Web master tips for the new designer

Lowongan Kerja di PT Vertex Teknologi Indonesia

2007-10-25T08:35:00.000+07:00

PT Vertex Teknologi Indonesia is a fast growing Indonesian company that focuses on providing turnkey (end-to-end) solutions including Business Intelligence (Decision Support), Balance Scorecard, Active Enterprise Intelligence, Analytical CRM, Revenue Assurance, Enteprise Risk Management (Basel II), Enterprise Spend Management, Network & Database Securities, and Technology Infrastructure to Enterprise Businesses & Institutions. Vertex is the best at enabling decision makers at all levels to leverage integrated enterprise data for better, faster decisions that drive top and bottom line growth.

We are seeking experience Presales & Postsales Network Consultant / Specialist to be part of the teams to support our fast growing Network & Database Securities Department.

Network Consultant / Specialist
(Jakarta Raya - Jakarta)

Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities will include :

Developing technical solutions leveraging leading edge technologies

Preparing and Conducting demo or POC to prospect customers

Preparing Technical Solutions Proposal/Response

Providing Technical Consultancy and Training to customers

Supporting existing customers

To succeed in this role, you must possess the following experience and key competencies :

Preference given to individuals with expertise in any of the following disciplines: Network Administraion & Management, Network Performance Monitoring & Analysis such as IP Analyzer tools like Fluke, NetScout, or Network General (Sniffer)

Preference given to individuals with International Certifications like CCNE, CCNA

Previous Systems Engineering experience is preferred, but is not mandatory

Provide technical support, quality control as well as do preventive maintenance of installed systems.

Hand-on experience with various Enterprise systems/networks like CISCO, NORTEL, HUAWEI, ALCATEL, FORCE10

Knowledge of various systems including Servers (SUN, HP, IBM), Databases (Oracle, DB2, SQL), VoIP systems (Nuera, Cisco, Nortel, Huawei), Network Management Systems (HP Openview, Unicenter, Tivoli)

Background in storage software or hardware systems engineering.

Demonstrated problem solving skills - ability to identify issues and opportunities and develop solutions, make recommendations and execute/manage their implementation within agreed timeframes.

Tertiary qualified

Must be capable of working independently.

Requirements:

Hold S1/S2 in Computer Science / Information Technology / Management Information Systems graduate from reputable universities

Minimum of 3 years working experience in the same / similar field

Must be able to speak, read and write English

Must be able to work independently or part of the team

Must be willing to travel and work on the project anywhere in Indonesia or around the world

Please send a comprehensive resume along with stated reason of why are you interested in the below position; what value, skill & competencies you bring to us including your contact telephone number, recent photograph with corresponding position on the upper left corner of the envelope not later than 2 (two) weeks from the date of this advertisement to:

PT Vertex Teknologi Indonesia
Human Resources Department
Menara Jamsostek North Tower, 22nd Floor
Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav. 38
Jakarta 12710 - Indonesia
Or
E-mail:jobs@vti.co.id

Mal Taman Anggrek; Lowongan Kerja Oktober

2007-10-07T22:17:00.000+07:00

Vacant position as drafter @ Mal Taman Anggrek
One of the biggest shopping centers in Jakarta is looking for DRAFTER with the following qualifications:

1. Minimum Associate Degree (D3) in Interior Design from reputable university.

2. Fresh Graduates are welcome to apply.

3. Familiar with Autocad 2000, 3D Studio Max, PhotoShop.

4. Able to draw a sketch.

5. Proficient in both written and spoken English.

6. Having pleasant personality, creative and innovative, highly motivated, proactive, and strong leadership.

If you meet the above requirements, please send your full application and CV along with recent photograph to the following address:

PT. MULIA INTIPELANGI

Jl. Letjen. S. Parman Kav. 21 Lt.5 - Slipi,

Jakata 11470

HRD_MTA@taman-anggrek-mall.com

Petro-HR; 5 Positions

2007-10-07T22:15:00.000+07:00

Batas pengajuan lamaran kerja Oktober October 05, 2007 s/d October 26, 2007

Petro-HR
Advertisement Details:

Sr. Electrical Engineer (SEL)

Accountability
- Responsible to develop project electrical specifications
- Performs electrical engineering calculations,
- Review and implement regulations and industry codes and standards.
- Coordinate and supervise electrical engineers and design personnel and interface with other engineering disciplines

Qualifications:
- Minimum of 5 years experience in Electrical Engineering with degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
- Ability to work in a team environment and demonstrated performance as a team leader is preferred. Dynamic and enthusiastic approach is essential
- Experience working for an international design contractor and experience in Oil and Gas industry.
- The experience should include a demonstrated ability to work on projects across a full life cycle from FEED, cost estimation and detailed design.
- Having excellent English communication skill (oral & writing)

Sr. Pipeline Engineer (SPL)

Accountabilities
- Plan and execute all pipeline integrity, inspection, maintenance and modification works within WP&B and meeting corporate standards and operational requirement in cost effective and save manner.
- Facilitate the development and implementation of pipeline integrity, inspection and maintenance outsourcing plan to support the execution activities in compliance to COMPANY Group Tender and Contract guideline.
- Review and assess all inspection records and findings so as to meet COMPANY pipeline integrity guidelines, philosophies and industries best practices.
- Evaluate and recommend the latest technology, opportunities, innovative concept to continuously improve and enhance pipeline integrity management and effectiveness.
- Implement and enforce all HSE requirements related to the pipeline integrity, inspection and maintenance activity execution.
- Review, update and make available all pipeline engineering drawings, documentation and materials which are required in daily operation, assessment, modification and emergency pipeline repair.
- Plan the training and job exposure for junior pipeline engineer to be in line with the career development.

Requirements:
- Minimum of 5 years experience in Pipeline Engineering.
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- Ability to work in a team environment and demonstrated performance as a team leader is preferred. Dynamic and enthusiastic approach is essential
- Experience working for an international design contractor and experience in Oil and Gas industry.
- The experience should include a demonstrated ability to work on projects across a full life cycle from FEED, cost estimation and detailed design.
- Having excellent English communication skill (oral & writing)

Sr. Mechanical Engineer (SMC)

Accountabilities:
- Responsible for all technical issues related to mechanical discipline subject to overall review by PMT.
- Coordinate all respective technical areas with other disciplines specialists where areas interface or overlap.
- Responsible for mechanical design reviews, coordination and consolidation of comments for all EPC Contractor deliverables associated with mechanical discipline.
- Receipt and tracing of all deliverables and responses to EPC Contractor.
- To fully understand technical requirements for mechanical work and also the scope of the project and provide input of these requirements into the design work and deliverables of the Contractor.
- To ensure appropriate review and comment by Company concerned parties into the approval process for EPC Contractor/Other parties deliverables.
- To monitor the quality of progress of EPC contractor.

Requirements:
- Minimum of 5 years experience in Mechanical Engineering.
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
- Ability to work in a team environment and demonstrated performance as a team leader is preferred.
- Dynamic and enthusiastic approach is essential.
- Experience working for an international design contractor and experience in Oil and Gas industry.
- The experience should include a demonstrated ability to work on projects across a full life cycle from FEED, cost estimation and detailed design.
- Having excellent English communication skill (oral & writing)

Project Planner/Scheduler (PSP)

Accountabilities
- Develop Project Schedule System especially on EPCI phases and Long Lead Material Procurement
- Check and verify all contractor invoices shall meet with the actual progress execution and record all payment.
- Prepare Weekly Schedule Monitoring Report to Project Team Leaders regarding the project activities and achievement.

