Self-taught Python - ad-hoc distance learning

This week I have had a wonderful experience in distance learning that I hope will turn out to be a useful technique going forward.

A woman on a tech email list I frequent posted an open invitation to others to join her in learning the Python programming language in a online virtual study group format.

I joined the ad-hoc group, whose collective desire to learn Python followed a lesson plan we would find on the internet. We did a fair amount of research on the courses that were available and settled on one we discovered online at penn.edu.

I have to admit that I didn't take it very seriously leading up to the first day of "class" and when push came to shove, it really is a method of staying honest with myself and some friends in an effort to make it though the lesson plan.

Python is interesting. I am not sure I am ready to give up my curley braces yet but without them I feel forced to consider program flow a little more. I am sure this feeling will wear off but for now, it's actually helping me write in a more structured way.

Unfortunately, this afternoon I have to shift from python to PHP because I have a Drupal project that I need to make some headway on and I am running out of weekend in which to accomplish the task.

Our Python Course, CS399-005 Python Programming

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds

Twitter is growing by leaps and bounds as people begin to appreciate its clean and easy-to-use interface. Twitter, at this point, does not look like one of the many flash-in-the-pan Internet applications that we have seen in times’ past.

Twitter’s 140 character micro-blogging platform has gained a lot of traction, as individuals and business people have learned to bring together their friends, family and customers under a communications platform that all users find useful.

Mom and dad find it easier to keep up with the lives of their grown children through Twitter. The fact that Twitter allows people to link to other web pages makes Twitter a simple platform to share thoughts, ideas, and links to stories and pictures. Grandma and granddad find it easy to check in on the kids’ Twitter account and to maintain daily contact with those across town and around the world.

Friends can make plans and share common interests through the Twitter world. One can reply to a message publicly, or if the message is a bit more private, one can send a Direct Message (known as a DM) to anyone who has agreed to follow you also. Through the DM system, lovers can share flirts that no one else can see, but the persons intended to receive the message.

If you let your kids use Twitter, it may be best to set up their Twitter Account Settings to “Protect The Tweets”. In the description of this feature, Twitter says, “Only let people whom I approve follow my tweets. If this is checked, you WILL NOT be on the public timeline.”

The Public Timeline is the messages/tweets that everyone can see. Anything not on the Public Timeline is private, with restricted access.

Business People Are Working To Tap Into Twitter Marketplace

Twitter was born in March of 2006. But most of us never really heard of it or even understood it, until this last year (2008-2009). A few of the Internet gurus started talking about Twitter in 2008, and as 2009 got underway, more online marketers started talking about the Twitter community on a nearly daily basis.

We have accounts in Twitter that are a couple of years old, but we never got involved with Twitter really until about April of 2009. In April of 2009, we had 12 Twitter Followers.

In May 2009, there was not a single online business in the Top 100 of Twitter, but those numbers are starting to change. Through May of 2009, the Top 100 accounts on Twitter were dominated by TV and Movie celebrities, a few media companies such as @cnnbrk, politicians and sports figures.

Most online marketers had never given Twitter much thought until “The Great Ashton Kutcher vs CNN Twitter Race” that ended on April 17, 2009 with Ashton (@aplusk) getting the privilege to declare victory. (http://bit.ly/8Nx55) Even now, three months after the end of the race, Ashton is still the champion – #1 in the Twitter Follower counts with 2,975,032 Followers. Ashton is followed by @TheEllenShow – 2,610,357; @britneyspears – 2,553,668; @cnnbrk – 2,431,783; and @twitter – 1,930,821.

When the Great Twitter Race was concluded, I did a backlink check on Ashton’s @aplusk account. Literally, Ashton had bought a ton of advertising on websites, blogs, forums, etc. Ashton was also getting tons of free press in print and online in the Great Twitter Race.

Of course, we marketers should not feel bad if we are getting on this bandwagon a little late in the game, because @google has only had their account since Jan 09. Google is currently the 23rd biggest Twitter account with 1,244,976 Followers.

A surprise for me was seeing @WholeFoods, an Austin Texas based grocery store, sitting at #38 with 1,094,093 Followers. According to TwitterCounter (http://twittercounter.com/WholeFoods/all), Whole Foods had only 322,820 Followers on April 4, 2009. A quick look at the Whole Foods profile (http://twitter.com/WholeFoods) indicates that they are using the account to share with their customers: company news, customer support, and available specials.

An honorable mention goes to @kevinrose, celebrity and founder of http://Digg.com. Kevin Rose is the 40th most popular person on Twitter, with 1,092,920 Followers.

Once you get into the Top 100 List below #40, you finally start to see a few online businesses in the mix. @zappos CEO is #45. @woot is #46. @TechCrunch is a web media site at #55. @dooce is at #60. To see the full Top 100 List, go here: http://twittercounter.com/pages/100

Who Is In Your Target Market and What Do They Want To Know?

As you look around at those people who are successful building their own little communities on Twitter, you will notice that each one gives people what their Followers want.

