Google Analytics Launches

Google has re-named Urchin to Google Analytics, and is now free for everyone. Google Analytics is a statistics program to help you learn more about your visitors.

Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. You’ll be able to focus your marketing resources on campaigns and initiatives that deliver ROI, and improve your site to convert more visitors.

Currently, the service is practically unusuable due to the fact that so many people are trying to use it all at once, and perhaps Google did not anticipate heavy traffic (however this is no excuse for a non-beta program). Seeing as it’s been re-packaged and re-developed, I’m surprised it’s not actually a beta by Google.

It’s now being used on my personal site, chrisgwynne.com, lets see if it’s any good.
What now becomes of such site trackers as Mint, StatCounter and a dozen others. How can you compare to a free service?

Hosting Issues

Sometimes I wonder If I don’t have a 666 tattooed somewhere on my body, at least that would explain why I’m unlucky with certain things. Or maybe I wronged somebody in a previous life, that I could live with. But do you have to take it out on me every time?

 For some unbeknown reason I seem to constantly have issues with whichever hosting provider I choose to go with. Either their servers are constantly down, or there’s a 100% lack of support, or there’s some technical issue that my hosting provider won’t fix as it would interfere with “other stuff”. Instead of fixing a simple problem for me, they cause me un-needed stress and say no, but offer work arounds for the problem. I could do this, but I shouldn’t have to, not when there’s an easy fix to the problem at heart.

In the back of my mind I feel myself itching to search for yet another provider for myself, one who’ll gladly co-operate with me to make sure my websites actually work, surely that’s part of a hosting provider?

I’m torn with going for a dedicated, which I don’t need right now. A shared server, which is functions improperly for what I need. A VPS has seemed quite attractive as of late, hmmm…

Any suggestions? 

Photo Journal Setup

I’ve just set up a simple configuration of a photo journal for my buddy, Jeremie. Jeremie takes some good photos and he needed a place to share them with his friends, family and passers-by. So with the help from me I’ve set up MovableType for him and configured StopDesign‘s excellent Gallery package for him to use.

All in all it took about half an hour, most of that time was consumed with downloading the various plugins needed for the Journal to work correctly.

Have fun buddy!

Hello world!

Luckily I found myself in posession of a WordPress.com Golden Ticket which allows me to set up my own account on here, I guess it’s like a GMail Invite, in that it’s sacred to so many people, I’m not sure, I never really payed much interest into the hype of this place.

But circumstances change and I now feel the need to host my blog on here rather than on my personal domain, chrisgwynne.com. You wonder what this blog will contain, what posts I’ll write. To be frank with you (feel free to name yourself what you wish), I have no clue whatsoever. My musings, my life, a journey into one’s mind body and soul… we’ll see.

For now, I’m just getting to grips with the system, and I need to be changing my personal site to my resume. Shame you can’t import other WordPress blogs into a WordPress.com account.