4M

Sometimes our clients get a little impatient with the website process. This may be because they have hired “putter-uppers” to create websites for them in the past and “putting up” is a very quick process.

What’s a putter-upper? This is a phrase that Gerry McGovern uses and I think is very appropriate. It describes webmonkeys who take the content their clients give them and simply throw it onto a website …

http://www.evolutionofdance.com/

#1 viewed video on YouTube
#2 top rated video on YouTube
appearing on the today show next week

Why? Because it’s FUNNY! It’s oddball, goofy, easy to understand funny. It’s low production values, it’s one funny-looking white dude unselfconsciously doing goofy dances to greatest hits for no damn good reason, it’s frickin funny. At the end of the video: replay - or send to a friend. Viral.

This is what successful viral campaigns …

My mom made the mistake of using the “email to a pal” feature from aarp.org’s website to send me an article about whether organic food is worth the price premium, etc.

Here’s the article she sent me:
Some nice but misguided lady talking about whether elderly people should cough up the extra buck or two to buy food that doesn’t kill us and our planet

And here’s my admittedly lengthy reply:

—– Original …

Good product, terrible website

I found this site via my treehugger email newsletter. The blurb in my email said in part,”

… proof-of-concept solar module that uses holograms to concentrate light, possibly cutting the cost of solar modules by as much as 75 percent, making them competitive with electricity generated from fossil fuels. … could bring down costs from about $4 per watt to $1.50 for crystalline …

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2006/04/13/google-calendar-all-your-appointments-belong-to-us/

Let’s think about this:

Google knows where you live and work. (local + maps)

Google knows what you search for. (suggest)

Google knows what’s on your computer. (toolbar)

Google only gives you what your government thinks you should have. (hello, China)

Google knows what you sell and how much of it (adwords + analytics)

Google reads your email. (Gmail)

Google knows who you’re meeting with when. (calendar)

Google at some point may have to bend over and give …

About a year ago, a colleague mentioned that there was an online seminar about how to write better web content. I was new at YVOD and thought it would be interesting. Our then salesperson, CEO, Art Director and I gathered in a room and watched the presentation. It was phenomenal.

The speaker? Gerry McGovern. The people who brought his ideas into my life: Marketingprofs.

So the seminar was a hundred bucks, …

I’m a Googlehead, just like everybody else, and a research fiend, so of course I was so excited about the new Google Analytics thing. What? Free? Analytics? From GOOGLE? Oh hell yea. Etc. So I installed it on two of my clients’ sites and waited for the googly goodness to come rolling in. Well, they of course underestimated the enormous popularity of such an offering and had some initial capacity …

I’m reading E-Commerce User Experience by Jakob Nielsen et al, which is a very thick and informative book. Even if the findings and guidelines in it are not necessarily surprises, they are still valuable. Here’s what I’ve learned or reconfirmed so far:

The first law of e-commerce states: “if the customer cannot find the product, the customer cannot buy the product.”… Low usability equals lost sales. It’s as simple as …

Okay, you’ve all heard of Paypal. Fine way to handle online transactions if you’re selling vintage Hot Wheels on eBay. Occasionally a small business client will ask me about using Paypal to process their online transactions. They don’t want to deal with the expense and hassle of a “real” merchant account. That’s understandable. Even if you already have a brick-and-mortar merchant account, it’s still a bit of …

Brandon. Every day he inspires me, make me laugh and help me return to a state of wonder and innocence. It sure is hard to be a cynic in the light of that smile, and his giggle makes all my cares melt away.

Ulan. In so many ways and on so many levels, he has changed my life for the better. He is easily the most generous, forgiving, patient person I …