Precision Webmasters - WebmasterINaBox

Closed Captioning for Web Videos

2010-06-23T15:45:00.003-04:00

Apparently the issue of web site accessibility and multimedia content on web pages has gotten a lot of attention lately. There is currently a bill before Congress that would make closed captioning mandatory for any web video that also appears on TV.

Right now, if this bill became law, it would only affect the major players of web-based video. But, it could eventually filter down to smaller operations as well. Some web sites like YouTube use voice recognition software to produce closed captioning, but it is still very inaccurate. To manually transcribe one hour of video costs approximately $90 (this works out to about $1.50/min). And, there are some technical hurdles that must cleared to synchronize the text with the video.

The Federal 508 web site accessibility guidelines state the following for multimedia content:

(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.

(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

All web content authors should keep this issue on their radar, as it is certainly going to become a bigger one as web video becomes more and more popular.

4 Reasons Why You Absolutely Need to Use Google Places for Your Business

2010-04-29T07:45:00.004-04:00

More and more people are using search engines to find information about local products and services. Google Places, formerly known as Google Local Search is a must have for local businesses who want to capitalize on this phenomenon.

Here are the 4 reasons why you absolutely should create a listing on Google Places for your business:

Google Places allows you to submit detailed information about your business for free. This information includes your street address, email address, description of products and services offered, hours of operation, payment options, photos of your products and storefront, and videos.
Your business will appear in Google Maps. Once you submit your listing Google will show your location on Google Maps along with the information located above. You can even adjust the map pointer if it doesn't show your location as accurately as it should.
You can offer printable coupons for customers. Google Places will allow you to submit coupon information complete with an expiration date that your customers can print and bring to your business.
Statistical information. When you are logged into your Google Places page you can view analytics showing how many times your listing was viewed, where visitors came from, what keywords they used to find you, and even how many times they downloaded your coupon.

While setting up your Google Places listing is fast and easy, I would strongly recommend that you not "set it and forget it". You or someone in your company should review the descriptions, email address, photos, and coupons in your listing to be sure they continue to be accurate and timely.

Google Helps You Make Your Site Into a Portal

2010-03-29T16:22:00.003-04:00

Most web site owners are always looking for ways to drive traffic to their site. Google's Custom Search may be another tool you can add to your arsenal. With Google's Custom Search you can create a collection of web sites that are specific to your industry and wrap them into a search engine powered by Google.

By placing this custom search box on your home page you can attract visitors who are looking to do targeted keyword searched for topics relative to your expertise.

Setting up a custom search engine in Google requires that you have a Google account. From the Custom Search home page you simply follow the screens to name and customize your search. If you are a qualified not-for-profit or an educational organization you can even suppress the Google text ads that appear on your search results pages.

In addition, you can customize the look and feel of the results page to reflect your branding.

Google's Custom Search service is free and is different from their Site Search service which is a hosted, fee-based product that Google offers to businesses.

YouTube Solves Accessibility Problems in Video

2009-11-20T09:22:00.006-05:00

There is no debate that web video has revolutionized the way in which web site visitors have consumed information. The problem is that videos are not natively accessible. This has left the hearing and vision impaired public largely out of this revolution.

While Google has offered a captioning service for videos uploaded to YouTube for a few years now, it still required video owners to add the captioning tracks manually. As a result the majority of videos on YouTube don't have them and they are therefore inaccessible.

Yesterday, Google announced a new automatic captioning service for YouTube. Google is using their speech recognition software to allow video owners to automatically add video captions to their videos. This new service works by having the video owner upload a text file of the speech in their video. Google's speech recognition software matches the text to the audio track and outputs the caption to the video. Since speechrecognition technology is still evolving Google is rolling out this service to a select few partners first. National Geographic and PBS are two that will test this new feature on their YouTube channels.

This new feature should significantly lower the barrier for video owners to add captions to their videos and allow a large segment of the Internet public to make use of those videos. If that weren't reason enough, it will also improve the search rankings for videos that include captions.

How to create a link to a specific spot in your Youtube video

2009-11-13T08:06:00.001-05:00

Linking to a video on Youtube is a simple matter. But, have you wanted to link to a specific time in that video? This can be helpful if your video contains sections or chapters, and you want to allow your viewers to jump right to that specific section.

