Archives April 2015

Powell Release Jazzes Up WordPress

Like jazz pianist Bud Powell, the latest release of WordPress (4.2) adds a bit of impressionistic flair to the old standard melodies. Upgrades to the Press This app and added ability to embed external media make writing and publishing so seamless and smooth, it’s like having a self-playing jazz piano at your fingertips. Watch the promo vid here:



Working Man Music

Starting up a new quasi-reoccurring post category here on Diamond Mind, for “local viewing” only, not dissemination. “Working Music”, which will be exactly what it says — tunes listened to while working away at doing the terrific things we do. Been delaying it for a while as I pondered where to begin, and it finally hit me that “Working Man” by Rush would be uber-fitting for a first selection.

So, here you go — a 1974 performance by Geddy, Alex, and then-drummer John Rutsey at Laura Secord Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. I’ll even dedicate this first post to a “young” man by the name of Jim Weatherford, wherever he may be. Jim was a junior-high buddy and the first person to introduce me to Rush, though it was a couple of years later, when “All The World’s A Stage” came out. Man, we were young then! As are these guys — I swear Geddy is wearing braces in this vid! Enjoy.


And all credit goes to the YouTube uploader, Concordbeltcreation2. You should check out his channel — he has some awesome vids going all the way back to Danny & The Juniors. I’m sure I will be reposting some of them in the future…

Have You Checked Your Website for Mobile-Friendliness Yet?

Igoogle-mobile-friendlyf not, now would probably be a good time! Use this link to find out how Google sees your site:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Simply put in your website address, and you’ll get a return page after a few moment’s analysis. If your site is good, it will look like ours. After yesterday’s “Armagoogle” deadline (okay, I stole that), if your site is NOT mobile-friendly, you may have already lost ground in your company’s page rank.  And if you haven’t yet, it’s only a matter of time — the web is a big place, and Google is determined to serve mobile search users only pages that can be accessed and used by mobile devices.

Wondering why this change is happening? It’s not exactly sudden, as Google has been marking pages as mobile friendly, or not, for a few months, but this news out of the wireless cellphone service world, coming just one day later, seems like it might be the first dot in a much larger picture.

According to the article from Business Insider, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Google will now be offering a “pay-for-use-only” data service for cell phones.  And while it may be limited at first, if there’s one thing that has proven true over the past 20 years, it’s that Google sees the big picture better than anyone. It’s not that difficult to speculate that more dots will be coming.

In the meantime, if you need help with your website’s mobile-friendly status, call Diamond Mind Web Design at (417) 496-9905, or fill out our brief Contact Form.  We will be glad to assist you!

Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly?

Like it or not, it had better be, and soon. Google is making a major change to their ranking algorithm, beginning next week on April 21st, that will strongly affect mobile search results. If your website is already mobile-friendly, great! You’re ahead of the curve. If it’s not, though, what will this algorithm change mean for you?

bblootsWell, let’s say you’re pulling Page 1 search result rankings for “brown barbaloots”, but your website is not mobile-friendly. After April 21st, if a search for “brown barbaloots” is made from a desktop computer, you’re likely (but not guaranteed) to still be in the same position. But if the search is made from a mobile device, expect a significant drop in your search rankings.

According to Google, “Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.” What this boils down to is left unsaid: Users won’t be getting non-mobile-friendly-website results.

Don’t let that be you! If you are unsure about your website’s mobile-friendly status, use this handy tool provided by Google for that exact purpose. Simply put in your URL and Google will analyze your site and return its verdict. If it turns out to be a thumbs-down, what next? Depends on the site, as there are several possible options, including a redesign, a retrofit, and a new mobile-only site. If you need professional advice or help with moving ahead, call us at (417) 496-9905, or fill out our Contact Form.