Blogging Redaction...

I often use this blog as a means to document important business anomalies that I come across. This is my business blog and as such I want it to be as accurate as possible. That aside, my grammar is not always correct the first time out and I sometimes re-edit my posts.

If I find an error within 24 hours of the initial posting I normally make the correction without noting it. Otherwise, I note the correction with a time-stamp.

What are the rules for corrections on blog posts? Has anyone come up with a set of guidelines for the business blogger, or for that matter -- others with legal concerns, (e.g., divorce or child custody cases) -- who use blogging as a means to create a public record.

I am looking for this book title --> "How To Blog For Your Next Court Battle". As far as I know it does not yet exist.

Should these tags --> <STRIKE> </STRIKE> be used to make blog post corrections? Are redaction marks suitable for blog posts? Can a blog's contents be used in court? When is it too late to correct a blog post?
Maybe this form of blogging is to new for a set of legal guidelines to even exist?

I really should have been an attorney. I would then know all of the answers to these questions. Believe it or not -- I read attorneys' blogs all the time...

Plugin Integration Support...

I have been integrating WordPress (WP) Hacks and Plugins into my personal blog, Q's Wire... I hope to add this service area to the list of offerings I support for blogging clients.

My latest integration, (Q's Wire... Stats) -- is the merging of two WP statistical hacks into a separate page which is easily accessible from the main blog.

I also incorporated part of one plugin onto the main page as illustrated in the diagram on the left. Click on the image to see the entire page (stats are located on the lower left sidebar). Also note, the time benchmark shown as the last line in the illustration -- is provided by the WordPress default template.

As many of you may know -- WordPress is a PHP driven application that utilizes a MySQL database. Although, my primary area of concentration has been -- closed application support (i.e., Java/Servlet Packages, Applets, etc.), the open source environment of PHP and MySQL offers a myriad of areas I can also support.

Your Search Requests... Jan 05

Another useful statistic to assist in understanding your audience and whether or not the techniques used to promote your services are reaching their targeted audience -- is to analyze what your audience is searching for when they visit your site or blog.

Visitors to this blog from the period January 1, 2005 through January 26, 2005 used the following terms:


Note, Webalizer only lists approximately 60% of the search requests.

My Next Question?

I started blogging on June 1, 2004. Since then I have heard a great deal about RSS and ATOM conversions for blog entries. Maybe I don't understand -- but why would I enable output of my blog text in a manner which would allow one organization or entity to pick it up and feed multiple readers?

Does this not have the potential of diminishing my readership and therefore my website statistics? I am not the AP Newswire -- I am trying to get as many visitors as possible. Why are these feeds so popular with the average blogger -- who actually needs more visitors rather the less?

Are search engines somehow or another using the XML/RSS or ATOM formatted data as part of there indexing process? My implementation of the Wired Pages (WP) site search utilizes stripped back text files based on the actual web-pages in the search process. I wrote a C program to parse and convert the web pages into text files for use with the WP Search Engine.

Could this be the reason for the much heralded use of XML/RSS and ATOM? The same thing is needed by major search organizations for the many blog posts that require indexing each day?

My original question was why would I allow someone else to provide my words in the form of RSS/ATOM data to other interested parties? As I typed this entry I came up with a possible explanation. Perhaps I answered my own question. By the way if this is the case, you probably want to make that feed available.

Firefox...

There is an interesting AP article about one of the young men responsible for the Firefox web browser. See this link -->AP -- "Teen Helps Build Firefox Web Browser".

It also appears as if he has a new blog... see --> Blake Ross.

I use many browsers and provide links to most (see Browser Links on sidebar), so this should not be seen as an endorsement of any one browser.

More Traffic... BlogExplosion

For the last week my posts to this blog have been sporadic as I have been revamping my personal blog [Q's Wire...] and taking care of other business.

I changed the look of my personal blog because I wanted a more sophisticated look. I joined BlogExplosion and will be promoting the site heavily in this forum.

The before and after shots:

I am not going to submit this blog to the traffic exchange site. Q's Wire... is a bit more informal and I think the perfect blog for this type of site. So far it has been a very productive relationship and I hope to garner a wider audience that should be useful in both business and personal networking relationships.

QiSoftware Offline...

Yesterday evening around 6:30 p.m. qisoftware.com went offline for about half an hour. I am still not sure why but I do know that my web-hosting company is expanding its operations and moving servers.

On Saturday, January 22, 2005 around 6:00 p.m. qisoftware.com will again be offline but this is scheduled. The downtime should last no more than 20 minutes.

What this effects? The main site, of course and the following features which are accessed from the qisoftware.com domain:

1. Some of the Wired Pages, software tools -- which rely heavily on the qisoftware.com domain will not be available. Wired Pages itself will be available but tools like the IP address retriever and the Site Search function will be unavailable.
   
2. The News, Software, & Java Forums will not be available.
   
3. Both this blog, business and my personal blog, Q's Wire... will be unavailable.

I am providing this notice in case there are problems and the site is unavailable for longer than currently expected. The brief downtime yesterday evening may have been the scheduled maintenance so disregard this notice if you find you have no problems in accessing the site tomorrow evening.

