Pimp Google With Firefox Extensions and Scripts
Have you noticed that Google invades every tiny corner of our online lives? My mail, news feeds, and calendar all rely on Google to keep working. Right now, I have three Firefox tabs open to Google applications, plus the resident Google search in the upper right corner.
I’m not complaining about it. In fact, I want to teach you some cool Google tricks. Yep, we’re going to pimp your Google.
But first, two quick notes:
1. All of these nifty hacks require Firefox. If you’re using another browser, just read on to see what you’re missing.
2. Everything marked with an asterisk (*) requires the Greasemonkey extension for Firefox. It’s simple to install and gives you some real power over your browsing experience.
One extension to rule them all
If you’re only going to use one Firefox extension for Google, this is what you want. Customize Google removes info you don’t want and adds things you do want. You can remove ads (from all Google services), remove the Gmail spam counter, secure Gmail and Calendar, plus much more.
Search
AutoPager* – View all your search results on one page. This script automatically appends the next page’s results to the current page. It’s an infinitely scrolling Google!
Googlenlarge* – Shows a handy popup preview of images in Google image search.
Google Preview – View a thumbnail preview of search results in regular Google search.
Define – Select and right click on a word to define it via Google.
Google Advanced Operations Toolbar – Easily look up stocks, weather, movie times, and more, all through Google.
Googlepedia – Enhance your search results with Wikipedia listings.
Google Icon – Add the favicon of websites, next to search results.
Google Maps Directions – Highlight an address, right click, and get the Map for it.
Gmail
Better Gmail – Lifehacker’s got your one-stop Gmail solution. This extension incorporates a bunch of popular Gmail Greasemonkey scripts into a handy interface. You can select exactly which ones you want to use via the options menu.
Gmail Signature Float* – Put your signature above the email you’re responding to, not below.
GTDInbox – Use Gmail for your GTD setup, including contexts, projects, next actions, etc.
Gmail + Google Reader* – View Reader feeds from with Gmail.
GmailChecker – Shows a little icon in your statusbar that checks for new messages.
Email This! – Send web pages to friends with a simple click.
Calendar
Google Calendar Display Current Time Line* – Shows a little red line on your calendar for the current time.
To Do List* – Integrate a to do list into your calendar.
Google Calendar Quick-Add – Add an item to Calendar anywhere in Firefox, by simply pressing CTRL+;
Google Calendar Notifier – Have event reminders popup in your browser.
Reader
Google Reader Notifier – Get notified in your status bar when you have new Reader items.
Miscellaneous
Adsense Preview – Lets you pl
gTalk Sidebar – Put gTalk in your sidebar for ease and convenient usage.
IGoogle Sidebar – View your personalized homepage widgets in your sidebar.
gTranslate – Translate text on a web page by selecting it and right-clicking.
More
Firefox Extensions – There’s plenty more, in case you’re looking for something I missed.
Greasemonkey Scripts – There are even more scripts available, so have fun trudging through the list.
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Comment Email Responder – Version 2.22 – Take it Away, Owen!
Last week I proudly announced the release of my first WordPress plugin. The handy plugin makes it easy for the blog administrator to simultaneously reply to commenters on the blog and via email.
Today, I’m thrilled to point you to Version 2.22 of Comment Email Responder. That’s right, the plugin’s already gone to version 2.22 in four days. The further development is all thanks to Owen Cutajar.
New plugin homepage
Owen is now the head guy for this plugin. Thus, the plugin’s homepage is now on his site: Comment Email Responder.
I’ll be updating the old homepage here at Legal Andrew, so people can always find the newest version from Owen. He’s got some great ideas for this plugin, so I know it’s going to continue improving.
Download Comment Email Responder v2.22
New features
Owen’s improvements have made installing and using Comment Email Responder a piece of cake.
First, he added a WordPress admin panel for the plugin. This allows you to easily set the name and email address for the reply emails.
Second, he hooked the comment display to your theme, so you don’t have to edit your template. Installation is now simply putting the plugin files on your server, activating it, and filling in the admin panel fields.
Thanks Owen!
Owen has been a great friend to make. And his plugin improvements show some fantastic coding skills.
