Matt's Mutts on the News!!
10/13/09 07:44 PM
CBS 5 was doing a story about the first rain of the season. I got interviewed at Crissy Field. Here’s a link to the segment, though I don’t know how long it will stay valid. I come in right after the 6:45 mark.
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=56616@kpix.dayport.com
http://cbs5.com/video/?id=56616@kpix.dayport.com
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Goodbye Yelp Reviews. I'll Miss You!
09/24/09 05:53 PM
Yesterday I had 8 reviews on my Yelp page. Today I have 4.
Somewhat perturbed, I did a little research and found some things out. It seems that Yelp has built-in software that automatically removes certain reviews if they feel like the writer is not established enough in the Yelp community.
From their website, under Help -> Missing Reviews: “This system decides how established a particular reviewer is and whether a review will be shown based on the reviewer’s involvement on Yelp.”
The theory is that it will remove fake reviews and spam. They don’t want people creating hundreds of accounts and writing themselves reviews. I get that. And it works pretty well for that. Yelp gets few to no chain letter posts and porn links. The other effect is that if you request a Yelp review from somebody, then it better not be their first and only review, or you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.
It goes on to say they don’t encourage soliciting reviews and that the best businesses and pages rise to the top organically and blah blah blah. I guess I have to like at it as quality over quantity. 4 good reviews are better than 8 that were obviously requested.
Somewhat perturbed, I did a little research and found some things out. It seems that Yelp has built-in software that automatically removes certain reviews if they feel like the writer is not established enough in the Yelp community.
From their website, under Help -> Missing Reviews: “This system decides how established a particular reviewer is and whether a review will be shown based on the reviewer’s involvement on Yelp.”
The theory is that it will remove fake reviews and spam. They don’t want people creating hundreds of accounts and writing themselves reviews. I get that. And it works pretty well for that. Yelp gets few to no chain letter posts and porn links. The other effect is that if you request a Yelp review from somebody, then it better not be their first and only review, or you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.
It goes on to say they don’t encourage soliciting reviews and that the best businesses and pages rise to the top organically and blah blah blah. I guess I have to like at it as quality over quantity. 4 good reviews are better than 8 that were obviously requested.
Long Time No Blog
09/23/09 09:09 AM
Hey all. It’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these, but sometimes life just gets in the way. As usual, I’ve been busy with work and really trying to expand my business. Currently, I’ve got my hands full with a 3 month old puppy at my apartment for a week. Rubarb is about the cutest thing on four legs, but quite the handful, as puppies tend to be. Following Rubarb, I get Paco back for a weekend (my birthday weekend), before finally getting a couple of days to breath. I hope.
On that note, however, I’m excited to announce two new members to the Matt’s Mutts team. Admittedly, it wasn’t really a team before now since it was just me, but now I can really call it a team. Rina Mendoza and Priscilla Vargas are wonderful pair of ladies who live together, just one short block from Ocean Beach. They will be helping me out with pet visits, overnight stays, and dog boarding. I will have their pictures and bio up on my site soon. Rina is an EMT for the SFFD and Priscilla works in the Financial District. Both have had plenty of experience caring for dogs and are very excited about the opportunity to work with more animals.
This is a big step for me, but one which I’m pretty excited about. It means more responsibility and a number of things that need to be done behind the scenes, but it’s a major step toward my goal of being the top dog walking and pet sitting service in San Francisco.
On that note, however, I’m excited to announce two new members to the Matt’s Mutts team. Admittedly, it wasn’t really a team before now since it was just me, but now I can really call it a team. Rina Mendoza and Priscilla Vargas are wonderful pair of ladies who live together, just one short block from Ocean Beach. They will be helping me out with pet visits, overnight stays, and dog boarding. I will have their pictures and bio up on my site soon. Rina is an EMT for the SFFD and Priscilla works in the Financial District. Both have had plenty of experience caring for dogs and are very excited about the opportunity to work with more animals.
This is a big step for me, but one which I’m pretty excited about. It means more responsibility and a number of things that need to be done behind the scenes, but it’s a major step toward my goal of being the top dog walking and pet sitting service in San Francisco.