Requirements
- Degree in related field with minimum 5 years applicable in Petroleum Industry on Project- Scheduler
- The experience should include a demonstrated ability to work on projects across a full life cycle from FEED, cost estimation and detailed design.
- Ability to work in a team environment and demonstrated performance as a team leader is preferred. Dynamic and enthusiastic approach is essential
- Commit to work in tide schedule and high load activities
- Must be able to communicate effectively with all levels of management.
- Must understand and be able to implement SHE Handbook requirement, safety standards and procedures.
- Having excellent English communication skill (oral & writing)

Project Cost Control (PCC)

Accountabilities:
- Maintain and use effective cost control system including budget preparation, budget performance, cost committed, booked and expenditure, forecasting and progress monitoring and reporting activities in accordance with company procedures.
- Create project specific codes in used in conjunction with the standard set of company cost codes, updated approved variations are received from client into the database (if available) and allocates each element from the estimate & budget to the code.
- Identify the type of expenditure and discrete items that are part of the project using cost code which established by Project Manager.
- Check that the cost codes on each MR are correct also checks that the remaining budget for the cost code is sufficient to cover the proposed purchase, ascertaining purchase order (PO) has been placed the costs are considered to be committed and refer to the budget.
- Prepare a forecast at completion in the order to forecast the project result for each cost code at regular interval (determined by Division Manager) with assistance provided upon request from engineers, supervisors and/or manager as appropriate, check that the forecast at completion is equal to or in excess of the committed cost.
- Prepare cash flow forecast for the project internal/external.
- Prepare Schedule & Scope Progress Measurement: Earned value measurement requires that budgets, incurred /actual, earned and forecast data.

Requirements :
- The applicant should have a degree in any discipline of engineering from a reputable university.
- Minimum of 5 years experience as Project Cost Control in the oil and gas field
- Excellent English communication skills (both oral and written).

Send your CV to recruitment.engineering@petro-hr.com with position title as the email subject no later than October 26, 2007.

Lowongan Kerja Telecommunication Company

2007-10-07T22:13:00.000+07:00

JOB VACANCIES IN TELECOMUNICATION COMPANY (NETWORK&PRODUCT DIVISION)
My name is Linda from bright Consulting (Headhunter company). Below is list of positions needed in telecommunication company
(Multinational Company).

For match aplicants please submit resume and recently photograph to: linda@bright-id.com. For further assistant, feel free to contact us in: 3150395 (Linda)

JOB VACANCIES IN TELECOMMUNCATION COMPANY (NETWORK DIVISION)

No POSITION
1 AWG Account Sr Mgr
2 Interconnect Operation Support Sr Executive
3 Infrastructure Sharing Network Bulk Sites
4 Core Switch Engineer
5 BSC/RAN Engineer
6 IP Core Engineer
7 Transmission Performance Mgr
8 Core network Performance Mgr
9 Radio Network Performance Mgr
10 Network Facilities Management Executive
11 Central Java MS Operation mgr
12 Central Java MS Operation Ass Mgr
13 Project Control Sr Executive
14 Civil Mechanical Electrical Coordinator
15 Civil Mechanical Electrical Engineer
16 Mechanical electrical Engineer
17 Jabodetabek SITAC Coordinator
18 Jabodetabek SITAC Executive
19 Central Java Transmission Sr Eng
20 Central Java SITAC Executive
21 Application & Service Mgr
22 Vas & IN Core Project Mgr
23 3G Planning & Optimization Sr Mgr
24 IBC Sr Eng
25 Central Java Radio Network Planning Mgr
26 East Java & Bali Radio Network Planning Sr Mgr
27 East Java & Bali Radio Network Planning Mgr

(PRODUCT DIVISION)
1 Dept Head of Enhanced Voice Prodev
2 Enhanced Voice Sr Executive
3 Dept head of International Roaming Prodev
4 Prodev Mobile Data Sr Executive Product
5 Dept Head of prepaid Service Prodev

Menulis Surat Lamaran di Email

2007-10-07T00:04:00.000+07:00

Informasi karir kerja:

Menulis Surat Lamaran di Email
Makin banyak perusahaan yang membolehkan para calon karyawan untuk mengirimkan lamarannya lewat email. Hal ini tentunya menguntungkan baik bagi perusahaan maupun pelamar. Bagi perusahaan, ini akan mengurangi jumlah surat lamaran dalam bentuk kertas yang harus mereka terima dan arsipkan. Selain itu, lebih mudah bagi perusahaan untuk mem-forward surat lamaran berbentuk email ke para usernya.

Bagi calon karyawan, ini akan menolong mereka untuk mengirimkan lamaran secara cepat. Jika Anda mengirimkan lamaran ke banyak perusahaan, dengan mudah Anda dapat mengkopi email lamaran Anda sebelumnya dan menyesuaikannya.

-------------------
1. Judul Email
Judul email Anda haruslah menolong penerimanya untuk segera mengetahui maksud dari email Anda. Karena itu tuliskan judul yang jelas tetapi singkat. Sebagai contoh, Anda dapat menuliskannya sebagai berikut "Lamaran untuk Posisi Manajer Pemasaran".

Catatan: Baca dengan baik iklan lowongan kerja tersebut. Sering kali mereka meminta Anda menuliskan kode tertentu di judul atau subject email Anda. Terutama jika pada saat yang bersamaan mereka mempunyai beberapa lowongan pekerjaan.

2. Dimana Surat Lamaran Ditulis?
Sering kali kita bingung apakah perlu menuliskannya di badan email atau di file tersendiri. Menurut teman saya yang bekerja di bidang recruiting sebuah perusahaan multinational, Anda dapat menuliskan surat lamaran (cover letter) Anda di badan email. Artinya, perusahaan tetap akan menerima surat lamaran Anda dengan baik. Pengalaman saya, tidak pernah ada perusahaan yang menolak lamaran yang suratnya dituliskan di badan email.

3. Bagaimana dengan Resume?
Jangan menulis resume Anda di badan email. Tuliskan dalam file tersendiri dan jadikan sebagai lampiran email Anda.

4. Word, PDF, atau Text?
Biasanya perusahaan akan menuliskan pada iklan lowongan kerja jenis file yang bisa Anda kirim. Walaupun umumnya meminta file MS Word, terkadang mereka mengijinkan Anda untuk mengirimkan file berformat pdf. Jika tidak disebutkan, kirimkan resume Anda dalam file MS Word (.doc).

File text (ekstension .txt) lebih baik tidak digunakan karena pada saat dikirim dengan email, file tersebut terkadang muncul di badan email. Ini terutama jika Anda menggunakan email gratis di Web, seperti Yahoo!, Gmail, atau Hotmail.

5. Ukuran Email
Usahakan ukuran email Anda tidak melebihi 300 kb. Ukuran email ini terutama dipengaruhi oleh ukuran file yang di-attach. Karena itu periksa besar file yang Anda lampirkan. Jika Anda diminta menyertakan foto, jangan masukkan file foto yang terlalu besar. Perkecil ukuranya dengan menggunakan berbagai jenis program photo editor.

6. Email Signature
Email signature adalah text yang dituliskan secara otomatis oleh provider email Anda. Signature ini bisa Anda program sendiri, atau bagian dari iklan untuk penyedia jasa email tersebut. Adanya signature ini mengurangi kesan profesional pada lamaran Anda.

Email web gratis seperti Yahoo! dan Hotmail menambahkan signature ini secara otomatis pada semua email yang mereka kirim. Sedangkan Gmail tidak. Inilah alasan pertama saya memilih Gmail untuk mengirimkan lamaran-lamaran saya.

7. Test Kirim
Untuk surat lamaran yang dikirim lewat email, selain melakukan proof read, Anda juga perlu melakukan test pengiriman. Lakukan ini dengan mengirimkan email lamaran Anda, lengkap dengan attachment-nya ke email lain. Tentunya jangan kirimkan email percobaan tersebut ke email perusahaan yang Anda tuju. Kirim ke alamat email lain yang Anda punya. Jika Anda hanya mempunyai satu alamat email, Anda bisa membuat alamat email baru di Yahoo!, Gmail, atau Hotmail.

Apa pentingnya langkah ini? Sering kali format email yang Anda kirim berubah setelah sampai di alamat email lain. Saat mengirimkan email dari Yahoo! ke Gmail, saya perhatikan spasi email saya berubah dari satu menjadi dua. Tapi sebaliknya, email yang saya kirim dari Gmail ke Yahoo! tidak berubah formatnya. Ini alasan kedua saya menggunakan Gmail untuk mengirimkan lamaran saya.

