Over the years, the Blackberry has set the standard for business cell phones and now the iPhone has set the standard for media enriched cell phones for higher class consumers.  The question that remains to be answered is, “Will these ambitious super-gadgets go mainstream?”  To Apple enthusiasts and Silicon Valley nerds, the answer is obvious.  Over a million iPhones sold within months after release, are you kidding?  It’ll absolutely be mainstream in a few years!

Consider design, consumption and use

I might have given the answer above without hesitation last fall, but then it occurred to me that these phones are highly targeted pieces of equipment.  Take the Blackberry for example, it serves a purpose that is unparalleled in the business world.  Like the Rolodex, it has created for greater efficiency and increased productivity  and that’s just taking push e-mail and personal management features into account.

The iPhone, Apple’s prized gadget, takes a kitchen sink approach and meshes it all well using Apple’s trademark simplicity approach.  At a price of $600-$800 retail, not including the price of a contract and data plan, this phone — although profitable — has limited revenue potential.

Next Generation Cellular Phones – Evolution through Devolution?

Depending on how you characterize advancement, you might fall in love (as I have) with the concept of turning back the clock on cellular design and offering a Googlesque approach to design.

Googlesque, what the heck does that even mean?

Lets face it, part of how Google took over the world is it simplified search, it killed the garbage “home page portal” ambition (see MSN, Yahoo, AOL) and provided you with a Google search box.  Well, what if we could implement the same concept with mobile phones?  Think about the possibilities of a simple, flashy design that would be affordable and available for mass consumption?  Someone already has, here’s a fresh new look at cellular designs for next generation simplicity.

First Look at the Mimique Cell Phone Design

I’ve got the scoop on the new design, it comes on good authority from a member of the RKS team.

The “Mimique” Concept

This new cellular design looks to take a different approach from the newer generation of feature-heavy cell phones.   The team was aiming for a playful, engaging and simple “old-school” design using next generation style and technology.

I’d have to agree with that description, let’s take a closer look.

Mimique Cell Phone Profile

According to the RKS, the Mimique will make use of “new open-source, cell phone software” — hmm, Android anyone?  It includes downloadable “skins” that allow changing of the graphical interface to match the consumer’s mood or personal style.  The mimique design promises to provide a phone for everybody, especially typical consumers that don’t require the extra baggage that comes with newer and more expensive business and entertainment cell phones.   I think I’ve adequately explained why the idea of simplicity and usability is so appealing given the direction of current cellular technologies and unintuitive designs.

Of course, being the inquisitive person that I am, I had to probe for more information and received some literature from the design team:

Where the Mimique really sets itself apart is that it is designed to take advantage of the new, open-source cell phone technologies being developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance. This barrier-breaking technology would allow users to customize their phones to work and look exactly the way they want.  [...] Best of all, it means that you’ll no longer be forced to pay for features you don’t want. You get to pick and choose exactly the features you want to create your own perfect phone.

So why change direction in design, are there other benefits besides reclaiming the phone for consumers through intuitive new-age design?

The combination of open source software and touch-screen technology will make the Mimique easily upgradable.  Today, if someone comes out with new cell phone features, you have to buy a new cell phone to get that feature. But with the Mimique, you’ll just download the new feature to your phone and you’re good to go. This will greatly extend the lifespan of the phone itself, because the features are never locked into the design.  With the Mimique, you’ll always have the newest, coolest phone on the block, because it’s the one phone designed to be everything you want and nothing you don’t.

Will this concept catch on?  I think it has a ton of potential and if marketed properly, I’ve no doubt this will kick off a new era of cellular design. If you’d like to take a look at the design on their website, you can visit RKS design here: “Mimique  Concept”

Why Nerds hate Valentines Day:

1. You blow 300 bucks on a dinner, date, and a play that could have been put to better use by buying a shitload of gold on ebay for your WoW account.
2. Having to wait in line for an extra 10 minutes to buy a Red Bull because of some douche-bag buying chocolate, and delaying your all-night gaming session.
3. Not having a girlfriend is compounded by the fact that even your Second Life character can’t get any action.
4. No hot girls show up to class
5. Valentines Day candies give you cavities and make you break out with acne

Why Nerds love Valentines Day:

1. Everyone in a relationship is out on the town resulting in faster internet connections
2. You can watch porn in peace without being interrupted by your roommate and his girlfriend
3. You can eavesdrop on your roommate making sweet Valentine’s Day love to his girlfriend later in the night
4. If you have a girlfriend, you become “King of the Nerds” for a night
5. You look forward to a Valentine’s day themed logo on the Google homepage

If you liked this article, please subscribe to the BIT: News Feed at itola.com

If some Mississippi legislators had their way, they’d put forth a law that would ban obese people from being served at restaurants.

State Rep. John Read, a Republican who is one of the bill’s three authors, says he wasn’t trying to offend anybody and never even expected the plan to become law.

“I was trying to shed a little light on the No. 1 problem in Mississippi.”

