Disqus - Latest Comments for Bill Hartzer

Re: Results: Top Wordpress Plugins (April 2007)

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 10 May 2007 15:57:05 -0000

I have to admit that there are a few must-have plugins that are my favorites. I actually also use all the plugins on your list from time to time, depending on the blog that I have.

But, when these are the basic ones that I just must have:
- "trackback validator", which automatically validates trackbacks to see if there's actually a link to your post.
- "did you pass math", which adds a math question to the form for comments. Really helps with comment spam.

Re: Results: Top Wordpress Plugins (April 2007)

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 10 May 2007 15:57:05 -0000

Re: Exclusive – Pay Per Post Direct Changes The Paid Review Landscape

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:14:53 -0000

Looks like Pay Per Post Direct is really going to give ReviewMe a run for its money with this new service. I'm still waiting for PayPerPost to approve me and several of my blogs--so far they have refused because I don't have links to the archives by date.

Re: Exclusive – Pay Per Post Direct Changes The Paid Review Landscape

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:14:53 -0000

Re: Blogging Full Disclosure Debacle – Grow Some Brass Ones

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:42:24 -0000

Andy, it's about time someone call them out on this. I agree with you that they certainly didn't do a lot of fact-checking before the debate. But, consider that they didn't have a lot of time to do that fact-checking and research about the issue. Sometimes the best debates are those that come up on a whim.

I have to disagree with your remark about "regulations". How could you possibly call these disclosure requirements "regulations"? They are simply "requirements" that are made up by the company--and there are a lot of affiliate-related "companies" I won't do business with or "endorse" because of those silly "requirements".

I agree with you, Amanda--it's best to be honest with your readers and being honest means "full disclosure" when it's appropriate to do so.

El Yanqui, that's a good point--I agree that bloggers would make it a lot easier on themselves if they added a "disclosure policy" to their site. Perhaps just like "privacy policies" us bloggers should be adding "disclosure policies".

Re: Blogging Full Disclosure Debacle – Grow Some Brass Ones

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 11:42:24 -0000

Re: Blogging Full Disclosure Debacle – Grow Some Brass Ones

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:18:37 -0000

I understand the logic here. But, affiliates chooose to do business or not do business with companies like Clickbank. And it's my opinion that companies like Clickbank can make up any rules they want to. Since the affiliate is not a consumer then they don't have to do business with Clickbank--and vice versa. Clickbank deserves the right to pay or 'not pay' companies or individuals who send them traffic.

A company can decide that their affiliates must have a certain type of link on their site in order to get paid. They can decide whether or not the affiliate must disclose that they're an affiliate. Of course the affiliate shouldn't misrepresent themselves, though.

When it comes to disclosure, I don't personally think the USA's FTC can get involved--this is a business transaction that doesn't necessarily directly involves the consumer. It's a referral...and the consumer clicks on a link and goes on over to another site where such things should be disclosed (like guarantees, warranties, etc. etc.).

Re: Blogging Full Disclosure Debacle – Grow Some Brass Ones

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 15:18:37 -0000

Re: Gather Success Review

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:48:23 -0000

Great review...gives me some ideas about doing more on mybloglog and on blogcatalog. The "paid comments" idea is actually a cool one that I have to say I haven't thought of yet.

I can't wait to see what you think about atomic blogging!

Re: Gather Success Review

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 23:48:23 -0000

Re: The Honor Associated with Hosting a Kwik-E-Mart Convenience Store

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:34:15 -0000

This is a great marketing campaign--I wish they were doing it to ALL of the 7-Elevens nationwide. I can't wait to see the Simpson's movie.

Re: Microsoft Adcenter Labs Tools - Why Bother?

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:39:13 -0000

Wow, I haven't seen these tools yet but will go over and check them out after I finish adding this comment. ;)

The demographic data is going to be very very helpful, as I've got a few sites where it great: adding that data to media kits and info I distribute to potential advertisers will help convince them to advertise on the site.

What's really interesting is the fact that there's a lot of 25-34 year olds visiting your site--and apparently it's primarily male (where are all the female web geeks?)

Re: Things to do while your friends are playing with their new iPhones

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:47:57 -0000

I just downloaded my iphone ringtone..and it definitely made some heads turn!

Re: Affiliate Marketing gains Sex Appeal

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:16:20 -0000

I agree with your definition of affiliate marketing, but I'm not sure about the "willing to take financial risks" part of it. If an affiliate marketer does the proper background work and keyword research and other research it takes to be successful, then there's really no financial risk involved at all.