Mailer dengan Perl

2007-10-06T11:58:00.000+07:00

Beberapa hari yang lalu ada temen tanya-tanya tentang mailer dengan Perl, Ehmm… untuk menjawab pertanyaan tersebut maka saya cuma bisa nunjukkan scriptnya seperti dibawah ini.

#!/usr/bin/perl —

use strict;

my $mailFrom = ‘halim@umm.ac.id’;
my $mailTo = ‘johan@umm.ac.id’;

open MAIL,”|/usr/sbin/sendmail -t”;
print MAIL “FROM: $mailFrom \n”;
print MAIL “TO: $mailTo\n”;
print MAIL “Subject: Perl Memang Ok!\n”;
print MAIL “MIME-Version: 1.0\n”;
print MAIL “Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-2022-JP\n”;
print MAIL “Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit\n”;
print MAIL “——————————————————–\n”;
print MAIL “Jangan Kaget, Aku cuma tes apa yang aku kasih tahu lewat YM tadi siang. From:johan \n”;
print MAIL “——————————————————–\n”;
close (MAIL);

Dengan menggunkan script Perl yang sederhana diatas kita sudah bisa mengirimkan email dengan menggunakan sendmail tanpa melalui email clien. Karena langsung menggunakan sistem SMTP maka pengirim dapat memalsukan alamat emailnya my $mailFrom = ‘halim@umm.ac.id’; bisa di ganti dengan alamat yang diinginkan misal popo@yahoo.com, nah karena begitu mudahnya memalsukan alamat email pengirim maka kita sebagai pengguna email sudah seharusnya berhati - hati dan tidak langsung terpikat dengan email yang isinya rayuan” ataupun yang laiinya, soalnya siapa tahu itu kiriman dari si pengirim email palsu.

PERL/CGI

2007-10-06T11:55:00.000+07:00

Salah satu protokol gateway yang pertama diciptakan, dan tersukses, untuk menghubungkan web server dan aplikasi adalah Common Gateway Interface, atau CGI.

Bagaimana cara kerja CGI?
- Aplikasi CGI, yang berupa file skrip, ditaruh di lokasi direktori yang dapat diakses oleh web server.
- Jika ada permintaan terhadap aplikasi dari klien, web server akan membaca skrip dan menjalankan program.
- Web server memberi program ini masukan (termasuk masukan yang diberikan klien) dari masukan standar (stdin) serta beberapa environment variable.
- Web server menunggu program berjalan hingga selesai lalu menangkap keluaran standar program (stdout).
Keluaran inilah yang diberikan ke klien.

Apa Kelebihan CGI?

- Skrip CGI dapat ditulis dalam bahasa apa saja, namun barangkali sekitar 90% program CGI yang ada ditulis dalam Perl.
- Protokol CGI yang sederhana, serta
- Kefasihan Perl dalam mengolah teks, menjadikan menulis sebuah program CGI cukup mudah dan cepat.
- Meski tertua, hingga saat ini menurut survei dari Netcraft sekitar 70% aplikasi di web masih menggunakan CGI. Ini berarti, lebih dari separuh situs web dinamik yang ada dibangun dengan CGI.

Apa kelemahan CGI?

- Kecepatan (istilah kerennya: skalabilitas).
- Untuk menghasilkan keluaran program CGI, overhead yang harus ditempuh cukup besar.

Dalam kasus CGI Perl, prosesnya sbb:

- Web server terlebih dahulu akan menciptakan sebuah proses baru dan menjalankan interpreter Perl.
- Perl kemudian mengkompilasi script CGI tersebut, baru kemudian menjalankan skrip.

Keseluruhan siklus ini terjadi untuk setiap request. Dengan kata lain, terlalu banyak waktu dibuang untuk menciptakan proses dan tidak ada cache skrip yang telah dikompilasi.

Jika situs web Anda menerima kurang dari sepuluh hingga dua puluh ribu hit CGI per hari, rata-rata mesin web server Unix yang ada sekarang ini mampu menanganinya dengan baik.

Angka ini relatif, bergantung pada:

- Tingkat pembebanan mesin web server untuk melakukan pekerjaan lain (misalnya, mengirim mail dan menjalankan server database) dan juga
- Aplikasi CGI itu sendiri (sebab beberapa aplikasi CGI berupa skrip tunggal berukuran besar hingga waktu loading-nya cukup lama; umumnya aplikasi CGI yang rumit memecah diri menjadi skrip-skrip terpisah untuk mengurangi waktu loading).
- Cepat atau lambatnya penampilan halaman web yang diterima klien akan lebih bergantung pada koneksi jaringan.

MOD_PERL
Mod_perl adalah sebuah modul Apache. Mod_perl menempelkan interpreter Perl ke dalam Apache, sehingga Apache mampu menjalankan kode/skrip Perl secara langsung.

Apa Kelebihan Mod_Perl ?

Mod_perl dapat memecahkan masalah skalabilitas CGI, karena dapat men-cache skrip dalam memori. Dengan mod_perl pun kita dapat membuat aplikasi web dalam gaya embedded (kode ada di file yang sama dengan HTML, seperti Javascript).

Ada beberapa modul yang bisa dipakai untuk ini, antara lain HTML::Embperl dan HTML::Mason.

Dengan mod_perl sebuah mesin server tunggal mampu menangani beban hingga jutaan hit per hari.

Contoh site yang memakai mod_perl:
Slashdot.org
Valueclick.com

Di Indonesia ada
Berpolitik.com
Satunet.com

Apa Kelemahan Mod_Perl
Masalah utama memakai mod_perl ada dua.

Dari segi teknis, penggunaan memori yang besar.
Ukuran Perl cukup besar, sehingga jika Perl ditempelkan kepada Apache akan dihasilkan proses Apache yang berukuran besar. Dengan model Apache yang multiproses saat ini, jumlah memori total yang dibutuhkan cukup banyak.

Umumnya mesin instalasi mod_perl sekarang rata-rata dilengkapi memori minimal 256MB. Jika mesin ini dipasangi juga server database, jumlah memori perlu ditambah. Dalam kondisi hit tinggi, dapat terbentuk proses Apache yang banyak sekaligus sehingga kebutuhan memori membludak.

Masalah ini dipecahkan dengan menaruh sebuah web server lain yang kecil, apakah itu Apache biasa berproksi atau Squid. Hubungan dengan klien ditangani oleh web server yang kecil, sementara Apache besar dengan mod_perl hanya bertugas memproduksi halaman dinamik.
Dari segi nonteknis, relatif lama dan sulit menguasai mod_perl (bukan lagi steep, tapi “vertical learning curve,” demikian pernah disebutkan oleh Stas Bekman, penulis tutorial mod_perl mod_perl Developer’s Guide).

Meski program CGI tetap dapat dijalankan lewat mod_perl (melalui modul Perl Apache::Registry) sehingga kita tetap dapat membuat program bergaya CGI, ada beberapa perbedaan yang perlu diperhatikan, terutama karena sekarang CGI Anda di-cache oleh web server.

Administrasi server mod_perl pun perlu dipahami dan dikuasai dengan baik.
Pecinta Perl saya anjurkan tetap mencoba dan memakai mod_perl, karena :

Tingkat Kontrol yang ditawarkan amat tinggi.
Karena menyediakan antarmuka lengkap ke API Apache, dengan mod_perl kita dapat menyetel Apache secara rinci.
Berikrar sehidup-semati bersama Apache. Dengan memilih mod_perl, Anda bisa dibilang “bertukar cincin”, berikrar sehidup-semati bersama Apache.

Sebab mod_perl modul Apache, spesifik untuk Apache.

Bukan masalah berarti, saya pikir, karena praktis semua pihak telah mengakui stabilitas dan kinerja web server yang satu ini.

Menurut survei, web server yang paling banyak dipakai di internet adalah Apache.

Beberapa produk komersial pun, seperti Stronghold (C2Net) dan WebSphere (IBM), menggunakan kode sumber Apache.

