Interesting and Timely Article about Time Mangement: Feeling overwhelmed?

 Feeling overwhelmed? A little time triage may help

Washington Business Journal - by Terry Monaghan

I know that stopping to read an article in the middle of the day about time management is not the most productive thing one can do.  The title really attracted my attention because I have been changing how I spend my time.  Normally I wouldn't see the title, but after an upgrade my e-mail client Thunderbird is acting strange  thus I was able to justify reading this article.  I look forward to the series - if it doesn't waste too much time.

I need to quote one of the most important phrases I found in this article.  It is behind wisely using one's time:

Instead of looking for ways to get more things done, you must begin to shift your focus to getting the right things done.

 And to accomplish the above, the author offers two questions one needs to ask over every task.  I've combined into one double question with both parts requiring an affirmative.

Is this task going to move my goals forward and is doing this task the best use of my time?

I need to make some changes in how I go about my daily activities.   It would be great if the forthcoming articles of Terry Monaghan address this issue in depth, to learn with the article.

Comment on the article Is Facebook Falling Apart

Mr. Lockard sir, I enjoyed reading your well duplicated(1) article "Is Facebook Falling Apart" along with it's interesting comments. Of course, the referenced New York Times article "The disillusionment with Facebook has come in waves" begged perusal as well.  Together they are part of an area I've studied for years as a small time web developer.

The newsletter notification for this article was quite timely as I recently surrendered to the urgings of friends and created a Facebook account.  What promts me to comment is what appears to be a mis-understanding of why a person should join Facebook.

A departure reason from the Facebook Exodus article under "The disillusionment with Facebook has come in waves." was a non-Facebook "Scrabble application", 3rd party problems are not Facebook's responsibility.  If nothing else at Facebook insterests you, be nice and delete your account, but don't blame Facebook for someone else's problems.

Another departure reason as well as a comment referenced that they were trying "to attract prospective clients", but felt there were other avenues better suited.  I do think they joined Facebook for the wrong reason.  Most likely these folks were influenced by the teachings of black/gray hat SEO Experts whose ultimate goal is to create a demand for their service of fulfilling a non-existent need. When we look at the mission statement from Facebook "giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected" and study the "Make Facebook Useful: Find your Friends" page (which searches under the classifications of Friend Finder, Classmates Search, Coworkers Search, and Name Search) we don't find much about lead building.  They have profile pages available for any public figure, non-profit or organization, musician or local business.  Clicking for information on local business brings one to the ad sales page, not a free lead generation page.

Facebook is a true social networking site.  The faddish part is the unnecessary demand created by false advice.  The well designed and placed ads are aimed toward the possible wants of the viewers while being fine-tuned by demographic and other information gleaned.  Did you know you can tell them you find an ad offensive and they will never show that ad to your profile again.  Like all sites, one must read the terms of service(ToS), especially from 3rd party apps with their "ethical" installs.  Facebook exists to sell clicks on links to vendors dreaming their service or product is the one for which people just like me or you are willing to give them money.

Your article mentioned unique visitors each month.  That is only one of several website metrics. How many time each visitor returns to the site during the month and how many visitors keep returning, month after month are two valuable metrics which gauge a websites effectiveness.  Ad sellers want retention.

Yes, I became a "Fan" of the bowling alley I use.  I'll get a free night of bowling.  But, being their "Fan" really will not change much from our current financial exchange.

I'll never search out the "The Scam of the Month Business Opportunity" and problem will never generate a web search through the Facebook website. Those that do should expect clouded results. Neither should I expect anyone to go to a social networking website like Facebook to search for a web developer.  Advice on how one can use a website in a manner contrary to the sites purpose is advice which should not be followed.

a poor but honest web developer,
Doug

(1) Google search returned 1470 articles

What is in a name? Just plenty.

Many years ago I started playing around building and maintaining a variety of websites. I enjoyed what I was doing and slowly it became my favorite hobby.  Wanting more "action" but lacking "proper credentials", I was able to create a contractual situation to build a company website, subject to approval.  Yes, approval came quickly.

My client had a stipulation - which I resolved without proper future forethought - the client would only pay a legal entity, not an individual.  Because a big check was waiting to be cashed, I rushed to the Secretary of State and registered an assumed name on 05/13/2005.

Almost immediately I began regretting my choice of business/assumed name: dcphosting services.

The purpose of this gabbage is to solict assistance with the creation of a business/assumed name for my commercial website activities.  I have learning many things about company/assumed names and probably the most important is that I know jack-shit.

The original name, dcphosting services (dcp hosting services), has several problems.
    1: Unprofessional show of ownership - "dcp".
    2: The word "services", besides being indescriptive, often conflicted with sales copy because of the repeated, close appearance of the word.
    3: The reference to services performed, "hosting", is too narrow.
It would be a tremendous bonus is the new business/assumed name was also available as and made a great domain name.  Possibly more important though is that it is a smooth, easy, friendly name.

What I do with a quick description.
Website Design: Site planning from features, seo, security, as well as "style and layout".
Features / Functions: E-Commerce (Shopping Cart), Help Desk, Newsletters, Spam Free Info Forms
That SEO stuff: There are no secrets or special voo-doo in getting good search results, just appling what is known.
Cyber Renewal: Correcting problems or otherwise making a site new again.
  Bot Problems: Many can be made to go away easily, others with some will power.
  File Modifications: We can modify your current software (where TOS allows) to suite your needs.
Website Hosting: This is not our most promoted service.  Most clients receive hosting as part of the package.
Data Manipulation: Taking the output from one program and making it import into another.
Ongoing Services: Security monitoring, SEO, product, or content updates

I've thought of a few locally based names, each with its one set of problems. "Princeton Small Business Websites", "Websites for Small Business", "Rum River WebDesign" are three.

What type of thoughts do you have on the subject?

My Webmaster Education

What is your definition of a webmaster?

What subjects would this definition traverse?

Would you reply with "website design"?

What is "website design"? Should the style and layout of the website define "website design"?

Should "website design" include the structural planning of which features and functions make up the website?

Would you add Marketing?

How would you define Marketing: 1: Marketing of the website to the world, 2: Marketing the website products to it's visitors? Is there a difference between the two?

What about the security of the software?

What else should be considered in the definition of a webmaster?

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have all the answers. I've explored all of the above subject areas along with quite a few others. By default, I'm sure I've omitted subjects.

I realize there are many sources for information regarding whatever defines being a webmaster. I've wanted to document my path on this journey for some time and actually regret not having started sooner.

The question of "what do I hope to accomplish" took me awhile to answer. As I thought about "why, what, & how", I came up with a lot of small reasons.

Amoungst them:
To ridicule various SEO experts. (And show what is wrong.)
To admire other SEO experts. (And show what is right.)
To document the path travelled as I hone my skills as a webmaster.
Sure be nice if I could pay back the community by teaching someone else.
Earn 75 cents off Adsense.
Meet another friend or two.