20

Jan

SEO Charlatans and Internet “Experts”

SEO Experts are modern day snake oil salespeopleI was recently followed on Twitter by someone who had crowned himself a “Senior SEO Analyst.”

Granted, he was 24, so he’s certainly entitled to a degree of hubris that is (mostly) reserved for the 20-somethings entering the workforce, but a quick visit to his profile assured me that not only would I not be competing with him for potential freelancing/consulting jobs, but that he is, in fact, a complete charlatan.

How and why do I make this claim?

Let me present the evidence.

The first thing that caught my eye was when he mentioned – and I quote verbatim – that he is a “Senior SEO Analyst that Tweet’s tips 3-5 times a day.”

If you’re reading this blog, it’s obvious that you’re brilliant enough to have caught what made my hair stand on end in that sentence. However, in case the coffee has yet to kick in, it should be noted that this “Senior SEO Analyst” made “Tweets” possessive.

Alright, alright. Nobody likes a grammar Nazi. (Well, save Grammar Girl – everyone loves her.) The point I am attempting to make here, however, is that a true Senior SEO Analyst would know the difference between Tweets and Tweet’s.

Trying to save him a bit of humiliation, I sent a direct message that simply said: There’s an error on your Twitter profile. In your bio, it should be “tweets” not “Tweet’s.” Colleague to colleague tip. Cheers!

His response: Thanks! Yeah i’m horrible at spelling haha lolz

Let’s all cringe together.

Companies and decision makers, do you honestly want someone optimizing your keywords that responds like this? Or can’t even spell “Tweets?”

Search engine optimization can be a fantastic added value to your website, but you can probably do it yourself. Google offers many free training programs/workshops to help beginners learn all there is to know about Google AdWords. This will take time, so if you’re in a rush to do a campaign (or you’re spending thousands of dollars) you probably want some help. But really, if you have the time and enjoying new skills, you should read up on AdWords. It’s not rocket science, trust me.

It seems that SEO “experts” and “digital marketing experts” are everywhere. Twitter is particularly infested by these folks. And some, fortunately, are very good! There are many reputable companies and individuals that would be great campaign managers for any SEO effort you may be interested in making. Unfortunately, however, there are many more of these self-proclaimed experts that create a terrible name for the rest of us and are frankly guilty of professional negligence.

Ah, the modern day snake oil salespeople!

So wrapping things up, what’s your best defense? Self-education. Mashable has a great resource that explains SEO and also provides current updates about SEO trends. Understanding what your keywords are is also important; see the previously mentioned Google links for more information.

 

 

35 days ago Short URL Comments

Advertising/Communications/Marketing/Google/Social Media/Technology

///

10

Nov

Quickie Update

I’ve been noticeably absent from this blog, which isn’t a habit, but actually quite deliberate!

First, I’m participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and because I’m writing nearly 2000 words daily, the creative energy to also blog is severely lacking. On the upside, I’m writing a book, and it is going to be something fantastic that I will be quite proud of in the long run. Subject matter is still top secret, but think along the lines of Twilight.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for dark, weird romance.

Second, professionally, I’m smack dab in the middle of launching many new creative initiatives to drive Spring 2012 enrollment. We’re really throwing out a lot of new ideas – some hi-fi and some low-fi – and I’ll be detailing those complete with success (or needs improvement) measures once the campaigns are complete. Many lessons to be learned here, and that’s what Cheetos with Chopsticks is all about – innovation!

So, friends, for the time being, know that I’m thinking of you. Professional contacts, know that I’m out there on Twitter and Google+ (which FINALLY created brand pages – kudos, Google, even though it’s a little late.) so find me!

Til next time,
Kit

106 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Personal/Social Media/Technology

10

Oct

Facebook Releases iPad App

So Facebook has released an iPad app. (It’s here: http://www.facebook.com/mobile/ipad)

Here’s my question though – why?

This gets down to tablet philosophy.

