Again ... if coding isn't your thing this won't interest you in the slightest!

Wow ... I have done a bit of reading on PHP5 already (mainly the whole object oriented programming angle), but the article I cited below alerted me to something I had not read about elsewhere. Evidently PHP5 will include its own lightweight database engine - SQLite. I can see plenty of applications for fast and simple database functionality even used in conjunction with MySQL or Postgresql.

I had an application the other day where I wanted to cache a result set from a reasonably complex MySQL query in a temporary table for faster retrieval second time round ... sounds like this would offer even faster retrieval.

Having said this there is some discussion (and link to discussion) of limitations here ...

SQLite: An Embeddable SQL Database Engine

Not so relevant if you are not writing code for sites!

I scanned this and it looks like a good overview of what to expect with PHP5.
PHP5: Coming Soon to a Webserver Near You

The article concludes with some some discussion of how PHP5 relates to ASP.NET and J2EE which I found interesting.

When I have read over this I will summarise some of the main points here.

OK - I am posting alot about blogs and blogging - but that is what I am reading and researching at the moment on the web. Here are some interesting stats:

Applications: Blogging By The Numbers

... Jupiter estimates that only 4 percent of the online community read them [blogs]. ...

Blogs seem to be read mostly by men (60 percent vs. 40 percent women), in homes where the total income is more than $60,000 per year (61 percent). ... the majority (73 percent) of blog readers have been online for more than 5 years.

Two links to get you started on what is currently being discussed on the "blogosphere":

blogosphere.us : Trends : Last 24 Hours
Daypop

Definitions can be tricky. Jill Walker has thought alot about this definition that is being discussed quite a bit on various weblogs. If you are wondering what a blog/weblog is, this could be a good place to start.

A weblog, also known as a *blog, is a frequently updated website consisting of dated entries arranged in reverse chronological order so that the reader sees the most recent post first. The style is typically personal and informal.

There is more to it at ... jill/txt: final version of weblog definition

Virtual Bubblewrap - Pop Now!

Amazon.com has just announced Amazon.com Syndicated Content which is a new service syndicating content on their site using the RSS format.

The Amazon page quotes a couple of articles pitched at a general audience on what RSS is and why it is useful:

Here's the deal: thousands of website publishers, from big-content companies to teenage bloggers, are making their systems automatically produce a summary of their site in a special format called RSS. By using special RSS-reading software on my laptop, I can grab the RSS files from all my favourite sites while the kettle is boiling, and see instantly who has updated, and with what.

Working the web: Newsreaders

Instead of the hunt and peck of Web surfing, you can download or buy a small program that turns your computer into a voracious media hub, letting you snag headlines and news updates as if you were commanding the anchor desk at CNN.

News That Comes to You

The main point is that RSS and Newsreaders move you away from the need to go looking for what is new or what has changed on frequently updated sites. If the site has a RSS feed then the newsreader can figure out what is new, saving you a heap of time.

The other advantage is that you don't need to surrender your email address or have your email inbox filled up with newsletters telling you content has updated.

The Newsreader I use is Feedreader.

clickz article: Rank Well in Search Engines and Convert the Traffic

Most people forget the conversions part.

Online version of the game "slaps":

NWYH Presents: Operation Slaps

interesting article on ...

Small Business Blogging

A client mentioned to me today that 200 email arrived over night and 193 of them were spam.

I have found this site quite good:
Email 911

It features some good advice for managing email and controlling spam.

This has been big news this week on web marketing related sites. If anyone is going to analyse it, and if there is going to be one quick overview to read, let it be Danny Sullivan's ...

Yahoo acquires Overture

Also from Clickz, Overture and Google have both recently added syndication of their pay-per-click advertising to "related" sites. This article discusses this with relevance to advertisers and PPC strategy.

The SEM Content Conundrum

"If you were an energy company called POWERGEN & you had a subsidiary that operated in Italy, what would you call the company's website? probably not www.powergen italia.com, but... they did: www.powergenitalia.com

- from Signal vs Noise

Oh and also quoted in Signal vs Noise:

Metallica sues band for the use of the chords E and F:
http://www1.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf.htm
http://www1.scoopthis.com/411/met_uf/stc_met_uf_mtv.htm

The BizInfo site (formerly http://www.bizinfo.co.nz) has been replaced by Biz.org.nz - Business Information Zone.

They say:

This site has been developed by the New Zealand Government to provide business information on-line. It provides information across a range of government agencies and departments.

"Business Weblogs - The Big-Ass List"

The Power of a Handwritten Note

- from Signal vs Noise the weblog of US web usability specialists 37 Signals.

I seem to navigate to Amazon.com alot recently.

One reason is that Attitude has done alot of recent work based on the osCommerce shopping cart.

My idea with building sites is to look at what the people with the big budgets do, as they have the money to spend on what works on a site, and learn from their approach. Who is bigger than Amazon.com if you are building a shopping site?

I guess the major drag for me becomes when I find out the shipping component of any order to New Zealand. This is what inevitably removes any savings I would get by ordering online.

