Top 40 questions to help optimize your Website design

March 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

'Question the Answers' photo (c) 2009, walknboston - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/You’re planning or maybe redesigning your Website, and you want it to be great. Not just look great, but be great at bringing in new business, or raising awareness of your big issue, or helping you accomplish whatever your primary objective is.

Ummm… you do know what your Website’s primary objective is, right?

Here are 40 questions to help you create a Website that will indeed be effective, no matter what your ultimate goals may be. And remember that it can be easy to pop out quick answers, but that won’t always give you the insights and direction you really need. So the more time you take to really think through your answers as you ask yourself these questions, the more effective your Website will be. [Continue reading…]

Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

March 19, 2012 By 7 Comments

'explorer_2006_0055.jpg' photo (c) 2006, Will Brown - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/EDIT: Within a few minutes of publishing this post, I received some great input from contacts on LinkedIn and Google+, as well as by Skype, email and the comments below. Thanks to each of you! I have now updated this post to reflect your suggestions, rather than have two versions floating around. So while you will now actually be reading my second draft, please still feel free to add any suggestions; I’m more than happy to write a third!

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I have been asked to speak at a local high school tomorrow for their Career Day. My topic… being an entrepreneur. Looking forward to it; I always enjoy giving a presentation, and the realities of being an entrepreneur definitely hit home for me, since I’ve been one since 1989.

As I’ve been getting ready, the following just kind of fell into place. This is obviously not meant to be all-inclusive; I’m just trying to give them a more rounded understanding of things to consider about being an entrepreneur.

Knowing me, I’ll change this 300 times between now and tomorrow morning, but here’s my first second draft, spelling crimes and all. I’d love your thoughts on this, especially if you’ve been down the entrepreneurial path… [Continue reading…]

How social media and the Internet improve life in Romania and here.

March 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

'Turda Gorges, Romania 2008' photo (c) 2008, Codrin Bucur - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/We are all unique. We are all the same.

Every country has its own unique challenges, yet it is striking how similar our struggles can be from community to community, country to country, and even continent to continent. The more we recognize those similarities, the better we can apply solutions that worked in one area to others. What’s happening in Romania right now is a prime example.

Paul-Andre Baran is Romania’s new Director of Biblionet, a five-year program to facilitate free access to information for Romanian citizens by fostering the development of a modern public library system in Romania. He was recently interviewed by Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, about recent programs that have improved life for families — and women in particular — in rural Romania. Poverty is rampant in these areas, with Internet access — or even computers — simply not being available in many homes. In fact, only 50% of Romania’s population is online. To combat these challenges, local libraries were set up to be the digital hubs of their communities, and the program has been changing lives and altering centuries-old perceptions: [Continue reading…]

Getting started on Twitter: 7 steps for following & being followed back.

February 24, 2012 By 6 Comments

'Puppy' photo (c) 2010, Travis Modisette - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/I remember reading a book when I was way, way younger, about a puppy that wandered around meeting all sorts of other animals, and plaintively asked them, “Will you be my friend?” The other animals always seemed too busy, and so he kept going from page to page, asking the same question over and over. I just don’t remember how the story ended, but I’m guessing it was a wonderfully happy conclusion. It was, after all, a children’s book.

We’ve grown up, but many of us ask that question over and over again today in places like Twitter, not to mention Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, and lots of other strange new places. And sadly, like in much of the adult world, we may not be finding anywhere near as many friends as we want.

If that sounds like you, don’t walk away with your tail between your legs, but don’t keep doing the same thing over and over either. If you’re having trouble, it’s no doubt for a reason. Here are seven steps to getting new followers on Twitter. Even better, here are seven steps to making new friends… [Continue reading…]

Does your company need social media?

February 15, 2012 By 5 Comments

'Self-Portrait #16' photo (c) 2008, r.f.m II - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/A lot of people have been talking about social media for quite a while now. You keep hearing about Twitter and LinkedIn. You may have your own Facebook account, and even browsed through Pinterest. You can see how some of it would be interesting. But still, is there anything in all of that stuff for your company? Can social media do anything for you and your customers? [Continue reading…]

What’s Love got to do with Blogging?

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

'sweet, comic Valentine' photo (c) 2008, Luca Vanzella - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/Are you in love? In a serious, long-term relationship? Tough, ain’t it!

