podcasts

Time Keeps On Ticking Ticking Ticking…

I hope I don’t get sued by The Steve Miller band for using that lyric for my post title. Anywho, it’s been awhile since I’ve published anything here at my home away from home and with good reasons. Of course, you have the obligatory statement about how there has not been much time for me to publish anything and in this instance, that is true. I’ve been really busy between getting WordPress Weekly back on track, maintaining Perfcast,  contributing on a daily basis to Performancing.com and then there is that crappy night job I have which always seems to ruin everything. In a nutshell, that explains why there hasn’t been a post published on this blog in awhile.

Back when I redesigned this site, I did so because I wanted to dive into experimenting with monetization techniques while also narrowing the site down to just a few categories. I’m still not interested in monetization right now so that idea has been tossed aside. As for slimming down the blog, I have to admit that I feel stupid by transferring all of my personal posts away from this site onto its own domain with its own blog. I thought I was doing a good thing by doing this but now, all I have accomplished is providing yet another site for me to update. I should of just kept everything under one roof and told people that if they don’t want to read my personal mumbo jumbo, to just subscribe to the categories they were interested in as I see each category being its own blog. I’m not sure yet if I will re-import my personal musings back into this site so the verdict is still out as to what I am going to do.

Asides from all of that, I am inching closer to finally being able to cut myself down from 32 hours a week at the grocery store to perhaps weekends only. There are some changes afoot over at Performancing. There are also some other opportunities opening up within the SplashPress network which may help me accomplish my year end goal of only working at the store on the weekends while blogging full time. With all of this going on, I am throwing away most of my living space and will be purchasing some equipment to transform it into an office. I’ve seen some nice looking furniture at Officemax which would look even better in my room. I feel I’ll be much more productive with an office environment compared with what I have now which is more of a mashup of a work space.

The leaves are starting to change color here in northern Ohio while Fall is definitely in the air. I have yet to have my annual fall picnic with my girlfriend but that should be coming within the next week or so as the leaves reach their peak color. Soon enough, it will be Winter time. The time of the year where there is not much to do besides blog. How are the leaves in your neck of the woods? Looking forward to Winter?

Before I let you go, I have decided to bring WordPress Weekly back online. Starting this Friday at 8P.M. EST, I’ll be broadcasting live with my Canadian co-host all things WordPress. The anticipation has been building and I am looking forward to interacting with members of the WordPress community yet again.

Last but not least, I have removed the URL field from the comments here on this blog. This means I have also disabled the CommentLuv plugin. This is only an experiment for the month of October as I want to see for myself what happens to not only the volume of spam, but which types of spam I receive. To read more into why I am performing this experiment, read this post on Performancing.com.

Join Me On Perfcast

Those of you who remember me from hosting and producing the WordPress Weekly podcast will know that I spoke of a new project in which I would be producing another podcast that dealt with everything blogging. That podcast is called Perfcast. This show covers some of the blogging news which happened within the past week, contains a blogging job of the week, initiates a blogging challenge of the week and most of all, is interactive allowing listeners and bloggers alike to chime in with their thoughts and opinions.

The show is hosted by Jeff Chandler (That’s me) and co-hosted by David Peralty of Xfep.com. The show airs live on Talkshoe every Thursday evening at 7 P.M. EST. Please read this post (How To Participate In Perfcast Live) on Performancing.com to find out how to participate live during the show.

By the way, we already have an episode produced. You can check out the show notes here or listen to the show via the embeddable Talkshoe player. Hoping you’ll stop by this Thursday for Episode 2 where David and I will be discussing WordPress 2.7, Blogging Through A disaster and a service called BackType.

Two New Pages Added

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I just wanted to let everyone know that I have updated the icon set in the top right hand corner of the site. The navigational area now includes two new icons. The I or information icon links to an About Jeffro2pt0 page that I have put together which gives you a bit of background history of the site. I’ve also included information about me because after all, I’m a human being, not a bot.

I’ve also included a dedicated page for WordPress Weekly. This is represented by the Ipod icon. Keep in mind, you don’t need an actual Ipod to listen to the podcast. I used the icon because it was the closest thing to a Podcast that I could find within the icon pack. This page will house all of the detailed information regarding how to participate, what the show is about, and how to listen/subscribe to the show.

As a side note, I have also installed WP-Cache over the weekend. Let me know if this has helped to decrease the loading time of the site.

At any rate, this was just a FYI for those out their that visit the actual website, not the feed.

First Episode Of WordPress Weekly

Talkcast Logo

The time has finally arrived where I will pop my podcasting cherry and produce the first episode of WordPress Weekly. WordPress Weekly will TRY to be a weekly oriented podcast that takes place every Friday evening at 9PM EST on Talkshoe.com. The easiest way I can explain the format of the show is by looking into the TwIT podcast by Leo Laporte. Twit otherwise known as This Week In Tech is a weekly podcast where Leo gathers other tech pundits from around the country to discuss technology news topics of the week.

