Do you remember the images from storybooks you were read to as a child and the impact they had on you? Some of these memories are long lasting ones that you’ll be able to recall for many years. The reason behind this is because as we look at pictures, two areas at the back of the brain are at work. These lobes, called the occipital lobes, process images from the eyes and connect that information with images stored in memory. Now fast-forward to today and the images that we constantly process, our occipital lobes are still at work. If something attracts your attention it still makes as big of an impression as it did when you were a child. That is why infographics are such a great way to connect with your audience. They reach most people on a far deeper level compared to simply reading words off a page. People want to be mentally stimulated, not only with intriguing facts, but images that go along with them.
If you are unfamiliar with infographics head over to http://www.coolinfographics.com/ and checkout a few examples.
Important factors to keep in mind when creating a new infographic
- Make sure the information is accurate: Do your research – You’re educating people with your message, so make sure you’re not being careless and you know the facts are correct.
- Make sure it’s attractive: Well obviously you want to create something that grabs immediate attention. This could be with the colors you choose or the design layout. Make sure you use a designer that truly understands your overall concept.
- Make sure your message is understood: Your message and facts should be easy to follow. Make sure that the core message is coming across and isn’t lost.
Infographics work for your business
- Infographics can drive traffic: Yes, this is very true! The link sharing value here is priceless! If your infographic goes viral, well then you’ve just hit the jackpot. Because of its interactive and graphic nature, people will love to share it with others.
- Infographics explain a situation more easily: People want to learn with pictures most of the time because it makes it easier for them to understand what you are saying and it makes the topic more interesting.
- Saves time: And time is money, right? Since infographics are visual, they explain a whole lot of information in just a few words and if done right, they will keep your customers engaged.
Infographics can work as a very powerful tool by communicating their message both internally and externally, so take advantage of the benefits it could bring your business.
Living in California, we’re always taught to be prepared for the Big One. Being prepared is our only defense to the inevitable. However, the next big earthquake can still be 100’s of years from now (crossing my fingers it actually is) but on the internet everything changes quickly, as we learned a few months back with Google’s new Panda update.
Here are some helpful tips on how you can be better prepared for Google’s next Big One AKA “The next Panda Update”.
1. Google Targets Web Scrapers
If your website relies on any web scraping technology, you can expect to be hit. So clean out the garbage and tight down on only good content.
2. Good quality content will not be affected
Make sure you’re writing interesting content, something that has your viewers coming back to your site. Share quality graphics, pictures and useful information. You want to make sure people are browsing your site and getting a good experience from it, not dumping it right away and moving on to another site. Just give people what they want and you should see good results J
3. Excessive WebPages
A lot of times we get out of control with the excessive pages we have on our site. Take a look and ask yourself… “Do I really need so many pages on my site?” These pages can be poor quality ones and will bring down the ranking of your site. Simply merge other pages, eliminating the worst ones and create a better looking page.
4. Is your site trustworthy?
Would you leave your kids with a babysitter you just met, that works out of a cheap motel? Probably not, or at least I hope not!! Well that same concept applies to websites and the trustworthiness they portray from their page. When you visit a website, you want to make sure it has trustworthy material and that you feel assured any info they have from you will be safe. Make sure your site is giving off the right trustworthy confident image and not a sketchy one that keeps people away.
5. Double Trouble
Make sure you’re not duplicating anything on your site. Sometimes this is accidental but can give you a big headache down the line if it isn’t taken care of properly. Having duplicate content can really hurt your rankings, so when cleaning up your site make sure you’re not duplicating anything and if so, clean it up!
6. Bounce Rate
Look through Google analytics for pages with high bounce rate. Landing pages should provide the information and services that were promised in the ad copy. Use this metric to measure visit quality – a high bounce rate generally indicates that site entrance pages aren’t relevant to your visitors. The more compelling your landing pages, the more visitors will stay on your site and convert.
