Sunday

Plus Minus Using Flash in Web Design

Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash) is a powerful multimedia technology that brings life and color to the web. Flash however, comes with various disadvantages that often hinder its implementation in web page design. At a time when SEO is a necessity in web design, flash should be used very cautiously. Following are some reasons why:

Browser incompatibility
While it's true the Adobe Flash plugin has been installed in very many browsers, you often need the latest version of the plugin to view content created using new versions of flash authoring software. You are also not sure that every user updates their plugins diligently. This presents the risk of your flash content not being properly viewed by all your site visitors. Woe unto you if your entire site is in flash.


Near-impossible site indexing
Site engine robots cannot execute JavaScript nor index content that is embed within flash files. For that reason, flash site designers are encouraged to provide html or text only versions of their web pages. This should however be carefully implemented to avoid penalties of web page duplication and spamming search engine robots.

Very small screen fonts
For some reason, many web sites designed entirely in flash have very small fonts that are particularly hard to read. Worse, there are no ways of resizing the page text size used on such pages. The worst part is that flash sites have no accessibility features for visitors who use text-only browsers or those who are visually handicapped.

Distracting animations and eye-candy
Many overzealous designers often go over themselves to come up with extremely busy web pages full of flashy graphics, animated banners and other multimedia flash elements. With Flash, it's very easy to yield to the temptation of creating web pages full of eye candy that fails to delight the eye but ends up distracting thge mind. Be careful, most modern browsers e.g. Opera offers users the option of instantly disabling animated graphics and other multimedia content.

Slow-loading multimedia content
It is true that most Flash content is handled as vector graphics in flash authoring applications. On the web however, these files are incorporated as SWF flash files. In view of the ActionScript that facilitates animations and interaction, the file sizes increase. Ultimately, web sites with heavy flash content take longer to load. This can easily drive your visitors away. Flash content is to be kept to a minimum.

The Great Keywords For Growing Up Web Traffic

Keywords are not just for search engine optimization of your website, rather these can serve as subjects when you are writing fruitful content for your website. Keywords provide you with topics people are searching for. No wonder you would want these to be converted into informative articles.

How many keywords can one subject contain?
There is no dearth of keywords for a single subject, because there are millions out there trying to search for information and trying new keywords all the time. Therefore, proper research will reveal the numbers of available keywords for a single subject.


It is absolutely normal if you put in the main keyword and take use those which have highest numbers of clicks. This strategy will work when you are trying to market your website. However, using single line or vertical keywords can really make your website SEO friendly. If you want continuous flow of traffic your efforts should be directed towards building a user friendly and highly informative website.

Are website content keywords any different than the marketing ones?
Keywords for both purposes would be almost similar. However, for the purpose of building an informative website, you should use keywords with a wider spectrum rather than eyeing just the bull's eye. When building a website and adding content, it becomes necessary to include as many related topics as possible, this is what will bring in regular visitors.

Keyword mining software will always provide you with not just vertical keywords which are directly related to the subject. Instead through these software you will find keywords that are related to the subject but do not happen to be the very main stream ones. These keywords are very useful in providing you with topics that can become informative articles to a wide range of Internet users.

For example: If your website is about particular jewelry, it would be easier to attract traffic if it contained jewelry for men, women, children, different age groups, different occasions, information regarding what jewelry goes well with what apparel, with examples, etc. this would automatically increase use of the jewelry website and people would visit it often to get ideas and information. You can also provide visitors with information regarding preserving, cleaning and repair of the jewelry.

Can all the above keywords bring in traffic for the website?
Some keywords can be used simply for building your website. Though internet users do not search for the product or service using the keyword, you will be surprised to see that many who visit your website will check out the information page. If visitors find information worthwhile, you can be assured they will come back each time they want to more knowledge about the subject.

Keywords used for web content building may not always pull in traffic, but they are always helpful in retaining traffic if the content answers their queries and current problems effectively. You have the long tail keywords and short keywords; both can be used for building website content.

Tuesday

A Grandma has world's fastest broadband

Sigbritt, a 75 year old woman from Karlstad in central Sweden has been thrust into the IT history books - with the world's fastest internet connection.

Sigbritt Löthberg's home has been supplied with a blistering 40 Gigabits per second (40 Gbs) connection, many thousands of times faster than the average residential link and the first time ever that a home user has experienced such a high speed.

But Sigbritt, who had never had a computer until now, is no ordinary 75 year old. She is the mother of Swedish internet legend Peter Löthberg who, along with Karlstad Stadsnät, the local council's network arm, has arranged the connection.
"This is more than just a demonstration," said network boss Hafsteinn Jonsson.
"As a network owner we're trying to persuade internet operators to invest in faster connections. And Peter Löthberg wanted to show how you can build a low price, high capacity line over long distances," he told The Local.
Sigbritt will now be able to enjoy 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously. Or, if there is nothing worth watching there, she will be able to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds.

The secret behind Sigbritt's ultra-fast connection is a new modulation technique which allows data to be transferred directly between two routers up to 2,000 kilometres apart, with no intermediary transponders.

According to Karlstad Stadsnät the distance is, in theory, unlimited - there is no data loss as long as the fibre is in place.


"I want to show that there are other methods than the old fashioned ways such as copper wires and radio, which lack the possibilities that fibre has," said Peter Löthberg, who now works at Cisco.
Cisco contributed to the project but the point, said Hafsteinn Jonsson, is that fibre technology makes such high speed connections technically and commercially viable.
"The most difficult part of the whole project was installing Windows on Sigbritt's PC," said Jonsson.

Btw, I wish I was her grandson ... :)

How about your grandma, guys?

Source: The Local Sweden's News.