Apple to Unveil Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and iCloud
In an official release today, Apple has informed the media that Steve Jobs will kickoff the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, June 6, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Surprisingly, Apple gave us more than a taste, but an entire bite, of what will be discussed. The agenda includes Mac OS X Lion, iOS 5, and their new cloud-based service, iCloud.
While many rumors about the the topics have been surfacing for months, I was surprised that Apple revealed so much about this keynote. Typically they make a subtle hint in the invitation and that’s it. Regardless, I am excited to see what updates are in store.
My fingers are still crossed that after next Monday Apple will have announced iWork 11, otherwise it’s looking more like iWork ’12. I am guessing iWork will be part of the iCloud service in documents will wirelessly sync from your Mac to the cloud. This is just a guess, but that’s what everyone does, right? Apple has already released iwork.com (beta), so along with music storage, iCloud might be a one stop shop for accessing all of our files as well.
What are you hoping for?
Follow @russellsrulesNew iPad 2 Commercial. If You Asked.
The second iPad 2 commercial advertisement has been making its way around the television. Although I miss the Justin Long (I’m a Mac/PC ) ads, I do like the mystery and simplicity of this campaign as well.
If You Ask
Follow @russellsrulesSEO for Bloggers
Image: istockphoto.com/jpa1999
One of the biggest challenges bloggers face is getting their posts found in search engines. Royal Pingdom states that as of 2009 there were 126 million blogs (according to BlogPulse). With so many blogs on millions of topics, it’s important that every blog is effectively optimized to ensure they get found by interested readers. I have done some research and compiled a few ways to increase your blog’s ranking in search engines and keep your readers engaged in what you write about.
First, let’s discuss SEO. For those of you who don’t know, SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO is a way for websites to increase traffic when users search for terms that are related to a particular blog or website. For example, if a user searches Google for “help with SEO”, approximately 200,000,000 (yes, million!) results appear. Effective optimization will help you be as close to the top of the search engine results pages as possible. It’s important for your site to be optimized because most users find websites through search engines. People will not discover your site if you are not optimizing correctly; especially if your site covers a very popular topic.
As a blogger, there are a few things you should do to optimize the overall structure of your blog. One of the most important things you can do is show off some of the best posts you’ve written. If you have posts that received several comments or if you’ve noticed some of your posts have been read a lot, try highlighting those posts in a “Featured” or “Popular” section. This will not only allow you to show off your work to new visitors, but it will also add another link to those posts as well.
Along with highlighting the great posts you’ve written, you should always think of your industry when labeling your categories. For example, if you have a blog about cooking, you could use categories like Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Dinner, and Desserts. These relevant category titles tell the search engines that your blog is about cooking. Another tip to consider is keeping your categories and tags different. If you use a blog hosting platform like WordPress.com, for example, you are given the option of specifying specific keywords, or tags, to associate with your blog post. If you have Dinner as a category, don’t use that same word in your tags. Use something more specific to the post.
Something else to consider when developing your blog’s structure are your page titles. Always make sure the most important information pertaining to the page is before the less relevant information. If the name of your blog is in your title, that’s fine, just make sure it shows up after the main content of the page. So, it might look something like “Delicious Dinner Recipes, Sally’s Cooking Blog.”
Another important element to creating a blog that is friendly for search engines and for your readers is the obvious: developing great content. While you may be thinking “duh!”, there are so many blogs out there that don’t follow this rule. When writing your content, think about your reader. Write to them, not at them. When readers browse through blogs, they aren’t looking for corporate gobbledygook. Instead, they are looking for a human that can answer their questions, entertain them, provide insight, etc. Develop a tone for your blog that makes you sound authentic and that you truly are an expert on your topic.
Additionally, there are a few other content-related tips you should consider that will help you rank in search engines. Make sure that you use keywords throughout your post. While you don’t want to make every other word a keyword or phrase, you do want to spread them out enough for search engines to match them to your site. Just be sure to use keywords in your natural tone.
