So I took this quiz to find out how much of a geek I am. Apparently, I’m only a little over halfway there.
What now? October 31, 2007
I haven’t been doing so good keeping up this blog. I’m just not as interested in talking about how geeky I’m becoming. I guess because I was always geeky. I’m just hitting new levels now. I have started another blog which I am actually interested in keeping up, if you want to check it out, it is called Crafty Hope. Let me know what you think. I like comments a lot!
New Gear October 4, 2007
I know I’ve been claiming to be evolving into a geek, but I have a confession to make. I haven’t even had a good laptop. I have had my husband’s old one that does not even have wireless and is over 5 years old. It’s big and bulky and I fear taking it anywhere because of the snickers I would receive. This has changed! Yesterday, my boss presented me with his ‘old’ laptop. It’s only a year or two old, has a larger screen, and has WIRELESS. This is great. Of course, this was given to me under the pretense that I would work from home with it. I’m sure that I will eventually be productive at home, for now I’m just excited that I can get online in my living room, or the bathroom, or the kitchen. . . the possibilities are endless – or at least only restricted by the presence of a wireless network. Maybe I’ll even blog more often. . .
P.S. Now that full-geek is setting in, my husband wants to install Linux on both the laptop and my home desktop. Can’t wait to see how I adjust to that.
Harry Potter and the Geek Evolves July 11, 2007
Well, I was almost full-on geek last night. Yes, I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (thank you Heather). When we got there, I was slightly regretful that I forgot to wear my Harry Potter costume. Yet, this initial instinct WAS fleeting. The movie was great. I won’t go into anymore detail and spoil it, but I was pleased. Go, see, enjoy.
I am tired this morning as I’ve only had 3 hours of sleep. Yet, it was totally worth it.
Progress at last? July 11, 2007
Several weeks ago, I got really excited about my progress.
First, I received an e-mail from a client who said that her e-commerce sails have increased since I have made some changes to her site. She thanked me for doing my job. It felt like a personal accomplishment. I’ve printed out the e-mail and keep it in my desk drawer when I need a pick-me-up.
Secondly, a client was in the office several days later to consult about their site. He asked questions about search engines and I was able to answer him (most of his questions). I knew my answers were truthful and were stated in a manner that he seemed to understand and accept. It was a bit of a rush. . . actually feeling like I knew what I was talking about in regards to SEO.
OOPS: I actually wrote this post several weeks ago and forgot to publish it, so here it is now.
Google’s Universal Search May 17, 2007
Apparently my job just got harder. Google announced that it has/will change basic web search to ‘universal search’.
After reading several basic articles on this change, Danny Sullivan’s article, Google 2.0: Google Universal Search , helped me understand just what was changing. It also aided me in realizing how this change would affect my job. I am a little worried. I just started as an SEO and every several weeks there is some kind of change in the Search Engine world that will make SEO harder for SEOs. Don’t they understand that I’m still learning???
I am proud of myself though. Two reasons:
1. I am comprehending many of these technical articles much better as the days, weeks, months go by
2. I actually made a comment on the above article. This took a lot of guts for me. I don’t often make comments (a trait I hope to overcome) and Danny is considered HUGE in SEO. Wait, wait, I think I’m having a panic attack now. . .
Alright, I’m a bit better now. Well, if my job is getting harder, I guess I’ll get to it now. Wish me luck!
Wii are geeks May 6, 2007
All of us at the office geeked out a little Friday afternoon. My husband and I bought a Wii on our lunch break (we’ve been trying to find one for about a month but every place we’ve tried has been sold out). Anyway. . . we took it back to the office and hooked it up – just to try it out real quick. Let’s say not much work got done for the rest of the day. Everyone in the office had their turn at it and it was pretty funny. I think it was a real camaraderie boost for all of us. We justified it with the explanation that it was a research and development session (apparently there is some way to program for the WiiMote or something like that). I totally felt like a geek then. Of course, I also spent the rest of the evening at home playing the darn thing and now have “Wii shoulder”. Anybody recommend any games or a good masseuse?
I’m not sure if the learning SEO is going well or not May 6, 2007
BEWARE: Whining ahead
You ever feel like just running around in circles and screaming? I think that’s the best representation of how I feel my learning process is going. I’ve stalled. I’ve finally finished “SEO for Dummies” (several weeks ago) but feel like there’s still so much I don’t understand. (I must be a bigger dummy than they planned on.) However, I have no idea where to go from here. Basically, I’m just doing keyword search after keyword search. Everything I’ve found says that this is the first and most basic step. I’m TOTALLY there. Yet, I still feel like I’m doing it wrong. Am I using the right tools? Is one site more reliable than the other? Can I get my boss to pay for a more dependable program? ETC. Then there is my list of clients. It is SO long, I’m not sure I’ll ever get to the end of it. Besides, no one wants to respond to my calls or e-mails. Apparently, they think I’m either spam or some crazy person whining about their website. Whatever, their loss. They’re the ones paying for a service and not taking advantage of it. Sorry, I’m just relieving some frustrations here. I am trying to stay on track, I read a ton of blogs and newsletters daily, forums weekly, and updates as they come in. My keyword research methods are down to a science. I developed a form for tracking keywords, questions to ask clients, and lists of recommendations for sites. I have a huge file of articles to read and hi-light and some bookmarked on my computer to read, not to mention the free pdf’s I’ve found and been sent. It’s all here, now if I can just put it all together. My husband thinks my geek progression is going well. I said something about the SERPs last week and had to explain to HIM that meant Search Engine Results Page. I felt satisfied knowing I knew that and he did not. Yesterday, I got to have a discussion with him and the boss about links. I got to explain the importance of links in increasing ranking and some of the basics of good links and bad links. Heck, when I break things down in those terms, I feel a little better about what I’ve learned. I guess I’ve got the basics of SEO, it’s how to put them into practice and some of the crazy long technical terms that I just scan and keep-a-moving that are holding me up. I can’t seem to learn for having to do. Like I said, this client list is massive. Well, I’d better get back to work and see what else I can find to complain about…j/k.
Smackdown March 30, 2007
I definitely know I’m not geek enough yet. Neil P from Pronet Advertising made a Search Engine Smackdown game. Basically, it’s a search engine trivia game in a boxing ring. It features search engine superstars in flash. I’ve only tried it once and won, but I was close to losing and my time was AWFUL. It’s pretty funny though.