WordPress Weekly however will be a show where I gather various bloggers who use WordPress as their cornerstone and discuss WordPress related news that took place during the week. Sometimes, the show may stray from the norm and we may cover a particular topic. Other times, we may open the mic and generally talk about anything blogging related. At the end of every show, every guest including the host (ME) gives out a blogging tip for the week. This tip can be a theme, a plugin, a hack, a blog you’ve come across, anything that would be of value to a WordPress user..

I am aiming for a relaxing atmosphere where WordPress Users can gather around for 1 hour every Friday evening and discuss the latest happenings with everything WordPress.

The first episode of WordPress weekly will cover why I and the guest hosts use WordPress. Why we chose WordPress over competing solutions. The floor will be opened on this show which means, we’re liable to discuss just about anything as it relates to WordPress or blogging.

These are the guests that are scheduled or tentatively scheduled to be on the show Friday. Ronald from the Readers Appreciation Project and Brad from Strangework.com. Steven Hodson of WinExtra.com might be able to make it but so far, he is still not 100% sure.

Listener Participation:

So how can you be a part of the show? Well, there are a number of ways. The easiest way is to create an account on Talkshoe.com. Then, download and install their client software. The Talkshoe software serves as a bridge of communication between the host, and his/her listeners. The software contains a chat room as well as phone number information to call into the show.

However, you do not need to install the software in order to listen to the show live. This Friday at 9PM EST, look on the front page of Talkshoe.com or click on the LIVE NOW button and look for the WordPress Weekly show. Instead of clicking on the JOIN IN button, click underneath where it says LISTEN ONLY. This will tune you into the live stream.

If you want to call in to the show via telephone, Skype, etc., use your phone to call 724-444-7444 and follow the audio instructions. *Note* In one of the recent updates to Talkshoe, anonymous calling is now supported. This means you can call in and participate without the need to create a Talkshoe account. However, if you have a Talkshoe account, your registered name will show up within the Talkshoe client letting others know who is speaking.

You can also use SIP clients such as ProjectGizmo or X-Lite. For example, when I use X-Lite to dial in, I type in 123@66.212.134.192 and then follow the audio directions.

Remember this information as it will be required when you want to dial into the show.

Talkcast Name: WordPress Weekly

Talkcast ID: 34224

Phone Number: 724-444-7444

Show Information:

I can not purchase a seperate domain for the show. So please look to this site for information regarding each and every episode. I’ll also be posting show notes on this blog after every show. Also, starting on Friday, I will be adding the TalkShoe Talkcast player widget to the sidebar of the blog. This allows you to listen to the show right from the front page of the blog. You can also keep tabs on the show and look through the archive if one is ever created by clicking here.

What To Expect:

I have no idea what to expect. I’ve never hosted my own show before so this might turn into a disaster. I’ve been a Talkshoe member for a very long time so it shouldn’t be too bad. I’ve seen other shows experience technical problems so I won’t be surprised if I go through some hardships through the first couple episodes. I’ve always wanted to tinker with this podcasting deal but I needed to find something I could talk about on a weekly basis and I wanted to do it with other people, not just by myself. The first show might be filled with a ton of bloopers, but hey, I’ll be there to have fun and to engage in some good conversations and I hope you’ll join us in one way or another.

Live Video Feed From New Media Expo

New Media Expo Logo

For those that are interested, TalkShoe has begun their live coverage of the Podcast and New Media Expo being held in Ontario California. The stream will be ongoing all day long. iJustine is sort of co-hosting the event and is streaming live video from the expo. The video and audio stream is intermittently going out but they appear to be doing the best they can with their setup.

To tune in to the show, click here. After the page loads, look for the LISTEN symbol and click on it. This will open a new window with the live stream.

Watch ijustine live video and chat on Justin.tv

BloggerTalk The Bloggers Podcast

BloggerTalk.TV Logo

Each Tuesday at 8pm Eastern time, join a panel of expert bloggers as they discuss the latest and greatest blogging related news. Each show is performed live on Talkshoe where listeners can call in with their questions or stories related to the blogosphere. Whether it deals with monetizing your blog, RSS, generating traffic, or blogging news, rest assured, this 60 minute show will be packed with content.

After my successful stint on episode 3, the lost episode Anthony Feint was kind enough to bring me back on the show for a full hour with David Peralty where we discussed a number of topics. Ironically, BACN was not one of them, although that was the name of the episode. At any rate, here is what we covered.

