People seem to go to greater lengths to keep from losing something they have than they would to acquire something they don’t.

The old adage “Fear of loss is greater than the desire for gain” is very true when writing web copy designed to sell. Read the rest of this entry »

I wrote a silly article in November about using template pics for a website, and how they can hurt you when it comes to trust on the internet.

Well, I found her again, not my favorite customer service babe, but she’s getting very popular. This one is from a real estate service – this chick has so many jobs!

I’ve been told I’m a little sarcastic in my articles – that’s not sarcasm, but confidence. Ok, sarcasm too. So, to keep things light I’m ordering some new office posters.

We’ve all seen those things – the rowboats visually presenting a “teamwork” metaphor and other silly things to “motivate” the 8-5 corporate soldiers.

Read the rest of this entry »

Our brains are composed of millions of individual neurons which are not connected, but do have simple input/output devices, a basic firing mechanism allowing a neuron to connect with another, or a network of neurons. With this architecture we create, grow, interact, organize and participate in the world around us. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all done it (I do it too often) but there’s a place for it. Don’t post when you’re angry.

Forums are great places for “heated exchanges” (it actually brings in traffic) but in general, an angry post is usually something the author regrets. Read the rest of this entry »

Nikola Tesla gave us AC power transmission, the coil transformer, wireless communication and hundreds of other inventions.

Tesla was not only an inventor and electrical engineer but was also a great visual thinker. He could “see” an entire system in his head and often didn’t test his ideas in a lab. If he tested them in his head he knew what the result of any physical test would be. Read the rest of this entry »

It amuses me whenever I run a successful SEO campaign and find others mimicking certain parts of my work.

I chuckle because they have inevitably copied some words but failed to duplicate the strategy and tactics behind the campaign.

Then while you high-five yourselves after ranking for something as amazing as your domain name, I’ll re-earn my nickname. While you consider plagiarizing me some more, realize I see you. I bet I can rank for your name in a day.

The web is as necessary to business today as the telephone was a decade ago, yet so many businesses use it as nothing more than a digital business card.

Ok, your expensive “corporate hello” may be great – if it were still 1998. Read the rest of this entry »

Your personal email – think about the amount of information it can reveal about you, your co-workers, your company, your family, from party plans to shopping receipts to office gossip.

Microsoft Outlook is really the American workplace standard for email and calendaring purposes. Knowing this, and say… a domain attached to your ‘interest’ can give you lots of information. Read the rest of this entry »

Most businesses love “best practices” and manuals. These written standards are orderly, rational and logical. They have been tested and proven. They’re great because they give a team the sense that everyone is “on board”.

In the end – they are “justifiers”, a book to blame when a goal isn’t realized, a safety net for the uninspired. Read the rest of this entry »

Ever notice that websites’ most relevant information is often times a click or two away from the home page? There’s a contact page, an about page, services or product page, etc.

After all these supporting sub-pages are written, businesses seem to be scratching their heads. Read the rest of this entry »

Businesses, institutions and governments all use the same tools and broadcast media – the buildings, logos, websites, brochures, press releases and speeches – all to convey their “image”, their “brand”.

Individually and collectively the difficulty begins when we cross the line of believability – when that image we have for these businesses and individuals are not the image they have of themselves Read the rest of this entry »