This may sound humorous as you read along, but this isn’t a spoof.  Obesity is a real problem with consequences for Americans and we’ve been unable to solve this growing epidemic without the use of drugs or surgery to solve the issue.  Of course, exercise and dieting is ideal, but helping to fight obesity isn’t like having the flu or acquiring a chronic disease that can be cured drinking a Slimfast(tm) every morning.

The question that should be asked is whether the Republican Representative crossed the line by proposing such legislation.  If you take him at his word that this was not a serious proposal, but intended to shed light on a serious problem in Mississipi, then maybe he has done his state a great service.  Obesity is much like other sensitive subjects, e.g. Affirmative Action.  No one wants to talk about it because it is a pretty prickly subject and people get hurt in the process no matter which way you roll on the issue.

Steve Holland, the Democratic chairman of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, said in a statement he will “pocket veto” the bill. “It’s dead on arrival at my desk.”  Although he appreciates the “efforts of my fellow House members to help curb the obesity problem in Mississippi, this is totally the wrong approach.”

How can you not laugh at the public press that the issue is receiving?  First, you have a candidate with the gall to put forth such an ‘idea’, then you have a Democrat coming out to fight the ‘good fight’ and defending the rights of the obese.   Way to stick up for the little… errr, big guy? Again,this is a serious problem so why are we walking on eggshells to get to the heart of the problem?  Eventually, it may be policy makers that help America shed the weight.

About one-third of Americans are obese (30 or more pounds over a healthy weight), and 66% are overweight or obese. Even so, obesity experts are outraged by the bill.  “It would be hard to concoct something more ridiculous,” says Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

I’m no Yale expert and I haven’t spent my life studying the problems with obesity like Mr. Brownell, but maybe it is good to call a spade a spade?  Instead of dealing with emotions that inevitably arise out of the hate and frustration, self-esteem problems and depression, maybe we should focus on the problem itself and find ways to encourage the masses to help combat the problem?  Maybe this noise will help push obese people to stay away from the super-size or learn more about all the foods and drinks that are most dangerous to our health.

I don’t want to be insensitive about the issue, but it’s just not a simple problem to solve.  Showing love and support isn’t everyone’s forte, so it’s a futile effort to try and control what politicians, celebrities and ‘experts’ say.  The problems that stem from humiliation, shame and guilt are not trivial and it does offend and hurt some people:

“This brings bias against obese individuals to a new and appalling level, and at a time when significant progress is being made in the effort to stop blaming obesity on the people who have it and to address the social and political conditions that drive it.

Again, I cannot agree with the expert, it seems he’s too involved and has a hard time being objective.  In my view, it never really is about blaming obese people, most people don’t think of it in those terms unless you push the issue.  How often do you think “maybe he should stop eating, doesn’t he have self-control?”  Most Americans don’t go about their lives thinking, “darn, she sure is fat, why doesn’t she just exercise or go on a diet?!”

If anything, the question most Americans are asking is “Am I fat and what can I do to keep myself looking good.”  Sadly, the same areas of society that encourage obesity indirectly (e.g. super models, strip clubs, television and Hollywood) are also the ones that discourage people from eating that extra french fry.   It’s easy to blame these vices on the problem of teenage anorexia, but in my view, both anorexia and morbidly  obese people are also suffering from severe mental disease or stress and require the help of a mental health expert in addition to a physical fitness expert.

“Are these legislators fighting to get rid of soft drinks in schools? Are they working to stop the relentless marketing of unhealthy foods to children? Are they doing anything about the fact that poor people do not have access to healthy foods?”

This is the best argument made against legislators who would dare bring up obesity under such crass legislative proposals.

Restaurants and Corporations Encourage America’s Obesity Problem

Consumers are provided incentive to purchase fatty foods because they cost a lot less than the ‘premium’ low-calorie foods.  Fast food restaurants are serving up individual meals that have as much as 50 to 75% of a typical calorie intake for the day and maybe doubling or tripling the fat intake.  Consumers do have a responsibility to moderate their intake, but with obesity you have a special self-perpetuating cycle of guilt.  People eat to deal with stress, they eat to socialize with co-workers, eat to handle depression and settle impulsive behaviors that would best be handled by psychiatric help.

While this is a problem that involves many factors, people have to be careful not to entirely shed the blame of obesity on society.  Society is part of the problem, there is no doubt about that.  We have to remain cognizant of the fact that shedding personal responsibility might be one of the biggest reasons that combating obesity has become so difficult to solve.  It won’t be long before pharmaceutical companies or scientists design a solution that won’t increase the risk of heart failure or death.  Until that happens, it is the duty of all Americans to help fend off this problem and it starts with YOU.

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to the news feed — free column on business and technology.  You may sign up for the e-mail version using the form located within the sidebar. 

As you may be aware, Digg recently tweaked the algorithm it uses to determine which stories make the front page. This might not seem like a big deal to most, but some of the top Diggers were up in arms and staged what they referred to as a near “revolt”. Several of the top Diggers expressed concerns that the new algorithm makes it more difficult for their submitted stories to make it to the front page, amounting to what they construe as punishment for their success.

