My 6-year-old was just blabbing on about her next birthday party. As soon as her birthday party is over, she starts planning the next one -- who she's going to invite, where it will be, what kind of theme it will be, and what she's going to wear.
I was rolling my eyes, sighing and saying, "Sara, you have MONTHS until your birthday. It's only August and your birthday is in..." Holy @#$*! The little crumbsnatcher is right. There's only two months until her birthday.
Now mind you, in a 6-year-old's universe, she will probably change her mind 15 times over the course of 2 months about what her theme will be and who is her best friend this week.
But her way of thinking isn't a bad thing. Many businesses come to the same realization about their businesses. Hey, remember all those plans you had for your business to accomplish by the end of the year? Check your calendar. It's coming. OK, you don't need to plan what party dress you're going to wear in 2 months, but if you were thinking that at some point, you should redesign your web site for the New Year, now is the time to start planning.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Doom and Gloom
Sometimes I just loathe the media! This past week, everytime I pick up the newspaper or log onto any news site, the headlines are all about recession, foreclosures, businesses tanking, rising gas and grocery prices, etc. One of our local papers here actually used the word "blight". Frigging Blight! The only time I usually hear that word is in the Passover Hagaddah, along with words like "pestilence" and "boils".
We get it. The salad days of the dotcom and housing booms are over. We don't need to be beaten over the heads with 2x4s.
In the meantime, what the media doesn't tell you is what's actually going on in the world. When my daughter and I walked to the park a few weeks ago, we saw 3 houses that were being moved into. And not by renters looking for a temporary place to sell crack! No, these were families looking to settle into our neighborhood.
Yes, I know why they sold. They are practically giving houses away in our neighborhood that just a few years ago had bidding wars over them. But this is a good thing -- houses are starting to sell (and owners are starting to weed their yards, too!), which means before we know it, housing prices will go back up. Maybe not to what they were at their height, but they will go up.
And, yes, many businesses are going belly up. But squished beneath the dire headlines are stories about more VC firms putting money into businesses.
Society has managed to survive crises like this. Economic booms don't last forever, but neither do economic busts. So keep your chin up and take what the media says with a big honking grain of salt.
We get it. The salad days of the dotcom and housing booms are over. We don't need to be beaten over the heads with 2x4s.
In the meantime, what the media doesn't tell you is what's actually going on in the world. When my daughter and I walked to the park a few weeks ago, we saw 3 houses that were being moved into. And not by renters looking for a temporary place to sell crack! No, these were families looking to settle into our neighborhood.
Yes, I know why they sold. They are practically giving houses away in our neighborhood that just a few years ago had bidding wars over them. But this is a good thing -- houses are starting to sell (and owners are starting to weed their yards, too!), which means before we know it, housing prices will go back up. Maybe not to what they were at their height, but they will go up.
And, yes, many businesses are going belly up. But squished beneath the dire headlines are stories about more VC firms putting money into businesses.
Society has managed to survive crises like this. Economic booms don't last forever, but neither do economic busts. So keep your chin up and take what the media says with a big honking grain of salt.
Monday, February 25, 2008
I Heart My Centro
Back in the day (mid/late 90s for me) I used to pride myself on being an "early adopter" -- one of those people who prided themselves in having the latest hi-tech gadget. (And I'd also like to remind you that I'm not a guy!) and when it comes to the web, we're always looking at the next wave of technologies.
But I admit I was a little slow getting in on the smartphone revolution as I didn't really see a need in spending $8,000 a month on modem speed that was equivalent to a gerbil running in a wheel.
Flash forward the the 'oughts. Mobile internet of course has greatly improved, and if you don't text, you might as well be using stone tablets and chisel. Still, I was married to my Palm Pilot (I've been using once since Christmas 1997!), and was one of those rare people who mostly used her phone for talking to people.
But with a 5-year-old daughter, my purse was becoming so overloaded with half-filled bags of Ritz Peanut Butter crackers and tiny rubber Polly Pocket clothes, there wasn't much room in there for my wallet and gadgets. It was time to consolidate.
