Adam Yamada - Fitness Markter and Personal Trainer

Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese

Yesterday I checked Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese for this site, AdamYamada.com! No, this wasn't on purpose and in case you are wondering I can't speak or read Vietnamese. Since I thought it was kind of weird Google thought I could read Vietnamese I did went any normal person would do, I took a screenshot. Check out the screenshot of Google Wembaster Tools in Vietnamese.

It seems to have been a glitch on Google Webmaster Tools side which I was happy with. I just logged out of my account and logged back in and then everything returned to good old English. Some of you are probably laughing reading this and looking at the picture but I actually didn't think this was funny at first since I assumed someone had hacked my Google account.

Luckily that doesn't seem like it was the case and I am glad since Google Webmaster Tools has a lot of important data about all of my sites. In addition it can tell you when your sites have been hacked or if there is malware on them that you need to be aware of. So it's important to keep you Google account and Google Webmaster Tools account secure. I'd recommend 2-step verification if you own a cellphone with a text messaging plan.

Trying to understand Google Webmaster Tools in Vietnamese wasn't as hard as you might think though. Since I already know where most of the buttons are in the user interface in English it was sort of second nature. Looking at the picture can you navigate and figure out what the buttons do? If you are familiar using Google Webmaster Tools I bet you can. It is still a bit confusing but should be somewhat doable.

Let's hear from other webmasters that use Google Webmaster Tools. Have you every had a similar experience with Google Webmaster Tools showing up a different language? What was the language? How did it make you feel? Worried, concerned, upset? Share below and let others know!

10 Reasons Deleting a Facebook Account is Good for You

Recently I deleted my Facebook account, which sounds hard to do but it wasn't as hard as you might imagine. With my support and help you can Deleting a Facebook account can be easy. While a seemingly impossible task for some, it is not that hard. We can do it together and here are 10 reasons to help you make deleting a Facebook account more clear cut and easier.

1. It's a HUGE Waste of Time

This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that has every used Facebook. Essentially it is a blackhole of time with a gigantic mass of stupid internet memes, people's problems, complaints, hatred, and anything else you don't want to hear about.

While I think social media can be used for great things, Facebook has a serious crisis in the way it organizes all the data that is shared on it's platform everyday.

2. Privacy

It's been pretty clear from day one that Facebook doesn't give a shit about your privacy and your personal data and information. (It should be called FaceCrook.) Also it's a complete illusion that anything you share on Facebook can be kept completely private. You hear stories all the day about people sharing things they shouldn't on Facebook, and then subsequently getting fired or kicked out of school.

If you delete your Facebook account you won't have to worry about someone seeing a post they were not supposed to see, since you won't be on it anymore. If you are stupid enough to share every detail of your life on Facebook, then I guess it's for you.

If you want to share anonymously go join a forum with a crazy username or go over and sign-up for Reddit. That's where people vent about all sorts of stuff publicly, but anonymously.

3. Facebook EdgeRank

For those that don't know Facebook EdgeRank is an algorithm that decides what to show you and what not to show in your newsfeed. Just out of curiosity, why does Facebook need to decide this for me? If am following a page or person, I am interested in what they have to share. If I don't like it, I don't follow them. I don't need Facebook making the decisions for me.

Also Facebook EdgeRank means brands have a huge hurdle to overcome when they are sharing content. Facebook seems to be tweaking Edgerank making it increasingly hard to get people off of their “walled garden” in hopes of generating more ad revenue. (Remember they went public so they gotta please shareholders.) I've seen firsthand Facebook pages with a large following but a laughable low Click-Through-Rate (CTR) to articles or content they share. You need a lot of followers to make the Return on Investment in Facebook make sense because of Facebook EdgeRank.

I even talked with many companies who have complained extensively about EdgeRank. It's usually the same story, “We've spent $1000's in Facebook advertising and now Facebook is limiting what we can do with fans we paid for via advertising.” Not sure how this makes sense, and they get away with it, but I guess Facebook really likes to screw people over. Hey, they've been doing it since day one.

Fuck Facebook, Fuck Edgerank!

4. There are OTHER Social Networks

Yes, there are other social networks you can used besides Facebook. Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Youtube, etc. all which can be a BETTER use of your time. Additionally if you are a business some of these social media sites can better target certain customers and drive traffic to your website.

