Update: The video is now in the feed, you can see the link to it if you’re subscribed.

Upon my official “retirement” I announced where you could get a free, early stage copy of a product I’m developing. Apparently the window was too short to collect, so I’m opening the update up for 100 downloads/online views. If you have some feedback for me on it, please leave it as a comment to this blog post.

Known issues not yet fixed:

• Volume too low, feedback
• Quality of video varies when re-sized
• You want a longer (?!) product in several smaller parts.

How to Get It

Subscribe to the Blog. Yes, this blog. Even if this is your home page, you’re missing out if you aren’t subscribed. Not all the material in the feed actually shows up ON the blog.

If you already know how to subscribe to the feed, do that, in which case you can stop reading.

If you don’t know how to subscribe to the blog, you’ll be happy to know that you can use RSS, iGoogle, My Yahoo! or My AOL! if you’d like, or you can subscribe via email.

UPDATE: As long as you can verify that you’re a subscriber, if you can’t find the link in the feed (it’s there now), I will reserve you a copy if you comment. Be sure 1- you subscribe by email if you’re confused, 2- be sure that your email address in the comment is the same as the one you’re leaving AND the one you’re using to subscribe.

Thanks,

Tinu

How to Subscribe - Quick & Easy

To subscribe by email, go to the Free Traffic Tips Email Subscribe page.

Fill out the form, click the “subscribe me!” button and you’re done.

If you’d rather subscribe by RSS, Google, Yahoo or AOL, go to the Free Traffic Tips Feed.

Click on the button in the upper right corner that goes with your favorite way to subscribe. In some browsers, it will default to the format you normally pick.

Here’s a screen shot of what you should be seeing:

Click for (MUCH) Larger Image

And if you know all the cool reasons that you should be subscribed or are just tired of reading you can stop reading here. For good or just come on back and finish tomorrow.

Because guess what? Now that you’re subscribed you’ll have this information handy forever and ever.

And ever.

Seriously, if you didn’t read this right when you got the newsletter, you might want to make sure you’re all subscribed before finishing this. There’s only 100 downloads, remember. So if you want a free copy, hurry up.

But If I Already Get the Newsletter, Why Subscribe to the Blog?

I’ll admit up front that’s it’s partly an ethical bribe. I’m hoping when you try subscribing to the blog you’ll say to yourself — why wasn’t I doing this before?

And then you’ll stay subscribed.

But the main reason for having you jump through this particular hoop is tracking. This is going to be part of a product really soon. I want to track everything possible. Feedburner helps me do that.

Now at first, it may not make sense, subscribing to the blog as well as the newsletter. However, there are things in the newsletter that won’t be in the blog and vice versa. The frequency isn’t the same either. Sometimes the blog is only updated one day a week, with long, step by step instructions or background information on a traffic technique. The Zero Gridlock newsletter is a short, daily tip and freebie.

The blog serves the function of sharing tips that aren’t affected by how many people are aware of it. Some people reserve their list for sales pitches, but my team isn’t like that. We’re just as likely to have links to our premium offerings in the blog as we are in our newsletters.

We use our newsletter to give more focused information, much of which is a bit more sensitive to share. These are the types of things a spammer could easily find a way to manipulate, for example, and so I wouldn’t broadcast them on my blog. (Already made that mistake talking about RSS, blogging, and pinging.)

You also get:

• Related links that I save to Delicious.com that are related to traffic, including search engine and blogging news, before it hits the blog (if ever).
• Links from other marketing-related blogs that I own or am affiliated with,
• First notice of special downloads, and,
• A heads-up on special offers

Some of those special offers include chances for free 15 minute coaching sessions with me, free product giveaways in exchange for testimonials, as well as time-sensitive rebates and coupons for items sold on the site.

So you see, it’s really not enough to read the blog, even if you do every day. You have to be subscribed to get the extra links.

How Will I Know When It’s Download Time?

Download time is now. Once subscribed, click through to the link in the feed about “Precursors”, then instructions and click whichever you prefer. Again, if you can’t find it, subscribe and then reply to this blog post. I’ll reserve you a copy up until the first 100 are gone.

