Google Pig?

What is a Google pig? Well, according to my father, it would be me. That’s right. I’m a Google pig. And proud of it. It’s taken some hard work and dedication to become the pig I am.

I’d like to thank my laptop, family, and social networking/media sites for this opportunity….

Seriously though. What is a “Google Pig?” A Google pig is someone who ‘hogs’ the first page or so of search results in Google. In my case, I generally hog the first few pages if you search for “Jean Oram.” You will see that my website pops up. Profiles for me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, AgentQuery, Goodreads, as well as visits/interviews on other people’s blogs.

However, I have noticed that in the past year this has changed a little. Are popular sites like the White Pages popping up in my search results because Google is learning my searching behaviour?

By watching what you click on in search results, Google can learn that you favor particular sites. For example, if you often search and click on links from Amazon that appear in Google’s results, over time, Google learns that you really like Amazon. In reaction, it gives Amazon a ranking boost. That means you start seeing more Amazon listings, perhaps for searches where Amazon wasn’t showing up before. (Full article by Danny Sullivan.)

Possibly. Or maybe the fact that I haven’t been as active or hanging out as ‘widespread’ on the Internet for the past eight months is allowing Jean Oram the allergist and MD sneak back into the first few pages of results. Or maybe she’s creating an online presence that is creating competition for me in terms of results? (Thank goodness my name isn’t Joe Smith!!!)

Either way, for now I’m still a bit of a Google Pig. And I plan to keep it that way.

Are you a pig? If you are, good on ya! Tell me about your rise to porkdom!

It’s a Scary World Out There (on the Internet that is)

Community Message:

I may have already shared this link, but it is worth sharing again if I have. Lately those darn Internet ‘Bad Guys’ have been getting very clever and catching even smart surfers. For example, safety scans popping up that aren’t actually safety scans (they are viruses or trojans), phishing, and all kinds of nasty stuff. As this article, Internet Security: Common Browser-Based Attacks to Avoid at Any Cost by MixTheNet mentions, the worst news is that these attacks are aimed at those with short attention spans. In other words, all of us once we get that clicking finger going. A box pops up saying a virus has been found and do you want to clean your computer? Of course without a second thought we click “okay” while thinking “hell yes!” And we don’t look any deeper. Oops. Except we now have the blue screen of death! Oh no! And yes, some of these attacks look seriously legit. So be careful young grasshoppers and question everything. You have a reason to be suspect of any pop up, anywhere, anytime. And particularly on Facebook–that seems to be a Bad Guy favourite.

Image from How Stuff Works article on worst computer viruses.

Wordle Me This

You can see it bigger here.

This is cool. You paste in your blog URL, and Wordle makes a nice little image of the words in your blog. Cool, huh? (Although, there is something fishy about mine.)

More On Twitter

I suppose I should mention that I am on Twitter too, eh? It’s not just for fictional characters, it’s for real humans too!

You can look for me under my username: jeanoram. I try to update it daily, but it doesn’t always quite work out that way.

As well, there are a pile of agents twittering (or is it tweeting) over there too. If you’d like to see a list, AQ Crew on Agent Query has started a nice list. It’s another way to put your ear to the ground in the publishing world.

Twitter: Another Way to Break Your Characters Out of the Book

Twitter, it’s free.

Twitter, make it work for you, honey!

Twitter, if you know what you’re doing, it can be a BLAST.

Seriously though, the other day I had a brainwave. I’d put Allie on Twitter. Who is Allie? What is Twitter?

Let’s start with Twitter. Here’s a brief rundown on Twitter. Twitter is a social network site. That means you make a free account and begin tweeting. That means, you post a short (140 characters) sentence or two updating your status. That’s all. No wall. No pesky invites. All you do is convey information. You can also use it to start an informative, interesting trend like some agents did with a ‘query fail’ game. Basically, post something interesting.

Who is Allie? Allie is the main character of my chick lit/romantic comedy story (The 15 Date Rule) that is currently seeking representation. Allie’s a 32-year-old astrophysicist who has a slight issue with putting her foot in her mouth and is a general, all-round dating disaster. (We’re talking boyfriends hire other guys to break up with her. Ouch.)

Why put Allie on Twitter? Many reasons. One: it’s fun. Two: it’s a great way for a writer to get to know a character better.  Three: it could possibly build an audience for your character which could help with marketing down the line. Four: it’s fun. Five: it is covering the backstory for the novel in an interesting way. Six: it’s a great writing exercise. Seven: it’s free. And Eight: did I mention it’s a blast?

Anyway, check out Allie. You can ‘follow’ her on Twitter, which means her schenanigan updates will show up on your Twitter page so you don’t have to search for her each time. Or you can rss feed her. Or you can also check her out in the handy gadget I made for my website’s mainpage.

Either way, enjoy!

Hero Jean

This is SO COOL!

This is me, I’m a super-hero now:

Isn’t that SO COOL! I got to make her, er, I mean, me. If you want to be a super-hero too, check it out. It’s way better than working. I, er, I mean. It’s great to do during a coffeebreak….

Later Note: My daughter joined the hero forces:

Since the family that saves the world together, stays together, here’s my husband:

Check out the brain on that guy.

Unfortunately at this time, our cats could not join the Oram Family World Saving Forces (aka OFWSF).

It’s All Kid’s Play Website

It’s up!

The It’s All Kid’s Play (dot ca) is now up and running. If you’ve checked out the blog, you’ll find that the website is simply a bigger version of the blog.

So if you have kids or know somebody with kids, pass the link(s) along.

What is ‘It’s All Kid’s Play’? Basically it is over 700 things for kids to do to prevent the dreaded two words “I’m bored” from escaping your child’s mouth. The site is totally free and sports activities from the rules to forgotten games such as ‘Red Rover’ to instructions for crafts such as ‘Make a Grass Hair man’ to car ride games like ‘Round-Up’ to general silliness like ‘Wiggle your toes in cold, wet noodles’. The site also has a jokes page, ‘other links’ page and a book recommendation page.

So stop on by and enjoy!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town: Track Santa!

Have you been naughty or nice? If you’ve decided to be naughty and save Santa a trip, then read no further.

However, if you were nice, or simply want to watch Santa on his journey, go to Google Earth and watch Santa’s progress across this great world. (You will have to do a bit of downloading, but don’t worry, they make it simple and easy. And just think how cool it will be to show your kids where Santa is. Gee, kids, Santa Claus is coming to town, better hit the hay!):

Interested in more? Try these links:

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/tracking-santa-backstory.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10128642-2.html?tag=mncol;posts

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/12/norad-keeps-the.html