Erich Stauffer

Author: Erich Stauffer

  • Strengths and Streams: Part II

    Identifying Strengths and Revenue Streams: Part II

    This is part II of the post Identifying Strengths and Revenue Streams.

    How you can brainstorm to find your “strengths and streams.”

    “Strengths” are the opposite of weaknesses.  Weaknesses make you feel weak, whereas strengths make you feel strong.  “Streams” refers to revenue streams, which is any and all the ways in which you can or have made money in the past.  Brainstorming is the act of recording as many different ideas as possible in a short time without criticizing them as you go.  Save the criticizing (analysis) for after the brainstorming session.  Sometimes bad ideas can help you think of good ideas, so write down any idea that comes to you during this time.  Ready? Here we go. Answer the following questions in order to help you identify your “strengths and streams”:

    Strengths Test – 10 Questions

    1. What makes you feel strong?
    2. What makes you feel weak?
    3. What activities are you not just good at, but also feel good doing?
    4. What revenue streams do you have, no matter how large or small?
    5. What are some ways you have made money in the past, which you no longer do?
    6. What are some areas or ideas of things you have thought of doing, but for one reason or another never got around to doing?
    7. Have you noticed any changes in technology lately that would make something easier for someone to do something?
    8. Have you noticed a change in the demographics around where you live that might open a possibility for a new product or service?
    9. Have you noticed any “cuckoos in the nest” where something that wasn’t supposed to happen did, or something was an unexpected success?
    10. Have you noticed any examples of something that was supposed to succeed, but didn’t? What could you do to adapt to this new reality?

    When I was young I used to collect aluminum cans to recycle for money.  As I got older I collected antiques to resell.  Later on I bought books to resell online or through local book dealers.  These were all retail activities which involved both labor and a product.  Eventually I started trading labor for revenue, which is called service.  I began doing computer repair and web design.  Eventually people began paying me for my advice and I became a business analyst.  Internet marketing is a mix of product and service because you are using your labor to help sell a product that you yourself do not deliver.  The service is in the promotion, marketing, and advertising of the product.  Anyone can do this using the free tools like the Thirty Day Challenge and other websites like Managing Actions which teach you how to be more effective by first changing how you think, in order to change how you act.

    Limiting Factors

    In order to be successful, you’ll need to overcome obstacles.  The first obstacle you’ll face is your own limiting thoughts so you’ll need to know how to deal with those right away.  An example of a negative thought is, “I can’t raise $8,000 to $10,000 in 2 to 4 weeks.  That’s impossible.” The first step is to realize that you are having a limiting thought, acknowledge it, then let it go.  Just because your brain creates a thought, doesn’t make it true.  Learn to manage your thoughts in order to manage your actions.

    The second factor is the people you associate with.  In the same way that you have a greater chance of smoking if you live or hang around smokers or that you have a greater chance of gaining weight if the person or people you live with or work around are already overweight, if the people you hang around or not successful, are not following their dreams, or do not have multiple streams of income, then they are a limiting factor.  If you want to change, then you’ll need to spend less time with these people.

    Next Steps

    Every meeting should have two things: minutes and action items.  We have just had a meeting here.  This article is our minutes.  The action items are as follows:

    Erich: use all available tools and resources to build and promote the identified websites in order to profit from Internet Marketing.

    You: take some time to define the problems you are having, where you want to go, and what you want to accomplish, this will become your goal.

    Erich: measure the success or failure of the Internet Marketing campaign, determined by the metric, revenue per man-hour.

    You: brainstorm to identify your “strengths and streams” – find what makes you strong and what makes you weak, then write down all forms of income past and present.

    Erich: update the personal finance measurements with increased net worth, revenue, profit, and savings from the Internet Marketing campaign.

    You: manage your thoughts in order to better manage your actions. Notice when you are having a limiting thought, acknowledge it, then let it go.

    Summary


    This is not a get rich quick scheme.  This is about how to set a goal, make a plan, and execute (ready, aim, fire).  There is no “thing” that can make you rich, if that is your goal.  There is only you.  Mitch Hedberg said it best when he joked, “I bought a jump rope — but man, that thing’s just a rope. You have to do the jump part yourself.” [Thanks, Johnny] No blog, no self-help book, and no business can help you succeed more than a determination and drive within yourself.  If that is missing, everything else is just a rope.