To link to a certain time on a Youtube video requires you to edit the link that Youtube gives you. But first, you need to find the time in minutes and seconds. Here are the steps to follow:

Go to your video on Youtube.
Go to the part of your video you want to link to and pause it.
Put your mouse over the round time cursor that moves when playing your video.
Note the time that pops up, e.g. 2:32 (two minutes, 32 seconds)
Copy and paste the URL to the video from your browser address bar into a program like WordPad. It will look something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b697zb.
Add to the end of this URL the following info: #t=2m32s

Your new URL will look like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b697zb#t=2m32s. You can use this new URL in your web site or blog, and when a visitor clicks that link the video will start playing at your designated time.

Expression Web Video 7 - Importing Files Into Your Site

2009-07-29T07:35:00.000-04:00

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

Be Careful What You Tweet!

2009-07-29T07:05:00.000-04:00

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

2009-07-17T07:29:00.001-04:00

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:

Pass time (100%)
Educate self (96%)
Connect with others (92%)
Research (89%)
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

2009-07-14T07:09:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-07-10T07:32:00.002-04:00

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..."

2009-07-02T08:09:00.000-04:00

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)

2009-07-01T07:34:00.000-04:00

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.

Expression Web Video 5 - Creating Hyperlinks and Bookmarks

2009-06-24T11:18:00.006-04:00

In this next session of my Expression Web Video series we will learn how to make hyperlinks and bookmarks to specific sections of a page.

Web Resource - OldApps.com

2009-06-22T08:02:00.001-04:00

At one time or another, you have probably needed an old version of a program, or, you wished you hadn't upgraded to the latest and greatest of your favorite software.

While it is typically very easy to uninstall software. It can be really tough to find old copies of some programs that you need to reinstall. A web site called OldApps.com may be the answer to your problem. With just a quick scan of the site I quickly found old versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and Windows Media Player. The software on this site tends to be free or shareware programs and not expensive programs like Microsoft Office or Adobe Photoshop.

Most software companies don't want you to use old versions of their software because they may contain bugs or security flaws that they would rather you not have on your computer. This is not a point to be taken lightly. Usually there are very good reasons to upgrade to the latest versions of the software that you use. By using older versions of software you might expose your computer and personal information to bugs, viruses or other malware that could result in your computer running slowly, your personal privacy being invaded or even identity theft.

However, aside from these obvious drawbacks, sometimes you simply need an old version of an application.

Currently there are almost 3000 old versions of nearly 200 different software programs, and they are broken down into categories for easy browsing. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Expression Web Video Series - Video 4 - Using Style Sheets

2009-06-22T07:45:00.000-04:00

In this session of my Expression Web Video Series we will look at how easy it is to work with Cascading Style Sheets in Expression Web.

Dropbox

2009-06-18T07:27:00.000-04:00

If you routinely email files to yourself, share files remotely with others or copy files to a thumb drive to work on elsewhere then listen up.

Dropbox is a new online service that allows you to store, share and backup files in an easy and intuitive way. After you download and install the software, Dropbox walks you through creating an account that is linked to your email address.

Once your account is setup (it takes just a few minutes), Dropbox creates a folder on your MAC or PC that allows you to drag and drop files that you can then access from anywhere.

So if you need to have access to work files at home, simply drag the file(s) to your Dropbox folder on your work computer, and when you get home you can open that same file. And, here's the best part, if you make changes to that file while at home, Dropbox syncronizes that file so that when you get back to your office the next day, that file has all your latest changes.

If you delete a file, Dropbox will give you the opportunity to restore it. Dropbox also has a photo gallery folder that allows you to share your photos with anyone of your choosing. In fact, sharing files with Dropbox is simple. All you need to do is enter the email address of the person with whom you wish to share your files or photos, and Dropbox will send them invitation to view those files online.

Dropbox offers a free account for up to 2 GB of storage, for $99 per year you can get 50 GB, or for $199 per year you can get 100 GB of space. Give it a try and let me know how you like it?

Expression Web Video Series - Video 3 - Adding Text and Images to Your Pages

2009-06-15T19:25:00.004-04:00

In this session of my Expression Web Video Series I will show you how to add text and images to your pages.

Badda BING...

2009-06-15T19:12:00.000-04:00

No...not that Badda Bing! BING.com is the name of Microsoft's new search engine and apparently it has Google taking notice. BING is touting itself as a "decision engine" rather than just a search engine. It has features that help you make decisions in areas like travel, shopping, health, local traffic and more.

For instance, if you want to know the status of a flight you have coming up, BING will allow you to search that flight number and will display the information right on the search results page. If you want to know the lowest price of an item you are interested in buying, BING will show in its search results, the lowest price it found for that item, where you can buy it and some reviews about it. It also has a traffic link on it's maps page that will show you if there are reported traffic problems along selected routes in your area.

