Matt Cutt’s previous lecture on whitehat SEO techniques for bloggers has been very popular since I posted it, so now I’m happy to present an updated video from WordCamp San Fran in which Matt brings us “Straight From Google, What You Need To Know”.

In this lecture Matt addresses questions about Google PageRank, backlinks, SEO, keywords, niches, URL structures, Titles, post frequency, and Katamari philosophy (you’re going to have to watch it to see what that means).
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Seems like every time I go to San Francisco I spend time at Fisherman’s Wharf. Yeah, I know it’s touristy and all that, and I get around to the non-tourist places a lot too, but this place keeps me coming back. Something about all the vibrant colors, constant activity, and variety makes it truly magnetic.

So, I assembled a little collection of shots from up and down the Fisherman’s Wharf area, including some from Pier 39. This is one of the top places to see when visiting San Francisco, so here is a little sampling of what you’re in for when you do.
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Today I went down to the Boudin Bakery on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco to get some fresh baked sourdough and some of their delicious clam chowder.

When I arrived, there was a group of people huddled around the window where they are usually making the bread. Only this time, a nice young lady was actually talking to the crowd through her wireless microphone system, and taking questions as well.

I was carrying my camera, so I flipped on the video mode and captured the following video. In it, you’ll see how she makes a special bread loaf in the shape of a teddy bear. Very cute, and extremely tasty! Enjoy.
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Another of the videos from WordCamp San Francisco 2009, this is John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla, presenting on Open Source, lessons learned from Mozilla, and the role of community. Especially useful are his 7 insights, 2 problems and some thoughts for 2009.

Is anyone starting to catch a theme here yet? Social Media… community… The world is fundamentally changing and if you want to be part of it you’re going to have to learn how to build and embrace communities.
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Dave Curley, Michael Pick and I recorded and edited the videos from WordCamp San Francisco 2009, and here’s the lecture that Chris Pirillo gave on building and maintaining Web Communities.

By the way, everyone be sure to contact Chris and tell him to use Woopra! We had a nice long discussion about it, but he doesn’t see the benefit of “real time” Web Analytics. So, someone other than me is going to have to explain to him how it makes a difference in your life!
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The Muir Woods are honestly one of my favorite places. Less than 30 minutes from the majestic Golden Gate Bridge, you can be standing in one of the last remaining giant redwood forests on Earth. Surrounded by these magnificent towering creatures, many over 600 years old, it provides a peaceful place to sit and contemplate both the insignificance of what it is to be human, and the impact that we as a species can have on our planet.

Once the northwest was covered by ancient growth forests with trees as old as 3,200, whose bark alone measured up to 2 feet thick. But throughout the 19th century, American logging all but decimated these creatures. Now, the only giant redwoods and sequoias that remain survive in national and state parks. Thank God for small wonders of government intervention.
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When I was in San Francisco for WordCamp this weekend Dave Curley and I went across the street from our hotel and snapped a few photos of the Bay Bridge. Thought I’d share a couple new ones to go along with the ones I posted previously. I hope you enjoy!

This first image was taken with a Canon 5D Mark II using a 28-135mm IS lens set at 30mm. ISO was 100 with an aperture of f/3.5 and an exposure of 15 seconds.

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This evening between intermittent rain and drizzle I walked around and managed to take a few photos in the area around the Hyatt Regency, where I’m staying, which is on the Embarcadero down by the Bay Bridge. In fact, Pier 14 is a fantastic place to walk out on the water and take photos of the Bay Bridge.

All of these photos were taken within a few blocks of the Port of San Francisco building, which is basically at the opposite end of the street from the real touristy area (Pier 39). So, you really only find locals and business travelers hanging around in this area.

Incidentally, this is really a great place to visit if you are indeed traveling to San Francisco for sightseeing. Inside the Port of SF building there are a lot of great places to eat, including The Slanted Door (where I dined last night).

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the photos… they were all taken with my Canon 5D Mark II. Oh, I also uploaded 1600×1200 resolution version of these images in case anyone wanted to use one as a desktop wallpaper or something like that. Not that I think they are that good. But sometime people ask me to do that.
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Months ago when flying into San Francisco, our plane was diverted into a holding pattern a little ways outside the airport due to traffic, and as I watched from the window I noticed that we were circling some sort of massive pools of colored water. They were so vibrant in color that I was amazed, and I took a bunch of photos (and posted them).

What I didn’t know at the time was, that was the Cargill solar evaporation salt production facility. I actually just learned it by watching the TV show “Modern Marvels” that was specifically on salt production. As soon as they began describing the location of the facility I instantly knew what I had seen months ago!

Anyway, the rich colors that you can see in the ariel photography are supposedly due to the microorganisms that live in this heavy concentration of salt water called brine. The brine contains a concentration of about 25% salt, which is about the maximum amount of salt that can actually be disolved in water.
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A few weeks ago when I was flying into San Francisco for WordCamp I whipped out my camera and took some photos while we were on the landing approach. Some of these were very interesting, so I figured I would post them considering that WordPress’ gallery function makes it so easy now.

Hope you enjoy!
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Here are a few photos I took of the Golden Gate Bridge on my last trip to San Francisco. I’ve actually got more cool shots of it, but I’ll have to upload them later when I get a chance. Until then, I hope you enjoy this little gallery.
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I know that a lot of you may be bloggers, but might be unfamiliar with WordPress. Perhaps you’ve considered migrating your blog over from another platform, but aren’t really sure how to go about it. Well, this next presentation is just for you.

Lloyd Budd gave a presentation to illustrate the finer points of switching over from that old platform you’ve been blogging with to a shiny new WordPress installation! So, if you’ll invest 20 minutes in hearing him out, you’ll learn how easy it can be to make the move.
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