It was the first way humans told computers what to do, but as graphics became increasingly important, the command line, or terminal, became an insiders' secret weapon. But with the right commands and a little bit of know-how, anyone can get things done from a text-only interface.
read more | digg story
Startup companies have a ton of stuff to do. They have to build their product, test it, get it to market, and keep it running. That's just to survive.
To thrive, you need to do more. To thrive, you need to measure. You need to measure, and then you need to do something.
The question, then becomes, what do I measure?
Analytics is one term you'll hear frequently used to describe this process. Google has a whole toolset especially for measuring these analytics.
Another may be KPI, or Key Performance Indicators (Indexes).
This is a slippery slope. Once you start measuring, the tendency is to measure everything.
But, wait, I hear you say, OMG, I'm just a startup, I can't do those fancy analytics.
Andrew Chen writes in Futuristic Play that "If you're not going to do something about it, it may not be worth measuring."
I couldn't agree more.
I would go one step further and say:
If you're not going to do something different about it, it may not be worth measuring.
You see, I spend most of my days looking at measurements, reports, KPIs, but mainly graphs. Graphs do it for me.
As a visual learner, I tend to spot trends in graphs more than just looking at raw figures. Got colors? Even better. Adding more colors helps me to differentiate one data source from another.
Here are just some of the graphing and reporting tools I'm running right now and what I use them for:
Nagios, to keep track of all my systems.
Splunk, to keep track of all my logs.
Ganglia, to monitor the health of my systems.
Cacti, to watch KPIs, make bandwith graphs, monitor latency and more.
Google Analytics, to check who's hitting my sites and from where.
I'm sure there are several others, but these are the top dogs.
What are you running to keep track of your business?
Demetri crosses the finish line after the Livestrong Challenge 65 mile course. July 13, 2008
Previous Posts
LIVESTRONG Challenge in the Bag
LIVESTRONG Challenge Update
LIVESTRONG Challenge
6.9 Million Searches
comScore, released a study on “iPhone”-related search terms which showed that 1.3 million people conducted 6.9 million searches for iPhone-related terms in April 2008.
That's 5.3 searches per person on average.
Google Dominates
Of the iPhone-related searches that generated click-thrus, the vast majority (88.4 percent) occurred on Google search, 33 percent higher than one would expect given Google’s share of total Internet search click-thrus.
Top Searches
Search Term Searches (000)
1. IPHONE 1,488
2. IPHONE UPDATE 151
3. IPHONE WEB APPS 118
4. IPHONE MMS 101
5. IPHONE 2.0 75
6. IPHONE 60
7. IPHONE 2 59
8. IPHONE G3 43
9. IPHONES 38
10. IPHONE SPEAKERS 35
With the popularity of the iPhone, many sites, including Amazon and vSNAX are setting up custom sites just for the iPhone browser.
So you want see the web through the iPhone but you don't have one? No problem.
Here are some simple steps you can take to see what crafty webmasters are up to.
1. Download and install the User Agent Switcher. Restart Firefox.
2. Download and import the updated useragentswitcher.xml. Choose to override existing user agents.
3. Enable the new iPhone profile and surf to Amazon or vSNAX.
Got another site that has been optimized for the iPhone? Think this is a slippery slope? Not using Firefox? Don't understand what is going on at all?
Let me know in the comments section.
Google maps finally lets you walk it out. They have added a new "walking" feature to Google maps.
One step further would be to allow cycling directions. That' what Bikely aims to do. I submitted a feature request to the Google team over a year ago for that. We'll see if they have "bike it out" feature in the works.
Shouts out to Lifehacker for the image.
