Expression Web Video 7 - Importing Files Into Your Site

In this session of my Expression Web video series we will learn how to import files into your site.

Be Careful What You Tweet!

The Internet has given a voice to anyone who has something to say. But, that doesn't mean you can just say anything you want without there being repercussions. Amanda Bonnen of Chicago, Illinois found that out the hard way.

The story goes like this, Amanda was living in an apartment complex in Chicago. Apparently she wasn't happy about the condition of her apartment because she posted the following comment using her Twitter account - "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon Realty thinks it's okay."

Horizon Realty, the property manager for the apartment complex filed a $50,000 lawsuit for libel. Their claim is the statement is false and even though the tweet was deleted and Amanda's Twitter account removed, they are still pursuing the matter.

It seems like the lesson here is pretty simple, be careful what you say online, if you can't back it up you are opening yourself up to the same legal problems as if you printed it in the newspaper!

Top 5 Reasons People Go Online - Men and Women Differ

eMarketer posted a very interesting article today citing the top reasons why people go online. They surveyed 500 men and women ages 18 years and older. The number one reason why people go online was very surprising! See if you can pick it out from this list:

- Connect with others

- Research

- Pass time

- Educate Self

- Share information

If you said "Pass time" you are correct! The Internet has become the number one time-waster we have! Here is the how the top 5 reasons ranked:

1. Pass time (100%)
2. Educate self (96%)
3. Connect with others (92%)
4. Research (89%)
5. Share information (86%)

The survey also showed a big difference between men and women. Men primarily went online for business, entertainment and to keep informed on news and current events.

Women went online primarily to advocate for a cause, to express themselves, or to socialize.

If you are looking to make money online or to make your web site or blog appeal to a bigger audience this information gives you a good look at why people go online.

Expression Web Video 6 - Making Changes to Your Navigation Links

In this session of my Expression Web video series we will learn how to make changes to your web site's navigation structure using "include pages".

Google Makes Copyright Issues with Image Search Easier...sort of!

Google has added some features to it's image search engine that makes complying with copyright and licensing issues a little easier. Now you can search for images that are licensed for reuse in specific ways. On it's Advanced Image Search page Google has added a filter for usage rights. The new dropdown menu includes the following four filters:

• Labeled for reuse - Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and/or modify the image in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for commercial reuse - Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes, in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for reuse with modification - Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy and modify the image in ways specified in the license.
• Labeled for commercial reuse with modification - Your results will only include images labeled with a license that allows you to copy the image for commercial purposes and modify it in ways specified in the license.

Google makes it clear however that you still need to confirm the license with the copyright holder. So while the images may be more clearly categorized as to how they may be used, you still have some leg work to do to make sure you are not using the image in a way that violates the licensing.

"There's an App for that..."

By now most of you have probably heard about the release of Apple's new iPhone 3GS. I picked one up myself and I am loving it. You've also probably heard that the iPhone App Store already offers over 50,000 different applications that you can run on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Apps are available for everything from basic weather reports to complicated business software titles. And so that's where the phrase "There's an App for that..." comes from.

Well a newly introduced app really takes this phrase to a new level in my opinion. "RunPee" is a new iPhone app that tells moviegoers when it is safe to go pee! Here's how it works:

• When the movie starts you start the app on your iPhone
• The program has a timer and it will tell you when it's safe to head to the restroom and when you get back it gives you a summary of what you missed
• It also lets you know if you should stay and watch the credits (since some movies play bonus scenes after the credits) or leave right away

This unique app costs $.99 and in my opinion is worth every penny. This is another great reason why I am happy that I switched to the iPhone!

The BASICS of Getting a Good Search Engine Ranking (SEO)

The topic of search engine optimization (SEO) is one that all web authors should be concerned about, even if you don't care where your site ranks in Google. Why, do you ask? Because the basics of optimizing your pages so that search engines will find and rank them well are also the same basic things you should be doing to make your site more valuable to your visitors.

1. Good, well-written content.

As the saying goes "Content is King"! For the most part people don't come to your web site to be entertained, they are usually looking for information about topics that interest them. Spend more time on your writing as opposed to make your site flashy. There are exceptions of course, sites like TV.com, ComedyCentral.com and others are in the entertainment business. However, even for sites like these good, well-written content is must.

2. Think about what people are searching on.

If you want your pages to rank well you need to write about what people are searching on. All of the major search engines will let you see the latest searches on their sites. For Google searches go to Google's Insight page. You can use tools like this one to look at topics within your area of expertise. You can also begin to build a list of keywords that we will need later.

The topic of keyword development will be the subject of future post. For now just create your own list of keywords that relate your industry.

3. Mind your HTML

While you don't have to be a skilled web developer to optimize your pages, you should mind a few basic HTML code practices that affect search engines, namely:

• Page Titles - Page titles are visible to visitors at the very top of a browser window. It is also one of the areas of your page that search engines look at first. Include keywords (from your research above) in your page titles, and also be sure to include them in the body of your pages.
• Link Titles - When creating hyperlinks on your page, whether in the body of your page or in the navigation structure, be sure to use words that the average visitor would understand and also include keywords that you know are of interest to people.
• Alternative Text - When you add a photo (or other non-text item) to your pages be sure to include "alternative text". This is done by putting a brief description of that photo into the ALT tag. Most popular web authoring tools give you an easy way to do this. This is also an important part of keeping your pages accessible by visitors using assistive technologies to read your pages.
  

4. Links

When talking about SEO there are two types of links we want to pay particular attention to because they will improve our rankings.

• Internal Links - these are links that you create from within the body of text on each page of your site. When search engines crawl through your site they will follow links to other parts of your site. Be sure to create links to other parts of your site that are appropriate, for instance if you are writing a multi-piece article, or if you have several blog topics that relate to each other.
• External Links - these are links that other web sites provide to your site. It used to be that a lot of webmasters spent a lot of time cultivating reciprocal linking strategies with other web site owners. At the time it was a good strategy for getting visitors. Soon it became very difficult to manage. Nowadays, search engines look at the quality of inbound links, not just the total number. Links for well-known and reputable sources will raise your page rank. So how do you get these high-quality inbound links? Good, well-written content about topics that people are searching on! (How's that for bringing things full circle.)

As you can see optimizing your pages for search engines is not a difficult thing. This list is not all there is to the topic of SEO, but if you can do the basics well you will notice a difference not only in your search engine rankings but also in the usability of your pages by your visitors.