Third in the Search Engine Optimization article series

Make Your Nonprofit Website a Top "Hit": A 30 Day Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine Optimization Part 3 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com

Week 3: Objective: to plan and develo9p a sound link recruitment campaign

What you need to know:

Links: A link is a connection between one webpage to another. Search engines value links because if many links are pointing to the same webiste, then the wesbsite is deemed to be important and is given a higher pagerank (range 1-10) or level of importance. Having inbound links from "quality" sites will booste yor website's SEO campaign more than any other factor.

If we think of keywords as the means to telling search engines what your site is about, then links are the channels that tell search engines how important your site is. Links are also where your nonprofit can truly shine. Other websites are generally more willing to provide a link to an informational or nonprofit organization making link recruitment considerably easier.

Link Recruitment Strategies - There are three basic strategic approaches to acquiring links:

1. Get as many links as posible
2. Get a few high quality links
3. Have a combination of quantity and quality links

Having a combination between quality and quantity is currently the most effective and recommended strategy. Remember, search engines do not value all links equally and neither should your organization. Having some low quality links from directories (week 1) will give your organization a slight boost, but the real gains in ranking will be derived from the quality of incoming links.

Inbound Link Partners - The question you need to ask yourself now is, "What webistes are similar in topic and would benefit from the contents of my webiste?" To answer this question, you will first need to identify the informatino or service your site offers that makes it unique and friendly to link to. As a general rule, websites will only link to you ify ou give them something of real value. If you find yourself thinking, "My website has nothing to offer," then you should go back and work on your website's content before continuing any further. If you do have value to offer, take some time perusing the Internet to find organizations which focus on similar topics that would possibly link to you. In the first 30 days, try to develop a contact list of at least the top 50 possible link partners. Look for sites with a high pagerank (although keep in mind pagerank is a rough estimate not an exact measurement). Pageranks range in value from 1-10 and show up on the top of your Web browser. You will want to install the free pagerank toolbar to acquire this tool.

Reciprocal Linking - Some entities inevitably will only be willing to trade links. This is called a reciprocal link. Establishing a reciprocal link entails placing a link on your site which directs visitors to a partner's site in exchange for a link back to your own. Search engines do not value reciprocal links very highly, but a few reciprocal links will not hurt the organization as long as it contributes to a natural looking link structure (searchenginenews.com). Reciprocal links should rarely be sought out, but rather used as a fallback position in link negotiations (this topic will be covered in week 4).

Link Placement - The placement of your link on a partner's site is often equal in importance to the quality of the partnering organization. This makes it critical to have a link placement strategy in place before you contact the organization. A good strategy consists of a best case scenario which almost always is a link on the homepage, and a backup position which will be where you feel your link is the best fit to the organization. Having your link placed in a topically relevant area of the partnering organization is critical because search engines use link placement information to determine the purpose of your organization.

Anchor Text - Another factor that is pivital to achieving a natural linking structure is establishing varied, keyword rich anchor text for each link obtained. Anchor text is the text displayed in the link on another page linking back to yours. If websites linking to your site are willing to accept suggestions for the anchor text, make sure each one is varied and include common keywords. Avoid links that say "click here" etc. because they will be much less valuable to your site than a specific targeted keyword that you identified in the first week.

Voluntary Links - If your website has quality content; it is very possible that sites will want to provide a link to your site without you even having to ask. To facilitate this, provide an easy "link to us" section of your webpage where sites can sign up to link to you. Be sure to approve each link personally so that you ensure overall quality.

Additional Resources - The Unfair Advantage book, "101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website" (SEOBook.com), and How to Achieve Higher Rankings and Stay Out of Google Hell Via Optimized Internal Linking are good sources for more information about linking.

Week 3 Checklist:

• Decide your link recruitment strategy
• Identify what valuable service/information your organization contains
• Develop a list of the top 50 possible links with contact information
• Set your link placement goals for each contact
• Decide what anchor text you will use for each contact.

Second Search Engine Optimization Article

Make Your Art Organization’s Website a Top “Hit”: A 30 Day Step by Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine OptimizationPart 2 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com

Week 2: Objective:Your week two objectives are to implement a sitemap and create and maintain a successful blog.

