KeriBlog

Cars, Security and a Peek into my Life

Use my New Mobile Site Like This Please

As you probably know, Google recently implemented a new rule that penalizes websites that are not optimized for mobile (for more info, read Casie’s post here.)

It wasn’t that I missed the deadline, I was early actually. It’s that on your phone, KeriBlog.com now looks like this.

From a colourful fun land to bland grey box time.

What do I always say – a sidebar is the essence of a blog – and now it’s gone. Despite this blog’s content being bright and cheerful, it looks opposite. Go search for something and get depressed too. And because mobile is quickly overtaking laptop, this paragraph was typed with my head hanging all low and sad.

It’s because I never once set a featured image for a post, all 2,000 posts, so no way can I fix this.

So please scroll to the bottom of my blog
and choose “Switch to Desktop Version”

Then instead of looking like the “Before” picture, it will look like this:

Original post: Learned how to Weld

 

 

 

According to Google, here’s My Year’s Highlights

Google made this for me. It chose from all photos I uploaded this year, then cut them into 43 seconds of this.

I use Google+ for all my blog photos.

So if you go into my account here @KeriBlog, you can view my blog in only photos, divided by month & year. There’s almost 7,000 photos.

Not a bad follower-to-views ratio.

Terrible introduction though. I’m worse at Google+ than Facebook, which is horrible.

***

Security aside – Google+ made a similar video for me last year. Except that video included one private image, proving why to never upload a compromising photo; here’s the post.

(always remember, Google never forgets)

 

 

Proof Why to Never Upload a Compromising Image

I use Google / Picasa to publish the photos you see here. I upload them to my Google+ account, then copy the embed code here.

Recently, Google came out with a new feature, “Auto Backup” – on its own, it animates some of my photos, and on the weekend, Google made me this animated gif of my year in photos.

Here’s the problem.

I have my Google+ account organized into months, plus one private folder called, “Holding Tank”.

Days ahead of blogging, I filter photos and upload them to ‘Holding Tank’ until they’re ready to be moved to a public folder.

(the red smudge is masking the authentication key for the private folder.)

Bottom row, second from the left – that’s a private photo.

This one:

So accidentally, a private photo was published.

Proof that the only safe way to keep something protected, is not to upload it at all.

This isn’t dire, that’s me at a Canadian Tire winter tire event I haven’t blogged yet.

I’d guess  Google’s response would be that the animated gif wasn’t public until I made it so, but, if that one photo was at all compromising, I couldn’t use this .gif.

I didn’t even catch this mistake until the day after I’d blogged the gif.

 

 

Google Studies how we Shop for Cars

Narrowing their focus on the automotive industry, Google conducted a survey about how we shop for cars online.  They then invited me to the Google office to share the findings.

Google noted that only 1/3 shoppers will buy a badge not on their initial list. And the average amount of time spent shopping is 28 days.

Read it online at Autonet.

Favourite line:

Only 43% of shoppers take a test drive? Way too low guys, get out there! What looks appealing online may fit your poorly. A feature you glossed over online, meanwhile, may become important in real life. 

Remember – car shopping is supposed to be enjoyable! Plus, writing a cheque that large gives you a lot of power, so have fun with that.

Read about visiting Google here.

***

Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

 

 

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