Index of Posts Help and Support

whatsinkenilworth.com recent posts section on desktop

I've written a new page called, Index of Posts Help. This is a copy of that page as I wanted it also listed as a blog post too.

It reads..

When viewing this site on desktop there is an Recent Posts section on the right - when viewing the site on mobile it's hidden.

Therefore, this page is offers some guidance to find what you are looking for.

Find Google Help Fast - What do 87 shares and 36,000 views tells us?

On 9 Feb 2014, I made a simple post at Google+ as I was fed up giving people the same links over and over again. It had this slide and text:

Find Help for Google Stuff fast There are 519,000 results athttps://support.google.com so to find ANYTHING by googling 1, Support 2, 3, .. like support youtube comments or support blogger domain .. This is the No1 way I find stuff .. #googleit #support #help

I have an altruistic rule with myself than I find or

A slide I made from watching a YouTube Help Video

create something useful to me, then it will probably be useful to others. But there's catch - the really useful stuff, goes unnoticed by 99% of the people.

One example is the brilliant series of +YouTube Creator Academy videos made recently. They have like tiny views compared to what they should be getting. Take a look at the last six videos with +Rachel Lightfoot and +Yury Polnar where views are 1,331 to 2,722. 

What I'm getting at here is the busy life we lead, the uncontrollable urge to click on something when we shouldn't and the irresistible temptation to walk away, when we know we should stay. Bottom line, a video (or post) gets a million views in a day or just a few.

I never ever post anything for the views - I do it usually, to teach somebody something. It's a bit like my own FAQs - I want to be left alone, so if I can help people answer themselves - great.

It took a day to get 80 shares and I declared give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.

My Take Away When people get stuck, they often panic a bit, get fed quickly and become impatient too. Even if one person reading this could just stop and think - Google, support and read the results - I will be very happy.

Autonomy Did I tell you about the friend I had in teaching who had the latest iPhone? She showed me the latest features are how wow it was. But when she was late for a city centre appointment - she was late, defaulted to what she knew and rushed to find a copy of the local AtoZ Map. We all know the iphone and google maps would be there faster than she could say OK Google .. 

Hangouts On Air have Help Pages Use Them

Don't wait to get stuck, do your homework, spend 10 mins reading, take a mental snapshot and know the answers .. not so much for yourself, but Help Others ..

For a 4000x2000 copy of the slide visit Drive: http://goo.gl/FOJxE

To get started, visit: http://goo.gl/UGJCQ .. HOAs look easy, they're not,With great power comes responsibility .. My favourite quote is still, Enjoy!! ...and don't forget you're broadcasting publicly, so mind your manners ;) (+Katherine Gramann May, 2012) ..

There are also Hangout Help Pages How many have you read? 

And don't leave it too late to find the one you need .. http://goo.gl/vv1ai .. Coming next the same slide for Hangouts On Air .. can't wait visit: http://goo.gl/UGJCQ .. 


The Video ..

How to Search any Site Using the Chrome Browser

I use Google's Chrome Browser, it's fast and works brilliantly with g+.

Here's how to search a specific site (like whatsinKenilworth.com) - just press TAB.


CLICK in address bar (to place cursor there), press Space Bar and then TAB..type your search.


This site has a few thousand pages, find what you are looking for with this search.

Slide above shows before, during and the site results window.

And the slide on the right is how this post appears at g+

Twitpic v Twitvid - is there a difference? Which one should you use?

I mainly use Twitter from a laptop, upload photos to Google's Picasa and use Google's YouTube for videos. Oh, and I also upload blogged photos to Google's Blogger. Did I just say Google three times - seems that way. Why then, does Google not have a photo uploader that opens within Twitter? Perhaps it does, but I've not found it.

So, I have New Twitter on a laptop (sporting win7). Screen is split, we all know that, new tweet comes flying in and the tiny photo thumbnail tells me - a photo is active. Usually this can be via Twitpic, Twitvid, Yfrog and others. Is there a need for me to use, yet another app - I think so, here's why.

When I post, I then tweet it to tell my followers it's new. Photos and Videos are held within the blog post as that's where I'd like the audience to end up. That helps my stats. Then again, as a reader of tweets (not my own), I want the image (or video) to be instant and not open in a new browser. Twitpic and Twitvid do this (Yfrog is supoposed to do it, but seems I can make a sandwich in the time some stuff opens.

Well, we have Twitpic owned by Noah Everett (see the Wiki), launched early 2008 and an Alexa ranking of 97. Odd, no mention on wiki page that twitpic handles videos too - but we all know it can. The widget embeds easily and it loads fast on my whatsinKenilworh site. I've just found the cool head tagging tool - very useful.

