Context Links, Dan in Real Life and other news

I get caught up in things and forget to post about what I'm doing. Here's a quick update.

Blog header - I'm finally happy with it - NO more changes, forever and ever, amen. Forgot to even mention the switch to 3 columns which is working really well for me. Found the three column template here and was just a matter of downloading it and pasting code into Blogger - easy. Lost previous widgets but that's easy to add back. Also went to a white background. The only issue I can't fix is the different font sizes in Firefox and Explorer - can't get around that at this point.

My interview went really well yesterday - I love the work atmosphere and the people - the job sounds like a challenge but perfect to learn about accounting - they're interviewing a couple more people (unfortunately) but when they told me this almost said "...but" - which I hope means "but we like you." I think it went well although they did most of the talking and I could barely get a word in - made sure that when I could it was to say why I would fit in and how I could make a difference - I was prepared for tougher questions (not complaining).

I'm adding Amazon Context Links (Beta) which is supposed to automatically link to products directly from my posts. I'm trying it with Dan in Real Life, which I watched last night and found really good - great family movie and of course Steve Carell is funny yet still down to earth. Worth watching out if you haven't seen it.

Context Links are a quick and convenient way to add links to your website and monetize your content. Context Links automatically identify and link relevant phrases within your page content to Amazon products, unlocking new ad inventory and saving you the time from having to manually create links. You can add the links to your pages in minutes, and we provide a wealth of options to customize how they are displayed.

Jargonfish is working - thanks Justus for excellent follow-up. I have it set to pop up on all words - I'll be playing around with it and hopefully make good connections with other blogs. I'm interested in how Jargonfish and Amazon Context Links will interact - hoping they will play nice with each other.

That's all. I don't really like bunching everything together into one post, but it does save time so there you have it.

Fishing for jargon with JargonFish

Got an email from blogcatalog introducing JargonFish. I thought it looked interesting so decided to test it.

On of my keywords is "interview." Technically the JargonFish widget should place a line under this word and when highlighted a pop-up should present related content. This is just a test. Nothing ever works for me the first time.

Funnily enough I do have an actual interview tomorrow, which I'm very excited about because it's in the accounting field. I'm going in there prepared to shine. Hopefully I'll know before I leave (or very soon after) if I got the job. Whether or not I do get this one, I'm confident that I will find what I'm looking for soon.

Anyway, this is the email I received -

Dear MadMerv,

BlogCatalog is always on the look out for new features that can get your blog more traffic as well as enhance the value of your blog to visitors, so that they keep on coming back.

We found a tool that we think you'll really like. BlogCatalog has partnered with JargonFish, a company that offers a free, customizable widget that when added to your blog will increase your blog's traffic and provide your readers with a convenient way to find blogs from other BlogCatalog members.

So how does JargonFish work?

Once on your blog, the JargonFish widget highlights keywords that you select. When a visitor click on those highlighted keywords, a small JargonFish window is launched providing the visitor with a variety of helpful resources related to that keyword including related blog posts from BlogCatalog members, as well as some other leading content providers, including Digg and Technorati.

What does this mean?

This means that you will be receiving traffic from other members who add the JargonFish tool as well as providing your blog readers with more reasons to visit your site.

To see the JargonFish widget in action and add it to your blog visit http://www.blogcatalog.com/jargonfish/

If you like what you see, visit http://www.jargonfish.com/builder/signup.htm?sourceId=5 where you can further customize the JargonFish tool.

The BlogCatalog Team

Turnkey Blogging with Google Weblogs

Google Weblogs looks like a giant leap forward in blogging. From the Blogger Dashboard:

Google Weblogs, or “GWeblogs,” or “Gblogs,” which will launch later this year in a public beta, is the next revolution in personal publishing. Here’s what you can expect:

• Don’t limit yourself to “reverse chronological” publishing. Our advanced Google algorithms put your best content at the top of your blog. Even if your later work goes downhill your previous posts will still shine.
• No more template languages to mess with or sidebars to get right. Our advanced Google algorithms automatically populate your blog’s sidebar with the most relevant possible content.
• Stop worrying about your PageRank or your search engine optimization. Post directly into Google search results for maximum visibility.
• Save your readers time and effort. We’ll automatically extract the most relevant sentence from your post for the index page, along with any necessary ellipsis. We'll also put some words in bold!
• Your blog’s header will stay fresh with new images from our team of artists, each and every anniversary of a scientific achievement.
• Unsure of what to post about? Just click “I’m Feeling Lucky” and we’ll “take care” of the rest!

Excited? So are we! Take a look at this sneak peek of Blogger Buzz, powered by Google Weblogs.

We’ve put together a quick video tour to take you through the highlights of Google Weblogs. Check it out! [This links to a youtube performance of Never Gonna Give You Up Karaoke By Tay Zonday -- PAINFUL Hahaha!]

I'm happy I switched back to Blogger because there's just no telling what they will come up with next! I'm always up for a chance (as my loyal reader has noticed over the months), and this looks to be a very promising one. The "I'm Feeling Lucky" option promises to help with writer's block by bringing up new ideas, and it will even write my post for me. How cool is that?

Lights Out! Google Goes to the Dark Side...

Google isn't the first name which comes to mind when you think conservation, but all that seems to have changed when they blacked-out their page this morning to draw attention to Earth Hour (see below). Google has also "joined with others to launch Climate Savers Computing, which has a goal of reducing total power consumption by more than 50% for all computers by 2010."

It's the first time I can remember that such a amount of awareness has been raised so quickly by the search giant. So, will you be turning all your lights out this evening? Will you also be shutting down your computer?

From Google.com:

Google users in the United States will notice today that we "turned the lights out" on the Google.com homepage as a gesture to raise awareness of a worldwide energy conservation effort called Earth Hour. As to why we don't do this permanently - it saves no energy; modern displays use the same amount of power regardless of what they display. However, you can do something to reduce the energy consumption of your home PC by joining the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.

Given our company's commitment to environmental awareness and energy efficiency, we strongly support the Earth Hour campaign, and have darkened our homepage today to help spread awareness of what we hope will be a highly successful global event.