If there’s a plugin you like and there isn’t any feedback yet and still worried, here are my views on plugins and the latest versions.

They are usually OK if it’s a plugin that does something simple like something that allows you to add a tracking code or add code to your headers and footers. These plugins don’t hook too deeply into WordPress and don’t mess with the internals. If it were something more heavy that adds some major new features, then I’d start being more cautious. Remember, many plugins in the directory are created and distributed for free on the developers’ dime. So give them a little time. Some are quick about it, some are not. Usually, I would not install or use a plugin that looks dead like they haven’t been updated in about a year or more and there has only been one version with no updates from the time it was released.

Most of the time, I work with text files so an open source tool like WinMerge has worked really well. WinMerge also can compare folder contents. What if you want to compare documents?

For Open Office, open the first document, then go to Edit >> Compare Document >> look up the 2nd document to compare with.

For Microsoft Word 2007 which I do not have I was told you go to Review >> Compare

What if you have neither? Diff Doc might help. It can do DOC, XLS, PDF, HTML, Powerpoint and still retain its formatting – that’s the claim. The price is quite hefty though at $199 per copy. They do have a free download so you can evaluate if it is the right tool before putting down that chunk of hard earned cash for it.

Camtasia is celebrating their 10th birthday. They are offering 10% off multi-user licenses (5 or 10 user license packs) for Camtasia Studio, Snagit and Snagit/Camtasio Studio bundles. Most of us only need one license but if you could pool a few people together to make one purchase, it might be worthwhile. Offer expires Dec 7, 2009.

ZoneAlarm 2010 – depending on which version you choose, get it for 28% – 50% discount.

RoboForm Pro – it is supposed to be a Halloween only special but we swung by the website today and still see the banner is up for 20% discount. I highly recommend this one of you don’t already have it.

Because the files are also backed up using Mozy to their servers and I can restore them anytime. Yes, the external drive was backup and storage. I also had Mozy come back to do a 2nd backup. Scenarios like these are exactly the reasons why you should have an immediate on-site backup so you can get to that data immediately. Mozy is like extra insurance so if both the hard drive and external drives fail, there’s one more fall back. Also, if (God forbid) something happens to the home office, I can always get my data off from Mozy.

How does it all work?

It’s quite simple really. After signing up with Mozy, you download and install a piece of software. Using the software, you tell Mozy which files and folders you want to back up. You don’t have to select everything. As a matter of fact, I don’t. I only select the folders where I save my data to and email folders.

Next, you tell is when and how often it should backup your files and it will do it’s thing in the background all on its own.

Have a lot of Gigabytes of data and worried about cost?

That’s what is nice about Mozy (home). They weren’t kidding about the unlimited, for a flat $4.95 a month.

What you need to know

When you first install the Mozy desktop software and start backing up, it could take days to backup all the files you want it to. There are several factors at play. Like you can choose when the software should backup so it won’t interfere with the times you are using your computer the most. Another factor of course is your own Internet connection. If you have many Gigabytes please do sign up ahead of time and let it do it’s thing. It took me around 5 days to get everything backed up. Once you get through that, then the daily backups are quick because it doesn’t do it all over again, simply backup what has changed or is new. So… if you think your drive is failing or are facing a time crunch, I don’t think this will work too well.

Does it work on Mac?

Yes, they released a new Mac version recently.

Can you backup your external drive?

Yes, if you hook it up directly to your computer. But if your external drive is one that is attached to the network (plugs in your router), then that would be considered a network drive. Network drives can be backed up if you use MozyPro for business.

I have been a customer for more than 2 years and been a happy camper so far. It already saved me once. If you want to try it out, you can get a free account with 2GB worth of storage.

Kinda hard to do the wave with a few friends. There are only a handful of friends I know who have Wave but even then, they aren’t all that into it. I wanted it mostly for collaboration especially with my business partners, VA and programmer. Only one of my contacts are actually the people I actually want to use Wave with. This doesn’t mean I can’t wave with casual acquaintances, I just don’t have much stuff to wave with know what I mean?

So I’m thinking well I can still use this to organize my own stuff and brainstorm my own projects but two things just make me very queasy.