When will the next major Google update happen? Nobody knows for sure but one thing is abundantly clear, search engines are getting better at determining quality. Stop focusing on tricks and tactics to rank your website and refocus on making your site the best it can be and you will be well positioned for future changes. Keep yourself informed and up to date with all the new changes and the next time around you shouldn’t feel too much of a shake.
Over the past 10 years more Americans have found that shopping online is not only convenient but most times less expensive than buying products in an actual retail store. Another incentive of shopping online at sites like Amazon was that items were tax free. So not only were you getting a great deal, but you were saving even more cash by not having to pay tax.
Well if you live in California you can kiss those days good bye! Because earlier this month California’s State Assembly approved a new bill that would require Web retailers such as Amazon.com Inc to collect sales tax on purchases made online by Californians.
Assembly Bill 155, which now moves on to committees in the state Senate, expands the definition of “retailers engaged in business in the state” in a way that would require Amazon and others to collect sales tax.
The California Board of Equalization estimates this new tax could bring $83 million to the state. This is in effort to bring more revenue to California which is already an estimated 10 billion dollars in debt.
California’s Assembly approved the bill on a vote of 52 to 20, showing that the majority agree to find new ways of generating more income into the financially slumped state.
California is one of the first states to introduce this new bill, but soon enough we may be finding other states following in its footsteps.
RIP Tax Free Amazon.com and internet retailers.
Facebook was caught with their hand in the wrong cookie jar today, not literally speaking but close enough. They were actually busted in a secret campaign against their biggest rival Google, confirmed a company spokesman.
According to a report from “The Daily Beast”, Facebook hired Burson-Marsteller, a leading public relations firm to pitch anti Google stories, suggesting they investigate claims that Google was invading people’s privacy.
The idea was to release ghostwritten reports to popular online sites such as The Washington Post, Politico and The Huffington Post. However the plan backfired on FB when the firm hired to do the smear campaign was discovered by “The Daily Beast”. Short of embarrassing for Facebook is to say the least about this failed attempt.
For Facebook, this represents the latest in a history of errors for a company that has struggled to portray itself as trustworthy, noteworthy as founder Mark Zuckerberg and company struggle to deal with the evolving touchy subject of personal privacy.
When Facebook was confronted they did not deny the fact that they hired the firm to go after Google. In their defense they believe that their rival is doing many things to raise privacy concerns and that they have the right to investigate. Other skeptics believe the more important reason is resentment that Google is trying to use Facebook data in its own social networking service currently in the works.
Many believe that its part of a growing rivalry, and a very bitter one that is only getting fueling up. Much more may come once Google does announce its rumored plans to release its social networking site.
Online shoppers tend to be a bit indecisive. Just about anything can have them abandon their shopping carts, anything from expensive shipping and handling fees, a second thought about spending money, thinking they can find a product cheaper somewhere else or simply taking another day to think before they make the final “confirm” click.
Whatever the situation may be, there is no longer a reason to lose customers, or even worse, having them surf off to a competitors site. There may be a way to track them down and close the sale through behavior retargeting, also referred to as behavioral remarketing or simply retargeting.
Let’s say a potential customer visits your site, adds a few items into the shopping cart and walks out the virtual door before completing the transaction, you may be able to get them back. Sites that use Google AdWords or a retargeting vendor record a snippet of computer code to identify each visitor. The next time that person visits a participating site where you advertise; your banner ad will show up. Possibly enticing them to come back to your site and complete the original sale they once intended to purchase.
The idea behind retargeting is that once you have attracted visitors to your site, they have already shown an interest in your products and are likely to be more open to coming back. Chances are good that you have invested resources to attract visitors to your site. Retargeting gives you additional opportunities to convert those lost sales in a relatively cost-effective manner.
Though retargeting isn’t a guaranteed solution to getting customers back into pushing their cyber shopping cart, the technique is definitely worth exploring.
The Department of Justice with help from the International Association of Chiefs of Police is asking internet service providers to keep customer usage data for up to two years. The DoJ said it was a matter of Homeland Security and that internet and cell phone records are becoming increasingly important in both federal and local crime investigations.