Granted, I do own an Android tablet and always do a bit of an eye roll when I see development for Apple devices only, but as a marketer, I get it. Apple’s tablet devices currently outsell Android’s.

However, here’s my real question – why is a Facebook app even necessary? Are we *that* lazy?

Look at it this way – an app is basically a shortcut to content. Phone apps have always kind of compressed information into a more streamlined format – this made sense on smaller screens. Tablets, however, are larger screens. (Most are 9-10 inches.) So while they may not be quite as big as your laptop, they are notably larger than your phone.

On tablets, you can see images better, you can view full versions of web pages versus mobile versions, you can send emails faster, etc.

So why is an app for a popular website necessary? Why not just go to Facebook.com and view Facebook as web page? Isn’t that kind of why you got the tablet in the first place?

Does the iPad app design appeal to individuals more? If so, isn’t that more of an issue of poor user experience/user design than anything else? Or are we just that lazy?

Facebook has certainly responded to user demand with this one. But here’s my question – why did users demand this to begin with?

137 days ago Short URL 1 Comment

Facebook/Social Media/Society/Technology

////

10

Oct

I Still Love You, Netflix

I saw this on Reddit this morning and had to share. I’m not sure who the original designer is, but I’d give credit if I could!

Comparison of Netflix to Blockbuster and Hollywood Video - Pro Netflix

137 days ago Short URL Comments

Found on Reddit/Personal/Social Media/Technology

04

Oct

Apple iOS5, the iPhone 4S, and Poorly Managed Expectations

Apple versus AndroidUnlike a good many Apple fanboys (and fangirls!), I can admit my devotion.

Not to Apple, although I am incredibly loyal to Apple computers.

No, my loyalty lies with Android. I’ll say it – I’m a fandroid. Not a rabid, foaming at the mouth, can’t admit it when Google makes mistakes fandroid, but a big supporter of the platform nontheless. I felt that I needed to preface this post with that information, but I’ll also do my best to be fair(ish.)

Hardware

Lots of folks seem disappointed that today’s announcement by Apple that the next iPhone is a 4S and not a 5. Let’s talk about hardware, for a moment. On the outside, yes, this thing may look like like iPhone 4, which I personally find to be a very nice looking phone. It feels solid, it looks solid, and the screen is beautiful. Sure, it’s not a complete redesign, however, why mess with a good thing? The iPhone 4′s rounded corners and thin profile make it a great phone, and because it wasn’t released *that* long ago, there wasn’t a real need to completely reinvent the device.

Software

Alright, here’s where my real critique begins, because frankly, I’m not impressed.

Many of the “updates” found in iOS5 have been present in the Android OS for quite some time now, or were other Google inventions. I find this incredibly amusing, considering Apple’s legal entanglements with Samsung for “copying the iPad.”

Features in the new iOS5 include:

