The other day, I received a very courteous email from a webmaster looking to increase the rankings of his web pages. I have spent the last few days contemplating his request.

First, what are Link Exchanges & Link Farms?

Link farming is the process of exchanging reciprocal links with web sites in order to increase search engine optimization. The sole purpose of any link farm is to get search engine rankings. They typically have web pages that consists of 50, 100 or even more unrelated links on it.

Link Exchanges (also known as a banner exchanges) are a confederation of web sites that operates similarly to a web ring. It is a  method of exchanging links on a large scale (usually automated) specifically for the purpose of improving search engine rankings, not user-experience.

It used to be common practice to exchange your links like this. Typically exchanges & farms involve either manually or automatically setting up pages or directories of links to other sites and partners that link back to your site. These types of spam-filled pages or directories often have no value to the visitor.

I had a client, several years ago, who had links from anyone who asked to be linked to their site. When I went through all the links I was surprised to find dead links, links that lead down bunny trails of pop up ads, & even pornographic pages. When we found this, we immediately took the page down. Why would anyone want to read a page of links?

Personally, I practice what I like to call, “Organic Exchanges.” An organic exchange is posting links on your web site that pertains to your web site. For instance, I surf the net often, looking at tutorials, or gaining advice on subjects just like this that I am writing about. I have blogs I love to read daily… So, what I do is put a link on my web site or my Favorite Web sites over on the sidebar so that you too can enjoy some of my favs. There are no strings attached. If I list you, you don’t have to list me.

You say I’m shooting my page ranks down? No, I don’t think so. You see, search engines like my fav, Google are changing every day. They are smart to our ways of trying to get high page rankings. So, I want them to see that all my external, as well as internal links go hand in hand with my business.

Keywords are very important to have for all web pages. Search engines put a high value on external links that link to pages that have keywords that are pertinent to the web site. So, if you do choose to put my web site URL on your web site, make sure you list me under web design, web hosting, or something along those lines. That way I get an honest page rank.

My point is this; exchange links organically, naturally. Make sure they are meaningful to your business. Don’t go for those automated exchanges or farms that don’t know you. They don’t know your business. All they will do is get you removed from Google. That is not a good thing.

The main reason for avoiding link exchanges, is because search engines like Google consider it a manipulative technique for gaining page ranks. Google has been known to remove sites for trying to artificially inflate their rankings. Google’s Webmaster Guidelines state that spam link exchange tactics are deceptive or manipulative behavior. You can read more here.

So, don’t write me & ask me to post a link to your web site. I won’t do it unless I actually use your site and find it useful. Don’t send me to your web page where you’ve listed my web site in amongst other links that you’ve farmed. It isn’t help either of us!

– More Later

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Search Engines, Tips & Tricks!, Web Design, Web Pages

I really like glass buttons, also known as plastic buttons or jelly buttons. I think the help to add a little glint of color or newness to a web page.

I have used several programs in the past to make these buttons. I think my favorites were made with Adobe Adobe Photoshop Elements and Corel Paintshop Pro. But I grew up and finally bought PhotoShop CS3 a couple years back & I have had some learning to do. Adobe Photoshop Elements & Corel Paintshop Pro both simplify the process of making glass buttons. There are really good pre-made styles or buttonizers built into those products. However Adobe Photoshop CS3 didn’t come with those. Yes, there are lots of styles and brushes that come with Photoshop but nothing that looked as spectacular as the other buttons.

Today, I did more work on perfecting my button & I think it turned out pretty nice. Here’s how I did it.

Step 1: Create a new image. I started with 160 px by 35 px with transparent background.

Using your Rounded Rectangle Tool and the color of your choice, create your button stage.

Use Rounded Rectangle Tool

Step 2: Use your Magic Wand to choose the colored shape. This step is done to reduce the amount of cleanup that you would have to do for the next layer.

Use Magic Wand to Choose Shape

Step 3: Add a new layer (Ctrl-Shift-N) & pick your gradient tool. Set the gradient to linear gradient, black to transparent, and drag your mouse from the top of your dotted line to about center of your colored shape to make the dark fade.

Use gradient tool to create dark fade

Step 4: Hopefully you still have the dotted line around your shape. If you don’t, then click on the shape layer and use your Magic Wand to select it. Next, go to your menu bar & choose Select > Modify > Contract and contract your selection 2px.

Contract Your Selection

Step 5: Grab your Gradient Tool again, but this time, use white to transparent. Create a new layer (Ctrl-Shift-N) & from the top dotted line drag your mouse down to about the center again. This will create a white area on the top.

Use Gradient Tool with White this time.

So far so good! Of course, my sample images are at 200% so you can see what I am doing, but the button is now taking shape.

There is one more tweak.

Step 6: Go to your layers panel and click on the white “highlight” layer. For the Blending options, you want to change the “Blend if Grey” bar as shown below.

Change Blending Option

I chose 135 because that looked best to me, but you look at your button & see what looks good to you.