We all owe a huge thanks to Owen, for his great work here. I encourage you to visit his blog and give him a word of thanks. He definitely deserves some link love too!
[tags]wordpress, plugin, comment email responder, owen cutajar[/tags]
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How to Get Back Into AdSense – Account Reinstated!
I received one of the worst emails a blogger can get: Google AdSense Account Disabled. To my horror, I opened this email to see that Google was accusing me of click fraud. My account was disabled, my earnings were being refunded to advertisers, and no further payments were coming my way.
But thanks to a simple process, my account was reinstated. It took five days, but that’s better than being permanently banned.
If your account is ever disabled, here’s what you should do to get it back.
1. Don’t panic. It’s not the end of the world. You have a chance of getting AdSense reinstated. Even if you don’t, you can try Yahoo ads or many other ways to monetize your blog. Panicking won’t solve anything.
2. Investigate the allegations. Information is power. You need to know if a friend, family member, or employee (i.e. someone under your control) clicked your ads. Did you ask someone to click? Did you click by accident? Gather the facts, even if they reveal actual invalid clicks.
3. Appeal to Google. There is a simple form to fill out to appeal this decision. Be honest, truthful, and tell Google what happened. If you have no knowledge of invalid clicks, say that. If someone accidentally clicked, explain that. If a visitor maliciously clicked repeatedly, tell Google the story. You’ve got nothing to lose at this point.
4. Wait. The appeal form says it can take 48 hours to process your appeal. I filed mine on a Thursday evening. On the following Monday, I got an email saying that they were considering the information I submitted. The reinstatement email did not come until Tuesday.
5. If successful, rejoice! If this worked (as it did for me), you’re back up and running. It will take Google up to 48 hours to start displaying ads again, so be patient. You might lose a week of earnings, but that’s nothing in the long run.
6. Appeal again. If you are still banned (or Google doesn’t respond in a week or so), appeal again. Be polite, professional, and honest. Dig back through your information and see if you missed something that might be pertinent. Is there someone else on your network (maybe at work) who would show up as the same IP, but who you don’t have control over? Google claims that a second appeal is futile, but it worked for Stas Bekman.
7. Appeal another time. I’d give the appellate process 3 solid tries before giving up on it. Definitely remain professional and provide as much information as you can.
8. Email people. I’ve read that you can find Google VP’s and AdSense executives via a Google search for “google staff.” You might try emailing a few of these people directly. I’m not sure what success you’ll have, but it might be worth a try.
If all that doesn’t work, I’m not sure what you should do. I’d be happy to talk with anyone who has appealed unsuccessfully. Maybe we can brainstorm and come up with a new idea for you.
Further reading
I’ve tried to outline the entire process here, but further reading is always handy:
- Banned by Google Adsense? Here’s a way to get your account back
- Google AdSense account disabled – The FAQ
- You Too Can Be Banned From AdSense With No Money Down (Enquire Within)
- Some people who have been reinstated
Help me out?
If you like this article, please give it a Digg. Thanks to Andy for submitting it!
[tags]google, adsense, disabled, reinstate[/tags]
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Be More Productive and Happier by Taking Time to Think
Do you monitor your time closely? Or do you just fritter away the hours?
Penelope’s got another great article about time and money. I think her final sentence sums it all up nicely: “If you don’t pay tons of attention to how you spend your time, you’ll never be happy.”
This has really made me stop and think about how I spend my time. In fact, I’ve been trying to re-evaluate my time management lately.
There’s just too little time.
Or, maybe I’m not managing it effectively. I waste loads of time every day. Separately, it’s just a few seconds here and there. But when you add it up, I’m sure it’s a lot. Thus, I’m trying to eliminate some time leaks from my life.
Leaks I’m trying to plug
Refreshing Google Reader – I must do this 100+ times every day. I’m addicted to RSS feeds, and making sure I’ve “read” everything in my reader. Instead of refreshing, just to stay current, I’m going to really read interesting stories 1-2 times a day.
Checking email – Along the same lines, I’m going to reduce my email checking frequency. It’ll be more than 1-2 times a day, but much less than every 5 minutes.