It’s been estimated that approximately 30-50% of the top stories on Digg are submitted by top Diggers. As such, many of the top diggers feel that they have “built this site from the ground up” and are mulling a move over to other social news networks such as reddit and mixx.com

According to Wired,

“Several top contributors to the social news site Digg held an emergency online meeting at around 8:30 to discuss their response to a recent change in the algorithm Digg uses to determine which stories appear on the site’s front page.”

First of all, some of the top diggers need to get over themselves. This is Digg, so when one reads of “emergency online meetings” and “boycotts”, it’s hard not to laugh at the absurdity. Now I understand where the top diggers are coming from. They are responsible for a good number of the front page stories that hit Digg and they feel that it’s unfair that they are essentially being punished for their past successes as top contributors.

In Defense of Digg:

It is well accepted that new users have a considerable disadvantage when it comes to getting stories to the front page. In contrast, many of the top diggers have an online following that range in the thousands. When they submit a story, they instantly get numerous Diggs from their fans. With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense that a top digger like Mr. Baby Man (with over 4,000 fans) should have a higher hurdle to getting to the front page than a digger with no fans?

Digg wants to continue to grow. It wants new users to join and feel like they can become part of the community. It’s daunting, however, when new users see quality stories they’ve submitted go nowhere simply because they have no clout. The changes in the algorithm might not necessarily be about blindly helping new users get to the front page, but more about leveling the playing field on Digg, where a few of the top Diggers arguably have too much power.

Another reason why Digg might have decided to tweak its algorithm is that Digg has turned into a lobby system of sorts — “I’ll digg your story if you digg mine.” As people began amassing friend lists in the hundreds, spamming via the shout system became common place and though it didn’t happen all the time, some questionable content starting hitting the front page.

There have to be safeguards in place in order to prevent users from simply adding an inordinate number of friends and mass shouting to them for diggs. Digg’s new algorithm supposedly takes this into account, and deals accordingly, with diggs that come from users who digg every submission sent their way. The problem with this, however, is clear. While this might take care of the user who blindly diggs away at anything their friends send them, not all diggers are spammers. In fact, the majority of them will only shout when they feel they have a high quality submission that will be of interest to users. So if a friend of mine on Digg consistently sends me great stories, and I digg every one, is it fair that my digg should be weighted less?

On the other hand, let’s hypothetically analyze a story submitted by a top digger. Let’s assume that 50 diggs on that story means 20 diggs on weight due to serial diggers, and that thats visually represented in the “hot list” as a “50 digg” article. At that point, it’s up to the non-friends to digg it up and achieve that highly coveted “diversity” spread. If it’s a good enough article, the diggs will start coming in and the article should be queued for the front page. Is that really so outrageous?

In Defense of the Users

One might assume that if all the top Diggers decided to leave Digg that others would simply fill their void and the stream of quality content would continue. But if you peruse the submissions of the top diggers, they really do a great job of finding interesting and obscure stories around the web.

The question then, is this: should we assume that only the top diggers can find great material online? This is a dangerous line to toe because we risk elevating the top diggers to a status akin to an editor on Slashdot, the complete antithesis of what Digg is supposed to be about. Moreover, because it’s so difficult for a new user to make the front page, new users (potentially the next Mr. Babyman) might be inclined not to even bother submitting. The fact that a Digger has a history of great submissions should not be overlooked or taken for granted, but that shouldn’t give diggers a free pass for the rest of their Digg days.

The fact remains, however, that Digg is a user-generated content website and Digg must be open to hearing the concerns of those who helped make Digg what it is today. Otherwise, it risks “alienating its most loyal users.”

Digg’s Dilemna

The heart of Digg is quality content, and to get that, you either need an algorithm that favors power users or a completely blind algorithm that favors the masses. The problem with a completely blind algorithm that lets the masses decide what makes the front page is that there are so many submissions to Digg that people will miss a lot of great stuff if there aren’t ‘power users’ to shape and shift what makes it through. Essentially, there has to be an incentive for ‘power users’ while also having measures in place as to prevent them from attaining too much editorial power.

Some have suggested that Digg should remove the “friends and fans” aspect of the site. This would presumably ensure that people will start digging for content, rather than out of obligation to friends or for reciprocal diggs. This won’t happen anytime soon, though, because the system of friends and fans is actually beneficial to users. If I see that a user is consistently submitting stories that I find interesting, I should be able to add him as a friend and follow his submissions. With such a setup, I am more likely to become an active member of Digg.

What’s interesting about Digg is that its created a virtual world where you have “elite” users who happen to be the top diggers. Then you have the serfs who are fighting for their “rights” as users. Then there are a slew of random diggers with no loyalty to digg who might login to the system once every two weeks. And then, of course, you have a large number of people who don’t even have digg accounts but make sure to visit the Digg homepage a few times a day.

