Eric Frey.net

So, I just installed ScribeFire in my Firefox browser after looking for a tool that would enable me to quickly post to my blog about various news articles or what not that I find while traversing the web.

This post is being written from ScribeFire, and my first impression of it is good. The install was easy, like every other Firefox extension I’ve ever used. The interface is intuitive and straight forward, and there are multiple tabs where you can customize things like pinging and using Technorati tags.

The only thing I don’t like about it is the lack of support for custom fields in WordPress. Maybe I’m missing something here since this is my first post using it, but I’d like to be able to take advantage of those custom fields, or the All In One SEO Pack Plugin that I use.

So, I’m not sure I’d use ScribeFire for any lengthy article writing. For quick commentary on any news or other foolishness from the web, it looks useful. Check it out if you haven’t already. You do need Firefox to use it, but it supports a HUGE list of blogging platforms. Happy blogging.

Yesterday, Search Engine Watch, Search Engine Land, and I assume other SEO focused websites reported on a brilliant new idea from Microsoft to enhance the user experience when visitors to a website receive a 404 error.

Microsoft states at the dev.live Blog that between 2 and 10 percent of website traffic is looking for pages that no longer exist, or have been moved. What Microsoft is asserting is that an improved user experience can be created by replacing the standard 404 error not found page with search results relevant to the context of the website. As a website designer, and internet marketer, I think that is a STUPID IDEA! Savvy websited designers already use custom 404 pages, here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »

Be careful, that cell phone of yours (or walkman for us old-schoolers) might actually be an agent of terror in disguise. I thought they were “Robots In Disguise”, but apparently now they are “Al-Quaeda In Disguise”, as reported by this BBC article.

I guess if I ever visit London, I’ll have to make sure not to pack my Decepticon t-shirt. Wouldn’t want anyone confusing which side I’m on and sending my ass to Guantanamo Bay or something. (”Honest sir, I just hopped the pond for a spot of tea…”) Really, as a species, have we become that paranoid? That senseless? That mind numbingly weak?

I suppose that if people are that afraid of a cartoon on a t-shirt, then they deserve to get hit by a bus while crossing the street (unless of course there is someone there to keep them safe from harm and free from needing to think for themselves).

Oh my god!!! What if the bus IS A TRANSFORMER? Damn, we’re all screwed…

So, I’ve spent a couple days getting my feet wet with some of the social sites I mentioned in this post. I have to say, even though I’m only playing with 5 right now, it is still a bit overwhelming. I’m trying to actually use these services, but doing so is so far out of the realm of my established internet surfing habits, this I am admittedly finding it difficult. I’m trying to read up and learn what I can about all this social hooplah, and was very happy to see an article entitled Developing Tactical Knowledge on Social Media Websites pop up in my feed reader.

So, I head on over to DoshDosh, and start reading. Tactical knowledge… Yeah, that’s what I need, I think. Infiltrate and take over. I think I can be down with that. After reading the article (which turns out to be part 9 in a series, so I’ve got more reading to do), I think I have a much clearer idea of how to go about exploring this new (for me at least) avenue for networking, link building, and traffic development.

One of the key points that I took from that read is the need to really delve into the community for whatever site you are trying to work with, and also to do your homework. That being said, it may be a good idea for me to focus on just one social site for the time being instead of five of them. Can’t say I’m disappointed in that idea. As I mentioned, I’m really having to change some of my surfing habits, and I’m all about baby steps lately. Besides, my early impression of Simpy is that it is just about as exciting as the wallpaper in my dentist’s office.

Maybe I’ll focus on StumbleUpon for a bit and see how that goes.

So, I’m at the gym today, working through my routine. There were only a couple of other people there (it’s a small gym that’s part of my apartment complex), 2 women maybe about 18 and 30. I’m warming up on the treadmill, and the younger girl who was walking on the treadmill next to me gets off the machine and mosies on over to the lat pulldown machine. I try not to watch other people work out, but I noticed this chick lazily pulling the bar down behind her head. Now, to be fair, the instructions posted on the machine don’t specify whether to pull down behind the head, or in front. But, I don’t think that is any excuse for poor form.

Here’s my point: Read the rest of this entry »