Jenn’s Other Blog

The Setting:

McAlester, OK in Pittsburg County (East-Central, OK, about an hour-and-a-half south of Tulsa, OK)

The characters:

• Jim Bob Miller - District Attorney
• Michael Ethan Miller - Jim Bob’s Son
• Gene Stipe - Former State Senator, Convicted Felon
• Wayne Stipe - Nephew of Gene Stipe
• Harold King - Operator of the “McAlester Watercooler”

The background:

The McAlester Watercooler (McCooler.net) according to it’s home page:

Our goal is to provide the citizens of McAlester, Oklahoma a place to voice their views about the on-going City events. All suggestions are welcome….Keeping it positive doesn’t mean living in denial.

According to a recent report in the Tulsa World:

King said he has been trying to get the district attorney and “most of the Pittsburg County judges” prosecuted for alleged corruption. Commentary on his Web site concerns local politics and the federal government’s investigation and prosecutions of political corruption, kickbacks to legislators, and state funds that were illegally funneled to businesses controlled by Gene Stipe.

King also told The Oklahoman:

The site focuses on McAlester politics — particularly matters related to former state Sen. Gene Stipe.

In December 2005, King filed a police report claiming Stipe assaulted him. Stipe and his brother Francis filed a stalking complaint, accusing King of harassing them. Gene Stipe also obtained a protective order against King and accused him of libel.

According to the Tulsa World report, Stipe, then an associate of Stipe have each unsucessfully gone after King on “libel” accusations, which if successful, would have carried penalties up to a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

On the page if his site where members are encouraged to enter their opinions, is the following quote:

Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason. -Thomas Paine - Introduction to Common Sense

The story:

The tumult, it seems, has not yet subsided, because over the weekend, King filed a police report and sought a temporary restraining order against Wayne Stipe.

According to a report in the Tulsa World:

King filed a police report Saturday [August 9, 2008] after Wayne Stipe allegedly hit him in the mouth outside a grocery store, records show.

Wayne Stipe said: ‘This man has been trying to pick a fight with me for the last three years. He was finally successful. He picked a fight with me, and I defended myself. I felt like I was about to be attacked by the crazy man.’

Asked whether King physically assaulted him, Wayne Stipe said King ‘verbally assaulted’ him.

King said: ‘I don’t know how you pick a fight when you say, ‘No, I don’t want to talk to you. Go away.’ He hit. I didn’t.’

So then, on Tuesday August 12, 2008, according to a report in The McAlester News that McAlester police detectives handed him subpoenas:

I was at home and they came and knocked on my door…I understand it was due to a criminal investigation requested by elected officials…[I] was not told which elected officials, or official, requested the investigation…

The Tulsa World is reporting that:

McAlester Police Capt. Don Hass said the investigation concerns ‘criminal libel’ complaints.

King Told The Oklahoman that he:

…researched posts under those pseudonyms and found one common denominator: All had written critically about Pittsburg County District Attorney Jim Miller.

Miller, according to The Oklahoman, had no comment about any investigation, but he told the Tulsa World that, “he thinks some statements posted on the Web site about him and others are libelous.”

King, calling the request for 35 names a “witch hunt,” says he needs more information before turning over any information about the bloggers (commenters) on his site:

I’m waiting specifically for what they need. There has to be a real need — and that need has to be balanced against the Constitutional rights of the blogger. Blanket requests will not be accepted. If they would be specific, I would be happy to contact that person and have them get in touch.

King told the Tulsa World he would file an objection to the subpoena.

There are several possible grounds — ranging (from) Bill of Rights issues to procedural ones. The problem that really concerns me is what they might try next.

The ramifications:

And that, my friends, is a concern for the entire online community. Right now, there is a request by either a prosecutor or a judge for the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of people who have posted criticism (some anonymously or pseudonymously) of local elected officials. The possible ramifications of such a precedent, if successful, are staggering, nationwide, in the online community, particularly the political online community. We need to watch this closely.

The “libel” complaint could easily be used as a weapon to silence dissent. As Joey Senate, past president of FOI Oklahoma Inc. and associate professor of journalism at Oklahoma State University, pointed out to The Oklahoman, the subpoena could have:

…a chilling effect. It just smacks of trying to chill criticism. We have a right to speak anonymously, especially about political matters.