Media Research: Top Ten Internet and E-Business Trends of 2004

The Center for Media Research provides daily briefs outlining the results of surveys and research on a myriad of subjects. Today's brief, reports the "Top Ten Internet and E-Business Trends of 2004". Other noteworthy briefs include:

1. Online Family Destinations 9.03.04
   
2. Top Online Broadcast Media Destinations, at Home 9.10.04
   
3. Senior Spending on Prescription Drugs 9.16.04
   
4. Internet Population 9.20.04
   
5. USA Today Still Leads Big 3 National Newspapers 9.23.04
   
6. 11 Million US Adult Internet Users Use Instant Messaging More Than Email 9.24.04
   
7. Top Online Sports Destinations 10.01.04
   
8. Yahoo!, MSN and AOL Top Sites for Financial News 10.08.04
   
9. Radio Format -vs- Household Income 10.12.04
   
10. Over 45's Most Interested in Food and Cooking on the Web 10.14.04
    
11. Online Info Spurs Offline Spending 10.20.04
    
12. Top Online Music Destinations, at Home 10.22.04
    
13. Income and the Digital Divide 10.27.04
    
14. Popular Internet Search Terms 10.28.04
    
15. Internet .v TV 11.04.04
    
16. Popular Online Auto Sites 11.05.04
    
17. Popular Online Home & Garden Sites 11.12.04
    
18. Online Holiday Sales v. a Year Ago 11.18.04
    
19. Top News Sites 11.19.04
    
20. Buying Trends -- Comparison :: Today vs. 1 Year Ago 11.19.04
    
21. Over 50 <> Richer & Online 11.24.04
    
22. Rural America Connected 12.13.04
    
23. Most Frequented Apparel, Beauty & Jewelry Sites 12.23.04
    
24. What We Do Online 12.28.04
    
25. eCommerce Had a Merry Christmas 1.03.05

A more complete list, that is updated regularly -- is found on the NS&J Forums at this link --> News & Media Surveys. Registration is required to view this forum topic area.

Poll <> Operating System Survey...

Lately, I have been getting more hits from Macintosh users. It looks like holiday shoppers were good to Apple [and maybe not just because of iPods]. Let's see if this unscientific poll can pick up on any trends.


This poll is attached to a NS&J Forums survey and registration is not required to participate.

The legal quagmire I ran into trying to determine if I could display operating system logos in a blog post was a bit daunting so I decided not to use the images. I posted a question about the use of business images in blogs posts, in BloggerForum.com, at this link --> Using Someone Else's Logos.

I have been holding off on posting this entry because I wanted to get as many respondents as possible, to the Blogging Platform Poll discussed in the previous entry.

Early Results of Blogging Poll...

The two day intermediate results of the blogging platform poll:



If you are a blogger and would like to weigh in -- see the sidebar or this link --> Blogging Platform Survey.

Trend: Table-less Layouts... Why?

As many of you know I am not a web designer, so I am usually late in picking up trends in this area. A recent trend I have noticed, "Table-less Layouts For Web Pages" is a bit surprising to me. Why? The only way I could get my webpage to render correctly, was to incorporate a table into my 3 column WordPress Blog template.

I initially designed my template with DIV tags and CSS elements to create the 3 column look, see here. My template incorporates different colors for each of the columns and it was a bit odd looking when the two side columns were not the same length as the middle.

I tried several solutions before finally incorporating a table to ensure all three columns remained the same length, while ensuring the page was no longer than it needed to be. The following illustrates the bottom of my WordPress blog using the table solution:



In response to a query I posted on the SitePoint forums board, relating to this trends popularity, I was directed to this presentation -->Why tables for layout is stupid:. It is a very good read. I did not elaborate on the problems with the WordPress template so I was not provided with a direct solution to my problem.

There are currently two tables used on my WordPress blog:

1. The one I used to keep my column lengths uniform.
   
2. The one WordPress blogs use with the Calendar feature.

Does anyone know of another solution for ensuring uniform length of multiple column blogs that will work with most browsers? By the way the presentation does not ban all tables.

New Polling Tool...

I have integrated a polling interface on the sidebar of this blog. This interface currently links to a News, Software, & Java (NS&J) forums poll/question. I am toying with the idea of implementing a Java/SQL application that will bypass the forum, but first I want to see, what the response is to this interface.

The initial survey is about Blogging Platforms. You do not have to be a registered member of the NS&J forums to take part in the survey, thanks to a phpBB mod I installed last evening. I have included the current survey question below:

The poll interface will be a permanent fixture on the sidebar of this blog. Because the current survey has more than 3 options, its placement is on the lower sidebar. Polls with fewer options may be presented higher on the sidebar -- beneath my bio.

Your feedback both as a blogger and whether or not you like this new interface will be appreciated.

Blogger Publishing Ease...