The link will stay live until it has been downloaded 100 times, and the video will stay live until it’s been viewed 100 times, after which both will be taken down. A future, more expanded version, will become one part of the membership site that’s pre-launching in the next seven days.

We Hope You’ll Stay Subscribed

You might be tempted to subscribe, get the download, and be on your way. And that’s fine with me, I don’t want to trap you — getting you subscribed is more about tracking downloads and views than anything else.

Give it a week though - you’d be surprised just how much great information comes out of both the blog and the feed, and how it integrates seamlessly into the new, daily version of the newsletter.

Thanks so much for being a subscriber. (And of course, if you didn’t come here from the newsletter, you’re welcome to sign up.)

Video page

It’s simple and easy to use.

Here’s how it works.

1. You find something you want to read, but you don’t have time now. You click .
2. When you have time to read, you come here on your computer or phone and get whatever you wanted to read.
3. It works on the web, on your phone and even on your iPhone or iPod!

WOW!

Check it out - Instapaper.

MorganLighter

“Hi, I’m here to have the conversation.”

“What presentation? Who are you again?”

“No, no. I said ‘conversation’. The one about - ”

“Here’s my link. I don’t think it’s necessary for us to ever have a whole conversation. So here’s my link.”

“Maybe later, first let me answer your- ”

“Here’s my link. It’s not enough that you’ll see it in my profile.”

“Um. No? Like I was saying it’s the conversation about how not to- ”

“Not to interrupt, again, but I have to tell you something.”

“What? And don’t say ‘here’s my link’ again. Because now the answer is HELL No.”

“Oh no, don’t be silly! It’s a thinly disguised version of here’s my link interspersed in fake conversation, or a question I think is clever. See how cunning I am as a marketer? I bet that makes you want to buy my stuff, doesn’t it? And by the way, here’s my affiliate link.”

“UNFOLLOW! DE-FRIEND! BLOCK! REPORT AS SPAM!”

*silence*

(BTW, if you didn’t get why the ‘here’s my link” thing is a joke, or if you’re not the person who wants to have the conversation, you’re probably “That Guy“ - or Gal.)

Aaron Wall, one of the search professionals I respect, recently wrote Is Social Media Marketing A Waste Of Time?

Well, duh. Yeah, it is.

That’s because, Social Media isn’t marketing. Social media marketing is a great buzz phrase, but in reality it’s shorthand for “social media as part of a marketing strategy.”

Blogging too (which, if you haven’t noticed, is part of social media).

Blogs can be integrated into a marketing plan. But they are not marketing on their own.

Does that make Social Media a waste of time?

When you brush your teeth in the morning, it doesn’t have a specific ROI, does it? Yet, if fresh breath helps you deepen a relationship that results in a sale, then it has done its part.

Social media is simply a way to communicate.

That’s all.

Yes, it can amplify a message. Yes, it can make all of your network feel like you’re talking to them as individuals.

But if you approach it as your whole marketing strategy, you’re making a mistake.

I want to be fair to Aaron before I go on because I totally baited you by using his words. He later continues:

… social media must be back-ended with content geared towards establishing a valuable relationship, rather than one-off visits.

Marketing exists for one purpose: to sell stuff. If it doesn’t do that, then it isn’t marketing.

I agree.

The bottom line: no matter when social media gets a customer in my sales funnel to buy, they still did.

Social media helps put more people who would have never bought, or been one-time buyers into the tomorrow or repeat category.

Even still that doesn’t mean social media = marketing.

That’s like saying blogging IS marketing.

Or that search strategy IS marketing.

Getting visitors isn’t the end of the story, it’s the beginning. They still have to convert. Social media generates or keeps visitors. It doesn’t process or close them.

If you want more sales and traffic, use social media. Just not exclusively.

And Come On, This Time-Suck Theory is Bullshit

Another thing I found curious about his article was this:

Social media marketing is time consuming.

Building your social networks. Responding to “friends”. Is there are measurable return for the time spent? What is the opportunity cost of that time?

Link building is time consuming. Does that mean I shouldn’t do it to get better search engine results?