Online Payments
08/18/09 09:08 PM
Well, I think I’m finally starting to get happy with my website. There are still a few tweaks that I need to work on, but I’ve finally got a solid website up with all of the features that I’m looking for. Now I just need to get them all working.
I’m happy to offer the option of making payments online now. I had to use the “donate” button because Paypal doesn’t offer any other button that lets the payer choose the amount. I’m thinking about adding a shopping cart to let people purchase services directly from my website, though it isn’t very practical for full-time clients. I’m trying to work out a way to have a “pay invoice” button. Oh well. It’s always a work in progress.
I’m happy to offer the option of making payments online now. I had to use the “donate” button because Paypal doesn’t offer any other button that lets the payer choose the amount. I’m thinking about adding a shopping cart to let people purchase services directly from my website, though it isn’t very practical for full-time clients. I’m trying to work out a way to have a “pay invoice” button. Oh well. It’s always a work in progress.
RapidWeaver
08/09/09 06:46 PM
Well, I’ve gotten a new web design program to make up for some of the deficiencies of iWeb. It’s only marginally better, but I’m trying to make it work.
Frustration
08/03/09 05:44 PM
OK, I spent a lot of time getting my website updated. I’ve got my new photo galleries, videos, and even got my blog started. Everything should be peachy, right? Wrong. Turns out that Apple’s iWeb program is garbage.
I mean, it does what it’s supposed to do quite well. It makes a webpage for you and puts it online. That’s all well and good, except that iWeb is so dumbed down that it should wear a helmet and ride the short bus to school.
Turns out that I can’t do any Search Engine Optimization on iWeb. That means you won’t find my page in Google. But hey, who really wants anybody to find their website? Turns out that if you choose to host your page somewhere other than Apple’s own MobileMe server, then you can kiss even more features good-bye.
I’d love to hear your comments on this, but guess what? Bingo, commenting is only available on MobileMe, which also specifically forbids commercial websites. Ugh, it’s always something.
I’m researching a workaround, but I think I will be looking for a new site design program soon.
I mean, it does what it’s supposed to do quite well. It makes a webpage for you and puts it online. That’s all well and good, except that iWeb is so dumbed down that it should wear a helmet and ride the short bus to school.
Turns out that I can’t do any Search Engine Optimization on iWeb. That means you won’t find my page in Google. But hey, who really wants anybody to find their website? Turns out that if you choose to host your page somewhere other than Apple’s own MobileMe server, then you can kiss even more features good-bye.
I’d love to hear your comments on this, but guess what? Bingo, commenting is only available on MobileMe, which also specifically forbids commercial websites. Ugh, it’s always something.
I’m researching a workaround, but I think I will be looking for a new site design program soon.
My First Blog. . . Ever
08/02/09 05:43 PM
So this is a new life experience for me. Blogging. I’m kind of excited about it. Imagine, a public forum for me to spout off about anything I want. Not that I expect too many folks to make a point to read it, but I’m thinking I might get a subscriber or two.
Anyway, this last week has been one of my busiest in recent memory. Not so much that I’ve gotten a lot of extra business, but have got really motivated about cleaning and tightening up my business. It’s really easy to lazy when you’re getting all of your bills paid and saving a little money, so I’m proud of myself for getting back on the horse, so to say. Now I have myself a to do list that doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter, as I’m adding to it as quickly as I’m checking it off. I guess that’s good though. It means I’m adding something, learning something, improving something, or at least trying something. Change is good. Progress is better. This is definitely progress.
Anyway, this last week has been one of my busiest in recent memory. Not so much that I’ve gotten a lot of extra business, but have got really motivated about cleaning and tightening up my business. It’s really easy to lazy when you’re getting all of your bills paid and saving a little money, so I’m proud of myself for getting back on the horse, so to say. Now I have myself a to do list that doesn’t seem to be getting any shorter, as I’m adding to it as quickly as I’m checking it off. I guess that’s good though. It means I’m adding something, learning something, improving something, or at least trying something. Change is good. Progress is better. This is definitely progress.