You can delete a wave but you can’t empty the trash. OK, I know that anything that I do on a 3rd party server is always a big question mark because I never know if whatever I want deleted is actually deleted. Heck I can’t even guarantee that on my own computer – unless I use a shredder program. Still… the thought of it stored there is kinda creepy.

Talking about creepy, you also at the moment cannot remove someone from a wave after you added them to it. Eek! I know these things will eventually get worked out. It is beta after all and that is the whole idea of beta – hello Lynette! – yet… I don’t know. While it does seem very interesting and a somewhat impressive tool, I’m treading cautiously for now.

So, you very likely have the 2nd tier setting in the admin area to blank or 0. Depending on which version you have, this doesn’t turn off the 2nd tier. So if A refers B and the buyer buys from B, A could get an email to say there was a sale but $0 sale which is confusing to the affiliates and also rather problematic to explain to the affiliate who received the $0 email. Most will understand but I really hate such things because it plants the seed of suspicion in the affiliate’s mind.

If you have an older version prior to 3.1.6 the problem probably exists on your copy of the software. You can either update or, ask aMember to apply the fix for you.

• Didn’t like that others controlled my most important links that I wanted to track.
• Wanted to tweet links my friends trust to click through without fear of malicious content (my domain, my brand).
• Wanted to be prepared for affiliate program policy changes since some affiliate programs were already talking about or started to add a clause in their policy where we couldn’t use our affiliate links with a domain we do not own/control.

So Pretty Link came into existence at the right time for me. It looked really, really good that later on, they released a Pro version, I jumped directly in it. Here’s my experience with it.

Installation and use

Easy. Anyone who has installed a WordPress plugin can do it without a problem at all. You can get the free version first and when ready to go Pro, after purchase, all you need to do is click on the Pro link in your installation then enter the username and password. No re-install required.

Creating links is also super easy. You can create them manually.

The process is simple, like creating a link in any URL Shortener. Enter your target URL – the URL of the page you want people to go to. Then you enter a code for the pretty link – see the red circle? Pretty Link automatically generates a short random code for the URL. You can edit it and make it something more descriptive if you wish. I generally like to create short descriptive ones for affiliate links since they will be used and re-used again and again. Easier to remember. For pages and other redirects, leaving them random works.

The title and description is optional. Description is for your own reference. Click submit and you’ve got a new pretty link. Simple huh?

Features I Like

There are quite a few things inside Pretty Link Pro that I like a lot, while I can’t cover them all here, these are highlights of the biggest reasons why I went pro.

Pretty Bar feature

This is not a Pro feature. You get this in the free version. I like that I can have a small bar on the top of redirected links that allow me to add my own messages before they leave my site completely. I’m thinking of adding a newsletter subscription on the bar. I know some people do not like this at all, the argument is, it interferes with the user experience and maybe even some affiliate programs’ policies because you are technically, displaying the site in an iframe. I’m still chewing on that one. For right now, it is an experiment to see what works/don’t work.

Rest assured, you can turn the Pretty Bar feature off so you won’t be having any problems with any affiliate programs or any user complaints. As for as editing the bar goes, it is not that easy. Pretty Link does give you the option to edit the graphic, colors, background etc but I wanted more customization. I did it by hacking the plugin which is not recommended for general use because updating will be a problem, and you could break the plugin. Other than that, Pretty Bar, I like… for now.

Keyword Replacement (Pro only)

This works a lot like the affiliate link URL replacement plugins. Basically, you tell it what keywords to be aware of, set the link that keyword should associate with, then it automatically replace any text on your site with the link. Time saver.

Auto Link Creation (Pro only)

This is nice to save time, basically every post or page you create can have it’s own short URL. It can generate these links for you. You can even have a Twitter badge with these generated short URLs and you can Tweet the links as well. I don’t use this option yet because right now, I’m only using this to centralize affiliate links and as my personal redirect service. But it is nice when I need it.

Public Link Creation (Pro only)

This was one of the major things that attracted me to it because I thought of creating a short URL service just for my affiliates to use. What it means – you can use this plugin to help you create a short URL service, your very own TinyURL.

Customize Base URL (Pro only)

This is more technical and therefore appealed to me. If the URL where this plugin is installed in is long, you can purchase or use another domain, and ‘map’ it to Pretty URL – yeah like I said, it’s heavy geek stuff though very neat.