  • Identifying Strengths and Revenue Streams

    How to Identify Strengths and Revenue Streams

    I need to make $8,000 to $10,000 (depending on what measurements, more on that later) in 2-4 weeks. This is how much I need in order to get back on my feet, financially. I have a day-job as a business analyst, but it doesn’t bring in enough to pay for my daily expenses, let alone the other events like car insurance, BMV taxes, speeding tickets, hospital visits, and car wrecks that happen along life’s path. This also leaves out any fun, gift giving, or getaways that a normal person might want to do. I decided to do something impactful on the bottom line. I needed to stop the cycle of overdrafts, late fees, and the risk of losing my cars, home, and other assets. I needed a plan.

    Triage

    The first thing I did was to get organized.  Personally, this is how I solve every problem.  I continue to organize it until there are no more problems within the problem.  In essence, I create a system.  The system then solves the problem.  This may not be the most effective way to solve a problem, but it is how my mind works and it is one of my strengths.  I feel strong whenever I am categorizing things, especially when I have to name or rename things in order to categorize them.  As a side note, I encourage you to ask yourself what makes you feel strong, then to write that down.  In the same way, notice what makes you feel weak (this is a weakness) and write that down too.  Then, start to do more of what makes you feel strong (your strengths) and less of what makes you feel weak.

    Getting back to the problem at hand, I began by simply listing out all of my daily expenses in a Google Spreadsheet (by the way, if you ever need help setting up Google Apps or using Google Docs, I am your man, just leave a comment and I’ll be able to contact you from there).  Amazingly, I had not been doing this, but instead, paying bills as they came.  I had no idea how much money was coming in or how much money was going out.  If I wanted to know how much money I had, I logged into online banking and whatever the balance was, that was how much money I had.  I’m astounded about how many people manage their finances this way, or maybe it was just the people I was hanging around (more on that later).

    Analysis

    Once I had all of the bills, debts, and income listed out on a spreadsheet, I could start to do my analysis.  It wasn’t pretty.  I was getting snapped by late fees, overdue fees, and loads of interest charges.  I could save a boatload of money just by getting my bills caught up and paid on time.  And if I could get debt free, I could save even more on minimum payments, not to mention the interest.  In general, the faster you pay something off, the less interest you pay.  I had listened to enough Dave Ramsey to know that I needed to have a budget, start an emergency fund, and begin the debt snowball.  The question I had was how to do all of this when your budget is already negative?  One idea is to rotate the late payments so no one payment gets so late that you are either sued, leaned, garnished, or repossessed from.  I noted this as a possible solution, but saw it as more feeble than just trying to increase revenue, while keeping expenses low.  And that is exactly what I decided to do.

    Start

    I did not wait to do anything.  I knew that time was of the essence to as soon as I identified the next step, the next step was taken as soon as I was able to take it.  This sounds easy, but it is highly contingent on your motivation, your energy, and your measurements.  You might know what you need to do, but not want to do it.  This is a motivation issue.  Or you might want to do something you know you need to, but you don’t have the energy because there is only so much time in a day.  Then there is measurement, which shows what you value.  You can’t manage what you’re not measuring and whatever you are measuring will grow, so picking the right metrics and the right measurements is crucial to managing and growing your personal finances.

    Motivation

    I am using a variety of sources to help motivate me towards my goal of achieving $8,000 to $10,000 in 2 to 4 weeks.  One resource is TED Talks.  TED is a website of inspiring videos of entrepreneurs, teachers, futurists, and writers.  When I am feeling less motivated, I simply browse to ted.com and watch a video or two until I am sufficiently motivated to be more like that person, whom I view as successful.  In the same way, Karl Moore videos also inspire me to take action.  I discovered Karl Moore while doing the Thirty Day Challenge where he does “Mindset with Karl.”  The motivational videos mention the Thirty Day Challenge, but can stand alone on their own merit as truly helpful videos.  Karl Moore also writes books on happiness and self-development like The 18 Rules of Happiness and The Secret Art of Self-Development.

    My children, or more specifically, my children’s desires are another source of motivation.  As I wrote in 4 Steps from Wanting to Receiving, having to decide what I can and can’t buy my children at the gas station is not a good feeling for me.  I would like to be able to choose what candy to buy them for health reasons rather than financial ones.  For some reason, this exercise motivates me more than any late fee ever will.