Beyond that, this is maybe the fourth time I’ve seen social media perceived as taking a great deal of time.

What are you folks doing that takes up so much time? How are you building your networks and relationships that you can’t point to where it made you money?

I’m not just being a smart ass, I’m specifically noticing that I must be doing something different with social media, since what takes me zero minutes to an hour per day is taking virtually everyone else much longer.

(Yes, literally, some day sit takes me zero minutes a day. Again, next time.)

You don’t need to spend more than a couple hours a week on Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Delicious, Mixx and Digg combined, unless you’re a social media, search or marketing professional.

Having been all of the above at some point in time, I still don’t spend more than an hour a day on all of them put together, unless I’m there to play. Which, again, we’ll come back to another time.

Can Social Media Be a Waste Though?

Now, having recently driven 27,000 visitors to a blog that wasn’t set up for StumbleUpon via social media, I will say this.

If your site is set up to be more attractive to search engines than customers, or more of a sales funnel than a relationship builder, any traffic you get from social media might as well be from a robot. Just run ads and save yourself the headache.

If your site isn’t set up properly, from content to structure, a million visitors won’t make you a dime.

On the other hand, the proper use of social media as part of a larger marketing engine, just helped win an election.

Don’t sleep. If you don’t know how to use social media effectively, that’s on you.

Learn how.

If you’re confused about where or how to do that, feel free to respond below and let’s discuss it.

Next time, specific examples of how social media has paid off for me, the time it takes in my schedule, and the amount of money it put in my pocket.

| View | Upload your own

Review the slides above and we’ll reconvene on the topic tomorrow. In the meantime, read the post that goes with this Slide Share over at Shannon Paul’s blog.

Or so the song goes.  But this is even better.

How about hiding your navigation bar?

This extension enables you to hide the navigation bar through a toggle button. Currently the toggle button is the F2 key. You can change the key in the extensions options, as well as configure whether you want the Navigation Bar to be displayed on an initial Firefox launch. Also allows you to enable an Auto-Hide mode if you wish to use that instead.

Cool? Oh, yeah!

MorganLighter

Now, isn’t that cool?

Take a look - and read the reviews. Awesome.

PinkFacebook!

MorganLighter

Inquisitor for Firefox (Beta)… speeds up your searches like no other. Start typing and websites appear instantly, along with suggestions to help refine your search. Inquisitor understands you, learning and tailoring your results as you search more. You can also add more search engines with customized keyboard shortcuts. Inquisitor is fast, smart, flexible and works with Yahoo! or Google.

Here’s the link!

MorganLighter

Halloween is known and loved today as a time to wear costumes, go door to door asking for candy, and watch monster movies. But the holiday’s origins go back centuries to the enactment of All Saints’ Day, a Christian holiday. Along the way, it has also picked up traditions from Samhain, a Celtic festival celebrating the start of winter.

All Saints’ Day

The name “Halloween” began as “All Hallows Eve.” This became “All Hallow E’en,” leading to “Hallowe’en,” or Halloween. It was the evening before All Hallows Day, which was later called All Saints’ Day. (In this case, “hallows” meant “saints.”)

All Saints’ Day, a feast for all martyrs and saints, was celebrated on November 1st for the first time during the 8th century, but customs varied regarding its observance. This date was officially established for all Catholic churches in 837 by Pope Gregory IV.

Starting in the 10th century, this feast was the eve of All Souls’ Day, which soon came to overshadow it.

All Souls’ Day

Taking place on November 2, All Souls’ Day was a day of prayer for the dead. It was believed that the prayers of those still living could comfort dead souls, or elevate them from Purgatory. The observances began the previous evening with prayers and the ringing of church bells.

When England moved from Catholicism to Protestantism, the All Souls’ Day bell-ringing was prohibited and no official services were conducted. Individuals and groups continued to find ways of observing the day, perhaps out of a feeling of obligation to their dead loved ones; reports dating to the 16th century refer to people praying in the fields by the light of torches or bonfires.

