Charles Lau

I have been facing information overload for many years.   It’s frustrating to find out that I have valuable information which are deeply buried inside my folders in my hard disk.  3 years ago, I have purchased a portable 300GB hard disk just to store a lot of my information which I believe I have only utilize 20% of what I have.

I don’t know if you have faced the same problem as myself.   I just find it frustrating when I want to get certain information and it is not there for me.  And when I forgot about this piece of information, I really hope it will surface when I need such information.  You know?  Sometimes, we really don’t know what we don’t know…

In search of the best way of organizing my information and files

I tried all sorts of ways.

• I made the usual way of organizing my folders (just like what most of you do).  
• I also tried to use the PostIt notes to organize my information.  In the end, both are just getting more and more messy with my information and files.
• I tried having one Microsoft Word file, and index all my information properly.  In the end, I don’t open that file.
• I tried putting in all  my to-do list in TXT file.  In the end, it is also not opened.
• I tried to use iGoogle desktop to organize my information.  But it is just not as robust as I needed it to be.

I need a better way!

Wiki is the way to go!

I believe there are still many of you who don’t know the meaning of Wiki.  I’ll just put in a video of leelefever’s Explanations in Plain English to explain Wiki to you here.

Ok, I don’t need anybody to edit my information.  All I need is just a place for me to edit my own things.

Ok here are the things that I need for my information organization:

1. One-stop place to access my information and files.
2. Easy to use.
3. They are stored in my portable hard disk so that I can start using  it with any computer.
4. I don’t need to store them on the Internet because of security issue, and the files can be really big when I need them.
5. It allows versioning of my files and information so that I can revert to my old version whenever I need to.
6. And when I delete them, it allows me to “undelete” instantly!

The Wiki Solution

Ok here’s the exact solution I have used.

1. I installed Mowes on my portable hard disk.
2. I installed MediaWiki (The exact software used by Wikipedia).
3. I did some configurations such as configuring the file size upload, the allowable file extension, file grabbing through URL, and many others).
4. I’m done!

Next, this is what I do with it at the very initial stage:

1. I plug in my portable hard drive via the USB port.
2. I run the Mowes software.
3. I open up my Internet browser, and go to “http://localhost/wiki”
4. Immediately, I have my Wiki up and running!
5. I put in all my information that I need.
6. I upload my files and organize them in a meaningful way.

Usage

1. Now, I will update my Wiki whenever I need to.
2. I can access all my files and information more efficiently.
3. I will click the link in my wiki to open a certain Powerpoint file, and edit it.  When I am done, I will upload a new version of it.  So, I have kept different versions of my work!
4. I used Wiki to help me download certain files that I need in the background, while working.

Conclusion

Ok, I think this blog post is getting really lengthy.  I am going to stop here now.  Basically,  I have a portable Wiki in my hard disk that I can use.  In fact, I also installed WordPress in it as well just for the fun of it.

I personally find that Wiki is the best way to organize my information and all my files. 

What’s the weakness?  Definitely there is… So far as I know, Mowes is basically suitable for Windows only.  Hence, Mac and Linux users may not be able to enjoy them.  And there is also difficulty in accessing the files directly if you need to because they are in the Wiki’s own way of indexing the files.

Everybody knows about it.  They are doing all they can to earn credibility, whether it is by hook or by crook.

So far as I know after working in various industries with various business directors, they are basically three types of credibility.

1. Fake
2. Truth
3. Both fake and truth

Fake credibility

Many people actually fake their way to get what they want.  They are especially good with their sweet talks.  If they are real good, many people can get “smoked” through easily with their disguise.  But one good thing about this group of people is that they are pretty good at grouping things together.  They are basically thinking of solutions.  They have actually let go of what they are capable of because they know they have to settle it at a later stage.

And on the website, we may see a lot of claims of people saying that they are making thousands of dollars when they are not even making a single dollar.  This can be seen easily through their own website branding.  Some even add on with fake testimonials and fake income!  If we have seen this group of people making a lot of money, their names should be easily googled.  Try it before you attempt to buy from them!

Credibility of truth

These are real players in the market.  They have been around for many years.  You’ve heard about people talking about them.  You’ve seen them writing books.

There are people who build their strength slowly over the years, and building targeted audience who really listen to them!  It’s no doubt to work with the true people!

Credibility in both fake and truth

These group of people may also be from the fake credibility in the past till they become really good and they practice good from then on.

This group are probably the ones who are known for being  “streetsmart”.  But is it really necessary to be like that?  Are they really themselves?   Are they really happy since they are holding two faces…

Any thoughts about this?

Photo Credit: mikemindel

We have just started a new Facebook group called “Internet Review“!  It has been a while since I tried to find out the best way to review websites.  No matter how much I review, it is still from my own point of view.  And when I do search for better internet review websites (which are my “competitors”), I realize that there aren’t many good internet reviews around, and the potentially good ones are only for the eyes of the buyers who want to find out how their websites fare.

Objective of the Internet Review group

The objective is to gather the group’s opinions on the Internet.  It could be websites, webware, web hosting, web articles, or even products and services which are selling on the Internet.

Who is this group for?

Basically, this group is to gather as many people around the world as possible who are interested in helping to review the websites which are also created around the world.

This world is lacking of ordinary people’s opinions!

I found that there is a lack of a space where people can give their review of how a website should look like.  It is always the case where the website owners are using website optimization techniques to discover the best way to increase their conversion rate.  What they may be lacking, is still the test of their content quality, which is the real reason for a better customer satisfaction.

We are going to have a new website on Internet Review!

Sometime ago, I rambled about expanding the review industry.  I am still setting the things right on that website, but Yahoo is already giving me some traffic over there, probably because I am leaking the url out over at our Facebook group, and also on our internet review twitter (will cover on Twitter below).  This Internet Review website is currently still under construction while it is serving live on the Internet because I don’t think there will be much traffic coming in while we can build on its contents to feed the search engine spiders around the world.  (hint: You may find the link at Twitter account actually.)

We are going to have our new Twitter Account!

We have set up a new twitter account just for Internet Review.  That’s because I don’t want to mix my own Twitter ramblings with the real Internet review information.  I will want to focus on bringing out the Internet juice at the Twitter.

Join us today!

While building a tribe of people to be our reviewers in Facebook, we are also building up our own website and twitter account.  It is not going to be long when we will have a strong team of reviewers (who can be of different industries other than the web) helping to review the Internet!

Join us in our facebook group today!

Thanks to Mashable for the link.

Chris Garrett just showed me this video clip from AdSavvy. It’s so funny!

Guys, you have seen my internet reviews over the past few months… How about an internet review by facial expressions while you are watching the website? That’s a new way of reviewing! haha

Guys, I just found this really cute toddler saying “whatever”! Hope you like it!

Guys, have a nice weekend!

How about a talk from the Google Founders themselves? I am not sure when Sergey Brin and Larry Page had this presentation though..

Before I start showing the reviews and working on new stuff for Charles Lau dot Com, let’s enjoy the show about The Machine Is Us or using us… Internet is evolving so fast yet it is still around the same binary codes around the world…