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Surfing, Searching, & Networking 101

by Ant Onaf

Everyone knows the internet can be very useful for finding information or learning something new.  In all honesty, the internet should be your #1 resource for finding any remote information.  The problem is everyone do not know how to use the internet to find information or to their advantage.  It's simple and I'll give some tips & secrets to successfully using the internet to your advantage.

Surfing the Web:

The first thing the internet is ...is "information".  Lots of it.  Anything you want to know or need to know can be found on the internet, but where do you find it?  There are so many resources and ways of finding information.  Surfing the web is probably the best way to find non-targeted information and find a new website.  When surfing the web you basically, start with a common site (or not so common).  Begin by browsing the content within the site...then you click on a link which takes you to another site and you browse through its content, click on a link within that site which takes you to another external site...and you are surfing the web.  Browsing through content.  Those few task just mentioned can sometimes be an hour or two worth of surfing, mostly depending on the interest of content. 

Searching the Web:

A more targeted approach is trying to find information about a specific product, service, person, place, or thing.  For targeted searches we need a tool, something that will help us find what we are looking for.  The most common tool is "search engines".  Search engines are designed for this particular task, to find information across the web.  Search engines have special digital robots which search through millions of websites at incredibly rapid speeds, crawling and digging through tons of websites and indexing them into its databases for faster retrieval.  When you go to a search engine like Google and type in a keyword or phrase then click search you are presented with URL's which have been indexed within the search engine database and matches the keyword or phrase which you entered.  It cannot be expressed enough to say how well you should familiarize yourself with using a major search engine.  You should be able to use a search engine to find just about anything you can think of.

Forums & Discussion Groups:

Forums & Discussion Groups are a great way to find information on the web.  Participation and contribution is what makes a forum or discussion group useful, powerful, and successful.  These are ways to help others, communicate with others, share knowledge or experiences with others, or simply chat and network with others.  Most forums or discussion groups are niche markets and targeted to a particular audience.  There are a few that are for the general population.  A very popular forum in the webmaster world is WebmasterWorld.com (no pun intended), their targeted market is webmasters, online advertisers, search engine optimizers, internet engineers, and internet enthusiast.  You can find very useful information within most forums & discussion groups.  The proper way to participate & contribute to forums & discussion groups is to help others when you genuinely have an answer, don't just guess and post...you can make an educated guess and post, but blindly guessing just to raise your rank is childish and unhealthy for the platform.  When debating, remain civil and courteous to others.  When debating, you should have some sense of intelligence and knowledge about the topic at hand.  Respect others opinions and views.  Don't try to change minds but try to get your point across rationally.  Never pick a fight or get in between a heated discussion.  Keep your username/handle (and real name) respectable.  Remember that you cannot hide on the internet any information you provide or any public information can come back and bite you....e.g. username stalking, which I will get into more about later.  Stick to those guidelines and your forums & discussion group experience may be well received.

Blogs a.k.a. Weblogs, Online Journals, or Online Diaries

This is the next generation way of obtaining information on the web, but gracefully becoming a prominent way.  Blogs are not only personal entries about a individual life.  Blogs are used to convey information and provide a confident platform for retrieving the latest trends, gossip, news, information, rumors, and hype.  This can be accomplished by an individual, a group, or a company.   Most blogs allow visitors to leave a comment.  Familiarizing yourself with a handful of blogs is a perfect way to network and connect yourself with people who share your interest.  Blogs are mainly niche markets, though there are many successful miscellaneous, personal, and general blogs.  Blogs are most successful when updated daily and is dependent on the social and emotional connection you have with your audience.  Blogs are usually personal thoughts, opinions, views, and experiences of individuals.  Sometimes individuals form a group and author a group blog, providing thoughts, opinions, views, and experiences from each member of the group, this sometimes makes a more powerful and interesting blog, a popular blog which utilizes groups is boingboing.net.  It is a good idea to start a blog of your very own, there are numerous free blog host out here, such as:  journalhome.com, blogger.com, and livejournal.com.  The blog host makes it easy to begin blogging (the art known as authoring a blog).  You simply signup for their service, choose your template (design & layout), and begin writing your entries.  You do not need to know any programming, but it helps to understand HTML, if you plan to fully customize your template.  It does not matter what you write about, it can be personal, professional, casual, informative, instructional, entertaining, or anything you can muster up.  It is your personal space to author.  Even though it is your personal space on the web it is strongly recommended to limit your personal information on the web, when visiting any website, never provide too many details.  Once you have had your blog hosted for some months/years and it has grown to a respectable state, then you may decide to host your own blog.  The main benefit of hosting your own blog is the scalability and branding.  Though, hosting your own blog means you will need to spend money, install scripts onto your server, and configure your script and server.  I recommend using one of the mentioned blog host before hosting your own blog, hosting your own blog without an audience is not wise.  Blog host are the best places to start, because it is free, easy, readily available, and they provide you a community (audience). 

Doing Your Homework:

Using the mentioned information portals above, you should be resourceful in finding any information you need on the web.  When doing business on the web you should only rely on trusted sources.  This comes down to doing your homework.  If you find a company on the web which you wish to do business with but have never heard of the company, then you should use good judgment.  The best way to make a good judgment call is to research the company and website.  If you utilize any of the mentioned above you should be able to find reliable information.  Gather information from several different sources and then compare the results.  Basically, does the good outweigh the bad?  You now have a rational review to use good judgment.  Using advanced technologies is also sometimes necessary such as using advance search operators, such as:  " " (which when quotes surround the keyword will return the exact search phrase) or use of the plus (+) sign  (which will return any search which contains keywords in your search phrase).  A good site that makes use of Google operatives is soople.com.

Username Stalking

Contrary to the name the art of "username stalking" is considered positive in my form of expression.  It is wise to choose a quality username when conducting business online.  Typically, an active internet user should have a different secure username/password for conducting professional business and a different username/password for personal and miscellaneous activities, as well as a different email addresses.  Note:  A different secure username/password can also be used for any account which stores any financial or credit card information, you should never use your personal, miscellaneous, or free account username/password in relation with your business username/password or your financial/credit card username and password.  Having more than 3 different username/password combinations can become a bit confusing, just the same as explaining it is.