Modul Recursive Directory

2007-10-06T11:51:00.000+07:00

Dulu sebelum nemuin modul ini, untuk baca atau pengecekan suatu file yang ada dalam sub-sub direktory aku menggunakan fungsi recursive yang lumayan agak panjang. Tapi untung nya setelah nemuin nih modul, untuk baca file yang ada didalam sub-sub direktory terasa begitu mudah. Berikur contoh scriptnya :

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
#--Modul Recursive Directory--
use File::Find;

my($Group, $Text) = @ARGV;
my $Spool = "/var/spool"; # or wherever your newsspool lives
$| = 1; # so we can see it run
find(\&Kibo, "$Spool/$Group");

sub Kibo
{
-d and print "$_\n";
-f and /^\d+$/ or return;
print "$_\r";

open(ARTICLE, $_) or return;
my @lines = ();

for my $line (@lines)
{
$line =~ /$Text/o and print $line;
}
}

Perlukah Belajar Linux/Unix kalau Sudah Ada Software Komersial di Industri?

2007-10-06T11:50:00.002+07:00

Pengantar

Pertanyaan di atas pernah diajukan oleh salah seorang rekan saya. Pertanyaannya sederhana tapi menggelitik. "Perlu nggak sih kita belajar Linux/UNIX kalau akhirnya waktu kerja di industri kita menggunakan software komersial yang tinggal click here dan click there", kira-kira begitu pertanyaan rekan tersebut. Jawaban paling gampang adalah : "Ya terserah kamu saja" .

Contoh Kasus

Yaaak, jawaban yang pas mungkin demikian. Terserah kepada Anda apakah mau belajar Linux/UNIX atau tidak. Sebagian orang punya keinginan untuk mengembangkan diri, sedang sebagian lagi "cari yang praktis saja". Bagi yang punya keinginan mengembangkan diri (baca : menambah pengetahuan) pasti pertanyaan di atas dijawab dengan "perlu".

Tulisan ini tidak bermaksud untuk "memaksa Anda" untuk belajar Linux, tapi untuk "mengenal" kelebihan Linux. Selanjutnya : terserah Anda (begitu bunyi salah satu iklan yang populer di Indonesia).

Baru-baru ini, seorang rekan saya yang sedang melakukan penelitian dengan sebuah software komersial yang dijalankan dengan sistem operasi UNIX menceritakan problem yang dialaminya kepada saya. Problemnya adalah sebagai berikut : Software komersial yang digunakannya menghasilkan sebuah file ASCII yang cukup panjang (puluhan ribu baris ...!!). Dari file ASCII tersebut dia harus mengambil data tertentu (nilai x dan y) dan menyimpannya ke sebuah file yang lain, untuk dibuatkan kurva berdasarkan harga-harga yang diambilnya. "Gimana ngedit-nya kalau begini?" , tanya teman saya. Itu baru satu file. Kalau satu hari sepuluh file ... ???

Ketika saya perhatikan, file output dari software tersebut memiliki pola yang berulang (karena memang biasanya demikian, untuk memudahkan kita .... !!!). Polanya kurang lebih seperti ini (misalnya) :

x-value= 0.0000e+00
y-value= 1.0000e+00
.......................... (angka-angka)
.......................... (angka-angka)
:::
::: (masih ada angka lagi)
:::
x-value= 1.0000e+00
y-value= 2.5000e+00
..........................
..........................
:::
::: (dan seterusnya)
:::

Problem Solving

Saya-pun memberitahukan rekan saya tersebut beberapa rahasia Linux/UNIX. Rahasianya adalah sebagai berikut : Andaikan file ASCII tersebut bernama dataku. Maka untuk membuat file output yang berbentuk data x dan y, maka kita cukup gunakan kombinasi perintah Linux seperti cat, grep, awk, paste, ">" (redirection), dan "|" (pipe).

Sebagai contoh, bila kita ketikkan

cat dataku | grep 'x-value='

maka kita akan dapatkan keluaran di layar monitor sebagai berikut :

x-value= 0.0000e+00
x-value= 1.0000e+00
:::
::: (dan seterusnya)
:::

Kalau kita gabungkan dengan awk :

cat dataku | grep 'x-value=' | awk '{print $2}'

maka kita akan dapatkan :

0.0000e+00
1.0000e+00
:::
::: (dan seterusnya)
:::

Untuk menyimpan ke file kita gunakan tanda ">" dan nama file output. Jadi lengkapnya

cat dataku | grep 'x-value=' | awk '{print $2}' > datax

Untuk menyimpan data y, cukup ketikkan :

cat dataku | grep 'y-value=' | awk '{print $2}' > datay

Bagaimana menggabung kedua file tersebut? Cukup gunakan :

paste -d' ' datax datay > dataxy

Kalau kita display isi file dataxy dengan more dataxy atau cat dataxy maka akan kita dapatkan :

0.0000e+00 1.0000e+00
1.0000e+00 2.5000e+00
:::
::: (dan seterusnya)
:::

Untuk membuat plot-nya, bisa digunakan gnuplot atau perangkat lunak lainnya.

Akhir Cerita

Rekan saya segera mencoba resep tersebut, dan tidak lama kemudian dia telah tersenyum lebar. Kesimpulannya ? IT'S UP TO YOU .

Logika Fuzzy untuk Sistem Pengaturan Lalulintas

2007-10-06T11:50:00.001+07:00

Pendahuluan
Suatu sistem peralatan yang ditangani oleh komputer, maka semuanya akan terasa lebih canggih, lebih pintar, lebih otomatis, lebih praktis, lebih efisien, lebih aman, lebih teliti dan sebagainya yang menunjukkan keuntungan-keuntungan bila dibandingkan dengan pengerjaan secara manual.

Kemampuan komputer dapat diberdayakan melalui peningkatan kemampuan unjuk kerja perangkat keras (hardware) atau pada perangkat lunak (software) atau perpaduan keduanya. Kemampuan inilah yang menjadi syarat untuk mewujudkan Modul Sistem Peralatan Pengaturan Lampu Lalulintas Berbasis Fuzzy Logic.

Lampu lalulintas memegang peranan penting dalam pengaturan kelancaran lalulintas. Sistem pengendalian lampu lalulintas yang baik akan secara otomatis menyesuaikan diri dengan kepadatan arus lalulintas pada jalur yang diatur. Dengan penerapan logika fuzzy hal ini sangat memungkinkan untuk dilakukan.

Permasalahan utama dalam perancangan dan pembuatan modul sistem peralatan pengaturan lampu lalulintas berbasis Fuzzy Logic ini, adalah perangkat keras tambahan yang terdiri dari : sensor, OpAmp, ADC 0809, Interfacing PPI 8255, Driver, Relay dan Lampu lalulintas (LL). Sedangkan sebagai dasar pengendalian dari sistem yang dijalankan, digunakan algoritma logika fuzzy.

Logika Fuzzy untuk Sistem Pengaturan Lalulintas

Beberapa istilah yang digunakan dalam pengendalian lampu Lalulintas (LL), antara lain, untuk sebaran kendaraan adalah : Tidak Padat (TP), Kurang Padat (KP), Cukup Padat (CP), Padat (P) dan Sangat Padat (SP). Sedangkan untuk lama nyala lampu LL adalah : Cepat (C), Agak Cepat (AC), Sedang (S), Agak Lama (AL) dan Lama (L). Jelas istilah-istilah tersebut dapt menimbulakan kemenduaan (ambiguity) dalam pengertiannya. Logika Fuzzy dapat mengubah kemenduaan tersebut ke dalam model matematis sehingga dapat diproses lebih lanjut untuk dapat diterapkan dalam sistem kendali. Menggunakan teori himpunan Fuzzy, logika bahasa dapat diwakili oleh sebuah daerah yang mempunyai jangkauan tertentu yang menunjukkan derjat keanggotaannya. Untuk kasus disini, sebut saja derajat keanggotaan itu adalah u(x) untuk x adalah jumlah kendaraan. Derajad keanggotaan tersebut mempunyai nilai yang bergradasi sehingga mengurangi lonjakan pada sistem.

