This feed is primarily for the non-technical independent business owner looking to improve their website and learn about internet trends. To subscribe to this feed, check your browser, news reader or personalized home page instructions and enter the url below. New content will be delivered as soon as it's published.
http://www.rbimedia.com/rss.xml
09.03.10 August performance reports available
Host response time stays consistent over 30 days, downtime for West Coast servers takes a dip. August reports are available here.
Long-time partner Sophia Academy has launched a new search engine-friendly site with plenty of customizations and a nice calendaring system. Good people doing good work in the Atlanta area.
08.27.10 Site enhancements
Bing has made a slight adjustment to the verification code used for indexing status and error checking. All partner sites received the modification and [if necessary] re-verification effective 08/25/10.
08.04.10 July performance reports available
Check your host's reliability for the month of July by clicking here.
07.06.10 June performance reports available
Check your host's reliability for the month of June by clicking here.
06.04.10 May uptime and response time reports available
Monthly Performance Reports available here.
05.10.10 Site enhancements
Google has revised their cache leveraging preferences. All partner sites have received the code update necessary for maximum site performance and build-quality as reported by Google.
05.03.10 March uptime and response time reports available
Long-time partner, Nantahala Outdoor Center, have launched a new site. This is a CMS-based site using the Joomla platform. If you're doing any rafting in the Southeast, be sure to look them up! Monthly Performance Reports for April have been posted here.
04.04.10 March uptime and response time reports available
Monthly Performance Reports available here.
03.03.10 February hosting reports available
Monthly Performance Reports posted here. Reliability dips this month.
02.03.10 January hosting reports available
Good news! 2010 starts with solid hosting numbers for the month of January. Monthly Performance Reports are available here.
01.07.10 Happy New Year!
Sorry for the delay... uptime reports for the month of December have been posted here.
12.03.09 November uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of November by clicking here.
11.03.09 October uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of October by clicking here.
10.04.09 September uptime reports posted
Does your site feature the omnipresent Facebook and Twitter icons? Better plan to revise that layout to include Google's Wave. Google has the technology and funding to do it better than the current leaders in social/mb sites. We've read about it for some time, and now a limited test run is here. Read more from CNN Money.
Monthly Uptime & Performance Report for the month of September has been posted here.
09.04.09 September news
Next month will mark the 10-year anniversary of RBI Media. I try to build a new site every year (look for a makeover in the near future), but it's been an extremely busy 2009! Why so busy? During tough economic times, businesses want to accomplish more while spending less. Fortunately, effective and affordable e-marketing is a cornerstone of RBI Media. No "set it and forget it" policies here. To excel, you must implement, analyze and refine your strategies regularly. Whether you have questions about increasing the performance of an existing site, or starting from scratch, feel free to contact me anytime.
Recent partner, Atlanta-based Diversakore, has launched a new site. These guys offer an interesting and unique line of products - be sure to check them out!
Monthly Uptime & Performance Report for August has been posted here.
08.05.09 July uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of July by clicking here.
07.06.09 June uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of June by clicking here.
06.11.09 Site enhancements
Google has made a slight change to their XML Sitemap preferences, opting for a simplified schema. All partner sites employing an XML sitemap received the modification and re-submission today. In addition, a slight change of code was added to your Google Maps pages to keep Internet Explorer happy!
06.03.09 May uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of May by clicking here.
05.03.09 April uptime reports posted
April reports have been posted here. Of note: Partner #1 made a hosting platform switch from Windows to Linux, report reflects 15 days of each. The move paid-off with quicker response time and much improved downtime results.
04.08.09 March uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of March by clicking here.
03.20.09 You know it's mainstream when...
Here's an interesting (and positive) read from CNN Tech about viralizing content. CNN is pretty much rewriting the book with their mix of news and advertising, so brace yourself for 17 Twitter references in the short article. This is a good wake up call for anyone not yet embracing the power of social networking. Here's another from Switched.
03.03.09 February uptime reports posted
Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of February by clicking here. Sorry about the lack of content this past month - very busy! Lots of new software, hardware upgrades and have launched several social networks.
02.03.09 January uptime reports posted
Getting the most for your online dollar? Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of January by clicking here.
02.02.09 Adding dynamic content to increase interactivity
If your site needs some sprucing-up, consider adding an element of motion for interactivity, usability and fun. This can also help streamline navigation and page clutter issues. Case in point:
A partner had a page that was growing in length. This wasn't archive-able information, all content needed to be displayed in one area. You could do a "click for next page" fix or an anchor-based page with dozens of links at the top of the page (you've seen them). We opted for an Ajax solution. All content is clearly visible, the page length was greatly reduced - plus, it's search engine-friendly.
North American River Runners is another example. The gray box in the center of the page rotates photos, relevant text, and links to related pages while remaining search engine-friendly and easy to revise.
A lot of dynamic content is pretty to look at, but does nothing for your search engine placement. By building an optimized site and inserting the right code in the right place, you can have your cake and eat it too.