For instance, recently I discovered the power of Pinterest for photo sharing. What's nice about Pinterest compared to Facebook is that images can have click-through links to your articles. This means each time I share something I get maximum value out of that share. If other people Pin your images they sometimes do so to come back and reference it. You don't get that benefit on Facebook. Also Pinterset makes it super easy to organize and share images, while Facebook does not.

Tumblr is another great photo sharing platform for the same reason as Pinterest. Images can have links directly to your articles, but links are DoFollow on Tumblr. The platform Tumblr is built on makes sharing content fast and easy. It's also a lot easier to schedule posts since you can just select “Add to Queue.” You don't get the benefit of people coming back to the images though, but it's still a better platform for photo sharing than Facebook.

Twitter in my opinion is another better social network, especially for managing multiple accounts. I use TweetDeck to help manage different Twitter accounts and Tweets. (Honestly it wouldn't be enjoyable to use Twitter otherwise. ) A 3rd party developer or Facebook has yet to come out with an equivalent tool, that is as good as TweetDeck, for managing multiple Facebook pages. Additionally Twitter is easy to get in, and get out of quickly. I don't like it though that Twitter stopped supporting TweetDeck's mobile Apps.

I could go on but if you find that Facebook isn't working for you personally or for your brands, drop it. Deleting a Facebook account in this case shouldn't be that hard. Figure out another social network or social media platform that will work for you.

I am still going to keep up the Singing Dog Facebook page but will be posting on there sporadically. It's not worth my time.

5. Mark Zuckerberg

There is the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who's always stricken me as an odd person. It's been widely speculated that he has Asperger's syndrome, which I am inclined to think is true. He is a very private person, ironically, and doesn't seem to like that people.

Also for some reason people think he is the shiznit but I don't really see it that way. Anytime I've heard him talk he says the same friggin thing, “I'm really just trying to connect the world.” or variations of this. If you ever listen to Jack Dorsey, the creative mind behind Twitter, talk you feel like there is a lot going on in there. With ASSperger's man… not so much.

The reality is that Mark Zuckerberg isn't all that smart. The truth is he stole the idea for Facebook. Just ask the Winklevoss twins and Divya Narendry, since they know from experience! 🙂 He'll fuck you over especially on privacy, which is #2 on my list. He even fucked over his friend who helped him start Facecrook, Eduardo Saverin.

The best way to refer to Mark Zuckerberg is,”Fuckerberg!” FYI this is probably the best Twitter search you can do! 🙂

6. Moderation

Facebook hasn't done a good enough job of moderating page content. I've complained about certain pages before and many times a few seconds later I got a reply saying that “It's ok” according to Facebook's terms. WTF? A real human obviously didn't look and analyze the page. Mark Fuckerberg can't pay someone to monitor that stuff?

7. Facebook's User Interface Blows

Facebook is seriously failing behind with keeping updated on an intuitive and easy-to-use user interface. Checkout Pinterest for instance, which is hella simple and doesn't take much to pick-up.

Facebook can't seem to figure out whether to appeal to old people or young people. Since old people don't like a user interface change, they have a real problem on their hands. Change it so young people will flock back, and their user base will be confused.

8. Its' Slow

Do Facebook engineers not know how to load balance a server? Do they know what a content delivery network (CDN) is? I guess not since uploading a photo takes longer than an old lady crossing the street. Hey guess what Facebook engineers, stop playing beer pong and go do your fucking job! You get paid plenty of money and you've seriously go ZERO excuse for any slowness at anytime during the day. ZERO!

Deleting a Facebook account will save you a lot of time! 🙂 Once I launch my new web hosting site, HostTribe, you Facebook engineers could probably learn something.

9. Facebook is not Cool

There is a good reason Facebook shelled out $1 billion for Instagram. Their user base is getting older since parents have started to use it. (Damn!) As this happens more and more… well it's going to be seen more and more as a Not Cool. Quite honestly a lot of young people already think it is Uncool.

Facebook's current crisis is that it's started to become the next MySpace. This won't happen this year, but it will happen faster than you think unless they start truly making some innovative changes. I doubt that will happen as long as Fuckerberg is running the company.

10. Focus on Your own Web Projects

Do you want to start a blog? Do you have a cool smartphone app or web service you want to get develop? Have some innovative tool that will change the world?

Stop kidding yourself spending time on Facebook is really helping you accomplish these goals, because it isn't. If you want to create something for the world to use, share, or appreciate you should be spending less time on Facebook and social media altogether and focusing as much time and effort as you can on your own web projects.

