Tag Archives: General

Focus Your Site Content

I have a tendency to wander around town from time to time, which often ends me up in some sort of new and strange conversation with another voice that results in a lot of time being used to talk about nothing.  While these experiences can be entertaining, they are not always the greatest use of my time.  (Not that I know what that is either.)  Sometimes, though, I have semi-useful conversations with folks I know better than others, and that is a good use of my time while still entertaining.  I recently ran into an editor friend from the Sacramento Business Journal and she gave me some feedback after viewing the site, essentially saying two things to me: 1) Write more, and; 2) Focus the content.  Sound advice, no doubt.

The first of the two is an easily reachable goal.  I have a habit of writing down whatever I can remember in whatever order it is remembered.  As time goes on, I’ll use more and more of that writing for the site and we’ll have plenty of entries.  This is the problem that makes difficult achieving number two.  (What?) As it stands now, the site has no real focus other than to humor me, possibly entertain you, and be not always nonsensical.  Not the clearest set of instructions, right?  It makes sense, but what does it mean.

I understand the need for focus.  People don’t like ambiguity.  They don’t want to be taken to wandering all over the place, essentially wasting a bunch of time to ultimately, probably, accomplish very little if nothing at all.  You’re going to want content with clarity that is concise.  That takes most of the fun out of it for me as the writer.  So the questions now are — Do I get focused?  How is it done? Possibly (I don’t want to rule it out completely,) and here’s how it’s done:

  • Clearly Defined Goal(s) Know what it is you want to accomplish with your content.  For example, “maximize revenue per unique visitor to the site through conversion”  Be specific.  Be clear.  Knowing exactly what you want to do will help you determine how you do it.
  • Know Your Topic It’s much easier to focus and be clear when you yourself are knowledgeable and interested in the topic you’re covering.
  • Get to the Point Quickly It’s a bad idea to fumble around in the first paragraph.  Say as much as possible as soon as possible about your topic.  Make sure the reader knows straight away what the rest of the post is going to be about and why he should continue reading.
  • Relevant Photos We tend to enjoy the visual, so include photos and be sure they have something to do with your topic, potentially aiding in the further explanation of what you’re trying to communicate.
  • Omit Needless Words Remember what William Strunk, Jr. taught in The Elements of Style, Rule 13 — Omit Needless Words.  It can’t be said enough.  Proofread your writing and remove fluff.  Don’t write about the writing.  Write about your topic.

That’s it.  There you have it.  A quick start guide to getting some focus.  It sounds easy enough.  Doesn’t mean it’s easy to do.

My editor friend suggested I write about Sacramento since I’m out and about so much.  It makes sense, and I have some Sacramento entries.  But I also want to write about “nerdy computer stuff” as she worded it.  I’ve been tinkering and hobbying around the computer world since the late 80s, and I studied Computer Science at Cal Poly.  I get a kick out of the latest developments to hardware and software, so I’m going to write about that stuff.  And let’s not forget that sometimes I just want to write and write and say nothing at all.  I’m sure you won’t mind.

Posting Schedule

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  This will be our aim, but from time to time I’m sure I’ll miss a post.  Returning home late Sunday from an unplanned trip to Half Moon Bay and San Francisco helped me realize this.  (As if I couldn’t figure it out on my own, I required a spur-of-the-moment vacation.)  As it is…  If I do post outside this regular schedule, then that’s just a little something extra for all of us, but let’s not expect too much of that.

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I’ll leave you with one of my favorite Sunday morning reads — Post Secret.  “PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people email in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.” The site owner selects a variety of Secrets which are newly posted every Sunday.  This is the only feed I read during the weekend, and I’ll usually come across at least one Secret that gives me something to ponder away the day, or at least over coffee.  Enjoy.

California Bans Hands-Free Driving, Effective July 1st

I think it means you’re no longer allowed to drive and use the mobile phone at the same time _unless_ you have one of those fancy hands-free devices which is, supposedly, meant to keep you from becoming too distracted from the high-priority task of safely operating the vehicle for which you’re sitting behind the wheel.  Imagine that!  Safety first?  The nerve of these California law makers.  How dare they pass SB1613.

Seriously, though, the powers at hand have made a weak attempt to improve the safety for Californians on the road.  “Why?”, you ask.  How bout this:

  • The base fine for the FIRST offense is $20 and $50 for subsequent convictions. With the addition of penalty assessments, the fines can be more than triple the base fine amount. Egads, batman!  More than triple?  What’s that, like $75?  Ha!  $20 is laughable for a first offense.  Not to mention, what are the odds you’ll get hit twice with this charge?  Hardly a deterrent.
  • The new law does not prohibit dialing, but drivers are strongly urged not to dial while driving. “Strongly urged”?  It would seem more attention is required to dial than to talk.
  • The law does not specifically prohibit [text messaging], but an officer can pull over and issue a citation to a driver of any age if, in the officer’s opinion, the driver was distracted and not operating the vehicle safely. Sending text messages while driving is unsafe at any speed and is strongly discouraged.  Again with the “strongly urged.”  I don’t get it.  Does anyone actually care about safety on the road?

