Web PieRat

I admit it, I used a coworker’s Google+ invitation to sign up two days ago, and now I’m surrounded by … no one I know. For the first day I couldn’t even find anyone I didn’t know.  I’m here to tell you, a social network with no social is extremely depressing and a little creepy. It was starting to feel a little bit like The Blair Witch Project, when they were separated and scrambling through the woods in the dark lost and alone. “I’m so … scared….”

Why was it so hard to find anyone else on Google+? How long would the typical new user really put up with this sad experience on a new social network? Not very long. But I’m a geek. And I want Google+ to win with an unreasonably strong desire.

Then I discovered the “Nearby” screen in the mobile app’s Stream. When viewing your Stream in the Google+ Mobile android app, just swipe to the right to switch to the Nearby Stream. At least now I could see comments from people I didn’t know physically nearby having conversations I didn’t really care about. But they were people — I’m not alone anymore!

Better than skulking around after random people, today I discovered that Mashable and The Next Web are on Google+ and followable! Following them led me to discover their writers, such as my favorite Mashable author Ben Parr. Ben is single-handedly lighting up the stream with Google+ chatter, Hangouts and generally helping folks practice their Google+ing. Now my stream has content in it, and I can see the appeal of Google+ a little more clearly. I’m more eager than ever to invite my friends so that I can use Google+ how it was actually intended.

Today Google+ is a mini-Twitter to me. Content streaming in from a couple of blogs I already follow in my feed reader.  Not that interesting, but a novelty.

In the future, I can see Google+ as a maxi-Facebook. Google+’s sharing and communication features are superior to Facebook’s. Hangout is brilliant, and I don’t even like video chatting. The idea of “hanging out” with a group of friends near and far online over video somehow seems more desirable than video chat, even though I know it’s the same thing. Incorporating it into a social experience where I’m likely to be signed in most of the day anyway on my PC and phone, though, makes it somehow feel more interesting.

All I need now are my friends and family. And guess who has them: Facebook. No, you can’t add your friends directly from Facebook to Google+ since Facebook and Google don’t Like each other. But Mohamed Mansour developed a Chrome plug in that let’s you export your Facebook friends to CSV or Google Contacts, from which you can add them to your Google+ Circles. Way to go! I’m trying it out right now. With 400+ Facebook friends, it’s a slow process, but it’s working in the background so what do I care. Hopefully someone I really care about out of those 400+ friends will be on Google+ too.

LinkedIn also allows you to export your connections here http://www.linkedin.com/addressBookExport. I should do this anyway, but importing these 460-some connections into my Google Contacts now will likely yield a  few more Google+ers.

Aside from those import options, I wait for invitations to open up again. Care to follow me? Jill Kocher on Google+.

Woot’s daily t-shirts often amuse me, but until now I haven’t felt compelled to buy one. Lets count the reasons the Pie(Rate) Chart shirt is awesome, shall we?

1. Pun on pirates featuring the word pie. Obviously awesome. (*cough* PieRat *cough*)
2. Features a pie chat detailing stereotypical pirate attributes.
3. Pie chart does not appear to add up to 100%, which will perturb friends and strangers.
4. Pleasure experienced in explaining the joke to the unenlightened.
5. Last but not least, it’s a geeky pirate math joke on a t-shirt. Come on, people!

If you’re still wondering what the punchline is, here you go. I love a geeky discussion thread even more than a geeky t-shirt.

From the shirt’s description:

“Well, ye blasted fool, did ye not notice that the circle has a great big patch in the center? Aye, lad, and that patch be coverin’ a missin’ 9%, most likely! And don’t ye be feelin’ foolish now?”

From a forum geek:

9% missing
“i” is the ninth letter
i = eye
Patch = to fill
therefore: eye patch fills in the missing value
It is a simple case of pirate math people

From the shirt’s creator:

haha, sorry the lack of 100 percent add-up has made some people jump overboard on this shirt’s purchase! There were actually two reasons/jokes we were going for here and both have been mentioned already:

1. 9 percent eyepatch!

2. Pirates ain’t no good at mathimacation, land lubbers!

As for some of the pie slices not matching up to their percentages perfectly, we felt melding the pie colors in a visually pleasing way was more important than aligning to the exact percentages. For instance, the red pie slice is supposed to vaguely look like a sideways pirate hat, as well as the peg leg placed around where the leg might be on a person, the squawk on the shoulder, and the booty…well, I won’t sink as low as our tee does on that front.

Thanks again for the love/indifference!

Waiting for that multimedia dock that was supposed to launch for the HTC Thunderbolt? So was I. But with no release date in sight I cancelled my order and grabbed the Seidio Thunderbolt Charging Dock cradle instead.

