What’s The Protest About Web Censorship?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Vanessa Wood

I’m a habitual blogger. My blog posts are copyrighted material and yes, I’ve had my words stolen and reused on the Internet. There are copyright laws that protect the artist, the writer and others who’ve created intellectual material. The Internet is a glorious, magical way to share with others and promote ideas. I can take care of myself and I don’t want any more laws to protect me from piracy if it means web censorship. I refuse to have a few poo-poo-heads (see, I censored myself!) spoil it for me or for others.

Today many Internet websites are joining together to protest laws that the Federal government is seeking to enact. These laws are drafted to stop piracy of copyrighted material through web censorship  Some of the largest content providers like Google and Wikipedia are protesting this legislation. These sites provide information– anyone can post an article or update an article on Wikipedia and Google picks up content from millions of website making it available to any searcher through their search engine.  At times you may not like these companies — maybe you’ve found incorrect information on Wikipedia or Google has become “big business” and you don’t like the big guys.  But they have worked to keep information available online and have spent a lot of their own money to make legal precdence in a new technology age that has not precedence. Check out Google’s page that explains their position on these laws and offers a petition to sign.  (go to Google)

I’m a WordPress user and many of my clients use WordPress to publish their ideas online. Blogging has become the town square, the marketplace, the world’s library of periodicals. I looked at blogger.com and didn’t see a protest (by the way they are part of Google). However, WordPress.org has posted their protest for today. As a blogger and WordPress user I’m happy that they defend our right to be seen and heard.

Blogging is freedom of speech.

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Get Your Business Found on Your Facebook Profile

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Vanessa Wood

I was working with a new client who was curious of how increase their visibility online. Like most businesses it was not only important for them to be found by their name but they also wanted people to find them online by what they DO.

To test how easily they could be found online I did a Google search and searched for them in Facebook. Google turned up several results, however although they had a lively personal profile in Facebook, I couldn’t find them.  The search for what they DO was the most disappointing in Facebook because my search got results for their local competition, not my client.

It’s easy to miss, but the one thing that wasn’t on the client’s personal  Facebook profile was what they DO. What you do should appear at the top of your profile under your name.  Here are 3 things to do to make a fix to your profile that will have big impact on getting found.

  1. Click on Edit Profile and then select Education and Work to add your employment info.
  2. If you are a small business owner, you need your own Facebook page so you can link to it when completing this portion of your profile.
  3. If you work 2 or more jobs, be selective. Pick the job you really want to promote online because even if you add multiple jobs only one will appear on your profile.

Making the right choice when you first set up your Facebook profile or making a tiny fix now will help people find your business on Facebook.

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Approach WordPress Plugins With Due Caution

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Vanessa Wood

The beauty of WordPress is also the bane of many users. WordPress is an open source project so independent developers have contributed their talents to developing Plugins which can be added to a WordPress site to expand its functions.

Many smart phone users are familiar with apps. I use an iPhone and am continually amazed by the expanding number of apps and how there really is an app for just about everything. It seems that every time I look at WordPress Plugins that the number of Plugins grows as fast.  

While a user may upload a new Plugin expecting a hieghtened web experience , alas, not all WordPress Plugins are safe nor sane. I hear from clients who have installed a new Plugin only to find they have shut down their website, resulting in just a white error screen.  There are numerous independent developers of different talents, strengths and attention spans who are creating these Plugins. Some developers are quite diligent about updating, while others haven’t updated for years (usually stopping after a major WordPress update). Some Plugins are quirky and fail to work well with other Plugins right from the start. And some Plugins are new and working fabulously and stir up a lot of buzz online because they do their job and work successfully with other Plugins.

The safest way to select and install a Plugin is to first be aware of which version of the WordPress software you’re running on your site. Then when looking for a Plugin, read the right-hand column to see if the Plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you use.

The bottom of the right-hand column will also reveal the current “chatter” about the Plugin. Under the words “See what others are saying…” are the latest questions and comments that have been posted to the WordPress users’ forum. Some Plugins with known glitches have very telling comments in this area that should ward off any user.

Doing this little bit of research when selecting WordPress Plugins will save you time, money, and aggravation for your small business website.

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