Username stalking is the act of searching the web by usernames.  Usernames and handles when applicable are the most visible information about a person on the web.  Choosing the right username and handle is suggested because you do not want to misrepresent yourself.  E.g. if you never worked on cars you wouldn't choose a username such as:  TheAutoMechanic, would you?  You want to choose something that represents you or something which is generic and general.  When you are familiar with a plentiful of forums, discussion groups, blogs, and other communities, you will become exposed to usernames.  These usernames can soon become handy.  If you are on a forum which interest you and after looking through the post you find someone who has your same interest, views, opinions, and thoughts...then surely you would be interested in frequenting his neighborhood.  Finding his hangouts can expose you to a new crowd of individuals who you relate to.  This new world can possibly be more advanced or less advanced than your current internet world, but hopefully something new and interesting.  Do a search on your own username in Google and see if it gives you results from sites which you are a member or have frequented.  This is why it is recommended to separate business, pleasure, and finances on the web.  Using different unrelated secure usernames/passwords is the best way to separate the three.  Username stalking is not anything new, but it isn't something publicized because most who use that technique are wrong doers for different purposes.  This is a great example of how it can be used wisely and responsibly.  Always, remember usernames and any other information deposited onto the internet is not a secret, even if you can't find it. 

Telemarketers have found a way to bypass the U.S. Do Not Call List.  Instead make the calls from overseas.  With the increasing popularity of VoIP, making a transition across seas is made easier.  Companies no longer need to lease LAN lines to make calls, the same internet connection that is used to surf the web is used to make phone calls.  There isn't any long distance.  Companies have figured this out and are planning to take advantage of this loophole.  Cold-calling and telemarketing may come back into play as we know it, but with the aid and resources from across seas. 

It's amazing how technology has allowed the world to circumvent in the most difficult times.  Everyday there is something new and something old.

Adsense has updated its TOS and it has added several different payment options, including Direct Deposit (BETA) for 15 countries.  The have also added AdLinks, which is a new way to display ads.  Instead of having multiple ads in a box, AdLinks makes it possible to have only 1 ad within an ad format.  From my understanding the TOS now allows advertisers to disclose their earnings.  Previously, discussing your earnings was strictly prohibited, but as I understand it, that has changed.  I will not discuss any earnings until I am clear about this policy.  I will need to re-read and read carefully the TOS.  I wonder if AdWords is next.  AdSense new TOS is listed below:  Courtesy of Jenstar @ webmasterworld......http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum89/5618-2-10.htm

New Terms of Service for AdSense

1. Program Participation:

In the middle of this section, (collectively, "Ads"), related Google search queries, has been replaced with (such Google-served advertisements, collectively, "Ads"), related Google queries and/or Ad search box (collectively, "Links"),

2. Implementation and Operation of Ads and Search Results.

There are many changes in this section to reflect the new Ad Links, I won't specify all those changes where links has been added along side search and ad units.

The first line has a slight change (change in bold) You agree to comply with the specifications provided by Google from time to time

They have made it clearer that you cannot pre-populate search boxes you place on your site. Changes in bold:
Except for related Google queries, all search queries (including queries entered into an Ad search box) must originate from individual human end users inputting data directly into a Search Box (or Ad search box, as applicable) on Your Site(s).

Another slight change here (change in bold):

and Google will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide You with corresponding Search Results and/or Ads, as applicable and as available.

Then there is the long confused section regarding the fact that you cannot have an ad unit displaying ads identical to any other ad units. And I think it just got even more confusing. While the clause regarding "no Ad Unit shall contain any advertisement in common with any other Ad Unit." has been dropped, it has been replaced with the following:

In addition, You agree that while You may display more than one (1) Ad Unit on each Site Web page, You shall not display any Ad Unit on a page that contains Ads associated with another Google AdSense customer (e.g., Your Web hosting company), unless authorized to do so by Google or such other AdSense customer, if authorized.

So what does this mean? It means that "revenue sharing" AdSense sites are now against the terms, as would be displaying your own AdSense on a site where the hosting company is already showing their own AdSense (ie. such as a Tripod site). "Revenue sharing" is especially popular on forums, where the originating poster can have his/her AdSense displayed on the thread a certain percentage of the time. Now, you can only do this if you have received specific permission from Google AdSense to do so, otherwise, you will be violating the AdSense terms. I clarified this with Google, as well, as I wanted to make sure I understood this correctly.

The terms also now refers to any page using one of the AdSense services as a "Serviced Page", and the terms clarify you cannot run any non-Google contextual programs on any "Serviced Pages".

3. Communications Solely With Google.

Minor changes to reflect Ad links.

4. Parties' Responsibilities.

Minor changes to reflect Ad links.

5. Prohibited Uses

More minor changes to reflect ad links. They have also clarified what you cannot do to manipulate what a user gets when clicking an ad. Changes in bold:

(iii) frame, minimize, remove or otherwise inhibit the full and complete display of any Web page accessed by an end user

Some publishers have been getting sneakier when it comes to what the user experience is once a surfer clicks an ad, so this tightens up the terms in this regard.

Chat pages have now been added to the types of pages you cannot display ads on.

You shall not.... display any Ad(s) or Link(s) ... on any chat page.

And perhaps the most interesting change, this has been added:

You shall not... (viii) act in any way that violates any Program Policies posted on the Google Web Site, as may be revised from time to time, or any other agreement between You and Google (including without limitation the Google AdWords program terms), or engage in any action or practice that reflects poorly on Google or otherwise disparages or devalues Google´s reputation or goodwill.

So what would "engage" or "practice" cover? Would that include complaining about click fraud or low earnings in a forum? Or would it be reserved for those who publicly disparage Google in less-than-flattering terms to a newspaper? It will be interesting to see how this is interpreted as well as enforced.

They have also removed the bolded section in this clause, and the pursuit of all available civil or criminal remedies relating to fraud and other legal claims.

6. Termination; Cancellation.

More minor changes for ad links. Also, this has been added:

Subject to any third party agreements You may have with other Google customers (e.g., Your Web hosting company),

There are now clear instructions on how to cancel your AdSense account (before, it simply said to remove the or programming from your sites).

You may terminate this Agreement with or without cause at any time by sending written notice of your desire to cancel Your participation in the Program to adsense-support@google.com. This Agreement will be deemed terminated within ten (10) business days of Google's receipt of Your notice.