(hat-tip, Okie Campaigns and The McCarvile Report Online)

In our most recent survey, one of the major needs expressed by respondents was a need for ways to social network more effectively. As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite social networking site is Facebook, because of its ability to interface with all so many of the other sites, and because I believe it is an example of the future of social networking.

Facebook is useful for many aspects of social networking, but the one we’re going to discuss today is promoting your own blog. Before I get started listing the blog promotion opportunities, I cannot stress enough the importance of not overusing any of these strategies - and the importance of not using Facebook only for promoting a blog. Try that, and you’ll lose friends faster than you can add them. The purpose of Facebook is to foster genuine networking relationships - and no one like to be “spammed.” But along with superpoking, sharing videos, writing on friends walls, and responding to clever status messages, here are some great blog-promotion opportunites with Facebook:

1. Sign up for FriendFeed, and add the FriendFeed Facebook Application, and selectively submit your blog posts to the Feed.
2. If you’re on Twitter, you can automate the above submissions by adding TwitterFeed, and then adding your Twitter stream to your FriendFeed.
3. Join Groups that relate to the content of your blog, or start a group on the topic of your blog. As a group administrator, you can message the members of the group when you have an action item that your think they’ll all be interested in (heed word of caution above about overusing these techniques).
4. Put links to your really important stuff in your “status” message (occassionally). Note, there are several Twitter apps on Facebook that automatically update your Twitter status to your Facebook status - if you’ve installed the TwitterFeed app in #2 above, I would not recommend using these apps. Your Facebook Friends might grow weary of the constant blog promotion directly on Facebook.)

Also see:

• Patrick Ruffini: The Early Adopter Effect
• Facebook info on the WebWarriors Wiki
• How to Develop a Social Networking Profile in Four Easy Steps
• Friendfeed: Web 2.0 for Fans of Discussion Forums

Friday is your last chance to sign up now for BlogWorldExpo 2008 at the best possible rate, so don’t miss it! The Conference is September 20-21 in Las Vegas.

I went last year, and learned a lot, so I’m planning to go back this year. From the site:

BlogWorld features the largest blogging conference in the world including more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and internet-savvy business. If you are currently blogging, vlogging, podcasting, producing other forms of new media content, entering the new media industry, or just want to know what the blogosphere is all about, then you need to be at the most comprehensive blogging convention–BlogWorld & New Media Expo. Located in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center at: 3150 Paradise Road, Las Vegas, NV 89109

Vegas, baby! See you there.

Note: You can support Ft. Hard Knox by signing up using one of the links from this site. Also, if you would like to become an affiliate, and register your own blog readers, click here, or on the affiliate link at the top right of this page.

(Updated)

Do you have an online presence, or is your online reputation a bit hap-hazzard, with um-teen different ID’s and profiles on who-knows-how-many social networking sites out there? It’s time to get it together, and show some virtual self-respect. Developing an effective online profile takes a little planning and work, but it is not difficult, if you follow these four easy steps.

1. Choose a name.

   This is the name you’re going to use everywhere online, so choose wisely. You can use your own name, of course, but if you have safety and privacy concerns, you may want to choose a pseudonym. I recommend choosing a name that sounds like a real name (i.e., has a first and last name, like “Jenn Sierra”), so that you’ll also be able to use it on sites like Facebook and Linked-In. Alternatively, some social networkers choose a name that reflects their online interests or political stance (e.g., Foeammer, or bamapachyderm).

   Keep in mind, that if the name you choose is too overtly “anti” any group of people, including anti-jihad, it may eventually be banned by some of the more politically correct social networking sites, and/or make you a target for “burying” by the users on those sites. Your courage in choosing such a name is commendable, but you may find that it becomes more tiring than you think to have to continuously “start over” with new user ID’s and profiles.

2. Get a free e-mail account using your new name.

   This can be done through a plethora of e-mail services like g-mail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.. Don’t use your internet service provider (like AOL, or Cox), because if you change providers, you’ll lose your e-mail address. Begin developing a list of contacts and networking with those contacts by e-mail whenever possible.

3. Choose an avatar.

   This is the little picture that will be beside your username nearly everywhere. Choose one you like…it should be a square, and save it to your harddrive or photosharing site in a few different sizes, from 50×50 pixels to about 400×400 pixels.

