Chiperoni ku Basel

Category: General

  • @pfefferle how do I add Webmention to my WP blog?

    I am trying out the POSSE tools for WordPress.

  • POSSE and WordPress – trying the tools

    I’m trying the POSSE tools for WordPress listed on Indie Web Projects.

    POSSE stands for Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere.

  • Bicycle commute

    Yesterday morning, while waiting for green at the traffic light, a car pulled up next to me playing Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley very loudly.

    Reggae sounds early in the morning. Made my day.

  • Writing for the web – assessing my own writing style

    I love reading list articles. This one crossed my paths this week.

    Just for fun, I’ll run thru the list and assess my own writing for the web style on this blog.

    So let’s get started”¦

    Provide a Reader’s Digest or Executive Summary version.
    I don’t write a reader’s digest or summary for posts on this blog. But it’s definitely recommended/good practice.

    Many of my Chiperoni blog posts tend to be short.

    Next tip:

    Key words in every post titles.
    Good tip. Often the post title displays on its own. Key words that clear reflect what the blog post is about will help readers decide to click and read the article. And there’s the SEO aspect.

    Self-assessment: I don’t spend much time on developing post titles for this blog. I often opt for descriptive titles. Copyblogger lists helpful formulas and categories.

    Lead with the conclusion.
    Answer the question “what is my benefit if I commit to read this post?”
    Same applies for presentations. Straightforward advice. Often we tend to forget the reader’s perspective. Some posts may look confusing.

    Chiperoni.ch is a collection of notes. More reviewing would be better.

    Be sure and provide hyper links to your sources.
    This is something I do diligently. It is only fair to provide a backlink to your source of inspiration. And it’s a way to document good online resources and build my own knowledge database.

    Make your content scannable to the eye.
    I try to keep paragraphs short and use bullets and headings. A further improvement would be to define H2s. I like the improved typography in web design.

    Write in an Inverted Pyramid style.
    Yepp. I don’t use this approach on my private blog. Again, the goal is to convey my main message in the top part of my post.

    Use common language.
    My writing style is simple and I tend to use common vocabulary. There are a lot of good reasons to use plain language.

    Why use plain language?

    Plain Language:

    • Shows customer focus
    • Communicates effectively
    • Eliminates barriers
    • Reduces time spent explaining
    • Improves compliance

     

    Get to the point, quickly.
    We’re all busy. Impatient.
    Don’t meander.
    Get to the point, quickly.

    Looking at my own writing style at Chiperoni central, I don’t edit my posts enough. But, I don’t waffle on for pages and pages either

    Make your post visually pleasing.
    Again, very obvious advice. Add graphics. Add photos.

  • Banana bread recipe

    For future reference:
    recipe

  • Duck

    I found this paste-up yesterday:
    ente gut alles gut

  • How to rank in 2013

    I found a good summary of SEO. Good practical framework to guide you through the 200+ rank factors. Recommended.

  • Keep this link: “How to launch anything”

    I enjoyed reading this article by Nathan Barry:

    “How to launch anything”

    Recommended read.

    space invaders

    My summary in my own words:

    Start marketing early – even before the product is developed. This helps to identify your audience and to write a marketing plan.

    Write with a purpose. Set a goal and work towards the goal.

    Analyze your starting point. Who do you have in your network? Who and what can help you reach your goal?

    No marketing budget to buy ads? Start teaching. Teach everything you know. It’s a way to start building trust and building a relationship.

    Create a good landing page with an email opt-in form.

    Write educational blog posts. Focus on creating high quality blog entries that teach the reader. Re-write and edit your blog entries until you feel they could be part of a book.
    Mention your product. Include an email opt-in form in each blog post. But don’t write to sell, write to teach.

    Collect email addresses and send out a regular newsletter. Remember contacts go cold.

    Plan your launch sequence. Communicate all details well in advance. Send a pitch email one day before the launch. On the launch day, send a simple announcement email. Publish your sales page. Consider offering a discount on launch day.

    Say thank you to everyone who helped you on the launch.

  • A flower snapshot

    a chiperoni.ch snapshot by nchenga
    a chiperoni.ch snapshot, a photo by nchenga on Flickr.

    A poppy for the boring flower set.

    Poppies are associated with Remembrance Day.

  • Summer time

    Finally summer is here. With a big bang. At least that’s my perception. After weeks and weeks of rain. Today temperatures may cross the 30 degree mark in Basel.

    badi

    Camera update:
    In case you’re wondering about the EXIF data. I swapped my Canon Powershot S90 with my mom’s Ricoh CX 6. And I bought a Lumix.

