I just finished reading an article introducing me to the idea that riding horses and "driving" self-driving cars are similar. I expand on that idea here and introduce practical applications of that knowledge, i.e, a fun way to promote the cars and showing them to be practical.
Basically, one example precedent for self-driving cars is the horse. When horse-back riding, you can either choose to (1) Do nothing, (2) Provide gentle directions (3) Strongly urge a direction. When the rider is doing nothing, the mode of transportation can instinctively go somewhere. When the rider provides directions, the mode of transportation will do them at the earliest convenience, typically immediately. But, the ride won't run into a wall or crash into other rides (a sensible default).
Armed with this knowledge, I think it would be a fun idea to make a video commercial about this. First, the ending to a spectacular action scene, then have a closeup of a cowboy (read: horseback rider) texting and riding. Then zoom out to show all the hard work that the horse has to do to keep the rider safe, like avoiding potholes and other horses. Then, zoom out again to show a parent and child enjoying watching that video inside the self-driving car that is doing the same things.
Random follow-up questions:
- Do we need to hardcode into the car to want to always safe itself from crashing or having a certain threshold or acceleration and deceleration?
- Should the cars think all objects are immovable solids to avoid, or should it use more computer vision (CV) to determine densities (and object types), just in case? Ex: Run into brick wall or bushes?
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Showing posts with label google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label google. Show all posts
2014-06-03
2014-01-31
Structure Allows Spontaneity and Creativity
Having structure in your life allows you to worry less about the menial aspects of daily tasks. For example, you don't have to spend time thinking when you are going to do something if you already have a specific time for it. By not wasting any precious brain power on the menial tasks, it opens up space and time to use the brain for higher functionality.
My Two Cents.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
ps - Originally not planned for this post, a great example of this concept being put into practice will come from Google. They do all the menial tasks for their employees, including food, laundry, baby sitting, gym, transportation, and more. This may seem like it costs a lot to have, but if you consider the well-being of the employees (less sick days) and while at work employees can put their full minds onto the work, rather than having any nagging sensation, like what/where to eat, how the kids are doing, or even transportation worries (Google shuttles/buses).
My Two Cents.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
ps - Originally not planned for this post, a great example of this concept being put into practice will come from Google. They do all the menial tasks for their employees, including food, laundry, baby sitting, gym, transportation, and more. This may seem like it costs a lot to have, but if you consider the well-being of the employees (less sick days) and while at work employees can put their full minds onto the work, rather than having any nagging sensation, like what/where to eat, how the kids are doing, or even transportation worries (Google shuttles/buses).
2014-01-16
Updated! Google Chrome Finally Adds A Sound Icon For Tabs!
 |
| I spy a sound icon |
This has been a long wanted feature from many people.
And, as always, Google slowly rolls out new features. So, you may have gotten your already, or will soon be able to see which tab sound is playing in. I found a news article from way back on November 13th, 2013 mentioning this update, where it was in beta.
And, there should be a link to the XKCD comic/article that mentions this feature. That comic was written a long time ago. Hopefully, I can find it again.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-12-27
Google Search Answers
For some search queries, Google displays an answer at the top or right of the results. In order to get these results Google usually has to scrape content off of other sites. So,
Is it possible to scrape Google's answers off their search results page, which they have scraped off of others?
I'm sure it is. I just don't just have time to look it up, so that's why I'm sharing.
Have fun,
~ Danial Goodwin ~
Is it possible to scrape Google's answers off their search results page, which they have scraped off of others?
I'm sure it is. I just don't just have time to look it up, so that's why I'm sharing.
Have fun,
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-11-21
Android Publishers Cannot Purchase Their Own Apps
This is not new news by a longshot. But, through the regular course of my day, I encountered this error again and decided to take a picture so that I can let others know about it too.
In order for developers to have the pro versions of their apps, they must side-load it. And, it is typically a debug (non-public release) build.
Well, I guess it at least saved me 30% of the app cost if I wanted to buy from myself.
NOTE: This only applies to when using Google's in-app billing system. I don't think third-parties care as much about who is giving them money.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
In order for developers to have the pro versions of their apps, they must side-load it. And, it is typically a debug (non-public release) build.
 |
| The publisher cannot purchase this item. |
Well, I guess it at least saved me 30% of the app cost if I wanted to buy from myself.
NOTE: This only applies to when using Google's in-app billing system. I don't think third-parties care as much about who is giving them money.
~ Danial Goodwin ~
2013-11-10
Danial Versus Email
Every month, I get a new activity report from Google. This report tells me all the things my Google account has been up to for the past month.
It's great to see how many sign-ins I've had, how many more sites/apps/services that I've connected to, and a lot more. I have a general idea of all the services I log on to with Google, and I use Google Account Activity (beta) as another security precaution also.
This post is mainly about all of the emails I have received and sent this past month (12 October 2013 to 08 November 2013). As my apps get more popular, I've been receiving many more emails daily. Though, I am grateful for all the feedback. It will only make the apps better.
Picture!
Yeah, that's 1,115 emails received and 233 emails sent for this four week period (28 days).
Doing a little math, that's about 39.8 emails received everyday and 8.3 emails sent per day.
I do my best to respond to emails within 24 hours, but sometimes they might get missed unfortunately. That's why in each of my email signatures, I include, "I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at vsre.info". Because, if somebody emails and wants/needs "very short reply expected", then more likely it is I will respond right away rather than waiting until I have more time to write a proper response.
This is just the beginning of my endeavor as an app developer; 100k downloads means there is definitely still room for growth.
--
(My email signature)
- Danial Goodwin -
Computer Engineer | Co-Founder, Lead Developer, UX Designer for Simply Advanced, LLC
It's great to see how many sign-ins I've had, how many more sites/apps/services that I've connected to, and a lot more. I have a general idea of all the services I log on to with Google, and I use Google Account Activity (beta) as another security precaution also.