Keeping all of these users happy is no easy task, and Digg is trying its best to maintain the most beneficial balance. Before even giving the new algorithm a chance, however, some top diggers decided that Digg wasn’t listening to them and they were going to jump ship to other social networking sites. The talk of a revolt was amusing because some of these top diggers clearly felt that they had some sense of entitlement. They feel that they’ve invested more of their lives into Digg and want that to be taken into account. That is an understandable position, but at the same time, no one forced them to digg for 8 hours a day. They did that on their own accord, presumably for selfless reasons.

Digg is being challenged with maintaining growth while, at the same time, maintaining the dynamic that made them so popular in the first place. Time will tell how the new algorithm tweaks affect the stories that hit the front page so all of the hullabaloo about boycotts was a) stupid and b) premature.

And in the spirit of being a provocateur, I say to the top diggers — Boycott away! This is the web, it’s not real life. Get over yourself and try to understand that you’re not the only people out there who can find great diggable content. The Digg community has 25 million people on the site, so by assuming that 10 diggers out of that mass of people are that important is ridiculous. Some of the top Diggers were contemplating moving to reddit, mixx, propeller, or any other social news network; imagine what they’d think if they came to an already mature social news network and no one cared about what they had to submit because they were newbies. A quote from their manifesto of sorts said:

“If Digg is a game then we are ready to play for keeps. What happens if the most powerful users in the community decide to leave? Will others join? Is Digg anything without us? Let’s prove it.“

Drama much? No one is born a top digger, so there really is no need to blackmail Digg.

Again, why should a top submitter who gets an automatic 50 diggs seconds within a submission have a perpetual advantage over a “new guy” who submits the same story and gets 3 diggs from complete strangers? At the same time, are automatic diggs really a problem if a top Digger has a proven track record of quality submissions?

A balance must be met and that’s what Digg is attempting to do. I say “attempting” because judging from the front page stories of late, the algorithm is not in full working order. The new algorithm, however, isn’t written in stone and is subject to constant tweaking, as admitted by Digg CEO Jay Adelson. Digg seems to have the best interests of the Digg community at heart so people need to relax, take a few days or weeks off and come back and see what happens. Long story short, stop crying and start digging.

With Macw

According to the experts, there’s a clear-cut winner in the prolonged and drawn out battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

Earlier this week, Warner Brothers dealt what many consider to be the death knell to HD-DVD by announcing that beginning in May ’08, it would release new movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. Interestingly enough, the impetus for Warner Brothers decision was that its customers overwhelmingly prefer Blu-ray over HD-DVD. This leaves Paramount and Universal as the last 2 major studios standing behind HD-DVD, although rumors are circulating that they will both abandon ship once their contracts to support HD-DVD expire. Universal, however, issued a statement today denying that it would opt out of its contract and would continue to support HD-DVD. Tellingly, Microsoft, which has long opposed a Blu-ray supported Xbox 360, recently changed its tune and said that it would consider Blu-ray support for the Xbox 360 if there’s enough consumer demand.

With that said, a larger question to ponder is how consumers are going to get their HD content in the future. Assuming that Blu-ray has in fact won its battle with HD-DVD, consumers will rush to hook up their HDTV’s to the aggressively priced Blu-ray players. As someone who has seen a Blu-ray player hooked up to a full screen 1080p Sony Bravia, I can testify under oath that it will blow you away.

Will Blu-ray dominate the living room?

So will Blu-ray soon become the key component in everyones living room? Not exactly. This isn’t the year 2000 and hooking up an external device to your TV is not the only way to access digital content. The iTunes music store allows you to download movies and stream them to your Television set with an AppleTV set top device. Also, Netflix also allows its users to stream movies onto their computer. Moreover, Netflix recently partnered up with LG Electronics to produce a set top box that will stream Netflix movies from a users computer to their TV. In essence, it’s another version of Apple TV. The wrinkle is that iTunes and Netflix do not yet have HD content available for download, so if optimal picture quality is what reigns supreme, then Sony can sit back and smile as the millions roll in. But don’t expect Apple and other competitors to just sit back quietly.

If anyone has perused the iTunes store for movies, it’s clear that Apple will have to step it up BIG TIME if they want to be a player in digital movie content. Again, the movies are not HD, and their selection of movies is lackluster at best. But with MacWorld a week away, there are already rumors that Apple is going to announce new partnerships with a variety of movie studios that will beef up its current selection of paltry movies.

The War Over Digital Media Is Just Getting Started

So while Blu-ray seems to have won its battle vs the Microsoft/Toshiba supported HD-DVD standard, the war for digital multimedia is just beginning. If streaming HD Content from a computer to an HDTV set becomes common, I imagine people would be less inclined to purchase a Blu-ray player. When you add cable companies into the mix, it becomes a full-fledged battle royale. There is a lot of money to be made with HD movies and cable companies are in a unique position to enter the fray. Comcast, for example, is planning to significantly increase the number of movies it offers to customers via its on-demand service. It’s only a matter of time before people will have the option to choose from watching HD movies on their Blu-ray player, as a video stream via iTunes or Netflix, or through their cable provider. The consumer is clearly the winner in all of this.