Conclusion, Facebook sucks

For a young person in this hyper-connected digital age some would tell you it is a social death sentence to delete your personal Facebook account. Will I be sad to miss baby pictures, vacation pictures, and important updates from my friends? Sure, but I feel there are plenty of other ways for me to keep in touch with my friends in this day and age.

I am never going back to the blue and white social media wasteland and hope others will join me. I understand if you stay on there though and don't hold it against anyone. I know not using social media is hard and for some to not use Facebook… well that's just plain impossible! 🙂

If you do plan on Deleting a Facebook account, please remember to backup and archive your information before doing so. This will enable you to keep all your pictures and other vital information.

Are you considering deleting a Facebook account and moving on in your life? Let me know why and if you feel my 10 reasons are justified. Did you already delete you Facebook account? Why did you do it?

Catch me on Twitter @AdamYamada… if you can.

Google Keyword Tool now the Google Keyword Planner

If you like to use Google's well known Google Keyword Tool, then it is probably no surprise to you that Google has planned to shutdown the Google Adword Keyword Tool and Traffic Estimator for awhile now to replace it with the new Google Keyword Planner. I noticed that just in the last week the Keyword Tool URL now redirects to the new and, what Google claims, improved Google Keyword Planner.

In a post on Inside Adwords, the official Google Adwords blog, on May 20th 2013 this is why Google says it has switched from the Google Keyword Tool to the Google Keyword Planner.

We’re constantly working to simplify the process of building campaigns, and today we’re happy to announce the launch of a new tool, Keyword Planner, which combines the functionality of the Keyword Tool and Traffic Estimator into a smooth, integrated workflow. You can use Keyword Planner to find new keyword and ad group ideas, get performance estimates for them to find the bid and budget that are right for you, and then add them to your campaigns. You’ll also see some new features in the tool – some of which we’ll highlight below.

To put this into terms people can understand this basically means Google built the Keyword Planner to try to make it easier and simpler for advertisers to figure out which search phrases they want to bid on. Google obviously wants to give as much data and tools as possible since the more advertising on Google Adwords, the more money they will make. The Keyword Planner includes several new features compared to the Google Keyword Tool. This includes;

Multiply keywords in 2 different lists to generate new keywords you mightnot have thought of.
You can geotarget not juts countries, but specific cities and regions.
A graph showing the search volumes for selected keywords or phrases by month by month. This allows you to see when certain terms have a higher volume of searches.

The Google Keyword Tool and Google Traffic Estimator are not exactly retired as they were merged into the Google Keyword Planner. You can do everything you used to do but supposedly even better with the Keyword Planner.

Since I try to make the most of my articles (of course you can't always do that) SEO friendly and keyword optimized I used to use the Google Keyword Tool all the time. Even external SEO programs, like Long Tail Pro, pulled most of their data from the Google Keyword Tool too. While I appreciate it when companies update their tools and services when they are free, I am having a bit of trouble getting used to the Keyword Planner. Since the Keyword Tool has been around for so long I know my way around it easily. The Google Keyword Planner is taking some getting used too. I like the new features but find some of the new layout and tools confusing.

If you are a SEO (search engine optimizer), SEM (search engine marketer), advertiser, or do a lot of keyword research what do you think of Google changing over from the Keyword Tool to the Keyword Planner? Do you like the new tool or wish Google kept the Keyword Tool and just added the new features?

Jobs Movie Review

If you are a Steve Jobs fan or Apple freak I assume you are reading this review probably because you considering seeing the latest Jobs movie about the legendary Apple founder Steve Jobs. To save you the trouble of 2 hours and 5 minutes of sheer pain and agony of watching the Jobs movie all the way through I will just say, don't see it. Just spend the time reading this Jobs movie review to find out why.

Jobs Movie Review

Starring Ashton Kutcher as the tech titan that changed many industries I felt the “Jobs” movie fell short in several areas. First I don't think Kutcher was the right person to play the role of Steve Jobs. It is sort of clear that he is sooo in love with him that he can't put himself outside of the way he views Steve Jobs to play him the character properly. It would have been better to find an actor that doesn't even use Apple products in my opinion. That way he could have thrown himself into the role completely and you would know he wasn't such Apple fanboy that he can't actually act the role.