This post is mainly about all of the emails I have received and sent this past month (12 October 2013 to 08 November 2013). As my apps get more popular, I've been receiving many more emails daily. Though, I am grateful for all the feedback. It will only make the apps better.
Picture!
 |
| Too many emails for somebody that likes inbox zero |
Doing a little math, that's about 39.8 emails received everyday and 8.3 emails sent per day.
I do my best to respond to emails within 24 hours, but sometimes they might get missed unfortunately. That's why in each of my email signatures, I include, "I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at vsre.info". Because, if somebody emails and wants/needs "very short reply expected", then more likely it is I will respond right away rather than waiting until I have more time to write a proper response.
This is just the beginning of my endeavor as an app developer; 100k downloads means there is definitely still room for growth.
--
(My email signature)
- Danial Goodwin -
Computer Engineer | Co-Founder, Lead Developer, UX Designer for Simply Advanced, LLC
2013-11-07
Short Search Engine User Analysis (Money In The Bank 3)
Summary: This post describes an interesting analysis of search engine users. I provide a quick insight into the types of users that use Bing search and Google search. (UPDATED: Added Yahoo search results and pictures! soon)
In my blog post yesterday, I had to use the auto-complete feature that search engines provide in order to quickly learn some new perspectives on how society thinks about a certain topic. Though, I figured out that the results weren't society as a whole, but the community of users that use that search engine.
A little background: Search engines want to show the best results to users. One part of how they try to do this is by analyzing the way users use the search engine. Basically, the more times users search for a phrase, the more likely it will appear at the top of the auto-complete suggestions (Yahoo calls this feature "Search assist"). Analyzing a single search engine has been done before, but I in this post I analyze the differences between different search engines.
This answers the question, what type of users use Google/Bing/Yahoo?
The practical uses of knowing the answer to this question mainly lies in ads, or marketing to be more exact. When one purchases Google ads and Bing ads, maybe they shouldn't be using the same copy or text or graphics. The user demographics may be different. This information also helps out the search engine when advertising their product to more users, or adding features for current users.
My search seed for the auto-completion suggestion search was "money in the bank is ".
From a Google search beginning with that phrase, I found:
- "Money in the bank is like toothpaste in the tube"
- "Money in the bank is safe"
- My blog post
- "Money in the bank is stupid"
- "How much money in the bank is insured"
- "Money in the bank is peace of mind"
All of these seem like reasonable perspectives, or at least understandable. When using Chrome's incognito mode, only the last "peace of mind" one shows up.
From a Bing search beginning with that phrase, "money in the bank is " (note the extra space after is), I found:
- "Money in the bank is it m1"
- "Money in the bank in the water"
- "Money in the bank in hot springs ar"
Then I noticed more results when I didn't put the extra space after "is". These results included the ones from above and more:
- "Money in the bank images"
- "Money in the bank injuries"
- "Money in the bank singer"
- "Money in the bank instrumental"
These are very interesting results. The very interesting thing about these results is that it shows what type of people use each search engine! So many things can be said about each search engines' users.
- Google users appear to be straightforward
- Bing users appear to be more influenced by media
- More...
I'm sure there are other excellent phrases to auto-complete-search for also and in a future blog post, I might write about it. So far I have searched:
- "dog " with no interesting distinguishing characteristics
- "cat " on the other hand allows Yahoo to stand about from the others
- "fire" and "fire " are both great. Microsoft stands out in this one, the first four auto-complete suggestions are four Firefox (browser).
- "safety ". Let's see, here's the first auto-complete suggestion for each search engine: Chrome - "safety not guaranteed", Bing - "safety topics", Yahoo - "safety 1st"
Disclaimer: For these quick searches, I used incognito mode in Google Chrome.
If you think of something I missed, then please share it in the comments!
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - If you would like to find out more information on how I came upon this topic, then there are two more posts I made before this one, in this "series". [this 1] [that 2]
pps - Pictures!
In my blog post yesterday, I had to use the auto-complete feature that search engines provide in order to quickly learn some new perspectives on how society thinks about a certain topic. Though, I figured out that the results weren't society as a whole, but the community of users that use that search engine.
A little background: Search engines want to show the best results to users. One part of how they try to do this is by analyzing the way users use the search engine. Basically, the more times users search for a phrase, the more likely it will appear at the top of the auto-complete suggestions (Yahoo calls this feature "Search assist"). Analyzing a single search engine has been done before, but I in this post I analyze the differences between different search engines.
This answers the question, what type of users use Google/Bing/Yahoo?
The practical uses of knowing the answer to this question mainly lies in ads, or marketing to be more exact. When one purchases Google ads and Bing ads, maybe they shouldn't be using the same copy or text or graphics. The user demographics may be different. This information also helps out the search engine when advertising their product to more users, or adding features for current users.
My search seed for the auto-completion suggestion search was "money in the bank is ".
From a Google search beginning with that phrase, I found:
- "Money in the bank is like toothpaste in the tube"
- "Money in the bank is safe"
- My blog post
- "Money in the bank is stupid"
- "How much money in the bank is insured"
- "Money in the bank is peace of mind"
All of these seem like reasonable perspectives, or at least understandable. When using Chrome's incognito mode, only the last "peace of mind" one shows up.
From a Bing search beginning with that phrase, "money in the bank is " (note the extra space after is), I found:
- "Money in the bank is it m1"
- "Money in the bank in the water"
- "Money in the bank in hot springs ar"
Then I noticed more results when I didn't put the extra space after "is". These results included the ones from above and more:
- "Money in the bank images"
- "Money in the bank injuries"
- "Money in the bank singer"
- "Money in the bank instrumental"
These are very interesting results. The very interesting thing about these results is that it shows what type of people use each search engine! So many things can be said about each search engines' users.
- Google users appear to be straightforward
- Bing users appear to be more influenced by media
- More...
I'm sure there are other excellent phrases to auto-complete-search for also and in a future blog post, I might write about it. So far I have searched:
- "dog " with no interesting distinguishing characteristics
- "cat " on the other hand allows Yahoo to stand about from the others
- "fire" and "fire " are both great. Microsoft stands out in this one, the first four auto-complete suggestions are four Firefox (browser).