One feature I appreciate is "The Page You Made". In their own words:

The Page You Made is based on your recent clicks on our site. Our goal is to help you find what you want and discover related items. You can change this page by visiting more product pages or removing items from the list of recently viewed items.

The other great revelation to me is Amazon's checkout process. All distractions are removed - the intent is to move me through the process to complete the order. Each page is carefully created to complete the current task and move on to the next.

Thinking back to the shopping cart analogy used in online shopping:

If only Amazon had a "real" checkout queue - with customers arriving behind me - encouraging me by their arrival not to lose my place to buy!

This interesting blog entry was quoted in the I-Blog Discussion List:

Blogs will fade away within two years. What we know now as blogs will not be recognized by web users of tommorrow, not as blogs, but as websites. Website technologies and blogging technologies will converge into one. People take it for granted that webpages can be edited using their browser. People will also take it for granted that any webpages can be subscribed to with a single-click. Web browsers will be changed to support all this and more like highlighting of changes.

- Quote taken from Don Park's Weblog

Two things stick out for me here ...

1. I can see the term blog disappearing or becoming uncool (if it even is cool now). There has been and will continue to be blog-like sites. Business sites will borrow aspects from blogs. Content management systems already exist that use easy and fast browser-based content adding systems as used in most blog software. It is a matter of spreading the word to end-users about these systems and the increase in blog publishers will certainly help this education process. Business sites will increasingly feature space amongst the selection of documents on each site for frequently updated news or personal publishing by the staff of the company.



2. I think the comment about people subscribing with a single-click is on the money. I love this concept. The tools exist now to replace email newsletters as we know them. The amount of spam I receive increases exponentially. I attribute some of this in part to dodgy email list owners who pass on my email address. It makes sense to me that just as I don't give out my personal postal address to all and sundry the tendency will become stronger to be selective about who has access to my personal email address. Why give out my email address to someone when I can have News Aggregator software download the content automatically? This has advantages/disadvantages for both me as consumer of email newsletters or blogs and the publisher. I am going to think about that some more!

I respect someone standing up for themselves in life and in business. Over time I propose to point out some examples of this that I appreciate.

I have been following Up2Speed over the last few days. Andy Bourland, Up2Speed's owner, has bought a number of discussion lists which have over 50,000 existing subscribers. In the discussion lists he has openly been discussing his desire to create revenue from the lists. The other day Andy floated the idea of signing up everyone on the lists to a new advertising-revenue-creating email newsletter. The response to this was mostly favourable. One self appointed spam cop objected violently. He threatened all manner of punishment for what he alleges would be spamming, but what would not be an issue for the vast majority of list members I suspect ...

Be forewarned, Andrew. If you commit the same offence ... your punishment will be greater than that the Audette stable received. Not only will you be boycotted, you'll make the notices in the anti-spam newsgroups, and press releases will be sent to IT media worldwide. And, of course, the adventive domain and IPs will be nominated to the 40 most significant spam blacklist services, covering approx. 70% of ISPs worldwide.

Andy's response:

Are threats, bullying and gestapo tactics the only weapons at your disposal?

Feel free to come back when you want to engage in intelligent discussion and debate.

In the meantime, I've removed your name from all 6 lists you
subscribed to.

Andy - I like your style. You get Attitude Award #1. I know you must be so proud.

Quotes taken from I-Sales Issue #1771

I have been inspired recently after reading articles and discussion on weblogs in Clickz and several ezines I subscribe to. These outline what a weblog (or blog) is and concentrate on the applications particular businesses are finding for weblogs.

The last few nights, in looking around at some sites related to weblogs and business blogs, I have discovered a number of sites that dispute the contention of the author of internetissh*t.org. There are some great sites I have found along the way that have interested, entertained and intrigued. Among them ... Up2Speed, which features Internet Marketing News, Up2Speed guy Rick Bruner's weblog and essay on September 11th.

One of my initial thoughts after reading through some blogs cited at weblogs.com was that I could see myself quickly overwhelmed by the personal voice of this format of Internet publishing. It is already information overload - but personal voice overload is something scary in another way. The third or forth time I read about someone's latest holiday, pet, piercing, or love interest I tend to switch off (unless I know them). But you know ... you dont have to go far to find personal voices that echo your own or direct you to the content on the Internet that interests you. My problem with the Internet is I have found way more I want to digest than I ever will be able to.

The personal voice is, in part, what initially drew me to the Internet. My first steps included emailing bands I was into at the time for interviews in a music magazine ... tracking down living relatives my family never knew existed in Scotland ... making contact with people actually interested in discussing politics and religion.

The personal voice is a big motivation in what I do at Attitude. Through my work I have come to know well some of the people I work with and for. Along the way I have met some interesting and insightful people and made some unexpected friends.

Back when I first started using the Internet, I was quickly motivated to learn how to publish my own content. This content focused on particular political passions at the time. So, I return to where I started on the internet in 1997, publishing my own yet-to-be-decided-how-personal-they-will-be pages for whoever finds them. This entry might be as personal as this weblog ever gets.

A blatant goal of this is to learn through action about business-related blogs. I intend to relate most of what is written here to my business, Attitude Group LTD, and what it does.

Blatant goals out of the way ... that's enough of my personal voice for now.