So far, you have a nice looking button. But perhaps you want it to look a little more transparent. Then click on your colored shape layer. Tweak the opacity down to about 90%.

Here is what you’re image should look like.

Final Step, Final Look

Don’t forget to save your image. I like to save as a .png so that the edges blend better to whatever background button that I choose on my web page.

– More Later!

Technorati Tags: glass buttons, Photoshop

As a web designer, I help clients with video uploads quite a bit.

One network that I have been known to use for video uploads is TeacherTube.com. The rules seem pretty specific there, meaning you can’t just drop any ol’ video in their network. It has to be specific to teaching. At least two of my clients have videos that meet the criteria that TeacherTube has for uploading media. Also, both clients’ video are longer than 10 minutes yet under the allotted 100 megabytes. So, you’d think I would be happy! NOT!

On both occasions I have been outraged with TeacherTube. Their method for uploading videos is via your browser. This is not a problem since video upload to networks like this require some background processing to get your movie into a Flash wrapper. Realistically, the uploading time doesn’t seem to be the issue…it went smoothly on my end. The upload itself on my latest video took about 10 minutes. The PROCESSING time seemed to last an eternity! I must have tried to upload 10 times or more with the same results. I would sit an watch the L – O – A – D – I – N – G bar where you can watch the uploading of your video… But then we get to the processing part and after what seems like an enormous amount of time, I get the ol’ ERROR sign… Like some big monster tried to eat my video, digest it and then spat it out for no known reason! What’s with that? It didn’t just happen once… Try 10 times.

So, I am thinking, maybe, just maybe it is my Internet connection. I use my laptop and connect up to my in-house network via wireless connection. Well, that could be a problem, right? So I hook up my laptop to our network via wire instead. I go through the uploading all over again. ERROR! After about 2 more hours of hitting my head against the TeacherTube WALL, my laptop dies… low batteries. Tells you how long I was at it this morning alone.

I finally get booted up and calm, ready to beat my head against that wall a different way, when I log into my clients account and what do you think I found? SIX different uploads of the same video! Yeah, you heard me!

Do I like TeacherTube? I have mixed feelings. Yes, I like that it is teacher specific and they really don’t have a video time limit…but I hate the uploading process so much more. Maybe they should talk to YouTube to find out how they do things.

– More Later

Technorati Tags: Reviews, Social Networks

I am a sucker for Google’s search engine. I use it over any other. However, from time to time I do look at the others just to see if I am missing anything special. Usually, I’m not.

Today, I found that Google is working on something new. It is called Google Caffeine. It is their new search engine and it is supposed to bigger, better, more powerful. Well, according to this article on The Channel Wire, there seem to be mixed results.

I went to the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog and found out that Google is looking for feedback on their new baby. They want people to test out Google Caffeine by going here: http://www2.sandbox.google.com/, do a search… on the search results page look for a link at the bottom of the page that says “Dissatisfied? Help us improve.” Click on that link, type your feedback in the text box. Make sure you include the word caffeine somewhere in the text box.

Now, as for me, I still love Google. I put in my search criterion, my name of course. As I typed it in, my search results started showing up in my search box as I was typing in the letters. Finally, the search results page brought everything that mentions my name PLUS it had a highlighted box that asked if I would like to update my profile for Google myself. I forgot that I had a Google profile. I have so many places where I have to type in my profile… Facebook, Twitter, Technorati, LinkIn, etc. Google profile let me add in all those sites too.. So, now I am linked. Or maybe… I’m Caffeinated!
– More Later!

Technorati Tags: Google, Google Caffeine, Search Engines

As I stated last week, I would write an update about my computer issues. Remember, my desktop trouble finding or using hal.dll? Well, my dear husband is a lifesaver when it comes to computers. He is my techno-geek. He is very good at figuring out things. He determined that the integrated  graphics card was toast. So, Friday he decided to go to the computer store in town to buy a new one.

Apparently, I have a bad habit of leaving my GPS in my truck and the triple digit heat caused the darn thing to not work. Oh my hubby was not a happy camper. I suppose he had every right to get upset with me for leaving it out in the heat. He did get it for me as a gift for Christmas and I just wasn’t taking care of it properly. Anyway, he made me search all over my office for the paperwork to take it back and get it fixed or replaced… Not an easy task…

Anyway, he made it to the store and back again without the GPS. Being task oriented like he is, he went straight to my desktop in the office, plugged in the new video card and began the process of finding or fixing hal.dll.

Next, he finds that the CD-Rom is not working right.. Ugh! something else to go wrong. So he takes that out and replaces it too.

Several hours later (I assume hours… I didn’t look at the time) he calls me into the office to look at what  he had done. I was so pleased to come into my office, see a brand new flatscreen monitor with “Windows” showing on it. He showed me that he now can access my Windows machine from his Linux machine so no more shutting down the computer without logging out. Yeah. So, he says, check out your machine and see what you think.

