An Idea

Google Analytics

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:34:41 -0400

I’ve been using Google analytics for a while now and I’m surprised that this is a free service. I suppose it gives Google a lot of stats for free as well. I mentioned in post http://bit.ly/MpU4Nd that I was going to use this after someone asked me how I knew who was viewing my blog.

Some of the things you can see in the stats are country and city which is interesting to see how wide the audience is. You can also see what Web browser readers are using and if it is on a mobile device.

Chrome is the most popular browser at the moment followed by android browser then Internet explorer.

A follow-up

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:15:40 -0400

I spoke in a previous post http://bit.ly/Qlh5kB about Twitter and asked who uses it. I didn’t get any direct comments on the blog. I think people reading aren’t into commenting. I understand this as I rarely leave comments on blogs, just read others.

Someone I know got back to me with a solution for what I’m doing wrong. I had said that it was sometimes hard to keep up with all the tweets when you start following a lot of people.

Twitter allows you to create lists which you can then categorise into people that you follow. I knew about lists just didn’t know what to use them for. There is also an app that I use that’s called tweetdeck http://bit.ly/MtzSYG for android and http://bit.ly/Mz9pHn for iPhone. This allows you to view Twitter and Facebook in the same place. The app also allows you to add columns so each list created in Twitter can be in a different column.

I haven’t tried this yet but hopefully someone will find it useful. I’m too busy working on the website idea!

Will I get the site developed?

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:36:23 -0400

So back on to what this blog is supposed to be about. Creating a website. I’ve mentioned that funding is available but it is geared up towards helping existing businesses.

This meant that I was going to have to get a loan to do what I wanted, but I don’t want to go down that road. So as a compromise I have looked at all the functionality in my idea and reduced it where I could without losing the overall concept of the site. I think I have managed to this without compromising the original idea.

I have been back in touch with the web designers. They have given me a new quote that is something I can stretch to without having to borrow money.

So what happens now? I don’t actually know. I’ll have to start thinking about a marketing strategy to get people using the site. I already have some ideas but they are probably too expensive at this moment in time so most of it is going to be done via social media. Seems the best way. I’ll have to target people I know first and then get the message on forums.

I still don’t want to give too much away so it won’t be easy. Because I have had to cut some of the functionality out it won’t do everything I want, but if it is successful then I’ll be able to attract the type of funding I mentioned here http://bit.ly/M34SAX as I’ll be a business.

So while I am doing this the designers will be writing a spec, making wire frame designs and coming up with a logo and branding.

I have friends and colleagues that I will be giving more details to as I know they can help. Some have already offered to help and I’ll be taking them up on the offer at some point. That is when it will be worrying for me if they spot a fatal floor in my idea when I’ve have handed over the money. Hope they will see my vision and eventually everyone will.

It’s not a revolutionary idea just something that most people will find useful and hopefully be able to have some fun with.

What's in a name?

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 02:56:00 -0400

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking of a name for my site. To start off with it was relevant names that told you what site was about. Then I went on to another name that has nothing to do with it. I even started arranging letters that looked good together.

I’ll reveal some of the names when things get going a bit more as I don’t want to give anything away yet. I suppose if it is random letters it won’t matter though.

At this moment I have a name that I like and I’ve had mixed reviews of it but mainly positive.

Now brings me on to the dot. What is best? .com is king but who types a full web address nowadays. Google normally finds it for you.

It isn’t as simple as that for a start-up website. You need to submit your website to search engines and Google isn’t the only one. Microsoft’s Bing and yahoo are two I can think of straight away. I’ve submitted my tumblr address to google and Bing. At the time of writing this on google search ‘ad-rocks’ gets me on the second page and ‘adrocks anidea’ the first.

I was talking to someone that had read my blog on google+. He has a company called http://www.seo21.co.uk/ that specialises in getting you higher on a search page. The business is SEO search engine optimization. These companies have lots of ways to get you to the top of the returned search list. Back on track .com .net .org or .co.uk. These are the favoured extensions but does it matter if you are not a .com? Let me know what you think.

What's my concept?

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 01:54:09 -0400

I’ve been thinking about a hook that is going to make my site stand out from the crowd.

If anyone has watched the film ‘social network’ you might know what I mean. It’s about Facebook. There is one scene where one of Mark Zuckerberg’s friend asks him if he knows a girl that is in one of his classes. He then asks Zuckerberg if he’ll tell her that he thinks she’s cute. Zuckerberg rushes back to his apartment leaving the guy standing there - to add the now infamous like button to Facebook. A moment of genius all because someone asked the right question at the right time. I loved that scene and hope that there is some truth to it.

