Web IQ Quiz (v1): Answers

Well it’s been two weeks and I haven’t had any submissions to the first Web IQ Quiz for Business Owners, so I decided to post the answers. After all, there still is a stigma attached to not knowing it all out there in the culture. For us, as rabid knowledge seekers, we frequently ask questions and delight in finding out things we did not know! Read on for some delight of your own perhaps.

Q1. What does "above the fold" mean?

This is the top part of a web page that can be viewed before any scrolling is necessary. It is a term borrowed from the newspaper industry, where important headlines are placed "above the fold."

Q2. What setting does the typical pc office computer use, "8 by 6" or "10 by 7"?

8x6. This refers to 800 by 600 screen resolution, which is commonly found on the smaller office screens, and is the default setting for many pc's. If the resolution is changed to something higher, the print will be smaller but you will be able to see larger formatted web pages.
Bonus points: why does this matter to your web site?
If most of your users are on office pc's keep the content width of your web site to fit! It's hard enough for some people to scroll vertically to see everything on a page. We certainly don't want them to also have to scroll sideways too!

Q3. What is RSS and what is one of the main features it adds to modern web sites that is not available on older web sites?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is software that is built in to the web site and allows people to subscribe to your site. Then they are notified anytime you post new content, without having to come back to your site all the time and hunt around for the new content. Static sites do not have this ability. It's a powerful and dynamic way to get your message out to others.

If you use the Firefox web browser, you will see a little orange icon in the lower right corner of this page. Click on it, and Firefox will subscribe to the Bare Feet Blog, enabling you to view headlines without coming back here. You will also be able to click on the headline to come and read the full article if you are interested.

To get Firefox, click on the button in the right column that says, "The browser you can trust."

Q4. Are you reading blogs weekly or more often?

Hope so! This is where the action is on the internet.

Q5. How can you tell how many other web sites are linking to your site?

That's an easy one. Go to Google and in the search bar, type:
link:www.yoursite.com

Adjusted per comment from Jennifer. the "linkto:" phrase used to work for me on google and other search engines, but it does not now. Thanks Jenn!

COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jennifer
URL: http://www.herecomestheguide.com
DATE: 06/16/2005 11:25:41 AM
Re Q5: actually, it should be link:www.yoursite.com, not linkto.

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Calling a Few Business Communicators

I’ll be on the panel at the IABC - Hawaii meeting this week and am looking for a few communicators who want to get on the fast track with corporate blogging and podcasting.

Peter Kay (panel moderator) organized a brown bag lunch with me and my fellow panelists this past Friday. We met at gorgeous Kakaako Park, mildy distracted by the sweet south swell tempting our inner body surfers to come out and play.

Surf aside, we had a rousing discussion while developing our list of questions and panel topics. Being rather voluminous communicators all, it's amazing we actually managed to eat our plate lunches. It raised one of my favorite points—more minds are better than one, no matter how brilliant that one may be. On several topics, we had a wide variety of opinions, though all were well made and well supported.

We talked about changing the world as people share their unique perspectives on a foundation of peership.

The common thread running through the discussion though was how and why companies "should" be blogging and podcasting, and why many are so reluctant. (Standard Caveat: I don't much support use of the word "should." There are good reasons to blog or not - and we can help you sort them quickly without pressure or angst.)

I addressed one aspect of this a while ago on my personal site, when talking about the Digital Divide. It's happening right under our noses. Really smart and successful people are missing out on one of the most fundamental (IMO) course changes in communication in history! It's partly due to technophobia, but there is also a more generic fear of the unknown.

So if you are a company looking to get over blog-phobia, and would prefer to be out there on the vanguard of communicators (the views are terrific!) then please join us at the IABC meeting or get in touch for a chat. We have several tonics for calming concerns. Then we can serve you up just as much knowledge as you want. And we are committed to making sure the process supports you and your business, regardless of your decision to blog or not, podcast or not.

IABC Hawaii
Peter Kay - Your Computer Minute
Ryan Ozawa - Hawaii UP
Burt Lum - ByteMarks

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