- "safety ". Let's see, here's the first auto-complete suggestion for each search engine: Chrome - "safety not guaranteed", Bing - "safety topics", Yahoo - "safety 1st"
Disclaimer: For these quick searches, I used incognito mode in Google Chrome.
If you think of something I missed, then please share it in the comments!
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - If you would like to find out more information on how I came upon this topic, then there are two more posts I made before this one, in this "series". [this 1] [that 2]
pps - Pictures!
2013-11-06
Money In The Bank 2
So, awhile back I wrote a post titled, "Money In The Bank Is Freedom On My Back". I just thought of a small extension to it, so sharing away!!
Last time, in an uncharacteristic fashion, I wrote from a single biased perspective. So, I want to make it up this time by better covering multiple perspectives about "money in the bank".
To begin my basic research, this time I opted for the auto-complete feature of search engines.
From a Google search beginning with that phrase, I found:
- "Money in the bank is like toothpaste in the tube"
- "Money in the bank is safe"
- My blog post
- "Money in the bank is stupid"
- "How much money in the bank is insured"
- "Money in the bank is peace of mind"
All of these seem like reasonable perspectives, or at least understandable. When using Chrome's incognito mode, only the last "peace of mind" one shows up.
From a Bing search beginning with that phrase, "money in the bank is " (note the extra space after is), I found:
- "Money in the bank is it m1"
- "Money in the bank in the water"
- "Money in the bank in hot springs ar"
Then I noticed more results when I didn't put the extra space after "is". These results included the ones from above and more:
- "Money in the bank images"
- "Money in the bank injuries"
- "Money in the bank singer"
- "Money in the bank instrumental"
This blog post was suppose to be about me extending my previous money blog post. But, these are very interesting results. I probably should write another post just on the results (I did right here: Money In The Bank 3). The very interesting thing about these results is that it shows what type of people use each search engine! So many things can be said about each search engines' users. Here's just one of the ideas before I link to my full write-up on these results. Google users appear to be straightforward. Bing users appear to be more influenced by media (click here to read more search engine user analysis).
Anyways, getting back on to the original topic. It appears that 2 auto-complete answers are okay with money in the bank, and the other 2 societal answers are against money in banks, oh, and one isn't sure yet. Also, I have a few more perspectives of my own. I'll summarize all the the different thoughts below, in a tree:
"Money in the bank" is..:
When I started this post, I did not know there were going to be this many different thoughts about it. And, these are all big picture still. If anybody else things of more, then I will gladly edit this "chart" to reflect that, and include the idea-er's name.
The real reason I started writing this post was to talk about what's the difference between greed and ambition?
Oh no, time's up for this post. ;)
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - Maybe it's perspective on life. That may or may not be all of it.
pps - Always time for postscripts. ;) ;)
Last time, in an uncharacteristic fashion, I wrote from a single biased perspective. So, I want to make it up this time by better covering multiple perspectives about "money in the bank".
To begin my basic research, this time I opted for the auto-complete feature of search engines.
From a Google search beginning with that phrase, I found:
- "Money in the bank is like toothpaste in the tube"
- "Money in the bank is safe"
- My blog post
- "Money in the bank is stupid"
- "How much money in the bank is insured"
- "Money in the bank is peace of mind"
All of these seem like reasonable perspectives, or at least understandable. When using Chrome's incognito mode, only the last "peace of mind" one shows up.
From a Bing search beginning with that phrase, "money in the bank is " (note the extra space after is), I found:
- "Money in the bank is it m1"
- "Money in the bank in the water"
- "Money in the bank in hot springs ar"
Then I noticed more results when I didn't put the extra space after "is". These results included the ones from above and more:
- "Money in the bank images"
- "Money in the bank injuries"
- "Money in the bank singer"
- "Money in the bank instrumental"
This blog post was suppose to be about me extending my previous money blog post. But, these are very interesting results. I probably should write another post just on the results (I did right here: Money In The Bank 3). The very interesting thing about these results is that it shows what type of people use each search engine! So many things can be said about each search engines' users. Here's just one of the ideas before I link to my full write-up on these results. Google users appear to be straightforward. Bing users appear to be more influenced by media (click here to read more search engine user analysis).
Anyways, getting back on to the original topic. It appears that 2 auto-complete answers are okay with money in the bank, and the other 2 societal answers are against money in banks, oh, and one isn't sure yet. Also, I have a few more perspectives of my own. I'll summarize all the the different thoughts below, in a tree:
"Money in the bank" is..:
- Good
- Money is safe
- At least it grows more than money under the bed.
- Freedom to be yourself, not have to work in disliked job. Freedom to travel.
- Available anywhere
- Bad
- Banks are evil
- Can't/refuse to think ahead (...then typically spend right away)
- There are better ways to use money
- Make experiences / help others
- Make more money (...then do the above)
- Greed
- Ambition
- Neutral
- Just don't know
- Don't have money
- "no interest rate" (Technically, getting more money ~0.1%-1% interest, but technically losing money because of ~3% inflation)
When I started this post, I did not know there were going to be this many different thoughts about it. And, these are all big picture still. If anybody else things of more, then I will gladly edit this "chart" to reflect that, and include the idea-er's name.
The real reason I started writing this post was to talk about what's the difference between greed and ambition?
Oh no, time's up for this post. ;)
~ Simply Advanced ~
ps - Maybe it's perspective on life. That may or may not be all of it.
pps - Always time for postscripts. ;) ;)
2013-11-02
Idea: Google and Apple Purposely Produce Less Devices Than Market Demand
The sudden thought occurred to me, though perhaps not new, there's a strong possibility that large companies like Google and Apple and Microsoft purposely supply less than demand. It seems like just about every time a device is produced, it sells out.
I know producing millions of phones is a lot of work, but for the purposes of this post, I'm going to consider that these large companies choose to throttle output.
