The Yellow Pages company has finally learned something, people don’t want their product. It’s forcefully delivered, dumped in our yards, doorsteps, or anywhere the delivery guy can find access. In this digital age, a hard copy Yellow Book is all but obsolete. However, finding bail bonds, pawn shops, and other seedy establishments still is best via a traditional hard copy Yellow Pages (not that I have experience with this).

Go to the opt out page at yellowpagesoptout.com.

While you’re there, you can also download their sustainability report, because Yellow Books are so great for the environment. You can also learn how to recycle your Yellow Pages, because you wanted it in the first place. You can also get some facts on the Yellow Pages. Did you know that directory pages do not come from freshly cut trees? They just come from recycled paper that could be used to produce products that people won’t dump right back into the trash. Way to make a difference in the world Yellow Pages. The only cliches missing on is the obligatory join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Unfortunately, it appears that consumers’ demand for opting out has overwhelmed their servers.

What do you think? Should Yellow Pages be banned? Should it be an opt-in system? If it’s an opt in system, perhaps the business model no longer works. Advertisers want eyeballs on pages.

The data you post on Facebook is yours. You’re entitled to keep a copy of it for your reference. As an experiment, I was curious what and how much data I have on Facebook. Just in case I wanted to shut down my account, I wanted to keep a backup copy.

To download your data, go to Account and select Account Settings.

Under the settings tab, click on learn more in the Download Your Information section.

Facebook then gives you a long warning about what you’re about to do. This will download a lot of your information including posts, photos, and comments. For some people, it’s is a potential security risk. This data should be stored somewhere safe. Who knows what we have been posting over the years. Imagine when this data is subpoenaed. How much potential incriminating data could be stored. A very scary thought.

Click the green Download button when you’re done reading the warning.

Facebook will then have another warning. It’ll take a lot of heavy lifting on Facebook’s side to compile all the data. Click the green Download button when you’re done reading this warning again.

When you click the green download button, this message will appear.

According to Facebook, here is what is included in the file:

• Your profile information (e.g., your contact information, interests, groups)
• Wall posts and content that you and your friends have posted to your profile
• Photos and videos that you have uploaded to your account
• Your friend list
• Notes you have created
• Events to which you have RSVP’d
• Your sent and received messages
• Any comments that you and your friends have made on your Wall posts, photos, and other profile content

It took approximately 30 minutes for Facebook to process and package my data. I never received the email notification but was able to download the file by following the above steps. The file was 40MB for me, zipped. It contained an index file that neatly links all my photos, friends, notes, etc. It was very scary to scroll down and see notes and posts going back to 2005.

I read a lot of productivity books on a variety of subjects. Most modern books are nothing more than a compilation of the author’s blog posts bound with glue and paper (or in bytes for eBooks).

What makes a book a book?

1. A lot of research – a book of thoughts is just a blog.
2. Hard evidence – a book that draws anecdotal evidence is just an opinion piece.
3. Original analysis – a book that simply collects data and documents and presents it is another form of spam.
4. Authority on the matter – are you a certified expert respected by industry peers? Do you have the credentials to speak on the matter?
5. Value – does your book make a difference in the world? Have you created something that doesn’t already exist or have you simply regurgitated garbage? Remember, garbage in garbage out.

A PDF document is not a book

I see way too many poorly written and badly designed PDF’s pawned off as eBooks. Isn’t that just a document? What have you done to justify the $29.95 price for your collection of blog links and articles. A traditional book goes through a very rigorous editorial process, most likely eliminating that book from consideration even when it’s just an idea.

Way too much fluff

A lot of books I read does have some really good ideas, covered in mountains of fluff. Most books can be condensed into three pages of good points. Instead, it goes on and on with anecdotal stories and markets the author’s services.

Thoughts?

I hope I piss off a lot of people. I’m counting on it. Can you relate to my point above? Let me know.

A like Apple, B like Big, C like Cat. Ever read letters over the phone and had trouble coming up with words for a specific letter.

alpha, bravo (not beta), charlie, delta, echo, foxtrot, golf, hotel, india, juliet, kilo, lima, mike, november, oscar, papa, quebec, romeo, sierra, tango, uniform, victor, whiskey, x-ray, yankee, zulu

How else can you use it? Why not replace text messaging speak with military speak:

WTF: Whisky Tango Foxtrot

LOL: Lima Oscar Lima

RTFM: Romeo Tango Foxtrot Mike

TTYL: Tango Tango Yankee Lima

via {Buttersafe}

This really makes me angry. These products create a perception to consumers that their blueberries really are blueberries. Instead, it’s a combination of oils, sugars, coloring. Unfortunately, what’s the alternative? Ban these products and leave people with no alternative? The natural food products with real blueberries are expensive. A large family on a small income could not afford these natural products.

