Social Media

Wow, it's a lot to keep up with. Every time I think I'm hip and on the bandwagon, a new site or tool comes out that I need to catch up with. I'm aware Facebook has been around awhile, but I never subscribed because I was already a member of MySpace. So far, it reminds me of a cross between MySpace and LinkedIn. Well... it has some really cool tools MySpace or LinkedIn don't have.

A few cool features Facebook provides are 1) recommendations -- it finds mutual friends FOR YOU and 2) you can easily become a 'fan' of businesses, causes, organizations, communities, etc. This is a great social media outlet for businesses to post updated news and events to, give their company a personal touch, and to endorse community relations partners. As customer service and personality seems to be going wayside, marketing through means of social sites is a great way to keep that up.

I'm sure this isn't much 'news' to anyone -- but for those of you who have not yet checked it out because it seems overwhelming, I encourage you to sign up and tool around for half-hour or so.

Top things every business should know about SEO

In a world of constantly evolving technology, it’s easy to trust any “expert” who comes along claiming to know the ins and outs of unfamiliar acronyms. The tips below break down the SEO process and define what every savvy business owner should know when dealing with SEO providers and web designers.

How important is SEO to doing business today?
Extremely. There is a lot of competition out there -- you could have the best looking website in your industry, but it doesn’t matter if no one knows it exists. The “if you build it they will come” mindset is a huge misconception among the less internet savvy. A good website is supplemented by good PR and high SEO results.

How much should an SEO campaign cost? Any guidelines?
Nothing. It should be inclusive to building the site, and completed as the designer constructs the site. There are a lot of scammers out there charging thousands of dollars to implement something that takes little to no time to do. It should only cost how long it takes you to implement -- especially if you’re on an hourly rate. Whether your site is 2 pages or 200, if it is constructed properly and implemented as you go, it should not cost any more than your time.

How can a CEO avoid getting ripped off if they decide to go outside the company to get this service done?
Ask the right questions and for proof of their results. If you’re paying an SEO service, ask for some type of report – evidence of bumping their client’s sites up. And don’t believe it is anybody’s “intellectual property”. You can find this information for free all over the internet. A few other selling phrases to watch out for:

• “We’ll submit you to thousands of search engines.” There are less than five the general population actually uses. And if built right, you don’t even need to ‘submit.’
• “We’ll optimize your meta-tags.” As search engines evolve, less and less rely on meta-tags.
• “We’ll do fresh content.” Unless they are your advertising or PR agency, they wouldn’t know what to update! Usually they’ll just overuse keywords and place irrelevant articles.
• “It’s only $10,000 a year.” You can build and continuously update an entire website for $8,000. What could they possibly be doing for $10,000 a year--or more?

Mac vs. PC

I recently read an article in Popular Mechanics regarding the great Mac vs. PC debate. Of course being a designer, I'm going to say Mac is the mack. It's all a matter of personal taste, but why are PC users so afraid of Macs?

It seems as if PC users assume Macs are difficult and terribly dissimilar. As a matter of fact, the guts of these are very much alike, it's just that the interface of a Mac is much more user-friendly. They both use the same processors, hard drives, etc., but when put to the test, Mac (desktop) fared slightly better -- it ran applications faster, start-up and shut-down was faster, and it launched programs faster.

Yes, it's more expensive, but there is no need to install anti-virus programs maxing out memory, and they are much more reliable, in my personal opinion. Simply put, you get more bang for your buck. Software is expensive, but nowadays -- it's so universal. You can run Adobe software on your PC, and Windows and Office on your Mac.

Mac's operating system is much sleeker and simplistic. It's much easier to find files and applications (which are handy at the bottom of the screen - one click and you're there). Why hassle with going to the Start Menu, Control Panel, blah blah blah? Too much work. It's overwhelming trying to find anything on a PC. That's why I can't stand them. Not to mention, PCs are extremely vulnerable to viruses. Now, that doesn't mean Mac's can't get viruses, it's just much more unlikely to automatically install one, and no one spends the time writing a virus for a mac when only a fraction of the population actually owns one).

Mac's branding campaign is genius. Yes, it could be getting old, but it's so true. With the launch of the iPod and iPhone, the empire is growing even stronger. Just give in, do it. Doooo it. Get a Mac, save some sanity.

Read the Popular Mechanics article here and see the side-by-side »

Tres Dias

Why, Chad Johnson... or should I say Chad Ocho Cinco, did you change your last name? As if the Bengals weren't humiliating enough -- you're going to legally change your name??? That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Surely your publicist didn't scheme this to make it look like you care that much about your number or playing for Cincinnati. Perhaps more of an ego thing? Either way... absurd. Certainly there's a man-law about giving yourself your own nickname.

It's been awhile since I've blogged... I've just been busy, though I do have a slew of things to post soon. I felt an urge to rant about football. I don't even like football. But this reflects badly on the team as a whole. My husband has vowed to not spend a dime on them this year -- on souvenirs, games, etc. I would, however, consider buying an Ocho Cinco bobble head - only to remember the outrageous occasion. It's like Dion Sanders being a rapper for a minute.

I'll I can say is GO COWBOYS!