A New Beginning…

Posted on September 10, 2011 by

When I started this company over 4 years ago, I named it “Jex Analytics” because I loved Web Analytics.  I knew that no matter what I did in All Things Web, I would always be able to fall back on my skills in reporting and analysis.

Not because it’s sexy, because it’s not.  By any means.

Not because it’s safe either, though it pretty much is.

No, I loved analysis and reporting because it was what really told the truth about your success.  You can look at stats and graphs all day, but without something interpreting them into your language, you’ll never really know what they can mean.

And don’t even get me started on rankings.  Rankings are useless if they don’t improve your business, and too many shysters in the SEO industry have been trying to say differently for years now.

Rankings do NOT tell you about your success.

They can, but they’re not all of it.

But, for a while, I had to focus on rankings.  SEO was what people knew how to ask for and what they thought was going to bring them success.  For years, I’ve been telling them that it’s only a step, but not the whole deal.  For years now, only my clients (most of them) have been listening.

So I was an SEO expert for a while.  I still am, but I don’t like most people to know that, because then they’ll want me to weave that Black Magic on their website, and I don’t do that any more.

With the most recent addition to the Exleys Down Under, my life is changing, and it only stands to reason that my business should change too.

In short: Out with the SEO, in with the Analytics & Reporting.

I’m sure I’ll rant later on how important it all is, consider yourself warned.

For now though, an introduction to the next chapter.

Have a Good Website.

-Judd

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Flood Relief Donation Info

Posted on January 14, 2011 by

When I got tired of hearing "oh, just send cash, not goods" I got super stoked to hear that there’s someone here in Perth that’s organising to ship tangible goods to help out for not just the Queensland Flood Relief, but also help for the Gascoyne River Floods up near Carnarvon and also south of Perth to the victims of those horrible arson Bushfires in Lake Clifton.

His name is Cam Wilkie, his outfit is Cambuild, and he actually packs more awesome than a roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris.

From information from his website (for those of you too lazy to click):

Thank you very much for offering your much-needed assistance. Here’s a list of useful essentials that will be transported to the Queensland Flood Appeal over east.

• Tinned food/Pet food
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Soap/Shower gel
• Shampoo/Conditioner
• Deodorant
• Detergent
• Baby formula
• Nappies
• Battery operated radios
• Sanitary products
• Shoes/boots		 • Camp beds
• Pillows
• Sleeping bags/blankets
• Towels
• Mosquito nets/repellents
• Lanterns
• Torches
• Batteries
• Tools
• Tarpaulin
• Plastic cups, plates, cutlery
• Veterinary supplies


Please box your donations and label them (on the side of the box) to assist in locating and distributing items.

The first truck will be leaving Friday 14th January in the afternoon. This will be the first of a number of trucks which will leave over the next couple of weeks.

Please deliver your items to:

Cambuild, 1/5 Leeway Court, Osborne Park, WA 6017

If you have any other queries please feel free to contact the Cambuild office on

(08) 9244 8522.

cam@cambuild.com.au

When a wonderful gal in my family asked about a dropoff point South of the River here in Perth, I said that if there wasn’t one, I’d put my hand up to run one.

*raises hand*

I’ll run one!  I’m in Langford, so email me for an address (judd AT jexanalytics.com).

I’m planning on making a run to Osborne Park next Friday afternoon, so try and get stuff here before then.

Here’s the best part too, the part I know you’ve been waiting for, this guy Cam rang me and explained that this isn’t just a truckload of your second-hand crap getting dumped on the streets of Brisbane.  This is a corporate-level organised effort involving Salvos and the Red Cross to sort, box, ship, store and eventually distribute items that are relatively non-perishable and are going to be sorely needed in the coming weeks and months.  He did it for the Victoria Bushfires and he’s doing it now.

Yes, the Queensland Government would rather money, who wouldn’t?  For those of us that want to do more than just punch in some credit card numbers and feel smug while we sip our latte and marvel at how dry our feet are, this is right up our alley.

Cam’s got a crew of volunteers sorting things and they will send you home if you try to dump junk.  Bring good items, usable items, that can survive being sorted, packed, shipped and stored.  Do your best to sort them beforehand and I’ll do some sorting here.

When wondering what to donate, the best way I thought of it was to remember what I was after when our house flooded during the huge storm here in Perth last March.

Yes, Salvo’s has heaps of clothing, so keep it, and when I was flooded I was happy enough to dry a t-shirt out, but boots and shoes get wet, armpits stink, mozzies bite, and when all that shits pouring down and wearing you down nothing on this earth feels as good as a nice shower and getting clean again.  Particularly after you’re digging out the wet and mouldy fuzzy slippers from under your bed.