Ok, I sit in my chair, turn toward my desk to give my computer a whirl while listening to him chatter on about logging in remotely. So I spin my chair toward him to look behind me at his machine. (We work in the same office, back to back.) All of a sudden I hear this very loud crash. I spun around again only to see that I had knocked over my CPU. It was open to expose the hard drives, cd-roms, mother board… Yeah… OH CRAP is right. My system froze. Even his “remote access” froze. All he could do is stare at me and use a few choice words. Talking about feeling like a bull in a china shop… that’s me. I took that as my cue to leave the room and hope that I didn’t just slap the hard drives together creating yet another problem and expense.

Twenty minutes later, my husband found me and told me all was ok. There was no damage to my hard drives. I was so relieved and so was he. He didn’t want to work on my machine anymore. I am sure at this point, he was beginning to feel like I didn’t care about any of my electronics. I do, I think I was just having one of those days!

Oh, the GPS apparently has a reset button on it. I pressed it and now it works. Yah!

I am still left with the decision of which laptop to get next… Windows machine or Mac. But I’ll save that for another day.

– More later!

Technorati Tags: Personal Note

July/August is, I think, one of my busiest months of the year. I have the honor (maybe responsibility is a better word) of celebrating three birthdays in a row. First comes my husbands, 8-days later my youngest son’s, and the 8-days after that, my eldest son’s birthday. Planning isn’t my strongest point. I am embarrassed to say that every year their birthdays sneak up on me.

My husband and I went shopping for a new television just days before his birthday. We had in our minds that we would look at 40″-42″ LCD flatscreens… That was all we had budget for… However, my husband being a techno geek kept perusing all the flatscreens… finally getting to the 46″ LCDs… The more time we lingered, the more he decided for himself that he really liked the 46″ screen. The sales rep even showed us how we could get a “special” deal with that particular model screen plus a Blu-ray dvd player… AND that nice shiny PlayStation 3 game sole too.

Oh heck! Who am I fooling? I wanted it just as badly as he did! We kept looking at each other trying to see who was going to be the family safety net. You know, the one between the two who actually has a brain that says, “Honey, we just don’t have the money!” Yeah. Well, we both played “devil’s advocate” very well. I finally looked at my husband and said, “Happy Birthday, Honey!” and “Merry Christmas!”

We came home that night with a 46″ flatscreen, Blu-ray DVD player, and a bundled PlayStation 3. We set up the TV that night and the following morning, I became impatient. You see we got the game console for our boys whose birthdays were coming up in a short time. So that morning, we called the boys upstairs and we were very serious… like they were in trouble… *grin* I said, “Boys, we got you a ‘together’ gift this year. It is the only gift you’ll get from us this year, except for going out to dinner, but you have to find it.” So they began their treasure hunt.

Of course, my oldest son went right for the closet… DUH! What parent doesn’t hide gifts in their closet? So, they find the game console and all the controllers, cords, etc. I sat waiting to hear their response because I know that what they really wanted was a XBox 360… but my husband is NOT a Microsoft person. He is UNIX/Linux all the way. We also didn’t like that Microsoft charges for online game play whereas Sony doesn’t. The sales rep there also told us that there are other problems with XBox 360 that he experienced too… so with all this our decision was made.

When our boys found their treasure, they realized they didn’t care that it was a PS3. All they saw were the games in the bundle and that did if for them.

I say all this to share the grand finale of this weekend. We invited cousins and friends over for swimming, cake, ice cream, and gaming. It was a lot of fun, well, if you like 102 degree heat.

When my oldest turned 13 a couple years ago,  he requested that for his birthday he be allowed to stay up all night and not have to go to bed. So, we told him that would be fine… Well, this is the year for our youngest. He turned 13 and he had the same request. So, we allowed them both to have friends over for an over-nighter and they would be allowed to stay up all night. There were only 2 rules. 1.) Don’t leave the house and 2.)Don’t wake the adults. Break either of those rules and to bed you go.

Of course, as “mom” I can hear most everything while I sleep. If my kids make a noise, I am up… I woke several times hearing footsteps going up and down the stairs. I heard whispers… But, I could tell they were really trying to be quiet. They were determined to stay up all night.

We woke at about 10 am this morning to find my youngest in his bed fast asleep. My oldest was alone downstairs still gaming and their friends had already gone home. (They live next door.) Apparently both my children felt that 10 am was good enough and they were going to “nap.” Of course, I was so tired… I don’t think I slept too well.

Now, birthdays are done… (well, one more is on its way, but we’ve done the celebrating). I have held to my word and only bought the one gift for the both of them. I am proud of myself there. However, we did take all our old PlayStation 2 games, console, controllers, cables, etc to a game store and traded it all in for store credit. Now our boys have $139 of store credit that they are using toward new games for their new ‘toy.’

It’s sad really… My mother, my cousin, my brother, all of them plan out birthdays to the enth degree… they even take pictures and make it all so very fun… but me, I don’t think I got to that end of the gene pool.

Well, I do hope all three of my ‘men’ had a fabulous birthday even though I am not a party planner.

– More later

Technorati Tags: Personal Note