I started looking at the Treo -- after all, it was Palm, so I was used to the interface and I could easily transfer all my data. But the square device is weird to me (as it is with some of the Blackberries and other smartphones); it's like talking into a piece of toast.
And then last year, of course, came the iPhone. Holy crap! This thing did everything! And none of this postage-stamp sized window stuff for web access! So I thought maybe I'd save up for one of those.
Then I started thinking about what I really do the most with my mobile devices. I mostly needed a good calendar and organizer, and an intuitive interface. The iPhone is about as intuitive as you can get, but I really didn't need iTunes and all the other stuff.
And I started thinking more about my 10+ years of data I had on my Palm Pilot, and lo and behold, Centro came out and with my carrier too! The device is skinner and more phone-like. The internet access isn't stellar, but maybe that way I won't get hooked on it as much. And my calendar, dating back to December 1997, is preserved.
So far I'm pretty happy with it. I'll keep you posted.
But I admit I was a little slow getting in on the smartphone revolution as I didn't really see a need in spending $8,000 a month on modem speed that was equivalent to a gerbil running in a wheel.
Flash forward the the 'oughts. Mobile internet of course has greatly improved, and if you don't text, you might as well be using stone tablets and chisel. Still, I was married to my Palm Pilot (I've been using once since Christmas 1997!), and was one of those rare people who mostly used her phone for talking to people.
But with a 5-year-old daughter, my purse was becoming so overloaded with half-filled bags of Ritz Peanut Butter crackers and tiny rubber Polly Pocket clothes, there wasn't much room in there for my wallet and gadgets. It was time to consolidate.
I started looking at the Treo -- after all, it was Palm, so I was used to the interface and I could easily transfer all my data. But the square device is weird to me (as it is with some of the Blackberries and other smartphones); it's like talking into a piece of toast.
And then last year, of course, came the iPhone. Holy crap! This thing did everything! And none of this postage-stamp sized window stuff for web access! So I thought maybe I'd save up for one of those.
Then I started thinking about what I really do the most with my mobile devices. I mostly needed a good calendar and organizer, and an intuitive interface. The iPhone is about as intuitive as you can get, but I really didn't need iTunes and all the other stuff.
And I started thinking more about my 10+ years of data I had on my Palm Pilot, and lo and behold, Centro came out and with my carrier too! The device is skinner and more phone-like. The internet access isn't stellar, but maybe that way I won't get hooked on it as much. And my calendar, dating back to December 1997, is preserved.
So far I'm pretty happy with it. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Tis The Season for more Email Scams
Last week I posted about the Nigerian Scam sequel. Then I get an email from a friend of mine about the Do Not Call list for cell phones. In this one email tells you that 12 days from today (or some other ominous deadline), all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls, and you will be charged for them, yada, yada, yada, so you need to call the special number or all heck will break loose. This is more or less a hoax that seems to pop up every year around the beginning and middle of the year. First of all, the number that is listed is the same Do Not Call list for yor regular landline; secondly and thirdly, automated dialers are standard in the industry, so most telemarketers are barred from calling consumers on their cell phones without their consent, and besides, the federal government does not maintain a national cell phone registry. For more info, http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2005/04/dnc.shtm or of course, snopes.com.
Another scam I was reminded about over the weekend -- the "Please Help the Sick Kid". In this one, the email discusses the plight of some poor sick little boy or girl who has some rare form of cancer. The stated girl is often "Jessica Mydek". If you forward this email, 3 cents will be donated by the American Cancer Society and other corporate entities toward research. It makes you feel really good for doing something good for someone, and it's relatively easy. Unfortunately, this one is a hoax, too, and again, all you've really done is annoyed your friends. See http://www.cancer.org/docroot/med/content/med_6_1_chain_e-mail.asp, and again, snopes for more info.
