First thought- in principle, I like the idea.  As an avid user of the web to search for information, I feel the need to be a contribute back.  I am blogging the things that I tell my customers (I am a web host & designer) and the things that I tell my friends who need sites.  My thoughts and recommendations are based on how I view sites that I go to.  Is it useful?  I don’t know. My hope is that there is someone doing some research before they build a site, that they find this and have an ‘aha’ moment. 

Second thought:  When I wrote my first article, I was surprised to see an email the next day, stating that someone had commented on my blog.  My elation was short-lived, however. I received another, and another, and another…   Right now, I’m receiving about 4 per day.  Let’s be real, it’s not that I’m that good and the info is not that revolutionary.   My fans are ‘bots’.  Just like 10 years ago when 90% of your email was spam, now the spammers are targeting blogs.    Really?  Why?  And let me just say – for all of us on the web – WE HATE YOU !

Why Bother?  So now that I’m seeing lots of ‘bot’ comments, I want to know why.  After looking around, it’s pretty simple really.  Websites get better rankings on Google and other search engines when they are linked by other sites.  more connections makes you more valuable (It’s high-school popularity all over again).  They spam a bunch of unprotected blogs and then the data miners find them and raise their scores.  I’ll admit some try to look real.  They are vague and mildly supportive, but at least they’re trying.  Others don’t even put forth the effort.  I don’t care (or believe) that acia berries are good for you.

So Now What?  Remember those annoying things on web pages that make you read the goofy looking characters and type them in?  That’s a reverse TURING test called a CAPTCHA (“Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.”).  Personally, I hate them.  At first, I resolved to leave the readers alone and just let the ‘bots’ through.  I would sort the wheat from the chaff.  But here’s the reality – hundreds and hundreds of comments later, there is not one real one!  I’m wasting my time looking through the junk and I don’t think I’ve found one person yet.   (If you have commented and I deleted you, please try again.  I’m sorry, but a diamond in a pile of broken glass is tough to find.)

So I put on a CAPTCHA.  If you read the blog and the information helps you then I am satisfied.  I don’t need comments.  If you want to be one of the ‘few’, then do the stupid CAPCHA and leave me a note.  And if you’re thinking about creating a blog of your own, you MUST put a CAPTCHA in.  Trust me, it’s not worth the time to leave it out.

Final Thought:  I think it’s humorous that, as soon as we started making computers, we wanted them to be more like people.  The ultimate test of intelligence was the ‘Turing Test’.  This test was designed to see if a machine was intelligent enough to pass as a human.  Passing the test was difficult.  Now, we are in a race to figure out more and more difficult Turing tests because it is too easy for pretend to be a person.

Good luck – I like the concept of blogging informatin taht people might find helpful. If you ahve somethign to say, go ahead, but just make sure that you’re protected so that the slimey spammers don’t use you.

Descriptive names: Avoid acronyms and choose something that is spelled out.  For example if you own ‘Dave’s Fly Fishing Emporium, you probably don’t want to choose “DavesFFE.com”.  How about “FlyFishWithDave.com”?  It rolls off the tongue. 

Easy to Remember:  How many times have you heard something on the radio where they have to explain how to spell the site?  For example the announcer says “Eye One Eyewear.  That is,  the word EYE followed by the number ONE.”   The website address is really ”EYE1.com”  Be careful with doubled letters, too.   If you own Mama’s Sub Shop, and your website is mammasssubshop.com, it;ll look wierd when people enter it.

Stay Away from Related Domain Names: - especially if they have a similar business as yours.  A new company is called “Black Diamond Partners”.  There are aready a number of sites with similar names.  If BlackDiamondPartners.com is already taken, you don’t want BlackDiamondPartner.com (without the “S”).  Chances are people will end up at the other site. 

Put some thought here.  It’s the first thing you need to decide and it will be part of your branding for a long time.  Once you choose the name, rmemeber that it’ll be part of everything you do electronically.  It;ll be in your emails, your business cards, letterhead and more. 

Lou

Let’s assume you have a small business that supllies a service to the local community.  Your target audience is a local customer. The things you really need on your site are location, directions, contact information, what services you provide, etc.  How about a pciture of the front of your business?  When people are searching, they’ll search for something like “VW Auto Service, York, PA.”  That should be enough to find your business. 

Once they get to the site, they’ll want your phone and/or email.  They’ll need directions or an address.  Why not put a link to Google Maps or Mapquest with your address pre-loaded as the destination?  Finally, a picture of the front of your shp makes it ‘real.  While they’re driving down the road looking for you, they might recognize the building.

There’s lots more to put on yur site, but I think the important part is to pretend you’re the person looking for your website.  What would YOU want to see?