What you need to know:

Sitemap- Having a sitemap that connects the entire website will eliminate the need for having multiple links on the homepage and will make the pages more crawlable by search engine spiders. A sitemaps purpose is to provide a central link hub for the website, allowing search engines or users to easily navigate the various pages. Search engines recognize new pages by following links from existing pages, so having a sitemap will ensure all pages are indexed properly. While this will have no effect on the websites SEO campaign, it is an important element of any successful website and will also help when introducing a blog (below). To download software to create your own sitemap, visit Site Map Pro.

Blog- A blog is basically an open forum where participants can discuss various topics. Nonprofits can utilize them to tell readers about organization projects, outreach programs, and upcoming events.

Reason for a Blog- In my article “10 Reasons every Art Organization Must Have a Blog,” I emphasize the important role blogs play. For SEO purposes, a blog is beneficial because other sites/blogs link to read the blog’s content and therefore the websites overall pagerank (level of importance) increases. However, blogs are not only important for SEO purposes, they are also excellent tools for marketing, fundraising, and allow organizations to convey the true “heart” of their efforts.

Create a Blog- Starting a blog is not only easy, but also inexpensive. There are dozens of free or nearly free services to create a blog including Blogger (recommended), Blog-City, EasyJournal, Blogeasy, Typead, Grey Matter, Userland, or Movable Type. Simply follow their step-by-step instructions to create your own blog today.

Blog Directories and Related Blogs- Once you have created a blog, you will need to spread the word about it. To do this, begin by submitting your blog to directories. Good blog directories include Technorati, Blogcatolog, Topblogarea, and Bloghub. The directories will categorize your blog and make it available for others to read about it. Next, use one or more of the listed directories to find other blogs focused on similar topics. Identify what blogs are most closely related to art organizations, and read posts to gain a better understanding of their blog format and writing style. One of the best ways to get new people looking at your blog is to post entries on other blogs with a link back to your own. According to the March, 2007 Blog Readership Report, 67.3% of bloggers found information by following links from other blogs. However, bloggers do not appreciate worthless entries with the sole intention of back links. When you make a post, be sure to add something useful to the conversation and explain why your link will be worth following.

Subscribers- Arguably the greatest measure of blog success is the number of subscribers. Subscribers are usually consistent readers and often post entries onto the blog. The greater number of subscribers your blog has, the more easily you can promote an upcoming event or inform constituents of a recent projects success. Copyblogger’s article, “10 Effective ways to Get More Blog Subscribers,” gives great tips for how to increase the number of blog subscribers. You will want a RSS feed for your blog to allow subscribers to receive updates when you add new blog posts.

Blogs True Purpose- Blogs have helped a countless number of organizations achieve their SEO objectives. More importantly however, blogs have allowed art related organizations to connect with their supporters in a completely new way. The stories, issues, and projects surrounding the organization reach a number of people who would otherwise not have been exposed. To learn more about how to put blogs to work for your organization, read one of the many informational articles on problogger or copyblogger. For examples of other nonprofit organizations that have successfully used blogs visit:

http://www.aspca.org/aspcablog/index.html http://network.bestfriends.org/Blogs/ http://www.waterconserve.org/blog/water_conservation/ http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blog/ http://www.intelligentgiving.com/the_buzz/the_blog/ http://blogs.walkerart.org/ecp/

Week 2 Checklist:

• Create Sitemap
• Find blog provider
• Create your blog
• Visit topically relevant blogs and post entries
• Submit your blog to directories
• Get subscribers
• Research other ways to harness the power of the blog

First in a series of Search Engine Optimization Articles

We are pleased to present the first in a series of four articles written by Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson from TicketPrinting.com related to search engine optimization. Read on...

Make Your Art Organization a Top “Hit”: A 30 Day Step-by-Step Guide to Dramatically Improved Search Engine Optimization Part 1 of 4

By Lance Trebesch and Taylor Robinson

Lance@TicketPrinting.com www.TicketPrinting.com

Do you ever wonder why some websites seem to steal the top positions on search engines? No, it is not magic, and yes, your art organization can do it too. The “secret” to achieving this success for your website is by harnessing the power of search engine optimization. By following this step-by-step guide, you will be well on your way to drastically improving your websites standing in only 30 days.

Overall Objective:

The overall objective should be to improve your websites position on search engines.

What you need to know:

Despite what some companies may want you to believe, there are no tricks or shortcuts to SEO and you will not top the list of search results overnight. Three major areas should be focused on for a successful SEO campaign. These areas include:

1. Keywords 2. Website design 3. Links

Week 1:

Objective:

Your objectives in the first week include submitting your site to several link directories and improving your websites keyword structure.

