01/06/2009
I have a plan for marketing that I intend to take forward. If I become distracted I can always take a look back and refocus my efforts where they need to be.

2009 Marketing Resolutions

01/06/2009
New Years is a great time to update and refresh the copyright notices on your website. Additionally, take a few moments to clean up your RSS feeds by pruning them and trimming old items from the feeds.

01/02/2009
Search engine optimization is a process, one that must always be revisited and adapted as search algorithms are changed by the search engines. Because SEO is a constant process, it is often pushed to the bottom of the to do list of marketers. Be that as it may, resolve not to ignore search engine optimization as it cycles its way through your task list. Give search engine optimization the attention that it deserves.

Search Engine Optimization Resolutions

01/01/2009
For a number of years we have been publishing articles for small businesses, the articles are available for syndication and can be found in the Free Website Content section of our website. Hopefully the new format of the article list will load quicker and make articles easier to find.

12/30/2008
Based on this years reflections, I have made some predictions for 2009.

Top 10 Winners for 2009

1. Personal Responsibility
2. Financial Diversification
3. Mobile Malware
4. Weight Loss
5. Going Green
6. Social
7. Cloud Computing
8. Virtual Collaboration
9. Video
10. RSS

Top 10 Losers for 2009

1. Global Economy
2. Republicans and Conservatives
3. Hollywood
4. China
5. Somali Pirates
6. Financial Services Industry
7. Corrupted Politicians
8. Security or Securities
9. Outsourcing
10. Gasoline

Details of 2009 What is Hot and What is Not

Or take a look back in time and compare the list to the last few years What is Hot and What is Not Lists
2008 What is Hot What is Not List
2007 What is Hot What is Not List

12/29/2008
2008 was a year filled with great triumphs and a year scarred by deep sorrow. What 2008 was not, was a peaceful year, and whether the world is a better place, for having endured is unclear.

Russia's invasion of Georgia has chilled Russia's relations with the West, a resurgence of the Cold War may be on the horizon. The Tibetan monk's protests being crushed in the streets demonstrate that freedom of speech, is not a God given right for all. The continued unrest in Middle East is no longer news, but simply part of daily life in the region.

Close calls with Hurricane Gustav in New Orleans and the water lapping at the edge of overburdened levies caused concern that the lessons of Katrina have still not yet been fully learned. The heartbreaking destruction of Hurricane Ike in Galveston and the Texas coast shows that while the US has made progress, she is still no match for mother nature. Nature's wrath still wields a heavy hand. As horrific as the despair in Galveston, it paled in comparison to the cyclone that hit Burma/Mynamar, taking the lives of more than 100,000 people in the region. China, widely thought to be a rising world power, was no match for the 8.0 earthquake that collapsed buildings like tinker toys.

Through leadership change, we often see policy change. Unfortunately Fidel Castro's retirement in 2008 did nothing to free Cuba from the constrains of dictatorship with Raul Castro stepping into the leadership role on the tiny island.

Reflections for 2008 and Predictions for 2009

12/21/2008
North Shore commuters are about to join their Worcester counterparts with free Internet access on Massachusetts trains.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said all Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trains will have at least two cars with Internet access by spring 2010, with the first serving areas north of Boston going online Monday.

12/15/2008
Podcasting content comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Businesses are finding many different and creative ways of incorporating podcasts into their business strategies and marketing plans.

Here are just some of the various types of content that businesses are turning into podcasts...

Kinds of Podcasting Content

12/10/2008
Internet marketing has become so successful that many web marketers neglect other marketing opportunities. Offline channels can boost your online traffic and business. Used effectively, traditional advertising vehicles remind customers to visit your site. Even better, promoting your website offline can drive new clientele to your web business.

Offline Advertising Ideas

12/08/2008
As the masses have adopted RSS as a more mainstream communication medium, Web 2.0 businesses and publishers have adopted unique and unusual tools to manipulate RSS content. Here are just some of the various RSS tools that are currently available...

Unique RSS Tools for Businesses

12/01/2008
Nearly 84 percent of online retailers plan to have a Cyber Monday promotion, according to a survey by online shopping site Shopzilla for Shop.org, the Internet division of the National Retail Federation. That was well above the 72 percent who planned to promote Cyber Monday deals last year.

Nearly a quarter of retailers plan to offer free shipping on all purchases in what they hope will be a further incentive to buy.

The Monday following the three-day holiday weekend has been dubbed Cyber Monday because many consumers return to work and use their high-speed Internet connections to search out deals not found at brick-and-mortar retailers.

Last year, Internet research firm comScore Inc said U.S. buyers spent $733 million on Cyber Monday, up 21 percent from the prior year.

11/27/2008
A business study the other day showed that more than 60% of shoppers are lured by offers of FREE Shipping. The cyber specials are all offering deep discounts and even software companies are offering free shipping. Both NotePage, Inc. and FeedForAll offer free shipping on all orders that include media!

NotePage offers SMS messaging software solutions and FeedForAll has RSS feed creation and editing software. Buy from either and get the media shipped FREE of charge.

11/26/2008
Thanksgiving CD ROM for Web Designers. The CD includes: Thanksgiving Logos, Thanksgiving Stock Photos, Thanksgiving Web Templates.


FREE SHIPPING on CDs!!!

11/25/2008
It can be tricky to predict what content will perform well on social bookmarking websites. The interests of our democratic populace are widespread and constantly changing. Webpages, podcasts, and images which are deemed more newsworthy, humorous, or intriguing often steal the spotlight. Knowing how to present content on social bookmarking websites can help internet marketers stand out.

