Desicritics Author: Ashish

The Website Ad Placement Heat Map

Ashish — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:27:38 EDT

One of the most important points to consider when trying to make money from ads on web pages is the proper placement of ads. If you have done some studies in this area, you could have come across many people trying to sell their secrets of Ad placement or how to make more money from properly placing Ads. However, the basis of many secrets of ad placement is how the human eye perceives ads, how they fit into the page, and whether people notice the ads or ignore them. And the basis for much of this is something called the 'Heat Map'. The Heat Map specifies positions on the page that are much more likely to catch user attention, and other places where users are likely to ignore the ads.

The Google page for the Heat Map specifies more details: Certain locations tend to be more successful than others. This "heat map" illustrates the ideal placing on a sample page layout. The colors fade from dark orange (strongest performance) to light yellow (weakest performance). All other things being equal, ads located above the fold tend to perform better than those below the fold. Ads placed near rich content and navigational aids usually do well because users are focused on those areas of a page.

Keep in mind that while the Heat Map is a good starting point, you need to spend more time on trying to figure out how your users read your page, and the amount of ads and their placement such that they earn the maximum money for you. This will not be a one-time activity, but something that is likely to take several iterations before you reach a higher level of earnings.

Rainwater Harvesting In Bangalore

Ashish — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:02:26 EDT

It is a well known (and nightmarish scenario) that the groundwater levels in cities and the rural parts of the country are declining. In rural parts of the country, the promise of free electricity, and agriculture that is not well fed by canals (along with some wrong crop planting policies in which heavy water seeking plants have been planted) has caused a tremendous decline in the water levels. In some parts of Uttar Pradesh, there were recent reports that in some parts of the state, there has been a sudden cracking of the surface land crust due to a total absence of water underneath, causing a drying up of the surface.

In cities, the groundwater is pumped out by various authorities as well as individuals; all of this is done for satiating the growing water requirements of cities. On the contra side, water levels would normally get replenished through rain water seeping in from the normal watersheds and lakes inside a city, as well as through water seeping in from river-beds (most cities have some form of river running through them). However, both of these methods are in great decline. Rivers in cities are like drains, and water bodies are in a state of decline (recent reports from Delhi point to many of these water bodies being coveted by builders, or being used as a means to dump trash).

One possible solution that is being increasingly touted for cities is the use of rainwater harvesting by buildings. The reasoning goes that if each new building is forced to do rainwater harvesting all over its compound, then the water levels of the whole city will rise. Towards this end, the Bangalore Government is trying to bring in a low to enforce water harvesting in the city:

BANGALORE: Ensure your building is equipped with rainwater harvesting technology in the next few months. If not, local authorities will install one for you and collect the expenses later.

Even though the Act is applicable to the entire state, the government is concentrating on making rainwater harvesting equipment mandatory for all new buildings — residential and commercial — in Bangalore. Aimed at replenishing groundwater, the Act, once it becomes operational, makes it mandatory for users of groundwater through well or borewell to register with the Ground Water Authority within 120 days of its establishment.

This sounds very good, but in principle. In reality, this is already law in many places (including I believe in Delhi), and it has been a spectacular failure. Why ? Because builders do not do it, and they are hardly ever caught for it. Even if at some point they are asked, they do the great India money appearance trick, and presto, no more problems. This sort of law is only good when either people genuinely believe in this sort of welfare, or when inspection procedures are strict.

The Russia-Georgia Conflict - The Bear's Power

Ashish — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:56:13 EDT

The Soviet Union was once a mighty empire, controlling large chunks of land in Europe and Asia, and giving the West a mighty enemy. Then it all fell apart; the individual states (many of them incorporated by force) wanted their freedom, and Boris Yeltsin wanted his own Russia to rule, and so the Soviet empire ended. Then began the decline. Then rose a strongman out of all this, one who had the blood of the all-powerful intelligence agency KGB running through him. On his own he could not do anything; however, he was lucky. Russia had large tracts of oil and gas, and had turned into a large exporter of these, bringing in revenue, and helping regrow the power.