This is all equivalent to having done nothing.  Someone should tell these law-makers that mobile computing is growing, it’s growing fast, and it’s going to be in all our cars via our cell phones.  Anyone who can sell you something on the Internet is trying to figure out how to sell it to you on your phone.  Forget about talking, text messaging is more distracting while driving.  (Who has time to watch the road when he’s busy replying to @JustinLL on Twitter?)  And tomorrow’s drivers are the biggest users, as they’re the ones growing up with 24/7 interconnection to mobile friends and marketers.

I hope local law enforcement agencies come out strong enforcing the law and its penalties.  However, it’s also bothersome that valuable resources are being wasted dealing with this issue.

On a similar note, SB33, which prevents drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone at all, also goes into effect July 1, 2008.

Read more about both new laws at the California DMV’s frequently asked questions.

Drive Safely.  It’s usually the other driver’s fault.

Return From Camping In Time for Art Walk

How does he do it? That’s what you should be asking yourself, if you’re asking anything at all. If you’re not asking, then I’ll ask, “what’s going on here?”

Anyhow, Camping was great. Good to be out, ya know? I think we were in Plumas National Forest. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Maybe you’ve never been anywhere that inhibits the use of electronics and the Internet. (Inhibits? I don’t know.) In either event, the specifics on the specific: Echo Lake. That’s where we actually were. It’s just south of the Caribou Wilderness area. I’m in the process of planning a backpacking trip through the Caribou Wilderness with Thompology. We’ll start at Cone Lake on the north end and backpack to Hay Meadow on the south end. This will be made possible by a driver dropping us off and picking us up. Kind of like cheating, but not really. we’ll still have to make our way and survive. Not a real challenge, I know.

In other news, we celebrated the Second Saturday Art Walk through midtown Sacramento. It was the usual good times with many a new face. Nameless faces, mostly, and a few faceless names. It’s how we roll. Started the party with an Americano coffee from Old Soul coffeehouse on 21st between “H” and “I”. It’s worth checking out if you’re ever in the area and enjoy a reasonably tasting coffee. From there, you’re on your own. Drink with caution.

I’ll see what I can do about adding some visuals for y’all. I didn’t snap any photos, but I’m sure some exist.

Cheers!

Broken Bicycle Madness

The good news is I was able to get to my bicycle before any of the crackheads tried to sell it for bail money.  Wait.  Would it be used for bail money or for more crack?  I’m not really certain how that works.  The point being, though, that I have the thing back in my own care where I don’t have to worry about it being sold for something silly or other.

The bad news is, I’m not really sure why the bicycle stopped working in the first place, which is what caused me to leave it until I could later pick it up.  I took it apart and put it back together, and then it worked.  But not knowing why makes me a little skeptical of riding it too far from home.  I was lucky last time in that I was with someone who could give me a ride.

Maybe it’s time to revisit one of these local midtown bicycle shops (Bicycle Chef, Mike’s Bikes, City Bicycle Works) and get a tuneup for the old clunker, or put it to rest and get a new bicycle beast.  We’ll see.

Commercials as Social Objects

It almost never fails that someone, at some point in a conversation with me, if we talk long enough, will ask, “Have you seen that one commercial?” No.  I haven’t. I don’t watch commercials. I don’t understand why anyone wants to talk about advertising if they don’t work in the world of marketing.  Boggles my mind, and I have to make a real effort not to chastise someone when a commercial is brought up in conversation.

Okay, wait, I get that commercials can be short and entertaining, sometimes showing with a bit of humor, but none of that creates a want in me to purposefully watch one, and I truly do not want to talk about them while out in public because, ultimately, all commercials are really just trying to get me to buy something I already know I don’t want and I don’t want to push that sale on someone else.  But that’s not what bothers me most about the situation when I find myself in it.  What bothers me most is that these people find commercials interesting enough to talk about with strangers.

Hugh MacLeod has this thing he calls the Social Object. “The Social Object, in a nutshell, is the reason two people are talking to each other, as opposed to talking to somebody else.” It drives me crazy that I appear to others as someone who views the commercial as a Social Object, the thing I would want to talk about with you rather than someone else.  It’s a pretty safe bet that, if you’re talking about television commercials, I don’t want to talk with you at all.  A Social Object can be anything we know about that would be easy to understand and interesting to talk about that is not seen on TV, like a park down the street where I play Frisbee from time to time. Maybe it’s been seen it in a commercial somewhere.

I’m usually not too picky when it comes to strangers talking about whatever, and I’m almost always willing to listen except when the topic turns to commercials on TV.  Let’s, the next time we bump into each other, talk about the weather.

Write it Now, Not Later

Seems like this should be basic sense when it comes to authoring posts, but for some reason I can’t get it stuck in my head. You have to write it when it comes to you, or as it’s coming to you. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to ever put anything down. Unless, maybe, it’s one of those things you’re really trying to build upon, and continually working in the back of your mind. Even then, though, it’d be a good idea to put some notes down.

Taking it a step further, go somewhere you’re not going to be interrupted, because distractions definitely take you off your path and screw up the flow. Even if it’s not flowing as is, getting distracted will just make it worse.

Perhaps we’ll get it figured out.