I have found this happening to me not on such an epic scale but it makes me think oh I need to put that on the site somewhere.

I suppose it’s more things like adding the like button and Google analytics. Nothing that is totally original yet.

If I ever get any inspiration from someone I always try and jot it down as soon as I can.

Ninja’s Unboxing: History (by PatrickBoivin) If you liked...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:55:23 -0400

Ninja’s Unboxing: History (by PatrickBoivin)

If you liked the last video here is a link to 3 others. The second and third being pretty creative.

Dr Paul unboxes the Nexus 7 (by PatrickBoivin) Well I’ve...

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:32:00 -0400

Dr Paul unboxes the Nexus 7 (by PatrickBoivin)

Well I’ve ordered on of these and I hope it isn’t quite as dramatic when it turns up.

Funny though. Might do a review if I get the time.

Twitter who uses it?

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 07:50:48 -0400

I’ve had a twitter account for about 4 years now. I thought I’d follow Steven Fry and it grew from there.

I quite like it but when you follow too many people it’s sometimes hard to keep up with all the tweets. I mainly use it for finding out the latest developments in technology and keeping up to date with music. I also find it good for breaking news.

I didn’t really use it for the first year, then a couple of people at work signed up and it became fun especially on nights out.

Then one of them decided to pay to get me mentioned on twitter for charity. It was basically an insult by a well known tweeter.

Here it is.

http://bit.ly/MMxUUb

I found the funny side.

I’d be interested to hear if anyone else uses it or why you don’t use it?

Leave something in the comments below. ↓

Reaching a wider audience

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 04:04:59 -0400

So I’ve been looking at the Google analytics’ stats over the last week. They aren’t as bad as they could have been. Definitely a great tool to monitor who’s visiting your site. I said I might mention how many visitors I’ve had so here it is, 66 unique visitors. I would take about 4 off that list as I seem to be tracked when amending or adding new content on a PC. I have had a total of 121 visits some obviously being repeat readers.

Now is the hard part attracting more readers and keeping existing ones. Good content is a must but I’m not a writer so that is going to be hard. I have noticed that when I share the link on social media sites more people have a look.

Another thing I read was that adding your URL http://ad-rocks.tumblr.com to a search engine helps to be found via a search.

This brings me on to another thing that is really important but can be time consuming. Words and phrases used in the blog will get you higher in a search engine listing. There is another Google tool called google keyword tool ( http://bit.ly/L3dGAp ) that can be use for this. Give it a go see what your words or phrases could be worth when attached to advertising.

Business to business could be worth more when written like business 2 business. This is because the people that use the number are more likely to click on a related link.

I thought I would add another picture today. Bitly is a great...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 09:54:03 -0400

I thought I would add another picture today. Bitly is a great way to shorten your web addresses and track how many clicks they get.

Link:

www.bitly.com

A lot of people use this but I thought it was just to shorten URLs. Knowing how many people have clicked your link can be useful for sales and seeing where your links are working.

Facebook like button.

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:05:33 -0400

I added the google+ button a while ago to my blog and it’s only had one click. So I was thinking there must be more things I can add and the obvious one is Facebook. Why didn’t I think of this before? Nearly everyone has a Facebook account so it should be a better route to get my blog and idea out there.

Like the google+ it’s simple code that is generated from their site for you. Here is the link:

http://tinyurl.com/4ouapkv

Give it a go and share it on your Facebook. This will then let your friends have a look at my blog.

Keyword tool

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:27:52 -0400

So someone clicked on my ad banner and I was expecting 0.01p per click but it was quite a bit more. So I thought as an experiment I would add a few key words into this blog and see how the keyword tool works.

At the bottom I’ve tagged injury solicitor. They are always on the TV and radio advertising so I though it would be a good phrase to go for. Have a look at the keyword tool to see what it’s worth. Another phrase I’ve tagged is online university.

From what I can tell you have to have been looking at these things for them to be advertised to you, so don’t expect to see adverts for these tags. If you do see them please leave a comment.

I would also be interested in knowing what readers think about advertising on websites. I see it as a necessary evil and don’t mind as long as the flow of the site isn’t compromised. I’ve been on sites before where a pop-up fills the screen and you can’t see the x to close because it’s so small. I also don’t like the ones that pick up words and a pop-up box is displayed when you hover over it.

Let me know your thoughts. I suppose you could call this a bit of market research.

The downs

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 11:10:12 -0400

Although I haven’t spoken much about the website, I have been trying to put things in place. This is such a consuming process. I try to write a bit for the blog in the morning on the way to work. Then maybe on the way home. Email and phone calls on my lunch hour. Night time prototype ideas and work on the business plan.