Let’s Get Started:

Directories- Submitting to nonprofit directories such as CharityNavigator, Yahoo Health, idealist.org, and fundsnetservices or general directories such as Business.com, Best of the Web, and DMOZ will immediately affect your websites search rankings. While listing your site on directories is worth your time, the links are of little overall value and will only have a minimal impact on your ranking.

Keywords- Keywords are the words/phrases that tell search engines about the purpose of your site. It is important to identify which words are most advantageous to your organization so they can be optimized in your content. Begin selecting keywords by brainstorming every word/phrase that is topically relevant to your organization. Remember, put yourself into the shoes of the searcher and avoid industry jargon. Be sure to include the name of the organization and the main service the organization provides. Additionally, when selecting keywords try to avoid general terms such as “theater”, “art”, or “fundraiser” and select keywords that are unique and relevant. Two problems arise when general keyword terms are used:

1. The phrase becomes more competitive and harder to rank well on.
2. The site receives traffic from people who are looking for a different service than your organization provides.

Art organizations in particular need to include action keywords such as “donate” or “contribute” to make their fundraising campaigns more successful. If you are still unable to generate keywords, browse through websites of similar organizations and look which keywords are used on their sites.

Keyword Tracker Tools- Once you have developed a starter list, you are ready to test the words using one of the many online keyword tracker tools. The best free online tool today is yahoo’s Overture. This will show the popularity of the keyword entered during the last month and give a rough idea of what additional keywords may work for the organization. However, for the organization that wants to launch a more targeted and successful SEO campaign, Wordtracker is the correct instrument to use. Wordtracker has additional features such as the inclusion of plurals and misspellings in its search. Most importantly Wordtracker includes the competition for each of the keyword phrases. The trick here is to select keywords that are popular searches but not commonly used by other organizations.

Keyword Density- There has been a great deal of hype regarding keyword density and finding the correct density for each search engine. Keyword density refers to the frequency that the keyword is used. According to the most current and accurate articles written on the subject, such as the Unfair Advantage (within searchenginenews.com), keyword density is in fact much less important than originally predicted. The only standing rule of keyword density is not use “keyword stuffing” techniques where the phrase is repeated multiple times. Search engines now monitor this tactic and will actually lower your sites ranking if they detect stuffing. Search Engine Land’s article, SEO “Don’ts”: 20 Fatal Mistakes You Must Avoid to Succeed, gives an accurate list of pitfalls such as keyword stuffing that you will want to steer clear of when implementing your SEO strategy.

New Website Content- When incorporating keywords into the websites text, be sure to look at the content from the users’ point of view, and strike a balance between the user and the search engine (priority always goes to the user), making content friendly for both. For further reading on how to layout your website to optimize its effectiveness with search engines read Matt McGee’s 21 Essential SEO Tips & Techniques or one of the many articles on the subject in Search Engine Land.

Title and Header Tags- The most important keywords identified should be included in the websites title and header tags. A title tag is a short html code that tells search engines about your site, while headers are viewed by users on the top of each page and tell the purpose of the page. The 7 Essential Title Tag Strategies of High Ranking Web Pages in 2006 has further information about how to improve title tags to optimize your search performance.

Week One Checklist:

• Submit your website to directories
• List keywords
• Test your keywords with online tools
• Research title and header tags
• Improve your websites content by adding keywords

A few good articles...

One thing that's consistently true about information technology is that you can't trust what was true today to be true tomorrow. If it's hard to identify and articulate the scope for your technology project, it can be even harder to find the tools that match up with your requirements. Founded in November 2005 by a brave woman named Laura Quinn, idealware.org is a nonprofit organization that publishes unbiased articles about technology tools in a wide variety of areas, from electronic newsletters to blogging to Constituent Relationship Management. Laura seeks input from a wide variety of technology professionals and all the authors involved strive to provide honest, plain-talking information about a given subject, and in my humble opinion, they're doing a great job.

Check out Idealware.org's "A few good tools" report series on topics like Web Analytics and CMS, or more theoretical articles like "In Search of CRM" or "Building Peace Through Information and Communication Technologies."

Web 1.0 is so ten years ago...

