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Monday, October 17, 2005Elvis Has Left The Building
Let the word go forth to all my Radio weblog category sites. And let the word likewise be cast upon the RSS waters that those both near and far may hear the news.
This incarnation of Redwood Asylum has been retired. But let not the news weigh heavily upon thee. Know ye that nonsense and drivel spring forth anew in these TypePad locations:
- Redwood Asylum: same old stuff with a new RSS feed
- Random Analytics: web analytics and a new RSS feed
Oh, and the Elvis expression?
Thursday, October 13, 2005Upgraded TypePad Trial
Upgraded my TypePad trial account from Basic to Plus.
Spent a lot of time troubleshooting problems with Radio UserLand post exporting. Finally decided the issue was probably not in Bill Kearney's exporter tool, but in the Radio UserLand database.
Deleted several old posts from an unpublished category and deleted the category. Deleted several other old categories which were no longer needed. Ran the TweezerMan script to rebuild internal category story lists. Used the Radio application option to save a new copy of weblogData.root. Shut down Radio, swapped in the new copy of weblogData.root and restarted. Bill Kearney's exporter ran fine, dumping over 1700 posts into a Movable Type format file.
Re-worked the TypePad test site several times, dumping the earlier partial import and loading the full 1700 post file. TypePad isn't nearly as flexible as Movable Type, but I don't think I need extensive customization. However, I do have an account at Total Choice Hosting where I could test Movable Type.
Many have moved to (perceived) greener pastures after Radio UserLand. Will I follow The Shifted Librarian, TweezerMan and Phil Windley to Movable Type? I watched Ernie the Attorney move from Radio to TypePad. If my TypePad testing proceeds without major incident, maybe I'll buy the first year. If I don't like the Project Comet evolution, I can always jump to Movable Type later.
Time will tell.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005TypePad Trial
After three and a half years with Radio UserLand, I'm testing something new. I opened a 30-day free trial TypePad account this evening, starting with the Basic version. Using Google, I located Bill Kearney's exporter tool for Radio UserLand. Although I'm having problems, I was able to export enough Radio posts to test the TypePad import feature. Time will tell.
Friday, September 23, 2005Basecamp adds authenticated RSS feeds
From Donovan Watts
I've been a Basecamp user and believer from the start. One of the things I like best is that I am notified via my news reader and RSS every time there is activity on my project site. The only problem is that the feeds were not authenticated. Ugh. Now they are. 37 Signals is improving Basecamp all the time and I'm a very happy customer.
We could use authenticated RSS feeds at work to publish secure content from our extranet with the side benefit of improved web metrics for the RSS feeds.
Perking Up Interest in Web Analytics
Last time, I discussed the gap between overall corporate strategic goals and the goals typically assigned to the Web channel. Most basic Web metrics aren't as important as establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) tailored to your business. Management must receive and evaluate those reports on a regular basis.
Thursday, September 22, 2005Content Syndication Conference - RSS HackFest
Don't miss the Syndicate conference, produced by IDG World Expo, scheduled for December 12-14 in San Francisco. If content syndication via RSS is on your roadmap, plan to attend.
Sunday, September 18, 2005The Surprising Truth About PDFs & Audio Downloads
PDF marketing tips from MarketingSherpa
PDFs may not be that new, but they are new enough that some executives in corporate America are still confused by them. So, now we've begun automatically shipping a printed copy with most Sherpa Guide PDF orders, even though it costs us more, to make sure customers are happy.Read the details. Go on. Shoo.
Saturday, September 17, 2005RSS Vendor Space
From Rok Hrastnik at MarketingServices.net
Richard MacMannus takes a good look at the RSS vendors space, giving special attention to the search category.
I was especially interested in reading his break-down of the RSS publisher services vendors:
Publisher Services
Sub-categories: Content; Analytics; Feed Mgmt; Advertising Examples: Feedburner; Nooked; Pheedo; SimpleFeed; Syndicate IQ
Friday, September 16, 2005Web Analytics Newsletter - September 2005
The September edition of Hurol Inan's Attuned web analytics newsletter is available. Hurol's site has a new section dedicated to understanding RSS metrics and analysis.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005The Value of Competitive Data
My last column focused on accessing and using competitive data to gain insight into specific problems to improve site performance. One of the big questions that often comes up is, "How does our conversion rate compare to others? Are we doing better than average or worse?"
Monday, September 12, 2005Fathom Breaks Into Analytics
From Enid Burns at ClickZ
Competition between search engine marketing and Web analytics firms is heating up, in a civil fashion. Fathom Online is expected today to announce its entry into the analytics arena, introducing a Web-based system that allows advertisers to integrate their sales, Web site and affiliate data.
Royal Flush: Making Landing Pages Pay Off
From Gary Stein at ClickZ
... getting a click only costs you money. It doesn't make you money. JupiterResearch continues to see click-throughs as the primary measure of a search campaign's success, and that's troubling. If a campaign manager only looks at click-throughs, she's bound to have trouble really understanding the spending's benefit. ... This is why landing pages are so critical. The money you pay for the click is the ante, the money you spend to get in the game. The landing page is what you do with the cards you've been dealt. As a great philosopher once said, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em."
Measurement and Testing: Launch Your Campaign to New Heights
From Jeremy Lockhorn at ClickZ
Cross-channel measurement is a hot topic. It must be part of your measurement set in some way. Otherwise, you risk underestimating your online efforts' value or making optimization (and budget allocation) decisions with incomplete, incorrect information. Numerous studies demonstrate a significant combined effect of simultaneous on- and offline media. The IAB's Cross Media Optimization Studies (XMOSs) are probably the best-known examples.