However, in the midst of all this, the world did not stay still. Many of the former Soviet republics did not stay still, moving towards the West (and seemingly away from the clutches of their former all-powerful dictatorial landlord), striking closer relationships with them. At the same time, like any major power (and one that remembers all too well how powerful it is), Russia grew increasingly resentful of this emergence of the West in an area that it treats as its backyard (a close equivalent would be if Mexico suddenly became more hostile to the US and very very friendly towards Russia or China).

This may well seem normal for a powerful country to treat its immediate neighbors as its areas of influence, but not so for the country so dominated. Ask Finland, that has fought wars with Russia in the past over this dominance, and ask Afghanistan that does not like being called as an area of Pakistani influence, as if it has no identity of its own.

So, when Ukraine tried to show itself as more hostile towards Russia, there was a sudden crippling blockade of the oil and gas it gets from Russia; and now Georgia. Ever since President Mikheil Saakashvili came to office and had a campaign of getting back the pro-Russian provinces of South Ossetia and a second separatist area, Abkhazia, Russia has been seething. It already knows that it is much more powerful. The US wants its support in the initiatives against Iran and North Korea, and cannot afford to antagonize Russia. And the Georgian leader gave Vladimir Putin just that chance. He tried to take one of the provinces, South Ossetia back, and met such overwhelming Russian force (without any check by any other party) that Western leaders were worried that Putin may be trying to gain more geographic control inside Georgia.

Right now, things are moving towards a cease-fire, but Russia must have intended this as a show of force to Georgia and others, that they are truly helpless when faced with this great bear.

Bihar Police Order Closer Look at Section 498 (A)

Ashish — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:40:29 EDT

Section 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code is meant for prevention of crimes against women, something that this country has struggled with for quite some time now.

If you read the actual Section, it talks about: "Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine". This was meant to ensure that a woman subjected to harassment in her matrimonial home can take legal measure to protect herself. However, as with any law that favors one side of the dispute, it is subjected to misuse (and there are numerous complaints about the law being misused).

The main complaints against this law (from what I have read so far in various articles, Web sites, and e-mail) is that, the law has allowed a daughter-in-law to subject the entire family of her husband to its provisions, and the police do not investigate the case, but based on the complaint, have been known to drag all the accused (including elderly people and children) into the dispute.

Here is an update from a directive sent out by Bihar police:

There have been talks about misuse of laws relating to crime against women for quite some time now. Bihar police's CID also admitted this when it directed all the SPs in the state to ensure proper investigation into FIRs lodged under Section 498(A) of the IPC before going in for arrest of the accused. "Sometimes such cases are framed against in-laws or others just to harass or settle old scores. Hence, the precaution against arrests," ADG (CID) Yashwant Malhotra told TOI recently.

In his letter to district SPs, government railway police, range DIGs and zonal ADGs/IGs, Malhotra said it has been observed that in cases relating to crime against women, particularly those registered under Section 498(A) of the IPC, all the in-laws of the alleged victim are named as accused. And they are arrested without proper investigation into the case, thus marring the interests of justice.

This is actually a mixed step (in reality). One would like to think that, as per judicial and legal standards, the practice of doing an enquiry and then only proceeding against the named people is the right step. If one considers the law to be a just tool, then this is the right step.

However, there needs to be careful attention paid to the actual implementation of the law, since now proceeding on the basis of a complaint would be subject to the individual police officer of the region. Rural and semi-urban regions are known for police officers bucking under pressure, especially when the families and people involved are known / powerful.

What do people think? Making sure that the provision is subject to checks and balances is a good thing, but do people think that this could lead to a much watered down enforcement of the provisions meant to protect women?

Differences Between Free Hosting and Paid Web Hosting

Ashish — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:05:52 EDT

If you are an expert or have experience in hosting your presence on the web, then I dare say that this article will not be relevant to you (of course, you are welcome to criticize or add constructive comments). This is based on my experience over the years, with both free and paid hosting (I still have both, using Blogger for my free blog postings, and having paid hosting for some other blogs).

