HoneyComb Tablets

Jan 09 2011

Everyone has been in a hurry to compete with Apple’s iPad. Many companies created “tablet” devices running Google’s android OS. I’m sure they were thinking that the iPad is just a giant iPhone. Since Android competes so well against the iOS, it should do well on the tablet. Unfortunately, they didn’t listen to Google.

Google has repeatedly said that Android 2.x was not designed for the tablet and wouldn’t let any tablet devices running it connect to the Android App Store. People forget that when the iPad was released, it was with a new iOS designed for the tablet.

Now Google has announced and demoed Android 3.0 called HoneyComb. This was designed for tablets, contained many improvements and is a true competitor to the iPad. Check out www.honeycomb-tablets.com for some demos of tablets running this wonderful OS.

The Honeycomb generation of tablets will run on dual-core chips with high-resolution displays. Based on an early demo, we know the software will contain on-screen virtual navigation buttons to replace the hardware buttons typically found on Android phones. On the HoneyComb tablets there’ll be no right or wrong way to hold the devices. Honeycomb will enable apps to take advantage of the extra screen real estate on tablets, too: In Gmail, for example, you’ll get a more spread-out interface in which you can see your inbox while simultaneously viewing individual messages. Any app will be able to follow that model and split into multiple side-by-side panes, which can provide any functions the developer desires.

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So Long And Thanks For The Fish

Oct 13 2010

Yesterday I reviewed what I thought about the Challenge as a program. Today, in my final post on this site, I will reflect on my personal journey.

I give myself high marks for completing accomplishing my goal. Admittedly my goal was pretty low. My goal was just to complete the challenge by doing every task on the day it was assigned. Having this goal rather than the $1 turned out to be very important to me. I know that I don’t need $1. I also know that right now, I don’t need to switch careers. Right now, I don’t need to make extra money. Right now, I understand the difference between need and want. There were many points within the first two modules where in the past, I would have quit. I wouldn’t have called it quitting. I would have called it, following along with the videos with the intention of doing the activities later. Later never comes. I pushed forward this year only because I couldn’t face myself if I couldn’t achieve the simple goal of doing. We don’t have full control over our results, but we do have full control over our actions. Being reminded of that lesson was my major benefit of doing the Challenge.

The second biggest lesson was that I need to know the entire picture to be effective. If I don’t know and understand the why, my actions are not good enough to produce good results. I must spend the time required to prepare. Trying to do a CFT without being prepared is just a waste of a CFT.

Another major lesson is the concept of CFT. As Ed likes to say “Don’t confuse time in front of the computer with time spent on you business”. There are only so many activities that really produce a benefit, everything else may be important but can be a mirage. All the other activities, including preparing, give the illusion of work. We can spend so much time doing those activities because they feel safe and interesting. It’s the risky, uncomfortable or boring tasks that are the money makers.

The Lizard Brain – The lizard brain wants to keep us safe. Unfortunately the lizard brain only knows about the present. If you’re safe at this moment the lizard brain doesn’t want you to move. He will do everything he can to keep you where it is safe. The unknown is not safe. Our younger brain knows that we need to branch out and grow or we will face dangers standing still. We need to take control and let trick the lizard brain. Being comfortable is a warning sign.

Finally, I have learned that to have a business you need to treat it like a business. You have to have regular hours. You need to have specific tasks. You need to have a goal. Most importantly you need to have something that someone else will pay money to receive.

This is the end of my amateur phase. I am now a professional. I have not yet received payment, but I expect to be paid for my work. When I start a new job as an employee I accept working and then getting paid. This in no different.

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Challenge Review

Oct 12 2010

Day 1 of the Challenge was July 11, 2010. The last day of the Challenge was October 10. That is three times as long as the 30DayChallenge. I promised a summary post. I’m actually going to make it two posts. This first post will be my thoughts of the Challenge. My last post for this site will by my thoughts about my journey doing the Challenge.

Things I liked a lot.

The shorter lessons – While at the start of the Challenge I was having difficulty keeping the activity to 30 minutes, it was very helpful knowing that it could be done in that time frame. When I found myself over thinking an issue, I reminded myself that I have little time and need to just decide and go.