Sistem pengendalian fuzzy yang dirancang mempunyai dua masukan dan stu keluaran. Masukan adalah jumlah kendaraan pada suatu jalur yang sedang diatur dan jumlah kendaraan pada jalur lain, dan keluaran berupa lama nyala lampu hijau pada jalur yang diatur. Penggunaan dua masukan dimaksudkan supaya sistem tidak hanya memperhatikan sebaran kendaraan pada jalur yang sedang diatur saja, tetapi juga memperhitungkan kondisi jalur yang sedang menunggu. Pencuplikan dilakukan pada setiap putaran (lewat 8 sensor yang dipasang pada semua jalur). Satu putaran dianggap selesai apabila semua jalur telah mendapat pelayanan lampu.

Masukan berupa himpunan kepadatan kendaraan oleh logika fuzzy diubah menjadi fungsi keanggotaan masukan dan fungsi keanggotaan keluaran (lama lampu hijau). Bentuk fungsi keanggotaan dapat diatur sesuai dengan distribusi data kendaraan. Menerapkan logika fuzzy dalam sistem pengendalian, membutuhkan tiga langkah, yaitu :

Fusifikasi (Fuzzyfication)
Evaluasi kaidah
Defusifikasi (Defuzzyfication)

Fusifikasi adalah proses mengubah masukan eksak berupa jumlah kendaraan menjadi masukan fuzzy berupa derajat keanggotaan u(x). Setelah fusifikasi adalah evaluasi kaidah. Kaidah-kaidah yang akan digunakan untuk mengatur LL ditulis secara subyektif dalam fuzzy associate memory (FAM), yang memuat hubungan antara kedua masukan yang menghasilkan keluaran tertentu. Kaidah-kaidah ini terlebih dahulu dikonsultasikan kepada mereka yang berpengalaman dalam bidang yang akan dikendalikan, yaitu misalnya Polisi Lalulintas dan DLLAJR. Di sini dipakai kaidah hubungan sebab akibat dengan dua masukan yang digabung menggunakan operator DAN, yaitu : Jika (masukan 1) DAN (masukan 2), maka (keluaran), dan ditabelkan dalam Tabel FAM. Sebagai contoh, jika TP(0,25) dan KP(0,75), maka AC(0,25). Di sini keluaran fuzzy adalah Agak Cepat yaitu AC(0,25).

Tabel FAM
Fuzzy Associate Memory untuk kepadatan Lalulintas

Masukan-1	TP	KP	CP	P	SP
Masukan-2
TP	C	AC	S	AL	L
KP	C	AC	S	AL	L
CP	C	AC	S	AL	AL
P	C	AC	S	S	AL
SP	C	AC	AC	S	S

Keterangan : Masukan-1 adalah jumlah kendaraan pada jalur yang diatur

Masukan-2 adalah jumlah kendaraan pada jalur lain

Setelah diperoleh keluaran fuzzy, proses diteruskan pada defusifikasi. Proses ini bertujuan untuk mengubah keluaran fuzzy menjadi keluaran eksak (lama nyala lampu hijau). Karena keluaran fuzzy biasanya tidak satu untuk selang waktu tertentu, maka untuk dihasilkan keluaran eksaknya dipilih keluaran dengan harga yang terbesar. Bila terdapat dua buah derajat keanggotaan berbeda pada akibat yang sama, diambil harga yang terbesar.

Sistem pengatur LL yang dirancang ini, juga mempertimbangkan masukan interupsi sebagai prioritas utama, sehingga pengaturan LL yang sedang berjalan akan dihentikan sementara untuk melayani jalur yang menyela. Fasilitas ini digunakan untuk keadaan darurat atau mendesak, misalnya seperti pelayanan mobil pemadam kebakaran atau mobil ambulance. Pendeteksian interupsi dilakukan secara terus menerus (residen). Jika lebih dari satu jalur memberi interupsi, maka yang dilayani dulu adalah yang pertama menekan tombol interupsi itu.

Perancangan dan Pembuatan Sistem Peralatan

Desain Hardware

Perangkat keras (hardware) yang akan dibuat dirancang sesuai blok diagram berikut :

Desain Software

Perangkat lunak (software) yang dibuat dibagi menjadi beberapa bagian besar antara lain meliputi algoritma pengambilan dan masukan, pengiriman data keluaran, pengolahan data secara fuzzy, dan proses kendalinya. Perangkat lunak ini direalisasikan menggunakan Turbo Pascal.

Algoritma program utama mengikuti proses sebagai berikut : mula-mula PPI diinialisasi dengan mengirimkan control word ke register kendali PPI. Dengan mengirimkan nilai 90h ke register kendali PPI, maka port A akan berfungsi sebagai masukan dan port B serta port C akan berfungsi sebagai keluaran.

Selanjutnya akan dikirimkan pulsa reset ke semua input ADC, pada saat awal seluruh jalur akan diberi lampu merah. Setelah proses ini, program melakukan proses yang berulang-ulang, yaitu proses pengambilan data pada tiap sensor, pengolahan data dan proses pengaturan fuzzy menggunakan prinsip-prinsip yang telah dibahas di atas dan menjalankan pengaturan sesuai dengan tabel kendali yang telah dibuat.

Kesimpulan

Dari hasil perancangan dan uji coba sistem yang dibuat, logika fuzzy terbukti dapat digunakan untuk memenuhi tujuan pengaturan lalulintas secara optimal. Sistem yang dihasilkan relatif sederhana dan mempunyai fleksibilitas tinggi. Sistem ini dapat diterapkan di kondisi jalan yang berbeda, yaitu lewat penyesuaian ranah (domain) himpunan fungsi keanggotaan masukan dan keluaran dan kaidah-kaidah kendali pada Fuzzy Associative Memory (Tabel FAM).

Miniatur Sistem Pengaturan Lampu Lalulintas ini dapat diperluas, misalnya :

Komputer dibuat terpusat dengan tugas mengkoordinasi beberapa persimpangan (yang tidak harus 4 jumlahnya), terutama yang berdekatan, dengan tujuan supaya sistem-sistem saling membantu dan memperlancar sebaran kendaraan pada suatu daerah.
Dikembangkan ke arah sistem yang adaptif, yaitu bila kondisi kepadatan berubah, maka sistem akan melakukan perubahan bentuk fungsi keanggotaan masukan dan keluaran, serta tabel FAM secara otomatis.
Digunakan sistem minimum yang salah satunya bisa berupa aplikasi Microcontroler 8031 sehingga sistem tidak lagi tergantung pada penyediaan komputer sebagai otak sistem pengendali.

Daftar Pustaka

B. Kosko, Neural Network and Fuzzy System, chapter 8, Prentice Hall, 1992
E. Cox, Fuzzy Fundamentals, spectrum IEEE, October 1992
S. Marsh et al., Fuzzy Logic Education Program, Center of Emerging Computer Technologies, Motorola Inc., 1992
J. W. Lea, Sistem Pengaturan Lampu Lalulintas dengan Menggunakan Teori Himpunan Fuzzy, September 1994

Oleh :
Setianto, S.Si, Basuki Rahmat, S.Si
Mahasiswa S-2 Instrumentasi dan Kontrol ITB, Bandung
e-mail : Setianto@tf.itb.ac.id
atau Setianto133@cyberlib.itb.ac.id

Pengurang waktu database -> second

2007-10-06T11:49:00.001+07:00

Beberapa hari yang lalu aku nyoba manipulasi perintah perintah SQL, en aku dapetin kayak gini nih... :

select EXTRACT(EPOCH FROM (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP - CAST(date AS TIMESTAMP))) from page_table

maksudnya script diatas adalah mengurasi waktu sekarang di server (Wed Jun 21 14:17:51 WIT 2006) dengan waktu yang telah tersimpan di database dengan format string (2005-10-18 18:30:06 ) bukan interger, kemudian hasil pengurangannya tersebut langsung jadi bentuk detik.

Gampang kan..., padahal aku dulu berpikir bahwa untuk mengurangi tgl yang sudah tersimpan didatabase dalam bentuk string kita harus melakukan split terlebih dahulu. Ternyata tidak...!!!

