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Should I dump the Link Within Widget?

June 11, 2012 By 10 Comments

Friday I received a very interesting Email from Jordan Bass of nRelate. His Email was a pitch on why I should use nRelate instead of Link Within to offer readers related content when they read articles on my blog. At first I was a little taken back by the approach but the very first thing he mentioned was something I didn’t know:

I noticed you are running Linkwithin on your site and many publishers do not know that on each click, Linkwithin  first sends readers through their own site and then back to your site, which negatively affects your SEO, making your site more difficult for readers to find on Google (article on this below).

So I decided to check to see if this claim was true though I didn’t use my history as his Email went on to suggest, I just right clicked the link and pasted it into notepad. While the URL renders properly when you hover over one of the links, when it is copied you get a different output and it turns out Jordan is correct.

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but when I right click the URL that is highlighted in the picture and paste the actual link into notepad, this is where it really goes:

Redirected Link Output

Now I understand that Jordan wants me to use nRelate because I might allow adds that they (and I) would get paid for (sorry Jordan, I have zero plans to put ads on my blog). But what about LinkWithin, why would they want to hurt my SEO? How are they cashing in on that traffic? Turns out they aren’t the only way I can tell that they benefit is by the back links which I suppose places them in a strong position when/if they roll out a advertising product (I would love to hear a more official SEO analysis of this effect beyond the obvious). According to the LinkWithin site they plan to add revenue sharing features in the future, but they will be optional:

Link Within FAQ

There are two real alternatives to Linkwithin that I could find. Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP) and nRelate. I’ve used YARPP before and I am not warm and fuzzy about nRelate based on a number of people in the very blog post that Jordan referred me to have commented that it doesn’t always render the thumbnails, etc. I don’t actually mind a plugin publisher getting some benefit out of me using their free plugin, but I want it to be reasonable and above board. I am not strongly convinced either way that this is quite as big of a deal as Jordan would like me to think it is.

Mind Helping me Out?

What would you do if you were me? Do you even use the related posts options? Do you think anyone is actually clicking those links? Hard core SEO types, what is your take? Is this being blown out of proportion by their competitor?

Filed Under: Blogging, New Media, SEO, Technology, Tools, Wordpress Tagged With: , , , ,

Amplify to allow Blogging

March 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I received a notice from Amplify.com today that I am extremely excited about. I’ve been advocating amplify as a simple way for anyone to engage and improve their social media experience since I joined earlier this year. These latest changes make it more practical and provide for a richer experience. Here is a copy of the Email notice I receive today:

Introducing blogging, background images & privacy options
Hi Joe Hackman,

1. Blogging on Amplify:

Our mission has always been to give people a place to talk about news, ideas, thoughts or anything else that’s on their mind.  Currently on the web, there are different services that offer specific ways to talk about things.  On Twitter you can say anything, as long as it’s under 140 characters.  On blogs, you can write long form posts that take greater time and consideration.  Using services like ShareThis, AddThis and many others you can share links to news or other interesting things you find on the web.  We chose to support blogging on Amplify to roll up all these capabilities into one service – so now everything you want to talk about on the web can flow through one coherent stream.

2. Background images:

You can now upload your own background image or change the background color of your Amplog (visit Settings >> Design).  To make sure our header works well with background images, we also removed the dark blue header that used to stretch across the top of all pages.

3. Privacy:

If you would like to control who can follow you on Amplify, you can now visit Settings >> Privacy to enable that option.  Once that’s enabled, you can approve anyone who requests to follow you.  You may also notice a “block” link in every user’s profile (shown on the right side of user pages and displayed on mouse-over of profile pictures).  This gives you the option to block a user from following you or commenting on your posts.

To try blogging and to set your privacy controls, visit amplify.com.  We hope you enjoy these new features and appreciate your feedback and support.
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Filed Under: Amplify, Blogging, News, Social Media Strategy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Will this recipe inspire you to live a better life?

March 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Do you have two to three words to describe your purpose? I do today but I did not for most of my life. Recently I wrote about how I’ve become more social, but something else has also been brewing. I’ve also been finding more purpose and direction in my personal and professional life.