4. Join social networking sites, using your new e-mail address, avatar, and name.

   …or as close to your name as you can get. The longer the site has been active, the more likely someone has already used that name, so you may have to add a number or a suffix to your user ID on some sites.

   Join networks as you discover them. You will be more active on some networks than others. On some, you’ll simply be reserving your username, but on a few, you’ll be actively developing online networking relationships by participating in voting on articles and especially in the discussions.

   On the more established networks like Facebook and Stumblupon, use the friend-finder feature which checks your e-mail address books for friends that are already using the social networking sites. This helps you develop a friends-list quickly.

And there you go - you have a Web 2.0 presence. Take care of it. Your reputation online is as valuable as your repuation in “real life.”

Update: See Get a Gravatar, by ChrisG of Blogging and New Media

(Also on FHK)

Buying (and in some cases hoarding) domain names is still a big business for some seeking to make a profit online. One of the most famous domain name battles was the one over the WalMart.com / Wal-Mart.com domain name, in which an early domain name speculator bought the Walmart.com domain name, hoping to make a huge profit when Wal-Mart finally went online. Wal-Mart turned the tables on him by adding a hyphen to its name and domain name, making the original domain name virtually worthless at the time. Lawsuits ensued.

If you type in either Wal-Mart.com or WalMart.com, you’ll see who eventually won that battle.

Another tactic used by domain name speculators is to grab up the alternate top-level domains (TLD’s) like .org, .net, .tv, .info, .gov of famous organizations, or catch-phrases that promise to be popular. Remember “Don’t Taze me, Bro!”? Some industrious person(s) went to GoDaddy.com, and grabbed up donttazemebro.com, donttazemebro.net, donttazemebro.org, donttazemebro.info, donttazemebro.tv…etc..

Well, as of today, there’s a new domain name craze. “.me” is the TLD for Montenegro, but has lots of possibilities for domain name speculators worldwide. (hmmm…I wonder if help.me, love.me, bite.me, and youdontknow.me are taken?)

Hat-Tip: Quick Online Tips

Also on Ft. Hard Knox

This post is dedicated to FHK’s Ron, our IT Guy, who has been trying to get me to use target=”_blank” in our outbound links for over a year. Sorry, Ron…you know…the ADD thing…

Now, where was I? Oh, yes! You know what’s really maddening as a blogger? When you research and post a great blogpost, with some great links, and when you check your “IP’s” and “actions” later on your stats, you realize, readers found your article, then promptly clicked out of our blog to your link, never to return. How can this be avoided?

Code your hyperlink to open in a new window (this makes it easier for your readers to get back to your article), by adding (minus the brackets): [target="_blank"] to your hyperlink, so it would look like this:

For more information about using hyperlinks, see “Adding Hyperlinks,” or the WWF Wiki.

Chad, of the Grizzly Groundswell, reminds us that if you are using the visual editor in Wordpress, one of the drop-down options available in the “link” box is the option to have the link open in a new window. Using this, you will not have to enter the code manually.

Also see:

• The FHK Hyperlinks Archive
• HTML Code Tutorial

Bloggers, how many times have you noticed that you’re getting traffic from a link on one of the “huge” blogs and websites on the web…only to check your Technorati links and Google alerts to find that the link isn’t showing up? Have you wondered why that’s happening?

Chances are pretty good that the Biggie-Blog (or social-networking site) is adding the code: rel=”no follow” to its outgoing links.*

As we know, one of the ways to increase Google page-rank (and Technorati authority) is to get links from other blogs (For more info on why Page Rank is important, see Why Conservatives Need to Geek-Up). All of the Biggie Blogs got big by receiving lots of links from other bloggers. But now, it seems, even among politically-conservative bloggers (which are decidedly a minority in the blogosphere), some are unwilling to help other like-minded blogs in the same manner. They have started putting the rel=”no follow” code in all of their outgoing links, to preserve their own page rank.

Others are selectively inserting the code, so that they only support other bloggers that they want to support with “link love.” This is a more responsible use of the rel=”nofollow” code.

What is rel=”nofollow”?