    Energy

    We all get the same amount of time each day, but because of our body’s limitations, energy is finite.  This means that energy must be spent in the most useful way as much as possible.  At my day job we would call this “utilization”.  While production is the sheer amount produced, utilization is production mapped against time, in other words it is how much was produced (how productive were you) in a given amount of time.  That is your utilization rate, which energy (and motivation) can play a large part in.  Managers wanting to more fully utilize their employees might want to invoke actions that either increase energy levels (by say rearranging a department based on strengths, not just needs) or increasing incentives (positive or negative). I have written a post on Ways to Stay Alert and Focused.

    After approximately 10 hours of working and drive times, I had approximately 3 hours of energy left to do work at home or somewhere else each day.  In order to be successful, I am going to use motivation in order to spend an additional hour each day in order to achieve this goal in 2 to 4 weeks.  To do this, I am going to be eating more fruits in the morning, more whole grains at night, and less or no meat for supper in order to stay energetic as I can throughout the day.

    Measurement

    The Law of Focus states that whatever you are focusing on (measuring) will grow.  In Management, Measurement, and Value I note that there is a clear link between value and measurement in that what you measure you also value.  You could say that a measurement of your values is in what you are measuring.  If you, as a manager, are only tracking stats on whether or not your staff shows up on time or not, then your staff will probably show up on time daily.  It shows that you only care (value) about whether or not they are there, but past that point, you are out of the loop.  Contrast that with the manager who tracks personal performance daily to get the utilization rate of each individual staff member, which he can do after implementing the staffing model I developed for his department.  Each staff member is now performing highly and if they come in late, it doesn’t matter, so long as they maintain their personal productivity numbers.

    So what did I decide to measure? Remembering that what you measure will grow, I decided not to measure how much debt I owed.  Instead, I measured net worth, income (revenue), profit, and savings.  I also made another Google Spreadsheet which listed all of my assets, all revenue streams, the profit of each revenue stream, and savings from reducing a debt.  Every day, I would log into the various websites which contained information about my metrics and update the spreadsheet with new values.  Because my mind was focused on net worth, revenue, profit, and savings, I consciously and subconsciously began taking actions to increase those numbers.  In the same way that a manager sees improvement in whatever he or she measures in their  department, I would see improvement in my net worth, revenue, profit, and savings simply by measuring them.

    Actions

    Now that I have identified the problem ($8,000 to $10,000 in 2 to 4 weeks), identified the tools I have available (time, motivation, and energy),  and identified what metrics we are going to use to measure success, the first phase of this goal is complete.  You might call the first phase of research and discovery, “Analysis,” and this next phase, “Execution.”  In the same way that an idea is first created in the mind of man, then written down, and finally designed; it does not take shape until it is developed, manufactured, or implemented.  This second phase is what most people would consider the meat, the actions, the specifics.  It is where you actually do what you say you are going to do.  It’s the “fire” part of “ready, aim, fire.”

    I began by doing a cost-benefit analysis of what activities would net the most gain in the metrics I had chosen.  I identified the resources I had available (the tools), which were my day job, a business that does business consulting in Indiana, an Indianapolis web design company, an Indianapolis coworking group, a DVD conversion blog and an Indiana VHS to DVD business, a blog about query string parameters, doing Indianapolis computer repair, helping my wife with her custom hand-knit wool clothes business or her blog about breastfeeding and Motivated Moms, helping Zac with his cognitive psychology training and discussion on what it means to be human, promoting the Erich Stauffer figurines web site, getting another side job, or having a garage sale.  My wife or children could also get a job or create more revenue for the family.  All options would be considered in order to achieve the goal.  This was a brainstorming exercise, which I’ll discuss with you later on to help you decide what activities you could do in order to achieve your goals, but first I’ll discuss how I did my cost-benefit analysis.

    Costs and Benefits

    It is easiest sometimes to decide what you are not going to do so I first struck the last choices having to do with my children and wife working.  My wife is a stay-at-home mom, but she also home-schools our three children, is a member of La Leche League, and the president of her local Alpha Chi Omega chapter – in addition to knitting for her Cloth Beginnings business.  I also decided not to help other people with their businesses because they don’t care about my goal as much as I do.  This strikes out my day job, computer repair, Zac’s business, and my wife’s business.  While one may want to support a business that is already doing well (defined as profitable – having more revenue than expenses) in the same way that you have the greatest chance at developing a strength you already have than by fixing a weakness, knowing the following information helped me with my decision.  While my day job is a profitable business, it just gave me a raise in July for the year and so is not likely to give me another one and it is not currently allowing any overtime.  Therefore, this opportunity is maxed out.  If I find an opportunity that reaps more revenue than this avenue in my cost-benefit analysis, I may scrap this job altogether.  The other businesses are either not profitable or are sole proprietor shops where the owner wields much influence.  The time it would take to both motivate the owner and get decisions made is longer than the time I have allotted for my goal (if ever).