Another scam I was reminded about over the weekend -- the "Please Help the Sick Kid". In this one, the email discusses the plight of some poor sick little boy or girl who has some rare form of cancer. The stated girl is often "Jessica Mydek". If you forward this email, 3 cents will be donated by the American Cancer Society and other corporate entities toward research. It makes you feel really good for doing something good for someone, and it's relatively easy. Unfortunately, this one is a hoax, too, and again, all you've really done is annoyed your friends. See http://www.cancer.org/docroot/med/content/med_6_1_chain_e-mail.asp, and again, snopes for more info.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Nigerian Scam -- The Sequel
As I've said before, the Internet often seems to be a different medium for the same messages -- for better or worse. An example of the worse are scams and chain letters. Remember chain letters from last century? Someone sends a hand-written letter that would tell you that you need to make 10 copies of this letter and send it to 10 people. If you did, wonderful things would happen to you -- money would come raining down from the sky. If you didn't, a pox and you and your family.
So, frightened into doing so, we'd hand-write 10 copies of the letter (photocopiers weren't as prevalent in those days) and bother 10 friends with the note. And lo and behold, our boring lives went on as usual, only now we had writers' cramp.
With the advent of email, chain letters and other scams are easier to perpetuate. Just click a button, and wham! Instant gratification -- or most likely, you've only just annoyed 10 of your friends.
Related to chain letters are scams in which someone makes up some lie to get you to give up your money or personal private information that will allow that person access to your money. Case en point -- The Nigerian Scam. The premise: A wealthy foreigner (sometimes a prince or king) needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland and promises a percentage of his vast wealth to the kind, generous soul who helps him. Of course, all that happens is the scammer helps himself to the victim's hard-earned money. According to snopes.com, this type of scam has been going on since the 1920's, and is commonly known as the "Spanish Prisoner" scam.
So flash-forward t0 2008 -- I'm perusing my junk mail box for possible legitimate email I may have missed from a client or potential client. Among the plethora of ads for Viagra-like products, I see something familiar. Apparently, the Central Bank of Nigeria feels horrible about all the US citizens who have been scammed over the years, and will give the victims money for all their troubles. Yeah right.
Most people know better than to trust these scams, but every once in a while someone fall for them. Another scam that is more or less harmless, but still a pain -- The AOL/Microsoft Giveaway. According to the email, as part of a test for a Microsoft/AOL email tracking system, if you forward this email, you will receive cash. People figure, what the heck to I have to lose? Besides, it was verfied by a real gen-yoo-wine attorney and in USA Today. Ok then.
I worked for AOL for two years as part of Netscape and tested many applications, and can tell you that Bill Gates is not sitting up in his Mighty Tower, checking his computer and saying, "Oh goody! Billy Joe Jim Bob just forwarded my email! Let me whip out my checkbook and send that boy some money!"
And just to reiterate -- if you receive an email from your bank, PayPal, eBay, etc, that requests you to update your information, DON'T DO IT. Even if it looks legit, contact your bank, PayPal, etc. directly instead.
So, frightened into doing so, we'd hand-write 10 copies of the letter (photocopiers weren't as prevalent in those days) and bother 10 friends with the note. And lo and behold, our boring lives went on as usual, only now we had writers' cramp.
With the advent of email, chain letters and other scams are easier to perpetuate. Just click a button, and wham! Instant gratification -- or most likely, you've only just annoyed 10 of your friends.
Related to chain letters are scams in which someone makes up some lie to get you to give up your money or personal private information that will allow that person access to your money. Case en point -- The Nigerian Scam. The premise: A wealthy foreigner (sometimes a prince or king) needs help moving millions of dollars from his homeland and promises a percentage of his vast wealth to the kind, generous soul who helps him. Of course, all that happens is the scammer helps himself to the victim's hard-earned money. According to snopes.com, this type of scam has been going on since the 1920's, and is commonly known as the "Spanish Prisoner" scam.
