NorthStarNerd.Org

Google Analytics Training Video Series

Even if you're not interested in learning about Google Analytics, this video series demonstrates the practical result behind Thursday's post: Google Video: Your Training Search Engine. In my post, and screencast tutorial I commented about how Google Video can be configured to find high quality training ... more often than not which is available without charge. Watch my screencast, and then you'll better understand the implications of this discussion.

This morning's sequence of events:

1. Check my Google Video RSS Feed (one of six I have created)
2. Bingo ... Interesting new video:
   Google Analytics Video Tutorial 6: Visitor Segmentation
3. Check Google Video Site ... obviously part of a series
4. Link to Conversations Marketing Blog
5. Discover entire series ... high resolution (as opposed to Google Video)

Total time at task ... 5 minutes.

Tagging Inside the Firewall

My company is cool. In the last 24 hours we've brought online a pilot project which is one of the very first, if not the first, internal corporate social networking / tagging applications. By internal I mean the service and server are running inside our network domain, yet our employees will be able to tag both internal and external content. Although we are working with a company named ConnectBeam, you should also review other tagging solutions as complied by IT|Redux.

Okay, why is this cool? Well ... this application is inside our firewall and will allow our engineers to perform knowledge discovery, research and sharing across the miles ... even if they don't know each other! ConnectBeam works in tandem with our internal Google search appliance. Over the next few weeks we will conduct our final tests before rolling out our application later this Spring. Here are two screenshots that review some basic concepts:

1. Old style search
2. New style search

Click upon any thumbnail to enlarge (some of my prior posts on this topic)
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Cooking for Engineers

Way back in November of 2005, I first posted about "Cooking for Engineers". If you're worried about baking the perfect Hot Cross Buns for Easter, then this is the site for you. You'll find exact measurement details and photos that only an engineer could love!

Why the repeat post? Cooking for Engineers has hit the big time, and is on this month's IEEE Spectrum Radio Show podcast. Michael Chu (the host engineer) gets over 200,000 site visits per month. While I'm worrying about knowledge management, Michael is providing an engineer's analysis to cooking thermometers! I guess I'm blogging the wrong stuff!

Google Video: Your Training Search Engine

With the increasing presence of Web 2.0 tools, you must not ignore web services such as Google Video (and even YouTube) in terms of sourcing and accessing technical training.  High quality content is available via these services, you just need to learn how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Here is a screencast tutorial which I created that demonstrates how to use Google Video to find some amazing training resources:

• Google Video Screencast - Your Training Video Search Engine (+RSS!)

Here are links to the examples used in my screencast. Please note that these examples are sorted by relevance. For RSS feeds you may wish to sort by date!

• Google Video Search (limited by Business & Education genres)
  
  • LabView: Search | RSS Feed
  • MatLab: Search | RSS Feed
  • Proengineer: Search | RSS Feed
  • Programming: Search | RSS Feed
  • Screencast: Search | RSS Feed
  • Tutorial: Search | RSS Feed

Obviously, one could create more focused keyword queries. Finally, I'm playing around with the Google Video settings, and attempting to determine if I can add subsets of content into my own Google Co-Op Search engines. (Download a simplified Powerpoint version of this screencast)

Link here to view my other screencast tutorials.
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LabView Learning Resources

Two weeks ago I posted on the topic of CAE / CAD learning tools. Following upon that theme, I am attempting to increase the amount of content in my blog with a hardware engineering focus, thus LabView!

Here are some great LabView eLearning resources:

• LabView 8 Online Programming Videos
  Although not free ... $8 purchases access ... it's hard to argue with the extremely low price for 74 training videos.  They are well constructed; the screenshots / videos are easily readable, and may be maximized to full screen.
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• The VI Road Show Blog
  Blog description: "Welcome to the VI Road Show, where the Virtual Instrumentation rubber meets the road!We are taking our handheld camera and bringing you the often weird but always interesting world of Virtual Instrumentation, from National Instruments internal events, to customer visits, and even the occasional, off topic brain child of our employees."
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• Eyes on VIs
  Blog description: "A perspective on VI development from a member of LabVIEW R&D"
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• LabView Wiki

Finally, via the VI Road Show Blog, an AMAZING Lego factory. However, in this case I mean a factory built of Legos, that manufactures Lego cars. The first minute of the video is a bit slow, but watch on ... some people have way too much time ... still very cool.

Note: if your corporate firewall blocks YouTube, you'll need to watch the Lego factory at home.