Good Things to Social Bookmark

11/25/2008
Add a Thanksgiving logo to your website to celebrate the impending holiday.

11/24/2008
Encountering 404 errors is not new. Often, developers provide custom 404 pages to make the experience a little less frustrating. However, for a custom 404 page to be truly useful, it should not only provide relevant information to the user, but should also provide immediate feedback to the developer so that, when possible, the problem can be fixed.

Custom 404 Pages

11/18/2008
Digg founder Kevin Rose on Friday shined light on a stormy economic landscape, saying the climate is right for launching Internet startups.

Difficulty getting financing means fewer competitors entering the market and that there will be more media attention focused on young technology firms, Rose told those gathered at a Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

complete article

11/17/2008
A new service, Viral Conversations is available. The idea behind Viral Conversations is putting business owners who have a product or service, in touch with bloggers who are interested in reviewing it. The difference between this website and other website review services is Viral Conversations only deals with real world tangible products.

It is an interesting way to drum up buzz about your products.

11/06/2008
The planning and work that takes place before and after a podcast is an important part for a professional show. Do not neglect preparation or post-show production tasks.

Effective Podcast Tips

11/05/2008
Stay updated on important security issues with the Security Blog on Security Port.

11/04/2008
Google has rarely included scanned documents in its search results because it had no way to determine the nature of the content, but that's about to change. The search engine giant says it will use optical character recognition software to make it possible for Web surfers to search any Web-hosted document stored in the PDF file format developed by Adobe Systems.

Google is using the technology to convert scanned documents into equivalent text files that can be searched, indexed and returned as responses to Google search queries.

complete article

11/03/2008
It will be really interesting to see how much of an impact technology will have on the outcome of this years US Presidential Election. A number of articles have been written that discuss technology in politics. Any predictions?

10/31/2008
Not only can you purchase Halloween costumes and decorations, you can brand your business for the holidays, you can spice up marketing materials with Halloween photos or you can put together a scarey PowerPoint Presentation with these Halloween PowerPoint Templates.

10/30/2008
Halloween Web Elements - includes HTML Templates, logos, and royalty free stock photos all related to Halloween.

10/30/2008
An Internet industry code of ethics intended to safeguard online freedom of speech around the world is to be adopted this week by technology titans including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

The code of ethics is a voluntary framework to help protect people who express opinions online in countries such as China, where talk of democracy or criticism of the Communist government is treated as criminal behavior.

Yahoo launched the talks with industry partners, academics, human rights groups and investors to promote a code of behavior for global technology and communication companies operating in challenging markets.

10/29/2008
Use the alphabet to figure out Search Engine Optimization.

ABCs of Search Engine Optimization

10/28/2008
Change the look of your website for the holidays. Check out these Halloween Web Templates:

10/27/2008
Get into the holiday spirit with Halloween Logos check out the great collection on Logo Search!

10/21/2008
According to the BBC

Technology is helping families stay in touch like never before, says a report.

Instead of driving people apart, mobile phones and the net are helping them maintain social ties, says the Pew Internet report.

Families are also among the keenest users of technology, the survey of 2,252 Americans revealed.

It found that using the net was often a social activity within families, with 51% of parents saying they browsed the web with their children.

complete article

10/16/2008
The financial crisis has people flocking to the Internet for the latest money news along with tips on how to salvage investments and save on the routine costs of living.
Visits to websites such as the business-centric Wall Street Journal and economy-focused Yahoo Finance set new records as the US Congress grappled with its 700 billion dollar plan to stop credit markets from imploding.

Internet tracker comScore says visits to www.gasbuddy.com, which steers drivers to stations featuring low fuel prices, are up nearly 30 percent and it expects to report spikes in traffic to finance and bargain-hunter websites when September statistics are calculated later this week.

complete article

10/15/2008
The European Commission has unveiled proposals to give more rights to consumers shopping online across the borders of the 27-nation EU.

The proposals aim to boost online shopping in Europe to allow people to take advantage of cheaper prices during the economic crisis.

The commission is asking EU governments to give consumers a two-week cooling-off period to back out of a sale.

Consumers could also get the right to a refund for delayed deliveries.

EU Changes Rules for Online Shopping

10/07/2008
EBay Inc plans to cut its workforce by 10 percent and expects to exceed its third-quarter earnings forecast, the online auction Web site said on Monday as its shares rose nearly 2 percent in pre-market trading.

10/06/2008
Link building is an important aspect of search engine optimization. Search engines view a link as a vote of confidence in a website or webpage. The more links from related sources the greater the webpages importance.

When requesting links, use an email template that can be easily customized for specific requests. To locate prospective link partners, search Google or Yahoo for related keywords or phrases.

When Requesting Links

09/29/2008

Web Design Elements CD ROMs include themed collections of HTML web templates, stock photographs and logos.

Themes available currently include:
Animals - Dogs, Horses, Pets, and Wildlife
Dating - Dating and Valentines
Education - Education
Flowers - Florists and Gardening
Financial- Financial
Health - Medical and Healthcare
Holiday - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines
Nature - Nature, Sunrise and Sunsets
Nautical - Marine
Real Estate - Homes and Realty
Religious - Religion
Sports - Water Themed Sports

Toss together promotional marketing material or a website easily!

09/15/2008
A logo concept is more than just an affinity for a specific character. Logos represent a companys brand, and as a result, serious thought and consideration should be put into your logo. Before hand be sure to consider, how the logo will represent your organization and consider the thoughts that will be associated with specific images that you consider for your logo. Does the logo embody traits that can or should be associated with your business? If your company is global, will the image transcend borders or will some of your customers find the image offensive and distasteful?

Logo Concepts