Other things I like – Nofollow which I set as default. I don’t want these links indexed. Rotate links so you can do split testing. Grouping to organize things and of course tracking!

Overall, I am quite happy with the plugin. I think you will get a lot even if you for the free version. I find the Pro price tag of $97 a little hefty but on the other hand, the developer has been very active in releasing updates and supporting the plugin so really, you’re not paying for the plugin only you’re also paying for a lifetime of updates and support – this is true at time of writing. Also, you can install on as many blogs as you own so it could work out as a nice deal overall. I’m giving it a thumbs up.

This is nothing of the sort. I can’t speak of it yet lest my idea be hijacked but also because if I cannot do it, then I won’t disappoint you at least. But I’m writing not to focus on this idea of mine.

Thing is, as hard as it is to swallow this FTC pill, there is a silver lining somewhere. We may not realize it right away. So are you going to be up for the challenge or will you give it up and say to hell with it?

What I do know for sure is…

If you receive payment in form of product or cash to blog about someone/something then disclosure is much recommended or face a potential fine.

What is not so clear is, how does this affect affiliates?

What if I purchased the product (which I most often do), review it and use my affiliate links? The product was certainly not free for me but it could be if someone purchases it on my recommendation and I earn the money back. Do we disclose on the eventuality of getting paid?

I am all for transparency and making things better.

Good thing for me, I don’t do flat out paid reviews – at all. So there’s a big relief, no need to go back to change the texts but still… how does it affect my affiliate pages which is in a good percentage of my content? For now, I’m just going to go by the if it was outright free for me then I’ll disclose. Otherwise, a new disclosure clause is going up on the content. I have no idea if that will satisfy big brother but he has to be clearer. Some people say “just play by the rules and you’ll be safe” but it’s kinda hard to “play by the rules” when you don’t exactly know all the rules.

Like you, still learning and reading. Things could change in a week.

Here are more good places to read up and the differing opinions wagered.

• If you’re into reading pages and pages of government documentation, you could review the guidelines here and here.
• A mommy blogger’s perspective
• From WOMMA
• From WebProNews
• On AdAge
• eWeek
• From an affiliate perspective
• And finally, the best and most entertaining explanation in my opinion, from Frank Kern.

Oh and no, I did not get paid to link to anybody

Image courtesy of Orin Zebest

Image by Julia Freeman-Woolpert

A little background information. I joined the site just for the opportunity to get coupons and special offers. The site has forums, feedback area, polls, articles. I had no plans to participate on the site nor read any articles or emails. Yes, I am a free loader. Don’t judge me too harshly yet read on.

A few months after joining this free community, an email arrived that said something to the effect that they have not seen me ‘around’ the site, politely asking if I was still interested. If not, do nothing and my account will be removed. If I was still interested, then open the emails, come to the site, participate. The email mentioned something that got my attention 200%. They reward those who are most active. The more participation, the more goodies the member can expect to receive. WOW!

Maybe I was searching for ways to stimulate a ‘lazy’ membership site around that time but that email was a revelation. Reward your active members, get inactive members to act by letting them know the more they do, the more they will be rewarded. Did it work?

Yes. I’ve since been a lot more active. I open every single one of their emails now and make it a point to visit the site once a week. I’ve even commented on articles, discussions, provided feedback and completed polls. Because of them, I’ve also resolved to look for ways to reward my active readers/commenters/newsletter subscribers, customers etc too. There are some caveats, although they did well covering those in my opinion.

1. Whatever the reward is, it must be of high value whether perceived or real. Something that the member would do anything (legal and not harmful of course) to get. In my case, 10 pieces of $1 or $1.50 off coupons mailed to me is very valuable. In a way you must make them feel like your resource is like the goose that lays golden eggs.
2. They don’t tell me exactly what I will receive or when. I think this depends on how you work it. If you are going to do this regularly then maybe not mentioning it is a good thing to keep people on their toes. A little bit of mystery also keeps the anticipation high. But if you want to keep them in the dark, see #1, the reward must be good!

My next thought, being the techie I am turned to, how? How do I know who to reward? How do I track these people? Ah! For that we need technology. Some simple, some not. Naturally, start with the simplest. I’ll followup with another post with one of the first ways I tried, plus a small script. If you aren’t signed up to my newsletter (see top right corner of this page), do so now to get notified of the post and download.