Triune Designs Blog: Web Design, Development, & Marketing

Hotlinking (or inline linking) is defined as

the use of a linked object, often an image, from one site into a web page belonging to a second site. The second site is said to have an inline link to the site where the object is located.

Cite: What is hotlinking?

Reasons Why You Should Not Hotlink

• The website owner hosting the original image can change the image to anything they want and (aside from deleting it) you have no control over the image. What could happen is the person actually hosting the image changes that “awesome Twitter icon” you hotlinked to and it has now become offensive material.
• You run the risk of exposing your users to possible phishing attacks or cross-site scripting. Again, hotlinking leaves you and your users vulnerable to the image owner’s mercy.
• You are stealing the other person’s bandwidth. Each time the page with the inline-linked image is viewed, the image is pulled from the other person’s server and not yours. Therefore, you are using their resources for that image instead of of your own. It is the same as running an extension cord from my house to yours so you can use some of my electricity to power your house.

Here is my suggestion for using someone’s image the right way.

1. Make sure the picture can be used on your website.
2. If you may use their image, copy the photo and add/upload it to your own web host/server
3. Give credit where it is due and provide attribution.

This way, it is a win-win situation. You get to use an awesome photograph or image and use your own resources to show it. They get proper credit and link-juice to their own website.

Happy blogging!!

A couple of weeks ago the Charlotte Observer reported that a South Carolina

advertising agency… won $1.8 million in damages after suing an author of a blog – known for its harsh and sometimes crass criticism of elected officials, business leaders and local media – for defamation.

Man wins $1.8 million in suit against blogger

According to the Observer, court documents state that the blogger called the head of the ad agency a

“failed lawyer” and “criticized one of the firm’s advertising campaigns.”

Man wins $1.8 million in suit against blogger

I know that you will never encounter a problem like this because you are providing information that is helpful and informational for your readers, but a little reminder never hurts.

Always be mindful about how your blog posts impact others. A negative-slanted post might

• damage your company’s or your own reputation
• detract from your blog’s overall message
• take a little extra cash out of your wallet

Here’s to happy and helpful business blogging!

Web marketing is very similar to how you accumulate wealth. When done properly, both activities require discipline and time in order to grow and be successful.

This aspect of web marketing is its biggest hurdle and yet its biggest value. Why? It means that everyone cannot just swoop in, make a half-hearted effort and then subsequently succeed.

This gives small businesses owners, like us, leverage. If you are willing to commit your time and effort to steadily growing your online presence, over the long-term, it will begin to provide the results you are seeking.

Your Very Own Compound Interest
When dealing with savings, you add some money to your account on a regular basis. The interest then goes to work on your constantly-updated balance and increases your overall savings. Over a period of time, you will begin to see the realization of the compound interest.

Three factors determine your success: you adding money, the interest working on your balance, and time allowing the interest to build upon itself.

Your web marketing is very similar. When dealing with blogging, your job is to write frequent posts. Write posts that have good content and that do something for your audience. At first, one or two people will read your blog. As these few readers find interesting information on your blog, they will tell a friend or two. This process will continue upon itself, creating “compound audienceship.”

Similar to above, the key factors here are your effort (i.e. writing posts), your engaged audience telling others about something they read on your website, and time allowing the growing audience to build upon itself.

What You Can Do To Help Yourself
When dealing with savings accounts, there is not much you can do to help accelerate the growth. Mainly, you just try to find the best interest rate that will allow your money to grow a little faster. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to help yourself out with blogging. None of these are quick fixes, but they will help your cause.

• Continue writing… do not stop.
• Engage your audience. Try to reply to their comments as much as possible.
• Read other people’s blogs and comment on them. Get involved in the community around you.
• Stay focused on your audience and write material that is oriented towards them.

If you want to read more about blogging being a long-term investment, check out my article relating blogging to a marathon.

The 3D Bar Graph Meeting image above is courtesy of lumaxart on Flickr. You can also find their work at thegoldguys.blogspot.com or lumaxart.com.

Before continuing, I will give you fair warning: this story is not for the faint of heart. This story is full of anguish, tears, and loss… loss of data that is.