If people are particular about their 1080p, however, then Blu-ray will have an early advantage. You see, if iTunes or Netflix comes out with HD content sometime soon, it will be in 720p. 720p is still HD, but 1080p is what Blu-ray is all about! The rub is that the difference between 720p and 1080p is negligible on TV sets smaller than 40 inches. Confusing? Yes. Which is why Warner Brothers taking sides with Blu-Ray is so important. Up until now, the battle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray was a bottle neck that prevented mainstream adaptation of High Def consumer electronics. With the brunt of that battle almost behind us, we can now focus on the new battles that are starting to take shape between some of the big name players in the HD Arena.

“My husband and I were having a conversation about what foods could and could not be made better with the addition of bacon. Sure, that was a good salad, but it would have been so much better with bacon. That was a delicious baked potato.. I wish it had some bacon on it. You know what was missing from breakfast this morning?- bacon. I think we’ve come up with so many foods which bacon can enhance, that we really were wondering what foods it wouldn’t.”

A woman after my own heart! I know what you’re thinking right now, “oh no, they didn’t…”

Yes, yes they DID!

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bacon

I just about fell out of my chair when I saw the beautiful cookies.

I was excited and I wanted to share the news of chocolate chip bacon cookies with my friends. Only one problem, all of my buddies on IM at the time were Jewish. As funny as it sounds, I thought it might be offensive or taken improperly and maybe I’d seem culturally insensitive so I sent it to my non-Jewish friend.

He happens to have Polish roots and I thought to myself, hey, “Polish Sausage!” I knew for sure he’d love it! Here’s how he responded:

M: 12/10/07 2:56 PM: Oh God.
M: 12/10/07 2:56 PM: That is so disgusting.
Fred: 12/10/07 2:57 PM: No man, so delicious!
M: eeeeeeew

Well, I guess Chocolate covered cookies with bacon may not be ready for prime time. I personally love the idea and I think it could be the next million dollar project, but you never know how fickle consumers will react.

This got me thinking, with proper marketing and a solid recipe, who knows, maybe it could work?

This is one of the reasons why I need great people around me when it comes to making business decisions. I get so excited and want to take over the world with bacon covered chocolate chip cookies. My advisers and friends tell me that it’s not a wise move and I should consider something more “safe”, like… bacon-flavored ice cream.

Glad I asked!

Instead of a grand introduction, I’m just going to dive into the meat of my post. Ask questions in the comment section if you’re confused.

Niche Market: Understand your Audience

First things first, you need to make some simple calculations regarding your niche, audience, and the competition that exists for the audience.

Determine what is popular and useful in your niche and figure out how you can get that information to your audience. If it is hard for you to conceptualize the user process, think about how you browse the Internet when you have free time and compare that to how you operate while at work. What happens when you need information and what kind of search terms do you use? Additionally, think about how you phrase your search queries. Do you do this in the form of questions or are they simply topics? And What about generic information? What search phrases do you use and why? Write this stuff down, it helps if you’re a student of the search engine optimization game.

Beware the SEO Expert “References”

Many SEO experts will write crash courses on proper website optimization and they’ll also try to sell you “expert” services. Paying the price of a SEO expert is well worth the investment if you can manage to find a SEO pro and don’t have time or know-how to research this subject yourself. Hey, it’s OK if this stuff just isn’t your thing, but maybe you just don’t want to pay for something you could do on your own!

Search Engine Optimization made simple: Learn to communicate using properly tailored titles and phrases.

One of the biggest problems with Search Engine Optimization is poor communication.

It doesn’t help that a lot of “experts” out there throw out phrases and terms that are industry standards but not conducive to SEO learning for beginners. Along the same lines, a number of SEO articles are written for the wrong audiences or for the wrong purpose: profit. Sadly, because of the SEO niche audience, profit is often the sole motivating factor behind helpful guides on blogging and design.

SEO Tip: Optimize your site for your audience and search indexing or your “masterpiece” will not get the exposure it deserves.

Ever wonder why “SEO Experts” use 10,000 word articles and shady tactics, like bolding the title and bolding key words that appear throughout an entire article? If you’re reading this article, you’re probably intelligent so I don’t have to answer that question. Aside from keyword stuffing and trying to game search engines, however, they’re doing something that every blogger and designer needs to learn. They are trying to direct search engine crawlers to properly categorize the article during crawls. This can lead to higher search engine rankings for the site and higher listings for the article which is especially important in highly competitive niches.

