All roads lead to...

Your web site.

FWIW, IMHO, Caveate Emptor, YMMV, Objects may be closer than they appear, etc etc etc.

I've been building web sites as an amature for over 14 years now. Being a new member here, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and observations about blogs and websites in general . Based on what I've been doing and building lately, here are some (semi organized) thoughts:

First and foremost, think "channels", not "flyers". Web-based communication is not like publishing a flyer or newsletter. Or even like a daily newspaper. It's more like being your own media conglomerate. The idea is to leverage as many different channels of communication and let the consumer decide which works best. Some of my readers like to receive twitter updates to their "dumb" phone. Others prefer facebook messages on their smartphone. Still others want new posts to appear in their RSS feedreader. Many will want an email in their inbox. The point is that none of these methods are wrong, and you CAN manage all of them without losing yourself into a digital circle of hell. As long as you have a plan.

That having been said:

1. Everything you do should lead back to your web site - that one place on the internet that contains the heart of what you are doing. If you are a consultant, it's the place where people get your service listing and rates. If you are a writer, it's where people can get your resume and samples. You get the point.
2. (Almost) Everything you do should not only LEAD back there, but it should be created IN ORDER TO bring the reader there. If you are writing a guest column, make sure you at least get a mention of your site, if not direct links back to it. Don't post main articles or content anywhere else. Post it on your site and then link from other places back there. Etc.
3. If you publish a newsletter (whether physical or electronic), consider publishing only PART of the article, with a "click here to read more".
4. Cross-post! Very few people are going to read your archives list (you DO have a link to your archives, don't you?!?!). More people will look at your "top xx posts" list (and I'm SURE you have that on your sidebar, RIGHT?!?!). But if you reference your other posts within the post they are reading, those links are just screaming to be read.
5. Cross-post (the sequel): Write guest bits for other bloggers. They will appreciate the additional content as much as you would, and you get an entirely new set of readers to see your stuff. I've found that even offering a repost of things that appear on my site is often deeply appreciated.
6. Finally, whenever you create a link - whether it is to someone else's site or your own internal stuff, use the _blank tag. This will open a new window or tab, which means your reader can get back to YOUR page without hitting the back button (which they never do). To use this, the format of the html looks like this:
   a href="www.newsite.com" target="_blank"

But the most important thing I've learned:
Create in one place, let tools disseminate. Nobody wants to have to remember to post to the blog, then create a twitter post about the blog post, and then create a similar post on Facebook. Then Stumble it. Or whatever.

This takes a bit of work, but you will be happy you did. A lot of these tricks rely on Feedburner. It's not the only way, but recently feedburner added several features that make it VERY easy to do this stuff. Once again, caveate emptor.

1. Make sure people can sign up for your blog via email. (in feedburner, you set this up under the "publicize" tab, then pick "email subscriptions")
2. As Heidi Cool writes about here, don't hide your RSS feed.
3. Equally true, don't hide your Facebook account, Twitter link, LinkedIn profile, etc. Make sure that people who LIKE that stuff can connect to you via THEIR CHANNEL of choice.
4. Make sure your blog automatically alerts Twitter about new posts (again in feedburner, you would look under the "publicize" tab. There is a "socialize" item that will let you add your Twitter account.)
5. Set up Facebook to automatically pull in your Twitter updates. You can do that two ways:
   • if you ONLY use Twitter to promote your website, you can use this application.
   • if you post other things to twitter that you DON'T want to appear on Facebook, you can use the Selective Tweets Facebook app. Then the only things that go to Facebook are the ones you post with a #fb hashtag. Which Feedburner lets you add from it's automatic repost to Twitter, by the way.
6. Stumble is your friend. I'm not a big user of Stumble Upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com) but over half my hits now come from people finding my site. To add a "Stumble This" link using Feedburner, go to the Optimize Tab, "FeedFlare" option.

Hopefully this gives everyone something to chew on. To see some of these tricks at work, check out my blog (you KNEW I was going to add that somewhere, didn't you?): http://www.edibletorah.com/.

iPad Quasi-Comparison

Over at my alter ego, I just posted a comparison of Apple's new tablet computer to that OTHER famous set of tablets. I'm reposting it here because it's technical. Sort of. And funny. At least I hope.