During my foray into a more engaged and social lifestyle these were some of the steps that I took that led me to become more inspired:

  1. Formed a business support group.
  2. Supported more groups making a difference.
  3. Encouraged connections between people.
  4. Opened my mind to inspiration and learning.

Business Support Group

With a number of my clients, friends and my own business facing big challenges in 2008 and 2009 I decided to do something to try to make a difference. The precursor was writing an article for my business website “Success in 2009 from your IT Guy’s Perspective”. Shortly after that was published I decided to form a group with the intention of providing support and encouraging interaction between the members. Eventually this group met and became what I would call a business support group called 1Degree. The One Degree was the number of degrees of separation between the members. Every member has a direct connection with one or more other members. The group provides a supportive structure for people to share ideas and encouragement. I’ve received a number of compliments from members how the support and positivity meant a lot to them during their most challenging time. Many of those challenges persist today but we’re still working together to move forward. This experience gave me more confidence in myself and my ability to make a positive difference in a challenging time. Recognizing that action was especially important when the cards were down.

Support for Groups making a difference

A few years ago I joined the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary Club out of desire to give back. It was during a time of unprecedented prosperity in my business. Through this involvement I have kindled a deep passion for helping others. I also met a number of amazing people who work very hard to make a difference in this world and I have aimed to provide them with support in those endeavors. Some of my favorite causes include Asante Africa, The Wheelchair Foundation, Hayward Youth Academy, LN-4, and Trust in Education. I have made an effort to support these groups through Blog Talk Radio interviews, articles, sharing technical expertise and working strategically through Rotary to support their causes. It is incredibly satisfying for me to look back at what has been accomplished and to realize all the great things we can still do.

Encouraging Connections between People

Helping people and solving problems goes hand in hand. I often notice patterns that represent opportunities and try to provide the spark to have that opportunity ignite. This could be as simple as suggesting a website or article to someone but more importantly involves connecting people. This is something I realize in hindsight that I have watched and read about people doing over the years. It is incredibly satisfying to get a report back from two or more people that are benefiting from an introduction that I made. Helping people feels good, this is just another way to help.

Open Mind to Inspiration and Learning

Closing ourselves off is a defense mechanism. Traditionally this is something I quickly would do in a number of situations. For instance if a sales person called me on the phone, I would be annoyed that they were “wasting my time”. It is easy to watch the news and think that people in general are bad. It is hard to have conversations with a lot of people and not think people are good. It can be a challenge to keep an open mind but it is very important because it allows us to learn. Awareness is a powerful tool, being aware of our defense mechanisms allow us to consider new possibilities. One of the best examples I have of this is when a hip hop artist reached out to me on Facebook. He had seen something that I posted and thought it was interesting. He suggested I check out videos on YouTube that he had done. Most of them were not really my thing but one of his videos really connected with me. It involved the loss of someone he really cared about that had a lot of impact in the direct of his life. I experienced something similar in my past when I lost my mother to cancer. This story has repeated frequently since, strange connections leading to enlightenment and personal growth.

Guy Kawasaki and Chris Major

I have to thank Guy Kawasaki and Chris Major for their part in the forming of my personal mantra. Chris for noticing what I was doing and coming up with the actual words and Guy for planting the seed that a 2-3 word statement is much more powerful and important than big long winded business plans, manifesto’s and the like.

A Mantra Recipe

So the simplified version of my recipe, will this work for you?

  1. Start with some confidence and leadership building.
  2. Add several handfuls of causes bigger than yourself.
  3. Blend in some meaningful interpersonal connections.
  4. Add some inspiration and learning.
  5. Infuse the value of simplicity in a message.
  6. Introduce 2 simple words spoken at the right moment.
  7. Simmer for 2-3 days and serve.

My mantra is “Building Bridges”

My personal mantra was first spoken by Chris Major during a conversation at Leadership San Ramon Valley class of 2010 Education day in February 2010. We were having a conversation during one of the breaks from the session. Chris had recently been on my Blog Talk Radio show talking about Hayward Youth Academy. After the interview wheels were spinning for Chris. He recognized that what I do, what matters most to me is building bridges. Whether it is providing support for causes locally or around the world, connecting with unlikely new friends, teaching my son, or using technology to fill gaps in businesses – Chris was right, I am in the bridge building business. It had to simmer for a few days, but once it had it was ready for consumption.