Re: Rushmore Drive Launch Party

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:53:03 -0000

Wow, Lynne, that's a shame. Sorry to hear that you caught the bug that's going around. Hope I don't "catch it" too.

I've been looking at the site and definitely like how it looks; the search results are "okay", and I'm wondering how/why certain sites show up where they do. But, all in all, I think it's definitely something I'll use in the future.

Re: Google’s Search Share Just Keeps Growing | BPWrap

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:40:13 -0000

I'm amazed that Google still keeps on getting more market share--I didn't think there was really any more for them to get. But, I'm still seeing some of my neighbors starting to get internet access, and as I turn them onto Google that just goes to show that it's possible for them to grow even further.

I'm also glad to see Ask in the list there, they've gone down only .1 percent, but that's kind of expected, I guess.

Re: Yippee! I am in the Technorati Top 100

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:21:32 -0000

Thanks guys (and gals), I just added everyone who have commented already. Please add me to your technorati favorites, thanks.

Re: ScarySEO: Top 10 Funniest Things That Happened

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:37:37 -0000

Wow, I'm sorry I missed out on Scary SEO.

Re: ONE Quick and Dirty Twitter ORM Tip

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:02:49 -0000

Great tip, Brian.

Nowadays, you really need to watch what you say on Twitter, as even reporters will use what you say on Twitter and quote you in major newspapers like I was recently: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25...

Re: 2007/05/09/27-google-analytics-features/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:41:30 -0000

Unfortunately I haven't been lucky enough to have my Google Analytics account upgraded, but hopefully it will be sooner than later.

I've tried a few analytics packages, including Google Analytics and Statcounter--but always end up going back to my trusty log file analyzer because it give so much more accurate data. Too bad Google Analytics won't allow you to import or rely on log files to give more accurate data.

I have to agree with bl.asphemo.us, though, as this new update of Google Analytics seems to be a step in the right direction.

Re: 2007/05/29/google-greenborder/

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:17:35 -0000

This is a good move by Google. It further strengthens their antispyware/antivirus position, as they already warn visitors that there are issues with certain sites.

I'm not sure if I would go so far as calling this a "strange acquisition", though. It's interesting, but not strange or out of the ordinary.

Re: 2007/05/30/stumbleupon-ebay-integration-begins-screenshots/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 30 May 2007 18:48:25 -0000

Personally, I am not sure what eBay is going to do with it--but looks to me like they're jumping on the "social networking bandwagon" so to speak...because they'd better acquire StumbleUpon before someone else does.

If eBay integrates StumbleUpon into their category listings so people/buyers can browse the listings easier then it's definitely going to be a good help--especially to keep users on the site longer.

Re: 2007/05/31/youtube-emi/

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 31 May 2007 18:21:06 -0000

It's about time the music companies did this--we can now get our music videos when we want them and the music companies can see exactly how many people are viewing their videos and how popular they are. Sure, they know how many times Tim McGraw's new video was shown on CMT, but that doesn't tell them how many people turned the channel.

Re: 2007/06/04/tripadvisor-profilefly-facebook-apps/

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:44:05 -0000

You're right, Kristen, I'm amazed at how many facebook applications are in the mix now. The tripadvisor one is definitely one that me (and I'm sure a lot of others) will be checking out this summer as we get ready for our summer vacactions.

Thanks for mentioning profilefly, looks like something I need to keep up with all of this.

Re: 2007/06/04/adsense-is-coming-to-google-maps/

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:48:29 -0000

It will be interesting to see what people come up with, especially integrating AdSense with Google maps. I can think of a few sites that have maps as content..but definitely would benefit from the integration.

Perhaps all those MFA publishers recently booted from AdSense will spend some time creating some useful content like this?

Re: 2007/06/07/myspace-paramount-casting-call/

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 16:16:59 -0000

This is a good/interesting concept--allowing people to submit their photos online.

But, since it's MySpace, I'm wondering how many bots are going to submit "their" photos?

Re: 2007/06/10/blockhunter/

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 10:08:01 -0000

This is great technology and a great site--I just can't wait until they enter the US market, I'm sure they will do very well.

Re: 2007/06/25/greenervoice/

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:03:23 -0000

"Green" seems to be all the rage nowadays. I'll definitely add this site to my list of green sites, along with hugg.com. ;)

Re: 2007/06/28/stumbleupon-facebook-app/

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:40:01 -0000

This is really cool, I wish more social networking sites would release their APIs like this so your profile on one would reveal what you've stumbled or added to del.icio.us or dugg or whatever.