Determining market demand is not an exact science, but it can be determined to a degree of significance how much demand there is, even just looking at past trends. So, if companies can't determine exact demand, then they will either produce more or less needed (:idea:). If they produce more, then the extras could be sold eventually. If they produce less, then they sell less (at least in the beginning).
Now for more specifics for meeting demand.
If companies produce supply to meet demand, then they do have the opportunity of making more money in the short run, but the long term revenue differences would be insignificant. Another benefit of satisfying demand might be that more consumers have the brand's device in their hands.
On the other hand, there are many benefits to under supplying demand. A list might be easier here:
1. More publicity. Journalists don't know exactly how many devices are produced/shipped, all they know is when something is out of stock.
2. Inflate prices/value. Google sells the Nexus 5 for $349-399, but you can find some pre-orders selling for $600-650. Also, more publicity.
3. The large companies don't have to worry as much about their devices flopping. Aka, mitigating risks.
4. More publicity. This time the reason is for when the large tech companies ship their second and third rounds of devices.
5. Chance to fix some [software] bugs before "everybody" gets the device.
6. Also, minimize costs of a recall... just in case.
Any more thoughts that I missed?
~ Simply Advanced ~
I know producing millions of phones is a lot of work, but for the purposes of this post, I'm going to consider that these large companies choose to throttle output.
Determining market demand is not an exact science, but it can be determined to a degree of significance how much demand there is, even just looking at past trends. So, if companies can't determine exact demand, then they will either produce more or less needed (:idea:). If they produce more, then the extras could be sold eventually. If they produce less, then they sell less (at least in the beginning).
Now for more specifics for meeting demand.
If companies produce supply to meet demand, then they do have the opportunity of making more money in the short run, but the long term revenue differences would be insignificant. Another benefit of satisfying demand might be that more consumers have the brand's device in their hands.
On the other hand, there are many benefits to under supplying demand. A list might be easier here:
1. More publicity. Journalists don't know exactly how many devices are produced/shipped, all they know is when something is out of stock.
2. Inflate prices/value. Google sells the Nexus 5 for $349-399, but you can find some pre-orders selling for $600-650. Also, more publicity.
3. The large companies don't have to worry as much about their devices flopping. Aka, mitigating risks.
4. More publicity. This time the reason is for when the large tech companies ship their second and third rounds of devices.
5. Chance to fix some [software] bugs before "everybody" gets the device.
6. Also, minimize costs of a recall... just in case.
Any more thoughts that I missed?
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-09-23
How To Get Started With SEO
(This post is for people who don't know anything about SEO - Search Engine Optimization - but are willing to learn. Warning: there are a few pro tips scattered in here.)
Here, I will talk a little about (1) the history of SEO, (2) how search engines work, (3) bad examples of SEO, (4) good examples of SEO, and (5) general tips on how to get better rankings for your website. This is by no means comprehensive. But, the information included here is something that every web developer (and app developer) should know. And, specifically, I focus mainly on Google Search, but just about every major search engine generally works the same. In an advanced SEO post I would talk about how different types of links are worth a different amount of "points" to the different search engines.
Quick History of SEO
I will make this long story very short, though a full story reading is very interesting. Basically: Internet, then search engines, those search engines became complacent, Google is created, Google is so much better that engineers at other search engines use Google, then everybody uses Google. Now, brashly, if you don't exist on Google, then you don't exist at all.
Google Search got popular with their unique method of ranking websites, known as PageRank. It is known for counting the number and quality of links to the website (aka backlinks). The idea was that the more links that pointed to a website, the more important that website was. But, that isn't entirely true now, which I'll explain more in the good and bad examples of SEO sections.
Nowadays, most "SEO engineers" focus only on Google Search, but I do know a few people that focus on Bing Search and Not-Google-Search. Which type of service you actually need depends on where your target market/niche is. Though, keep in mind that pretty much all the good and bad examples of SEO will affect all the search engines.
Very Quick Overview How Search Engines Work
Each search engine "crawls" the Internet using "robots" (aka spiders, aka crawlers). Basically, it is a program that clicks/visits on all links on a page and once on the next page, the "crawler" will repeat itself by clicking/visiting on all the links and so on until it can't do it anymore.
If your website doesn't appear on Google Search, then it is possible that none of its "crawlers" have reached your site yet and notified Google that your site exists. There's multiple ways to remedy that, but the quickest is to just submit your sitemap to Google.
Bad Examples of SEO
I include the bad examples first because they are MUCH more important to avoid, compared to following the good examples. In order words, the good examples are useless if you do any of the following bad examples of SEO.
1. The biggest thing that will hurt your site's ranking is paid links. NEVER purchase or trade for backlinks. (Explanation: Only good quality or natural/organic backlinks are beneficial to your website. Links from low-quality websites will hurt you rankings. These backlinks you could purchase are also pointing to spam/blackhat websites of which you do not want to be associated with. Also, a paid link website may look like it has good quality, but from a search engine perspective it will just most likely be duplicate content.) (Pro Tip (advanced/motivated readers only): There are acceptable/whitehat paid backlinks, but they require the rel="nofollow" attribute. These do not contribute to rankings.)
2. Misinformation. If you say that you have one thing, but deliver another. Your site will be considered spam and have a high bounce-rate. Search engines can detect this and demote (take "points" from) your site. This is related to paid clicks which some blackhat SEOs may mention. Don't pay for clicks! (Explanation: Technically, when your website shows up in search results, the more people that click on your page (and stay here! and don't hit the back button), the more "points" you will get that can raise your rankings.) (Pro Tip: Don't try to game the results, Google keeps track of all the IPs that click on links and with all their data, they can easily link spam clicks and self-clicks and discount those and possibly take "points" away if it happens too many time.)
