Lost in Translation

All web designers run across this at some point: a client has created something to sell and they want to make sure it won’t get stolen when they put it online.

Visual art, audio, video, poems, how-to’s, blogs, and other such materials are what we call IP or intellectual property. There is a lot of exaggeration and paranoia surrounding these items and the potential for theft/piracy.

Yes, there are means to prevent theft but none of it is 100% foolproof.

Here are a few facts about managing IP online

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After helping 5 people through this process in the past few months, I realize it is time to make a post on the subject.

Let’s face it: Facebook has a confusing interface. It’s easy to get lost on their site. And they don’t seem to have an obvious way to create Business/Fan Pages if you are already logged into your account. Actually, I’ve only found the Fan page to create these by going through their Help section. (And from here on, we’re just going to call the Business Page what many refer to them as: Fan Pages. They are the same thing.)

And then there are two types of Facebook accounts for businesses and non-profits: Groups and Fan pages.

So first, a few decisions to make and then the how to… (more…)

Some people don’t have the time to work on improving their sites search engine rankings and attracting more customers, so they hire me.

Some people don’t have the money to hire me but have the time and want to do it themselves.

Assuming your website code is already optimized for search engines, I’ve got a few steps you can take to help draw traffic to your site. A lot of this information is Google-specific, since that is what I am most asked about. However, much of this can apply to other search engines too. Here are 10 things you can do to drive traffic to your site. (more…)

A lot of individuals are taken in by the hype surrounding email marketing. The websites look great, the results sound promising. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again: “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”. The Internet is just like your offline life. Never believe the two are different. Just because it’s in writing, doesn’t mean it’s true.

So why would I say buying an email list is bad when so many say it’s so good?

For starters…those saying its so good are frequently after your wallet. Ask yourself: who’s saying its so great? Are they in the business of selling those lists? Or in a business that is in any way related to that? Or maybe they’re a novice touting themselves as experts, just parroting what they’ve read (and believe me, there are a lot of those).

Ok, that doesn’t really answer the question. So why is it BAD? Two good reasons. (more…)

A video was released just a few days ago by musician Dave Carroll about his frustrating encounters with United Airlines policies and customer service. Apparently, United broke an expensive guitar and the airline refused to replace it or reimburse him. In his final encounter with a United employee, Carroll told the airline representative that he would write 3 songs about his bad experience. So he did.

Mr. Carroll became a media sensation and has been overwhelmed with support, with even Oprah’s people calling him.

By the next day, the musician was contacted by United who made an offer to correct the situation.

And what does this have to do with you and your business? Everything.

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