I happened upon a great blog entry on Slayerment.com about upgrading your Web site to Web 2.0. It provides 12 ways to move that pitiful static thing you created using a Geocities account back when Vanilla Ice was cool into an honest to goodness interactive online tool. Yes, "Web 2.0" is just one of those annoying buzz terms, but this entry is funny AND insightful, a great combination:

12 ways to turn your Web 1.0 site into a Web 2.0 site | Slayerment

Powered by ScribeFire.

Keep Your Inbox Clean...

Here is a great presentation by Merlin Mann of the popular 43 Folders digital organization site on his Inbox Zero concepts. Basically, he discusses keeping your inbox completely clean by processing email in one of five ways: Delete, Delegate, Respond, Defer, or Do. It's a great method of dealing with email, and I encourage everyone to take 30 minutes to watch the main portion of his presentation.

Almost one year ago today...

I blogged about the issue of data loss many organizations and individuals, myself included (I can kiss all those undergrad research papers saved on 3 1/2 inch floppy disks goodbye) experience due to outdated file formats. I came across an article posted to the Americans for the Arts Cultural Policy listserv detailing the same issue. The article originally appearing in the BBC News Web site, "Warning of data ticking time bomb", can be read in full by clicking on this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6265976.stm

Part of me feels that the idea of a "ticking time bomb" is a bit on the sensationalist side. Surely large organizations with the resources to handle that much information will figure out a way to keep the data accessible. I think the people who will get the short end of the stick unfortunately are those without the labor and/or money to figure out. Having worked in a variety of arts organizations from five-person outfits to mid-sized organizations, my impression is that there is often not enough emphasis on proper data storage.

My challenge to you is to think of how you will safeguard your organization's vital information - data about your constituents, grant recipients, financial transactions, donor histories, etc - how will you ensure the information is still easily accessible thirty years from now? It is our responsibility to make sure as much of the organizational history as possible is passed on to our successors. It would be great if we could pass it on in such a way that they can actually use it to further the mission of the organization.

Press Releases and Web 2.0

Recently, Erika Block with www.blockwork.org steered me toward an article from Entrpreneur.com titled "PR Trends: A Press Release for Social Media," which discusses how the PR field is attempting to respond to the "social web" phenomenon by adapting the age-old press release to create a new template for social media containing the following items:

• A brief description of the news announcement
• Quotes from the CEO or other execs, customers and analysts, if applicable
• Photo/video attachments, or links to web pages that host these items
• Links inside the release copy to background information, and relevant links to other news stories or reference sources
• Digital tags (used to link to web tools such as Del.icio.us and Digg)
• RSS Feed links
• Links to podcasts and MP3 files, graphics and video

The article states that the social media release is primarily used by those in the tech industry, which makes sense as they are obviously early adapters to changes in technology. There is a lot of potential here for arts organizations dealing with any discipline. Are any of you using this new template for media releases? Have you seen an impact in the consumption of your press materials?

Click here for another take on press releases and web 2.0 from Ericka's blog.

Social Networking Technology and Arts Organizations

Recently in the Artful Manager blog, Andrew Taylor discussed how social networking technology evident in popular user-driven sites (MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Dandelife, etc.) is rapidly changing the nature of the web and how we use it by enabling individuals to share their voice, vision and story with the wider world. For many months now, I have been ruminating over how to (a) strategically integrate the use of social networking technology into my programs and services, and (b) convince my organization's leaders that we need to move in this direction.

I know many artists are finding ways to utilize this technology as a tool for furthering their artistic endeavors. Comedian Dane Cook has used his MySpace network to catapult himself into the national spotlight as today's top-selling comedian on tour; Boston painter Jeff Hayes produces a successful painting-a-day blog to sell his work on a daily basis; hundreds of filmmakers post their trailers and short films on YouTube to promote awareness and generate buzz for their work.

So what can social networking technology do for arts organizations?

• Given the current trend in the field for arts organizations to market the "artistic experience" coupled with contemporary audiences' desire for greater interactivity, social networking technology has great potential to assist arts organizations in deepening their audience's experience by providing more avenues for engaging with the art, the artists, the organization, and each other. For example, check out Chicago Classical Music (CCM). Founded by nine classical music organizations, CCM launched in March 2006 as a six-month pilot program under the auspices of the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. This online community is dedicated to connecting its 11 current membership organizations with classical music enthusiasts through a blog, interactive forums, a chat room, a ticket swap feature, an events calendar, and more.
• Due to the "tell your friends, who will tell their friends, etc." nature of this technology, another benefit for arts organizations is the viral expansion of their reach and awareness. Earlier this fall, I started a weblog for our Southern Circuit - Tour of Independent Filmmakers program wherein touring filmmakers post about their experiences on the road in the South. Even in its nascent phase, the blog has been viewed throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America; thereby providing our program with a reach and awareness we could never afford to garner through another channel.
• A third potential function for social network technology is to galvanize a virtual community around a mission, goal or issue to spur positive change in the real world. Take a look at how the New Orleans Video Access Center has been using YouTube to answer the question "Why should New Orleans be rebuilt?"