    I love the wild flowers that are growing along the road curbs. This traffic refuge was full of buzzing bees.

    RIMG0041

    RIMG0049

    Have a good week.

  • For the boring flower snapshot gallery

    Another addition for my boring flower snapshot set:

    flower power

    Carpe diem. Enjoy today. Don’t fight and argue. Meditate on beautiful and worthy things. Create something. Relax. Life is very short and fragile.

  • Is there life after death?

    Just heard very sad news via Skype about a tragic traffic accident.

    Is there life after death? How will you measure your life?

    Wir werden geboren, quälen uns ab, dann sterben wir. C'est tout

  • It’s ok to hate Twitter

    Interesting article:

    it may also reflect a changing attitude about social media: Our participation is still our choice, so maybe it’s time to talk about our problems with it, to think about ways to make our social lives better online.

    Just bellyaching because they can? Or is it a trend?

    From the archives:
    Will the masses ever use Twitter?

  • Social media sending less traffic, less clicks?

    While analyzing website analytics on this blog and on other sites, I’ve noticed that, in year-on-year comparisons, website links within social media streams on Facebook and Twitter are getting less clicks. Despite more followers and more content activity.

    Reasons?

    I think many of us are nearing saturation point.

    Sharing and liking functions are everywhere. More networks. More info. On top of all of the other to do lists and requirements and optimizations and check lists and productivity methods. The time I spend on browsing and exploring has decreased. Meanwhile, the supply of web content is infinite.

    Gone are the days where I was in social media discovery mode. I haven’t downloaded Vine. Or tried Highlight. I didn’t even visit Pinterest since the re-design.

    In addition, Facebook decides where to display posts, based on some secret algorithm based on some secret mixture of likes and previous behaviour. Maybe nobody sees my posts to start with cos i don’t have any fans/likes?

    Another reason is that very often I no longer need to click the link to go to the site. I can read the article in my preferred app or reading environment.

    A surfeit of social media?

    Maybe. But IMHO there is also less interaction and engagement. The excitement of interacting online is no longer new. It’s pervasive. Ubiquitous.

    And there’s the very real fear of losing privacy. And trolls. And spam. And corporations owning and reselling our data.

    Free and open

    Let’s not take our connected world for granted. Let’s not forget the benefits of connecting and linking with others.

    Let’s acknowledge and thank our sources. Simple things like leaving a comment or adding a backlink. Creating and adapting rather than consuming.

    What does it mean for communications at your day job?

    First and foremost, do not assume that anybody is interested in your press releases, product announcements, emails or company fan page. We’re not. Remember, everybody has a tight schedule.

    If you want to fail, assume they’re interested.

    Give more than you take.

    Make it easy to find and read your message. You need to be aware of best practises for good content, usability, on-page SEO, online advertising.

    Be flexible. Try different distribution channels. If you think your potential audience is on Linkedin or on Pinterest, try it. Try new things. IMHO, you’ll need a mixed strategy of traditional, email-based and social media channels.

    Keep playing. Keep testing. Keep iterating.

    Related articles:
    http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/b2b-social-traffic_b35539

    http://blog.kissmetrics.com/email-crushes-social-media/

    All The Marketing Statistics You Need To Know

  • Moving from Google Reader to WordPress.com

    Even though Google Reader showed up prominently in yesterday’s SERPs for “best free RSS reader”, someone at Google has decided to end the product life of Google Reader.

    Heh Google Search! Google Reader is closing

    It’s time to move on to a new RSS reader.

    Several RSS readers managed to survive despite Google Reader’s dominance. And some new ones emerged. These tools are getting frequent mentions:

    • Feedly
    • NewsBlur
    • RSSOwl
    • Zite
    • The old reader

    Digg decided to build a new reader the day Google announced the end of its Reader. In some ways, that’s the silver lining. RSS readers are getting more attention than in the past years combined.

    WordPress.com

    This is how you can import your RSS subscriptions into WordPress.com.

    First, go to Google Takeout to download your Google Reader data:

    google-takeout

    The process is fairly straightforward.

    Google Takeout

    Click Download and save the zip file on your computer.

    Google Takeout

    Voilà. Saved the data for future use. Who knew! I’ve got 6.5 MB of shared Google Reader articles.

