Programmer Love Letter

4:08 PM Yudhi 0 comments

Sweetheart, I've seen you yesterday while surfing on local train platform and realised that you are the only site I was browsing for.
For long time, I've been lonely,this has been the bug in my life and you can be a real debugger for me now. My life is just uncompiled program without you which never produces an executable code and hence is useless.

You are not only beautiful by face but all your ActiveX controls are attractive as well. Your smile is so delightful which encourages me and gives power to me equal to thousands of mainframes processing power
When you looked at me last evening, I felt like all my program modules are running smoothly and giving expected results. /* which I never experienced before */.

With this letter, I just want to convey you that, if we are linked together, I'll provide you all objects & libraries necessary for human being to live a error free life. Also don't bother about the firewall which may be created by our parents as I've strong hacking capabilities by which I'll ultimately break their security passwords and make them agree for our marriage.
I anticipate that nobody has already logged in to your database so that my connect script will fail. And its all certain that if this happened to me, my system will crash beyond recovery.

Kindly interpret this letter properly and grant me all privileges of your inbox.

- A Software Professional :D
Labels: Technology

Bad SEOs or Bad SEOs Client?

10:25 AM Yudhi 0 comments

You hear all the time about bad SEOs. Bad SEOs are offering worthless services, failing to deliver on their internet marketing promises, polluting the search engine results?well, a lot of bad things. But how much ever gets said about bad SEOs' spiritual counterparts: bad SEO clients?

As an SEO, I can see things from the other side of the table. You see, despite trying hard to make it clear I'm a good, ethical, results-oriented, smarter marketing, white-hat SEO, I have gotten no end of inquiries from bad prospective SEO clients. Sure, no one who gets cheated is ever entirely to blame, and some cheated businesses are entirely blameless. But the bad SEOs would have too small a market to stay in business if it weren't for almost-as-bad clients.

Shades of Bad SEO Clients

First, let me make clear what I mean by "bad" SEOs. Bad SEOs are bad because they either do unethical things to get e-marketing results, or because they consistently fail to deliver results. A good SEO delivers results and does it without trampling over other people's rights (like submitting automated comments to their websites or trying to get good sites de-indexed).

A bad SEO client, in turn, is someone who will only be satisfied (albeit temporarily) with a bad SEO. Because they refuse to consider ethical web consultants or smarter marketing strategies, they are creating markets for the e-marketing charlatans and black-hats. There are two basic types of bad SEO clients: crooks and fool--oops, I mean, ethically challenged and judgmentally-challenged.

Ethically-Challenged SEO Clients

I haven't gotten so many inquiries asking for out-and-out unethical services. Still, I've been asked about blog-sp@mming software and other shady internet marketing tactics a couple times. A colleague shared this gem with me: "Have you thought about just scanning a book from the library and using it for web content? Or is that too high-risk?" (Seriously, someone asked him this.)

Of course, judging from the amount of comment sp@m and SEO-motivated hacking on the web, there is plenty of demand for this stuff.

Judgmentally-Challenged SEO Clients

A much larger group of bad SEO clients are simply those who insist on putting themselves in the way of fraud. Yes, that's right: I'm blaming the victim. Someone who goes looking for a $5 gold watch can't cry too long if the watch turns out to be fake or hot. With SEO, there are a few more nuances, but it's the same essential idea.

The overwhelming majority of these judgmentally challenged souls are private individuals whose only business is the business-in-a-kit variety. Yet they are also sometimes representatives of actual successful companies. The real businesspeople tend to be quicker to let their misconceptions go (after all, they can afford the real SEO alternatives), but not always. Let's look at some representative types of this group, straight out of my own inbox (note: these are inquiries from prospects, not actual clients).

1. Something-for-(Little More than)-Nothing Clients

Really, I tend to think these people should be in the ethically challenged group, but maybe that's just the remnant of my work ethic making me be mean There are actually two kinds of these clients:

- The ambitious but cheap client: "I'd like to get to the top of Google for the keyword, 'mortgage' so I can turn over $100,000/month in revenue. I can spend up to $1,000."

-The Adsense-is-my-business-plan client: you wouldn't believe the numbers of inquiries I get from people who only plan to make money off Adsense or other on-site advertising?they don't even have a plan for getting repeat traffic, nor do they have content to synergize with the SEO effort. By buying promotional services, they would essentially be buying advertising in order to make money off advertising?you see where that could be a problem?

Another way of looking at it: why wouldn't I just create a site myself and keep all the profit from my efforts? In fact, most SEOs do have their own project sites, which are often monetized by Adsense. The money we could otherwise get from Adsense is one very low baseline for pricing our services. Legitimate SEO clients are typically selling goods or services at a profit rate that works out to ten or more times what they could get from Adsense.

In addition to the greedy, I also see a few other kinds of less common, but still problematic prospective SEO clients:

2.SEO-Starry-Eyed Clients: "Search engine traffic is definitely the best way for me to get pet-sitting clients in my tiny Himalayan village."