Another observance involved “soul cakes.” These (and alms) were given to the poor, in return for which the poor would offer a prayer for the dead. The poor and their children in some areas would go “souling,” going to the homes of the wealthy and asking for soul cakes, fruit, and alms, a practice mentioned by Shakespeare in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. (”You have learned… to speak puling [whiningly], like a beggar at Hallowmas.”)

Samhain

November 1st also marks an ancient Celtic festival named Samhain (pronounced sah-win), or “summer’s end.” While little is known for certain about its original observances, it appears to have been a pagan calendar feast on the opposite side of the year from Beltane. (Some otherwise reputable sources claim that Samhain is the name for a Celtic god of the dead. This is unquestionably false.)

There has been much speculation about the relationship between the Halloween–All Saints–All Souls holidays and Samhain. Some believe that the Christian observances were deliberately moved to November in order to take over the pagan holiday. There is, however, no evidence for this. Others suggest that the pagan celebration may have gained its associations with the dead from the Christian holidays, but this is also speculation at best.

Midway Through Autumn

A more likely explanation may be that the turn of autumn—with the harvest finished, the days getting colder, the nights getting longer, and everybody getting ready to face the winter—naturally leads to thoughts of death and the unknowable. Much as many different cultures mark the start of spring with light-hearted holidays and celebrations of fertility and renewal, autumn may attract holidays in which people focus on the other side of the life cycle.

On the other hand, it hardly matters whether the Christian and pagan holidays were originally related to one another; the two have been intermingled in the popular imagination for a long time.

Coming to America

The modern observances of Halloween are more recent than one might expect. The holiday had a rebirth in North America between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, probably through an influx of Irish immigrants. They brought with them traditions that combined features of the Celtic and Christian holidays, and celebrated with feasting, divinations, and mischief making.

Jack-o’-lanterns and trick-or-treating in costume both became Halloween fixtures in North America, and have since been exported back to Europe.

Backlash

There has been a backlash against Halloween by several groups in recent years. Some Christians object to its allegedly pagan origins, or to what they see as its celebration of witches and other “evil powers.” Some neo-pagans object to the alleged Christian takeover of their holiday, or to what they see as a distorted, negative view of witches and magic. And some simply don’t think it’s safe for children to go out after dark taking candy from strangers. (The last of those groups often proposes safer celebrations.)

Still, as long as there are cold autumn nights, a steady supply of candy corn, and radio stations to play “The Monster Mash,” there seems no danger of Halloween going away.

For the answer to the meaning of “Trick Or Treat” - here goes.

MorganLighter

Just read some of the reviews:

Excellent..saves jumping all over to set up desktop..short and simple and complete..plus it works lke a charm…Enjoy!

Thank YOU for this! I visited Firefox Add-ons specifically to find something that would do exactly what your add-on does! And man alive, it does exactly everything I needed it to and more. Magic! Thanks a million. I am very chuffed indeed and this will save me farting about dragging bookmarks from tabs to folders within explorer…what a PITA that is. Thanks again. A mega useful and unbloated add on, something we need more off.

What more could you ask for?

MorganLighter

One box for everything
Type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.

Thumbnails of your top sites
Access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.

Shortcuts for your apps
Get desktop shortcuts to launch your favorite web applications.

Enjoy!

MorganLighter

Since I’m the President of the Chris Hooley Drinking Fan Club, after reading this post, I had to join in.

Seriously, I don’t know Chris well, but his writing is pretty funny, and he has a good rep. What funner way to make you aware of him?

Age of Conversation

There’s this wonderful project I’m a part of, and all the hard work of the project leaders has come to fruition. A while back, I told you about the childish jealousy that led me to be a part of The Age of Conversation Part Two. In this book, you can read 239 perspectives explaining how to be successful in the Age of Conversation - a goldmine if you’re an entrepreneur or a small business owner.

What I didn’t tell you then is that all the proceeds go to a children’s charity, Variety. So, I know it’s late in the day, but I took a chance that you’d be in a much more giving mood when the day was done. The sale has been on for 12 hours, and it would be wonderful if by midnight Pacific time, we could have $15,000 to hand over to this fabulous charity.

