Thanks to Sven, I found out about a huge contest going on with winningtheweb.com by Gyutae Park. It’s not quite as simple as entering into the contest or doing just a couple minor things (unless you only want to win small) but it requires a little more work.

Which is more than fine with me! A little more work for a lot more winnings (if I get lucky)! I’ve blogged lately about why people should have their own blog or website and here is another big reason!

It looks like I’m pretty late on this contest but better late than never. I’ll be joining in line right after Sven (whom I have to thank for finding the contest! ). The list of prizes is actually so long it’s a little much to read but check it out at least for a shot at winning something. We’re talking ipod’s, cash, advertising, web coding, wordpress themes, graphic design, etc. Tons of stuff!

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(Push the right arrow in the flash app above to flip the page!)

I work at a local newspaper and one of the “new technologies” they have been working on is a flip page viewer online for our printed publications. We have anywhere from 25-35 special sections (as we call them) go out yearly along with the newspaper. Somewhat recently the discovery of Issuu.com came about. There were some issues with our issues Ok, that was kinda lame… So we were having problems uploading our PDF’ed special sections which resulted in getting me involved in solving the problem. It was a simple matter of using the correct .joboptions (PDF settings), which we initially didn’t know about.

So, being the curious bugger I am, since I was now involved, I checked out all the cool things Issuu.com could offer. It’s pretty sweet really. You upload your PDF’ed publication, it converts it into a really nice flash page flip publication. Then you can put the link on your website or you embed the mini-viewer (as displayed above).

ichk! Who wants to send people away from your website? That’s not the goal with most websites. So I was off to solve the problem! Of course I checked out their Help section first and there are two example pages that had already embedded the full viewer at their website.

I wanted to take it a step further and incorporate a column on the left of the page. Why? Because we wanted to be able to provide additional information and links for our advertisers, plus our company logo, etc. It was important to be able to open the page while staying at our website, then navigate to other pages or back to the previous page easily.

To view the end result go here.

If you would like to do this on your site you can download the example files here.

As soon as I have more time I will do a full write up about all the cool features of Issuu.com but I thought I’d share this one right away!

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Ok, I was having some pretty strong sugar cravings and finally broke down. My girlfriend and I took a trip to our local WinCo and after getting some groceries we grabbed one dozen sweet, delicious, sugary donuts…. I felt a strange need to share this with the rest of the world and here we are now. Of course I had to snap a few pictures. Ahh…pure donut xtasy!

I don’t get to eat much sugar because I have a pretty strict diet. I am trying to gain another 10-15lbs of lean muscle so it’s mostly all very clean food. I caved this time though!

After I had my fill of sugar I thought i’d find out a little more about these sugary treats. From a quick google search I found this: http://www.krispykreme.com.au/doughnuts/facts/fun/

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When you’re looking for a web host for the first time it’s very easy to get lost and overwhelmed, not to mention mislead and misinformed. It’s a bit tricky to find a web host that has everything you need now and in the future. Here are the five steps I used in finding my web hosting match made in heaven!

Step 1: First we’ll need to establish exactly what your needs are plus some extra. So we’ll need to find the data bandwidth and data storage needs of the site. In a more complex situation we’d have to figure out CPU processing and RAM needs. We’ll assume the hosting needed is just for a single website without lots of video or large image downloads. You won’t need a whole lot of storage space and most any host you’ll find will provide more than enough storage. To calculate the bandwidth necessary for hosting your site use the below formula (courtesy of the article at findmyhosting.com).

Average Daily Visitors x Average Page Views x Average Page Size x 31 x Fudge Factor

31 is for the number of days in the month and the fudge factor is to compensate for how far off your actual needs may vary. For instance, 1.5 as the fudge factor will assume you’re off by %50. This sounds high but when you’re determining how much bandwidth you’ll need, it’s better to have too much than to go over your allotment and get overage charges. If you’re very positive that your daily visits will not change dramatically this is a good number. If you don’t really have any idea as to your bandwidth requirements, you could increase the fudge factor to 2 or higher.

So we’ll say that we have approximately 1000 daily visitors on average. They view 3 pages on average and your average page size is approximately 50kb.

1000 x 3 x 50 x 31 x 1.5 = 6975000 Kb or 6.652Gb per month (this allows for 50% above your actual needs, which you may end up needing).

Step 2: Now that we’ve established bandwidth requirements we should establish what hosting characteristics are most important to you. To most people the price is most important but once you’ve had a terrible web host, you’ll realize that you get what you pay for. So from my experiences I’ll list what I look for.

