That's not a typo in my title!
This comes from straight out of a movie, but it's not. It's real and it ranks right up there with the stupidest of the stupid.. not to mention stinky.
Witnesses watched two men pushing a chair down a street with a body in it, as it flopped from side to side. The two individuals were witnessed them trying to prop him up to keep him from flopping from side to side.
They wheeled him to a check cashing store, where they then tried to cash the dead man's Social Security check.
A cop across the street having lunch noticed a crowed forming around Virgilio Cintron's body and it was immediately apparent to the detective's highly tuned senses that the man was dead.
though the two "venture capitalists" were charged with check fraud, the charges are being dropped because it can't be proven when Cintron died as the two corpse chasers insisted that he was alive when they left the apartment.
Oh my.. this is a new one!
Sources: USA Today, first article. USA Today, second article
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Challenges of Being a Blogger - Pt 3
My marketing experiment Explodes in my Face
I'm going to start with my end message: Working on 17 venues of information is not good for the quality of your content, your health or your family life.
But enough about the stress, I'll be getting into the details of my journey, research, and still in transition findings about this whole mess as I continue my series on The Challenges of Blogging.
Too Busy
There can be such a thing as too busy but I got caught up in the moment of the scenario. For one, I have a lot of things I would like to share with the world when I see stuff in print or media. When I think something is exciting, I want to help it get passed on. But that's both good and bad.
A blog's success seems to be determined by what I think are 1 of 2 things, maybe even both:
The authors voice is my reference for style. I tend to have an impatience with some things, a dry wit with other things when I unleash it. An authors voice can draw a crowd, regardless of what he writes about.. but one must first become a known commodity for your voice to be heard.
To become a known commodity, one must focus their blog on an issue or subject.. a single subject so to speak and stay focused. When I was doing 17 blogs / site, I found that all I was posting were snippets and quotes and sending people off to other sites. I was becoming a reference site, not an information and opinion site.
That took me a long time to come to grips with and understand. With that in mind, I've been slowly weeding my blogs and sites down to a more manageable number and then I could start setting time frames for when I worked on what blog. It's still not perfect by no means, but I'm feeling better about my work, even if I do feel like I am abandoning one, I have to do what's best for me and my readership.
When Is It Time to Move On To My True Blogs?
So with the idea that I had to whittle down my labor output so I can sleep at least a few hours a night, I had to determine when to call it quits. What determines which blog to let go on it's way? All my blogs have had growth to some degree or another. Growth being the number of readers my statistics increase by.
I searched Problogger.net for the answer, but I had either not put in the right search terms or maybe the issue had never been covered, so I contacted who is considered one of the premiere experts on blogging, the author of Problogger.net, Darren Rowse. Darren took the time to answer my inquiry about how to determine a blogs potential. Basically Darren said:
"Give it at least 6 months and look at how much it grows % wise from month to month. If it's rising consistently at 20% or more it's got potential to really get good traffic over the long haul."
I've been whittling my blogs down and now with Darren's advice in mind, I need to run off and check out my analytic numbers and make some more decisions.
I'll check back with you later on the balancing act I've been dealing with.
Part 2.
I'm going to start with my end message: Working on 17 venues of information is not good for the quality of your content, your health or your family life.
But enough about the stress, I'll be getting into the details of my journey, research, and still in transition findings about this whole mess as I continue my series on The Challenges of Blogging.
Too Busy
There can be such a thing as too busy but I got caught up in the moment of the scenario. For one, I have a lot of things I would like to share with the world when I see stuff in print or media. When I think something is exciting, I want to help it get passed on. But that's both good and bad.
A blog's success seems to be determined by what I think are 1 of 2 things, maybe even both:
The authors voice, and
Focus of the blog.
Focus of the blog.
The authors voice is my reference for style. I tend to have an impatience with some things, a dry wit with other things when I unleash it. An authors voice can draw a crowd, regardless of what he writes about.. but one must first become a known commodity for your voice to be heard.