In addition the story-line feels poorly setup and the movie has odd jumps and a weird pacing. When Steve Jobs gets thrown out of Apple they cut to a montage of all the CEO's that essentially were ruining the company and then jump to 1996 at Steve Jobs house. What they don't want to show anything about Pixar or NEXT computers between all those years? (For those that don't know NEXT computers was the company Steve Jobs founded after he left Apple.) Since NEXT computer was acquired by Apple, and largely considered a Steve Jobs failure, maybe they didn't want to show that? I guess Joshua Michael Stern, the director, is also so in love with Jobs that he only wanted to show in his Jobs movie all the good things he accomplished.

Additionally Stern doesn't explain how Jobs reconnects and reconciles with his daughter, Lisa, who he didn't want to see or acknowledge that he was the father for many years. Even when the movie does she Steve Jobs faults they leave out important details. For instance when Apple has an IPO Jobs cuts out the people who originally helped build the Apple II, the company's first refined consumer computer. They don't explain or show in the movie that Steve Wozniak, Apple's co-founder, gave several of those people some of his shares to be fair. Jobs argument was that they were not management or engineers and didn't deserve the stock options. The difference between Jobs and Wozniak is that that one is fair enough to recognize the absurdity of not giving people who got Apple off-the-ground shares in the company, while Jobs sticks to his odd thought process.

Also there is a part in the movie when Apple gets a first look at Microsoft Windows before it launches. It shows Jobs going berserk because Microsoft ripped off their product. What Joshua Michael Stern fails to show is that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were friends and Microsoft's first programs, Word and Excel, were on Apple computers. That's why it was such a blow both professionally and personally to Jobs.

The movie also could have shown the the products that were complete disasters, like the Newton, which were released when Steve Jobs wasn't there. (Some would argue the Newton was a good product but ahead of it's time.)

Other things the movie forgot to show is that Apple actually learned about the Graphical User Interface (GUI) from Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center). Apple does not discover or build a lot of computer technologies but they do refine them for everyday users. This somehow was lost on Stern and Kutcher which blows my mind. People love Apple because they try to make technology and computers simple and easy-to-use. This is why hordes of Apple fans line up when a new Apple products get released. The movie doesn't show that at all.

When watching the movie you get the feeling that Steve Jobs was a jerk a lot and this is pointed out readily. While it is well known he was not easy to work with and definitely an asshole, I don't understand why they had to point this out so much.

What helped Kutcher's performance in the Jobs movie was Josh Gad, who portrayed Steve Wozniak. I thought Gad did a good job of playing “Woz.” He seemed to capture the attitude well and he invested himself in the role. Of course since Wozniak isn't as well known this could be an unfair assumption.

Apple's first venture capitol investor, Mike Markula, was played by Dermot Mulroney. He clearly thought about the role and like Josh Gad was invested in it. In the scene when he first pulls up to Paul and Clara Job's house in his gold Corvette Stingray he is a map with a notebook. In those days this is how he would have found the garage where Apple was getting started, even if he was a hotshot from Intel.

If you are looking for better account and biography than what the Jobs movie provides, I recommend you buy a copy of “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaascon. The biography is quite detailed, a long read, well written, and was what the filmmakers used as the basis for the script.

The Steve Jobs book actually helped me fill in a lot of the details that were missing in the Jobs movie. You shouldn't need to read Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs to have the movie make sense though.

Hopefully nobody on Cupidtino (a dating website strictly for Apple enthusiasts) will be upset with me about this review. I imagine if they see the Jobs movie on a date they won't disagree with my Jobs movie review though.

I can only imagine that Steve Jobs is somewhere bitching about how bad his biopic turned out. Quite unfortunate for a man that radically changed so many industries.

If you saw the Jobs movie, what did you think of it? Did you like it or hate it? If haven't seen it please let me know if this review convinced you not to see it. I would be happy to know.

Catch me on Twitter @AdamYamada… if you can.

Greader is The Old Reader Android app & Mobile Browser experience is Sweet

UPDATE: Apparently The Old Reader has a ton of apps available for mobile devices. You can check The Old Reader app list for all compatible apps you can use. I guess I was too stupid to notice! 🙂

Yesterday I wrote an article titled “4 Reasons I Switched from Feedly to The Old Reader.” Even though I think most people agree with my reasons, I will admit reason number #4 “There is No Android App” was not accurate. The Old Reader Android app does exist as you can use the Greader Android app on a mobile device.

