A testament to the power of social media

It’s amazing how quickly social media has taken hold of the world.  Why, just a short three years ago, I was completely clueless as to what the term “social media” even referred to.  And then when I did finally gain some grain of understanding, I flatly refused to be a part of it for months!  And now, as you can see, I am immersed as deeply as the rest of you crazy cool people. 

Although, there are days that I wonder what will become of everyone.  After all, like everything else in life, moderation is the key.  With all of the different games and fictional societies that seem to be flourishing on the internet, it really could be quite easy to become so fully immersed that one’s days would waste away until there was nothing of reality left to experience and appreciate.

Thankfully, there are many facets to the social media revolution, or perhaps I should say evolution, and it is a great one that I sing the praises of today.  Last year, I lost my beautiful cousin Joy to a very long battle with cancer.  I won’t go into the sad details, because this story is all about greatness precipitated by social networking.  You see, Joy’s children wanted to help her achieve her biggest goals and dreams before she left us, so they asked for a “Bucket List” of things she wanted to accomplish.  It wasn’t a very long list, and really, there were three items that I would consider the least bit challenging:  Go on a cruise;  Swim with the dolphins;  Be a part of the audience at a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Facebook’s Comments Box Now Indexed by Google

Posts made via Facebook’s Comments Box are now being read and indexed by Google’s search bots. This is highly significant, as this added data will affect search engine optimization (SEO), therefore adding value to every discussion, both inside and outside of Facebook.

What is Comments Box?

A common discussion thread on Facebook using Comments Box

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Inside Facebook: At its core, Comments Box is what allows for discussion threads on Facebook itself. The ability to comment on Wall Posts, Status Updates, and so forth is made possible by Comments Box.

The first crucial step to building a successful website

What really goes into building a website?

Prizm's website

What a loaded question!  While it may appear that certain websites you visit are just simple, straightforward pages, you might be surprised to know that the planning and development that goes into creating those seemingly simple pages is actually quite in depth.

It could even be stated that building a website is much like building a house.  Once the foundation has been poured, and the framing is done, it becomes a far more complicated task to add to, remove from, or dramatically change the layout.  In fact, if the changes are too demanding, it would be best to demolish what you’ve started, and begin once again from the ground up.

Creative vs Branding

People are extremely tired of advertisements. People want to be entertained — now!

Creating a brand for your company or product is extremely difficult these days. You have the typical marketing aspects like a logo, website, tag line, etc, etc, etc., and then you have interactive marketing, too. Everyone is pushing video. Ratings of American demographics across the board are showing increases in online video viewership compared to that of standard television programing.

It’s time to step into the online video realm. How?

Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Sites

One of the first and toughest questions any business wanting to have a mobile presence asks is “Do I create a mobile app or a mobile site for my business?”  If you can afford to do both – great!  If not, then let me offer few reasons as to why I think mobile sites are the way to go (right now.)

Social Media and SEO

Many of our clients are confused about social media. Is it just a fad? Doesn’t it represent a casual or unprofessional environment? How will this help our business?

Many social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, flickr, MySpace, Last.FM, blogs, SlideShare, digg, and more exist in the corporate world.

Allow me to tackle just one facet of the many benefits of corporate social media pages: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

The Mid-Roll: Why second is best

In the family of online video advertising, being the middle child has never felt so good.

For those of you familiar with viewing popular videos, TV shows, and movies online (say, through YouTube or Hulu), I’m sure you’ve become quite accustomed to the ad viewing experience: you get one video advertisement right off the bat, a few trickled throughout the middle, and a final ad just before the end of the show. You can’t skip over the ads, but they usually last only 10-15 seconds anyhow.

Two recent studies by Limelight Networks and FreeWheel compared the length of online video ads versus how likely they were to be completed by the user. Unsurprisingly, they discovered that 15-second ads are 20 percent more likely to be viewed in entirety compared to 30-second commercials. However, when both 15-second and 30-second ads were attached to a longer root video, such as a 45-minute television show, the likelihood that either ad would be viewed was virtually the same, at roughly 90 percent.

Forbes: More C-Level Execs Seek Web, Video

Believe it or not, professionals whose careers have blossomed alongside the establishment of Netscape and growth of public Internet are at the age to reach the pinnacle of their work efforts: the C-suite. 

As 40-, 50-, and 60-somethings achieve C-level (CEO, CFO) executive positions, they are changing the face of business research and communication. A study by Forbes surveyed over 350 top executives at large American companies. (Large, as in $1 billion+ in annual revenue — just the type of prospect you’re after, right?) They found that America’s CEOs, CFOs, and COOs are relying more heavily on search engines and online video to research competitors, customers, and trends in technology and politics.

How much do keywords matter?

My husband and I have always been sticklers for doing research before making any kind of major purchase.  From cars to appliances to electronics, it is important to know that you will be getting the most for your money before committing to spending it.  While it hasn’t been that long ago that we had to go to our local library to peruse the latest copies of Consumer Reports for information, now one has to go only as far as the closest computer with an internet connection to learn everything pertinent to making an informed buying decision.

A while back, I thought I had done my due diligence before making a major purchase – so much that even Dave Ramsey would have been proud!  I actually spent 4 months doing research in my spare time, before making the final choice, which was based on my research.  Here’s where it gets interesting:  I have had quite a lot of trouble with this product, even though everything I read raved about the item in question.  Did I get a “lemon”?  Or was all of my research bogus?  What did I do wrong?!

I continued to contemplate these questions, until it finally occurred to me that every time I did a new search for information, I always used “reviews” in my search.  So, I decided to try an experiment. 

Mobile Video is Booming, According to Nielsen

The Nielsen Ratings, commonly remembered as the studies which analyze what people watch on television, have uncovered a startling reality concerning mobile video. A study of quarters three and four of 2010 found that the number of Americans watching mobile video has risen to 25 million people, a huge jump compared to the statistics from 2009.