To become a known commodity, one must focus their blog on an issue or subject.. a single subject so to speak and stay focused. When I was doing 17 blogs / site, I found that all I was posting were snippets and quotes and sending people off to other sites. I was becoming a reference site, not an information and opinion site.
That took me a long time to come to grips with and understand. With that in mind, I've been slowly weeding my blogs and sites down to a more manageable number and then I could start setting time frames for when I worked on what blog. It's still not perfect by no means, but I'm feeling better about my work, even if I do feel like I am abandoning one, I have to do what's best for me and my readership.
When Is It Time to Move On To My True Blogs?
So with the idea that I had to whittle down my labor output so I can sleep at least a few hours a night, I had to determine when to call it quits. What determines which blog to let go on it's way? All my blogs have had growth to some degree or another. Growth being the number of readers my statistics increase by.
I searched Problogger.net for the answer, but I had either not put in the right search terms or maybe the issue had never been covered, so I contacted who is considered one of the premiere experts on blogging, the author of Problogger.net, Darren Rowse. Darren took the time to answer my inquiry about how to determine a blogs potential. Basically Darren said:
"Give it at least 6 months and look at how much it grows % wise from month to month. If it's rising consistently at 20% or more it's got potential to really get good traffic over the long haul."
I've been whittling my blogs down and now with Darren's advice in mind, I need to run off and check out my analytic numbers and make some more decisions.
I'll check back with you later on the balancing act I've been dealing with.
Part 2.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The Challenges of Blogging - Part 2
With the real reason for blogging having come and gone, why continue to blog?
With my real estate blog was no longer needed, I didn't post to it as much as I previously did, but I still wanted to feed it with info about the industry itself and I was just waiting for the day my real estate license would expire then I would not technically be held to the ethics that NAR claims to uphold for it's realtors. From my experience, a statement an associate made recently explains it all: "It's gotten more "sharky" since the market took a turn. One organization saying it holds it's members to ethics is a tenuous leash at best, IMHO.
At this time, my computer blog started to pick up as every now and then I'd post something rather relevant to certain groups of computer users who'd swarm my site, but even though I liked passing on information, sometimes I had a tough go at pushing myself to post. Let's keep in mind that these two blogs stemmed from my past careers, and down the road, that's an important facet that I will need to consider. I just didn't know it then.
A few different things caught my eye that helped me see the underpinnings of blogging and why I should consider posting to my own blogs which would help me continue to share my experiences and insight from news and tidbits I'd come across.
Out in the blog-o-sphere, people were making money and developing careers while they demonstrated their abilities doing stuff they liked. But could it be that easy? Set up some ad programs and post away? Well, no it's not, but one has to try, right? There's approximately 100 million blogs out there. How the heck am I gonna blog and get noticed? Who knows, but success can be had.
Of all the bloggers out there, there are four that have been inspirational to me, and I "work" for one of them now and that's pretty cool to me. But I'm getting ahead of myself now, as I did feel inspired to try blogging because of these authors so forward I moved.
I maintained my real estate and computer blogs and decided to branch out in other fields that inspired me to see how they'd take off, if they could and in the meantime, employ a few advertising programs to see where that can go. I did a lot of reading on how to get my blog noticed, how to create a network of associations, more on the marketing of blogs, and developing a readership.
Curious and Tedious Idea of a Marketing Test
What I decided to do was go off in several directions at once, more as a marketing test, to see which material got the most attention, retains the most readers, is the most fun to work with.
The one thing I didn't realize at the time was just how much work a single blog could require of a person who's serious about the success of
Those 2 points are important distinctions. You can make your own blog successful, then yourself, or you can make yourself popular, bringing readership to your blog. Before I learned that, I looked at the blog-o-sphere and decided to blog about what I like, what I think is popular and hover over my analytics numbers to see how it all panned out.
What Did I Decide to Market Test?
My first inclination was to blog about things I already work on, what I like, and a test! The websites and blogs that at the peak of my nutty experiment were:
My marketing experiment Explodes in my Face
I'm going to start with my end message: Working on 17 venues of information is not good for the quality of your content, your health or your family life.
