Alexandar Tzanov ~ The Titan

This morning I implemented Google Buzz. You can see the button on the left of this paragraph. After playing around with the code, I buzzed my last post, which was about high fructose corn syrup. When I checked my Google profile I noticed that after the title of the article there was a “null”, which linked back to the home page of my blog.

After spending few minutes searching on the Internet, I wasn’t able to find much information on the problem. Next I decided to look for API documents and other help information published by Google. Seeing that the Google Buzz button works by sharing via Google Reader, the best place for the answer was in the Google Reader help docs . I found this post – Adding a ‘Share in Reader’ link to your website or blog.

The solution to the problem is very simple and logical. As “title” – the title of the item you are sharing, is to “url” – the address of the item you are sharing, “srcTitle” is to “srcUrl”. In which case the former is the name you want to use for the source of the item, and the latter is the address to that…

Skribit, a topic suggestion tool, which I have been using on my blog for over a year now, is ready for the big time. Last month the Skribit team announced the release of changes to the service and new features. They continue to add new features, some of which you can see below:

• Follow your favorite bloggers on Skribit and see their recent activity
• Sort suggestions by status, hotness and more
• Merge similar suggestions
• Ignore suggestions by user and IP (Internet Protocol or Intellectual Property) address
• Reduce clutter with new comment and suggestion spam protection
• Customize your the URLs for your Skribit blog and user profiles
• Easily share suggestions through Twitter and Facebook with a click

I do find the Skribit service interesting, and as I have see it on other sites, it can prove a valuable tool. By the way, I first came cross Skribit on Darren Rowse’s ProBlogger blog.

Bonus: There is also a promo code – ackbar42 – which you can use by Jan. 27th, 2010, to upgrade your account to Skribit PRO at half-off the cost for 1 year.

Enjoy!

I just got off the phone with a Verizon Wireless representative. I was inquiring about upgrading my phone and what kind of deal they could offer me. I had to revert back to a 5 year old phone due to a recent mishap with the mobile phone I was actively using. The deal they could offer me was … none! Even after I mentioned that I have been a Verizon Wireless customer since 1998 the guys could not  offer me anything, because my number still has 6 months left before it becomes eligible for the “sponsored” upgrade, which of course comes with a mandatory 1 or 2 year contract.

What the heck? I have been a Verizon customer for over 10 years now. I have had Verizon land line numbers, I’ve had Verizon DSL. I have also had and still have multiple mobile lines with Verizon, but apparently none of this is a factor. What happened to customer appreciation for brand loyalty. I can tell you what happened to it. It is gone, if it ever existed! From my experience with Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and other companies, a customer’s loyalty is only tracked as long as that customer doesn’t change their number, address or service. More on that in a future post.

Unlike AT&T we have not ever had any problems with the service, but I…