3. Keyword spam (and other "over optimization" techniques). In order to show up in search engine results for certain terms/keywords, you will have to include those keywords in your website. Some people will take this to the extreme and have large sections of a site dedicated for only a list of keywords and keyword phrases. Google penalized sites for this. (Explanation: Too many people have been trying to game the search results, and gamed sites overall do not benefit the users) (Tip: Try to have a natural keyword density in your copy. I.e., when you read the copy (read: words) on your page, then it shouldn't sound weird.)
Summary: If you are unsure whether a particular method is blackhat (a bad example), then be on the safe side and don't do it at all until you know for sure. And, if a "SEO engineer" promises things that seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Good Examples of SEO
Now that you don't have any bad examples in your website, you can focus on getting that positive ranking.
The biggest benefit you can have for adding positive ranking to your website is to have the mentality of "do what's best for your customer". I.e., What would your customer want to find on your website?
1. Make it easy to find the information they are looking for.
2. Good design (doesn't have to be great)
3. Fast load times.
(There are technical reasons to do each of these, but this is just an introduction to SEO. Let me just say that Google also wants what's best for the users/searchers.)
The next major optimization question to ask yourself when developing the site is: Why should Google put you at the top of the search results for your targeted keywords?
1. Users would want to click on your link.
2. Users wouldn't have to continue searching after finding yours. (If, after a Google search, your website is where the user ends up staying, then kudo "points" to you. Google will keep this in mind and possibly show your results higher next time.)
3. Users would want to +1 it, theoretically speaking. (This is the just meant to put you in the right mindset.)
(By being able to think like a search engine, you will go far.)
Summary: Have these two questions in your mind at all times and you can't go wrong. (1) What would your customer want to see? (2) Why should Google rank you number one? Also, everything revolves around the user (the person searching for your website). The best tip I can give is, do what's best for your users, all else will follow.
Tips For How To Get Better Rankings For Your Website
(Contact me if you would like to know more information about how to get better smartphone app rankings. There are a few similarities, but you are much more limited in the third-party Android's Google Play or iOS's App Store.)
This is basically the additional resources for SEO section.
1. ANALYTICS! It does not matter which service you choose, especially if you currently don't have one and are just starting out. Try them out. Everybody's going to have their own favorites, find yours. Some examples: Google Analytics for basic analytics, Crazy Egg for heat maps, open source web analytics, or your web hosting service may provide their own analytics, or more.
2. View your website in a text browser (read: look at the source code). This is basically what search engines will see. If you have keywords in your website images or PDFs, then search engines will not be able to see that text.
3. Pro Tip: Meta tags/metadata is not directly important to ranking; it does not influence ranking in search results anymore. BUT, the meta tags in your header do directly affect what your users see in the search results and the metadata may be the make or break point determining if they click on your site or not.
4. Pro Tip: Use Google Adwords Keyword Planner (formerly known as Keyword Tool) not for creating ads, but for knowing which keywords and keyphrases to target in your website.
5. SEO takes time to get into effect. I.e., don't expect instant results. Also, the earlier you start, the better.
6. Keep in mind that not all search results are equal. Google creates and shows customized results to each person. For some people you may rank 8, and for others you might rank 12.
Summary: The information in this post is only step one in search engine optimization. But, I will admit it is a big step for beginners. Focusing on these steps will get you at least 70-90% of the way there to the top. This is also the least technical part of SEO. More advanced SEO requires analytics to be done first.
For each part written in this post, I could write an equally long post explaining it further and offering more suggestions/ideas. At least now, you are more prepared for the world of SEO.
If this simple and direct style of explanation gets popular enough, then I will write more. Please leave a comment if you like it, don't like it, think it's too detailed, or doesn't have enough specific details. Thanks for reading, there is actually a lot more in here than I initially planned on writing. =]
- Danial Goodwin -
Co-founder and Lead Developer for Simply Advanced, LLC
Note: My experience comes from years of staying up-to-date with Google Webmaster services, personal and third-party A-B testing, and as a computer engineer I know how the different programs/algorithms work and what they are capable of. I first became interested in SEO when I created my first website from scratch in grade school.
Here, I will talk a little about (1) the history of SEO, (2) how search engines work, (3) bad examples of SEO, (4) good examples of SEO, and (5) general tips on how to get better rankings for your website. This is by no means comprehensive. But, the information included here is something that every web developer (and app developer) should know. And, specifically, I focus mainly on Google Search, but just about every major search engine generally works the same. In an advanced SEO post I would talk about how different types of links are worth a different amount of "points" to the different search engines.
Quick History of SEO
I will make this long story very short, though a full story reading is very interesting. Basically: Internet, then search engines, those search engines became complacent, Google is created, Google is so much better that engineers at other search engines use Google, then everybody uses Google. Now, brashly, if you don't exist on Google, then you don't exist at all.
Google Search got popular with their unique method of ranking websites, known as PageRank. It is known for counting the number and quality of links to the website (aka backlinks). The idea was that the more links that pointed to a website, the more important that website was. But, that isn't entirely true now, which I'll explain more in the good and bad examples of SEO sections.
Nowadays, most "SEO engineers" focus only on Google Search, but I do know a few people that focus on Bing Search and Not-Google-Search. Which type of service you actually need depends on where your target market/niche is. Though, keep in mind that pretty much all the good and bad examples of SEO will affect all the search engines.
Very Quick Overview How Search Engines Work
Each search engine "crawls" the Internet using "robots" (aka spiders, aka crawlers). Basically, it is a program that clicks/visits on all links on a page and once on the next page, the "crawler" will repeat itself by clicking/visiting on all the links and so on until it can't do it anymore.
If your website doesn't appear on Google Search, then it is possible that none of its "crawlers" have reached your site yet and notified Google that your site exists. There's multiple ways to remedy that, but the quickest is to just submit your sitemap to Google.
Bad Examples of SEO
I include the bad examples first because they are MUCH more important to avoid, compared to following the good examples. In order words, the good examples are useless if you do any of the following bad examples of SEO.
