Roughly the TRUTH

Has your website been doing gangbusters recently? Think again. As Comscore explains, you may be just be welcoming back a single visitor with OCD.

Techcrunch is covering a mini-soap opera today starring Comscore’s web analytics business. Linda Abraham, Comscore’s CMO jumped in with some thoughts:

1) First of all, we measure Unique People rather than Unique Cookies which web analytics systems erroneously can unique visitors. I would challenge you to find any kind of server side measurement system that measures people, not machines or cookies. To show you how absurd server side numbers are, AOL Inc. had about 259 MM Unique cookies which gives it over 125% reach compared to a true reach of 54%. The inflation is driven by cookie deletion, multiple browsers, multiple machines for the same users, multiple devices etc… Large companies do not complain about their numbers because they know their server side numbers are flawed as obviously evident by the AOL metrics, not because “comScore fixes your number”. This dynamic is less obvious with smaller sites—they don’t realize how inflated their numbers are until their reach starts exceeding 100%.

(emphasis mine)

You’re probably asking yourself how bloated are those “unique visitor” numbers in your analytics software? Unfortunately, there is no universal flat rate that will reduce your numbers to provide an accurate reading. In general, if returning visitors make up a large portion of your traffic, your inflation rate will be running higher than would otherwise be the case.

In the longer term, these concerns will diminish. As the personalized/mobile computing trend accelerates, people will be online with the devices in their own pockets and time on shared systems will diminish in proportion to their overall online life. When not on the go, people’s mobile devices will sync with their more stationary brethren.

In the meantime, how would you quantify the concerns laid out by Comscore’s Linda Abraham? What formula or method are you already using to get an accurate reading?

Tags:   cookies · unique visitors · web analyticsNo Comments.

Template Tags, Themes and PHP Basics

Turn your WordPress Theme into a finely tuned machine. This concise breakdown of the most important pieces of your WordPress Theme will keep your coding efforts focused and productive. Even the experienced WP site developer will appreciate how these slides serve as a great reminder of the theming basics.

These slides are courtesy of Jeremy Clarke’s presentation at WordCamp: Intro to WordPress Theming.

You can find other great WordPress tutorials and presentations at WordPress.tv.

P.S. What I really like is the example showing all of the creative uses of custom sidebars (slide 30 & at 42 min. in the video):

And the code showing how to add new custom sidebars to your theme (slide 31):

Tags:   PHP · templates · themes · tips · WordPressNo Comments.

After Google didn’t give me the results I wanted, here is my completely arbitrary list of the best domain name forums on the web. Without further adieu from the fifth best, to number one:

5. The Webmaster World | Domain Names (5,200 Posts)
4. Domain Name Forum | Acorn UK Domain Names (196,043 Posts)
3. DNForum – The Place To Talk Domains (1,503,829 Posts)
2. DomainState.com – Domain discussion forum (469,771 Posts)
1. NamePros.Com | Buy. Sell. Discover Domain Names (3,380,038 Posts)

The number of posts is as reported by each forum as of 7/12/09. This is based on personal experience and the thinking that the number of posts should be a rough estimate of how robust the discussion is at each domaining community.

Buying, developing and selling domain names is a hobby of mine and I have found these communities to be a great place to gain insights into the industry and the business. I hope this list is helpful to those who are just starting out with their domain name portfolios and possibly to those who have been in the business a long time.

Did I miss any good domain forums? It would be great to know, just drop a note in the comments…

Tags:   best domain name forums · domain name forums · domain names · Domains · forum posts · forumsNo Comments.

Internet Explorer can be a real pain when writing CSS . It seems that others have struggled with cross-browser compatibility issues, but using Thesis, I was able to conquer most of these issues on my own …

First, take note of the body classes called when your site is viewed in IE (you can see this by viewing the source code in the right-click context menu when you’re on the page with the problems). In IE8, my about page looks something like this:
body class=”custom about ie ie8″

While in Firefox 3.5, my about page looks like this:
body class=”custom about”

This will enable you to create CSS rule(s) which will apply to your site only when users view it in an IE browser.

Second, in IE8 you can tweak your pages (much like Firebug for Firefox) with the built in Developer Tools (Navigate to the ‘Tools’ menu and you should see it beneath there).

The developer tools will open up in another window. Select the CSS tab at the top and then you should be able to select your custom.css style sheet from the drop down menu. As you un-check/check the boxes next to the different CSS rules, you will be able to see the changes made live to your webpage in the other window. You will also be able to change the current styles and add new ones (right-clicking in the developer tools window has some useful functions for adding rules to your style sheet).