This code was actually developed by Google a couple of years ago to try to help prevent comment spam. It didn’t work for that, but what it did do was give bloggers a whole new way to compete with each other for page rank. Some figured out that they could use their knowledge about the code to preserve their own Google ranking while still receiving links from lesser-experienced bloggers who didn’t know how to use the code.

How does using rel=”nofollow” preserve (or stop leaking) page rank?

A couple of very thorough explanations are here and here, but in a nutshell, the more links you have on a page, the less each link is worth in Google’s highly-secretive and ever-changing system for determining page rank. Therefore, linking to outside bloggers reduces the “value” of your own internal links. Currently, if you use rel=”nofollow” in your outgoing links, those links will theoretically not be counted against you, and will also not increase the linked blogger’s page rank.

How/Where do I insert rel=”nofollow” on my links?

(For general information on hyperlinks, see Adding Hyperlinks, and Hyperlinks on the WWF Wiki) When the code is added to a link, the link will look like this:

So, when should rel=”nofollow” be used?

Here are my suggestions (and I am open to discussion on these) - these are guidelines, not hard and fast rules:

1. Use it when you know the linked blog is not going to return the link. (Some blogs simply don’t return links.)
2. Use it when you do not wish to increase the page rank of the other blogger (i.e., the other blog is a competitor or opponent).
3. Use it when you need to link to a for-profit blogging site, like a retailer, or so-called “spam blog.” (Google often punishes these blogs on the page ranking, as well as any blogs that link to them.)
4. In the comments section, which is susceptible to spam (Wordpress does this automatically -in fact, if you want to disable the feature, you’ll need to a plug-in like one of these.)

Is there a time when rel=”nofollow” should NOT be used. (i.e. Wouldn’t it be easier to just include it in all outgoing links?)

Sure, this is a good idea of you are so big and so powerful that you no longer need to network with other bloggers to maintain your success online.

For the rest of us, who actually are interested in building up the conservative movement online, I would strongly recommend not using the rel=”nofollow” tag on links to other bloggers you want to network with. This would include:

1. Blogrolls (Assuming you’re using blogrolling software that IS recognized by the search engines).
2. Blogbursts (Remember, one of the reasons you signed up for the blogburst was to get links from other bloggers, so don’t be ugly, and not return the links.)
3. “Hat-Tips” (”Thank-you’s” for good leads for stories, either via e-mail or from other blogs)
4. Links to information you’ve borrowed or quoted from another blog to support a point you’re trying to make (C’mon - if you’re going to use their stuff, give them credit, and share some link-love! This does not necessarily apply when you’re “exposing” rather than “using” info from other blogs - see #2 in the previous list.)

Alright, who is Using and who is Abusing the code online?

To see if your favorite blogger is using (or abusing) the code, simply go to a post on their site, and click “view” then “source” (or “page source”). Then use “Edit-Find” to see if the rel=”nofollow” code is in ALL of the links, or just in links to their opponents, competitors, advertising sites, etc.. You might be surprised at who is more interested in preserving their own page rank, rather than promoting conservatism online.

More information on using rel=”nofollow” can be located on the following sites:

• LinkTutorial.com: Attribute ‘rel=nofollow’
• Wikipedia: nofollow
• About.com: rel nofollow - What does this mean?

*Another possibility, if the link is not showing is that the link may be included in a script that is not recognized by the search engines…see: Enough, Already…We’re Blog UNrolling! (Updated)

Mashable featured a great new site today, called LiveNewsCameras.com:

On the whole, LiveNewsCameras is a simple invention, but something that a number of news junkies will find appealing, particular when away from the television set. Furthermore, those interested in viewing news from time zones or regions unique from their own can make some use of the broad selection of channels delivered through the new site. In addition to a broad swath of US-bases news channels, LiveNewsCameras provides viewers with one-click access to videos streams, including regular weather reports as well as international broadcasters like BBC World, Sky News, France 24, Al Jazeera, and NHK Japan.

I checked it out, and it is incredible. There are over 200 feeds already. I watched live from the Pentagon, as Bush greeted the atheletes and fans at the Wounded Warriors Bike ride. There are news and weather channels all over the U.S., and about 16 abroad. This is a news junkie’s dream. Check it out.

The only thing that could make this better is a way to embed this on a blog.