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Earlier this week I posted a comment about how Steve Jobs was showing off his “Tablet” just a week before we read the Torah portion Yitro, where the Israelites experienced the Revelation, receiving the 10 Commandments directly from the mouth of God, and the 2 Tablets of the Law (hereafter using the Hebrew name: “Luchos”) soon after.
My good friend and blogger Phil Setnik pointed out that, given yesterday’s revelation in San Francisco, it would be a useful service to readers everywhere to contrast and compare both the Luchos and the iPad keep the two straight. Along with running an awesome blog on his Jewish general musings, Phil has been a mentor and resource to me in my Jewish journey for years. So it’s really wonderful to work on this list together.
Here’s what we came up with:
How they are alike

• Both were revealed to the masses of faithful in a single moment of excitement
• Standing ovation for Steve Jobs. Many congregations stand when 10 commandments are read in synagogue.
• Both have a an elegantly simple and concise layout and design
• Infinitely adaptable. iPad has the AppStore to provide variety. 10 Commandments have thousands of years of commentary and interpretation, with no end in sight.
• Both speak to coveting. Although the Luchos state you SHOULDN’T, while iPad subtly implies you SHOULD.
• Both heavily leverage the letter “i”. iPad and “I am THE LORD”
• Both come at an acceptable price-point. Fully loaded iPad: ~$800. Luchos: commitment to teach it to our children for all generations.
• Both require additional parts for greater functionality – dongles for the iPad, the Oral Law for the Luchos.
• Both are breakable: Luchos broken by Moshe, iPad will probably fall victim to the “Will it Blend?” guy.

How they are NOT the same

• Luchos were universally accepted (Naaseh v’nishma). iPad, not so much.
• Luchos contain 10 applications that are to be run simultaneously. iPad only runs one at a time.
• iPad has no camera. Luchos come with the implication that Hashem is always watching
• iPad runs 10 hours on a single charge. Luchos are clocking in at ~3300 years and counting since its original “charge”
• iPad is 7.5×9.5 and 1.5 lbs. Chances are Luchos were a bit larger and heavier than that (although Rabbis say the words were so holy the Luchos has no weight at all!)
• Luchos didn’t display YouTube videos. This is a GOOD thing.
• Much harder to work the Luchos into a joke about feminine hygiene products.
• iWork not compatible with other document formats. Luchos readable in all 70 languages of humanity.
• iPad OS is based on Unix. Luchos don’t really put much store in eunuchs.
• iPad made in China of glass and aluminum. Luchos made in Heaven of pieces of Sapphire carved from the heavenly throne. Jobs wanted this, but balked at the price.
• iPad target audience is uncertain; Luchos target audience is potentially everyone.
• iPad has open source underpinnings with a proprietary interface. Luchos have a proprietary kernel with open source overlays.
• iPad has an oleophobic coating to help avoid fingerprints. Luchos: What, a little chicken fat? Couldn’t hurt.

All roads lead to...

I just joined a local bloggers collective called The Lake Erie Moose Society (don't ask about the name) and posted some of my thoughts and experiences about setting up a website/blog and promoting it. My post is entitled "All roads lead to your web site".

You can read the whole article on the Lake Erie site, but I've excerpted just a bit for you here:

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I've been building web sites as an amature for over 14 years now. Being a new member here, I wanted to share some of my thoughts and observations about blogs and websites in general . Based on what I've been doing and building lately, here are some (semi organized) thoughts:

First and foremost, think "channels", not "flyers". Web-based communication is not like publishing a flyer or newsletter. Or even like a daily newspaper. It's more like being your own media conglomerate. The idea is to leverage as many different channels of communication and let the consumer decide which works best. Some of my readers like to receive twitter updates to their "dumb" phone. Others prefer facebook messages on their smartphone. Still others want new posts to appear in their RSS feedreader. Many will want an email in their inbox. The point is that none of these methods are wrong, and you CAN manage all of them without losing yourself into a digital circle of hell. As long as you have a plan.

That having been said:

1. Everything you do should lead back to your web site - that one place on the internet that contains the heart of what you are doing. If you are a consultant, it's the place where people get your service listing and rates. If you are a writer, it's where people can get your resume and samples. You get the point.
2. (Almost) Everything you do should not only LEAD back there, but it should be created IN ORDER TO bring the reader there. If you are writing a guest column, make sure you at least get a mention of your site, if not direct links back to it. Don't post main articles or content anywhere else. Post it on your site and then link from other places back there. Etc.
3. If you publish a newsletter (whether physical or electronic), consider publishing only PART of the article, with a "click here to read more".
4. Cross-post! Very few people are going to read your archives list (you DO have a link to your archives, don't you?!?!). More people will look at your "top xx posts" list (and I'm SURE you have that on your sidebar, RIGHT?!?!). But if you reference your other posts within the post they are reading, those links are just screaming to be read.
5. Cross-post (the sequel): Write guest bits for other bloggers. They will appreciate the additional content as much as you would, and you get an entirely new set of readers to see your stuff. I've found that even offering a repost of things that appear on my site is often deeply appreciated.
6. Finally, whenever you create a link - whether it is to someone else's site or your own internal stuff, use the _blank tag. This will open a new window or tab, which means your reader can get back to YOUR page without hitting the back button (which they never do). To use this, the format of the html looks like this:
   a href="www.newsite.com" target="_blank"

Binary Theology

Over at my alter ego on The Edible Torah, I posted an essay about the intersection between binary, Jewish numerology (sort of, it's called "Gematria"), and the theological "meaning" of words and numbers.

You can read it here.