The Web Hosting Show

gmkeeler

New member
I know I am the new guy around here, but I wanted to get some thoughts from folks on here about what they would like to hear from a Web hosting radio show? I recently started up the Web Hosting Show about a week ago, and I am starting on this Monday's edition this weekend. If you want, give my first show a listen and let me know what you think. I want to hear from both the Web hosts and the Web hosting users! :)
 
Interesting concept.

1. I found the audio clips a bit long. You may want to consider breaking them down into smaller segments.

2. That lime green on the site just doesn't work for me.

3. Try adding some cellpadding to your tables. The content tends to ride up to the edge.

4. Watch out for your typos. For instance, on the About page, you have "This is how the Web Hosting Show as born."

Good luck with it.

Vito
 
Yeah, cellpadding on your tables is a must, but its a nice concept and a great idea. Good luck with it and keep us informed!
~Equinox
 
I'm just curious, why did you find the shows too long? Hopefully over the next few weeks I want to make them longer, maybe around 20 to 30 minutes. I've corrected the problems you guys pointed out, and adjusted the cellpadding a little 'bit. Has anybody else listened to the first show?
 
Well, perhaps others may not find it too long, so maybe it's just me. I just think if you gave the visitor a selection of smaller individual clips rather than forcing them to listen to the entire thing, you may not lose those who prefer to not sit through 1/2 hour.

Just one man's opinion.

Vito
 
gmkeeler, I think its a great idea to have a radio program, but you honestly have to make your show more interactive and more enthusiastic. I tuned out on the third minute of your program.

A few suggestions might help:

- have a higher quality audio recording
- get a professional radio host
- do not just read the boring headlines found on the web - try to raise issues and discuss them. Having guests to discuss those issues would be an even greater thing to do.
- change the web site presentation to something that does not require a lot of reading.

I'm a very demanding listener and I worked in radio industry before. I apologize if this might sound too harsh, but the suggestions I've made would keep me as a listener.

Best of luck with your show. It has good potential to grow into something I'd listen regularly.
 
Hosting Industry Reactions to Hurricane Katrina

Here I am, yet again to give you an insider's peak into the wild and wacky world of Web hosting. I wish there were a few more wacky things going on this week on the Web Hosting Show. As all of you know by now though, the southern gulf region of the country is really hurting now. What you may not have had time to think about though is what is the Web hosting world's reaction to all of this? That is what I am here to tell you.

I heard about this story, via The Hosting News.

Intermedia.NET, a leading e-mail host for small and mid-size businesses, has announced an offer of help to companies affected by Hurricane Katrina. Any organization whose e-mail systems were disrupted by the natural disaster may receive immediate assistance to bring them online again, plus free hosting for September and October. All setup fees will be waived, and there will be no further obligation after this period.

It will be important for businesses to keep their e-mail and web sites running, as they seek to continue operations as well as inform employees and customers of the latest news via the Internet. In addition to free hosting, Intermedia.NET is also offering a free fax service - New York area code numbers which automatically forward incoming faxes to recipients as email attachments. These three offers will help businesses to resume and continue operations.

This is yet another sign that shows that the Web hosting world is willing to help out in a big way. What is your Web hosting company doing to help? If you are a Web host, what are you doing to help?

I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before the Web hosting industry had something to say about the recent Hurricane that hit the southern part of the country. Web Hosts Unite is the cause this time around and yes it is time to donate what you can to help the folks down there in the middle of it all.

The category four Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people in that region with no power, no water, no food and no homes. Now I am not asking you to give hundreds or thousands of dollars if you can't afford it. What I am asking you to do is give what you can. Web host, midPhase Hosting donated $1,000, the Web Host Industry Review has pledged $500. Every little sum counts.

With as many Web hosts and hosting related Web sites out there, you would think with us all coming together we could make a difference. So go check out WebHostsUnite.com for more information on how you can help.

Download the Web Hosting Show!
Running Time: 22 minutes | File Size: 5.06 MB
 
It is really easy to stay on top of the Web hosting world by using Google news. Here is how it is done in 60 seconds! The Web Hosting Minute has returned to the Web Hosting Show. Google is a great news source. Sure it has a few problems, but what doesn't these days?

For those of you who don't have a minute to spend listening to me, here is the walk through:

1. Go to the Google News Web site.
2. Find and Click on News Alerts (Should be on the left side of the Web page)
3. For the search term, type in "web hosting".
4. Set the other preferences to the way you want them.
5. Hit the "Create Alert" Button.

There you go! Now wasn't that easy? This is just one of the many ways I like to stay on top of what is going on in the world of Web hosting. Have a news reader? Then grab the RSS feed for the search term "web hosting".

Google News - Web Hosting RSS Feed

Plug that into your favorite news reader, and you don't have to bother with creating the Google alert!

As a bonus, here are the links to the past two Web Hosting Minutes I did earlier this year.

Web Hosting Minute 1
Web Hosting Minute 2

Have any other Web hosting tips you'd like to share with me? Be sure to let me know!