This charging dock fits my HTC Thunderbolt with Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case like … well like it was made for it! It fits the Active and Surface cases, but not the Convert cases for the Thunderbolt. I don’t know why more mobile accessory manufacturers don’t do this — pairing a case with a charging dock makes perfect sense. The customer doesn’t have to worry about whether the phone and case will fit in the charging dock because they were made to work together.

From the manufacturer’s site:

Sync and charge your HTC ThunderBolt without the hassle of removing your SURFACE™, SURFACE™ Extended, ACTIVE™, or ACTIVE™ Extended case with our included cable.

The charging dock comes with a plastic insert that holds the Thunderbolt securely in place when the case is off, whether the stock battery or the extended battery is in use. Remove the plastic insert from the charging dock and the Thunderbolt fits snugly in the cradle with its Seidio ACTIVE case on, again whether the stock or extended battery is in use. Four case/battery configurations, one charging cradle. Very smart.

Aesthetically, this charging dock is functional but not sexy. It’s your basic rectangle with rounded corners and an indentation to hold your phone in landscape mode. The OEM charging dock I had for my BlackBerry Storm 2 was sexy: smooth and sculpted metallic pewter and black. That said, it’s a charging dock and both perform their core charging functions equally well despite the aesthetic differences. The only design plus for this charger is that the surface of the Seidio Thunderbolt Desktop Charging Cradle is silky smooth like the exoskeleton on the ACTIVE case, a subtle reminder that they belong together.

The Seidio Thunderbolt Desktop Charging Cradle doesn’t have any ports for audio or video on the rear, just a micro USB connection to connect to the power source. The USB connector is a bit wiggly side to side, but I haven’t had any connection issues. Since the cradle just sits by my bedside the micro USB in connector doesn’t need to stand up to any frequent plugging/unplugging or strenuous portable use. The charging dock comes in two flavors: with micro USB cable included for $30 or with a full power supply for $40. It’s nice to have the choice.

Strangely, there’s a green LED that lights when the unit is plugged in, on the rear next to the USB connector. I suppose this was meant to reassure you that power is flowing, though the fact that my screen turns on and the phone’s orange charging LED lights up is really all the confirmation I need. It’s not a big deal, just seems wasteful.

If you’re looking for a quick shipping multimedia dock, this isn’t it. But if you want a sturdy dock to charge your HTC Thunderbolt with or without its case and extended battery, the Seidio Thunderbolt Desktop Charging Cradle will meet your needs nicely.

Google’s SEO liaison and head spam cop Matt Cutts is repeating his mantra on user experience every chance he gets these days. But who’s to say what that great user experience consists of?

Search Engine Journal quoted Cutts at Inside Search:

“Google is trying to figure out what users want. And so rather than you as an SEO chasing after Google, and Google chasing after what users want, if you chase directly after what users want, then both you and Google are trying to get to the top of the same mountain in some sense.”

In principle, I agree. SEO changes frequently. Quick tricks that worked last year don’t work now. Stop looking for the easy way to game the engines and focus on what matters long term. But Cutts isn’t saying that SEO is dead (sigh). He’s saying that the kind of SEO that looks for loopholes to exploit is shortsighted and SEOs who rely on those loopholes are just asking to get smacked down by whatever the next Panda-esque update is.

But back to the focus on user experience focus rather than SEO. Put 10 people in a room and you’ll get 12 different opinions on what great user experience means for single site. I work with a lot of people who are certain that great user experience means AJAX-y navigation and personalization. As a user I tend to agree. However, if a site focuses solely on that lovely user experience and doesn’t provide a crawlable alternative, how exactly is that going to equate to great organic search visibility?

As with all SEO advice, the key is in moderation. You have to have both SEO and user experience. You can’t focus on one strategy, tactic, trick, fad, news item. SEO is a moderate blending of all the cool stuff you read in SEO blogs, filtered through your experience, webmaster guidelines, and analysis of your unique site’s data and business requirements.

So, abandon all SEO and read up on a bunch of UX books? I wouldn’t. Instead, think about what aspects of SEO might have a positive or negative impact on user experience and vice versa:

• Keyword stuffing vs unique, engaging content
• Shallow synopsis of other sites vs unique, engaging content
• Link stuffing vs intuitive and relevant cross linking
• Bait and switch tactics vs giving users what they expected when they came to your site
• Spamming up forums and comments with irrelevant links vs thoughtful community participation

The core goals that SEO and search engines share still come down to valuing unique content, earned links and crawlable sites. These three values create a positive user experience. And that positive user experience increases the likelihood that you’ll earn more quality links. That’s what ethical SEO is all about.