Bold titles and sub-headings

If you’re just getting started, this is key. Make an effort to bold sub-headings to help your readers understand your content. Think about it, if you were creating a search engine indexing algorithm, what is the first issue you’d want to tackle? Relevance: how helpful and relevant is content to potential search users. One warning, don’t be like the “SEO experts” out there that bold several dozen words and phrases throughout the entire article without rhyme or reason. It is cheap, they look more like desperate losers rather than “professionals”and frankly it is annoying and makes it harder to read what might otherwise be a quality article. If Google has any sense, it’ll start penalizing these so-called experts, because it’s exploiting and cheapening the search experience.

Try and figure out how search engines work:

Some people will tell you not to fret and simply write content that your writers want to read, it’s true, this is good advice. However, when you’re stuck in a difficult niche to crack, you -must- write for search engines in addition to targeting your audience. Google owns the world of search and this is significant for a number of reasons. If you aren’t finding ways to optimize your website to help crawlers and users find you, why bother wasting your time with blogging or sharing your creative mind with the world? I’m not trying to be mean here, you simply won’t be discovered or it’ll take several years before your work pays off. Seriously, unless you are an established blogger, you are going to struggle if you don’t learn to manipulate titles so both users and search engine crawlers will love your site.

The Lost Art Of Creating Quality Titles

Title phrasing is KEY

I cannot emphasize this enough. Pick a title that is both descriptive and interesting to your niche audience. Blogging is often driven by emotion and bloggers make the mistake of thinking their emotion can be conveyed to a prospective reader by using clever sounding titles or being “funny”.

Example: “This rocks!”

The title might entice bored users to click, but most people will roll their eyes and move along. If your article is about chimps besting humans in a memory competition, the title will not give your work-of-art, justice! Why?

1. Too vague, no description makes the title useless to search engines and it’ll get indexed improperly and your audience will likely never find you.
2. Social Network users will ignore vague titles because they are spoon fed juicy and descriptive titles on their social news site of choice.
3. If indexed by a blog engine like Technorati, people aren’t going to read your article. Most people seeking content are limited in their time so they’ll click on the title below that may be a spam article but has a script smart enough to provide quality titles.

Use your knowledge of human behavior and psychology to optimize your titles for Search Engine queries and social networking

For a more sophisticated audience, a better example:

“Chimps tested better than humans in cognitive study.”

If your crowd is a bit younger or the tone of your blog is dumbed down a bit, you might want to try this example:

“Proof that monkeys are smarter than humans”.

A final example that helps you cast a wider net:

“Are chimps better at memorizing numbers than humans?”

Before we move on, consider what these titles are doing for users and search engines alike. The latter title is useful because it is descriptive, it gives users what they are looking for, and even those that aren’t seeking the information might click because you piqued their interest with the inquisitive, provocative, if not humorous title.

Title Structure:

Keep it simple: Use as many relevant key words, make it readable and if you must, place the site name at the end.

Example: [title] [topic] [web site name]

The reason you place the title first is because sometimes words at the end of titles are truncated. Also no one likes seeing the domain name as a title, it looks like spam! Finally, the higher concentration of key words must be near the beginning of the title because that is the stuff that’ll probably be checked against your content to determine your web site’s relevance and subsequent search listing.

I hope this was helpful, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you haven’t done so, please subscribe to the itola.com – RSS News Feed. It’s a regularly updated column and costs ya nothing!

Recently, AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson announced that there would be a 3G iPhone from Apple released sometime in 2008. Everyone knew that 3G IPhones were inevitable. After all, more than any other feature, the slow browsing capability of the IPhone on AT&T’s sluggish Edge network has garnered numerous complaints. Apple initially chose not to make the IPhone 3G capable because the 3G chipsets at the time were battery hogs and would have rendered a user intensive phone such as the IPhone a hassle to maintain. Now, it’s only a matter of time before the IPhone goes 3G as battery effecincies have improved. In fact, Steve Jobs himself has alluded to this!

So what does AT&T do? They announce to the public what many have already been aware of. Oddly enough, what shouldn’t have been a particularly newsworthy story has spawned an avalanche of animosity claiming that AT&T has pulled a fast one on Apple because their holiday IPhone sales are going to take a hit as a result. The argument is that a number of people looking to buy IPhones this holiday season will instead hold off until a 3G IPhone is released sometime in 2008.

Some have suggested that this will cost Apple millions in sales. This seemingly logical mental leap doesn’t hold any weight, however, when scrutinized closely. Potential iPhone customers can be categorized into two groups. First, you have the tech-savvy consumers who read articles like this one and get all wound up by any news (good or bad) related to apple and their products. Then you have your average holiday shoppers who has no interest in nonsensical terms such as 3G. Okay, are you with me? Good! Tech-savvy consumers would likely already be aware that a 3G phone is in the works. So if they were planning to wait for a faster iteration of the IPhone from the get go, then they weren’t going to be making any IPhone purchases this holiday season to begin with.

Any techie who was willing to endure the Edge network this holiday season would have been willing to endure it last June (when the IPhone came out) and probably owns one regardless of that fact. Average mainstream consumers tend to be entranced by the “coolness” factor and features the iPhone has to offer. This is definitely the case with AT&T’s Edge Network — which may as well be undecipherable code as far as the average consumer is concerned.