But enough about the stress, I'll be getting into the details of my journey, research, and still in transition findings about this whole mess as I continue my series on The Challenges of Blogging.
Previous Chapter: part one. Next Chapter: part three
With my real estate blog was no longer needed, I didn't post to it as much as I previously did, but I still wanted to feed it with info about the industry itself and I was just waiting for the day my real estate license would expire then I would not technically be held to the ethics that NAR claims to uphold for it's realtors. From my experience, a statement an associate made recently explains it all: "It's gotten more "sharky" since the market took a turn. One organization saying it holds it's members to ethics is a tenuous leash at best, IMHO.
At this time, my computer blog started to pick up as every now and then I'd post something rather relevant to certain groups of computer users who'd swarm my site, but even though I liked passing on information, sometimes I had a tough go at pushing myself to post. Let's keep in mind that these two blogs stemmed from my past careers, and down the road, that's an important facet that I will need to consider. I just didn't know it then.
A few different things caught my eye that helped me see the underpinnings of blogging and why I should consider posting to my own blogs which would help me continue to share my experiences and insight from news and tidbits I'd come across.
Out in the blog-o-sphere, people were making money and developing careers while they demonstrated their abilities doing stuff they liked. But could it be that easy? Set up some ad programs and post away? Well, no it's not, but one has to try, right? There's approximately 100 million blogs out there. How the heck am I gonna blog and get noticed? Who knows, but success can be had.
Of all the bloggers out there, there are four that have been inspirational to me, and I "work" for one of them now and that's pretty cool to me. But I'm getting ahead of myself now, as I did feel inspired to try blogging because of these authors so forward I moved.
I maintained my real estate and computer blogs and decided to branch out in other fields that inspired me to see how they'd take off, if they could and in the meantime, employ a few advertising programs to see where that can go. I did a lot of reading on how to get my blog noticed, how to create a network of associations, more on the marketing of blogs, and developing a readership.
Curious and Tedious Idea of a Marketing Test
What I decided to do was go off in several directions at once, more as a marketing test, to see which material got the most attention, retains the most readers, is the most fun to work with.
The one thing I didn't realize at the time was just how much work a single blog could require of a person who's serious about the success of
A: Their blog, or
B: Themselves.
Those 2 points are important distinctions. You can make your own blog successful, then yourself, or you can make yourself popular, bringing readership to your blog. Before I learned that, I looked at the blog-o-sphere and decided to blog about what I like, what I think is popular and hover over my analytics numbers to see how it all panned out.
What Did I Decide to Market Test?
My first inclination was to blog about things I already work on, what I like, and a test! The websites and blogs that at the peak of my nutty experiment were:
Websites:
From the above sites I branched out into blogging about:
And I am "working" for blogs about
- A bowling alley website,
- My own, 'used to be' real estate website,
- Another website of my own that had no identity,
- An associates' personal website,
- Another associates inventory website,
From the above sites I branched out into blogging about:
- Hollywood Gossip,
- Movie and TV Opinions,
- NASCAR,
- NASCAR Race Recaps,
- Computer Shortcuts and Know How,
- Consumer Awareness,
- A Picture Blog
And I am "working" for blogs about
- A specific entertainment personality,
- NASCAR,
- Movie Reviews
- Sirius Satellite Radio.
- Freelance Editor about Entertainment and NASCAR
My marketing experiment Explodes in my Face
I'm going to start with my end message: Working on 17 venues of information is not good for the quality of your content, your health or your family life.
But enough about the stress, I'll be getting into the details of my journey, research, and still in transition findings about this whole mess as I continue my series on The Challenges of Blogging.
Previous Chapter: part one. Next Chapter: part three
Friday, April 18, 2008
The Challenges of Being A Blogger Pt 1
This is about my journey and development as a blogger and what hoops I've gone through in the process to get where I'm not yet, .. known.
How it All Started
It all started in 1999 when I wrote a newsletter to the employees of my company that addressed computer usage and how the user can be smarter about the things they do. It really boiled down to the fact that when my users opened attachments for the "I Love You" virus, I felt that some folk had no common sense about things and I decided to take action.