For example, @cussy is an online marketer, and he has nearly 10,000 Followers. His secret to growth: quotes. He gives his followers some of the best quotes about business and reaching goals of anyone on Twitter. I follow him and Retweet him often.

@dave_carpenter advertises himself as a Success Partner For High Achievers. Dave shares quotes and tips, and he retweets others who give good advice also. More importantly, Dave encourages the people he follows. He has nearly 9,000 Followers at this time.

@MattLevenhagen is a professional marketer. His 13,000 Followers follow because he runs a mix of marketing tips, links to great articles, and retweets for great advice. He even uses his Twitter account to give his customer’s support.

@SocialMedia411 is a Social Media expert who offers social media tips, links to social media articles and news. With more than 56,000 Followers, you can bet that the advice given here is worthwhile to its audience.

When you learn to talk to the people most likely to buy from you, you have completed the first and most important step to enable you to develop strong Twitter Marketing habits.

Learn How Others Are Successful With Twitter

As always, when you want to learn to be successful, you should look to those who are already successful and try to reverse-engineer the steps that they used to become successful. Once you have taken the time to study many who have been successful in the way that you want to be successful, you may note that success comes from giving people what they want and doing it in such a way that you offer good value to your customers.

Those who have been successful with Twitter have done so, because they put the needs of their Followers ahead of a personal desire to be boring or silly.

The good news is that other business people have started to find success on Twitter and you can too. When you learn to provide the people in your target market with the information that they need and want, you will have started down the path to building a Twitter Follower list to envy.

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Trey Pennewell works for http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/ article marketing service. If you write articles and need to distribute your articles to higher value audiences, you owe it to yourself to try The Phantom Writers’ services. If you want to learn more about how to develop a large list of Twitter Followers, buy the ebook (under $10) at: http://twitusers.com/autopilot/index.php Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/contentmanager

This article courtesy of SiteProNews.com

Crash Course In Website Promotion on Twitter

Twitter is a social media platform that helps you drive your website and establishes a connection between you and your audience in a way you’ve never been able to before. Twitter should be a very important part of your online branding and marketing strategy.

The key concept of Twitter is the real-time search. Search engines generally work with old material while Twitter gives you real-time information on different topics. This can be used to increase your website traffic and exposure by finding, getting in touch and providing value to people interested in the services and products that you provide.

People come to Twitter when researching, when they have questions and when they wish to learn something about different subjects. “What are you doing?” field is used for lots of different remarks and questions. By scanning what people are talking about on Twitter, you can assume the role of a search engine by answering questions from your target audience in real-time.

1. Track down and follow your target audience

Track down people that are interested in your products and services by using tools like http://search.twitter.com, http://tweetdeck.com or http://monitter.com. Search for targeted keywords and start following people from your target group. When you follow someone, you will be listed in their profile in the “Followers” list so they will have a chance to take a look at your profile, see what you tweet about and what you stand for.

2. Think of your Twitter profile as your website homepage

Because of this it is important to have a great Twitter profile. Think of it as the front page of your website. You must provide value in your tweets for the visitors to subscribe to you and to visit your website. Do that by pointing to interesting articles you’ve found online, and build credibility and influence that way. Sharing information, sharing knowledge and helping people is the best way to build credibility and influence. Add some commentary and insights into some popular topics related to your field. Ask good questions and talk with those who answer you.

3. Brand yourself as an expert in your field

Keep following what is happening within your field and make sure that you become known for twittering on a subject related to your product or service. By linking to different quality resources, people will look at you as an expert on the topic, an expert who likes to share knowledge with his followers.

The overall effect of you only writing relevant messages will be cumulative in the long run as branding is a subtle process that occurs over time. You will become branded as an expert who provides regular insight into your topic and this will expose you to other people who are interested in your subject.

To have a good brand means to create good, value experiences for your customers. People trust good brands, and will therefore be more inclined to purchase your product or hire you based on your brand and what they hear about you. So having clear and consistent branding will help you stand out from the crowd.

4. Be active and get in touch with your target audience

When you have discovered people in your target group, do not just follow them. Be more proactive. Show your knowledge and the value you can provide to the potential customer by connecting, answering to questions, helping them out with their problems, and providing them what they are looking for. This way you can help out a potential customer directly when they need the help and in that way show your knowledge and expertise and hopefully turn that person into a paying customer.

This is a very simple and instant way of connecting to your target group and showing them why you are the expert and why you deserve their custom. You will be the authority in their eyes and you will be differentiated from your competitors that do not use Twitter and that do not connect with their target group directly.

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Marko Saric is a blog consultant blogging about WordPress and blog optimization at How To Make My Blog. Marko has just published an e-book on all things about Twitter marketing.

This article courtesy of SiteProNews.com

The Engineer

by Stephen Wills (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)

"You are old, engineer," the younger man said,

"And your beard, it has started to grey;

Yet still you insist on hacking the core--

pray tell, why develop this way?"

"In my youth," said the guru, "I trusted the profs;

And the lofty techniques they espoused

Yet over the years I've seen trends come and go

Few paradigms leave me aroused."