How can you help? Buy a copy.

They come in digital, in paperback or hard cover for those who collect books like me.

Thank you so much for your help. You’ll get a great book AND help a great charity. What could be better?

Other than reading my mystical magical words on the printed page, I mean.

Final list of all the authors participating.

1. Adrian Ho,
2. Aki Spicer,
3. Alex Henault,
4. Amy Jussel,
5. Andrew Odom,
6. Andy Nulman,
7. Andy Sernovitz,
8. Andy Whitlock,
9. Angela Maiers,
10. Ann Handley,
11. Anna Farmery,
12. Armando Alves,
13. Arun Rajagopal,
14. Asi Sharabi,
15. Becky Carroll,
16. Becky McCray,
17. Bernie Scheffler,
18. Bill Gammell,
19. Bob LeDrew,
20. Brad Shorr,
21. Brandon Murphy,
22. Branislav Peric,
23. Brent Dixon,
24. Brett Macfarlane,
25. Brian Reich,
26. C.C. Chapman,
27. Cam Beck,
28. Casper Willer,
29. Cathleen Rittereiser,
30. Cathryn Hrudicka,
31. Cedric Giorgi,
32. Charles Sipe,
33. Chris Kieff,
34. Chris Cree,
35. Chris Wilson,
36. Christina Kerley (CK),
37. C.B. Whittemore,
38. Chris Brown,
39. Connie Bensen,
40. Connie Reece,
41. Corentin Monot,
42. Craig Wilson,
43. Daniel Honigman,
44. Dan Schawbel,
45. Dan Sitter,
46. Daria Radota Rasmussen,
47. Darren Herman,
48. Dave Davison,
49. David Armano,
50. David Berkowitz,
51. David Koopmans,
52. David Meerman Scott,
53. David Petherick,
54. David Reich,
55. David Weinfeld,
56. David Zinger,
57. Deanna Gernert,
58. Deborah Brown,
59. Dennis Price,
60. Derrick Kwa,
61. Dino Demopoulos,
62. Doug Haslam,
63. Doug Meacham,
64. Doug Mitchell,
65. Douglas Hanna,
66. Douglas Karr,
67. Drew McLellan,
68. Duane Brown,
69. Dustin Jacobsen,
70. Dylan Viner,
71. Ed Brenegar,
72. Ed Cotton,
73. Efrain Mendicuti,
74. Ellen Weber,
75. Eric Peterson,
76. Eric Nehrlich,
77. Ernie Mosteller,
78. Faris Yakob,
79. Fernanda Romano,
80. Francis Anderson,
81. Gareth Kay,
82. Gary Cohen,
83. Gaurav Mishra,
84. Gavin Heaton,
85. Geert Desager,
86. George Jenkins,
87. G. Kofi Annan,
88. G.L. Hoffman,
89. Gianandrea Facchini,
90. Gordon Whitehead,
91. Greg Verdino,
92. Gretel Going
93. & Kathryn Fleming,
94. Hillel Cooperman,
95. Hugh Weber,
96. J. Erik Potter,
97. James Gordon-Macintosh,
98. Jamey Shiels,
99. Jasmin Tragas,
100. Jason Oke,
101. Jay Ehret,
102. Jeanne Dininni,
103. Jeff De Cagna,
104. Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral,
105. Jeff Noble,
106. Jeff Wallace,
107. Jennifer Warwick,
108. Jenny Meade,
109. Jeremy Fuksa,
110. Jeremy Heilpern,
111. Jeroen Verkroost,
112. Jessica Hagy,
113. Joanna Young,
114. Joe Pulizzi,
115. John Herrington,
116. John Moore,
117. John Rosen,
118. John Todor,
119. Jon Burg,
120. Jon Swanson,
121. Jonathan Trenn,
122. Jordan Behan,
123. Julie Fleischer,
124. Justin Foster,
125. Karl Turley,
126. Kate Trgovac,
127. Katie Chatfield,
128. Katie Konrath,
129. Kenny Lauer,
130. Keri Willenborg,
131. Kevin Jessop,
132. Kristin Gorski,
133. Lewis Green,
134. Lois Kelly,
135. Lori Magno,
136. Louise Manning,
137. Luc Debaisieux,
