Jay Gaulard Blog

Twitter, Local Search, Cool Websites, Blogs and Web 2.0

Monday, May 26th, 2008

The simple dictionary definition of “Twitter” is “microblogging/social networking platform that places a 140- character limit on each individual post/tweet.” However, describing Twitter thusly would fail to encapsulate the power of this new omnipresent medium. So, instead here are 101 examples of how Twitter members regularly use the service.

Community Powered Local Search - This Could Actually Work

I found a site last night that claimed to be the “Easiest Local Search Ever”. My reaction to this: “Oh reeeaaallly.”

10 Cool Websites We Recommend

A list of 10 websites that are either useful or entertaining. Personal favorites: Cooking for Engineers (self-explanatory), thesixtyone (safari for music junkies), and Rentometer (save money on rent).

GigaOM Favs: 10 Blogs You Should Follow

Om Malik shares the comprised results of a twitter survey and personal contributions of his team members. The results are definitely useful!

Finally the definition of Web 2.0 & 3.0

One of the most misused buzzwords finally gets defined. Now we can stop people from labeling everything on the internet as Web 2.0. Please stop the madness.

This Blog is No One Way Street

Thursday, May 15th, 2008

I was just thinking, I should be getting more comments on this blog. I was taking a look at my stats last night and traffic has tripled from about a year ago. Have the comments tripled? Probably, but it doesn’t seem like they did.

It’s like business…nothing is ever good enough. You can make the “holy cow” ten billion dollar sale, but what did you really do? You just made the next ten billion dollar sale a little less exciting. I get comments and I thank you for them, but here is what I really want…

I want every single person who ever read this blog to comment on a post. Use a fake name, I don’t care. I like getting comments. They are fun to read and respond to, although, I am not the best responder. I get a kick out of when people try to push my buttons and say things that go against my grain. I am doing my part now I ask that you do yours.

Now, if I can just take my own advice and start commenting on people’s blogs…

You Make My Day!

Saturday, March 1st, 2008

Ok, ok, I’m here. Yes, it did take me a little while to get to this, but I am quite happy to oblige. My dear friend Paul, over at the infamous Homeowner’s Blog was kind enough to include me in his “You Make My Day!” post. I knew I would squeeze in there somewhere.

I have an issue with this whole thing (leave it to me). The official rules are telling me to list 5 blogs that I really read. What if I only read 2 and then throw in another one every once in a while? Oh well, I guess that’s the way it’s got to be. Here goes…

1. The Henry Family Blog - The blog is owned and operated by my sister Stephanie and her manly husband Steve. It’s not too old…I think under a year, but it certainly is getting there. They talk about all sorts of stuff and sometimes I grace them with a comment.

2. Homeowner’s Blog - This is Paul’s blog. I read this one when I am done reading the blog I listed above. There is some good stuff in there, but he doesn’t nearly talk about me as much as he should be. Once a post would be nice.

3. Sun Volt Solar Blog - I read this one every so often. I know the guy who runs it, so I have an in to the latest in the energy front. Even though I don’t believe in renewable energy, I do get a kick out of what he writes. HAHAHAHA, just kidding. I believe in renewable energy.

So, there you have it. That’s all I got. I read some more blogs, but none as much as I read these. Here are the rules, so Stephanie and Steve better write about me:

The obligatory rules that go with these sorts of posts are…
The ‘you make my day award’ works like this:

1) Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think and/or make your day.
2) Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3) Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news!

Today Certainly is Another Day

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Today was another busy day. I spent a good majority of the day organizing things online. I would tell you what they are, but I have this thing about telling people my secrets. Oh well. I will say that I find it simply amazing that I am able to wake up every morning of my life and work on the computer for at least eight hours straight. Mind you, those are the days I have nothing to do. Oh, I just love looking at the clock as it reads 3PM and realizing that I have been sitting here since 7AM.

As I get older, I find myself focusing on my “physical” self more than I used to. I always try to sit up straight in my chair, so I don’t get a bad posture, like I have been warned about when I was a kid. I also recognize that I need exercise these days. When I say need, I mean “need.” I mean, I am in good shape, but as anyone gets older, I think they become more aware of these things. I also feel my eyes going to hell. When I was a kid, I used to pride myself on not wearing glasses. Well, the years of staring at this monitor has taken its toll, I’m afraid. Last year, I bought computer glasses to help take the strain off my eyes. These days, I find myself having to focus a heck of a lot more. I can actually feel my eyes getting tired. People say that you should get up every so often to give your eyes a break. They say that you should look out the window every once in a while so your eyes can focus on something else, other than your computer screen. I do that, but I am just hoping that one day I will make enough money to pay someone to do my work for me as I sit in a chair behind them, telling them what to do.

So, what’s new in life…I guess it’s just day to day stuff. As I work, the cats take their turns using my lap as their bed. I am not working on adding any more websites to my portfolio…well, I had to pop a new one in there, I just couldn’t help myself. This is the year of marketing. I haven’t focused on that portion of the business all that much in the past few years, so it might be something I should do to boost the $$$. I believe I can do a very good job with that in the next ten months.

I also have been making beer, if you haven’t noticed. I think it’s a pretty rewarding thing to do. Paul came over to pick up ten bottles for a party he is having tomorrow. He is going to get back to me with the consensus. I hope he likes them.