Sometimes these records are the only available evidence that allow prosecutors to investigate who committed crimes on the internet, many times leading to crimes in person. Accessing this data maybe the only way to learn a certain internet address was used by a particular person to engage in illegal activity, therefore helping in their capture and conviction.
Unfortunately The DoJ learned this the hard way. If this new procedure had been implemented sooner, there would have been a number of heart-breaking cases solved. However since internet providers dumped the date early, all evidence was lost and authorities of law were unable to reach perpetuators of these crimes.
Not only would this act help in regards to justice but the DoJ suggested that the retention of such records could actually boost users’ privacy. For example; cyber criminals, frequently and unlawfully access data in the United States that most people would regard as highly personal and private.
In this case data retention can help those threats by enabling effective prosecution of those crimes. Making it more risky for those intending to do such acts and discouraging mischievous online activity from taking place.
An attack on Gawker, which runs one of the world’s most popular blog networks, was carried out over the weekend by an organization calling itself Gnosis. Millions of web users including on Yahoo, Twitter and LinkedIn were asked to reset their passwords as concerns spread over a major hacking attack. Fortunately even though thousands of Twitter accounts were vulnerable after the attack, there have been minimal reports of damage directly linked to the hacker attack. Many companies have taken steps to identify users at risk and warn them before any other security risks take place.
Tips for keeping your password safe
- Never use the same password across lots of different websites
- Do not use a word that you – or a hacker – could find in the dictionary: these are susceptible to so-called ‘brute force’ attacks
- Try to include some digits and special characters to add a layer of complexity that will make life difficult for a criminal
- Pick a phrase or mnemonic that helps you remember your password
- You can avoid having to remember passwords altogether by using a password manager program. There are many available to download online
Analysis of the breach has triggered a widespread defensive response because it emerged that many users had chosen common words and codes that left them wide open to abuse. A common practice used by millions of online users that is strongly discouraged.
According to studies, 33% of people admitted using the same password for every single website they visit. 48% said they used just a handful of different codes, while just one in five said they never used the same password twice.
The major issue is poor password choices and the effort needed by users to make better, smarter, varied selections of secure passwords. Remember to always be one step ahead of hackers and make sure to use passwords that will avoid them from accessing your accounts.
The world’s most used social media site Facebook, is now chasing down and punishing several application developers for passing certain information about their users to a data broker. This is the latest move by the social networking site to control growing concerns over privacy and its users. The developers were being paid by a data broker for user IDs, unique numerical identifiers assigned to the site’s users, which can appear in a URL when they use the site.
The user IDs do not contain personal information, but could lead to information that the person has chosen to display publicly. The latest revelation shows that some application developers were then passing those user IDs to a data broker (which remains unnamed). The brokers would then take this data and compile information to sell to advertising networks so users can be targeted with ads that are related to their personal interests.
This is only one of several privacy concerns surrounding Facebook lately; A lawsuit recently against Zynga (a social games developer) and Facebook alleges that 218 million user IDs just about half of the Facebook population, were shared with third party advertisers collecting personal details for ad targeting. Facebook’s terms of use specifically promise not to use the data allegedly shared in the lawsuit complaint.
So where are the user’s rights? Well… Facebook is working on a “technical solution” to prevent the wrongful passing of user IDs and will also work with browser vendors on this issue. The technical fix, to be released next week, will allow application developers to share a unique but anonymous identifier with permitted third parties such as content partners, advertisers or service providers.
The developers being exiled from Facebook are not being named and Facebook has reached an agreement with a data broker called Rapleaf, which was storing user IDs. Rapleaf was one of many companies that stored user IDs and they confirmed that they will not be using the information and deleting it from their databases immediately.
Have you ever been misunderstood because of the tone you used in an email or interpreted an e-mail the wrong way? Or wondered what got a customer, friend, or colleague so upset – only to discover it was your perceived tone?
