Friday, May 19, 2006

My Sabina Gabecki Article is #2 on Google

Two days ago, my website was known to only a handful of people, and my "best" page (about the Liz Lieu-Erik Sagstrom heads-up match) had about 30-something hits on it.

But then I posted an interview with Sabina Gadecki on my blog (with lots of photos!), and my hits skyrocketed (over 1300 hits as I write this). Sometime around 10:00 pm on Friday, May 19, 2006, my article debuted at #2 on Google for anyone searching for "Sabina Gadecki."

I can't tell you what a great feeling that is for someone who just started a new website. Sabina Gadecki is still an unknown, but she will quickly become more and more popular as word gets around that she is the new hostess of the World Poker Tour. Do I expect my website to stay at #2 on Google? No. But I don't expect it to disappear from the list, either.

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Sabina had only been announced two days before the WPT final table, and nobody knew anything about her. The only photos to surface on the Internet were of her winning "Miss Polonia" back in 2002, when she looked very, very young.

I ran into her before the show (in her casual clothes), and quickly befriended her. She was very sweet and very nice, and I welcomed her to the world of poker. When I saw her again at the final table, we talked again (briefly) a few times before and during the show. She even handed me the chip case seconds before the money presentation so I could see how heavy it was. (She thought it would be lighter.)

The WPT crew begins disassembling the set as soon as the final photos of the winner are taken, and the room clears out pretty fast. But I stuck around for a little while longer, like I usually do, saying goodbye to friends (old and new) at the WPT. And I asked Sabina if I could ask her a few questions. She rescheduled her flight back to NYC (the final table dragged on so late she missed her first flight), and then told me the story of how she got the job.

Everything else I could say is in the article at my personal website.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

A Redirect to my Actual Blog

I've opened a Blogger account to take part in Blogger's community, but right now my primary blog is actually hosted somewhere else: http://web.mac.com/bjnemeth/iWeb/BJNemeth/Blog/Blog.html

I used Apple's iWeb software to create my blog (uploaded to their .Mac service), and I'm very pleased with it. The template I chose is simple, attractive, and easy to work with. And the result looks very professional.

I don't have as much control as I'd like sometimes, but that's the tradeoff. If I had more control, I'd probably be wasting far more time on the design, and less time on the posts. (Which is ultimately the point, after all.)

Anyway, if you can read this, please check out my blog. That's where the real action is.