I guess SEO has gone completely mainstream: from outing articles in the New York Times to Dilbert’s cartoon take on black hat activities.

Yesterday’s strip has Dilbert’s boss intentionally asking for black hat SEO methods. In reality most management types don’t actually request for the black stuff by category, rather they request SEO tactics that they are unaware are discouraged by webmaster guidelines. SEO tectics such as buying links, doorway sites, cloaking, keyword and link stuffing, and other tactics all fall into this camp. Still, it’s far funnier this way.

So what happens? It’s unclear whether this result could be classified as banning or some form of bombing, but who cares. It’s funny!

PS: Scott Adams, if you’re listening, your Facebook Share button doesn’t share the image thumbnail, only the text and URL. At least on Chrome. Sad face.

Google Keyword Tool is a window into the world’s innermost desires. Often the keywords reported are mundane and predictable: [palm springs hotels], [hotels in palm springs], [cheap palm springs hotels]. The relative search frequencies for variations on search terms are occasionally interesting, but usually the terms themselves are pretty predictable. Some days, however, I’m struck by the oddity of a phrase that I see in the reports. To the keywords that brighten my days I dedicate my new “As Seen on GKT” column.

Today’s As Seen on GKT: [clothing optional hotels palm springs]

My favorite aspects of this phrase:

1. Clothing optional, not nudist. As if these searchers are either uncertain that they want to commit to full nudity, or recognize that perhaps there are some situations in which nudity is not preferable. Or perhaps one member of the party prefers to be nude and the other prefers to remain clothed. OR perhaps the searcher wishes to remain clothed but likes to be among nude people. So many interesting reasons why someone might prefer the optional option.
2. Palm Springs is a frequently searched destination for those who prefer optional clothing. It’s sunny and warm year ’round, so that makes sense. But Palm Springs is in the desert, known for its intense rays. I’m hoping their lack of packed clothing leaves lots of room for sunscreen. In case you’re wondering, other popularly searched options include Key West and the Caribbean.

I don’t understand how the press on Google’s recently launched “Me on the Web” tool classifies this feature as a reputation management tool. “Me on the Web” is basically an FAQ, a repackaging of pre-existing information and tools that Google hosts in it’s Account Help section and links to from users’ account dashboard. Regardless, this repackaging is an affirmation that searchers are increasingly interested in and concerned about the information associated with their names and email addresses. Searchers care about what others see connected to their names in search results, and they want to know how to manage it.

Here’s Google’s official stance:

We run into a lot of people who think that Google runs the web and controls all the sites on it, but that’s really not the case. The sites in Google’s search results are controlled by those sites’ webmasters.

Essentially Google is saying, “We don’t own this stuff, we just distribute it. Don’t blame us.” But searchers do. Hence the need for “Me on the Web.”

So what can the average human being do to manage their online reputation viewed through Google’s search results? Not much really, unless the content in question is confidential personal information. Google recommends:

1. Set up a Google profile: The best way to be sure Google sees the good side of you is to feed it the information directly.

2. 

   Be knowledgeable: Google yourself and/or set up alerts. Googling yourself is hardly new, and Google Alerts have been around for years. But Google does add a nice twist to the equation here by offering a link to “Set up search alerts for your data” that pops up a prepopulated box with your name and email address to get you started.

3. Remove unwanted content from the site: Searchers who find skeletons in their search results are encouraged to remove the content themselves if it’s on a site or profile they own, or to contact the owner to request that they remove the content. If it’s a news source, you’re out of luck. If the content is from someone who is intentionally trying to smear you, you’re out of luck. If the site owner doesn’t want to or doesn’t exist anymore, you’re out of luck.
4. Request removal from search results:  If you own the content, you can request that Google remove it from their search results. This option only works for site owners and under urgent circumstances. Google’s definition of urgent, by the way, doesn’t include your embarrassment at being photographed with a lampshade on your head at that party last weekend.
5. Post positive content: Push negative content lower in the search results by blogging, creating positive profiles on social sites like Twitter and Facebook, getting positive press, etc.

Violations of  privacy involving personal confidential information like social security numbers, financial account numbers, images of your signature and instances of names fraudulently associated with pornography do receive special treatment, however.

If you find a page in Google search results that lists personal information such as your social security or credit card number, let us know using the links below. Google will contact the site’s hosting company to request that the page be taken down from the web. We’ll also take steps to remove the information from our search results.