Menggunakan modul Net::FTP

2007-10-06T11:48:00.001+07:00

Modul Net::FTP merupakan modul yang dibuat untuk keperluan upload maupun download berbasis web. Modul ini selain mudah digunakan juga relatif handal, modul ini biasa di pakai oleh para pengguna perl-cgi. Adapun penggunaan modul tersebut adalah sebagai berikut :

use Net::FTP;
my $user ="johan";
my $password ="johan";
my $connection ="192.168.1.11";
my $data ="wol.tar";

$ftp = Net::FTP->new("$conection", Debug => 0)
or die "Cannot connect to some.host.name: $@";

$ftp->login("$user","$password")
or die "Cannot login ", $ftp->message;

$ftp->cwd("/")
or die "Cannot change working directory ", $ftp->message;

--------------------------------------------------------
Ini kalo mau upload

$ftp->put("$data")
or die "get failed ", $ftp->message;
--------------------------------------------------------
Ini kalo mau download
$ftp->put("$data")
or die "get failed ", $ftp->message;
--------------------------------------------------------

$ftp->quit;

Nah gampang banget kan..., nanti kita tinggal ganti nilai dari variabel masukan diatas dengan nilai hasil inputan dari form.

Perl References

2007-10-06T11:38:00.000+07:00

Reference adalah salah satu jenis variabel, dan sebenarnya (sesungguhnya) adalah jenis variabel scalar yang mungkin untuk 'memperlakukannya' tidak seperti apa yang biasa kita lakukan pada "variabel scalar yang biasa". Bisa dikatakan bahwa reference adalah suatu variabel scalar yang sebenarnya tidak menyimpan nilai apapun kecuali alamat memori dimana nilai tersebut disimpan (penunjuk/pointer), contoh :

$persib = 'maung';
$a = \$persib; #untuk menciptakan reference gunakan tanda backslash.

maka menurut saya (katakan jika salah) $a tidak bernilai 'maung' tetapi alamat memori dimana 'maung' disimpan.

Kegunaan reference

Kegunaan reference yang paling bisa dimengerti adalah ketika kita ingin mengirim dua atau lebih array ke subrutin, lalu Perl menciptakan variabel khusus "@_" untuk menerima/menyimpan array-array tersebut, lalu di dalam subrutin tersebut KITA PERLU TAHU yang mana elemen dari array satu dan yang mana elemen dari array yang lainnya maka kita perlu reference, contoh :

rutin_1(@array1,@array2);

Tanpa reference, maka di dalam subrutin rutin_1(), si variabel khusus @_ tidak akan bisa membedakan yang mana elemen yang berasal dari @array1 dan yang mana elemen yang berasal dari @array2. Lebih jelas lagi mungkin harus dengan contoh (useless) :

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;

my @array1 =(3,4,5);
my @array2 =(0,1,2);

rutin_1(@array1,@array2);
sub rutin_1 {
my (@array3,@array4) = @_;
foreach (@array3) {
print $_, "\n"; #hasilnya 3,4,5,0,1,2
}
#atau dengan ini pun akan percuma
#my ($array3,$array4) = @_;
}

Dengan reference, kita bisa membuatnya menjadi

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use strict;

my @array1 =(3,4,5);
my @array2 =(0,1,2);

rutin_1(\@array1,\@array2);
sub rutin_1 {
my ($array3,$array4) = @_;
$,=' ';
print @$array3, "\n";
}

Mungkin suatu saat dalam 'real program' yang akan kita buat, kita butuh 'untuk mengetahui' yang mana saja anggota dari array satu dan yang mana saja elemen-elemen dari array dua.

Kegunaan yang lainnya adalah masalah efisiensi / kecepatan, maksudnya jika mengirimkan suatu array yang hanya mempunyai beberapa elemen ke dalam suatu subrutin tentu saja itu tidak akan menjadi masalah, tetapi jika kita berhadapan dengan suatu array yang mempunyai anggota yang sangat 'buannnyaaak' lalu Perl mengcopy seluruh anggota array tersebut ke variabel khusus @_, sepertinya hal seperti itu dirasakan kurang efektif.

Kegunaan lain dari reference adalah untuk struktur data yang sangat rumit dan terus terang saya belum bisa ngasih komentar mengenai hal ini (atau mungkin yang dimaksud dengan struktur data yang rumit adalah apa yang yang akan saya rangkum selanjutnya di bawah ini).

untuk membuat suatu variabel reference yang kita butuhkan adalah hanya dengan menempatkan tanda \ (backslash) di depan variabel yang akan kita reference, misal

$a = \$nilai; #scalar reference
$a = \@nilai; #array reference
$a = \%nilai; #hash reference
$a = \&subsub(); #subrutin reference

29 Ways to Promote Your Website

2007-07-14T10:20:00.000+07:00

From : http://webmastertips.blogspot.com/
The Web Marketing Checklist:
29 Ways to Promote Your Website
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant
Web Marketing Today, July 28, 2004

This article originally appeared in Web Marketing Today, Issue 39, December 1, 1997. As one of our most popular articles, it has was revised most recently on July 28, 2004.
Cited in PC Magazine, 9/21/99, p. 36
Cited in PC Magazine, 9/21/99, p. 36

How can you get more visitors to your website? What can you do to stimulate traffic? Here's a checklist of 29 items you need to consider. Many of these you're probably doing already; others you meant to do and forgot about; still others you've never heard of. Of course, a great deal has been written about this. You'll find links to thousands of articles on site promotion in our Web Marketing Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket). While we're not breaking any new ground here, we've tried to summarize some of the most important techniques.
Search Engine Strategies

The most important strategy is to rank high for your preferred words on the main search engines in "organic" or "natural" search (as opposed to paid ads). Search engines send robot "spiders" to index the content on your webpage, so let's begin with steps to prepare your webpages for optimal indexing.

1. Write a Page Title. Write a descriptive title for each page of 5 to 8 words. Remove as many "filler" words from the title, such as "the," "and," etc. This page title will appear hyperlinked on the search engines when your page is found. Entice surfers to click on the title by making it a bit provocative. Place this at the top of the webpage between the tags, in this format: . Plan to use some descriptive keywords along with your business name on your home page. If you specialize in silver bullets and that's what people will be searching for, don't just use your company name "Acme Ammunition, Inc." use "Silver Bullets -- Acme Ammunition, Inc." Words people are most likely to search on put first in the title (called "keyword prominence"). Remember, this title is nearly your entire identity on the search engines. The more people see that interests them in the blue highlighted portion of the search engine, the more likely they are to click on the link.

2. Write a Description META Tag. Many search engines include this description below your hyperlinked title. This sentence should describe the contents of the body text of the webpage, using the main keywords and keyphrases used on this page. If you include keywords that aren't used on the webpage you could hurt yourself. Place those words at the top of the webpage, between the tags, in a META tag in this format:
. Your maximum number of characters should be about 255; just be aware that only the first 60 or so are visible on Google, though more may be indexed.

When I prepare a webpage, I write the description first in a sentence or two, using each of the important keywords and phrases included in the article. Then for the keywords META tag, I strip out the common words, leaving just the meaty words and phrases. The keywords META tag is no longer used for ranking by Google and many other search engines, but it is sometimes used for paid inclusion technologies. It is currently used by Yahoo, so I'm leaving it in. Who knows when more search engines will consider it important again?

3. Include Your Keywords in Header Tags H1, H2, H3. Search engines consider words that appear in the page headline and sub heads to be important to the page, so make sure your desired keywords and phrase appear in one or two header tags.

4. Make Sure Your Keywords Are in the First Paragraph of Your Body Text. Search engines expect that your first paragraph will contain the important keywords for the document. You don't want to stuff keywords here, however. Google expects a keyword density in the entire body text area of maybe 1.5% to 2% for a word that should rank high. Other places you might consider including keywords would be in ALT tags and perhaps COMMENT tags.