This is an embarrassing and sometimes business/relationship ending situation for both parties. Studies show e-mail messages are interpreted incorrectly 50% of the time. However there is now a new tool to prevent that from happening again, called Tone Check. T.C is an e-mail plug-in that flags sentences with words or phrases that may convey unintended emotion or tone, then helps you re-write them. Just like Spell Check… but for the Tone you use in your message. The old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me” may have taught us to be respectful and strong towards others and ourselves when we were young, but these days when messages/conversations are shared via email, words can be loaded emotional weapons if not used properly. Tone Check ensures your tone is clearly communicated and understood before you hit the SEND button. It evaluates words and phrases for the intensity of 8 primary emotions, allowing you to make corrections and adjust the overall tone before you send the wrong message. Many companies battle productivity loss triggered by misread employee e-mail. Ensure everyone in your organization is communicating clearly with Tone Check. You use Tone Check like a spell checker – click the Tone Check button in the Outlook tool bar, and it will analyze your e-mail and make suggestions about which sentences which have strong emotional components. You don’t have to make any changes if you don’t want to, but it can be handy if your email is likely to offend the recipient.
Tone Check is an interesting idea, it’s not something I’d use all the time, but is perhaps a good tool to apply when sending a stressful e-mail late at night, towards the end of a project, or to especially sensitive business partners.
Internet access through Wi-Fi connections has become a common thing, whether through home computers, laptops or cellular phones, something that even the hardiest of traveler will do without, even while exploring the great outdoors. I recently experienced this myself while visiting Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. I usually take a Wi-Fi card with me when I travel, so I can get online while traveling for work, information and staying in touch with loved ones. Before traveling I usually check my cell phone providers signal area for the places I will be in. When looking at the Yellowstone area map I didn’t see much and practically no cell/ Wi-Fi service mapped in. However when I arrived at the park, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized my cell phone had service in the more populated, lodge and Visitor Center areas of the park. I then tried the wireless card and “presto” I was connected! The service was a little slow but pretty decent for being in the middle of nowhere. It was quite a deed to be connected to the world online and staring right at “Old Faithful”. I don’t recommend you spend your whole time working while trying to take a vacation in one of the most beautiful National Parks of the world. However it’s beyond being able to get work done in such a wild place, Wi-Fi/Cell phone access unites us and brings safety to what would otherwise be an extremely isolated place. It’s a pretty incredible feeling to share such a magnificent place live with your friends and family all over the world, while you’re living it. By doing so it also promotes the park, as people who may have never heard or seen of such a place are now living it through your live experience via the internet.
Yellowstone National Park is the first national park to bring Wi-Fi into their remote wilderness area. Despite the varied isolated regions of the park, Wi-Fi Internet has been incorporated in some limited places to satisfy the modern tourist. Many lodgings offer possible Wi-Fi and cell phone access, something that was never available before. The park is still limited as it has not yet provided broadly available hotspots. The National Park Service found that Wi-Fi Internet service access within Yellowstone National Park would not have the environmentally detrimental impact that had once been thought. While there are no WIFI Internet access points within the park, there is digital cellular service at Old Faithful and Grand Canyon Visitor Centers where a cell phone or cellular data card can get you access to the Internet. Visitors can also find hotspots at the park’s edges, without interfering with the natural habitats of wildlife and natural surroundings. The strongest signals by far are found within the lodgings as long as the guests have their own laptops.
Yellowstone was the world’s first national park and again has become first, but this time in bringing Wi-Fi and cell phone access into the park. Perhaps they can pave the way once again and set a standard for other national parks all over the world. Wi-Fi/cell phone access provides tourist the technology and safety that we depend on in these modern times. Now you can share your vacation immediately with friends and family by seeing live images and sharing pictures right as you’re living them. It also provides business travelers the chance to get outdoors and still remain in touch. Most importantly cell phones work in case of any emergency while in the wild. There are many benefits to this new access that we can all enjoy and benefit from, while maintaining the integrity of nature.