Watching statistics – My name’s Andrew, and I’m a statsaholic. I really need to get this down to once per day. Maybe then I get to once every couple of days. But won’t more people visit, if I watch the little graph?!
Being un-mindful – I rarely participate in what I’m doing. I’ll have 20 things going on at once, not giving my full, conscious attention to one task. It doesn’t feel like I’m wasting time, but I really am. Speaking of which, why do I have 7 windows open on my computer right now?
Do you have time leaks?
I’m curious what you guys think of this. Would it help you be happier and more productivity, if you actually thought about how you spend your time. Do you have time leaks to plug? Together we’re stronger!
[tags]productivity, time, brazen careerist, penelope trunk, time leak[/tags]
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How to be Successful in Life
I was tagged by Brandon Hopkins for a meme on being successful. For an up-and-coming top blogger, his answer is a refreshing change from most people’s definition of “success.” It’s a must read.
Staying true to self
I’m trying to be a solid Christian, a devout Catholic. It’s never easy, especially in today’s society.
To that end, I define success as staying true to myself, especially the values and morals that I hold dear.
Being successful means to get to those Pearly Gates someday and be judged worthy of entering the Eternal Kingdom. This will mean that I kept my integrity and didn’t waver on matters of principle. It helps to be really stubborn. 😉
Fighting the good fight
A scary fact of life is that I’ve almost achieved my earthly goal of becoming a lawyer. That’s scary because that’s the “success” goal I always had in mind, career-wise. I have never really planned past this year of my life.
But it’s also exciting.
As a lawyer, I’ll be fighting for people who can’t even speak for themselves. I’ll be trying to save the lives of unborn babies.
In this regard, “success” means to end abortion. I’ve often thought that it’s ironic to accept a job where success actually hinges upon me being out of a job. But I’d gladly accept that outcome, if it meant our tiny brothers and sisters could be born.
Now, you’re it!
As I step down from my pulpit, I’ve got to pass the meme on by tagging someone. I’d really like to see what Ben Yoskovitz has to say about success. He’s a heck of a guy, so I’m sure it will be enlightening.
[tags]brandon hopkins, success[/tags]
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New WordPress Plugin – Comment Email Responder
When I started blogging, I pondered the best method to respond to reader comments. I use the Subscribe to Comments plugin, but I know that not every commenter subscribes.
Perhaps you’ve used this method: respond on your blog AND via email to the commenter. This ensures that everyone gets a response to every comment posted. Yep, it’s anal. But it also creates conversations and shows readers that you care.
The problem is that it takes time to respond via email, then copy and paste the response to the blog’s comment form, so everyone can see the response. Now there’s a better way!
New WordPress plugin
When I couldn’t find a ready-made solution, I decided that I’d have to make one myself. So I did!
Comment Email Responder is my first ever WordPress plugin. It has a brand new page here at Legal Andrew that explains how it works, simple installation instructions, and usage info.
The plugin doesn’t alter your database, and there’s only 5 simple installation steps. You basically edit the plugin file to include your email address, and drop a couple PHP statements into your comments.php file. I’m happy to help you get it installed.
The coolest feature (in my opinion) is that the plugin doesn’t send duplicate emails to commenters. If Bob comments on this page, and I use Comment Email Responder to reply, he will get a short email, showing my reply. But if Bob used Subscribe to Comments to subscribe to all comments on this post, he will receive that email, like everyone else. Cool, right?
Download and install
Download Comment Email Responder on its project page.
Installation instructions are also on the project page, as well as a change log and comment form for bugs, etc.
Finally, if you find this plugin useful, I appreciate your support, via link love or a small donation.
Update – Apr. 21, 12 PM – The plugin is now at version 2.22. Owen is now the primary developer, so download it over at the new plugin page.
[tags]wordpress, plugin, comment, blog, comment email responder[/tags]
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Great New Site for Business Card Tips
I apparently have a fascination with business cards. I seem to stumble upon sites about them, and I’ve written about them quite a bit.
Today I happened across Free Business Cards, a site dedicated to these happy little pieces of card stock. Heck, there’s even an article about business card origami.
What intrigued me the most was the author’s invitation to get a free link by asking a question. I couldn’t resist this nifty marketing idea, so I jumped in with a question. I submitted it earlier this evening, and I got an answer back in a few minutes.
