podcast about web hosts and web hosting topics
For any web host out there, having video tutorials showing off your services is a nice thing to promote to your customers. It is always better to show somebody how to do something, rather than just have them read text. If you are looking for a low-cost way to create your own simple tutorial collection, look no further than ScreenToaster.
Yes, it is really that simple! Here is what I want you to do right now.
That is it. Simple right? Oh, it gets even better!
Searching for a place to find free web site designs you can use? OpenWebDesign.org has plenty to choose from, and they are all free to use.
If writing CSS code isn’t your favorite thing to do – and you would much rather tweak up a design that has already been done for you – finding a great free online design is the way to go. So to help you jumpstart your next web site design project, head over to the stockpile of web designs found over at OpenWebDesign.org.
There are over 3,000 designs to choose from (and most are XHTML/CSS-based), so should be enough variation and choice for any web site designer out there.
We are all falling on tough economic times, so what better way to save on some hosting than to look towards a few free hosting sources. Now, free web hosting does come with some downsides. You are not going to be able to host the next Digg or YouTube, however if you need a small space to get started with learning the web hosting ropes, free hosts can often be the best way to get your feet wet.
Here are ten free sources for web hosting out there today.
100webspace.com – Here you get 100 MB of web page, 3000 MB of bandwidth and a lot of extra features like MySQL databases, SSL, SpamAssassin, POP3 and web e-mail and much more. It also allows for FTP or FrontPage access too.
Frihost.com – This free web host is offering you 250 MB of disk space and 10 GB of bandwidth per month. It is hosted on a Unix OS, with access to MySQL, cron jobs, raw logs, backups and more.
HelioHost.org – Your monthly bandwidth will be limited to 2500 here, and 250 MB of disk space. However, they do offer Ruby on Rails, Fantastico, and both MySQL and PostgreSQL databases.
Are you going to be a part of the Web Host Boot Camp? This conference for those people out there interested in or apart of the web hosting industry looks to be a lot of fun, and very informative. Where’s the twist? No conference hall or long trip will be needed. The boot camp will be all virtual.
Now how is this going to work? From their press release:
Attendees will have access to vendors, sponsors, exhibit booths, and other web hosting enthusiasts through live chat. There is no software to install. Attendees log in from their computer and listen to the sessions directly, pick-up a chat, read about exhibitor’s product and services information and network – all through the live chat. Representatives will be available via live chat to answer questions and provide further information.
If you are interested in reserving your spot, you can do so free here. Now I haven’t been contacted by anybody involved yet, so that is pretty much all the details I know, however I do have to say it is nice to see people trying to something new out there, and the more we can all share and learn from each other the better the web hosting industry will be.
There is a new free file sharing and hosting service that recently caught my eye. 4Shared.com promises to give you free online storage, to upload, access and share your music, video and photos. You can upload and share a single file or an entire folder!
Offering 5GB of space for free, this service sounds terrific. 4Shared also comes with a built in search engine, so you can browse around to see the other content people are uploading.
How long are the files hosted there? Your free account and all your files will be removed from 4Shared only if you do not log in the account for 30 days.
Here are the most popular types of files that may be shared:
If you like the free service, then you can also upload to the paid versions too. A one year membership will remove some of the limits. So if you out-grow the free version, the paid version is always there to give you a few more perks.
I have great hope in the world of web hosting, that in the new year we can all make it a ‘bit of a better place. On today’s show I’ll let you know how you can do your part – just like I have every week before. Oh, and what can President Obama teach us about the industry?
I’ll be sure to cover that too on this week’s edition of the Web Hosting Show.
Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 177!
Running Time: 13 minutes | File Size: 5.94 MB
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode:
Here are this week’s web hosting news headlines:
Please be sure to send any feedback, questions or comments about this week’s podcast to me directly at mitch@mitchkeeler.com or leave a comment! Would love to hear from you all!
Good web site analyzer programs for Windows are hard to find. I have yet to find the perfect one myself that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. However, the next best thing is WebLog Expoert Lite. This is the free little brother of WebLog Expert – but I think has enough features to keep you happy.
After installing, all you have to do is grab your log files from your hosting account in question. WebLog Expert Lite supports IIS and Apache logs, can automatically detect the log format and can read GZ and ZIP compressed logs. It will then crunch away at the numbers and export an HTML page for you to view to see how your web page is doing stats-wise. You get numbers, links, stats and graphs. It is a beautiful thing.
The free version however should be sufficient for most personal web sites and provides a nice overview of general traffic activity.
If you want to see what you are missing out on, you can see a comparison list of the professional, standard and lite versions of the program here:
http://www.weblogexpert.com/comparison.htm
It might not have all the bells and whistles down, but WebLog Expert Lite has enough to keep me happy.
This year has been another great one for the Web Hosting Show podcast and web site. Popularity keeps growing, more people are tuning in and we had tons of great topics to discuss all throughout 2008. Here are my favorite podcasts from the year gone byhttp://www.webhostingshow.com.
Web Hosting to Go – Episode 169 – October 20th
What would I like to have today? Lets see. I will have a large data center mashup map, a side of hosting tools (just remember to hold the tomatoes), a HP performance-optimized datacenter and a definition on what domaining is all about? For here or to go? I think I am about ready to go – because the Web hosting Show is now on the air.
The Magnificent Fantastico – Episode 168 – October 6th
From the first time I ever heard about Fantastico, I always thought about the traditional magician pulling rabbits from his hat. Who would have a clue that a few years later on down the road I would have a chance to speak with one of the magicians behind the magic at Netenberg to find out more about this favorite cPanel addition.
Bobcares About Support – Episode 166 – September 22nd
Any web host will tell you the hardest part about the web hosting business is finding a team of support people that care about your clients as much as you do. You want to make sure they are in good hands. One company that promotes themselves as those good hands to trust is Bobcares.
They specialize in support for small, medium and large hosting companies.
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Mitch Keeler is nothing more than your average Joe trying to leave his mark on the world though both his professional work and his online projects, articles, podcasts and more.
Roll Your Own Video Tutorials for Free!
Are you a web host who is low on cash, but wants to produce a line of their own video tutorials? This is a pretty easy thing to do (totally for free) as long as you have some free time and imagination.
Capture your Desktop with CamStudio
You can pick up an awesome desktop capturing program at CamStuido.org to capture the video from your computer’s screen. After installing, all you need to do is highlight the area you wish to record – and then hit the record button.
Record Your Audio Track with Audacity
Audacity is the free audio editor I have used to produce my podcast since day one. It is free and really easy to use. You could use it to record any audio commentary you wanted, so that way you add a little more helpfulness to the tutorial you are making.
Edit your Video Tutorial Together
To edit your video, there are several programs out there you could use. Personally, I just used the free Windows Movie Maker than came with my computer. Then again, I am all about keeping things as ghetto as possible. If not Windows Movie Maker, I am willing to bet you have some free program that came on your computer that would do the deed. An online video editing alternative would be Jumpcut.com. Another free desktop solution would be VideoSpin from VideoSpin.com.
Check out Wikipedia’s List of Commercial and Free Video Editing Software
Final Tweaks, Edits and Uploading the Final Product
Before you upload, you might also want to make sure you have your URL, brand or logo somewhere on the video. It never hurts to do a little advertising – so people know where they can get more of your fine work. After that has been done, you can upload your video to YouTube or a number of other video sharing sites. Grab the embed code, and you have your own video tutorial ready to go. To get you inspired, here is one I created on doing trace routes:
If you are a web host on a budget, there is no reason to spend more than you need to. If you have the free time and creativity, then rolling your own video tutorials can also be a great way to gain exposure and do a little self advertising too.