It seems to me that Google’s “Me on the Web” is primarily a CYA tactic to stir up a little good press and deflect searcher frustration, not an actual concern about reputation management. It does little for the common concerns of everyday searchers, and leaves them with few options to combat minor but embarrassing reputation issues.

I can’t say I really blame Google for the stance its taking, though. There’s no sane way to mediate the world’s online tantrums to identify what is embarrassing ”truth” worth returning in search results and what is just harmful maliciousness that doesn’t deserve to be seen.

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto,
Let’s call the whole thing off

Internet governing body ICANN approved custom gTLDs yesterday, making it possible for sites with too much cash looking to be too cutting edge to blow $185,000 per gTLD + $25,000 annually on vanity TLDs and domains like bmw.car, nike.shoes or pepsi.cola.

With such a steep price tag only the very rich will be able to afford these custom gTLDs, AKA generic top level domains, which will hopefully minimize their release into the wild. I have three major concerns:

1. Usability: Internet users are entrenched in their .com ways, or their .ca or .co.uk ways. Whatever the primary TLD is for a country, the majority of internet users will try to append it to whatever URL offered them. Trying to get users to your supercool new hot.wings domain? They’re probably going to stick .com on the end of that and end up somewhere else.
2. Brand: For big brands, the only ones who could reasonably afford this vanity service, why oh why would you risk confusing customers and prospects with the scenario above? Most brands are still trying to master marketing and transactions on their primary .com web site. Adding a vanity TLD to the mix sounds like an expensive recipe for #fail.
3. Trademark Violations: If any word can be applied for as a gTLD, brands will have a harder time protecting against trademark violations. For example, with Nike’s brand strength it should pretty easy to prevent anyone but Nike from registering .nike as a gTLD. But would it be permissible for me to apply for the .shoes gTLD and then put domains on it for nike.shoes, adidas.shoes, etc. Afterall, shoes.com has the right to create a nike.shoes.com subdomain on their own shoes.com domain. Should the laws be different if the domain is nike and the TLD is .shoes instead of .com? ICANN’s site makes reference to this thorny area:

ICANN does not accept reservations or pre-registrations based on trademarks. But registries will be required to operate sunrise or intellectual property claims services for the protection of trademarks.
–gTLD FAQ

The registry operator must implement, at a minimum, a Sunrise period and a Trademark Claims service during the start-up phases for registration in the TLD, as provided in the registry agreement. These mechanisms will be supported by the established Trademark Clearinghouse as indicated by ICANN. The Sunrise period allows eligible rightsholders an early opportunity to register names in the TLD. The Trademark Claims service provides notice to potential registrants of existing trademark rights, as well as notice to rightsholders of relevant names registered. Registry operators may continue offering the Trademark Claims service after the relevant start-up phases have concluded.
– gTLD Applicant Guidebook (PDF)

Unsolicited Advice: Buy it.

I’ve only used the Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case for a week now, but I knew as soon as I opened the package that this case was exactly what I need.

I drop my phone. A lot. And I demand longer battery life than the Thunderbolt’s stock battery delivers. So the lack of a decent case that fits the HTC Thunderbolt with its extended battery resulted in a lot of scars on my lovely new phone over the last 2 months. No longer!

Product Overview:

The Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case for the HTC Thunderbolt is actually a two-piece case designed to provide shock absorption as well as the usual protection against scratches and dents. The layer closest to your Thunderbolt is a rubbery polymer that I mistook in the photos for that sticky silicone that cases are usually made from. The outer layer is a rigid plastic exoskeleton claw that fits snugly over the polymer layer. According to Seidio:

• Overall thickness of only 2.2 mm
• Interior casing made from impact absorbing polymer and exterior skeleton provides extra protection at impact points
• Easy to put in and pull out of your pocket or purse

From my own experiences with the case this week:

PROS of the Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case:

• Quality: The two-piece case is molded perfectly. I was skeptical that the pieces would lay flush, but it meets my high standards. The port holes are in the right place, smoothly cut and don’t limit usage.
• Feel: The polymer/silicone inner layer is not “sticky” and doesn’t attract lint. It’s not as smooth going into your pocket as a caseless phone, but it is much better than a grabby silicone case. The case is strong, slightly thicker around the edges of the screen, and doesn’t feel easy to tear.
• Durability: The plastic exoskeleton clamps the softer silicone case into place firmly, lending even more strength to the case.
• Kickstand: Kudos for including a kickstand, since the case covers the phone’s kickstand and we all love the Thunderbolt’s kickstand. I’m glad they didn’t try to just leave the phone’s kickstand accessible, because the thickness of the case really does make it to hard to pry the kickstand open in other cases I’ve seen for the old EVO.
• Dock: Seidio makes a charging dock that fits the Thunderbolt with and without a case and with and without the extended battery. Genius! Why don’t more case companies make docks that fit them? It’s such a common complaint/request. I just ordered this one, so look for the review soon. UPDATE: Review of the Seidio HTC Thunderbolt Charging Dock

