The Federal Government is planning to force all Australian servers to filter internet traffic and block any material the Government deems ‘inappropriate’. Sign the petition to tell the Government that to dump the plans for internet censorship.
If you search Google for “Adelaide Hills Web Design” you will see my listing come up with a map, as in the screen-shot below:
This map is particularly handy for someone who wants to be sure the company they contact really is a local business.
So, how do you set you your own web site so that it shows a location map in Google?
Well it is really very easy, but it can only be done by you as the verification process includes an automated phone call from Google where you need to enter a PIN.
To get started CLICK HERE.
This will take you to the Google Local Business Centre and you will see a page like the one below.
You need to create a new Google account first (or sign in with an existing one if you already have one).
Once you create your account you need to check your email and click on the verification link Google will send to you.
When you get to the page where you input your business details there are 2 important things to be aware of:
When you get to the bit asking you if you would like to add a picture, it is easy to add your logo or web site header.
Use the “Add a photo from the web” option.
Go to your own web site in a separate browser window.
Right click on the image you wish to use and select properties, then, from the box that pops up, copy the address of the image and paste it into the form.
… in this example I copied the Google image, but it works for any image on the web
The next step asks “How would you like to validate your listing?”.Select “by phone”. I have tried both postcard and SMS and I suspect they are restricted to USA as neither has ever worked, however phone validation works very well.
When you click finish you will be able to select from either “Call Me Now” or “Call Me in 5 Minutes”, so select the one that suits you.
Note the PIN on the screen. When the polite, automated, American Google voice calls you, that is the PIN you need to enter at the prompt using your phone keypad. (Note that when he asks you to hit the “pound” key, that is what we usually call the “hash key” with this symbol on it #.)
When Will It Start Working?
As with most things in the Google world, that’s not really clear.
My site listing began displaying the map after about 2 weeks, but it may take longer.
Have you ever received an email similar to this one?
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Many of my clients receive these emails on a regular basis, and then forward them on to me asking for my opinion.
So I feel it is worth including my latest reply to a customer about this issue.
Here is how I responded to my clinet who owns www.adelaidefurnishedrentals.com.au
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There is no doubt that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vitally important part of web design and development.
SEO gets a lot of attention and rightly so - if your site does not rank well in searches then nobody can find it.
However, these random emails from overseas based companies are poorly thought out and, as the above example shows, clearly no prior research has been done before they are sent.
They are playing a numbers game - putting a lot of bait out in the water and hoping for a few nibbles.
And I should point out that there are dangers in using unreputable SEO companies too.
If you read this Whirlpool forum you will see that some clients have used SEO services with disasterous
and very expensive results.
There are even reports of sites being banned by Google for keyword spamming!
A post from a user called teegman puts it very well where she/he says in part:
“SEO is such a loose, undefined term to the extent that I feel it’s a completely inappropriate philosophy and approach
to any online marketing strategy.
At the end of the day, you’re building your site(s) to support and grow your business operations. To effectively do this
you need to have a holistic understanding of your marketing objectives (as well as fundamental marketing skills), your customer demographics and what drives them to use your services / buy your product.
Traditional SEO concepts are based around brute forcing your site to #1 for a keyphrase (which makes for an excellent
“I’m done” point for your SEO ‘expert’) which can deliver value, but often unbeknownst to the business is how unsustainable and untargetted the campaign is. Too bad that you’ve been blacklisted after hitting #1 for ‘melbourne accommodation’,
I guess it’s time to put those new high-rise apartments on hold… (read: short term success can cause long term damage to a company)
How to tackle this?
Basically, you need to have a base level understanding of SEO, what it entails and what your objectives are before you even begin talking to a consultant. You need to find out how the consultant plans on working with your business (to understand your business and customer base), what strategies they undertake and previous examples of successful, profitable campaigns.”
As I have said before, there is a lot of nonsense talked about SEO.
Attempting to get your site ranking at number one for every conceivable search query is an impossible task. Plus it will probably result in getting your site banned altogether from Google.
Getting your site to rank in the first 10 for appropriate search queries is both sensible and relatively easy. Any competent
web designer should be able to achieve this and include it as part of the site building budget.
If they don’t, or if they consider this to be a add-on service that they charge extra for, look for another designer!
Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration.
A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.
A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.
All the above was from the Google site http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html#video where you can watch a video to see how it works.
You can become an early adopter by signing up here https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/
I’m waiting patiently for my invitation as it’s still in the development satge and you have to wait and be invited.
I think this technology will be ideal for someone like me, to be able to keep “conversations” with my clients in one place, rather than in email folders.
HURRY UP GOOGLE - send me my invitation!!!
First, let me say I loved it.
