Archive for November, 2005

I enjoy reading many local Utah business blogs. Here’s a list of the ones I’d recommend. Feel free to add yours in the comments and I’ll add it to the list when I find the time.

Paul Allen’s Blog – Actually, I’ve been reading this one for some time. Paul has a history of success and continues to start new ventures.
Cameron Moll – Marketing guru
Phil Windley – Former CIO of Utah
added 12/8/2005 UtahTechJobs.com – Utah tech recruiter blog.
added 12/20/2005 Jona’s Blog – Yeah, work from home John Jonas…that’s me.
added 12/23/2005 Smooth Harold – “Swing for the fences”
added 1/5/2006 Jimmy Zimmerman – Tech & biz blog
added 4/6/2006 Jeff Jordan – COO of FundingUniverse.com
added 4/6/2006 Jordan Gunderson – member of the Provo Labs team
added 4/6/2006 Ryan Money – Money talks
added 2/19/2007 Janet with Affiliate Flash
added 2/19/2007 Michael Eagar
added 2/19/2007 Joshua Steimle from MWI. Josh has another great blog on SEO called The Organic SEO

*If any of the above come across this site I’d be happy to allow a link to AlexMcArthur.com on your site. Really. Please!

The verdict is still up in the air but at this point in the season the BYU Cougars have a winning record. Ok ok, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yes, they are only 2-1. The schedule however could provide for an interesting year. The team is young so the weak schedule could help boost confidence for the future. Unless of course the team completes the season with a record matching last year. Let’s face it, we all know the guys aren’t good enough at this point to compete for the MWC title. So we’ll take what we can get.

Seniors – 1
Juniors – 7
Sophomores – 0
Freshmen – 5

Notes on some of the potential freshmen studs:
Plaisted appears to have the most potential in my opinion. The guy is a freak. 6-11, 240 and can run like a guard.
Lee Cummard was hyped so much that I hope he can just live up to 1/10th of what was projected. Talented shooter and can disappear on the court because he may just be the skinniest college player in the country.
Jackson Emery from my understanding will be the only Frosh heading on a mission at the end of the season.

Go cougs.

I picked up Web Analytics Demystified by Eric Peterson the other day. This book came highly recommended and although I have not yet completed it, I strongly advise it to anyone interested in the field. I believe web analytics is a field that is mistakenly overlooked by small and mid-sized companies. Many businesses pay big bucks for search engine marketing. However, they have no plan once a visitor has entered the site. MidScape has recenly added web analytics services and can improve your ROI success.

*More to come on web analytics as I come across topics of interest.

Tip – Make sure to take advantage of header tags by loading them with core keywords.
Ex. – Within my H1, H2, or H3 tags I attempt to always include “Alex McArthur” and other category keywords on this site.

Warning – Don’t use links within header tags. Matt Cutts, a google employee, warns against this practive.

Happy Turkey Day. Have a safe holiday.

Within the past year I acquired the domain SwapWay.com. I just happened to come across it and liked it’s potential so I grabbed it. The name gives the impression of some sort of trading site so at the moment I am comtemplating that. However, I am open to any ideas. Do you have anything in mind?

Name Recognition:
I have come across numerous trading sites in my searches, but there are none marketed well enough to dominate the market (*Maybe this is a clue that there is no market whatsoever). Personally, I think SwapWay is a marketable name that is easily remembered. Would you disagree? If so, why?

The Marketplace:
Honestly, I have just begun to look into the trading market so my knowledge is limited. I don’t know how many people would be willing to trade online rather than sell items on ebay. Would you ever trade an item online?

Profit:
Presently, I imagine SwapWay’s business model focused on advertisments and add on features such as pictures showing the product or priority placement. The standard listings themselves would be free. I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of successful online ventures offer free services to appeal to the masses and keep them coming back.

Yes, I’m just babbling as I’m building this plan from scratch and at the moment have no direction. Any comments would be much appreciated.