I’ve been looking for a supplier - of what I can’t divulge yet. The first contact I made was a success and it was great everything was falling into place. I thought my idea was going to succeed - I can’t fail. Then I contacted them again with more questions and they haven’t got back to me. So I started looking for another supplier and I’ve found one. I’m waiting for prices now hoping I don’t scare them off with my questions.

I also keep questioning if this idea is feasible.

It's good to recommend

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:29:50 -0400

So another good thing to do is mention other blogs in your blog. The blog you mentioned may return the favour.

So here are 2 blogs for you to look at. Both from people I have worked with.

A lazy author (his words not mine)
http://legging-it.tumblr.com/

A DJ/Producer and instagram addict
http://flintsteel.tumblr.com/

Forgot to say this is the bus we were on and the front...

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:57:48 -0400

Forgot to say this is the bus we were on and the front suspension broke and we couldn’t go over speed bumps very well. Water kept coming on the bus as we went through the floods.

The end is nigh!

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 02:56:00 -0400

OK I’m a bit late as we are all still here but anyone reading this from the north east of England knows what I mean.

It took me three and a half hours to get home. Normally takes twenty five minutes. I’ve never seen floods like it. Only the tops of cars visible in some places and that made the national news.

So I’m on the the bus yes the bus, metros had been cancelled. Quite happily ignoring who I was sat next to listening to my music. Then after being on the bus for 2 hours a few people had got off and I spotted someone I knew.

It was someone from work who had no idea what had happened at work since they left. Turned out their phone had broken - a casualty of the flood.

The situation didn’t sound possible but our server room had flooded. Not that strange until I tell you we work on the third floor. He thought I was joking. This meant everyone had to work from home the next day.

Everything is sorted and we’re all back to work now.

I love it when a plan comes together

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:18:59 -0400

Business plan surely that shouldn’t be fun.

So I started on my plan the other night. I found a template on http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/. The site also guides you through the document which I’m finding useful. If you are considering starting a business, creating a business plan early on is essential. I was just reading through the template and found a section titled legal. This got me thinking I’m going to have to speak to an expert about internet law. I was considering just copying terms and condition from another site and adapting them to mine.

I’ve drawn a blank when it comes to funding on a grant basis. I just don’t meet the criteria. I would need to be an existing business. This means getting a loan of some kind. A scary thought - but I have been recommended an organisation that might be able to help in my local area.

I rang them the other day and spoke to a very nice woman that said a website would meet the criteria and it could be a start up business. She recommended reading their website.

The site said that it can not be used for proof of concept so this means that I would have to go for the full design which is the most expensive option. The good thing about the loan is that it wouldn’t be against my collateral so I wouldn’t lose my house. This probably means they won’t be able to offer me the amount I need. Time will tell.

A good business plan is going to make or break this idea.

Get down with the g +1

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 07:42:00 -0400

I was accepted by adsense, as you might have noticed if you’ve been reading on a computer.

Banner up there ↑.

I was looking at my adsense account which currently stands at zero but that doesn’t bother me. I noticed below the zero amount Google were asking me if I wanted to add the g +1 button to my blog. So I added it. It’s easy to do as Google provide the code and you just paste it into your blog. Check it out and click it if you like what I’m doing here.

Something I’ve found is that posting links on google+ is a good thing if done on your mobile using the G+ app. This is because you can attach your location and people do read the nearby section to see what is happening locally.

I therefore suggest if you are wanting to promote something locally to sign up to google+ and get posting.

Now all I need is a ticket to New York via London to increase my readership and post a few blogs on the way.

I wonder if there is a way to change your location?

An idea

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 04:12:13 -0400

So I got a quote from the web designers it’s a lot of money but if this is going to work it has to look and feel good.

I never had a feeling like I had when I read the details of the quote. Elation, dread and joy are a few that spring to mind. Then I was walking around town not knowing where I was going frantically chasing up the potential funding. I nearly ended up back at work and I had passed the sandwich shop 3 times still with no food.

I’ve got some more contacts to speak to so hopefully something will come of that.

The good thing about the quote is there are a few options so I could have a basic site developed and then try to get funding or investment.

So I said on my Facebook and Twitter that I would post a picture...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 02:44:59 -0400

So I said on my Facebook and Twitter that I would post a picture that could be used. The idea is that you can copy it and print it off and use it. To use it you will need a smartphone with a barcode scanner app. If you don’t have a smartphone you could still print it off and leave it somewhere in the hope that some random person scans it.

Links to apps

Android app https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=com.google.zxing.client.android&hl=en

iPhone app http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scanlife-barcode-readerqr/id285324287?mt=8

Blackberry app http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/48843/