    After striking those choices, I could then analyze what was left over much easier.  This is the same technique used in the TLC show, Clean Sweep, where the first step in the organizational process is figuring out what you don’t need.  In Clean Sweep, the first step was dividing everything in their house into two piles: trash or keep.  This was the first sort.  The next sort moved everything from the keep pile onto a keep pile or a sell pile.  Only the things left in the keep pile went back into the house.  Even if items did not sell, if it went to the sell pile, it didn’t come back in the house.  Troubleshooting can work the same way.  Let’s say you are troubleshooting a broken computer.  One “pile” would be hardware problems, the other “pile” would be software problems.  Once you decide the problem is hardware and not software related, you then do a fine sort to find out whether the problem is with the hard drive or RAM (memory), for example.  In this case, the following choices remain, which must be analyzed using the fine sort method:

    1. Watershawl, Inc. – business consulting, computer (technology) consulting, Internet marketing, graphic design, web development, web design, hosting, SEO, and online advertising.
    2. Nook Share – a website about Nook covers.

    I created two units of criteria in order to decide which pile the above revenue streams would be placed in.  Remembering the goal to make $8,000 to $10,000 in 2 to 4 weeks, I made the following rules: 1) it must be currently making revenue and 2) it must have the potential to make more revenue than it is currently making.  Again, we strike those activities which don’t meet the criteria.  Watershawl, Inc. and Nook Share both failed the first criteria and Erich Stauffer doesn’t have enough global search traffic in order to make more revenue than it is already making so that left Watershawl, DVD Conversion, Turn Film, and Query String Parameters.  The next criteria is time.  What is the sales cycle on revenue? Will the money be able to come within the next 2-4 weeks? Watershawl’s sale cycle is on average, 2 months, whereas DVD Conversion, Turn Film, and Query String Parameters are all affiliate marketing businesses, which rely on pay-per-action or pay-per-click advertising for revenue.  As soon as ad account levels reach certain levels ($100 on average) they pay out within 2 weeks.  I had just exited the business consulting, computer repair, and web design business for the Internet marketing business.

    Read part II of this series on Identifying Strengths and Revenue Streams.

  • Determining Your Purpose in Life or Process

    Brainstorming

    Occasionally, you should take time out to stop and evaluate why you are doing the things that you are doing.  Slow down to think if what you’re doing is the best idea or not. Brainstorm with pen and paper (yes, actually grab a pad of paper and a pencil).  The best ideas come by brainstorming, which provides an opportunity to evaluate your productivity, your methodology, and your overall goal. Brainstorming brings diversity of knowledge and perspectives effective for a more forward looking career. Brainstorming is a great activity, but it’s also good to talk to someone about what you are doing, in order to help establish the purpose.

    Mentor Review

    Take someone you admire out to lunch and pick their brain.  Tell them about what you are doing to get feedback from them.  Write down their responses, whether you believe them or not, and thank them for their time.  Make sure you pay for their meal.  Successful people like to share what they know (that’s why I have this blog) so don’t be afraid to ask them.

    Technology Review

    Also, keep yourself up on new technology and continue educating yourself to keep yourself alive and fresh.  It’s easy to become stale no matter what business you’re in.  Try to spend at least 2-3 hours a week just researching and finding new ideas.  It’s hard to break away from the normal routine but brainstorming with new ideas is refreshing and can renew enthusiasm.  This is part of innovation and entrepreneurship, which looks for innovations in changes in technology, among other things.  It could be that the way you have been doing things is no longer relevant at worst or at the very least, no longer efficient.  Ask yourself the following four questions:

    1. Is there any new technology I could be using? — Technology may have become more efficient since you first developed your original time-saving method. Relying on an old template could be costing you time and money.
    2. Have I learned any new ideas lately that I need to apply here? — You may have acquired some new skills or read about some new ideas that will handle your project even better than the time-saving technique that you are using now.
    3. Are there new requirements that mean that I need to review this process? — The client may have updated his or her requirements for their projects. Using your old template or time-saving tools may not meet the client’s newest requirements.
    4. Are there any other new tools I could be using? — There may be new tools or resources available to do the work that weren’t originally available when you developed your template.

