Why Does It Matter Now?

Recently on digg.com there have been a couple of links sprouting up about how to block Google Analytics from tracking you if you visit a site that is utilizing this tool. Honestly, I don’t get it. Maybe I’m naive, but online marketing/advertising firms have been doing this for years, with similar technologies, with much more precise data (e.g. click tracking). So, I don’t get why all the sudden there is this uproar over all of this information.

Help me out here, why the freak over Google getting in on it. I know people dislike the fact that Google archives all of this, but how is this going to directly affect you? It probably won’t. I have yet to read of a case where Google’s archived data has caused adverse effects to a person. I’m not talking cached pages in their search either. I’m talking search queries, Gmail, etc… To me this seems like a complete overreaction. I mean, do you need to take steps like this just so Google can’t track you?

Maybe you do, but realize that a lot of top companies utilize similar technologies all the time to increase their revenue and increase conversions. So, to me, this looks like a case to stop it just because Google is doing it. For me, that’s not good enough. If you really mean it, stop all of it, don’t be picky and pick on just Google.

Podcasting

I’m sure many of you have heard about podcasting and know what it is. If you have not, check this out. In short, it is like radio but in digital format which you can take with you. Now, I never really thought too much about podcasting. To me, it was just another one of those hot buzz words that people on the web were using. I mean, you know something is a buzz word when it makes it to CNN. What I’ve never understood is why people make their podcasts. I know it’s hard enough to get noticed on the web, but what makes podcasting any different? Is there a difference? Continue reading “Podcasting”

How Del.icio.us you are…

I’ve caught the bug. I started using del.icio.us this week. I’ve got to say that it’s addicting. Not quite as addicting as flickr, but I don’t know what is. I mean, really.

For the longest time I never got involved with del.icio.us because it was too tedious for me to put links into it. I didn’t want to go to their interface to enter in links, I wanted something more. Well, this past week I found it. It is an extension for Firefox that posts links right to del.icio.us. Using this extension it is so painless to add links that actually adding links is excitingly addicting.

I haven’t decided how exactly I want to use it, but I know that I will be using it a lot more than I have in the past. So, if you’re curious on what I links I like,be sure to check out my del.icio.us links. I’m sure I’ll have some integration with them on this site somewhere down the line, but that’s for the future.

Data Backup Options

Over the past couple of days I’ve been looking into options on how to backup my data. I know that it is only a matter of time before my PC dies and who knows what will happen when it does. So, I am looking for a something in between doing nothing and getting a brand new PC.

The reason that I want to backup all of this “stuff” is because a lot of those 1s and 0s mean a lot to me. I’d go nuts if I lost all of my photos or my documents or anything else that I keep on my data drive. So, I need an option to make sure that it will at least have a surviving chance in case something goes wrong.

I have pretty much narrowed it down to the following three options:

  1. Networked Share Drive from Buffalo Technologies (Gigabit LinkStation)
  2. A Firewire/USB 2.0 drive
  3. A drive enclosure for any standard hard drive

Now, what makes this tricky is that I want this to work with my Mac and my PC. If I wanted them to work at the same time, well… I’d need the network drive. Unless I shared off a drive from my PC. Again, another option. But, the problem is that I can’t figure out if I’d actually benefit from the network drive or not. It is the most expensive of the three options, which is something to consider.

What I am curious about is what other people have experienced, or what they would recommend for external backup devices. I am just beginning to look and I want to make sure I cover all of my bases before I make a purchase, if I decide later on to do so. So, any help or advice you have is appreciated.