7. Confidentiality

Google has loosened the terms of the confidentiality part of your agreement.

"However, You may accurately disclose the amount of Google´s gross payments to You pursuant to the Program.

This means, if I wanted to tell the world how much my AdSense check was last month, I could do it without violating the AdSense terms. So who wants to go first and tell us your check amount ;)

9. No Warranty

Minor changes for ad links.

15. Google Rights

A new section details what can/cannot be done by using AdSense to make a competing product:

You will not ... create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product through use of or access to the Program or proprietary information related thereto.

Also, they have clarified this clause (changes in bold)

You will not remove, obscure, or alter Google's copyright notice, Brand Features, or other proprietary rights notices affixed to or contained within any Google services, software, or documentation (including without limitation the display of Google´s Brand Features with Ads, Links, Search Boxes and/or Search Results, if applicable).

16. Information Rights

They have added information on the Google Privacy policy.

subject to the terms of the Google Privacy Policy (located at http://www.google.com/privacy.html, or such other URL as Google may provide from time to time)

Also, slight clarification on sharing information with third parties (change in bold).

Google may share non-personally-identifiable information about You, including Site-specific statistics and similar information collected by Google, with advertisers, business partners, sponsors, and other third parties.

17. Miscelaneous

This has been added:

The parties specifically exclude from application to the Agreement the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act.

I have no idea what this means, so hopefully someone more familiar with this international act will be able to clarify.

That is it for the AdSense Terms changes.

AdSense Program Policies:

Ad Placement

This has been added:
A single Ad Links unit may be placed on each Web site page, in addition to the ad units and search boxes specified above. Ad Links units are considered to be 'Google ads' for purposes of these program policies.

This clarifies that if you have multiple ad units on a page, you may only have one ad unit with ad links.

So, what else has changed?

Payments

These changes are ones AdSense publishers have been waiting for since the program launched. The payments section has now been moved into the "My Account" tab in your AdSense control panel.

Payments in your Home Country's Currency

They have introduced a program where you can have your AdSense payments converted to your home country's currency, so you will receive a check that you can cash much easier at a bank in your country. With publishers having to pay crazy banking fees to cash a US check, this change is most welcome. 43 countries are supported: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States.

New Payment Options

Publishers will also find different payment options available in their control panel.

Check - Standard Delivery * Check - Secured Express Delivery ($30.00 Processing Fee) learn more ** BETA Electronic Funds Transfer learn more

Note that the Electronic Funds Transfer is in beta, and is not available to everyone. It is currently available to publishers resided in these 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States. If you are not residing in one of those countries, you can read about it here:
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=15827


You can also request that your payments be held right in your AdSense account (previously, you would have to email AdSense to get this done).

URL Filter

The URL Filter has now been renamed the "Competitive Ad Filter". It sounds as though they are trying to convey what I have long said - you should only filter competitor's ads. It also now says:

Please note that filtering sites may decrease your potential earnings and/or the number of ads that can appear on your web pages.

Also, you cannot use your filter to filter out the suggested links that appear in your AdSense Ad Links. But, your filter will work for the sites the click on an Ad Link will generate.

Ad Links

https://www.google.com/adsense/adformats#adlinks

You can now ad up to one Ad Links unit to your page. You can customize it within your AdSense account, similar to how you would do it for a regular ad unit, and simply paste the custom onto your page. The is similar to the ad unit script, except the ad format is specified as google_ad_format = "200x90_0ads_al_s"; (or whichever ad link size you choose).

You can also use your custom channels on an ad link as well.

AdSenseAdvisor has also clarified how this works for reporting:

Your reports won't track clicks made on the Ad Links topics. Only clicks on the Google ads linked from the Ad Links topics will be tracked. However, impressions are reported for each instance of the Ad Link unit as well as for each pageview of the resulting page that displays ads

I have read this excellent article written by Tim Bray:  http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2005/03/08/BloggingIsGood

I have debated with many about blogging and have defended blogging to the end.  Many times blogging can be satirical, opinonated, and inaccurate, but I also believe blogging is a great platform and can be very useful, resourceful, informative, social, and entertaining.  This article supports my beliefs, here's a snippet from the article:

Ten Reasons Why Blogging is Good For Your Career

1. You have to get noticed to get promoted.

2. You have to get noticed to get hired.

3. It really impresses people when you say "Oh, I´ve written about that, just google for XXX and I´m on the top page" or "Oh, just google my name."

4. No matter how great you are, your career depends on communicating. The way to get better at anything, including communication, is by practicing. Blogging is good practice.

5. Bloggers are better-informed than non-bloggers. Knowing more is a career advantage.

6. Knowing more also means you´re more likely to hear about interesting jobs coming open.

7. Networking is good for your career. Blogging is a good way to meet people.

8. If you´re an engineer, blogging puts you in intimate contact with a worse-is-better 80/20 success story. Understanding this mode of technology adoption can only help you.

9. If you´re in marketing, you´ll need to understand how its rules are changing as a result of the current whirlwind, which nobody does, but bloggers are at least somewhat less baffled.

10. It´s a lot harder to fire someone who has a public voice, because it will be noticed.

If you have a website and you want traffic (customers) then why would you close the door on them?  I went to a site today and it gave me a message "No Access Without Cookies.  Please enable cookies in your web browser and reload to gain access to this site."  Why would you force a user (customer) to enable their cookies just to access your site.  I know with cookies enabled the site can get much more information about their users but is it that important that you would rather lose customers.  The shocking thing was this was a online marketing company.  Of course, one of the companies that is by default in the block cookies list, because they are known for comprimising computers and/or privacy.  Probably a responsible party for all the scumware that has now disappered after the Windows Service Pack 2 update.

I just do not think it is intelligent for a company to deny access to its visitors because they do not have cookies or anything else enabled.  You wouldn't walk into a (general) store and be required to show all your personal information (driver license, social security card, bank statements, birth certificate, etc.) to a doorman before entering the store would you?  I think the same should apply here.  If a person does not have their cookies enabled then do not force them to have it enabled, this will surely turn the most cautious visitors away.  I think it is poor marketing skills.  No wonder this company has lost its way, because it is not making a huge impact as it once did. 

