XDisplaying posts tagged: annotated
Here is a good run down of what you need to think about when building links to your website in 2013. After the Penguin update that Google released last year it seems clear that people who focus on building organic links with high content value, user centric websites are the winners.
When it comes to SEO, the only long term strategy guaranteed to work is not to cheat…
Via Anil Dash I stumbled over this short and exciting presentation about changes in the media landscape triggered by social and app platforms. It is over a year old, but still feels very relevant. Also read Anil Dash about stop publishing web pages and get with the stream.
Perhaps the most egregious error is that Apple’s team relied on quality control by algorithm and not a process partially vetted by informed human analysis.
“Google Maps announces a 400 year advantage over Apple Maps” by Mark Dobson
The clearest case yet that pure reliance on algorithms will fail with such large scale, real world scenarios. So instead of Apple testing the quality of its software, that task was placed squarely on the shoulders of its users.
(via marksbirch)
Can’t believe I missed this! While tagging up a photo for Jessica’s Recipe Bag in their mouthwatering Flickr photo stream I noticed a link in the Actions menu I hadn’t seen before: “Edit photo in Aviary”… I clicked it, and got this beautiful HTML5 (hey, works on iPad!) based photo editor where most common image edits are easily done, and the photo then saved back to Flickr.
Beautiful implementation, simple controls, so fast… Love it! I was gutted when the old editor, Picnik, which was developed by Google disappeared.
Apparently Aviary has been integrated with Flickr since April, it has just slipped under my radar. Sure, Facebook may be the biggest photo sharing site in the world, and Instangram the sexiest, but Flickr remains my favourite. It is also one of the few online services I don’t hesitate to pay a subscription fee for.
Read the full low down on the Flickr and Aviary love affair at TechCrunch.
It’s rare to come across a great blog concept these days, but this is one that caught my eye. A journey through London’s world of food, from A to Z, in the form of reviews and video interviews with restaurateurs.
They recently did N for Nigeria, just around the corner from where I live.
Great combination of unique content, food adventure, business marketing and platform for the two guys behind it, Alastair Humphreys and Tom Kevill-Davies.
Just finished reading “Down and Out in Padstow and London” by Alex Watts. If you don’t know who Alex Watts is I’m not surprised. Here’s a man who seems to have figured out what’s important in life. Being built up and torn down by the media and tabloids isn’t part of that.
In the book he tells his story of going from a two bit hack journalist and hating every minute of it to a life spent cooking for a living.
It’s a journey from sedated, safe cushiness through do or die, abuse filled (but willing!) slavery to reach his goal.
The tale is fraught with horrors, laughter, hard, grafting work and personal insights. Yes, there’s a lot of blood, sweat and even tears as well.
Having followed Alex’s blog, and his Twitter feed (@AlexWatts), for a long time I’m not sure why I didn’t get around to reading his book until now. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with even a remote interest in the London restaurant scene, or with ambitions to change to a life in professional catering.
Read this book. Think twice about it. If it doesn’t deter you, you are more than a little bit insane, and then perhaps you have what it takes to make it.
Even if you aren’t interested in restaurants, catering, tales of abusive head chefs and gruelling 18 hour days, there is an inspirational quality to this book that makes it a great read. There are books about climbing the Everest, trekking to the South Pole, running hundreds of miles through the Namibia desert… I’d put Alex’s achievement right up there with those. Perhaps with a more satisfying ending.
Verdict: Loved it, couldn’t put it down.
Seth Godin on conversion of audience to taking action. Signing up. Paying. Sharing with friends. Your job as a business owner and marketer is to get as many as possible to take action. Not many do.
Maybe it isn’t a funnel though. Since mass marketing no longer seems to work very well, is there a better simile, a mental model that serves better? With so many touch points, in so many channels, and so many ways to reach a customer, a funnel seems like a blunt tool. Maybe a maze with lots of dead ends is more correct… And your job is to open up the dead ends and align them with your business’ door.
Personally I like the Customer Decision Journey more than the ancient funnel. Check it out: Aligning with the Consumer Decision Journey
If you have five minutes to spare, here’s a great video presentation covering the concept.
Some very interesting stats about UK food bloggers. Twitter definitely is the chosen means of social media communication. If you want to work with food bloggers, keeping these facts in mind may help.
Do check out the blog on the site, as there are lots of other interesting posts with key facts about the UK food bloggers.
What’s the excuse, this day and age? It costs near to nothing, and doesn’t require more skill than operating an espresso machine. Granted, producing a sublime cup of coffee requires years and years of passionate practice, but anyone can knock out a mug of java.