3.The Little-Knowledge-Is-a-Dangerous-Thing Client: "Don't tell me about keyword research, content, anchor text, or natural linking strategy, just get me the PageRank (or links, keyword density, or whatever the fad is)."

4.Gullible-and-Not-Letting-Go Client: "I know of at least two services that will submit my site to thousands of search engines for $29.95. If you can't do that, I'll take my business elsewhere."

5.I-Will-Never-Trust-SEO-But-I'll-Consider-It-Anyway Client: "No one can guarantee a good search engine ranking so this is all pointless?I'll just go with that $29.95 search engine submission package someone just emailed me about. At least it's cheap."

In short, if you are going to find good SEO web consultants, you need: 1) realistic expectations; 2) a realistic budget; 3) solid information. Don't expect something for nothing, do a little reading, and it's much less likely you'll fall victim to bad SEOs.
Labels: Technology

10 Ways to Build Self Confidence

4:22 PM Yudhi 0 comments

Self confidence is the difference between feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your wits. Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.
Although many of the factors affecting self confidence are beyond your control, there are a number of things you can consciously do to build self confidence. By using these 10 strategies you can get the mental edge you need to reach your potential.


Build Self Confidence

1. Dress Sharp
Although clothes don’t make the man, they certainly affect the way he feels about himself. No one is more conscious of your physical appearance than you are. When you don’t look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and interact with other people. Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance. In most cases, significant improvements can be made by bathing and shaving frequently, wearing clean clothes, and being cognizant of the latest styles.
This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot on clothes. One great rule to follow is “spend twice as much, buy half as much”. Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items. In long run this decreases spending because expensive clothes wear out less easily and stay in style longer than cheap clothes. Buying less also helps reduce the clutter in your closet.

2. Walk Faster
One of the easiest ways to tell how a person feels about herself is to examine her walk. Is it slow? tired? painful? Or is it energetic and purposeful? People with confidence walk quickly. They have places to go, people to see, and important work to do. Even if you aren’t in a hurry, you can increase your self confidence by putting some pep in your step. Walking 25% faster will make to you look and feel more important.

3. Good Posture
Similarly, the way a person carries herself tells a story. People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence. They aren’t enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they don’t consider themselves important. By practicing good posture, you’ll automatically feel more confident. Stand up straight, keep your head up, and make eye contact. You’ll make a positive impression on others and instantly feel more alert and empowered.

4. Personal Commercial
One of the best ways to build confidence is listening to a motivational speech. Unfortunately, opportunities to listen to a great speaker are few and far between. You can fill this need by creating a personal commercial. Write a 30-60 second speech that highlights your strengths and goals. Then recite it in front of the mirror aloud (or inside your head if you prefer) whenever you need a confidence boost.

5. Gratitude
When you focus too much on what you want, the mind creates reasons why you can’t have it. This leads you to dwell on your weaknesses. The best way to avoid this is consciously focusing on gratitude. Set aside time each day to mentally list everything you have to be grateful for. Recall your past successes, unique skills, loving relationships, and positive momentum. You’ll be amazed how much you have going for you and motivated to take that next step towards success.

6. Compliment other people
When we think negatively about ourselves, we often project that feeling on to others in the form of insults and gossip. To break this cycle of negativity, get in the habit of praising other people. Refuse to engage in backstabbing gossip and make an effort to compliment those around you. In the process, you’ll become well liked and build self confidence. By looking for the best in others, you indirectly bring out the best in yourself.

7. Sit in the front row
In schools, offices, and public assemblies around the world, people constantly strive to sit at the back of the room. Most people prefer the back because they’re afraid of being noticed. This reflects a lack of self confidence. By deciding to sit in the front row, you can get over this irrational fear and build your self confidence. You’ll also be more visible to the important people talking from the front of the room.

8. Speak up
During group discussions many people never speak up because they’re afraid that people will judge them for saying something stupid. This fear isn’t really justified. Generally, people are much more accepting than we imagine. In fact most people are dealing with the exact same fears. By making an effort to speak up at least once in every group discussion, you’ll become a better public speaker, more confident in your own thoughts, and recognized as a leader by your peers.

9. Work out
Along the same lines as personal appearance, physical fitness has a huge effect on self confidence. If you’re out of shape, you’ll feel insecure, unattractive, and less energetic. By working out, you improve your physcial appearance, energize yourself, and accomplish something positive. Having the discipline to work out not only makes you feel better, it creates positive momentum that you can build on the rest of the day.

