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Friday, December 30, 2005
It’s that time of year where we sit down and make a New Year’s resolution list. I like to call it my 2006 Goals list. (A resolution list for me never seems to get resolved, if you know what I mean). I have a 2006 business goal list and a personal goal list. And here they are: Business
Looking Back on 2005 It’s also a time to look back at your previous New Year’s resolutions list (if you kept it) and see what was accomplished or not. Two of my main items were accomplished: Developing a business plan and purchasing a new home. A couple items ended up on this year’s list – go figure. More Lists Speaking of lists, I just read a great article on Boxes and Arrows about creating lists and how different list systems work better for some than others. My most successful list is one that I keep right on my desk, right in front of me.
It’s a Master ‘To Do’ List that includes everything I need to do for that day and days to come. What doesn’t get done, goes on a new list and what does get done, gets crossed off (I love that part). I got the idea from the book “Time Management for Dummies What list system helped you survive through 2005 and what list is going to get you through the New Year? I hope the New Year is a safe and successful one for you. Cheers and, of course, Happy New Year!  Posted by: Michael Swartz at 12:12 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Personal Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Bookmark Backup Extension Hoping there might be a left over file around, I checked. Good thing I did. A Firefox extension I installed a long time ago creates a bookmarkbackups directory each day. Thank God. All I had to do was import the bookmark file for December 27 and I was back in business. Whew! One more reason for everyone to switch to Firefox. If you do have Firefox, download this extension NOW! It’ll save you some major headaches. Mike Swartz says, “Spread the word“. Posted by: Michael Swartz at 8:52 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Web General Monday, December 26, 2005
Hello. I hope you had very Merry Christmas. I received some questions in early December from a reporter doing a story on podcasting for our local newspaper. We helped Jack Buckley, the pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Alameda, set us his Godcasting blog. It’s been quite successful and the Alameda Journal, our local paper, has picked up on the story. Anyhoo…here are the their questions and my responses:
It’s another way to reach out to your audience - audibly. We all have different ways of learning, remembering, enjoying. We have different senses. It makes perfect sense. It’s an extension of a blog. It’s radio from the individual. Basically podcasting is a subscription service - only this subscription service serves up audio - talk shows and music. I haven’t received any feedback personally. Jack has 8 subscribers. Feedburner (the subscription software) offers other statistics too. These statistics are only as good as the person who uses them. I’m unsure. The podcasting trend has already started. Jack got in on the ground floor on a local, church, spiritual level. The sermons will probably be archived. I can never believe someone would not go to church cause they can listen to it on there walkman. Church is about community and seeing people you know, etc. It’s already on iPods. It’s a pull technology. You’re asking for it, when you want it. It’s like On Demand for TV. The benefit is that you are requesting the information; it’s not being pushed to you like TV or radio. Spanish speaking podcasts are out there already. I’m sure there is or will be software that will translate if necessary. Unfortunately my responses and expertise were not included in the article, though Jack Buckley, the church’s generous pastor, wrote a letter to the editor afterwards (in this weeks Alameda Journal) explaining the omissions from the article. Thank you Jack. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about podcasting and how to set it up on your website. Cheers and have a great week. Posted by: Michael Swartz at 11:11 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Web General Thursday, December 15, 2005
Everyone knows about shopping at Amazon and eBay, but do you know about Overstock.com? I’ve been ordering from them because they’re cheaper and now another great reason - they’re shipping is incredibly fast. My package, Web Site Measurement Hacks, was just delivered. I ordered it yesterday. It took one business day to get here. That’s right, its two weeks before Christmas and my book has arrived. Overstock.com didn’t even get a chance to send out a confirmation email about my delivery because it got here so fast. Amazing! So if you still have gifts to buy and/or you wait ’til the last minute, visit Overstock.com. You’ll be glad you did. Mike Swartz says, “Check ‘em out.” Posted by: Michael Swartz at 11:14 am Comments: None | Filed under: Web General Tuesday, December 13, 2005
I go to these online internet banking sites, and the only reason I really go is to login and pay my bills. Most of these sites have tons of links on the homepage for new customers, but really nothing for the returning customer – me. To get more business from me, these sites should put an ad or announcement or any kind of attention getting device near the login area and/or after I login (Bank of America has started doing this. Paypal does it as well). What else would a returning customer want? They need to ask this question - then use the tip above.
It’s amazing how much crap is on each homepage. Where does one really begin? There is so much to choose from. Where do I go first? I go to sign up, that’s it. There were a couple of times I checked out information on credit cards, but I usually will call if I need anything else. I guess the lesson here is to make your website work for your business AND your visitors, especially if they’re your customers. Cheers. Posted by: Michael Swartz at 6:49 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Web Design Monday, December 5, 2005
A successful website in 3 steps? Can it be done? Each time I spend developing a new website (or redesign), I try to make the process a little simpler. (A simple website is always a successful one). We do have a system in place, but that is usually from a Project Management point of view. The steps I’m talking about are from a marketing perspective. Accomplish the Goal There really is only one step - accomplish the goal. And the goal of most websites is to make money or get more business – either by contact, download, transaction, phone call, etc. So how does one accomplish this goal in 3 steps? I’ve determined, in my process, the 3 steps to a successful website.
Enjoy your week. Posted by: Michael Swartz at 8:37 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Web Design Thursday, December 1, 2005
Hello. I just finished taking the Phishing IQ Test at Mail Frontier.com and I got 9 out of 10 questions correct. Looks like I know a thing or two about phishing scams (or I’ve been the victim just too many times). Take the test and learn the difference between a legitimate email and a fake phishing scam email. Also, if you don’t know what phishing is or how to prevent yourself from such a scam, read my blog post and Prevent Phishing article. Have a safe and phish free weekend. Posted by: Michael Swartz at 11:32 pm Comments: None | Filed under: Web General |
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Well, it’s that time of year again - New Year’s.
“. I also have more of a long term list or ‘Idea List’ that I keep in my email program, 
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