To You and Yours...
May your Christmas be merry, bright, and full of the joy of the season! As for me and mine, we're outta here this week. Posts will resume next week, but they'll be unattended as our family will be enjoying the warm seas of the Caribbean until well after the holiday season. Thanks for an awesome year of conversation and I look forward to even more next year. Until then, I wish you all the best. Lori
Tracking Author Statistics for Bloggers
As part of the recent upgrade of DevCentral, we moved blogging platforms to "inside" the core CMS of DevCentral. Previously it had been a standalone application that was integrated by aesthetic means only. The advantage of incorporating a blogger platform inside the CMS is that we can now take advantage of content sharing, personalization, global taxonomy and UI usability that were extremely difficult to do before. Some bloggers have mentioned they used statistics inside the older blogging platform which are no longer available directly inside DevCentral. However, it is possible to retrieve this information in Google Analytics (the preferred single repository for this type of information). Similar to the way we are describing content better to Google in the form of Author Rich Snippets, we are also logging more information about the content in Google Analytics. The first stage is the automatically logging of "author" information associated with any content (we use a mechanism called Custom Variables for those interested). What this means is that we can go into Google Analytics and pull up a list of traffic by author (this currently spans across Tech-Tips & Blogs but will be expanded over time): If you don't have Google Analytics access, send a request to devcentralteam@f5.com To find this report, go to Audience -> Custom -> Custom Variables -> Custom Variable (key 2) -> click on Author (in grid) What about individual content? You may have noticed that if you click on an author name it didn't really provide you with information on individual content. So, if you want to see a list of articles by an author that are popular, we need to use this another method. This method is called Advanced Segments. They allow you to view the traffic of a website based on particular parameters. In this case, we want to view content by the "author" custom variable we have set. To setup an advanced segment, click on the advanced segments section that is on the top of every screen in Google Analytics. This allows you to choose from default segments (the ones Analytics provides) and custom segments (the ones you create). In our case, we want to create a New Custom Segment and we want to view the traffic of the content by Joe Pruitt. In the case below, I've set the segment to use Custom Variable (Value 02) equal to Joe Pruitt. When you are done, you can click Save Segment. Now that Joe's Advanced Segment has been setup, the site will automatically be filtered by that variable (you can tell when an advanced segment is enabled at the top of the page): To enable or disable a custom segment, click on advanced segments again and check/uncheck specific custom segments: Tracking Content by Blogger By this stage, you should have a custom segment setup and the site filtered it. To view your most popular blogs, go to Content -> Site Content -> All Pages. These are all the pages that someone who has viewed your content visited: From the above screenshot, we can learn a lot about Joe's content. Firstly, his blog entry from 2009 on powershell parameters is his most popular article, followed by the first 2 parts of the iRules series. You may notice the homepage (/) and irules (/irules) in the list. This is because it's every page that the user touches, or if they came in on the homepage and clicked on Joe's articles. We can exclude this by filtering down on a specific section in the results as follows: Wrapping it up Google Analytics offers a lot more flexibility in tracking website usage. We can look at the content by author, content type and later, by category (e.g. show me all content on DevCentral that was tagged "Access" by "Lori MacVittie"). From this point, we could also setup a custom dashboard or email out the results on a weekly or monthly basis. If this is a little daunting at first, please contact us (devcentralteam@f5.com) and we can help you set these up.