Now you can learn about lawyer business cards at this spiffy niche site. And I did get the free link!
If you’ve got a business card question, fire it off to Free Business Cards. You’ll get a good answer and a free link. It’s a two-for-one deal!
[tags]business cards[/tags]
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Sponsor Me to Attend SOBCon; I’ll Be Your Blog Slave
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I you haven’t heard about SOBCon 07, you must be hiding under a rock. This is the ultimate blogging conversation. It’s a conference of 250 attendees plus “conversationalists.” The point is to network, solidify relationships, and put heads together to tackle big thoughts.
You can help me attend
The problem is that I don’t have the cash on hand to make it. But you can help me get there.
I’m looking for a sponsor (possibly more than one) who will fund my trip to Chicago for this awesome event. In return, you get me as your personal blog slave. I’ll help you build a blog, tweak your existing one, come up with ideas for improvement, program custom plugins, etc. The sky really is the limit here!
What you’ll get
To put a finer point on it, I’m really willing to negotiate about what the sponsor(s) receive for helping me attend. I’m serious about what I wrote above. I have a strong background in programming, and I’ve built a solid knowledge of blogging over this past year. These skills can be yours, if you want them.
I’ll definitely publicize your sponsorship heavily. You’ll have ads on the blog here (check out the market exposure), but that’s just the beginning. I’m willing to print SOBCon business cards to pass out, containing my info AND your sponsorship message. Heck, I’ll even shave your logo into my hair (if you want, of course). 🙂
There’s one caveat – we will have to work out some type of agreement ahead of time. The deal has to be fair for everyone. But I’m willing to negotiate to make sure you are happy. We could agree on doing X project(s) or me working X number of hours or some combination of the two.
What I need
Event registration – $350 – As you can see from the event website, registration is a reasonable $350. Not too shabby for an amazing event like this.
Plane ticket – $320 – I’m coming from central Virginia, and SOBCon is in Chicago. I’ve found a number of tickets for $312 or $315, and I might even be able to get a hair cheaper than that.
Hotel room – $269 – That’s for two nights at the conference hotel (May 11 and 12). I’m willing to see about splitting a room with another guy, to try cutting this cost in half.
$939 total – This includes the three things listed above. I’ll pay for my meals and other incidentals. This price might change once we get around to booking everything. But the point is that your cost will be set up front – no surprises.
Let’s make a plan
I know some of you must be interested in this idea. Surely you’d like the benefits that this sponsorship would give you. Some people charge $1000 just for a blog design and setup. But I’m willing to do much more.
If you want to get together and have a couple sponsors, I’m willing to do that too. Obviously each person would get a bit less in return, but it would cost you less as well.
Please contact me if you are interested in this. You can drop me a line or leave a comment here. Other methods are available via my contact page.
[tags]sobcon, consulting[/tags]
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10 Quick Methods to Increase Blog Comments
Blogging is about conversation. What better way is there to foster conversations than with comments?
If you want to increase comments on your blog, here are some handy tips to do so. Implement one, or try all of them.
Share link love
Remove nofollow from comments. Andy Beard has written extensively on this topic. He even created a Bumpzee community to bring supporters together.
For WordPress users, there are lots of plugins to make this extremely easy:
DoFollow – Strips nofollow from comment links.
DoFollow (WP Plugin) – Allows some enhanced options when removing nofollow.
Remove NoFollow – Yet another WordPress option.
Typepad – Mike Sansone has you covered for removing nofollow.
Blogger – Dummies Guide to Google Blogger Beta has cracked the nofollow code for you.
Grab a badge. There’s a simple one here, and you can get multicolored badges (like in my sidebar) from Randa Clay.
Display comment avatars
People love seeing their face on your blog, so give them what they want.
Gravatars – This is the old standby, integrated with WordPress via ZenPax’s Gravatars2 Plugin.
MyAvatars – The new solution for avatars uses a WordPress plugin to grab avatars from MyBlogLog. (This is what I use on my blog.)
Provide a comment preview
Preview button – This is the old school way, requiring users to click a button to see their comment preview. WordPress plugin: Filosofo Comments Preview.
