Aug 26
adminweb web development
I’ve been trying to get yourthinkbox.com redesigned for quite a while. I’ve been working on other projects way too much. In order to increase revenue, I have to have a good website to show people that I actually know what I’m doing. Anyway, the new site is coming along nicely. I hope to find a lot of time this weekend to finish it up and hopefully implement the blog into the rest of the site.
I also have a couple of outstanding projects that I really need to finish, but it’s very hard when people refuse to give you the information necessary to complete your tasks.
Aug 21
admintwitter, web 5 reasons, twitter
I’ve been a member of the Twitter network for a while now, but haven’t used it very much until recently. At first I only had a couple people I followed and vice versa. Sending updates about my day, lovelife, and blog, seemed pretty stupid at the time. I continued to use the service and ironically, my network began to grow. I started adding more friends, news sites, and even some design bloggers and sites. Suddenly, my twitter became a happening board with constant activity, I even changed my background! Now, I am constantly checking my twitter and I’ve made a list of 5 Reasons everyone needs to use Twitter.
1. Connect with your friends
First and foremost, Twitter is a ‘Micro Social Networking Website.’ it allows friends and colleagues to connect to one another via status updates. It is similar to the status updates on myspace.com or facebook, but only displays your status updates. In the most primitive sense, twitter allows you to tell everyone in your network what you’re doing at any given time. It sounds bland, but there is a lot of practicality in the simplicity.
My friends have updated me on twitter in various forms about many different things. I’ve had a friend send a twitter update via text while taking a disgusting dump in his work bathroom, but I’ve also had friends send ‘tweets’ about how beautiful their roadtrip is. Basically, Twitter has allowed my network of friends to update all of us from anywhere at anytime, whether it be from the bathroom, their desk, or a concert.
2. Follow Important News
Without having to goto a News Site. I am not sure how many websites have this, but I know the Dallas Morning News has just started a twitter. Here is the link. Now, I can get breaking news updates just by checking Twitter. If I’m interested in finding out more information, I can click tinyurl provided and read more. For me, this is much more convenient than an RSS reader. I get to hear news updates without dealing with any advertising. I would bet any amount of money that larger News organizations like CNN, Fox News, and BBC, will follow soon, if they haven’t already.
3. Get Great Tips & Tricks
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been adding many twitters from the Design and Entrepreneur Blogs I follow. Now, I have an entirely new network of people I have never even met before who are constantly offering advice, tips, and tricks to one another via Twitter. It is amazing what a great community there is. If I have a question about almost anything, I can just shoot and IM, Text, or log on to Twitter, and ask and someone will surely reply, usually very quickly.
EVEN BETTER!is the fact that a great design company GoMedia even has a Twitter now. (Go Media Twitter). The company offers tips and tricks on anything web related for free! It’s almost as though you have your own team of designers helping you come up with answers to almost all of your questions.
4. Waste Time
Twitter is a great way to waste a few minutes here and there. Whether you need a small break from work, or you are bored at home waiting on your spouse or friends, Twitter is a fun little tool to just fiddle around with. It is a lot of fun to just see what people are doing, especially people who update during the evening or while they’re out drinking with friends. Reading Drunken tweets is possibly one of the most entertaining aspects of the entire site!!
5. Emergencies
Everyone has heard of the guy that got arrested in Egypt and used twitter to contact his friends and family back home. This is the main reason everyone should have a twitter account. If you have a twitter account, all you need to do is send a text to 40404 and it will update your twitter. So whether you’re getting arrested or have an accident, you can let people on your network know that something has happened to you. They can then contact your family or anyone else who needs to be notified. The ability to let a wide range of your friends know something has happened to you by sending a text is an absolutely incredible tool that needs to be utilized by as many people as possible.
My Twitter
Aug 20
adminweb search engine optimization, seo, web dev
This is a post from my old blog, but I wanted to add it for you guys. Ill add part one in the near future.
SEO is all the rage. Search Engine Optimization is here to stay. Dont get caught in the dark by some firm promising your SEO. Here are some tips I have come up with -
1. Relevant content is key - This is the most important piece of any SEO. Make sure all content you post on your blog, website, or anything else relevant. If you are trying to make a website about “Bad Credit” make sure you talk about bad credit. etc. You can broaden your horizon a little, but for the most part, stay relevant.
2. Update Frequently - Make sure you update your blog frequently. This is important for multiple reasons. First, The more you update your website, the more it will get ‘crawled’ by search engines. For example, if Google crawls your website and finds updated content, it will check again sooner for new content than it would if you dont update. The second reason for updating frequently is that it adds more content to your website to be crawled. I will go into this more further down the list.
3. Keywords - Keywords are very important in SEO. <– putting keywords in bold or italic also helps. Concentrate on placing keywords throughout your posts. Another tip for key words is to put alternate versions of the keywords in your posts. for example, (yourthinkbox, yourthinkbox.com, your think box, thinkbox, think box) etc. Break it up. this will create more keywords that will be crawled.
4. In bound links - In bound links at the end of the day help your website substantially. The more websites that link to your website means your page is relevant. Posting well organized posts will help you receive in bound links. One side note on this… dont spam your website or join link exchanges that look or feel “shady” Search Engines frequently have black lists. If you join one of these lists, your site could very well join the black list.
5. Out bound links - These are almost as important. Having links out helps a lot, especially to other blogs. This is the best way to build in bound and outbound links. Find another blogger and help him or her out. He or she will probably return the favor.
That is it for now.. I will post 6-10 sometime later this week. If you need help with SEO, shoot me an email.
www.yourthinkbox.com
Jun 29
adminweb google, grand central, web tools
check out www.grandcentral.com whenever you get a chance. unfortunately, I have had my membership for like a year and just started using it. right now you cant sign up anymore, but it’s probably the most amazing thing on the planet. I now have a new phone number that I can give out to people! I can then screen all my calls without giving out my real phone number. it is amazing! I recommend signing up and getting on the waiting list, this service is absolutely incredible.