For sometime Google has been looking down on the use of bots to submit websites to search engines and directories.  I believe Google feels that is an unethical approach for search engine marketing.  I think many SEO practices are unethical and should be thrown out the window.  I'm happy to see Google finally fighting back, but why did it take so long. 

The way Google is fighting back is that it has added a verification code to its site when submitting a URL.  What this does is elminate bots from easily submitting URL's because a bot cannot simply read the characters of the verification code and input them into the field.  Instead human-interaction needs to be mandated. 

I wonder how this has affected online services like addme.com, submitexpress.com, etc.  But after testing addme.com, it added me without the verification code problem.  Unless this would change in the future, I think the online services (that pay Google) will not be affected.  I'm not certain if anyone pays anyone but I'm sure business is being handled by someone.

Have you ever thought of advertising as a sport.  Let's say you were in charge of getting a team together to play a game of basketball.  You had your pick from all the NBA players.  You would pick the best of the best, wouldn't you?  It's a game about winning.  The same applies with advertising, it's a game about winning.  If you had to advertise your website to the world, who would you choose.  The best of the best, right?  You would choose, the platform(s) that gets the word out the quickest and vastly.  So, next time you think about advertising your website you must first choose your team and make them work as a team.  Who's your starting 5?

Another great Google project.

Google Weather

Get weather in your local US location just by doing a Google search using the operator "weather"

Example:  weather new york

                weather chicago

                weather butner, nc

You can use the state, city, or city/state.  If you search by medium to large cities (after the weather operator tag) then Google should output the weather stats, without needing to include the state.  If you live in a small city then it is probably best to include the state or search by the largest city nearest you.

It is a quick, easy, and reliable way to get weather.  Currently it seems the weather operator only works for US cities and states.

Today is Yahoo's 10th Anniversary.  10 years is not a long time, but it sure feels like it.  10 years ago I wasn't even introduced to the internet yet.  Computers were foreign to me.  Until 1997, computers/internet entered my world and my life changed.  And it all started with Yahoo!  A friend showed me how to create/use email...Yahoo! my first email account, and still used to this day.  Celebrate.

Hosting Your Own Web Server: Things to Consider

Are you disgusted or disappointed with your current web host?  Have you switched web hosting companies too many times?  Have you thought of hosting your own website(s)?  Do you have the ambition to control and manage your own web server?

If you answered 'yes' to the questions above, then you may be ready to host your own sites.  This article will give you things to consider while making the switch.

When being your own web host you should be technically inclined and have basic knowledge of operating systems, understand technical terms, understand how to setup a server environment (such as:  DNS, IIS, Apache, etc.) have basic knowledge of scripting languages and databases (PHP, Perl, MySQL, etc.), be familiar with current technologies, and have a basic understanding of hardware and server components. 

You should realize the pros & cons.  It is one thing to say, you want to host your own web server and it is another thing to actually do it. 

Pros:

-  Own sense of responsibility                                         

-  Awareness level raised (you are at the frontline of all server happenings)                                       

-  No monthly hosting fees/accounts                                      

-  Incompetence no longer exist                                         

-  Non-shared environment (dedicated server)                            

-  Unlimited websites, databases, content, storage, etc.

-  More bandwidth

-  No more waiting on someone else time

-  Complete control

Cons:

-  Exhausting at times

-  Faced with server/hardware problems

-  ISP business account (monthly business/broadband expense)

-  If server goes down then the website is offline

-  N o technical support team

-  Software, hardware, and network expenses

There could be many more pros & cons but I´ve pointed out some of the major ones.  Managing a web server starts as a full time job, you must constantly monitor its performance and security.  This can sometimes be an exhausting task, especially if you currently have other responsibilities.  Though, the control you will have over your website and its performance is rewarding enough.  You no longer have to wait for technical support or approval to install a script onto the server.  You can have as many websites and databases you want, as long as your hardware can handle it.  You no longer have to go into the discussion forums and search for the best web host or rant about how much you hate your current host.  You can even begin hosting family & friends personal websites.

Ask yourself, how technically advanced are you?  Many times you do not have to be a tech guru or anything of the sort, but you must be very resourceful.  You must know how to find resolutions and answers to problems, quickly and efficiently.  This means you must be internet savvy.  Not just the average surfer, who surfs aimlessly, but you must be the surfer who can always find what they are looking for.  This is key, because with any server environment you are going to run into problems and finding the answers are most accomplished online, using multiple resources, search techniques, and engines.  Sure you can hire someone to fix your problems, but as we should have learned from the "web hosting", having someone do it for you isn't always the best option.  Here is a test to see if you are ready to find solutions.  I need a solution to a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server Event Error - "Event ID: 1056" it´s a DHCP Server Error.  How would you search?  Go ahead find the solution.

Did you first go to Google?  If you did, that was a nice effort and common for most, plus a good place to start, but usually it is best to start at the developers' website.  In this case "microsoft.com" would have been the first option.  Why?  Google would more than likely provide you with the answer from Microsoft and other sources, but you don't want to get inaccurate information from other sources.  It is common to get information from Microsoft that would not specifically resolve your problem, but the developer should always be your first place to search for the answers.  Now search the error again and go to the Microsoft site and find the solution. 

You should had found this link:  http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;282001 (Event ID 1056 is Logged after installing DHCP)

What search phrase did you use?  It should have been Event ID: 1056, because the Event ID is the exact error, it pinpoints your exact problem without broadening your search.  Sometimes the error description is also appropriate to search, just the error description by itself or in combination with the Event ID.  It depends on your error, your search feedback, your ability, and technique.  For this example I did not include the error description.

Google or Yahoo! should have been your second option (the two largest search engines).  Then search other smaller and niche search engines.  A good search site which makes use of Google´s operator tags is www.soople.com.  Next you should search within forums and discussion groups.  If you are pretty internet savvy and have a plentiful or few forums and discussion groups which you frequent then you might actually visit those places before visiting Google or Yahoo!.  You can even visit those before visiting the developer site since it is a trusted source, but I wouldn't recommend it, I still would go to the developers' site first.   Okay, so now we have planted our feet and have familiarized ourselves with being internet (search) savvy.   We are ready to purchase a server!

When making a server purchase you need to consider a few things before doing so.  What to buy?  A top of the line, quadruple processor, and super fast turbo server is always ideal, but many times it is not logical or affordable.  Therefore, you need to weigh your options (sensibly). 