Content Targeting
Contributing writer Steve Smith for MediaPost Publications had this to say about vSNAX Videos in his article The Ad Store:
Rhythm NewMedia, which already runs ad-supported video channels in the U.K., has far and away the most sophisticated iPhone app so far. The player window lets you browse other clips while the main clip runs dimly in background. Rhythm pulls in some of its major media partners like CBS News, Ripe TV, VH1 and Ford Models. In addition to the obvious brand extensions and branded video placements, the interface itself offers ample opportunities for pre-rolls as well as overlays. Both Pandora and vSNAX seem to understand better than some others in this catalog the fundamentals of the content business. If you create lush and appealing editorial environments, then advertisers will want to be there.
Consumers generally welcome advertising in online video if it will stay free, but they are more receptive to ads in certain types of video than others. The latest data comes from Ipsos MediaCT's ongoing digital video study, which asked a "representative sample" of US Internet users about their online habits and preferences in February.
read more | digg story
Idlemode published a cool review of vSNAX Videos, the latest iPhone App from Rhythm Newmedia. The review, Innovative iPhone Apps: vSNAX, gave us props for great content and a "nearly seamless viewing experience."
Hey, we're getting there right?
Check out v1.1 of vSNAX videos that just hit the App Store tonight.
Let us know what you think via our feedback page.
Today a colleague forwarded me a link to medialets. Medialets is a new company focusing on iPhone Apps. They have already put together some great resources including dynamic ranking pages by category, top free, top paid, and movement within those rankings. This is much more useful that the static lists that are available in the App Store itself.
Medialets has a continuously updated version of the App Store Metrics.
Perhaps the most interesting idea I found on their site is the medialytics offering. This is an SDK one embeds with an iPhone app to capture, record, and upload events such as program starts, terminations, phone models, and more.
This type of information is not readily available and would really help most new developers get a better handle on how their apps are performing on this new platform.
Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret review several apps from the iPhone app store.
read more | digg story
Wow, our marketing team is all over this one. Here's another great link that will bring you vSNAX Videos goodness.
Download.com, from CNET.
Oh, did I mention its FREE?
Thanks.
We're working hard to promote vSNAX Videos, the FREE native app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. We've just gotten word that the app is featured on appSafari!
Go to appSafari, and search for vSNAX. You'll find us there.
It would be a great help if you downloaded our app as well.
Free videos are there for the taking so go ahead and check it out.
Thanks.
Video shows vintage footage of NYC subway trains completely covered with graffiti. The photographer says: "We are in the art center of the world and we're ignoring this whole range of art". Kids: "We were not rioting - we were dancing!" (With a gun and a knife). Big media spoiled everything? Old school DJ setup. The book "Hip Hop Files".
read more | digg story
Yesterday Jodi and I, Team JD, completed the LIVESTRONG San Jose Challenge 65 mile course. It was a fantastic day. Special thanks to all those who contributed to the cause! I'd also like to send a shout out to all the fantastic volunteers who made this event possible.
It was an awesome experience I will never forget.
The highlight, or should I say lowlight, of the day was definitely the climb up Metcalf road, in San Jose. I can't explain just how steep this hill really is. Here are some photos but they don't do it justice:
Photos by Keijiro. Check out his blog here:
http://keijiro.typepad.com/infinite/
I've updated my goal to $500 for the LIVESTRONG challenge in San Jose this Sunday, July 13th.
Check it:
LIVESTRONG Challenge
Thanks so much to all who have supported me!
It's not to late to donate. You have until tomorrow, July 12th to make your contribution.
Updates will follow!
Thanks!
Jodi and I are riding in support of the LIVESTRONG foundation this Sunday, July 13th. We're signed up to ride 65 miles to help fight cancer.
I found this article today on CNN about cancer etiquette.
You can find out more about the LIVESTRONG challenge on our team page.
Also, please check out my individual page.
Thanks.
On today's bike outing to the local loop, I crossed 3000 miles on my beloved Bianchi Axis. It was fitting to cross the 3k mark in front of a local landmark, known simply as "The Dish."
I also crossed off another goal, 100 miles per week. So, two milestones down. Let's see what the next 1k has in store.