10. Focus on contribution
Too often we get caught up in our own desires. We focus too much on ourselves and not enough on the needs of other people. If you stop thinking about yourself and concentrate on the contribution you’re making to the rest of the world, you won’t worry as much about you own flaws. This will increase self confidence and allow you to contribute with maximum efficiency. The more you contribute to the world the more you’ll be rewarded with personal success and recognition.
Labels: Technology

Introvert & Extrovert Motivating

11:09 PM Yudhi 0 comments
Generally we blame motivation or a lack of willpower for failing to keep our Resolutions. But this is too simplistic a view. If you want to create an endless source of motivation you have to understand what motivation is and how it works. Everything in life has many, many layers and levels to it. And motivation is no different.

No one has ever lacked motivation. Probably the most common area where people talk about motivation is losing weight and exercising.

Now why is someone overweight? Because they have too much motivation for the foods that make them put on weight.

Why don’t people exercise? Because they are more motivated to do anything rather than exercise.

The problem is not motivation. You are always motivated, but you are motivated for the things that you feel will bring the greatest rewards or the least pain.

Your motivation depends to a great extent on your personality. Introverts are more interested in avoiding pain, whereas Extraverts are more concerned with possible rewards. Some people have a longer-term view of life, others care more about now.

So an Introvert with a longer-term perspective is far more likely to choose the fat-free option because he or she wants to avoid the pain of being overweight.

Whereas a more impulsive Extravert will probably go for the chocolate cake because the reward now is far more exciting than the possible pain in the future.

Everything we do is based on an economic mindset. By economic I don’t mean financial, but we do attribute everything with a value. And we continually look to maximize our pleasure and reduce our pain.

So if your Resolutions aren’t working out. Look for what you are valuing more. The pay-off may not be obvious or even now, but on some layer or level there must be a pay-off.

This brings us to another aspect of motivation. Different Resolutions work on different levels and as a result access different sources of motivation. The source of motivation you are using will determine how long you stay motivated for.

What does this mean?

Well, there are five levels of Resolution that I can think of. And each one has a slightly longer life span than the last. I think of them like this:

The five levels are;

The Resolution you make because it’s expected of you.

This type of Resolution has no real emotional pay-off to you. It’s just something you are doing because doing something else may cause you the pain of disapproval or the risk of standing out and appearing abnormal.

Doing what’s expected is easy. It saves anyone nagging you and the effort of thinking for yourself.

But once you are out of that situation its hard to maintain, because it loses it’s reward and you have to suffer the pain of carrying it out.


The Resolution you make because you feel bad at the moment.

This type of Resolution is made as a knee jerk reaction in the moment to get rid of a pain. So it has an emotional pay-off, but as soon as the pain has gone there is no reason to continue.

For example, if you really analyze why people exercise – I used to own a Health Club, so I did – you’ll find that they tend to do it because they’re fed up being overweight or unfit or whatever. But this isn’t a sudden decision. Most have been considering exercising for months or even years. What really gets them to start is a more intense emotional pain.

Either a Doctor scares them into exercising or more often it’s a time when they feel insecure. Perhaps they have just got divorced… or their relationship is hitting a rocky patch and they are thinking of either competing for their Partner or being back on the dating market. Whatever the specifics they feel so bad when they worry that they have to do something to ease the pain. ‘Yes, they say I’m determined to stay on the program this time. I know its not a quick fix’. And they mean it when they say it.

Two or three months later though, the situation that was causing the pain has resolved itself one way or another. So the incentive for exercising has gone. Yet still the grind of going through the boring routine is still there. Sooner or later the pain of exercising outweighs the pain relief it used to bring. And then the Resolution ends.
 
The Resolution you make because you want something.

Sometimes this level comes from wanting something to get rid of a pain. And sometimes it just a natural ambition to grow. It lasts until you outgrow the desire or something better comes along.

Often people will go through the other levels of Resolution. And with each stage of evolution they find that life in general starts to feel better after overcoming a problem.

Then somewhere something just clicks and they realize that they feel better because each problem caused them to grow, in order to resolve it. The idea pops into their head that if they were to just grow for the sake of it… life might get more and more enjoyable.

Because this resolution is based on a far more permanent feeling it lasts for far longer than the previous motivations, which were just passing wants. However what you want and do to feel good will change as you grow.

One time you may want X, but three months or three years (depending on how quickly you are evolving) later you change your mind about what will make you feel good. Then your Resolution will change possibly before your motivation goes.

The Resolution you make because it’s you.

There are some things that you just feel so strongly about that you absolutely must do them or you would never do them. This is because they just aren’t you. So the motivation for this type of resolution will last for as long as your identity remains constant.

You can have different Resolutions in different areas of your life at different levels. Each level of resolution represents the overcoming of a problem or an urge to grow.

Overcoming these problems or achieving these desires causes us to grow and evolve. Once we grow there is no going back. Try not being able to ride a bike or do up your shoelaces. So problems and desires are the carrot and the stick forcing us to evolve.

Eventually we can reach a stage where we realize that… all along it was us that created the problems. And if we just accept ourselves as we are… we can enjoy all of life – and life will enjoy us.
Labels: Technology
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