As soon as I heard that stumbleupon had a facebook app I added it...which only took about a minute (perhaps less), turns out that it was a piece of cake to just click on the link and it went right over to facebook where I could log in.

Re: 2007/07/18/obama-myspace-state-profiles/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 17:37:53 -0000

What's the point on spending all this money on MySpace? Isn't the typical MySpace user under 18 years old and not old enough to vote? I just don't get it?

Re: 2007/07/24/365main/

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 19:24:50 -0000

Aren't they supposed to test those types of things? Really! If you had a backup system, or even two of them, shouldn't you test them out once in a while to make sure they're working properly?

Re: 2007/07/25/media-temple-iphone/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:43:46 -0000

This is very very cool...one more reason to get an iPhone. ;)

Re: 2007/08/02/plusmo-iphone/

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:29:29 -0000

This is very cool, now I have yet another reason to get an iPhone.

Re: 2007/08/08/didja/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:50:00 -0000

Yeah, it's supposed to be at www.digja.com..but where's the site? All they have is a landing page full of PPC ads??

Re: 2008/01/29/yahoo-fourth-quarter-earnings/

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:47:04 -0000

That certainly wasn't expected.

Re: 2008/12/05/savetheplanetandwin/

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:04:37 -0000

Interesting concept. I think people are still into saving the planet, but I'm not sure if this will take off. Others have tried to done similar things that didn't take off very well.

Re: Technorati Favorite Blogs Exchange

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:21:46 -0000

Thanks for the idea of the technorati exchange. I just added everyone who has commented so far, would love to get a fav here if you feel so inclined to do so:

http://technorati.com/faves?add=http://www.bill...

<abbr></abbr><abbr>Bill Hartzers last blog post..XING Purchases Socialmedian</abbr>

Re: Request for Twitter: add all followers

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:35:15 -0000

I have to agree with Cap'n Ken, the IM interface definitely works best. I love the SMS idea of getting notified to use twitter, though.

Re: DOG (Distrust/Disdain of Google) moves in

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:25:34 -0000

I agree with Paul, I get much more traffic from Google than the other search engines, bar none.

In my opinion, Google, as a company, will still try to acquire organizations that make sense for them to acquire--like feedburner. There may be a point in time where the US Government steps in and does something.

As marketers and business owners, I think we fear life without Google more than just the fear of google.

Re: Report from the line

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:17:16 -0000

Wow, a chance to talk to Bill Atkinson...if I knew he'd be there along with all of the other famous techy geeks, I would have flown in from Dallas just to go stand in line even though I don't plan on getting an iPhone (yet).

Unfortunately, I'm just not one of those "early adopters". I hate to get the first version of a car...they end up making it better a year or two after they come out with it, anyway. ;)

Also, I'm not so sure about the glass and inputting/typing. Since I'm on the road so much and need to dial numbers and respond to emails, I personally prefer the fact that I can actually feel the keys. But maybe it's something you have to get used to?

Re: iPhones are here?

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:28:51 -0000

Some had said somewhere that they were going to use armoured trucks to deliver them? Weird that it's only 30 boxes for the Palo Alto store?

Yes, I agree with Chris, too: it's just a phone. But, hopefully, it will change the industry somewhat.

Re: Don’t try to use your iPhone inside an Apple store

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:49:38 -0000

Robert, perhaps the Apple employee was referring to their policy that YOU (Robert Scoble) aren't allowed to take photos inside an Apple store.

Perhaps they know that photos that you take are going to end up on the scobleizer blog. LOL

Re: MarketSmart Interactive Closes Doors

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:54:06 -0000

Andy, MarketNet.com is looking for search engine marketers, both SEOs and PPC experts. Marketnet is located in Dallas, Texas. Send me an email if you're interested: bill dot hartzer at marketnet dot com.

Re: More Rumors of eBay Purchasing Stumbleupon

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:30:47 -0000

I would suspect that they'll eventually buy StumbleUpon, but there are most likely issues that they have to agree upon first, such as the price. I'm sure it will eventually happen.

Re: Step-By-Step Guide to Google Analytics’ New Interface

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:33:17 -0000

This upgrade of Google Analytics is definitely long overdue. I took a look at it today and it doesn't appear that they've upgraded the account that I logged into today. I'll definitely have to check back, as this new interface looks a lot better than the old one.

Re: Selecting Your Baby’s Names Based Upon Google Vanity

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:36:31 -0000

Wow, now there's a missed opportunity for a cool new site or tool: use the Google API to create a site where you can search for a baby name--and it crunches the numbers automatically, using the number of search results.

Add Google Trends data into the mix and perhaps one could predict the future and how often that name would be searched for in the future?