What to buy?

-  First determine your budget.  Be realistic and expect to spend at least $2,500 for a low-end server.  For a low-end, quality server with other needed equipment and services I spent a little over $4,500 easily. 

-  Determine your ISP (broadband) provider.  Research and speak with several different vendors before deciding which broadband solution best suit your needs.  Each provider plan is different and has different benefits, determine the best one which fits your needs.  Bandwidth should be put into consideration when choosing your ISP.

-  A backup device should be purchased before implementing a server install.  The backup device should be double the server storage space.  This could be a standalone unit like an external hard drive or network storage device or the backup device could be multiple devices such as:  backup tapes, disc, etc.  The reason the backup device should be larger is because you want to be able to have months worth of backups and not just weekly or monthly backups.  You should have at least 24 weeks of backups without the concern of storage space.  The backup device or safe deposits should also be external, removable, and portable.  This is so the backups can be stored in a remote location.  Usually for safe-keeping, in event of a theft or disaster.

-  Determine your daily traffic goal (the daily traffic which you hope to see within 1 year - be realistic), divide that number by the daily traffic you currently receive, and then multiply that number by 5.  That is the total number of GB space you need. 

Example: 

             Daily Traffic Goal:  10,000  (Divided by)  Current Daily Traffic: 500  (Times X)  5  =  100GB

In the example you should purchase a 100GB Hard Drive, it is best to buy 2 or more drives oppose to 1.  In this case, since 50GB drives do not exist or harder to find, you would buy two 60GB drives giving you a total of 120GB.  2 or more drives are usually needed in a server to configure the proper RAID option, in some cases 3 or more are needed.  Your backup storage space should be a minimum capacity of 200GB (or 240GB, optional).

-  Determine your memory.  If your web server daily traffic goal is 500,000 then I would recommend at least 2GB worth of memory.  If it is a shared server, meaning it also has other server services running on the machine, especially a mail server or database server (which is not recommended) then your memory should at least be 3GB or more.  Otherwise you can think small and upgrade as needed, a 1GB memory stick should be fine for starters.

-  Determine your network components, which NIC card best performs under high traffic levels and which router best performs for your LAN / web server.  It is best to get a router which has a built-in firewall (commonly known as a "hardware firewall").  Your ISP may provide you with a router or hardware firewall, this is how they are able to authorize your traffic on their network.  Like a cable box does for cable television.  The router also shares your IP address with other clients on your network.  This enables you to share your internet connection without having to get a different IP from your ISP.  The hardware firewall is simply a router with a built-in firewall, which means it shares your IP address as well as provides added protection to your network.  It blocks bad addresses and ports at the forefront, before it can even make it to your computer.  It is not recommended to rely only on a hardware firewall for security, this is just the first step.  It is recommended to also include a software firewall (firewall software which installs on your computer) and it is recommended to continue timely security practices, such as updating and patching your system on a scheduled routine.

-  Determine your processor speed and power.  Regardless of the amount of traffic you are expecting I would recommend a dual processor or greater.  A dual processor or greater is best because if your website unexpectedly take off then you will be well prepared and if you host other server options or websites on the same server then you will have better performance.  At the time of this writing the 64-bit platform is the processor direction.  3.8GHz is the most available speed.  If your pockets can afford the latest technologies then that is ideal, but keep in mind at this particular time a 64-bit compatible processor is not necessary, without having many applications that require or deliver on that platform.  That is a lot of speed going no where fast.  Also, remember the power of the 64-bit platform and the greater the processor speed the more heat it produces, therefore it must be cooled much more rapidly and efficiently.  At this time a dual 32-bit, 2.8GHz - 3.2GHz processor will suffice (even that is way more than enough).  Though, if your pockets can afford it then the latest and greatest would be fine, you will be well prepared.  Otherwise, do like most people and upgrade when the time comes.

-  Make sure you have a CD/RW drive.  A floppy disk drive is not needed, but I do recommend it for making system restore disk.  The CD/RW drive is needed because you need some type of removable storage device.  You never know when you need to install a driver from a different location...like a ethernet driver.  An external CD/RW drive is the best option, especially if you have multiple machines.

-  Choose your operating system carefully.  Choose the vendor which you are most comfortable with.  Do not choose a MAC if you never used a MAC before.  Just because your friend suggests it and says it is a piece of cake does not mean it will be for you.  You are trying to get a web server online not re-learn a whole new system.  Stay focused and grounded.  If you are comfortable with Microsoft then go with Microsoft, regardless if the IT person at your job says Microsoft products are unsecure, Linux or Unix is more secure and much better for a web server.  If you have never used Linux or (especially) Unix then you will be in for a ride of your life.  Your web server experience will soon become a nightmare and you will have wasted thousands of dollars on equipment.  Go with what you know, not what you are told.  Each platform has its pros and cons:  Microsoft is the user-friendly of them all;   Mac is the web/graphic developer of them all;  Linux is the open-source/developers paradise of them all;  Unix is the most secure of them all.  Each of them can be tweaked in ways to provide a solid, quality platform, it is best to stick with what you already know.

-  You should install on your system all the web services (such as:  Apache, IIS, etc.), applications (such as:  backup device software, RAID (Array) Manager), scripting languages (such as:  PHP, Perl, etc.), CGI, Database (such as:  MySQL, Microsoft SQL, etc.), and a web log analyzer (such as: weblog expert, nihuo, etc.).  It is also recommended to perform system updates, security patches, and firewall installs and configurations.  It is sometimes best to leave the security installs and configurations for after you have the system functioning properly to avoid any uncalculated problems.  This way when you install the firewall and something stops working properly like connecting to your website from outside your network, you can troubleshoot assuming that it is the firewall, therefore you would begin by opening port 80 on the firewall.  This method can save you a lot of hassle, but can sometimes be considered the unsecure method, especially if you don´t have a hardware firewall already in place.

Next, there are a few things to consider before installing and configuring a server.  Where to put it?  A secluded, cool location is ideal, but if this cannot be accomplished then adjustments can be made. 

      Where to put it?

-  Locate a location within your home that is static-free, we do not want to put the server on the carpet, near curtains, or anything else that can produce a static reaction.  The reason for this is that you do not want the server internal components to receive a static charge and short circuit. 