What alternatives are there?

Out of curiosity, I tried this service to visualize my Linkedin network. Compared to other maps I’ve seen, it appears that first, I have a relatively small network. Second, my network is in discrete groups. The colors represents certain groups. For example, my Pepperdine colleagues. This discrete image also shows that most of my connections are not connected to each other. Maybe some introductions are in order.

Give yours a try at LinkedIn Labs.

Many people sign up for a free blog at WordPress.com or Blogger.com. They’ll typically have domains such as danielscoolpage.wordpress.com. While that’s fine, why not take the next step and host your blog yourself. It gives you more control and allows you to make custom modification. Additionally, your data is stored on your space instead of some company’s servers.

Consider this: pictures, videos, and text posted on Facebook and free blogs resides on someone else’s space. How easy can you take that data with you. Try it. It may be very difficult or impossible. With a self-hosted blog, you can back up your database, download it, and take it with you.

Here is a step by step on how do create your own blog. It’s not meant as a comprehensive guide to everything because that would be replicating tutorials that already exist. Google it.

Step 1. Choose a Web Host

There are thousands of different web hosts out there that will provide you with web disk space and access to your files. Some range from the very simplistic while others host hardware that you own. I personally recommend Dreamhost and have been a customer since 2004. They provide unlimited disk space (for web files), 50GB of personal backup space, automatic backups, great technical support, and one-click installs. The latter will come in handy when you’re trying to install WordPress. The Dreamhost one-click version allows you to follow a simple form to install WordPress. You can even choose to have Dreamhost update the software for you without manual intervention.

You’re free to choose whichever host you prefer. If you’d like to go the Dreamhost route, I’m offering a $59.40 discount coupon code 5BUCKS12. Just enter that when signing up and get one full year for only $60, that’s $5 a month. In full disclosure, I receive $97 from Dreamhost when you sign up. The coupon I’m offering takes $59.40 away from my revenues and gives it to you in the form of a coupon.

Step 2. Register for a Domain Name

Finding a domain name that’s available can be difficult. Almost any dictionary word out there has been already registered by someone. However, many are still available. Have a brainstorming session to figure out what you can register, then go to Domize for real time search. I don’t have a specific recommendation but there are a number of sites that specialize in helping you find domain names. Do a Google search. It’s usually easier to find a obscure domain name, something with numbers, or misspellings of common words.

Once you find your domain name, you’ll want to register it with your host. You can also register it with a number of other registrars out there such as GoDaddy.com. I recommend keeping your domain names registered with your host for ease of setup.

Step 3. Install WordPress

You can download WordPress by going to wordpress.org. Instead, I suggest you find a webhost that will install it for you. In this example, Dreamhost has WordPress as a “one-click” install. After filling in a short form, Dreamhost will automatically install WordPress and even automatically update for you as new updates come.

The form will ask you to create a new database. What is that? The database is a SQL (Structured Query Database) database. Don’t get too caught up on the technical aspects of that. It’s simply a repository for all the data you will be generating. Each post, each image, each category, title, etc. will be stored in that database.

Step 4. Creating Your First Blog

Once you follow the steps, that’s it. Your blog is live. It’ll start out with a first post of sorts. Play around with the themes, pick one that you find visually attractive. Don’t worry too much on making it pretty yet. Start thinking of the following:

• Structure – how do you want to organize your blog. Will you have categories of topics? Will you use tags to sort your posts? Will you use pages for static information? I suggest drafting a design before hand. For example, in my blog, I have a set of categories I use to organize my posts. I don’t use tags as a decision I made a long time ago. If I were to want to use tags today, I would have to either go back and tag all my posts, or choose to only tag going forward. That is why you should design your structure before going too far ahead. Changes down the road will be labor intensive.
• Layout – Do you want one column, two, or three? Do you need a sidebar?
• Comments – Will you allow people to post comments? Who can post? Do you want to moderate the comments before they’re published?

Step 5. Maintaining Your Blog

Maintaining your blog is a matter of creating a schedule and plan to write your articles or posts. How often do you want to write? Consider using a calendar to schedule your posts. On the matter of security, be careful with using plugins. Some can expose your site to risks. Update your WordPress often. Finally, use a secure password. Don’t let hackers break into your site and spam or destroy your site.