Since I have been in college, I have been looking for the perfect place to live. Where we are living now isn’t perfect, by any meaning of the word. As my mother would say, we have decided to hate it. It’s painful to realize that, but it’s true. I have learned that it’s pretty useless looking on the internet for that perfect town. All it takes is one lousy picture of a town to ruin everything. On to the next perfect town with that one lousy picture, and so on. I think the only way I am going to make it is to get an “anchor” house somewhere up north, with another smaller home in the heat for weekends in the Winter. I have also learned that the perfect town may not even exist anymore. Back in the day, there was a quiet little main street somewhere in Indiana that you could walk up and down for the rest of your life. Now, you have to worry about tornadoes and the Wal-Mart they are putting up at the end of the block. You might think I’m kidding, but look around. The most pristine places are very unaffordable. So the quest goes on.

On Monday, Laura and I are making a trip to Washington, CT. We are going to have lunch at the Mayflower Inn. A few years ago, my mother got us a gift certificate for the Inn that we used for a perfect Valentine’s Day dinner. It was one of the nicest places on earth. We were thrilled with the little antique town, but it was kind of dark on our way in. We really want to see it during the day. You would be surprised what the Connecticut hills have to offer, for a price. I’ll let you know how it goes. YouTube certainly needs a video or two of Washington, CT.

It just started snowing. Laura proposed another walk in the snow. Who am I to say no? I have a feeling I will be putting my boots on at midnight again. I do want to say that I am getting a little tired of the snow. Every time I think the driveway will be clear for a few days, it snows. I admit that it keeps things exciting, but enough already. It’s been a snowy Winter. The next week looks warmer with the temperatures above freezing. Also, the sunset is much later now, so that January depression has lifted. Now, the sun is going down close to 6PM. In March, we set the clocks ahead, so that should be fun. I am going to try to really soak up the seasons this Spring, Summer and Fall. I think they are worth it.

Wow, what a post. This might actually be what blogs are for. I guess I have to write some real stuff when I am not busy buying things and writing about them. Hey look…it’s another cat on my lap. I think they are doing laps now. This one is Sexy Boo.

A New Blog Directory

Friday, December 21st, 2007

My FeedDirectory.US (Feed Directory) website has been receiving an enormous amount of spam submissions for some time now. I felt that the scope was too wide for a site like that, so I reinvented it as a blog directory. The new website is called “Blog Directory - BlogLeeg.com” and will have some very strict rules. There won’t be many of them, but they will be strict…

Rules

1. For a submission to be approved, it must be a blog.
2. For a blog to be approved, it must be good.

I think those are fair rules. So, if you have a good blog, please feel free to submit your feed to the Blog Directory.

Some Video Please…

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

I have been going back and forth for some time on this issue…whether or not to go video. I know I take a lot of photos for this blog and that seems to be working out well. I just think that people would enjoy video a whole lot more.

The benefit is that people can see much more through video. They can hear me talk and hear the birds chirp. They can get a real feel for things. Image watching TV as a slide show. Not so much fun. I think video is where it’s at.

I was thinking that I can get a little Sony hard drive video camera and upload the videos to YouTube.com. Depending on the software I get with the camera, I can add my URL in the bottom corner of each video to promote whatever website the video is going to be posted on. Then, I can simply pull the code for the video in from YouTube to my website. Sound good?

Ok, since I really know nothing about video cameras, I am going to have to do a little research. I saw one at Circuit City for decent price. Maybe one of these days I will go grab it. I am sure my family would like to watch these videos, or maybe I am just being a little narcissistic. Nah, I think they will like it.

Please Update Your Links

Friday, November 16th, 2007

Hi there,

If you have ever linked to me at http://www.gaulard.com/blog/, please be ever so kind as to update your link to http://www.jaygaulard.com/blog/. It would be greatly appreciated.

It is getting a little depressing logging into the admin portion of this blog to see there are no links to it.

Thank you,

Jay G.

Deleting Some Categories

Friday, November 16th, 2007

Now that I have installed the Simple Tags plugin for Wordpress, I can begin deleting some categories. As you may have noticed, I have a lot. I don’t mind that, but it is becoming tiresome writing a post and having to scroll through all those categories to check off my choices. It’s actually quite redundant, now that I have the tags.

Over the next year or two, I will do this…one at a time.

Tracking, Bloggers, OpenSocial and Google

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

Many Consumers Are Unclear What “Online Tracking” Even Means

A study released this week shows that a huge percentage of Americans don’t grasp just how intensively their online habits are tracked, analyzed, and used to serve ads back to them.

Top 10 Events for Bloggers

Blogging can be a lonely business. And if online blogger communities don’t satisfy you desire to mingle, this is a list of the top 10 events in the real world where you can participate in, meet with fellow bloggers, and share experiences.

OpenSocial - What a Difference a Day Makes Google Beats Facebook

Facebook vs Google Open Social

Google Purchases Shortest Domain Name Ever

Google has purchased the shortest possible domain name to make it easier for Chinese users to find Google: g.cn.

Google OpenSocial Now Live!

We’ve been waiting all day for Google’s OpenSocial site to start working, and it has finally happened. The site contains the official OpenSocial API documents, developers blog, featured community gadgets, and featured videos. Unless you’re a developer dying to see the inner workings of the APIs, there isn’t really much new information up there;

Notice Anything Different?

Friday, November 2nd, 2007

Ok, fine, I put the word “Jay” in front of the domain name for this blog. In other words, I moved this blog to a new domain.

Why? Because it was becoming apparent that the Gaulard.com domain is all business these days. I have business stuff on that site. I kinda didn’t want someone who I deal with business-wise thinking that I install crown moulding for a living. It may get confusing. So, now we have JayGaulard.com. Ye Haw.

There you have it. Welcome.