Archives for April 2006

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“Innocent” Trackback Spam Can Knock Your Page Views

Posted on April 25, 2006 ·

I though I’d share this:  recently I’ve seen some seemingly pointless trackback spam that appeared to have come from the main sites of Yahoo, MSN, Google ..etc.  I could not figure who benefited from these, since there was not even a hidden link to any other site.  Still, I went ahead and clicked “delete and block” since, after all these were spam entries.

Today someone told me I came up third on a particular Google search, so of course I went ego-surfing, and voila! there I was – but I clicking through gave an error message. Now, why would Google be an illegal referrer?  Then it hit me: when I blocked those seemingly harmless trackbacks, I actually blocked just about all major search engines!   Checking my firewall entries, I found Yahoo, MSN, Microsoft, Google blocked.   So if you suspect you received such spam, this may be a good time to check your blocked domains.

The good news: despite my stupid act, site traffic in this period not only hasn’t dropped, it actually increased – I don’t even want to know how much more it would be without the bogus blocks…

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Filed Under: Blogging ·
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Wiki & Blog Events

Posted on April 24, 2006 ·

The “Father of the Wiki”, Ward Cunningham is featured in conversation with John Gage at the Computer History Museum tonight at 6pm.   This should be an interesting talk, I’ll be there – the side-benefit of attending these events that I always get to meet a few of my readers  face to face for the first time …

Tomorrow Uber-Blogger Robert Scoble will be amongst the panelists discussing  Blogs & Podcasts: Competitive Weapons or Too Much Hype? at the Santa Clara Hilton.   Another “must attend” event. Zbutton

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Filed Under: Blogging, Collaboration, Social Networking ·
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Ziki – a Brave New Business Model

Posted on April 24, 2006 ·

ZikilogoSome commenters on TechCrunch are asking the usual question: what’s the business model?   I think it’s obvious: Ziki has commission-based deals with sunglass-manufacturers.    If you visit the site, you’ll see it yourself – but not for long, your eyes will burn (sans shades).

On a more serious note: I will soon write about a truly innovative business model (by another company).

Update (4/24). Nobody else seems to have discovered the “secret deal” – they talk about Zikis social networking, tagging ..etc features.

Update (4/27): Ziki listens: they toned down the colors – there goes the sunglasses-deal
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Filed Under: Humor, Social Networking, Startups ·
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Sinkhole Under Home Swallows Man

Posted on April 24, 2006 ·

No, this is not some Stephen King story – the bizarre accident really happened, a man died and is stuck in 20–feet deep, 30–feet wide hole under what used to be his home.  

Sinkhole“At about 9:30 p.m Friday, the 32-year-old man was in a basement apartment in a section of the house that had recently been converted when the foundation suddenly snapped and opened up. He fell into the hole and was covered by debris. Emergency crews reached him but found no sign of life. It appears the sinkhole is getting bigger, and emergency crews said the house was too unstable to let a recovery team in.
“According to geologists in the area, they have determined that there is still movement occurring in the hole,” said Jeff Brand of the California Department of Forestry. “The hole was initially eight to 10 feet deep, 10 feet in diameter and with remote cameras, we have determined the hole [is now] 30 feet in diameter and well over 20 feet deep.” Officials have not yet determined what caused the sinkhole. They are looking into a range of possibilities including whether the recent rains softened the ground under the home or that the house is built over an unknown, abandoned mine shaft.”   (via The Sacramento Bee and The San Francisco Chronicle)

Watch the News10 video here. 

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Filed Under: Misc ·
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How to Host a Power Lunch

Posted on April 23, 2006 ·

Power Lunch EtiquetteThanks to Dan Farber at ZDNet for pointing to this short video on “How to host a power lunch”.    I share Dan’s emotion: now I know how clueless I’ve been all my life . 

I’ve also learned a lot about consistency and presentation techniques: e.g. seconds after announcing which seat the host should take, the presenter, playing the role of the host talks to us from the very seat supposedly reserved for the quest …

Another  bit I would argue with is the advice on not to bring business up until coffee or dessert is served.  I remember my first business lunch in Taiwan: it lasted 4 hours, was a major “production” and we really did not start talking business until the last hour.  However, since this video was shot in San Francisco, I assume it is largely talking to the local business crowd, where “business” means business: your lunch partner will likely expect substance, not just on his plate.  If you don’t bring your business up until the end, it may be too late: your guest will likely have concluded that you don’t have your act together, and this may be the last time you get his attention.

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Filed Under: Bay Area, Business, Misc, Social Networking ·
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Microsoft Getting Human

Posted on April 23, 2006 ·

Wow, for the first time in my life I’ve received an honest, almost-human Windows XP message: The installation is taking longer than expected.

Not as brutally honest as this one, but a good start

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Filed Under: Humor, Software ·
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Please Don’t Tell Me This is a Business

Posted on April 21, 2006 ·

I4giveulogoi4giveu is an Israeli site that allows people to post confessions and ask for the community’s judgment.  Confessions can be digged ranked, and you can become an Angel  or Devil. – see the full report on TechCrunch.

Oh, well, if this is for fun … .but I really, really hope this will not become a venture funded “business”.   I confess: I’m sceptical. 

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Filed Under: Misc, Social Networking, Startups ·
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$4 Gas is Here

Posted on April 21, 2006 ·

$4 gas is here … at least in Beverly Hills, CA.  Is this next?

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Filed Under: Business, Humor, Misc ·
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The Best Part of Waking Up is Sewage in Your Cup (?)

Posted on April 21, 2006 ·

FolgersApparently that’s what Folgers think.  In an ill-fated New York City commercial they placed photos of coffee-tops  on steaming manhole covers.   Yuccckkk….

(hat tip: BL Ochman) 

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Filed Under: Humor, Marketing / PR, Misc ·
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Doctors’ Mistake May Have Caused Ariel Sharon’s Stroke

Posted on April 20, 2006 ·

“Doctors in Israel have admitted making a mistake in December when they treated the then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, with large doses of blood thinners after a mild stroke, according to a TV investigation broadcast yesterday.

Mr Sharon has been comatose since suffering a stroke on January 4.

Channel 2 TV quoted doctors who treated him at Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital as saying that the anticoagulants given after a minor blood clot two weeks earlier might have caused the debilitating haemorrhagic stroke.

One of the doctors spoke of a “great failure” in the treatment of Mr Sharon, 78.”  reports The Guardian and The Jerusalem Post.

Scary.  You’d think the Prime Minister receives the best medical care….

Update (4/20):  Denial  at The Jerusalem Post.

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Filed Under: Politics ·
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