Finally, changing your custom.css in developer tools won’t make your changes permanent, so once I get things right, I usually just make the changes manually to my custom.css (there may be a better way, but this is what works for me).

Good luck!

P.S.
Just to be clear, the information above refers to my setup which includes:

• Firefox 3.5
• IE8 (Thesis will apparently read which version of IE the site is viewed in and will display the appropriate body classes – IE6/IE7/etc. – allowing even more specific CSS rules)
• Wordpress 2.8
• Thesis 1.5.1

When identifying the IE specific rules in your custom.css file, it is not necessary to include the .custom class specification. Instead, use the appropriate IE body class. For instance:

.ie #header { border-top: 1px; }

Some Related Resources

• http://diythemes.com/answers/custom-css-classes-posts-pages/
• http://diythemes.com/forums/customization/4838-how-do-i-link-custom-stylesheet-ie-browsers.html (members only)

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How to Get Your Twitter Friend Feed working with Google Reader in 3 Minutes…

Google Reader does not play well with feeds requiring authentication (Following Your Friends on Twitter with Google Reader doesn’t work; luckily this tweak fixes that!). Here is the straight forward and secure way to resolve the problem of adding your authenticated Twitter feed to Google Reader or any other feed reader you use.

NOTE: A Google Feedburner Account is Required (if you have a Google Account, you probably already have access to Feedburner)

1. Open Your Feedburner Account

   Simply open your existing Feedburner account and when you see the space to add a new feed, enter this (replace “myusername” and “mypassword” with your Twitter account information):

   http://myusername:mypassword@twitter.com/statuses/friends_timeline/9999999.rss

2. Create Your Feed

   The on screen step-by-step process will guide you through, it’s really easy. You can add stats if you want, but that’s really unnecessary unless you are planning to publish your feed publicly.

3. Add Your New Feed URL to Google Reader

   Your original Twitter RSS feed (http://twitter.com/user-name/with_friends) now looks something like this:

   http://feeds2.feedburner.com/Twitter/Enter Whatever You Want

Congrats on removing that annoying Twitter DRM!

Hope that helps; I had to search through some comments until I found this great workaround and didn’t see any solutions that were safe/private enough in the Google search results for “twitter feed google reader“.

Not much to say on Twitter, but if you’re interested: @joelhaus

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In early 2007, the irrational exuberance in the real estate market was clearly apparent. Many individuals made incredible profits; everyone from the single-family home flipper to the big-time bond insurers at AIG.

Attorney’s are now preparing for the legal battles that will ensue from this dramatic fall out. As the economic picture becomes clearer and the new regulatory regime is put in place, lawsuits are sure to follow:

subprimelawyers.org
subprimelaw.org
subprimeattorneys.net

After deciding not to put these domain names to use, I am putting them up for sale on GoDaddy.com. The reserve price is $50, but feel free to bid as much as you want

Tags:   auction · domain names · law · legal · Real Estate · sale · subprime mortgagesNo Comments.

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Violence flares, various parties battle for political control, and with a one-way ticket to the U.S. in hand, Al Qaeda waits patiently in the screening lines of Baghdad airport. A scary scenario? Hold on to your seat, but this isn’t what happens if the U.S. pulls out of Iraq, it’s happening right now.

However, there are some results of a U.S. draw-down we can confidently predict: increased dialogue in the region (similar to welfare reform in the 90’s), increased focus on developing alternative energy (in conjunction with the increased oil prices), greater wealth for the poor people in oil-rich nations (in conjunction with the increased oil prices), a dramatic cut in U.S. casualties in Iraq (duh) and a drastically improved budgetary picture (duh).

As Iraq spirals deeper into chaos, at what point will the crazy man quit doing the same thing and expect to get a different result? With elections drawing near, the U.S. congress will finally recognize the need to reign Bush’s policy in. With the start of a significant withdrawal, don’t be surprised to increasingly see headlines reading: peace & stability, prosperity, clean-energy and balanced-budget. Stories that are in high demand and short supply these days.

Then again, WWIII might be just around the corner.

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Tracking my hours has never been this easy…

All it took was signing up on this free website and programming their number into my cell phone. It’s called Jott.com and it’s what keeps my head clutter-free and in a (more) Zen state of mind.

In a nutshell, here’s how it works:

Go to their website and sign up for free (you’ll need to provide your mobile phone number and an email address).