While it's not revolutionary, I think BINGs approach to searching for, and finding information, is unique. It goes a step further in helping you find what you are looking for or making a decision about something, by offering a deeper level of information rather than simply pointing you to the correct web site(s).

Will BING end up being serious competition for Google (which now claims better than 60% of all Internet search)? I think time will tell on that question, but I do like the unique approach. And, one thing that BING allows you to do much easier than other search engines, is search within a set of results. For example if I search for "cheap flights to europe", and I want to then search within that set of results for something more specific, all I need to do is clicked the 'Advanced' link and enter words to add to my search. To me that is a great feature that must just get me to switch? Give BING.com a try and let me know what you think?

Expression Web Video Series - Video 2 - Creating New Page

2009-06-11T23:05:00.004-04:00

In our next Expression Web Video we will see how to create new web pages based on an existing template. This video assumes that either your web designer has created a template for you to use and that it is stored on your web server, or that you want to create a new page based on an existing page.

Expression Web Video Series - Video 1 - Logging In

2009-06-11T22:40:00.006-04:00

For those of you who are using Microsoft's Expression Web software to edit your sites, I have created a series of "How To" videos. These videos will cover the basics from logging in to your site, creating new pages, adding text, photos and hyperlinks, and using stylesheets. In this first video we see how to use Expression Web to log in to an existing site.

iPhone or Blackberry

2009-06-11T17:45:00.000-04:00

I have been a die-hard Blackberry user for 3 years. Most of you that know me, know that I don't go too many places without my Blackberry. Recently I bought an iPod Touch which has pretty much the same functionality as the iPhone, except no phone. I am loving all the different apps you can download, and of course the music/videos too.

Recently I began using some apps that only work if I have a Wi-Fi connection. There have been several occasions now where I wished I had access to those apps even though I was not in Wi-Fi range. So naturally I am thinking about switching to the new iPhone 3GS that Apple just came out with.

The dilemma is that the Blackberry is much better for emailing. I can type much faster on the Blackberry than the iPod touch screen. But the user interface and experience with the iPod/iPhone is so much more compelling. When factor in all the ways you can extend the use of the iPhone with the apps available, and that it will actually consolidate two devices, it makes it a strong alternative to the tried and true Blackberry.

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has used the Blackberry and made the switch.

E-Newsletters vs. Online Newsletters

2009-06-11T11:50:00.006-04:00

A question I get frequently...."Is there a difference between an online newsletter and an E-Newsletter?". The answer is...probably....it all depends on how you are delivering it. If you are creating a newsletter page on your web site and expect that your visitors will use a typical web browser to view it, then your "online newsletter" is no different than any other web page. If you want to deliver your newsletter in an email and you want to use graphics, links and photos, then you will need to create an HTML-based email newsletter (E-news).

Most of you have probably seen in the email newsletters that you subscribe to, a line/link that says "Having trouble viewing this email?". If you click that link it opens a web browser (like Internet Explorer or Firefox) and brings you to an online version of that email. The reason that just about every online marketer offers this line is because the delivery and proper display of HTML-based emails is sketchy at best. Each email program has a different level of support for HTML and CSS. Its like that old days during the browser wars where Internet Explorer and Netscape displayed at the same web page very differently.

The next question on this topic is typically...."Well can't I just take my online newsletter and copy/paste it into an email?" The answer is a resounding NO! Most email programs like Outlook, Outlook Express, Groupwise, Thunderbird and Eudora have very poor, or no support for, CSS. So if your web designer used CSS to create your online newsletter, chances are it will NOT display well when viewed in an email program.

What about webmail programs like GMAIL, AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail?

While technically these email providers are displaying emails in a web browser there are still some problems with getting them all to display your E-newsletter in a uniform way.

So what's the answer?

Forget everything you have learned about styles, stylesheets and CSS when it comes to HTML-based emails. Instead we need to go back to the old days of using table-based layouts and deprecated HTML tags like and "font" and "center".

Here are some general guidelines for creating your HTML-based E-Newsletter:

1. Use tables for layout rather than CSS.

2. You can use CSS for presentational purposes, but use inline styles.

3. Avoid Javascript

4. Be sure to code all links and images with the full address including the http://.

5. Store images in a separate folder on your web server and be sure not to delete them. People tend to save emails for a long time.

6. It's better to use fewer, larger images than several smaller sliced ones. Some email programs will split sliced graphics.

7. Test! Be sure to test your email in as many different email programs and webmail programs as you can.

Once you get a layout that works well you should save it as a template for later use.

Getting the word out or marketing via email great, but if your email doesn't display well, you have wasted your time.