-  The location should be a cool environment, preferably below room temperature.  The reason for a cool area is because servers (as well as desktop computers) produce large amounts of heat, the more heat it produces the more it needs to cool off.  If the server is not kept cool, then this can lead to the server hanging and then eventually crashing.  It's the same result of when a car overheats, it stops running.  You can keep a server internal components cool by keeping the room cool, additionally you can add more fans to the server which cools the server internal components, you can also position a standalone fan directly at the server back panel and constantly have the fan cool the server internal components.  Depending on how cool your room is and how much heat your server produces, getting more fans for your server may be a must and not an option. 

-  It is suggested that the server is at a higher level within your house (mid-floor), because if it is in the basement and a flood occurs it could ruin it.  If it is in the attic and the sun beams on the attic for hours the server could overheat.  Mid-floor level is usually the cooler place within the home, but these recommendations is optional and you should put the server in the most comfortable and convenient space following the rest of the guidelines.

-  Be sure the area you choose is not damp or wet (no leaks, moisture, near any liquids, or near a window "especially open").  We all know what can happen when electrical components get wet. 

-  The server should sit at least 4" inches from the ground

-  Be sure a working electrical outlet is near.  It is an important to have a power supply, a good brand is APC.  Having a power supply can save you from electrical outages, blackouts, and brownouts.  Having a power supply helps the server keep its power, remain stable, and unaffected when there is an outage, as well it protects your server against electrical shock.  If your outage remains more than 5 minutes it is recommended to begin backing up anything deemed important and shut the computer down voluntarily as well as any other electrical attached devices. 

-  Have a LAN line near and also a phone jack (if you plan on using the server for any dial-up services).  It is not recommended to use your web service with a dial-up connection.  A broadband connection or greater is recommend for optimal performance.  The LAN line should never come from your wall and plug directly into your server, it should plug into a hardware firewall (usually a router with a built-in firewall).

-  Depending on the size of the server and the internal components the server may be extremely noisy and loud, especially with the fans going.  It is suggested to have the server in a secluded location which is not near any peaceful area of the house, such as:  bedroom. 

Those are all some basic things to consider before hosting your own server.  Hosting your own server is not an easy task, but once you have had some time and experience with it, it becomes a breeze.  You will have a better web hosting experience, you will be more in tune and reliant to your customers, and you will gain greater technical aptitude.  Hosting your own web server is rewarding, useful, and gives you the opportunity to host unlimited websites, databases, services, etc. 

If your web traffic becomes too great for your server then it is recommended to choose an offsite web host.  It is recommend to purchase a dedicated server with a quality web host.  If you choose a server with the above recommendations then your server traffic should be fine for at least up to 25,000,000 page views per month.  It could be greater or less depending on your operating system, your server configuration, performance, applications, and services.  The point is you should be well in a position to purchase dedicated server space by the time your traffic gets too high, because if you are getting anything close to 1,000,000 page views a month you should have some competitive advertising or ecommerce income.  And plus, with the knowledge you will gain from the experience you will be able to support your own server at a dedicated server (remote) location, thus cutting more overhead.

The biggest disadvantage of hosting your own web server is the uptime reliability.  If your web server powers down for any reason then your website is offline.  Usually web hosting companies have methods and networks to prevent this failure from affecting your website.  Usually if the system goes down they have a mirror location where your site is rejuvenated and doesn´t experience much downtime.  Some web hosts do not practice this method or any other fault tolerance.  Imagine if a blackout or power outage occurs, then your web server could be down for hours or even days, this can affect your business greatly.  There are some hosting companies who provide mirror web hosting for a small fee, I haven´t found one that is reliable yet.  Or you could cross your fingers and hope for the best, until you are able to host your server outside your home on a larger network.

Hosting your own server usually is not a money-saving experience.  It sometimes cost more to host your own server, when you total the up keep and maintenance.  The benefit of hosting your own server is usually a better platform for your customers, because it is no longer a shared server and it gives you the ability to make global changes almost instantaneously.  When your customers request more performance or specific applications, then you will be able to implement this immediately.  Customers like to know that you are in control.  If you tell your customers that the server will be down for maintenance from 6 a.m. - 7 a.m. then it would be best if that is when your server is down, not from 5 a.m. - 10 a.m.  You know how your web host will tell you one thing and then you have to try explaining it to your customer.  In the end it will benefit you to host your own web server as a web business, this helps you and your customers.

I have to agree with this article I just read.  Firefox is not a top contender in my book.  Yes!  I said it.  The hype around Mozilla Firefox is overrated.  I have used Firefox for 3 weeks straight before returning back to IE, off the pure power of hype.  As an open-source advocate I employ what FF is offering.  But, there is a time to be real.  FF is not a top contender for a web browser.  IE is not so unsecure that it cannot be tweaked to perform under more secure settings.  IE is a user-friendly browser (Microsoft).  The purpose is to allow a simple connection, MS understands this.  By default Microsoft settings are set to unsecure, within IE and OS's.  There is still people using Windows 98 (it's ashame, but its true).  There isn't anyone using Firefox '98.  If Firefox continues to gain market share and longevity, then it is a guarantee that it will also become a target and more vulnerable.  It's a technical war out here.  Look at Google, they have became a target, and have been losing the race ever since.  It's only right Microsoft is a target.  Microsoft does its job, it develops (buy) a product, market the product, find consumers, support the product, and share its earnings.  What more do we want?  Microsoft isn't anywhere near perfect, but I can't deny the fact I'm a Microsoft Man.

Microsoft has been in the consumer pockets for years, steadily.  Microsoft has built an empire.  All Microsoft has to do is come out with Internet Explorer 7.0 (codename:  IE Longhorn).  Damn!!!  I respect the open-source community and try to educate myself about open-source projects but, I believe we have a lot more of Microsoft to see.  Microsoft will be around for a while, the world changes when Microsoft changes!

Google introduces its latest operator "movie", this operator tag enables you to search movies (old & new).

If you ever had trouble remembering the title of a movie but know key bits & pieces of the movie then you shouldn't have any problem finding the movie title.