Re: The Next Ad Frontier: Mobile Video?

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:48:05 -0000

I'm not surprised, I seem to remember writing something a while back on my blog on how mobile video is going to be the next big thing in advertising online...

Re: BlogRush Widget Termination T Minus 24 Hours

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:03:34 -0000

I thought I'd test it out, as well...only because I have some white space to fill. I'm definitely going to see if there's any traffic, though and perhaps replace it with something else in a few days.

Re: Gooruze Meetup at PubCon - Bar Tab is on Us!

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:08:05 -0000

Definitely looking forward to it...See you all there!

Re: Building your twitter network

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:16:43 -0000

I'm definitely a follower and a loyal fan. Lots of great advice.

Re: Texas Domainers & Developers Convention Kicks Off November 3rd – 6th

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:44:59 -0000

Definitely looking forward to the conference...will be there most days.

Re: How to Hypnotize Your Website Visitors To…

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:00:33 -0000

MIchelle, this is a great post--I wish more people would take a look at their sites and determine what exactly they want their sites to do.

It's easy for ecommerce sites to figure out their sales funnel: it's ultimately people going from another site to their site and then to the product page and on to the cart and then to the actual sale.

But, for other sites, there are (or can be) mutiple goals, such as the rss feed signup or even the completion of a contact form on the site.

If you can figure out what your site's goal before you even put up the site then that is ideal.

Re: http://www.techipedia.com/2007/digg-friends-and-kevin-rose/

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:47:54 -0000

Great post...you have to say that this type of stuff is expected. The only problem with being one of these types--like Kevin, for example, is that he probably has tons of people bothering him all day long to give their "new site" or concept "his blessing".

I guess this is why the "celeb types" get paid a lot of money to endorse things. If (your favorite) celebrity endorses the product, then it must be good, right?

Re: Social Media Marketing Without Brand Awareness Can Kill You

Bill Hartzer — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:20:54 -0000

Devindra, the experienced users (the real experts) will use their expertise to take advantage of the system--and they will take advantage of the system. Those who aren't the real experts won't have done their homework and address all the possible loopholes: they'll cross their Ts and dot their Is.

Another great post, Tamar!

Re: “Subvert and Profit” Profits No One

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:42:09 -0000

1389, we don't know that no one is using a paid service to bury their competitors. There may not be any way to know except to look at voting patterns and see if there are certain domains or certain "competitors" always getting buried?

Re: An Open Letter to Kevin Rose

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 11:59:58 -0000

I totally agree--stories that are auto-buried should be banned. But again, have you considered the fact that they might not have a problem with the domain but they might have a problem with the story itself? Perhaps there's some sort of filter that looks for certain characteristics...and auto-buries it (e.g., if the story is a dupe or something).

As for what's going on with that particular profile, you're right--something doesn't look right with Kevin Rose's profile.

Re: Best Internet Marketing Blog Posts of 2007

Bill Hartzer — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:38:22 -0000

Wow, what a post. Not only is this a great year-end recap of 2007, it's an all-time great post...and will continue to be a great resource in the future. This probably could have actually be about 30 separate posts.

Re: 14 Things You Absolutely Must Know to Get Publicity in Major Magazines & Newspapers

Bill Hartzer — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:19:56 -0000

One of the things that has really helped me over the years is my development of relationships with editors, reporters, journalists, and publishers. You don't have to always pitch yourself and your own company; keep feeding them useful information and develop a relationship with them. Help them out, and it will definitely pay off in the long run.

Re: Top SEO Blogs by Link Popularity

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:28:58 -0000

Great post, Lee...is an interesting post that will definitely help me with some link building.

Re: Marketing a Celebrity Online – Part 1

Bill Hartzer — Fri, 18 May 2007 18:12:11 -0000

Great post--if only a lot more celebs thought of hiring people like us then perhaps their reputations would be better.

Like graywolf mentioned, squidoo is a great place to start. I would also make sure that your name or the celeb's name or ID is set up in all the social networking and social bookmarking communities--some of them are fairly influential. If people get wind that a certain celebrity is 'hanging out' on the community then that can certainl lead to a lot of "friends" quickly. This actually could be a good thing, as some IDs end up ranking fairly well.

Re: Cho Seung-Hui .Com Names

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:59:57 -0000

Yes, I totally agree--the registrars should have taken the lead in this and park the domains and give all the money to the families of the victims.

Looks like at least one is being redirected to the vt.edu site, though, so at least there's someone doing something decent.

Re: Cho Seung-Hui .Com Names

Bill Hartzer — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:59:57 -0000