Connecting Windows Live Writer to Your DevCentral Blog
Although you will be submitting your blog articles via DevCentral the client that you will most likely use to compose the posts is a third party App called Live Writer. Live Writer is a part of the Windows Live bundle from Microsoft and offers a pretty clean and easy way to publish, edit and compose drafts of your blog posts on a PC. A Note for Mac Users: At this time, only Window Live Writer is supported for publishing to DevCentral. Therefore we recommend using a Windows machine or VM installed on your Mac. 1. Download & Install Windows Live Writer You can download Windows Live Writer from here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=8621 Once you have download the file, please install it. 2. Configure Windows Live Writer for DevCentral Open Windows Live Writer on your desktop PC. Navigate to Blogs-> Add blog account Select Other Service and click Next Type in the address of your Blog and your DevCentral Username and password. Optional: Check Remember my password Click Next Select MetaWeblog API and enter https://devcentral.f5.com/s/metapost.ashx?key=news articles Click Next Select the blog you would like to connect to Note: DevCentral will only display the blogs you have access to post in. If you don’t see the blog you want to use, please contact DevCental team Click Next The writer will now complete the configuration (including importing the template theme!) Click Finish 3. Using Windows Live Writer for DevCentral Blogs Now that you have it configured, you should be able to post new articles, retrieve existing articles (and update them). You won't even need to visit the site!F5 Weblog Guidelines and Policy
At F5, many of us do things everyday that will change the world as we unleash powerful forces that enrich networked applications. Telling the world about them in a positive, insightful, efficient, and personally interesting manner through Weblogs (aka “Blogs”) will help us to further reinforce our rich history of innovation and leadership. Blogs enable you to tell the world about you and your work - by posting periodic thoughts and information - without asking permission first. But, by providing the opportunity to speak to the world via F5 blogs without direct management oversight, we are accepting higher risks in the interest of higher rewards for you and all F5 shareholders. Further, because you may be writing about F5 in a variety of contexts, people will logically consider you a spokesperson for F5. This applies to both technical and financial community readers. While we realize all F5 employees are adults - we don’t want to micro-manage or babysit - we do require that all employees wishing to Blog read and sign our “Weblog Guidelines and Policy” to establish a common understanding of Blog responsibilities to protect you and F5. Familiarize Yourself with Blogging The intent of Blogs at F5 is not to get everyone “Blogging”. The goal is to raise F5’s voice of leadership throughout the online community where appropriate and to help customers, partners, and shareholders better understand how we can help them achieve their respective goals. To do this effectively, take a look at some of the existing F5 Blogs and other community Blogs to understand Blog tone, style, and etiquette. Protect F5 and Yourself – Don’t Share Confidential Information This is common sense. But, just because your Blogging, it doesn’t mean there is absolute freedom to say anything. Keep in mind that Non-Disclosure Agreements (from F5 and F5 customers and partners) and your Employee Confidentiality Agreement still apply when Blogging. A good rule of thumb is that if you think mentioning something might be a breach of confidentiality, it’s probably safest to assume it is. This applies to product as well as financial information about F5. If at any point you have a question, please contact your manager or F5 Legal – they will be more than happy to help you determine what F5 considers public and private information. It’s always better to confirm BEFORE posting than after. Personality (Yours!) Counts At F5, we value the individual diversity of our world-class team. Your personal interests in addition to your professional contributions to F5 provide the basis for interesting ideas about F5 and how our technology can be utilized. While our goal is to utilize Blogs to communicate F5 information, they are also a great way to share more about you and your unique personality. Readers like to know that there are real people behind the products they purchase. The combination of your personal interests and professional efforts can work together to make your posts more interesting and appealing to a wider audience. Financial Information – Stay Far, Far Away Working for a publicly-traded company brings unique responsibilities for its employees. There are more rules about what you can and cannot say about F5 financial information than most of us have time to learn and understand. Therefore, the best recommendation for mentioning financial information is DON’T. Talking about F5 revenues, profits, projections, product ship dates, roadmaps, or even our share price are all very risky for you and F5. So, just don’t do it. Talking about these types of topics puts you and F5 at significant legal risk. Your Blog Quality Reflects Directly On F5 When people read poor grammar or see spelling errors in documents, it causes them to immediately question the skills of the writer. Fortunately, there are spell and grammar-checkers for those of us prone to spelling errors and fat-finger typing. Use these tools to catch errors before posting to your Blog to keep a professional level of quality. You will also want to keep your Blog posts clear and concise. After a few paragraphs, readers are likely to tune out and miss your main point. Here’s a good technique to keep your posts clear and concise: draft them first in MS-Word (or similar) and review them a few times before pasting them into your Blog editing tool. If your post is long, consider breaking it into multiple posts. Consider the Impact of Your Words (and the consequences) Since anyone can read your post, assume they will. This means that you need to think through the potential consequences of the information you share. While your intent may be good, people can misunderstand or pull your words