01.16.09 Create a social network for your community
Provide your visitors a place to connect, discuss common interests, write reviews and share media. By creating a social network through a service such as Ning, you have full control: administer content, customize appearance, approve memberships, create new pages/subsections, add widgets and control ads: http://rbimedia.ning.com
This is a robust and cost-effective alternative to using a content management system for your communication needs. An outlet for feedback and inquiry empowers the visitor and provides a sense of community. Word of mouth advertising will never go out of style, so bring it to the web! Create a viral and interactive service for your current and/or potential customers - and enjoy the increase in traffic by providing quality links and content.
Haven't heard of Ning? You will... though not as big as MySpace or FaceBook, Ning has experienced more growth in the past year than any other social networking site with the exception of Twitter. This is typically a good indicator it will be the next big thing, and if you act early it may be easier for you to grab your first choice of a network name. This is a great app with a nice interface, and it's simple to customize to your needs. Give it a shot.
If you have any questions or need help getting started, feel free to contact me anytime!
01.09.09 Considering a new mobile device?
I've used a PDA/Smartphone for several years now, and I can't function without one. I was overdue for an upgrade to both the operating system (Windows Mobile 5.0) and the network (T-Mobile GPRS/EDGE). Based on features and specs it didn't take long to narrow my choices to the iPhone, G1 and Fuze. I went to the stores and got my hands on each for about 30 minutes. There's a lot of phone sites that provide more in-depth technical reviews, but here's my brief take:
Apple iPhone: syncs locally, handles most email, best browsing (Safari) experience, stable operating system, aesthetics, easy to use, App Store has a large number of great programs for expandability. It's an excellent device and I tried to make it work for me, but I just can not type on it!
Google G1: Slide-out qwerty keyboard, very good browsing (Chrome) experience, open source software will allow for some great future developments, Android Market for expandability. If you like to sync to your desktop and don't use Google for email, contacts and calendar, it's not for you. I understand the benefits of cloud computing, but I prefer not to run my life through Google. This should be an option (like Apple's MobileMe), not a requirement.
HTC Fuze: Slide-out qwerty keyboard, syncs locally, handles all email, very good browsing experience (loaded with both Opera and IE), stable operating system, aesthetics, messaging options, flexible device navigation, plenty of freeware for expandability.
I went with the HTC Fuze from AT&T on their 3G network running Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro. It does everything I need it to do and I like a device that when syncing, displays as a drive on my pc so I can manage everything on it. It's reassuring to know the battery can be replaced (iPhone-no) and you also have the ability to add additional storage in a snap via microSD (iPhone-no). The 3.2MP camera is very good, plus it shoots video (iPhone-2.0MP, G1-3.2MP, neither with video included). Popular apps like YouTube and Google Maps run smoothly and the pre-installed Office Mobile Suite is a plus for compatibility. Do yourself a favor and check out this little powerhouse.
01.05.09 Build a customized YouTube channel to promote your site
Got videos on your site? Why not put them on another site to increase visibility? Build a channel on YouTube to create buzz, "share-ability" and traffic. It's free, and obviously Google looks favorably on YouTube content after purchasing the company for $1.65B to distribute ads. Add your links, descriptions, keywords and tell people about your site. This is just a brief demo with some live performance videos, but you can see the possibilities: http://www.youtube.com/rbimedia
If you need any help getting started, or would like me to customize a channel for your site - just let me know!
01.03.09 December uptime reports posted
Getting the most for your online dollar? Check your host's reliability and performance for the month of December by clicking here.
12.31.08 Site enhancements
Year-end means checking for any revisions to "best practices" for web standards. There have been some recent changes to XML validation and if your site currently includes a feed, any necessary changes have been posted to keep your site in good standing. A new file to increase robot spidering was uploaded to all partner sites today. Those of you who know me understand I strive to improve sites long after the initial build - new readers should understand RBI Media provides these types of updates throughout the year.
Someone asked me about a good internet dictionary the other day, try this link: NetLingo
12.27.08 Implementing RSS on your website
Recently I've received several inquiries about adding an RSS feed to a site and thought I'd explain the process here. I've implemented feeds for several partner sites since 2005 with great results. They are an excellent source for generating traffic, both for attracting new visitors and alerting your current customers of special events and promotions. On some sites, stats reports have shown feeds contributing up to 11% of entry visits in a month!
By employing an RSS feed, you can deliver new content to your visitors instantaneously without the need for email notification. The feed will include headlines, summaries and links to your site for full articles/new pages or important updates. This popular format is compatible with any recent browser, news reader, blog or social site. By clicking the universal feed icon in a browser address bar, a visitor is subscribed and will be able to see when new content is published to your site by checking their bookmark. To unsubscribe, delete the bookmark. That's it - simple and unobtrusive.
These feeds are written in a lightweight, but powerful language called XML. The code is very clean and is easy for search engines to index. XML acts like an accelerator for your site's new content. Each time your feed is revised, a new version is "burned" with the new publishing date and headline information. The graphic on the right shows the RSS icon (orange or blue square) displayed in four popular browsers after the necessary tagging is added to your site's pages. From top to bottom: Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer and Safari.
If you'd like to learn more about the benefits of adding a feed to your site, please contact me at any time.
12.26.08 News feed added
Partners can now stay up to date with all the latest happenings at RBI Media by subscribing to this feed. New service announcements, reporting availability and TechTips can be viewed at your convenience.
Thanks for stopping by and best wishes for a Happy New Year!
Ric Baker