These are just a few ways in which these sites and online services can benefit arts organizations. With every passing day, further innovative uses are realized. So why stay behind the curve? What could social networking technology do for your organization?

Starting a Podcast, Part 5

Now that I have some actual mp3 files from my interviews with CAMT staff - check them out and subscribe to the podcast - it's time to release them to the world. My first attempt to build a listenership - yes, that's a real word - is to use a site called Feedburner, which facilitates the distribution of blogs and podcasts.

First, I added to our blog site a "Podcast" category where my new CAMT mp3 files can live. It is important to add each podcast in its own post. Otherwise, a feed reader such as Feedburner or iTunes will only recognize the first audio file in the post and skip the rest.

Next, I registered for a free account on Feedburner. There are fee-based services, such as enhanced subscriber tracking, but I don't imagine this thing will take off fast enough for us to worry about that just yet. I'm charming, but I'm no Bill O'Reilly. (Disclaimer: The previously linked site is not my own, nor do I endorse it. I simply searched "Bill O'Reilly" and that is the funniest result.)

Once you sign up for a Feedburner account and enter the URL for your "Podcast" blog category, Feedburner will automatically create a page where visitors can either download your content or get your feed URL for use in their own podcast aggregators.

Learn more about Feedburner.

Starting a Podcast, Part 4

Yesterday I interviewed three of my fellow CAMT staffers: Guillermo Marinero (Senior Information Systems Specialist), Haebin Kim (Information Systems Specialist), and Melody Fleishauer (Systems Administrator). These interviews are roughly 5 minutes each and aren't thrilling, but you can hear a little about each of their backgrounds and how they became intrigued by technology. Listen to the interviews in our Podcast category.

Next week: I will discuss how to get these mp3 files out into the world as Podcasts.

EDIT: After publishing this post, I caught a mistake: I posted three mp3 files to one post. In order for a Podcast aggregator like iTunes to catch your audio files, it's important to post them as separate links. Since this blog is meant to be instructional, I thought I'd call myself out on this error publicly, so we can all learn from my mistake. I have added two more posts in the Podcasts category of this blog forHaebin and Melody, so iTunes will snag them for me. More on this next week...

Carnegie Museums have gone digital

Through the Art Collection Search, people can now browse the Carnegie Museums of Arts' collection online. I think this is a perfect segue to our Successful Digitization Projects Funded by the IMLS presented at the conference in October. After resolving some of their copyright issues, and following up on the statute of limitations for art (the artist's death + 70 years) the site is up!

No registration is required. Just go to the website and browse!

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Starting a Podcast, Part 3

I now have a microphone connected to my mixer, and the whole shebang is linked to my laptop through an RCA-to-1/8 cord. Here is a pic of the cord:

The black end connects to the laptop, and the red/white end connects to the mixer.

As luck would have it, someone here at CMU was disposing of a microphone stand simply because the plastic clip that holds the mic in place was broken. As my mics came packaged with their own clips that fit perfectly on the unwanted stand, I turned someone's trash into my treasure.

This is a picture of my desk-turned-recording-studio:

Note my beautifully salvaged microphone stand. Also note the Technology in the Arts Web site on my monitor. (Plug, plug, plug.)

Maybe it was annoying, but I walked around the office most of the day on Friday describing my mini podcast studio as "totally awesome." Not everyone shared my enthusiasm. I try to be professional about things, and what happens?

1) The guy that works across the hall from me leans into my office, notices the equipment, and says, "I have to ask." Yes, but I don't have to answer.

2) Jerry Coltin, CAMT's former executive director, tells me the USB mic that came with my computer will work just fine for podcasting. While this may be true, it won't look like I'm getting ready to produce the new Boyz II Men comeback album, which is exactly the look I'm going for.