I hope this helps you find inspiration, ideas or in some way live a better life.

I will close with the original You Tube video by Guy Kawasaki that talks about the importance of a Mantra vs a Business plan. I’ve in turn adapted this to the difference between a manifesto and a mantra in your personal life.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Leadership, Networking, Social Media Strategy, Technology Tagged With: , , , , ,

I am now the SF Startup Business Examiner

February 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Today I wrote my first article in a series for the SF Startup Business Examiner. The article is entitled “A to Z Series Web 2.0 Apps for Startups – Amplify.com”. For those of you that follow my blog you know a couple of weeks ago I dove into Amplify.com because it had filled a significant void in my social media needs. This of course became the inspiration for my first series of articles as the SF Startup Business Examiner.
Please check out my first article A to Z Series Web 2.0 Apps for Startups – Amplify.com

Here is the video associated with this article:

Filed Under: Amplify, Blogging, News, Video Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why Joe “Went Social”

February 7, 2010 By 6 Comments

This past week I attended two different “networking” or social events. One was a chamber like event and the other was the Mashable/Social Media Week party Friday night in SF. Not long ago you would be hard pressed to find me at either of these events but I have really become more of a social being this last year or two. Why did this occur?

  1. The economy tanked and I had time to think about such things.
  2. I read a blog article by Guy Kawasaki about Schmoozing.
  3. I read a book called “Never Eat Alone” by Keith Ferrazzi.

My eclectic reasons

I think among the list the economy tanking is the most self-explanatory.  As the owner of what had been a growing IT services business a sudden interruption in that growth led to more time on my hands. The Guy Kawasaki thing dates way back to a suggestion that came from my friend Patrick Lee, now CEO of Rotten Tomatoes YEARS ago. Patrick gave me some great suggestions of books I could read as the owner of a technology business. Among them was Guy Kawasaki’s book Rules for Revolutionaries. Of course it took one more catalyst, this happened to be from neighbor and friend JP McDermott who reminded me that Guy had a blog and that it was great – which is where I found and read the schmoozing article. Ok, so now you know how I found the article but why was it instrumental in making me more social? The answer is quite simple – because guy tells you to give and help others. This was something I could do, naturally, daily and consistently. Never Eat Alone was the nail in the coffin for my anti-social positions. One thing in particular, when Keith recounts the story of the guy getting choked up about everyone forgetting his birthday – except Keith, really struck a chord with me. You see I am that guy, the one that sees one person struggling and can’t help but reach out and offer at least a smile and a bit of encouragement. I was dead set on being more social and connecting with more people.

Why I wrote this article

Now on to the meat of the story, the real reason I wanted to write this article. I had interesting experiences at these events that I feel I have a unique perspective to share with the world. My hope is that people who are both part of the positive experiences I had and negative or just similar in their presence at these events will benefit. Most memorable among my experiences (actual names and specific details often omitted to protect the innocent and guilty):

  1. The over aggressive Bank Sales VP.
  2. The old acquaintance.
  3. The Gimmick Lady.
  4. The loner.
  5. The high energy dreamer.
  6. The over aggressive Social Media Tool person.

The Over Aggressive Bank Sales VP

So you’ve probably heard of “that guy”. You know the one you’re not supposed to be. Well this guy was “that guy”. The banking business is evidently extremely aggressive on the sales side of things. Don’t call me, I’ll call you. This guy approached me and my “old acquaintance” (see part 2) and could not wait to sell us his services. It was really bad, almost laughable, I could not believe it. It will be hard for me to take that company seriously again, he so poorly represented them. He was sure of himself, had no problem asking for the sale. Someone back at the bank loves him, but not me.

The old Acquaintance

This is one of the great things about any social event. I was able to reconnect and have a fine conversation with someone I knew briefly through Toastmasters. Very nice guy, quality conversation and I am happy to be back in touch. Class act and I hope we are able to maintain a connection.

The Gimmick Lady

She had a gimmick to give you a sample of her product and a business card. She also approached a group of us and executed the gimmick. While personally not my style I respect her courage and willingness to be out there, trying to make things happen. It wasn’t over the top by any means. I sent her a nice follow up email because I wanted to encourage her to keep doing what she is doing. It did not seem like the approach was by any means second nature to her.