Also the battery-powered/windup radio thing.  One of the most comforting things that got us through a long and lonely, wet, candlelit night was hearing "the world" out there.  Even if it was just some DJ reporting things and playing Bon Jovi for the 17th time that day.  It’s nice to hear from others in your community.

So there you go.  There are going to be pallets of stuff headed for the areas that need this stuff.  It won’t get there tomorrow but it WILL BE THERE when they need it, and that’s awesome.

Email or ring me and we’ll rock from there.

Category: Latest News | 2 Comments

Stone Soup – A Great Tale

Posted on September 1, 2010 by

Not long ago, an idea hit me.  I was thinking of ways to make The Web a better place, even if only a little bit.

See, I know all these designers and developers and content writers and usability experts and all-around seriously smart people, ALL of whom are quite good at whatever Web Thing it is that they do.  Some blog, some don’t, but most don’t blog a lot, or are writing at least intermittently enough that I miss out on much of their stuff because I forget to check back.

So, I have all of these smart people, most in different areas of Web Awesomeness, most of whom like to write already… hmmm…

You see where I’m going with this?

So I sent an email with a reference to the Story of Stone Soup.  If you’re unfamiliar with it, give it a quick read.  If you hate links, it’s about some Ye Olde Worlde folks passing through a town, who dupe the townspeople into creating a huge and wonderful meal, just by combining their meagre resources.

The main lesson being someone gave everyone a starting point with really no fixed direction past that other than a decent meal.

I hadn’t even named it yet, but after that email I went out got it registered straightaway.  One of my favourite folks, the lovely and talented Patrick Templeman Twells (a web designer and developer in Mandurah) offered to design it and even gave me the HTML and CSS for it!  Grabbed a quick deal on hosting, installed WordPress, slapped in a theme, and…

Stone Soup – Recipes for a Better Web was born!

I’ve got a brilliant smattering of folks signing into it too, and some are even writing already.

I reckon it’s time to start promoting this thing!  I think it’s going to get quite popular.

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Jex Solutions is HERE.

Posted on March 31, 2010 by

I’m stoked and have finally taken that bold step and launched Jex Solutions – SEO Tools & Services.

In what’s a bit of a departure from the somewhat corporate-sounding and formal copy on this site (well, except the blog… heh) I’ve written all of the copy on the Jex Solutions site in about as much of a "real me" voice as I could.  Hell, I wrote some of it from flat on my back in the hospital (compressed spinal nerve) while high on morphine, you don’t get much more "real" than that!  It’s cool though, I edited out the parts where I mentioned that I wanted to hug everyone and how Care Bears really are magic.

So, on to more important matters, like what this sucker’s all about.

Basically, I found that I was doing lots of data gathering and figure-finding for each of my clients on every project.  Even the reporting I was doing on some relatively simple things was very time-consuming and I was troubled by the need to do it every single day (even weekends!).

So, I climbed into the PHP side of things in the backend of a (gloriously) hacked-up WordPress site and wrote some applications that would do a lot of the important stuff for me.  Then, I wrote another one and made the first one better.  Then I even woke up in the wee hours of the morning for one that NOBODY was doing, not even WebCEO or any of those other mobs.  Then I made them all better and better until, as stated at the beginning of this missive, bit the bullet and launched it to the public.

I would love to say that none of it would be possible without the help of so-and-so or whats-his-name, but I really did do it all by myself.

I’m kidding!  Sort of.  Though Myles, Alex, Patrick and Brendan were all awesome for their feedback and help with things that are only going to make all of my stuff better.  Thanks guys!

And thanks to those of you that have played with it, even as a concept, and offered up what you thought for me to ponder over.  I may or may not have actually used any of your thoughts, but I liked having that coffee with you.

I’m kidding again!  You’re awesome, all 10 of you.

So, if you’ve made it this far, GO and check it out.  SEO Tools to make you say things like "cool" and "awesome" not only to yourself, but out loud.

Oh yeah, FREE first month’s membership.  FREE, FREE, FREE.  Get in there!

Category: Latest News | No Comments

Another Redesign

Posted on February 23, 2010 by

The only thing worse than realising that I haven’t updated this blog in more than a few months is seeing that the most recent item in the "Latest News" section is the LAST time I redesigned the site.  Poo.

Well, I’ve done it again, and I’ve done it myself this time, only with some help in the form of a talented designer that I may or may not be able to name (because of the nature of our dealings) and the rest is the raw HTML/CSS skillz that I’ve been building over the past 3 years.

So… check it out.  And let me know if shit breaks, because it will, and I’d like to fix it quick.

Cheers, and Have a Good Website.

Category: Latest News | 1 Comment

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