It was a visual feast, exciting, funny, tragic and delightful, but…
I just don’t understand some of the changes, omissions and additions that were made to this film.
Starting at the beginning, what was the idea of having Harry sittining in a grimy cafe in Surbiton train station late at night? The whole wizarding world now knows Voldemorte is out to kill Harry, so why is he left to wander aimlessly, unprotected, in the railway?
Why didn’t the movie stick to the scene where Dumbledore visits the Dursleys and takes Harry with him from there? I felt cheated out of the beautifully written book scene where Dumbledore, oh so politely and with eloquent sarcasm, tells Vernon and Petunia what he really thinks of them and gives them a lesson in manners.
The there is Tonks and Lupin. What happened to that sweet love story? When we see them at the Burrow they are clearly a couple, so we miss all of Tonks’ lovelorn angst and Lupin’s noble sentiments that he is too dangerous for her to love and will ruin her socially.
Back to Harry’s security again - what was Dumbledore thinking leaving him in a bog somewhere close to the Burrow and the Weasleys not knowing to expect him? Clearly Dumbledore is a busy man, but dumping Harry in the middle of the night and not even seeing if he made it safely to the Burrow seems, well, irresponsible at best.
But strangest of all was the fight at the Burrow. It’s not in the book and it makes no sense, unless it is a device to tie in another plot point in one of the later movies.
Just how was it possible for those Death Eaters to attack the Burrow, and why could Harry and Ginny get through that ring of fire when Tonks the Auror, Lupin the brilliant wizard and Molly and Arthur, both brilliant too, could not get through?
I’m not sure how many Death Eaters attacked the Burrow; I only identified Bellatrix and Fenir Greyback, but I think there were more. But once they got Harry alone out in that bog again, why did they hide from him? Why not attack? Sorry, but that scene makes no sense whatsoever!
Another thing that irks me is that the book was called Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The major focus of the book is on Harry, Ron and Hermione wondering who the Half Blood Prince could be. Is he a brilliant former student or is he dangerous?
Yet the movie barely mentions it. We get very little indication that the potions text book is helping Harry achieve great grades. We get almost no dialogue wondering about the identity of the Prince. We don’t even see Snape using his occlumency powers to deduce that Harry has his old potions text book. In fact, there is nothing in the movie to suggest that Snape has a clue Harry might have his old book.
So when Snape says during their final fight “I am the Half Blood Prince”, it’s not so much a revelation as a moment when the audience is reminded that this was what the novel was all about.
I’m sad that neither Chrlie or Bill Weasley have made an appearance in the movies and would have loved the “post Dumbldore’s death” scene in the hospital wing with Fleur and Molly to be included. It also means there can’t be a wedding at the beginning of the next film which is sad.
And what about the Horcruxes?
If the information that Harry has learned in this movie is all he has to go on, how on earth is he going to know how many horcruxes to look for or what they might be?
I’m sure we all noted that scene where Dumbledore looked curiously at Harry’s scar, but that clue was only for the audience, not for Harry.
At he end of this movie all Harry knows is that Voldemorte may have made some horcruxes, Dumbledore had an unexplained ring that was one, the Riddle diary was one, but the locket was a fake.
Harry has no clue what to look for. The locket is never mentioned as being Slytherin’s, the ring is not identified as Marvolo’s. So just what information does Harry have to start his horcrux quest? None! Not even the clue that the items may be related to the Hogwarts founders.
Ho hum, well maybe the next movie will just have to open with a letter from Dumbledore telling Harry all that he needs to know.
But overall it is a great movie and a fair adaptation from the book. It’s just that, for any diehard Potter fan, the movies can never be the complete tapestry that the books are; stuff gets left out and plots need to be simplified and modified to suit the movie format.
I do so desperately hope that there are lots of deleted scenes that will eventually make it into the “directors cut” version of the films. Frankly, if there aren’t then Warner Bros would be neglecting another Potter goldmine.
Things I Loved
Rupert Grint!!!! Gorgeous, kooky, geeky and just adorable. It was great to see him able to flex his comedic muscles in this role. I think he has a huge talent and the sort of shy/adorable that made Hugh Grant so famous. I expect to see him in many future romantic comedies.
Jim Broadbent as Slughorn is exceptional! An actor whose thoughts you can read on his face. Breaking off Aragog’s fang was an amusing touch.
Daniel Radcliffe - gorgeous as ever, and what a relief to see him in a silly mood for once when he took the Felix Filicitus!
Hermione (Emma Watson) so smart with the books but so confused by love - aww!
Harry and Ginny - except that the anticipation was missing with that kiss, but then Ron saying “so did you and Ginny do it?” - well the audience just hooted with laughter!
McGonagall and the students pointing their wands to the sky - sigh!
