Search engine progress

I messed up. In remaking Greensboro 101 a couple of years ago, I took away some things that search engines like to see. As a result, Greensboro 101 fell off search engine radar of searches for "Greensboro." Bad.

I paid more attention to search engine optimization in the latest remake of Greensboro 101 and it looks like my efforts may be bearing fruit. A search for "Greensboro" on Bing now has Greensboro 101 on the first page of search results. I'm still waiting for Google to follow the new sitemap.

Most hated online ad techniques

Greensboro, NC -- The News & Record's website is a careless and confused mess and it's getting worse as they try to cram more and more advertising into it. Their latest technique is the expanding ad, an intrusive beast that expands to cover a portion of what the user came to see.

Ad covering a large portion of the content

DigTriad was deploying these ads for a while, but seems wisely to have stopped. Seeing the ad for Sears burp itself into my way at the News & Record, I was reminded of a great new (to me) site I stumbled upon all about web and mobile usability. It's Jakob Nelson's site Useit.com.

He has an article titled "The Eleven Most Hated Advertising Techniques." Although from 2004, I suspect they are probably still pretty hated. From Useit.com.

Design Element	Users Answering "Very Negatively" or "Negatively"
Pops-up in front of your window	95%
Loads slowly	94%
Tries to trick you into clicking on it	94%
Does not have a "Close" button	93%
Covers what you are trying to see	93%
Doesn't say what it is for	92%
Moves content around	92%
Occupies most of the page	90%
Blinks on and off	87%
Floats across the screen	79%
Automatically plays sound	79%

What's trending in local news & blogs?

I've added a new feature to Greensboro 101 called "Trending." It shows the most prominent 101 words from local news and blogs in the past 24 hours. You may access it by clicking on the "Trending" tab on the main page of Greensboro 101. Click on any of the individual words and you will see the posts from the past 24 hours that contain that word.

I built the same thing for Twitter, but I swear I can see little value in it. Whatever imperfections there may remain in the blog and news trending feature, one can get a meaningful sense of what topics are currently of local interest. Twitter, on the other hand, is so chock full of junk that, from minute to minute, it appears as if popular interests move from such compelling words as "girl" to "boo." It is 99.9% inane. Still, I suppose that in itself is of minor sociological interest and may be worthy of some curiosity so, while I doubt if I will add it to Greensboro 101, if you want to see it as a stand-alone, it is here. http://greensboro101.com/twitterwords_gso.php (may disappear at any time. Updates throttled to ten minutes.)

Greensboro 101 search repaired

The recent redesign of Greensboro 101 broke the search feature. It would return results, but they were not linked to their source. I have fixed that now and you can once again search local blogs and news by clicking on the "Search" tab on the main page.

It gets complicated: My love/hate relationship with Greensboro 101

The way in which the complexity of a data-driven website can quickly explode both fascinates and frustrates me. I am amazed by the abilities of the popular web application programming combination of JavaScript, PHP and MySQL, which are what drive Greensboro 101, but there is not much room for error. The code never responds with "I think this is what you mean to do;" the instructions are either executable or not. Get it right and it's a thrill often provoking an involuntary "woo yeah"; forget an ' or include an extra ; and everything can come to a grinding halt. Figuring out what is wrong can be maddening but for a walk around the block or a glass of Scotch, depending.

When I added the "Just blogs" section to the main page of the new Greensboro 101, I did so by recycling the code that generates the "Latest" items, making the changes necessary to only retrieve items from blogs. It appeared to work and, for the most part, did. Alas, I forgot to change what must be a unique code for each "Recommend this item" button. So, if you tried to recommend an item in the new "Just blogs" tab, nothing appeared to happen. (Recommendations were recorded, there was just no feedback to the user.) A detail overlooked. Fortunately, not a critical one. Important, but it didn't send the site into a coma.

It's fixed now. Thanks to user BK for bringing the glitch to my attention.

Greensboro 101 Event Calendar

GREENSBORO, NC -- The new Greensboro 101 includes a public event calendar. This video gives a brief introduction and demonstrates how to add an event to the calendar.



Features of the Greensboro 101 event calendar include:

• Events posted to interactive Google map on Greensboro 101 main page on the day of the event.
• Events posted to event list on Greensboro 101 main page.
• Events posted in the events section of Greensboro 101.
• Events posted to other channels, including Eventbrite, Eventful and the Greensboro 101 Events Twitter feed.
• Press release generator that emails details of your event to local media.
• Social sharing tools that allow people to share information about your event on their favorite social media.
• Driving directions.
• Insert images into event listing. 
• View events by dates, category or venue.