After I left that company, I felt an obligation to those who said they enjoyed my information so I started an email campaign that initially carried an attachment with it, that later evolved into a PDF newsletter hosted at one of my personal websites, then through matters of streamlining, ease of use, thinking about the end user and what they might have to do to go through seeing the hosted PDF file, I created a blog of sorts on my own website.
How I Started A Second Blog
In 2004, I started a second blog that was real estate related because I was stupid enough to follow someone's advice (Who was probably part of a pyramid scheme) and I came on board with the premise of a real estate career.
My first love, the computer blog on my site was fairly stagnate, growing ever so slowly with maybe 100 readers from the original 10, but my real estate blog took off.
Potential clients ate up the free information and statistics that I put together and my blog went from a few hundred to a few thousand visits a week over a period of 6 months or so and I started getting more calls. I'd find out later that because of the (sometimes much deserved) reputation of real estate agents, many out there look to drain you of info and run.. but my blog was getting me noticed and my site was first in search engine results for the keywords I was interested in ... my idea was a success and I was sure my marketing would net me many clients. Oh yea, I was on my way.
Or not.
Some Days, My Timing is Impeccable
As soon as my blog took off, the real estate market started it's nose dive as sellers started demanding that agents list their homes at or over the comparable prices while buyers were getting tired of paying those prices, and then the first wave of cheater loans started coming due. I already had issues with some lenders and their sneaky tactics messing up half my contracts.. yep, you read right, half, but now they've ruined the entire industry I was hoping to make a living in, and now, it seems, the economy. Thanks guys!
Learning to Market My Blog and Get Traffic
My real estate blog is what motivated me to learn about some simple marketing tricks, website SEO strategies, maintenance and relevance of a blog. What I mean by relevance is that you just can't slap a post on a site, and walk away. The blog needs nurturing and as I've come to find out, visitors would like to see that you actually care about the subject matter at heart.
With my real estate blog no longer needed, I slowed down the posting frequency but kept it going because I had information to share about the industry itself and I was eager for the day my license would expire, because then I was not actively beholden to the ethical responsibilities that the NAR supposedly holds the membership to. (Trust me, it's a tenuous leash, and as one peer has put it recently, it's gotten more "sharky" since the market took a turn.)
Next Week, Part 2: With the real reason for blogging having come and gone, Why?
How it All Started
It all started in 1999 when I wrote a newsletter to the employees of my company that addressed computer usage and how the user can be smarter about the things they do. It really boiled down to the fact that when my users opened attachments for the "I Love You" virus, I felt that some folk had no common sense about things and I decided to take action.
After I left that company, I felt an obligation to those who said they enjoyed my information so I started an email campaign that initially carried an attachment with it, that later evolved into a PDF newsletter hosted at one of my personal websites, then through matters of streamlining, ease of use, thinking about the end user and what they might have to do to go through seeing the hosted PDF file, I created a blog of sorts on my own website.
How I Started A Second Blog
In 2004, I started a second blog that was real estate related because I was stupid enough to follow someone's advice (Who was probably part of a pyramid scheme) and I came on board with the premise of a real estate career.
My first love, the computer blog on my site was fairly stagnate, growing ever so slowly with maybe 100 readers from the original 10, but my real estate blog took off.
Potential clients ate up the free information and statistics that I put together and my blog went from a few hundred to a few thousand visits a week over a period of 6 months or so and I started getting more calls. I'd find out later that because of the (sometimes much deserved) reputation of real estate agents, many out there look to drain you of info and run.. but my blog was getting me noticed and my site was first in search engine results for the keywords I was interested in ... my idea was a success and I was sure my marketing would net me many clients. Oh yea, I was on my way.
Or not.
Some Days, My Timing is Impeccable
As soon as my blog took off, the real estate market started it's nose dive as sellers started demanding that agents list their homes at or over the comparable prices while buyers were getting tired of paying those prices, and then the first wave of cheater loans started coming due. I already had issues with some lenders and their sneaky tactics messing up half my contracts.. yep, you read right, half, but now they've ruined the entire industry I was hoping to make a living in, and now, it seems, the economy. Thanks guys!