5. Make Your Navigation System Search Engine Friendly. Some webmasters use frames, but frames can cause serious problems with search engines. Even if search engines can find your content pages, they'll be missing the key navigation to help visitors get to the rest of your site. JavaScript and Flash navigation buttons look great, but search engines can't follow them. Supplement them with regular HTML links at the bottom of the page, ensuring that a chain of hyperlinks exists that can get from the front page to every page in your site. A site map with links to all your pages can help, too. Be aware that some content management systems and e-commerce catalogs produce dynamic, made-on-the-fly webpages. You can recognize these with question marks in their URLs followed by numbers. Overworked search engines sometimes stop at the question mark of long, complex URLs and refuse to go farther. If you find the search engines aren't indexing your interior pages, you might consider URL rewriting, paid inclusion, a site map, and targeted content pages.

6. Develop Several Pages Focused on Particular Keywords. SEO specialists don't recommend using external doorway or gateway pages any more, since nearly duplicate webpages might penalize you. Rather, develop several webpages on your site, each of which is focused on a different keyword or keyphrase. For example, instead of listing all your services on a single webpage, try developing a separate webpage for each. These pages will rank higher for their keywords since they contain targeted rather than general content.

7. Submit Webpage URL to Search Engines. Next, submit your page to the important Web search engines that robotically index the Web. Look for a link on the search engine for "Add Your URL." In the US, the currently most used search engines are: Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL Search, and AskJeeves. Some of these feed search content to the other main search engines and portal sites. For Europe and other areas you'll want to submit to regional search engines. It's a waste of money to pay someone to submit your site to hundreds of search engines. Avoid registering with FFA (Free For All pages) and other link farms. They don't work well, bring you lots of spam e-mails, and could cause you to be penalized by the search engines. We'll talk about submitting to directories under "Linking Strategies" below.

WebPosition Gold 8. Fine-tune with search engine positioning. Now fine-tune your focused content pages, and perhaps your home page, by making minor adjustments to help them rank high. Software such as WebPosition Gold (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/webposition.htm) allows you to check your current ranking and compare your webpages against your top keyword competitors and WebPosition's Page Critic analysis of a search engine's preferred statistics for each part of your webpage. You can do this yourself with WebPosition Gold, but many small businesses outsource search engine positioning because of the considerable time investment it requires. You can find links to hundreds of articles on search engine strategies in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mp_Search). If you want more detail, consider purchasing my inexpensive e-book Dr. Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine Optimization (http://www.wilsonweb.com/ebooks/seo.htm).

Linking Strategies

Links to your site bring additional traffic that is quite worth the effort. Since Google and other major search engines consider the number of incoming links to your website ("link popularity") as an important factor in ranking, more links will help you rank higher in the search engines, too. All links, however, are not created equal. Links from popular information hubs will help your site rank higher than those from low traffic sites. You'll find links to articles on link strategies in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mp_Linking).

9. Submit Your Site to Key Directories. Be sure to list your site in the free Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.com), overseen by human editors. This hierarchical directory provides content feeds to all the major search engines. Plus it provides a link to your site from an information hub that Google deems important.

Yahoo! Directory is another important directory to be listed in, though their search results recently haven't been featuring their own directory as prominently. Real humans will read (and too often, pare down) your 200-character sentence, so be very careful and follow their instructions (http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/). Hint: Use somewhat less than the maximum number of characters allowable, so you don't have wordy text that will tempt the Yahoo! editor to begin chopping. Business sites require a $299 annual recurring fee for Yahoo! Express to have your site considered for inclusion within seven business days (http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/busexpress.html). Other directories to consider might be About.com and Business.com.

10. Submit Your Site to Industry Sites and Specialized Directories. You may find some directories focused on particular industries, such as education or finance. Be sure to register with these. You probably belong to various trade associations that feature member sites. Ask for a link. Even if you have to pay something for a link, it may bring you the kind of targeted traffic from an info hub that you need. Beware of directories that solicit you for "upgraded listings." Unless a directory is widely used in your field, your premium ad won't help -- but the link itself will help boost your "link popularity," and hence your search engine ranking. Marginal directories come and go very quickly, making it hard to keep up. Don't try to be exhaustive here.

11. Request Reciprocal Links. Find complementary websites and request a reciprocal link to your site (especially to your free service, if you offer one). Develop an out-of-the way page where you put links to other sites -- so you don't send people out the back door as fast as you bring them in the front door. Your best results will be from sites that get a similar amount of traffic to your site. High-traffic site webmasters are too busy to answer your requests for a link and don't have anything to gain. Look for smaller sites that may have linking pages.

Check out Ken Evoy's free SiteSell Value Exchange. It (1) registers your site as one that is willing to exchange links with other sites that have a similar theme/topic content and (2) searches for sites with similar topical content (http://sales.sitesell.com/value-exchange/). Two automated link building software programs stand out -- Zeus and Arelis. These search for complementary sites, help you maintain a link directory, and manage reciprocal links. But use these programs to identify the complementary sites, not to send impersonal automated e-mail spam to site owners. When you locate sites, send a personal e-mail to the administrative contact found in the Whois Directory (www.networksolutions.com/en_US/whois/index.jhtml). If e-mail doesn't get a response, try a phone call.

12. Write Articles for Others to Use in their Newsletters. You can dramatically increase your visibility when you write articles in your area of expertise and distribute them to editors as free content for their e-mail newsletters. Just ask that a link to your website and a one-line description of what you offer be included with the article. This is an effective "viral" approach that can produce hundreds of links to your site over time.

13. Issue News Releases. Find newsworthy events (such as launching your free service), and send news releases to print and Web periodicals in your industry. Dr Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine OptimizationThe links to your site in online news databases may remain for years and have some clout with link popularity. However, opening or redesigning a website is seldom newsworthy these days. You may want to use a Web news release service such as XpressPress (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/xpresspress.htm) or the free PR Web (www.prweb.com). Placing your website URL in online copies of your press release may increase link popularity some. More info on PR. (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mp_PR) This is a traditional promotional strategy, but there are others that can help you.

If seach engine optimization and linking seem time intensive, consider outsourcing them, using the outsourcing tips found in Dr. Wilson's Plain-Spoken Guide to Search Engine Optimization.
Traditional Strategies

Just because "old media" strategies aren't on the Internet doesn't mean they aren't effective. A mixed media approach can be very effective.

14. Include Your URL on Stationery, Cards, and Literature. This is a no-brainer that's sometimes overlooked. Make sure that all reprints of cards, stationery, brochures, and literature contain your company's URL. And see that your printer gets the URL syntax correct. In print, I recommend leaving off the http:// part and including only the www.domain.com portion.

15. Promote using traditional media. Don't discontinue print advertising you've found effective. But be sure to include your URL in any display or classified ads you purchase in trade journals, newspapers, yellow pages, etc. View your website as an information adjunct to the ad. Use a two-step approach: (1) capture readers' attention with the ad, (2) then refer them to a URL where they can obtain more information and perhaps place an order. Look carefully at small display or classified ads in the back of narrowly-targeted magazines or trade periodicals. Sometimes these ads are more targeted, more effective, and less expensive than online advertising. Consider other traditional media to drive people to your site, such as direct mail, classifieds, post cards, etc. TV used to promote sites, especially in a local market.

16. Develop a Free Service. It's boring to invite people, "Come to our site and learn about our business." It's quite another to say "Use the free kitchen remodeling calculator available exclusively on our site." Make no mistake, it's expensive in time and energy to develop free resources, such as our Web Marketing Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/webmarket), but it is very rewarding in increased traffic to your site. Make sure that your free service is closely related to what you are selling so the visitors you attract will be good prospects for your business. Give visitors multiple opportunities and links to cross over to the sales part of your site.
E-Mail Strategies

The E-Mail Marketing Handbook, by Dr. Ralph F. WilsonDon't neglect e-mail as an important way to bring people to your website. Just don't spam. That is, don't send bulk unsolicited e-mails without permission to people with whom you have no relationship. You can find lots to details and tips in The E-Mail Marketing Handbook, an e-book by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson (www.wilsonweb.com/ebooks/handbook.htm).

17. Install a "Signature" in your E-Mail Program to help potential customers get in touch with you. Most e-mail programs such as AOL, Netscape, and Outlook allow you to designate a "signature" to appear at the end of each message you send. Limit it to 6 to 8 lines: Company name, address, phone number, URL, e-mail address, and a one-phrase description of your unique business offering. Look for examples on e-mail messages sent to you.