    Personal Brainstorming

    At least once a month I block off an hour to go into a dark room and just wait for ideas to come.  I don’t anticipate thinking about any one thing, but there is something about the pitch black silence that allows great ideas to surface.  I’ve had many revelations, not just about business or problem solving, but figuring out why I thought certain ways about certain things.  It’s a chance to re-evaluate all aspects of your life and help you determine your purpose in life or in process.

  • You’re so money and you don’t even know it!

    If you’ve never seen the film “Swingers”, I highly recommend it.  It came out in the mid-nineties and struck a chord with many in the Gen-X and Gen-Y crowd.  To get a great feel for the kind of movie this is, check out the short clip below from Youtube (it is an R rated movie and contains profanity):

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODjE-_OB3JI&feature=related

    The characters from the movie have taken the words “money” and “baby” and given them wholly new meaning within the context of their group of friends.  Vince Vaughn’s character paints a great picture of what kind of attitude Jon Favreau’s character should have about himself.  It’s not just about self-esteem, its about what kinds of actions he should take if he’s really going to act like a bear with this bunny!

    Now, it’s tricky to draw a metaphor from a theme in a movie that is being made by another metaphor, so I’ll try to distill the truth that I believe the metaphors point to.

    Let’s say that you are looking for a job (here is my metaphor), and you are frustrated at a lack of opportunities.  Now, even a cursory knowledge of successful thinking strategies will remind you to stay positive, but it still doesn’t seem to be enough.  You’re right.  It is not enough.

    You need to think through both sides of the transaction.  In this case, the transaction is a business looking for a new employee and vice versa.  Now, even referring to the former as a “business” may be the wrong word to use.  Chances are (depending on the size of the company), that it is a human resources director or some specific manager that is looking to fill a position.  Now, if you were looking to fill a position with your company, and you knew that the new employee’s success (or lack thereof) would have some sort of repercussion with you, what would you do?

    Would you look in a phonebook and choose the people with the three best ads?  How is this different from having a well put together resume?

    In all actuality, you would probably rack your brain to think of somebody whom you already know that would be a good fit, whether they are currently looking for a job or not.  Next, you would probably look to the people whom you trust and ask them who they might recommend for the position in question.  Only then would you put out a listing for a new employee in some sort of job-finder service.

    So, what does this tell us?  If you are looking for jobs that are listed online, it’s either because the business could not find anyone else who was qualified, or all of the people they have already talked to about it are not interested in taking it.  Its not the prettiest picture, but it is closer to accurate than you might think.

    Without a strong, but healthy belief in yourself, you will either stand still and achieve nothing, or stand still and unwisely wait for success to find you.

    So why do I encourage you to be a bad man from the rated R movie and not the guy from the PG-13 movie who everyone really hopes makes it happen?  Because we live in an R rated world, and great opportunities are MADE and not handed out.

    If you think too highly of yourself, you will expect the winning lottery ticket to be mailed to you, even if you don’t play the lottery!  You believe that you are destined for greatness, but immune to the preparation and effort that goes before it.  Even if you are handed a baton (let’s throw another metaphor in, shall we?), and you haven’t prepared yourself with effort and determination, you will falter.  You may get the digits, but by waiting too long to call, you will blow the opportunity.

    The other extreme is to be meek, and to look at opportunities with fear and trembling.  You can see 10 ways in which the endeavor will fail, so you abort before launch.  Even if you see one or two ways in which it could succeed, you stand still to avoid the possibility of failure.  The truth is that standing still is a failure all by itself.

    The key is to be balanced and healthy.  Get out there and talk to the people you already know.  Let them know that you are serious about finding something new and you value their opinion.  They may just refer you to someone else, but it is highly unlikely that they will ignore you.  In fact, the only way to guarantee that you will end up with nothing is to venture nothing with your current contacts.

    Whether you want digits, a job, a relationship, or a new chapter in your life, it takes belief in your mind before you can go safely in your body.  Don’t just think “money”…. BE “MONEY”!

  • Dan Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation

    TED has a talk entitled, “The Suprising Science of Motivation,” where career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don’t: Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think.

    With a trio of influential bestsellers, Dan Pink has changed the way companies view the modern workplace. In the pivotal A Whole New Mind, Pink identifies a sea change in the global workforce — the shift of an information-based corporate culture to a conceptual base, where creativity and big-picture design dominates the landscape.

