A Personal Blog
Archive for August, 2004
Global PR Week Wrapup
Aug 5th
Global PR Week was, to me, quite stunning to watch. Trevor Cook conceived, organized and led this event in a very professional manner.
There were postings on Corporate Blogging, Crisis Management and the State of PR.
Really good stuff from a variety of angles, including posts by “non PR folk” like Trudy Schuett and Wayne Hurlbert.
For a directory of the bloggers involved (and a listing of their posts) view the blogroll.
PRWeek did an interview with the organizers and a couple of participants which really shows where this is coming from and the impact they believe this will have:
Trevor Cook: I think blogging has enormous potential to help PR people discuss some big issues facing our profession: Where do blogs fit in and the whole question of ‘spin’ and the public reaction against it? A blog conference is the cheapest and easiest way for people to participate on a global scale.
Cook: I don’t know if we will have reached too many people who are still skeptical about blogs, but the site will stay up and I think it will be a great resource for anyone coming online. Basturea: I think it’s important to notice that we had about 1,000 visitors a day, and, from watching the statistics, it’s clear that people coming from diverse organizations, including PR agencies, but also from government, non-profit orgs and corporations. Rubel: I received several e-mails from agencies this week that are beginning to talk to clients about blogs because of what they heard about this event. They were asking for guidance and links. Ochman: Me too.
Overall the event was very well done, and the hope of all the participants is that it will be a well of knowledge at least until next year’s event.
Congrats all!
Google Does Evil?
Aug 5th
“Do No Evil” is one of Google’s little guiding phrases.
In that light:
Google Inc., according to the AP wire, may have illegally issued more than 23 million shares of its stock to hundreds of employees and consultants, putting a legal risk into the launch of their IPO.
Google disclosed the possible stock violations Wednesday in an offering to buy back the affected shares and outstanding stock options for a total of $25.9 million, including interest payments.
[ link via Search Engine Journal ]
Is it just me, or does 25M$ seem really cheap for 23M shares? Personally I’d hold out for the IPO. But, will the IPO happen on schedule, especially considering the infractions that these shares were released under?
During that time, the company says it neglected to register 23.2 million shares of common stock and 5.6 million outstanding stock options with securities regulators. The oversights might have broken federal and state laws, according to Wednesday’s filing. The affected common stock is owned by 1,105 current and former employees, as well as company consultants.
Google warned that its buyback, or “recission,” offer may be rejected by some people who prefer to sue the company. Google believes it faces potential liabilities in 18 states and the District of Columbia, as well as federal court.
18 states? DC? Federal Court?
Yeah, Do No Evil.
New Design Info
Aug 3rd
I promised a longer post and here it is.
I had been meaning for months (since February) to do a redesign which really reflected where both myself and Ensight were at. Obviously I’ve left the ‘hobbyist’ blogger stage. I think I did that way back last year after I finished 6 months of blogging.
Blogging is now something I do quite naturally and, to be honest, with abandon. I really really enjoy blogging.
However the first design was a bit too… Well it wasn’t pretty enough for me. It was simple, clean, etc… But it was very much flat. And I’m not flat. I’m even developing a bit of pudge. Sad, really.
Anyways, the second design for Ensight was meant to be simple, and yet eye catching. It was everythign I wanted in my head… But after a week of it on the screen I realised I didn’t actually like it. Mainly because there simply wasn’t enough freedom in it. 1 column gives you very few options.
So here we are at the third design, and before I get any farther I’d like to thank all the people who made it possible.
First and foremost, the Ensight Previewers. I realize I didn’t use you guys as much as I’d hoped, at least as a group, and for that I apologize. It wasn’t on purpose that you guys only saw the design hours before it went live… It just all happened very fast (this weekend to be exact) and I completely forgot about the review stage.
My bad, and I’m sorry.
However these guys do deserve credit for being willing, putting up with me and in many cases helping out one on one. So, here they are:
Aaron Brazell Cory “Logic” Dennis Pallett Jeremy Wright Mike Hillyer Peter Caputa Steven (… no last name on file) Syam (…no last name on file)
If I’m missing anyone, have wrong details or haven’t linked to your site, let me know :)
For the design help, I’d like to thank the crew at SitePoint Forums. For coding, Tony Zhou. For the new software, WordPress.
More than anything I’d like to thank the nearly 100,000 visitors from more than 100 countries who visit Ensight each and every month. I have no idea why you find my psychotic ramblings interesting, but you do (apparently… unless someone’s doing the worst denial of service attack in history…).
EDIT:!!! I forgot the most important helper of all! Dennis Pallett spent serious time helping me out today with coding, mod_rewrite stuff, etc! Thanks Dennis!
I’ll be launching 3 new sites in the next year. Big move for me, since I’ve been shying away from that kind of thing. I’ll be pushing The Bloggist again in the fall and generally I’ll be looking for something that not only pays the bills but allows me to pursue all of my passions.
As far as this upgrade goes, I’m sure there are bugs. If you see one, want to help out with some light coding or even have an opinion, let me know.
Bug reports are good. Cash is better ;-)
So, some cool stuff in this design / site.
First, all old links should (fingers crossed) work. The transition to WordPress was made possible by about a dozen sites around the web, and Dennis’s skillful help.
Second, ads are still here. At least they’re part of the design now. I’ll be working on colours and design in the next few weeks to make it fit better. Promise.
Third, I’ve decided to support a variety of charities with this blog. Yes, most blogs are just hot air, noise, etc. However Ensight readers have proven again and again that they are able to step up to the challenge of supporting deserving charities. To date, Ensight readers have donated more than 5,000$ to various charities (through Ensight). So, I’ll be highlighting a different charity “regularly”. If you know of one who accepts online donations that you feel would work, let me know.
Finally, there are loads of bugs. I know. However I’ve tested this in most browsers and at least this design seems to work. You’ll find some “dud” pages scattered around. Let me know about them. I’ll fix them. Promise!
… I think that’s it. Again, thanks everyone!
And There Was a Flash of Light…
Aug 3rd
w00t!
New design is live! Should be loads of bugs, but considering this blog is now running on WordPress it shouldn’t be too bad.
Let me have it. Likes, dislikes,whatever!
I’ll post a longer post later… Once I get the new feeds working ;-)
To Hype or Not to Hype?
Aug 2nd
….
That really is the question. I mean, I’ve got a relatively big announcement (for Ensight readers) which I’m really quite proud of. The culmination of several months work, to be honest. It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be great (in my opinion) when it’s released in the next few days….
But should I hype it? Should I post a “get ready” or “coming soon to a … near you”?
Naw. I’ll let it speak for itself. Wouldn’t want anyone foaming at the mouth, boiling plastics or robbing laundromats now, would I?
No… For shame.
No hype here, move along…
;-)