18. Publish an E-Mail Newsletter. While it's a big commitment in time, publishing a monthly or bi-monthly e-mail newsletter ("ezine") is one of the very best ways to keep in touch with your prospects, generate trust, develop brand awareness, and build future business. It also helps you collect e-mail addresses from those who visit your site but aren't yet ready to make a purchase. Ask for e-mail address and their first name so you can personalize the newsletter. You can distribute your newsletter using listservers such as Gammadyne Mailer (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/gammadyne.htm), Infacta GroupMail (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/groupmail.htm), Topica Email Publisher (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/topica.htm), or Constant Contact (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/roving.htm). If you're just getting started you can use a free advertising-supported newsletter from Yahoo! Groups (www.yahoogroups.com). See articles on newsletter marketing in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=me_Newsletter).

Three free e-books Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter -- Web Marketing Today® (nearly 100,000 subscribers worldwide). Just to encourage you to take this step, I'm including three free e-books that you can download and read: Making & Marketing E-Books, Web Marketing Basics, and Demystifying Viral Marketing, each worth $12 -- just for subscribing. No catch. We respect your privacy and never sell or rent our subscriber lists. Subscribing will not result in more spam! I guarantee it! Subscribe to my RSS feed
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19. Send Offers to Your Visitors and Customers. Your own list of customers and site visitors who have given you permission to contact them will be your most productive list. Send offers, coupon specials, product updates, etc. Personalizing the subject line and the message may increase the results. You'll find scores of articles on general e-mail marketing in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=me_Email-Gen).

20. Rent targeted e-mail lists. We abhor "spam," bulk untargeted, unsolicited e-mail, and you'll pay a very stiff price in a ruined reputation and cancelled services if you yield to temptation here. But the direct marketing industry has developed targeted e-mail lists you can rent consisting of people who have agreed to receive commercial e-mail messages. These cost $40 to $250 per thousand, 4¢ to 25¢ per name. Do a smaller test first to determine the quality of the list. Your best bet is to find an e-mail list broker to help you with this project -- you'll save money and get experienced help for no additional cost (www.wilsonweb.com/contact/listbroker.htm). You'll find many articles on opt-in e-mail marketing in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=me_Opt-in).
Miscellaneous Strategies

21. Promote Your Site in Mailing Lists and News Groups. The Internet offers thousands of very targeted e-mail based discussion lists and Usenet news groups made up of people with very specialized interests. Use Google Groups to find appropriate sources (http://groups.google.com). Don't bother with news groups consisting of pure "spam." Instead, find groups where a dialog is taking place. Don't use aggressive marketing and overtly plug your product or service. Rather, add to the discussion in a helpful way and let the "signature" at the end of your e-mail message do your marketing for you. People will gradually get to know and trust you, visit your site, and do business with you. You can learn more from articles in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mm_Newsgroups).

22. Announce a Contest. People like getting something free. If you publicize a contest or drawing available on your site, you'll generate more traffic than normal. Make sure your sweepstakes rules are legal in all states and countries you are targeting. Prizes should be designed to attract individuals who fit a demographic profile describing your best customers. See dozens of articles on contests and incentives in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=ma_Incentives).

23. Ask Visitors to Bookmark Your Site. It seems so simple, but make sure you ask visitors to bookmark your site (www.wilsonweb.com/wmta/bookmark.htm) We use a graphic on the main entry page to our site. Hey, why don't you bookmark the article you're reading right now? You know you'll want to find it again soon.

24. Exchange Ads with Complementary Businesses. Banner exchange programs don't work well these days. But consider exchanging e-mail newsletter ads with complementary businesses to reach new audiences.

25. Devise Viral Marketing Promotion Techniques. So-called viral marketing uses the communication networks (and preferably the resources) of your site visitors or customers to spread the word about your site exponentially. Word-of-mouth, PR, creating "buzz," and network marketing are offline models. #12 above, "Write Articles for Others to Use in their Newsletters" is a viral approach. The classic example is the free e-mail service, hotmail.com, that includes a tagline about their service at the end of every message sent out, so friends tell friends, who tell friends. You can learn more in my e-book Demystifying Viral Marketing ($12) available for no cost when you subscribe to my free, weekly Web Marketing Today newsletter (www.wilsonweb.com/wmt/). You can find articles on viral marketing in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mm_Viral).
Paid Advertising Strategies

None of the approaches described above is "free," since each takes time and energy. But if you want to grow your business more rapidly, there comes a point when you need to pay for increased traffic. Advertising is sold in one of three ways: (1) traditional CPM (cost per thousand views), (2) pay per click (PPC), and (3) pay per action, otherwise known as an affiliate program or lead generation program. Do some small tests first to determine response, and then calculate your return on investment (ROI) before spending large amounts. Here are some methods:

26. Buy a Text Ad in an E-Mail Newsletter. Some of the best buys are small text ads in e-mail newsletters targeted at audiences likely to be interested in your products or services. Many small publishers aren't sophisticated about advertising and offer attractive rates. For example, we offer low-priced 2-Line Ads in Web Marketing Today each week (www.wilsonweb.com/ads/2-line-ad.htm). Banner ads get such a low click-through rate (0.2%) these days that I don't recommend paying much for them. Banner ads typically cost about 50¢ to $1 per thousand page views.

27. Begin an Affiliate Program. Essentially, a retailer's affiliate program pays a commission to other sites whose links to the retailer result in an actual sale. The goal is to build a network of affiliates who have a financial stake in promoting your site. If you're a merchant you, need to (1) determine the commission you are willing to pay (consider it your advertising cost), (2) select a company to set up the technical details of your program, and (3) promote your program to get the right kind of affiliates who will link to your site. Consider affiliate management software such as My Affiliate Program (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/myaffiliateprogram.htm) or Ultimate Affiliate Program (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/groundbreak.htm). More info in the E-Commerce Research Room (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=em_Associate).

28. Purchase Pay Per Click (PPC) ads on Overture.com (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/overture.htm) and Google AdWords (https://adwords.google.com/select/). The top ads appear as featured links at the top of search engine results for your keywords in many search engines. Your ranking is determined by how much you've bid for a particular search word compared to other businesses. This can be a cost-effective way to get targeted traffic, since you only pay when someone actually clicks on the link. Lower cost PPC systems include FindWhat (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/findwhat.htm) and Kanoodle (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/kanoodle.htm). An excellent e-book on PPC strategies is Andrew Goodman's 21 Ways to Maximize Profits on Google AdWords (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/pagezero.htm). More information on PPC ads can be found in our Info Center (www.wilsonweb.com/cat/cat.cfm?page=1&subcat=mp_PPC).

29. List Your Products with Shopping Comparison Bots and Auction Sites. Shopping bots compare your products and prices to others. Google's new Froogle (www.froogle.com) is free, so be sure to list your products there. A Froogle listing also helps your product page's ranking on Google. Some work on a PPC basis: mySimon (www.mysimon.com), BizRate (www.bizrate.com), PriceGrabber (www.pricegrabber.com), and Shopping.com (www.shopping.com). Others expect a commission on the sale and sometimes a listing fee, especially sales systems that host the merchant. These include eBay (www.ebay.com), Yahoo! Shopping Auctions (http://auctions.shopping.yahoo.com), Amazon zShops, Marketplace, and Auctions (http://zshops.amazon.com), and Yahoo! Shopping (http://shopping.yahoo.com). You pay to acquire first-time customers, but hopefully you can sell to them a second, third, and fourth time, too.

We certainly haven't exhausted ways to promote your site, but these will get you started. To effectively market your site, you need to spend some time adapting these strategies to your own market and capacity. Right now, why don't you make an appointment to go over this checklist with someone in your organization, and make it the basis for your new Internet marketing strategy?

If you've read through this entire article without subscribing to my free Web Marketing Today e-mail newsletter, here's your last chance. It's your best source to keep up with ways to enhance your Internet marketing. Subscribe today.