Once you’ve developed the tone for your blog and thought about ways to use keywords that are not overpowering to your readers, make sure to update your content often. Search engines (and readers) like blogs that are frequently updated with fresh content. If you don’t know what to write about, there are many services that provide you with great ideas. For example, you can receive Google News alerts that email you every time a specific word or phrase is mentioned in the news. Once you get your alert, you can begin writing about the topic immediately while it’s still current. Going back to the baking example, you can be emailed every time a new article about “baking” or “cooking” is mentioned in the news. Then you can filter out what is interesting and what is not. Other sites like Technorati.com and BlogPulse.com provide trends of topics that are being talked about most.
While text is the foundation to most blogs, it’s also important to incorporate other elements, like images and video, into your posts as well. Media can definitely attract the attention of those readers that don’t read your entire post. Even using charts and graphs can help provide a great visual to the reader.
When using media elements, always keep your reader’s Internet speeds in mind. Optimize your images and videos to download quickly, while still making them viewable. When you upload your media to WordPress.com or other blog platforms, you will be given different size options – it’s usually best to choose the smallest one to ensure it loads quickly on all computers.
Finally, a blog will not be fully optimized if it doesn’t take advantage of social media. Encourage your readers to share your posts on social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Digg. Make sure that you have some sort of sharing mechanism that makes it simple for users to pass on the information to their followers.
Allow users to comment and join your conversation. Nothing is more advantageous to your blog than comments. It shows that your readers are intrigued by what you wrote, and search engines favor user-generated content. If you have readers that are commenting, they might want to get automatic updates when you have new posts as well. Consider adding a subscription feature where users can provide their email address and automatically be updated every time you have a new post. You can use a free service like FeedBurner, which is very simple to setup.
So there you have a few tips on how to optimize your blog effectively. Do I practice everything I just wrote about? Probably not. I am going to keep these newfound tips and techniques in mind though and begin optimizing my own blog as well.
Do you have any other suggestions? Share them below!
Special thanks to those sites that provided me with great insights into SEO for bloggers:
http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo
http://www.seomoz.org/article/the-professionals-guide-to-blogging#section%20V
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic
The iPad 2 Commercial
After a few weeks on the market, Apple has finally unveiled the first official iPad 2 advertisement. Enjoy!
We Believe…
Thoughts on iPad 2
iPad 2 available in black and white.
I must say, standing in line for the iPad 2 on March 11 would have been a breeze compared to what I’ve had to go through over the past couple of weeks to finally get my hands on one. Let’s just say that I had to wait in long lines, early in the morning, to be told that I was too far back in line to get one. I would complain, but there were many people in my same position, and now I finally have one! Early in my journey, however, I think the obsession with getting iPad 2 became more about “having to have it” than the actual device itself. Anyway, I digress…
What’s different between iPad and iPad 2?
Speed: The Dual Core A5 chip does wonders for iPad 2. I never thought my original iPad was slow until I began using its successor. Whether I’m opening up an app, downloading a new app, switching to another app, or just browsing the web, the faster speed makes a noticeable difference and is almost worth the upgrade with that alone.
Size: You wouldn’t think a 15% difference in weight would be that different, but like the speed improvements, it is. The 33% decrease in thickness also shows a great improvement from the original. If you hold your iPad or place it in your lap, you will definitely notice the difference in size – and you’ll love it!
Camera: iPad 2 comes with a front and rear facing camera. I wouldn’t say that the cameras take amazing photos (cuz they don’t!), but at least they are there. My iPhone 4 takes way better pictures than those taken on iPad 2. The HD video quality is decent – it’s just the still images that look awful.
FaceTime: With the camera comes FaceTime. This is incredible! The size of the iPad screen makes it the perfect size for video chat. The iPhone/iPod Touch does the job, but not nearly as effective as the iPad 2. You can use the front or rear facing camera, or switch between the two during your conversation. One of my favorite things about FaceTime is how your email address is your “phone number”. It’s the same when using FaceTime on a Mac, but I think that’s pretty awesome.
Tip: Make sure you’ve enabled FaceTime by going to Settings >> FaceTime >> and entering your email address.
Photo Booth: Another thing you can waste countess hours with on your new iPad 2 is Photo Booth. This fun app allows you to take really funny pictures of yourself using Apple’s built in features. If you already have a Mac, then you’ve probably seen Photo Booth before. The iOS app does not have as many effects as the desktop version; however, it’s still just as fun.