    His latest book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, is an evolutionary transformation of the familiar career guide. Replacing linear text with a manga-inspired comic, Pink outlines six career laws vastly differing from the ones you’ve been taught. Members of the Johnny Bunko online forum participated in an online contest to create the seventh law — “stay hungry.”

    A contributing editor for Wired, Pink is working on a new book on the science and economics of motivation for release in late 2009.

    Traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think.

    All of these ideas will be especially relevant to the newest entrants to the workplace, the Millenials/Gen Y. I have been doing staffing models for a while now. To make this all really work, the requirements/expectations and measurements for each role need to be transparent. “Get your work done” is viable only when people truly understand what others think “getting your work done” really means. So, each employee needs to know the results that are expected.

    In my experience, organizations can miss the ball when they fail to motivate and innovate. They give people responsibility and lattitude, but they don’t clearly define the results expected and how progress will be measured. As we know from the Law of Focus, what we measure only expands and grows.

    On the other hand, a larger organization having every individual participating in business planning does start to become a bit challenging. The key is that the vision and goal of the business is clearly stated to all employees, that vision doesn’t change drastically year on year, and taking the time to recruit the right people who are buying into the vision as opposed to how much money they can make. Like Jim Collins says, “You have to get the right people on the bus.”

  • My Pet Operating System

    wuwhsrraI don’t know about you, but the OS’s that live inside my Virtual PC feel like little pets to me. I just love to take care of them, update them, install software on them. Sometimes I give them treats (more RAM) or a bigger hard drive. They are fun to take care of and they are helpful tools too. I use them to test software out before running it on my “real” PC. I can also use it to load images of CDs without actually having to burn a CD first. Of course, I can load real CDs too.

    I loaded the same Virtual PC on two of my computers. And like two twins separated at birth, each one has changed looks over time, but they both contain the same DNA at heart. Just like a good dog, they don’t complain, they just love to be played with. They can be good workers too. I’m sure as time goes on I’ll find new uses for my virtual machines and there will be new ways for them to be used. Companies are already using virtualization technology with thin clients to reduce hardware overhead. I wonder where virtualization will head next.

    vmOnPetI wondered if VMware could be installed on a virtual machine being ran inside Virtual PC 2007 and the answer is yes. The program itself runs, but I haven’t tested whether another virtual machine would run inside a virtual machine. What do you think would happen? Do you think we’re in a virtual machine now?

    The Simulation Argument says that (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation.

    Regardless of whether or not we are living in a simulation (like The Matrix or The Thirteenth Floor), we do enjoy manipulating simulations in both games like The Sims and in movies. On a side note, check out the similarities between these two movie covers:

    The Matrix Reloaded

    The Thirteenth Floor

    If you enjoyed this article, you might also like 22 Movies that Question Reality.

  • Indianapolis Web Design and SEO Consulting

    Erich Stauffer is primarily an online marketing firm that uses two primary tools to promote your business or brand on the Internet. The first tool is your web page, which tells users about your business, allows them to interact with your business, or is setup to sell things for your business. The second tool SEO, or search engine optimization, which helps drive traffic to that website. The two tools are not mutually exclusive, however. The best SEO techniques involve improving the wording or layout of the web site and as well as promoting the site from outside using link-backs.

    Although relatively new techniques come out all the time to adapt to the methods search engines like Google use, content is still king. The easiest sites to market are those with lots of text about the company and the products or services they offer. Many times, businesses choose to hire copywriters for the sole purpose of helping to write articles for the website. These articles are either about the company or about a product. Another reason for using a copywriter may be to write objective press releases. Press releases are usually one of the best methods to get the word out about a new product or promotion and are a key to any SEO plan.

    If you would like more information about Erich Stauffer, about web design and seo in general, or about web design and seo in the Indianapolis area, please visit erichstauffer.com.

  • Generation X; Analog to Digital

    gameboy_256In the same way saw the Greatest Generation saw the change from horse drawn carriages to automobiles and the birth of airplanes to the rise of the space shuttle, Generation X has seen firsthand the transition from analog to digital: carbon copies to CC: and BCC:, and a slide rule to an iPod. GenXers began life processing credit cards at the grocery store with a carbon copy slider, called an “imprinter”. When they went to school, their teachers made worksheet copies using a “mimeograph machine” in purple ink. They were the last to be taught how to type on typewriters and the first to use a personal computer in school. Some started out on Apple IIs and others on IBM PC clones. By the time they were leaving primary school and entering college, portable computers and cell phones were common. The World Wide Web had turned the Internet mainstream. It was now odd for a GenXer to not have an email address and a cell phone number.