Davids Pick for this episode was the news related to WordPress 2.3 which will be a major release. My pick dealt with the blog, Readers Appreciation Project and all three of us actually go into a little more detail in regards to reader appreciation. Anthony actually didn’t have a pick this week, or perhaps David and I took up all of the free time left in the show. At any rate, please give this show a listen and I would love to hear your feedback in regards to my performance or anything related to the show.

To listen to this show without leaving the page, click the PLAY button.

Talkshoe Client Receives A Major Face Lift

talkshoe.com logoThis weekend was a big weekend for Talkshoe as they completely redesigned their client. The new client contains quite a few new features as well as ShoePhone integration.

The new client now has an area on the right which showcases information related to the talkcast. Underneath that box, is a mini user profile that users can see at a glance. The overall design is a bit more streamlined than before and in my opinion is a welcome change. Other enhancements include:

  • Text Wrapping When Chatting
  • Integrated ShoePhone
  • Anonymous Calling

The new client did introduce at least one new bug. When users copy a link from the chat window and paste it into their browser, instead of a link, a random number is pasted. Talkshoe is aware of the issue and will be releasing a hotfix within the near future.

Below are two different screen shots. The first one, is the Talkshoe client before the upgrade. The second, is the Talkshoe client as it is today. Click on the images to see a larger version.

Before:

After:

How Would You Explain RSS?

Standard RSS IconTheres been an interesting conversation going on within the comments section of a piece of news that I clipped the other day. I clipped a section of a WinExtra article titled, New media isn’t as big as it thinks it is In this article, Steven points out that new media is still in it’s infancy. So much so, that anyone outside of the early adopters crowd most likely doesn’t have a clue as to what RSS is, let alone Vlogging, twittering ect.

The fact is that this whole new media thing is still so much in its infancy that trying to explain what RSS feeds are let alone how to use them to Auntie May who thinks that the Internet is Google is incredibly hard to do in plain English.

Then you throw things like podcasts and vlogging into the mix and you start seeing a whole bunch of deer caught in the headlight looks.

I tend to agree with your points Steven. Thanks to your article, another conversation was started centered around the question, How would I explain RSS to someone?

Alanocu started it off with his response: I have been asked that same question about RSS and it’s not easily explained. The benefit is often not completely understood.

Tidbit2 had this to say: I find the best way to describe these technologies is just say what you can do with them. I don’t understand all the technical details but I use them and learn from what other people explain on the net

juliapatriciaroy followed up with: The only way I can explain RSS in a way that understandable is if I can sit someone down in front of my computer and show them how I use it and how easy it is. I bet it will be another year, even more, before people really start to pick it up. Frustrating, it such an easier way to consume information.

Let’s not let the conversation about this topic end here. Please leave a comment, telling us how you would explain RSS to someone such as your Grandma, Aunt or someone who is less, than web 2.0 savvy. As for myself, I would simply send them a link to Web 2.0 In Video Format and instruct them to watch the easily digestible RSS video. If the video doesn’t work, there may be no hope.

iWebTools Visual Page Rank Checker

iWebTool LogoUsing this tool will enable you to view all the links along with the pageranks on the page that you require to view.

 

For those that do not have the SearchStatus FireFox extension which shows you a sites pagerank along with it’s Alexa ranking, can use this site to figure out the page rank of not only that web site, but of all the sites that link to that particular page.

Visual PageRank Checker

Giving this tool a try using my URL, I noticed just how many sites I link to which have a page rank of 5 or higher. The visual pagerank checker loads the website in question and then places little pagerank icons next to every link within the website. What is interesting about this tool, is that, I can actually view the page rank for a tag which is linked to Technorati. For example, the tags blogger, podcasts, seo, and twitter all have a pagerank value of 6.

Give this tool a whirl yourself and let me know what you think. http://www.iwebtool.com/visual_pagerank

My Second Co-Hosted Talkcast On Talkshoe

http://www.talkshoe.comIt turns out that Pete’s apprentice has quit the program. I think the thoughts of blogging, twitter and everything else just became too much to wrap his head around.

Since the apprentice was no longer going to be on the show, I ended up co-hosting another podcast with Pete most commonly known as xyour925job. In this latest episode, we discussed SEO, I gave an audio review of 10Links.net and shared my user experience. We then discussed Twitter, Jaiku and Pownce and why they are useful services that should be used by every blogger.

I told Pete how well my site has been doing, despite being new. I talked about a few of the strategies I have used so far and how I plan on gaining traffic in the future. At the very end of the show I mentioned that the podcastawards were taking votes for the best podcasts. The show is about an hour long. We didn’t have any callers or any chatters for that matter in this episode which means Pete and I had to try and do the show without tanking for 60 minutes. Hopefully, I provided some good information for you to use. I wouldn’t mind some critique as I am thinking about doing my own show. Any tips or words of encouragement would be appreciated.

To listen to the latest episode of the Internet Marketing And SEO Tips Podcast click the following link to download the mp3 file.