Smart Cover: Overall, the Smart Cover is a very innovative and somewhat useful product. The fact that it auto sleeps/wakes iPad 2 is very cool. It also easily magnetizes to the side of iPad 2 and auto-aligns. These are all great features; but there are a few issues.
First, the microfiber inside cover does not clean the iPad 2 screen. In theory it might work, but the reality is it doesn’t. It would be impossible to remove fingerprints without applying some sort of pressure. The Smart Cover might clean dust particles, but not remove fingerprints. So if this is why you’re buying it – don’t!
Second, there is no protection to the back. This is a big issue if you are using the cover as your main source of protection. You would have to get a back protector like Zagg’s Invisible Shield or X Gear’s Smart Cover Enhancer. Either product will be sufficient enough to protect the back. The other thing you might want to do is wait until Speck’s PixelSkin HD Wrap for iPad 2 comes out. This is supposed to act just like a Smart Cover but extend coverage to the back as well.
Overall, the iPad 2 is the hottest gadget on the market right now. It’s sleek, fast, slim, and almost perfect.
If you currently have an iPad, should you upgrade to the iPad 2?
Well, that depends on what you use it for. If you’re an occasional Internet browser or gamer, then probably not (unless your games are graphics-heavy). If you’re an Apple fanboy and can’t bare seeing someone with an iPad 2 while you have the first generation, then maybe. If you really want or need FaceTime and a camera, then yes, I would highly recommend you upgrade. If you really want or need a white iPad, then I would highly recommend you upgrade.
The bottom line is, iPad (1 or 2) is the most genius product ever. If you think you’ll never use it, you’re wrong. With an App Store of over 35,000 apps, there truly is something for everyone.
iPad 2: Coming March 11
The wait is finally over. After months of wondering when iPad 2 will be available, we can all finally get a good night’s sleep as Steve Jobs made a formal announcement today at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. iPad 2 will be available on Friday, March 11, 2011.
Key Features:
- All new design: iPad 2 is 33% thinner than the original iPad and up to 15% lighter.
- Dual core A5 chip, making the iPad’s performance double what it is now.
- Front and rear facing camera.
- FaceTime
- Photo Booth
- iMovie
- Garageband
- Apple Digital AV Adapter allows you to mirror your iPad on a widescreen TV, video projection screen, or other HDMI-compatible display.
- iPad Smart Cover
The second I get my hands on one I will write a review, but from what I can tell, it’s going to be double the magic of the original.
Apple Event Confirmed: March 2, 2011
The moment we've all been waiting for.
There is nothing better than waking up to a confirmed Apple story. No rumors here – Apple has confirmed their media event for Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The invitation was a giant “2″ within a calendar icon (I’m sensing a double-meaning) with an image of the iPad in the top left corner. Could this be the iPad 2?
As exciting as iPad 2 is, I am really hoping for some sort of announcement about iWork 11. iWork is by far the best productivity suite out there; even the ’09 version beats Office 11 as far as ease of use and efficiency. I am crossing my fingers this will be unveiled as well.
What do you want to see announced at the event?
HTML Email Templates
As an email marketer, I have gone through the many challenges of making sure my HTML email designs work across all email clients. After much trial and error, I’ve finally figured out what works best – tables (no divs), inline styles, image spacers between columns, no background colors, and so on. To make it easier for you, I’ve listed some great sites that provide free, or very inexpensive templates. According to each site, they’ve been tested in all major email clients, so they should be viewable by just about anyone. Trust me, you’ll want to take a look.
http://www.campaignmonitor.com/templates/
http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/html-email-templates/
http://www.dzinepress.com/2009/08/35-free-html-email-newsletter/
http://www.patternhead.com/found-freebies/100-free-html-email-newsletter-templates
http://www.deliverysuccess.com/free-newsletter-templates.html
iWork for iPad
iWork for iPad will turn you into a productivity machine.
If you own an iPad, or are looking to buy one, I definitely recommend you buy Apple’s iWork suite to go with it. With three separate apps, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, you will instantly transform your device into a powerful productivity machine. If you already have a Mac, you may already realize how easy and efficient the desktop versions of the applications are. Bringing the suite to the iPad, however, allows you to take these applications with you anywhere. Creating reports, presentations, newsletters, and documents has never been easier or more convenient than it is with the iPad.