1. The biggest thing that will hurt your site's ranking is paid links. NEVER purchase or trade for backlinks. (Explanation: Only good quality or natural/organic backlinks are beneficial to your website. Links from low-quality websites will hurt you rankings. These backlinks you could purchase are also pointing to spam/blackhat websites of which you do not want to be associated with. Also, a paid link website may look like it has good quality, but from a search engine perspective it will just most likely be duplicate content.) (Pro Tip (advanced/motivated readers only): There are acceptable/whitehat paid backlinks, but they require the rel="nofollow" attribute. These do not contribute to rankings.)
2. Misinformation. If you say that you have one thing, but deliver another. Your site will be considered spam and have a high bounce-rate. Search engines can detect this and demote (take "points" from) your site. This is related to paid clicks which some blackhat SEOs may mention. Don't pay for clicks! (Explanation: Technically, when your website shows up in search results, the more people that click on your page (and stay here! and don't hit the back button), the more "points" you will get that can raise your rankings.) (Pro Tip: Don't try to game the results, Google keeps track of all the IPs that click on links and with all their data, they can easily link spam clicks and self-clicks and discount those and possibly take "points" away if it happens too many time.)
3. Keyword spam (and other "over optimization" techniques). In order to show up in search engine results for certain terms/keywords, you will have to include those keywords in your website. Some people will take this to the extreme and have large sections of a site dedicated for only a list of keywords and keyword phrases. Google penalized sites for this. (Explanation: Too many people have been trying to game the search results, and gamed sites overall do not benefit the users) (Tip: Try to have a natural keyword density in your copy. I.e., when you read the copy (read: words) on your page, then it shouldn't sound weird.)
Summary: If you are unsure whether a particular method is blackhat (a bad example), then be on the safe side and don't do it at all until you know for sure. And, if a "SEO engineer" promises things that seem too good to be true, then it probably is.
Good Examples of SEO
Now that you don't have any bad examples in your website, you can focus on getting that positive ranking.
The biggest benefit you can have for adding positive ranking to your website is to have the mentality of "do what's best for your customer". I.e., What would your customer want to find on your website?
1. Make it easy to find the information they are looking for.
2. Good design (doesn't have to be great)
3. Fast load times.
(There are technical reasons to do each of these, but this is just an introduction to SEO. Let me just say that Google also wants what's best for the users/searchers.)
The next major optimization question to ask yourself when developing the site is: Why should Google put you at the top of the search results for your targeted keywords?
1. Users would want to click on your link.
2. Users wouldn't have to continue searching after finding yours. (If, after a Google search, your website is where the user ends up staying, then kudo "points" to you. Google will keep this in mind and possibly show your results higher next time.)
3. Users would want to +1 it, theoretically speaking. (This is the just meant to put you in the right mindset.)
(By being able to think like a search engine, you will go far.)
Summary: Have these two questions in your mind at all times and you can't go wrong. (1) What would your customer want to see? (2) Why should Google rank you number one? Also, everything revolves around the user (the person searching for your website). The best tip I can give is, do what's best for your users, all else will follow.
Tips For How To Get Better Rankings For Your Website
(Contact me if you would like to know more information about how to get better smartphone app rankings. There are a few similarities, but you are much more limited in the third-party Android's Google Play or iOS's App Store.)
This is basically the additional resources for SEO section.
1. ANALYTICS! It does not matter which service you choose, especially if you currently don't have one and are just starting out. Try them out. Everybody's going to have their own favorites, find yours. Some examples: Google Analytics for basic analytics, Crazy Egg for heat maps, open source web analytics, or your web hosting service may provide their own analytics, or more.
2. View your website in a text browser (read: look at the source code). This is basically what search engines will see. If you have keywords in your website images or PDFs, then search engines will not be able to see that text.
3. Pro Tip: Meta tags/metadata is not directly important to ranking; it does not influence ranking in search results anymore. BUT, the meta tags in your header do directly affect what your users see in the search results and the metadata may be the make or break point determining if they click on your site or not.
4. Pro Tip: Use Google Adwords Keyword Planner (formerly known as Keyword Tool) not for creating ads, but for knowing which keywords and keyphrases to target in your website.
5. SEO takes time to get into effect. I.e., don't expect instant results. Also, the earlier you start, the better.
6. Keep in mind that not all search results are equal. Google creates and shows customized results to each person. For some people you may rank 8, and for others you might rank 12.
Summary: The information in this post is only step one in search engine optimization. But, I will admit it is a big step for beginners. Focusing on these steps will get you at least 70-90% of the way there to the top. This is also the least technical part of SEO. More advanced SEO requires analytics to be done first.
For each part written in this post, I could write an equally long post explaining it further and offering more suggestions/ideas. At least now, you are more prepared for the world of SEO.
If this simple and direct style of explanation gets popular enough, then I will write more. Please leave a comment if you like it, don't like it, think it's too detailed, or doesn't have enough specific details. Thanks for reading, there is actually a lot more in here than I initially planned on writing. =]
- Danial Goodwin -
Co-founder and Lead Developer for Simply Advanced, LLC
Note: My experience comes from years of staying up-to-date with Google Webmaster services, personal and third-party A-B testing, and as a computer engineer I know how the different programs/algorithms work and what they are capable of. I first became interested in SEO when I created my first website from scratch in grade school.
2013-05-18
Google Play Developer Console: How To Upload Required Graphics (Icons and Screenshots)
I've been asked many times, "what size logos do I need to upload to Google Play's Developer Console?" and "how many screenshots do I need to take?" So, here's a post that I point people to that explains everything you need to know about uploading graphics to the developer console in order to have an app published.
A very important point to remember: These images that are uploaded are one of the main factors potential users use to determine if they want to download it or not. They may not even read the description if you have an ugly app logo. Invest wisely in a great logo (either time or money). Google Play also allows each app to have one YouTube video associated with it and appear in the description. This is a highly effective way of showing that your potential users want to use your app.
The first part of this post will give a walkthrough on how to upload the required graphics to the developer console and the second part will have more resources for designers.
1. Walkthrough
2. Resources - Things change, so here's a link to the official Google Play Design Guide that all developers, designers, and Android app publishers should read.