Consider this; you are just starting to create your own website, a place to host your own content, the place of your dreams. You have thought through all that you want to create, and are ready to go. However, now you are stuck with the logistics of where to create your own website. You would really not want to spend a large amount of money, while at the same having a good hosting experience and a set of tools that will help you easily host your content.
You have a choice now; you could either use a free web hosting experience, or you could go in for a paid site. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Advantages of free hosting:
1. It's free; this literally needs no explanation

2. Helps when you are new to the web and would like to experiment with the medium

3. The hosting companies provide easy tools to upload content onto the site

4. If using some host such as Blogger, Tripod or Geocities, you are working with companies that have a huge amount of experience in this field

Disadvantages of free hosting:

1. Many of these free hosting companies make money through ad banners - so when somebody comes to your site, they will see ads and popups

2. The revenue from these ads goes to the hosting company, and not to you

3. For many of these free hosting companies, you may get a domain name that is actually a sub-domain, that has the name of the hosting company as part of the name

4. The space provided may seem large initially, but this is actually limited space.

5. If you are looking to appear professional, then it is better to host your own domain.

6. Paid hosting gives you access to many different softwares such as blogging software, Content Management Software, Forums, Emails, Database Access, Shopping Carts, and so on.

7. You get much better support if you are using paid hosting.

8. Search engine rankings can be sometimes poorer if you are using free hosting

9. You may get limitations in terms of restriction on bandwidth - so if your site becomes very popular, visitors may find themselves unable to access the site.

A) For a list of free hosting, refer to this list:
A listing of many free hosts
Netfirms
Bravenet
Mister.net
Tripod
Free Web Hosting Area
Geocities

B) A list of top paid hosts (am using one of them, and almost all of them will appear in a top 10 list:
Global
vistaPages
MidPhase
BlueHost
HostExcellence
IX Web Hosting
HostMonster
HostPapa
Affiliate-free links

Why Does Google Search Slap A Warning On Your Site?

Ashish — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:15:13 EDT

Most people have found over a period of time that Google Search drives a large amount of traffic to your sites. If you take an estimate for the number of people visiting sites outside of large corporate or media sites, you would find that Google generates more than 50% of the visits to your site. Now think: Have you ever seen in searches a small line of text below a search result ("This site may be harmful to your computer"). Google does not allow a person to go through to the site easily (you have to copy the link and put it in the address bar of the browser). This is potentially suicidal for the success of the site since your traffic may drop significantly. This has happened to me twice, and I have not yet been able to figure out the reasons.

When this happens and you find your own site behaving in this manner, you need to find out what is going wrong. You need to click on the search result link, and you will get to a warning page where you will find a small report on the problem, and a section at the bottom for people who may be the owners of the affected page. There will be a link in this section, and you can use that link to get to a diagnostic page. Once there, look at the problem in more detail. It will also tell you that more details are available at the Google Webmasters Tools page. In order to find more details about the kind of problems typically indicated, use these 2 pages for more details:

1. Google Help Page on Malware
2. StopBadWare.org's tips for cleaning and securing your website
(You get a lot of details on what kind of phishing, malware, bad ads, and other such problems that could get your site in problems. You also learn more about the review process that could help in getting the Google warning lifted)

There are three basic steps to maintaining a clean site:
1. Identifying badware on your site
2. Removing badware from your site
3. Preventing badware in the future
Once you are at #2, you can request a review and hopefully the warning gets lifted (it happened for me).

Tips For Getting People To Visit Your Blog

Ashish — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:12:17 EDT

How do you get people to come to your blog (including both regular and non-regular visitors), how do you get search engines to get your blog indexed (and make it come high in their search display so that more visitors can come to your blog through search); and most important of all, how do you keep people who come to your blog to visit on a regular basis, and even send details to their friends and family ?