Where Twitvid is owned by Twitter (defaults in Tweetdeck), ranks in at 3,980 with Alexa and cannot be found in Wikipedia, odd that, it redirects to Twitter page, then has no mention. The widget, not great - stalled many times at my blog, so now it's gone.

My vote goes to...no surprises, you've guessed it - Twitpic all the way.

Flat Earth News by Nick Davies

When someone says to you, 'Read Flat Earth News by Nick Davies.' Do it. If you don't have a copy, get one. Sure you don't need me to say how valuable the ideas are, but if you do, then think about how you want your truth served up. Update: Seems first year Politics students at University of Warwick have FEN as required reading - then again, why wouldn't they? 

Links about the book: YouTube when Nick Davies visited CU (not the best video, but he summarises key ideas quite well). Nick Davies at Wikipedia. Google Search: Flat Earth News by Nick Davies.

How to add in line links in a Comment to a Blogger Post

When adding a comment to a blog post using Blogger, automatically, it is text only. Some websites/blogs allow links to be left using these tags

If you wish to add an in line link (and you are using Blogger). Compose a new draft post, using HTML like this:






viewing on the blog (with the link) as...

I agree with this post and see www.whtasinKenilworth.com for more. HTML looks like this...

Then copy and paste this to Comment box (from the Edit HTML tab) and base of the post you are commenting on. See base of this post. That's it.

How I use Twitter and How to Get Started for those who don't

@wiKenilworth on an ipod

I've been asked to run some training sessions on Twitter, so an easy way to start, is tell you how I use it and and how you can get started if you don't. If you use Twitter already - great, pitch in and add a comment to this post.

I joined Twitter as @wiKenilworth on 3 December 2010, 167 days ago. Since then, I've made 1,370 tweets, follow 163 others and have 252 followers - so, that's about eight tweets a day.

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis

There has been no other single piece of information (apart from all the rest) that has influenced me in the last six months than What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis.

I have to be careful when I talk about the book as it clearly states under copy right that I am not allowed to reverse engineer the book in anyway - I take that to mean using all letters in the alphabet, so I am clearly breaking that rule already.

So why is it so good then? It's a Manual for the Future with it's simple ideas that make perfect digital sense. but that comes at a price with depression, anxiety and loss. If you are on the digital side of the net, it could be a party. Jarvis tells us all to create a something, make it pubic and share it. Then Google will find you and it's all clickable, searchable and linkable fun. See my full notes about WWGD? here I am interested to hear from anyone who has read it.

When Sergey and Larry founded Google on 4 September 1998, I qualified as a teacher and began my first post. Twelve years on I struggle to be heard in any school when it comes to technology. Professor Stephen Heppell at Bett 2010 summed it up when he said there is a gap between the schools that are doing pioneering stuff and those simply doing a shiny version of 19th century teaching.

But this post is not about schools or education, it is about the ideas in this book and how they can be applied in real life. In my case, using my eyes and ears by creating something for Google to see and then adding simple value to the immediate community. Google street view launched in 3D on 1st April 2010 (click the logo on the left - you will need some 3D glasses though).

Googled by Ken Auletta and Here Comes Eveverybody by Clay Shirky

This is far the best book I have read about Google and it's founders. Amazon lists the book as 25 Feb 2010, so it's quite new. Ken Auletta talks at length about the ideas - he comes across as humble and genuine.

Have you read it? Tell me what you think. I don't see Google as a company that chases the $100 billion. Or how Google is in the news for all the wrong reasons i.e. China, News aggregation, rows with Apple. I see it as two guys who had a project to download the whole internet twelve years ago and filled up a house with computers in the process. They were $25 million down  before they had a clue how to make the first cent.

Auletta weaves interesting fact with the thoughts and behaviours of Sergey Brin and Larry Page. There was a freaky moment while reading the book where I thought that any web page is just an advertisement for something else - well is it? Go read it and find out for yourself.

I first heard of Clay Shirky from WWGD do? by Jarvis with the idea that people can organise themselves while using the internet to get off the internet (see Meetup and the witches). This book is a harder read, but is worth it, even to understand how Wikipedia was a failure at first (Publish then Filter solved that).

Key ideas like the Birthday Paradox, Power Law and the Long Tail now have meaning - ask the Mermaids from Coney Island, see Flickr.

Shirky claims we now have the tools to change the world - is he right? Read this book and find out. As history states, the medieval scribes were none too happy about the printing press. Shirky has many videos at ted.com - see one on groups here.

I am not a fan of Facebook, but group organisation was in action when an X-factor winner's song failed to reach number one in the music charts.