3. Bonus: Google Play Protips
4. Summary: Graphic and Image Assets
~ Simply Advanced ~
A very important point to remember: These images that are uploaded are one of the main factors potential users use to determine if they want to download it or not. They may not even read the description if you have an ugly app logo. Invest wisely in a great logo (either time or money). Google Play also allows each app to have one YouTube video associated with it and appear in the description. This is a highly effective way of showing that your potential users want to use your app.
The first part of this post will give a walkthrough on how to upload the required graphics to the developer console and the second part will have more resources for designers.
1. Walkthrough
- Go to https://play.google.com/apps/publish/ and select the app that you want to add the graphic assets to. You may either have to click "All Applications" in the top left or "Publish an Android App on Google Play" if this is the first app you are creating (create a title and click "prepare store listing").
- You should now be in the "Store Listing" section for your app of choice. Scroll down until you see "Graphic Assets." The screenshots section should be the first graphic assets to add.
- Now, you can either drag the screenshots onto the "Add Screenshot" box or click the box and browse to where the image is located. A minimum of two screenshots are required before the app can be uploaded to Google Play.
- Scroll down a little more until you see "High-res icon". This is the final required graphic asset that must be added before publishing. It should be 512x512px. See 4. Summary below to see more details.
2. Resources - Things change, so here's a link to the official Google Play Design Guide that all developers, designers, and Android app publishers should read.
- Android Icon Design Guidelines. Here's some tips for designers to work more easily with developers. Designers, please follow these guidelines when creating assets for Android. It will just make things so much easier for developers. The biggest thing is to not have any spaces or capital letters in the file name.
- All About Launcher Icons. Launcher icons are the icons that users see when they install the app; It is what they must click on to open the app. You don't want your icon to be so bland that the user can't easily distinguish it from the many other apps they have already downloaded.
3. Bonus: Google Play Protips
- Google Play allows you to create localized versions of your graphics. Think about translating any descriptions and titles on your graphics to the other languages you support.
- And always, do market research (or due diligence) to make sure that you aren't trying to upload the same style icon/logo as another app. Your app will seem like the spammy one. You want to have a distinguished style to set yourself apart from others (but not too different). Check out the Android Iconography.
4. Summary: Graphic and Image Assets
- Screenshots (Two Required)
- Allowed up to 8 screenshots for each different device (phone, 7" tablet, 10" tablet)
- High Resolution Icon (Required)
- 512x512, 32-bit PNG w/alpha. This is the icon that is shown to users in Google Play
- Feature Graphic (Optional, but recommended)
- 1024x500, 24-bit PNG no alpha
- Video (Optional link to a YouTube video, recommended)
- For more information: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/1078870?hl=en
~ Simply Advanced ~
How To Get Started With Publishing Apps On Google Play
First of all, if you have never created a Google Play publisher account, then see: http://developer.android.com/distribute/googleplay/publish/register.html
That link above will walk you through the steps necessary to be able to upload apps on Google Play and start making money from them.
When creating a new account you will have to go through a few easy steps and pay $25 to setup the account. Then you should appear at a screen that looks like the following:
The options are self-explanatory. But, the first thing that you would probably want to do is set up a merchant account in the bottom-right. This is how you will be able to accept in-app purchases and create paid apps. The second step for you probably (if you aren't a developer) is to invite co-workers to the developer console in the bottom-left. This will allow you to invite by email your developer to upload the Android APK (app packages that users download and install on their device). You can also invite your graphics designer so that they may upload all of the required logos and screenshots. And either yourself or a copywriter can fill in the app description and promo description.
I will eventually create more posts that explain exactly how to perform each of the roles for the developer, designer, and copywriter. I know how to do each of these because of the many Android apps that I've successfully published. If you are also doing each aspect of the app publishing, then I highly recommend reading http://developer.android.com/design. There is a lot of highly useful information there. But, don't limit yourself to just that one great resource. It takes a lot of knowledge to have a highly successful app.
Source: http://blog.simplyadvanced.net/how-to-get-started-with-publishing-apps-on-google-play/
~ Simply Advanced ~
That link above will walk you through the steps necessary to be able to upload apps on Google Play and start making money from them.
When creating a new account you will have to go through a few easy steps and pay $25 to setup the account. Then you should appear at a screen that looks like the following:
 |
| Google Play Developer Console Home Screen |
I will eventually create more posts that explain exactly how to perform each of the roles for the developer, designer, and copywriter. I know how to do each of these because of the many Android apps that I've successfully published. If you are also doing each aspect of the app publishing, then I highly recommend reading http://developer.android.com/design. There is a lot of highly useful information there. But, don't limit yourself to just that one great resource. It takes a lot of knowledge to have a highly successful app.
Source: http://blog.simplyadvanced.net/how-to-get-started-with-publishing-apps-on-google-play/
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-05-16
The Future of Android and Chrome
I wrote a new post in my developers blog (Danial Goodwin), but it may also be useful for readers here because it doesn't really have to deal with code or IDEs.
The first part of the post talks about Google IO's keynote and has the prediction: "By this time next year, Google will announce that Android OS will be fully integrated into Chrome. Just like Google Glass extends Android experience on the phone. Chrome on computers will be able to extend the Android experience."
In the second part, I drone on in one large paragraph about "content creation as just a phase in our human social lives". Also, I mention content absorption, being a data-centric world, and eventually having nothing else to learn.
Read the full article: http://blog.simplyadvanced.net/the-future-of-chrome-and-android/
~ Simply Advanced ~
The first part of the post talks about Google IO's keynote and has the prediction: "By this time next year, Google will announce that Android OS will be fully integrated into Chrome. Just like Google Glass extends Android experience on the phone. Chrome on computers will be able to extend the Android experience."
In the second part, I drone on in one large paragraph about "content creation as just a phase in our human social lives". Also, I mention content absorption, being a data-centric world, and eventually having nothing else to learn.
