. This UNICEF message is an insult to those who contribute time and work to the organization.
(5) Many people don't trust charities, in terms of how donation funds are handled. They see huge salaries for the administrators and only a tiny percentage of funds going to the needy people.
(6) Attempting to scold, shame, and guilt trip people into donating money to your organization is a rather unimaginative and desperate methodology. It can make you look greedy and putting too much value on money. If the administrators are receiving incredibly high salaries and perks, this is going to look really bad for the organization.
(7) "Give us more money, dammit" is not an effective fundraising approach. Donors are more willing to give money when they are told exactly what is being done with donations, with photos and financial audit reports to prove it.
(8) It almost sounds like UNICEF is being gleeful about how liking them on Facebook will not help them give medical treatments (vaccines in this case) to children who need them. This odd mixture of stern gloating, a blend of scowling and chortling, can be easily misinterpreted as misanthropic.
(9) A negative message may be effective in some cases, but people in general respond better to positive appeals. When you explain how funds are used, and how even a little bit of money goes a long way, people will typically feel good about donating.
(10) When a person clicks Like or Share, or posts a comment, at a non-profit page on Facebook, that person is far closer to donating money, or volunteering, than a person who does not interact with the non-profit organization. So we should not dismiss social media interactions as being of no value.
Some Facebook users have stated that they like this UNICEF message. I get the impression that the fans are a bit hostile to social media and want to see it debunked. Others seem to potentially be jealous of how some Facebook pages get a lot of likes, but they do not, so they want to see likes as trivial and worthless.
Still others may be the types who really trust what charities do with the donated money, and think that money is the only thing that helps a non-profit. Thus, they don't really know how non-profits operate, nor how much they depend on PR, volunteers, and good will.
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Top 5 Reasons Why Aliens Will NOT Visit Planet Earth
(5) There are far more fascinating places to visit in the universe.
(4) Our technology is focused on war and entertainment, two things they've evolved beyond any need for.
(3) We've ruined our planet with toxins, radiation, and political parties.
(2) We don't live long enough to really learn anything and be interesting to them.
(1) We don't taste good.
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/04/26/1834226/why-well-never-meet-aliens
(4) Our technology is focused on war and entertainment, two things they've evolved beyond any need for.
(3) We've ruined our planet with toxins, radiation, and political parties.
(2) We don't live long enough to really learn anything and be interesting to them.
(1) We don't taste good.
http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/04/26/1834226/why-well-never-meet-aliens
Technology Articles on The Peorian
I am honored to announce that I've been invited, by fellow Peoria Historical Society trustee Kevin Kizer, to be a contributing author for The Peorian online magazine.
A section for Technology has been created for my articles that will deal with social media, web content development, and SEO (search engine optimization -- driving qualified customer traffic to websites). Other Peorian authors are also invited to fill up this Tech category with their own articles.
Here are the articles I have written for The Peorian so far:
Creating Web Content Related to Breaking News
Use Social Media for Urgent Announcements About Flooding
Like Farming: Gaming Facebook for Fans
Facebook's Secret Benefit: Psychic Relief for Criminals
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
Here are the articles I have written for The Peorian so far:
Creating Web Content Related to Breaking News
Use Social Media for Urgent Announcements About Flooding
Like Farming: Gaming Facebook for Fans
Facebook's Secret Benefit: Psychic Relief for Criminals
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
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Worst Mistake You Can Make in Web Design PODCAST
Listen to internet radio with Vaspers SEO and Web Usability Show on BlogTalkRadio
The "We-oriented" website is probably the most horrible type of corporate website.
Company-centric websites are full of news, events, and fluff, but fail to explain how any of it benefits the customer. Often there is no guidance on selecting the best product for a specific customer situation.
You've seen websites that were so busy strutting around, bragging about their company that you couldn't figure out which of their products was best suited to your situation.
You've see websites that were cold, aloof, dismal, with no photos of people smiling as they used a product to solve a problem, enhance a lifestyle, or satisfy a need.
Here's why you should not focus on your company or even your products, but on customer needs.
Make your website more prductive in achieving business goals. Communicate how your products solve customer problems -- and how your company is differentiated from competitors.
SHOW NOTE: A web designer calls in to my show and adds some great remarks about incorporating a blog into the website, using Facebook, obtaining web content, and related issues.
I Ate the Bones - a "feel bad" ad campaign
I really like this KFC ad campaign "I Ate the Bones" promoting their boneless chicken. Funny and memorable way to get their point across.
Sort of a "feel bad" strategy. I really can't stand most of those dumbed down "feel good" commercials, with no good reasons to choose a brand, just balloons and music and jumping around ecstatically.