Live preview – Provide a live preview of the user’s comment, while they type. Courtesy of Live Comment Preview WordPress plugin.
Allow comment editing
Use AJAX – WP Ajax Edit Comments enables users to edit their comments in-place, up to X minutes after posting. It’s in use on this blog.
Go old school – If spiffy JavaScript isn’t your thing, provide a simple edit link for users to modify their comments, via Jalecode’s Edit Comments plugin.
Eliminate spam comments
You want valuable comments, not spam. There are tons of ways to control comment spam, but I recommend two (and only these two).
Akismet – This comes standard with WordPress. It will kill 99% of all comment spam. Although, the FDA hasn’t approved that statement.
Bad Behavior – Use this plugin to provide another layer of protection. Bad Behavior stops spam bots from even accessing your blog.
Remove comment barriers
How often have you not left a comment, because you had to register or fill out a captcha? Don’t do this yourself.
No captcha – Akismet and Bad Behavior will fix the spam problem. I promise.
No registration – Don’t create an exclusive community on your blog. Invite everyone to participate.
Don’t moderate comments
No censoring – Moderation is important for everything except blog comments. People don’t like to be censored.
Converse – The Blogopreneur explains that moderation is the #1 killer of blog conversations.
Provide comment subscriptions
Email updates – This is the most common and easiest way to let readers subscribe to comment updates. My recommendation is the Subscribe to Comments plugin.
RSS feed – Most blogging platforms also have a RSS feed available for each post’s comments. Showcasing this link on each post can encourage comments and conversations.
Highlight top commenters
Commenters can be encouraged with rewards. They’ll likely respond to a possible link (to their site) in your sidebar. It’s easy to showcase the top commenters with this Top Commenters Plugin.
Display recent comments
Along the same lines as above, you can recent comments in your sidebar with a plugin like Get Recent Comments. This plugin even includes Gravatars support.
Anything to add?
I’d love to hear from you. Did I leave something out? Is there a cool plugin I’m missing? Leave a comment or drop me a line.
[tags]wordpress, plugin, comment[/tags]
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Getting Things Done with Less – What if You Only Had $2,000?
In our constant productivity struggle, we always look for new and better things to solve old problems. Maybe it’s the newest PDA, moleskine, or laptop. Perhaps you move to a new GTD capture system every week. Maybe you’re a pen fanatic.
Stop. Do you really need that shiny new gadget?
I’m not the first person to suggest that less can be more, especially when it comes to GTD practices. If we’re really after a “mind like water,” it’s reasonable that less junk in our lives would aid in that quest.
What if you simplified your entire life?
What if your multitude of possessions disappeared overnight?
What if you only had $2,000 of personal property?
What would you own? What would your life look like? Is this impossible?
There are two questions (at least) implicit in this idea:
How would that affect your life?
There’s definitely not a “right” answer to these questions, since it all depends upon priorities. I’ll post my thoughts here, and I’m definitely looking forward to yours.
My $2,000 life
Having less stuff would simplify life in some ways, but make it more complicated in others. For example, less clothes means less laundry to screw with. But that also means having to wash those clothes more often. No phone would mean no telemarketers, but it would be hard to stay in touch with people.
With that said, I think it would be an interesting thing to try. I’ll bet my productivity would increase, since I’d have less stuff for distractions. But who knows?
Here’s what I’d buy:
- $400 – clothes – That definitely means shopping at consignment stores and such. And I’d need some comfy shoes, since there wouldn’t be money for a car.
- $1000 – laptop – Yeah, that’s half of my worldly possessions. I guess that shows how much of my life is tethered to this machine.
- $100 – bike – I love public transportation, but there are some places it doesn’t go. A guy’s gotta have some wheels.
- $200 – incidentals – Lots of small things are important, like headphones, an ink pen, a notepad, etc.
- $300 – furniture – A good night’s rest is important, and so is a decent place to sit and work on that expensive laptop.
What would your life look like?
Those are my hasty thoughts. What are yours? Where should we go from here?
[tags]gtd, getting things done, simplicity[/tags]
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About Andrew Flusche
Lawyer, bicyclist, husband.
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