The off weeks – I’m proud of the fact that I never used the off weeks to catch up. However, having the off weeks marked the end of a module. I felt an accomplishment finishing the module and excitement waiting for the next. When it was one after the other, I never got the mini-rewards.

Market Leadership – Market leadership is the Google equalizer. If you’re a valuable contributing member of the community, you’ll get organic traffic regardless of your ranking in Google. The more places you’re seen as a resource, the more ways your market has to find you.

Other thoughts -

PPC – Last year Pay Per Click was introduced as a way to get traffic. It is possible that it has gotten too expensive to encourage new challengers to attempt. However, I liked last year when there was more mention to alternative ways to generate traffic.

Go/No Go midway through – A staple of the 30daychallenge was Ed telling everyone to make a decision on whether to start over to press ahead. This year the decision was left to the very end. One of the ways mentioned to earning the $1 was to sell the no go sites. Unfortunately, many people will make their $1 this way but miss the “deadline”. They should be given a means to still make the hall of fame. I feel that at the start of module 4 would have been a good time to tell people that if they weren’t happy with their original choice, they should start over. Stressing that the no go site hasn’t been given a full test yet, but that they may prefer a different niche now that they have a better idea of what we’re doing.

Challenge.tv - I think the Challenge TV shows are one of the strongest bonding experiences the community can have. In years past, it seemed that their was a show weekly. The casual nature of the shows and the live chats really brings people together. I wish there were more shows this year. Granted there probably was the same number of shows, but this time spread out over three months.

Syllabus – I don’t know if having a syllabus would confuse the new challengers or intimidate them. Personally, I would have liked to see the road ahead. I recognize that many people may assume they knew the concepts and wouldn’t show up for the training. That fact will probably mean there won’t be a syllabus in the future.

Final Thought -

I wholeheartedly recommend the Challenge to anyone interested in learning more about Internet Marketing of themselves. Everyone associated with the Challenge has been very generous with their time and knowledge. I cannot express my appreciation in strong enough terms.

So I’ll just have to say Thank you.

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Module 7 Day 7 – The Final Day

Oct 10 2010

Where to now?

That was the heading for today’s last lesson. The lesson presented three ideas. The first idea was to get paid to practice. In other words, get a job using our new SEO skills. Doing this on a contract basis is an interesting idea. The second two options where challengeplus and immediate edge membership programs. I recommend both of these programs for anyone interested in them.

What are my next steps? As most of you know, I’m in Ed’s mentor program and will be spending the next 12 months having a small crutch. The mentor program is different than I expected. I’ll get the most benefit from being totally prepared for the one on one calls. This means having everything documented and delivered at least the day before the meeting. Also it will be important for me to have a very narrow but specific question/subject for the call.

I’ve only got a few more posts to make to this blog. I still want to do a summary/final thoughts post and maybe my Apple rant that I never did. I’m going to start a personal blog at a different site but won’t be posting daily. I’ll post at least weekly. I’ll tweet the new address sometime in the next 10 days for anyone who is interested.

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Module 7 Day 6

Oct 09 2010

The second to last lesson was today. We had another brief lesson about finding back link opportunities using Market Samurai. We also had a talk from Ed called “Mistakes Marketers Make”. The assignment today was to do a free writing session on that topic.

Normally, I write these posts after doing the “task” but this post will actually be the task.

There were the four mistakes pointed out.

1. The rule of inertia. We are to aware that a common mistake is to assume that we can maintain or improve our rankings without doing any work. This is wrong. We need to release that there is no such thing as set it and forget it. We need to apply constant pressure if we want to succeed.

2. Giving UP. Another common mistake is giving up after testing several markets and having them all fail. This is one that I really need to careful with. Insanity is doing the same things over and over expecting different results. How many times will I allow myself to have a failed test before I convince myself that it’s not for me? Intellectually, I know I shouldn’t set a number. Emotionally, I believe that I have a number. I must let my intellectual self when out over my emotional self.