Just blogs

By popular demand, I have added a view to the new Greensboro 101 for just blog posts--without feeds from local newsorgs. Just click on the "Just Blogs" tab.

My new favorite local blog: Envy America

I don't know who the author is or why he/she chose this particular slant for a blog, but I'm getting a kick out of the new Envy America.

Well, we tried

Google chooses Kansas City, Kansas. Big thanks to the people who tried to make this happen for Greensboro, especially the city staff who took it seriously and made a valiant effort, but certainly to others who selflessly wanted it for no reasons other than it would have been good for Greensboro.

The new Greensboro 101

The new Greensboro 101 launched today. It continues the tradition of bringing local people-generated content into an efficient and democratic presentation.

New features include:

• New Design. Color schemes and design elements that better assist the mind and eye in using the site. Since not every user has the same preferences, also added multiple design styles from which users can choose -- available through the "styles" button on the right side of each page.
• Event Calendar. Added an event calendar. Rich in features, it deserves its own post -- which is coming, but multiple channel distribution, mapping to Google maps, press release announcer, Twitter feed, and category filtering are a few of the features.
• Better Ergonomics. Layout and navigational tools that minimize the effort needed in thought and muscle to move through the content. More of a sense of flowing through the content.
• Smarter. From better calculating how to rank recommended news and blog items to remembering which tabs users prefer to have open when they visit the site, there are several unseen but important improvements to the site's intelligence. If you never notice the particulars, that's even better but you will hopefully sense that the site offers a refined experience.
• Better Under the Hood. I've used the lightweight but powerful jQuery JavaScript library to build much of the user interface. Appearance and navigation should be more reliable, more stable and more compatible across multiple user platforms. I've also made better use of caching and optimized database queries to make the site load faster.

Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Leave them in the comments here or email me at curator@greensboro101.com.

The annual Time Warner Cable dance, in which I bend over...

GREENSBORO, NC -- Today was my annual over-the-phone dance with Time Warner Cable to negotiate my monthly bill for cable TV and Internet access. This year's engagement was started, as always, with TWC attempting to implement an outrageous rate increase. This time, TWC had the audacity to send me a flyer announcing:

We're pleased to extend you (sic) ADDITIONAL SAVINGS...

...followed by a bill with a 50% increase.

Gee! Thanks Time Warner Cable! Any more of your generosity and I'll be in the poor house.

Anyway, after 34 minutes and three customer service representatives, I managed to negotiate a rate that is only 13% higher than last year. They won.

I despise being held hostage by this gouging company with their mediocre service. Good thing the free market has provided me with other options... oh, wait. Never mind.

2 minute trash options breakdown

Sometimes one of the most useful things a journalist can do is give you a quick yet informative summary of an otherwise involved topic. The News & Record's Amanda Lehmert offers up a nice and concise breakdown of the trash disposal options presented to Greensboro city council yesterday.

City Councilor Vaughan on Time Warner Cable: "We're like a sitting duck."

GREENSBORO, NC -- There was some interesting discussion by the Greensboro City Council at Tuesday's meeting on opposing proposed state legislation that would limit municipalities' ability to build public broadband infrastructure. Best line? Nancy Vaughan on Time Warner Cable's service to Greensboro: "We're like a sitting duck."

Council ultimately voted 6 to 3 to adopt a resolution opposing the state bill.

Video here. Discussion starts at the 5:40 mark.

Debunking voter fraud myths; Binker breaks it down

Mark Binker of the News & Record takes a look at the validity of recent claims of voting fraud in a fine piece of journalism.

Smell that?

Mmmmmm. Can you smell what the Roch's got cooking?

Damn right local is hard. But what I lack in brains I make up for in persistence.

All... most... there...

Heroes

GREENSBORO, NC -- From the News & Record:

Officer C.J. St. Pierre arrived and detected a strong burning odor, like an electrical shortage, he said. Lights were on, but no one answered the door. Pierre saw a blinking light from a carbon monoxide detector and called for backup.

Officers M.R. Leahey, A.L. Dellinger, W.F. Sizemore and Cpl. C.E. Tuck arrived and some of them kicked in the door. The normally odorless, tasteless gas was so strong that it burned their eyes and throats.