Comments and Share Buttons - Use Them

This site, like all new media is a conversation, so let's say something. At the base of every post is a comment button and next to it you can share the article by Email,  Blogger, Twitter, Facebook and Google's Buzz.

News and how to use this site?

If you know what you're looking for, type a word or two in the search box on the right. If you are just looking, click on word from the tag cloud (this is the A-Z contents of the site - the more times a phrase is indexed, the larger the font becomes).

There is also a list of the most recent posts (also on the right). You can scroll down to the site archive and see all the 130+ posts in date order.  If something is missing - and I know it is, just let me know (I will not stop until I answer all of What's in Kenilworth?

I am pleased to say that Google are indexing these posts with Google Street View showing as limited augmented reality, for example, see the road outside the Sweet Shop.

Data from the sites tell me people are looking at pages here for just over 6 minutes and at nearly a thousand page views, the site is growing in readership quite well. Remember, most people will see pages from websites these days without ever going past the front page.  This site is written as a blog and every single word is Google searchable - try it for your self from search page on this page or any Google search box on a mobile, laptop or pc. I know Google's page rank sorts pages and sites, but look at the way this site is moving up the Google rankings - it is doing well without any SEO or clever web page techniques (and there are many).

My advice, get a message, say it and Google will find you - it's that simple and that's it. I will and can show you how. I am a teacher by trade, but have used the web since it started - I find it easy, but as I have said before, I know others do not and I will help you.

I would like to put a group together to meet in person to help everyone blog and web publish. If you want to know more email me at info@whatsinkenilworth.com My idea is to meet anywhere in Kenilworth that has free wifi - that's Costa, Pizza Pizzo, Starbucks and maybe The Virgins and Castle (when I check it out). BT have a great way for home users to share their wifi signal, see at www.btfon.com - see the photo on the right for a quick map.

It seems the UK is short on good bloggers. It is the new way of mass amateurisation. In other words, anyone can be anything they like armed with a mobile phone, laptop and some web access. Take a look at my Google Profile and see what Pete Cashmore is all about - ever heard of him? I thought not. To be well known bloggers you must be known as a result of doing something on the web, not as a result of something else. For example, Stephen Fry is well known on Twitter etc, but he was a comedian/actor first. Martin Lewis from the www.moneysavingexpert.com is known because of his website. Martin is a financial journalist, so he may not count either. If you want to know more see the Forbes Web 25 or even the Top 100 Blogs in the world. Look at number 3, it's www.mashable.com run by Pete Cashmore. I do not use mashable, I prefer www.digg.com as Kevin Rose blogs and videoblogs about how he's done it all, see kevinrose.com.

Also, remember any text that is blue is a link to something else, for example, the word 'augmented reality' above links to the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality which describes what that subject is all about. Great, because the key words in this digital age are clickable, searchable and linkable - and if you are not any of those, Google will not find you. I think of the internet these days as Google because at at 63-90% of a market share (it depends where you get these percentages - just Google Market share for yourself).

If I have not bored you already - head on over to The Mike Downes Page and see some of the books I've read and ideas I have. See you there.

Google Business Listings - Errors and Opportunity

There is the real world and there is the Google world and in between there is someone like me. One of the tasks I have set is to close the gap where Google Maps are inaccurate and outdated. For example, searching for 'supermarket kenilworth' returns the usual results including Budgens (which closed in 2004) and Sainsburys is listed as being on a farm near Stoneleigh.

So why is this? Google Maps collects data mostly from thomsonlocal.com. I have 150 Kenilworth businesses listed on this website - which are accurate as I live in Kenilworth and I know they exist. I was happily correcting the errors and now Google are off to moderate the listings - word from the web is this could take a while.

I can provide a service for those businesses that do not have their own website and have not claimed their business listings either. If you have a Kenilworth Business and want to be found on Google, claim it yourself (you will need a free Google account) or email me and I will tell you how info@whatsinkenilworth.com and make sure you have the right help.

There are a few articles on the web about this kind of error, see one here where this company was trying to correct an entry where a hospital was having an error with it's A and E listing which stopped urgent calls getting through as Google listed the number as the general switchboard.

Translate What's in Kenilworth? into 57 languages

Google Translate let's you easily transform any web page or text into the language of your choice with 57 to choose from. Really useful for learning a new language, doing you homework or finding out What's in Kenilworth? if you are visiting from overseas. See Google Translate on the right of this page.

Google test post to assess indexing

Google is a great search engine and that is most of the time. However, sometimes text can get lost - you know it's there, but Google cannot see it.  This has happened to the post below found at:

http://www.whatsinkenilworth.com/2010/05/kenilworth-weekly-news-in-warwick-road.html

Google indexed the blog post, proof of that comes as Icerocket.com found it, see the search result.