A couple of prominent web services have completely lost their data over the past few months and I mean everything!

Ma.gnolia
According to SitePoint’s podcast, Ma.gnolia, a social bookmarking site similar to Delicious lost their entire database. Every single person who kept their bookmarks on this website lost everything and will now have to rebuild their store of website bookmarks.

Journalspace
I also heard on SitePoint’s podcast that Journalspace, a blogging platform similar to WordPress(.com), lost all of their data. This means that every single member of Journalspace lost every single blog post. As any blog author knows, that is devastating!

Why & What You Can Do
Why did this happen? These websites did not back up their data properly. As a result, if the information was deleted on one (or two servers) then everything was erased. This is exactly what occurred in both of the aforementioned examples.

When it comes to your data (i.e. blog posts, personal photos, important documents, videos of the children) do not trust anything. Regularly back it up in multiple places.

Here is an example of how I back up this blog. I schedule automatic backups using an easy WordPress plugin called wp-db-backup. I save that back-up file to the computer in my office and then also back-up the entire drive to another location. With your data always err on the side of caution.

Do Not Be the Chalkboard
Essentially, if you do not back up your information, your data is no more than words on a chalkboard. All it takes is for someone (or something) to come by and wipe it clean and you have lost everything.

The chalkboard photo is courtesy of House Of Sims at Flickr.

The new social web is great! Individuals can communicate with masses of people in an unprecedented manner. You can easily broadcast your thoughts, conversations, and opinions on sites such as Twitter, Facebook or on your own blog. There is a problem, though, with not having many checks and balances before publishing your voice: your mistakes will be re-told by hundreds of people along with the accompanying evidence.

A Classic Example
I came across this blog article discussing a “conversation” on Twitter between a reporter and a marketing expert. I am not going to provide my opinion on who is right and who is wrong. The important lesson to take away from this conversation is that your words and actions can haunt you.

Be careful that you do not get into a tirade on Twitter. Beware of bashing someone on your blog. Watch out for saying something offensive on Facebook. You should always be strategic with your words, but on the Internet this is even more important. Choose your words carefully because you never know who is watching.

Quick Tips
Here are a few tips on how to lessen the chances of writing those words you will regret:
1. Count to 10… or 100… or 1,000. Regardless of the duration of time, take a break and step away from the computer. This is a classic rule to follow, but it does work.
2. Check your ego at the keyboard. Remember that the social web is all about relationships. As a result, you run the risk of getting your feelings hurt once in a while. That is a reality; accept it, deal with it, and be prepared.
3. If you need, take the conversation offline. If it is something that is really important to discuss, talk with the other person on the phone or in person.

Your Thoughts
What other techniques do you use to reduce the chances of having a major blowout online? Have you ever done this?

The photo is courtesy of Arturo J. Paniagua on Flickr.

One simple question. Many great answers.

My last post on writing shorter blog posts got me thinking: what else can I do to this blog to make it better for you, the reader.

So, for this week I want your advice on one thing I can do to make this blog better. Please write your answer down in the comments below.

I look forward to reading everyone’s suggestions!

Do you like the photo in this post? It is courtesy of bonimo’s events on Flickr.

I received some advice from my most trusted friend today: “your blog posts are too long”… Yikes!

Well, I have to admit that I have known about this problem for a while; however, it is a tough habit to break.

From this advice comes this week’s lesson on how to write a blog. Avoid verbose blog posts. Essentially, do not use twenty words to make your point when 10 will work. Here are a few reasons why:

• Research shows that reading on a computer is significantly slower than reading print. Be respectful of your readers’ time and keep your article short.
• Attention spans have gotten shorter and people are not wiling to spend a lot of time reading.
• Today, the majority of people scan web pages rather than reading them. Long posts will reduce a reader’s ability to fully scan your post.

So, to heed the advice I received, I leave you with this: take care of your readers by keeping your blog posts short and to the point. Leave all the unnecessary fluff for someone else’s blog.

2¢ – Your two cents
Do you struggle with long posts?
How do you keep your posts short?
What other problems do you encounter when you write your posts?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to get your two cents on this post.

Do you like the photo in this post? It is courtesy of m00by’s events on Flickr.