The Loner (Loners?)

This was at the Mashable party Friday night. I had arrived maybe 5-10 minutes, was checking Twitter, etc, as that seemed like “the thing to do” at a Mashable event. Then I noticed another guy just hanging out by himself. He was, like me, at this event alone so we shared at least one thing in common. I approached him and we had a pretty decent conversation going. I think this guy will be an entrepreneur one day, and I hope to encourage him to pursue that dream so I will be following up periodically. That is when the high energy dreamer showed up.

The High Energy Dreamer

She was great, full of energy joined the conversation and really kicked things in to high gear. She had just learned about 20 minutes before she arrived that her dream of having a certain job at a certain company had been fulfilled. She was riding on a natural high and passing on that positive energy with many people. I checked out her blog and I find her story very inspiring and humorous. Definitely a great person to connect with and I will probably keep in touch because I love to hear about happy endings and people winning.

The Over Aggressive Media Tool Person

When you’re having a conversation with someone else and someone comes along with the business cards already in hand, brace yourselves. This was very similar to “that guy” but in this case it was “that girl”. Please don’t be that girl/guy. You are the reason I didn’t want to be at events like this until I realized there were other reasons to go and much better philosophies and ideas about how relationships work with human beings in business or personally.

What I took away from the experiences

  1. Pride – that my comfort zone is much broader.
  2. Joy – making connections with new friends.
  3. Inspiration – watching people try and do.
  4. Happiness – helping others.

So I am not sure how this article will resonate with readers, but I truly hope that it helps you find what I’ve found and perhaps get you to go outside your comfort zone. The Mashable party was a spur of the moment thing. I learned about it and decided to go very late Friday afternoon. Please let me know what you think.

Resources:

Filed Under: Inspiration, Networking Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Interview of Eric Goldstein CEO/Founder of Clipmarks/Amplify (Podcast)

January 29, 2010 By 5 Comments

I had the opportunity to interview Internet entrepreneur Eric Goldstein founder/CEO of Clipmarks.com and Amplify.com. Eric is not your traditional technology innovator; his entrée into this industry is the result of his appreciation for conversation. While growing up in Long Island Eric’s family would often have discussions around the dinner table where he would learn and appreciate the value of different opinions and ideas. Ultimately this led Eric to pursue a career in Law.

About 10 years ago the foundations of Clipmarks.com were originating in Eric’s mind. By 2004 the site was launched and evolved to be a community that he is very fond of to this day. There was one small problem with Clipmarks from the internet entrepreneur side of things, the model was not scalable. Eric was forced to make decisions that would provide insight into his character. Despite the suggestion of at least one potential investor Eric opted to keep the Clipmarks community alive and create a new scalable site – Amplify.com.

The emphasis on conversation is still the driving force but the new site has scalability in its DNA. Amplify was officially launched in 2009 without much fanfare. Eric realized that if a site was to succeed it had to be viral, so there was no hype, no pre-launch party, no balloons, advertising or marketing push. The site was officially launched by about a half dozen employees and family members. Amplify has since proven that it can grow organically and viral with the number of posts and users growing substantially month over month. As of the interview there were approximately 800 posts per day on the Amplify.com website.

When we talked about the priorities of the site evolution, Eric mentioned that the feed portion of the site will be undergoing an overhaul. It will not come as a surprise that the overhaul is intended to further improve the quality of the conversation. After the overhaul is completed it is likely that support for pushing the content you create on amplify.com to other blog sites such as WordPress or Blogger. Presently you can choose (via checkbox) to push your content to:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Friendfeed
  • Tumblr
  • Posterous
  • Plurk
  • Diigo
  • Delicious
  • Clipmarks

When the blog integration is complete it will allow most users to rely solely upon Amplify.com to generate their content. This will really be quite an achievement.

I will be following Amplify.com very closely both as a user and a fan of their technology and conversational approach. For me 2010 is the year of the conversation, and that extends from Social Media, Family, Work, Blogtalkradio, and face to face meet-ups. While we were wrapping up the show Eric and I agreed that we would explore having another conversation down the road perhaps where some of the users of the site will call in and interact.