3) Cary McQueen-Morrow, CAMT's current executive director, says I'm the biggest geek at CMU -- and that is like calling someone the ugliest person at the University of Pittsburgh. (By the way, that is ONLY a joke. As a West Virginia University fan, I'm obligated to say horrible things about Pitt.)

Next Week: Audio Interviews with CAMT Staff

Opera in the digital era

This week, the Metropolitan Opera announced it will broadcast live performances to movie theaters in the US, Canada, and Europe. The Met also plans to make more than 1,500 historical recordings available online through Rhapsody, a digital on-demand audio and video subscription service. Now that the Met has the rights to distribute both new productions and historic broadcasts on virtually all electronic formats, opera lovers can even watch streaming video of performances on the opera company's website. Read the full article here.

A growing number of opera companies are using technology to reach out to new audiences. According to DRoxy, a digital radio blog, the British opera company Hatstand Opera was the first to release opera podcasts, with its first edition of Podopera in the summer of 2005.

Starting a Podcast, Part 2

Not much to report for now, but I wanted to update on the arrival of our podcasting equipment! Very exciting... it's almost like having a newborn baby. (Well, the podcast equipment doesn't spit up on me or make frequent stinkies.) Here is our mixer:

And here is our microphone:

Note that there are inputs for two microphones, which is the setup we'll be using during the conference. Also note the cleanliness of my desk. I use Lysol wipes every day because I am a germophobic freak of nature. Am I sharing too much?

Now comes the experimentation stage. In the coming days, I will be testing different connections to my laptop to determine what gives me the best sound quality. My research indicates that two cables with RCA (red and white) plugs at one end and a 1/8" plug at the other will work well, so I plan to try that first.

Starting a Podcast, Part 1

During the conference, I will be strategically located at a table or booth with a laptop and a couple microphones. If you're attending the conference, I may just grab you for a 10-15 minute interview. I plan to then offer up a series of 20-30 minute podcasts in the weeks following the conference. I will also be documenting the development of the podcast on this blog site as a basic guide for arts organizations interested in using the technology for further engaging their audiences.

To find the best podcasting software and hardware to meet my needs, I decided to do some online research. By Googling terms like "podcast," "podcast software," "podcast hardware," and "podcast microphones," I was able to find countless product reviews and general podcast articles.

What most people don't realize is that an individual with a decent computer can start a podcast for next to nothing, because most of the best software is open source (aka free) and a basic laptop or desktop microphone will serve a lone podcaster with no real audio quality demands.

For the TitA podcast, I decided to go with Audacity, a free podcast recording and mixing software. Audacity lets you record multiple tracks and then overlap them creatively. In order to convert the audio files recorded with Audacity to podcast-ready MP3 files, you will need to set up LAME MP3 according to these instructions.

Once you have Audacity with the LAME MP3 encoder properly installed and configured, you will be ready to record your first "podcast." I use the term podcast loosely here, because an effective podcast requires planning. Click below for my first test podcast, for which I broke my own rule and refused to plan. This is simply to prove that podcasting can be extremely cheap.

Click to hear me rambling while a presumably deceased man sings the blues in the background.

If this were a real podcast, I wouldn't simply link to it; I would also submit it as an RSS (see my recent post about RSS feeds) so people could subscribe. But I'll discuss that process in a later edition of my podcast blog series.

Because I want to set up my podcast area at the conference in an interview-friendly fashion, I decided to go with an external mixer and two standard microphones. The mixer and mic setup will provide higher sound quality and the ability to adjust interviewer/interviewee levels on the fly. Based on affordability and favorable online reviews, I opted for the Behringer UB802 mixer and two Shure PG48 microphones.

Music Video for Net Neutrality

Do your part to spread the word about net neutrality! Visit www.wearetheweb.org.

Diary of a Server Move

As many of you know, CAMT moved most of its servers and upgraded systems over the weekend to provide a more sustainable network. We strive to offer our partner organizations nearly 100 percent uptime, and co-locating our servers so our hosted sites are accessible in the event of a power failure is a major step towards achieving that goal. The following is my log of the day's events:

7:05 AM - Guillermo and I arrive at the CAMT offices on the campus of Carnegie Mellon. It is one of those beautiful Saturdays that are rare to Western Pennsylvania... no rain, no humidity, blue skies. You know, perfect weather for sitting inside and staring at computer screens all day.

Melody was at the office until 8:30 PM last night, and she came in at 4:30 this morning to get a head start. She looks cranky. She needs coffee.

