by Wes Linda on May 12, 2009
So, here is a really neat feature set that you may have already seen when searching at Google. And it’s called “Rich Snippets”. In the screen capture provided below you’ll see a piece of search results from the Baltimore area for Ruth’s Chris steakhouse. Below each of the local listings, you’ll see some rating stars. Google is working to bring more information to your finger tips with great ease. The localization of search along with the addition of “Rich Snippets” will really change the scope of search and information gathering.
Google Adds Rich Snippets to Search Results
Do you own a web site that offers reviews or other information? Your web page can do this by learning and integrating these formats shown below. They include RDFa & Microformats.
Google Supporting RDFa & Microformats for Rich Snippets
This is just an introduction to what Google is bringing to search users and in turn businesses. Learning how to capitalize on these features will truly help you tune your business web site for optimal results.
by Wes Linda on May 12, 2009
So, I’m currently listening to the Google Searchology broadcast, and they’ve announced a great new feature that I think people will really like.
Many times, when seeking for an answer to a question or particular piece of information, I find old or outdated information that I simply don’t want. I want current information that is specific to my topic.
Google has just launched their “search options” to help with that specific need.
Now, when searching for something, you will see a link “Show options” just under the google logo.
New "Show Options" link available in search results.
Now, when doing a serach, you are now able to narrow and tune your search results with great ease.
Check out the expanded view available to you.
You can now narrow the search by time, type of content and much more!
This is a fantastic tool that really offers some great options. And there is a lot more to come! Make sure to take a moment and check this out. We’ll do a more enhanced review of this feature set and how it might affect how your business is found in Google.
Great information coming out today! Oh, while you’re testing this great new feature in Google, check out the Wonder Wheel! Lots of fun!
by Wes Linda on May 3, 2009
A wild and crazy bunch hanging at Looney's on a Monday night.
So, many of you have seen our initial post about the experience we had at the new Looney’s pub in Maple Lawn. Well, the owners offered a sincere apology, a $100 gift card and a request for us to give them another try. I’m a fair guy, so on Monday April 20th we headed back to Looney’s with a few of our friends. Lets just say that the experience was a night and day difference and the experience was a much better one.
So, I’ll keep this short and sweet, and honest. We arrived around 6:30 and were seated immediately. Turns out we picked the right time to show up, as within 20 minutes, the restaurant was full. Our server, Gabe, greeted us quickly and turned out to be one of the biggest highlights of our experience. Our group was 6 adults, 1 4 year old and two infants. The only dissapointment I had in the night was the fact that my wife and I were recognized by the manager from our first visit, and it was made obvious that we were going to be well taken care of, probably a little more than others that were in the restaurant.
I’ll go through some basic things here, I’m not going to go into play by play, but lets just say, the experience was a good one.
Facility: 10 out of 10
The facility at this location is just beautiful. If you like sports, and enjoying hanging out with friends, this is a great facility to do it. Tons of tv’s, tons of music, lots of great places to relax. Tables, booths, bars, various rooms and more. Really one of the nicest facilities I’ve seen in a while, and the attention to detail is obvious.
Service: 10 out of 10
Gabe was our server, and was simply fantastic. Attentive, professional, and yet it seemed like he wasn’t there much at all. Which in my opinion is the sign of a great server. They don’t get involved in your experience. They simply make sure you’re experience has no holes or problems. He is definitely an asset that I hope Looney’s recognizes and works to keep on staff.
Food: 8 out of 10
Please realize, the food here is not really why you’re coming to Looney’s the food is good, but not great and that’s expected. You’re really coming to have a great time watching sports, hanging out with friends, and the food is simply a piece of the experience. The food this time was much better than the last time. No screwups, things came out as requested and the single request we had was responded to immediately and professionally. The food is good, and I’d highly recommend the BBQ Wings. They are sweet and very tasty. We went back a third time last Sunday and that was the first thing my wife and I ordered.
Overall: 9 out of 10
Overall, this second experience was amazingly better than the first. I don’t know how much of that to attest to the fact that we were recognized, but the effort was hands down highly improved. Gabe made sure we were well taken care of, and I can’t give him enough kuddos for a job well done. Of course, the free desserts we were offered didn’t hurt either. We stayed a while, had a great time, watched the caps and enjoyed ourselves immensely. The $100 gift card didn’t hold up long, but for 8 adults, prices were very fair. I’d recommend Monday nights as they have happy hour prices on the appetizers so you can save a little and have a great time.
We went back this past Sunday and took the ever growing group with us, ended up at 3 large tables of folks and the staff kept up very nicely with us. We gave Looney’s another try and we’d recommend you do the same. Give it a try and hopefully you’ll have as good of a time as we did.
by Wes Linda on May 3, 2009
Well, it’s always fun when we incorporate major transitions / changes in our lives. More amazing is how they can disrupt anything that you have planned or wish to achieve. The incident that helped completely remove any focus I had on losing weight and staying fit was our decision as a company to move our clients to a new hosting company. If you ever own a business, and think about doing this, I highly recommend NOT DOING THIS!
A little background on how we arrived at the need to switch hosts. Roughly 6 years ago we as a design firm made the decision to have a managed hosting environment where we could fully control the offerings that we were providing our clients. We were looking for an easy to use and manage solution that would work well for us and our clients. Based in Baltimore, we were also looking for a company close to us that we could have a solid relationship with. During that search, we found Alabanza with a reseller only focus and a great technology platform made the decision an easy one.
As time progressed, Alabanza grew in size and became a target for purchase in 2007. Unfortunately, they found a partnet in Navisite. After months of planning, Navisite makes the decision to move the Alabanza Datacenter to Andover, MA. In November 2007, this transition was attempted. We’ll keep this short, but a migration could not be screwed up any more than this transition was. Hundreds of thousands of domains were down for days, many up to a week. This was the first clue that we had been moved to a poor solution, and as time moved forward that fact became more and more obvious. Missed deadlines, unkept promises, outsourcing of support to India and unprofessional sales reps added to the frustration.
We tried to get out shortly after that move, but unforutnately we were under an annual contract and didn’t provide enough notice to get out a year ago. More unkept promises, lack of communication, and lack of current technology forced us to move hosts starting a little over a week ago. We chatted with other companies that had left Navisite and decided on LiquidWeb as the provider of choice. A solid solution, a fair price and Heroic Support. The move was a real challenge, but the support team at LW was there the whole time and really helped us make the move. Our hats off to them.
Soooooo…with all the fun and stress that has been the last two weeks, I’ve had no focus on weight loss and hope that I haven’t killed my progress too much. We’ll find out in the morning and start fresh then. It’s been a blast!
by Wes Linda on April 23, 2009
So, I’ll keep this one short and sweet. Why? Because I don’t have anything good to say! I’m weighing in at roughly the same weight as last week, mostly because I’m not eating great, and not working out enough. Shocker…I know! My dedications that I added last week are yet to be followed. It’s like I need something to beat myself up about.
Anywhoooo…since I don’t have anything good to say, I’ll say nothing at all.
This weeks’ weight was the same as last weeks, 231.5lbs. Better luck next week right?