Save the number they provide in your mobile phone address book.

Call that number anytime, say something, and like magic, they’ll convert what you’ve said into text and deliver it to the email address you provided during sign-up (in case your voice comes across garbled, the email provides a link to your account where you can listen to the recorded audio message you left).

Daily, I use it to track billable hours, leave notes and send myself reminders. There are some more advanced features, but the basic function alone is truly a saving grace. I can’t remember the last time I found a web application so useful.

So there’s my sales pitch. Hope it comes in handy.

Tags: 1 Comment

I’m illiterate, but should an English teacher really fail me? A growing number of Americans say no…

…At least when it’s the banks doing the grading. An informed public keeps the wheels of democracy and capitalism greased. However, financial illiteracy still plagues many in the “middle class.”

Underlining the need for reform in schools, disgruntled and desperate borrowers are turning to the courts for help in an effort which should serve as a warning; and if in doubt, just look south of the border where a wave of socialist reformers have recently been swept into power:

“Across the nation, anger and litigation are growing against the tactics of subprime lenders, who offer easy credit for homes that are turning out to be too expensive for millions of Americans now that mortgage rates are going up.”

The King of Consumption or the Queen of Denial
The recent run up in asset values was largely influenced by the easy money atmosphere which prevailed following the economic downturn in 2001. It’s really just a result of basic supply and demand:

1. Cheap money and loose lending standards flood the housing market with buyers (many of whom were never truly fiscally viable)
2. Multiple bidders compete for limited goods (homes) and prices rise
3. Builders struggle to keep pace, resulting in a supply glut once rates rise and standards tighten

A simple analysis by anyone looking at the loan types these “boom” buyers used, could’ve concluded with confidence just when all this trouble would begin.

Some of the most popular loans during this period were ARM’s. Such mortgages typically have rate adjustments (per terms of the note) based on some index plus prime after a fixed period of time (frequently 2 to 3 years). 2007 is the year during which many homeowners will feel that pinch according to various reports.

Coming to Terms
You could argue that many believed rates would stay low, but this is major folly at best. The simple fact that interest rates were at all-time lows should have given many pause. It wasn’t just laymen who fell into this trap; as the WSJ noted in an article last year; Lenders Try to Keep Mortgage Boom Alive:

“More than $300 billion of ARMs issued to borrowers with good credit will begin resetting over the next two years, according to Lehman Brothers Mortgage Research, with $718 billion more of these loans resetting in 2008 and 2009. An additional $507 billion of ARMs issued to borrowers with poor credit will reset over the next four years.”

This over-exuberance may just be a cultural thing, but the best way for government to impact culture is through our public school system, not with laws and regulations limiting democracy and capitalism.

Back in 2005, it could be argued, that even Greenspan got in on the irrational exuberance:

“Lenders are now able to quite efficiently judge the risk posed by individual applicants and to price that risk appropriately,” he argued at the height of the housing boom.

While Mr. Greenspan may have been right about the ability of lenders, I guess that when a final decision is left to human beings, reason and reality aren’t always the best of friends. It must be said, when enough demand exists for something, you can be sure that some go-getter will be right there looking to make a quick buck; even to the detriment of others.

Strong Minds Break Chains
If you take the loan of your own volition, sign up for the class, the lender has the right and the responsibility to hold you accountable for your financial literacy, or lack thereof. Even with these challenges, we should not be deterred – Demand for things that society agrees are “unhealthy” can be minimized, but only to the extent we successfully use our resources to educate the public. In the end, it’s the responsibility of the individual to make the right choice – it’s society ’s responsibility to provide access to the tools for making that choice.

“Yet without a well-informed public, our liberty itself is in peril.”
– Thomas Jefferson

Related Resources
- Real Estate Finance In-Depth, a retrospective (.pdf)
- Annenberg Institute for School Reform
- TIME.com: How to Bring Schools Out of the 20th Century
- Federal Reserve | Personal Financial Education
- The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition
- State of the Nation’s Housing 2006 | Harvard JCHS
- Residential Mortgage Market in 2007 | MBA
- The Fed’s Consumer Handbook on ARMs

[UPDATE - 3.22.07]
Debating government intervention on Kudlow & Company tonight was Robert Reich, former labor secretary under Bill Clinton. The falseness of his heart was abundantly clear; if not outright frightening – especially given the position he held…I suspect this may have had something to do with Hillary’s comments on the mortgage market.

Watch the debate between the Dynamic Duo.

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