Read the full article: http://blog.simplyadvanced.net/the-future-of-chrome-and-android/
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-02-26
Mind Blown: Of(t)en
The T in "often" is not pronounced!
I first learned this in a public speaking book. Then, I checked Google. Then, I checked The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (paperback style, 2004) which also says the word "often" is pronounced "o-fen".
And just now, I used TheFreeDictionary.com to hear the word pronounced in an American and British accent.
Mind Blown!
~ Simply Advanced ~
I first learned this in a public speaking book. Then, I checked Google. Then, I checked The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (paperback style, 2004) which also says the word "often" is pronounced "o-fen".
And just now, I used TheFreeDictionary.com to hear the word pronounced in an American and British accent.
Mind Blown!
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-26
Simply Advanced Unit Converter - 50000 Downloads!
It may not sound like much, but this one app has more downloads than all my other apps combined. Unit converters is a big market and this app has at least two features that don't appear in other unit converters.
This is easily my choice and many others' top choice for unit converters.
Testimonials:
Thank you everybody for supporting the app by giving it five stars!
Link: The best android unit converter in Google Play.
~ Simply Advanced ~
This is easily my choice and many others' top choice for unit converters.
Testimonials:
- "Simply the best And I tried all of them"
- "Does the job, quickly and cleanly Simple and straight forward interface makes quick conversions a breeze. Enter in your measurement, and all the related units are converted and updated instantly."
- "Simple but the best No more complications just a simple complete unit converter."
- "Great Improvement Looks and works great. Love the new logo. Keep it up!"
- "Look no further Wouldn't even consider any other unit converter after this one."
- "Powerful & straightforward Just what I needed for metric & temp conversions!"
Thank you everybody for supporting the app by giving it five stars!
Link: The best android unit converter in Google Play.
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-22
LTE Discovery Update Version 2.0
Huge update to LTE Discovery! We could have called it version 1.34, but these drastic changes made us call this version 2.0. We are not calling this beta anymore!
Recent Updates in version 2.0. 1. Now distinguishes Phantom LTE signals from usable LTE2. Added BSID, SID, NID, date, and time information to GPS list3. The present network is displayed whenever app is open4. Optimized background tasks. (App works in background)5. GPS Coordinates list vastly improved, better formatting6. Ability to store more GPS coordinates of detected LTE signals7. Ability to clear GPS list8. Added a help page9. Change to Dark Holo theme10. Other UX and UI and performance improvements11. Many other bug fixes. All known bugs fixed.
Only available on Google Play for Android users.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.simplyadvanced.ltediscovery
~ Simply Advanced ~
2013-01-08
New Years Resolution of 2013
This is the first year that I'm going to create a blog post about my New Years Resolution.
LTE Discovery was my main innovative app of 2012. If you search Google for "LTE Discovery", then it should be the first link that pops up. After three weeks of being on Google Play, LTE Discovery is still a one-of-a-kind app. =]
~ Simply Advanced ~
UPDATE: Added hand stands as goal.
- My main goal for this year is to create at least one truly innovative mobile application.
- Also for this year would be to develop at least two half-innovative apps.
- This year will be the one where I do more hand stands and possibly a vertical push-up!
LTE Discovery was my main innovative app of 2012. If you search Google for "LTE Discovery", then it should be the first link that pops up. After three weeks of being on Google Play, LTE Discovery is still a one-of-a-kind app. =]
~ Simply Advanced ~
UPDATE: Added hand stands as goal.
2012-12-20
Coding All Day and All Night
I need to make an app that will sleep for me so that I don't have to. I'd rather be coding all day. There are so many exciting things to build that haven't been built yet. =]
Tomorrow, I'll be releasing LTE Discovery for Android. It automates everything you need to do to detect new LTE towers around you. The app will cycle airplane mode on and off every thirty seconds, for the first version. Then, each time LTE is detected, your current GPS coordinates will be saved for easy reference.
I have many exciting plans for future releases if the community likes this one. ;]
~ Simply Advanced ~
~ Simply Advanced ~
2012-11-06
How to Disable VLC Plugin in Google Chrome
VLC is the best media player in the market that plays just about any type of media file. But, one big flaw is its browser plugin. When it is running, there are no extra options to do anything with the media file.
Sometime I just rather download the file instead of watching it online. Then, that way I may speed up the video to 2x speed and watch it more efficiently. (It takes a bit of training in order to understand videos at 2x, I'd recommend starting off at 1.4x speed)
So, to disable VLC's plugin for Google Chrome
You are done. There are no options in the desktop part of VLC to disable the web plugin. But now, you know how.
Google Chrome will now try to use another media plugin you have, or it will try to download the file.
Share the knowledge,
~ Simply Advanced ~
Sometime I just rather download the file instead of watching it online. Then, that way I may speed up the video to 2x speed and watch it more efficiently. (It takes a bit of training in order to understand videos at 2x, I'd recommend starting off at 1.4x speed)
So, to disable VLC's plugin for Google Chrome
- type "chrome://plugins/" into the address bar (or omni bar) located at the top of Google Chrome.
- Search and find "VLC Web Plugin."
- Click on the "Disable" link.
You are done. There are no options in the desktop part of VLC to disable the web plugin. But now, you know how.
Google Chrome will now try to use another media plugin you have, or it will try to download the file.
Share the knowledge,
~ Simply Advanced ~
2012-09-15
Bookmark Motivation
Google Dashboard tells me I have 2630 bookmarks synced with Google. I am very surprised that I have this many webpages saved. The amount of folders I use makes it seem like I have maybe only a thousand bookmarks.
The main reason for this post: Looking through my huge list of bookmarks inspires/motivates me to do actual work. Bookmarks are a todo list for me. Eventually, I will know all the knowledge contained in them.
~ Simply Advanced ~
The main reason for this post: Looking through my huge list of bookmarks inspires/motivates me to do actual work. Bookmarks are a todo list for me. Eventually, I will know all the knowledge contained in them.
~ Simply Advanced ~
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