  • Notification center
  • iMessage
  • Newsstand
  • Reminders
  • Twitter integration
  • Camera updates
  • iCloud (sharing music and photos with all of your iDevices)
  • Safari updates (including tabbed browsing)
  • Wireless updates
  • Mail Formatting
  • Cards
  • GameCenter Updates
  • WiFi synching
Now, this list may be impressive, but let’s re-examine it with some thoughts:
  • Notification center – Android has been doing this for ages with it’s pull down notification bar
  • iMessage – Blackberry did this ages ago. It’s far from novel.
  • Newsstand – There’s an app for that. It’s called the B&N Nook app. And I hate the double s’s
  • Reminders – A unique feature. Apps exist for this, but none are remarkable. This is a good addition.
  • Twitter integration – Android beat Apple to the punch on this one too. Twitter, Facebook, Google+ integration is a hallmark of many Android devices
  • Camera updates – So you can take a picture with your volume button. Android offered this quite awhile ago, too. In fact, you can assign any button on your Android device a different function than it’s original designation.
  • iCloud (sharing music and photos with all of your iDevices) – Completely unimpressive. Cloud-based music is far from revloutionary – Slacker and Spotify come quickly to mind. True, you don’t “own” your music with either service, however, you don’t have to pay to purchase songs, either. In fact, for a monthly subscription to either, you can download as many songs as you’d like to your local device and even play them offline.
  • Safari updates (including tabbed browsing) – Android has been doing tabbed browsing on its devices for quite sometime. Much like a front-facing camera, Apple came late to the game on this.
  • Wireless updates – An Android functionality since its inception
  • Mail Formatting – I can now bold, underline, and use colored text in emails from my phone? Great! New ways for coworkers to annoy me. ;)
  • Cards – So the phone can send ecards. This one just gets a head scratch and a cockeyed look from me. I’m not sure what the point is. You can make any photo an actual card, and Apple will send it for you? I guess I don’t get the point. This functionality has been around for ages.
  • GameCenter Updates – I have no real comment on this – I think GameCenter is kind of lame, and have always had a hard time grasping its relevance.
  • WiFi synching – You can synch your music/photos/documents over a wireless network. Again, Spotify, Flickr, Google Dogs. Nuff said.
Expectations
Finally, the public relations/communications/marketing side of me cried out at the end of the keynote. Apple’s stock took a pretty big dip at the end. Tech blogs and techies were shouting “This is it?” Crickets chirped.
Where was the iconic, “Oh, and one more thing?” Sure, that was likely a Steve Jobs-only thing, but it seemed like the audience issued a collective “meh.”
Apple has a long history of clandestinely managing expectations without confirming new technologies. It’s gone something like this:
Big tech blog: Apple promises that the new iThingie will turn the sky purple!
Fans: Whoa! Apple is awesome!
Apple insider, who refuses to go on record but is personally known to Big tech blog: Hey, you know, we’re not actually doing that. Can you cool that a little bit? What we are doing is actually turning the sky a really deep blue.
Big tech blog: Apple promises that the deep blue sky will look brilliant, thanks to the iThingie.
So what happened this time? Why did Apple let the iPhone 5 rumors fly completely out of control? Is this the “new” post-Steve Apple? Or is this just a matter of the public being incredibly excited for an imaginary device that just couldn’t meet expectations?
Like it or not, Apple didn’t completely hit a home run with this one. It will be interesting over the next few weeks to see how they can restore some of the faith their acolytes may have lost.

143 days ago Short URL Comments

Advertising/Communications/Marketing/Spotify/Technology

/////

23

Sep

The (Rotten) Apple of My Eye

I saw a tweet this morning that said: Call Apple and ask them if they CARE about the human beings working in their Asian sweat shops. 800-APL-CARE. (Here’s the original.)

This is the second sweatshop/Apple-related post I’ve seen recently, closely following a story about Apple removing a game from their own App Store because it:

takes players on a tour of the darkside of iPhone manufacture. This includes the mining of blood minerals by children, toxic recycling centres in developing nations, and suicide-inducing working conditions of Chinese factories. (source)

Now, it’s no secret that Apple uses Foxconn to build its iPads and iPods. It’s also no secret that:

So we can effectively add Apple to the endless list of companies that suck but produce cool stuff. Me? I’ll stick with my Samsung devices.

But really, what do you do? Boycott? Sure, great idea, but unless strategically organized with multiple participants, it’s most likely not going to be effective or make a dent in Apple’s bottom line. Spread awareness? An excellent idea – thoughtfully cite resources and share what you’ve learned with others and hope they’ll – in turn – do the same.

Or, what I’ll realistically do, just keep buying the next shiny, pretty, iThingie.

Sparking change can be deflating. Sadly, and not to be altogether defeatist, the corporate grip on us is just too strong. Not that I’m interested in giving up – I’m writing this article to at least inform, and perhaps provoke change.

But I’m writing it from my Apple laptop while I’m listening to my iPod.

154 days ago Short URL Comments

Personal/Society/Technology

//

Blog at WordPress.com.
Theme: Esquire by Matthew Buchanan.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.