Wikio has a list of the monthly rankings for the most influential blogs in the blogosphere: (Hat-Tip, Jack Givens)

How are these rankings compiled?

The position of a blog in the Wikio ranking depends on the number and weight of the incoming links from other blogs. These links are dynamic, which means that they are backlinks or links found within articles.

Blogrolls are not taken into account and Wikio only counts links from the last 120 days. We thus hope to provide a classification more representative of trends in the blogosphere.

Moreover, the weight of a link depends on the linking blog’s position in the Wikio ranking. With our algorithm, the weight of a link from a top blog is greater than that of a link from a blog that is less well ranked.

Our rankings also include Top Blogs for several categories: Technology, Politics, etc. New categories will be added on a regular basis.

Under “Politics,” the top ten are:

1. The Corner
2. Daily Kos
3. The Caucus
4. Think Progress
5. Michelle Malkin
6. Political Ticker
7. The Daily Dish
8. The Liberal Blog Network
9. Crooks and Liars
10. NewsBusters

Under “Technology” the top ten are:

1. TechCrunch
2. Gizmodo
3. Engadget
4. Daring Fireball
5. Mashable
6. Boing Boing
7. ReadWriteWeb
8. Valleywag
9. Lifehacker
10. MSDN Blogs

For a general list and other content-matter blog rankings, go here.

As you can see, this list is a little more objective than the one Time Magazine released recently. It is also helpful, because it tells readers how they can legitimately improve the ranking of their favorite blogs (hint: links are important!).

WEbook (beta) is a new “User Generated Book” site that combines the collaborative writing process of group blogs and wikis with social networking. Writers on WEbook can work individually, within their group of friends, or with the entire WEbook community to produce content, the best of which (as determined by the community) is published for sale to the public by WEbook.

Even if you’re not a writer, you can review and provide feedback for active projects, if requested by the authors.

The service is free to the users, and if your work is chosen for publication, WEbook says it’ll foot the publishing bill, and you get to share in the profits of projects you’ve contributed to. The down side is that everyone who has contributed significantly to the book once it sells gets to share in a whopping 5% of the royalties - so don’t plan to make a lot of money on this type of project. It’s mostly for sharing information, and honing your writing skills.

WEbook explains how writers can benefit from using the site:

First, you will find a very talented community of writers, reviewers, and readers at WEbook who will give you terrific feedback on your writing, whether you start your own project or jump into one of the existing public projects on WEbook. You can work on a public project or start a private project with a group of your friends and benefit from their input.

Second, posting your work at WEbook gives you a shot at being published by WEbook. Unlike “vanity publishing,” WEbook foots the bill for published books and markets them on our site and other retail channels. The community itself will rate work, and a la American Idol, help tap the next published books for the WEbook imprint.

Third, if you do find yourself selected for publication (either as an author of a chapter of a novel, an essay in a collection, or a book you lead), you will be entitled to a percentage of the royalties on sales of a book to which you made a major contribution. WEbook allocates 5% of sales to royalties for contributors (authors and those who provide valuable feedback), and you would secure a share.

Finally, you’ll enjoy the esteem and admiration of friends, fame, pride, and that nice warm feeling you get inside when you do something you’ve always dreamed of.

And explains the collaborative writing process:

Collaborative writing is not a parlor game. At WEbook, collaborative writing takes many forms. Writers can create chapters together, contribute individual features to a collection, or just get feedback on their own work . WEbook dismisses the legend of the lonely author working alone in the attic in favor of an entirely different model: The dynamic creation of a new kind of content, borne of the active involvement of countless talented writers, readers, and reactors engaged at WEbook.com.

Working with other people gives you a chance to play to your strengths. You can post a fledgling idea, help flesh out someone else’s inspiration, give a friend advice on improving her writing, or write a chapter that picks up on the twists of the one before it. At WEbook, you can always find the sweet spot in the creative process, and WEbooks are far better for the infusion of so much talent.

WEbook will leverage the wisdom of the crowd to create, rate, and elevate the very best work for publication.

WEbooks is funded by Greylock Partners which has also invested in well-known sites like Linked-In, Digg, Constant Contact, Facebook, and many others.

To find out more, check out the FAQ’s.

(Hat-tip, Mashable)