    Some things didn’t change though. The paperless office didn’t happen. More things were put online and sent via email, but paper remains in the office, schools, and at home. Email has decreased the use of paper mail though. Another example is flying cars. We still don’t have flying cars even though Back to the Future says we will by 2015 (we’ve got 6 years to get on that). Another hint from Back to the Future is cold fusion, which is still a dream. However recent breakthroughs by MIT in solar power technology may lead to a new era of cheap electricity which could change the economy in desert regions around the world.

    Read more about Generation X.

  • Google Maps Query String Parameters

    The following is a list of query string parameters that can be passed to Google Maps.

    These arguments are helpful if you want to get Google Maps to display driving directions, which are not available under the API.

    Query

    Translation
    q= “q” stands for “query” and anything passed in this parameter is treated as if it had been typed into the query box on the maps.google.com page.
    near= “near” can be used as the location part of a query instead of putting the entire string into q=
    g= “g” is an address or location that provides extra context for the “q” parameter. Google Maps stores the last ran search here, but if it is the first search it can only contain your starting location. This is a potential information leak, so make sure you do actually mean to share the content of this parameter.
    mrt= “mrt” specifies a type of search. The default is blank, which searches for everything.
    start= “start” skips the first (start-1) matches.
    num= “num” displays, at most, the given number of matches. The valid range is 0 to 20.
    ll= “ll” stands for Latitude,longitude of a Google Map center – Note that the order has to be latitude first, then longitude and it has to be in decimal format.
    sll= “sll” Latitude,longitude of the point from which the business search should be performed.
    spn= “spn” Approximate lat/long span. The zoom level will be adjusted to fit if there’s no z= parameter.
    latlng= “latlng” takes three numbers separated by commas. The first two numbers (presumably representing latitude and longitude multiplied by 1000000) are ignored. The third number seems to be a Google internal “Company ID” number for a particular business.
    cid= “cid” is similar to “latlng,” but generating a different map size. It takes three numbers separated by commas. The first two numbers (presumably representing latitude and longitude multiplied by 1000000) are ignored. The third number seems to be a Google internal “Company ID” number for a particular business.
    geocode= “geocode” is a concatination of “geocode” encoded values for waypoints used in directions.
    radius= “radius” localizes results to a certain radius. Requires “sll” or similar center point to work.
    t= “t” is Map Type. The available options are “m” map, “k” satellite, “h” hybrid, “p” terrain.
    z= “z” sets the zoom level.
    layer= “layer” Activates overlay. Current option is “t” traffic.
    lci= “lci” activates layers of tiles and needs to be comma-separated.
    view= “view” can be used to select text view (view=text) or the normal map view (view=map).
    saddr= “saddr” source address. Use this when asking for driving directions.
    daddr= “daddr” Destination address(es). Use this when asking for driving directions.
    mrad= “mrad” gives you additional destination address.
    dirflg= “dirflg” is the route type: dirflg=h Switches on “Avoid Highways” route finding mode. dirflg=t Switches on “Avoid Tolls” route finding mode. dirflg=r Switches on “Public Transit” – only works in some areas. dirflg=w Switches to walking directions – still in beta.
    via= “via” gives a comma separated list of intermediate addresses for directions, that should be ‘via points’.
    doflg= “doflg” Distance Units. (Defaults to prevalent units in country of origin.) doflg=ptk outputs directions in metric (km) and doflg=ptm outputs directions in imperial (miles).
    cbll= “cbll” is latitude,longitude for Street View.
    cbp= “cbp” Street View window that accepts 5 parameters: 1) Street View/map arrangement, 11=upper half Street View and lower half map, 12=mostly Street View with corner map 2) Rotation angle/bearing (in degrees) 3) Tilt angle, -90 (straight up) to 90 (straight down) 4) Zoom level, 0-2 5) Pitch (in degrees) -90 (straight up) to 90 (straight down), default 5
    panoid= “panoid” is the panorama ID, which is the ID of the current nearby panorama object in Street View.
    hl= “hl” stands for “host language”.
    om= “om” stands for “overview map.” The presence of this parameter with a value other than 1 causes the overview map to be closed. If the parameter is omitted, or present with the value 1, then the overview map is open.
    ie= “ie” stands for “input encoding” and can be used to specify the input character encoding set.
    oe= “oe” stands for “output encoding” and can be used to specify the input character encoding set.
    output= “output” is for output format (blank is default).
    f= “f” stands for “form” and controls the style of query form to be displayed. f=d Displays the “directions” form (two input boxes: from, to). f=l Displays the “local” form (two input boxes: what, where). f=q (or no parameter) The default search form is displayed (single input).
    pw= “pw” stands for “print window.” It activates the print mode and initiates printing. Example, pw=2.
    iwloc= “iwloc” stands for “info window location” and specifies where the infowindow will be displayed. In a business search iwloc=A to iwloc=J will open the info window over the corresponding business marker, and iwloc=near will place it over the big green arrow if that’s currently displayed. iwloc=addr can be used on map search to explicitly request the info window to be open on the address, but that’s the default anyway. Directions search supports iwloc=start, iwloc=end and iwloc=pause1
    iwd=1 “iwd” stands for “info window display” and specifies that the infowindow displayed (iwloc=) will be a detailed (expanded) view.
    iwstate1= iwstate1=ssaddfeatureinstructioncard Specifies that the infowindow is in add place mode. Use with ssp=addf and iwloc=SS.  iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard Specifies the infowindow is in edit mode. iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard:ssmovemarkercard The infowindow is in Move marker mode, with the marker bouncing and draggable. iwstate1=sscorrectthiscard:ssedithistorycard The infowindow is in View history mode, displaying a graphical list of marker moves.
    msa= “msa” is involved in My Maps processing. It does nothing without the “/ms” and “/ms” does nothing without the msa=. msa=0 Used with msid= to show a particular My Map.msa=b Activates the “My Maps” sidebar when used in conjunction with “maps.google.com/ms”.  msa=1 shows the My Maps tab directly (like msa=b did). msa=2 Jumps directly to create new My Map form.
    msid= “msid” specifies a My Maps identifier. When used in conjunction with “maps.google.com/ms” and msa=0, the corresponding My Map is displayed.
    vp= “vp” stands for “view point” and the presence of this parameter causes maps.google.com to switch into Copyright Service mode. Instead of returning the html that draws a map, it returns information about the copyright ownership in Javascript format. The vp= parameter specifies the viewpoint (i.e. the centre of the map). Copyright Service only works when the spn= and z= parameters are also supplied, indicating the span and the zoom. Optional parameters are t=, which specifies the map type, and key= which specifies the API key of the site performing the request.
    sspn = “sspn” stands for “Screen span”. Map bounds dimensions in Degrees, to calculate this use: newGLatLng(map.getBounds().getNorthEast().lat() − map.getBounds().getSouthWest().lat(),map.getBounds().getNorthEast().lng() − map.getBounds().getSouthWest().lng()).toUrlValue()