If all a product does is make you feel good emotionally, or it enhances your lifestyle which makes you feel good, I can see using a "feel good" ad campaign.
But when you offer no solid logic as to why your brand is better, using a "feel good" ad campaign is a cop-out. You can't tell us why your brand is better than the competition? Why don't you try asking satisfied customers?
I'm going to spend a huge amount of money on your product, and all you can communicate to me is the "good feeling" I'll have as an owner? I'll feel good, based on what?
Do your homework. Talk to your customers. Find out what differentiates your brand from your competitors. If you're offering something new, but your competitors also offer the same thing, use some imagination to dramatize your new product.
This "I Ate the Bones" campaign is a great example of creativity that focuses squarely on the product, in a light-hearted, humorous manner.
JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson is Out, Good Riddance
Terrific news. JC Penney CEO Ron Johnson (formerly of Apple and Target) has been fired. Former CEO Mike Ullman is back in.
Ron Johnson clearly had no clue how to run JC Penney.
His incredibly stupid management of the retail giant nearly killed it. Whenever you see a business change from discount coupons to "everyday low prices," it means "no sales anymore." Johnson got rid of popular, high-quality brands and replaced them with cheap, sub-Walmart merchandise.
What's really bizarre is Johnson had no online marketing strategy. For a supposedly "hip" innovator, this is a very strange blind spot for Johnson.
The JC Penney website is a terribly inept, unappealing, dull. When you visit it, you have no idea what it is. It looks like some spammy link farm. The central slide show is annoying and boring. There is nothing happy, glamorous, or exciting about the website. It might as well be selling auto parts. I did notice that there is suddenly a discount coupon on it.
That faint grey text on white background, the commonly encountered curse of modern web design, makes their website a pain to read, but at least they do use dark black text in several spots.
http://www.jcpenney.com/dotcom/index.jsp
Sales staff at JC Penney went from friendly to hard to find, prices escalated as quality nose-dived, and Johnson's plan to serve ice cream and free haircuts for kids was a completely idiotic idea, especially for people shopping for clothes.
"Does this XL shirt make me look fat?" I asked. "No, but the ice cream you're eating is making you be fat," my sidekick replied.
It's good to see Ron Johnson go. Maybe now JC Penney can regain its position as a leader in mid-range merchandise, great discounts, and cheerful customer service.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-34227_162-57578528/j.c-penney-ceo-ron-johnson-leaving-company/
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/bomb_dropped_on_ron_I7N4uXl6Ek3EVldgVjZvkM
http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-ron-johnson-is-destroying-jc-penney-2012-10
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/08/ron-johnson-penney-ceo/2064723/
How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll
My first article for The Peoria online magazine: "How to Identify and Defeat an Internet Troll."
These nasty individuals are the sadistic ne'er-do-wells of the digital realm, the misanthropic misfits of information age.
Unlike a normal person, when a troll enters an online discussion, he is not seeking truth or clarification. He usually doesn't even know how to debate in an intelligent manner. All he wants to do is inflict pain, ridicule, and humiliation on a targeted person.
Encountering an internet troll can be a disturbing, even frightening, experience for someone who has not had to deal with one. It can be an unexpected event, a strange twist that takes the discussion to a whole other level. You are taken off guard and find yourself struggling to defend yourself, instead of exploring a topic.
Encountering an internet troll can be a disturbing, even frightening, experience for someone who has not had to deal with one. It can be an unexpected event, a strange twist that takes the discussion to a whole other level. You are taken off guard and find yourself struggling to defend yourself, instead of exploring a topic.
READ MORE:
Google Getting Rid of Search
Google has announced that it's getting rid of Search.
Google seems to be in a Grim Reaper mode lately, abandoning Google Reader and other beloved tools. Search is yet another Google product that just didn't cut it. They plan to start erecting giant "G-libraries" with Dewey decimal card catalogs and microfiche.
Press release: "Retro is the way forward. Old tech has proven to be more reliable than new tech. Internet search was a great idea, but has proven to be very glitchy. People just never got the hang of using key words. Plus, most people can't spell very well, so we used up a lot of resources with Suggest and other crutches."
SEO will be replaced with CCO (card catalog optimization).
Press release: "Retro is the way forward. Old tech has proven to be more reliable than new tech. Internet search was a great idea, but has proven to be very glitchy. People just never got the hang of using key words. Plus, most people can't spell very well, so we used up a lot of resources with Suggest and other crutches."
SEO will be replaced with CCO (card catalog optimization).