This is an exhaustive topic, and not something that I can cover in this one post. The contents of this post are more in the nature of starter tips, not a detailed presentation of points to do. Think of this as the 101 class (and that too, the first few chapters). The post is meant for people who are not so conversant with what all to do. If you know the ins-and-outs of using AdWords to promote your blog, then you should write your techniques here (I welcome comments from Gurus about tips on what has worked for them). So, here goes with the tips:

1. Feed: Make sure that feeds are setup on your blog so that people know how to get content easily.

2. Most search engines have a link where you can submit a blog, search for those and submit your blog URL over there

3. If you write comments on other people's blogs, do remember to leave your own Blog URL in the space provided (most comment systems allow you to enter your URL in a separate box, and then show it in a non-intrusive manner). If your post is intelligent, makes sense, then there is a good chance that other visitors will come to your blog.

4. In whichever blog system you use, there will typically be a method to ping blog directories; if not, then be sure to use this URL: http://www.pingomatic.com

5. If there are article directories such as http://blogcritics.com, or the whole list at http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/, submit your articles over there. Typically articles getting posted here with a link back to your blog can help you.

6. Don't plaster advertisements all over your blog. You need to make money, and having ads is fine for that, but users should be able to find the content and not run away in frustration.

7. In your signature file in email, make sure that you add a link to your blog along with an appropriate comment

8. If you are writing blogs on specific subjects, make sure that your most useful / most read posts are easily accessible by people

9. Allow people to be able to send your blog as a link via email. For example, in Blogger, there is a setting that allows visitors to send a post via email. If a user is able to send your posts like this, this is free viral marketing

10. If you can, make sure that your users get the feeling that they are getting something for free. So, you can get users to subscribe to your email feed by promising to send them a list of free tips

11. Post on a regular basis. This keeps users coming back (it need not be every day, but setting a pattern helps)

US Allows Pakistan Aid To Be Used For Fighter Upgrades

Ashish — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:31:05 EDT

For the last several years, there has been an ongoing political discussion about whether the United States is following the correct policies with regard to getting rid of terrorism emanating from the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, rated by many as the most likely place to generate the next big terrorist attack in the Western World. Part of that discussion is whether the United States has relied too much on Pakistan, and not pushed it hard enough to get rid of the entire support structure for terrorism in the tribal border regions. Implicit in this discussion is that Pakistan is not really doing all it can to get rid of terrorism in the region, to take on the vast support for the Taleban and terrorist elements in the wild ungoverned regions. Now, Pakistan has always claimed that this was a difficult task, that these regions have historically had a reputation for resisting any attempts to enforce a central governance; and that periodic pushes by the Army and border guards have only met fierce resistance and let to further embittering of the population in these regions, thus leading to a further support for the so-called resistance fighters.

At some point it is difficult to blame only Pakistan for this. The US has had a huge amount of analysis that claims that there is a lack of governance, civil reconstruction, and enough boots on the ground in Afghanistan. What was required that there be a push to strengthen the regional paramilitary forces, combined with an active and huge construction program in these regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It is when the affected population see only a military push, and the same old bad conditions with no scope for improvement that they tend to move further towards the extremist position. And in Pakistan, the Bush Administration seems to have had a blinkered vision with taking the actions of President Musharraf at face value, not applying the pressure that might have made things much better. For example, there has never been much pressure to improve the condition and training of the regional paramilitary force that might be able to help turn the tide.

All this came to my mind when I read this news report:

The United States plans to shift about $230 million in aid to Pakistan from counterterrorism programs to upgrading the nation's aging F-16 fighter jets. The new government is facing "a terrible financial crisis with food and fuel problems," the official said, and the Pakistani government "would rather tell its public they are spending their money on food and fuel," so it asked the United States to pay for the F-16 upgrades from the U.S. aid fund. Last year, Congress mandated that $300 million in aid to Pakistan go toward fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban, partly by beefing up law enforcement and developing tribal areas of the country that are hostile to the United States.

Skeptical lawmakers worry that the F-16 upgrades will divert funding from crucial counterterrorism programs and could be more about helping Pakistan competing with its rival, India, than fighting terror. Nita Lowey, chairwoman of a House subcommittee on foreign operations, said the request from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reprogram the funding "raises serious concerns." Lowey is asking for more information before signing off on the change. "Congress provided these funds specifically for counterterrorism and law enforcement activities," Lowey said in a written statement.