"They call you 'an ancient'," the knave did insist,

"In your day open source wasn't real;

Yet you stubbornly lavish it's virtues with praise

Will you not please explain, what's the deal?"

"In my day," said the sage, trying not to nod off,

"I revered copyrights and I. P.;

Then a young Harvard man stole a mouse and got rich

and left me exclaiming 'I see!'"

"The technology, Sir, that we use today"

Said the younger with voice most sincere

"Requires a new way of thinking of clouds;

Can you approach THAT without fear?"

"When I was your age, we invented those clouds;

And the boxes in which we applied them.

The derivative works that you tout as your own

Drive me to closer and closer to Cardizem!"

"You bend and you squint at your monitor bright,"

Said the youth with concern on his face,

"Yet you insist your skills match my own--

at your age do you think you should race?"

"Great Scott!" miffed the elder, with grimacing frown

"Is there nothing more useful to ask?

"With source that is open it's handled and so:

What the hell is a bandersnatch?!"

Top 5 ideas while Surfing on Sunday

 The house is quiet, all are sleeping except for me and I get to sit with coffee, think, surf and imagine what life would be like if I could follow any old fool dream I have.   The frustrating reality of my life is that following my fool dreams without a great deal of selective filtering has always been an impossible task.  I find that I have about 20 freely associated paths per hour when I allow myself to relax and let them flow.  Nobody is capable of following through on 20 separate threads every half hour and having a hope of having any of them grow. 

The filter I have applied is to jot down all the ideas no matter how crazy and then start pairing down to the ones that are the felt the most immediately relevant to me.

 In the past hour, here are the ones I thought I wanted to revisit and build upon.

1. Attend a Google seminar on    Advanced Analytics
   
2. Publish a FunderCats video or three!
   
3. Find a unified system for managing my Social Networks
   
4. Deploy Joomla, Smarty and Wordpress platforms for the experience.
5. Compare above experiences to Drupal and defend my favorite.

All of these have the potential of improving my command of the web 2.0 space in some way or increasing my Social networking skills.  There is a glaring talking point missing as I re-read my list, however.  Where is today's profit?   So I need to revisit this.

1. Commit to Beyond Print's profitability
   
2. Clarify the services we offer.
   
3. Network in person and virtually.
   
4. Get a signature on a contract.
   
5. Analyze how to repeat 1-4 more quickly and easily.
   

Ok, now we are getting somewhere and the house is no longer quiet so it's time to move on.

How to choose Blog topics.

The more I explore how the blogosphere works, the more I realize that common sense governs the ingredients in a successful blog.

1. Commitment
As I mentioned in my first post, "How Many Blogs Can One Geek Create?" it is extremely easy to create a blog. As I often histrionically lament at parties, it is not easy, however, to keep up with one's blogging. To be successful, one must commit to keeping a blog fresh.

2. Organization

Now that I have committed to the process, I am discovering that remaining organized requires some thought and effort.

2a. Frequency: Once blogging becomes a required task of doing business, it falls into the SOP pool and needs to be attended to on a regular schedule. I am too new to recommend an ideal frequency but I have read that once on the weekend, once at the beginning of the week and once on Thursday is a good routine. To date, I have only been able to take the "baby steps" of committing to my weekend blogs.

2b. Topic: Choose a topic and stick with it. I have read from several people that the most successful blogger is an expert in something. Usually they have a personal interest and maybe that interest has taken them into a field of study. They have a specialized knowledge base and the drive for discovery that grows their base. From such a treasure, a successful blog on a topic is born.

Alas, I am a multitasker of Thurber-esque proportions who harbors a strong belief that most postulates are unproveable and therefore "good enough for Jazz". I have flitted from hill to dale since before simulated multitasking was a standard methodology. It is difficult for me to choose a topic and stick with it. One day I am a farmer concerned with perfect composting technique and the next all I can think about it is the p-calculus, grid computing, caring for cats or girls.

Flights of fancy notwithstanding, as I continue to explore this blogging activity, I have discovered that, while I am loath to say what I am, I have little trouble saying what I am not. It is more likely, for instance, that I would agree to recover the crashed hard drive of Senator Al Frankin, than to agree to write an spreadsheet template for Sean Hannity. This is the kind of insight that helps me pick blog topics.

In this case, I discover emphatically that while I like low level file sector table linking, I truely loath technically supported financial fiction.

How many blogs can one geek create?

Blogging is not difficult, but it does require a commitment. Indeed, setting up this blog only took 15 minutes and that included pouring a cup of coffee. The procedure is quite simple. If you have a google account already, simply login. Go to www.blogger.com and tell it to create a blog. Choose a name, a sample template and start typing. I really is that simple.

For me, that is just the start of the story, however. I am haunted by feelings of inadequacy. I read blogs written by well read and prolific people and wonder what I think I am doing jotting these ramblings at all. I was never all that good in English class and still owe my professor a paper or two from freshman year.

On balance, however, does it really matter? The point is, blogging is easy to do and, as long as you are not expecting to win any prizes, fun as well.