Your average consumer is probably familiar with wi-fi and that is probably how most will browse the web on first generation iPhones. Further, Apple has been continuously updating and revamping one of their most profitable products for years — the iPod. Apple will always have “the next best thing” in the works and the lifespan of any iPod is finite, duh! Does the fact that a ‘better’ ipod is always just around the corner impede iPod sales in the interim? Nope. The sales figures from Apple can back me up on that one.

In fact, analysts are predicting this current quarter will be Apple’s most sucessfull iPod quarter in HISTORY. The fact remains that the iPhone is technologically superior to any other phone on the market and people will be lining up in droves to purchase them for themselves and as gifts for family and friends. Is it 3G? Who cares! It has a touch screen. Google Maps. Photos. A WideScreen IPod. The list can go on an on.

3G gets lost in the shuffle as a “geek” term that will have no bearing on the decision making process of the masses. In short, anyone (for the most part) waiting for a 3G iPhone wouldn’t have been contemplating an iPhone purchase to begin with. So did AT&T “give a smackdown” to Apple? Nah.

Did AT&T just cost Apple millions in holiday sales? Not a chance.

Professional Blogging and a quick lesson for budding Entrepreneurs

I’ve been meaning to write this article for some time. I found inspiration on the Problogger website off a guest article entitled: ‘be brave break your blog!‘ I’m new to blogging on the tech side of things, so please bare with me as I make a minor introduction! Despite the fact that this article focuses on blogging, please recognize that these tips generally apply to any kind of work you’ll do on the business side and entrepreneurial thinking.

Before I offer tips, I’ll give you some background about my personal situation. A few years ago,I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School, primed to take the world by storm and showcase “my talent.” One little problem, the real world isn’t very receptive to non-traditional thinkers. Firms want rank and file types, and that isn’t me. If you are of like mind or in a similar situation, then at this point, you’re probably contemplating a major decision. Either you take the plunge and make a full transition into blogging and/or entrepreneurial flirting, or you stick to a ‘safe’ job with a steady salary and spend the rest of your life wondering, “what if?”

The transition into professional blogging vs. blogging on the side “for fun”

Lets face it, few people blog ‘just’ for fun unless it’s a blog about life to keep others updated with your personal work, life, and family. If you are thinking “pro blogging”, chances are you’ve got the entrepreneurial twinkle in your eye, a desire to break away from the monotony of “the office” environment, or simply looking for something new because you are bored and would rather call the shots than have some idiot at work telling you what to do. It doesn’t mean life will be a bowl of cherries once you split off and take the dive into pro-blogging, in fact.. life may be much more grueling and challenging, but at least it’ll be under your control. That said, I’ll have tips later this week on how you can prepare to make the move into blogging especially if you aren’t ready to take the plunge.

The best advice you’ll ever read, is this:

DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS.

I emphasize that point, because if you don’t have the guts to screw up and learn from your own mistakes, you’ll go nowhere fast. No guts, no glory is very applicable to blogging. Trust me, every professional blogger and entrepreneur would agree with that mantra.

“Be brave, break your blog” is valuable advice on how to develop blogging and design skills over the long haul. I’ve had an argument with numerous close friends who develop software. The question arises over what constitutes ‘proper’ blogging techniques. I’ll concede it’s not a black and white issue, but software development is a different beast from blogging, period.

Creating a secondary site is useful for major site overhauls and changes and especially for software development and other ‘business’ environments where presentation is key and the slightest hint of amateurish design could ruin your reputation. I could be convinced that creating a second blogger website to test out design is also a good idea, it depends on how you use this tactic and how frequently you resort to this ‘detour’. Generally, in my experience, it can and is a major waste of time to set up a secondary site if you simply don’t know what you’re doing and you are doing it purely for the sake of avoiding embarrassing newbie mistakes.

Is it even appropriate to consider a secondary site if you’re an amateur blogger?

If you are visiting a web site on blogging or pro-blogging, chances are you are new to blogging or an amateur (at best). You may or may not be into graphics and web design, but there’s a good chance you couldn’t tell me what a “shell account” is if I asked. You might not have any knowledge about image compression, e.g. when it’s appropriate to use a .jpg, .gif, or .png. If this is the case, forget about this secondary site nonsense, you’ll never get off the ground because you are WAY behind the competition and have a lot of learning to do.

Remember this important tip: the more obstacles you put in front of you so that you don’t look bad, the more obstacles you create that you’ll have to overcome in the future. What this means is it’ll take you much longer than you probably would like for a shot at “prime time.” Don’t try to do too much, secondary sites are only good under certain circumstances and if you over think the issue, you are just asking for trouble!

Self-evaluation is key, you need to figure out where you stand on the skills front, and whether your traffic even justifies obsessing over making mistakes. When you start setting up multiple sites, mirrors, svn, etc, you’re basically creating obstacles to your success. It’s helpful for software developers and teams of web developers because so many people have their hands on the same files and not all are great at documenting their work. By having a test site, software developers are able to keep the ‘live site’ stable, steady and efficient in handling http requests and marketing their product.