138. Mario Vellandi,
139. Mark Blair,
140. Mark Earls,
141. Mark Goren,
142. Mark Hancock,
143. Mark Lewis,
144. Mark McGuinness,
145. Matt Dickman,
146. Matt J. McDonald,
147. Matt Moore,
148. Michael Karnjanaprakorn,
149. Michelle Lamar,
150. Mike Arauz,
151. Mike McAllen,
152. Mike Sansone,
153. Mitch Joel,
154. Neil Perkin,
155. Nettie Hartsock,
156. Nick Rice,
157. Oleksandr Skorokhod,
158. Ozgur Alaz,
159. Paul Chaney,
160. Paul Hebert,
161. Paul Isakson,
162. Paul McEnany,
163. Paul Tedesco,
164. Paul Williams,
165. Pet Campbell,
166. Pete Deutschman,
167. Peter Corbett,
168. Phil Gerbyshak,
169. Phil Lewis,
170. Phil Soden,
171. Piet Wulleman,
172. Rachel Steiner,
173. Sreeraj Menon,
174. Reginald Adkins,
175. Richard Huntington,
176. Rishi Desai,
177. Robert Hruzek,
178. Roberta Rosenberg,
179. Robyn McMaster,
180. Roger von Oech,
181. Rohit Bhargava,
182. Ron Shevlin,
183. Ryan Barrett,
184. Ryan Karpeles,
185. Ryan Rasmussen,
186. Sam Huleatt,
187. Sandy Renshaw and
188. James G. Lindberg,
189. Scott Goodson,
190. Scott Monty,
191. Scott Townsend,
192. Scott White,
193. Sean Howard,
194. Sean Scott,
195. Seni Thomas,
196. Seth Gaffney,
197. Shama Hyder,
198. Sheila Scarborough,
199. Sheryl Steadman,
200. Simon Payn,
201. Sonia Simone,
202. Spike Jones,
203. Stanley Johnson,
204. Stephen Collins,
205. Stephen Landau,
206. Stephen Smith,
207. Steve Bannister,
208. Steve Hardy,
209. Steve Portigal,
210. Steve Roesler,
211. Steven Verbruggen,
212. Steve Woodruff,
213. Sue Edworthy,
214. Susan Bird,
215. Susan Gunelius,
216. Susan Heywood,
217. Tammy Lenski,
218. Terrell Meek,
219. Thomas Clifford,
220. Thomas Knoll,
221. Tim Brunelle,
222. Tim Connor,
223. Tim Jackson,
224. Tim Mannveille,
225. Tim Tyler,
226. Timothy Johnson,
227. Tinu Abayomi-Paul < -- Hey That's Me!
228. Toby Bloomberg,
229. Todd Andrlik,
230. Troy Rutter,
231. Troy Worman,
232. Uwe Hook,
233. Valeria Maltoni,
234. Vandana Ahuja,
235. Vanessa DiMauro,
236. Veronique Rabuteau,
237. Wayne Buckhanan,
238. William Azaroff,
239. Yves Van Landeghem

All platforms:
The Firefox Asterisk Revealer reveals the contents of any password whose text is obscured by asterisks in an alert box using a simple JavaScript.
How often do we forget are saved passwords? very often. It takes just a few months of blogging to accumulate so many passwords, I should personally have over 15 different accounts.
So how do I recover the password I’ve saved but can’t remember any more;
Here is your account:

Now you want to see the password in letters. Paste this script in your browsers address bar and hit enter.

javascript:(function(){var s,F,j,f,i; s = “”; F = document.forms; for(j=0; j<F.length; ++j) { f = F[j]; for (i=0; i<f.length; ++i) { if (f[i].type.toLowerCase() == “password”) s += f[i].value + “\n”; } } if (s) alert(”Passwords in forms on this page:\n\n” + s); else alert(”There are no saved passwords in forms on this page.”);})();

There you are - your password pops-up in letters:

MorganLighter