Learning to Market My Blog and Get Traffic
My real estate blog is what motivated me to learn about some simple marketing tricks, website SEO strategies, maintenance and relevance of a blog. What I mean by relevance is that you just can't slap a post on a site, and walk away. The blog needs nurturing and as I've come to find out, visitors would like to see that you actually care about the subject matter at heart.
With my real estate blog no longer needed, I slowed down the posting frequency but kept it going because I had information to share about the industry itself and I was eager for the day my license would expire, because then I was not actively beholden to the ethical responsibilities that the NAR supposedly holds the membership to. (Trust me, it's a tenuous leash, and as one peer has put it recently, it's gotten more "sharky" since the market took a turn.)
Next Week, Part 2: With the real reason for blogging having come and gone, Why?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
An Ode to Bloggers
Ye who Blogs is one who has trust,
ye who blogs, his keyboard has no dust.
Ye who blogs, puts forth his thoughts,
ye who blogs, gets himself back knots.
For ye who blogs, does so in faith,
for ye who blogs, the readers are but a wraith.
For those who blog, know not who reads,
but those who blog, let comments plant seeds.
For when they post, they post in trust,
for forward they go, that they must.
The Latest Randy Pausch Interview
Randy Pausch was a Carnegie Mellon University Professor with an incredible outlook on life, despite the fact that he's looking at the end of his years after being stricken by pancreatic cancer .
Last week, we saw Diane Sawyer interview him and watch some of his final lectures, and to hear him talk about his book coming out. A book he's writing for his children so they will have his words forever. The book is also his way of setting up his family so they will be taken care of. It was an amazing characterization that embodied the positive and not focus on what he's dealing with.
Over at the Post-Gazette, is an interview they had with him last week on his latest update with his fight, and to glean a little more of that incredible sense of positive attitude that he's carrying around, despite his prognosis. He's too busy to be depressed. We'll need to be in awe, yet depressed for him.
Last week, we saw Diane Sawyer interview him and watch some of his final lectures, and to hear him talk about his book coming out. A book he's writing for his children so they will have his words forever. The book is also his way of setting up his family so they will be taken care of. It was an amazing characterization that embodied the positive and not focus on what he's dealing with.
Over at the Post-Gazette, is an interview they had with him last week on his latest update with his fight, and to glean a little more of that incredible sense of positive attitude that he's carrying around, despite his prognosis. He's too busy to be depressed. We'll need to be in awe, yet depressed for him.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Saving the Seals
Did you know that despite statements to the contrary, seal hunting is not as humane as the hunters make it to be?
Organizations say that seal hunting is humane; but it's been documented that that the majority of seals are still conscious (though bludgeoned to the point of immobility) while they are skinned alive for their fur.
Seals (ages 12 days to 12 weeks old) are bashed in the head, stabbed with a fishhook and dragged to a boat where their still conscious bodies will be skinned.
You can make a difference. Ask your grocer where their seafood comes from (Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have signed the petition boycotting Canadian seafood) and sign petitions where you can. You can boycott clothing companies that buy seal fur such as Versace, Annika, Birger Christensen and Odette Leblan. All of the petitions and more can be accessed through the Humane Society's Web site: http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html
Inspirational source for this post: Palo Alto Daily News Letters Column.
.
.
Organizations say that seal hunting is humane; but it's been documented that that the majority of seals are still conscious (though bludgeoned to the point of immobility) while they are skinned alive for their fur.
Seals (ages 12 days to 12 weeks old) are bashed in the head, stabbed with a fishhook and dragged to a boat where their still conscious bodies will be skinned.
You can make a difference. Ask your grocer where their seafood comes from (Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have signed the petition boycotting Canadian seafood) and sign petitions where you can. You can boycott clothing companies that buy seal fur such as Versace, Annika, Birger Christensen and Odette Leblan. All of the petitions and more can be accessed through the Humane Society's Web site: http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html
Inspirational source for this post: Palo Alto Daily News Letters Column.
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