This is about as short-sighted as can be. It is of critical importance that funds be spent on improving the lot of the tribal areas and improve the force that works over there. Instead, if these funds are used for improving F-16's, machines that are hardly of much use in anti-terrorism except when a force needs the support in a head-on fight with the terrorist, not something that is typically seen in the border regions.

CPM Expels Speaker Somnath Chaterjee

Ashish — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:46:19 EDT

This was one of the most anticipated news in recent times on an individual politician level. The Speaker, Somnath Chaterjee has been a member of the CPM for over 40 years, having been a Member of Parliament from the party for 10 times now. From all appearances, he has been an articulate and devoted member for the party. At the same time, as the party drew up its leadership over a period of time, it was clear that Somnath Chaterjee was not going to be a candidate in the succession chain, and given that he is 79 years, not likely to happen in the future also.

There was a lot of buzz that he wanted to the President, but the CPM did not agree to this (leading to some disappointment with the party politburo). At the same time, even though the BJP keeps on accusing him of acting in a biased manner, he seems to have given the office of the Speaker his best effort. It was a familiar sight of the Speaker trying his best to bring an unruly house to control (and mostly failing). So, there must have been the feeling that he enjoyed a constitutional post, with the prestige associated with it, and above the dictates of any party.

Even then, it was a matter of surprise that he refused to obey the diktat of the CPM that he quit the office of the Speaker and became defiant in his attitude.

This must have been very unsettling for the party; a Communist party likes to believe that once the Politburo has spoken, then there is no cause for dissent; even if it is the holder of a constitutional post. So, the party backed down a bit, keeping his name off the whip, but the action was predicted. It was the timing that was to be considered, and it was fast:

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was on Wednesday expelled by CPM climaxing a fortnight-long defiance of the veteran parliamentarian to quit at the call of the party with which he was associated for four decades. The party invoked Article 19 (13) of its constitution to expel him under summary procedures without any notice on the charge of "seriously compromising" the party position.
The 79-year old barrister and ten-time MP, Chatterjee rejected both subtle and explicit hints from the party leadership, which asked him to quit the post to which he was elected unanimously after the 2004 elections, saying he was above party politics given the post he held.

Somehow, this action also gives a hint of the anger that is bubbling within the CPM over the vote loss and consequent loss of influence, that it took a fast and quick action against a leader who has been with the party for long.

Indian Police Brutality - Unfettered Power

Ashish — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:17:56 EDT

The Indian police works under manuals and guides written during British times where the main aim was to protect the rulers from the ruled. Further, in urban and rural areas both, the police is also used as an extension of the power of the local political leaders; a side effect of these factors is that there is no accountability or responsibility built into the bodywork of the police force. Hence, despite having some dedicated men committed to the welfare of the country, we also have men in khakhi who pretend that the law does not apply to them.

When the Supreme Court tries to change the rules to reform the police force and apply more accountability, states believe that their freedom will be lost and oppose such measures.

It is this enhanced sense of power and no accountability that makes the police believe that it can act like these policemen did in Ahmedabad:

AHMEDABAD: Three drunk cops beat up a youth in the wee hours of Sunday because he failed to comply to the extortion demands of the policemen. Bipin Thakor, 27, a resident of Thakorvaas, Shahibaug, was whipped with the police's belt and thrashed with batons. Bipin is now in the Civil Hospital. Medicos said he has got 375 stitches in his left hand that had severe, multiple injuries in the flesh and skin. He had also suffered multiple injuries in his hand, chest, ear and neck.

When Bipin said he did not have any money, the cops body searched him and found Rs 9,200. This enraged the drunk cops. They first called him a liar and then started beating him up on the main road. The constables beaten him up with lathis and the belt that accompanies their police uniform. After a while, they left Bipin on the main road unconscious. He was later sent to the Civil Hospital by a local tea vendor.

Apparently the local police post cannot detect who these policemen were; but that is understandable; why would the police force support a citizen when it comes to one of their own. Why should policemen feel that they are entitled to extort money from citizens? It is these kind of atrocities that will eventually force much greater accountability on the police force.