Then comes a test when a selection of the post is searched from Google with quotation marks:

 "The KWN website has no relationship to the print copy edition. For example, headline as Fri 14 May 2010"

The post is now not found - how odd.  I have pasted he whole post (minus any links) below to see if Google searches correctly this time and then I will learn... let's see what happens.
_______________________________________________________________________
Kenilworth Weekly News‎
31 Warwick Road CV8 1LJ
01926 852 870‎
www.kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk
(The KWN website has no relationship to the print copy edition. For example, headline as Fri 14 May 2010 reads 'Police target house burglars' - that is not found anywhere on the KWN website or with a detailed Google search). What is also alarming is the KWN website has now introduced intensive advertising).

Sad times for a newspaper that was established in 1946. When you pay 50p for the newspaper on a Friday, there are very few pages of Kenilworth News (around five feature stories a week).

Currently, the Kenilworth Weekly News sells an average of 3,533 copies per week (in a town population of 26,000 or so). That was 3,704 copies per week in August 2009 as reported by the Press Gazette.

Did you know that one paper copy of the KWN laid end to end is about 24 metres in length, by selling 3,533 copies a week the paper will stretch for 53 miles - what a waste of paper and not searchable, linkable and clickable either.

The KWN is owned by Johnston Press who have financial difficulties and have shut five titles, but say they have 'no plans as we speak' to cut more titles (see The Guardian).


Johnston Press have played down suggestions that their idea of a paywall (they were asking online readers to pay £5.00 for 3 months access) for their online versions has failed, see BBC News and The Guardian once again.  In my rough estimates from searching the web, KWN may get 16% of their revenue by selling the newspaper for 50p, the rest comes from advertising. But in these difficult times advertising spending is decreasing and Johnston Press are trying hard to cope with the threat of full digital editions and competition.

For those of you who do not know, many years ago there were very few ways to get the news - the most popular, buy it every day in hard copy paper version from a newsagent (yes I know there was TV and Radio too). Since 1998 (when Google came alive) titles have disappeared as people like Google aggregate the news which means linking to all the news stories and show them in their search results.  This has left people like Rupert Murdoch not selling papers like The Times and losing money, blaming Google and trying to charge for readers for online news, see this BBC article.  Many say this will not work, I agree. On the other hand, The Guardian have introduced an iphone application and sold it via the Apple iTunes store where readers pay once and possibly never again.

This idea that a town newspaper (aka the KWN) is shrinking and may eventually close is one of the reasons I have made this website. And it does not stop there, the Official Kenilworth Town Website is also under threat as it has never really been updated since it was first published (well over a year). If you missed that article click here. Even then it caters for the large businesses but not the small ones who matter - they need the coverage most to survive.

I have always been a big fan of the Kenilworth Weekly News since my first Soapbox column in 1999, but times are changing and anyone can report the news these days - even me. (If the article is too small, click here for a larger one.

How good are you at a Google Search? Here are 20 tips

Did you know that most people find information on websites without ever going via the front page of the site? Here's how it works, Google visits a website, takes a copy and indexes it. You go to Google, enter a search (or for those of you speaking your search on mobiles - well done) and see the results (of the copy that Google holds). If you want see to what copy Google has, click the cached link on each result. Go to Google, enter a search (or for those of you speaking your search on mobiles - well done) and see the results.

Most popular is open search, here are the other 19 ways to search. I know I didn't write them - I do what I do best and link to the rest (and yes I know that are not my words - Google them and find out for yourself, so who said them first?).

Google have produced a Cheat Sheet, it's called the Google Help: Cheat Sheet click the thumbnail on the right or see the link.

How did I do this? Polaroids and Bookshelves

At the top of this page is a bookshelf made from many photographs of Kenilworth shop signs - cropped, rotated and arranged. On the left is a Polaroid of the five political parties I made a few moments ago. So how did I do it? If I can - anyone can. Here's how:

Go to any web page or Google images will be fine. Take a screen shot (I use the Snipping Tool in Vista). Open Google Picasa, select images, create a collage. Save as an image, make another collage, use a polaroid border this time. Rotate and save again. It's done.

That was the fast version. Over at The Mike Downes Page you can get the deeper version. My aim is to get as many people as possible to know how to do all of this (if they want to).

I have taught children in primary schools for years. There is no faster moving area than technology. It is the children who can move the fastest - adults try to think too much and feel they will break stuff. They can't. I am lucky and I know it when it comes digital stuff - it makes sense to me. I know that for others it is not, that's why I want to help everyone, to give as much knowledge away for free as possible. I would like to hear from any bloggers in Kenilworth. Email me info@whatsinkenilworth.com or subscribe to these sites - let's work together and make it happen.