If you’re a lone blogger that wears many hats, there are important ideas to consider:

1. Don’t be afraid to screw up! The biggest obstacle that inexperienced bloggers face is fear of making a mistake and looking bad. You know the “be brave, break your blog” article I liked? It’s great advice on its face but some of the hints are counter-productive if you are just getting started on your journey.
2. Content is king in blogging, duh! No matter what the neo-blogging experts are saying these days, people are looking for information first and foremost. You can have a killer design and great interactive functionality, but what does it matter if your content is crap, or worse yet, you have none?
3. Tighten up your writing skills Consider the first six to twelve months as boot camp for blogging. One of the greatest weapons for any blogger’s arsenal is the ability to communicate, connect with audiences, and write effectively. There is a time and place for long articles and short articles, you need to figure out how to push content regularly and when to modify your style to cater to the audience. The short of it is, you need a good mix of both long and short articles to capture different audiences within your niche.
4. If you blog it, they will come. If you don’t know how to design or install bells and whistles on your web site, please do yourself a favor and just start blogging. Take baby steps, first! Remember, blogging is a marathon, not a sprint. One article a day over a year gives you over three hundred articles one year from the day you start blogging! If you spend too much time trying to do too much, you waste time (assuming you’re not an ultra multi-tasking machine, most people are not).
5. Learn from others before you make a move on design. It’s important to wait until you’ve saturated your site with some quality content. By the time you reach 100 articles or 30-50 high quality longer articles, you’ve already learned so much about blogging because it’s likely you’ve read through countless blogs and ‘how-to’ articles along the way. Blogging experience is more important than any other aspect, including design. Until you get a point where you can write with authority and produce valuable work, the bells and whistles won’t matter! That stuff is primarily to keep visitors coming back, but it’s not gonna happen if you don’t update your blog or write your own material.
6. Wasting time is a blogger’s biggest enemy. Trust me on this, if you suck at blogging, your fancy secondary site will be irrelevant in the long run… so pump out articles, get comfortable with blogging, and blog some more. Do it until it happens naturally, it takes a long time to feel comfortable pushing content if you don’t write on a regular basis or lack the discipline and work ethic to become a success.
7. The eureka moment. You’ll arrive at a “eureka” moment multiple times as you grow into the professional blogger mode. The good news for newbie bloggers is that the greener you are, the more special moments you’ll experience!
8. Stay organized and set up goals. Expectations and a timetable for progression are important, they keep you focused and help you develop your skills. Never get ahead of yourself if you don’t know what you are doing, make a major effort to learn and tweak your site constantly to get to the pay dirt.
9. Break your site! It’s funny, because my tech friends constantly tell me “stop breaking your site!” It’s become a term of endearment, almost, because I’m very good at doing just that. I can’t stress enough, what great advice it is. (to break your site, that is) You will encounter problems, you will screw up, you will get frustrated, you will stop, reflect, and second guess yourself. These are all necessary evils, the growing pains happen, deal with it. So your first task after blogging a handful of articles is, GO BREAK YOUR SITE! Install that first php snippet you picked up off your favorite blogging site. Figure out how to fix the damn thing after you break it. Use google religiously and look up errors, chances are there were people before you that made the same mistake.
10. Forget about traffic. If you are learning and just started blogging, your traffic is insignificant. If the twenty people a day you get happen to see a PHP error for 3 hours or never get to see your article, who cares? If you want to make it in the blogging world, you have to think big. You want to aim for one thousand users a day, then ten thousand, then fifty thousand… the sky is the limit. This is why I believe you should just experiment to start off.
11. Consider your first year as your personal training session. Learn, learn, learn! People who gather information online, generally have a short attention span. Even if 5k users find your article because someone Diggs one of your gems while your site is broken, the short attention span will remove your web site from their memory. It’s no big deal, really, think about the big picture. Users will return if you give them what they are looking for. They don’t care about broken sites so much as they do the information that they are trying to acquire, so relax about the aesthetics and broken scripts and take a plunge.
12. Bloggers are a lot like Entrepreneurs. We’re all “Visionaries” to an extent. YOU have an idea and a vision of what you’d like to produce and it is time to put the idea into action. The greatest visionaries in Silicon Valley, happen to head up the largest corporations in the world. Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and even tech start-up guru Guy Kawasaki know something about success and they’re all risk takers. Guess what happens when they have a problem or make a mistake? They hit the books, make some calls, do the research and learn how to fix problems. That’s what you are now, a problem solver, don’t fret about the small stuff. If you want to succeed, you must be very resourceful, confident, and intelligent and for God’s sake, don’t give up!

Just do it! Remember, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for people overwhelmed by fear and lack of confidence.

The above links to my personal news page that I use for blogging purposes and to stay informed on the latest tech news, enjoy.