3. The Grind . The third common mistake is imagining this career is glamorous. Like every job, the “shiny wears off”. What we are left with is just the grind. Fortunately once we have enough success we should outsource some of the worse repetitive tasks. But what is left will still feel like a grind. Be a professional! Do the work for a set period everyday.

4. Being in front of a computer is work. This is the last of the mistakes. Confusing busy work with the work that brings in money. There are a lot of important tasks that need to be done to be successful. We must “fuel up”. We must learn about marketing. We must edit and fine tune. However, none of that actually makes us money. We need to spend the Critical Focus Time doing only those things that make us money. This is where it is getting hard for me. I budget the CFT time but find that with out the other stuff done, I can’t do the critical things. Ed has perfected this by using his Ipad and Iphone. He uses those stolen moments to do the non-critical things. I use those stolen moments to read fiction or just day-dream. I either need to budget the non-critical time along with the CFTs or better use my stolen moments.

Tomorrow is the end of the journey which seemed so long at the beginning but feels so short now.

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Module 7 Day 5

Oct 08 2010

Two great lessons today!

First lesson was about finding additional keywords to target within our niche. Don’t be afraid to go for keywords that didn’t meet our initial criteria. Keywords that aren’t generating much traffic but are super easy to get ranking are perfect additions to a successful campaign.

Second lesson was from Dan Raine. This is a lesson I’m going to watch several times. There really wasn’t anything new in the video. However, I felt my understanding of the topic become deeper while watching. As I’ve mentioned in the past, “When the student is ready, a teacher appears”. I’m at a point where I really enjoyed this lesson.

I’m posting it here for my benefit. You can also find it at the Challenge site.

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Module 7 Day 4

Oct 07 2010

Things are really starting to wind down now. We briefly covered the process of completing an auction and transferring our site/domain to a new owner. I believe tomorrow will be about the next steps for those keeping their sites.

Right now, I’m finding this quote to be a little too accurate.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. ~Douglas Adams

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Module 7 Day 3

Oct 06 2010

The “No Go Blues”. Today we got to see Ed playing the blues. This was the introduction to signing up for an account with Flippa. Flippa.com is the recommended site for buying and selling websites. Today was just about signing up. We were promised more details in tomorrow’s lesson.

All in all an easy day at the Challenge. The Challenge is definitely front loaded. The first two modules were the hardest. I’m about to do the 5 CFT challenge so I’ll have a chance to do this all over again but this time in a week.

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Module 7 Day 2 – Decision Consequences

Oct 05 2010

Today we briefly explored some of the options that are available to us after the challenge. After we decide whether our niche is a “Go or No Go”, we have to then decide what actions to take. No matter what we decide, we were told to keep in mind the consequences of that decision. Nobody told me there’d be consequences ;)

I never viewed my niche as a long term idea. I didn’t start this challenge with the expectations of making money or having a business at the end. My intentions from the very beginning were to do the activities and then sell the domain/site. As recently as yesterday, that was still the plan.

But then the videos used the word consequences. Do I really want to sell this domain? If I keep it, what would I do with it? Should I spend any more of my limited time developing this site?

After watching the today’s videos, I’m thinking of keeping the niche site. This journal site has kept me on track with the challenge. I plan on downloading all of this year’s videos to keep as reference/memories. I should keep the my niche site as part of the entire package. I look at my niche site and to me it screams amateur. Probably because I am an amateur. However, I will not always be one. I think it would be pretty cool to be able to look back at my beginnings.

I think I’m going to keep it. Now the question is, do I try to improve the site or let it sit as my amateurish example?

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Module 7 Day 1

Oct 04 2010

Today was the first day of the last module.  I enter this week with mixed emotions.

I’ve almost reached my goal.  My stated goal was to finish this years Challenge doing the assigned tasks on the day it was given.  I’ve only six more days to go.  The activity assignments are getting shorter and shorter.

Today’s lesson was basically another expectations video.  “Don’t take a failed test as a reflection upon you”.   We were told to look at our click through rates.  I’ve only had 64 visits but 4 clicks on adsense with zero for the affiliate link.  I’m not allowed to judge until I get 200 visits.  While the CTR is good, the traffic needs to improve.

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