Here are some examples I've tried myself:

movie:  4 girls in a bar

movie:  scary pickup truck

movie:  christmas whitney houston

movie:  illegal stock brokers

movie:  gambler bank

movie:  comedy wayans in the hood

movie:  small town girl has cancer

It was surprising to see each one was precisely targeted, but I guess I expect that from Google.  You can even search for movies currently playing and get the showtimes from theaters in your area.  Beyond that you can search for all movies playing in your area, by using the movie operator with your zip or location.  Example:  movie:  27514 or movie:  Chapel Hill, NC.  This will give you a list of the theaters in your area, with the movie listings and showtimes.  This is a great addition to there current operators.  They already had a operator tag for movie reviews (critic | review | commentary), but you had to know the exact name of the movie.  The "movie" operator strecthes beyond this and allows you to search by keywords, without ever knowing the title of the movie.  Great Feature...I give it a Thumbs Up.  What about you Ebert?

I just realized that I am a Under Pressure Acheiver.  I perform most well while under pressure. When things is normal and stable, I seem not to think straight and I become lazy.  Not so much 'lazy' as I don't move or can't move, but lazy where the day seems like a 'day home from work' (if I wasn't self-employed). 

I think this trait relates to my technical background.  As being an IT Consultant (network/systems admin) you tend to be in high-pressure arenas.  Throughout the days, you are faced with problems, that rely only on your skill, talent, and knowledge to fix...(well not only you...but you know non-tech co-workers never know you sometimes get the answer to solutions from the internet, nor do they care).  Being on the front lines of technical war is a constant battle. 

I'm the guy that will make the shot at the buzzard.  I'm the guy you can count on to score the winning point with only 5 seconds on the clock.  I gain strength from pressure.  I'm the guy that will make a risky call at 3:59 PM before the Stock Exchange closes.  I seem to work best under pressure.  I am a UPA!

Geckotribe has released CaRP 3.5.5 with loads of new add-ons:

1. Added the ability to offset the timestamps by any number of minutes (see "timeoffset" in the online documentation).

2. Added an option to not fix invalid XML entities. This is useful when displaying feeds whose content is enclosed in CDATA sections. The old code erroneously re-escaped any entities found in these sections (see "fixentities" in the online documentation).

3. The values of "atruncidesc" and "atrunccdesc" are now appended to truncated data before any open HTML tags are closed. This is mainly to prevent the text from being appended after closing paragraph tags.

4. Ampersands (&) are now entity encoded when they appear in URLs in link or image elements.

5. Improved the code for turning display of PHP errors on.

6. Formatting of channel data is done later so that channel images can be displayed in RSS 1.X feeds where the image element is not a child of the channel element.

7. Updated the installation assistant to use either FTP or Telnet to set access permissions, rather than only supporting use of Telnet.

8. Improved the instructions for setting access permissions manually.

9. If the cache folders already exist and have their access permissions set properly, the setup assistant now skips the step where it creates them.

I won't speak on this topic.

I don't feel like being political.  By the way my political views are skewed & awkward.  I like President Bush but, I also liked President Bill Clinton.  I don't believe in affirmative action, reparations, or any other form of remourse.  I believe racism still exist but on all sides, not just one side.  I don't think times are the same, meaning things have changed, some things for the better and others for the worse, but I could nit pic all night, so I won't.  I belive the meida plays an important role in the way we act as a people.  I believe gangsta rap is wrong (and wrong direction), but I love it, therefore, I say that it should be secluded for an mature adult audience.  My daughter shouldn't know who Fifthy Cent is by the time she's 5 (not until she's 18 :-).  I believe in capital punishment, but I believe everyone deserves a second chance.  Even though I believe in capital punishment, I've made mistakes in the past.  I believe mistakes are a part of life, but the same mistake twice is a sin.  I believe in aliens and/or extraterrisial beings, that may not need to breathe, see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or think.  I think the universe is much more larger than we could imagine.  I believe in these days and times everyone needs to be tech savvy, if not a tech guru.  I believe in larger tax cuts for large corporations.  I don't believe in gay marriages but, I do believe in gay unions.  I believe I don't understand alternate lifestyles.  I believe everyone should make the effort to travel to:  New York, L.A., Canada, Amsterdan, Australia, U.K., China, Brazil, India, and Nigeria at least each once in their life (that's only 10 years of vacation time...we got a lifetime).  I believe in No Child Left Behind, but I don't believe it will happen.  I believe in the War in Iraq and I fully support it.  I believe in the President's decision and I fully support it.  I believe if Kerry was in office we would had been more screwed.  I believe we are "lucky" President Bush has only 1 more term to complete or we would have been in God-fearing trouble.  I believe the United States is still the most Powerful country, but that doesn't mean it's the best country to live.  I believe simple & plain is retro-cool.  I believe "not" being trendy is being a trendsetter.  I believe everyone needs to know how to live as if they had "no money".  I believe credit cards or credit card companies shouldn't play such an important role in our lives.  I believe intense credit checks for apartments is biased (criminal checks, employment checks, and rental history should suffice or add to your score).  I believe being completely "broke" is almost impossible (in America) and is a lack of intensity and creativity.  I believe pictures are worth a thousand words, pictures with memories are worth a millon.  I believe America is great, because I'm free to acheive and believe.

And I said, I didn't feel like being political....

This is a question I myself and many others ponder over, constantly.  Not that my techniques are unethical, but the fact that my focus is to beat the system and arrive at the top of search engines.  This in itself is a personal gain, regardless if it is your site or a client site which I'm promoting.  This is solely a purpose of personal gain and accomplishment.  Of course, I always have the site visitors in mind and I think of what will benefit them, as to how easy it is to find the site?  If they click on the link will they find what they are looking for?  Is the advertising practice intrusive or invasive? etc.  These are questions I ask myself, as well I choose a primary advertising platform which will best benefit the client.  Search engine optimization and ranking is usually primary or at the top of the list, and getting a site to the top of the SE's is not about benefit to the client or visitor (outside the realms of the mentioned), but it is a game between me and SE's which is a personal gain.  When you get a site to list at the top of a Search Engine it is like a breathe of fresh air and new ideas, you become overwhelmed with your talent and ability, every action becomes more precise and aggressive.  Though, many times landing at the top has nothing to do with skill and talent, it has much more to do with "pure luck".  Of course, you need some level of skill and knowledge.  And of course, there are niche markets out there that are in demand and not highly populated so it will be much easier to gain notariety within those markets, but the markets which are overly populated and harder to gain notariety are the sites which give you a sense of accomplishment when you break the barrier and is at the top of the search.