They found the 9-year-old and 7-year-old girls semiconscious in one room. The 3-year-old boy was hiding under bed covers in another. The boy was more alert, but the girls were lethargic. Tuck awakened them by flashing light in their eyes.

 And the neighbor, Essam Yousef, who bothered to call 9-1-1 when he heard the alarm beeping. 

Greensboro city council campaign contributors

GREENSBORO, NC -- (Hat tip Ed Cone). George Hartzman has entered into a spreadsheet  the campaign contributions to Greensboro city council members. I have taken the liberty of putting it into a web-accessible Google doc.

(Full page version)

More word-for-word press release regurgitation from the News & Record

GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record continues its sad bad practice of publishing press releases as news with a byline of "staff reports." This one is copied nearly word-for-word from a press release from the North Carolina Attorney General's office, the copied portions are highlighted.
-------------------------

Some 21,879 people filed complaints in 2010 with the Consumer Protection Division of the N.C. Attorney General's Office.

The overall number of complaints dropped slightly from the 22,665 complaints received in 2009. The Attorney General's Office said the top two areas — health care and lending — saw increase in complaint volume last year.

Here are the top 10 [...] complaints for 2010:

1. Health care
Health care led this list for the sixth straight year. Complaints were about health insurance, medical providers and health products and services. Common complaints include getting charged money for supposedly free trials of weight loss products, medical billing or collection practices and overcharging for medical services.

2. Lending
Complaints often include problems with high interest rates, charges for late or missed payments, adjustable rate mortgages, prepayment penalties and loan fees. Consumers with foreclosure issues or who have fallen for a foreclosure assistance or loan modification scam are included here.

3. Do Not Call/Unwanted telemarketing calls
Among the top sources of complaints are offers for credit cards with lower interest rates, free grants, or debt consolidation services. Many of these pitches are made using illegal robo calls that ask consumers to press a number to speak with a representative.

4. Telemarketing fraud
Scammers often located outside the U.S. try to lure consumers into giving up their money and their personal information. Some of the most popular telemarketing schemes pitch bogus lower credit card rates, international lottery tickets, advance fee loans, government grants, identity theft protection, and phony prizes or sweepstakes.

5. Credit and collections
Complaints about credit repair scams, debt collectors and identity theft were common issues. Complaints about scams that promise to fix your credit or settle your debts for an upfront fee are increasingly common. Consumers also complain about threatening calls from debt collectors as well as calls about debts that aren’t really theirs.

6. Motor vehicles
Common problems include mechanical problems with used cars, difficulties obtaining a car title when the dealership has gone out of business, and failure to honor warranties. People also complain about pricing, improper diagnosis, unauthorized repairs, and slow repair jobs.

7. Home furnishings
Consumers often contacted the Attorney General's Office us [sic] when an item they’ve paid for never arrives, or when their piece of furniture arrives damaged or defective. Many of these complaints come from out-of-state consumers who placed orders with North Carolina retailers by telephone or online.

8. Home repair
Most consumers who complain are dissatisfied with work done on their homes. Other common sources of complaints are contractors who abandon the job after getting paid, miss deadlines, or go over budget. There are also scam artists who target homeowners, especially seniors, attempting to talk them into a series of expensive and unnecessary repairs.

9. Television services
Many of those [sic] consumers complained about extended contracts and hidden fees with satellite provider DIRECTV, problems that were addressed by a settlement reached with the company in December.

10. Telecommunications
Many people complain that bundled packages for phone, television and Internet service don’t provide the savings they were expecting. People also have problems with cell phone bills, poor cell service, and the cramming of unauthorized charges onto their phone bills.

To file a complaint or get tips on avoiding problems, visit ncdoj.gov or call (877) 566-7226.

But, how do you really feel? Lensinger on lazy TV newspeople

The photog with a way with words vents about lazy TV reporters.

Still want to be a TV reporter? Cool, go find a story no one else has, convince a reluctant witness to talk on camera, melt the Rain-X off my lens with your scintillating presence. I’ll sing your praises from on high, when I’m not following you into the fire. Otherwise, go sell Mary Kay, real estate or perhaps your own plasma.

Thigpen takes on secret deeds

(Hat tip: Ed Cone)

GUILFORD COUNTY, NC -- Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen stands up for the people.

“To me these issues with MERS are simple. Are major banking conglomerates going to tell the truth or not; and are we going choose to have two standards of justice in America: one for Big Money and the other for the rest of us?

Read more.