1. Uptime and positive reviews from customers (Reputation)
2. Customer service and availability of technical support (Availability)
3. What level of services they can provide (Range of Services and Scalability)
4. How much it will cost per month for the services I will need (Price)

As you can see, price is at the bottom of my list. That is not because I have money to spend. I am looking for the cheapest deal just like everyone else BUT it’s more important to me that the company has a solid reputation, is available whenever I need them, and can provide the full range of services that I will need.

Step 3: We know what the site’s bandwidth requirements are, we know what we are looking for in a host, so what’s next? I would say, build a list of the companies that are potential candidates. This is the tricky part so pay attention!

Whatever you do, do not search for “Top 10 web hosts” or something similar to that. The majority of lists and sites that rate web hosts and have a top 10, 20, 100, etc. list are bogus and are usually an advertising ploy to get more customers….and it works! So don’t fall prey to those companies. It’s easy, very easy, i’ve done it twice now

Find reputable websites such as Web Hosting Talk that have lots of web host feedback, ask around and do your research. You should be able to quickly find countless hosts to fill your list. I would usually build a list of 5 or so and go from there. Post your list at a forum like Web Hosting Talk and get feedback from as many people as you can. Get a solid list of 5 or so candidates then call each one and talk to technical support or someone similar and get a feel for how helpful they are, how easily and often they are available, and how well they will be able to help you in a time of need.

Step 4: Make your decision. It may be difficult to decide between the 3-5 hosts on your list but it will come down to who you feel will do the best job for you. I would narrow the decision down to 2 hosts and make a list of any pros and cons for each. Usually that will help you weigh and balance each one to make your final decision. Once you have made your decision, get signed up.

Step 5: IT’S NOT FINAL! Just because you have signed up and have gotten things setup doesn’t mean you’re all done. It would be best to test things out and make sure you aren’t running into any problems. If problems arise and you discover the company isn’t right for you, switch to another. It’s a pain but in the long run you’ll want to make sure you’re hosting with someone that’s right for you now instead of finding out later that they can’t provide what you need.

Conclusion: The steps provided here are for a simple, singular web site. If you plan on hosting multiple sites, multimedia web site(s), or high traffic site(s) you will want to look into shared reseller accounts, VPS, or even a dedicated server. For the average beginner a shared hosting account will do just fine for all your needs but be sure you go with someone who can allow you to grow. Hopefully this helps anyone just starting out!

Did you like this post or have an opinion? Please leave a comment! Thanks!

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For those of you who haven’t heard of JohnCow.com you should check it out. STOP Before you go checking it out, keep an open mind. The guy who setup and runs the website uses it to make money by blogging about making money from blogging.

My first reaction to the site was “ADVERTISEMENTS= ” and was inclined to immediately leave the site. Something about it got me to stay the extra few seconds it took for me to read one of the blog titles and I’ve been a subscriber since. There are lots of advertisements on his website and he does paid reviews, which I’m not a fan of, but his blogs can actually have good content and information. Thats what keeps me reading his feed and checking out his site. Although he does paid reviews I actually find new places that could be useful for me so I even find myself reading those.

He just posted a competition for $500 worth of coding. Thats not something I really need but, like he mentions in the blog, you could just sell it. So this blog entry is my entry into that competition BUT I figured at the same time I could provide my opinion and thoughts.

The place that will be doing the coding is CSSRockstars. I’ve seen sites like it here and there and have considered getting some work done with them. I’m learning to do it myself though so I haven’t had the need. I went and checked out their site and they are very affordable. In the last couple months I have come up with tons of new ideas for the internet but just don’t have time for all those projects. I can design the look but the coding takes me awhile. For less than $160 they will take your design and do the XHTML/CSS coding for you. I think they may have some business in the near future as I am going to need the work quickly.

John Cow’s blog is worth subscribing to. His blogs do have valuable information and he essentially tells you how to make money online with your blog. I’ve read lots of tips and found new ideas from there as well as discovering new services (like cssrockstars). If you have a blog of your own and you’re in need of some coding, check out his blog and enter into the competition yourself. Good luck!

Oh yeah, John, I like the new site design!

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Ever wonder what a close up of a gnat looks like? I ran across a website that has microscopic photos of gnats that had been smashed. They are actually amazingly clear photos and I thought were pretty interesting. Kinda changes my perspective on smashing those little buggers. Doesn’t make me feel bad for them, just makes me think about how nasty they actually are.

Anyway, check out the photos they are pretty cool!

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