Let’s take a look at each of the application’s features to see how they can help you become more productive in your personal and professional life.
Pages
The Pages application for iPad is a simple word processor with powerful features. Much like the Mac version, it has a sleek and user-friendly interface that anyone can use. When you first open the app, you’re presented with a variety of beautiful, pre-installed templates. Whether you’re writing a formal letter, business letter, newsletter, term paper, resume, or creating a brochure, you’re sure to find a template that will match exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Of course if you can’t find exactly what you are looking for, you can always open a blank document.
One of my favorite features of Pages is that you can either work in portrait mode or landscape mode. Landscape mode offers a larger document area and a wider keyboard. This feels more comfortable when typing large amounts of text. If you’re writing a report, for example, I recommend you write the content in landscape mode and then turn your iPad to portrait mode when you want to begin formatting. You can also purchase the iPad keyboard which makes it even easier to type. The keyboard serves as a battery charger for your iPad as well.
What separates Pages for iPad from other simple word processors out there is the ability to transform your documents using powerful formatting tools. Creating styles, changing fonts, inserting tables and charts, and formatting images has never been easier with Pages on the iPad. You’re given just as much control over documents as you are with the Mac version.
If you’re worried about creating a document in Pages and nobody else being able to open it, worry no more. After you have finished, you can choose to email it. From there, you’re given the option of emailing it as a Pages, PDF, or Word document. That means that if you email it as a Word document, all of your co-workers with Microsoft Office will be able to view and make changes to the document.
The major thing to get used to in Pages for iPad is the size. It’s smaller than what you would use on your desktop or laptop computer and that might be difficult for some to get used to. Extensive typing will most likely require the keyboard as the multi-touch keyboard built into the iPad may slow you down a bit.
Keynote
Like Pages, Keynote for iPad is also very similar to the Mac version. It has great potential for those who hold meetings, events, and seminars. You can keep your presentations on your iPad, then connect it using the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter, and display them to your audience. If you travel to give your presentations, you’ll appreciate the fact that you will no longer have to take your laptop with you anymore. Your iPad will be sufficient for all of your presentation needs (just make sure to find out about the tech requirements at the venue in which you’ll be presenting).
Many of the formatting capabilities are the same as those in Pages. You can also insert charts, tables, and edit photos. What is most impressive about Keynote for iPad is the transitions and animation effete you can add to your slide elements. It has many of the same effects as the Mac version has, but it seemed even easier to apply them on the iPad. As with the Mac version, you can specify build orders and timing of each animation as well.
The template selection was another impressive feature of the Keynote for iPad application. The same templates from the Mac version are included with the iPad app. There are ten preset templates; however, if you can’t find what you like, you can always create a blank presentation and customize it exactly how you’d like it to be.
Unlike Pages, Keynote can only be used in landscape mode. For the most part this is okay; however, the keyboard dock only supports portrait mode. If you need to type your presentations using a keyboard, it would be best to type out all of your slides on your computer in a text document, email it to yourself, then copy and paste it into Keynote. You can also export your Keynote document into a PDF or Powerpoint to make it more accessible.
Numbers
Numbers for iPad has become even more user-friendly than it already is on the Mac. This app is a must for anyone that uses spreadsheets on a consistent basis. There are over 250 functions for statistics, engineering, chronological, etc. Whether tracking inventory, managing your budget, comparing data, or creating complex formulas, Numbers has many features you will find to be very helpful.
The interface is similar to Pages and Keynote – very simple and easy to use. It looks as though Apple has made the iPad version even simpler than the Mac version by eliminating unnecessary “clutter” from the interface.
iWork for iPad is a great step in the right direction for productivity on mobile devices. It’s larger than a phone, smaller than a laptop, yet just as powerful. You should definitely purchase some or all of the apps included in the iWork suite. For $30, or $9.99 each, you can have these powerful applications that will help you turn that long list of to-dos into completed tasks.
Happy Thanksgiving … and Apple Black Friday Sale
Happy Thanksgiving.
What will the Apple elves bring us this year?
Don’t forget, tomorrow is Apple’s big one day sale event of the year on Apple.com and in their retail stores.
Happy Shopping!
