I've recently had a chance to see two different organizations prepare their users/constituents for change in very different ways. Eliminating a Software Package The first was a company which has bought out several companies. After about three years, they are looking to consolidate their product line, and will be eliminating some of their products. The bad news is, that this is a mission critical product which we use. They pulled everyone together (over 114 people in an online webinar), and … [Read more...]
posted on August 9, 2008 by
How important is search ranking?
photo credit: tj scenes Just how important is your search engine ranking? Well consider that in 2002, about one-third of all users typically searched for something each day. Now in 2008, a new high of just under one half (49%) are searching daily for something on the Internet, according to the latest study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. It is an interesting to note, and see that it is also growing at a faster rate than other activities which people might do on the … [Read more...]
posted on August 7, 2008 by
Eric Hutchinson’s “Back To Where I Was” with Randy Pausch
I mentioned that people ought to take an hour out of there day, and watch the last lecture by the late Dr. Randy Pausch. I know not everyone has the time. Someone has put together as a music video, some highlights of the talk. So if you don't have 60 minutes, you might want to take 5 minutes and watch this short music video by Eric Hutchinson's with his song "Back To Where I Was". … [Read more...]
posted on August 2, 2008 by
Monks Get Broadband
Image via Wikipedia "Patience is one of the characteristics of monastic life, but even the patience of the brothers was being tested by our slow Internet." FATHER DANIEL VAN SANTVOORT, Cistercian monk, on his Welsh island community's decision to get broadband. Source I've written several times about the need to have an efficient website, which can run fast enough for everyone to use. However, I guess some people didn't get the message, and have caused the Monks to run out of … [Read more...]
posted on July 31, 2008 by
Search Engines and Flash Files
In the past, the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Live, et all) couldn't really search Flash files that well. Well Adobe has been working with the search engines to allow them to search the Flash sites, widgets, buttons, and more. This is good news on the surface, but still requires one digging a little deeper before trying to get a nifty Flash site. Here are three quick take aways to know about, before The first thing to know, is you still have to use text, as text, to be … [Read more...]
posted on July 29, 2008 by
Additional needs for Efficiency
Web Worker Daily recently brought up how some local Internet providers are looking to meter users bandwidth. What this basically means is that you are (usually) given a base amount of data you can transfer per month, then for each additional unit, usually gigabytes, they charge you an additional fee. If you have a website, you are probably aware of this yourself. You can have so much traffic, and additional traffic creates an additional charge. We've discussed in the past how you will want … [Read more...]
posted on July 26, 2008 by
Goodbye Randy Pausch
Image via WikipediaAs a college instructor, I always am interested in two things; learning about how other's have taught, and what should I tell my students if I only had one last class. Randy Pausch delivered the "Last Lecture" after he learned that he'd developed terminal pancreatic cancer. I was able to take away some good teaching tips as he discussed his career, but I was also able to learn more about life. Prof. Pausch passed away on Friday. If you've not had a chance to … [Read more...]
posted on June 23, 2008 by
Firefox Blocks Attack Site
Recently I downloaded the Firefox 3 web browser as part of the download day. I've been using Firefox since version 1, and have always like it. I find it is generally faster and more consistent than Internet Explorer, and also has fewer security holes. This screen shot came up the day after I installed it. A link that I had followed from a trusted site took me to a site which apparently had been compromised. Just another reason I enjoy using Firefox. … [Read more...]