out of context and use them in unexpected ways. Here are a few examples: Post: “Really, in the end, a BIG-IP LTM 3400 will do everything a 6400 can. So, save your money. Buy the cheaper device… ” Unexpected Result: F5 sales person, after properly assessing prospect requirements, is pitching a BIG-IP 6400 in front of a large group and someone in the audience points to a printout of the post and exclaims, “What? Your own employee says we don’t need the more expensive gear.” Consequence: Debate ensues at customer site and sales person is required to spend additional time trying to address this while regaining credibility. Worst case is that F5 loses the sale. Post: “So, I was testing the latest NIC from Vendor X and it’s a total piece of junk. I switched to another and it worked flawlessly. I can’t wait to get my hands on their next-gen “NIC5000” which they should have available in 6 months.” Unexpected Result: Company X finds the post, is enraged, and decides to Cancel special pricing for their current and future products End a mutually-beneficial relationship with F5 Decides to file a breach of confidentiality lawsuit against F5. Consequence: The special pricing change directly affects the price of products we sell which in turn affects our financial results negatively driving share price down. Further, the lawsuit incurs high legal costs and needlessly sullies F5’s public image. Post: “Everyone know that the security of software from Vendor XYZ has always been weak. So, don’t trust it. Always use F5 gear with their products. Otherwise, you’ll be sorry…“ Unexpected Result: Vendor XYZ, who also happens to be a valued business partner, reads the post. Not only do they get upset and call into question the value of a partner that discredits then, their legal team decides it’s more serious. Attorney’s get involved… Consequence: There is a very serious, uncomfortable discussion with F5 management, you have to retract your statement publicly and look foolish, F5 looks stupid, and the hard work by your F5 peers is completely wasted. It could even lead to worse implications for you personally. Post: “I really like porn sites. One of my favorites is... “ Unexpected Result: No one cares. Consequence: Aside from looking really stupid, is any further explanation really needed here? Since a Blog is effectively a public space, we ask that you treat it with respect commensurate with any public community space. We expect the utmost respect for co-workers, customers, partners, and – yes – even competitors. Posting to your Blog is all about judgment. Saying things that could potentially embarrass F5 or its partners or customers is not just dangerous – it’s just plain stupid. Failure to Comply with this Policy We expect nothing but fantastic posts that help you and F5 achieve its business objectives. But, please be aware that the F5 may request that you temporarily limit posts to topics unrelated to the company (or, in rare cases, that you temporarily suspend Blogging altogether) if it believes this is necessary to ensure compliance with securities regulations or other laws. Summary Weblogs are a great opportunity for you to share ideas about technology and F5 that further reinforce our image of technology and thought leadership. We want to make it easy for you to post – without oversight or micro-management – whenever you feel inspired to. In exchange, we ask that you understand and agree to these basic principles that will protect you and F5. If at any time you have questions or need additional consultation on what is appropriate for F5 Blogs, please contact your manager or the F5 legal department.So You Want to be a Blogger?
F5 corporate and community blogs live on the DevCentral site and provide a great way to get the message out about what our products do, how they can be used and great information about the industry. DevCentral blogs are hosted in multiple languages and span a variety of topic areas. Some pieces are more personal thought or insight focused and others are much more technical and F5 specific. What you decided to write is up to you and should show your voice and personality...it is a blog after all. While many topics are blog worthy make sure to adhere to the following basic guidelines and principles: Make sure your information is publicly released before publishing your blog post. If your blog is focused on an F5 customer or partner technology do your best to stay positive – sometimes it is better to just not say anything at all. If readers make comments on your blog make sure to respond – this helps the conversation flow a bit better☺. If you are taking the time to begin blogging make sure you have the time to keep it fresh. We recommend blog posts every other week if possible. If you aren’t planning on blogging 2-3 / month going forward, maybe a guest blog post on someone else’s blog is warranted As a member of the DevCentral community you are encouraged to provide many types of content that can be featured on your blog or as standalone contributions. Those other areas are: videos, interviews, events, forums, TechTips and wiki contributions. How to get a blog account Getting a blog account is quite easy just fill out this form on DevCentral located here: https://devcentral.f5.com/s/blogs/blogrequest.aspx As part of this form you will notice that you will need to accept the F5 Blog policy, update parts of your DevCentral profile and also find out more about the requirements and standards for blogging on DevCentral. Once you have filled out the request a member of the DevCentral team will get back to you within 2 business days. If at any time your blog is inactive for 6 months or more we may deactivate your blog so please make sure to contribute regularly (we suggest at least monthly). Blogging is much like a conversation with a group of people – if you go silent for a long while people will forget they were having a conversation and may not come back. Moral of the story is that quality and quantity are equally vital elements of blogging. If you do not intend to blog regularly you may think about some of the other contribution options to get your word out. If you are concerned about frequency feel free to talk to a member of the devcentral team about alternative publishing options. Once your blog account is set up it is time to do a bit of setup on your client.