    Here are some reference books on Google Maps programming that may also be useful:

    Google Maps APIMap Scripting 101Google Web Toolkit ApplicationsBeginning Google Maps API 3 (Expert’s Voice in Web Development) [Paperback]Map Scripting 101: An Example-Driven Guide to Building Interactive Maps with Bing, Yahoo!, and Google Maps [Paperback]Google Web Toolkit Applications [Paperback]

    One reviewer said about Svennerberg’s book, “It’s been a constant struggle for me to find accessible Google Maps API resources that not only cover the capabilities of the API, but also explain the JavaScript concepts behind them in a way that I can understand.” You might also be interested in Gabriel Svennerberg’s blog.

    What is a Query String Anyway?

    A query string is the part of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that can contain data (called parameters) to be passed to web applications such as CGI programs. When a web page is requested via a web browser, the remote server locates a file in its system based on the requested URL. This file may be a simple file or a program. If it is a program, the server may run the program (depending on its configuration), and send output as the required page. The query string is a part of the URL which is passed to the program. It’s use permits data to be passed from the HTTP client (often a web browser like Mozilla Firefox) to the program which generates the web page. This site uses software from WordPress which uses query strings to indicate criteria to search for specific posts or sets of posts in the database. This default use of query strings may reduce search engine optimization (SEO) efforts so pretty permalinks are used here instead. I use the /%category%/%postname%/ permalink, which is probably the most popular.