SiteSell Blog

Real-Time Web and the Kaleidoscope of Search

Ken's Blog

Google has been on record for quite a while now (no doubt prompted by Twitter) about the "real-time web."

Like I said years ago about Google, they won't get Image Search and Video Search and News search and Blog search working until they can figure out how to pull it all together and figure out which type of results any particular search (and search history patterns) is likely to want. Along came Universal Search.

The same will go for this general trend to a "real-time Web"...

What Is the Real and Noble Purpose of Business?

Ken's Blog

There are two types of business models...

#1) Those who want to profit off of you by offering you a product that is worth less than the dollars you parted with in order to purchase it.

#2) Those who want YOU to profit off of them by offering you a product that YOU believe is worth more than the dollars you parted with in order to purchase it. In so doing, they profit.

Google is the world master at the latter -- search, mail, youtube, analytics, all free (well, it could be argued that the "price" is the data you give them, but that's a price I don't mind). They earn their income through unobtrusive, relevant ads. And yet, there are people, gurus even, who say "Google is just a business so beware."

This worries me, but only for that person. It reflects a subconscious rejection of the second business model, an "us vs. them" mentality that replaces the second model with a hazy, vague anti-business mentality that somehow suspects all business and objects to a company making a profit, no matter how great its product is.

Let's continue to examine #2....

Top 10 Requirements To Succeed in School

Ken's Blog

My wife and I are off-Anguilla, helping our two daughters get ready for university. Of course, "getting them ready" goes beyond furnishing the apartment, immigration, phones/Internet, registration, safety, etc. It includes getting them ready for success.

This is the first great turning point opportunity in an adult's life. It's not the only one, not by far. Many great success stories happened well after a failed university experience.

But it is most definitely the first major opportunity. So I asked my younger daughter Yuki to write her thoughts on the 10 requirements to succeed in school. I liked the outcome so much that I thought it might be useful for you, if you have a child heading off to college.

Here are Yuki's top 10 (aside from my guidance and feedback, this is all hers)...

What Do You Do With the Twitterers Who You Find?

Ken's Blog

There are two good Twitter tools to find people related to your niche... tweepsearch.com and twellow.com. These tools search for your keyword within the username and bio, so they tend to bring back relevant Twitterers.

And then what? Here's how to "process your finds"...

Step 1) Do you recognize the Twitterers that you find? Are they well-related and potential good contacts? If so, follow them.

Let's say, for example, that your niche is about Anguilla. You would follow the hotels, villas, restaurants, tourist associations in the Anguilla tourist industry, etc.

If you don't recognize any of the Twitterers, check them out (more on this in Step 2 below).

But wait, you're not finished with your "found list" yet. Check out whoever they follow, too (hover your cursor over each square in the list of who they follow)...