Listen to the entire Interview

Filed Under: Amplify, Interviews, Podcasts, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Responding in the face of Tragedy or Peril

January 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I just moved this article over from my old personal blog due to the Haiti crisis. Here is a brief podcast followed by the original article.

On any given day I process quite a bit of information. From the alert emails I review for my job, the Wall Street Journal news alerts on my phone to my friends and associates statements on blogs, LinkedIn, news feeds, Twitter and on Facebook.  My point really is there is an abundance of information bombarding me every day. I am always amazed how rewarding the process of reading is when I stumble across something truly profound:

“All of us here in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn’t care, but because we didn’t know what to do. If we had known how to help, we would have acted.” Bill Gates – in a speech to Harvard University 1997

I believe this quote identifies an important part of human nature that every single one of us will struggle with in our lives. In the face of human tragedy or extremely disturbing situations we often feel powerless or over-whelmed and do not know how to respond – so we do nothing. A perfect example is when we are a witness to an auto accident, it is our legal and moral responsibility to stop but how many cars zoom by and do nothing with drivers confused and un-sure of how to respond. Understanding this can lead to a very reasonable outcome – being prepared.

Self preservation probably plays a large role in this, but we know human beings can overcome these instincts and remain calm in these situations. One key is preparation. First aid classes are a good example of a responsible and meaningful thing you can do to be prepared for some of these situations. Another key is mental preparation – try this exercise and after doing it you may decide there are additional things you would like to do to be more prepared. Consider what you might instinctively do and what you should do in the following scenarios:

  1. You are on a train and a passenger collapses to the ground near you.
  2. A patron in line in front of you gets very verbally abusive and threatening to the cashier.
  3. You witness an automobile accident and several cars in front of you do not stop.

By preparing and visualizing, it is much easier to do the right thing when you face the situation in real life. Item #2 was a real world example for me; I was in an office supplies store when this occurred. I did not intervene but I was mentally preparing myself for what I would do if the situation escalated beyond threats to actual violence. Had I not had a chance to prepare, what would I have done? Hopefully the same things I had planned to do if it had.

I’ve reduced this issue to a much smaller scale and made it more personal for effect, but I would encourage anyone reading this article to consider this same concept when facing a significant crisis anywhere in the world. Instead of not acting, understand that these issues are complex and find out what you can do and do something. It does not have to be huge but I believe the greater your commitment the greater the reward will which reminds me of this Chinese proverb:

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day, go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

If you like what I’ve said here I would recommend you visit a local service club, for selfish reasons I will recommend Rotary. I have been a part of the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary club for over 2 years and it has definitely given me inspiration to build a lifetime of happiness.

Filed Under: Community, Inspiration Tagged With: , , , , ,

Your Parent’s Guide to RSS

December 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

In my day to day travels both personally and professionally I am often encouraging people to check out and use certain social media sites and blogs. When I mention RSS it seems like a lot of my audience drops off comprehension wise. In response to this I’ve come up with a video that your parents could use to understand and use RSS and more specifically Google Reader. The video will get into detail but it will be useful for people who:

  • Might want to get updated content from certain web and blog sites.
  • Like to organize all of their media content in one place when possible.
  • Don’t know what RSS is but would like to be able to explain it to others.
  • Want to learn more about blogging and how the content gets delivered.
  • Have an interest in Feedburner for promoting their blog and RSS feed.

Filed Under: Blogging, Tools Tagged With: , , , , ,

Very Useful and Free HD Video Capture App

November 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I found a very useful video capture application today that just blew me away. It supports full HD, upload to YouTube and even has a feature that allows you to add notes to your captured video. Needless to say you can expect much more multimedia content from me as a result.

Filed Under: Tools Tagged With: ,

A nice reminder – be a doer

November 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I follow NYT Best Selling Author Joel Comm on Twitter, he posted a link to this article this morning. This is a great reminder that so much of success is about doing things. If you lack the motivation and drive to get things done start there.

http://www.joelcomm.com/its_not_what_you_know_its_what.html

“But I can’t create success for the people I’m trying to help. Nor do I want to. If someone isn’t so driven to succeed that they’re not prepared to put in the long hours, the worries and the investment necessary to create their own business, then I don’t want to waste their time. They’re never going to succeed and they should stick to their J.O.B.” – Joel Comm

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,
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