Download the Web Hosting Show!
Running Time: 60 seconds | File Size: 236 MB
 
We covered a lot of great topics on this Monday's edition of the Web Hosting Show. From hosting deals to the latest Web hosting headlines, we had a little of everything this week. Here are two of my favorite stories though that I'd like to share with all of you.

Reading over at HostRocket Network Operations Center Blog this week I learned about two great things they are doing to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

The first thing that caught my attention was that they are donating five percent of ViaTalk's revenue to Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. For those of you who don't know, ViaTalk is HostRocket's VoIP solution. The second thing that made me happy to see was that they are giving away gas this week!

ViaTalk is giving all new customers who activate service with a 24 month prepay term free gas for a limited time. Select any package and a 24 month term and your welcome kit will include an Exxon Mobile cash card good for $20 in free gas. This promotion will end on Monday, September 12th at 11:59PM.

So sign up and get some free gas along the way!

The second story I'd like to share with you this week has to do with HostingCon 2006.

George Roberts, the man behind the magic at Interjuncture.com E-mailed me this week to let me know that HostingCon 2006 is right around the corner!

This year's event will be held at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 17 through July 19. Thats right, the Web hosting world is taking over Las Vegas! Elvis impersonators need Web hosting too. For more details on the event, check out HostingCon.com. I am sure I will have more coverage of the event as it inches closer and closer on the calendars.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Podcast 29!
Running Time: 27 minutes | File Size: 12.5 MB
 
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For this week's Thursday Web Hosting Show segment I thought I would feature one of my new favorite downloads that would be perfect out there for any Web hosts or Web hosting clients that might be listening. The name of the program is PSPad and I have to say it is the best program for Web page editing that I have ever used.

Now in the days before PSPad, if I wanted to edit my Web site, MitchKeeler.com I would have to edit the local version I have saved onto my Web page in a text editor. Then I would have to open up my FTP client, upload the files that were changed, then refresh the Web page in question that I was editing.

With PSPad all I do is open it up, edit the page in question, and hit save. That is it.

Check out these links for more information on PSPad:
Download PSPad for free!
View Screenshots of PSPad in action!

All "finder's rights" to this program belong to Chris Pirillo. I heard him mention the program on last week's edition of The Chris Pirillo Show and had to try it out. After 30 minutes of playing with it, I just felt the need to drop Chris an E-mail thanking him for introducing me to PSPad. It really is that nice of a program.

The best part about it is it is totally free! So try it out and be sure to let me know what you think. If you have a standard Web site out there that needs some editing, there is no better free tool on the market.

Download the Web Hosting Show!
Running Time: 3 minutes | File Size: 1.51 MB
 
It is Monday morning, that can only mean two things. You are about to get started with a brand new week, and you are sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation for the next [url="http://www.webhostingshow.com]Web Hosting Show[/url]. Well, maybe you are not ready just yet to start the week off, but I know I at least got the Web hosting part right. So what is the big deal about outsourcing hosting jobs? Who is the new free Web hosting company?

[url="http://www.webhostshow.com/showarchives/WebHostingShow30.mp3]Download Episode 30 of the Web Hosting Show[/url]
Running Time: 25 minutes | File Size: 5.81 MB


Well wait no longer, because podcast number thirty is now up and running. In an effort to provide you with more than just a sample of the show, here are two topics we discussed.

This comes from a press release put out by the folks at [url="http://www.8.to]8 to Infinity[/url]:
8 to Infinity is doing the reverse of the outsourcing trend by hiring more in house support staff to enhance support for its estimated 50 000 users. The support staff are given On Job Training as well as being send for various professional certification courses to enhance their service levels and provide more varied support for their clients.
Now are you ready for the kicker here? This Web hosting company is located in Singapore. Now not to bash the efforts they are putting forth, I am really happy to hear about it. I just wish more American companies would follow the lead of 8 to Infinity. There is a time and a place for outsourced Web hosting support. If you want to have somebody on call in the middle of the night, it is much easier to have a guy in India working your night time hours than asking somebody here to stay up all night long. Why? Well, it is daytime in India when it is night time here.

When Web hosts start outsourcing all the support they do out to cheaper "support farms" in other companies, that is when I put my foot down. Why? Just take a look at any Web hosting forum out there. There are dozens of unemployed system administrators and level one support folks looking for jobs to stay afloat. Why aren't they getting hired? It is because outsourcing support is much more "cost efficient". In other words, it is cheaper.

There is a new Web hosting company out there, and its name is [url="http://www.acornrack.com]Acorn Rack[/url]. Now what makes them any different than the other million Web hosting options you might have out there today? They promise you, "Automatic Web Site Creation". Here is some more information on the "about us" part of their Web site:
Acorn Rack gives you the chance to build you very own web site, for free where everything is initially constructed. You can then enhance those foundations, and flourish your site into a state of the art internet application.

You are able to edit every page you see* through the Admin CP, from the layout, down to the colors. Accept members, assign them roles, and watch your site take off. Talk to your members on the forums, ask them their opinion via the voting section, and if someone disobeys your rules, you can suspend, or delete them from your site.
It sounds like it is totally free, but I haven't had the time to check it out for myself just yet. So feel free to sign up, test it out, then drop me an E-mail and let me know how you like it.
 
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