7:30 AM - The CMU IT reps show up to move our servers. This process is complicated by the fact that Melody has to set up a router in our office and make sure the servers communicate with us once they're in their new home. Otherwise, the servers would have to be assigned new IP addresses, which would mean days or weeks of downtime for our clients.

8:00 AM - There is still no coffee. Somehow, I had expected it to magically appear, but it doesn't look as though that's going to happen.

"Gosh, in the four hours that you've been here already this morning, I would have thought you could at least get some coffee," I joke with Melody. She is not amused. I head to Starbuck's to feed the corporate monster and our caffeine addictions.

8:45 AM - Everyone's computers are able to connect to the network but mine. I complain to Melody and Guillermo that I'd really like to read celebrity gossip Web sites while I drink my coffee and eat my donut. My cries fall on deaf ears... or maybe they're just ignoring me.

9:10 AM - As is to be expected of all technology endeavors, there are a few snags. We run afoul of several of Murphy's Laws, and the servers are hiding from us. If I had a time machine, I would travel back in time and smack Murphy. Unfortunately, the building of the official CAMT time machine has been postponed until after the server move.

Melody and Guillermo are talking about Spanky, Alfalfa, Pickle and Porky. I think they've lost their minds, but it turns out that these are the nicknames for some of our servers.

9:30 AM - I still cannot connect to the Internet. Melody informs me that I am not today's top priority. I am simply flabbergasted.

10:15 AM - My computer is finally connecting to the Internet! Paris Hilton is up to no good, as usual.

11:30 AM - Guillermo is configuring DNS settings for our servers. For those who don't know, DNS is short for Domain Name Server/System/Service. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses and vice-versa. While everyone is most familiar with URLs like www.google.com and www.yahoo.com, these domain names are all associated with IP addresses, such as 198.105.232.4.

Noon - When routers attack! We experienced a brief moment of panic when the router at CAMT and the router at the new server location were refusing to communicate. I quell everyone's panic by blowing bubbles. This is the extent of my contribution thus far, but let us not downplay the importance of bubbles during a crisis.

Pretty bubbles ease the stress.

12:45 PM - Eureka! It seems that one tiny, miniscule setting was incorrect, and it was the root of all our problems. I blow more bubbles, but the novelty is beginning to wear off.

Note to self: Do not blow bubbles directly into the eyes of the systems administrator.

Fortunately, we were able to correct the routing issue quickly, but it's often the case with technology projects that the smallest mistakes cause hours of agony.

1:20 PM - Once again, my expertise pays off in a big way; I am the only one equipped to handle the intricacies of our lunch order. Very important - Guillermo does not want mayo. If this step of the server move is botched, we could lose precious time waiting for him to scrape his bun clean.

Guillermo hates mayo. Is this absolutely clear?

While we wait on our lunch delivery, Melody and Guillermo settle in to spend the next hour or two configuring our new routers to allow the appropriate traffic into and out of our network, while blocking unauthorized access.

2:00 PM - Uh oh! The entire Carnegie Mellon network is down because of a water leak at the institution's Internet Service provider. Unless it comes back up soon, we will have no way to test our settings and changes.

3:00 PM - Just in the nick of time, the CMU network is back up and Melody and Guillermo have finished modifying the router settings. We have started our testing of client sites, and it appears that everything is up and running.

It was a long and hectic day, but we learned a little about ourselves, a lot about each other and nothing about dinosaurs or hydrogen fuel cells.

PDA Gambling in Vegas

Here is another way for-profits are cashing in on creative uses of technology. Read this article posted on wired.com about how The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas plans to implement handheld devices for gambling anywhere. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71466-0.html?tw=wn_culture_6

Your English professor will catch you!

With the incredible amount of content on the web how do we know if we’re just repeating ourselves? The Internet has given many a chance to publish their thoughts in a public forum where many were never able to before. It’s become easy to publish a blog or a personal web page with services such as My Space or Word Press. With as much content on the web there has to be a blog or two or a web page or two where the content is similar or almost identical. It may be highly improbable, but can it happen? What I really wonder is, can my brief ramblings I posted on a blog end up in someone’s term paper or book report? I don’t claim to be an expert on anything you would want to turn in to your English professor, but I would find it humorous and a bit incredible.

Here’s an interesting article I found on the high tech battle on plagiarism.

Don’t copy any of this without proper citations. Your English professor will catch you.