    WordPress.com offers an RSS reader. I don’t know if I’ll make WordPress.com my RSS Reader, but there’s one advantage. I already have a login for WordPress.com. And it’s easy to try out. This is what I did to add my RSS subscriptions (not my past shared articles!) to WordPress.com:

    Wordpress Reader

    Click Import your subscriptions.

    Wordpress Reader

    I used the special service: Import your Google Reader sunscriptions directly.

    I allowed WordPress.com to access Google Reader.

    That’s it. Done.

    Wordpress Reader

    The challenge: so far WordPress.com isn’t in my regular flow of news sites that I visit. I use it for special photo projects, Akismet and Jetpack.

  • e-bike rage, i haz it

    I think i am developing a bad case of e-bike rage. Two days in a row, the same two e-bikes (bicycles powered by an electric engine) overtook me (cycling on a regular, muscle-powered bicycle) so closely, I thought they’d hit my bicycle handlebar.

    This morning I was waiting at a red light. A car was standing in the lane next to me. Just when the robot lights changed to green, and i started to pedal away, an e-bike hurtled thru from behind between my bicycle and the car.

    Next, just 2 minutes later, another e-biker on a black and white Cannondale had to overtake me in a small roundabout; while I was entering and exiting a roundabout. Kind of risky. Cos if i had taken the next exit, we would have collided.

    And I am pretty certain I saw the same two e-bikers yesterday….

    E-bikes are very popular here.

    Please don’t overtake at junctions, robots or in roundabouts.

    OK, thx bai.

  • Integrated

    For future reference:

    Better SEO through Integrated Content Marketing

  • Cafés in Basel

    Via Tageswoche, a list of cafés to visit in Basel:

    Your faves?

  • How to spend more time on the important tasks?

    Multi-tasking between several assigned projects can lead to situations where project team members can’t spend enough on their prio 1 tasks. Obviously the best remedy is to assign enough time resources for a project. But in reality, lots of big and small tasks pile on. Urgent. Last minute. And your strategically important project gets sidelined.

    prio-1-tasks

    The question is:
    How do you allocate enough time to your prio 1 tasks? Some things that work for me:

    1. Schedule and block time in your calendar for important projects
    2. Start your work day with the important tasks
    3. Set yourself reminders
    4. Seek active collaboration with other project members

    Your tips?

  • WP Jetpack comments blocked

    If you get a message like this on your WordPress site:

    Error 403

    We’re sorry, but we could not fulfill your request for /wordpress/wp-comments-post.php?for=jetpack on this server.

    You do not have permission to access this server. Data may not be posted from offsite forms.

    Your technical support key is:

    The security plugin Bad Behavior is preventing the comment from being published.

    You can either 1) go to Settings > Bad Behavior and select this option:
    Allow form postings from other web sites (required for OpenID; increases spam received)

    Or 2) you can simply deactivate Jetpack Comments.

  • Content curator’s future

    Everybody’s pumping content into the Internet ocean. The ratio of good, useful content vs me-toos will most likely decrease even further. But how will we discern the high quality content from the rest? One recipe is to look at the social signals.

    I am not sure this path will provide such great results, cos it depends on me as a user *liking a post* and *following* the right kind of content creators. That’s a difficult and time-consuming task. Most likely I’ll follow friends and influencers in my small niche. And rely on corporations and news organisations.

    In the long run, will this ensure democratic, free access to information?

    #time hole

    “The single biggest threat to content marketing is content marketing”

    I’m wondering if there’s a new approach to this / a new web app?

  • The 5 steps metrics model AARRR!

    For future reference:

    Acquisition Activation Referral Retention Revenue!

  • Agile Marketing

    Sub-consciously I’ve started following content streams on Agile Marketing. The topic seems to pop up everywhere I turn. Or maybe there are more people writing about this topic?

    Even Copyblogger had a post on How to Create an Agile Content Marketing Strategy

    IMHO it makes a lot of sense to apply agile management methods to Marketing. Content delivery is becoming more complex – there are smartphones, tablets, regular business monitors, large monitors. There are high expectations that a website will lead to an increase in conversions, while at the same time the sheer amount of data has increased exponentially. SEO requires high quality content. Every content page should be a good landing page. Etc.

    I am interested in exploring this topic further, esp. from a B2B point of view.

    Please feel free to send in your ideas and comments.

  • Lightweight Linux distros

    For future reference:
    Revive Your Old PC: The 3 Best Linux Systems For Old Computers

  • Literary detail

    Interesting link:

    Dickens’s 66-page novella is credited with popularising many aspects of the holiday (including the very phrase “Merry Christmas!”).