Category vs Tag

I’m looking for your thoughts now.
There are were about 150 categories accumulated upon my journal over the last few years.

As you can see: I don’t tag, I make everything a category.

Somehow I got it into my head that they were the same thing, and to some degree I still believe they are. But now I am prepared to have ‘converted’ some many categories into tags. WordPress includes this fantastic option, so I felt it prudent and a great opportunity to convert many of my existing categories, and add a whole bunch more then refine them to a select few.
But which ones?
Looking for your thoughts on which of these words are better suited as a “tag” or a “category”.

All of the categories you saw here earlier have now been removed.
This is because many were converted to tags, whereas only a few remain as categories and the main subjects about which I write articles.
I still welcome your thoughts on the issue of ‘category versus tag’.

NEW [03/Sept/2009]

Whilst doing further research into this subject, I found sites that help to successfully convert our tags into categories, or vice versa:
[1] Converting Tags To Categories In WordPress : Using The XML File
[2] WordPress Converting Tags and Categories
Hope that helps you!

Getting Discounts on Your Photo Equipment

As a consequence of the great customer service I received today, I now only shop at ONE retail-outlet for ALL my photographic equipment!

Adelaide photographers are the most unlucky when it comes to photographic-retail outlets. Our options are limited. There are very few retail outlets within the Adelaide CBD, nor in the suburbs! And then I often find they are too busy to give extra support and advice to their customers. More often they have exorbitant prices with little discount offered. So it’s great to find a shop that covers all the products, tutorials, training and free-advice that a photographer wants and needs!

As many would know, the Adelaide CBD is a square mile. Therefore it doesn’t take that long to walk anywhere. Particularly to Hutt Street. Sitting nearby to one corner of the CLIPSAL500 track is the Photographic Wholesalers’s retail-front. Recently they completely refurbished the interior. Subsequently, it presents their image better and is far more inviting to all level of photographers.

So I took a walk at midday to happily stand waiting to be served. You might think this is weird, but I knocked back the help from TWO other staff … because I know that the guy I regularly discuss and deal with, Doug, knows his product. Doug is one of those unusual retail-workers: He knows his stuff, he cares, he offers FREE advice and ensures you walk out wanting to come back. I have had advice and support from all the staff, including Peter who is a member of the Adelaide Camera Club, yet I welcome Doug’s opinion every time! (Sorry Peter!)

One of the issues was quite silly, yet Doug was good enough to point out my error, then give advice as to what else I could/should do. Still laughing at myself over that issue! I’ll cover that another time.

The second and more important issue: I want 40 x 16″x20″ frames. These are stage 2 of my BIG plan: A mini-exhibition at some stage either late 2009 or early 2010, a group-exhibition next year, AND for SALA next year.

When I was at PW’s a few weeks ago, I asked if they sold frames and at what price. Doug replied, “Follow me…”

Imagine my surprise to discover PW’s have a little room out the back where they sell frames at amazing wholesale prices. Yes, the more you buy, the better the price. After a quick discussion about my requirements, my dream, followed by a talk about their wholesalers business, I struck up a bargain whereby they would gain almost $1,000 out of me over the next few months in return for these high quality frames! Thanks Doug and Jane!

So why am I telling you all of this? Because I have determined over many years that buying goods from anywhere is a two-way conversation. Early next week, you’ll be able to read my article outlining how you can achieve the same level of customer service that I always give which gets me discounts nearly every time. To be published at ImproveYourCustomerService.com.

Ready to Surf the NEXT Google Wave?

Personally, I don’t think Google Wave is going to revolutionise the world. Sure, Microsoft did manage to manipulate and monopolise the market 30-something years ago, but I don’t see Google doing that here. With 100,000 invitations criss-crossing the planet, maybe a further 900,000 humans will find a way to either catch a ride or jump on the band-wagon.

The new Google Wave communication tool is just that: A tool. For a lot of nerds, geeks, dweebs and IAA users, yeah, it will consolidate their online-chat-lives.

Created by two of the guys behind Google Maps with a small team in Sydney, the concept behind Google Wave is to “unify” communication on the web. It’s a hybrid of email, web chat, IM, and project management software. It features the ability to replay conversations because it records the entire sequence of communication, character by character. Because of this, discussions are also live in Google Wave: you will see your friends type character-by-character.

Source

But will become their only means of communication? That I doubt. History has proven that people love to be in multiple SocNet’s, it’s become a part of their staple-online-diet. From Facebook to MSN-Chat, Twitter to Plurk, everyone is somewhere online. Even if they are talking with the same people and talking about the same stuff on each site!

What I truly question is Google’s motives: Do they anticipate large revenue in advertising space? Should users be expecting to be charged for the experience? There is no doubt that the Google share price will double overnight, but I have no doubt it will stabilise very shortly after.

Yet I do look forward to seeing where the Google wave carries us. As with all internet phenomenon, there are eddies, whirlpools, tsunami’s and sink-holes with every new software and web release. I wonder how easy it will be to surf the Google wave?

Are these ALL the Answers to Successful Blogging?

1. Top 10 Tips for Creating a Blog

Right. An informative topic that is not old news, regular clear and simple posts, full of frequent key words, spelt reel good, with frequent stop-start sentences, and an RSS feed, I should be right for creating a blog.
Done. Next.

2. “When You Don’t Know What to Blog About, – Blog About This!”

Read carefully. This person is actually asking you to part with seventeen dollars for seventy five topics worthy of blogging. Trust me, there is a googlian of ideas out there AND they are easy to find. But this person makes it easy for you, without spending any money.

3. Do what they did: “Mix and Match”.

Try mixing your topics together. Find a link between “Nasal Congestion” and “Nokia”… hey, there is one: There’s a claim that that mobile phones have more germs on them than our toilet bowl. Done. Your turn.

4. How to get traffic for your blog

Of the 56 listed suggestions, these would be the funniest and most interesting:

9. Write short, pithy posts.
26. Start at the beginning and take your readers through a months-long education.
33. Have relevant ads that are even better than your content.
45. Dress your blog (fonts and design) as well as you would dress yourself for a meeting with a stranger.
54. Write about obscure stuff that appeals to an obsessed minority.

I manage to achieve a few of them.

5. 16 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

Another list that also suggests that pithy posts are just not going to cut it on their own – we have to get people to make comments, either pity or important. Pinging helps. Insisting people subscribe to read further might do it for you … if your a newspaper.
Oh, this one suggests putting your blog-url on your business card. Hmm. No. But this does tell me it is time to completely redesign and give a purpose to my blog. This is in progress…

6. 8 TOP Ways To Promote Your RSS/XML Feed For MAXIMUM Exposure

Despite being published June 2005, this would have to be the most important article today. Now that everyone is online, everyone wants to be noticed and linked by everyone else. RSS is the answer. But how to make it work? I have no freaking idea. So read the article!

7. Valuing your Website.

Apparently all you need is [1] Traffic and [2] Page Rank and Incoming Links to put some value to your site.

8. Finally, Defamation Law and Free Speech

“The law of defamation is supposed to protect people’s reputations from unfair attack. In practice its main effect is to hinder free speech and protect powerful people from scrutiny. Strategies for people to challenge oppressive uses of defamation law need to be developed.”

And there are two types of defamation:
“Oral defamation (slander) eg. comments or stories told at a meeting or party.”
“Published defamation (libel) eg. a newspaper article or television broadcast. Pictures as well as words can be defamatory.”

Are we ready to blog now?…