You’re either nodding your heart in agreement or completely offended by that comment. Of course it’s not tough when it’s going well. Nothing on Earth could possibly be sweeter than being in love and being loved in return.

But hey, the truth is in any long-term relationship there will come a few days, sooner or later, when it’s not quite as sweet as you’d like it to be. Those are the days when your relationship can see its finest moments. You dig deep to find all that’s good and true in yourself, and to help bring it out in your partner. [Continue reading…]

Writing lesson for bloggers: two great Super Bowl stories.

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In the locker rooms and stadium hallways after yesterday’s Super Bowl, some stirring stories were being told. The triumphant New York Giants were exultant after another heart-stopping comeback. It was elation beyond words.

In the locker room of the New England Patriots, the air was so thick with defeat that words could scarcely be pushed out. If you had watched the season, and especially if you had followed the teams since their last Super Bowl contest, you knew this had been a legendary match. One of the great Super Bowl games had just been played, and what happened on the field would be the stuff of chats and posts and tweets for a long time to come.

However, for those who didn’t watch the Game, or who had no interest at all in the NFL, the whole thing seemed like silliness. A waste of time. Some decried it as a barbaric match between overpaid men who should find something better to do.  Just as the two teams had battled inside the stadium, in the arena of public opinion two sides would go on sparring long after the final whistle had blown and last bit of colored paper cleared away.

It’s not unlike the debate that many of us see each day in our work or our other pursuits. We have passions that run deep, and are puzzled or even horrified by those who see things another way, or who don’t see your cause as one even worth considering. If it’s your mission as a blogger or marketer to win over others to your point of view, you know that trying to change even one person’s opinion can sometimes seem hopeless.  A heart is never an easy thing to sway. [Continue reading…]

Getting started on Twitter: Your very, very first steps.

February 3, 2012 By 1 Comment

'baby steps' photo (c) 2007, pudgeefeet - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/You’ve been hearing about Twitter for a long time now, and you’re thinking it’s finally time to make the leap. Maybe someone has suggested you should be there for business. Maybe you want to become good buddies with Ashton Kutcher. Or maybe you’re just curious. But it all seems like a bit too much to take on by yourself. You hardly even know what Twitter is, let alone how to sign up for it. If that sounds like you, you’re in the right spot. By the end of this post, you’ll not only know the basics, you’ll have your very own working Twitter account. [Continue reading…]

Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers. Who’s yours?

January 31, 2012 By 2 Comments

Forbes Magazine unveiled its list of The Top 50 Social Media Power Influencers just a few days ago. I find these lists worth reading for a few reasons. First and most obviously, it’s interesting to see how the industry changes from one year to the next. What new faces are there? Who is rising? Who [...]

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Should Leonard Cohen write your next blog post?

January 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hallelujah! Imagine if one of the most gifted poets and songwriters of our time were to drop by to help you craft a few words. Together you’d wring emotions out of a weary soul, warm up some long-forgotten heartsong, and write a post poetic and inspiring beyond anything you ever knew you had hidden inside. [...]

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Media training can help make your company a good news story.

January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Every now and then I’ve had a company or organization call me, asking how to get the media off their backs. I could hear the frustration in their voices. “The media is twisting the facts,” they’d say, “And we need to know how to make things better. A lot better. Now!” Every  time — yes, [...]

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Is creativity getting old? Or are you?

January 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I read an interview with Steven Spielberg years ago that asked the reason for his incredible success. His reply was surprisingly simple: he had never lost his sense of childlike wonder. He could still be excited by a haunted house or thrilled by the idea of a dinosaur. If hanging on to our childhood is [...]

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Avoiding Facebook’s new timeline? Your time’s almost up!

January 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Are you ready for Facebook's timeline? Now you have to be!

If you’re on Facebook — hmmm, does that leave anyone out? — you’re already familiar with the new “timeline” feature. Love it or hate it? Using it already, or avoiding it like the plague? No matter what you think of it, your option of whether or not to use it will soon be history. Facebook [...]

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Five ways to market with blogging and social media.

January 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

Sales are built on trust and relationships. If we believe something does what we want and the price is right, we’ll buy it. On the other hand, if we don’t think the ingredients are safe or we just don’t believe it’s going to work, we won’t buy. And if we don’t like or trust the [...]

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