I made some revisions to my Blogger template this morning. I expected major aggravation in an attempt to republish all of my blog files via FTP to my domain. What a pleasant surprise. It was absolutely no problem whatsoever.

I don't know if Blogger has been working on this end of their application, but if they have... my kudos are in the offering... this was an easy, almost enjoyable experience.

The template revisions include:

1. Prepped my template, in anticipation of a poll question interface I will be adding to my blog.
   
2. Overall more reliance on external files to negate some of the need to change my core template in the future.

Code Tricks... #01 Text Indents Using DIV Tags

I am starting a new series of entries called Code Tricks. The purpose of these entries will be to provide neat or interesting tricks to assist with HTML, JavaScript, or Template layouts.

The first entry will deal with creating indented margins. Many bloggers use <blockquote>Text To Be Indented </blockquote> tags to enable insertion of indented text into their blog posts. The attributes of these quote areas are usually specified with a CSS style definition. These are global definitions and are defined within your template or a separate CSS include file that your HTML imports.

To define on the fly indentations, use the following technique:
<div id="ex" style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">Text To Be Indented </div>.

This code can be inserted directly in your blog post or specified in the HTML file.

<> Example <>
Without DIV Tags:
Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of the Tsunami Relief Efforts...

With DIV Tags Using 10% Margins - as shown above:

Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of the Tsunami Relief Efforts...

For future reference, searching this Blog (see above illustration and sidebar) with the search query "Code Tricks" will retrieve this group of entries.

Wired Pages... Fixes <> 01_09_05

There were several problems with feeds on the Wired Pages site. News headline feeds were corrected on the following pages:

• Business Page
  
• Government Page
  
• Sports Page
  
• Health Page
  
• Entertainment Page
  
• Technology Page

In addition, the Eastern Standard Time rendered on each of the market bugs was not accurate and corrected with this set of updates -- see these pages:

• Home Page
  
• Business Page

I track all issues concerning the Wired Pages site on the NS&J forum here --> Wired Pages Issues. If you have issues with this site please post your concerns there.

WordPress Blogger (Blog) Calendar....

Some have been wondering why I have not yet integrated the "Blogger Calendar" into* my WordPress blog. I have not done this because the response from Blogger users to the calendar has been rather surprising.

I would like to use your Calendar add-on tool... where is the script?

There is no script... Blogger Calendar information:

1. QiSoftware Solutions Page
   
2. Blogger Calendar Price
   
3. Blogger Calendar Enhancements
   
4. QiSoftware Blogspot Calendar Demonstration
5. BloggerForum.com Post Discussion of Planned Implementation
   
6. BloggerForum Post 2 Forum thread on Blogger Calendar after completetion.
   
7. Calendar FAQs
8. Calendar Usage -- Dating Your Blog
9. News, Software, & Java Forum Post Notification of Blogging Tool or Add On...
10. and of course each page of this blog displays the calendar --

The "Blogger Calendar" works very well in the WordPress environment. However I have tried to focus on Blogger users. Of course providing demonstration of a tool in as many environments as possible -- is good salesmanship. Because of some of the responses... I chose to hold off on the WordPress integration, after ensuring the calendar would work in that environment.

I will probably integrate the "Blogger Calendar" on my WordPress Blog sometime next week. However, if you have a WordPress blog and would like yours today, that is possible.

*Updated 02.19.05

Missing Out On Too Much...

I have been working on a lot of solo efforts of late. This year I have decided to work as many team efforts as possible. Sometime ago I joined LinkedIn a networking site for career minded individuals. I have had some inquiries from this avenue but to date, no work related contracts signed.

I hope to change that in the coming months. I think online networking groups are an excellent way to make contacts and meet other individuals -- qualified in areas outside of one's own realm.

For instance, I often get inquiries about web design work. I am not a web designer though I have extensive experience with CSS, HTML, JavaScript and other web design related technologies. The skill I lack to accommodate these inquiries is artistic ability. I would like to turn some of these inquiries into profitable work assignments with the right team of qualified individuals in place.

I hope that my existing business relationships and a more visible use of my Linkedin profile, will help to build a team that can be called upon to handle any assignment.

If you are a member of LinkedIn and have Internet, software programming, or graphic artist skills... look me up. The LinkedIn search facility recognizes my business name, QiSoftware.

December 2004 Affiliate Report...

As is customary I am providing the end of month affiliate marketing report. This reporting period encompasses December 1, 2004 - December 31, 2004. I had no sells, 2 click throughs and no impressions for this reporting period.

Click-throughs: Number of times, in the date range selected, that site visitors clicked on your links and were taken to the merchant's site.

Impressions: Number of times, in the date range selected, that your links for this merchant have appeared in visitors' browsers.

Since starting my affiliate marketing efforts in March 2004 I have never had any sells. I note this information for both end of year tax reasons and because of the anomalies I have witnessed with regard to my accounts and sites.

I will continue my affiliate marketing endeavors through out this new year. I may change things around a little to see if I can determine where the problems lie and why the numbers appear to be inconsistent.