CONS of the Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case:

• 

  Kickstand: Yes, I’m glad it’s included, but it’s kind of wimpy. It’s thinner than the phone’s kickstand (IE not as wide), so the Thunderbolt sits just barely off kilter. Just barely. It’s stable, not in danger of tipping over, but it doesn’t make the phone stand dead on straight like the stock kickstand does. Given the awesomeness of the stock kickstand, it’s not surprising that a replacement on a $30 case would be lesser than, but since this is a review I’m mentioning it. Also, there’s are two little plastic nubs on the kickstand at the rounded end (not the hinge end) that keep the kickstand securely in place when shut away. I liked to use my stock kickstand as a kind of finger rest between my third and fourth fingers to keep my phone from slipping as I held it. The nubs dig in to my skin, making this uncomfortable.

• Heat? I’m not certain, but I think my phone is running a bit warmer to the touch with the case on. It’s bound to happen with any case, and it’s not hot, but there you have it.
• Feel: The polymer/silicone is kind of slick, almost silky smooth. I like the feel but it’s definitely not “grippy” if that’s what you want. The guys who hold my phone don’t like the feel, saying they think they might drop it, but the women prefer the smooth feel. It is noticeably slicker than other silicone sleeves, though, and does tend to slowly slip through my hand when I’m reading.
• Seam: There’s a mold seam all the way around the phone on the edges, on both the polymer layer and the exoskeleton. Aesthetically it’s nice that they line up, but I find that it digs into my fingers a bit when I’m holding it for long periods of time reading. It’s not extreme, but if you like to read for long periods of time like I do it’s a consideration.

The cons I have listed are pretty weak compared with the positive aspects of the case. I haven’t dropped my Thunderbolt yet with the case on, but I feel much more confident. It fits so snugly that I doubt the battery and door will be able to pop off accidentally when I do drop it (which is only a matter of time).

For those of you who have already scuffed your phone’s shell, the Seidio ACTIVE Extended Case hides all the many areas I had already dented and scuffed. The only uncovered areas are the Thunderbolt’s screen, a half inch at the top where the speaker and front facing camera live, and a quarter inch below the screen.

Available for around $30 at Seidio Online, Amazon, and AndroidCentral among others.

I love this chart from yesterday’s Google event to announce Instant Pages, a new feature that preloads the first result in order to serve it instantly. My interest was immediately draw from the announcement itself to the promise of Google’s mobile search trends.

Mobile search is still young, but it’s growing at a rate consistent with desktop searches in the olden days. At least on Google.

The red line is mobile, and it’s ramping much more quickly than desktop search did. It’s unclear what volume of searches we’re talking about here. I suppose we’re meant to assume that the X axis is consistently labeled so that we’re seeing similar volumes, not just a similar trend line shape.

Once upon a time when desktop search was young, Google wasn’t the ubiquitous brand name it is now, and frankly there just wasn’t as much demand for instant knowledge powered by web search. Remember when you had a phone book and used it for something more than … well … filling your recycling bin? Today we all know Google, and we all want answers instantly. Search is the fastest way to fill that insatiable need to know. Mobile search is the always-available, in-your-pocket-or-purse, have-an-itch-and-scratch-it tool.

As more people trade in their feature phones for smartphones, mobile search will explode much faster than desktop search did. More people have phones, more people have their phones on and on them, and mobile feeds the instant impulse. Not only will the numbers of people who can access mobile search ramp more quickly than the number of people who had access to desktop computers, the mobile platform is more prone to an elevated number of searches per person.

It’s a fantastically exciting time for online marketers staring at the evolution of search from desktop to desktop and mobile. I wrote an article yesterday for Practical Ecommerce entitled: “Google Says Smartphone Sites Aren’t Mobile.” It’s highly unlikely that the smartphone version of a site will rank well in a search from a smartphone. Google prefers the desktop version with its juicy links and older age, etc. From an SEO standpoint, serving mobile searchers really boils down to the strength of your desktop site and the tactics you use to direct smartphone searchers to smartphone content. As silly as I personally think this is, and as inconsistent with Google’s stated goal of serving the right content to the right users, it’s reality. I’ll be very interested to see if and how Google adapts to serve the right version of mobile-oriented content to mobile searchers as the numbers of mobile searchers increases.