Now, back to ethics.  When reading the Google Webmaster Guidelines I sometimes feel that what I have practiced is unethical.  I do use link exchanges to promote sites and get a better ranking in SE's.  Though, I'm unclear about the Guidelines because it states:   Don't participate in link schemes designed to increase your site's ranking or PageRank.   This is something "I do not do" (I think), because "I DO NOT" participate in link schemes or any link farms which plaster links all across the internet on unrelated topics.  I exchange links with sites that are related in topic or I submit links to directories under a related category. 

Second, I had no idea (when I first read the Guidelines) that using computer programs to submit to Search Engines was not recommended by Google:    Don't use unauthorized computer programs to submit pages, check rankings, etc. Such programs consume computing resources and violate our terms of service. Google does not recommend the use of products such as WebPosition Gold™ that send automatic or programmatic queries to Google.

"Ouch, that hurts!", I wonder how well "WebPosition Gold" is doing after this announcement.  I hadn't used automatic programs as of yet...I have used online programs like 'addme' and others, but I am not clear if this is not recommended.  What is Unauthorized?  In Google terms, I'm assuming if they haven't paid Google for their approval!  Hmmm!  I had found a product which I believe is very good, but after re-reading Google Webmaster Guidelines I decided to hold off and do a little more research.  I do not want to practice anything unethical or UNAPPROVED.

Anyway, Silverdisc has a great article on SEO Ethics, titled Ethical Search Engines Optimization Explained".  It's worth reading if you have the time and interest.

Xbox recalls 14.1 million power cords, because a potential fire hazard.  Microsoft said that 30 customers have reported fire damage.  7 Xbox users burned their hands.  23 reported smoke damage or damage to their carperts or entertainment centers.  Peter Moore, a corporate vice president at Microsoft Xbox division, said the company knew about the fire hazard for some time now.  They have been gearing up for several months, by producing more cords and making other arrangements.  The recall effects about 70% of about 20 million consoles sold.  -----

Free replacement power cords can be ordered here.

More information about the recall can be answered here.

This acquistion would make NYT advertising ad space greatly increase.  About.com has approximately 22,000,000 visitors per month.  Not a bad acquisition for NYT.  New York Times has signed an agreement with Primedia to purchase About.com for $410 millon in cash.  By adding this extra entity to it's current online properties, which include NYTimes.com and Boston.com, will allow NYT to rank the 12th largest online property.  The acquisiton is expected to close late this quarter or early next quarter.

Acquisitions are up!

My goal with this blog is to document, discuss, share, and inform readers of online advertising opportunities, internet marketing strategies, and the lastest technologies.

With that said, I will also utilize this blog for it's dominant purpose, as a personal journal. Documenting my day and life.

A little about me, I'm an self-employed online internet marketer, web advertiser, and IT consultant. I have useful knowledge in my field of work, though I still learn new things everyday, which I hope to share with you all. I am not a web programmer or any other type of programmer. I can not write a lick of code. I do consider myself a webmaster, because I am able to create, design, and develop web pages using WYSIWYG editors. I also use web templates, pre-made scripts, and custom-made scripts, developed by third-parties. I also consider myself a webmaster because I host my own websites on my servers, I support my network and servers 100%. I am a Microsoft man, I only use Windows OS's. I do not have knowledge of Linux/*nix. I tried to use Linux RedHat 7.2 one time in the past, I got frustrated within two days and went back to Windows. I had it setup and networked but couldn't get any programs to install correctly and a hundred other things went wrong. Anyway, as you see I have sporadic knowledge of network/systems. My skill set is within marketing and advertising. I do alot of reading and research. I surf the web at least 10 hours a day. I do extensive web advertising. I have a list of clients whom I had the pleasure of providing my talent. I will possibly mention or discuss clients, which relate directly to a topic, but I will not make any reference of association throughout my journal.

I have websites which I mainly use for testing purposes.  JournalHome.com will be my first full-pledge website which I would take seriously and build from ground up.  In the past I have done work for clients and helped my clients build their sites to a honorable status.  I have used my websites as test sites to research and test new advertising platforms.  The approach this time is a little different, I will advertise, support, develop, control, and market my website (JournalHome.com) with the intent to be successful, with a solid foundation in blogging history.  I still have clients and I still take on new projects for web advertising, but I do not take on anymore than I can handle, therefore, I can see success in my vision. 

Web advertising and internet marketing is my passion and I do not claim to be the best, but I am good at what I do.  There are some advertisers and marketers who are able to get you listed at the very top of search engines, in extremely little amounts of time.  I call it "luck" mixed in with a little bit of skill.  Not that I don't have confidence in advertisers or marketers, but landing a website at the top of a search engine, especially in a little amount of time is not an easy task, and alot of times it never happens, but when it does, usually you have no clue of how or why it is at the top for a certain "keyword" that you only can explain it by "luck" and skillful marketing.  Sometimes, the methods used are unethical or devious (like link spamming), but there are rare occassions that the methods used are ethical and practical.  Usually, that is when a advertiser or marketer has a solid platform or playing field.  Meaning, they have different resources and connections...they have a larger network to deliver your advertisement on, which means a greater audience will see and respond to your ads.  That is what I believe in, building relationships with other adverrtisers, marketers, webmasters, businesses, networks, etc. for the purpose of developing a solid platform to advertise for the benefit of your clients.  As of yet, I have not reached this plateau so I rely on skill, talent, and time.  I am able to draw attention to clients ads and successfully market clients websites as well as client products and/or services, but my current approach is time consuming.  It usually takes me about 1 full year to plant a foot in a market and receive steady amounts of traffic to a clients websites.  I do not see this as a downfall, because I use proper advertising techniques, which are ethical and practical, and 1 year is what most advertisers are able to offer, regardless if they state something different.  As I grow my advertising platforms, I will be able to deliver more time crunching results.

I approach web advertising the same way Michael Jordan approached his b-ball game back in the late '80's and early '90's: Focused and Ready! That's why I'm the Michael Jordan of Web Advertising!

Feel free to leave comments for any topic within my journal.