Monday, 4 February 2002

GoogleStak - Thank you all for responding so positively to my dastardly plan - to create the GoogleStak. Here's how it works. As most of you know Google has changed the face of search engine listings for ever. Gone are the days when the META keywords and description tags were all you needed. Now you not only need good content that reflects your search criteria (the so called science of Search Engine Optimisation), you also need links from sites pointing to your site - to get ranked. I would like to conduct an experiment to see if it is possible to force a rank rise in Google - via the GoogleStak. To do this - I need everybody's help. I would appreciate it if you were to do two things -  create an imaginative link to this url http://www.standouttraining.com (for example "flash training in Sydney" or "dreamweaver training in melbourne" or "stand out training is simply the best in Australia") - to prime the GoogleStak put a link to this entry on your blog - to create a recursive loop that pushes the GoogleStak higher and higher. This could be crazy enough to work, and if it does, we've discovered a new way to generate and direct flow according to the needs of the blogging community. I'll record the results and continually update this blog as the story unfolds :-) First there was the Googlewhack, then Google Instant Messaging - can we add the GoogleStak? 8:13:11 PM    Comments ()

Now it's routers I don't like - seems I'm in the running for the most frustrated punter of the day award. ADSL is back up, but the router is down... [silent yell] 4:25:03 PM    Comments ()

ADSL - Right now I hate Telstra Bigpond Advance ADSL and I hate ADSL in general. Usually I love it. But not now. I'm down and out in the subnet somewhere. Thank goodness for my trusty modem. Please excuse any lack of blogging and emailing for the duration of the outage. What we really need is an upgrade to my FR314 Router/Firewall that includes a modem to dial up on when ADSL is down. Not that would be excellent NetGear! 12:23:10 PM    Comments ()

Bold New Experiement - Would you like to take part in a bold new scientifically conducted experiement with Google? Project GoogleStak seeks to rocket a site to the top of its chosen search criteria via a campaign of blog entries. Interested? 10:27:22 AM    Comments ()

Kewl - seems I just received my first Google Instant Message.  "victor echo zulu your blog gives people the confidence to go on each day" an obvious reference to the Free Therapy theme in this blog. And then just as mysteriously, another two messages appear: "accept your destiny and go with the flow" "the ether is calling your name" Perhaps, like Samuel, I should be quiet and say "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening" 10:17:28 AM    Comments ()

Rain - amazing how a little rain send a big city like Sydney into a nosedive. It's 9.26am and only two of eight students have arrived for a class we are running today in Sydney. The phone calls are making their way through ok though. Amazing! 9:28:21 AM    Comments ()

G'day - Received a welcoming email from a journalist collegue from a long time ago - Allan Moult who was writing for the Sydney Morning Herald. Thanks Allan. 9:23:47 AM    Comments ()

More spam - How about this one: From:     <jameswsperman@yahoo.com>; To:       Scout leaders, members, and supporters@customer-reach.com.au Subject:  Terrific fundraiser idea---worth the time to print off and read over X-Reply-To:  <jameswsperman@yahoo.com>; At least he has targeted his spam to appropriate lists - but still it's a bit rich. He should do what "someone I know" does and join the list, wait a couple of days, send the spam, and then un-subscribe! 9:22:06 AM    Comments ()

Spam - It comes in all flavours. At least I know why I am receiving this piece of unsolicited email. Hi, A quick note to alert you to the big CIRCLE WORK event that's being staged in Mudgee NSW on Saturday 2nd March.  There is also a Ute Comp on the same day - it should be a fantastic weekend. The "Bloke" and "Chick" winners of the Circle Work Shoot Out will be featured in Outback Magazines "Circle Workers Hall of Fame", plus receive trophies and cash prizes. For more info, and entry forms, go to http://www.blueys.com.au/whatson.htm Regards John It turns out I did some web work for Bluey's Ute World a few years ago. Nice guy. Nice concept. Very tacky. 9:19:32 AM    Comments ()

huh? - I don't know what all the [bad] fuss is about Radio. This is the easiest, most user friendly piece of software - that does exactly what it says it will do - without needing to read anything resembling instructions [he says not having ventured past posting]. Good job! 9:16:19 AM    Comments ()

At Last - the reason [or at least a scientific excuse for why] I don't exercise! 9:14:02 AM    Comments ()

Chatter boxes - Again the SMH has it all! Today an in depth article on the ins and outs, the pros and cons, the should I do it or shouldn't-I-do-it of Instand Messaging. "If you have not yet been seduced by instant messaging, here's the scoop: instant messaging alerts you when friends or colleagues connect to the Internet - no matter where they are located on the planet - and lets you send messages back and forth between your computers instantly. My short lived experience with Instant Messaging began on the 12th June, 2000 and ended three days later. There was a moment when I thought it would be useful to be able to buzz someone with a quick question - but that ideal soon vanished as I was propositioned and courted for a wide range of illicit activities that I would have been embarrassed if anyone had noticed. I soon uninstalled the instant spammer as quickly as I had installed it and have never ventured there since. 9:12:44 AM    Comments ()

University Admissions - It seems the NSW government's new Higher School Certificate (HSC) grading system (the mark one receives at the end of high school) is not in sync with the University Admission Index (UAI) (the mark one requires to get into a particular course) according to this Sydney Morning Herald article. "There was jubilation at some of the surprisingly high marks, especially after the fear and loathing many had felt at being guinea pigs in the overhaul by the NSW Board of Studies of the whole HSC curriculum, including the introduction of a brand new examination marking system. "Within days, however, corks were bunged back into champagne bottles as thousands of students planning to study at university in 2002 checked the Net for their university admission index (UAI) - a score out of 100. When I completed my HSC, a mark out of 500 was "awarded" to students. I received sufficient marks to enroll in Electrical Engineering at what was then the New South Wales Institute of Technology (now the University of Sydney) and secure my cadetship with Wormald (now owned by Tyco). For a number of reasons (including my realisation that engineers don't get rich and that there was no way in all creation that I was ever going to pass Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer) I aborted by course two-thirds the way through. Currently I am completing a Psychology Degree with Honours at the University of New England. I would recommend that any young person complete their HSC and then spend four or five years in the workforce - discovering that life is not a bed of roses and that Mum and Dad are not there to look after you forever - and determining what it is exactly that they wish to do with their lives. Then it is much easier. 8:14:26 AM    Comments ()