One of the things I’ve been trying to impress on clients and colleagues is to make certain they write something for their blog on a regular basis. Obviously, I need to take my own advice! For the past week or so, I’ve been head-down on numerous behind-the scenes tasks. Some of the results are visible or tangible on the sites; some will be soon, and some are, well, just unglamorous-but-helpful.
Changes tangible on the sites include:
- The pages load 80% faster! I still find it hard to believe that merely by changing web hosts, the loading time has decreased so drastically. It was taking 10+ seconds for my pages to load over most broadband connections before I switched hosts; now it takes about two seconds. I’ve been so happy with HostGator that I’ve signed up for their affiliate program and display their ad.
- A number of how-to pieces originally and intentionally put online as PDFs have been converted into posts under the Practical + Geeky section of kozacommunications.com. I’ll be adding to this collection; soon look for notes on how to move your WordPress installation from one host to another, and some generic documents and templates that are helpful to small businesses processes and communications (I’ve been working on a number of these recently, and while unglamorous, such documents, templates, and processes speed up routine tasks and ensure pieces of projects are not forgotten).
I’ve also been looking at finding the just-right platform for Litare.com, where you can go to post offerings of happiness, gratitude, and kindness. This has been in beta mode for a while, and while people have replied favorably about the site and the idea, most of those responding have not posted. The primary block seems to be the required sign-in and lack of anonymity of the previous and current sites, which I understand, given the nature of the content. I’m going to be moving the site to a new platform in the next few days, where users can post anonymously via email, and very easily. Watch for updates!
Also, I’ve been using Posterous to share quotes I find helpful and inspiring. Posterous is simple, with a very easy-to-use interface, and you can post all sorts of content (text, videos, photos, sound, etc.) and also push it out to Twitter, FaceBook, Flickr, and other sites. I’ve been exploring different ways to use Posterous; the quote library feeding into Twitter and FaceBook are starts, and Posterous is where Litare.com will be moving.
I’ve been up to a lot more, but if it’s worth posting, the ideas will be expanded and here soon!
And yes, if you’re an RSS subscriber, you would have noticed and wondered: Last week I had posted a piece I later removed, as it was based in grumpiness, which I don’t like to inflict on others (or myself). I was not happy with the inordinate amount of media attention the balloon boy received – and I thought the entire thing was suspicious and some sort of hoax from the moment I heard about it. The story got my mind going about how the media can be manipulated as well as manipulate itself. However, rather than respond with a rather reactive piece about further manipulating the media, I prefer to consider more positive options. I still muse over what any number of nonprofits and good causes would have, could have done with that amount of media coverage and audience!
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