So flash-forward t0 2008 -- I'm perusing my junk mail box for possible legitimate email I may have missed from a client or potential client. Among the plethora of ads for Viagra-like products, I see something familiar. Apparently, the Central Bank of Nigeria feels horrible about all the US citizens who have been scammed over the years, and will give the victims money for all their troubles. Yeah right.
Most people know better than to trust these scams, but every once in a while someone fall for them. Another scam that is more or less harmless, but still a pain -- The AOL/Microsoft Giveaway. According to the email, as part of a test for a Microsoft/AOL email tracking system, if you forward this email, you will receive cash. People figure, what the heck to I have to lose? Besides, it was verfied by a real gen-yoo-wine attorney and in USA Today. Ok then.
I worked for AOL for two years as part of Netscape and tested many applications, and can tell you that Bill Gates is not sitting up in his Mighty Tower, checking his computer and saying, "Oh goody! Billy Joe Jim Bob just forwarded my email! Let me whip out my checkbook and send that boy some money!"
And just to reiterate -- if you receive an email from your bank, PayPal, eBay, etc, that requests you to update your information, DON'T DO IT. Even if it looks legit, contact your bank, PayPal, etc. directly instead.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Different Medium, Same Stuff
The biggest thing on people's minds right now regarding the web is Search Engine Optimization, or "How do I get my site to the top of Google, Yahoo, etc.?" To be perfectly honest, I'm still constantly learning about this process myself, even after 12 years in the business.
There's a paper out there that will tell you how search engines work. It's a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo about the algorithms, but if you read between the lines, you'll find that a lot of what will move you up - notice I didn't say necessarily to the very tippy top! - in the search engines includes: well-written, organized content that contains and highlights your keywords (wouldn't you do this with a brochure?), good descriptions in your metatags, and link popularity -- networking with other sites so they will link to yours. I'll be talking about these more in future blogs.
But really, much of SEO and web site marketing is based on good old fashioned marketing tactics that have been around since the dawn of time. The good news that you don't need a degree from M.I.T. to market your web site! Many of my clients link their sites from wherever they can - My Space, LinkedIn, or they create blogs like this. They're the ones that have inspired me to get off my fat butt and do this blog.
The bad news is that like anything else in your business, you do need to invest effort and possibly other resources into your marketing your site. OK, that's not necessarily bad news. This is stuff you already know -- you just need to be reminded :-)
There's a paper out there that will tell you how search engines work. It's a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo about the algorithms, but if you read between the lines, you'll find that a lot of what will move you up - notice I didn't say necessarily to the very tippy top! - in the search engines includes: well-written, organized content that contains and highlights your keywords (wouldn't you do this with a brochure?), good descriptions in your metatags, and link popularity -- networking with other sites so they will link to yours. I'll be talking about these more in future blogs.
But really, much of SEO and web site marketing is based on good old fashioned marketing tactics that have been around since the dawn of time. The good news that you don't need a degree from M.I.T. to market your web site! Many of my clients link their sites from wherever they can - My Space, LinkedIn, or they create blogs like this. They're the ones that have inspired me to get off my fat butt and do this blog.
The bad news is that like anything else in your business, you do need to invest effort and possibly other resources into your marketing your site. OK, that's not necessarily bad news. This is stuff you already know -- you just need to be reminded :-)
New Year, New Blog
OK, so it's a brand new year, so I've decided to put my money where my proverbial mouth is and start (actually RE-start) a blog.
It's something I've suggested to some of our clients as part of their organic Search Engine Optimization programs (more about that later), but here I am, a writer, and I don't really have one myself. I started one a few years ago, but never kept it updated. So I'm going to try my best to keep this one updated with thoughts and musings about the web, business in general or whatever.
Happy and prosperous 2008!
It's something I've suggested to some of our clients as part of their organic Search Engine Optimization programs (more about that later), but here I am, a writer, and I don't really have one myself. I started one a few years ago, but never kept it updated. So I'm going to try my best to keep this one updated with thoughts and musings about the web, business in general or whatever.
Happy and prosperous 2008!
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