I actually spent some time playing around with the Greader Android app paired with my RSS feeds from The Old Reader this morning and it works flawlessly. Greader is quite fast at pulling in and updating the feeds from The Old Reader. What's weird is that it seems faster than using The Old Reader on a desktop browser. Not sure how that works but kudos to the Greader development team for making a fast RSS experience. In addition the Greader app is intuitive and simple to use.

It makes sense that Greader switched over it's services to pull feeds from The Old Reader after Google Reader shutdown. It was the unofficial Google Reader app until Google decided to shutter their RSS reader. So now you can use the Greader Android app with The Old Reader and Feedly if you want.

Something I should also mention is that the The Old Reader is mobile browser enabled and responsive (meaning it works on touchscreens and tablets.) The Old Reader works quite well on a mobile browser. I tried out the The Old Reader's mobile site and was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Personally would I prefer using the Greader Android app but I'd recommend trying out The Old Reader mobile site and seeing which you personally prefer to use. It's hard to know unless you try it yourself.

Anyway if you know if there is another The Old Reader Android app or way to use it on on a smartphone please leave a comment below. In addition if you prefer another RSS service to The Old Reader and want to share I would be happy for you to share your experiences. Seems a lot of people are still looking for suitable replacements to Google Reader.

4 Reasons I switched from Feedly to The Old Reader

If you have been following my blog you might remember that I switched to Feedly because Google Reader shutdown. Well, now I've switched over to using The Old Reader as my new RSS reader for keeping updated with all my favorite blogs.

1. Google Login

I didn't like how Feedly asks for my Google login information. Why does Feedly still need to use Google account login info when Google Reader shutdown? I know some people might love using Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. accounts to connect all of their various services. I am just not one of those people.

While this does make things less of a hassle I personally don't like 1 company having all my login credentials. The Old Reader allows you to use their service with just a good old fashioned email. However, if you want to use your Facebook or Google account you can.

2. The Old Reader makes it simple to Leave

>If I ever want to leave The Old Reader and use another RSS reader or service I can easily export an OPML file and upload it somewhere else. I appreciate the freedom that The Old Reader provides since a lot of other RSS services, like Feedly, don't make it easy to export your RSS feeds if you are unhappy with the service.

Even if you have complaints about The Old Reader at least be happy that they make it easy for you to leave if you want.

UPDATE: You can easily leave Feedly if you want. Check the comments below.

3. It's Simple and Easy-to-Use

The Old Reader is simple, easy-to-use, and fairly intuitive. Like a lot of things there is a small learning curve but once you get the hang of The Old Reader I don't think many people will have issues using it. Check The Old Reader 101 and you should be good.

Feedly is pretty easy-to-use too but there were some things about it I just wasn't happy with. I prefer the layout of The Old Reader.

4. There is no Android app

UPDATE: You can use Greader with as The Old Reader Android app and the mobile site experience with The Old Reader is pretty good. Additionally check The Old Reader apps list for other apps you can use with it.

Ok, for most this is not a positive but a negative. The Old Reader doesn't have an Android app, which is a bit annoying, but I don't mind actually. I am trying to shift a lot of my news reading focus to my laptop and not use my smartphone so much. I think a lot of people have a bit of an addiction to their smartphone. As awesome as having a smartphone is I don't need to be checking people's blogs on their every second of everyday.

There is an iOS app for The Old Reader though. So if you are an iOS user you can gloat to Android users.

Conclusion

Most people probably think I am crazy for switching from Feedly to The Old Reader. I can't actually really argue that The Old Reader is better than Feedly. I do realize Feedly is much faster and more refined but keep in mind that The Old Reader developers work on it their spare time. They do a pretty good job in my opinion for a side project. There have been some technical issues with the RSS service recently where it went down but the developers seem to have resolved those problems. You can follow The Old Reader Blog and @TheOldReader on Twitter.

The Old Reader works for my needs right now and I could end up switching down the road. I've tried different RSS services since Google Reader shutdown but haven't been happy with them. BlogLovin seems ok but there are some things I don't like about it too. I wish the Keep Google Reader campaign could have been successful.

I did hear about a good Google Reader alternative recently called InoReader. I haven't had time to check it out but people to like it on Twitter and there is a mobile enabled site for InoReader. Just so we are clear I do not recommend it but I am just mentioning it here.

What do you think of me switching from Feedly to The Old Reader? Am I crazy or did I make a smart move? Do you have a Google Reader alternative that you really like and want to share? Let people know below.