Privacy Policy Template

If you have a lot of sites running Google AdSense ads, you need to update your privacy policy to reflect the latest changes from Google.

You could spend time reading up on the changes and crafting your own, thoughtful privacy policy that addresses every issue, written personally to your readers. Or, you could use this template from JenSense to quickly meet the requirements from Google and get on with your day.

I updated seven sites with this privacy policy template last night. Sure, it may not sound like it was written by me or in my site’s voice, but it gets the job done…and do you really think people are reading your privacy policy anyway? I don’t.

Comprehensive Link Building Guide

I found this in-depth, comprehensive link building guide recently. It doesn’t promote spam, hacks, or black-hat techniques. Simply, hard work, planning, and research. If you are interested in SEO and driving traffic to your websites I highly recommend reading this guide.

Below are a few highlights from the guide:

When performing link building research, specifically to determine the value of a link (as opposed to relevance), the important thing to look for are URLs that have the qualities and qualifications of a rank-influencing link. [http://link-building-guide.com/Analyzing_URL_Link_Value]

One of the greatest opportunities you have for quickly finding large scale link opportunities is to look at what websites link to your competitors. [http://link-building-guide.com/Competitor_Backlink_Gathering_Tools]

We recommend a 2-step approach in the qualification stage. First, use automated methods to focus on easily measurable factors to cull the list down to those URLs most beneficial to your goals. Then use a by-hand, human review to further qualify and segment the best link opportunities. [http://link-building-guide.com/Two_Step_Link_Qualification_Approach]

There is a lot more to it of course. Be sure to read the whole guide if you want help building links.

A Wrinkle in Time

I just finished reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. This is another classic that I never got around to reading when I was a kid. This may sound strange, but that’s not the reason I chose to read it now. I actually read it because it’s one of the books from Lost. My wife and I recently became hooked on Lost, and we’ve watched the entire series over the last couple of months. Since we are seriously addicted to the show, we of course have to read the books referenced in the show as well (yeah, I guess we are huge nerds).

Anyway, regardless of the reason for reading it, A Wrinke in Time is a great book and a quick, easy read. It has an interesting combination of a sort of fantasy and sci-fi theme. I don’t want to give away any of the details, so I’ll leave it at that. I sort of got a C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia feeling from the book. I can definitely see a relationship to Lost as well, again I won’t mention any details in case you haven’t read the book or seen Lost.

I enjoyed it very much and I definitely recommend reading it.

The Pixar Touch - The Making of a Company

I just finished reading The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company
, by David A. Price. This was an interesting book, starting with the history of Pixar (I had no idea Pixar was started about 30 years ago) and finishing with Pixar’s current state of success, shortly after the merger with Disney and just before launching Ratatouille.

One big theme in the book is conflict. Steve Jobs is obviously difficult at times and Disney, particularly Michael Eisner, proved to be just as difficult to work with. In the end, Jobs and Pixar definitely won, though Disney Animation was also saved in the process when Disney acquired Pixar. Surprisingly, this deal was also what made Steve Jobs a billionaire, not his involvement with Apple.

Not to imply Jobs was only a negative influence on Pixar. I’m quite amazed that he had the vision to see what Pixar could become and put his money at risk on what was at the time a completely unproven company in 1986 (though clearly Pixar was loaded with brilliant, creative people).

In my mind, John Lasseter emerged as the creative force most responsible for the amazing success of Pixar’s movies. What is even more interesting is that he was fired from Disney (where he was an animator) prior to his joining Pixar. Disney had a real problem seeing the future of animation and computers and couldn’t let go of it’s old 2D animation dogma until long after seeing Pixar’s success.

I read this book looking for business lessons, not because I’m a fan of Pixar (I’ve seen most of its movies but not all). This book is long on the history of Pixar, but maybe a little short on the business details. However, I thought one of the greatest business lessons found is the importance of having the ability to look outside your circle of expertise (where Disney animation was stuck for a long time) and see what is changing in the world around you (fast rate of technology growth changing the way animation would be done in the future).

I think the other key lesson to be learned from this book is to not let personal grudges get in the way of business. A lot of money was left on the table due to stubborness or personal vendettas. This was a problem for virtually all parties involved—clearly the ability to put these issues aside could provide a huge advantage in business.

Overall I enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of both technology and business (or just a Pixar junkie) you’ll definitely enjoy it.

Alice in Wonderland

I’m working on crossing off more classics from my reading list and I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland for the first time. Frankly, I didn’t care for it all that much. It was rather confusing, odd, and abstract. I’m sure it was more unique or innovative when it was written, but I just couldn’t get into it and had a rather hard time just finishing. Oh well, I’ve marked another book off my list anyway.